JPH0736335A - Image forming material removing device from sheet material, sheet material processing device, and belt device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an image forming material removing device from sheet material, a sheet material processing device, and a belt device in which the offset of a belt laid over a plurality of support rollers and endlessly moved can be prevented. CONSTITUTION:Protruding parts 63a are formed in ring over the whole circumference on both cross directional ends in the inner surface of a belt 63, and grooves 62a to which the ring protruding parts 63a can be fitted are formed in ring over the whole circumference on the circumferential surface of a support roller 62. Otherwise, ring protruding parts are formed on the belt outer surface side, and ring grooves to which the ring protruding parts can be fitted are formed on the circumferential surface of a guide roller making contact with the belt outer surface, or offset preventing rings 63d are provided. Thus, the ring protruding parts 63a are engaged with the ring grooves or the rings 63d during the rotation of the belt, and positionally regulated in the support roller axial direction, and the offset of the whole belt 63 can be satisfactorily prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention removes an image forming substance from a sheet material on which the image forming substance is stably attached by an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printer, a printing machine, etc. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus, a sheet material processing apparatus, and a belt apparatus, and more specifically, an apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from a sheet material, a sheet material processing apparatus, and a belt that can prevent the belt from being endlessly moved by being stretched over a plurality of support rollers. It relates to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, various methods and apparatuses for removing an image-forming substance such as toner from a sheet as a recorded sheet material have been known. For example, as one using a solvent, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-10
In Japanese Patent No. 1576, a sheet on which toner is attached is immersed in a soluble solvent of a toner resin and ultrasonic vibration is applied to the sheet.
A method for removing an image-forming substance is disclosed in which the toner dissolved in a solvent is released from the paper surface. In addition, JP-A-4-3003
In Japanese Patent Publication No. 95, a solvent is attached to a printed portion of waste paper by a method such as dipping, spraying or coating to dissolve the toner,
An image forming substance removing method is disclosed in which the dissolved toner is removed by a method such as washing, air suction, contact with an adsorbent, mechanical peeling or electrostatic adsorption, and then paper finishing such as drying and stretching is performed.

On the other hand, as one not using a solvent, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-255195, a heat-meltable ink or a heat-meltable ink placed on a printed material coated with a release agent on a support by an electrophotographic method or a thermal transfer method is used. A method for removing an image forming substance in which toner is adhered to the ink peeling body and removed by stacking the ink peeling body on the printed body and passing the toner between the heating roller and the pressure roller and cooling the peeled ink peeling body. Is disclosed. Further, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-64472, at least an endless sheet having a heat-melting resin on the surface, a heat roller and a cooling roller for supporting and rotating the endless sheet, and a paper having a release treatment on its surface (erasable paper) There is disclosed an eraser including a pressing roller that presses against a softened or melted heat-melting resin, and a drive unit that moves these in conjunction with each other. In addition, JP-A-4-829
In Japanese Patent Publication No. 83, 83, two rollers provided in parallel to rotate in pressure contact with each other to pass the paper through the pressure contact point, a heater for heating at least one of the two rollers, and a roller passing through the pressure contact point A scraper for separating the paper from the roller,
An image forming substance removing device is disclosed, which comprises a peeling device that removes the image forming substance attached to the roller from the roller.

By the way, the above solvent-free method and apparatus can be used to remove an image forming substance from a recorded sheet material in which an image is recorded on a normal paper having paper fibers exposed on the surface thereof. The image-forming substance is mainly fixed to the fibers on the surface of the sheet material by, for example, fusing the image-forming substance containing a heat-melting resin as a main component to the sheet material in the photographic fixing process. Upon removal, the paper fibers on the surface are stripped off along with the image-forming substance, damaging the paper quality.
In particular, in order to enhance the removability of the image forming substance, when heat or pressure is applied to the above ink peeling body, endless sheet or roller, depending on various conditions, conversely, between the image forming substance and the sheet material, In some cases, the fixability was increased and removal was difficult.

Therefore, the present applicant previously applied to the recorded sheet material water as a destabilizing agent, an aqueous solution containing a surfactant, an aqueous solution containing a water-soluble polymer, and a surfactant and a water-soluble polymer. An image formation in which at least one kind of water or aqueous solution selected from the group consisting of aqueous solutions containing is held and a peeling member is interposed, and an image forming substance is heat-bonded or pressure-bonded to the peeling member and peeled from a sheet material. A substance removal method has been proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 4-255).
916). According to this, only the image forming substance can be removed without relatively damaging the paper quality of the sheet material.

[0006]

In the configuration proposed above, if the sheet material immediately after the image-forming substance is removed is still impregnated with the above liquid, there is a problem in image formation in, for example, an electrophotographic copying machine. Cause Therefore, it is desirable to perform a post-treatment to remove the liquid from the sheet material. However, when a belt that is endlessly moved around a plurality of support rollers is used as a member that conveys the sheet material when the liquid is vaporized by applying heat to the sheet material and the liquid is removed, There is a possibility that the sheet may be misaligned and the sheet material may not be conveyed properly.

Further, the present applicant has selected an unused sheet material selected from the group consisting of 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. Further, it has been proposed that at least one kind of water or an aqueous solution is retained and then dried (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 4-255915). The sheet material subjected to this treatment is reused after the image forming substance is removed by the above-mentioned image forming substance removing method after being used for normal image formation. After permeating, it is desirable to remove the excess liquid, and even in this case, when a belt that is endlessly moved by being stretched over a plurality of support rollers is used as a member that conveys the sheet material, the belt shifts. There is a risk that the sheet material may not be conveyed properly due to the waste.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to form an image from a sheet material which can prevent the belt from being endlessly moved by being stretched over a plurality of supporting rollers. To provide a substance removing device, a sheet material processing device, and a belt device.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention of claim 1 supplies a liquid to a sheet material having an image-forming substance adhered on its surface, and the image is produced from the sheet material. An image forming substance removing device for removing a liquid adhering to a sheet member after removing a forming substance, wherein a belt device for endlessly moving a breathable material belt over a plurality of supporting rollers, A holding and conveying member for holding and conveying the sheet material after the predetermined treatment between the belt peripheral surface and the belt, and the sheet material being held and conveyed by the belt and the holding and conveying member. Liquid removing means for vaporizing the liquid is provided, ridges are formed at both widthwise ends of the inner peripheral surface of the belt, and the ridges are formed on the peripheral surface of the support roller facing the ridges. It is characterized by forming a groove into which Is shall. The invention of claim 2 is
In a sheet material processing apparatus for removing a liquid adhering to a sheet material after supplying a liquid to the sheet material and performing a predetermined process, a belt device for endlessly moving a breathable material belt across a plurality of support rollers. And a holding and carrying member for holding and carrying the sheet material after the predetermined treatment between the belt and the peripheral surface thereof, and a sheet material being held and carried by the belt and the holding and carrying member. And a liquid removing means for vaporizing the liquid being formed, forming ridges on both widthwise ends of the inner peripheral surface of the belt, and supporting the peripheral surface of the support roller facing the ridge. It is characterized in that a groove into which the ridge portion is inserted is formed. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in a belt device for endlessly moving a belt around a plurality of support rollers, a ridge portion is formed on each of both widthwise end portions of an inner peripheral surface of the belt, and the ridge portion is formed on the ridge portion. It is characterized in that a groove into which the ridge is inserted is formed in the peripheral surface portion of the supporting roller facing each other. According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from a sheet material according to the first aspect, in place of the inner peripheral surface of the belt, ridges are formed at both widthwise end portions of the outer peripheral surface of the belt, Further, instead of forming a groove into which the projecting ridge portion is inserted in the peripheral surface portion of the support roller, a guide member that engages with the projecting ridge portion formed at each of both widthwise ends of the outer peripheral surface is provided with a guide member. It is characterized in that it is arranged facing the surface.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet material processing apparatus according to the second aspect, a ridge is formed at each of both widthwise end portions of the outer peripheral surface of the belt instead of the inner peripheral surface of the belt, and the support roller is also provided. Instead of forming a groove into which the above-mentioned ridge portion is inserted in the peripheral surface portion, guide members which engage with the ridge portions formed at both widthwise ends of the outer peripheral surface are arranged opposite to the peripheral surface of the belt. It is characterized by that. According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the belt device according to the third aspect, instead of the inner peripheral surface of the belt, protrusions are formed on both widthwise end portions of the outer peripheral surface of the belt, and the support roller peripheral surface portion. Instead of forming a groove into which the above-mentioned ridge portion enters,
A guide member that engages with a ridge formed on each of both ends in the width direction of the outer peripheral surface is arranged to face the peripheral surface of the belt.

[0010]

According to the invention of claim 1, 2 or 3, a ridge portion is formed at each of both widthwise end portions of the inner peripheral surface of the belt, and the support roller peripheral surface portion facing the ridge portion is provided with the ridge portion. Since the groove into which the protrusion enters is formed, the protrusion enters the groove of the support roller during movement of the belt, and the position of the protrusion is regulated in the axial direction of the support roller. In the invention of claim 4, 5 or 6, in place of the inner peripheral surface of the belt, a ridge is formed on each of the widthwise both ends of the outer peripheral surface of the belt, and the protrusion is formed on the peripheral surface of the support roller. Instead of forming the groove into which the ridge enters, guide members that engage with the ridges formed on both ends in the width direction of the outer peripheral surface are arranged so as to face the peripheral surface of the belt. The protrusion is engaged with the guide member to regulate the position in the axial direction of the support roller.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a toner removing device for copying paper as a sheet material will be described below.

In FIG. 1, the apparatus for removing toner from copy paper according to the embodiment includes a paper feed unit 20 for separating and feeding the papers 10 on which the toner images are formed, which are accommodated in a stacked state, one by one. A liquid supply unit 30 for supplying a liquid to the paper 10 sent from the paper unit 20, and a paper 1 to which the liquid is supplied.
Toner removal unit 40 for removing toner from 0, and drying unit 60 for drying the paper 10 from which toner has been removed
And a paper receiving unit 70 for receiving the paper 10 discharged from the drying unit 60.

The paper feeding unit 20 is arranged such that the surface on which the toner image is formed (hereinafter referred to as a toner image surface) faces downward, the paper 10 stacked on the paper feeding table 21 from the lowermost paper feeding roller. The paper is fed by 22 and the double feed is separated by the pair of separation rollers 23, and only one sheet of paper 10 is fed by the pair of paper feed rollers 24. The specific configuration and operation are the same as those of the paper feeding mechanism in the electrophotographic copying machine, and therefore detailed description will be omitted.

The liquid supply unit 30 is composed of water or paper 10.
A liquid 31 such as an aqueous solution containing a surfactant is supplied to the paper 10 in order to improve the permeability of the liquid into the paper 10. A liquid container 32 for containing the liquid and a partial liquid in the liquid container 32 are provided. An application roller 33 which is provided so as to be submerged in the paper and is supplied to the toner image surface of the paper 10 by rotation, and a paper regulating member which is provided so as to face the application roller 33 with the paper conveyance path interposed therebetween. A regulation roller 34 is provided. As the application roller 33, a material having a liquid retaining property, for example, a roller made of a hydrophilic porous material, sponge, or a roller made of an elastic body such as rubber or a rigid body such as metal can be used. When using the latter roller, it is desirable to form a plurality of pumping grooves extending in the axial direction. Then, the applying roller 33
Means that even if a desired amount of liquid, for example, 35% or more, preferably 40 to 120% of the liquid equivalent to the mass of paper, is brought to the paper 10 at the portion facing the paper 10, the amount of liquid at the portion facing the paper 10 still remains. It is driven to rotate at a rotation speed that does not cause liquid shortage.

The regulating roller 34 is the coating roller 33.
A gap larger than the thickness of the paper 10 that is supplied with water and increased so that the paper 10 can be sandwiched and conveyed between and (the thickness increases by about 50% depending on the amount of liquid that has penetrated into the paper). It is provided so as to face the coating roller 33.
At this time, the regulation roller 34 may be rotated clockwise.

The rotation direction of the coating roller 33 is
When the paper 10 is nipped and conveyed by the regulating roller 34 and the application roller 33, the counter roller is set in the counterclockwise direction.
When the sheets 3 and 34 are opposed to each other with a gap larger than the thickness of the paper 10 in the increased state, basically, either clockwise or counterclockwise may be set.

However, even when both rollers 33 and 34 are opposed to each other with a gap larger than the thickness of the paper 10 in the increased state as described above, at least the front end of the paper will be described later from the viewpoint of stability of paper conveyance. Toner removal unit 4
It is desirable to rotate the coating roller 33 counterclockwise as shown in the drawing until it is gripped by the relay transport roller pair 53 of 0. Further, in this case, when the coating roller 33 is rotated so that the surface moves at a linear velocity higher than the paper conveying speed in order to prevent the liquid from running out in the gap, it is shown in FIG. As described above, at least the rear end of the paper is fed and conveyed in order to prevent a paper fold (10a) from occurring by causing the rear end of the paper 10 to be fed at a high speed through the liquid film and causing a problem such as a jam. After passing through the holding portion of the pair 24, it is desirable to rotate the application roller 33 clockwise so that the surface moves in the direction opposite to the paper transport direction as shown in FIG. 2B. For example, the application roller 33 may be moved so that the surface moves at a linear velocity higher than the paper conveyance speed.
When rotating the
The application roller 33 is rotated counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 1 until it is gripped in the gripping portion, and then the application roller 33 is rotated before the trailing edge of the paper passes through the holding section of the pair of paper feeding and conveying rollers 24. Rotate clockwise by switching the rotation direction of.

Here, according to the study by the present inventors, when a liquid film is formed on the coating roller 33 to supply the liquid to the paper,
As shown in FIG. 3A, the gap between the application roller 33 and the regulation roller 34 is set to be larger than the paper thickness (t ₂ ) in a state where the desired amount of liquid is supplied and the thickness is increased (G). It has been found that it is desirable to rotate the coating roller 34 so that the liquid can be supplied so as to completely or almost completely fill this gap.

That is, when a desired amount of about 4 g of liquid is supplied to A4 size paper having a dry paper thickness of about 90 μm and a mass of 4 g, the paper thickness becomes about 135 μm. Here, when the weight of the paper containing the liquid after passing through the gap was measured while changing the gap between the application roller 33 and the regulation roller 34, the gap was 150 μm or more and 300 μm.
The desired amount of liquid could be supplied in the range of less than. At this time, the rotation speed of the coating roller 33 is such that the peripheral speed thereof is higher than the paper conveyance speed, and even if a desired amount of liquid is brought to the paper side in the gap, the supply amount to the paper due to liquid shortage in the gap portion. The speed was set so that there would be no shortage. In a relatively small gap within this preferable gap range, as shown in the explanatory view of the state before the paper 10 on the right side in FIG.
The upper liquid film 31a was also in contact with the regulation roller 34, and a relatively thin liquid film 31b was formed on the regulation roller 34. Further, in the larger gap within this preferable gap range, the liquid film 31a on the coating roller 33 appeared to be almost in contact with the regulation roller 34. On the other hand, the gap is shown in Figure 3.
As shown in (b), in this case, a gap (G
In the case of '), the supply amount to the paper was insufficient. Also,
As shown in FIG. 3C, even when the gap (G ″) of about 300 μm or more, which allows the liquid film 31a on the applying roller 33 and the regulating roller 34 to be visually determined to be non-contact, The paper supply was insufficient. This is shown in Figure 3.
In the case of (b), it is considered that the desired amount of liquid cannot penetrate into the paper because the gap is too narrow and the increase in the thickness of the paper due to liquid permeation is restricted. Further, in FIG. 3C, it is considered that the gap is too wide and the paper is placed on the liquid film 31a, and the liquid does not sufficiently penetrate to the upper surface side of the paper.

The liquid supply unit 30 applies the paper 10 sent from the paper supply unit 20 to the application roller 33.
And the restriction roller 34 facing each other (hereinafter referred to as a liquid supply unit)
And a second paper guide mechanism 36 for guiding the paper 10 that has passed through the liquid supply section to the toner removal unit 40 side. These guide mechanisms 3
As shown in FIG. 4, for example, reference numerals 5 and 36 denote paper 10 at the upper end surface.
Thin plate guides 35a, 36 that are set up to guide the
A plurality of a's may be arranged in the paper width direction. Further, in order to ensure the paper guide, a guide mechanism, such as a wire, for guiding or regulating the upper surface of the paper may be provided above the paper transport path. Further, in the example shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of annular grooves 33a are formed on the peripheral surface of the application roller 33 so that the paper 10 to which the liquid has been supplied and whose stiffness has been weakened can be reliably guided to the toner removal unit 40 side. The tip of the thin plate guide 36a of the second guide mechanism 36 is inserted into the annular groove 33a.

The toner removing unit 40 has a belt for toner offset (hereinafter referred to as an offset belt) 44 wound around a plurality of supporting rollers 41, 42, 43.
And upper and lower heating rollers 45, 46 with built-in heating lamps 45a, 46a provided so as to press each other with the offset belt 44 interposed therebetween, and a belt cleaning device 47 for removing toner from the surface of the offset belt 44. . At least the surface of the offset belt 44 is formed of a material that is easily attached to the softened toner. For example, the belt itself is made of a metal material such as an aluminum-based material, a copper-based material, a nickel-based material, or a polymer-based material such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in which titanium oxide is dispersed. When a polymer material is used as the surface material, it is desirable to have a multi-layer structure of at least two layers of a base and a surface layer from the viewpoints of preventing elongation due to tension and heat and durability.

Of the rollers supporting the offset belt 44, around the small diameter roller 43 around which the belt portion after passing through the pressing portions of the upper and lower heating rollers 45 and 46 is wound,
The belt portion between the small diameter roller 43 and the support roller 41 facing the belt cleaning unit so that the movement direction of the belt can be rapidly changed to separate the curvature of the paper 10 from the offset belt 44. A guide roller 48 that pushes the inside is provided. Further, the support roller 42 around which the belt portion entering the pressurizing portion is wound is a crown roller for preventing the belt deviation. There is also provided a tension roller 49 that pushes inward the belt portion between the support roller 42 and the support roller 41 facing the belt cleaning unit. (Hereafter, margin)

The upper and lower heating rollers 45 and 46 make the toner image surface of the paper 10 adhere to the offset belt 44 and heat the toner adhered to the paper 10 to soften it. It is desirable to perform this heating to such an extent that the toner on the paper 10 does not melt at the pressure contact portion between the upper heating roller 45 and the offset belt 44. When the toner is melted, the toner on the paper 10 is removed from the paper side and the offset belt 44.
This is because it becomes difficult to transfer to the offset belt 44 side without being divided into the side. Of these, the upper heating roller 45 removes the toner on the toner image surface through the paper 10.
The paper 10 is heated to a temperature near its softening point, but if it is heated too much, the paper 10 is too dry while passing through the pressure contact portion between the upper heating roller 45 and the offset belt 44, and passes through this pressure contact portion, and further the small diameter roller 43. When the leading end of the paper, which is separated by the curvature around the circumference, comes into contact with the surface of the offset belt 44 again due to its own weight, the toner once attached to the surface of the offset belt 44 may be transferred to the paper again. Further, since the paper is too dry and the fixing force of the toner to the paper 10 is stronger than that when the paper 10 is wet, the paper 10 is attached to the drum 81 via the toner and can be separated by the separating claw 85. There is a risk of disappearing. Therefore, the paper 10 that has passed through the heating unit may have some dampness, for example, 4 g of A4 size paper that has a liquid content (12 to 63%) of about 0.5 to 2.5 g of liquid. It is desirable to heat the residual toner to such an extent that it can prevent re-adhesion of the toner. For example, the lighting control of the built-in heating lamp 45a is performed so that the surface temperature of the upper heating roller 45 is maintained at a set temperature within the range of about 80 ° C to 115 ° C.

The lower heating roller 46, together with the upper heating roller 45, is for softening the toner adhered to the paper 10. Also in this case, the paper 10 is heated so as not to be too dry. For example, if the peeling roller surface is 7
The built-in heating lamp 46a is controlled to be lit so as to be maintained at a set temperature within the range of 0 ° C to 115 ° C.

Here, according to the study by the present inventors, the paper 1
When the degree of softening of the toner adhering to 0 on the interface with the paper 10 is larger than that of the surface of the toner, that is, the portion in contact with the surface of the offset belt 44, the toner on the offset belt 44 is Easy to transfer, paper 1
It was found that 0 fibers were not damaged. Therefore,
Both the heating rollers 45, 46 are arranged so that the surface temperature of the offset belt 44, which is in direct contact with the toner, is lower than the surface temperature of the upper heating roller that heats the toner via the paper 10.
It is desirable to set the control temperature of the heating lamps 45a and 46a. When the offset belt 44 is made of metal and has a thin thickness of, for example, about 0.1 mm, and the temperature at the pressing portion can be treated as being substantially equal to the surface temperature of the lower heating roller 46, the surface temperature of the lower heating roller 46 is detected. The heating lamp 46a can be controlled by comparing this with the desired surface temperature of the offset belt 44. Even when it cannot be handled in this way, the deviation between the surface temperature of the lower heating roller 46 and the surface temperature of the offset belt 44 in the pressing portion is previously obtained by an experiment, and if this deviation is taken into consideration, the surface of the lower heating roller 46 is The heating lamp 46a can be controlled based on the temperature detection result.

Further, the belt cleaning unit 4
Reference numeral 7 denotes a rotating brush roller 50 that applies intermittent scratching force to the circumferential surface of the offset belt 44 to remove the adhered toner.
And a pad 51 on the downstream side of the rotating brush roller 50 in the belt moving direction to remove the adhered toner by scrubbing by the frictional force by contacting with the peripheral surface of the belt. It is adapted to be housed in the casing 52. As the rotating brush roller 50, one using a brass brush or one using a resin brush containing abrasive grains (for example, a nylon brush containing abrasive grains) is suitable. For example, when a rotating brush roller 50 having a diameter of 55 mm, in which a brush made of brass fiber having a wire diameter of 0.15 mm is planted, is rotationally driven at a rotation speed of 1000 rpm or more, a sufficient toner removing effect is obtained. The rotary brush roller 50 using such an elastic brush is particularly suitable when the offset belt 44 whose surface is made of a resin material whose hardness is smaller than that of metal or the like is used. When the offset belt 44 whose surface is made of a material having a high hardness such as a metal is used, a cleaning blade formed of, for example, a highly rigid blade is used instead of the rotating brush roller 50, and the toner attached to the belt peripheral surface is used. May be removed by cutting.

Here, it is desirable to remove the toner from the peripheral surface of the offset belt 44 after the toner that has been heated and softened while passing the pressure has cooled to some extent. This is because when the toner is softened and the viscosity is excessively increased due to the influence of heat generation due to the mechanical rubbing action of the rotating brush roller 50 or the like, the toner sticks to the cleaning member such as the brush and the cleaning performance is deteriorated. This is because there is a risk of damage. Therefore, when the belt portion that has passed through the pressing portion reaches the cleaning portion, the temperature thereof is at least equal to or lower than the toner softening temperature, for example, 70 ° C.
The following is desirable. For this reason, in this embodiment, the cleaning unit is set at a position sufficiently separated from the pressure unit. In addition to this, an air-cooling means or a water-cooling means for cooling the offset belt 44 may be provided before reaching the cleaning section and / or when reaching the cleaning section, if necessary. For example, using a fan, the casing 52 of the belt cleaning unit 47
If, for example, an airflow that flows in the axial direction of the rotating brush roller is formed therein, the belt 4 passes through the opening of the casing 52.
4 can be cooled, and the rotating brush can be cooled to solidify the toner once stuck to the brush and collide with the belt peripheral surface or a flicker member (not shown) to be dropped from the brush.

The toner removing unit 40 includes
A relay conveyance roller pair 53 is provided as a sandwiching conveyance means for causing the paper 10 sent from the liquid supply unit 30 side to enter the pressurizing section. This relay conveyance roller pair 5
In step 3, the liquid that has permeated or adhered to the paper 10 may be partly squeezed out by the holding force. Further, an upper and lower guide member 54 is also provided for guiding the paper 10 that has passed through the pressing portion and is curvature-separated from the offset belt 44 by the small diameter roller portion to the drying unit 60 side.

According to the research conducted by the present inventors, the paper feed / conveyance roller pair 24, the relay conveyance roller pair 53 of the toner removing unit 40, the upper heating roller 45, and the offset belt 4 are used.
It has been confirmed that when the linear velocities of the paper conveying systems such as 4 are set to be the same linear velocities, wrinkles substantially in the width direction as shown in FIG. As a result of diligent examination of this cause, as shown in FIG.
It was found that the paper 10 entering the relay conveyance roller pair 53 of 0 is folded (10b) and passes through the holding portion of the relay conveyance roller pair 53 as it is, and thus the wrinkle is generated. Furthermore, such paper breaks occur
It was found that the liquid was supplied by the coating roller 33 and the length of the paper in the carrying direction was extended by, for example, about 3%. That is, as shown in FIG. 5B, in a state where the paper 10 is held by both the paper feed / conveyance roller pair 24 and the relay conveyance roller pair 53 of the toner removing unit 40, which are both nipping / conveying means, when the paper 10 is clamped. The paper 10 on the downstream side of 33 moves at an apparent speed obtained by adding the amount of extension in the longitudinal direction due to the liquid permeation of itself to the conveyance speed of the pair of paper feed / conveyance rollers 24. For this reason, the transfer of the relay transfer roller pair 53 of the toner removing unit 40 cannot catch up with the slack of the paper 10, and the slack is weakened due to the liquid permeation, causing the paper to break. .

Therefore, in order to prevent the occurrence of such wrinkles in the width direction, as shown in FIG. 6A, at least the paper 10 nipped and conveyed by the pair of paper feed / conveyance rollers 24.
The front end of the relay removing roller pair 5 of the toner removing unit 40
After being added to paper 3, as shown in FIG.
Until the rear end of the sheet feeding / conveying roller pair 24 comes off the pinching portion, the relay conveying roller pair 53 of the toner removing unit 40
The linear velocity v ₂ is set to be higher than the linear velocity V _{1 of the} pair of sheet feeding / conveying rollers 24. Specifically, at least paper 1
A linear velocity that is faster by an extension amount due to liquid penetration of 0 (for example, 3% described above) is set. Desirably, the linear velocity is set to be higher than this extension so that the toner can be conveyed while being pulled by the relay conveying roller pair 53 of the toner removing unit 40. However, if the speed is too fast, the paper 10 will be torn, so the linear velocity difference is set in consideration of the limit of elongation due to the pulling of the paper 10. For example, the linear velocity of the pair of paper feeding / conveying rollers 24 is 49.5.
In the case of mm / sec, the linear velocity of the relay conveying roller pair 53 of the toner removing unit 40 is set to be about 1.5 m / sec or more faster than this. It should be noted that the linear velocity v ₃ of the pressure contact portion between the upper heating roller 45 and the offset belt 44 is
Is set to be slightly higher than the linear velocity v ₂ of the relay conveying roller pair 53 of the toner removing unit 40, and the paper 10 to the press contact portion is set.
It is more preferable that the entry is made while being pulled in order to prevent wrinkles in the width direction.

The drying unit 60 is for drying the paper 10 so that, for example, the liquid holding amount of the paper 10 is 10% or less of the paper weight, and the heating drum 61 having a built-in heating lamp 61a and made of, for example, aluminum. A plurality of support rollers 62
And a paper pressing belt 63 that is endlessly moved around the heating drum 61 at a fixed angle. In the illustrated example, one support roller 62 also serves as a tension roller. It is desirable to use the heating drum 61 having a diameter such that the paper 10 does not easily curl, for example, a diameter of about 90 mm or more.

As the material of the paper pressing belt 63, a material having heat resistance and air permeability, for example, cloth such as canvas cloth, cotton cloth, Tetron cloth, etc. can be used. It is desirable to use a material that does not stretch as much as possible. In order to prevent the paper 10 from shrinking and wrinkling in a completely free form while the drying progresses in the area wound around the heating drum, and to prevent the paper 10 from curling or waviness. The paper 10 can be held between the peripheral surface and the inner surface of the belt with a certain amount of force. For example, with a belt having a width of 240 mm, the belt tension should be 7 kg or more, preferably 15 kg.
It is desirable to set more than the weight. Further, since the liquid is dried so that the liquid holding amount is 10% or less, it is desirable to control the lighting of the built-in heating lamp 61a so that the surface of the heating drum is maintained at a temperature of 100 ° C or more.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7A, the paper conveying speed in the drying unit 60, specifically, the linear velocity v ₄ of the drying drum 61 and the paper pressing belt 63, is determined by the drying unit 60.
A linear velocity V ₃ of the upper heating roller 45 and the offset belt 44 as a paper holding and conveying means on the upstream side of the paper conveying direction.
It is desirable to set the speed lower than. This is shown in Figure 7.
This is to prevent wrinkles extending substantially in the transport direction from being generated on the paper as shown in FIG. 7B, and to prevent the weakly pulled paper from being torn and cut in the middle as shown in FIG. 7C. . Such wrinkles and tears are caused by the paper being dried and contracted in the pressure contact area between the drying drum 61 and the paper pressing belt 63. That is, when the paper is dried and contracts in the pressure contact region, the paper portion from the rear end approaches the front end side with respect to the front end side which is relatively dry. Therefore, the rear end side of the paper is pulled at a speed apparently higher than the linear speed of the drying drum 61 and the paper pressing belt 63. Therefore, if both linear velocities are set to be the same, the upper heating roller 4
Excessive tension acts between the sheet 5 and the rear end of the paper held between the pressure contact portion of the offset belt 44 and the offset belt 44, and wrinkles and tears occur. By setting both linear velocities as described above, it is possible to prevent such excessive tension from being generated.

7A, just before the pressure contact portion between the upper heating roller 45 of the toner removing unit 40 and the offset belt 40, which is indicated by reference character A in FIG. 7A, and reference character B in FIG. 8A.
A conveying unit that conveys the paper 10 while spreading the paper 10 in both widthwise directions may be arranged at a position immediately before the pressure contact portion between the drying drum 61 of the drying unit 60 and the paper pressing belt 63. Such a conveying means is, for example, as shown in FIG.
It can be configured by a plurality of transport rollers 53a that are slightly inclined toward the end portion in the width direction which is closer to each other. Further, in a fixing device such as a transfer type electrophotographic copying machine, the transfer paper is configured to have a shape similar to the heating / pressing roller pair of a specific shape, for example, a pair of rollers that perform heating and pressing while pulling the transfer paper on both sides. You can also According to this, it is possible to prevent the wrinkles in the vertical direction as shown in FIG.

Here, in order to increase the speed of drying in the drying unit 60, it is desirable to use a belt 63 that is as thin as possible and is breathable. For example, it is desirable to use a belt having a thickness of 1 mm or less for a cotton cloth and 0.5 mm or less for a chemical fiber cloth such as polyester or tetron. However, such a thin belt is easily deformed, and the belt deviation can be completely prevented only by the conventional belt deviation prevention measures such as the rubber supporting roller, the crown supporting roller, the deviation preventing ring, and the winding of the supporting roller over the shoulder. It turned out to be difficult. For example, in FIG.
Even if the anti-slip ring 62b as shown in (a) is provided,
As for the lower side stop ring, the belt is deformed as shown in FIG. 9 (b) and gets over the ring 62b.

Then, the inventors of the present invention have diligently studied measures for preventing the belt 63, which is easily deformed, from being displaced. As shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a groove 63a having a certain degree of strength is formed annularly at both ends in the width direction on the inner surface of the belt 63 over the entire circumference, and the annular projection 63a is inserted into the peripheral surface of the support roller 62. If 62a is formed in an annular shape over the entire circumference, for example, as shown in FIG.
It has been found that the belt 63 enters the second annular groove 62a and its position is regulated in the axial direction of the supporting roller, so that the deviation of the entire belt 63 can be effectively prevented. This annular protruding portion 63a is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b) and (c), the core material 63c made of rubber or wire may be formed by being wound and fixed at both ends of the belt material, or as shown in FIG. Instead of using such a core material 63c, the belt material may be formed by simply winding both end portions of the belt material so as to have a certain strength. Alternatively, a wire material having a certain degree of strength may be fixed to both end portions of the belt material in an annular shape over the entire circumference by adhesion or stitching. Further, the annular protrusion 63 is provided on the inner surface side of the belt.
Instead of forming a, or in addition to this, an annular protrusion is formed on the belt outer surface side, and an annular groove into which the annular protrusion is inserted can be formed on the peripheral surface of the guide roller that contacts the belt outer surface. As shown in FIG. 10 (e), a ring 63d for preventing deviation is provided, and the deviation of the belt is prevented by the engagement of the annular protrusion 63a on the outer surface side of the belt and the annular groove or ring 63d. May be. Further, if necessary, in addition to the both ends in the belt width direction, the annular protrusions 63a may be provided on other belt portions.

In the drying unit 60, the paper 10 that has passed through the holding region between the heating drum and the paper pressing belt.
An upper and lower guide member 64 for guiding the sheet and a pair of discharge rollers 65 for discharging the sheet 10 guided by the upper and lower guide member 64 onto the sheet receiving surface of the sheet receiving unit 70 are provided.

Although not shown in the figure, the toner removing device from the copy paper includes a detecting means for detecting whether or not the paper 10 is on the paper feed table, and a double feed detection of the paper 10 by the paper feed unit 20. Means, liquid remaining amount detecting means in liquid container 32, liquid container 3
2, liquid automatic replenishment means, paper jam detection means for the paper 10, lighting control means for each heating lamp, casing 52 filling means for the belt cleaning device, separation error detection means from the offset belt, and the like are provided. .

In the above configuration, the paper 10 sent from the paper feeding unit 20 is supplied with the liquid uniformly on the toner image surface by the liquid supply unit 30, and is sent to the toner removing unit 40. In the toner removing unit 40, the toner adhered to the paper is softened by the heating from the heating rollers 45 and 46 and adheres to the surface of the offset belt 44. When the paper is separated from the offset belt 44 around the small diameter roller 43, the toner adhering to the surface of the offset belt 44 is peeled off from the paper, whereby the toner is removed from the paper. The paper from which the toner has been removed is dried by the drying unit 61 and discharged to the paper receiving unit 70.

As described above, according to the apparatus for removing toner from copy paper, since the liquid is supplied to the paper on which the toner adheres and the liquid is permeated into the interface between the paper and the toner, the toner is peeled off. Toner can be removed without damaging the fibers.
Also, when the surface of the paper is wet with the liquid, the offset belt 44
Even when the surface of the offset belt 44 is made of a material having a toner adhesive property, the surface of the paper itself is offset because the paper is heated to such an extent that the paper can be kept moist even when it is separated from the offset belt 44. It is possible to prevent the separation failure due to adhesion to the surface of the sheet 44, and to prevent retransfer of the toner due to the separated paper portion coming into contact with the offset belt 44 again.

Further, at the pressure contact portion between the upper heating roller 45 and the offset belt 44 or the sandwiching portion of the relay conveyance roller pair 53 immediately before that, the paper to which the liquid is supplied is pressed in the thickness direction, so that the paper toner The liquid can be satisfactorily penetrated into the interface. According to this, even if water containing no surfactant or only a trace amount is used as the liquid,
The toner can be satisfactorily removed without damaging the paper fibers. Further, since the liquid is supplied to the paper 10 from only one side, the paper 1 is expanded by only the liquid supply side of the paper 10.
Curling of 0 can be prevented. In particular, when the relay conveyance roller pair 53 exerts a holding force to the extent that the liquid can be squeezed out as described above, these effects can be favorably exhibited.

Further, since the offset member is in the form of a belt, the pressure unit and the cleaning unit are set to be sufficiently separated so that the toner is sufficiently cooled before reaching the cleaning unit and is fixed to the cleaning member. Can be prevented.

In the apparatus for removing toner from copy paper, the liquid is supplied only from the toner image side, but the liquid may be supplied from the side opposite to the paper 10 or from both sides. It may be done. More paper 10
In order to supply the liquid from both sides, the pressure roller pair may be disposed in the liquid containing the liquid, and the paper 10 may be introduced into the liquid and passed through the pressure roller pair.

Further, instead of the drying unit 60 using the heating drum and the paper pressing belt, a pair of heating rollers each having a built-in heating lamp and being rotationally driven in a pressure contact state may be used. In this case, the heating lamp of each roller suppresses the curl of the paper 10 to, for example, 3 mm or less, so that it is desirable to perform lighting control so that the surface temperatures of the rollers are substantially the same.

The paper 1 on which the black solid toner image is formed
In the case of 0, liquid permeation from the toner surface is prevented by the toner, so that means for at least partially scraping off the toner may be provided before the liquid is supplied to the paper 10. As the scraping means, a device similar to the belt cleaning device 47 in the toner removing device 40 can be used.

Further, in the toner removing device for copying paper according to the above-described embodiment, almost all the toner forming the toner image is removed and reproduced as a blank paper, but the toner is removed to the extent that it can be used as memo paper. A toner removal device that is sufficient if it can be removed, a toner removal device that can damage paper fibers to some extent, a toner removal device that does not require toner softening when removing toner by using a liquid that has a strong action to easily separate toner from paper, When the toner can be softened by using the treatment agent, heating for softening the toner is not required for removing the toner.

[0047]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the ridge portion formed on the inner peripheral surface of the belt enters the groove of the supporting roller during the movement of the belt and the position of the protruding portion is regulated in the axial direction of the supporting roller.
There is an effect that it is possible to provide an apparatus for removing an image forming substance from a sheet material, which can favorably prevent the deviation of the entire belt. According to the invention of claim 2, the ridge portion formed on the inner peripheral surface of the belt enters the groove of the supporting roller during the movement of the belt and the position of the protruding portion is regulated in the supporting roller axial direction. There is an effect that it is possible to provide a sheet material processing device that can prevent the above. According to the invention of claim 3, the ridge portion formed on the inner peripheral surface of the belt enters the groove of the support roller during the movement of the belt and is positionally regulated in the axial direction of the support roller. There is an effect that a belt device that can be prevented can be provided. According to the invention of claim 4, since the ridge portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the belt is engaged with the guide member and the position is regulated in the axial direction of the support roller during the movement of the belt,
There is an effect that it is possible to provide an apparatus for removing an image forming substance from a sheet material, which can favorably prevent the deviation of the entire belt. According to the invention of claim 5, the ridge portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the belt is engaged with the guide member and the position is regulated in the axial direction of the support roller during the movement of the belt. There is an effect that it is possible to provide a sheet material processing device that can do so. According to the invention of claim 6, the ridge formed on the outer peripheral surface of the belt is engaged with the guide member to regulate the position in the axial direction of the support roller during the movement of the belt, so that the deviation of the entire belt is favorably prevented. There is an effect that a belt device that can be provided can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a toner removing device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a paper conveyance state.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a thickness of a liquid film on a coating roller.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a paper guide mechanism.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of wrinkles that occur on the paper being conveyed.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a paper conveyance speed of a conveyance roller pair.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a paper transport speed of a drying unit.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of a wrinkle-preventing transporting means.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional anti-stop ring.

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of a deviation prevention mechanism in the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 62 support roller 62a groove 63 belt 63a ridge 63c core 63d ring

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Shigeru Fujita 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock company Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Toshio Watanabe 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Shares Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Taro Teruoka Nakatamagome 1-3-6, Tokyo Stock Company Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Tomoaki Sugawara Nakamagome 1-3-6 Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock Company Ricoh Company ( 72) Inventor Masagai Masaru Nakamagome 1-3-6, Ota-ku, Tokyo Within Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Toshiyuki Kawanishi 1-3-3 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Within Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Masato Igarashi 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A sheet material for supplying liquid to a sheet material having an image-forming substance adhered on the surface thereof to remove the image-forming substance from the sheet material, and thereafter removing the liquid adhering to the sheet material. In the apparatus for removing the image-forming substance from the above, for carrying the sheet material after the predetermined treatment between the belt device for endlessly moving the breathable material belt around the plurality of support rollers and the peripheral surface of the belt device. And a liquid removing means for vaporizing the liquid adhering to the sheet material held and conveyed by the belt and the holding and conveying member, and the width direction of the inner peripheral surface of the belt. An apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from a sheet material, characterized in that a ridge is formed on each of both ends, and a groove into which the ridge enters is formed on a peripheral surface of a support roller facing the ridge. . 2. A sheet material processing apparatus for removing liquid adhering to a sheet material after supplying a liquid to the sheet material and performing a predetermined treatment, wherein a breathable material belt is stretched over a plurality of support rollers. A belt device for endless movement, a holding and carrying member for holding and carrying the sheet material after the predetermined treatment between the belt peripheral surface, and a belt and the holding and carrying member for holding and carrying the holding member. A support roller which is provided with liquid removing means for vaporizing the liquid adhering to the existing sheet material, and which forms a ridge on each of the widthwise both ends of the inner peripheral surface of the belt, and which faces the ridge. A sheet material processing apparatus, wherein a groove into which the protrusion is inserted is formed in a peripheral surface portion. 3. A belt device for endlessly moving a belt around a plurality of supporting rollers, wherein a ridge is formed at each of both widthwise ends of the inner peripheral surface of the belt, and the ridge is opposed to the ridge. A belt device, wherein a groove into which the protrusion is inserted is formed on the peripheral surface of the support roller. 4. A ridge portion is formed on each of both widthwise end portions of an outer peripheral surface of the belt instead of the inner peripheral surface of the belt,
Further, instead of forming a groove into which the projecting ridge portion is inserted in the peripheral surface portion of the support roller, a guide member that engages with the projecting ridge portion formed at each of both widthwise ends of the outer peripheral surface is provided with a guide member. 2. The apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from a sheet material according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is arranged so as to face the surface. 5. A ridge portion is formed on each of both widthwise end portions of an outer peripheral surface of the belt instead of the inner peripheral surface of the belt,
Further, instead of forming a groove into which the projecting ridge portion is inserted in the peripheral surface portion of the support roller, a guide member that engages with the projecting ridge portion formed at each of both widthwise ends of the outer peripheral surface is provided with a guide member. The sheet material processing device according to claim 2, wherein the sheet material processing device is disposed so as to face the surface. 6. A ridge portion is formed on each of both widthwise end portions of an outer peripheral surface of the belt instead of the inner peripheral surface of the belt,
Further, instead of forming a groove into which the projecting ridge portion is inserted in the peripheral surface portion of the support roller, a guide member that engages with the projecting ridge portion formed at each of both widthwise ends of the outer peripheral surface is provided with a guide member. The belt device according to claim 3, wherein the belt device is disposed so as to face the surface.