JPH10268720A - Device for removing image forming material from image carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To precisely perform a density control of unstabilizing liquid by means of a simple and inexpensive method by providing a dilute liquid feeding section, and liquid dilution controlling means controlling the operation of the dilute liquid feeding section, based on a detecting result by liquid temp. detecting means and the detecting result by property detecting means. SOLUTION: As for this device, the density controlling unit 70 arranged adjacent to the unstablizing liquid storage unit 60 is, consisting of the detecting device provided with the temp. sensor as the liquid temp. detecting means detecting the liquid temp. of the unstabilizing liquid and the property detecting section as property detecting means detecting the density substituting property value changing by the liquid temp. of the unstabilizing liquid and the density of the liquid, and the dilute liquid feeding section feeding the dilute liquid in a first liquid tank 61. Then, by the main body controlling section as dilution controlling means, based on the detecting result by the temp. sensor and the detection result by the property detecting section, the operation of the dilute liquid feeding section is controlled, and the density control is performed so as to maintain the density of the unstabilizing liquid in a specified range.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, or the like, which removes an image forming substance formed on the image holding body and reproduces the image from the image holding body. The present invention relates to a forming substance removing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, as an apparatus for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier, a sheet as an image carrier having a surface to which toner as an image forming substance is stably adhered is attached to the surface and the toner. After applying a destabilizing liquid that makes the state of adhesion to an unstable state, the toner is removed from the paper by pressing the paper against a heated release member and adhesively transferring the toner onto the release member. Things are known.

In general, the destabilizing liquid is costly,
From the viewpoints of safety, maintainability, and the like, an aqueous solution produced by mixing a surfactant such as a dialkyl sulfosuccinate with water is used. The mixing ratio affects the properties such as the property of weakening the adhesiveness between the toner and the paper and the toner fixability at the time of re-image formation. It has been optimized in consideration of.

[0004]

When an aqueous solution is used as the destabilizing solution, water in the solution evaporates during operation and stop of the apparatus, and the solution is concentrated. Will change. This results in a decrease in the performance. Particularly, when a method of applying a small amount of the mixed solution for the purpose of obtaining good reproduction quality is employed, the surfactant is contained in an amount of 15 wt% or more. Highly concentrated solutions may be used. In such a case, the decrease in the performance becomes a serious problem due to the concentration increase due to the evaporation of water.

In general, as a device for controlling the concentration of a solution, an expensive online type concentration control device used in, for example, an industrial plant is known.

Normally, in measuring the concentration of a solution, instead of directly measuring the concentration itself, a concentration substitute characteristic value such as specific gravity or light transmittance, which changes in relation to the concentration, is measured. This is done by converting the value to a concentration. The concentration substitution characteristic value often changes linearly or non-linearly depending on the solution temperature of the solution, and the expensive online type concentration controller keeps the solution temperature constant to perform accurate measurement. ing.

However, in an apparatus for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier, maintaining the temperature of the destabilizing solution at a constant temperature is costly and requires a large installation space. Further, when the liquid is heated in order to keep the liquid temperature constant, there is a problem that the evaporation is further promoted by the temperature rise.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to control the concentration of the destabilizing liquid with high accuracy by a simple and low-cost method. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from an image carrier, which is capable of satisfactorily preventing the performance such as the performance of weakening the adhesiveness between the toner and paper and the performance such as the toner fixing property during re-image formation.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, there is provided an image carrier wherein an image forming substance is stably adhered to a surface thereof. A liquid application unit for applying an destabilizing liquid that makes the state unstable,
Detecting the temperature of the destabilizing solution in an apparatus for removing an image forming substance from an image holding member, the device having a peeling portion for peeling and removing the image forming material on the image holding member to which the destabilizing solution has been applied; Liquid temperature detecting means, a characteristic detecting means for detecting a concentration alternative characteristic value fluctuating according to the liquid temperature and the concentration of the liquid, a diluting liquid supply unit for supplying a diluting liquid to the destabilizing liquid, Liquid dilution control means for controlling the operation of the diluting liquid supply unit based on the detection result by the detection means and the detection result by the characteristic detection means is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from an image carrier according to the first aspect, the control by the liquid dilution control means sets a predetermined reference value to the output of the temperature detection means. And controlling the operation of the diluting liquid supply unit based on a comparison between the corrected reference value and the output of the characteristic detecting means.

In such an apparatus for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier, the liquid temperature of the destabilizing liquid is detected by the liquid temperature detecting means, and a density substitute characteristic value is detected by the characteristic detecting means. . Then, based on the detection result by the liquid temperature detection unit and the detection result by the characteristic detection unit, the operation of the diluting liquid supply unit that supplies the diluting liquid to the destabilizing liquid is controlled by the liquid dilution control unit. The above-mentioned concentration alternative characteristic value is determined by the concentration of the destabilizing liquid and its temperature. Therefore, if the characteristic value and the temperature are known, the concentration can be obtained using both. Therefore, the characteristic value can be detected by the characteristic detecting means, and the temperature of the liquid can be detected by the temperature detecting means, and the concentration can be obtained based on the two detection results. Then, when the concentration is considered to be higher than the target concentration, a diluent is supplied to the destabilizing solution,
The operation of the diluent supply unit is controlled. For example, the liquid dilution control unit corrects a predetermined reference value based on the output of the temperature detection unit, and based on a comparison between the corrected reference value and the output of the characteristic detection unit, Controls the operation of the supply. Specifically, the reference value is corrected based on the detection result by the liquid temperature detecting means so as to be a density substitute characteristic value corresponding to a target density at the detected temperature. Then, the detection result of the density substitute characteristic value by the characteristic detection unit is compared with the reset reference value,
The operation of the diluent supply unit is controlled based on the comparison result. For example, if the above-mentioned detection result is larger than the above-mentioned reference value if the density substitute characteristic value becomes larger as the density increases, or if the density substitute characteristic value becomes smaller as the density increases. When the detection result is smaller than the reference value, it can be considered that the concentration of the liquid has become higher than a predetermined value. At this time, a diluent is supplied to the destabilizing solution to dilute the destabilizing solution. Alternatively, the liquid dilution control unit corrects the detection result of the concentration alternative characteristic value by the characteristic detection unit based on the detection result by the liquid temperature detection unit, and compares the corrected value with a predetermined reference value. The operation of the diluent supply unit is controlled based on the result of the comparison. Specifically, based on the detection result by the liquid temperature detecting means, the detection value of the density substitute characteristic value by the characteristic detecting means at the detected temperature is corrected to a value at a predetermined liquid temperature. Then, the corrected value is compared with the reference value, and the operation of the diluent supply unit is controlled based on the comparison result. For example, if the above-mentioned detection result is larger than the above-mentioned reference value if the density substitute characteristic value becomes larger as the density increases, or if the density substitute characteristic value becomes smaller as the density increases. When the detection result is smaller than the reference value, it can be considered that the concentration of the liquid has become higher than a predetermined value. At this time, a diluent is supplied to the destabilizing solution to dilute the destabilizing solution. As described above, by performing the liquid dilution control based on the concentration alternative characteristic value while considering the liquid temperature detection result, the influence of the fluctuation of the concentration alternative characteristic value due to the change of the liquid temperature is removed, and the liquid temperature fluctuates. However, the concentration of the destabilizing solution can be controlled with high accuracy.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from an image carrier according to the first aspect, the characteristic detection means utilizes the refraction of light generated at an interface between a prism plane and a liquid to obtain the density. It is characterized in that a detecting means for detecting the refractive index of the liquid is used as the substitute characteristic value.

In the apparatus for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier, the refraction of light generated at the interface between the prism plane and the liquid is used as the characteristic detecting means, and the refractive index of the liquid is used as the density substitute characteristic value. Detection means for detection is used.
The refractive index of the destabilizing liquid increases as the concentration increases, and decreases as the temperature increases. As described above, the refractive index of the destabilizing liquid varies depending on the liquid temperature and the liquid concentration, and is determined by the liquid temperature and the liquid concentration. Therefore, it can be used as a density substitute characteristic value.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier according to the first aspect, the characteristic detecting means is configured to determine the electric conductivity between a pair of electrodes installed in the liquid by using the density substitute characteristic value. Characterized in that a detecting means for detecting as is used.

In the apparatus for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier, a detecting means for detecting the electric conductivity between a pair of electrodes provided in a liquid as the above-mentioned density alternative characteristic value is used as the characteristic detecting means. The conductivity of the destabilizing liquid increases with increasing concentration and increases with increasing temperature. As described above, the conductivity of the destabilizing liquid varies depending on the liquid temperature and the concentration of the liquid, and is determined by the concentration of the liquid sound discharging liquid. Therefore,
It can be used as a density substitution characteristic value.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention relates to an image holding member for removing a heat-fusible toner (hereinafter, referred to as toner) as an image forming substance from a sheet of general paper as an image holding member on which an image is formed. An embodiment applied to an image forming substance removing apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as a toner removing apparatus) will be described.

First, the outline of the toner removing device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the toner removing device according to the present embodiment. The toner removing device includes a sheet feeding unit 2 that separates and feeds, one by one, sheets 10 on which toner images formed in a stacked state are formed.
0, a liquid supply unit 30 as a liquid supply device for supplying a destabilizing liquid to the paper 10 sent from the paper supply unit 20, and a toner as a peeling unit for peeling the toner from the paper 10 to which the liquid has been supplied. A peeling unit 40, a drying unit 50 for drying the paper 10 from which the toner has been removed,
A paper receiving unit (not shown) that receives the paper 10 discharged from the drying unit 50, and a destabilizing solution replenisher that replenishes the destabilizing solution to the liquid supply unit 30 and recovers the destabilizing solution from the liquid supply unit 30. A destabilizing liquid storage unit 60 as a recovery unit and a concentration control unit 70 for controlling the concentration of the destabilizing liquid in the destabilizing liquid storage unit 60 are provided. The destabilizing liquid storage unit 60 and the concentration control unit 70 will be described later in detail.

The paper supply unit 20 separates the paper 10 set with the surface on which the toner image is formed (hereinafter referred to as a toner image surface) downward by a separation roller 21 one by one. The roller 22 sends the liquid to the liquid supply unit 30 at a predetermined timing.
For example, it is similar to a paper feeding unit in an electrophotographic copying machine.

The liquid supply unit 30 is composed of an aqueous solution containing a surfactant for improving the permeability to the paper 10 and is an unstable liquid as a liquid that makes the adhesion between the surface of the paper 10 and the toner unstable. Liquid container 32 for containing chemical liquid 31
A coating roller 33 that is provided so as to be partially submerged in the liquid in the liquid container 32 and that draws up the liquid by rotation and supplies the liquid to the toner image surface of the paper 10; And a regulating roller 34 as a paper regulating member provided so as to face the sheet.

The toner peeling unit 40 includes a toner offset belt (hereinafter, referred to as a peeling member) wound around a heating block 43 having a built-in heater 43a opposed to the driving roller 41, the supporting roller 42, and the paper 10 transport path.
Offset belt 44) and offset belt 4
A pressure roller 45 with a built-in heating lamp 45a provided so as to be in pressure contact with the heating block 43 across the heating roller 4, and a belt cleaning device (not shown) for removing toner from the surface of the offset belt 44 are provided. here,
Drive roller 41, support roller 42, heating block 4
3. The offset belt 44, the pressure roller 45, and the tension roller 46 function as a conveyance unit that conveys the paper 10.

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

The sheet 10 of the heating block 43
The corner portion on the most downstream side in the transport direction is formed at substantially 90 degrees, and the portion of the offset belt 44 passing therethrough changes the moving direction abruptly to separate the curvature of the sheet 10 from the offset belt 44. I have.

The heating block 43 and the pressure roller 45 adhere the toner image surface of the paper 10 sent from the liquid supply unit 30 to the offset belt 44 and are fixed to the paper 10. Heating and softening the toner.

The belt cleaning device removes toner from the peripheral surface of the belt and stores the removed toner in a unit casing (not shown).

The drying unit 50 includes, for example, the paper 10
Paper 1 so that the liquid holding amount of the
0 for drying the halogen lamp 51
a heating drum 51 made of, for example, aluminum, and a paper pressing belt 53 that is wound around a plurality of support rollers 52 and moves endlessly while being wound around the peripheral surface of the heating drum 51 at a fixed angle. I have. The paper pressing belt 5
As the material 3, a material having heat resistance and air permeability, for example, cloth such as canvas, cotton, and tetron can be used.

The paper receiving unit includes a drying unit 50
, A separation roller 55 for separating the paper 10 that has exited from the holding area between the heating drum 51 and the paper pressing belt 53, and a discharge roller pair 56 for discharging the paper 10
And a paper discharge tray (not shown) for accommodating the paper 10 sent from the paper discharge roller pair 56.

In the above configuration, when the operator presses the start button on the operation panel (not shown) while the power of the apparatus is ON, the paper 1
In the case of 0, the destabilizing liquid 31 is uniformly supplied to the toner image surface in the liquid supply unit 30 and sent to the toner peeling unit 40. In the toner peeling unit 40, the toner adhered to the paper 10 is heated and softened in a nip portion between the heating block 43 and the pressure roller 45, and adheres to the surface of the offset belt 44. Then, the sheet 10 and the offset belt 4 are wound around the downstream corner of the heating block 43.
4, the toner adhered to the surface of the offset belt 44 peels off from the paper 10, thereby causing
0 removes toner. Paper 1 from which toner has been removed
0 is dried in the drying unit 50 and discharged to the paper receiving unit.

According to the above configuration, the liquid is supplied to the paper 10 to which the toner has adhered, and the toner is peeled off in a state where the liquid permeates the interface of the paper 10 with the toner, so that the paper fibers are not damaged. And the toner can be removed.

Next, control of the concentration of the destabilizing liquid will be described. The concentration control of the destabilizing liquid is performed during the operation and stoppage of the apparatus, because the moisture contained in the destabilizing liquid evaporates and the concentration of the destabilizing liquid changes, thereby making it difficult to remove the destabilizing liquid or to form a re-image. This is performed in order to prevent the performance such as the toner fixing property from being lowered in the above.

The destabilizing liquid storage unit 60 includes a first liquid tank 61 for storing the destabilizing liquid and a first liquid tank 6.
1 to the liquid container 3 of the liquid supply unit 30
A liquid supply pipe 63 provided with a first pump 62 for replenishing the liquid 2, a recovery pipe 64 for recovering excess destabilizing liquid in the liquid container 32, and a temperature of the destabilizing liquid which is rotationally driven by a motor 66. And a stirring blade 67 as stirring means for making the concentration uniform.

The level of the destabilizing liquid in the first liquid tank 61 is monitored by a float sensor (not shown), and when a liquid shortage is detected, a new destabilizing liquid is supplied from the supply pipe 100. And the liquid level is maintained.

The concentration control unit 70 provided adjacent to the destabilizing liquid storage unit 60 includes a temperature sensor as liquid temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the destabilizing liquid, A detecting device having a characteristic detecting unit as a characteristic detecting unit for detecting a liquid temperature of the liquid and a concentration alternative characteristic value which varies depending on the concentration of the liquid; and a diluting liquid supply for supplying a diluting liquid into the first liquid tank 61. And a part. The operation of the diluent supply unit is controlled by a main body control unit (not shown) as a liquid dilution control unit based on the detection result by the temperature sensor and the detection result by the characteristic detection unit. Is controlled so that is kept within a predetermined range.

The diluent supply section includes a second liquid tank 77 for storing water (including tap water) 76 as a diluent,
A water supply pipe 79 and a water recovery pipe 80 provided with a third pump 78 for circulating and supplying water 76 from the second liquid tank 77 to the concentration sensor 71, and from the second liquid tank 77 to the first liquid tank 61. A water supply pipe 82 provided with a flow meter 81 for supplying water 76.

Note that the second liquid tank 77 supplies the concentration sensor 7
The first to third valves 83 and 84, which are electromagnetic valves, are a flow path for circulating and supplying the water 76 to the first and a flow path for supplying the water 76 from the second liquid tank 77 to the first liquid tank 61. , 8
5 can be switched.

Further, without using the flow meter 81,
A method of setting the operation time of the third pump 78 by the timer means may be adopted. (Hereinafter, margin)

The detecting device includes a concentration sensor 71 as a detecting unit for detecting the liquid temperature and the concentration substitute characteristic value, and a first sensor.
A pumping pipe 73 and a return pipe 74 provided with an electromagnetic second pump 72 for circulating and supplying the destabilizing liquid from the liquid tank 61 to the concentration sensor 71 are provided.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a density control system including a refractometer as an example of the density sensor 71. The refractometer includes a light source 71a such as an LED, a prism 71, and the like.
b, light receiver 71c such as CCD, temperature sensor 71
d, an arithmetic processing unit 71e and the like. In the above configuration, the prism 71 emitted from the light source 71a
The angle (position) of total reflection of light reflected at the interface between b and the destabilizing liquid 31 is detected by the light receiver 71c. The angle of the total reflection is determined by the refractive index of the destabilizing liquid. Then, the detection value detected by the light receiver 71c is converted to the arithmetic processing unit 71e.
And the detected value is corrected at the same time. Specifically, in order to prevent the output value from shifting due to impurities adhering to the surface of the prism 71b, the concentration sensor 71 detects water having a Brix% value of 0 at a predetermined timing. Perform zero point correction. Thereby, even if the detection value shifts due to contamination of the density sensor 71, the value can be easily corrected. Then, it is finally converted into a density% (Brick%) representing a refractive index as a density substitute characteristic value and output to the main body control unit 75. Brix is a measure of the refractive index used in a refractometer. Also, Br
The ix% is a scale of the number of g of sucrose contained in 100 g of the sucrose solution. In the case of fresh water, Brix is 0%.

In the above configuration, the concentration control of the destabilizing solution is performed as follows. By driving the second pump 72, the destabilizing liquid in the first liquid tank 71 is pumped up,
It is supplied from below A of the density sensor 71 to above B. At this time, the first valve 83, the second valve 84, and the third valve 85 are each in a non-energized state, and the destabilizing liquid is recovered to the original first liquid tank 61 through the return pipe 74. As described above, a part of the destabilizing liquid is constantly circulated and monitored by the concentration sensor 71.

The water in the destabilizing liquid in the first liquid tank 61 evaporates and concentrates to increase its concentration, and the Brix% value as the concentration substitute characteristic value detected by the concentration sensor 71 is previously determined. When the value exceeds a set reference value (threshold value), the circulating supply of the destabilizing liquid to the concentration sensor 71 by the second pump 72 is stopped, and the water 76 from the second liquid tank 77 to the first liquid tank 61 is discharged. Start supplying. The water 76 in the second liquid tank 77 is supplied to the first liquid tank 61 from the water supply pipe 54 via the concentration sensor 71 and the flow meter 81 by the third pump 78. At this time, the first valve 83 and the third valve 85 are energized, and the second valve 84
Is in a non-energized state, and since the second pump 72 is provided with a check valve, the water 76 does not flow out to another path. The amount of the supplied water 76 is measured by the flow meter 81, and the driving of the third pump 78 is stopped after a predetermined amount of the water 76 is supplied.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a change in the Brix% value depending on the temperature and the concentration of the destabilizing liquid 31. In this figure, the horizontal axis represents the concentration of the destabilizing solution (wt%), and the vertical axis represents B
The liquid temperature is changed as a parameter. As can be seen from FIG. 3, the density substitute characteristic value B
The rix% value changes linearly and increases as the concentration of the destabilizing solution increases. Further, when the concentration of the destabilizing liquid is constant, the concentration decreases as the liquid temperature increases. Therefore, for example, in order to keep the concentration of the destabilizing solution at 26%, Br
The threshold of ix% is set to Brix37%, and the Brix%
Even if control is performed to keep the
If the temperature fluctuates in the range of ° C to 30 ° C, the concentration of the destabilizing liquid will fluctuate between 24% and 28%.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the above threshold value is not fixed, but is changed according to the liquid temperature. FIG.
FIG. 4 shows an example of a correspondence between a liquid temperature and a threshold value when a destabilizing liquid whose rix% value fluctuates as shown in FIG. 3 is used. In the example of FIG. 3, the concentration of the destabilizing solution becomes 26% when the liquid temperature is 10 ° C., Brix 38%, and when the liquid temperature is 20 ° C., B
This is the time when brix is 37% and Brix is 36% at 30 ° C. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
The threshold is Brix 38% at C, the threshold is Brix 37% at 20 ° C, and the threshold is Brix at 30 ° C.
Increase to 36%. As a result, each threshold value becomes a Brix% value corresponding to the target concentration of 26% at each liquid temperature. Such data relating to the correspondence between the liquid temperature and the threshold value, for example, a control table is programmed in advance in the main body control unit 75 by software. Then, the main body controller 75 calculates a threshold value from the liquid temperature data detected by the concentration sensor 71, and compares the Brix% value detected by the concentration sensor 71 with the threshold value. And the B
When the detection result of the rix% value is larger than the threshold,
A signal is output to pumps and valves of the diluting liquid supply unit, and water 76 is supplied to the destabilizing liquid to dilute the destabilizing liquid.

As described above, the liquid temperature detection result and Brix
By performing liquid dilution control using the detection result of the% value, Brix as a concentration substitute characteristic value due to fluctuation of the liquid temperature is obtained.
The influence of the fluctuation of the% value can be removed, and even when the liquid temperature fluctuates, the concentration control of the destabilizing liquid can be accurately performed. Therefore, it is possible to satisfactorily prevent the performance of weakening the adhesiveness between the toner and the paper and the deterioration of the performance such as the toner fixing property at the time of re-image formation. Also, unlike the case where the liquid temperature is kept constant in order to eliminate the influence of the Brix% value fluctuation due to the above-mentioned liquid temperature fluctuation, a device for keeping the liquid temperature constant is unnecessary, so that low cost and space saving are achieved. Can be realized.

Further, since the density sensor 71 for detecting the refractive index of the liquid as a density substitute characteristic value by utilizing the refraction of light generated at the interface between the prism plane and the liquid is used, the configuration is simple. Furthermore, such concentration sensors usually include:
Many of the devices have an arithmetic processing circuit like the density sensor used in the present embodiment, and if such a detecting means is used, there is no need to correct or perform arithmetic processing on the detected value in the main body control unit. This is convenient for constructing a system.

Next, an example in which a conductivity meter is used as the density sensor 71 instead of the refractometer will be described. The conductivity meter includes a pair of electrodes, for example, a platinum electrode plate, a temperature sensor, and an arithmetic processing unit. Then, the pair of electrodes and the temperature sensor are immersed in the liquid to be treated, and the conductivity and the liquid temperature of the liquid are detected. Then, the detected value is subjected to arithmetic processing and output to the main body control unit 75 as a conductivity as a density substitute characteristic value.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a change in conductivity depending on the temperature and concentration of the destabilizing liquid 31 to be processed. In this figure, the abscissa indicates the concentration of the destabilizing liquid (wt%), and the ordinate indicates the conductivity, and the liquid temperature is changed as a parameter. As can be seen from FIG. 5, the conductivity as the concentration substitute characteristic value changes linearly and increases as the concentration of the destabilizing solution increases. Further, when the concentration of the destabilizing solution is constant, the concentration increases as the solution temperature increases. Therefore, for example, even if the conductivity threshold is set to 7 mS / cm to keep the concentration of the destabilizing solution at 15% and control is performed to keep the conductivity constant, the solution temperature remains at 35 ° C. If it fluctuates in the range of ~ 45 ° C, the concentration of the destabilizing solution is about 12.5% ~ 1.
It will fluctuate between 8%.

Therefore, as in the case where a refractometer is used, the above threshold value may be changed according to the liquid temperature without being fixed. FIG. 6 shows an example of the correspondence between the liquid temperature and the threshold value in the case of using the destabilizing liquid whose electric conductivity fluctuates as shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 5, the concentration of the destabilizing solution becomes 15% when the solution temperature is 35 ° C., 5 mS / cm and 40%.
7 ° C / cm at 45 ° C, 9mS / cm at 45 ° C
cm. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the threshold value is 5 mS / cm when the liquid temperature is 35 ° C., the threshold value is 7 mS / cm when the liquid temperature is 40 ° C., and the threshold value is 9 when the liquid temperature is 45 ° C.
mS / cm. Thereby, each threshold value becomes a value of the conductivity corresponding to the target concentration of 15% at each liquid temperature. Such data relating to the correspondence between the liquid temperature and the threshold value, for example, a control table is programmed in advance in the main body control unit 75 in the same manner as in the case of using the refractometer. Then, the main body control unit 75 calculates a threshold value from the liquid temperature data detected by the concentration sensor 71, and compares the conductivity detected by the concentration sensor 71 with the threshold value. If the detection result of the conductivity is larger than the threshold value, a signal is output to the pumps and valves of the diluting liquid supply unit, and the water 76 is supplied to the destabilizing liquid to perform the unstable operation. Dilute the solution.

As described above, by performing the liquid dilution control using the liquid temperature detection result and the conductivity detection result, it is possible to eliminate the influence of the fluctuation of the electric conductivity as the concentration substitute characteristic value due to the fluctuation of the liquid temperature. Therefore, even when the liquid temperature fluctuates, the concentration control of the destabilizing liquid can be accurately performed. Therefore, it is possible to satisfactorily prevent the performance of weakening the adhesiveness between the toner and the paper and the deterioration of the performance such as the toner fixing property at the time of re-image formation. Further, unlike the case where the liquid temperature is kept constant in order to eliminate the influence of the fluctuation of the conductivity due to the above-mentioned fluctuation of the liquid temperature, a device for keeping the liquid temperature constant is unnecessary, so that low cost and space saving can be achieved. realizable.

A density sensor 71 for detecting the electrical conductivity between a pair of electrodes installed in the liquid as the above-mentioned density alternative characteristic value.
, The configuration is simple. Further, many of such density sensors usually have an arithmetic processing circuit like the density sensor used in the present embodiment, and if such a detection means is used, the value detected by the main body control unit is corrected. Since there is no need to perform any processing or arithmetic processing, it is convenient in constructing a system.

In the above embodiment, Brix as a concentration substitute characteristic value is determined according to the temperature of the destabilizing liquid 30.
Although the example in which the threshold of the% value or the conductivity is changed has been described, the threshold is fixed and the density sensor 71 is changed.
May be configured to correct the Brix% value or the value of the conductivity detected according to the liquid temperature. For example, at a predetermined liquid temperature, for example, 20 ° C., a desired concentration, for example, 26
%, For example, Brix 37% as a threshold, and the Brix% value detected by the concentration sensor 71 is determined according to the liquid temperature detected by the concentration sensor 71.
The value is corrected to the value when the predetermined liquid temperature is 20 ° C. Data relating to such correspondence between the liquid temperature and the detected value of the concentration alternative characteristic value, for example, a control table is programmed in advance in the main body control unit 75 by software. Then, the corrected value is compared with the threshold value, and the liquid dilution control is performed in the same manner as in the embodiment. However, in this case, as compared with the case where the threshold value of the concentration alternative characteristic value is changed according to the liquid temperature, the main unit control is performed as the control table or the like in order to convert the Brix% value or the detection value of the conductivity. The data to be stored in the section increases. Therefore, it is desirable to change the threshold value of the concentration alternative characteristic value according to the liquid temperature, since the structure of the control unit is simplified.

In the above embodiment, only the example using water as the diluting solution has been described. However, an aqueous solution in which a soluble substance is dissolved, for example, a relatively low concentration destabilizing solution may be used. .

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the control table in which the change of the threshold value of the concentration alternative characteristic value according to the liquid temperature and the correction of the detection value of the concentration alternative characteristic value according to the liquid temperature are programmed in the main body control unit is described. Although the description has been given only of the example using the above, for example, an arithmetic expression or the like may be programmed as the change rule or the correction rule, and the above change or correction may be performed based on the arithmetic expression. Further, it is not always necessary to compare the threshold value with the detection result as in the example of the above embodiment. For example, when a concentration substitute characteristic value corresponding to a concentration higher than a predetermined target concentration is input for each liquid temperature, the pumps and valves of the diluent supply unit transfer the water 76 to the destabilizing liquid. , Such as H
The control table is programmed in advance so as to output an "high" signal and otherwise output a "low" signal. , The main body control unit may be configured to automatically output a High or Low signal. As described above, when the detected concentration alternative characteristic value corresponds to a concentration corresponding to a threshold value of a concentration alternative characteristic value predetermined for each liquid temperature, that is, a concentration higher than a target concentration, the dilution liquid supply unit The effect of the present invention can be obtained by configuring the main body control unit as the liquid dilution control means so as to perform the liquid dilution according to the following.

Further, in the above embodiment, only the image forming substance removing device configured to remove the toner as the image forming substance from one side of the sheet as the image holding body has been described. The present invention is also applicable to an image forming substance removing apparatus configured to remove an image forming substance.

In the present invention, the image-bearing member from which the image-forming substance is to be removed is not limited to ordinary paper used in electrophotography, but also
A P sheet or synthetic paper may be used. Further, the image forming substance to be removed may be an ink such as a ball-point pen or a felt pen in addition to the toner.

[0054]

According to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the influence of the change in the density substitute characteristic value due to the change in the liquid temperature, and thus to control the concentration of the destabilizing liquid even when the liquid temperature changes. Thus, there is an excellent effect that the performance of weakening the adhesiveness between the toner and the paper and the deterioration of the performance such as the toner fixing property at the time of re-image formation can be satisfactorily prevented. Also, unlike the case where the liquid temperature is kept constant in order to eliminate the influence of the fluctuation of the concentration substitution characteristic value due to the fluctuation of the liquid temperature, a device for keeping the liquid temperature constant is not required, so that the concentration can be easily and accurately adjusted. Controllable, and
There is also an excellent effect that low cost and space saving can be realized.

Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, as compared with the case where the detection result by the characteristic detecting means is corrected based on the detection result by the liquid temperature detecting means,
There is an excellent effect that the configuration of the liquid dilution control means is simplified.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the detecting means for detecting the refractive index of the liquid as the above-mentioned density substitute characteristic value by utilizing the refraction of light generated at the interface between the prism plane and the liquid is used. There is an excellent effect that the configuration is simple.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a configuration is adopted in which the detecting means for detecting the conductivity between a pair of electrodes installed in the liquid as the concentration alternative characteristic value is used as the characteristic detecting means. There is an excellent effect of being simple.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a toner removing device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control unit including a refractometer as an example of a density sensor in the toner removing device.

FIG. 3 shows Brix depending on the temperature and concentration of the destabilizing solution 31.
Explanatory drawing which shows the fluctuation | variation of a% value.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a correspondence between a liquid temperature and a threshold value when using a destabilizing liquid whose Brix% value fluctuates as shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a change in conductivity depending on the temperature and concentration of the destabilizing liquid 31.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a correspondence between a liquid temperature and a threshold value in the case of using a destabilizing liquid whose electric conductivity fluctuates as shown in FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 paper 20 paper feed unit 30 liquid supply unit 40 toner peeling unit 50 drying unit 60 destabilizing liquid storage unit 61 first liquid tank 62 first pump 63 liquid supply pipe 64 recovery pipe 65 temperature sensor 66 motor 67 stirring blade 68 float Sensor 69 Heater 70 Concentration control unit 71 Concentration sensor 72 Second pump 73 Pumping pipe 74 Return pipe 75 Control unit 76 Water 77 Second liquid tank 78 Third pump 79 Water supply pipe 80 Water recovery pipe 81 Flow meter 82 Water supply pipe 83 1st valve 84 2nd valve 85 3rd valve 90 Operation panel 91 Start button 92 Wash button 93 Liquid shortage lamp 94 Water shortage lamp 100 Supply pipe

Claims (4)

[Claims] A liquid application section for applying an instability liquid to an image carrier having a surface to which an image forming substance is stably adhered, the destabilizing liquid making the state of adhesion between the surface and the image forming substance unstable; An image forming substance removing apparatus for removing an image forming substance from the image holding body to which the destabilizing liquid has been applied, the removing unit configured to detect the liquid temperature of the destabilizing liquid. Liquid temperature detecting means, a characteristic detecting means for detecting a concentration alternative characteristic value fluctuating according to the liquid temperature and the concentration of the liquid, a diluting liquid supply unit for supplying a diluting liquid to the destabilizing liquid, An apparatus for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier, comprising: a liquid dilution control unit that controls the operation of the diluting liquid supply unit based on a detection result by a detection unit and a detection result by a characteristic detection unit. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control by the liquid dilution control means corrects a predetermined reference value based on the output of the temperature detection means. An apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from an image carrier, wherein the operation of the diluent supply unit is controlled based on a comparison between a corrected reference value and an output of the characteristic detecting unit. 3. An apparatus for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic detecting means utilizes refraction of light generated at an interface between a prism plane and the liquid, and the liquid is used as the density substitute characteristic value. An apparatus for removing an image-forming substance from an image carrier, comprising a detecting means for detecting a refractive index of the image. 4. An apparatus for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier according to claim 1, wherein said characteristic detecting means detects electric conductivity between a pair of electrodes installed in the liquid as said density substitute characteristic value. An apparatus for removing an image forming substance from an image carrier, comprising: