JPH10247045A - Method for removing image forming substance from image holding body and device therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely remove only an image forming substance from an image holding body by making the sticking state of the surface of an image carrier and the image forming substance unstable by weakening sticking force between them, and peeling and removing the image forming substance on the image holding body by a peeling member in a state where the image forming substance is heated and softened. SOLUTION: Processing solution 20 being liquid to make the sticking state of transfer paper 10 and toner in an unstable state is imparted to the transfer paper 10 fed from a paper feeding unit 1 by a liquid imparting unit 2, and is infiltrated in the boundary part of the transfer paper 10 and the toner. Thus, the transfer paper 10 where the liquid is uniformly supplied to a toner image surface is fed to a toner peeling unit 3, and the toner stuck to paper by the toner peeling unit 3 is softened by being heated by a peeling roller 302 and is stuck to the surface of the peeling roller 302. Then, when the paper is separated from the peeling roller 302, the toner stuck to the surface of the peeling roller 302 is peeled from the paper and is removed from the paper, and the paper is dried by a drying unit 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image holding apparatus for removing an image forming substance from the surface of an image holding member on which an image forming substance is stably adhered by an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, a printing machine and the like. The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for removing an imaging substance from a body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The basic system of an electrostatographic copying machine is classified into three systems: electrofax, xerography, and NP. The electrofax system requires photosensitive paper for copying. In particular, a system that can use a computer, particularly a xerographic system, has become mainstream. The plain paper copier (PPC) is characterized in that there is no restriction on copy paper, the running cost by using plain paper is low, and the copying speed can be easily increased.

[0003] With the recent adoption of OA, printer papers and copy papers as image carriers have been used in large quantities. As a result, the problem of deteriorating the global environment due to deforestation has been caused. Conventionally, the only solution to this problem has been to take ink or the like, which is an image-forming substance, on a sheet of paper that has been used once, dip it again, and recycle it into paper called used paper. However, recently, a method has been developed in which a character image on paper used once can be removed by cleaning and reused for copying or printing.

For example, JP-A-1-101576 and JP-A-1-101577 use solvents.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-163,086 discloses a method of removing an image forming substance, in which a sheet to which a toner as an image forming substance is adhered is immersed in a soluble solvent of a toner resin, and ultrasonic vibration is applied to release the toner dissolved in the solvent from the paper surface. Is disclosed. Further, JP-A-4-300395 and JP-A-4-118500 disclose a method in which a solvent is attached to a printed portion of waste paper by a method such as immersion, spraying, or coating to dissolve the toner and wash the dissolved toner. There is disclosed an image forming substance removing method for removing by a method such as air suction, adsorbent contact, mechanical peeling or electrostatic adsorption. However, since these methods use an organic solvent, they have problems such as pollution, ignitability, and toxicity, and have difficulty in use in general offices and homes.

On the other hand, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI 1-297294 discloses that an image carrier made of plastic, metal, paper or ceramic having poor liquid permeability is used. The image formed on the image holding body is heated with a hot-melt release body interposed therebetween, and heated.
A cleaning method for peeling an image from an image carrier is disclosed.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-55195 discloses a method in which a heat-meltable ink or toner placed on a printed material coated with a release agent on an image carrier by an electrophotographic method or a thermal transfer method is applied to the printed material. An image forming substance removing method is disclosed in which an ink exfoliating body is overlapped, passed between a heating roller and a pressure roller, cooled, and then peeled off, and then adhered to the ink exfoliating body and removed.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-64472 discloses at least an endless sheet having a hot-melt resin on its surface, a heat roller and a cooling roller for supporting and rotating the endless sheet, and a paper having a surface subjected to a release treatment. There is disclosed an eraser comprising a pressing roller for pressing (erasable paper) against a softened or molten hot-melt resin, and a drive unit capable of moving these in conjunction. As one example of the surface release treatment of the paper, a treatment of applying a release agent such as a silicone sealant to the surface of an unused copy sheet and drying is disclosed. An image is formed on the copy sheet after the release processing,
At the time of removing the image, a hot-melt resin is adhered to the image on the copy paper to remove the image, and the copy paper is reproduced.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-82983 discloses that
Two rollers provided in parallel, which are pressed against each other to rotate and allow the paper to pass through the press contact point, a heater for heating at least one of the two rollers, and the paper passing through the press contact point is separated from the rollers There is disclosed an apparatus for regenerating an image carrier, comprising: a scraping tool that removes an image forming substance adhering to the roller from the roller.

In the methods and apparatuses disclosed in the above publications which do not use the above-mentioned solvent, erasable paper having a releasable surface must be used. There is a drawback that it cannot be applied to various types of copying paper and printing paper. In addition, since the image is formed on the release agent, the fixing property is naturally deteriorated. In addition, erasable paper and plain paper must be copied separately, which is inefficient. In addition, it is difficult to copy erasable paper and plain paper in a state that matches the actual situation.

[0010] In particular, when a release agent such as a silicone sealant is applied and dried in order to impart a release property to the paper surface as described in the above-mentioned publication, there are also the following problems. Was. That is, only by applying and drying a release agent such as a silicone sealant, the paper fiber structure on the surface is maintained as it is. For this reason, an endless sheet having a hot-melt resin on the surface is adhered to the image surface of the erasable paper, and even if the image is mechanically peeled off in a heated state, even if the image penetrates into the eyes of the paper fiber, It is difficult to completely remove even the toner resin. Therefore, the regeneration efficiency is insufficient. From the viewpoint of resource recycling, double-sided copying, that is, both-sided and front-sided copying of one copy sheet is important, and it is considered to be the mainstream in the future. Then the efficiency becomes worse. Even if a release agent is applied and dried on both sides, the silicone sealant penetrates into the copy paper, resulting in a translucent copy paper. Therefore, duplex copying is
It becomes impossible (hard to see).

In addition, among those not using the above-mentioned solvent,
In the method and apparatus disclosed in the above publication, the image forming substance is removed from a recorded image carrier on which an image is recorded on ordinary paper having paper fibers exposed on the surface. There is a possibility that the paper fibers on the surface may be peeled off together with the substance to damage the paper quality. This is because the image-forming substance is firmly fixed to the fibers on the surface of the image-holder by, for example, fusing an image-forming substance mainly composed of a heat-fusible resin to the image-holder in an electrophotographic fixing process. Because it is. When heat or pressure is applied to the ink exfoliated body, the endless sheet or the roller in order to enhance the removability of the image forming substance, depending on various conditions, conversely, the fixing property between the image forming substance and the image carrier may be reduced. In some cases, making removal difficult.

Therefore, the applicant of the present invention has proposed that a recorded image carrier is provided with water as a destabilizing solution, an aqueous solution containing a surfactant, an aqueous solution containing a water-soluble polymer, and a solution containing a surfactant and a water-soluble polymer. Holding at least one kind of water or an aqueous solution selected from the group consisting of an aqueous solution containing, and interposing a peeling member, and peeling the image forming substance from the image holding member by heat bonding or pressure bonding to the peeling member. A method for removing an image forming substance has been proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 4-255).
No. 916). According to this, only the image forming substance can be removed without relatively damaging the paper quality of the image holding member.

[0013]

In the above proposed structure, it is desired that the interface between the surface of the image carrier and the image forming substance be sufficiently wetted with a destabilizing solution such as water. FIG. 1 (a)
As shown in (b) and (b), a transfer paper 10 or the like as an image carrier conventionally used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine is a fibrous material in which paper fibers (cellulose fibers) 10a are entangled, like ordinary paper. It has a structure and has many fine voids. Transfer paper 10 containing such fine voids
For example, when the treatment liquid 20 as the destabilizing liquid such as water is made to permeate, the capillary effect is generally used. However, the gas (for example, air) in the space is not
0 to prevent the penetration of the transfer paper 10 into the transfer paper 10,
The transfer paper 10 may not be wet by the processing liquid 20. Therefore, in the case of the apparatus for removing the image forming substance from the image holding member, the processing liquid 20 cannot be sufficiently penetrated to the interface between the transfer paper and the toner T as the image forming substance. As shown in FIG.
When the toner T on the transfer paper 10 is peeled off in 2a, there is a possibility that the toner T may not be sufficiently peeled off from the transfer paper 10.

In particular, when water is used as the processing liquid 20, it is difficult to simply pass the image carrier through water, and for example, when pure water is used, the recorded image carrier is several hours or more. Must be kept in the water. In addition, transfer paper 10, which is an image carrier for an electrophotographic copying machine, is often subjected to moisture proof processing in order to make it less likely to absorb moisture and to stabilize transferability and fixability. Since the toner is mainly composed of a resin, it does not pass through water, and it is difficult for water to enter the interface. Here, in the case of the aqueous solution containing the surfactant, only the image forming substance can be removed without damaging the paper fiber, for example, in about several tens of seconds. It is thought that the cause is that it is greatly accelerated by the agent,
It is desired to further improve the entry of water into the interface.

Further, in order to remove an image from the image carrier, it is necessary that water sufficiently penetrates into the interface between the heat-fusible toner ink as an image forming substance and the image carrier such as paper. , Polystyrene, acrylic resin, methacrylic resin,
Since a hot-melt toner ink having a styrene-butyl acryl copolymer, a styrene-butadiene copolymer, a polyester, an epoxy resin or the like as a component is generally volatile, the image carrier made of the hot-melt toner ink is water-soluble. It is particularly necessary to moisten in a sufficiently short time by using the method described above.

The image formed on the image carrier with the hot-melt toner ink is roughly classified into a so-called line image such as ordinary characters and lines, and a so-called solid image such as a thick line. Since the area of adhesion of toner to an image carrier such as paper is generally small, if the image carrier on which a line image is formed is brought into contact with water or an aqueous solution, the interface between the line image and the image carrier surface is immediately reduced. Will penetrate until. However, for solid images, since the adhesive area of the toner is generally large, even if the image carrier on which the solid image is formed is brought into contact with water or an aqueous solution,
Even if a large amount of surfactant is used, it is difficult to uniformly infiltrate water or an aqueous solution into the entire image carrier.

In the method and apparatus using the above-mentioned solvent, the method and apparatus can be used to remove an image-forming substance from a recorded image carrier having an image recorded on ordinary paper having paper fibers exposed on the surface. Only the image forming substance can be removed without damaging the paper fiber as compared with a method or apparatus not using a solvent. However, depending on the solvent used, there is a possibility that the quality of the paper may be chemically altered. Even in this case, it is desired that the solvent enter the interface between the paper fiber and the image forming substance on the surface of the image carrier in a short time.

The applicant of the present invention is an unused image carrier selected from the group consisting of 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. A method in which at least one kind of water or aqueous solution obtained is retained and then dried is proposed (for example, see Japanese Patent Application No. 4-255915). After the image carrier having been subjected to this processing is used for normal image formation, the image-forming substance is removed by the above-described image-forming substance removal method and reused. In order not to sufficiently penetrate the body, there is a possibility that after forming an image on the image carrier subjected to the above treatment, the image forming substance adhered to the image carrier by the above image forming substance removal method cannot be reliably removed. there were.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier which can more reliably remove only the image forming substance from the image carrier, and a method thereof. It is to provide a device.

[0020]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is directed to an image carrier for removing an image forming material from an image carrier having a surface to which the image forming material is stably adhered. In the method for removing an image-forming substance from an image carrier, a destabilizing liquid that weakens the adhesive force between the surface of the image carrier and the image-forming substance and renders the state of adhesion between the two unstable is provided. And the image forming substance are supplied to an interface where the destabilizing solution is supplied, and the image holding member supplied with the destabilizing liquid is nipped and transported by a pair of rotating members, and is transferred onto the image holding member supplied with the destabilizing solution. The material comprises a material capable of heating and softening the image forming substance and exerting an adhesive force to the image forming substance, which is greater than the adhesive force between the image carrier and the heat softened image forming substance weakened by the destabilizing liquid. A release member is adhered to the image forming substance on the image holding member, and is adhered to the image forming substance. It is characterized in that to separate the 該剥 release member and said image carrier.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the method for removing an image-forming substance from an image carrier according to the first aspect, after the separation member and the image carrier are separated, the destabilization remaining on the image carrier is performed. The liquid is removed by heating.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from an image-holding member which removes the image-forming substance from the image-holding member having the image-forming substance stably adhered to the surface thereof. A destabilizing liquid that weakens the adhesive force between the surface and the image forming substance and renders the state of adhesion between the two unstable is supplied to the interface where the image carrier and the image forming substance are in contact. Destabilizing solution supply means, a pair of rotating members for nipping and transporting the image holder to which the destabilizing solution has been supplied, and heating and softening the image forming material on the image holder to which the destabilizing solution has been supplied. A peeling member made of a material capable of exhibiting an adhesive force to the image forming substance, which is greater than the adhesive force between the image carrier weakened by the destabilizing liquid and the heat-softened image forming substance, The peeling member adhered to the image forming substance on the holding member and adhered to the image forming substance; It is characterized in that provided a release means for separating the holding member.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus for removing an image forming substance from the image carrier according to the third aspect, a drying means for removing the destabilizing liquid remaining on the image carrier separated from the peeling member by heating. Is provided.

In the first and third aspects of the present invention, the destabilizing solution is supplied to the interface where the image carrier and the image forming material are in contact with each other, so that the surface of the image carrier and the image forming material are The adhesion between them is weakened to make the adhesion between them unstable, and the image forming substance is easily peeled off. The image carrier to which the destabilizing liquid has been supplied is nipped and conveyed by a pair of rotating members, so that the excess amount of the destabilizing solution supplied to the image carrier is removed while minimizing the necessary destabilization. A liquid is supplied to the image carrier, and the destabilizing solution is adjusted to an appropriate amount at least over the entire surface of the image carrier. Then, the image forming substance on the image holding member to which the destabilizing liquid has been supplied is heated and softened, so that the adhesive force of the image forming substance over the entire interface is further reduced. The release member having the predetermined adhesive force is adhered to the image forming substance on the image holding member weakened by the supply of the destabilizing liquid and the heat softening, and the release member and the image adhered to the image forming substance are adhered to each other. By separating from the holder,
The image forming substance is peeled off from the image carrier.

In the second and fourth aspects of the present invention, the image holding member is brought into an image-forming state by removing the destabilizing liquid remaining on the image holding member separated from the peeling member by heating. .

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, a heat-fusible 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 an apparatus for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier to be removed (hereinafter, referred to as a toner removing apparatus) will be described. FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration diagram of an example of a toner removing device to which the present invention can be applied. First, an outline of the whole will be described. This toner removing device includes a sheet feeding unit 1 that separates and feeds, one by one, transfer papers 10 on which toner images formed in a stacked state are formed; A liquid application unit 2 as a destabilizing agent supply unit for supplying a liquid to the transferred transfer paper 10, and a transfer paper 1 to which the liquid is supplied
A toner removing unit 3 for removing the toner from the toner cartridge 0, a drying unit 4 as a drying unit for drying the transfer paper 10 from which the toner has been removed, and a paper receiving unit 5 for receiving the transfer paper 10 discharged from the drying unit 4. Have. Then, the transfer paper 10 conveyed from the paper supply unit 1 is subjected to a liquid destabilizing agent (hereinafter referred to as a processing liquid) 20 which makes the adhesion state between the transfer paper 10 and the toner unstable in the liquid application unit 2. The treatment liquid 20 is applied to at least the transfer paper 1
It penetrates into the interface between 0 and the toner. Then, the processing liquid 20 is released by the peeling roller 302 of the toner peeling unit 3.
After the toner is peeled off from the transfer paper 10 at the interface where the ink has penetrated, the transfer paper 10 is dried by the drying roller 402 of the drying unit 4 and discharged to the paper receiving unit 5.

Here, at least the surface of the transfer paper 10 is formed of a paper layer having a fibrous structure. An image with toner is formed on the surface of the paper layer.

The treatment liquid 20 is at least one selected from the group consisting of water, an aqueous solution containing a water-soluble polymer, an aqueous solution containing a surfactant, and an aqueous solution containing a water-soluble polymer and a surfactant. Of water or an aqueous solution can be used. In addition, the water or the aqueous solution may contain a predetermined organic solvent. Further, as the treatment liquid 20, only an organic solvent can be used. (Hereinafter, margin)

Examples of the above-mentioned water-soluble polymer include starchy substances (potato starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, wheat starch, corn starch, etc.),
Mannan (konjac, etc.), seaweed (funori, agar, sodium alginate, etc.), plant mucilage (trolo-mallow,
Tragacanth gum, gum arabic, etc.), microbial mucilage (dextran, levan, etc.), protein (paste,
Natural polymers such as gelatin, casein, collagen, etc .; And synthetic polymers (polyvinyl alcohol, sodium polyacrylate, polyethylene oxide, isobutylene-maleic anhydride, etc.), and the like, but are not limited thereto. By using an aqueous solution of these water-soluble polymers, the toner can be easily separated from the transfer paper.

Examples of the surfactant include, for example,
Anionic (fatty acid derivative, carboxylate, sulfonate, sulfate, phosphate, phosphonate, etc.), cationic (heterocyclic amine, amine derivative, amine salt, quaternary ammonium salt, ester) Quaternary ammonium salts having a bonded amine and ether bond, benzalkonium salts, benzethonium chloride salts, pyrinidinium salts,
Imidazolinium salts, sulfonium salts, polyethylene polyamines, etc.), amphoteric (amino acids, carboxybetaines, sulfobetaines, aminosulfates, aminocarboxylates, imidazoline derivatives, etc.), nonionics (ether type, ether ester type, ester) Type, nitrogen-containing type,
Examples include ordinary surfactants such as polyhydric alcohols, amino alcohols, and polyethylene glycols) and fluorine-based surfactants, but are not limited thereto.

Further, since the above surfactants and water-soluble polymers are used in paper sizing agents and the like in the papermaking industry, even if they are used, they do not damage the surface of the paper. Has the effect of improving.

Examples of the organic solvent to be contained in the water or the aqueous solution include turpentine, dipentene, butyl acetate, carbon tetrachloride, cellosolve acetate, xylene, toluene, ethyl acetate, diacetone alcohol, methyl cellosolve acetate, benzene, methyl ethyl ketone, Examples include, but are not limited to, methyl acetate, methylene chloride, ethylene dichloride, cyclohexane, cellosolve, dioxane, acetone, methyl cellosolve, cyclohexanol, butanol.

Examples of the organic solvent used alone include hexane, heptane, octane, nonane, spirilit, naphtha N01-6 (trade names of Shell Petroleum), isoper E, L, K, V (trade name of Exxon), IP Solvent (trade name of Idemitsu Oil Co., Ltd.), Shelsol 70, 71, Solvesso 100,
150 (trade name of Shell Oil Company), Ascom OMS,
460 (trade name of Spirits), Vegasol 103
0, 2130, 3040 (trade name of Mobile Oil Co., Ltd.) and the like. Further, Fluorinert FC 40, 43, 70, 77 (a trade name of Sumitomo 3M), which is a fluorinated solvent,
Fluid E10, 16, 18, etc., silicone solvent Shin-Etsu Silicone KF96 (trade name), Toray Silicone SH200, 344 (trade name), Toshiba Silicone T
SF431 (trade name) and the like, but are not limited thereto.

Next, each of the units 1, 2, 3, and 3 in the illustrated example will be described.
4 and 5 will be described. The paper feed unit 1 feeds the transfer paper 10 stacked on the bottom plate 101 from the uppermost one by a paper feed roller 102, separates the multi-fed paper by a separation mechanism (not shown), and Is sent out by the registration roller pair 104 for timing adjustment and skew correction. Since the specific configuration and operation are the same as those of the paper feeding mechanism in the electrophotographic copying machine, detailed description is omitted.

The liquid application unit 2 contacts the liquid container 201 filled with a predetermined amount of the processing liquid 20 and one surface (the upper surface in FIG. 1) of the transfer paper 10 while holding the processing liquid 20 in the liquid container 201.
The submerged transport roller 202 that transports the paper so as to be guided inside, a drive unit (not shown) of the submerged transport roller 202, and the other surface (the lower surface in the figure) of the transfer paper 10 are placed in the processing liquid 20 of the liquid container 201. A submerged guide plate 203, a pair of squeezing rollers 204 as a pair of rotating members also functioning as a holding and conveying means, and a squeezing rod 20 bitingly arranged in the lower squeezing roller 204.
5, etc. In this unit 2, the transfer paper 10 fed from the paper feed unit 1 is transferred to the liquid container 20 by a submerged transport roller 202 and a submerged guide plate 203.
After being guided into the first processing liquid 20 and immersed in the processing liquid 20, the excess processing liquid 20 is removed by the pair of squeezing rollers 204, and is conveyed to the next toner peeling unit 3. Instead of applying the processing liquid to the transfer paper 10 by directly passing the transfer paper 10 through the processing liquid as in this example, the processing liquid is applied to the surface of the transfer paper 10 by an application roller, or the transfer is performed by a sprayer. The treatment liquid in the form of a mist may be applied to the surface of the paper 10 by being attached thereto. Other arbitrary methods can be used. In addition, specific examples of such other processing liquid application methods and apparatuses will be described later in detail.

The toner peeling unit 3 has a built-in heating lamp 301 as a means for softening the toner T, a peeling roller 302 as a pair of peeling members which are arranged in pressure contact with each other, and a portion near the pressure contact portion on the transfer paper discharge side. Separating claw 30 arranged to contact the surface of peeling roller 302
3, a cleaning device 304 for cleaning the surface of the peeling roller 302, a drive unit (not shown), and the like.

The surface of the peeling roller 302 is made of a material having an adhesive force greater than the adhesive force between the transfer paper 10 and the toner at least for the softened toner. Specifically, a toner component resin that is the same as or similar to the above toner, or a component resin of an adhesive can be used,
In addition, metal materials such as aluminum, copper, nickel, and iron can be used, but are not limited thereto. Further, the resin may be a water-soluble resin or a water-insoluble resin.

Examples of the toner component resin include, but are not limited to, polystyrene resins, acrylic resins, methacrylic resins, styrene-butylacrylic copolymers, styrene-butadiene copolymers, polyester resins, and epoxy resins. Not something.

The resin components of the adhesive include glue, gelatin, albumin, casein and other protein-based adhesives, and starch-based, cellulose-based and complex polysaccharide-based (such as gum arabic and tragacanth) adhesives. Agent, vinyl acetate polymer and copolymer, acrylic,
Thermoplastic adhesives such as ethylene copolymers, polyamides, polyesters, and polyurethanes; rubber adhesives such as polychloroprene, nitrile rubber, recycled rubber, SBR, and natural rubber; Pressure-sensitive adhesive, polyethylene terephthalate (PE) with titanium oxide dispersed
T), and the like, but are not limited thereto.

When the above resin is used, it is desirable to form a multilayer structure of at least two layers of a support and a surface layer from the viewpoint of prevention of elongation due to tension and heat, durability and the like. That is, in the case of a roller-shaped peeling member as in the illustrated example, it is desirable to form a peeling member by forming a surface layer made of the above resin or the like on a base roller as a support. As a support for supporting the above resin, etc.,
For example, a rubber roller, a sheet, a cellophane tape, a kraft paper adhesive tape, a polyvinyl chloride tape, an acetone tape, a tape such as a filament reinforcing tape, and the like can be used, but the invention is not limited thereto.

The heating lamp 301 of the upper and lower peeling rollers 302 heats and softens the toner adhered to the transfer paper 10 in close contact with the front and back sides of the transfer paper 10,
This is to make the toner easy to peel off from the fibers of the transfer paper 10. This heating is desirably performed to such an extent that the toner on the transfer paper 10 does not melt at the pressure contact portion. This is because if the toner is melted, it is difficult to transfer the toner on the transfer paper 10 to the separation roller 302 without dividing the toner into the paper side and the separation roller 302 side. If the paper is excessively heated, the transfer paper 1
0 is too dry, the adhesion of the toner to the transfer paper 10 becomes stronger than when the transfer paper 10 is wet, and the transfer paper 10 adheres to the roller 302 via the toner and There is a risk that separation cannot be performed. Therefore,
It is desirable to heat the transfer paper 10 after passing through the heating unit to such an extent that some moisture remains on the transfer paper 10 to prevent the toner from re-adhering.

The cleaning device 304 includes a cleaning roller 305 for removing the toner T on the surface of the peeling roller 302, a scraper blade 306 for scraping off the toner T on the cleaning roller 305, and a toner T scraped off by the scraper blade 306 with the scraper blade. A toner receiver (toner container) 307 to be stored is provided.

At least the surface of the cleaning roller 305 has the toner T
Of the release roller 302 is less than the releasability of the toner on the surface of the separation roller 302. Specific examples of the material include metal materials such as aluminum, copper, nickel, and iron, and polymer materials such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in which titanium oxide is dispersed, but are not limited thereto. It is not something to be done.

Note that a belt having similar surface characteristics is used in place of the peeling roller 302, or a cleaning blade or a scraper that directly contacts the surface of the peeling roller 302 instead of the cleaning roller 305 of the cleaning device 304. Or the like may be used.

The drying unit 4 is for drying the transfer paper 10 and includes an upper drying roller 402 made of, for example, aluminum and having a built-in heating lamp 401, and a lower drying roller 404 pressed against the lower part from below. . The lower drying roller 404 has a surface layer 403 made of a liquid-supplying member, and an aperture blade 405 for squeezing the liquid on the surface layer comes into contact with the lower layer. Instead of or in addition to such a pair of drying rollers 402 and 404, a belt-shaped member, a hot air fan, an infrared lamp, or the like may be used.

The paper receiving unit 5 has a paper discharge tray 501 for receiving the transfer paper discharged from the drying unit 4.

Although not shown, the toner removing device includes a detecting unit for detecting whether or not the transfer sheet 10 is present on the sheet supply table, a unit for detecting the double feed of the transfer sheet 10 by the sheet supply unit 1, Liquid remaining amount detecting means in liquid container 201, liquid container 201
Means for automatically replenishing liquid to the paper, means for detecting jam in the apparatus of the transfer paper 10, lighting control means for each heating lamp,
07 full means is provided, and these are controlled by a control unit described later.

In the above configuration, the transfer paper 10 sent from the paper supply unit 1 is supplied uniformly to the toner image surface by the liquid application unit 2 and sent to the toner peeling unit 3. In the toner peeling unit 3, the toner adhered to the paper is softened by heating from the peeling roller 302 and adheres to the surface of the peeling roller 302. And the paper is peeling roller 3
When the toner is separated from the paper 02, the toner adhering to the surface of the peeling roller 302 is peeled from the paper, thereby removing the toner from the paper. The paper from which the toner has been removed is dried in the drying unit 4 and discharged to the paper receiving unit 5.

As described above, according to this toner removing device, the liquid is supplied to the paper on which the toner has adhered, and the toner is peeled off in a state where the liquid has penetrated into the interface between the paper and the toner. And the toner can be removed.

Further, since the paper surface is brought into contact with the peeling roller 302 while being wet with the liquid, and the paper is heated to such a degree that the paper can be kept moist even at the time of separation from the peeling roller 302, so that the surface of the peeling roller 302 is Even in the case of using a material having adhesiveness, it is possible to prevent the paper surface itself from adhering to the surface of the peeling roller 302 and to prevent the occurrence of separation failure. Metastases can be prevented.

Further, in this toner removing device, the transfer paper 10 is sandwiched between the two peeling rollers 302 and the toner is removed from both sides of the transfer paper 10. When setting the transfer paper 10 to be removed, it is not necessary to consider the front and back. Also, when it is desired to remove the toner on both sides of the transfer paper used on both sides, it is only necessary to pass the toner through the apparatus once.

Next, a control section for operating the toner removing device will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control unit of the toner removing device of FIG. When the main switch 902 is turned on, a DC power supply voltage is supplied to each control IC by a DC power supply (PSU) 903 that receives an AC power supply from a commercial power supply 901. The CPU 904 to which power has been supplied resets the program counter and the like, and starts control based on the contents of the program written in the ROM 905. CLK oscillator 906
Supplies a reference clock (CLK) required for CPU operation.

First, data for turning on the relay 909 is sent to the parallel interface 908 through the address data bus 907. The output port of the parallel interface has a driver 910 for driving each load.
Are connected, and a contact driving coil 909 of the relay 911 is connected to a part of the connection, and the contact of the relay 9111 is closed.

Then, the solid state relay SSR1
Data for turning on (912) and SSR2 (913) are sent to the driver 910 in the same manner as described above. S
Two or one resistors 914a and 914b corresponding to the heating lamp 301 for heating the peeling roller 302 are connected to the end of SR1, and the heating of the roller 302 is started. On the other hand, S
A resistor 915 corresponding to the heating lamp 401 for heating the drying roller 402 is connected to the end of SR2, and similarly starts heating. The temperature of each roller is detected by the thermistors 916 and 917, respectively, and input to the A / D converter 918 to convert analog data into digital data. The control temperature of each roller is written in the RAM 919, and the temperature is controlled by comparing the value with the control temperature. This data can also be written to the RAM 919 from the operation display unit 920 through the serial interface 921.

When the temperature of each roller reaches a temperature (set value in RAM) sufficient for peeling or drying, the operation display section 920 shows an indication of operation (LED lighting, etc.).
When operation command data is transmitted from the operation display unit 920, the CPU 904 operates the main drive motor 922. When the load of the motor can be driven at a constant speed, the CPU 904 drives the paper feed motor 923 to start paper feed. Here, the registration motor 924 rotates while measuring the timing with the sheet feeding motor to prevent skew, and sends out the sheet. The subsequent steps are the above-described process liquid impregnation, peeling and drying steps.

The loads other than the feed roller 102 and the registration roller 104 are synchronously driven by the main drive motor 922. The LCT has a paper end sensor 925 for detecting the presence or absence of paper. When paper runs out, the paper end data is transmitted through the parallel interface. The CPU 904 that has detected the absence of paper stops the operation of the machine, and displays an operation stop (LED lighting or the like) on the operation display unit 920.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vertical transport type toner removing device that transports transfer paper in a vertical direction to which the present invention can be applied. This toner removing device is different from the toner removing device of FIG. 3 in that the transfer paper 10 is vertically conveyed from the lower paper feeding unit 1 to the upper paper receiving unit 5. Further, instead of using the liquid applying unit 2 of the type in which the transfer paper 10 is immersed in the processing liquid 20 composed of the submerged conveying roller 202 and the like, the transfer is performed by the application roller 207 to which the processing liquid 20 is supplied by the liquid supply device 208. The processing liquid 20 is applied to the transfer paper 10 by nipping and transporting the paper 10. Also, this toner removing device
It can be controlled by the same control unit as in FIG.

Next, a more specific configuration example of the liquid application unit 2 will be described in detail. In the liquid application unit 2 used in the toner removing device, the treatment liquid 20 may be applied to the transfer paper 10 in one time, or may be applied in several times. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, first, the treatment liquid 2
0 is applied to the transfer paper 10 as a penetration enhancer for promoting the penetration of the toner into the interface between the transfer paper 10 and the toner. Alternatively, the liquid applying unit 2 may be configured to apply the processing liquid 20 to the transfer paper 10 to which the penetration promoting liquid 21 has been applied. As the permeation promoting liquid 21 in this case, for example, an aqueous solution of the above surfactant can be used. Further, the treatment liquid applying device 2b and the penetration promoting liquid applying device 2
For a, a liquid applying unit 2 having a configuration described later can be used, and the liquid applying units 2 can be used in appropriate combination. Further, in each of the permeation promoting liquid applying device 2a and the processing liquid applying device 2b, a plurality of the liquid applying units 2 are used, and the permeation promoting liquid 21 or the processing liquid 20 is applied to the transfer paper 10 many times. May be.

Further, since the respective constitutional examples of the liquid applying unit 2 shown below can be applied to the above-mentioned permeation promoting liquid applying device 2a, the processing liquid applying device 2b, etc. The liquid 21 and the processing liquid 20 are simply referred to as liquid 22 without distinction. (Hereinafter, margin)

With reference to FIG. 7, an example of the configuration of the liquid application unit 2 adopting a method of immersing the transfer paper 10 in the liquid 22 will be described. The liquid application unit 2 conveys the liquid container 201 filled with a predetermined amount of the liquid 22 so as to be guided into the liquid 22 of the liquid container 201 while being in contact with one surface (the upper surface in the drawing) of the transfer paper 10. A submerged transport roller 202, a drive unit (not shown) of the submerged transport roller 202, a submerged guide plate 203 that guides the other surface (lower surface in the figure) of the transfer paper 10 into the liquid 22 of the liquid container 201, A claw 210 and a pair of squeeze rollers 204 as surplus amount removing means are provided. In this example, the transfer paper 10 fed from the paper supply unit 1 is guided into the liquid 22 of the liquid container 201 by the submerged transport roller 202 and the submerged guide plate 203, and is immersed in the liquid 22. Thereafter, the submerged transport roller 20 is
The transfer paper 10 separated from the surface of No. 2
The excess liquid 22 is removed by 04, and is conveyed to the next toner peeling unit 3 and the like. In the present embodiment, the necessary minimum amount of the liquid 22 for reducing the adhesion of the toner to the transfer paper 10 can be applied to the transfer paper 10 by the pair of squeezing rollers 204, so that the amount of heat in the subsequent drying step can be reduced. Since the expansion and contraction of the transfer paper 10 due to moisture absorption is small, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of wrinkles, wrinkles and the like of the transfer paper 10.

Referring to FIG. 8, another configuration example of the liquid application unit 2 adopting a method of dipping the transfer paper 10 in the liquid 22 will be described. This liquid application unit 2 is provided with a transport belt 211 stretched around each transport roller pair 209 driven by a drive unit (not shown) instead of the submerged transport roller 202 in FIG. In this example, the transfer paper 10 fed from the paper feed unit 1 is captured on the lower surface of the transport belt 211 by belt feeding, and the liquid 2 in the liquid container 201 is transferred.
2 and immersed in the liquid 22. After that, the transfer paper 10 is easily separated at the feed end portion where the feed direction is sharply inverted by the feed roller 11, and is fed to the next toner peeling unit 3. In this embodiment, the squeezing roller pair 204 may be provided. Further, the transport belt 21
By providing a plurality of holes in one, the penetration of the liquid 22 can be increased.

When the liquid application unit 2 shown in FIG. 7 or FIG. 8 is used, since the transfer paper 10 is immersed in the liquid 22, the liquid 22 permeates from both sides and the end of the transfer paper 10. Therefore, the liquid 22 permeates the transfer paper 10 quickly and reliably,
The adhesive force at the interface between the toner and the transfer paper 10 (paper fiber) can be reduced. In the liquid application unit 2 of this type, the control unit performs liquid amount control such as display of the remaining amount of the liquid 22 in the liquid container 201 and liquid concentration control such as liquid supply according to the number of times of processing. The transfer paper 10
It is possible to maintain the amount of the liquid to be applied to the predetermined amount.

With reference to FIG. 9, a description will be given of an example of the configuration of the liquid application unit 2 employing the method of applying the liquid 22 to the transfer paper 10. FIG. The liquid application unit 2 includes a liquid container 201 filled with a predetermined amount of the liquid 22, a coating roller pair 207 having at least a surface portion formed of a liquid absorbing material, and transporting the transfer paper 10 while nipping the transfer paper 10, and driving the coating roller pair 207. Part (not shown),
A liquid supply pipe 212 and a pump 213 for supplying the liquid 22 to one application roller 207 are provided. Here, a part of the lower application roller 207 is
It is arranged to be immersed in the liquid 22 therein. Further, the liquid absorbing material of the application roller pair 207 may be any material that can hold the liquid 22 and can be applied so as to be applied to the transfer paper, and specific examples include sponge and felt. It is not limited to this. In this example, the transfer paper 10 fed from the paper supply unit 1 is conveyed while being sandwiched by a pair of application rollers 207 holding the liquid 22 on the surface and inside. Applied. The application roller pair 207
If one of them is made of a sponge having a large cell or a soft felt, a pressure difference is generated between the nip portion and the other portion of the application roller pair, and the penetrating power of the liquid 22 increases, so that the processing speed can be improved. Become like Further, in the present embodiment, the configuration is such that simultaneous application processing can be performed on both sides of the transfer paper 10. However, when only application processing is performed on only one side, for example, the application roller 207 illustrated in FIG. The upper application roller 207 may be constituted by a normal rubber roller or the like.

Referring to FIG. 10, another example of the structure of the liquid application unit 2 adopting a method of applying the liquid 22 to the transfer paper 10 will be described. The liquid application unit 2 is provided with a transfer paper 10
A liquid container 201 filled with a predetermined amount of the liquid 22, a coating roller pair 207 for nipping and transferring the transfer paper 10,
A drive unit (not shown) of the application roller pair 207, a liquid reservoir 214 arranged so that the liquid 22 comes into contact with the surface of the upper application roller 207, and a surplus amount removing unit that regulates the amount of liquid adhering to the surface of the application roller 207. 215 as a reservoir, liquid pool 2
A liquid supply pipe 212 for supplying the liquid 22 to the pump 14 and a pump 213 are provided. In this example, the liquid container 20
The liquid 22 supplied from 1 by the pump 213 is temporarily stored in the liquid reservoir 214 and adheres to the surface of the upper application roller 207. The amount of adhesion to the surface is regulated to a fixed amount by the blade 215 to prevent the transfer paper 10 from being excessively wet. Transfer paper 1 fed from paper feed unit 1
0 is conveyed while being pinched by the application roller pair 207, and the liquid 22 is applied to the surface of the transfer paper 10. In addition,
In the present embodiment, the roller 18 facing the application roller 17 is formed of a material containing air bubbles such as sponge, so that the pressure difference between the nip portion of both rollers and the other portion is used to obtain the liquid 2.
2 can enhance the penetration force into the transfer paper 10. In this example, the processing surface for regulating the coating amount to be constant is set on the upper surface, but the processing surface may be set on the lower surface.

By using the liquid application unit 2 shown in FIG. 9 or FIG. 10, it is possible to apply the minimum necessary liquid 22 for lowering the adhesion of the toner to the transfer paper 10, so that the amount of heat in the subsequent drying process And the transfer paper 10 is less likely to expand and contract due to moisture absorption.
The occurrence of wrinkles and the like can be suppressed. Also, in this type of liquid application unit 2, the liquid container 201
By performing liquid amount control such as display of the remaining amount of the liquid 22 in the inside and liquid concentration control such as liquid replenishment in accordance with the number of processes, the transfer paper 1
The amount of liquid applied to 0 can be maintained at a predetermined amount.

With reference to FIG. 11, a description will be given of the liquid application unit 2 provided with a pressing force adjusting device for adjusting the pressing force of the pair of application rollers 207. This liquid application unit 2 is configured as shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), a paper leading edge sensor 234 for detecting the leading edge of the transferred transfer paper 10,
07 such as a spring that urges the other application roller 207 so as to press the other application roller 207, and the upper application roller 20.
7 and the movable bearing 23 fixed to the rotating shaft 7
6, a pressure release solenoid 2 for releasing pressure on the lower application roller 207 via the upper application roller 207
37, a control unit (not shown in FIG. 11A) and the like. As the paper leading edge sensor 234, a photo sensor with a filler or the like can be used.

In this example, as shown in FIG. 11B, when the apparatus is started to be driven, the transfer paper 10 from the paper feed unit 1 is transported by the transport roller 209, and the transfer is performed. The leading edge of the paper 10 is detected by the paper leading edge sensor 234, and the detection signal is sent to the CPU 904 via the parallel interface 908 of the control unit (Steps 1 and 2). Then, a signal of pressure release is sent from the CPU 904 of the control unit to the drive unit (not shown) of the solenoid 237 via the driver 910, and when the solenoid 237 is turned on, the movable unit is pulled and the movable unit is pulled via the movable bearing 236. ,
The pressurization of the pair of application rollers 207 is released (step 4). Then, when the set time previously stored in the RAM 919 of the control unit elapses, a pressure start signal is sent from the control unit to the drive unit of the solenoid 237, and the solenoid 237 is turned off. Is urged by the urging member 235 so as to come into contact with the lower roller (step 5). The set time is determined on the basis of the unprocessed width of the leading end of the transfer paper 10, the linear velocity at the holding portion between the pair of application rollers 207, and the like.

The transfer paper 1 is prepared by using the liquid applying unit 2 of this embodiment.
By performing the process of applying the liquid 22 to the transfer paper 10
The liquid 22 is not applied by a predetermined width from the leading end of the sheet, and the wetting of the leading end can be suppressed, so that the releasability between the transfer paper 10 and the peeling roller surface as the peeling member is improved in the next peeling step, The transfer paper 10 can be easily separated from the peeling roller.

Further, in the liquid application unit 2 shown in FIG.
Coating roller 207 for leading end of transfer paper 10 having predetermined width
Is controlled to increase the pressing force of the transfer paper 10, the amount of the liquid 22 applied to the leading end of the transfer paper 10 having a predetermined width increases, and the transfer paper 1
0 can be excessively wetted with the liquid 22, so that a water-wet adsorption separation method can be adopted in the next step, and the separation means of the transfer paper 10 can be simplified. Become.

With reference to FIG. 12, a description will be given of an example of the configuration of the liquid application unit 2 employing the method of spraying the liquid 22 onto the transfer paper 10. FIG. The liquid application unit 2 includes a liquid container 201 filled with a predetermined amount of the liquid 22 and a nozzle 21 for spraying the liquid 22.
6. Liquid supply pipe 212 and pump 213 for supplying liquid to nozzle 216, transport roller pair 209, squeezing roller pair 2
04, a liquid shielding plate 217 for suppressing scattering of the liquid 22, and the like. In this example, the liquid 22 is applied to the processing surface of the transfer paper 10 fed from the paper feeding unit 1 by spraying from the nozzle 216. When applying by spraying, the liquid 2
In many cases, the excess liquid 2 is applied to the processing surface, but the excess liquid 22 is removed by a pair of throttle rollers 204 provided on the downstream side. In the present embodiment, the necessary minimum amount of liquid 2 for reducing the adhesion of toner to the transfer paper 10 by the pair of squeeze rollers 204
2, the amount of heat in the subsequent drying step can be reduced, and the transfer paper 10 can be reduced in expansion and contraction due to moisture absorption, so that the transfer paper 10 can be suppressed from waving and wrinkling. . In this example, the processing surface is set to the lower surface, but may be set to the upper surface or both surfaces. Further, in the liquid applying unit 2 according to the present embodiment, the pump 21
The ejection amount of the liquid 22 and the emission aperture of the nozzle 216 may be configured to be variable, and the spray amount of the liquid 22 may be changed according to a signal from the control unit.

Referring to FIG. 13 and FIG.
A configuration example of the liquid application unit 2 configured so that the ejection amount of the nozzle 22 and the emission aperture of the nozzle 216 can be changed and changes the spray amount of the liquid 22 according to a signal from the control unit will be described. Here, a configuration example of the toner peeling unit 3 that is more effective when used in combination with the liquid applying unit 2 will also be described.

The liquid application unit 2 according to this embodiment includes a liquid container 201 containing the liquid 22, a liquid supply pipe 212, a pump 21
3, a liquid spraying device including a nozzle 216, a transport guide plate 221, and the transfer paper 10 transported from the paper feed unit 1.
A paper edge sensor 234 for detecting the edge is provided. As the paper leading edge sensor 234, for example, a transmission type, a reflection type, or a photo sensor with a filler can be used, but is not limited thereto.

Further, the toner peeling unit 3 according to this embodiment
The peeling roller 203, a backup roller 308 having a built-in heating lamp 201, a separating claw 303 as a separating means rotatable around a rotating shaft 303 a, and a tip of the separating claw contacting the surface of the separating roller 302. A biasing member 324 such as a spring that biases the separation member 303, a solenoid 329 that drives the separation claw 303 so that the tip of the separation portion is separated from the surface of the peeling roller 302, and a drive portion thereof are provided. When the toner removal processing is not performed, the tip of the separation portion of the separation claw 303 is separated by the solenoid 329 so as not to damage the surface of the separation roller 302 and not to scrape off the toner adhered to the surface of the separation roller 302. However, at the time of separation, by turning off the solenoid 329, the peeling roller 302 is biased by the elastic member 324.
Lightly contact the surface with, for example, 0.1 to 10 gf. In this example, the control unit (see FIG. 4) is used to control the sheet leading edge sensor 234, the solenoid 329, and the like.

In the present embodiment, as shown in the timing chart of FIG. 14, the leading edge of the transfer paper 10 conveyed from the paper feed unit 1 is detected by the paper leading edge sensor 234, and after the detection, it is delayed by a predetermined time t _1. Then, the control unit controls so that the pump 213 is turned on and the liquid 22 is ejected from the nozzle 216 toward the transfer paper 10 side. In this way, an area where the liquid 22 is not applied only a few mm (preferably 2 to 10 mm) from the leading end of the transfer paper 10 is provided.

The transfer paper 1 is prepared by using the liquid application unit 2 of this embodiment.
By performing the process of applying the liquid 22 to the transfer paper 10
Since the liquid 22 is not applied by a predetermined width from the leading end and the wetting of the leading end can be suppressed, the releasability between the transfer paper 10 and the peeling roller surface as a peeling member is improved in the next peeling step, Due to the stiffness of the transfer paper 10 itself, the leading end of the transfer paper 10 can be easily separated from the surface of the peeling roller 203.

Further, as shown in the timing chart of FIG. 14, the control unit controls the solenoid 329 to be turned on immediately before the predetermined time t _{2 has} elapsed after the detection of the leading end of the transfer paper 1, and the urging force of the elastic member 324 is controlled. As a result, the leading end of the separating portion of the separating claw 303 is brought into contact with the surface of the peeling roller 302, and in addition to the separation of the transfer paper 10 by the waist, the leading end of the transfer paper 10 is mechanically separated from the surface of the peeling roller 302. This allows
The leading end of the transfer paper 10 can be more reliably separated from the surface of the peeling roller 302. The separation by the separation claw 303 is more effective when combined with the above-described method of providing a region where the liquid 22 is not applied at the leading end of the transfer paper 10.

In the present embodiment, control may be performed such that the amount of ejection of the pump 213 from the leading end of the transfer paper 10 is reduced, or the emission aperture of the nozzle 216 is reduced.
In this case, the spray amount of the liquid 22 is reduced, and the wetting of the leading end can be suppressed, so that the releasability between the transfer paper 10 and the surface of the peeling roller as the peeling member is improved in the next peeling step. In addition, the transfer paper 10 can be easily separated from the peeling roller.

Further, in this embodiment, the ejection amount of the pump 213 or the emission aperture of the nozzle 216 may be controlled to be increased with respect to the leading end of the transfer paper 10.
In this case, the spray amount of the liquid 22 increases, and the leading end can be excessively wet. Therefore, the water-wet adsorption separation method can be adopted in the next step, and the separation means of the transfer paper 10 can be simplified. Configuration can be achieved.

With reference to FIG. 15, a description will be given of an example of the configuration of the liquid application unit 2 which employs a method of applying the liquid 22 to the transfer paper 10 in the form of a mist. The liquid application unit 2 is provided with a liquid 2
2, a liquid container 201 filled with a predetermined amount, an atomizer 218, a condensing unit 219 for returning the atomized liquid 22 a to a liquid, a nozzle 216 for spraying the liquid 22, a liquid supply pipe 212 for supplying the liquid to the nozzle 216, and a pump 213, transport roller pair 209,
An aperture roller pair 204 and the like are provided. Here, as the atomizing device 218, for example, an ultrasonic vibrator, a heater, or the like can be used, but is not limited thereto. In this example, the liquid 22 in the liquid container 201 is atomized by the atomizing device 218, and the transfer paper 10 fed from the paper feeding unit 1 is moved in the mist liquid 22 a floating on the liquid container 201. The sheet is conveyed by a conveying roller pair 209. At this time, the liquid 22 is applied to the transfer paper 10 by attaching the mist-like liquid 22a to the surface of the transfer paper 10. Note that the mist-like liquid 22a is liquefied again in the condensing section 219 and is used again.

Referring to FIG. 16, a felt blade 220 is used.
An example of the configuration of the liquid application unit 2 using the method will be described.
The liquid application unit 2 includes a felt blade 220 partially immersed in the liquid container 201, a conveyance guide plate 221, a conveyance roller pair 209, a squeezing roller pair 204, and the like. In this example, the transfer paper 10 fed from the paper feed unit 1
Is fed between the transport guide plates 221 by the transport roller pair 209, comes into contact with a felt blade 220 sufficiently containing the liquid 22, and the liquid 22 is applied onto the transfer paper 10.
Excess liquid 22 on the transfer paper 10 is removed by the pair of squeezing rollers 204 on the downstream side. In the present embodiment, the necessary minimum amount of the liquid 22 for reducing the adhesion of the toner to the transfer paper 10 can be applied to the transfer paper 10 by the pair of squeezing rollers 204, so that the amount of heat in the subsequent drying step can be reduced. Since the expansion and contraction of the transfer paper 10 due to moisture absorption is small, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of wrinkles, wrinkles and the like of the transfer paper 10.

With reference to FIG. 17, a description will be given of an example of the configuration of the liquid application unit 2 employing a method of applying the liquid 22 by a jet nozzle. The liquid application unit 2 includes a jet nozzle head 223 provided with a plurality of jet nozzles perpendicular to the traveling direction of the transfer paper 10, an image sensor (not shown) for reading an image on the transfer paper 10, and the like. In this example, the jet nozzle head 2 is provided in an image area 10 a on the transfer paper 10 fed from the paper feed unit 1.
At 23, the liquid 22 is injected. Further, the image on the transfer paper 10 is read by an image sensor, and the liquid 2 is changed according to the image area.
The presence or absence of the second injection is controlled. Here, it is not necessary to set the reading / ejection position accuracy very finely, as long as the liquid 22 can be applied to an area larger than the image. For example, the accuracy of 200 to 400 dots per inch is generally used in inkjet printing used for a printer or the like,
In this example, a division accuracy of several centimeters is sufficient. However,
It goes without saying that the control of the reading / injection position can be controlled with high accuracy, and the processing can be performed on the entire surface without providing a reading unit.

When the liquid application unit 2 according to the present embodiment is used, the minimum amount of the liquid 22 that reduces the adhesion of toner to the transfer paper 10 is applied to the transfer paper 10 by controlling the ejection amount from the jet nozzle head 223. So you can
The amount of heat in the subsequent drying step is small, and the transfer paper 10
Since the expansion and contraction of the transfer paper 10 due to moisture absorption is small, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of wrinkles, wrinkles and the like of the transfer paper 10.

Further, the injection amount from the jet nozzle head 223 may be changed according to a signal from the control unit. For example, if the jet amount from the jet nozzle is reduced with respect to the leading end of the transfer paper 10, the liquid 22 is not applied to a predetermined width of the leading end of the transfer paper 10 and does not wet. The releasability of the release roller 10 and the surface of the release roller as the release member is improved, and the separation is easily performed.
Further, for example, if the jet amount from the jet nozzle is increased with respect to the leading end of the transfer paper 10, the liquid 22 is excessively applied only to the leading end of the transfer paper 10 and wets. Can be adopted, and the separation step can be simplified.

With reference to FIG. 18, an example of the configuration of the liquid application unit 2 that specifies an image area to be erased on the transfer paper 10 and controls the application of the liquid 22 by the jet nozzle based on the specified result will be described. This liquid application unit 2
Is provided with a jet nozzle head 223 provided with a plurality of jet nozzles orthogonal to the traveling direction of the transfer paper 10. Further, a digitizer 244 is provided as an image erasing area designating unit for designating an image area to be erased on the transfer paper 10. Further, the control unit 9 shown in FIG. Is provided with a paper leading edge sensor 234 for detecting the leading edge of the sheet. Paper edge sensor 23
As 4, a reflection type, a transmission type, a photosensor with a filler, or the like can be used.

The coordinate data of the image to be erased on the transfer paper 10 read by the digitizer 244 is represented by A / D in FIG.
The data is temporarily stored in the RAM 919 via the D converter 918. The data from the paper leading edge sensor 234 is sent to the CPU 904 via the parallel interface 908.
Is input to

With reference to the flowchart of FIG. 19, the drive control of the jet nozzle head 223 according to this embodiment will be described. When the operator selects the partial erasing mode using the operation unit (not shown), first, the transfer paper 1 which is the paper to be processed is selected.
0 is placed on the digitizer 244 and the coordinates of the area where the image is to be erased are input to the control unit 9 to designate the image erasure area (steps 1 to 3). Only one image erasing area may be specified, or two or more image erasing areas may be specified.
When the designation of the image erasing area is completed, the transfer paper 10 is set in, for example, a manual paper feed unit of the paper feed unit 1 and the start button is pressed to start the liquid application operation (step 4). In this liquid application operation, the liquid ejection from each nozzle of the jet nozzle head 223 is controlled based on the coordinate data of the image erasure area stored in the RAM 919 of the control unit 9. For example, as shown in FIG.
When the formation region of Oa is designated as the image erasing region, control is performed so that liquid ejection is performed only from the jet nozzle facing the image erasing region. Here, the leading edge of the transfer paper 10 transported from the paper feed unit 1 is detected by the paper leading edge sensor 234, and based on the detection data and the setting data of the transport speed of the transfer paper 10, the timing of the start of the liquid application processing, The timing with which the leading end of the transfer paper 10 faces the jet nozzle head 223 is synchronized. (Hereinafter, margin)

On the other hand, in step 1 above, if the operator does not select the partial erasing mode using the operation unit, the normal liquid application processing, that is, the liquid 22 is applied to the entire surface of the transfer paper 10
Is performed.

According to this embodiment, the digitizer 244 specifies the image erasing area on the transfer paper 10 from which the toner is to be removed, and the controller 9 controls the liquid 2 only for the image erasing area.
By controlling the jet nozzle head 223 so as to give the toner 2, the adhesion between the surface of the image erasing area of the transfer paper 10 and the toner can be reliably made in an unstable state. In the process, the toner can be reliably removed only from the image erasing area. Therefore, it is possible to easily remove the toner from the designated portion, which can be conventionally performed only with the correction liquid or the like. In particular, for images with a fixed format,
The fixed format portion is left as it is, and the toner is removed only from the fluctuating image area, so that the transfer paper 10 can be reused repeatedly.

In this example, control is performed so as to erase the image in the designated area. However, after selecting the partial erase mode, either the in-area erase mode or the out-of-area erase mode can be selected. It may be configured as follows. In this example, the digitizer 244 is used as the image erasing area designation means. Instead, the image on the transfer paper 10 is read by a scanner or the like, and the read image is displayed on a display device such as a CRT. The display device may be configured to specify an area of an image to be erased.

A configuration example of the liquid application unit 2 that detects an image area on the transfer paper 10 and controls the application processing of the liquid 22 by the jet nozzle based on the detection result will be described with reference to FIGS. . FIG. 20 is a schematic configuration diagram of the liquid application unit 2 according to the present example, and FIG. 21 is a schematic configuration diagram of the liquid application unit 2 using the jet nozzle head 223. The liquid applying unit 2 includes a jet nozzle head 223 provided with a plurality of jet nozzles orthogonal to the traveling direction of the transfer paper 10, a pair of conveying rollers 209a and 209b.
Etc. are provided. Further, an image detection sensor 245 is provided as image area detection means for detecting an image area on the transfer paper 10. At a position facing the detection surface of the image detection sensor 245, an opposing roller 225 that sandwiches and conveys the transfer paper 10 between the image sensor 245 and the sensor 245 is provided. The control unit 9 controls the application of the liquid 22 to the transfer paper 10 based on the detection result of the image detection sensor 245, and detects the leading end of the transfer paper 10 conveyed to the control unit 9 and the liquid application unit 2. A paper leading edge sensor 234 is provided.

As the image detection sensor 245, CC
An image sensor such as a D line sensor can be used. In this case, the CCD line sensor needs to have a length substantially equal to or greater than the width of the transfer paper 10. Further, the size of the CCD line sensor can be reduced by using the reduction optical system. However, the resolution does not change. Further, as the paper leading edge sensor 234, a reflection type, transmission type, a photo sensor with a filler, or the like can be used.

In the liquid application unit 2, when the operator selects the partial erasing mode using an operation unit (not shown), first, the transfer paper 10 fed from the paper feeding unit 1
The image is read by the image detection sensor 245 while being conveyed by the opposing roller 225. A part or all of the image data is stored in the A / D converter 918 in FIG.
Is temporarily stored in the RAM 919 via the. Then, the leading end of the transfer sheet 10 is detected by the sheet leading end sensor 234, and after a predetermined time has elapsed from the detection, control is performed to start the process of applying the liquid 22 to the transfer sheet 10 by the jet nozzle head 223. . The predetermined time is obtained from the transport speed of the transfer paper 10 and the distance between the paper leading edge sensor 234 and the liquid ejection position of the jet nozzle head 223. After the leading edge sensor 234 detects the leading edge of the transfer paper 10, the driving of the pair of conveying rollers 209a is temporarily stopped, the leading edge of the transfer paper 10 is aligned, and the transfer paper 10 is jetted by the restart signal from the control unit 9. Nozzle head 223
And the timing of the start of the liquid application process and the timing at which the leading end of the transfer paper 10 faces the jet nozzle head 223 can be controlled so as to be accurately synchronized.

In the operation of applying the liquid to the transfer paper 10, the liquid ejection from each nozzle of the jet nozzle head 223 is controlled based on the image data stored in the RAM 919 of the control unit 9. For example, as shown in FIG. 21, control is performed such that liquid ejection is performed only from the jet nozzle facing the image 10a of the transfer paper 10. Here, the positional accuracy of reading / ejection of the image area does not need to be set very finely, as long as the liquid 22 can be applied to an area larger than the image. For example, the accuracy of 200 to 400 dots per inch is generally used for ink-jet printing used for a printer or the like, but in the present embodiment, a division accuracy of several mm to several cm is sufficient. However, the reading / injection position can be controlled with high accuracy.

On the other hand, when the operator does not select the partial erasing mode using the operation unit, a normal liquid applying process, that is, a liquid applying process of applying the liquid 22 to the entire surface of the transfer paper 10 is executed.

According to this embodiment, the image detecting sensor 245 detects the image area on the transfer paper 10 to which the toner is adhered, and the control unit 9 controls the liquid 2 only in the image area.
2 is given. Thereby, the adhesion state between the surface of the image area and the toner can be reliably made unstable, so that the toner can be reliably removed from the image area in the next peeling step. In addition, since the liquid 22 can be applied only to the image area, the consumption of the liquid 22 can be reduced, and the processing time and power consumption in the subsequent drying step can be reduced. In addition, since only a small amount of liquid component such as water is applied to the transfer paper 10, the occurrence of wrinkles, waving, and the like of the transfer paper 10 can be suppressed.

In this embodiment, the jet nozzle head 223 is used for the liquid applying unit 2, but instead of this,
A liquid application roller pair that can change the pressing force, a spray nozzle that can change the liquid spray amount, or the like may be used. The transfer paper 10
Using a processing head or the like that has a groove for holding the liquid in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the transfer paper 10 and that can selectively apply the liquid in the groove to the transfer paper 10 conveyed in contact with the groove. You may. The area to which the liquid 22 is applied may be the entire surface of the image area detected by the image detection sensor 245, or may be controlled so that the liquid 22 is applied to only a part of the image area. Further, since the leading end of the conveyed transfer paper 10 is normally blank, the liquid 22 is not applied to the leading end and is not wet with the liquid 22. If the tip is not blank, control may be performed so that the liquid 22 is not applied to the tip. By suppressing the wetting of the leading end of the transfer paper 10 in this way, the transfer paper 1 can be removed in a post-processing step such as a peeling step.
It becomes easy to separate from the zero processing member.

Referring to FIGS. 22A and 22B, the liquid 22 in the processing head 224 is brought into direct contact with the transfer paper
A configuration example of the liquid application unit 2 that adopts the method of applying 2 will be described. This liquid application unit 2 is a processing head 224 (FIG. 22) which is hollow and has an elongated opening 224a formed in a direction orthogonal to the transfer direction of the transfer paper 10.
(See (b)), an opposing roller 225 disposed at a position facing the processing head 224 via the transfer paper 10, a liquid container 201 filled with a predetermined amount of the liquid 22, and the processing head 224.
Liquid supply pipe 212 and pump 213 for supplying
A transport roller pair 209, a squeeze roller pair 204, a transport guide plate 221, a drive unit (not shown) for each roller, and the like are provided. In this example, the transfer paper 10 fed from the paper supply unit 1 is transported while being sandwiched between the processing head 224 and the opposing roller 225. At this time, the processing head 2
The liquid 22 in the opening 224a of the 24 directly contacts the lower surface of the transfer paper 10, whereby the liquid 22 is applied to the transfer paper. Excess liquid 22 on the transfer paper 10 is removed by the pair of squeezing rollers 204 on the downstream side. In this example, the squeeze roller pair 20
4, the transfer liquid 10 can be supplied with the minimum necessary liquid 22 for lowering the adhesion of the toner, so that the amount of heat in the subsequent drying step can be reduced, and the transfer paper 10 is less likely to expand and contract due to moisture absorption. To complete the transfer paper 10
The occurrence of wrinkles and the like can be suppressed.

In this embodiment, the processing head 224
Is in close contact with the transfer paper 10, the processing head 2
The evaporation of the liquid 22 from 24 can be prevented. Further, as shown in FIG. 23, a lid 243 may be provided in the liquid container 201 to make it a closed type. In this case, the evaporation of the liquid 22 from the liquid container 201 can be prevented.

The processing head 224 movable in the transfer paper transport direction will be described with reference to FIGS. The processing head 224 and the opposing roller 225 opposing the opening 224a are both provided with the conveying roller 209a,
209b, and a driving device for the processing head 224 and the opposing roller 225 is provided. First, as shown in FIG. 24A, the transfer paper 10 transported from the paper feed cassette 1 by the transport rollers 209a and the like.
Is the processing head 224 in which the supply of the liquid 22 is turned off.
And the rotating opposing roller 25.
When the leading end of the transfer paper 10 is nipped, the facing roller 22
The control unit 5 controls the rotation of No. 5 to temporarily stop.
The timing of the temporary stop may be controlled based on a sheet leading edge sensor (not shown) provided on the upstream side of the transport roller 209a, a sheet sensor (not shown) provided on the processing head 224 or the opposing roller 225, or the like. Can be. Then, as shown in FIG. 24B, the processing head 224 and the opposing roller 225 move toward the transport roller 209b while holding the leading end of the transfer paper 10. And the processing head 2
24 and the opposing roller 225 stop moving when they reach a predetermined position in front of the conveying roller 209b.
9b so that the opposing rollers 22
Start the rotation of No. 5. Then, as shown in FIG. 24C, after the transfer paper 10 is nipped by the transport roller 209b,
The pump 213 is turned on to start supplying the liquid 22 to the processing head 224. The supply of the liquid 22 to the processing head 224 may be controlled to start when a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of driving of the opposing roller 225. When the transfer of the transfer paper 10 and the application of the liquid are completed, the processing head 224 and the opposing roller 225 are turned off and returned to the original predetermined position on the side of the transfer roller 209a, and waits for the next transfer paper 10 to be transferred.

By performing such an operation, an untreated area where the liquid 22 is not applied can be formed at the leading end of the transfer paper 10. The mold releasability is improved, and the separation is easily performed.

In FIG. 24, after the transfer paper 10 is clamped by the transfer roller 209b, the processing head 224 and the opposing roller are moved so as to rub the surface of the transfer paper 10 to which the liquid 22 has been applied (for example, between the transfer rollers). Is reciprocated), the processing head 224 and the like transfer the transfer paper 10 impregnated with the liquid 22.
By rubbing the surface, air bubbles in the transfer paper 10 are removed, and the liquid 22 can be more efficiently and reliably penetrated into the transfer paper 10 by a capillary effect or the like.

The liquid application unit 2 using the processing head 238 for causing the liquid 22 to flow at a high speed into the groove contacting the transfer paper 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 25A and 25B, the processing head 238 of the liquid application unit 2 has two grooves 238a in the direction orthogonal to the transfer direction of the transfer paper 10 on the side where the transfer paper 10 contacts. Is formed. Further, a liquid supply pipe 212 and a pump 213 are provided as liquid circulation means for the liquid 22. A filter 229 for purifying the liquid 22 is provided in the middle of the liquid supply pipe 212. The liquid 22 in the liquid container 201 is supplied to the liquid supply pipe 212 by the pump 213.
To the one end of the groove 238a of the processing head 238. The liquid 22 moves at high speed in the groove 238a, and returns to the liquid container 201 from the end of the other groove 238a and circulates. Further, transport rollers 209 as transport means are provided on both side surfaces of the processing head 238 in the transfer paper transport direction.

In this embodiment, since the liquid 22 moves at high speed in the groove 238a of the processing head 238 with which the transfer paper 10 is in contact, the negative pressure in the groove 238a is perpendicular to the flow direction of the liquid 22. Is generated, and the transfer paper 10 is
It adheres to the liquid 22 in a. Thereby, the liquid 22 is applied to the transfer paper 10. At this time, since the transfer paper 10 and the liquid 22 are in direct contact with each other and the liquid 22 is moving at a high speed, air bubbles on the surface of the transfer paper 10 are removed, and the liquid 22 is efficiently and reliably formed by the capillary effect. Can be made to penetrate into the transfer paper 10.

Since the transfer paper 10 on the processing head 238 is in close contact with the groove 238a, the transfer paper 10
a, and the evaporation loss of the liquid 22 can be prevented. Further, by sealing the liquid container 201,
Since the liquid 22 is further circulated through the liquid supply pipe 212 and the filter 229 and the pump 213, the clean liquid 22 is always supplied to the groove 238a of the processing head 238. be able to.

FIG. 26 shows a modification of the liquid application unit 2 shown in FIG. 25, in which a transport belt is provided in a region on the processing head 238 where there is no groove 238a. This transport belt
The transfer paper 10 is stretched by two rollers, and is disposed so as to sandwich the transfer paper 10 between the transport roller 209 and the upper surface of the processing head 238. This ensures that the transfer paper 10 is transported over the processing head 238.

Further, as shown in FIG.
Transfer direction of the transfer paper in the groove 238a of 38 (direction of arrow in the figure)
By forming the inner side surface 238b on the downstream side in the oblique direction, the transfer paper 10 comes out of the groove 238a without breaking even if the leading end of the transfer paper 10 falls into the groove 238a. Further, the transfer paper 10 is reliably transported over the processing head 238.

With reference to FIG. 28, the operation of the liquid applying unit 2 having the processing head 238 capable of applying liquid to the entire surface of the transfer paper 10 will be described. Here, the transport roller 209, the pump 213, the drive units (not shown) of the first and second transport path switching claws 239 and 241, the sheet leading edge sensor 242, and the like are controlled by the control unit in FIG. Further, the distance between the center position of the groove 238a on the downstream side in the transport direction of the processing head 238 and the center position of the transport roller 209e is set to be equal to or less than half the length of the minimum size transfer paper 1 in the transport direction. Also, the first and second transport path switching claws 23
9, 241 are set at positions indicated by solid lines.

First, the transfer paper 10 is transported by the transport rollers 209c,
By 209d, it is conveyed onto the processing head 238. At this time, the processing head 238 is turned off. This is because if it is set to ON, the leading end of the transfer paper 10 may fall into the groove 238a due to the negative pressure in the groove 238a of the processing head 238 and be broken. Thereafter, the leading edge of the transfer paper 10 passes through the processing head 238 and the leading and trailing edge sensors 2
It is detected at 42. At this time, the transfer paper 10 is sandwiched between the transport rollers 209e, and the transfer paper 10 can be transported. Therefore, the processing head 238 is turned on to start the liquid application processing.

When the leading and trailing edge sensor 242 detects the trailing edge of the transfer sheet 10, the processing head 238 is temporarily turned off.
FF is performed (however, it may be turned off at any time. For example, after the transfer paper 10 is confirmed to pass through the reverse conveyance path 240,
It may be controlled to perform FF). Then, the transfer paper 10
After the detection of the trailing end, when a predetermined time has elapsed, the transport roller pair 209f is reversed, and the first transport path switching claw 239 is switched to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line. As a result, the transfer paper 10 passes through the reverse conveyance path 240 and is conveyed by the conveyance rollers g, h, and i, and the conveyance roller pair 209d
The transfer paper 10 is clamped. At this time, the second transport path switching claw 241 is switched to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line.

When the leading edge of the transfer paper 10 is detected by the leading edge sensor 242, the processing head 238
N and the liquid 22
Is given. Thereafter, the first transport path switching claw 239 is returned to the position indicated by the solid line, the transport roller 209f is rotated forward, and the transfer paper 10 is sent to the next processing step (peeling step, drying step, etc.). Note that the processing head 238 is provided with the transfer paper 1
0 at the time when the trailing edge of the
Set to FF. As described above, according to this example, the liquid 22 can be reliably applied to the entire surface of the transfer paper 10.

The liquid application unit 2 using the processing heads 224 and 238 shown in FIGS. 22 to 28 is a large-diameter rotating body (paper holding drum) that transports the transfer paper 10 while holding it on the surface as transporting means. Can be applied to the toner removing device provided with In the case of this configuration, the processing head 22
The processing heads 224 and 238 are arranged such that the grooves of 4,238 are in contact with the surface of the paper holding drum. The transfer paper on the paper holding drum is sandwiched between the processing heads 224 and 238, is conveyed while being in contact with the processing liquid in the groove of the processing head, and is supplied with the processing liquid.

Referring to FIG. 29, an example of the configuration of the liquid application unit 2 provided with the transfer paper compressing means will be described. The liquid application unit 2 according to the present embodiment uses, as the compression means, a pair of application / compression rollers 228 which sandwich the transfer paper 10 and compress it with a predetermined compression force. The application / compression roller pair 228 is arranged so that the transfer paper 10 from the paper supply unit 1 advances from the bottom to the top in the toner removing device of FIG. .

The liquid application unit 2 includes a liquid reservoir 214 and a liquid reservoir 214 provided so that the liquid 22 comes into contact with both sides of the transfer paper 10 that is being released from being compressed by the coating / compression roller pair 228. 214 as needed for liquid 22
Are provided. The lower end of the liquid holding plate 214a of the liquid reservoir 214 is configured to rub against the surface of the application / compression roller pair 228. The lower end is formed by a pair of application / compression rollers 228.
It is desirable to use a material that does not damage the surface.
Further, in the present embodiment, independent liquid reservoirs are formed on both surfaces of the transfer paper 10, but each liquid reservoir on both surfaces of the transfer paper 10 may be configured to communicate with each other.

The two sets of liquid supply devices 208 each include a liquid container 201, a liquid supply pipe 212, a pump 213, a filter 229 as liquid purification means, and the like. A liquid removing blade 229 is provided at the upper end of each of the liquid containers 201 on the application / compression roller pair 228 side to remove residual liquid adhering to the surface of the application / compression roller pair 228. If the respective liquid reservoirs on both sides of the transfer paper 10 are configured to communicate with each other, only one set of liquid supply devices 208 may be provided.

Further, the transfer path of the transfer paper 10 is
A guide plate (not shown) for guiding 0 and a pair of guide rollers are provided as appropriate. For example, in the configuration of FIG. 29, a pair of conveying rollers 209 is provided upstream and downstream of the coating / compression roller pair 228.

According to the present embodiment, the transfer paper 10 having a toner image formed on the surface thereof is guided by the conveying roller pair 209 and the like, and is conveyed to the entrance of the application / compression roller pair 228. The application / compression roller pair 228 conveys the transfer paper 10 upward while nipping and compressing the same. By this compression, gas such as air bubbles in the fine voids of the transfer paper 10 is removed.
After the transfer paper 10 passes through the compression position by the coating / compression roller pair 228, the compression force is released, and the liquid 22 in the liquid reservoir 214 is in contact with the portion where the compression force is released. Therefore, when the compression force is released, the liquid 22 in the liquid pool 214 is transferred from the both sides of the transfer paper 10 where the toner image is not formed mainly due to the capillary effect or the like, due to the capillary effect or the like. It quickly penetrates into the paper fibers (for example, cellulose fibers), which are the constituent materials of the paper 10, and finally, surely penetrates to the interface between the toner image and the paper fibers. Here, since the toner on the transfer paper 10 generally has water repellency, the liquid 22 hardly adheres to the surface of the toner image. However, when the toner image is observed with a microscope, there are numerous voids, so that the liquid 22 also penetrates from the surface of the toner image due to a capillary phenomenon or the like.

As described above, since the liquid 22 reliably penetrates to the interface between the toner image and the paper fibers on the surface of the transfer paper 10, the properties of the toner, the paper fibers, or both, change.
Since the state of adhesion between the toner image and the paper fibers of the transfer paper 10 becomes unstable, the toner image is easily separated from the surface of the transfer paper 10. (Hereinafter, margin)

Next, the transfer paper 10 into which the liquid 22 has penetrated passes through the pair of transport rollers 209 and is transported between the peeling rollers 302 (see FIG. 5) of the next toner peeling unit 3. In this toner peeling unit 3, as shown in FIG. 2, the peeling member 302a comes into contact with the toner T and the liquid 22 on the transfer paper 10, and the adhesive force between the peeling member 302a and the toner T
The toner T is separated from the surface of the transfer paper 10 because the toner T is configured to be larger than the adhesive force between the transfer paper 10 and the transfer paper 10. Here, since the liquid 22 is interposed between the release member 302a and the surface of the transfer paper 10 on which the toner is not adhered, the paper fibers on the surface of the transfer paper 10 are removed by the release member 302a.
Therefore, only the toner T can be peeled without damaging the surface of the transfer paper 10. Thus, the transfer paper 10 from which only the toner T has been peeled off without any damage can be reused in a copying machine or the like.

On the other hand, the remaining liquid adhering to the surface of the coating / compressing roller pair 228 is scraped off by the liquid removing blade 229 and stored in the liquid container 201, and then is pumped by the pump 213.
The liquid is supplied to the liquid reservoir 214 through the filter 229. By passing the liquid through the filter 229, it is possible to always supply a clean processing liquid to the liquid reservoir 214, and as a result, the liquid 2 containing no dust, impurities, etc.
2 is imparted to the transfer paper 10 so that it can be more efficiently and reliably penetrated to the interface between the toner T and the paper fibers on the surface of the transfer paper 10.

In this example, the compressive force of the pair of application / compression rollers 228 is determined by the amount of liquid 2 from the contact position between the compression rollers.
It is preferable to set such that 2 does not leak. Specifically, if the compression force is set to at least the weight of the liquid 22 on the application / compression roller pair 228, the liquid 22 will not leak from the contact position between the compression rollers.

Here, the approximate value W of the weight of the liquid 22 on the application / compression roller pair 228 can be estimated as follows. As shown in FIG. 30, the height of the liquid pool is H (cm),
The radius of the application / compression roller pair 228 is R (cm). When passing A4 size copy paper,
The length of the compression roller pair 228 should be at least 23 cm or more. Further, in order to simplify the calculation, if the liquid 22 exists in a 2R × H × 23 (cm ³ ) rectangular parallelepiped shape on the application / compression roller pair 228, and the density of the liquid 22 is 1 g / cm ³ ,
Approximate value W of weight of liquid 22 on application / compression roller pair 228
Is obtained from the following equation.

W = 46 × R × H (g) Here, for example, if R = 5 cm and H = 5 cm,
It can be seen that the compression force of the compression roller pair 228 needs to be set to approximately 1.15 kgf or more.

With reference to FIG. 31, another specific example of the liquid application unit 2 provided with a means for compressing the transfer paper 10 will be described. The configuration of the liquid application unit 2 according to this example is basically the same as that shown in FIG. 29, but before the transfer paper 10 is compressed by the coating / compression roller pair 228, the pre-immersion liquid 23 which is a predetermined liquid is used. In that a dipping device is provided as a liquid applying means for applying dipping to the transfer paper 10 by dipping. The immersion device includes a pre-immersion liquid tank 230 for storing the pre-immersion liquid 23 and a transport guide plate (not shown) arranged so that the transfer paper 10 passes through the pre-immersion liquid 23 in the pre-immersion liquid tank 230. , A pair of conveying rollers 209 and the like. Here, as the pre-immersion liquid 23, ordinary water or the like can be used, but the liquid 22 may be used.

According to this embodiment, the transfer paper 10 on which the toner image is formed is guided by the pair of conveying rollers 209 and the like,
The transfer paper 10 is wetted by the pre-immersion liquid 23 by passing through the pre-immersion liquid 23 in the pre-immersion liquid tank 230, and the transfer paper 10 is moved to the entrance of the coating / compression roller pair 228 in the same manner as in Example 1 above. Conveyed. Here, since the transfer paper 10 is wet with the preliminary immersion liquid 23, the transfer paper 1
0, so that the transfer paper 10 can be easily compressed, so that the application / compression roller pair 228 makes it possible to more efficiently and reliably remove gas such as air bubbles in fine voids of the transfer paper 10. Can be done. The transfer paper 1
When wetting 0 with the pre-immersion liquid 23, the pre-immersion liquid 23 does not necessarily have to be sufficiently permeated into the transfer paper 10.

With reference to FIG. 32, still another specific example of the liquid application unit 2 provided with the transfer paper compressing means will be described. The configuration of the liquid application unit 2 according to this example is basically the same as that in FIG. 29 described above, whereas FIG. 29 conveys the transfer paper 10 upward from below the coating / compression roller pair 228. 32 in that the transfer paper 10 is conveyed in the horizontal direction and from right to left of the coating / compression roller pair 228 in FIG. Liquid reservoir 2 in this example
Reference numeral 14 is provided on the copy paper discharge section side of the coating / compression roller pair 228 so that the liquid 22 comes into contact with both sides of the transfer paper 10 being released from compression by the coating / compression roller pair 228. The lower right end of the liquid holding plate 214a of the liquid reservoir 214 is configured to rub against the surface of the compression roller 3b to prevent leakage of the liquid 22. Preferably, the lower right end is made of a material that does not damage the compression roller 3b.

According to this embodiment, the transfer paper 10 on which the toner image is formed is guided by the conveying roller pair 209 and the like, and
It is transported to the entrance of the application / compression roller pair 228. The applying / compressing roller pair 228 conveys the transfer paper 10 to the left while holding and compressing the same. By this compression, gas such as air bubbles in the fine voids of the transfer paper 10 is removed. Transfer paper 10
After passing through the compression position by the application / compression roller pair 228, the compression force is released, but since the liquid 22 in the liquid reservoir 214 is in contact with the part where the compression force is released, the compression When the force is released, the liquid 22 in the liquid reservoir 214 flows from the both sides of the transfer paper 10 where the toner image is not mainly formed, due to the capillary effect or the like, to the space inside the transfer paper 10,
In addition, the toner quickly penetrates into paper fibers (for example, cellulose fibers), which is a constituent material of the transfer paper 10, and finally penetrates reliably to the interface between the toner image and the paper fibers.
In this way, the liquid 22 reliably penetrates to the interface between the toner image and the paper fibers on the surface of the transfer paper 10, and the toner,
The properties of the paper fibers or both change, and the adhesion between the toner image and the paper fibers of the transfer paper 10 becomes unstable.
0 Easy to peel off from the surface.

With reference to FIG. 33, a description will be given of an example of the configuration of the liquid applying unit 2 using the peeling drum 226 used in the toner peeling unit 3. The liquid application unit 2 is a hollow cylindrical separation drum 2 holding a liquid 22 therein.
26, a driving unit (not shown) of the peeling drum 226, the opposing roller 2 arranged to be in pressure contact with the surface of the peeling drum 226.
27, a liquid receiving container 28 for receiving the liquid 22 from the opposing roller 227, and the like. The outer wall of the peeling drum 226 has a large number of pores, and the opposing roller 227 is formed of a material containing bubbles such as sponge. In this example, the transfer paper 10 fed from the paper supply unit 1 (see FIG. 1)
Is transported while being sandwiched between the peeling drum 226 and the opposing roller 227, and the peeling drum 226 is
Then, the liquid 22 is spouted out, the liquid 22 is applied to the transfer paper 10, and the transfer paper 10 is wound around the peeling drum 226, and the next peeling step is performed. Since the opposing roller 227 is formed of a material containing bubbles such as sponge, a pressure difference occurs between the nip portion and the other portion, and assists the discharge of the liquid 22 from the inside of the peeling drum 226. Also, the liquid 22 can be spouted by increasing the pressure inside the peeling drum 226.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the processing liquid 20 is efficiently and reliably penetrated into the interface between the transfer paper 10 and the toner, so that the transfer paper 10, toner,
Alternatively, the adhesion state between the transfer paper 10 and the toner can be reliably reduced to an unstable state, for example, by changing the characteristics of both of them and reducing the adhesion force between the transfer paper 10 and the toner. Therefore, only the toner can be reliably removed from the transfer paper 10.

The squeezing roller 204, the blade 2
15 is provided, the transfer paper 10
Necessary processing liquid 20 to reduce toner adhesion
, The amount of heat in the subsequent drying step can be reduced, and the transfer paper 10 can be reduced in expansion and contraction due to moisture absorption, so that the transfer paper 10 can be prevented from waving and wrinkling.

In the above embodiment, the liquid applying unit 2, the toner peeling unit 3, and the drying unit 5 are individually provided, but the liquid applying unit 2 and the toner peeling unit 3 are united to form the liquid applying unit. Also, a toner peeling unit may be configured. 34 to 36 show specific examples of the liquid applying unit and the toner peeling unit.

With reference to FIGS. 34A and 34B, a specific example of a liquid applying unit and a toner peeling unit using a pair of pressure rollers 249a and 249b will be described. The liquid applying unit and the toner peeling unit shown in FIG. 34A are provided with a liquid 22 (in the present embodiment, the processing liquid 20 described above.
5 and FIG. 36. ), And a pair of pressure rollers 2 as a set of liquid holders arranged so that the lower pressure roller is in contact with the liquid 22.
49a and 49b. Lower pressure roller 249b
Is formed with a liquid impregnated body (hereinafter referred to as an impregnated body) 249c. As a material of the impregnated body 249c,
Examples include sponge, felt, water-containing plastic, cloth, paper, plastic foam, and the like, but the type is not particularly limited as long as the liquid 22 can be impregnated. As the upper pressure roller 249a, a roller having only a pressure function or a roller having a pressure function and a heating function at a temperature lower than the temperature at the time of peeling is used. In the present embodiment, the transfer paper 10 is passed through the gap while rotating the pressure roller pair 249a, 249b, so that the liquid 22
And the toner can be peeled off from the transfer paper 10 and removed. When the transfer paper 10 passes,
The degree of pressure can be changed by adjusting the gap between the pressure roller pair 249a and 249b. When the upper pressure roller 249a does not have a heating function and has only a pressure function, by heating the liquid 22,
The transfer paper 10 can be impregnated with the liquid 22 more quickly.

As shown in FIG. 34B, two pressure roller pairs 249a and 249b can be used. In this case, the effect of impregnating the transfer paper 10 with the liquid 22 can be further improved as compared with the liquid applying unit and the toner peeling unit in FIG. Note that each pressure roller pair 24
9a and 9b do not necessarily need to have the same structure, and various modes can be considered. For example, an example in which a non-impregnated roller is used as the pressure roller 249b on the upstream side in the transfer paper transport direction, and a roller having an impregnated body formed on the surface as the pressure roller 249b on the downstream side is used. .

Referring to FIG. 35, a specific example of the liquid applying unit and the toner peeling unit using the belt 250 will be described. The liquid applying unit and the toner peeling unit according to the present embodiment include a liquid container 201 filled with a predetermined amount of the liquid 22, a belt 250 wrapped around a support roller 251, and a transfer belt 10 for transporting the transfer paper 10 therebetween. Pressure roller 249a
Etc. are provided. At least the surface portion of the belt 250
It can be made of the same material as the impregnated body 249c. As the pressure roller 249a, a roller having only a pressure function, or a roller having a pressure function and a heating function at a lower temperature than at the time of peeling is used. In this example, the belt 250 rotated and driven by the support roller 251 impregnates the liquid 22 when passing through the liquid 22 and moves to a contact portion with the transfer paper 10. Then, the transfer paper 10 is passed through the gap while rotating the pressure roller 249 a and the belt 250, so that the transfer paper 10 is impregnated with the liquid 22 and the toner is peeled and removed from the transfer paper 10. it can. By using the belt 250 in this manner, the contact area between the belt 249, which is an impregnated body, and the transfer paper 10 can be increased, so that the liquid 22 can be more efficiently and reliably applied to the transfer paper 10. Thus, the image peeling effect can be improved. Note that FIG.
35 and the pressure roller 249a and the pressure roller 249 of FIG.
The shaft core of b is not formed of the impregnated body, but may be formed of the impregnated body.

Referring to FIGS. 36A and 36B, a specific example of a liquid applying unit and a toner peeling unit in which a pair of pressure rollers 249a, a or a belt 250 is disposed in the liquid 22 of the liquid container 201 will be described. . In the liquid applying unit and the toner peeling unit shown in FIG. 36A, the pressure roller pair 249a is disposed on the liquid 22 of the liquid container 201, and the pressure roller pair 249a is disposed.
The transfer paper 10 is configured to be nipped and conveyed in the liquid 22 by a and a. As the pressure roller pair 249a, a roller having only a pressure function, or a roller having a pressure function and a heating function at a lower temperature than at the time of peeling is used. According to the present embodiment, since the transfer paper 10 is sandwiched and pressurized in the liquid 22, the liquid 22 can be more efficiently and reliably applied to the transfer paper 10, and the effect of peeling off the image can be improved. it can. The pressure roller pair 249a, a
As shown in (b), a plurality of sets may be provided, and they need not necessarily have the same structure.

The liquid applying unit and the toner peeling unit shown in FIG. 36B are composed of the belt 250 and the pressure roller 2 shown in FIG.
49a is disposed in the liquid 22. According to this example, liquid 2
2, the transfer paper 10 is clamped and pressed, and the belt 250 is pressed.
Is used, the contact area between the belt 250, which is an impregnated body, and the transfer paper 10 can be increased.
Further, the liquid 22 can be efficiently and reliably applied to the transfer paper 10, and the effect of peeling off the image can be improved. The pressure roller 249a and the belt 250 used in the liquid 22 of FIGS. 36A and 36B may be impregnated or non-impregnated.

As described above, according to the embodiment using the liquid applying unit and the toner peeling unit shown in FIGS. 34 to 36, the transfer paper 1 is formed by using the pressure rollers 249a and 249b, the belt 250 and the like.
By impregnating the processing liquid 20 with the toner, the adhesion between the toner and the transfer paper 10 can be made very weak, and the adhesion state of the toner can be reliably made unstable. It can be reliably peeled and removed. Then, since the toner image can be sufficiently removed and reproduced without substantially removing the paper fibers from the transfer paper 10 and thus without damaging the paper layer of the transfer paper, the used transfer paper 10 should be discarded. The transfer paper 10 can be used repeatedly without using the same.

The specific examples shown in FIGS. 34 to 36 are as follows.
Although the case where the liquid applying unit and the toner peeling unit are used is shown, these units are independent liquid applying units when the liquid applying unit 2 and the toner peeling unit 3 are separately provided as described above. 2 can also be used.

The specific examples shown in FIGS. 34 and 36 are as follows.
An example of the liquid applying unit and the toner peeling unit in which the liquid applying unit 2 and the toner peeling unit 3 are combined is shown, but in addition to the liquid applying unit 2 and the toner peeling unit 3, the drying unit 4 is combined. You may comprise.

In the liquid applying unit 2 or the liquid applying unit and the toner peeling unit shown in FIGS. 7 to 36, the liquid 22 itself or the submerged conveying roller 202, the conveying belt 211, the application roller pair 207, the felt blade Ultrasonic waves may be applied to 220 or the like. This makes it possible to increase the speed of penetration of the liquid 22 into the transfer paper 10. Further, a temperature control device or the like for maintaining the temperature of the liquid 22 in a range suitable for processing may be provided. Thereby, the processing speed and the reliability of the processing can be improved. Further, each of the above rollers may be replaced with a transport belt or the like.

The handling of the liquid 22 in the liquid applying unit 2 or the liquid applying unit and the toner peeling unit shown in FIGS. 7 to 36 is performed so that the liquid 22 is not scattered or leaked when the apparatus is carried. In some cases, it may be necessary to take measures such as devising the position of the handle or making the liquid container 201 a sealed structure. For this countermeasure, it is possible to apply techniques such as a conventional wet copying machine and diazo copying machine. When the liquid 22 is circulated and used, it is desirable to arrange a filter for removing dust, impurities and the like in a part of the circulation path. (Hereinafter, margin)

In the liquid applying unit 2 or the liquid applying unit and the toner peeling unit shown in FIGS. As the liquid supply device to be supplied, the following device can be used. FIG.
Reference numeral 7 denotes a configuration example of a liquid circulation type liquid supply device for circulating the liquid 22 between the processing section 200 of the liquid application unit 2 and the closed liquid container 201. The liquid container 201 of the liquid supply device is provided in the main body of the toner removing device. The liquid 22 in the liquid container 201 is pumped up by the pump 213 and guided to the processing section 200. The surplus liquid at the time of the liquid application processing is subjected to removal of dust and impurities by a filter 229 as drainage liquid, and is returned into the liquid container 201 again. When the remaining amount of the liquid 22 in the liquid container 201 becomes equal to or less than a specified amount, a liquid supply sign is displayed on an operation unit (not shown) of the apparatus main body. The operator who sees this sign reads the cap 201 of the liquid inlet of the liquid container 201.
a and open the lid 24 of the bottle 247 containing the new liquid 22.
7 a is opened and the liquid 22 in the bottle 247 is
Inject into and replenish.

FIG. 38A shows an example of the configuration of a liquid circulation type liquid supply device capable of automatically replenishing the liquid 22 from the bottle 247 into the liquid container 201. Bottle 247 in which liquid 22 is filled in valve 248 at the liquid inlet of liquid container 201
Is attached. As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 38B, an internal pressure P higher than the atmospheric pressure is applied to the inside of the bottle 247 by injection of compressed air or the like. When a liquid supply signal is sent from the control unit 9 of FIG. 4 to the liquid supply device, the valve 248 is operated by a solenoid (not shown).
The pin inside pushes the top 247b of the supply port of the bottle 247 to the inside of the bottle. By pushing up the top 247b, a supply channel for the liquid 22 is formed, and the liquid 22 is automatically supplied from the bottle 247 into the liquid container 201. In the case of this liquid supply device, even if the bottle 247 is removed from the valve 248 while the liquid 22 remains in the bottle 247, the internal pressure P is applied to the bottle 247 as described above, and the top 247b Since the bottle 247 is pressed against the locking portion 247c of the supply port of the bottle 247 and hermetically sealed, the bottle 2
No spillage of the liquid 22 from 47 occurs.

FIGS. 39 and 40 show an example of the configuration of a liquid disposable type liquid supply device in which the liquid 22 is disposable without being circulated. In the liquid supply device shown in FIG.
2 is pumped by the pump 213 and guided to the processing unit 200. Then, the surplus liquid at the time of the liquid application processing is discharged to the drainage tank 249.

In the liquid supply device shown in FIG. 40, when a signal for liquid supply is sent from the control section 9 to the liquid supply device, the liquid supply device shown in FIG.
8, the flow path of the liquid 22 is formed,
The liquid 22 is supplied from 7 to the processing unit 200. Then, the surplus liquid at the time of the liquid application processing is discharged to the drainage tank 249. As the bottle 247, a bottle to which internal pressure has been applied can also be used.

Next, according to the present invention, for example, an unused transfer paper 10 for forming an image with an electrophotographic copying machine or the like can be used.
Next, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a transfer paper treatment apparatus as an image holding body processing apparatus for applying a liquid 22 such as the permeation promoting liquid 21 and the processing liquid 20 will be described. This transfer paper processing apparatus can use the same configuration as that of the above-described embodiment of the toner removing apparatus. For example, the toner removing unit 3 of the toner removing apparatus shown in FIG.
(The above-mentioned permeation promoting liquid applying unit 2a and the processing liquid applying device 2
b) and the transfer paper 10 can be directly conveyed to the drying unit 4.

Further, as shown in FIG. 41, a bypass conveyance path 232 that bypasses the toner peeling unit 3 of the above-described toner removing device, a toner removal mode for the transfer paper with toner attached, and an unused transfer paper processing mode A transfer path switching device 233 for switching the transfer path of the transfer paper by the mode switching apparatus, and when the unused transfer paper processing mode is selected, the transfer paper 10 May pass through a conveyance path 232 bypassing the toner peeling unit 3.

Here, the liquid 22 applied to the transfer paper 10 may be a permeation promoting liquid 21 such as the above-mentioned surfactant solution, or a liquid obtained by removing pure water from the above-mentioned processing liquid 20, that is, a water-soluble polymer. At least one aqueous solution selected from the group consisting of an aqueous solution containing a water-soluble polymer, an aqueous solution containing a surfactant, and an aqueous solution containing a water-soluble polymer and a surfactant can be used.

As described above, according to the transfer paper processing apparatus of this embodiment, the processing liquid 20 (for example, an aqueous solution containing a surfactant) is efficiently and reliably applied to the unused transfer paper 10 to which no toner is attached. When an image (toner image) is formed on the transfer paper 10 and the toner image on the transfer paper 10 is peeled off, the adhesion state between the surface of the transfer paper 10 and the toner is not good. As a result, the toner image can be separated from the surface more reliably than before.

The squeezing roller 204, the blade 2
15 is provided, the transfer paper 10
Necessary processing liquid 20 to reduce toner adhesion
, The amount of heat in the subsequent drying step can be reduced, and the transfer paper 10 can be reduced in expansion and contraction due to moisture absorption, so that the transfer paper 10 can be prevented from waving and wrinkling.

In each of the above embodiments, the present invention is applied to the transfer paper 1 on which an image is formed by a transfer type electrophotographic copying machine.
0, or applied to an unused transfer paper 10 before an image is formed, but can also be applied to an image carrier such as a recording paper used in another image forming apparatus such as a facsimile, a printer, and a printing machine. Further, the present invention is not limited to an image carrier having a fibrous structure, but can be applied to an image carrier capable of forming an image. The image carrier to which the present invention can be applied may be, for example, a laminate in which the surface layer of a base sheet such as a plastic layer is a material layer such as paper.

[0150]

According to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, the adhesion between the surface of the image carrier and the image forming substance is weakened to make the state of adhesion between the surfaces unstable, and the image forming substance is removed. Since the image forming substance on the image carrier can be peeled and removed by the peeling member in the softened state by heating, there is an effect that only the image forming substance can be reliably removed from the image carrier.

In particular, according to the second and fourth aspects of the present invention, by removing the destabilizing solution remaining on the image carrier separated from the peeling member by heating, the image carrier can be formed into an image-forming state. Can be In addition, since the minimum necessary amount of the destabilizing liquid is supplied to the image holding member by nipping and transporting the pair of rotating members, the amount of heat required for removing the destabilizing liquid by heating is small, and the image is further reduced. Since the expansion and contraction of the holder due to moisture absorption is small, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of waviness and wrinkles of the image holder.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is an explanatory diagram of a surface of a transfer sheet to which toner has adhered. (B) is an enlarged view of an interface between the transfer paper and the toner.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a contact state of a transfer sheet, a toner, a processing liquid, and a release member.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a toner removing device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control unit of the toner removing device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a toner removing device according to a modified example of the toner removing device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a liquid applying unit having a penetration promoting liquid applying unit 2a and a processing liquid applying device 2b.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid application unit of the toner removing device.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid application unit according to a modification.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid application unit according to another modification.

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid application unit according to still another modification.

FIG. 11A is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid application unit according to still another modification. (B) Flow chart of control of the liquid application unit.

FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid application unit according to still another modification.

FIG. 13 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid application unit according to still another modification.

FIG. 14 is a timing chart of control of the liquid application unit.

FIG. 15 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid application unit according to still another modification.

FIG. 16 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid application unit according to still another modification.

FIG. 17 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid application unit according to still another modification.

FIG. 18 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid application unit according to still another modification.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of control of the liquid application unit.

FIG. 20 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid application unit according to still another modification.

FIG. 21 is a schematic configuration diagram of the liquid applying unit using a jet nozzle head.

FIG. 22A is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid application unit according to still another modification. (B) is a perspective view of a processing head of the liquid applying unit.

FIG. 23 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid application unit according to still another modification.

FIGS. 24A to 24C are explanatory views showing the operation of the processing head.

FIG. 25A is a perspective view of a liquid application unit according to still another modification. (B) is sectional drawing of the processing head of the liquid application unit.

FIG. 26 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid application unit according to still another modification.

FIG. 27 is a sectional view of a processing head according to a modification.

FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of a liquid application unit including a processing head.

FIG. 29 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid application unit according to still another modification.

FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram of a volume of a processing liquid in a liquid pool of the liquid applying unit.

FIG. 31 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid application unit according to still another modification.

FIG. 32 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid application unit according to still another modification.

FIG. 33 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid application unit according to still another modification.

FIGS. 34A and 34B are schematic configuration diagrams of a liquid applying unit and a toner peeling unit according to another embodiment.

FIG. 35 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid applying unit and a toner peeling unit according to a modification.

FIGS. 36 (a) and (b) are schematic configuration diagrams of a liquid application unit according to another modification.

FIG. 37 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid supply unit used for the liquid application unit and the liquid application unit and the toner peeling unit.

FIG. 38A is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid supply device according to a modification. (B) is an enlarged view of a liquid supply port of the liquid supply device.

FIG. 39 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid supply device according to another modification.

FIG. 40 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid supply device according to still another modification.

FIG. 41 is an explanatory diagram of a transfer sheet processing apparatus according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 liquid applying unit 3 toner peeling unit 4 drying unit 10 transfer paper 20 processing liquid 21 penetration promoting liquid 22 liquid 201 liquid container 204 squeeze roller pair 207 application roller pair 212 liquid supply pipe 213 pump 214 liquid pool 215 blade

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Rie Kei Shingu 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Shinichi Kuramoto 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock Company Inside Ricoh (72) Inventor Sadao Takahashi 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Yoshiyuki 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company (72 ) Inventor Kazuhiro Ando 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tadashi Saito 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Ricoh Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A method for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier, the method comprising removing the image forming substance from an image carrier having an image forming substance stably adhered to a surface thereof. Supplying a destabilizing liquid which weakens the adhesive force between the substance and the substance to make the state of adhesion between the two unstable, to the interface where the image carrier and the image forming substance are in contact with each other; The image carrier to which the destabilizing solution has been supplied is nipped and conveyed by a pair of rotating members, and the image forming material on the image carrier to which the destabilizing solution has been supplied is heated and softened, and the image carrier weakened by the destabilizing solution Bonding a peeling member made of a material capable of exerting an adhesive force to the image forming substance larger than the adhesive force between the image forming substance and the heat-softened image forming substance to the image forming substance on the image holding member; An image carrier characterized by separating the peeling member and the image carrier adhered to a forming substance. Image forming substance removing method from the body. 2. The method for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier according to claim 1, wherein said destabilizing liquid remaining on said image carrier is removed by heating after separating said peeling member and said image carrier. A method for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier. 3. An apparatus for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier which removes the image forming substance from an image carrier having an image forming substance stably adhered to a surface thereof. A destabilizing liquid for supplying an destabilizing liquid that weakens the adhesive force between the substance and the state of adhesion between the two to an unstable state to an interface where the image carrier and the image forming substance are in contact with each other; Supply means, a pair of rotating members for nipping and transporting the image carrier to which the destabilizing solution has been supplied, and heating and softening the image forming material on the image carrier to which the destabilizing solution has been supplied, thereby causing the unstable The peeling member made of a material capable of exhibiting an adhesive force to the image forming substance that is larger than the adhesive force between the image holding substance weakened by the oxidizing liquid and the heat-softened image forming substance is applied to the image on the image holding body. The image bearing member is separated from the peeling member adhered to the image forming material. Image forming substance removing apparatus from the image carrier, characterized by comprising a release means that. 4. An apparatus for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier according to claim 3, further comprising a drying means for removing the destabilizing liquid remaining on the image carrier separated from the peeling member by heating. A device for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier.