JPS6014281Y2 - Solvent vapor collection device for wet-type electronic copying machines - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for efficiently condensing and recovering solvent vapor mainly generated in a fixing device of a wet-type electronic copying machine.

In transfer-type wet-type electronic copying machines, the developer supplied to the surface of the photoreceptor during development is absorbed by the transfer paper during transfer and carried to the fixing unit, and the solvent is heated by the heat of the fixing unit and vaporized. do.

In particular, in high-speed copying machines, a considerable amount of solvent evaporates, and the vapor not only contaminates the inside of the machine but also harms human health.

For this reason, many proposals have been made in the past regarding devices that cool the gas containing solvent vapor generated in the fixing device, condense and recover the solvent, and discharge the purified air to the outside of the machine.

Among them, the device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 49-89541 cools high-humidity air containing solvent vapor in advance with low-temperature air after recovering the solvent, and then cools it further with a cooling device to improve cooling efficiency. This device was designed to reduce the energy required for cooling the gas and reduce the burden on the cooling device, but since this device exchanges heat between gases, it requires a large heat transfer area, making the device large. Not only that, but also a large fan is required to overcome the low pipe piles, and the heat response is slow, resulting in a long start-up time.

In order to eliminate these inconveniences with the device, the present invention aims to downsize the device and shorten the cooling start-up time by keeping the volume as small as possible while ensuring the required heat transfer area, and also simplifies the device. The present invention is intended to provide a new device that can be easily attached to desktop copying machines.

Hereinafter, details of the present invention will be explained based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a copying machine incorporating a device according to the present invention, in which 1 is a photosensitive drum, 2 is a liquid developing device, 3 is a transfer charger, 4 is a transfer paper conveyance roller, and 5 is a fixing machine. The fixing dryer 5 is covered with a solvent vapor cooling and recovery device 10, which is a feature of the present invention.

2 and 3 show the details of this solvent vapor cooling and recovery device 10. Reference numeral 11 is a solvent vapor collection chamber that covers the upper part of the fixing dryer 5, which consists of a heating section, a seal roller, etc. A skirt 12 made of an elastic material is attached to the periphery of the opening to collect all the solvent vapor generated from the fixing dryer 5 and the surface of the transfer paper, and a heat insulating material 13 is provided on the outer surface of the skirt 12. to keep the inside warm.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a vapor suction fan installed in the center of the main body of the solvent vapor cooling and recovery device 10, which supplies water to the collection chamber 11 through a leakage net 15.
It has a function of sucking solvent vapor from the cooling chamber 16 and sending it to the cooling chamber 16 described later.

16 is the aforementioned solvent vapor cooling chamber 16, which is made of a thermally conductive material such as aluminum, and has a long zigzag-shaped conduction path inside to guide the solvent vapor from the top to the bottom and further to the outside. and cooling fins 17 are provided,
Further, the bottom of the cooling chamber 16 is in contact with the endothermic side of the thermoelectric cooling element 18 .

Reference numeral 19 denotes a radiation fin attached to the heat radiation side of the thermoelectric cooling element 18, which is located in the gap formed above the collection chamber 11 and below the cooling chamber 16, and is a light source guided by the duct 20. Forced cooling with cooling gas.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a heat pipe whose interior is depressurized and filled with a required working fluid; 21a is a heat dissipation end of the heat pipe 21 located in an exhaust passage 22 leading from the cooling chamber 16 to the outside;
b indicates the heat absorption end of the heat pipe 21 located in the cooling chamber 16, and the heat radiation end 21a and the heat absorption end 21b are provided with fins as is well known.

Note that the reference numeral 23 in the figure indicates a solvent recovery hole provided at the bottom of the cooling chamber 16.

In the embodiment described above, the solvent vapor generated in the fixing dryer 5 is sucked together with air by the suction fan 14 in the collecting chamber 11 covering the upper part thereof, and is passed through the heat pipe 21 before being led to the cooling chamber 16. It contacts the endothermic end 21b and releases part of the heat to the heat pipe 21.

As described above, the cooling chamber 16 is made of a thermally conductive material, and its bottom is in contact with the heat absorption side of the thermoelectric conversion element 18.
The air containing solvent vapor entering from above is gradually cooled while descending while contacting the conduit passage and the cooling fins 17, and reaches the bottom of the cooling chamber 16 where the solvent vapor condenses and flows into the recovery hole 22.
The liquid then flows down and is returned to the liquid developing device 2 again.

The air from which the solvent vapor has been removed is discharged to the outside through the exhaust passage 22, but this cooled air cools the heat radiation end 21a of the heat pipe, condenses the working fluid inside, and The self is heated to a temperature close to room temperature and exits to the outside.

On the other hand, the working fluid condensed within the heat pipe 21 moves to the heat absorption end 21b by the capillary action of the wick, cools the high temperature air containing solvent vapor there, vaporizes again, and circulates to the heat radiation end 21a.

As described above, according to the present invention, the cooling chamber for the gas containing solvent vapor is made of a thermally conductive material, and is cooled by a thermoelectric cooling element whose temperature can be easily controlled. By controlling the elements according to their operation, it is possible to shorten the cooling start-up time and perform efficient cooling.

Moreover, both ends of the heat pipe are arranged at the inlet and outlet sides of the gas conduction path in the cooling chamber, and the high temperature gas entering the conduction path is cooled by the low temperature gas at the exit side by utilizing the high thermal conductivity of the heat pipe. Therefore, the load on the element can be reduced,
Thermoelectric cooling elements with a small refrigerating capacity can be effectively adapted to cool solvent vapors, and the device's compactness and low power consumption make it possible to incorporate it into general-purpose copying machines. It has excellent effects as a collector.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an electrophotographic copying machine according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are a side view and a top view of the apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5... Fixing dryer, 10... Solvent vapor cooling and recovery device, 11... Collection chamber, 14...
...Suction fan, 16...Cooling chamber, 17...
... Cooling fin, 18 ... Thermoelectric cooling element,
19... Radiation fin, 21... Heat pipe, 22... Exhaust passage.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a device that condenses and removes solvent vapor generated in the fixing and drying section of a wet-type electronic copying machine, a cooling chamber made of a thermally conductive material that comes into contact with the heat absorption side of a thermoelectric cooling element has a conduction path for gas containing solvent vapor and a cooling chamber. A device for collecting solvent vapor in a wet type electronic copying machine, characterized in that a fin is provided, and a heat absorbing part and a heat radiating part of a heat pipe are located on the inlet side and the outlet side of the conductive path.