JPH09319231A - Wet electrophotographic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely remove the excess liquid of the terminal end part of a photosensitive material by constituting a wet electrophotographic device, so as to absorb/remove the excess liquid of the photosensitive material by a roll- like liquid absorbing member. SOLUTION: A feeding side shaft 17 takes up the liquid absorbing member 16 like a roll to stop and rotate it. A take-up side shaft 18 takes up the fed liquid absorbing member 16 like the roll. An arm member 19 movably supports the take-up side shaft 18 concentrically with a rotary drum 6 with bearings 26 fitted to both ends of the take-up side shaft 18. An arm moving mechanism moves the arm member 19, to elastically press the roll-like liquid absorbing member 16 of the take-up side shaft 18 against a surface on the side of the rotary drum 6. In other words, the liquid absorbing member 16 is take up on the take-up side shaft 18 little by little like the roll by the feeding side shaft 17 and every time an operation for development, etc., is completed, the roll-like liquid absorbing member 16 of the take-up side shaft 18 is elastically pressed on the end part of the photosensitive material, in such a manner that the arm moving mechanism is driven to move the arm member 19.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wet electrophotographic apparatus capable of reliably absorbing and removing excess developing solution and prewetting solution.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a wet electrophotographic apparatus in which a latent image formed on a photosensitive material is visualized by a developing solution, the photosensitive material is formed by forming a photoconductive layer on a conductive layer such as aluminum. By irradiating the surface with laser light, conductivity is generated, and the grounded conductive layer is discharged with a charged electric charge. Therefore, by controlling the laser light on / off, a charged portion and a non-charged portion are formed, and this becomes a latent image. The developing electrode in the developing process circulates a developing solution containing toner charged with a polarity opposite to that of the charging section, and the surface of the photosensitive material passes through the developing solution, so that the charging section has a polarity opposite to that of the charging section. Toner adheres and the latent image becomes visible as described above. In such an apparatus, it is unavoidable that the developing solution (toner) remains on the surface of the photosensitive material (image carrier) after passing through the developing device, and this residual developing solution (hereinafter referred to as excess developing solution) If left unattended, the quality of the finished image will be degraded. Therefore, an example of a wet color electrophotographic copying machine in which an excessive developing solution removing means for removing an excessive developing solution adhering to a photosensitive material is provided downstream of a developing device in a transfer direction of the photosensitive material, and an excessive developing method of another example Liquid removing devices are disclosed in JP-A-62-144180 and JP-A-6-51642, respectively.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a part of an example of the conventional example, FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a part of an excessive developing solution removing device of another example of the conventional example, and FIG. 8 is an excessive developing solution. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which excess developer is blown to the terminal non-image portion of the photosensitive material by the air from the nozzle in the removing device. First, an example of the wet color electrophotographic copying machine 100 shown in FIG. 6 is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-144180. Here, an excess developing solution for removing the excess developing solution adhering to the photosensitive material is used. Only the removing means will be briefly described.

As shown in FIG. 6, in a conventional wet color electrophotographic copying machine 100, a photosensitive material 101 having an electrostatic latent image recorded thereon is wound around a rotating drum 102 and is integrated with the rotating drum 102 by an arrow A. It is rotatably transferred in the direction. Further, below the rotary drum 102, a plurality of developing devices 103 to 105 for color developing the photosensitive material 101 are provided so as to be movable back and forth with respect to the rotary drum 102. Among the plurality of developing devices 103 to 105, the developing device 103 is a cyan developing device, the developing device 104 is a magenta developing device, and the developing device 105.
Is a yellow developing device, and a black developing device (not shown) is provided as necessary. Here, for example, in a state where the developing device 103 for one color is brought close to the rotating drum 102, the rotating drum 102 provided inside the developing device 103.
The developer supplied from the long developing head 103a along the axis (not shown) is brought into contact with the photosensitive material 101 to visualize the recorded electrostatic latent image.
Color development can be sequentially and repeatedly performed by the developing device 104 and the developing device 105 for each rotation of 02.

Further, the photosensitive material 1 is provided downstream of the developing device 103 near the rotary drum 102 in the transfer direction of the photosensitive material 101.
An excess developing solution removing means for removing the excess developing solution adhering to 01 is provided. The excess developer removing means includes a liquid squeezing roller 106, a liquid collecting blade 107, and an air knife device 108. Liquid squeezing roller 10
In the photosensitive material 10, the both ends are formed with a large diameter, and the intermediate portion corresponding to the image portion of the photosensitive material 101 is formed with a smaller diameter than the both ends.
The excess developer adhering to the non-image areas on both sides of No. 1 is removed. The liquid recovery blade 107 has its upper end separated from the photosensitive material 101 while the developing head (developing electrode) 103a is in the developing position where the developing head (developing electrode) 103a is supported in close proximity to the rotating drum 102, while the developing device 103 moves a predetermined amount. When it descends, its upper end rises and contacts the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum 102. Therefore, at the end of development, the excess developer adhering to the photosensitive material 101 is flowed down via the liquid recovery blade 107 by the air pressure of the air knife device 108 and removed.

Next, another example of the excessive developing solution removing device 200 shown in FIG. 7 is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-51642, and the excessive developing solution removing the excessive developing solution adhering to the photosensitive material is also used here. Only the liquid removing means will be briefly described. As shown in FIG. 7, the photosensitive material 201 on which the electrostatic latent image is recorded is provided in the rotary drum 20 in the excess developer removing device 200 of another example.
While being wound around 2, it is rotatably transferred in the direction of arrow A together with the rotary drum 202. Further, below the rotary drum 202, a developing device 203 for developing the photosensitive material 201 is provided so as to be movable back and forth (movable up and down) in a direction perpendicular to the rotary drum 202 (directions of arrows B1 and B2).

Here, the developing device 203 is connected to the rotary drum 2
02, the long developing electrode 203 along the shaft 202a of the rotary drum 202 provided in the developing device 203.
The developer supplied from a is brought into contact with the photosensitive material 201 to visualize the recorded electrostatic latent image, and the developer overflowing from the developing electrode 203a is collected into the developer collecting drain 20.
Recovered in 3b. A blower 204 having a nozzle 204a for blowing air to the downstream side of the developing device 203 in the transfer direction of the photosensitive material 201 is provided as an excessive developing solution removing means for removing the excessive developing solution adhering to the photosensitive material 201. In addition, the tip of the nozzle 204a of the blower 204 is brought close to the developing electrode 203a in the developing device 203. Then, during development on the photosensitive material 201, the photosensitive material 2
The excess developer adhering to 01 is blown by the air blown from the nozzle 204a, the side wall of the developing electrode 203a is made to flow down, and the developer is collected by the developer collecting drain 203b.

Then, the last remaining surplus developing solution is positioned at the substantially lowermost end of the rotary drum and is brought to the end portion side of the photosensitive material 201 in the transfer direction side as shown in FIG. There is. This prevents excess developer from adhering to the image portion 201a. However, the excess developing solution blown to the terminal non-image portion 201b cannot be sufficiently removed.

[0009]

Therefore, in the previous application (Japanese Patent Application No. 6-308132), the applicant of the present invention gradually feeds out the excess developer absorbing member wound in a roll shape and terminates it by terminating the non-image. An apparatus has been disclosed in which the liquid is pressed against the portion and absorbs the excess liquid blown over here.

However, in this device, as described above, since one sheet-shaped absorbing member is brought into contact with the lowermost portion of the photosensitive member surface to absorb the excess liquid, the absorption capacity may be small. Alternatively, the adhesion between the sheet-shaped absorbing member and the surface of the photosensitive member is not so good, the absorption efficiency is poor, uneven absorption may occur, and absorption may take a long time. Further, since the excess liquid is blown to the lowermost portion of the photoconductor and retained therein, the excess liquid is absorbed, so that the developer spreads over a wide range, and the range where stain remains near the end of the photoconductor tends to widen. , Sometimes the image quality was reduced.

Further, when the excess liquid is blown over as described above, it may overflow from the end of the photoconductor and adhere to the surface of the rotary drum to stain the drum itself. To prevent this, the photoconductor is used. In some cases, the length of itself has to be set excessively long. Further, since the absorbing member slides on the surface of the photoconductor in a state of being in contact with the photoconductor, the photoconductor adsorbed to the rotary drum is displaced due to friction at this time, and particularly when multicolor output is performed. In some cases, the cash register was misaligned. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems and was devised in order to effectively solve the problems, and an object thereof is a wet electrophotographic apparatus capable of surely removing an excess liquid at a terminal portion of a photosensitive material. To provide.

[0012]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a wet electrophotographic apparatus for developing a charge latent image by applying a developing solution to a photosensitive material wound around a rotating drum. , A supply side shaft wound around the liquid absorbing member in a roll shape so that rotation can be stopped, and the liquid absorbing member supplied from the supply side shaft, which is provided in parallel with the rotating drum, is wound into a roll shape. A winding-side shaft that can be stopped rotation, an arm member that movably supports the winding-side shaft concentrically with the rotary drum, and a winding-side shaft that is wound by moving the arm member. An arm moving mechanism that elastically presses the roll-shaped liquid absorbing member against the surface of the rotating drum side is provided as necessary.

As a result, the liquid absorbing member is gradually rolled up from the supply-side shaft to the winding-side shaft in a roll-like manner, and the roll-shaped liquid absorbing member of the winding-side shaft is absorbed every time one development process is completed. The member is elastically pressed against the end of the photosensitive material by driving the arm moving mechanism to move the arm member.

As a result, even if a large amount of surplus liquid is blown by the air squeeze to the end portion of the photosensitive material, this can be almost completely absorbed and removed. Further, since the liquid absorbing member wound in a roll shape is pressed against, the adhesiveness to the photosensitive material is good and uneven absorption hardly occurs. Further, since the shaft guide groove is provided at the tip of the arm member and the liquid absorbing member is pressed against the photosensitive material, the winding side shaft is moved with the rotation of the rotating drum. It never happens.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a wet electrophotographic apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG.
3 is a configuration diagram showing a wet electrophotographic apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a terminal treatment device which is a main part of the apparatus of the present invention, FIG.
5 to 5 are diagrams showing the operation of the termination processor. As shown in the figure, the photosensitive material 2 is loaded into the wet electrophotographic apparatus 1.
This photosensitive material 2 is attached in a state that it is wound into a reel shape.
Is sent in the direction of the rotary drum 6 by a pair of rollers 3 and a pair of rollers 4, and is pressed against the rotary drum 6 by a pressing roller 5, and a suction force is applied by the operation of a suction device (not shown) in the rotary drum 6. While being rotated, the rotating drum 6
While being wound around, it is rotatably transferred in the counterclockwise direction (direction of arrow Z) integrally with the rotary drum 6 as illustrated. After that, the photosensitive material 2 is cut into a predetermined length by a cutter 7 provided between the rollers 3 and 4. Further, the photosensitive material 2 that is integrally transferred with the rotating drum 6 is uniformly charged by the charger 8 provided upstream of the photosensitive material 2 in the transfer direction as the rotating drum 6 rotates. Then, the image signal output from the semiconductor laser 9 is scanned line by line in the direction of the axis 6a of the rotary drum 6 by the rotatable polygon mirror 10.
The charged photosensitive material 2 is irradiated through the lens 11 and the reflecting mirrors 12 and 13 in order to perform exposure, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to an image signal is recorded as a charge image.

A pre-bath 14 for eliminating fogging and the like due to physical adhesion of toner is provided downstream of the charger 8 in the transfer direction of the photosensitive material 2, and the pre-bath taken from a liquid supply means (not shown). The wetting liquid is poured onto the outer peripheral surface of the roller 14a and applied so as to cover the charge image. Further, a terminating device 15, which is a feature of the present invention, is detachably provided downstream of the pre-bath device 14 in the transfer direction of the photosensitive material 2. The terminal processing unit 15 has a function of removing the excess developing solution blown by the air from the nozzle 53a of the air squeeze 53, which will be described later, to the terminal non-image portion 2b (FIG. 8) which is the terminal portion in the transfer direction of the photosensitive material 2. Is provided upstream of the nozzle 53a of the air squeeze 53 in the transfer direction of the photosensitive material 2.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the end treatment device 15 has a supply side shaft 17 in which the liquid absorbing member 16 is wound in a roll shape so that the rotation can be stopped, and the liquid absorbing member fed from the supply side shaft 17. The winding-side shaft 18 that winds the member 16 in a roll shape, and the shaft 18 via the bearings 26 fitted to both ends of the winding-side shaft 18,
An arm member 19 concentrically movably supported by the rotary drum 6 and an arm movement for moving the arm member 19 to elastically press the roll-shaped liquid absorbing member 16 of the winding-side shaft 18 against the surface of the rotary drum side. It is mainly configured by the mechanism 20. Specifically, both shafts 1
7 and 18 are provided in parallel along the length direction of the rotary drum 6, and in particular, the winding-side shaft 18 is arranged near the lowermost end of the drum 6. Supply shaft 17
Is rotatably supported on the housing (not shown) side of the device via bearings 21, 21 at both ends thereof.
The end of the shaft 17 is connected to a supply motor 23 capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions via a speed reducer 22, for example. A roll 24 is formed by winding an unused liquid absorbing member 16 around the shaft 17 in advance.

The other winding-side shaft 18 is movably supported concentrically with the rotating drum 6 on the side surface of the rotating drum 6 and at the tip of one arm member 19 arranged apart from this. Specifically, at the tip of the arm member 19, a long shaft guide hole 25 having a predetermined length having an arc concentric with the rotary drum 6 is formed along the circumferential direction of the rotary drum 6. A bearing 26 is fitted in the guide hole 25 so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction thereof, and the bearing 26 rotatably supports the shaft 18 on the winding side. A winding motor 28, which is rotatable in the forward and reverse directions, is connected to the end of the shaft 18 via a speed reducer 27. The used liquid absorbing member 16 is wound around this shaft to form a roll 29. As the liquid absorbing member 16, a material having excellent liquid absorbing property, for example, a non-woven fabric can be used.

The arm moving mechanism 20 that supports the arm members 19 and 19 has two guide pins 30a and 30b fixed to the housing 30 side of the apparatus. 30b are provided with an appropriate interval. And these two guide pins 30
The a and 30b are loosely fitted in the two elongated hole-shaped guide holes 31a and 31b provided in the arm member 19 so that the arm member 19 can be guided and moved in the radial direction of the drum.

Further, an eccentric rotation cam 32 whose rotation can be controlled by a motor (not shown) is provided in the housing 30 on the base end side (upper side in the drawing) of the arm member 19, and the arm member is also provided. An elastic member 33 for the arm, such as a spring, having one end fixed to the housing portion above it, is provided at the starting end portion of 19.
And the arm member 19
Is always pulled toward the eccentric rotation cam 32 side. Therefore, the elastic member 33 constantly urges the arm member 19 toward the cam 32 to bring the upper end of the arm member into contact with the sliding surface of the cam 32.

The terminating processor 15 having the above-described structure operates every time the rotary drum makes one rotation and performs one developing process, as will be described later. Returning to FIG. 1 again, the termination processor 1
5, just below the rotary drum 6 on the downstream side in the transfer direction of the photosensitive material 2, one of the plurality of developers 35 to 38, for example, 35 (to 38), is perpendicular to the rotary drum 6. It is provided so as to be movable back and forth (movable up and down) in the directions of arrows B1 and B2.

The plurality of developing devices 35 to 38 are provided with a long developing electrode 35 provided along the shaft 6a of the rotary drum 6.
a to 38a are provided inside the developing device 3 when the electrostatic latent image recorded on the photosensitive material 2 is color-developed into a visible image.
Reference numeral 5 is a yellow (Y) developer, developer 36 is a magenta (M) developer, developer 37 is a cyan (C) developer, and developer 38 is a black (B) developer. It is prepared as. Then, of the plurality of developing devices 35 to 38, one developing device 35 (to 38) is a developing device mounting table 39 described later.
Selectively placed on top. Here, when developing the electrostatic latent image recorded on the photosensitive material 2 for each color, the developing device advancing / retreating means 40, which will be described later, moves the developing device 35 for yellow (Y) of the first color to just under the rotary drum 6. Raise and develop device 35
A developing solution for yellow (Y) is brought into contact with the photosensitive material 2 from the developing electrode 35a therein to develop the electrostatic latent image into yellow, and thereafter, for each rotation of the rotary drum 6, a magenta (M) The developing device 36, the developing device 37 for cyan (C), and the developing device 38 for black (B) can sequentially and repeatedly perform color development. Each of these developing devices 35-38
Is movable by a chain belt 41 which is capable of reciprocating in the horizontal direction, and an arbitrary developing device is selectively positioned at the position of the mounting table 39.

The developing device advancing / retreating means 40 comprises a base 42.
Multiple guide shafts 43, 4 on top (only two shown)
4 are erected, and these plural guide shafts 43, 4
4, a developing device mounting table 39 for selectively mounting a plurality of developing devices 35 (to 38) is fitted in a vertically movable manner. Further, a cam support plate 45 is erected on the base table 42. A motor 46 as a drive source and a rotary shaft 47 which is rotationally driven via a reduction gear (not shown) are rotatable on the cam support plate 45. Supported by. A developing device advancing / retreating cam 48 is fixed to the rotating shaft 47. A substantially L-shaped developing device advancing / retreating lever 49 is rotatably supported on the cam support plate 45 about a shaft 50, and the developing device advancing / retreating lever 49 is provided at the leading end of the developing device 49. A roller 51 that comes into contact with the device mounting table 39 and a cam follower 52 that comes into contact with the developing device advancing / retracting cam 48 are provided at an intermediate portion. Then, when the developing device advancing / retreating cam 48 is rotated, the cam follower 52 provided at the intermediate portion of the developing device advancing / retreating lever 49 rotates about the shaft 50 along the developing device advancing / retreating cam 48. The developing device mounting base 39 on which the developing devices 35 (to 38) are mounted is moved up and down via a roller 51 provided at one end of the advancing / retreating lever 49.

In addition, one developing device 35 (up to 3) which is lifted to a position right below the rotary drum 6, that is, the lowermost end of the drum.
8) An air squeeze 53 having a nozzle 53a for blowing out air is provided closer to the developing electrode 35a (to 38a) in the developing device 35 (to 38), downstream of the photosensitive material 2 in the transfer direction. While developing the photosensitive material 2 with one developing device 35 (to 38), the image portion 2a (FIG. 8) of the photosensitive material 2 is blown by the air from the nozzle 53a of the air squeeze 53.
The excess development adhering to is blown away. At this time, most of the excess development blown by the air is transmitted to the electrodes and flows down to the tray 35b, but a part of the excess development is arrow Z of the photosensitive material 2.
Along with the transfer in the direction, the photosensitive material 2 is blown to the end non-image portion 2b (FIG. 8) which is the end portion in the transfer direction. Further, a dryer 54 for drying the developed photosensitive material 2 is provided downstream of the nozzle 53a of the air squeeze 53 in the transfer direction of the photosensitive material 2, and a static eliminator for removing the residual charge of the charged photosensitive material 2. 55 and 55 are provided respectively. Further, in order to discharge the photosensitive material 2 which has been developed, a pair of rollers 5
6 is provided on the upper left side of the rotary drum 6 in the drawing.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be described. Prior to the execution of the developing process, the developing devices 35 to 38 are in a standby state at the home position (the position on the left side of the terminating processor 15 in FIG. 1), and the electrodes 35a to 38a of the developing devices 35 to 38 are provided. Each developing solution circulates in each. All these developing devices 3
Numerals 5 to 38 are on a chain belt 41 which is capable of reciprocating in the horizontal direction, and can reciprocate between the vicinity of the rotary drum and this home position. At this home position, each electrode may be cleaned by a cleaning mechanism (not shown). First, in FIG. 1, the chain belt 41 is driven to position the developing device required for the developing process below the rotary drum 6.

Then, as shown in FIG. 1, when the developing device advancing / retreating cam 48 of the developing device advancing / retreating means 40 is rotated, the developing device advancing / retreating lever 49 is moved upward in accordance with the rotation of the developing device advancing / retreating cam 48. By the rotation, for example, the developing device 35 for yellow (Y) of the first color, which is mounted on the developing device mounting table 39, moves in the direction of the arrow B1 and rises to almost right below the rotary drum 6. .

Thereafter, the development of the first color of yellow (Y) is started on the photosensitive material 2 on which the electrostatic latent image is recorded by using the yellow (Y) developer supplied from the developing electrode 35a. It When the development of the first color yellow (Y) is started, the air blown from the nozzle 53a of the air squeeze 53 near the developing electrode 35a in the developing device 35 causes the image portion 2a of the photosensitive material 2 (see FIG. 8). ) And the excess developer adhering to () is blown and collected in the developing device 35. On the other hand, when the photosensitive material 2 is rotatably transferred together with the rotary drum 6 in the arrow Z direction, a part of the excess developing solution blown by the air is transferred to the terminal non-image portion 2b (FIG. 8) on the transfer direction side of the photosensitive material 2. ). Then, when the development of the first color on the image portion 2a (FIG. 8) of the photosensitive material 2 is completed, the developing device 35 descends. Then, by temporarily stopping the rotation of the rotary drum 6, the terminal non-image portion 2b of the photosensitive material 2 reaches a position facing the developing electrode 35a in the developing device 35.

On the other hand, the terminal processing unit 15 operates just before the end of the developing process. That is, during development, as shown in FIG. 3, the developing device 35 is raised and its developing electrode 35a is set on the photosensitive material 2, and the surface of the photosensitive material 2 is wet with the developing solution 57. Then, the excess developer 57a is removed by the air D from the air squeeze 53, and flows down the side surface of the electrode 35a to the tray 35b to be collected. Immediately before the development process reaches the final end of the photosensitive material 2, at the timing when the end of the photosensitive material 2 comes directly above the used roll 29 of the liquid absorbing member wound on the winding shaft 18, first, the winding operation is performed. The motor 23 (see FIG. 2) is slightly rotated in the winding direction indicated by the arrow C to supply a new unused liquid absorbing member 16 to the roll 29 side. At this time, the supply motor 23 of the supply shaft 17 around which the unused liquid absorbing member 16 is wound (see FIG.
(See also) also rotates in the unwinding direction indicated by arrow E to send out the liquid absorbing member having the same length. In this case, the supply motor 23 may not be energized, and the unused roll 29 side may be rotated by the winding force of the winding motor 28.

Next, by rotating the cam 32 of the arm moving mechanism 20 by a predetermined angle, the arm member 19 that has been pushed down against the arm elastic member 33 is pulled up in the arrow F direction. At this time, the movement of the arm member 19 is guided by the guide pins 30a and 30b loosely fitted in the guide holes 31a and 31b. The state at this time is shown in FIG. 4. By this operation, the winding-side shaft 18 supported by the shaft guide hole 25 of the arm member 19 via the bearing 26 is also pulled up, and the liquid absorbing member 16
The roll 29 of the roller is attached to the end of the photosensitive material 2 by the elastic member 33
It is pressed with a moderate resilience. When the drum 6 rotates in the Z direction in this state, the roll 29 also moves in the arrow Z direction integrally with the roll 29 while being pressed against the end portion of the photosensitive material 2. The state at this time is shown in FIG. During this movement, the liquid absorbing member 16 having a length corresponding to the amount of movement of the used roll 29 in the Z direction is unwound from the other unused roll 24 while rotating the supply motor 23 in the unwinding direction. Be done. At this time, the developing device 35 has already been
Is lowered at the end of development and is separated from the rotary drum 6.

The surplus developing solution 57b (see FIG. 4) is blown by the air squeeze 53 to the drum 6 as described above.
Is gradually blown toward the roll 29 as it rotates.
As shown in FIG. 5, when the roll 29 moves along with the rotation of the drum 6 and near the tip of the nozzle 53a of the air squeeze 53, the rotation of the drum 6 is stopped, and in this state, for a fixed time, for example, several seconds. Air is continuously blown out from the air squeeze 53, and the excess developer 57b is absorbed by the roll 29. In this case, the liquid absorbing member 16 is not one,
Since it is wound into a plurality of layers in a roll shape, the liquid absorption capacity is very large, and the roll 29 has the elastic force of the roll 29 itself and the appropriate elastic force of the elastic member 33 for the arm. It completely adheres to the terminal non-image portion 2b (see FIG. 8), and it becomes possible to absorb and remove the excess developing solution without unevenness. When the absorption of the excess liquid is completed, the eccentric rotation cam 32 is rotated to move the arm member 19 in the direction of the arrow F ′ and separate the used roll 29 from the drum 6 or the photosensitive material 2. At the same time, while the winding motor 28 is being braked, the other supply motor 23 is slightly rotated in the opposite direction to wind up the liquid absorbing member 16 to the unused roll 24 side, whereby the other used roll is used. 29 is pulled back to the position shown in FIG. 3, and the supply side shaft 17 is braked and stopped.

The braking of the winding motor 28 can be easily realized, for example, by combining the output shaft of the winding motor 28 with the speed reducer 27. Needless to say, such an excess liquid absorbing operation is performed for each developing operation of the developing units 35 to 38. The unused liquid absorbing member 16 is supplied to the used roll 29 before the reverse rotation (winding direction) of the supply motor 23 when the roll 29 separates from the photosensitive material 2 and returns to the retracted position, or At the same time, the winding motor 28 may be finely rotated in the winding direction (direction of arrow C) and wound.

As described above, since the roll-shaped liquid absorbing member absorbs and removes the excess liquid, the adhesion between the excess liquid and the photosensitive material is improved, and even a large amount of excess liquid can be absorbed and removed almost reliably and evenly. It becomes possible to do. In addition, since the roll-shaped liquid absorbing member is brought into close contact with the photosensitive material in advance and the pre-wetting liquid or the developing liquid is blown toward it, the liquid spreads too much and stains the drum surface, for example. Nothing. Further, since the roll-shaped liquid absorbing member and the photosensitive material do not move relative to each other after they are brought into close contact with each other, they do not slide with each other, and it is possible to prevent registration deviation in the case of multicolor development, for example. Become. Although the eccentric rotation cam 32 is used to move the arm member 19 back and forth in the above embodiment, the invention is not limited to this, and an actuator or the like may be used.

[0033]

As described above, according to the wet electrophotographic apparatus of the present invention, the following excellent operational effects can be exhibited. Since the roll-shaped liquid absorbing member absorbs and removes the excess liquid of the photosensitive material, the liquid absorbing member can be brought into contact with the photosensitive material with good adhesion to absorb the excess liquid almost completely, resulting in uneven absorption. Can be prevented. Further, by using a roll-shaped liquid absorbing member, the absorption capacity is increased, and a large amount of excess liquid can be completely absorbed and removed. Furthermore, after the roll-shaped liquid absorbing member comes into contact with the photosensitive material, both move integrally, so that the photosensitive material does not slip on the drum surface, and in particular, in the case of multicolor development, there is no misregistration. It can be prevented from occurring.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a wet electrophotographic apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a terminal treatment device which is a main part of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation of a termination processor.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an operation of a termination processor.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an operation of a termination processor.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a part of an example in a conventional example.

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining a part of an excessive developer removing device of another example of the conventional example.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a state in which, in the excess developer removing device, the excess developer is blown to the terminal non-image portion of the photosensitive material by the air from the nozzle.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Wet electrophotographic device, 2 ... Photosensitive material, 6 ... Rotating drum,
8 ... Charger, 9 ... Semiconductor laser, 14 ... Pre-bath, 15 ...
Terminator, 16 ... Liquid absorbing member, 17 ... Supply side shaft, 18 ... Winding shaft, 19 ... Arm member, 20
... Arm moving mechanism, 23 ... Supply motor, 24 ... Roll, 25 ... Shaft guide hole, 26 ... Bearing, 28
... winding motor, 29 ... roll, 30 ... housing, 32 ...
Eccentric rotation cam, 33 ... Arm elastic member, 35-38.
Developing device, 53 ... Air squeeze, 57 ... Developer, 57a,
57b ... Excess developer.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A wet electrophotographic apparatus for developing a charge latent image by adhering a developing solution to a photosensitive material wound on a rotating drum, wherein a liquid absorbing member is wound in a roll shape so that rotation can be stopped. A supply-side shaft, a winding-side shaft that is provided in parallel with the rotary drum, and that is capable of stopping rotation by winding the liquid absorbing member supplied from the supply-side shaft in a roll shape, and the winding-side shaft. An arm member for movably supporting the rotary drum concentrically with the rotary drum, and the roll-shaped liquid absorbing member wound around the winding-side shaft by moving the arm member on the rotary drum side as necessary. A wet electrophotographic apparatus comprising an arm moving mechanism that elastically presses the surface. 2. A shaft guide groove that allows the end of the winding-side shaft to move by a predetermined length along the rotation direction of the rotary drum is formed at the tip of the arm member. The wet electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 3. The winding-side shaft has a structure that is movable up to the vicinity of the lowermost end of the rotary drum that blows excess liquid adhering to the surface of the photosensitive material by an air squeeze. Item 3. The wet electrophotographic apparatus according to Item 1 or 2. 4. The roll-shaped liquid absorbing member wound around the winding-side shaft slightly winds up an unused liquid absorbing member each time a liquid absorbing operation is performed. The wet electrophotographic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.