JPH096198A - Image forming material removing device from image holding object - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To excellently detach toner from a transfer paper with an offset belt by applying a liquid to the offset belt, for dissolving unstabilizing liquid component and transfer paper component stuck to the offset belt. CONSTITUTION: A nozzle 51 whose top end is opened on the side of the offset belt 44 and which is provided with an electromagnetic valve 52 midway is connected to a supplying pipe 36. When the toner is removed, a fixed amount of unstabilizing liquid 31 is jetted from the top end of the nozzle to the vicinity of the upstream side in a moving direction to a nip part P with the transfer paper on the offset belt. The unstabilizing liquid 31 is extended in a width direction in the nip part P, so that deposited materials of such as the transfer paper and the unstabilizing liquid components stuck on the offset belt are dissolved and reduction in the sticking force of the offset belt 44 to the toner can be prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier, which removes the image from the image carrier on which an image is formed by an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer or a printing machine. In detail, in detail, in a state in which the destabilizing liquid that makes the adhesion between the image carrier and the image forming substance unstable is applied, the image carrier and the peeling member are heated and brought into contact with each other to remove the image from the image carrier. The present invention relates to an apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from an image carrier, which prevents occurrence of defective image-forming substance removal due to performance deterioration of a peeling member when removing a forming substance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The applicant of the present invention has previously recorded on a transfer sheet on which
By holding at least one liquid selected from the group consisting of water, an aqueous solution containing a surfactant, an aqueous solution containing a water-soluble polymer, and an aqueous solution containing a surfactant and a water-soluble polymer, the transfer paper and After the adhesion with the toner is made unstable, the peeling member that moves endlessly is brought into contact with the toner, the contact portion is heated by the heating means, and then the transfer paper and the peeling member are separated to remove the toner. An image forming substance removing device has been proposed which is attached to the peeling member to peel the toner from the transfer paper. According to this, since the image forming substance is peeled off after the liquid makes the adhesion between the transfer sheet and the image forming substance unstable, only the image forming substance can be removed without relatively damaging the paper quality of the transfer sheet. Can be removed.

[0003]

However, in the apparatus for removing the image-forming substance from the image carrier having the above-mentioned structure, the destabilizing liquid adheres to the surface of the peeling member by performing the removing treatment, If the removal process is not performed for more than the specified time because it takes time before the next removal process is performed, or there is a delay before restarting after the device is stopped, the surface of the peeling member becomes unstable. The destabilizing liquid dries, and the paper composition component and the destabilizing liquid composition component itself, which have dissolved into the destabilizing liquid, adhere to the surface of the peeling member.

If a paper composition component, a destabilizing liquid composition component, or the like adheres to the surface of the peeling member, the adhesive force of the peeling member for adhering the image forming substance decreases, and the image forming substance removing process is performed accurately. There is a problem that it does not exist. In particular, when the destabilizing liquid contains a solid component, the above-mentioned problems were remarkable.

Therefore, as one method for solving the above-mentioned problems, the applicant of the present invention strongly presses a peeling member carrying an image forming substance against a brush roller rotating at a high speed, and the image forming substance is removed from the peeling member. At the same time, we proposed a method of scraping off paper composition components. But with this method,
The surface of the peeling member is repeatedly pressed against a hard brush to be worn early, and the load on the brush roller is large. Therefore, a driving system such as a motor for driving the brush member becomes large in size. there were.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to destabilize the composition of the destabilizing liquid in the stripping member while minimizing the abrasion of the stripping member and the increase in size of the apparatus. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming substance removing device from an image carrier capable of preventing the peeling efficiency of the peeling member from being lowered due to the fixing of components and paper composition components.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an apparatus for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier according to claim 1 is provided.
A liquid supply device for supplying a destabilizing liquid for destabilizing the adhesion of the image forming substance to the image carrier having the image forming substance adhered to the surface, and the liquid supplying device for adhering on the surface of the image carrier. The peeling member capable of exerting a stronger adhesive force to the image forming substance than the adhesive force between the surface and the image forming substance is brought into contact with the image forming substance, and then the image carrier and the peeling member are peeled off. An image forming substance removing device for an image holding member, comprising: a peeling device that separates the image forming substance from the image holding member, and a liquid applying device that applies liquid to the peeling member. It is characterized by that. Here, the liquid applying means may directly apply the liquid to the peeling member, or may indirectly apply the liquid via another member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from an image carrier, which is the image-forming substance removing apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from the image carrier according to the first aspect. It is characterized in that it is performed in the vicinity of the upstream side in the moving direction of the peeling member surface with respect to the contact portion with.

An image forming substance removing device from an image carrier according to a third aspect is the image forming substance removing device from the image carrier according to the first aspect, in which the destabilizing liquid container and the liquid applying device in the liquid supply device are provided. It is characterized in that a liquid path connecting the means and an opening / closing valve for controlling opening / closing of the liquid path are provided.

The image forming substance removing device from the image carrier according to claim 4 is the image forming substance removing device from the image carrier according to claim 1, wherein the image forming substance is peeled from the image holding member by the peeling means. The liquid is not applied by the liquid applying means until a predetermined time has elapsed.

[0011]

In the apparatus for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier according to claim 1, the liquid applied to the peeling member before the peeling member comes into contact with the image forming substance is fixed to the contact portion. The composition components of the image carrier and the destabilizing liquid composition components that reduce the adhesive force between the peeling member and the image forming substance are dissolved. The composition components of the image carrier and the destabilizing liquid composition components do not reduce the adhesive force of the peeling member to the image forming substance in a dissolved state.

In the apparatus for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier according to a second aspect, the liquid applied by the liquid applying means near the upstream side in the moving direction of the surface of the peeling member with respect to the contact portion between the peeling member and the image forming substance. Is carried on the peeling member and is rapidly conveyed to the contact portion to dissolve the composition component of the image carrier and the destabilizing liquid composition component adhered to the surface of the peeling member.

In the image forming substance removing device from the image carrier according to the third aspect, when the liquid is applied to the peeling member by the liquid applying means, the opening / closing valve is opened and the destabilizing liquid container and the liquid in the liquid supply device are opened. The destabilizing liquid in the destabilizing liquid container is supplied to the liquid applying unit via a liquid path that connects the applying unit. The liquid applying unit applies the supplied destabilizing liquid to the peeling member.

In the image forming substance removing device from the image carrier according to the fourth aspect, the part of the peeling member which has been subjected to the peeling process of the image forming substance from the image carrier, is released until a predetermined time elapses after the process. Since the image carrier composition component and the destabilizing liquid composition component adhered to the sheet do not adhere, the liquid application means does not apply the liquid. Therefore, it is possible to prevent unnecessary application of the liquid to the peeling member. (Hereinafter, margin)

[0015]

EXAMPLES The present invention will now be described with reference to the image-holding method for removing heat-melting toner (hereinafter, referred to as toner) as an image-forming substance from a transfer paper as an image-holding member on which an image is formed by a transfer-type electrophotographic copying machine. An embodiment applied to a device for removing an image forming substance from a body (hereinafter referred to as a toner removing device) will be described.

First, the outline of the toner removing device according to the embodiment will be described. In FIG. 1, the toner removing device includes a paper feed unit 20 for separating and feeding the transfer papers 10 on which toner images are formed, which are accommodated in a stacked state, and a transfer paper sent from the paper feed unit 20. A liquid supply unit 30 as a liquid supply device that supplies the destabilizing liquid 31 to the paper 10, a toner peeling unit 40 as a peeling unit that peels the toner from the transfer paper 10 to which the liquid has been supplied, and the toner has been removed. Drying unit 60 for drying the transfer paper 10
And a paper receiving unit (not shown) for receiving the transfer paper 10 discharged from the drying unit 60.

The paper feeding unit 20 feeds the transfer papers 10 to the liquid supply unit 30 one by one with the surface on which the toner image is formed (hereinafter referred to as the toner image surface) facing down, for example, electrophotography. It is the same as the paper feeding unit in the copying machine.

The liquid supply unit 30 is made of water or an aqueous solution containing a surfactant in order to improve the permeability of the transfer paper 10, and makes the adhesion of the toner to the surface of the transfer paper 10 unstable. A destabilizing liquid 31 as a liquid is supplied to the transfer paper 10, and a liquid container 32 for containing the destabilizing liquid 31 and a liquid container 32 is provided so as to be partially submerged in the liquid. Transfer paper by pumping liquid by rotation 1
No. 0 toner image surface, an application roller 33, a regulation roller 34 as a paper regulation member provided so as to face the application roller 33 across a paper conveyance path, and a liquid container 32.
A liquid tank 35 for storing the destabilizing liquid 31 to be supplied to
A supply pipe 36 and a liquid supply pump 37 for supplying the destabilizing liquid 31 from the liquid tank 35 into the liquid container 32, and a recovery pipe for recovering the excess destabilizing liquid 31 in the liquid container 32 into the liquid tank 35. And 38. In the liquid supply unit 30, the liquid tank 35 is provided in the lower portion of the apparatus, and a supply pipe 36 having a tip end submerged in the destabilizing liquid 31 in the liquid tank 35 extends in the vertical direction, and the liquid supply unit 30 is provided in the middle thereof. A pump 37 is attached so that the destabilizing liquid 31 can be pumped upward. The supply pipe 36 is bent upward toward the upper surface side of the liquid container 32 of the liquid supply unit 30 and opens toward the liquid surface in the liquid container 32.
The liquid container 32 is provided therein with a partition plate 32a formed lower than the container side plate, and one of the partition plates 32a receives the destabilizing liquid 31 supplied from the supply pipe 36.
Is stored in the coating roller 33.
Is partially submerged. A collection pipe 38 is connected to the other bottom surface of the partition plate 32a. With the above configuration, the destabilizing liquid 31 in the liquid tank 35 is sucked up by the liquid supply pump 37, passes through the supply pipe 36, and the liquid container 3
When the bulk of the destabilizing liquid 31 in the liquid container 32 is supplied to one of the partition plates 32 a in the second container 32 exceeds the height of the partition plate 32 a, the destabilizing liquid 31 overflows and passes through the recovery pipe 38. The liquid is returned to the liquid tank 35 again.

The toner peeling unit 40 includes a toner offset belt (hereinafter, referred to as a peeling member) wound around a heating block 43 having a built-in heater 43a facing the driving roller 41, the supporting roller 42 and the transfer paper 10 conveying path. An offset belt) 44, and a heating roller 45 with a built-in heating lamp 45a provided so as to be in pressure contact with the heating block 43 across the offset belt 44,
A belt cleaning device (not shown) for removing toner from the surface of the offset belt 44 is provided. Here, the drive roller 41, the support roller 42, the heating block 43, the offset belt 44, and the heating roller 45 are
It functions as a conveying unit that conveys the transfer paper 10.

At least at least the surface of the offset belt 44 has PET, P having an adhesive force to the softened toner which is larger than the adhesive force between the surface of the transfer paper 10 and the toner.
It is made of a synthetic resin material such as C, PEEK, and PI.

The transfer paper 10 of the heating block 43 is also used.
The corner portion 43b on the downstream side in the transport direction is formed to have an angle of about 90 degrees, and the offset belt 44 portion passing therethrough abruptly changes the moving direction to separate the curvature of the transfer paper 10 from the offset belt 44. Has become.

The heating block 43 and the heating roller 45 adhere the toner image surface of the transfer paper 10 sent from the liquid supply unit 30 to the offset belt 44 and fix it to the transfer paper 10. The toner is heated to soften it.

The belt cleaning device is designed to remove toner from the peripheral surface of the belt and store the removed toner in the unit casing.

The drying unit 60 is, for example, the transfer paper 1.
The heating lamp 61a is for drying the transfer paper 10 so that the liquid holding amount of 0 is 10% or less of the paper weight.
It is composed of a built-in heating drum 61 made of, for example, aluminum, and a paper pressing belt 63 which is stretched around a plurality of support rollers 62 and is endlessly moved while being wound around the peripheral surface of the heating drum 61 at a constant angle. . The paper pressing belt 63
As the material of the above, a material having heat resistance and air permeability, for example, cloth such as canvas cloth, cotton cloth, Tetoron cloth, etc. can be used.

The paper receiving unit is a drying unit 60.
, A separation roller 65 that separates the transfer paper 10 that has passed through the holding region between the heating drum 61 and the paper pressing belt 63 by a curvature, a pair of paper discharge rollers 66 that discharges the transfer paper 10, and a paper discharge roller. Transfer paper 10 sent from Pair 66
It can be configured by a paper discharge tray or the like (not shown) that accommodates.

In the above structure, the destabilizing liquid 31 is uniformly supplied to the toner image surface of the transfer paper 10 sent from the paper feeding unit 20 by the liquid supply unit 30 and sent to the toner peeling unit 40. Toner peeling unit 40
Then, the toner adhered to the transfer paper 10 is heated and softened in the nip portion P between the heating block 43 and the heating roller 45, and adheres to the surface of the offset belt 44. Then, when the transfer paper 10 and the offset belt 44 are separated from each other around the downstream corner portion 43b of the heating block 43, the toner adhering to the surface of the offset belt 44 is peeled off from the transfer paper 10, whereby the transfer paper 10 is removed. Toner is removed. The transfer paper 10 from which the toner has been removed is dried by the drying unit 60 and discharged to the paper receiving unit.

According to the above construction, the liquid is supplied to the transfer paper 10 to which the toner adheres, and the toner is peeled off in a state where the liquid permeates into the interface of the transfer paper 10 with the toner, so that the paper fiber is damaged. The toner can be removed without

By the way, according to the toner removing device having the above-mentioned structure, when the toner adhering on the transfer paper 10 is transferred to the offset belt 44 and is peeled off,
The composition components of the transfer paper 10 and the composition components of the destabilizing liquid 31 added to the transfer paper 10 adhere to the offset belt 44. Then, while the portion of the offset belt 44 to which these components are adhered is waiting until the next removal processing is performed or before the apparatus is once stopped and then restarted, the offset belt 44 is dried, The components may stick to each other, and the adhesive force of the offset belt 44 may be reduced.

In order to prevent the above-mentioned problems from occurring, the offset belt 44 is used in the toner removing apparatus of this embodiment.
A liquid application unit 50 for applying a liquid is provided.
The liquid applying unit 50 includes a nozzle 51 as a liquid path for applying the liquid to the offset belt 44, and an electromagnetic valve 52 as an opening / closing valve for controlling opening / closing of the nozzle 51. The nozzle 51 extends in the horizontal direction, is formed thin, and has a front end opening toward the vicinity of the upstream side in the moving direction of the offset belt 44 with respect to the nip portion P. An electromagnetic valve 52 is provided in the nozzle 51, and the nozzle 51 is connected to a portion of the supply pipe 36 that extends in the vertical direction. The electromagnetic valve 52 is normally closed, and the opening / closing control can be performed electromagnetically.

When the toner removing process is started, after the temperature of the heating roller 45, the heating block 43, and the heating drum 61 rises to a predetermined temperature, the electromagnetic valve 52 is energized for a certain period of time, and a certain amount of the destabilizing liquid 31. Are jetted from the tip of the nozzle 51 to the vicinity of the upstream side in the moving direction with respect to the nip portion P on the offset belt 44. The jetted destabilizing liquid 31 is conveyed to the nip P while being attached to the offset belt 44. At the nip P, the destabilizing liquid 31 is spread in the width direction of the offset belt 44, and the nozzle 51
Offset belt 4 while spraying from the tip is continued
4 The destabilizing liquid 31 is applied over the entire surface. According to the above configuration, the composition components of the transfer paper 10 and the destabilizing liquid 3 are placed on the offset belt 44 before the apparatus is started or while the apparatus is on standby.
Even if one composition component or the like is adhered, the adhered matter on the offset belt 44 is dissolved in the nip portion P prior to the removal process, and the dissolved adhered matter inhibits the adhesive force of the offset belt 44. Therefore, the toner can be favorably removed from the transfer paper 10.

The position of the offset belt 44 for injecting the destabilizing liquid 31 is determined by the offset belt 4 in the nip portion P.
The destabilizing liquid 31 may be directly injected to the nip P from the upstream side or the downstream side in the moving direction of the offset belt 44. If the destabilizing liquid 31 is injected near the upstream side in the moving direction with respect to the nip portion P on the offset belt 44 as in the above embodiment, the destabilizing liquid 31 may evaporate again before reaching the nip portion P.
The destabilizing liquid 31 does not get squeezed out due to contact with the roller supporting the offset belt 44, and the applied destabilizing liquid 31 is quickly transported to the nip portion P to dissolve the deposit on the offset belt 44. Used for.

In the above structure, the offset belt 4
Although the destabilizing liquid 31 is used as the liquid to be applied to No. 4, another solvent such as water or alcohol may be used instead of using the destabilizing liquid 31. However, in this case, since it is necessary to add a liquid supply device including the liquid tank 35 and the liquid supply pump 37, the device becomes complicated. In the toner removing apparatus of this embodiment, the liquid to be applied to the offset belt 44 is taken in from the reservoir of the destabilizing liquid 31 supplied to the transfer paper 10, and is supplied to the liquid to be applied to the offset belt 44 and the transfer paper 10. Since the liquid and the liquid are supplied from the same supply source, it is not necessary to separately provide a liquid supply device, and the offset belt 4
It is possible to apply the liquid to 4 by adding a simple configuration.

It is known that the destabilizing liquid 31 composition component and the transfer paper 10 composition component adhered on the offset belt 44 do not proceed to adhere within a short time after adherence, and originally, a certain amount of time is required after the toner removal processing. It is not necessary to apply the liquid onto the offset belt 44 until the time elapses. Therefore, if the timing of injecting the destabilizing liquid 31 onto the offset belt 44 is configured to start, for example, 10 minutes after the toner removal processing, wasteful consumption of the destabilizing liquid 31 can be reduced. it can. Further, the fixed matter on the surface of the offset belt 44 is detected by, for example, providing a sensor for detecting the difference in optical reflectance, and the liquid is applied to the offset belt 44 when the fixed matter is detected. Also by doing so, it is possible to apply the liquid only when necessary, and it is possible to reduce wasteful consumption of the destabilizing liquid 31.

In the above embodiment, the destabilizing liquid 31 is applied to the offset belt 44 by jetting from the tip of the nozzle 51. However, instead of this constitution, for example, another method such as contact coating or dripping is used. Depending on the method, the liquid application may be performed directly or indirectly.

In the above embodiment, the normally closed electromagnetic valve 52 is used as the valve for opening and closing the nozzle 51, but the opening and closing control of the nozzle 51 may be performed by other means.

Further, in the above embodiment, the endless belt is used as the peeling member, but instead of this, other forms such as rollers and drums may be used.

[0037]

According to the apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from an image carrier of claim 1, the liquid applied before the peeling member comes into contact with the image-forming substance is a composition of the image carrier on the surface of the peeling member. Components and destabilizing liquid composition components, etc. are dissolved, and the dissolved adhered substances do not reduce the adhesive strength of the peeling member, so the destabilizing liquid composition component and the paper composition component should adhere to the peeling member. This can prevent the peeling efficiency of the peeling member from decreasing.

In particular, according to the image-forming substance removing device from the image carrier of the second aspect, the liquid applied near the upstream side in the moving direction of the peeling member with respect to the contact portion of the peeling member with the image forming substance is promptly discharged. Since it is transported to the contact portion and used for dissolving the adhered substance on the peeling member, the applied liquid can be efficiently used.

In the image forming substance removing device from the image carrier according to the third aspect, the destabilizing liquid from the destabilizing liquid container of the liquid supplying device is used as the liquid applied to the peeling member by the liquid applying means. Therefore, the destabilizing liquid container of the liquid supply device can also be used as a liquid supply source for the liquid applying means. Therefore, the configuration of the device can be simplified.

In the apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from an image carrier according to claim 4, the destabilizing liquid composition component and the image-retaining component adhered to the part of the peeling member which has been subjected to the peeling treatment of the image-forming substance from the image carrier. While there is no possibility of the body composition component sticking, liquid is not applied by the liquid applying means and unnecessary liquid is not applied to the peeling member. Therefore, it is possible to save the consumption amount of the liquid used for the liquid applying unit and prevent the inside of the device from being contaminated due to the excessive supply of the liquid.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Transfer Paper 20 Paper Feed Unit 30 Liquid Supply Unit 31 Destabilizing Liquid 32 Liquid Container 33 Application Roller 34 Regulation Roller 35 Liquid Tank 36 Supply Pipe 37 Liquid Supply Pump 38 Recovery Pipe 40 Toner Peeling Unit 41 Drive Roller 42 Support Roller 43 Heating Block 44 Offset belt 45 Heating roller 50 Liquid applying unit 51 Nozzle 52 Electromagnetic valve 60 Drying unit 61 Heating drum 63 Paper pressing belt 65 Separation roller 66 Discharging roller P Nip part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A liquid supply device for supplying a destabilizing liquid for destabilizing the adhesion of an image forming substance to an image holding member having an image forming substance attached to the surface thereof, and the image holding member. The image-forming substance adhered on the surface of the image is contacted with a peeling member capable of exerting a stronger adhesive force to the image-forming substance than the adhesive force between the surface and the image-forming substance. An image forming substance removing device for an image holding body, comprising a peeling means for separating the holding body and the peeling member to peel the image forming substance from the image holding body, and a liquid for applying liquid to the peeling member. An apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from an image carrier, which is provided with an applying unit. 2. The apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from an image carrier according to claim 1, wherein the application of the liquid by the liquid applying means is performed in the vicinity of the upstream side of the peeling member surface moving direction with respect to the contact portion of the peeling member with the image forming substance. An apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from an image carrier, which is characterized by being performed. 3. The apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from an image carrier according to claim 1, wherein a liquid path connecting the destabilizing liquid container to the liquid applying means in the liquid supply apparatus, and the liquid path are opened and closed. An image forming substance removing device from an image carrier, which is provided with an on-off valve for controlling. 4. The apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from an image carrier according to claim 1, wherein the liquid-applying unit applies liquid until a predetermined time elapses after the image-forming substance has been peeled off from the image carrier by the peeling unit. An apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from an image carrier, which is characterized in that