JPH0571852U - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] Development due to non-uniform heat transfer to the photosensitive member due to foreign matter adhering to the photosensitive member or dust floating around the photosensitive member adhering to the photosensitive member heating section. Prevent unevenness. [Structure] When the cleaning material 14 is pressed against the surface of the heat developing roller 26 of the heat developing device 13 and the photosensitive member 8 is conveyed through the guide roller 27, the heat developing roller 26, and the guide roller 28, the surface of the heat developing roller 26. The foreign matter, dust, and the like transferred and adhered to are removed by the wiping action of the cleaning material 14.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a copying machine, a printer or the like using a photosensitive transfer type photosensitive member.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 A wide variety of image forming methods and apparatuses are known, and as a conventional example of an image forming apparatus using a photosensitive transfer type heat developing material, there is, for example, JP-A-62-147461. it can. According to this publication, the main mechanical parts such as the exposing part, the heat developing part, and the pressure transferring part are formed inside one constituent body in the apparatus, and the image formation is performed by the following procedure.

First, a roll-shaped photosensitive transfer type heat-developable material is cut into a predetermined length and then imagewise exposed to form a latent image. Next, thermal development is performed with a heating roller. After that, the photosensitive member and the image receiving paper are superposed and pressure-transferred by the rollers, and the separating member discharges the photosensitive member to the sensitive material discarding portion and the image receiving paper to the tray via the fixing device.

[0004]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, in the above-described conventional technique, when the photosensitive member passes while contacting on the photosensitive member heating part of the thermal development part, foreign matter adhering to the photosensitive member or dust floating around is exposed to the photosensitive member. Since it adheres to the member heating portion and heat transfer to the photosensitive member becomes non-uniform, there is a drawback that uneven development occurs.

The present invention solves the above problems in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to remove foreign matters adhering to a heating portion of a photosensitive member and maintain uniform heat transfer to the photosensitive member. Accordingly, it is to provide an image forming apparatus having no development unevenness.

[0006]

An image forming apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that a photosensitive transfer type heat developing material is used, and a cleaning unit is provided in a heating unit of a photosensitive member in the heat developing apparatus.

[0007]

【Example】

 The image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view of a copying machine showing an embodiment of the present invention. First, the operation of the copying machine will be described.

A document 2 is loaded on a document table 1 movably provided in the direction of arrow A in the figure, and the light beams emitted from the red lamp 3, the green lamp 4 and the blue lamp 5 as light sources are the documents. 2 is irradiated, and the reflected light from the document 2 is formed so as to form an image on the photosensitive member 8 that moves on the exposure table 7 through the lens 6, forming a so-called scan exposure system.

The continuous sheet-shaped photosensitive member 8 sent out from the cartridge 15 containing the unexposed photosensitive member 8 is exposed on the exposure table 7 to form a latent image, and then passes through the conveying roller 9. It is heat-developed by the heat developing device 13. The cleaning material 14 is pressed against the surface of the heat developing roller 26.

On the other hand, the cut sheet-shaped transfer member 11 stored in the paper feed tray 10 is sent out by the paper feed device 12, and is superposed on the photosensitive member 8 in synchronization with the image area formed on the photosensitive member 8. The pressure is transferred by the pressure transfer device 15 of the roller pressure type. The pressure unit of the pressure transfer device 15 is composed of three rollers, an upper roller 16, a middle roller 17, and a lower roller 18, and pressure transfer is performed between the upper roller 16 and the middle roller 17.

After that, the transfer member 11 is separated from the photosensitive member 8 by the separation roller 19 and is discharged to the paper discharge tray 21 through the conveying roller 20. The photosensitive member 8 promotes the conveyance and separation of the photosensitive member 8. It is wound around the winding shaft 23 via the pinch roller 22.

Reference numeral 24 is a manual sheet feeding port, and 25 is a gas filter for removing gas generated in the machine.

Next, a heat developing apparatus which is a feature of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 2 is a structural view showing the heat developing device of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1, and the heat developing device 13 is composed of a heat developing roller 26, a cleaning material 14, and guide rollers 27, 28. . The heat developing roller 26 and the guide rollers 27 and 28 are rotatably supported by the heat developing device 13 and rotate as the photosensitive member 8 is conveyed. The cleaning material 14 is made of felt or a heat-resistant member that forms a porous surface such as foam, and is in contact with at least the tangent line or the entire surface of the heat developing roller 26.

When the heat developing roller 26 rotates as the photosensitive member 8 is conveyed, foreign matter adhering to the photosensitive member 8 or dust floating around is transferred to the surface of the heat developing roller 26 or Adhere to. When the photosensitive member 8 is continuously conveyed, the portion where the heat developing roller 26 and the photosensitive member 8 are in contact with each other is separated, and when the photosensitive member 8 is further conveyed, foreign matter or dust is attached to the surface of the heat developing roller 26. In this state, the surface of the photosensitive member 8 tries to contact again. The cleaning material 14 is arranged at a position immediately before the photosensitive member 8 and the surface of the heat developing roller 26 are in contact with each other, and removes foreign matters and dust adhering to the surface of the heat developing roller 26 by the wiping action of the porous surface of the cleaning material 14. Remove.

In this embodiment, an example in which a member forming a porous surface is used as the cleaning material has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the peeling action by the edge of rubber, plastic, metal plate or the like is used. However, there is a similar effect. FIG. 3 is a structural diagram showing an example thereof. The cleaning blade 29 is made of a material such as rubber, plastic, or a metal plate, and the edge processed into the shape of a cutting tool is pressed against the tangent line of the heat developing roller 26 with no gap. The foreign matter and dust adhering to the surface of the heat developing roller 26 as the photosensitive member 8 is conveyed comes into contact with the edge of the cleaning blade 29, so that the shearing force is generated between the surface of the heat developing roller 26 and the foreign matter and dust. The peeling operation removes foreign matter and dust adhering to the surface of the heat developing roller 26.

Further, the thermal developing apparatus 13 of this example is characterized in that it is heated at a high temperature of about 80 to 200 ° C. Therefore, the cleaning material 14 and the cleaning blade 29 must stably remove foreign matters and the like at high temperatures. Therefore, in addition to its heat resistance, it is necessary to consider wear resistance and thermal deformation. In addition, the mechanical portion that holds the cleaning material 14 and the like must also have durability against heat.

It should be noted that foreign matters and the like attached to the heat developing roller 26 are not so much in number, and the cleaning material 14 does not always have to be in contact with the heat developing roller 26. Occasionally, it is sufficient to perform cleaning only once. Therefore, when considering the influence of this heat, the cleaning material 14 and the like may be retracted from the heat developing roller 26 when cleaning is unnecessary such as during standby. .

In the present embodiment, the copying machine has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that it can be applied to all image forming apparatuses such as printers, facsimiles, and electronic cameras. Absent.

[0021]

[Effect of the device]

 As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, since the cleaning unit is provided in the photosensitive member heating unit in the thermal developing device, foreign matter adhering to the photosensitive member or dust floating around the photosensitive member is provided. Etc. are removed and heat is uniformly transferred to the photosensitive member, so that there is an effect that uneven development can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of the heat developing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of another embodiment of the heat developing apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Original Plate 2 Original 3 Red Lamp 4 Green Lamp 5 Blue Lamp 6 Lens 7 Exposure Plate 8 Photosensitive Member 9, 20 Conveying Roller 10 Paper Tray 11 Transfer Member 12 Paper Feeding Device 13 Heat Developing Device 14 Cleaning Material 15 Pressure Transfer Device 16 Upper roller 17 Middle roller 18 Lower roller 19 Separation roller 21 Paper ejection tray 22 Pinch roller 23 Winding shaft 24 Manual paper feed port 25 Gas filter 26 Thermal development roller 27, 28 Guide roller 29 Cleaning blade

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An exposure device that exposes the photosensitive member, and a heat developing device that heats the photosensitive member, using a photosensitive member having microcapsules in which at least a photosensitive substance and a coloring material are encapsulated on a support. An image forming apparatus comprising: a photosensitive member and a pressure transfer device for superimposing and pressing the transfer member, wherein cleaning means is provided in a photosensitive member heating portion of the heat developing device.