JP3537263B2 - Air blower for image forming device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air discharge device for cooling the inside of an image forming apparatus and removing ozone, and more particularly to an air discharge device for realizing the above cooling and ozone removal by one fan. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus is provided with an air exhaust device for removing ozone generated from a charger and a transfer / separation charger provided in an image forming unit and exhausting heat generated from a fixing unit. There are things. Particularly, in a small and inexpensive type image forming apparatus, there is a type in which a single fan exhausts air from the image forming section and the fixing section (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-271363).

[0003] Fig. 3 shows an example of a conventional exhaust device having one fan. In the drawing, a fan 10 and an ozone filter 11 are provided at positions communicating with the outside of the image forming apparatus. The heat generated from the fixing unit 9 of the fixing unit is sucked by the fan 10 and discharged outside the apparatus. At the same time, ozone generated from the charging charger 2 and the transfer / separation charger 7 in the image forming unit is removed by being sucked by the fan 10 and passing through the ozone filter 11. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a photosensitive drum, 3 denotes an exposure device, 4 denotes a developing unit, 5 denotes a paper feed roller, 6 denotes a transfer sheet, and 8 denotes a cleaning unit.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional exhaust device, cooling in the apparatus and removal of ozone are performed by a single fan, so that even when the image forming section in which ozone is not generated does not operate, the image forming section does not operate. In addition, suction is performed from the vicinity of the image forming unit, and the efficiency of cooling the internal temperature is wasted.

Therefore, according to the present invention, when ozone removal is not necessary, the air discharge from the image forming unit is stopped and the efficiency of air discharge from the fixing unit is increased to enable efficient image forming in the apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide an exhaust device for the device.

In the conventional exhaust device, the exhaust air from the fixing section which does not need to remove ozone is also removed by the ozone filter 1.
1, there is a problem that the life of the ozone filter is shortened.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an air discharge device of an image forming apparatus which can prevent the ozone filter from deteriorating by passing only the exhaust air which needs to remove ozone through the ozone filter. I have.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first duct for guiding air containing ozone near an image forming section to the outside of the apparatus. A second duct for guiding air near the fixing unit to the outside of the machine, a fan for sending air from the first and second ducts to the outside of the machine , and a fan outside the fan. Was
Third and fourth ducts, provided on the third duct
An ozone filter for removing the collected ozone;
One valve for opening and closing the third and third ducts respectively;
And the other valve for opening and closing the duct of
When the image section is not operating, the one valve is closed and the
The other valve is open .

[0009]

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic side sectional view of a first embodiment of an exhaust device of the present invention. In the figure, an image forming unit A and a fixing unit B are installed in the image forming apparatus, and the exhaust device according to the present invention communicates the image forming unit A, the fixing unit B with the outside of the machine. It is installed to be.

The exhaust device has one fan 10 at a position communicating with the outside of the image forming apparatus and an ozone filter 11 outside the fan 10. The duct inside the fan 10 is divided into two ducts 13 and 14 (hereinafter, referred to as an ozone duct 13 and a cooling duct 14) communicating with the image forming unit A and the fixing unit B, respectively. The ozone duct 13 is for sending out ozone generated from the charging charger 2 and the transfer separation charger 7 of the image forming unit A to the ozone filter 11. This ozone duct 1
An on-off valve (or on-off damper) 12 is provided in the middle of 3. The on-off valve 12 is closed when the charging charger 2 and the transfer separation charger 7 are not operating, that is, when no ozone is generated by these chargers. Opening / closing control of the on-off valve 12 can be performed based on a control signal of a control unit (not shown). During the operation of the image forming unit A, the on-off valve 12 is opened, and the charging charger 2 is opened.
The ozone generated by the transfer separation charger 7 is sucked by the fan 10 and sent to the ozone filter 11, where the ozone is filtered.

On the other hand, the cooling duct 14 is for discharging the heat generated by the fixing unit 9 of the fixing section B to the outside of the apparatus. The heat around the fixing unit B is sucked by the fan 10, passes through the cooling duct 14, passes through the ozone filter 11, and is discharged outside the apparatus.

In the exhaust device according to the present invention, when the charging charger 2 and the transfer separation charger 7 are not operating, the on-off valve 12 is closed, and only the cooling duct 14 is connected to the fan 10. As a result, all the suction force of the fan 10 is consumed for cooling the fixing unit B, and the capacity of the fan 10 can be used to the maximum.

In the above embodiment, the ozone duct 13 communicating with the image forming section A and the cooling duct 14 communicating with the fixing section B are formed by the middle wall 15 which divides one duct into two. , These two ducts can also be installed separately.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view of a second embodiment of the exhaust device of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the same parts as those in the previous embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. In the present embodiment, the exhaust device according to the present invention is configured such that a duct portion on the outside of the fan 10 is further divided into two by an intermediate wall 18 (hereinafter, ducts 16 and 17). An ozone filter 11 is attached downstream of one of the ducts 16 and filters ozone discharged.

On the upstream side of both ducts 16 and 17,
On-off valves 19 and 20 are provided, respectively. On-off valve 1
9 and 20 are linked with each other, and when one of the on-off valves is open, the other on-off valve is controlled to close. Further, these on-off valves 19 and 20 are connected to the ozone duct 1.
3, the on-off valve 19 is closed and the on-off valve 20 is opened when the on-off valve 12 is closed.

With this configuration, when the charging charger and the transfer separation charger are not operating, the on-off valve 12 and the on-off valve 19 are closed, and the cooling duct 14 and the outside duct 17 are connected to the fan. 10 is communicated. As a result, the suction force by the fan 10 is all constant.
It is consumed for cooling the attachment portion B, and the capacity of the fan 10 can be used to the maximum. In this case, the fan 10
The air exhausted from the outside of the machine is controlled by the on-off valve 19 of the duct 16.
Is closed, and is discharged from the duct 17 without passing through the ozone filter 11. As a result, since the exhaust air when it is not necessary filtration of ozone does not pass through the ozone filter 11, it is not possible to uselessly function ozone filter 11, early deterioration of its performance is prevented.

On the other hand, when the charging charger and the transfer separation charger are operating, the on-off valve 12 and the on-off valve 1
9 is opened and the on-off valve 20 is closed. As a result, air from the image forming unit A including ozone passes through the ozone duct 13 through the duct 16 and is filtered by the ozone filter 11.

[0019]

According to the present invention as claimed in the exhaust air device for an image forming apparatus of claim 1 has been described above, the air containing ozone in the vicinity of the image forming unit
Duct for guiding air out of the machine, and air near the fixing section
A second duct for guiding the air out of the machine, and the first and second ducts.
One fan to send air out of the duct outside the machine
And third and fourth ducts provided outside the fan.
And the ozone attached to the third duct is removed
And the first and third ducts described above.
Open and close one valve to open and close, and the fourth duct
And the other valve is provided, so that the image forming section operates.
Discharges air that does not require ozone removal
The other valve is closed and the other valve is opened.
There, by carrying out the exhaust air through a duct having no ozone filter, only the cooling of the fixing portion can be used a suction force of the fan, Ri effect there that efficient cooling is carried out, the In addition to the effect, waste ozone fill
Function will no longer function, and its performance will
There is an effect that can be prevented .

[0020]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of a first embodiment of an exhaust device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of a second embodiment of an exhaust device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side sectional view showing an example of a conventional exhaust device.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List A Image forming unit B Fixing unit 1 Photoreceptor drum 2 Charger 3 Exposure 4 Developing unit 5 Feed roller 6 Transfer paper 7 Transfer / separation charger 8 Cleaning unit 9 Fixing unit 10 Fan 11 Ozone filter 12 Open / close valve 13 Ozone duct ( 1st duct) 14 Cooling duct (2nd duct) 15, 18 Middle wall 16 Duct outside machine (third duct) 17 Duct outside machine (4th duct) 19 duct 1
6 on / off valve 20 duct 17 on / off valve

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-8-16050 (JP, A) JP-A-3-110579 (JP, A) JP-A-57-20070 (JP, A) JP-A-3-2000 105366 (JP, A) JP-A-5-19581 (JP, A) JP-A-9-54527 (JP, A) JP-A-4-40243 (JP, U) JP-A-61-153051 (JP, U) 63-94447 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 21/00 370-540

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A first duct for guiding air containing ozone in the vicinity of an image forming unit to the outside of the machine; a second duct for guiding air in the vicinity of the fixing unit to the outside of the machine; A fan for sending air from the second duct out of the machine, third and fourth ducts provided outside the fan, and an ozone filter provided in the third duct for removing ozone And one valve for opening and closing the first and third ducts, respectively, and the other valve for opening and closing the fourth duct. When the image forming unit is not operating, An exhaust device for an image forming apparatus, wherein the valve is closed and the other valve is open.