JPH061486A - Transport device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate interference between sucked air and air flowing on the outside of a suction port to prevent a sucking force from lowering by providing a member for preventing turbulence of air to be sucked between a frame body with a vent hole and a sucking means. CONSTITUTION:A transfer material on which a toner image is transferred is sucked by a suction force of a axial-flow fan 10 through holes in transport belts 11a and 11b that coincide with openings 16a and 16b in a frame 16, held closely on the outer surface of the transport belts 11a and 11b, and moved integrally to a fixing device. In this case, because a suction port 74 of the fan 10 is divided into areas A and B including the openings 16a and 16b in the frame 16 and an area C including a non-opened section 16c by partitions 27 and 28, air flow in the A and B areas flowing into the opening of the fan 10 through the openings 16a and 16b in the frame 16 and air flow in the C area in turbulent condition do not interfere with each other. For this, turbulence of air flow in the A and B areas required for sucking of the transfer material can be prevented, and a suction force of the fan 10 can be increased while maintaining a transfer function.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is generally applicable to a sheet-shaped transfer material conveyed from an image forming position to a fixing position in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic type or an electrostatic recording type. The present invention relates to a carrier device used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 is a front view of a conventional conveying apparatus, and FIG. 7 is a plan view. The endless conveyor belt 100 is a roller 10.
1. It is wound around the rollers 102 and 103. The transport belt 100 is provided with a large number of ventilation holes 104 penetrating in the thickness direction.

A suction means 10 is provided inside the conveyor belt 100.
5 is provided. The suction means 105 has an upward suction port 106.
And a fan 107. Fan 107 is blade 1
11 and a boss 112.

Further, the conveyor belt 100 and the suction means 105
And the above, ie, above the suction means 105, the plate-shaped frame 1
08 is provided. The frame 108 is for preventing the conveyor belt 100 from vibrating and bending, and has a vent 109.

The suction port 106 and the ventilation port 109 may not coincide with each other due to the installation space of the conveyor belt 100 and peripheral components.

In the above structure, the fan 107 is operated to suck the air above the conveyor belt 100 into the suction port 106 through the ventilation hole 104 and the ventilation hole 109, and the transfer material 110 as an article is adsorbed onto the conveyor belt 100. Retained.
Then, the conveyance belt 100 is moved by the rotation of the roller 101, so that the conveyance belt 100 is conveyed leftward in the drawing.

[0007]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, the sucked air collides with the boss 112 in the central region of the suction port 106 to generate a turbulent flow, which flows outside the suction port 106. Since it interferes with the air, the suction force is reduced.

As a result, the holding force with respect to the transfer material 110 is reduced, and there is a fear that conveyance failure may occur.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a carrier device capable of preventing sucked air from becoming a turbulent flow between a frame and a suction means.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a transfer device in which the suction force of air by the suction means is further improved.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, a conveyor belt is provided on the surface of which an article is placed to move, and a ventilation hole is formed through the conveyor belt in the thickness direction so as to face the back surface of the conveyor belt. A suction device for sucking air is provided at a position, and a frame having a ventilation hole extending from the back surface side of the conveyor belt to the suction means is provided between the conveyor belt and the conveyor means. A turbulent flow prevention member that prevents the air sucked by the suction means from becoming a turbulent flow is provided between the suction means and the suction means.

The suction means has a suction port, and the suction port and the ventilation port are connected by a duct.

Further, the suction means has a discharge port for discharging the sucked air, and a regulating member for regulating the flow rate of the discharged air is provided near the outside of the discharge port.

Further, a conveyor belt on which an article is placed and moved, and a ventilation hole penetrating the conveyor belt in the thickness direction.
A transport device having suction means for sucking air at a position facing the back surface of the transport belt, characterized in that a regulation member for regulating the flow rate of the discharged air is provided in front of the discharge port of the suction means. .

Furthermore, the suction means is an axial flow fan.

[0016]

The air on the surface side of the conveyor belt is sucked by the suction means through the ventilation hole and the ventilation hole. As a result, the article is conveyed while being suction-held by the conveyor belt.
Turbulence of air between the vent and the suction means is prevented by the turbulence prevention member, and the suction force is improved.

Further, since the air passing through the ventilation port is guided to the suction means by the duct, the suction force is further improved.

Further, since the flow rate of the air discharged from the discharge port of the suction means is regulated, the amount of air discharged from the discharge port and the amount of sucked air are reduced, and the static pressure before and after the suction means rises, The negative pressure on the suction side increases. Therefore, the suction force is improved.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic front sectional view of a carrying device according to the present invention, showing a case where the present invention is applied to a transfer material carrying system of an electrophotographic copying machine.

In FIG. 1, a photosensitive drum 1 rotatably supported at its center and rotating in the direction of an arrow, and a transfer roller 2 composed of an elastic member rotatably supported and driven by the photosensitive drum 1 to rotate. Image forming means 7 having
The transport device 30 is disposed between 0 and the fixing device 71 that includes the heat roller 3 that is rotatably supported and rotates in the direction of the arrow, and the pressure roller 4 that is rotated by the heat roller 3.

Here, the toner image formed on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred onto the transfer material P as the transfer material P passes through the nip portion formed by the photosensitive drum 1 and the transfer roller 2. , The transfer material P on which the toner image is transferred
Is transported to the fixing device 71 by the transfer material transport device 30.

At this time, the transfer material P is guided to the nip portion between the heat roller 3 and the pressure roller 4 by the fixing entrance guide 5, and when the transfer material P passes through the nip portion, the heat and pressure of the heat roller 3 are applied. The toner image is fixed on the transfer material P by the pressure of the roller 4.

Further, the transfer material conveying device 30 will be described in detail. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the side plate 72 of the plate-shaped frame 16 provided substantially horizontally has a shaft 1 that rotates in the direction of the arrow.
Pulleys 13a and 13b that rotate coaxially with the two, and a driven roller 14 that is rotatably supported by a frame 16;
15a and 15b are attached.

The pulleys 13a and 13b and the driven roller 14,
Two conveyor belts 11a,
11b is wound and runs endlessly as the pulleys 13a and 13b rotate. Conveyor belt 11
Vent holes 73 are provided in a and 11b so as to penetrate in the thickness direction.

Further, a transport rib 25 is provided substantially in the center of the frame 16, and a passage sensor 17 for detecting the transfer material P is disposed in an opening provided in the transport rib 25 so that the transfer material P passes through. Occasionally, the photointerrupter 1 is used to prevent the transfer material P from passing by moving from the position of the broken line to the position of the solid line.
8 can detect.

Further, the frame 16 includes a conveyor belt 11a,
There are openings 16a and 16b as two ventilation holes in a region facing the back surface of 11b.

On the other hand, an axial fan 10 as a suction means is provided on the inner peripheral surfaces of the conveyor belts 11a and 11b.
A substantially circular suction port 74 is arranged on the upper surface of the casing 75 of the axial fan 10. A fan 78 having blades 77 attached around a boss 76 is housed in the casing 75.

The frame 16 has an axial fan 10
A duct 20 having a shape surrounding the suction port and the openings 16a and 16b of the frame 16 is fixed. Also, the duct 20
The opening on the frame 16 side of the
Areas including a and 16b, and non-opening portion (rib 25, downward)
Partition plate 2 as a partition member that is divided into regions including only
7, 28 are provided.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a substantially circular discharge port 79 is provided on the lower surface of the casing 75 of the axial fan 10. Further, below the discharge port 79, a shield plate 21 is attached to the duct 20 by a band 21a as a control means for shielding the central area Z of the fan 78 corresponding to the motor.

Here, the casing 75 is fixed to the shield plate 21, and when the shield plate 21 is positioned in the duct 20, it is positioned with respect to the duct 20 and the frame 16.

In such a conveying device 30, the transfer material P on which the toner image is transferred by the image forming means 70.
Is the conveyor belts 11a and 11b overlapping the openings 16a and 16b of the frame 16 by the suction force of the axial fan 10.
Is sucked through the holes, is held in close contact with the outer peripheral surfaces of the conveyor belts 11a and 11b, moves integrally with the conveyor belts 11a and 11b, and is conveyed to the fixing device 71.

At this time, the suction port 74 of the fan 10 is opened by the partition plates 27 and 28 to the openings 16a and 16 of the frame 16.
Since the regions A and B including b and the region C including the non-opening portion 16c are divided, the opening portions 16a and
Since the airflows in the A and B areas flowing into the opening of the fan 10 through 16b do not interfere with the airflows in the turbulent C area, the airflows in the A and B areas required for sucking the transfer material P are Disturbance can be prevented.

Therefore, the transport function of the transfer material P can be maintained. Further, since the sucked air is guided to the suction port 74 by the duct 20, the suction force of the axial fan 10 is further improved.

Generally, regarding the relationship between the air volume and the static pressure in an axial fan, when the voltage value is constant, as shown in FIG. 5, the static pressure rises as the air volume decreases. Therefore, the static pressure is increased by restricting the flow rate of the air discharged from the discharge port 79 by the shield plate 21, and the negative pressure in the front area of the suction port 74 is increased accordingly, so that the suction force of the axial fan 10 is increased. Further improvement The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, even when the opening of the frame 16 is one or three or more, if there is a non-opening on the front surface of the fan suction port, the fan suction is performed. By dividing the space on the front surface of the mouth into a region including an opening and a region including only a non-opening, it is possible to prevent a decrease in suction force.

The same effect can be obtained for the shield plate on the discharge port side as long as it has a shape that can regulate the flow rate of exhaust gas from the discharge port.

The present invention can also be applied to printers and the like.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention, the turbulent flow of the air sucked by the suction means can be prevented and the suction force can be maintained. Therefore, the transportability can be maintained.

Further, since the sucked air is guided by the duct, the suction force of the suction means is improved.

Furthermore, since the negative pressure on the suction port side rises, the suction force is further improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a copying machine.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the axial fan of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the air volume and static pressure in an axial fan.

FIG. 6 is a front sectional view of a conventional example.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11a, 11b Conveyor belts 16a, 16b Openings (vents) 73 Vents 20 Ducts 16 Frames (frames) 21 Shields (regulators) 10 Axial fans (suctions) 79 Discharge ports

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A suction belt for sucking air is provided at a position facing a rear surface of the transport belt, the transport belt having an article mounted on the front surface and moving, provided with a ventilation hole penetrating the transport belt in a thickness direction. In a carrying device provided with a frame body having a ventilation port extending from the back side of the carrying belt to the suction means side between the carrying belt and the suction means, the suction means is provided between the frame body and the suction means. A transport device comprising a turbulent flow prevention member for preventing sucked air from becoming a turbulent flow. 2. The transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the suction means has a suction port, and the suction port and the ventilation port are connected by a duct. 3. The suction means has a discharge port for discharging the sucked air, and a regulating member for regulating the flow rate of the discharged air is provided near the outside of the discharge port.
The transport device described. 4. A conveyor having a conveyor belt for moving an article on a front surface thereof, a ventilation hole penetrating the conveyor belt in a thickness direction, and a suction unit for sucking air at a position facing a back surface of the conveyor belt. In the apparatus, a regulation device that regulates a flow rate of the discharged air is provided on a front surface of the ejection port of the suction unit. 5. The transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the suction means is an axial fan.