JPH04120574A - Copying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prolong the time interval of the time for exchanging a fixing and cleaning device and to reduce the running cost by providing a cleaning member for cleaning the fixing and cleaning device. CONSTITUTION:A web 5 cleaning the surface of a heating roller 2 which is a fixing roller is successively wound in the direction of an arrow H1 by a core bar 7 on a winding side. A roller brush 104 for scraping down of toners T2 stagnating on the surface of the web 5 exists just before the web is wound on the arbor 7 and rotates in the direction of an arrow W so as to counter the direction where the web 5 moves. The toners and paper powder dust T3 scraped by the roller brush 104 is easily attached and detached to and from the fixing device and accumulate into a toner receiver 105 which can be easily cleaned by a service engineer. The time for exchanging the fixing and cleaning device is prolonged and the running cost is reduced without degrading the cleaning capacity of the fixing and cleaning device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a copying machine having an image forming device, and particularly to an improvement of a fixing device thereof.

[Conventional technology]

In conventional copying apparatuses, the transfer paper on which the toner image has been transferred is transferred to a fixing device by a conveying device such as a belt, the toner image is fixed thereon, and the transfer paper is discharged outside the machine. A fixing device is usually composed of two opposing rollers, a heating roller (fixing roller) and a pressure roller, and a transfer paper is sandwiched between the nip of the opposing rollers to fix the toner image on the transfer paper.

That is, the transfer paper fed by the paper feeding device is transported by a pair of conveyance rollers, a pair of registration rollers, etc., and reaches the transfer section via an upper transfer guide and a lower transfer guide. In the transfer section, the toner image formed on the photoreceptor is transferred onto transfer paper. At this time, the transfer 1F electric appliance attracts and transfers the toner image onto the transfer paper. After that, the transfer paper is separated from the photoreceptor by the separation charger and placed on a rubber belt driven by a conveyance roller, and then sent through a fixing guide to a fixing device consisting of a heating roller and a pressure roller, and then discharged. The earth is then discharged outside the machine.

In conventional copying devices, as mentioned above, the transfer paper that has been transferred through the copying section is transported to the fixing device by a conveyance device such as a conveyor belt, where it is caught in the nip of the fixing device and is pressed and heated. The toner had been fused and fixed.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing an example of a conventional fixing device.

In the figure, the transfer paper S is transferred to the fixing device 35 from the direction of arrow A.
enter. The entrance guide 9 moves the nip N formed by the heating roller (fixing roller) 2 and the pressure roller 3.
The transfer paper S is thermally fixed at (length N2 in the paper passing direction). A heater 4 is provided inside the heating roller 2.
It serves as a heat source that heats the heating roller 2 to melt and fix the toner. A cleaning device consisting of a web 5 and a web roller 6 is provided above the heating roller 2, and as the core metal 7.8 around which the web 5 is wound rotates, the web 5 is fed little by little. , the heating roller 2 is always cleaned with a fresh surface.

The holding plate 10 prevents the web 5 from sagging.

Note that arrow B indicates the BvJ direction of the web 5, arrow C indicates the rotational direction of the heating roller 2, arrow d indicates the rotational direction of the pressure roller 3, and arrow E indicates the moving direction of the transfer paper S.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view seen from the rear side of FIG. 11.

Normally, the web 5 is wound in the direction of arrow H1 as the copying operation progresses by rotationally driving the core bar 7 on the winding side by a stepping motor 102 supported by a fixed plate 101 as shown in FIG. , cleaning the surface of the heating roller 2.

Note that arrow H2 indicates the moving direction of the web 5, arrow G1 indicates the rotating direction of the core bar 7, arrow G2 indicates the direction in which the web 5 is wound around the core bar 7, and arrow J indicates the moving direction of the transfer paper. .

FIG. 13 shows how the web 5 cleans the toner and paper dust accumulated on the surface of the heating roller 2.

When the heating roller 2 rotates in the direction of arrow C, toner and paper dust T1 accumulated on the surface of the heating roller 2 from 1 to 2
is caused by the web 5 pressed by the web roller 6,
It is scraped off from the surface of the heating roller 2. At this time, the web 5 is wound in the direction of arrow F3, and new faces are sequentially fed from the direction of arrow F2.

That is, the surface of the heating roller 2 is cleaned from K2 to K3, that is, from K3 to K4 clockwise.
The surface that passes through becomes the cleaned surface.

In addition, the web 5 is generally made of fibrous knitted cloth,
A small amount of silicone oil is soaked in to aid in cleaning and to lubricate the heating roller 2. The lifespan of each roll of the web 5 varies depending on the copying apparatus, but the number of copies is approximately 100,000, which is the limit, which is the so-called completed winding state. From a running cost perspective, compared to other regularly replaced parts, the replacement period is about the same or slightly earlier, and the consumption cycle is not exceptionally short.
As mentioned above, the original price itself is very high because it is a woven cloth in the form of fibers, and the running cost is not cheap when converted to one copy. Furthermore, due to the nature of the web 5, it is in close contact with the heating roller 2, making it difficult to attach and detach no matter what configuration it has. , which can be easily removed with a single screw and can be easily replaced by service personnel, is very difficult to work with, and in addition, because it is a fixing device, heat is generated during replacement work. Regarding Web 5 replacement, there was a drawback that Sahisman had a lot of bad reviews, such as getting burns.

Also, the web 5 is fed little by little during the copying operation so that a new surface is always exposed, but the amount of feeding is determined by the amount of toner and paper dust T2 accumulated on the web 5 as shown in FIG. Ru.

On the other hand, the amount of toner and paper powder that can be held on the surface of the web 5 is determined, and if this amount is exceeded, the web 5
A phenomenon called offset occurs in which toner and paper powder slip through and stain the transfer paper.

However, this toner and paper powder do not directly soak into the web 5, but only accumulate on the surface, and by scrubbing it with a brush, etc., most of the dirt can be removed, and the performance will be the same as a new web. It is known that there is almost no change.

In addition, the amount of silicone oil soaked into the web is actually only about 20% of the total, with most of the remaining silicone oil remaining in the used web, which is extremely wasteful. It was always viewed as a problem.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

As mentioned above, in the conventional technology, there is a problem in that the running cost of the web used as a cleaning member of the fixing device is extremely high, and on the other hand, there is a contradictory problem in that the web is used in vain. .

The present invention aims to solve the above problems. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a copying apparatus that can reduce running costs by lengthening the replacement period of the fixing cleaning device without reducing the cleaning ability of the fixing cleaning device. be.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image carrier, a fixing device that fixes an image onto a transfer material onto which the image has been transferred from the image carrier, and a fixing cleaning device that cleans the fixing device. The copying apparatus has a cleaning member for cleaning the fixing cleaning device.

[For production]

According to the present invention, since the cleaning member for cleaning the fixing cleaning device is provided, the cleaning member cleans the dirt on the fixing cleaning device, and the fixing cleaning device that has been used for a while can be reused. .

Therefore, it is possible to lengthen the replacement period of the fixing cleaning device without reducing the cleaning ability of the fixing cleaning device, thereby reducing running costs.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, that is, a copying apparatus capable of double-sided and multiple copying in different colors.

In Fig. 1, 1 is the main body of the copying machine, 2 is the heating roller (
(fixing roller), 3 is a pressure roller.

To explain further, the original 52 placed on the document device glass 51 is illuminated by a lamp 53, and its optical image is formed by an optical system consisting of reflecting mirrors 54, 55, 56° 57 58 59 and a zoom lens 60. Photosensitive drum 1
1 will be led to the top. The lamp 53, mirror 54, and mirrors 55 and 56 each move at a predetermined speed in the direction of the arrow and eclipse the original f1% 52. On the other hand, after the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 is uniformly charged by the primary charger 12, it rotates in the direction of the arrow.

Therefore, electrostatic latent images corresponding to the original image are sequentially formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11. A color developer 13 containing color toner (for example, red, blue, etc.) and a black developer 14 containing black toner are disposed around the photosensitive drum 11. These developing units 13 and 14 are movable in the directions of the arrows, and move close to the photosensitive drum 11 according to a desired color image to form a static image on the photosensitive drum 11. Convert the latent image into a facial image. In the case of FIG. 1, since the color developing device 13 is far away and the black developing device 14 is close, a black image is formed on the photosensitive drum 11. This image is transferred by a transfer charger 15 onto a transfer paper 17 as a transfer material. Thereafter, the photosensitive drum 11 reaches a cleaner 16, where residual toner on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 is removed, and the process starts again for the next copying process.

The transfer paper 17 is fed as follows, and the developed image is copied. There are three methods for feeding the transfer paper 17 into the copying apparatus.

In the first method, the paper is loaded in the cassette 18 and the paper is loaded onto the feed roller 1.
9, it is sent to the pair of rollers 2o. When a plurality of overlapping sheets of transfer paper 17 are fed into this pair of rollers 2o,
Only the top paper is separated and fed into the apparatus, and after passing through this pair of rollers 2o, the transfer paper 17 reaches the registration rollers 23 via guide plates 21 and 22.

In the second method, the paper is loaded in the cassette 24 and the paper is loaded onto the feed roller 2.
5 to the pair of rollers 26. This pair of rollers 26 has the same function as the previous pair of rollers 20,
After the transfer paper 17 passes through a pair of rollers 26, it passes through a guide plate 27.
It reaches the registration roller 23 via 28.

The third method is a so-called manual paper feeding method. In this case, when the manual feed tray 29 is rotated in the direction of the arrow, the manual feed intermediate plate 30 slides under the paper feed roller 25 in conjunction with this movement. . At this time, the transfer paper 17 in the cassette 24 is pushed down so as not to interfere with the manual feed intermediate plate 30. In this state, it is placed on the manual feed intermediate plate 30 and the manual feed tray 29, and is sent to the registration rollers 23 in the same manner as in the second method.

The registration roller 23 starts rotating at a timing such that the developed image on the photosensitive drum 11 and the transfer paper 17 match, and transfers the transfer paper 17 to the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 via an upper transfer guide 31 and a lower transfer guide 32. Send it in. As mentioned above, the transfer paper 17 is transferred to the photosensitive drum 11 by the transfer charger 15.
The image is transferred onto the surface in minutes! It is separated from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 by the IIF charger 33 and sent to a fixing device 35 having a heating roller 2 and a pressure roller 3 via a conveying section 34 . The image on the transfer paper 17 is fixed as a permanent image by being heated and pressurized by the fixing device 35, and the transfer paper 17 is sent to the first ejection roller 36, and then sent to the second ejection roller 39 via the flapper 37. and is then ejected from the copying machine. In the figure, the flapper 38 is shown blocking the transfer paper path, but this flapper 38
is made of a light material and is rotatable in the direction of the arrow, so when the transfer paper 17 passes, the transfer paper 1
Since it is pushed up by the tip of the transfer paper 7 and takes a retracted position with respect to the transfer paper 17, there is no problem in passing the transfer paper 17.

Furthermore, this copying apparatus is capable of double-sided copying and multiple copying.

When the copying device is instructed to perform a double-sided copying operation, the R document image is transferred and fixed on one side of the transfer paper 17 in the same manner as in the basic operation described above, and the transfer paper 17 is sent to the second discharge roller 39 and placed on a tray (not shown). It is discharged to. Then, the rear end of the transfer paper 17 is detected by the paper detection mechanism consisting of the detection lever 40 and the optical sensor 41, and after a certain period of time has elapsed, that is, the time until the rear end of the transfer paper passes the flapper 38, the second edge of the transfer paper 17 is detected. The second discharge roller 39 starts rotating in the reverse direction and feeds the transfer paper 17 into the transfer device again. And transfer paper 17
This time, the rear end first is sent to the roller 45 via the flapper 38, the left slope of the flapper 37, the guide plate 42, and further via the guide plates 43, 44. Thereafter, the transfer paper 17 passes through the rollers 46 and reaches the horizontal registration rollers 47. At this point, the lateral registration roller 47 has stopped, and after the transfer paper 17 has completely abutted against this roller 47, the pair of rollers 45 and 46 also stop.

Then, the transfer paper 17 stands by for copying operation to the other side. When a copy signal for the other side is issued, the horizontal registration roller 47 starts rotating and feeds the transfer paper 17 to the registration roller 23 via the guide plates 48 and 49. Before transfer paper] 7 arrives at registration roller 23, transfer paper 1
The side edge of 7 is detected by an optical sensor (not shown),
The lateral registration roller 47 moves in a direction perpendicular to the paper advancing direction, that is, in a direction perpendicular to the drawing, to correct the lateral position of the transfer paper 17 so that the side edge is at the same position as the first time. .

The operation after the transfer paper 17 reaches the registration roller 23 is the same as the basic operation described above, and the transfer paper 17 with the image copied on the other side is finally delivered to the second discharge roller 3.
9, it is discharged onto a tray outside the apparatus.

On the other hand, in the first copying operation when the copying apparatus is instructed to perform a multiple copying operation, the original image is transferred and fixed onto the transfer paper 17 in the same manner as the basic operation. In case of multiple copying, flapper 3
7 is located in the state indicated by the broken line. Therefore, the transfer paper 17 is sent out by the first discharge roller 36 with the front end first, and is passed along the right slope of the flapper 37 to the guide plate 42.
．． 43 and further to rollers 45 via guide plates 43, 44. After that, the transfer paper 17 is transferred to the roller 4
6 and reaches the horizontal registration roller 47. The rear end of the transfer paper 17 is detected by the detection lever 40 and the optical sensor 41, and after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the flapper 37 returns to the position indicated by the solid line. Then, when the second copy number is issued, the horizontal registration roller 47 starts rotating, but the transfer paper 17 at this time
The movement is the same as in the case of double-sided copying. Then, the transfer paper 17 on which the second image has been copied on the same side is finally discharged onto the tray by the second discharge roller 39.

In addition, in this explanation, we have explained about multiple copying twice, but in the case of multiple copying even more often, transfer paper 1
7's movements are basically the same. The only difference is that the flapper 37 returns from the position shown by the broken line to the position shown by the solid line before the final copying.

Further, in this embodiment, an apparatus has been described which performs double-sided copying or multiple overlapping copying of one sheet at a time, but this apparatus may be provided with a so-called intermediate tray so as to be able to perform double-sided copying or multiple overlapping copying of a plurality of sheets.

This copying apparatus can change the position and focal length of the zoom lens 60 without changing the optical path length.
Continuously variable magnification is possible.

Note that 80 is a temperature/humidity sensor as an environment detection means, and 81 is a transfer paper size sensor.

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of the fixing device and fixing cleaning device of the copying apparatus shown in FIG.

The web 5 whose surface has been cleaned on the heating roller 2, which is a fixing roller, is wound up little by little in the direction of the arrow H1 by the core bar 7 on the winding side. Before being wound around the core metal 7, there is a roller brush 104 for scraping off the toner T2 accumulated on the surface of the web 5, and the roller brush 104 rotates in the direction of arrow W to counter the moving direction of the web 5. are doing. The toner and paper dust T3 scraped off by the roller brush 104 accumulate in a toner receiver 105 that can be used as a fixing device. This toner receiver 105 is removed and cleaned during maintenance 7, and then installed in its original position. After the toner ~T2 has been scraped off by the roller brush 104 and the cleaning has been completed, the web 5 is moved to the auxiliary roller 10.
3 and is wound up in the direction of arrow H3. The auxiliary roller 103 regulates the web 5 so that the roller brush 104 always contacts the web 5 at a constant position, since the core bar 7, which is the shaft on the winding side, becomes thicker as it winds the web 5. are doing.

Note that arrow M indicates the rotation direction of the core metal 8, and arrow M2 indicates the rotation direction of the core metal 7.
indicates the direction of rotation.

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view of the web 5 being regulated by the auxiliary roller 103.

Figures 4 to 6 are explanatory views of the winding and unwinding of the web 5.

It is cleaned by the roller brush 104, and then wound up by the core metal 7 on the winding side and starts running in the reverse direction as shown in FIG. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the web 5, which has been wound in the forward direction with the core bar 7 acting as a stripping shaft, is cleaned by the roller brush 104, which is a cleaning member, and is then rolled in that direction. When the core bar 7 is wound or has finished winding, the operation of the core metal 7 is stopped as shown in FIG. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6, the core metal 8 becomes a winding shaft, and the web 5 is sent in the opposite direction. At this time, the roller brush 104 starts rotating in the direction of the arrow W2, which is the opposite direction from the previous one, and serves to further clean the surface of the web 5 that has been cleaned. This series of movements allows the web 5 to be used twice as much as before.

FIG. 7 shows the driving mechanism for the web 5 seen from the rear side of FIG. 2, and FIG. 8 similarly shows the state in which it is switched at the end of winding the web 5.

First, in FIG. 7, the gear 116 rotationally driven by the motor is connected to the gears 115, 114 and the gear 114.
The input gear 11 moves together with the swinging sheet metal 113 that swings around the central axis of the solenoid 117 when it is turned on and off.
2, when the web 5 is being fed in the forward direction, rotational drive is transmitted to the gear 110 that drives the core bar 7, which is the winding shaft, as shown by the solid line in the figure. As a result, the core metal 7 rotates in the direction of the arrow X1, and the web 5 is wound around the core metal 7 little by little as shown in FIG. 4 described above. After that, when the web 5 on the winding side reaches the unwinding state, that is, the state shown in FIG. 5 described above,
The outer diameter detection sensor 120 attached to the stay 122 is turned on by the movement of the arm 121, and the web 5
Knowing that the winding is complete, the solenoid 117 is turned on, that is, moved to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. As a result, the rotational drive is transmitted to rotate the gear 111 once in the direction of the arrow x2, and the core bar 8 then becomes a winding shaft to wind the web 5 in the opposite direction.

In addition, in FIGS. 7 and 8, if the solenoid 117 pulls the swinging sheet metal 113 in the direction of arrow Q2, the swinging sheet metal 1
13 rotates in the direction of arrow Ql around the axis of gear 114, and the axis of gear 112 moves from Zl to Z2,
Gear 112 meshes with gear 111 to rotationally drive core metal 8.

FIG. 9 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, and corresponds to FIG. 2, mainly showing a fixing cleaning device and a cleaning member for cleaning it.

That is, the cleaning member is a blade 106, which, like the roller brush 104 described above, has the function of scraping off the toner accumulated on the web 5.

Further, although not shown in the drawings, if the blade 106 and the roller brush 104 described above are used together, the effect is great.

FIG. 10 likewise shows a third embodiment of the invention.

That is, the residual toner T adhering to the heating roller 2 first adheres to the web 5 at the portion where the web roller 6a comes into contact with the heating roller 2, and travels in the direction of arrow H. A plate 106 is disposed between the web roller 6a and the shaft 130, and removes the toner T2 from the web 5 as in the previous example. Similarly, the toner T2 is then collected in the toner receiver 105. After the toner T2 has been scraped off, the web 5 passes through the shaft 130 and moves in the direction of the arrow H7.
\, and the remaining toner T' on the heating roller 2 is scraped off again at the part where it comes into contact with another web roller 6b. According to this method, the heating roller 2
Since the residual toner on the web 5 is cleaned at two points, the amount of winding of the web 5 can be made slower than in the past. Therefore, the life of the single-wood web 5 can be extended, leading to a reduction in running costs. Although there is an increase in cost due to the use of two web rollers, a feature of this embodiment is that there is no need to provide a reverse rotation drive device as in the above-mentioned example.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, since the cleaning member for cleaning the fixing cleaning device is provided, the stains on the fixing cleaning device can be cleaned by the cleaning member. Since the interval between replacing the fixing and cleaning device is longer, the running cost is lower than before, and it becomes possible to provide the user with a good-quality transferred image at low cost. Further, the number of troublesome replacement operations of the fixing cleaning device is reduced, the work efficiency is improved, and as a result, there is no possibility of getting burned by touching the fixing device, and safety is also improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view showing the first embodiment of the present invention;
The figure is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the web unit in Figure 1, Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram of the action of the web unit in Figure 2, and Figure 4 is a cross-section of the web in Figure 2 being wound in the forward direction. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the web after it has been wound, Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the web being wound in the opposite direction, and Figure 7 is a view of the drive of the web as seen from the rear side of Figure 2. Explanatory diagram of the mechanism, No. 8
The figure is also an explanatory diagram of the state to be switched at the end of web winding, and FIG. 9 is a second diagram of the present invention shown corresponding to FIG.
FIG. 11 is a side sectional view showing an example of a conventional fixing device, and FIG. 12 is a view from the rear side of FIG. 11. FIG. 13, a perspective view of the web unit, is an explanatory diagram of the action of the web shown in FIG. 11. 1...Copying device main body 2...Heating roller 3...
・Pressure roller 4... Heater 5... Web 6, 6a, 6b... Sea urchin blow rough, 8... Core metal 16... Cleaner 35.
・Fuser 103 ・Auxiliary roller 104 ・
... Roller brush 105 ... Toner receiver 106 ...
・Blades 110, 111, 112...Gear 113...Rocking sheet metal 114, 115, 116...Gear 117...Solenoid 120...Outer diameter detection sensor 121...Arm 122...Stay 0...
・Axis and 4 other people

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A copying apparatus having an image carrier, a fixing device that fixes an image onto a transfer material onto which the image has been transferred from the image carrier, and a fixing cleaning device that cleans the fixing device. A copying apparatus comprising: a cleaning member for cleaning the fixing cleaning device. 2. The copying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fixing cleaning device is a web. 3. The copying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning member is a blade. 4. The copying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning member is a brush. 5. The copying apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising switching feeding means for switching the feeding direction of the web between a forward direction and a reverse direction opposite thereto.