JPH11194581A - Ion generator and electrophotographic recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve temperature control characteristics. SOLUTION: First electrodes 2 and second electrodes 4 are laminated across a dielectric layer 3 on the surface of an insulating substrate 1, the insulating substrate 1 is made narrow in width while securing a sufficient ion generated quantity, and temperature control heaters 6 are provided on the surface of the insulating substrate 1. The reaction rate by the control of the temperature control heaters 6 at an ion generating portion, i.e., the peripheral portion of the gap G between the first electrodes 2 and the second electrodes 4 is increased, and a temperature control characteristic is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an ion generator and an electrophotographic recording apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an electrophotographic recording apparatus such as a copying machine or a laser printer, a charging device or a transfer device is used as a charging device or a transfer device.
A corona charger mainly comprising a tungsten wire or the like is generally used.

On the other hand, in recent years, an ion generator has been developed which applies an AC voltage between two electrodes formed on an insulating substrate and ionizes nearby air by discharging between the two electrodes. Such an ion generator, for example,
JP-A-63-159883, JP-A-5-2782
No. 58, JP-A-6-75457, JP-A-8-75
No. 82980. Each of these publications discloses that such an ion generator is used as a charging device in an electrophotographic recording device. An example of such an ion generator will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional front view showing an example of a conventional ion generator. First, an induction electrode 102 is formed in a film on an insulating substrate 101, and the insulating substrate 101 is covered with a dielectric layer 103 together with the induction electrode 102. An ion generating electrode 104 having two discharge regions is formed on the dielectric layer 103 in a film-like manner.
A gap G is formed between the electrode and the ion generation electrode 104 with the dielectric layer 103 interposed therebetween. And the dielectric layer 1
03 and the ion generating electrode 104 are generally covered with a protective layer 105.

[0005] The ion generator thus formed is used by being opposed to the photosensitive member 106 of the electrophotographic recording apparatus at a predetermined interval. That is, when used as a charging device, the induction electrode 10 is
When a high-frequency voltage is applied between the electrode 2 and the ion generating electrode 104, high-density positive and negative ions are generated in the vicinity of the gap G due to the discharge between the induction electrode 102 and the ion generating electrode 104 (in FIG. Shown). When a negative bias voltage is applied from the DC power supply 108 between the ion generating electrode 104 and the photoconductor 106, negative ions of the generated positive and negative ions act on the photoconductor 106, thereby causing the photoconductor 106 to Charged. In this case, the photoconductor 106
Can be set by adjusting a bias voltage applied between the ion generating electrode 104 and the photoconductor 106.

Next, in order to generate ions more efficiently by the discharge between the induction electrode 102 and the ion generation electrode 104, it is necessary to raise the temperature of the ion generator to an appropriate temperature. For this reason, it is common to provide a heater or the like on the insulating substrate 101 to control the temperature of the ion generator. For example, JP-A-63-15988
No. 3 discloses forming a heating resistor layer on the surface of an insulating substrate, and JP-A-5-278258 discloses forming a heating resistor layer on the back surface of an insulating substrate.

On the other hand, an ion generator as exemplified in FIG. 7 is used as a charging device or a transfer device in an electrophotographic recording device. In this case, the advantage of the small size is utilized to take advantage of the small size around the photoreceptor. Contributes to For example, when used as a charging device, the ion generating device is opposed to the photosensitive member at an interval of about 1 mm. In this case, as a holding structure of the ion generator, it is common to hold both ends in the longitudinal direction of the ion generator with a holding member. In this case, the holding members holding the both ends of the ion generator are provided on the photosensitive member. The advantages of the ion generator, which is protruded from both ends and is small, are impaired. In addition, since the ion generator itself has a certain degree of flexibility, the opposing distance between the photoreceptor and the ion generator varies depending on the location in a structure that holds both ends of the ion generator, so that uniform charging or the like cannot be performed. I will. On the other hand, if the ion generator is held with an excessively large contact area, much time is required to raise the temperature of the ion generator to an appropriate temperature due to the heat capacity of the holding member. For this reason, a holding structure of an ion generator having a structure as illustrated in FIG. 8 has been conventionally devised. FIG. 8 is a front view of the ion generator integrated with the holder. As shown in FIG. 8, the ion generator includes an induction electrode 102 and an ion generation electrode 104 not shown in FIG.
Are held by the holder 110 in a state where the ion generation surface 109 formed by this pattern is directed to the front surface side. The holder 110 has a structure in which both sides of the ion generator are inserted and held by a pair of holding grooves 111. A heat generating pattern 112 is formed on the back side of the ion generator, and a heat radiation space 113 is provided between the back surface of the ion generator including the heat generating pattern 112 and the holder 110.
Are formed. The heat radiating space 113 prevents heat conduction from the ion generator to the holder 110 to reduce the heat capacity of the ion generator.

[0008]

In the conventional ion generator, in order to maintain a desired temperature, the heater is energized so as to have a desired temperature characteristic in a steady (convergent) state. In this case, if a heating resistor having a heater function is provided on the back surface of the insulating substrate as in the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-278258, the surface of the insulating substrate that needs to be heated is generally controlled. The required temperature rise time cannot be achieved. In addition, a control delay occurs with respect to a temperature change on the surface of the insulating substrate that the user actually wants to control, and it is difficult to control the temperature accurately. On the other hand, in the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-159883, a heating resistor having a heater function is formed on the surface of the insulating substrate. Due to the structure in which the corresponding two electrodes are arranged in two dimensions in parallel, if an attempt is made to obtain a sufficient amount of generated ions, the width of the insulating substrate is inevitably increased, which is described in JP-A-5-278258. The same problem as in the invention of the present invention occurs.

A holder 110 as shown in FIG.
Is designed to provide a space 113 to reduce the heat capacity of the insulating substrate in the ion generator. This takes into account the advantage of reducing the time required to raise the temperature of the insulating substrate to a required temperature when controlling the temperature of the insulating substrate. However, in the ion generator, the temperature to be adjusted is relatively close to normal temperature. Therefore, when the heat capacity of the insulating substrate is reduced by employing an insulating substrate holding structure as illustrated in FIG. 8, the temperature is higher than normal temperature but close to normal temperature. There is a problem that it becomes difficult to control the temperature in the temperature range. This is because the ambient temperature and the temperature regulation temperature are close to each other, so that the heat radiation when the heater is turned off is slow, and the temperature once increased hardly decreases.

An object of the present invention is to improve the temperature control characteristics in an ion generator.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ion generating apparatus comprising: an insulating substrate having at least a surface having an insulating property; a first electrode formed on the insulating substrate; and covering the insulating substrate and the first electrode. A dielectric layer; formed on the dielectric layer;
A second electrode capable of causing a discharge between the first electrode and the second electrode;
A protection layer covering the electrodes; and a temperature control heater provided on the front surface side of the insulating substrate. Therefore, when a high-frequency voltage is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode, high-density positive and negative ions are generated by the discharge between the first electrode and the second electrode. Therefore, when the ion generator of the present invention is used as, for example, a charging device for charging a photoconductor, a negative bias voltage is applied between the second electrode and the photoconductor with the gap facing the photoconductor. As a result, the negative ions of the positive and negative ions generated near the gap act on the photoconductor, and the photoconductor is uniformly charged.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the temperature control heater is provided on the surface side of the insulating substrate, the ion generating device provided on the surface of the insulating substrate with respect to the operation state of the temperature control heater is provided. The temperature reaction rate of the part increases. Moreover, since the first electrode and the second electrode have a laminated structure, the density between the electrodes is increased, and a sufficient amount of ions can be obtained without increasing the width of the insulating substrate. From this aspect as well, the temperature response speed of the ion generating portion with respect to the operation state of the temperature control heater increases. Therefore, the temperature control of the ion generating portion is performed with high accuracy, and the temperature control characteristics are improved.

Here, in the first aspect of the present invention,
As the “insulating substrate”, for example, alumina or the like is used,
Each part laminated on the insulating substrate is formed by, for example, screen printing. "First electrode" and "second electrode"
The “electrode” is, for example, silver (silver / palladium, silver / platinum, etc.)
Or a thick metal conductor. The “dielectric layer” is, for example, a glass insulating layer (lead borosilicate glass, lead borosilicate glass containing an alumina filler, or the like), and has a thickness of, for example, about 20 to 40 μm. As the “protective layer”, a glass type (lead borosilicate glass, silica, etc.) or a resin type (polyimide, epoxy, silicone) or the like is used, and its thickness is, for example, about 10 μm or less.
The "temperature control heater" is formed of, for example, a thick-film conductor of silver (silver / palladium, silver / platinum, etc.).

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the ion generator according to the first aspect, the temperature control heater extends along the longitudinal direction of the insulating substrate, and at least a part thereof approaches the central portion of the insulating substrate from both ends. It is formed in a narrow tapered shape. Therefore, since the heat generation temperature of the temperature control heater increases at both ends, the temperature characteristics of the insulating substrate, in which heat dissipation increases at both ends, are complemented, and the temperature control of the ion generating portion is performed uniformly in any portion of the ion generating portion. . In this case, the taper of the temperature control heater starts from a position of 1 to 49%, for example, about 20% of the length of the insulating substrate from its center, and the widest part in the temperature control heater is 1
When it is set to 00%, the drawing ratio by the taper is 5 to 70.
%, For example, about 30%.

The third aspect of the present invention provides the first or second aspect.
In the ion generator described, the temperature control heater is:
It is embedded in a dielectric layer or a protective layer. This allows
The temperature reaction speed of the surface of the insulating substrate with respect to the operation state of the temperature control heater is further increased, and the temperature control of the ion generating portion in the ion generator is performed with higher accuracy.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ion generator, wherein at least a surface has an insulating property; a first electrode formed on the insulating substrate; a dielectric layer covering the insulating substrate and the first electrode; A second electrode formed on the body layer and capable of causing a discharge between the first electrode and the first electrode; a protective layer covering the second electrode; and holding the insulating substrate with a contact area of 50% or more of the surface area of the insulating substrate. And a holder. Therefore,
When a high-frequency voltage is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode,
High-density positive and negative ions are generated by the discharge between the first electrode and the second electrode. Therefore, when the ion generator of the present invention is used as, for example, a charging device for charging a photoconductor, a negative bias voltage is applied between the second electrode and the photoconductor with the gap facing the photoconductor. As a result, the negative ions of the positive and negative ions generated near the gap act on the photoconductor, and the photoconductor is uniformly charged. Here, the contact area of the insulating substrate with the holder is preferably uniformly distributed along the extending direction of each electrode.

Here, it is preferable that the contact area of the insulating substrate with the holder is uniformly distributed along the extending direction of each electrode.

In the ion generator according to the fourth aspect, the insulating substrate is held by the holder with a contact area of 50% or more of the surface area. Therefore, the heat capacity of the ion generator as a whole increases to some extent, and the temperature once heated does not suddenly decrease. For this reason, in the ion generator, since the temperature to be adjusted is relatively close to normal temperature, it is extremely easy to control the temperature in a temperature range higher than normal temperature but close to normal temperature. Thereby, the temperature control of the ion generating portion in the ion generator becomes easy, and the temperature control with high accuracy is performed.

Here, in the invention according to claim 4,
As the “insulating substrate”, for example, alumina or the like is used,
Each part laminated on the insulating substrate is formed by, for example, screen printing. "First electrode" and "second electrode"
The “electrode” or “electrode” is, for example, a silver-based (silver / palladium, silver / platinum, etc.) or copper-based thick film conductor. The “dielectric layer” is, for example, a glass insulating layer (lead borosilicate glass, lead borosilicate glass containing an alumina filler, or the like), and has a thickness of, for example, about 20 to 40 μm. As the “protective layer”, a glass type (lead borosilicate glass, silica, etc.) or a resin type (polyimide, epoxy, silicone) or the like is used.
It is about μm or less.

Incidentally, in the ion generator according to the fourth aspect, it is preferable that the holder is formed of resin. In this case, the contact area of the holder with respect to the back surface of the insulating substrate may be 100% of the back surface of the insulating substrate. In this way, an insulating substrate that is flexible and has a weak shape retention property is held with good shape accuracy, and when applied to, for example, a charging device or a transfer device, a minute gap between the photoconductor and the device is secured with high accuracy and uniformity. Is done. Here, the holder is peak material, PP
When formed of S, a liquid crystal polymer, or the like, an ideal holder having excellent wear resistance and heat resistance can be obtained. Also,
When using a material having high hardness such as a peak material as the material of the holder, it is used as it is, and when using a material having high flexibility such as polycarbonate, it is preferable to secure the hardness by bonding aluminum, for example. good.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the ion generating device of the fourth aspect, the holder is formed of a metal having a substrate contact surface insulated. In this case, the contact area of the holder with the back surface of the insulating substrate is, for example, about 60% when aluminum is used as the metal. It is desirable that the surface is subjected to an alumite treatment or the like to improve not only the insulating property but also the corrosion resistance.

An electrophotographic recording apparatus according to a sixth aspect is an electrophotographic recording apparatus using the ion generator according to any one of the first to fifth aspects as a charging device for charging a photosensitive member. That is, the electrophotographic recording apparatus comprises: a photoreceptor; a charging device formed by the ion generator according to any one of claims 1 to 7 for uniformly charging the photoreceptor; An image exposing device that exposes the photoconductor to form an electrostatic latent image; a developing device that attaches toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor and develops the image; A transfer device for transferring to a transfer medium; and a fixing device for fixing a transferred image on the transfer medium.

Therefore, according to the electrophotographic recording apparatus of the present invention, image recording is performed through the basic processes of electrophotography such as charging, exposure, development, and transfer of the photosensitive member. At this time, the ion generator is arranged with the gap facing the photoconductor at the charging position of the photoconductor, and a high-frequency voltage is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode or between the electrodes. Accordingly, high-density positive and negative ions are generated in the vicinity of the gap due to discharge between the first electrode and the second electrode or between the electrodes. Then, by applying a negative bias voltage between the second electrode or the electrode and the photoreceptor, negative ions of the positive and negative ions generated near the gap act on the photoreceptor to uniformly charge the photoreceptor. You. In this case, the charging device is a first charging device.
The operation of the ion generator according to any one of the first to fifth aspects is achieved.

The ion generator according to any one of claims 1 to 5 may be used as a transfer device for transferring a developed image formed on a photoreceptor to a transfer medium. In other words, the ion generator is arranged to face the photoconductor with a gap at the transfer position, and a high-frequency voltage is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode or between the electrodes. Accordingly, high-density positive and negative ions are generated in the vicinity of the gap due to discharge between the first electrode and the second electrode or between the electrodes. Then, by applying a positive bias voltage between the second electrode or the electrode and the photoconductor, the developed image formed on the photoconductor through the development process is transferred to the transfer medium at the transfer position. At this time, the transfer device has the function of the ion generator according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

[0025]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the ion generator of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional front view of the ion generator, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing a temperature control heater.

First, an insulating substrate 1 having an insulating property is provided. On the insulating substrate 1, an induction electrode 2 as a first electrode, a dielectric layer 3, an ion generating electrode 4 as a second electrode, and a protection The layers 5 are sequentially laminated by screen printing. In this case, the dielectric layer 3 covers the entire surface of the insulating substrate 1 together with the induction electrode 2, and the ion generating electrode 4 is formed on the dielectric layer 3 to form a gap G with the induction electrode 2. The ion generating electrode 4 is protected by a protective layer 5 that covers the ion generating electrode 4 and the dielectric layer 3. A temperature control heater 6 is also formed on the insulating substrate 1 in a film form.

Here, as is clear from FIGS. 1 and 2, the induction electrode 2 is formed in three parallel patterns, the ion generation electrode 4 is formed in four parallel patterns, and the temperature control heater 6 is used to guide these induction patterns. It is formed in a pattern surrounding the electrode 2 and the ion generating electrode 4. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the induction electrode 2 and the ion generation electrode 4 are connected to a power supply electrode 7 formed on the surface of the insulating substrate 1.

Next, the insulating substrate 1 is a 360 mm long flat rectangular member made of alumina. The induction electrode 2 and the ion generation electrode 4 are formed of, for example, a silver (silver / palladium, silver / platinum, etc.) conductor. The dielectric layer 3 is, for example, a glass insulating layer (such as a lead borosilicate glass or a lead borosilicate glass containing an alumina filler), and is formed to a thickness of about 20 to 40 μm. The protective layer 5 is formed of a glass (lead borosilicate glass, silica, etc.) or resin (polyimide, epoxy, silicone) material and is formed to a thickness of about 10 μm or less. The temperature control heater 6 is formed of a silver-based (silver / palladium, silver / platinum, etc.) thick film conductor. As shown in FIG. 3, such a temperature control heater 6 is formed in a tapered shape such that both ends are narrower than the center. More specifically, the start of the tapered portion starts at a position 20% of the length of the insulating substrate 1 from the center of the temperature control heater 6, and the widest portion of the temperature control heater 6 is set at 100%. In this case, the narrowest portion is about 70% due to the tapered shape of the temperature control heater 6, so that the aperture ratio is 30%.
%.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the insulating substrate 1 is held by a holder 8. The holder 8 is formed of a peak material having a length of 360 mm, which is the same length as the insulating substrate 1, and includes a contact surface 9 that is in surface contact with the back surface of the insulating substrate 1 at a contact area ratio of 100%. Such a holder 8
The insulating substrate 1 is held in a groove holding format in which the insulating substrate 1 is fitted into the groove 10. In addition, as a material of the holder 8,
PPS, liquid crystal polymer, or the like can also be used.

In such a configuration, when a high-frequency voltage is applied between the induction electrode 2 and the ion generation electrode 4, a discharge between the induction electrode 2 and the ion generation electrode 4 causes high-density positive and negative charges near the gap G. Ions are generated. Therefore,
When the ion generator of the present embodiment is used, for example, as a charging device for charging a photoconductor (not shown), a negative bias voltage is applied between the ion generating electrode 4 and the photoconductor with the gap G facing the photoconductor. Is applied. Then, the negative ions of the positive and negative ions generated near the gap G act on the photoconductor, and the photoconductor is uniformly charged.

Here, in the ion generator of the present embodiment, since the temperature control heater 6 is provided on the front surface side of the insulating substrate 1, the temperature control heater 6 is provided on the surface of the insulating substrate 6 with respect to the operating state of the temperature control heater 6. The formed ion generating portion, that is, the gap G between the induction electrode 2 and the ion generating electrode 4
The temperature reaction rate around the part increases. Moreover, the induction electrode 2
Since the electrode and the ion generating electrode 4 have a laminated structure, the density between the electrodes is increased, and a sufficient amount of ions can be obtained without increasing the width of the insulating substrate 1. From this aspect as well, the temperature response speed of the ion generating portion with respect to the operation state of the temperature control heater 6 increases. Therefore, the temperature control of the ion generating portion is performed with high accuracy.

The temperature control heater 6 as shown in FIG. 2 has a taper shape such that the heat generation temperature increases toward both ends. For this reason, the temperature characteristic of the insulating substrate 1 whose heat capacity becomes smaller at both ends is complemented, and the ion generating portion is heated evenly. Therefore, ions are generated evenly in any part of the ion generator,
Quality is uniform.

In the ion generator of the present embodiment, the insulating substrate 1 is held by the holder 8 with a contact area of 50% or more of the surface area. Therefore, the heat capacity of the ion generator as a whole increases to some extent, and the temperature once heated does not suddenly decrease. For this reason, it is extremely easy to adjust the temperature in a temperature range higher than the normal temperature but close to the normal temperature desired for the ion generator. This allows
The temperature control of the ion generating portion becomes easy, and the temperature control is performed with high accuracy. In addition, since the holder 8 is formed of resin, the contact area of the holder 8 with the back surface of the insulating substrate 1 can be made large, so that the insulating substrate 1 that is flexible and has poor shape retention can be held with good shape accuracy. For example, when the present invention is applied to a charging device or a transfer device, it is possible to ensure a minute gap between the photoconductor and the photoconductor with high accuracy and uniformity. In addition, the ion generator of the present embodiment has a structure in which no structure such as a power supply mechanism or a heater structure exists on the back surface of the insulating substrate 1. Therefore, there is an advantage that not only the size of the entire apparatus can be reduced, but also the contact area of the holder 8 can be easily increased.

In the embodiment, a metal in which a contact surface with the insulating substrate 1 is insulated, for example, a material obtained by bonding polycarbonate to aluminum may be used as the holder 8. In this case, the contact area of the holder 8 with the back surface of the insulating substrate 1 is, for example, about 60% when aluminum is used as the metal. It is desirable that the surface is subjected to an alumite treatment or the like to improve not only the insulating property but also the corrosion resistance.

Further, the holder 8 of the present embodiment
Although the structure is such that the insulating substrate 1 is fitted and held, the insulating substrate 1 may be configured to be held down by elastic claws.

A second embodiment of the ion generator of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional front view of the ion generator. Portions that are the same as or correspond to those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. In the present embodiment, the temperature control heater 6 is embedded in the dielectric layer 3. That is, the dielectric layer 3 is formed by laminating the induction electrode 2 and the temperature control heater 6 which are formed in a film on the insulating substrate 1. Thus, the temperature response speed of the ion generating portion with respect to the operation state of the temperature control heater 6 is further increased, and the temperature control of the ion generating portion is performed with higher accuracy.

A third embodiment of the ion generator according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional front view of the ion generator. Portions that are the same as or correspond to those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. In the present embodiment, the temperature control heater 6 is embedded in the protective layer 5. That is, the ion generation electrode 4 and the temperature control heater 6 are formed on the dielectric layer 3 in the form of a film, and the protection layer 5 is formed on the ion generation electrode 4 and the temperature control heater 6 by lamination. Thus, the temperature response speed of the ion generating portion with respect to the operation state of the temperature control heater 6 is further increased, and the temperature control of the ion generating portion is performed with higher accuracy.

One embodiment of the electrophotographic recording apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing the electrophotographic recording apparatus. The same parts as those described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

First, a paper feed path 13 is provided for connecting a paper feed device 12 for storing transfer paper 11 as a transfer medium and a discharge unit (not shown). The paper feed path 13 includes a fixing device 14. An image processing unit 15 is provided.

The image processing section 15 is mainly composed of a photosensitive drum 16 having a photosensitive drum configuration. Around the photoconductor 16, a charging device 17, a developing device 18, a transfer device 1
9, a peeling device 20, and a cleaning device 21 are arranged in this order. An exposure position EX is defined between the charging device 17 and the developing device 18, and the image processing unit 15 supplies a laser beam (hereinafter, referred to as a laser beam) to the exposure position EX.
An image exposure device (not shown) for irradiating light is provided.

Here, the ion generator described in the first embodiment is used as the charging device 17, the transfer device 19, and the peeling device 20. That is, the charging device 17
In this embodiment, an ion generator is arranged so that the gap G faces the photoconductor 16, and a negative bias voltage is applied between the ion generating electrode 4 and the photoconductor 16. This allows
The negative ions of the positive and negative ions generated in the vicinity of the gap G act on the photoconductor 16 to uniformly charge the photoconductor 16.
In the transfer device 19, an ion generator is arranged with the gap G facing the photoconductor 16, and a positive bias voltage is applied between the ion generation electrode 4 and the photoconductor 16. Thus, the developed image formed on the photoconductor 16 through the developing process by the developing device 18 is transferred to the transfer paper 11 at the transfer position. Then, in the peeling device 20, the ion generator is disposed with the gap G facing the photoconductor 16, and the bias voltage between the ion generating electrode 4 and the photoconductor 16 is set to zero. Thereby, the charge of the transfer paper 11 is eliminated by the positive and negative ions generated in the gap G, and the transfer paper 11
Is separated from the photoconductor 16.

Next, a part of each part constituting the image processing unit 15 is unitized to form an electrophotographic processing device 22. This electrophotographic process device 22 includes:
It comprises a photoreceptor 16, a charging device 17, a transfer device 19 and a peeling device 20.

In such a configuration, the image processing unit 15 uniformly charges the photosensitive member 16 to a negative polarity by charging the charging device 17. Since the photoconductor 16 is uniformly charged at the exposure position EX, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoconductor 16 by irradiating the exposure position EX with a light beam from an image exposure apparatus according to image information. It is formed. That is, in the photoconductor 16, a potential difference from the charged potential is generated in a portion irradiated with the light beam, and this portion becomes an electrostatic latent image. The developing device 18 visualizes the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor 16 by attaching toner having a potential difference to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member 16 at the exposure position EX. The transfer device 19 sucks the developed image on the photoconductor 16 by a potential difference,
The developed image is transferred to the transfer paper 11. Stripping device 20
Removes the transfer paper 11 after the transfer of the developed image from the photoconductor 16. The cleaning device 21 performs cleaning by, for example, scraping off toner remaining on the photoconductor 16 after the transfer process. The fixing device 14 is disposed downstream of the transfer device 19 in the paper passage path 13 and fixes unfixed toner adhering to the transfer paper 11 after passing through the transfer device 19 by a heating / pressing action. I do.

As described above, according to the electrophotographic recording apparatus of the present embodiment, charging, exposure, development,
Image recording is performed through a basic process of electrophotography called transfer. At this time, in the charging device 17, the transfer device 19, and the peeling device 20, the operation and effect of the ion generating device described in the first embodiment are exerted. That is, effects such as high-precision temperature control characteristics can be obtained.

In implementation, the charging device 17,
As the transfer device 19 and the peeling device 20, the ion generator described in the second embodiment or the third embodiment may be used. In this case, the operation and effect of the ion generator of each embodiment can be obtained.

Further, the ion generator shown in the first embodiment, the second embodiment or the third embodiment is
The image processing unit 15 may be applied to a static eliminator for neutralizing the photoconductor 16 after the transfer process.

[0047]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ion generator comprising:
Since the electrode and the second electrode have a laminated structure and the heater for temperature control is provided on the surface side of the insulating substrate, the temperature reaction speed of the ion generating portion with respect to the state of the heater for temperature control can be increased, and therefore, the ion generation The temperature control of the ion generating portion in the apparatus can be performed with high accuracy, and the temperature control characteristics can be improved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the ion generator according to the first aspect, the temperature control heater is provided along the longitudinal direction of the insulating substrate, and at least a part thereof approaches from the center to the both ends of the insulating substrate. Since it is formed in a tapered shape with a narrow width, it is possible to complement the temperature characteristics of the insulating substrate, in which heat dissipation increases at both ends by a temperature control heater in which the heat generation temperature increases at both ends. It can be performed uniformly.

The third aspect of the present invention is the first or second aspect.
In the ion generator described above, the temperature control heater is embedded in the dielectric layer or the protective layer, so that the temperature response speed of the insulating substrate surface with respect to the operation state of the temperature control heater can be further increased, and therefore, the ion generator can be used. , The temperature of the ion generating portion can be controlled with higher accuracy.

In the ion generator according to the fourth aspect, since the insulating substrate is held by the holder with a contact area of 50% or more of the surface area, the heat capacity of the entire ion generator is increased to some extent, and the temperature once raised is increased. Can be prevented from dropping abruptly, and therefore, it is extremely easy to adjust the temperature in a temperature range higher than room temperature but close to room temperature. As a result, the temperature control of the ion generating portion in the ion generating device is facilitated, and highly accurate temperature control can be performed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the ion generator of the fourth aspect, since the holder is formed of a metal having an insulating treatment applied to the substrate contact surface, the rigidity of the holder can be increased. It can hold an insulating substrate that is flexible and weak in shape retention with good shape accuracy, for example,
When applied to a charging device or a transfer device, a minute gap between the photosensitive member and the photosensitive member can be secured with high accuracy and uniformity.

The ion generator according to any one of claims 1 to 5 can be used as a charging device for charging a photoreceptor in an electrophotographic recording device (claim 6). The transfer device has the same effect as the ion generator according to any one of the first to fifth aspects.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing a first embodiment of an ion generator of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing a temperature control heater.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional front view showing a second embodiment of the ion generator of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional front view showing a third embodiment of the ion generator of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing an embodiment of the electrophotographic recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional front view showing an example of a conventional ion generator.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the ion generator held by the holder.

[Description of Signs] 1: Insulating substrate 2: First electrode (induction electrode) 3: Dielectric layer 4: Second electrode (ion generation electrode) 5: Protective layer 6: Temperature control heater 8: Holder 11: Transfer medium 14: Fixing device 16: Photoconductor 17: Charging device 18: Developing device 19: Transfer device G: Gap

Claims (6)

[Claims] An insulating substrate having at least an insulating surface; a first electrode formed on the insulating substrate; a dielectric layer covering the insulating substrate and the first electrode; A second electrode formed and capable of causing a discharge between the first electrode; a protective layer covering the second electrode; a temperature control heater provided on a surface side of the insulating substrate;
An ion generator comprising: 2. The temperature control heater is characterized in that at least a part thereof is formed in a tapered shape along the longitudinal direction of the insulating substrate, wherein at least a part thereof becomes narrower from a central portion of the insulating substrate toward both ends. The ion generator according to claim 1. 3. The ion generator according to claim 1, wherein the temperature control heater is embedded in a dielectric layer or a protective layer. An insulating substrate having at least a surface insulating; a first electrode formed on the insulating substrate; a dielectric layer covering the insulating substrate and the first electrode; A second electrode formed and capable of causing a discharge between the first electrode; a protective layer covering the second electrode; and holding the insulating substrate with a contact area of 50% or more of a surface area of the insulating substrate. And an ion generator. 5. The ion generator according to claim 4, wherein the holder is formed of a metal having a substrate contact surface insulated. 6. A photoconductor, a charging device formed by the ion generator according to claim 1, and configured to uniformly charge the photoconductor, wherein the charging device is uniformly charged by the charging device. An image exposure device that exposes a photoconductor to form an electrostatic latent image; a developing device that applies toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor to develop the image; and a developed image formed on the photoconductor A transfer device for transferring the image onto a transfer medium;
And a fixing device for fixing the transferred image on the transfer medium.