JPH05313534A - Heat roller fixing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prolong the service life of a cleaner and to freely exchange the cleaner with respect to a heat roller fixing device provided with the cleaning roll to clean the heat roller carrying out heat fixing of a toner image on a sheet. CONSTITUTION:In the heat roller fixing device heat fixing the toner on the sheet PP by passing the sheet PP retaining the toner image between the heat roller 20 and a pressure roller 21 and cleaning the heat roller 20 with the cleaning roller 23, a bearing 24a is provided on at least one end of a shaft of the cleaning roller 23, a receiving hole 26a and a restaining member 27 are provided on one of supporting frames 25a and the bearing 24a of the cleaning roller 23 inserted from the receiving hole 26a is retained by the retaining member 27.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

(Table of Contents) Industrial Application Field of the Prior Art (FIGS. 6 to 7) Problem to be Solved by the Invention Means for Solving the Problem (FIG. 1) Action Example (a) First Example (FIG. 2 to FIG. 4) (b) Description of second embodiment (FIG. 5) (c) Description of other embodiment Effect of the invention

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat roller fixing device having a cleaning roller for cleaning a heat roller for thermally fixing a toner image on a sheet.

In image recording apparatuses such as copiers, printers, and facsimile machines, latent image forming type recording apparatuses such as electrophotographic apparatuses are used in order to record plain paper. In such an image recording apparatus, an electrostatic latent image is formed, developed, a toner image is transferred to a sheet, and the toner image is fixed.

To fix the toner image, a heat roller fixing device having a simple structure is used. Since the heat roller comes into contact with the toner on the sheet and heat-melts the heat roller, the heat roller becomes dirty.
It needs to be cleaned.

[0005]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 6 and 7 are explanatory views (1) and (2) of a conventional technique. For example, in an electrophotographic device,
As shown in FIG. 6, the photosensitive drum 31 is charged by the charger 32, the optical image is exposed by the laser writing unit 33, an electrostatic latent image is formed in accordance with the image, and the toner is developed by the developing unit 34. The toner image on the photosensitive drum 31 is transferred to the sheet conveyed by the abutting roller 35 by the transfer charger 36, the sheet is separated from the photosensitive drum 31 by the separation charger 37, and is conveyed to the heat roller fixing device 2.

In the heat roller fixing device 2, the heat roller 20 and the backup roller (pressure roller) 21 are engaged and rotated, and the toner image on the paper is pressed against the heat roller 20 by the pressure roller 21 and is sent. The heat of the heat roller 20 melts and fixes the toner.

At this time, since the heat roller 20 comes into contact with the toner, the molten toner adheres to the heat roller 20, and the heat roller 20 is stained and the stain on the next sheet is transferred, which causes stain on the sheet.
Similarly, the stains on the heat roller 20 are also transferred to the pressure roller 21, and the pressure roller 21 stains the back surface of the paper, and particularly in double-sided printing, the back surface of the paper is also printed, which deteriorates the print quality.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7A, conventionally, a fixed cleaner 23 such as felt is attached to the heat roller 2.
A method of bringing the toner into contact with 0 and wiping off the adhered toner with the cleaner 23 has been adopted.

However, in such a method, since the contact surface of the cleaner 23 with the heat roller 20 is limited and small, the life of the cleaner 23 is short and it is necessary to replace it frequently. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7B, there has been proposed a cleaning roller type in which the cleaner 23 has a roller shape and the bearing 24 of the support frame (frame) 25 is rotatably provided.

According to this method, the contact area can be made large and the life of the cleaner can be greatly extended.

[0011]

However, the prior art has the following problems. 7A can be replaced freely, but the life of the cleaner is short and it is necessary to replace it frequently.

On the other hand, in the case of FIG. 7B, although the cleaner has a long life, it is difficult to replace the cleaner 23 because the bearing 24 is required to rotate the cleaner 23 and the bearing 24 is attached to the support frame 25.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a heat roller fixing device which has a long cleaner life and can be freely replaced. It is another object of the present invention to provide a heat roller fixing device which has a simple structure, has a long cleaner life, and can be freely replaced.

[0014]

FIG. 1 shows the principle of the present invention. According to the first aspect of the present invention, the sheet PP carrying a toner image is passed between the heat roller 20 and the pressure roller 21 to thermally fix the toner on the sheet PP, and the heat roller 20 is used as a cleaning roller. In a heat roller fixing device for cleaning with 23, a bearing 24a is provided on at least one of the shafts of the cleaning roller 23, a receiving hole 26a and a locking member 27 are provided in one supporting frame 25a, and the bearing is inserted through the receiving hole 26a. The bearing 24a of the cleaning roller 23 is locked by the locking member 27.

According to claim 2 of the present invention, in claim 1,
A groove 240 is provided in the bearing 24a of the cleaning roller 23 to engage with the locking member 27.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, a bearing 24b is provided on the other side of the shaft of the cleaning roller 23, and the bearing 24b is provided on the other support frame 25b.
Is provided with a holding member 28 for holding.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, a bearing 24b is provided on the other support frame 25b,
It is characterized in that the other side of the shaft of the cleaning roller 23 is supported.

[0017]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the cleaning roller 2
Since the bearing 24a is provided on the third side and the cleaning roller 23 can be freely exchanged, and the receiving hole 26a is provided in the support frame 25a, the cleaning roller 23 can be replaced by being inserted into and removed from the receiving hole 26a.

Moreover, the support frame 25a is attached to the locking member 2
7, the bearing 24a of the cleaning roller 23 is fixed, so that the cleaning roller 23 can be fixed even if it is replaceable, and stable cleaning operation can be performed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the cleaning roller 24a is provided with the groove 240 so as to engage with the locking member 27, the fixing is more reliable. In the third aspect of the present invention, the bearing 24 is also provided on the other side of the cleaning roller 23.
Since b is provided and held by the holding member 28 of the other support frame 25b, the other side of the shaft of the cleaning roller 23 can be held reliably.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the bearing 24b is provided on the other support frame 25b, and the cleaning roller 2 is provided.
Since the other side of the shaft of 3 is supported, the other side of the shaft can be supported with a simple structure.

[0021]

【Example】

(a) Description of First Embodiment FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, showing an electrophotographic printer.

In FIG. 2, the same components as those shown in FIG. 6 are designated by the same reference numerals, and 22 is a separation claw, which mechanically separates the paper attracted to the heat roller 20. ..

In this embodiment, the transfer charger 36 transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 31 onto the sheet sent by the abutting roller (standby roller) 35, and then the separating charger 37 separates the sheet from the photosensitive drum 31. And sends it to the heat roller fixing device 2.

In the heat roller fixing device 2, the sheet is sandwiched between the rotating heat roller 20 and the backup roller 21 and sent to heat-fix the toner on the sheet, and the heat roller 20 is cleaned by the cleaning roller 23 to remove the adhered toner. ..

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a main part of a first embodiment of the present invention. 3 and 4
As shown in FIG. 2, a support frame 2 that supports the heat roller 20.
5a and 25b have receiving holes 2 for the cleaning roller 23.
6a and 26b are provided, and one support frame 2
5a includes a locking member 2 composed of a V-shaped spring member.
7 is provided, and a holding member 28 is provided in the receiving hole 26b of the other support frame 25b.

On the other hand, bearings 24 rotatably supporting the cleaner shaft 23a are provided at both ends of the cleaning roller 23.
a and 24b are provided, and one bearing 24a is
A groove 240 is provided, an E-shaped ring 24d is provided on the shaft 23a to serve as a stopper, and a groove portion 243 is also provided to the other bearing 24b.

In FIG. 4, one end of the locking member 27 is attached to one support frame 25a, the other is free, and the locking member 27 is constituted by a V-shaped spring and engages with the groove 240 of the bearing 24a.

The bearing 24a is provided with a stopper 241 for restricting the movement of the cleaner shaft 23a to the left in the figure and restricting the movement of the cleaner shaft 23a to the right in the figure by the E-shaped ring.

The holding member 28 provided on the other support frame 25b has four elastic ribs 28a as shown in FIG. 4B, and as shown in FIG. 4A. A protrusion 28b is provided inside the rib 28a.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4C, the rib 28a of the holding member 28 is pushed out by the bearing 24b, and the projection 28b is inserted into the groove 243 of the bearing 24b to hold the bearing 24b.

This operation will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning roller 2 having bearings 24a and 24b at both ends.
3 is inserted from the receiving hole 26a of the one support frame 25a, the bearing 24b of the cleaning roller 23 pushes the rib 28a of the holding member 28 of the receiving hole 26b to extend the protrusion 28b in the other support frame 25b. The groove portion 243 of the groove 24b is inserted and held.

At the same time, one support frame 25a
At, the locking member 27 enters the groove 240 of the bearing 24a and holds the bearing 24a. In this manner, the bearings 24a and 24b at both ends of the cleaning roller 23 are held by the support frames 25a and 25b, and the heating roller 20 can be cleaned by rotating the cleaning roller 23.

On the other hand, the cleaning roller 23 having bearings 24a and 24b at both ends is attached to one supporting frame 25a.
Of the other support frame 25b when pulled out from the receiving hole 26a of
In, the protrusion 28b is pushed up by the tapered surface of the groove 243 of the bearing 24b of the cleaning roller 23,
The rib 28a of the holding member 28 of the receiving hole 26b is pushed out to release the engagement.

At the same time, one support frame 25a
At, the locking member 27 is pushed up by the tapered surface of the groove 240 of the bearing 24a to release the engagement. In this way, the cleaning roller 23 has bearings 24a and 24b.
By providing the above, the cleaning roller 23 can be replaced freely, and the cleaning roller 23 having a long life can be easily replaced.

Further, since the support member 25 is provided on one of the support frames 25a to hold the bearing 24a, and the holding member 28 is provided on the other support frame 25b to hold the bearing 24b, the cleaning roller 23 is supported. Frame 25
It can be fixed to a and 25b.

(B) Description of the Second Embodiment FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the same components as those shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 are represented by the same symbols, 24c is a bearing, the one provided on the other support frame 25b, and 23b is a shaft tip,
It has a sharp tip.

In this embodiment, in the other support frame 25b in FIG. 3, a bearing 24c is provided instead of the receiving hole 26b and the holding member 28, and a shaft tip 23b is provided on the other side of the cleaner shaft 23a.

To explain this operation, as shown in FIG. 5, when the cleaning roller 23 having the bearing 24a at one end and the shaft tip 23c at the other end is inserted from the receiving hole 26a of the one support frame 25a, the other support frame 25a is inserted. At 25b, the shaft tip 23b of the cleaning roller 23 enters and is held by the bearing 24c.
At a, the locking member 27 enters the groove 240 of the bearing 24a and holds the bearing 24a.

In this way, the cleaning roller 23
Both ends of are supported by both support frames 25a and 25b,
The heating roller 20 can be cleaned by rotating the cleaning roller 23.

On the other hand, when the cleaning roller 23 is pulled out from the receiving hole 26a of the one support frame 25a, the shaft tip 23b of the other support frame 25b is replaced by the bearing 24.
While being separated from c, the locking member 27 is pushed up by the tapered surface of the groove 240 of the bearing 24a in one of the support frames 25a to release the engagement.

Even in this way, the cleaning roller 2
3 can be replaced freely, and the configuration can be simplified. (c) Description of Other Embodiments In addition to the above embodiments, the present invention can be modified as follows.

In the above embodiment, the printing mechanism 3 was described as an electrophotographic mechanism, but it can also be used as a printing mechanism for transferring a toner image (for example, an electrostatic recording mechanism or the like). The sheet PP is not limited to paper, and other medium can be used.

Although the image recording apparatus has been described using the printer,
It may be another image recording device such as a copying machine or a facsimile. Although the cleaning roller is provided on the heat roller, it may be provided on the pressure roller.

The present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments.
Various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, and these modifications are not excluded from the scope of the invention.

[0045]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It has the following effects. A bearing 24a is provided on the cleaning roller 23 side so that the cleaning roller 23 can be freely replaced, and the support frame 2
Since the receiving hole 26a is provided in 5a, the cleaning roller 23 can be inserted into and removed from the receiving hole 26a and replaced.

In addition, since the support frame 25a is provided with the locking member 27 to fix the bearing 24a of the cleaning roller 23, the cleaning roller 23 can be fixed even if it is freely replaceable, and stable cleaning operation can be performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a main part of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram (1) of a conventional technique.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram (part 2) of the conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Heat Roller Fixing Device 20 Heat Roller 21 Pressure Roller 22 Separation Claw 23 Cleaning Roller 23a Cleaner Shaft 24a, 24b, 24c Bearing 25a, 25b Support Frame (Frame) 26a, 26b Receiving Hole 27 Locking Member 28 Holding Member 31 Photosensitive Drum (Image bearing member) 32 Charging device 33 Optical unit 34 Developing device 35 Standby roller 36 Transfer charging device 37 Separation charging device 240 Groove 243 Groove part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A heat roller (20) and a pressure roller (2)
1), the sheet (PP) holding the toner image is passed therethrough to thermally fix the toner on the sheet (PP), and the heating roller (20) is attached to the cleaning roller (23).
In the heat roller fixing device for cleaning by means of the above, at least one of the shafts of the cleaning roller (23) is provided with a bearing (24a), and one supporting frame (25a)
The receiving hole (26a) and the locking member (27) are provided in the cleaning roller (2) inserted through the receiving hole (26a).
A heat roller fixing device characterized in that the bearing (24a) of 3) is locked by the locking member (27). 2. A groove (240) is provided in a bearing (24a) of the cleaning roller (23), and the locking member (2) is provided.
7. The heat roller fixing device according to claim 1, which is engaged with 7). 3. A bearing (24b) is provided on the other side of the shaft of the cleaning roller (23), and a holding member (28) for holding the bearing (24b) is provided on the other support frame (25b). Claim 1 or 2 characterized
Heat roller fixing device. 4. The heat roller fixing device according to claim 1, wherein a bearing (24b) is provided on the other support frame (25b) to support the other of the shafts of the cleaning roller (23).