JPH07239635A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform image forming in the image forming condition of assuming the removal of image forming material with an image forming material removing device, with regard to an image preserving body tending to reutilizing removing the image forming material adopting the image forming material removing device so as to surely performing the removal of the image forming material with the image forming material removing device. CONSTITUTION:With regard to a matter in tentatively printing for the proofreading, etc., the image forming device is constituted so as to reduce the toner sticking quantity on a transfer paper 17 by reducing light quantity of light source 2, lowering the developing bias voltage, controlling the light emitting level of an optical writing part (LD) 7 for lowering the density of latent image written in photoreceptor 11, applying a thinning work for superimposing a specific pattern on the image in the image processing part, and reducing the toner density on the transfer paper 17.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile or a printer, and more specifically to an image information recognizing means for recognizing image information and the image information based on the image information. A developing means for forming an image with an image-forming substance, the image-forming substance forming the image formed by the developing means is adhered to the surface of the image carrier, and the image-forming substance is fused to the image carrier. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for forming an image by the image forming substance on the surface of the image carrier.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when an image or a sentence is created by using a personal computer or a word processor, the image or the sentence is once printed on a recording sheet (test printing, check printing), and the image or the sentence on the recording sheet is checked. Calibrate images and sentences displayed on the screen of a personal computer or word processor,
After that, the process of officially printing the image or the sentence on the recording paper is often performed.

On the other hand, from the viewpoint of effective utilization of natural resources, various techniques have been proposed for erasing an image from a recorded recording paper in order to reuse the recording paper used for recording an image. For example, as one using a solvent, JP-A-1-
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 101576 discloses a method of removing an image-forming substance in which a sheet having a toner attached thereto is dipped in a soluble solvent of a toner resin and ultrasonic vibration is applied to release the toner dissolved in the solvent from the surface of the sheet. . Further, as a solvent-free one, in JP-A-2-55195, a heat-meltable ink or toner is applied to a printed material having a release agent coated on a support by an electrophotographic method or a thermal transfer method,
Disclosed is a method for removing an image-forming substance, in which an ink peeling body is superposed on the printed body, passed through a heating roller and a pressure roller, cooled, and then the ink peeling body is peeled off so that the ink peeling body adheres to the ink peeling body. ing. In addition, the applicant first
At least one selected from the group consisting of water as a destabilizing agent, an aqueous solution containing a surfactant, an aqueous solution containing a water-soluble polymer, and an aqueous solution containing a surfactant and a water-soluble polymer in the recorded image carrier. A method for removing an image-forming substance is proposed, in which a certain kind of water or aqueous solution is held and a peeling member is interposed, and the image-forming substance is heat-bonded or pressure-bonded to the peeling member to peel it from the image carrier (for example, See Japanese Patent Application No. 4-255916).

Heretofore, heretofore, when an image or a sentence is created using a personal computer or a word processor as described above, the recording paper after the image or the sentence is printed and used for proofreading is subjected to the above-mentioned image formation. It is conceivable that the image or text is erased by using an image forming material removal device or the like using the material removal method, and then reused for printing the calibrated image or text.

[0005]

However, in the case of a recording paper to which an image forming substance such as toner is attached under normal image forming conditions, the image forming substance can be completely removed even by using the image forming substance removing device. There is a risk that the image-forming substance may remain on the surface without being removed.
As described above, even if the image forming substance removing device is used, if the image forming substance remains on the recording paper, the recording paper cannot be reused for printing the calibrated image or text as described above. Bad condition.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. An object of the present invention is to remove the image forming substance so that the image forming substance can be surely removed by the image forming substance removing device. For an image carrier which is to be reused after removing the image forming substance by using the image forming device, an image forming apparatus capable of forming an image under the image forming condition in which the image forming substance is easily removed by the image forming substance removing device is provided. Is to provide.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 provides image information recognition means for recognizing image information, and an image corresponding to the image information based on the image information. A developing unit formed of an image forming substance, the image forming substance forming the image formed by the developing unit is attached to the surface of the image carrier, and the image forming substance is fused to the image carrier. In an image forming apparatus for forming an image by the image forming substance on the surface of the image carrier, a first mode for forming the image under normal image forming conditions and an image for removing the image forming substance from the surface of the image carrier. The second mode in which the image is formed under an image forming condition where the image forming substance can be easily removed by the forming substance removing device can be selected.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the image information recognition means is constituted by an image reading means for reading an image on the original by irradiating the original with light. It is characterized in that the light amount of the image reading means is changed between the mode 2 and the second mode.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect, the light amount of the image reading means is reduced in the second mode as compared with the first mode. It is a thing.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the developing conditions of the developing means are changed between the first mode and the second mode.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fourth aspect, in the second mode, the developing potential of the developing means is made smaller than that in the first mode. It is a thing.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the second mode is the toner adhesion density per unit area in a part or the whole of the image formed on the surface of the image carrier. It is characterized in that it is lowered as compared with the case of the first mode.

According to a seventh aspect of the invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, in the second mode, the presence or absence of a solid image portion on the surface of the image carrier is discriminated, and the solid image portion per unit area is determined. It is characterized in that the toner adhesion density is lowered as compared with the case of the first mode.

According to an eighth aspect of the invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the image on the image carrier is formed on a part or the entire surface of the image carrier on which the image is formed in the second mode. It is characterized in that mark providing means for providing a mark indicating that the film has been formed in the second mode is provided.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the invention, for example, when forming an image that is unlikely to be removed by the image forming substance removing device in the future, or an image to be stored in the future, the first mode is selected. The image is formed on the image carrier under normal image forming conditions. On the other hand, when forming an image that is likely to be removed by the image forming substance removing device in the future, the second mode is selected, and the image holding member is formed under the image forming condition in which the image forming substance removing device can easily remove the image forming substance. Form an image on top.

In the second or third aspect of the invention, for example, when the image forming apparatus is a digital copying machine, the second mode reduces the light quantity of the image reading means as compared with the first mode. The image density on the image carrier in the second mode can be lower than that in the first mode. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of the image forming substance deposited on the image carrier in the second mode as compared with that in the first mode. When the image forming apparatus is an analog copying machine, in the second mode, the light amount of the image reading unit is set to the first value.
The image density on the image carrier in the second mode is lower than that in the first mode by increasing the image density on the image carrier in the same manner as described above. The amount of forming substances attached can be reduced.

In the invention of claim 4 or 5, the developing conditions of the developing means are changed between the first mode and the second mode. Specifically, in the second mode, the developing potential of the developing means is changed. Is smaller than that in the first mode, the image density on the image carrier in the second mode can be lower than that in the first mode. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of the image forming substance deposited on the image carrier in the second mode as compared with that in the first mode.

In the invention of claim 6, in the case of an image forming apparatus having an image processing function such as a printer or a digital copying machine, the second mode is a part of the image formed on the surface of the image carrier. Alternatively, since the toner adhesion density per unit area in the whole is reduced as compared with the case of the first mode, the amount of the image forming substance adhered on the image carrier in the second mode is smaller than that in the first mode. Can be reduced.

In the seventh aspect of the invention, in the case of an image forming apparatus having an image processing function such as a printer or a digital copying machine, the second mode determines whether or not there is a solid image portion on the surface of the image carrier. However, since the toner adhesion density per unit area of the solid image portion is reduced as compared with the case of the first mode, the adhesion amount of the image forming substance on the image carrier in the second mode is It can be reduced compared to the mode.

In the eighth aspect of the invention, the image on the image carrier is formed in the second mode on a part or the entire surface of the image carrier on which the image is formed in the second mode. A mark indicating that is given by the mark giving means.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a digital copying machine (hereinafter referred to as copying machine) which is an image forming apparatus will be described below. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a copying machine according to this embodiment. The reading device 1 uses an image of a document (not shown) on a pressure plate provided on the upper part of the copying machine as a light source 2, a mirror group 3,
An image is formed on the CCD 5 via the lens 4 and the lens 4, and the image information of the document is read and converted into electrical image information.

The writing device 6 irradiates a laser beam from an optical writing part (LD) 7 on the basis of an image signal from the reading device 1 and a line-by-line photoconductor through a polygon mirror 8, a lens 9 and a mirror 10. Write a latent image in 11. The photoconductor 11 is uniformly charged in advance by the charging device 12 before the latent image writing process.

The latent image on the photoconductor 11 is developed by the developing devices 13 and 1.
4 visualizes as a toner image. After that, the toner image is preliminarily conveyed from the paper feeding unit 15 and stands by at the position of the registration roller 16, and is transferred by the transfer device 18 onto the transfer paper 17 which is conveyed in time with the latent image.

The transfer paper 17 on which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed by the conveyor belt 19, and the toner image is fixed on the surface when passing through the pressure contact portion between the heating roller 21 and the pressure roller 22 having the heater 20 built therein. Then discharged.

After the toner image is transferred onto the transfer paper 17, the toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 11 is removed by the cleaning device 23, and the residual charge is removed by the charge removing device 24, so that the next image is formed. Be prepared for.

By the way, the transfer paper 1 on which a toner image is formed under normal image forming conditions in the copying machine having the above-mentioned structure.
In the case of No. 7, for example, the transfer paper 17 is selected from the group consisting of water as a destabilizing agent, an aqueous solution containing a surfactant, an aqueous solution containing a water-soluble polymer, and an aqueous solution containing a surfactant and a water-soluble polymer. A toner removing device using a toner removing method in which at least one kind of water or aqueous solution is held, and a peeling member is interposed, and toner is heat-bonded or pressure-bonded to the peeling member to peel from the transfer paper 17. However, the toner may not be completely removed from the transfer paper 17 by using, and the toner may remain on the transfer paper 17. If the toner remains on the surface of the transfer paper 17 after the toner removal processing is performed using the toner removal device as described above, a problem occurs when the transfer paper 17 is reused.

Therefore, the copying machine according to the present embodiment is premised on the first mode in which the image forming process is performed under the normal image forming conditions and the toner removing process in the toner removing device. The toner on the transfer paper 17
The operator selects the second mode in which the image forming process is performed under the image forming condition that can be removed from the above, and the image forming process can be performed in the selected mode.

The copying machine according to this embodiment is provided with an operation display section 30 as shown in FIG. 2, and the operation display section 30 has an operation section 30a (see FIG. 2C). Mode selection keys 31a and 31b are provided as mode switching means for selecting the first mode and the second mode. Further, on the operation unit 30a of the operation display unit 30, the mode display LEDs 32a, 3 as the display means of the mode selected by the mode selection keys 31a, 31b.
2b is provided. Further, a display panel section 30b (see FIG. 2B) of the operation display section 30 is provided with a mode display panel 32c as a mode display means. In this embodiment, the mode selection keys 31a, 31
The mode selected by b may be displayed on the touch panel LCD unit 30c (see FIG. 2A) of the operation display unit 30.

In the above structure, when an image (toner image) is to be formed on the transfer paper 17 on the assumption that the toner is removed by the toner removing device, the operator presses the mode selection key 31b to set the second mode, Confirm by display means.

In this embodiment, push switches are used as the mode selection keys 31a and 31b, but other modes may be used. Further, as will be described later, the reading device 1, the writing device 6 or the developing devices 13, 14
In the case where the first mode and the second mode are achieved by changing the image forming conditions, the operating lever or the like is provided in the vicinity of each device, and the operator operates the lever or the like to operate the mechanism. Alternatively, the image forming conditions of the individual devices may be changed. In this case, the mode display means may have the same structure as that described above, but the mode display means may be installed near the lever or the like.

Next, a method of achieving the first mode and the second mode in this embodiment will be described. As a method of achieving the first mode and the second mode in the present embodiment, first, the light amount of the light source 2 of the reading device 1 is changed in each mode. Examples of the light source 2 of the reading device 1 include a halogen lamp, a xenon lamp, a fluorescent lamp, and the like. Since each has a power supply for lighting, the light source 2 is controlled in each mode by regulating voltage and current. The light amount of 2 can be changed.

That is, when the light amount of the light source 2 of the reading device 1 is changed in each mode as described above, the light amount of the light source 2 in the second mode is different from that in the first mode. By decreasing the toner density on the transfer paper 17 in the second mode as compared with that in the first mode, the toner adhesion amount on the transfer paper 17 in the second mode is reduced to the first. Try to reduce it more than in mode. By doing so, when the toner removal processing is performed on the transfer paper 17 on which the image is formed in the second mode, the toner can be reliably removed from the transfer paper 17.

As another method, the developing device 13,
14 developing potentials, specifically, developing devices 13 and 1
The developing bias voltage of 4 may be changed in each mode. Generally, by changing the developing bias voltage (in the present embodiment, the developing bias voltage in the second mode is lower than that in the first mode),
By reducing the potential difference between the photoconductor 11 and the toner,
The toner density on the transfer paper 17 in the second mode is lower than that in the first mode, and the toner adhesion amount on the transfer paper 17 in the second mode is reduced. Can be reduced more than in the first mode. By doing so, when the toner removal processing is performed on the transfer paper 17 on which the image is formed in the second mode, the toner can be reliably removed from the transfer paper 17.

As another method, in the case of an image forming apparatus such as a digital copying machine or a laser printer as in this embodiment, an optical writing unit (LD) is used at the stage of image forming processing.
It is possible to change the density of the latent image in each mode by controlling the light emission level of 7 to perform density correction on the latent image written on the photoconductor 11. That is, in the case of this method, the light emission level of the optical writing unit (LD) 7 is controlled so that the density of the latent image written in the photoconductor 11 in the second mode is written in the photoconductor 11 in the first mode. By lowering the density of the latent image, the toner density on the transfer paper 17 in the second mode is lowered as compared with that in the first mode, whereby the toner on the transfer paper 17 in the second mode is reduced. It becomes possible to reduce the adhesion amount as compared with the case of the first mode. By doing this, the second
When the toner removal processing is performed on the transfer paper 17 on which the image is formed in the mode, the toner can be reliably removed from the transfer paper 17.

As another method, in the second mode, a predetermined pattern is placed on the image to be formed on a part or all of the image to be formed by the image processing unit, and the predetermined pattern on the image is placed. The toner adhesion density per unit area in a part or the whole of the image formed on the transfer paper 17 in the second mode is set in the first mode by applying a netting process or a watermark process for thinning out the toner to be attached to the spot. It is possible to reduce the amount of toner adhered on the transfer paper 17 in the second mode to be smaller than that in the first mode.

Here, in the case where the above-mentioned halftone dot processing / watermark processing is applied to the entire image area, if a rough pattern is placed on the characters and lines forming the image, the characters and lines will be discriminated. Since it may be difficult, it is desirable to place a fine pattern. Normally, in watermark processing, one dot of 2 dots × 2 dots of a pixel is made black (with an image).

Further, when the above-mentioned method of applying the above-mentioned meshing processing / watermarking processing to the image is adopted, the image is temporarily stored in the memory and the solid portion where the pixels are concentrated at a certain value is discriminated, It is also possible to place the above-mentioned predetermined pattern only on the portion and control so as to thin out the toner. In this way, when the above-mentioned predetermined pattern is placed only on the solid portion to thin out the toner, it does not have a great influence on the discrimination of the image.
The pattern may be somewhat rough, and since the pixel density can be significantly reduced, the toner can be removed more reliably in the subsequent toner removal.

By the way, when the image is formed in the second mode, a predetermined discrimination mark 40 as shown in FIG. 3 is given to a part or the whole of the image area by a mark giving means (not shown), and the decision mark 40 is given. May be printed on the transfer paper 17 together with the image. FIG. 3A shows the transfer paper 17 on which the discrimination mark 40 is partially printed.
(B) is the transfer paper 17 with the discrimination mark 40 printed on the entire surface
Is shown. If the discrimination mark 40 is printed on the transfer paper 17 on which the image formed in the second mode is printed, the operator can confirm that the image on the transfer paper 17 was formed in the second mode. Therefore, it is possible to easily recognize that the transfer paper 17 is a temporary one that does not need to be stored for a long period of time. In this way, if it becomes possible to easily recognize that the transfer paper 17 is temporary, the transfer paper 17 after being used for work such as calibration is subjected to toner removal by the toner removing device. It is often removed and reused, which leads to environmental protection.

By forming the discrimination mark 40 with the same toner image as the image, it can be removed from the transfer paper 17 by the toner removing device, and a problem occurs when the transfer paper 17 is reused. Never. Further, when the discrimination mark 40 is provided on the entire image area as shown in FIG. 3B, the density of the discrimination mark 40 is made lower than the image density, which makes it difficult to discriminate the image. Can be prevented. Further, in addition to the characters as shown in the drawing, it is possible to employ various kinds of marks such as predetermined figures and lines as the discrimination mark 40.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, for those temporarily printed for calibration or the like, by performing the image forming process in the second mode on the premise of toner removal, it is possible to perform a normal operation. First to perform image forming processing under image forming conditions
The toner density on the transfer paper 17 in the second mode is lower than that in the second mode, so that the toner adhesion amount on the transfer paper 17 in the second mode is lower than that in the first mode. Can be reduced. Thus, when the toner removal processing is performed on the transfer paper 17 on which the image is formed in the second mode, the toner can be reliably removed from the transfer paper 17. (Hereafter, margin)

[0041]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, an image which is likely to be removed by the image forming substance removing device in the future is on the image holding member under the image forming condition where the image forming substance removing device easily removes the image forming substance. Therefore, the image can be easily and surely removed when the image is removed from the image carrier by the image forming substance removing device. Further, by easily removing the image from the image carrier as described above, it is possible to reduce the load on the image forming substance removing device and prevent deterioration of the image carrier, and further to prevent deterioration of the image carrier. By making it possible, it is possible to increase the number of times the image carrier is reused.

According to the invention of claim 2 or 3, the first
By changing the light amount of the image reading unit between the second mode and the second mode, for example, when the image forming apparatus is a digital copying machine, the light amount of the image reading unit in the second mode is set to the first mode. The image density on the image carrier in the second mode is lower than that in the first mode by decreasing the image density on the image carrier in the second mode, thereby forming an image on the image carrier in the second mode. Since the amount of attached substances can be reduced as compared with that in the first mode, it is possible to form an image which can be easily removed by the image forming substance removing device without providing a special device.

According to the invention of claim 4 or 5, the first
By changing the developing condition of the developing means between the second mode and the second mode, specifically, the developing potential of the developing means in the second mode is made smaller than that in the first mode. The image density on the image carrier in the second mode is lower than that in the first mode, so that the image forming substance adhesion amount on the image carrier in the second mode is reduced to the first level. Since the number of images can be reduced more than in the mode, it is possible to form an image that can be easily removed by the image-forming substance removing device without providing a special device. The claim 4 or 5
The invention is effective for an image forming apparatus, such as a printer, which does not have the image reading means as in the invention of claim 2 or 3.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, in the second mode, the toner adhesion density per unit area in a part or the whole of the image formed on the surface of the image carrier is determined by the first mode.
The image density on the image carrier in the second mode is lower than that in the first mode by lowering the image density on the image carrier in the second mode. Since the amount of the image forming substance adhered can be reduced more than in the first mode, the actual image ratio can be reduced, and an image that can be easily removed by the image forming substance removing device can be formed. Further, since the image can be sufficiently discriminated even if the toner adhesion density per unit area is reduced as described above, when the image carrier on which the image is formed in the second mode is used for calibration, for example, Can be sufficiently practical.

According to the invention of claim 7, in the second mode, the toner adhesion density per unit area of the solid image portion formed on the surface of the image carrier is lowered as compared with that in the first mode. As a result, the image density on the image carrier in the second mode is lower than that in the first mode, and thus the amount of the image forming substance deposited on the image carrier in the second mode is reduced to the first level. Since it can be reduced compared to the mode of
An image that can be easily removed by the image forming substance removing device can be formed.

According to the invention of claim 8, the image on the image carrier is formed in the second mode on a part or the whole surface of the image carrier on which the image is formed in the second mode. Since the mark indicating the fact is given by the mark giving means, the operator can easily recognize that the image carrier is a temporary one that does not need to be stored for a long period of time. Further, as described above, if it becomes possible to easily recognize that the image carrier is temporary, for example, the image carrier after being used for work such as calibration is removed from the image forming substance. The image forming substance is often removed and reused by the apparatus, which leads to environmental protection.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a copying machine according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2A is a schematic configuration diagram of an operation display unit of the copying machine.
(B) is a schematic block diagram of a display panel section of the operation display section.
(C) is a schematic block diagram of the operation part of the operation display part.

FIG. 3A is a schematic configuration diagram of a transfer paper partly provided with a discrimination mark. FIG. 3B is a schematic configuration diagram of a transfer sheet having a discrimination mark on the entire surface.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Reading Device 2 Light Source 3 Mirror Group 4 Lens 5 CCD 6 Writing Device 7 Optical Writing Unit (LD) 8 Polygon Mirror 9 Lens 10 Mirror 11 Photoreceptor 12 Charging Device 13 Developing Device 14 Developing Device 15 Paper Feeding Unit 16 Registration Roller 17 Transfer paper 18 Transfer device 19 Conveyor belt 20 Heater heater 21 Heating roller 22 Pressure roller 23 Cleaning device 24 Static eliminator 30 Operation display unit 30a Operation unit 30b Display panel unit 30c Touch panel LCD unit 31a Mode selection key 31b Mode selection key 32a Mode display LED 32b mode display LED 32c mode display panel 40 discrimination mark

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display location G03B 27/72 A G03G 15/00 303 15/08 115 H04N 1/04 107 B

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An image information recognition means for recognizing image information,
A developing unit that forms an image corresponding to the image information on the basis of the image information with an image forming substance, and an image forming substance forming the image formed by the developing unit is attached to the surface of the image carrier, In an image forming apparatus that fuses the image forming substance to the image holding member to form an image by the image forming substance on the surface of the image holding member, a first mode for forming the image under normal image forming conditions And a second mode in which the image is formed under an image forming condition in which the image forming substance is easily removed by the image forming substance removing device that removes the image forming substance from the surface of the image carrier. Image forming apparatus. 2. The image information recognizing means is constituted by an image reading means for reading an image on the original by irradiating the original with light, and the image reading means operates in the first mode and the second mode. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the amount of light is changed. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein in the second mode, the light amount of the image reading means is reduced as compared with that in the first mode. 4. The developing condition of the developing means is changed between the first mode and the second mode.
Image forming device. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein in the second mode, the developing potential of the developing means is made smaller than that in the first mode. 6. The second mode is to reduce the toner adhesion density per unit area in a part or all of the image formed on the surface of the image carrier as compared with the first mode. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. 7. In the second mode, the presence or absence of a solid image portion on the surface of the image carrier is determined, and the toner adhesion density per unit area of the solid image portion is compared with that in the first mode. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is lowered. 8. A mark indicating that the image on the image carrier is formed in the second mode is provided on a part or the entire surface of the image carrier on which the image is formed in the second mode. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a mark giving unit for performing the above.