KR100622948B1 - A wet type image forming device having cooling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A wet image forming apparatus having a cooling device for cooling a transfer medium heated to a high temperature is disclosed. According to the present invention, a wet image forming apparatus comprising a cooling device for cooling a transfer medium for transferring an image developed on a counseling member and transferring the image to a print medium, wherein the cooling device surrounds a portion of the transfer medium. It is installed on the driving path and cools while the transfer medium travels and passes. As a result, the transfer medium is installed to travel inside the cooling apparatus, so that the transfer medium is immersed in the coolant for a predetermined time and cooled.

Chiller, Cooling, Coolant, Refrigerant, Condenser, Transfer medium, Locked down, Transfer.

Description

A wet type image forming apparatus having a cooling device {A WET TYPE IMAGE FORMING DEVICE HAVING COOLING APPARATUS}

1 is a schematic view showing a general wet image forming apparatus;

2 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a wet image forming apparatus having a cooling apparatus according to the present invention, and

3 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the cooling apparatus of FIG. 2.

<Description of the reference numerals for the main parts of the drawings>

100: cooling unit 110: constant temperature unit

120: cooling unit 130: coolant circulation unit

131: transport path 132: transport path

133: coolant supply pump 140: recovery unit

141: contact blade 142: receiving member

143: recovery path

The present invention relates to a wet image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a wet image forming apparatus having a cooling device for cooling a transfer medium heated to a high temperature.

In general, a wet image forming apparatus develops a color image on a counseling member with a developer to transfer a color image onto a print medium and prints the color image, such as a color printer or a copying machine. Here, the developer is an ink in which a liquid carrier and a powder toner are mixed at a predetermined ratio. Such a wet image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, in the wet image forming apparatus, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the consultation member 1 by the exposure unit 2. The electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the consultation member 1 is developed by a color-specific developer built in the plurality of developing devices 3. The image for each color developed on the surface of the counseling member 1 is first superimposed on the transfer medium 4. The superimposed transfer medium 4 transfers the color image to the print medium P secondly, thereby forming an image on the print medium P. FIG.

The transfer medium 4, on which the developer is transferred during the primary transfer, is heated to a constant temperature by a dryer 5 for generating a high temperature. This is to bond the particles constituting the developer by vaporizing the liquid component of the developer.

However, the transfer medium 4 heated to a high temperature by the dryer 5 comes into contact with the counseling support 1 for subsequent primary transfer. At this time, if the transfer medium 4 is in contact with the consultation body 1 at a high temperature, transfer characteristics deteriorate and normal transfer is not performed.

That is, due to the high heat of the transfer medium 4, the temperature inside the main body 10 of the wet image forming apparatus increases, which causes the developer to solidify or cause mechanical and circuit failure of peripheral components. will be.

To this end, the wet image forming apparatus needs a separate cooling device to cool the transferred transfer medium 4.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and is to provide a wet image forming apparatus having a cooling device having an improved structure for cooling a transfer medium heated at high heat.

A wet image forming apparatus having a cooling apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a wet image forming apparatus comprising a cooling apparatus for cooling a transfer medium for receiving an image developed on a counseling member and transferring the image to a printing medium. The cooling device is installed on a traveling path of the transfer medium to surround a portion of the transfer medium, and cools the transfer medium while the transfer medium runs and passes.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device, a constant temperature unit for cooling a coolant for cooling the transfer medium; A cooling unit which stores the coolant supplied from the constant temperature unit for a predetermined time and cools the moving transfer medium to be locked for a predetermined time; And a coolant circulation unit configured to circulate a coolant between the constant temperature unit and the cooling unit.

Here, the coolant circulation unit, the transfer path for transferring the cooled coolant of the thermostat unit to the cooling unit; A conveying path for conveying the coolant discharged from the cooling unit to the constant temperature unit; And a coolant supply pump installed on the transfer path.

In addition, the recovery unit is installed in the lower portion of the cooling unit, leaking from the cooling unit to recover the coolant flowing through the transfer medium to transfer to the constant temperature unit; preferably further comprises a.

The recovery unit may include: a contact blade contacting the transfer medium and inducing a coolant to flow to one side; Receiving member for collecting the coolant flowing down the contact blades; And a recovery path for transferring the coolant of the receiving member to the constant temperature unit.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail. For reference, in describing the embodiments of the present invention, the same reference numerals refer to the same parts as those in the related art, and the configuration of the wet image forming apparatus other than the cooling apparatus is described with reference to FIG. 1. It will be described with reference to.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the wet image forming apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a constant temperature unit 110, a cooling unit 120, a coolant circulation unit 130 and a recovery unit 140. It is provided with a cooling device 100.

The cooling device 100 is installed on the driving path of the transfer medium 4 to surround a portion of the transfer medium 4. As a result, the cooling device 100 cools the transfer medium 4 heated at a high temperature by the dryer 5. Here, the dryer 5 heats the transfer medium 4 to film the developer primarily transferred to the transfer medium 4 by the consultation support 1. That is, the developer transferred to the transfer medium 4 is heated by the dryer 5, whereby the liquid carrier constituting the developer is vaporized and the powder toner is bonded by high heat.

The constant temperature unit 110 stores a coolant for cooling the transfer medium 4 and cools the coolant to a predetermined temperature. To this end, the constant temperature unit 110 is preferably employed to maintain the cooling temperature of the coolant by the principle of a general condenser. Here, the coolant is preferably employed as a liquid component, and more preferably a liquid carrier such as Nopar in the developer is employed.

The condenser is a device for liquefying condensation by releasing heat of the refrigerant through heat exchange between the refrigerant and the refrigerant. The detailed configuration and operation of such a condenser can be understood from the known art, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The cooling unit 120 stores the coolant supplied from the constant temperature unit 110 for a predetermined time, and cools the transfer medium 4 by immersing the transfer medium 4 in the stored coolant for a predetermined time. That is, the transfer medium 4 capable of traveling through the cooling unit 120 is cooled by being immersed in the coolant inside the cooling unit 120.

In addition, the cooling unit 120 is in the form of a housing, and upper and lower openings 121a and 121b are formed to accommodate the transferable transfer medium 4. In the cooling unit 120, a coolant inlet 122a and a coolant outlet 122b are formed.

More specifically, the cooling unit 120 may be provided with upper and lower housings 120a and 120b that may be coupled to and separated from each other. Thus, the cooling unit 120 may be installed to allow the transfer medium 4 to pass between the cooling units 120.

The coolant circulation unit 130 allows the coolant to be circulated between the constant temperature unit 110 and the cooling unit 120. To this end, the coolant circulation unit 130 includes a transfer path 131, a transport path 132 and a coolant supply pump 133.

The transfer path 131 transfers the coolant cooled in the constant temperature unit 110 to the cooling unit 120. The conveying path 132 cools the transfer medium 4 and conveys the coolant discharged from the cooling unit 120 to the constant temperature unit 110 again. The coolant supply pump 133 is installed on the transfer path 131 to introduce a coolant into the transfer path 131.

Here, the transfer path 131 is preferably disposed above the cooling unit 120, it is connected to the coolant inlet (122a). The transport path 132 is disposed below the cooling unit 120 and is connected to the coolant outlet 122b. In addition, it is preferable that the constant temperature unit 110 is disposed below the cooling unit 120 so that the coolant to be conveyed from the constant temperature unit 110 is conveyed through the transfer path 132 by gravity.

According to the above configuration, the coolant introduced into the coolant inlet 122a cools the transfer medium 4 passing through the inside of the cooling unit 120. The coolant having cooled the transfer medium 4 mostly exits to the coolant outlet 122b. Then, some coolant leaks into the lower opening 121b.

The recovery unit 140 is installed below the cooling unit 120 to recover the coolant leaking from the cooling unit 120 and flowing through the transfer medium 4 to the constant temperature unit 110. To this end, the recovery unit 140 includes a contact blade 141, a receiving member 142, and a recovery path 143.

The contact blades 141 are installed to elastically contact both end surfaces of the transfer medium 4. In addition, the contact blade 141 is installed to be inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the longitudinal direction of the transfer medium 4 to guide the coolant to flow to one side. Here, the contact blade 141 may be installed to be inclined in a direction that can recover the coolant to the constant temperature unit (110). In addition, one side of the contact blade 141 which is not inclined toward the constant temperature unit 110 may be formed with a sealing member 144 so that the coolant does not leak to the outside.

The receiving member 142 collects the coolant flowing down by the contact blade 141. Here, the receiving member 142 is formed in the form of a funnel is preferably installed to be connected to the recovery path 143 is installed on the lower side.

The recovery path 143 transfers the coolant collected in the receiving member 142 to the constant temperature unit 110.

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, the coolant recovered by the contact blade 41 is introduced into the constant temperature unit 110 by the receiving member 142 and the recovery path 143, but is not limited thereto. Without a separate receiving member 142, the inclined end of the recovery unit 140 may be installed to be directly connected to the constant temperature unit 110.

An operation relationship of the wet image forming apparatus including the cooling device 100 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

1 to 3, when the electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the consultation support member 1 by the exposure unit 2, the electrostatic latent image of the consultation support member 1 is a developer of the developing device 3. The image is developed as a color-specific image. The image for each color formed on the consultation member 1 is first transferred to the transfer medium 4 to form a color image.

The transfer medium 4 to which the developer is first transferred is heated by the dryer 5. Thus, the liquid particles in the developer transferred to the transfer medium 4 are vaporized, whereby the developer particles are bonded. The heated transfer medium 4 continues to travel and flows into the cooling unit 120 through the upper opening 121a.

The cooling unit 120 receives a coolant from the constant temperature unit 110. Here, the coolant supplied from the constant temperature unit 110 is transferred to the cooling unit 120 along the transfer path 131 by the action of the coolant supply pump 133. Thus, the transfer medium 4 introduced into the cooling unit 120 is cooled by being immersed in the coolant stored for a predetermined time in the cooling unit 120.

The coolant flows into the cooling unit 120 and flows down by gravity, and is returned to the constant temperature unit 110 along the conveying path 132 or leaks through the lower opening 121b.

The coolant leaked through the lower opening 121b is recovered to the recovery unit 140 by flowing down the transfer medium 4. The recovered coolant flows down to one side by the inclined contact blade 141 and is collected in the receiving member 142. The coolant collected by the receiving member 142 is introduced into the constant temperature unit 110 again along the recovery path 143 connected to the constant temperature unit 110.

The coolant returned to the constant temperature unit 110 is cooled by the condenser to maintain a cooling temperature. Here, the coolant that maintains the cooling temperature continues to circulate the constant temperature unit 110 and the cooling unit 120 by the coolant circulation unit 130 while the printing operation is continued.

As such, the transfer medium 4 heated at a high temperature is installed to travel inside the cooling unit 120, thereby allowing the transfer medium to be immersed in the coolant for a predetermined time to cool the transfer medium 4.

In the wet image forming apparatus having the cooling apparatus according to the present invention as described above, the transfer medium is installed to run inside the cooling unit in which the coolant is stored for a predetermined time, so that the transfer medium is immersed in the coolant for a predetermined time. Can be cooled. Therefore, the heat loss of the coolant for cooling the transfer medium can be suppressed to improve the cooling efficiency.

While the invention has been shown and described in connection with the preferred embodiments for illustrating the principles of the invention, the invention is not limited to the construction and operation as shown and described. Rather, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, all such suitable changes and modifications and equivalents should be considered to be within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (5)

A wet image forming apparatus comprising: a cooling device for cooling a transfer medium for receiving an image developed on a counseling member and transferring the image to a print medium; The cooling device, A constant temperature unit for cooling a coolant for cooling the transfer medium; A cooling unit installed on a traveling path of the transfer medium to store a coolant supplied from the constant temperature unit for a predetermined time to cover a portion of the transfer medium, and to cool the running transfer medium to be locked for a predetermined time; And And a coolant circulation unit configured to circulate a coolant between the constant temperature unit and the cooling unit. delete The method of claim 1, wherein the coolant circulation unit, A transfer path for transferring the cooled coolant of the constant temperature unit to the cooling unit; A conveying path for conveying the coolant discharged from the cooling unit to the constant temperature unit; And And a coolant supply pump installed on the transport path. The method of claim 1, And a recovery unit installed below the cooling unit to recover the coolant leaking from the cooling unit and flowing through the transfer medium to the constant temperature unit. The method of claim 4, wherein the recovery unit, A contact blade which contacts the transfer medium and induces a coolant to flow to one side; Receiving member for collecting the coolant flowing down the contact blades; And And a recovery path for transferring the coolant of the receiving member to the constant temperature unit.

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