JPH09194013A - Transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reliably convey a solid containing powder in the conveying direction having a horizontal component by a method wherein a solid placing part horizontally extending in the conveying direction is moved forward and backward and movement of the solid is regulated by bringing a solid movement regulation member into contact with or separation from the upper part of the solid placing part. SOLUTION: Toner is placed on the upper part of a transfer plate 351 horizontally extending in the conveying direction of the toner and when the transfer plate is moved forward, a partition wall 352a is separated away from the upper part of the transfer plate and the toner is moved forward in the conveying direction. When a transfer plate is moved backward, the partition wall is brought into contact with the upper part of the transfer plate, and backward movement of the toner, situated downstream of a toner transfer direction, of the partition wall is regulated. Through repetition of a process described above, the toner is moved to a region, where backward movement is regulated, in order, by transfer plates situated downstream of a transfer direction, and reliably transferred in the toner transfer direction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transfer device for a solid having a horizontal component in a transfer direction, and more particularly to a transfer device suitable for transferring powder.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a transfer device for powders among solids, for example, in an image forming apparatus, residual toner remaining on a photosensitive member not used for image formation and removed by a cleaning device, and image forming Some toners are transferred in order to collect toner or the like as an image forming substance removed by the cleaning device of the substance removing device in a toner recovery unit, and discard or recycle it.

For example, as a cleaning device for an image forming substance removing device, as shown in FIG. 4, the toner adhered to an offset belt 301 as a portion to be cleaned is used together with a cleaning brush roller 307 as the supporting roller 302 rotates. The toner is conveyed to the facing portion, scraped off by the tip portion of the cleaning brush roller 307 at the facing portion, dropped to the bottom portion of the casing 308 formed so as to surround the cleaning brush roller 307, and the toner transporting screw 310 causes the toner waste portion (see FIG. It is known that it is configured to be sent to (not shown). In this type of apparatus, it is desired that the toner scraped off by the cleaning brush roller 307 and dropped to the bottom of the casing 308 and accumulated is transferred to an area where the toner transfer screw 310 can transfer the toner. The toner transfer device includes toner transfer rollers 309a, 309b, 3
The toner transport screw 310 is sequentially rotated by the rotation of 09c.
It is conceivable that the toner may be moved to the vicinity of the transfer roller on the side closer to, and transferred to a region where the toner transfer screw 310 can transfer.

In a cleaning device of an image forming apparatus, toner scraped off by a blade from the surface of a photosensitive drum as a portion to be cleaned is conveyed by a feeding blade as a transfer device (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-63). 83
(See Japanese Patent No. 785), or the removed toner is dropped into a housing with an inclined bottom, and a rod-shaped blade as a transfer device is brought into close contact with the inclined surface of the housing and reciprocated along the inclined surface for cleaning. There is also proposed a device which is conveyed to a discharge device provided in the device (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-13275). Further, there is also proposed a method in which the toner removed from the surface of the image carrier is conveyed to a toner collecting portion by a chain stretched around two gears as a transfer device (see, for example, JP-A-59-133582). .

[0005]

However, in the transfer device having the above-described structure which has been conventionally considered, there is a problem in transferring the toner removed from the portion to be cleaned. For example, in the configuration of FIG. 4 described above, when the toner scraped off by the cleaning brush roller 307 is accumulated as shown by A in the figure, the toner is transferred to the transfer roller 30.
9a, 309b, 309c, the casing 3
There is a problem that the toner that has dropped to the portion where the transfer rollers 309a, 309b, and 309c at the bottom of 08 are not installed is left in the casing 308 without being transferred in the horizontal direction. Further, if the toner remaining in the casing 308 is affected by the frictional heat between the cleaning brush roller 307 and the offset belt 301, toner sticking may occur. Further, not only the image forming apparatus and the image forming substance removing apparatus, but also when a conventional transfer apparatus is used for transferring a solid, such a problem may occur.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a solid containing powder,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a transfer device that can reliably transfer in a transfer direction having a horizontal component.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is a transfer device for transferring a solid in a transfer direction having a horizontal component, and a solid on which a solid is placed. A solid transfer member having a mounting portion for moving the solid mounting portion forward and backward with respect to a solid transfer direction, and for selectively contacting and separating the solid mounting portion to an upper portion of the solid mounting portion; The contact portion contacting the placing portion is provided with a solid movement restricting member that does not displace with respect to the transfer direction, and the forward / backward moving distance of the solid placing portion is set to the same for forward and backward movement, and the solid placing portion is It is characterized in that the contact portion between the solid placement portion and the solid movement restricting member at the time of the most forward movement is located on the front side of the downstream end portion of the solid placement portion in the transfer direction. Here, the solid includes powder.

According to another aspect of the transfer device of the present invention, the solid is placed on the solid placement portion of the solid transfer member, and the solid movement restricting member is separated from the solid placement portion and has a horizontal component. The solid placement part is moved forward with respect to the solid transfer direction, and the solid on the solid placement part is transferred downstream by the movement distance of the solid placement part. Next, the solid movement restricting member is brought into contact with the solid placing part in synchronization with the backward movement of the solid placing part with respect to the transfer direction of the solid, and the downstream side in the transferring direction from the contact position between the solid moving regulating member and the solid placing part. The backward movement of the solids transferred to the solid mounting portion is restricted, and the solids are relatively moved in the transfer direction on the solid mounting portion. As a result, the solid on the solid placement part located upstream in the transfer direction within the forward movement distance range of the solid placement part from the contact position with the solid placement part in the solid movement restricting member is transferred to the contact position. Transfer to the downstream side.

In particular, the transfer device according to claim 2 is the transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the solid movement restricting member is the contact part between the solid movement restricting member and the solid mounting part, and the solid mounting part is the contact part. It is composed of a partition member that can be divided into a plurality of areas in the transfer direction, and every time the solid mounting section is moved back and forth once, the solid on the solid mounting section is at least one downstream area in the transfer direction. The moving distance of the solid mounting portion and the partitioning interval of the partitioning member are set so as to move.

According to another aspect of the transfer device of the present invention, the partition member is divided into a plurality of areas in contact with the solid mounting portion in the transfer direction and is in contact with the solid mounting portion. The backward movement of the solid on the placing part is regulated at multiple points, and each time the solid placing part moves back and forth once, the solid on the solid placing part is sequentially transferred to the area one downstream side in the transfer direction. To do. This forward / backward movement of the solid placement section is repeated a plurality of times, and the solid on the solid placement section is transferred by a distance longer than the forward movement distance of each time of the solid placement section.

A transfer device according to a third aspect is the transfer device according to the second aspect, wherein the partition member has a lower end that comes into contact with the solid placing portion when the partition member comes into contact with the solid placing portion, or a brush. It is characterized by being composed of members.

In the transfer device according to the third aspect of the present invention, the partition member is a partition member whose lower end comes into contact with the solid placing portion when contacting the solid placing portion, or a member having variations such as a brush member.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the transfer device according to the first or second aspect, wherein when the solid movement restricting member moves the solid transfer member forward in the transfer direction. It is characterized in that a control means for driving and controlling the solid transfer member and the solid movement restricting member is provided so as to come into contact with the solid mounting portion when being separated from the solid mounting portion and moving backward.

In the transfer device according to the fourth aspect, when the solid transfer member moves forward in the transfer direction, the solid transfer restricting member is separated from the solid mounting portion to move the solid forward, and the solid transfer member moves. When moving backward with respect to the transfer direction, the solid moving control member is brought into contact with the solid placement portion so that solids located downstream of the solid movement controlling member in the transfer direction do not move backward toward the upstream side. The drive of the transfer member and the solid movement restricting member is controlled.

The transfer device according to claim 5 is the transfer device according to claims 1, 2, and 3.
Or 4 the transfer device for transferring the residual developer to the residual developer processing part in the cleaning part for removing the residual developer from the part to be cleaned of the image forming apparatus. It is characterized by being performed.

Here, the processing section includes a developer storage section for storing the removed residual developer, a discharge section for discharging the residual developer, and the like.

In the transfer device of claim 5, the residual developer is removed from the portion to be cleaned in the cleaning portion of the image forming apparatus, and the developer removed in a part or all of the transfer path for transferring to the developer processing portion. Transfer.

The transfer device of claim 6 is the transfer device of claims 1, 2, and 3.
Or 4 the transfer device, wherein the image forming substance is removed from the cleaning portion of the image forming substance removing device that removes the image forming substance adhering to the image carrier, The present invention is characterized in that a part or all of the transfer path for transferring to the processing section is carried out.

According to another aspect of the transfer device of the present invention, the image forming substance is removed from the portion to be cleaned at the cleaning portion of the image forming substance removing device for removing the image forming substance adhering to the image carrier. The image forming substance is transferred along a part or the whole of the transfer path for transferring to the processing section.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the present invention, a heat-melting toner (hereinafter referred to as toner) as an image forming substance is transferred from a transfer paper as an image carrier on which an image is formed by a transfer type electrophotographic copying machine. An embodiment applied to a toner removing device as an image forming substance removing device to be removed will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing one configuration example of a toner removing device to which the present invention can be applied. In the toner removing device having this configuration, the transfer liquid 1 sent from the paper feeding unit 100 is applied with the processing liquid 2 on the toner image surface (the lower surface in the drawing) by the liquid applying unit 200. Here, the liquid application unit 20
0 is a liquid container filled with a predetermined amount of the treatment liquid 2 as the destabilizing liquid that makes the adhesion state of the transfer paper 1 and the toner unstable, and the liquid is partially submerged in the liquid in the liquid container. The liquid applicator 201 and 202 from the liquid applicator roller provided in the two are provided in two stages in the transport direction.
Thus, 2 g or more of the processing liquid 2 is applied. Next, transfer paper 1
Is sent to the toner peeling unit 300, and the toner fixed to the transfer paper 1 is softened by the heating from the heating block 304 and the upper heating roller 305 in the toner peeling unit 300. ), 3
It adheres to the surface of the offset belt 301 as a belt-shaped peeling member that is wound around 03 or the like. Then, when the transfer paper 1 and the offset belt 301 are separated from each other around the bent portion of the heating block 304, the toner attached to the surface of the offset belt 301 is separated from the transfer paper 1, thereby removing the toner from the transfer paper 1 Is done. The transfer paper 1 from which the toner has been removed is dried by the drying unit 400, and is discharged onto the built-in discharge tray 505 of the paper receiving unit 500 by the discharge roller pair 503. Here, the drying unit 40
0 is, for example, for drying the transfer paper 1 so that the liquid holding amount of the transfer paper 1 is 10% or less of the paper weight, and is wound on the heating drum 401 having a built-in heating lamp and a plurality of support rollers. The heating drum 401 is composed of a paper pressing belt 402 which moves endlessly while being wound around the peripheral surface of the heating drum 401 at a constant angle. By the above-described toner removal processing, the liquid is supplied to the transfer paper 1 to which the toner has adhered, and the toner is peeled off in a state where the liquid has penetrated into the interface of the transfer paper 1 with the toner. The toner can be removed. Further, the surface of the offset belt 301 to which the toner separated from the transfer paper 1 is attached is cleaned by a cleaning device. This cleaning device will be described later in detail.

Next, referring to FIG. 2, the offset belt 3
The cleaning device for cleaning the surface 01 will be described in detail. This cleaning device is provided at a position facing the support roller 302 with the offset belt 301 interposed therebetween, and a brush roller 307 as a cleaning rotator that rotates while contacting the surface of the offset belt 301 to remove toner, and a brush roller 307. A casing 308 for surrounding the roller 307 and receiving the toner removed by the brush roller 307 is provided.
Further, on the bottom of the casing, there is provided a toner transport screw 310 that transports toner in the axial direction by the rotation of a shaft having rotating blades in the circumferential direction.

Here, in the cleaning device of this embodiment, the toner as a solid removed by the cleaning brush roller 307 is transferred to the toner conveying screw 310.
A transfer device 350 for transferring to the side is provided. The transfer device 350 includes a plate-shaped transfer plate 351 as a solid transfer member that horizontally extends from below the cleaning brush roller 307 to below the toner transfer screw 310, and a partition member that is located above the transfer plate 351. The toner movement restricting member 352 is a solid movement restricting member. The transfer plate 351 has wall portions 351a and 351 directed upward at the end portion on the toner transfer screw 310 side.
b is provided, and the transfer plate cam 353 is sandwiched between the wall portions 351a and 351b. Then, each time the transfer plate cam 353 makes one rotation, the transfer plate moves back and forth once in the direction from the cleaning brush roller 307 toward the toner transfer screw 310 (hereinafter referred to as the toner transfer direction). A plurality of the toner movement restricting members 352 are provided in a direction that partitions the space above the transfer plate 351 from below the cleaning brush roller 307 to the front below the toner transport screw 310 substantially perpendicularly to the toner transport direction. A partition wall 352a as a partition member of
The partition wall 352a is composed of a connecting plate 352b that connects the partition walls 352a at their ends. The partition wall 352a of the partition wall 352a, which is closest to the toner transport screw 310, extends so as to cover the toner transport screw 310 and a toner movement restricting member cam 354 is provided so as to come into contact with the end portion thereof. The connecting plate cleaning brush roller 307 near side end portion of the 352b, the toner movement restricting member 352 is a point O ₁ is supported on the inner surface of the casing to be movable point O ₁ as a fulcrum, the toner movement restricting member cam 354 1 Each time it rotates, the toner movement restricting member 352 moves up and down by one reciprocating motion with the point O ₁ as a fulcrum. Here, when the toner movement restricting member 352 is located at the lowermost position due to the vertical movement, the partition wall 352a of the toner movement restricting member 352 contacts the upper surface of the transfer plate 351, and when it is located at the uppermost position, the partition wall of the toner movement restricting member 352 is formed. 352a is a transfer plate 351
It is configured to be separated from the upper surface of the. Further, in the present embodiment, the partition wall 35 of the toner movement restriction member 352 is used.
The distance between 2a and the partition wall 352a is formed constant, and the forward / backward moving distance of the transfer plate 351 is set by the transfer plate cam 353 so as to be equal to the distance between the partition walls. (Hereinafter, margin)

FIG. 3 shows the drive control of the transfer device 350 having the above-described structure, in terms of the positional relationship between the transfer plate 351 and the partition wall 352a. In FIG. 3, T schematically shows one of the toners on the transfer plate 351, and the toner transfer direction is from left to right. (A) is a state immediately before the transfer plate 351 moves backward, (b) is a state where the transfer plate 351 has finished moving backward, (c) is a state immediately before the transfer plate 351 is moved forward, (d) ) Shows a state where the transfer plate 351 has finished moving forward, and (e) shows a state immediately before the transfer plate 351 moves backward again. In (a), immediately before the transfer plate 351 is moved backward, the toner movement restricting member 352 is moved downward to bring the partition wall 352a into contact with the upper surface of the transfer plate 351. At this time, the toner T is the toner movement restricting member 352.
Of the plurality of partition walls 352a, the fourth partition wall (hereinafter, referred to as the fourth partition wall) and the fifth partition wall (hereinafter, the fifth partition wall) from the front.
It is in the area between the partitions. Next, in (b), with the partition wall 352a in contact with the transfer plate 351,
The transfer plate 351 is moved backward. At this time, since the toner T is restricted from moving backward by the fourth partition wall, the transfer plate 35
Even if 1 moves backward, the toner T does not move to the rear of the fourth partition (left side in the drawing). In (c), the transfer plate 351
The partition 352a is separated from the upper surface of the transfer plate 351 immediately before the forward movement of the transfer plate 351. In (d), the transfer plate 351 is moved forward by the distance between the partition walls while the partition wall 352a is separated from the transfer plate 351. Then, in (e), the partition wall 352a is brought into contact with the transfer plate 351 before the transfer plate 351 is moved backward again. At this time, the toner T comes to the front (on the right side in the drawing) of the fifth partition wall that exceeds the partition wall 352a by one in the toner transfer direction compared to the state of (a). The transfer plate 351 and the partition wall 35 are formed in a series of forms from (a) to (d) above.
By controlling the driving of the transfer plate 2a, the toner T on the transfer plate 351 can be advanced in the transfer direction by the distance between the partition walls every time the transfer plate 351 is moved back and forth once. By repeating the above process, the toner T can be reliably transferred to the vicinity of the toner transfer screw 310.

With the above structure, the offset belt 30
When the toner adhering to 1 is cleaned by the cleaning device, the cleaning brush roller 307 is rotated to scrape off the toner from the offset belt 301, and the transfer device 350 is driven to drive the casing 30.
8 Toner that has fallen to the bottom of the toner transfer screw 310
The toner is transferred to the vicinity and is conveyed to a waste toner tank (not shown) by the toner conveying screw 310. According to this configuration, the scraped off toner causes the toner carrying screw 31 to move.
Even if it falls to the outside of the area transported by 0, the transfer device 35
When the toner is transferred to the range in which the toner transfer screw 310 can be transferred and the toner can be transferred by the toner transfer screw 310, the toner remains without being transferred to the inside of the casing 308, or the toner remaining inside the casing 308 is removed. The problem of sticking can be prevented. In addition, by reducing the distance between the partition walls to some extent, the transfer plate 35
Since the forward / backward moving distance of 1 can be set small and the drive by the cam can be adopted, the transfer device can be downsized. Further, the partition wall 35 as a toner movement restricting member
If 2a is composed of a brush member whose lower end is in contact with the transfer plate 351, abrasion of the toner mounting surface of the transfer plate 351 due to long-term use can be reduced.

Here, in the above embodiment, the transfer plate 351 is extended below the desired transfer area, and the toner relatively moves on the upper surface of the transfer plate 351 in the transfer direction, and is located at the most downstream side in the transfer direction. Partition 352 that contacts transfer plate 351 at
By being transferred to the downstream side of a, the toner is transferred to a desired transfer position. Alternatively, the transfer plate 351 may be provided only before the desired transfer position. In that case, when the transfer plate 351 is moved backward, the toner is restricted from moving backward from the downstream end of the transfer plate 351 in the toner transfer direction by the partition wall 352a which comes into contact with the transfer plate 351 at the most downstream side in the transfer direction. Is pushed out and falls from the transfer plate 351, and the transfer device is configured so that the falling position becomes a desired transfer area.

[0026]

According to the transfer device of the present invention, the solid is placed on the solid placement part of the solid transfer member, and the solid movement restricting member is separated from the solid placement part. The solid placing part is moved forward with respect to the transfer direction of the solid having the component, and the solid on the solid placing part is transferred to the downstream side by the moving distance of the solid placing part, and then the solid placing part is moved backward. The solid movement restricting member is brought into contact with the solid placement portion in synchronization, and the solid transferred to the downstream side in the transfer direction from the contact position between the solid movement restricting member and the solid placement portion is restricted from moving backward, Is relatively moved in the transfer direction on the solid placement part, so that it is on the upstream side in the transfer direction within the forward movement distance range of the solid placement part from the contact position with the solid placement part in the solid movement restricting member. The solid on the solid placement part is moved in the direction of movement that has a horizontal component. There is an effect that from the contact position between the member and the solid mounting portion can be reliably transferred to the downstream side.

In particular, according to the transfer device of the second aspect, when the solid mounting portion is moved backward with respect to the transfer direction by the partition member which is in contact with the solid mounting portion in a plurality of areas in the transfer direction. In addition, the backward movement of the solid on the solid placement part is regulated at a plurality of points, and each time the solid placement part is moved back and forth once,
Since the solids on the solid placement part are sequentially transferred to an area on the downstream side in the transfer direction, the solids on the solid placement part are placed on the solid placement part by repeating the forward / backward movement of the solid placement part several times. There is an effect that it can be transferred by a distance longer than the forward movement distance of each part of the unit, and the forward and backward movement distances of the solid placement part can be shortened with respect to the transfer distance.

According to the transfer device of the third aspect, since the partition member has a variation such as a partition member whose lower end contacts the solid mounting portion when contacting the solid mounting portion, or a brush member, the transfer member. There is an effect that an appropriate one can be selected and used according to the device provided with.

According to the transfer device of the fourth aspect, when the solid transfer member moves forward in the transfer direction, the solid transfer restricting member is separated from the solid mounting portion to move the solid forward to transfer the solid. When the member moves backward with respect to the transfer direction, the solid movement restricting member is brought into contact with the solid placement part so that the solid on the downstream side of the solid movement restricting member in the transfer direction does not move backward toward the upstream side. Since the drive of the solid transfer member and the solid movement restricting member is controlled, the drive control of the solid transfer restricting member and the solid movement restricting member can be automatically performed, and the solid can be transferred more reliably in the intended transfer direction. There is.

According to the transfer device of the fifth aspect, the transfer device removes the residual developer from the portion to be cleaned in the cleaning portion of the image forming apparatus and transfers the developer to the developer processing portion in part or in whole. Since the residual developer is transferred, it is possible to reliably transfer the residual developer in the cleaning unit of the image forming apparatus.

According to the transfer device of the sixth aspect, the cleaning portion of the image forming substance removing device for removing the image forming substance adhering to the image carrier removes the image forming substance from the portion to be cleaned to form the image. Since the image forming substance is transferred by the transfer device in a part or the whole of the transfer path for transferring to the substance processing unit, the transfer of the removed image forming substance in the cleaning unit of the image forming substance removing device should be performed reliably. There is an effect that can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating a schematic configuration of a toner removing device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a cleaning device used in the toner removing device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing drive control of a transfer device used in the cleaning device in terms of a positional relationship between a transfer plate and a partition wall.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a conventionally proposed cleaning device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 301 Offset Belt 302 Support Roller 307 Cleaning Brush Roller 308 Casing 310 Toner Conveying Screw 350 Transfer Device 351 Transfer Plate 352 Toner Transfer Restricting Member 352a Partition

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A transfer device for transferring a solid in a transfer direction having a horizontal component, which has a solid mounting part on which a solid is mounted, and moves the solid mounting part forward and backward with respect to the transfer direction of the solid. And a solid movement restricting member that selectively contacts and separates the upper part of the solid placement part and the contact part that contacts the solid placement part is not displaced in the transfer direction. Provided, the forward and backward movement distance of the solid placement portion is set to the same for forward and backward movement, and the contact portion between the solid placement portion and the solid movement restricting member when the solid placement portion is moved most forward. A transfer device, wherein the transfer device is located on a front side of a front end portion on the downstream side in the transfer direction of the solid placing portion. 2. The transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the solid movement restricting member is divided into a plurality of areas in the transfer direction at a contact portion between the solid movement restricting member and the solid mounting portion. A solid partitioning member, and the solid placement part is configured so that the solids on the solid placement part move to at least one downstream side area in the transfer direction each time the solid placement part is moved back and forth once. And a moving distance of the partition member and a partitioning interval of the partitioning member. 3. The transfer device according to claim 2, wherein the partition member is composed of a partition member or a brush member whose lower end comes into contact with the solid placing portion when the solid placing portion is contacted. Transfer device. 4. The transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the transfer device separates from the solid mounting portion when the solid transfer restricting member moves forward in the transfer direction. Then, the transfer device is provided with a control means for driving and controlling the solid transfer member and the solid transfer restricting member so as to come into contact with the solid mounting portion when the retreat is performed. 5. The transfer device according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the residual developer in a cleaning unit for removing the residual developer from a portion to be cleaned of an image forming apparatus is transferred to a residual developer processing unit. The transfer device is characterized in that a part or all of the transfer route is transferred. 6. The transfer device according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the image forming substance is removed from a portion to be cleaned of an image forming substance removing device for removing the image forming substance adhering to the image carrier. A transfer device, wherein a part or all of a transfer path for transferring an image forming substance in a cleaning unit to be removed to an image forming substance processing unit is transferred.