JPH08115015A - Image forming material removing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To reduce the elongation of an image holding body pressing member and to keep the high-quality finishing of an image holding body by providing a pushing member at a position opposed to a heating device through the image holding body pressing member. CONSTITUTION: Transfer paper from which toner is removed by a toner peeling unit enters a holding and carrying area being a press-contact part between a paper pressing belt 63 and a heating drum 61 along the entrance guide plate 54 of a drying unit from an upper part. After passing this area, the transfer paper is ejected from the upper part. Rotatable and separatable pressing rollers 67 are plurally disposed as the pressing member giving proper pressing force to the heating drum 61 side from the belt 63 side corresponding to the kind of the transfer paper and the moisture content contained in the transfer paper. A separation pawl 63 is provided in order to surely peel and eject the transfer paper which has been dried from the drum 61. A material excellent in water absorbing property such as cotton or silk is used for the belt 63.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention reproduces an image carrier by removing the image forming substance from a recorded image carrier having an image forming substance adhered to the surface thereof by an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine or a printer. The present invention relates to an image forming substance removing apparatus for an image carrier, which performs at least a liquid application process on the image carrier. Specifically, in an image forming substance removing apparatus having an image holding member pressing member that presses the image holding member in a heating device that heats the image holding member, reduction of elongation of the image holding member pressing member,
And maintenance of finishing effects.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various methods and apparatuses for removing an image forming substance such as toner from a sheet as a recorded image carrier to regenerate the image carrier are known. For example, as a method using a solvent, JP-A-1-101
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 576 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. . In addition, JP-A-4-30039
No. 5 discloses that a solvent is attached to a printed portion of waste paper by a method such as dipping, spraying or coating to dissolve the toner, and the dissolved toner is washed, air suction, adsorbent contact, mechanical peeling, electrostatic adsorption or the like. The method of removing an image-forming substance is disclosed.

Further, the applicant of the present invention previously mentioned that the recorded image bearing member contains water as a destabilizing agent and an aqueous solution containing a surfactant,
At least one kind of water or an aqueous solution selected from the group consisting of an aqueous solution containing a water-soluble polymer and an aqueous solution containing a surfactant and a water-soluble polymer is held, and a peeling member is interposed to remove the image-forming substance. A method for removing an image-forming substance is proposed, in which the member is heated or pressure-bonded to a member and peeled from the image carrier (for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 4-255916).
No.). According to this, only the image-forming substance can be removed without relatively damaging the paper quality of the image carrier.

[0004]

As described above, in order to remove the image-forming substance from the image-bearing member having the image-forming substance adhered to the surface and regenerate the image-bearing member, at least a liquid application process is applied to the image-bearing member. In the case of carrying out, for convenience of handling after reproduction, it is desirable to remove the liquid adhering to the image holding body and dry the image holding body after removing the image forming substance.

Therefore, a destabilizing liquid application means for applying a liquid to the image carrier having the image-forming substance adhered to the surface thereof to provide a destabilizing liquid that makes the adhesion between the surface and the image-forming substance unstable. And an image forming substance peeling means for separating the surface and the peeling body from each other after bringing the peeling body having an adhesion force larger than the surface of the image forming substance into contact with the image forming substance on the surface. It has been proposed that an image carrier reproducing apparatus having the above-mentioned means be provided with a means for drying the image carrier after peeling the image forming substance (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 5-269873).

However, as a result of subsequent research, in order to maintain the finishing effect of the image carrier, a drying means for drying the image carrier and the surface of the image carrier are closed including a region in contact with the image carrier in the state. Driven to move endlessly in the path,
In a finishing device having an image holding member pressing member that presses the image holding member against the heating device, it is necessary to maintain dry finishing efficiency in accordance with the state of the image holding member such as thickness and liquid supply amount. It has been found that in the conventional device, this efficiency is deteriorated with the lapse of time. In particular,
When the above-mentioned image holding member pressing member is used, the image holding member pressing member gradually expands due to the influence of heat of the heating device and moisture contained in the image holding member. If the image carrier is kept used in this state, the gripping force between the image carrier contact member and the heating device to the image carrier becomes small. May be defective in dryness or may be conveyed poorly, resulting in a problem in the finish of the image carrier after reproduction.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to reduce the elongation of the image holding member pressing member and maintain the quality of the finished image holding member. An image forming substance removing apparatus is provided.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the image forming substance removing device according to claim 1 removes the image forming substance from the image holding body having the image forming substance adhered to the surface thereof. In the image forming substance removing device for the image holding member, which performs at least the liquid applying process on the image holding member in order to regenerate the image, in order to dry the image holding member in a state where the liquid remains attached after the image forming substance is removed. And an image carrier drying means having a heating device, and the surface is driven so as to move endlessly in a closed path including a region in contact with the image carrier in the state, and the image carrier is pressed against the heating device. And a finishing device having one or a plurality of pressing members provided at a position facing the heating device via the image holding member pressing member. .

The image-forming substance removing device according to claim 2 is
The image forming substance removing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a detection unit that detects the type of the image carrier and the liquid supply amount; and a control unit that controls the operation of the pressing member based on the output of the detection unit. It is characterized by that.

[0010]

In the image forming substance removing device according to the present invention, the image holding member pressing member presses the image holding member against the drying device side, and at the side facing the drying device via the image holding member pressing member. The pressing member provided also presses the image carrier against the drying device. This reduces the elongation of the image holding member pressing member and maintains the drying efficiency of the image holding member. Further, since the grip force with respect to the image holding member is increased as compared with an apparatus having no such pressing member, the drying efficiency is also improved.

In the image forming substance removing device according to the second aspect of the present invention, the detecting means detects the type of the image carrier and the liquid supply amount, and the control means operates the pressing member according to the detection result. It is controlled by the control means. Here, as the control means, for example, in accordance with the state of the image holding member such as the type of the image holding member and the liquid supply amount, the condition of whether or not the pressing member is pressed against the drying device side, It is stored in a storage device or the like. When a plurality of pressing members are provided, the optimum pressing number of the pressing members can be stored in a storage device or the like. Then, according to the output of the state of the image carrier detected by the detection means, the relationship stored in the storage device is used to specify whether or not the pressing member is pressed by the control means, and the pressing member is pressed. The member is controlled so as to be pressed against the image carrier. As a result, an optimum finishing process can be performed for each state of the image carrier.

[0012]

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, according to the present invention, from a transfer paper as an image carrier on which an image is formed by a transfer type electrophotographic copying machine, a hydrophobic and thermo-flexible electrophotographic toner (hereinafter referred to as an image forming substance) An example applied to an image forming substance removing device (hereinafter, referred to as a toner removing device) for removing an image forming material from an image carrier will be described.

First, an outline of an example of a toner removing device to which the present invention can be applied will be described. In FIG. 1, the toner removing device includes a paper feed unit 20 for separating and feeding the transfer papers 10 on which toner images are formed and stored in a stacked state, and a transfer unit 20 for transferring the paper. Paper 1
0, a liquid supply unit 30 for supplying a liquid, a toner peeling unit 40 as a peeling means for peeling the toner from the transfer paper 10 to which the liquid is supplied, and the transfer paper 1 from which the toner has been removed.
A drying unit 60 as a finishing device for drying and finishing 0 by an image carrier drying means; and a drying unit 60.
Paper receiving unit 70 for receiving the transfer paper 10 discharged from
It has and.

The paper feeding unit 20 feeds the transfer paper 10 stacked on the paper feeding table 21 from the bottom, with the surface on which the toner image is formed (hereinafter referred to as the toner image surface) facing downward. The roller 22 feeds the sheet, the separation roller pair 23 separates the multi-fed sheet, and only one sheet of the transfer sheet 10 is sent out by the sheet feeding / conveying roller pair 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 supplies the transfer paper 10 with a liquid 31 such as water or an aqueous solution containing a surfactant in order to improve the permeability of the transfer paper 10. In the illustrated example, a liquid container 32 for containing the liquid, and a coating roller provided so as to be partially submerged in the liquid in the liquid container 32 and pumping the liquid by rotation to supply it to the toner image surface of the transfer paper 10. 33, and a regulation roller 34 as a paper regulation member provided so as to face the coating roller 33 with the paper conveyance path interposed therebetween. This coating roller 33
As the material, 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.

In the liquid supply unit 30, the first transfer paper 10 sent from the paper supply unit 20 is guided to a portion (hereinafter referred to as a liquid supply portion) facing the application roller 33 and the regulation roller 34. A paper guide mechanism 35 and a second paper guide mechanism 36 for guiding the transfer paper 10 that has passed through the liquid supply unit to the toner peeling unit 40 side are provided.

The toner peeling unit 40 includes a plurality of belt supporting rollers (hereinafter referred to as supporting rollers) 41, 4.
A toner offset belt (hereinafter referred to as an offset belt) 44 as a peeling belt wound around 2, 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 made of a material having a larger adhesive force to the softened toner than the adhesive force between the surface of the transfer paper 10 and the 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.

Of the supporting rollers that support the offset belt 44, the belt around the supporting roller (hereinafter referred to as the separating roller) 43 around which the belt portion after passing through the pressing portions of the upper and lower heating rollers 45 and 46 winds. Of the transfer paper 1 from the offset belt 44 by rapidly changing the moving direction of the
A curvature separation of 0 is performed. In addition, a guide roller 48 for increasing the change in the moving direction of the belt.
A tension roller 49 is also provided.

The upper and lower heating rollers 45 and 46 are
The toner image surface of the transfer paper 10 is brought into close contact with the offset belt 44, and the toner fixed to the transfer paper 10 is heated and softened.

The belt cleaning device 47 is also provided.
Is 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.

Further, the toner peeling unit 40 includes
Transfer paper 10 sent from liquid supply unit 30 side,
There are also provided a pair of relay conveyance rollers 53 as a holding conveyance means for advancing into the pressurizing section, and an upper and lower guide member 54 for guiding the transfer paper 10 having the curvature separated from the offset belt 44 to the drying unit 60 side.

The drying unit 60 is, for example, the transfer paper 1.
The transfer paper 10 is dried so that the liquid holding amount of 0 is 10% or less of the paper weight, and the heating drum 61 is a heating device having a built-in heating lamp 61a and made of, for example, aluminum.
And a paper pressing belt 63 as an image holding member pressing member that is wound around a plurality of support rollers 62 and is endlessly moved while being wound around the peripheral surface of the heating drum 61 at a constant angle. In the illustrated example, one support roller 62 also serves as a tension roller. 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, and Tetoron cloth can be used.

Although it is considered that the present invention can be applied to resin-based films and leather products as materials other than cloth, in view of the surface properties and finish of the transfer paper 10,
Currently, most of the finishing belts used in the drying process of the transfer paper finishing apparatus used in the papermaking factory of paper are cloth belts. Therefore, in this embodiment, the cloth pressing belt 63 is made of a cloth belt. An example will be described.

Further, the drying unit 60 includes an upper and lower guide member 64 for guiding the transfer paper 10 that has passed through the holding region between the heating drum and the paper pressing belt, and a paper receiver for the transfer paper 10 guided thereby. A paper discharge roller pair 65 for discharging paper is provided on the paper receiving surface of the unit 70.

In the above structure, the transfer paper 10 sent from the paper supply unit 20 is supplied with the liquid uniformly on the toner image surface by the liquid supply unit 30, and the toner peeling unit 4 is provided.
Sent to 0. In the toner peeling unit 40, the toner adhered to the transfer paper 10 is softened by heating from the heating rollers 45 and 46 and adheres to the surface of the offset belt 44. When separating the transfer paper 10 and the offset belt 44 around the separation roller 43, the offset belt 4
The toner adhering to the surface is separated from the transfer paper 10, and the toner is removed from the transfer paper 10. The transfer paper 10 from which the toner has been removed is dried by the drying unit 60,
The paper is discharged to the paper receiving unit 70.

According to the above construction, the liquid is supplied to the transfer paper 10 to which the toner is attached, and the toner is peeled off while the liquid permeates the interface of the transfer paper 10 with the toner, so that the paper fiber is damaged. The toner can be removed without

Further, since the paper pressing belt 63 having water absorbency is brought into contact with the transfer paper 10 in the drying unit 60, in addition to the drying by heating from the heating lamp 61a inside the heating drum 61, the paper pressing belt 63 is pressed. The drying acceleration function can be exerted by adhering the liquid 31 of the transfer paper 10 to the application belt 63.

By the way, in the toner removing device of FIG. 1, the paper pressing belt 63 is transferred from the heating lamp 61a built in the heating drum 61 through the transfer paper 10 and the heating drum 61 which are conveyed in the holding area. However, the heat from the heating lamp 61a is mainly applied to the liquid 31 adhering to the transfer paper 10 in this holding and conveying area.
Therefore, the paper pressing belt 63 leaves the holding and conveying region while being wet to some extent with the liquid 31 transferred from the transfer paper 10. And this paper pressing belt 6
The wetness of 3 is alleviated to some extent by evaporating the liquid 31 adhering to it by direct contact with the heating drum 61 when the transfer paper 10 is not present in the holding and conveying region with the heating drum 61.

However, since the operation is repeated in such an environment, the paper pressing belt 63 gradually expands. For this reason, the belt is deviated on the front side and the back side of the holding and conveying area, the grip force for pressing the transfer paper 10 is reduced, and the drying effect cannot be satisfactorily obtained. And
If you continue to use the transfer paper 1 in such a state,
There is a risk that “0” may occur, skew may occur without being accurately conveyed, and the belt 63 may extend beyond the width of the belt 63.
Therefore, for example, the drying efficiency can be improved by setting the processing speed of the toner removal to a high speed or continuously feeding the wet transfer paper 10 into the sandwiched conveyance area at a predetermined interval (time interval or space interval). If it is attempted to improve it, it is expected that the drying acceleration function cannot be exhibited.

Therefore, hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 2, the elongation of such a paper pressing belt 63 is reduced, and even if the elongation occurs, the grip force to the transfer paper 10 is secured and the drying for maintaining the finishing effect is performed. A configuration example of the unit 60 will be described.
2, unlike the drying unit 60 of FIG. 1, a transfer paper guide plate 54 that supports the transfer paper 10 from the toner peeling unit 40 is provided at the entrance, and a paper pressing belt 63 is provided.
And a heating drum 61. The holding and conveying area, which is a pressure contact portion between the heating drum 61 and the heating drum 61, is configured to intrude from above, pass through the area, and then be discharged from below. In order to improve the dry finishing efficiency by the heating drum 61, as a pressing member that applies an appropriate pressing force from the paper pressing belt 63 side to the heating drum 61 side in the area, the rotating and contacting portions are used in correspondence with the transfer paper state. A plurality of detachable pressing rollers 67 are provided. Then, in order to surely peel and discharge the dried transfer paper 10 from the heating drum 61, a separation claw 66 is provided so that the leading end of the transfer paper 10 comes into contact with or comes close to the drum 61. It should be noted that the paper pressing belt 63 is preferably made of a material having excellent water absorption, such as cotton and silk, which is suitable for exhibiting the drying promoting function.

In the above construction, after the peeling transfer is completed, the transfer paper 10 is conveyed to the holding area for holding the transfer paper by the heating drum 61 and the paper pressing belt 63 along the entrance guide plate 54, and the heat generated by the heating drum 61 is transferred. , And the pressure in the clamping region provides a dry finish. And this dry finish effect improves, so that heat or pressure is high. here,
Since the purpose of the drying unit 60 is to quickly evaporate and dry the moisture of the transfer paper after toner removal, the finishing condition is generally determined by the moisture content of the transfer paper 10.

Next, the contact / separation mechanism using the pressing roller 67 will be described. FIG. 3 shows the pressing roller 6 as a control means for adjusting the contact and separation states of the pressing roller 67.
7 shows an example of the contacting / separating mechanism of No. 7. Illustrated pressing roller 6
The contacting / separating mechanism 7 is provided with a lever 69 rotatably supported about a fulcrum 68, each pressing roller 67 provided at the force point of the lever 69, an operating point of the lever 69, and a heating drum 61. And a solenoid 71 for adjusting the contact / separation of the pressing roller 67 with respect to the.

In the contact / separation mechanism of the pressing roller 67, the solenoid 71 is turned on / off by the control means.
By F, the lever 69 moves the position of the pressing roller 67 with respect to the heating drum 61 about the fulcrum 68 of the lever, thereby adjusting the contact / separation of the pressing roller 67. As a result, an appropriate pressing force can be obtained corresponding to the type (mainly the thickness) of the transfer paper 10 detected in advance and the amount of water contained in the transfer paper 10, thus improving the drying efficiency of the transfer paper 10 and Since the drying effect can be obtained without increasing the tension of the paper pressing belt 63 more than necessary, the elongation of the paper pressing belt 63 can be reduced. The pressing member used in the present embodiment is of a roller type, but instead of this, the same effect can be obtained by using a block type of good slidability even if it is non-rotating. be able to.

Next, the control means for controlling the above-mentioned contact / separation mechanism in accordance with the transfer sheet state will be described. For example, as an example of controlling the contact / separation mechanism by paying attention to the thickness of the transfer paper, the relationship between the thickness of the transfer paper 10 and the number of pressing rollers 67 pressed against the transfer paper 10 is stored in advance in the storage device 72 or the like. The operation unit 73 is stored in the apparatus main body as shown in FIG. 4, and the user selects the thickness of the transfer paper 10 with the set button 74 on the operation unit. The number of pressing rollers 67 according to the paper thickness is specified, an ON signal is sent to the solenoid 71, and the pressing rollers 67 are pressed against the heating drum 61 side via the transfer paper 10.

As another control example, the contact / separation mechanism may be controlled by paying attention to the amount of water contained in the transfer paper 10 and detecting this in advance. For example, in FIG.
A temperature detecting element 75 such as a thermistor is provided at the peeling portion of the toner peeling unit 40 shown in (a), and this temperature detecting element detects the temperature decrease amount ΔT when the transfer paper passes.
The temperature decrease amount ΔT at this time changes, for example, as shown in FIG. Then, the heating lamps 45a and 46a are turned on / off to compensate for this temperature decrease, and the temperature at the peeling portion is adjusted to be constant. Here, the temperature decrease amount Δ
It is known that T, the transfer paper thickness, and the liquid supply amount have the relationships shown in Table 1.

[Table 1] That is, when the temperature decrease amount ΔT is large, the transfer paper thickness is thick or the liquid supply amount is large, and conversely, when the temperature decrease amount ΔT is small, the transfer paper thickness is thin or the liquid supply amount is small. It is in. Therefore, based on this relationship, an appropriate number of pressing rollers 67 is stored in the storage device 72 in advance, and the storage device 72 is required to apply the required pressing amount according to the temperature decrease amount ΔT detected by the temperature detection element. The number of the rollers 67 is specified and pressed against the heating drum 61 side via the transfer paper 10.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the transfer paper 10 after the toner is peeled off is pressed against the heating drum 61 side by the paper pressing belt 63, and the thickness and moisture content of the transfer paper 10 are detected. Since the transfer paper 10 is dried while pressing the required number of pressing rollers 67 against the heating drum 61 according to the detection result, an improvement in drying efficiency and an appropriate finishing effect are expected depending on the state of the transfer paper 10. it can. Further, since the pressing roller 67 secures the pressing force to the transfer paper 10, even when the paper pressing belt 63 is extended due to the use over time, the drying failure due to the decrease in the pressing force is prevented, The finishing quality can be maintained. (Hereinafter, margin)

[0037]

According to the image forming substance removing device of the first aspect, instead of increasing the tension of the image holding member pressing member, the gripping force is increased by the pressing member to dry the image holding member. Compared to a device that does not have a pressing member,
The elongation of the image holding member pressing member can be reduced, and even if the image holding member pressing member expands over time, drying failure does not occur and the finishing effect of the image holding member can be maintained.

Further, according to the image forming substance removing device of the second aspect, the presence or absence of the pressing of the pressing member is controlled according to the state of the image carrier such as the thickness of each image carrier and the water content. The finishing process of the image carrier can be performed under appropriate conditions. Further, since the image holding member is pressed against the drying device side by the pressing member together with the image holding member pressing member to dry the image holding member, even if the image holding member pressing member stretches due to use over time, the image holding due to the decrease in the pressing force occurs. It is possible to prevent poor drying of the body and maintain the finishing effect. This allows
It is possible to maintain a markedly high quality finishing effect and to expect an improvement in drying efficiency as compared with an apparatus that does not have such a pressing member.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a toner removing device to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a configuration example of a drying unit according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a contacting / separating mechanism of a pressing member used in the drying unit.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an operation unit that distinguishes a type of transfer paper.

FIG. 5A is an explanatory view showing the installation position of the temperature detecting element in the peeling section. (B) is an explanatory view showing a temperature decrease in the peeling portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Transfer Paper 30 Liquid Supply Unit 40 Toner Peeling Unit 44 Offset Belt 45 Upper Heating Roller 46 Lower Heating Roller 54 Transfer Paper Guide Plate 60 Drying Unit 61 Heating Drum 61a Heating Lamp 61b Temperature Detection Sensor 62 Paper Pressing Belt Support Roller 63 Paper Pressing Belt 66 Separation claw 67 Pushing roller 68 Support point 69 Lever 71 Solenoid 72 Storage device 73 Operation part 74 Set button 75 Temperature detection element

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. Removal of an image-forming substance from an image-bearing member, wherein at least a liquid application process is performed on the image-bearing member to regenerate the image-bearing member by removing the image-forming substance from the image-bearing member having the image-forming substance attached to the surface thereof. In the apparatus, an image carrier drying means having a heating device for drying the image carrier in a state where the liquid remains adhered after the image-forming substance is removed, and a surface of the device contacts the image carrier in the state. An image carrier pressing member that is driven to move endlessly in a closed path including a region for pressing the image carrier against the heating device, and faces the heating device through the image carrier pressing member. An image forming substance removing apparatus comprising a finishing device having one or a plurality of pressing members provided at positions. 2. A detection means for detecting the type of the image carrier and a liquid supply amount, and a control means for controlling the operation of the pressing member based on the output of the detection means. Item 1. The image forming substance removing device according to item 1.