JPH08190315A - Toner elimination device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent a recording medium from being stuck on an attraction member when the recording medium to which toner is fixed is carried and brought into press-contact with the attraction member and the toner is eliminated from the recording medium by the attraction of the attraction means. CONSTITUTION: The surface of the attraction member 12 is provided with a non-attraction part 16 and the leading edge part of the recording medium 2 is aligned with the non-attraction part 16. After the medium 2 is separated from the attraction member 12, the carrying direction thereof is reversed. Then, the trailing edge part of the reversely carried medium 2 is aligned with the nonattraction part 16 of the attraction member 12. By the nonattraction part 16, the medium 2 is prevented from being stuck to the attraction member 12. By the attraction part 15, the toner is eliminated from the whole area of the medium 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner removing device for peeling and removing toner transferred and fixed on a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, there is proposed a toner removing device for removing toner from a printing paper in order to reuse the printing paper on which an image is formed by toner. The toner removing device conveys the printing paper on which the toner is fixed by a paper feeding mechanism and supplies a destabilizing agent to the conveyed printing paper to soften the toner fixed on the printing paper to cause imperfections. Make it a stable state. The printing paper in such a state is carried by the paper carrying mechanism and is inserted into the gap between the suction roller and the pressure roller, and the surface of the printing paper on which the toner is fixed is brought into pressure contact with the suction roller.

Since the surface of this suction roller has a property of physically adsorbing the toner, the suction roller peels the toner from the printing paper and adsorbs it. At this time, since the suction roller and the pressure roller have a heater and generate heat, the peeling of the toner is promoted. Since the printing paper from which the toner has been peeled off is separated from the suction roller and is discharged, the printing paper can be reused as a blank paper.

[0004]

Since the toner removing device as described above can remove the toner from the printing paper, the printing paper can be recycled as a blank paper.

However, since the toner of the printing paper is attracted to the attraction roller by pressing the printing paper to the attraction roller as described above, the printing paper is easily attached to the attraction roller. For this reason, it has been proposed that the curvature of the suction roller be used to cause the printing paper to peel off naturally due to its own rigidity, but in this case, peeling failure of the printing paper from the suction roller tends to occur. Further, it has been proposed to forcibly separate the printing paper from the suction roller by the separating claw, but in this case, the front edge of the printing paper may be damaged by the separating claw.

[0006]

In the process of conveying a recording medium having toner adhered thereto by a paper conveying mechanism, a destabilizing agent is supplied to the recording medium by a supplying means to make the adhered toner unstable and circulate. In a toner removing device that sequentially presses the outer peripheral surface of the suction member onto the surface of the recording medium, and causes the suction member to suck the toner to separate it from the recording medium, at least one non-suction portion is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the suction member, Operation reversing means for reversing the transport direction of the sheet transport mechanism and reversing the circulation direction of the suction member after the recording medium has passed the position of the suction member is provided, and the leading edge portion in the transport direction of the recording medium and the The operation control means for aligning the non-suction portion of the suction member is provided.

[0007]

By aligning the front edge portion of the recording medium with the non-suction portion of the suction member by the operation control means, it is possible to prevent the front edge portion of the recording medium from sticking to the suction member at the front. The toner on the rear part is removed by the adsorption member. Next, after the recording medium passes through the position of the suction member, the conveyance direction of the sheet conveying mechanism is reversed by the operation reversing means, and the trailing edge portion of the recording medium fed back by the operation control means and the non-suction portion of the suction member. By aligning and, the toner on the front part of the recording medium is removed by the suction member while preventing the rear edge of the recording medium from sticking to the suction member on the rear side.

[0008]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the toner removing device 1 of the present embodiment, the printing paper 2 as a recording medium is described as being fed in the front direction, but this is shown for convenience in order to simplify the description, and the actual device is used. It does not limit the direction of installation or use.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the toner removing device 1 of the present embodiment includes a paper feed tray 4 on which a printing paper 2 having toner 3 fixed thereon and a printing paper 2 from which toner 3 has been removed. A paper discharge mechanism 5 for discharging the print paper 2 from the paper feed tray 4 to the paper discharge tray 5 is provided.

More specifically, a pair of paper feed rollers 7 for separating and feeding the print paper 2 at a predetermined timing are arranged at a position facing the paper feed tray 4, and these paper feed rollers 4 are provided. A liquid application unit 9 that is a supply unit that supplies the destabilizing solution 8 that is a destabilizing agent to the printing paper 2 by coating is arranged in the front. A belt transport mechanism 10 is arranged in front of this, and a toner peeling mechanism 11 for peeling the toner 3 from the printing paper 2 is arranged in front of and below this.

The toner peeling mechanism 11 has a suction roller 12 and a pressure roller 13 which are suction members, and the rollers 12 and 13 have a built-in transfer heater 14 and are in pressure contact with each other. Since the suction roller 12 is rotatably supported, the outer peripheral surface of the suction roller 12 is sequentially circulated and pressed against the surface of the printing paper 2. About three-fourths of the outer peripheral surface of the suction roller 12 is composed of the suction portion 15 having an adsorbing property for the toner 3, but the remaining one-fourth of the outer peripheral surface is for the printing paper 2 and the toner 3. And a releasing part 16 which is a non-adsorbing part having a releasing property. A cleaning brush 17 for cleaning the outer peripheral surface of the suction roller 12 is arranged at a position facing the outer peripheral surface.

Further, a reversing tray 18 for temporarily holding the printing paper 2 is arranged in front of the toner peeling mechanism 11, and the printing paper 2 is fed back onto the reversing tray 18 at a predetermined timing. A reverse feeding roller 19 is provided. A reflection type photo sensor 20 is arranged behind the toner peeling mechanism 11, and a pair of conveyance rollers 21 is arranged behind this. A drying unit 22 is arranged behind this, and the paper discharge tray 5 is arranged below the front.

The drying unit 22 has a heat roller 24 which has a built-in drying heater 23 and heats the printing paper 2, and a pressure belt 25 which presses the printing paper 2 against the heating roller 24. The printing paper 2 is dried while being conveyed.

Further, the paper feed roller 7, the liquid applying unit 9, the belt transport mechanism 10, the toner peeling mechanism 11, the reverse feed roller 19, the transport roller 21, and the drying unit 22 are forward and reverse directions. A rotatable drive motor 26 is connected to the paper feed mechanism 6 to form the paper feed mechanism 6. The drive motor 26 is
The paper feed roller 7 is connected via a transport clutch 27, and the reverse feed roller 19 is connected via a reverse feed clutch 28.

Further, the toner removing device 1 of this embodiment is
It has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 29,
The CPU 29 includes the drive motor 26, the transport clutch 27, the reverse feed clutch 28, and the transfer heater 1.
4. Drying heater 23, RAM (Random Access Memor)
y) 30, ROM (Read Only Memory) 31, keyboard 3
2, the display 33, etc. are connected. The ROM
Reference numeral 31 fixedly stores various data such as a control program, and the RAM 30 variably temporarily stores various data such as processing data. The CPU 29 is
Various data processes are executed according to the stored data of the RAM 30, the ROM 31, the output data of the reflection type photo sensor 20, and the like, and drive control of the drive motor 26, the clutches 27 and 28, the heaters 14 and 23, and the like is performed.

Therefore, the toner removing device 1 of this embodiment
Has an operation reversing means, a first operation control means, and a second operation control means. That is, since the CPU 29 rotationally drives the drive motor 26, the conveyance direction of the sheet conveyance mechanism 6 is reversed and the rotation direction of the suction roller 12 is reversed.
When U29 turns on the transport clutch 27,
The printing papers 2 stacked on the paper feed tray 4 are conveyed to the toner peeling mechanism 11 at a predetermined timing. here,
A first operation control unit that aligns a front half portion with a front half portion, which is a front edge portion in the transport direction of the printing paper 2, with the release portion 16 of the suction roller 12 is executed.

Further, the CPU 29 drives the drive motor 26 after a lapse of a predetermined time since the conveyance clutch 27 is turned on.
By reversing the rotational driving of the sheet conveying mechanism 6, the conveying direction of the sheet conveying mechanism 6 is reversed and the rotating direction of the suction roller 12 is reversed. Here, after the print sheet 2 passes through the position of the suction roller 12, an operation reversal unit that reverses the transport direction of the sheet transport mechanism 6 and reverses the rotation direction of the suction roller 12 is executed.

Further, as described above, the CPU 29 turns on the reverse feeding clutch 28 in the state where the conveying direction is reversed, so that the printing paper 2 held on the reversing tray 18 has the toner peeling mechanism 11 at a predetermined timing. Sent back to. Here, the second operation control means for aligning the rear half portion from the trailing edge portion, which is the leading edge portion in the transport direction of the printing paper 2 to be fed back, with the release portion 16 of the suction roller 12 is executed.

In such a structure, the toner removing device 1 of this embodiment removes the toner 3 fixed on the printing paper 2. Therefore, this processing operation will be sequentially described below based on the flowchart of FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 3A, when an image is formed by the toner 3 on the entire surface of the printing paper 2, the printing paper 2 is fed with the surface on which the toner 3 is fixed facing downward. Load on tray 4. When the operation start is input from the keyboard 32 in this state, the primary conveyance is started (step S1), the drive motor 26 is rotationally driven in the forward direction, and the transfer heater 14 of the toner peeling mechanism 11 is activated (step S1). S2), as the paper transport mechanism 6, the liquid applying unit 9 and the belt transport mechanism 10 are continuously driven. However, at this point in time, since the transport clutch 27 is off, the paper feed roller 7 is not driven, and the print paper 2
Are not fed from the paper feed tray 4.

Therefore, the transport clutch 27 is turned on at an appropriate timing (steps S3 and S4). This timing is set so that the first half of the continuously conveyed printing paper 2 is brought into pressure contact with the release part 16 of the suction roller 12 which is continuously rotated. The printing paper 2 fed at such timing is fed from the paper feed tray 4 to the liquid application unit 9
And the peeling solution 8 is uniformly supplied to the printing paper 2 by the liquid applying unit 9. Therefore, the peeling solution 8 permeates the interface between the printing paper 2 and the toner 3 and the toner 3
Becomes an unstable state in which it is easy to peel off from the printing paper 2.

Since the printing paper 2 is conveyed to the toner peeling mechanism 11 in this state, the toner peeling mechanism 11 is used.
Removes the toner 3 from the surface of the printing paper 2. This time,
As described above, the feeding of the printing paper 2 is performed at an appropriate timing, so that the printing paper 2 has the front half thereof pressed against the mold release portion 16 of the suction roller 12 and the rear half of the printing paper 2.
It is pressed against the second suction portion 15. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3B, the toner 3 is removed from the latter half of the printing paper 2 by the suction unit 15, but the toner 3 remains in the first half of the printing paper 2 which is pressed against the mold release unit 16. To do.

When the suction portion 15 of the suction roller 12 removes the toner 3 from the printing paper 2 in this way, the printing paper 2 is sequentially pressed against the suction roller 12 by the pressure roller 13, and in this state the transfer heater 14 Toner 3 by heating
Is softened. Further, since the toner 3 is in an unstable state due to the peeling solution 8 that has permeated the printing paper 2, the toner 3 is favorably adsorbed by the adsorption portion 15 and is peeled off from the printing paper 2, and the fibers of the printing paper 2 are separated. It will not hurt.

At this time, although the latter half of the printing paper 2 tends to stick to the suction portion 15 of the suction roller 12 that sucks the toner 3 as described above, the releasing portion 1 that does not suck the toner 3 is used.
The first half of the printing paper 2 is not attached to the sheet 6. For this reason,
The first half of the printing paper 2 is easily separated from the suction roller 12 and conveyed to the reversing tray 18, so that the entire printing paper 2 is fed onto the reversing tray 18. In this way toner 3
By transporting the printing paper 2 removed from the latter half of the sheet onto the reversal tray 18, the primary transport is ended (step S5), and the secondary transport is started (step S6).

First, since the drive motor 26 is rotationally driven in the opposite direction and the drying heater 23 of the drying unit 22 is activated (step S7), the belt conveying mechanism 10 and the drying unit 22 as the sheet conveying mechanism 6 are continuously operated. Driven to. However, at this time, the reverse feeding clutch 28 is turned off, so the reverse feeding roller 19 is not driven, and the printing paper 2
Are not fed from the reversing tray 18.

Then, the reverse clutch 28 is turned on at an appropriate timing (steps S8 and S9). This timing is set so that the latter half of the printing paper 2 which is continuously fed back is pressed against the releasing part 16 of the continuously rotating suction roller 12. The printing paper 2 is fed back from the reversing tray 18 to the toner peeling mechanism 11 at such timing, so that the latter half of the printing paper 2 is sucked by the suction roller 12.
Is pressed against the mold releasing portion 16, and the front half is pressed against the suction portion 15 of the suction roller 12. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 3C, the toner 3 remaining in the first half of the printing paper 2 is removed by the suction unit 15, so that the toner 3 is removed from the entire area.

At this time, as described above, the first half of the printing paper 2 tends to stick to the suction portion 15 of the suction roller 12 that sucks the toner 3, but the release portion 1 that does not suck the toner 3 therein.
The latter half of the printing paper 2 is not attached to the sheet 6. For this reason,
Since the latter half of the printing paper 2 which is fed back is easily separated from the suction roller 12, the entire printing paper 2 is dried by the drying unit 2.
Delivered to 2.

Since the printing paper 2 dried by the drying unit 22 is discharged to the paper discharge tray 5 to complete the secondary conveyance (step S10), the drive motor 26 is used.
The heaters 14 and 23 and the clutches 27 and 28 are turned off.

As described above, the toner removing device 1 of this embodiment has the releasing section 1 that does not attract the toner 3 to the attracting roller 12.
6 is provided, and the releasing part 16 is pressed against the front half of the printing paper 2 which is initially conveyed in the normal direction, so that the jam due to the front edge of the printing paper 2 sticking to the suction roller 12 is prevented. By pressing the release section 16 against the latter half of the printing paper 2 which is conveyed in the reverse direction, jamming due to the trailing edge of the printing paper 2 sticking to the suction roller 12 is prevented. Moreover, first, the toner 3 is removed from the second half of the printing paper 2 that is conveyed in the forward direction, and then the toner 3 is removed from the first half of the printing paper 2 that is conveyed in the reverse direction. Therefore, the printing paper 2 for removing the toner 3 is not jammed, and the toner 3 can be satisfactorily removed from the entire area of the printing paper 2.

In the toner removing device 1 of this embodiment,
Since the printing paper 2 can be transported in the forward and reverse directions as described above,
The operation of removing the toner 3 by the toner peeling mechanism 11 can be repeated for the printing paper 2. In this case, it is possible to repeat the removal operation of the toner 3 a preset number of times. For example, the surface of the printing paper 2 on which the removal operation of the toner 3 has been executed is read by the reflective photosensor 20, and from this reading result, It is preferable that the image determination unit determines the afterimage state of the toner 3 and the operation control unit repeats the driving of the drive motor 26 in the forward and reverse directions according to the determination result. In this case, since the removing operation of the toner peeling mechanism 11 is repeated in accordance with the residual image removal of the toner 3 on the printing paper 2, the toner 3 can be removed almost completely from the printing paper 2.

Since the length of the suction portion 15 in the circumferential surface direction is not less than half the length of the printing paper 2 in the carrying direction, it is formed shorter than the length of the printing paper 2 in the carrying direction. Therefore, the suction roller 12 is formed to have a small diameter, and the toner removing device 1 is reduced in size and weight.

In the toner removing device 1 of this embodiment,
Although the non-adsorption portion for preventing the sticking of the printing paper 2 is exemplified as the release portion 16 having the releasability, such a non-adsorption portion may have a lower adsorbability than the adsorption portion, and thus the non-adsorption portion may be completely removed. It need not have releasability or non-adsorbability.

Further, although it has been illustrated that the releasing portion 16 which does not remove the toner 3 from the printing paper 2 is formed of a material different from that of the suction portion 15, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, by forming a concave portion that does not come into contact with the printing paper 2 on a part of the outer peripheral surface of the suction roller, it is possible to make this concave portion a non-suction portion. Further, although the suction member is formed as the cylindrical suction roller 12, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the suction member is formed as an endless peeling belt (not shown). Is also possible.

The attracting portion 15 of the attracting roller 12 that favorably attracts the toner 3 is, for example, a resin material such as a resin having the same or similar component as the toner 3, a component resin of an adhesive, or an aluminum-based or copper-based resin. The mold release part 16 that can be formed of a metal material such as nickel and does not adsorb the toner 3
Can be formed of, for example, a resin as a release agent component such as a fluorine resin. Further, these resins may be water-soluble or water-insoluble.

Examples of the resin having the same component as that of the toner 3 include polystyrene resin, acrylic resin, methacrylic resin, styrene-butyl acrylic copolymer, styrene-butadiene copolymer, polyester resin and epoxy resin. It is not limited.

Further, as the resin of the same component as the adhesive,
Protein adhesives such as glue, gelatin, albumin, casein, starch-based, cellulose-based, carbohydrate-based adhesives such as complex polysaccharides (eg gum arabic, tragacanth etc.), vinyl acetate polymers and copolymers, acrylics ,
Thermoplastic adhesives such as ethylene-based co-aggregates, polyamides, polyesters, polyurethanes, polychloroprene-based, nitrile rubber-based, regenerated rubber-based, SBR-based, rubber-based adhesives such as natural rubber-based, rubber-based, acrylic-based Polyethylene terephthalate (P
ET) and the like, but not limited thereto.

When the suction portion 15 and the mold releasing portion 16 of the suction roller 12 are made of resin, the suction roller 12 is formed from the viewpoint of tension, prevention of elongation due to heat, durability and the like.
Is preferably a multilayer structure having at least two layers of a support and a surface layer. When the suction member is a roller-shaped suction roller 12 as in this embodiment, a highly rigid base roller is formed as a support. Then, it is desirable to form the adsorption part 15 and the mold release part 16 by coating the surface layer made of the above resin on this surface. Examples of the support that supports such a resin include a rubber roller, a sheet, cellophane tape,
Tapes such as kraft paper adhesive tapes, polyvinyl chloride tapes, acetone tapes, and filament reinforcing tapes can be used, but are not limited to these.

The stripping solution 8 is at least one kind of water selected from the group consisting of water, an aqueous solution containing a water-soluble polymer, an aqueous solution containing a surfactant, and an aqueous solution containing a water-soluble polymer and a surfactant. Alternatively, an aqueous solution can be used. Further, these water or aqueous solution may contain a predetermined organic solvent. Further, only organic solvent may be used as the stripping solution 8.

Examples of the water-soluble polymer include starchy substances (cane starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, wheat starch, corn starch, etc.), mannan (konjac, etc.), seaweeds (fusuri, agar, sodium alginate, etc.), plant viscosity. Natural polymers such as natural substances (troloa mallow, tragacanth gum, gum arabic, etc.), microbial mucilages (dextran, levan, etc.), proteins (nikawa, gelatin, casein, collagen, etc.), and cellulosics (viscose, methylcellulose, ethylcellulose, hydroxyethylcellulose) , Carboxymethyl cellulose, etc.), starch-based (soluble starch, carboxymethyl starch, dialdehyde starch, etc.) semi-synthetic polymers, synthetic polymers and the like, but are not limited thereto. No.

As the surfactant, for example, anionic (carboxylic acid salt, sulfonic acid salt, sulfuric acid ester salt, phosphoric acid ester salt, phosphonic acid salt, etc.), cationic (amine salt, quaternary salt) Ammonium salt, benzalkonium salt, benzethonium chloride salt, pyrivinium salt, imidazolinium salt, sulfonium salt, polyethylene polyamine, etc., amphoteric system (amino acid, carbobetaine, sulfobetaine, aminosulfate ester, aminocarboxylic acid salt, imidazoline) Derivatives, etc.), nonionic (ether type, ether ester type, ester type, nitrogen-containing type, polyhydric alcohol, amino alcohol, polyethylene glycol, etc.) usual surfactants, fluorine-based surfactants, etc. However, the present invention is not limited to these.

Further, as an organic solvent contained in water or an aqueous solution, for example, terbene, dipentene, butyl acetate, carbon tetrachloride, cellosolve acetate, xylene, toluene, ethyl acetate, diacetone alcohol, methyl cellosolve acetate, benzene, methyl Etiketone, methyl acetate, methylene chloride,
Examples thereof may include, but are not limited to, ethylene dichloride, cyclohexane, cellosolve, dioxane, acetone, methyl cellosolve, cyclohexanol, butanol and the like.

On the other hand, as the organic solvent which can be used alone,
Hexane, heptane, octane, which are hydrocarbon solvents
Nonan, Spirit, Naphtha No. 1-6 (trade name of Shell Petroleum Co., Ltd.), Isopar E, L, K, V (trade name of Exxon Corporation), IP Solvent (trade name of Idemitsu Petroleum Co., Ltd.), Shell-sol 70, 71, Solvesso 100,1
50 (trade name of Shell Oil), Ascom OMS, 4
60 (trade name of Spirits), Vegasol 1030,
2130, 3040 (trade name of Mobil Oil Co., Ltd.) and the like. Furthermore, Fluorinert FC, which is a fluorine-based solvent
40,43,70,77 (trade name of Sumitomo 3M), Aflude E10,16,18, etc., and silicone solvent Shin-Etsu Silicone KF96 (trade name), Toray Silicone SH200,344 (trade name), Toshiba Silicone TSF
431 (trade name) and the like, but the invention is not limited thereto.

[0043]

EFFECT OF THE INVENTION At least one non-suction portion is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the suction member, and after the recording medium passes through the position of the suction member, the transport direction of the sheet transport mechanism is reversed and the circulation direction of the suction member is changed. An operation reversing means for reversing is provided,
By providing the operation control means for aligning the trailing edge portion of the recording medium that is fed back and the non-suction portion of the suction member, it is possible to prevent the recording medium from sticking to the suction member by the non-suction portion, and The toner can be removed from the entire area of the recording medium by conveying the recording medium in the forward and reverse directions and bringing the entire area into pressure contact with the suction portion.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an internal structure of a toner removing device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit structure of a toner removing device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a process of removing toner from a printing paper which is a recording medium.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of the toner removing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Toner removing device 2 Recording medium 3 Toner 6 Paper transport mechanism 8 Destabilizing agent 9 Supplying means 12 Adsorption member 15 Adsorption part 16 Non-adsorption part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A destabilizing agent is supplied to a recording medium by a supply means to make the adhered toner in an unstable state in the process of conveying the recording medium to which the toner is fixed by a sheet conveying mechanism.
In a toner removing device that sequentially presses the outer peripheral surface of a circulating adsorbing member against the surface of a recording medium to adsorb toner to the adsorbing member to separate it from the recording medium, at least one non-adsorbing portion is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the adsorbing member. Provided is an operation reversing means for reversing the transport direction of the sheet transport mechanism and reversing the circulation direction of the suction member after the recording medium passes the position of the suction member, and a leading edge portion in the transport direction of the recording medium. A toner removing device comprising: an operation control means for aligning the non-suction portion of the suction member with each other.