JPH06218981A - Recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a recording apparatus with the capacity of achieving stable recording at all times by precluding accumulation of toner to the control electrodes and the like of toner flow control means. CONSTITUTION:An opposite electrode 6 1s fixed to the end of a bar 32 that can swing. On the other end of the bar 32, a brush roller 31 that can swing is secured as cleaning means. The brush roller 31 is provided in a manner being in contact with the control electrodes 3 arranged around the opening 4 of aperture electrodes 1 through a swing of the bar 32 at 180 degrees.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a copying machine, a printer,
The present invention relates to a recording device applied to a facsimile or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of recording apparatus has a toner flow control means having an opening and a control electrode around the opening, and a toner supply device for supplying toner to the toner flow control means. , A counter electrode for attracting the charged toner, which has passed through the opening of the toner flow control means, onto the support. When a toner passing voltage having a polarity opposite to the charging polarity of the toner is applied to the control electrode of the toner flow control means, the toner passes through the opening. Further, when a voltage having a polarity opposite to the charging polarity of the toner is applied to the control electrode of the toner flow control means, the toner does not pass through the opening. As mentioned above,
By the voltage applied to the control electrode of the toner flow control means,
Recording is achieved by controlling the passage of toner through the openings.

[0003]

However, in the conventional recording apparatus as described above, all the toner passing through the opening of the toner flow control means does not fly toward the counter electrode, and a part of the toner is controlled. It adheres to the electrode surface. When a large amount of toner adheres to the control electrode or the like, the toner that has passed through the opening is prevented from smoothly flying to the counter electrode. Further, finally, there is a problem that the opening is clogged with the toner.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and stable recording is always achieved by preventing the accumulation of toner on the control electrodes of the toner flow control means. The purpose of the present invention is to provide such a recording device.

[0005]

In order to achieve this object, a recording apparatus of the present invention comprises a toner flow control means having a toner passage portion, and a toner supply for supplying the charged toner to the toner flow control means. It is characterized in that it comprises a device and a counter electrode arranged to face the toner flow control means, and has a cleaning means for removing toner adhering to the periphery of the toner passage portion.

[0006]

According to the recording apparatus of the present invention having the above structure, the cleaning means removes the toner adhering to the periphery of the toner passage portion of the toner flow control means.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

An insertion port 21 and an ejection port 22 are provided on the side of the device exterior 26, and inside the device, an aperture electrode 1 as a toner flow control means and a counter electrode 6 are provided.
And a toner supply device 10.

As shown in detail in FIG. 2, the aperture electrode 1 is provided with a large number of control electrodes 3 on the upper surface of the insulating layer 2, and is further provided in rows so as to penetrate the aperture electrode 1. It has a large number of openings 4. Each control electrode 3
Are arranged around the opening 4. The insulating layer 2 has a thickness of 2
It is made of a polymer resin film of 5 μm, for example, polyimide. The control electrode 3 is composed of a metal film having a thickness of 1 μm, for example, copper formed by a sputtering method. The opening 4 is a through hole having a hole diameter of about 80 μm. Each control electrode 3 is connected to the image signal supply device 5, respectively.

The aperture electrode 1 is supported by a table 8.

A toner supply device 10 is provided below the aperture electrode 1. The toner supply device 10 is covered with a toner case 15 and includes a rotatable toner carrying roller 11, a rotatable supply roller 12, and a blade 13. The toner 14 is stored inside the toner case 15. The supply roller 12 is for supplying the toner 14 to the toner carrying roller 11. The blade 13 is a toner carrying roller 11
It is installed in pressure contact with. The toner carrying roller 11 is in contact with the aperture electrode 1.

A counter electrode 6 is arranged above the aperture electrode 1. Further, a space of, for example, 1 mm is provided between the counter electrode 6 and the aperture electrode 1 so that the support P can pass therethrough. A voltage of plus 1 kilovolt is applied to the counter electrode 6 by the power supply 7. The counter electrode 6 is attached to an end portion of the bar 32 which is rotationally driven by a rotational driving means such as a well-known motor. A brush roller 31 as a cleaning unit is rotatably provided at the other end of the bar 32. The brush roller 31 is provided so as to come into contact with the control electrode 3 provided around the opening 4 of the aperture electrode 1 when the bar 32 is driven to rotate by 180 degrees.

The support P is conveyed from the insertion opening 21 to the counter electrode 6 by a pair of guide rollers 23. After passing through the counter electrode 6, the support P is conveyed to a position between the heat roller 24 having a heat source inside and the press roller 25, and the toner on the support is thermally fixed. There is.

Next, the operation of the recording apparatus configured as described above will be described.

During a normal recording operation, the bar 32 is in the state shown in FIG. 1, and the counter electrode 6 is in a state of facing the control electrode 3.

In the toner supply device 10, the toner 14 stored in the toner case 15 is supplied to the toner carrying roller 11 by the supply roller 12. At this place
The toner 14 includes a supply roller 12 and a toner carrying roller 11.
By and, they contact and rub and become negatively charged. The charged toner 14 is conveyed to the opening 4 of the aperture electrode 1 via the blade 13 by the rotation of the toner carrying roller 11. The toner 14 carried on the toner carrying roller 11 by the blade 13 is
The toner layer has a thin and uniform thickness.

The negatively charged toner 14 supplied to the opening 4 of the aperture electrode 1 is opened by the voltage applied from the image signal supply device 5 to the control electrode 3 so that the opening 4 is provided corresponding to the control electrode 3. Controlled passage. More specifically, when a voltage of plus 75 V is applied as the toner passing voltage from the image signal supply device 5 to the control electrode 3, it is between the toner carrying roller 11 and the control electrode 3 which are grounded, that is, the control. In the inside of the opening 4 corresponding to the electrode, an electric field is generated so that the negatively charged toner 14 can pass through the opening 4, and the toner 14 stays in the opening 4.
Pass through.

When a voltage of minus 75 V is applied to the control electrode 23 as a toner shielding voltage from the image signal supply device 5, it is between the toner carrying roller 11 and the control electrode 3 which are grounded, that is, the opening. Inside the toner 4, toner 14 that is negatively charged is prevented from passing through the opening 4, and an electric field is generated, so that the toner 14 does not pass through the opening 4.

The support P inserted into the apparatus through the insertion port 21 is conveyed to the counter electrode 6 by a pair of guide rollers 23.

A voltage of plus 1 kilovolt is applied to the counter electrode 6 by the power supply 7. By applying this voltage, an electric field is formed between the counter electrode 6 and the aperture electrode 1, and the toner 14 that has passed through the opening 4 of the aperture electrode 1 along this electric field is attracted to the counter electrode 6. Then, the toner 14 is applied to the conveyed support P. Then, the toner images are formed on the support P by sequentially conveying the support.

After that, the support P is conveyed toward the take-out port 22, and the heat roller 24 and the press roller 25 are used.
The toner image on the support P is heat-fixed by being sandwiched by and.

The support P on which the toner image has been heat-fixed is conveyed to the take-out port 22 and taken out.

After the recording of one sheet is completed, as shown in FIG.
Rotate once. Then, the brush roller 31 provided at the other end of the bar 32 comes into contact with the control electrode provided around the opening of the aperture electrode 1. In this state, the brush roller 31 rotates to remove the toner attached on the control electrode. As a result, the toner adhering to the control electrodes is removed every time one recording is completed, and when the next recording is performed,
The flying of the toner that has passed through the opening is not obstructed.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
Since the toner is prevented from accumulating on the control electrode of the toner flow control means, a recording apparatus is provided in which stable recording is always achieved.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described in detail above, and modifications can be easily made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, by applying a voltage opposite to the charging polarity of the toner to the brush roller 31, the toner can be efficiently removed.

Although the cleaning means is a brush roller in this embodiment, the cleaning means is not limited to this.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a spatula 35 can be provided as a cleaning means. Spatula 35
It is effective to attach a soft material such as rubber or brush to the tip of. It is more effective to make the entire spatula 35 conductive and apply a voltage opposite to the charging polarity of the toner to the spatula 35.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6, it is possible to provide an air flow generating means 36 as a cleaning means. It is possible to use a gas cylinder of carbon dioxide gas, chlorofluorocarbon gas, nitrogen gas or the like, or to generate an air flow by a fan or the like.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 7, it is possible to use an adhesive tape 37 as the cleaning means. It is also possible to dispose the adhesive tape from the roll on the control electrode and press the adhesive tape against the control electrode by the pressing member 38 to remove the toner.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8, the vibrating means 39 may be pressed against the aperture electrode 1 to vibrate the aperture electrode 1 to remove the toner on the control electrode.

In addition, various methods are conceivable, such as sucking in or adhering the adhered toner, wiping it with a cloth such as water or alcohol, and cleaning it.

It is also possible that the toner removed from the control electrode can be reused.

In this embodiment, the aperture electrode having the opening formed in the insulating layer is used as the toner flow control means, but it is easily understood that a mesh electrode or the like can be used.

When the control electrode is not arranged on the counter electrode side, for example, when the aperture electrode is arranged upside down, the toner adhering to the insulating layer on the counter electrode side is removed.

[0037]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the recording apparatus of the present invention, toner is prevented from accumulating on the toner flow control means, so that stable recording is always achieved. A device is provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a recording apparatus embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an aperture electrode which is an embodiment of a toner flow control means mounted in the recording apparatus embodying the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory view of the recording apparatus embodying the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Aperture Electrode 2 Insulating Layer 3 Control Electrode 4 Opening 6 Counter Electrode 10 Toner Supply Device 31 Brush Roller 35 Spatula 36 Air Flow Generating Means 37 Tape 39 Vibrating Means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A toner flow control means having a toner passage portion, a toner supply device for supplying toner charged to the toner flow control means, and a counter electrode arranged to face the toner flow control means. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cleaning unit that removes toner attached around the toner passage portion.