JP6202365B2 - Cooling and conveying apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooling and conveying apparatus, and an image forming apparatus such as a fax machine and a copying machine including the cooling and conveying apparatus.

  As an image forming apparatus, an apparatus that forms a toner image on a recording material such as paper using electrophotographic technology, and fixes the toner transferred onto the recording material by heating and pressing with a fixing device is known. ing. When the recording material after fixing is stacked on the paper discharge tray with heat, the toner may be softened by the heat accumulated in the stack of stacked recording materials. When the toner that forms a toner image on the recording material stacked on the paper discharge tray is softened and the recording materials are further overlapped, pressure is generated due to the weight of the recording material bundle, and the softened toner causes a gap between the recording materials. There is a case where the phenomenon of blocking that sticks occurs. If the recording materials with blocking are forcibly removed, the toner image will be broken.

  In order to suppress this phenomenon called blocking, an apparatus for sufficiently cooling the recording material after heating and fixing is necessary. As a device that cools the recording material while transporting it, the recording material is nipped and transported from the side to which the softened toner adheres after heating and fixing (hereinafter referred to as the front side) and the opposite side (hereinafter referred to as the back side). Cooling and conveying devices that cool while being known are already known. Such a cooling and conveying apparatus includes a front side clamping unit that clamps the recording material from the front side, and a back side clamping unit that clamps the recording material from the back side, and at least one of them directly or indirectly heats the recording material. A cooling member for absorbing heat and cooling is provided.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes an image forming apparatus including the following cooling and conveying device.
Each of the front-side clamping unit and the back-side clamping unit includes belt conveying means having an endless belt member that is stretched around a plurality of stretching rollers and rotates. Then, one end side in the recording material width direction orthogonal to the recording material conveyance direction of the front-side clamping unit disposed above is lifted around a first rotation axis parallel to the recording material conveyance direction provided on the other end side. Turn to. Then, after one end side of the front side clamping part rotates by a predetermined amount, the back side clamping part arranged below is also linked to the rotation of the front side clamping part around the second rotation axis provided on the other end side. It is configured to lift. That is, the rear side clamping part is also displaced in conjunction with the displacement of the front side clamping part.

  After displacing in this way, one or both of the endless belt members are removed and replaced with a new endless belt member or two endless belt members are exchanged with each other. Compared with the structure which removes the supporting member to perform, it can do easily.

  However, in the configuration described in Patent Document 1, a cooling member that cools the recording material via the endless belt member is provided in the front-side clamping unit. For this reason, when a heavy weight cooling member is used, the following problems occur when the endless belt members of the front side holding part and the back side holding part are brought into contact with and separated from each other during maintenance work such as when a jam occurs. Due to the weight of the cooling member and the constituent members attached thereto, a large load is applied to the user or to the members such as the rotating shafts holding the holding portions to be displaced. As a result, the workability of the user is reduced, the cost of the image forming apparatus is increased by increasing the strength of the member that holds each clamping unit, or the life of the member that holds each clamping unit is shortened. There was a problem of doing.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the above problem, The objective is to provide the following cooling conveyance apparatuses. When the front side clamping part and the back side clamping part are brought into contact with or separated from each other during maintenance work or the like, the load on the user or the member holding the displacing clamping part due to the weight of the cooling member and the component parts accompanying the cooling member is conventionally increased. It is a cooling and conveying apparatus that can also reduce the amount.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 includes a front-side clamping unit and a back-side clamping unit that clamp and convey a recording material from the front and back sides, and each of the front-side clamping unit and the back-side clamping unit. In the cooling and conveying apparatus provided with at least one cooling member that directly or indirectly absorbs and cools the heat of the recording material, the front-side clamping unit including the cooling member and the back side including the cooling member The sandwiching portions are different in weight from each other, and the cooling members provided in each of the front-side sandwiching portion and the back-side sandwiching portion have the same structure, and the number of the cooling members provided in each other is different, and includes the cooling member. a front clamping portion, said separating operation of separating said rear clamping portion including a cooling member, wherein in a state in which the number is fixed pinching portion with the larger of the cooling member, the number of cooling members there are fewer displaceable in It is characterized in that performing the sandwiching portion is displaced.

  The present invention provides a load on a user or a member that holds a displacing clamping part due to the weight of a cooling member and a component member accompanying it when the front clamping part and the back clamping part are brought into contact with or separated from each other during maintenance work or the like. Therefore, it is possible to provide a cooling / conveying device that can reduce the temperature of the conventional apparatus.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a configuration explanatory diagram of a cooling and conveying apparatus according to a first embodiment. The perspective explanatory drawing of the example which displaces the position of the clamping part with a lighter weight of a cooling conveyance apparatus so that it may contact / separate in parallel with respect to the clamping part with a heavier weight. The perspective explanatory drawing of another example which rotates the position of the clamping part with a lighter weight of a cooling conveyance apparatus with respect to the clamping part with a heavier weight centering on a rotation fulcrum. FIG. 10 is a configuration explanatory diagram of a cooling and conveying apparatus according to a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a configuration explanatory diagram of another example of the cooling and conveying apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a configuration explanatory diagram of a cooling and conveying device according to a third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a configuration explanatory diagram of a cooling and conveying apparatus according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a perspective explanatory view of an example in which the position of the holding portion with the lighter weight of the cooling and conveying apparatus according to the fourth embodiment is displaced by rotating around the rotation fulcrum with respect to the holding portion with a heavier weight. FIG. 10 is a perspective explanatory view when the configuration of the flow path forming member is varied depending on the arrangement of the cooling member according to the fourth embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a cooling / conveying device provided in an image forming apparatus will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, an outline of a printer 300 that is an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment common to the respective examples will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printer 300 that is an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 300 according to the present embodiment includes an intermediate transfer by a plurality of rollers (a first stretching roller 22, a second stretching roller 23, a third stretching roller 24, etc.) in the apparatus main body 200. An intermediate transfer belt 21 as a medium is stretched. The intermediate transfer belt 21 is configured to rotate in the direction of arrow a in the figure when one of the plurality of rollers is rotationally driven. In addition, the printer 300 has image forming process means disposed around the intermediate transfer belt 21. Here, the subscripts Y, C, M, and Bk added after the symbols indicate that the specifications are for yellow, cyan, magenta, and black.

  When the direction of rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 21 is indicated by an arrow a in the figure, an image is formed for each color between the first stretching roller 22 and the second stretching roller 23 above the intermediate transfer belt 21. As the process means, four image stations 10 (Y, C, M, Bk) are arranged. The Y image station 10Y, the C image station 10C, the M image station 10M, and the Bk image station 10Bk are arranged in this order from the upstream side in the surface movement direction of the intermediate transfer belt 21.

  The four image stations 10 (Y, C, M, Bk) have substantially the same configuration except that the colors of the toners used are different. In each image station 10, a charging device 5, an optical writing device 2, a developing device 3, and a photoconductor cleaning device 4 are arranged around a drum-shaped photoconductor 1. Further, a primary transfer roller 11 serving as a toner image transfer unit to the intermediate transfer belt 21 is provided at a position facing the photoreceptor 1 with the intermediate transfer belt 21 interposed therebetween. Such four image stations 10 (Y, C, M, Bk) are arranged along the surface movement direction of the intermediate transfer belt 21 so as to have a predetermined pitch interval.

  In the printer 300, the optical writing device 2 is an optical system using an LED as a light source. However, the optical writing device 2 can also be configured by a laser optical system using a semiconductor laser as a light source, and each photoconductor 1 is exposed according to image information. Do.

Below the intermediate transfer belt 21, a paper feed cassette 31, a paper feed roller 41, and a registration roller pair 42 for paper P, which is a sheet-like recording material, are arranged. Further, the secondary transfer as a toner image transfer unit from the intermediate transfer belt 21 to the paper P so as to face the third stretching roller 24 that stretches the intermediate transfer belt 21 via the intermediate transfer belt 21. A roller 25 is arranged. Further, a belt that cleans the front surface of the intermediate transfer belt 21 so that the cleaning facing roller 26 that contacts the back surface of the intermediate transfer belt 21 contacts the front surface of the intermediate transfer belt 21 at a position where it contacts the intermediate transfer belt 21. A cleaning device 27 is provided.
In FIG. 1, on the right side of the registration roller pair 42, a paper feed path 35, a paper feed roller 43, and a manual feed tray 34 for manual feed are arranged.

  A paper transport path 32 extending from the paper feed cassette 31 to the paper discharge tray 33 extends. A heating roller is provided on the downstream side of the secondary transfer roller 25 in the paper transport path 32 in the paper transport direction (hereinafter simply referred to as the downstream side). A fixing device 15 having a pressure roller is disposed. On the downstream side of the sheet conveying path 32 of the fixing device 15, a cooling and conveying apparatus 100 that conveys the sheet P while cooling is disposed. Further, a discharge tray 33 that is a discharge portion of the paper P after toner fixing is disposed outside the apparatus main body 200 further downstream of the cooling and conveying apparatus 100. Also, when forming an image on the back side of the paper P during double-sided image formation, the front and back of the paper P that has once passed through the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 are reversed and reversed for double-sided image formation that is conveyed again to the registration roller pair 42. A paper transport path 36 is also provided.

  The image forming process will be described with respect to one image station 10. In accordance with a general electrostatic recording system, the photowriting device 2 exposes the photosensitive member 1 uniformly charged by the charging device 5 in the dark. Thus, an electrostatic latent image is formed. The electrostatic latent image is visualized as a toner image by the developing device 3. The toner image is transferred from the photoreceptor 1 to the intermediate transfer belt 21 by the primary transfer roller 11. The surface of the photoreceptor 1 after the transfer is cleaned by the photoreceptor cleaning device 4. Such an image forming process is performed in each of the four image stations 10 (Y, C, M, Bk).

  Each of the developing devices 3 (Y, C, M, Bk) in the four image stations 10 (Y, C, M, Bk) has a visible image forming function using different four color toners. For this reason, if each image station 10 (Y, C, M, Bk) shares yellow, cyan, magenta, and black, a full-color toner image can be formed. Each image station 10 includes a primary transfer roller 11 provided to face each photoconductor 1 with the intermediate transfer belt 21 interposed therebetween. A transfer bias is applied to the primary transfer roller 11. The next transfer portion is configured.

  With the above configuration, the same image forming area of the intermediate transfer belt 21 sequentially passes through the four image stations 10 (Y, C, M, Bk). During the sequential passage, the toner images are transferred one by one on the intermediate transfer belt 21 by the transfer bias applied to the primary transfer roller 11. As a result, when the same image forming area described above passes through the primary transfer portion of each image station 10 (Y, C, M, Bk) once, a full-color toner image is transferred onto the same image area by overlapping transfer. Can be obtained.

  The full-color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 21 in this way is transferred to the paper P conveyed from the paper feed cassette 31 or the manual feed tray 34, and the intermediate transfer belt 21 after transfer is transferred by the belt cleaning device 27. To be cleaned. Here, the transfer of the full-color toner image from the intermediate transfer belt 21 to the paper P is performed as follows. At the time of transfer, a transfer bias is applied to the secondary transfer roller 25 to form a transfer electric field between the secondary transfer roller 25 and the third stretching roller 24 via the intermediate transfer belt 21, and the secondary transfer roller 25. The sheet P is passed through the nip portion between the intermediate transfer belt 21 and the intermediate transfer belt 21. The paper P conveyed from the paper feed cassette 31 or the manual feed tray 34 is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 21 conveyed to the transfer nip portion by a registration roller pair 42 disposed upstream of the transfer nip portion in the paper conveyance direction. The toner image is conveyed to the transfer nip portion in accordance with the timing of the toner image.

  After the transfer of the full-color toner image from the intermediate transfer belt 21 to the paper P, the full-color toner image carried on the paper P is fixed on the paper P by being heated and pressed by the fixing device 15. A full color final image is formed. Thereafter, the sheet P is cooled from one side or both sides by the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 and stacked on the sheet discharge tray 33. For this reason, when the paper P is stacked on the paper discharge tray 33, the toner on the paper P can be surely cured and the blocking phenomenon can be avoided.

Next, the structure of the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described in detail with reference to a plurality of examples.
The cooling and conveying apparatus 100 according to each embodiment described below is composed of two holding portions that hold the paper P from the front and back sides, and among these holding portions, the position of the holding portion with the lighter weight is heavy. The greatest feature is that it is displaceable with respect to the other clamping part.

  In the following description, the same members and members having similar functions will be described using the same reference numerals. Further, in the following description, the side where the toner is softened and applied to the paper P heated and pressed by the fixing device 15 is referred to as the front side of the paper P, and the opposite side is referred to as the back side of the paper P. Named and explained. In addition, a direction parallel to the transport direction of the paper P, which is a recording material that is cooled by a cooling member provided in the cooling transport device 100 by directly or indirectly absorbing heat, is referred to as a paper transport direction (recording material transport direction). To do. A direction parallel to the paper surface of the paper P and perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction will be referred to as a paper width direction (recording material width direction).

Example 1
Example 1 of the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a configuration explanatory view of the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, where (a) is a cross-sectional explanatory view, and (b) is a side explanatory view of each cooling roller. FIG. 3 is a perspective explanatory view of an example in which the position of the holding portion with the lighter weight of the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 is displaced so as to be parallel to and away from the holding portion with the heavier weight. Shows a state before separation, and (b) shows a state after separation. FIG. 4 is an explanatory perspective view of another example in which the position of the holding portion with the lighter weight of the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 is displaced by rotating around the rotation fulcrum with respect to the holding portion with the heavier weight. There is an explanatory view of the state after being separated, and (b) is an explanatory view of the hinge part.

  The cooling and conveying apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is a two-clamping unit that nips and conveys the paper P as shown in FIG. 2A, and is a nip from the front side of the paper P to which the toner is attached in a softened state. A middle-upper front-side clamping unit 110 and a lower-side rear-side clamping unit 130 in the figure are clamped from the back side. Each of the front side clamping unit 110 and the back side clamping unit 130 conveys the sheet P, which has been heated and fixed on the surface thereof by the fixing device 15 while rotating, and also directly contacts and absorbs heat. A cooling roller 151 that is a roller-shaped cooling member for cooling is provided. Each cooling roller 151 is also provided with a guide member 155 that guides the paper P so as to face the cooling roller 151. The cooling roller 151 and the guide member 155 cool the paper P from both sides while nipping and conveying the paper P.

  Specifically, the front-side clamping unit 110 includes front-side plates 112a and 112b, two cooling rollers 151 that rotate in the paper conveyance direction of the paper P, and two cooling rollers 151 as shown in FIG. One guide member 155 is provided between the two. Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, the cooling roller 151 is supported from both sides by front side plates 112a and 112b provided with bearings for receiving the cooling roller shaft 152 which is a rotating shaft thereof, and is provided on the side of the front side plate 112a. Radiating fins 153 are provided at the ends. Heat is dissipated by applying wind from the cooling fan 154 behind the front side plate 112 a to the heat dissipating fins 153, and the heat absorbed from the paper P by the cooling roller 151 is dissipated through the cooling roller shaft 152. Then, the two cooling rollers 151 provided in the front-side holding unit 110 cool the paper P while being held and conveyed by the two guide members 155 provided in the back-side holding unit 130. In the front side clamping unit 110, the front side holding frame 111 that holds one cooling roller 151 and two guide members 155 by the front side plates 112 a and 112 b, the two cooling roller shafts 152, and the one guide member 155. Is configured.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2A, the back side clamping unit 130 includes back side plates 132a and 132b, one cooling roller 151 rotating in the paper transport direction of the paper P, and the upstream side of the cooling roller 151 in the paper transport direction. Two guide members 155 are provided on the downstream side. Similarly to the front-side clamping unit 110, the cooling roller 151 is supported from both sides by back-side side plates 132a and 132b provided with bearings that receive the cooling roller shaft 152 that is the rotation shaft thereof, and the end on the back-side side plate 132a side. The part is provided with heat radiation fins 153. Heat is dissipated by applying wind from the cooling fan 154 behind the back side plate 132a to the heat dissipating fins 153, and the heat absorbed from the paper P by the cooling roller 151 is dissipated through the cooling roller shaft 152. Then, the single cooling roller 151 provided in the back side clamping unit 130 cools the paper P while pinching and conveying it with the one guide member 155 provided in the front side clamping unit 110. In the back side clamping unit 130, a back side holding frame 131 that holds one cooling roller 151 and two guide members 155 by the back side plates 132 a and 132 b, one cooling roller shaft 152, and two guide members 155. Is configured.

As described above, by providing a plurality of cooling rollers 151 separately on the front-side clamping unit 110 and the back-side clamping unit 130, it is possible to cool alternately from the front and back sides, and the same number of cooling rollers 151 in either one of the clamping units. The paper P can be cooled more efficiently than the configuration in which the paper P is provided. That is, by providing at least one cooling roller 151 in each of the front-side clamping unit 110 and the back-side clamping unit 130, the paper P is more efficient than a configuration in which the same number of cooling rollers 151 are provided in one of the clamping units. Cooling is possible.
Further, when the number of the cooling rollers 151 necessary for obtaining the required cooling performance is an odd number, the number of the cooling rollers 151 provided in each clamping portion is asymmetric. In this embodiment, a configuration is provided in which two cooling rollers 151 are provided in the front side clamping unit 110 that cools the front surface of the paper P, and one cooling roller 151 is provided in the back side clamping unit 130 that cools the back side. There may be a configuration in which three are provided in the clamping unit 110 and two are provided in the back side clamping unit 130.

In the cooling and conveying apparatus such as the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 of the above-described embodiment, when a jam occurs while the paper P is passing through the cooling and conveying apparatus, or when the cooling and conveying apparatus stops urgently for other reasons, the user The paper P must be removed before restarting. When performing such maintenance, it is necessary to separate the cooling rollers 151 and the guide members 155 that sandwich the paper P from the front and back sides.
Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to separate each cooling roller 151 and each guide member 155, the front side holding frame 111 of the front side clamping unit 110 and the back side holding frame 131 of the back side clamping unit 130 are as follows. It was configured to be separated.

In the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the number of the cooling rollers 151 that cool the paper P as described above is different between the front side clamping unit 110 and the back side clamping unit 130. And the structure of the cooling roller 151 provided in the front side clamping part 110 and the back side clamping part 130 is the same, and another structure is substantially the same. Therefore, the weights of the front side holding frame 111 and the constituent members held by the front side holding frame 111 and the weights of the constituent members held by the back side holding frame 131 and the back side holding frame 131, that is, the weights of the front side holding portion 110 and the back side holding portion 130 are also different. It will be.
When the number of the cooling rollers 151 is different as described above, as shown in FIG. 3 (the side plate on the user side is omitted for the convenience of visual recognition), the rear side of the lighter one having a smaller number of cooling rollers 151 and a lighter weight. The sandwiching portion 130 (the back side holding frame 131) is configured to be movable. That is, among the front side holding unit 110 and the back side holding unit 130 that hold the paper P from the front side and the front side, the position of the lighter back side holding unit 130 can be displaced with respect to the heavy weight front side holding unit 110. The heavier one was used as the fixed side and the lighter one was used as the movable side when moving the holding part.

Specifically, in the example of FIG. 3, from the state in which the paper P is sandwiched between the cooling rollers 151 and the guide members 155 as shown in FIG. 3A, the front side as shown in FIG. The position of the back side clamping unit 130 is displaced so as to be separated (contacted / separated) in parallel with the clamping unit 110.
In the example of FIG. 3, two guide rails 115 are provided on the front holding frame 111 of the front holding part 110, and the back side holding part 130 is held on these guide rails 115 while being guided, and can be reciprocated in the vertical direction. A simple slider (not shown) was provided on the back side holding frame 131 of the back side holding part 130.
In this way, by providing a displacement mechanism for displacing the position of the back side holding part 130 with respect to the front side holding part 110, one cooling roller 151 and two guide members 155 are moved downward together with the back side holding frame 131, and jammed. Maintenance work for removing the paper P when it occurs can be performed.

By configuring in this way, the holding part that is displaced during the separating operation of the front side holding part 110 and the back side holding part 130 for maintenance work such as when a jam occurs in the cooling conveyance device 100, that is, the one having a lighter weight, that is, Only one lighter rear side clamping unit 130 can be used. Therefore, compared to the conventional configuration in which both of the sandwiching portions are displaced, the guide rail 115 or the like that holds the user or the rear-side sandwiching portion 130 to be displaced due to the weight of the cooling roller 151 and the accompanying structural members such as the guide member 155. The load on the member can be reduced.
Therefore, when the front-side clamping unit and the back-side clamping unit are brought into contact with or separated from each other during maintenance work or the like, the load on the user or the member that holds the clamping unit to be displaced due to the weight of the cooling roller 151 and the constituent members attached thereto is The cooling and conveying apparatus 100 that can be reduced as compared with the prior art can be provided. That is, when the back-side clamping unit 130 is separated from the front-side clamping unit 110 or returned to the original position, the load on the user or a member such as the guide rail 115 or the slider holding the back-side clamping unit 130 is larger than before. Can be reduced.

  Further, in the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, as described above, the position of the rear side clamping unit 130 having the smaller number of the cooling rollers 151 that are the cooling members having the same configuration as the front side clamping unit 110 is larger. The front side clamping unit 110 is displaceable so as to be in contact with and away from the front side clamping unit 110. By configuring the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 in this way, in addition to the common use of the cooling roller 151 that is a cooling member, it is possible to make common constituent members such as the heat dissipating fins 153 and the guide members 155 associated with the cooling roller 151. The cost of the transport apparatus 100 can be reduced.

Further, as another example of the displacement mechanism for displacing the position of the back side clamping unit 130 with respect to the front side clamping unit 110, a configuration as shown in FIG.
In the example shown in FIG. 4, as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b), the holding portions may be separated by turning around a turning shaft 114 provided on the side away from the user side. good. Also in the case of such rotation, the burden on the user is reduced if the position of the back side clamping unit 130, which is also the number of the cooling rollers 151 and the weight is light, is displaced.
Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the pivot shaft 114 of the hinge portion, the pivot shaft holding portion 113 of the front side plate 112a on which the pivot shaft 114 is provided, and the pivot shaft 114 are rotatably supported. The stress applied to the boss 133 of the back side plate 132a in which the rotation shaft hole 134 is formed is also reduced. For this reason, when displacing the position of the back side clamping part 130 with respect to the front side clamping part 110, for the cost reduction, long life, etc. of each member which comprises the hinge part (displacement mechanism) holding the back side clamping part 130, etc. Is also connected.

In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the cooling roller 151 as the cooling member having the same configuration is provided in the front-side clamping unit 110 and the back-side clamping unit 130 has been described. However, the present invention is limited to such a configuration. It is not something.
For example, the present invention can be applied to a configuration in which cooling rollers having different diameters are provided on the front-side clamping unit 110 and the back-side clamping unit 130. In such a case, each holding is performed when the position is displaced instead of the number of cooling rollers. The component having the lighter total weight is displaced.
In addition, even when only one of the front-side clamping unit 110 and the back-side clamping unit 130 is provided with a cooling roller, the total weight of the constituent members held in each holding frame when the position is displaced Displace the lighter.

(Example 2)
Example 2 of the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIGS. 5A and 5B are configuration explanatory views of the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, in which FIG. 5A shows a state in which the paper P is sandwiched, and FIG. 5B shows a state in which each sandwiching portion is separated. FIGS. 6A and 6B are configuration explanatory views of another example of the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, in which FIG. 6A shows a state in which the paper P is sandwiched, and FIG. 6B shows a state in which each sandwiching portion is separated. Yes.

  The cooling and conveying apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is different from the cooling and conveying apparatus according to the first embodiment only in respect of the following configuration. In the cooling and conveying apparatus of the first embodiment, the cooling roller 151 that is a cooling member is in direct contact with the paper P. On the other hand, in the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, each clamping unit includes a belt conveying mechanism, and the air-cooling heat sink 156 that is a cooling member is indirectly brought into contact with the paper P via an endless belt. Is a point. Therefore, the configuration similar to that of the above-described first embodiment and the operation and effect thereof will be omitted as appropriate. In addition, the same member or a component member that performs the same function will be described using the same reference numeral unless it is particularly necessary to distinguish.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is two clamping units that nipping and conveying the paper P, and is sandwiched from the front side of the paper P to which the toner P is attached in a softened state. The front side clamping part 110 and the back side clamping part 130 of the downward direction in the figure clamped from the back side are provided.
The front-side clamping unit 110 is provided with a front-side belt conveyance mechanism 120, and the back-side clamping unit 130 is provided with a back-side belt conveyance mechanism 140.

  The front-side belt conveyance mechanism 120 of the front-side clamping unit 110 includes three front-side stretching rollers 122, one front-side driving roller 123, and a front-side endless belt 121 that is stretched around these stretching rollers. Further, on the inner peripheral side of the lower extending surface in the figure, which is the side where the front side endless belt 121 of the front side belt conveyance mechanism 120 contacts the paper P, it is larger and heavier than the air-cooled heat sink 156b provided in the back side clamping unit 130 described later. An air-cooled heat sink 156a is provided. When the sheet P is nipped and conveyed by the front side nipping unit 110 and the back side nipping unit 130, the air-cooled heat sink 156a absorbs heat from the sheet P via the front side endless belt 121 and is integrally formed with the radiation fin. The sheet P is cooled from the front side.

  The back side belt conveyance mechanism 140 of the back side clamping unit 130 includes four back side stretching rollers 142 and a back side endless belt 141 stretched around these back side stretching rollers 142. Further, on the inner peripheral side of the upper extended surface in the figure, which is the side where the back side endless belt 141 of the back side belt conveyance mechanism 140 contacts the paper P, it is smaller than the air-cooled heat sink 156a provided on the front side clamping unit 110 described above. A light air-cooled heat sink 156b is provided. When the sheet P is nipped and conveyed by the front side nipping unit 110 and the back side nipping unit 130, the air-cooled heat sink 156b absorbs heat from the sheet P via the back endless belt 141, and the radiation fins are integrally formed. The sheet P is cooled from the back side.

  Further, the front side endless belt 121 rotates clockwise in the drawing by the rotational drive of the front side driving roller 123 provided in the front side belt conveyance mechanism 120 of the front side clamping unit 110 and contacts the front side endless belt 121 directly or via the paper P. The back side endless belt 141 is driven to rotate. As described above, the front-side belt conveyance mechanism 120 having the large air-cooled heat sink 156a and having a large conveyance resistance is rotationally driven by the front-side driving roller 123, so that the sheet by the front-side belt conveyance mechanism 120 and the back-side belt conveyance mechanism 140 is driven. Generation | occurrence | production of the conveyance failure of P can be suppressed. Further, the air-cooled heat sink 156a and the air-cooled heat sink 156b come into contact with the paper P via the front-side endless belt 121 and the back-side endless belt 141, thereby efficiently cooling the paper P sandwiched and conveyed by the front-side endless belt 121 and the back-side endless belt 141. it can. Moreover, since a wider cooling surface can be provided as compared with the configuration using a rotating roller-shaped cooling member such as the cooling roller 151 of the first embodiment described above, a high cooling effect can be obtained.

  When the front-side clamping unit 110 and the back-side clamping unit 130 are brought into contact with or separated from each other during maintenance work such as when a jam occurs in the cooling transfer device 100, the back-side clamping unit 130 provided with the air-cooling heat sink 156b that is lighter than the air-cooling heat sink 156a is provided. Can be moved. Then, after the back side clamping unit 130 is moved, the jammed paper P and the paper P remaining between the front side clamping unit 110 and the back side clamping unit 130 can be removed. In the present embodiment, an air-cooled heat sink 156b that is smaller and lighter than the air-cooled heat sink 156a provided on the front-side clamping unit 110 is provided on the back-side endless belt 141 of the back-side clamping unit 130 that is moved as described above.

Since it is configured as described above, it is possible to reduce the load on the user during the work of separating or returning to the original position rather than displacing (moving) the position of the front-side clamping unit 110. is there. In addition, the load on the members such as the guide rail 115 and the slider that hold the rear side clamping unit 130 to be displaced can be reduced as compared with the conventional case.
Therefore, when the front-side clamping part and the back-side clamping part are brought into contact with and separated from each other during maintenance work, the load on the user or the member holding the clamping part to be displaced due to the weight of the cooling roller 151 and the constituent members attached thereto is conventionally increased. It is possible to provide the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 that can reduce the amount of the cooling.

In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the air-cooling heat sink 156a and the air-cooling heat sink 156b, which are cooling members, are provided on the front-side clamping unit 110 and the back-side clamping unit 130 has been described. However, the present invention is limited to such a configuration. Is not to be done.
For example, as in another example shown in FIG. 6, the present invention can also be applied to a configuration in which an air-cooled heat sink 156a is provided only on the front-side clamping unit 110. Even in the case of such a configuration, the back-side clamping unit 130, which has the lighter sum of the weights of the constituent members held in the holding frames, is displaced.

(Example 3)
Example 3 of the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIGS. 7A and 7B are explanatory diagrams of the configuration of the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, in which FIG. 7A shows a state in which the paper P is sandwiched, and FIG. 7B shows a state in which the respective sandwiching portions are separated.

  The cooling and conveying apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is different from the cooling and conveying apparatus described with reference to FIG. In the cooling and conveying apparatus described with reference to FIG. 5 of the second embodiment, the large air-cooled heat sink 156a and the small air-cooled heat sink 156b are arranged to face each other with the front endless belt 121 and the back endless belt 141 interposed therebetween. On the other hand, in the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the front side belt conveying mechanism 120 and the back side belt conveying mechanism 140 are different in the number of small air-cooling heat sinks 156b having the same configuration and are mutually in the paper conveying direction. The point is that they are alternately shifted. Therefore, the configuration similar to that of the above-described second embodiment and the operation and effect thereof will be omitted as appropriate. In addition, the same member or a component member that performs the same function will be described using the same reference numeral unless it is particularly necessary to distinguish.

Here, in the cooling and conveying apparatus described with reference to FIG. 5 of the second embodiment, when the adhesion is increased in order to increase the heat conduction between each air-cooled heat sink and each endless belt, at the portion sandwiched between the air-cooled heat sinks. A large transport resistance is applied to the front endless belt 121 and the back endless belt 141. When the conveyance resistance is applied as described above, it may be impossible to convey the paper P by the front side belt conveyance mechanism 120 of the front side clamping unit 110 and the back side belt conveyance mechanism 140 of the back side clamping unit 130.
Therefore, in the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the number of air-cooling heat sinks 156b that are cooling members provided in the front-side clamping unit 110 and the back-side clamping unit 130 are different from each other and are alternately shifted in the sheet conveyance direction. It was decided.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7A, the arrangement position of one small air-cooled heat sink 156b in the back side clamping unit 130 in the paper conveyance direction when the paper P is nipped and conveyed by each endless belt is nipped on the front side. The unit 110 is disposed so as to be between two small air-cooled heat sinks 156b. In this way, by changing the number of small air-cooling heat sinks 156b having the same configuration and alternately shifting them in the paper transport direction, it is possible to eliminate the portion sandwiched between the cooling surfaces of each air-cooling heat sink, The conveyance resistance when nipping and conveying the paper P can be reduced.
Therefore, it is possible to perform cooling with higher efficiency than the configuration in which the cooling member (large air cooling heat sink 156a) is provided only on one of the clamping portions (front side clamping portion) described with reference to FIG. Then, the conveyance resistance is higher than the configuration in which the large air-cooled heat sink 156a and the small air-cooled heat sink 156b described with reference to FIG. 5 of the second embodiment are arranged to face each other through the front endless belt 121 and the back endless belt 141. This reduces the amount of paper P and makes it possible to carry the paper P stably.

In the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the small air-cooled heat sink 156b having the same configuration is used as the cooling member. Therefore, the position of the back-side clamping unit 130, which is the smaller number of the air-cooled heat sinks 156b provided, is displaced. (Movement) It is configured to be possible.
By configuring the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 in this manner, the same effects as those of the first and second embodiments described above can be obtained.
That is, when the front-side clamping part and the back-side clamping part are brought into contact with or separated from each other during maintenance work, the load on the user or the member holding the clamping part to be displaced due to the weight of the cooling roller 151 and the constituent members attached thereto is conventionally increased. It is possible to provide the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 that can reduce the amount of the cooling.

  Further, in the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, as described above, the position of the back-side clamping unit 130 having the smaller number of the air-cooling heat sinks 156b that are the cooling members having the same configuration as that of the front-side clamping unit 110 is larger. The front side clamping unit 110 is displaceable so as to be in contact with and away from the front side clamping unit 110. By configuring the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 in this way, in addition to the common use of the air-cooled heat sink 156b that is a cooling member, it is possible to share the constituent members such as the stays attached to the holding frames attached to the air-cooled heat sink 156b. The cost of the transport apparatus 100 can be reduced. In addition, it becomes easy to share the tension rollers and the endless belts, and the cost of the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 can be further reduced.

Example 4
Example 4 of the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 9 shows an example in which the position of the lighter holding portion of the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is rotated around the rotation fulcrum with respect to the heavier holding portion. It is a perspective explanatory view, (a) shows a state in which the paper P is clamped, (b) shows a state in which each clamping unit is separated. FIG. 10 is an explanatory perspective view when the configuration of the flow path forming member is varied depending on the arrangement of the cooling member according to the present embodiment. In addition, in FIG. 8, since the connection of the rubber tube 164 and the metal pipe 165 which are flow path formation members to each liquid cooling plate 158 is actually the back side in the figure, there is a portion to be described with a broken line, Since it is difficult to see the figure, they are all indicated by a solid line.

  The cooling and conveying apparatus 100 of the present embodiment and the cooling and conveying apparatus of the third embodiment described above differ only in the points relating to the following configuration. In the cooling and conveying apparatus of the third embodiment, an air-cooled air-cooled heat sink 156b is used as a cooling member provided on the front-side endless belt 121 and the back-side endless belt 141. On the other hand, in the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the liquid cooling plate 158 that is a liquid cooling member of the liquid cooling method having (formed) the internal flow path of the cooling liquid is used. It is. Therefore, the configuration similar to that of the above-described third embodiment and the function and effect thereof will be omitted as appropriate. In addition, the same member or a component member that performs the same function will be described using the same reference numeral unless it is particularly necessary to distinguish.

In the cooling and conveying apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, generally, a liquid cooling type cooling means (hereinafter referred to as a liquid cooling means) having higher cooling performance is employed than an air cooling type cooling means using an air cooling heat sink or the like.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, as the cooling member, the front-side clamping unit 110 has two cooling channels 158 a, c having internal coolant flow paths, and the back-side clamping unit 130 has one cooling inside. A liquid cooling plate 158b having an internal liquid flow path is provided. Each liquid cooling plate 158 transports the amount of heat of the paper P that has absorbed heat from the cooling surface to the outside through the endless belt of the belt conveyance mechanism that slides, and the cooling liquid that flows through the internal flow path formed inside. Thus, the sheet P is cooled and the sheet P is cooled.
Each liquid cooling plate 158 has an inlet and an outlet for cooling liquid passing through the internal flow path (both not shown) on one side surface in the sheet material width direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction of the sheet P. Is formed. The liquid cooling plates 158a, b, and c are arranged so that the side surfaces on which the inlet and the outlet are formed are on the same side, and the liquid cooling plates 158a, b, and c form the external flow paths of the cooling liquid described later at the inlet and the outlet, respectively. A path formation member will be connected.

  The cooling liquid flowing through the internal flow path provided in each liquid cooling plate 158 is stored in the liquid storage tank 163 and fed by a pump 162 that is a liquid feed pump. Thereafter, the coolant passes through the radiator 161, which is a heat exchanger, and dissipates heat to the outside air, thereby lowering the temperature. The cooling liquid thus lowered in temperature passes through each liquid cooling plate 158, receives heat from each liquid cooling plate 158 by heat transfer (heat absorption), returns to the liquid storage tank 163 at a high temperature.

  Here, each of the liquid cooling plates 158, the liquid storage tank 163, the pump 162, and the radiator 161, which are liquid cooling members constituting the liquid cooling means, are flow streams that each form an external flow path such as a metal pipe. Connected by the path forming member, a flow path for the coolant is formed. However, when the flow path forming member is constituted by a general metal pipe or the like, the two liquid cooling plates 158 provided in the back side holding part 130 for displacing the position are connected to the back side belt transport mechanism 140 of the back side holding part 130. In addition, it is difficult to hold the back side holding frame 131 integrally.

This is because it is difficult to displace the position of the back side clamping unit 130 with respect to the front side clamping unit 110 for the following reason by connecting each liquid cooling plate 158 with a metal pipe or the like.
Both the configuration in which the back-side clamping unit 130 is displaced in parallel using the guide rail 115 and the configuration in which the hinge unit is rotated are used for the front-side clamping unit 110 described in the first embodiment. The position of the liquid cooling plate 158b provided in 130 is displaced. For this reason, if the flow path forming member that connects the liquid cooling plate 158b and the two liquid cooling plates 158a, 158b provided on the front side holding part 110 is a metal pipe or the like, the back side with respect to the front side holding part 110 The clamping part 130 cannot be displaced, or a metal pipe or the like is damaged.
In order to solve this problem, when displacing the back side clamping unit 130, the cooling liquid is drawn out from at least each of the liquid cooling plates 158 and the metal pipes connected thereto, and the metal pipes are removed and displaced. However, there are problems in terms of workability and cost. In addition, a configuration in which a highly airtight slide joint or a rotary joint is provided on a metal pipe or the like is also conceivable, but it is difficult to mount on a real machine due to problems in processing accuracy, assembly accuracy, and cost.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the flow path forming member that connects the liquid cooling members constituting the liquid cooling means to form the flow path of the cooling liquid is configured as follows.
The three liquid cooling plates 158 are connected to each other by a rubber tube 164 which is a flexible member. Further, a liquid storage tank 163, a pump 162, and a radiator 161, which are liquid cooling members constituting other liquid cooling type cooling means, are connected by a metal pipe 165. Of the three liquid cooling plates 158, the liquid cooling plate 158a and the radiator 161 on the most upstream side in the conveyance direction of the cooling liquid starting from the radiator 161, and the liquid cooling plate 158c and the liquid storage tank 163 on the most downstream side are They are connected by a metal pipe 165. The liquid cooling plate 158, the liquid storage tank 163, the pump 162, the radiator 161, the rubber tube 164, and the metal pipe 165, which are liquid cooling members constituting the liquid cooling means, form a coolant flow path. ing.

  As described above, the location of the liquid cooling plate 158b before and after displacing the position of the back-side clamping unit 130 by including the rubber tube 164 in the flow path forming member that connects the liquid cooling members constituting the liquid cooling means. The flow path forming member can follow this displacement. Therefore, even in the configuration using each liquid cooling plate 158 that is a liquid cooling member that constitutes a liquid cooling means as each cooling member, the position of the back side clamping portion 130 on the lighter side is changed from the flow path forming member to the cooling liquid. Displacement (movable, pivotable) can be achieved without removing.

However, a flexible member such as the rubber tube 164 may be deteriorated or torn due to repeated bending or tension of the track. In order to eliminate such problems, it is conceivable that the length of the flexible member is made sufficiently long so that the track is made large so that there is no sudden change in the track at a specific location. The trajectory cannot be made very large due to problems such as space, layout, and cost within 200.
Therefore, in this embodiment, the displacement mechanism for displacing the position of the lighter side rear side clamping unit 130 with respect to the heavy side front side clamping unit 110 is configured as follows.
As shown in FIG. 9, the front side plate 112a on the side away from the user side of the front side holding frame 111 (front side holding portion 110) and the back side plate 112b on the side away from the user side of the back side holding frame 131 (back side holding portion 130). A hinge part is provided on the back side and the back side clamping part 130 is rotated.

  Specifically, the hinge portion described in Example 1 with reference to FIG. 4B was modified as follows. As shown in FIG. 9A, a rotation shaft holding portion 113 for holding the rotation shaft 114 is provided at the end of the front side plate 112a facing the back side plate 132a so as to protrude outside the front side holding frame 111. It was. On the other hand, a boss having a rotation shaft hole 134 that is rotatably supported by the rotation shaft 114 so as to protrude to the outside of the front side holding frame 111 at the end portion of the back side plate 132a facing the front side plate 112a. A portion 133 is provided. Then, the rotation shaft 114 held by the rotation shaft holding portion 113 of the front side plate 112a is fitted into the rotation shaft hole 134 of the boss portion 133 provided in the back side plate 132a, and the back side with respect to the front side holding frame 111 is inserted. A displacement mechanism (hinge part) was configured so that the holding frame 131 could be rotated.

Then, on the hinge part side of the displacement mechanism configured as described above, that is, on the side surface away from the user side, as shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 9 (a), (b), each liquid cooling plate 158 is attached. The rubber tube 164 was connected. That is, all of the rubber tubes 164 connecting the plurality of liquid cooling plates 158 are configured to connect the same side surfaces of the liquid cooling plates 158.
With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 9B, the position of the rear side clamping unit 130 on the lighter side with respect to the front side clamping unit 110 on the heavy side is changed from the state of FIG. 9A. It is possible to suppress a change in the trajectory of the rubber tube 164 when displacing the tube. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the rubber tube 164 from being deteriorated or torn due to repeated bending or tension.
Furthermore, when the maintenance work is performed with the front-side clamping unit 110 and the back-side clamping unit 130 separated from each other, it is possible to prevent the flexible rubber tube 164 from interfering with or being damaged by the user.

Further, in this embodiment, in addition to the rubber tube 164, the liquid cooling plate 158a and the radiator 161 on the most upstream side in the coolant conveyance direction provided in the front side clamping unit 110, and the liquid cooling plate 158c and the liquid storage tank 163 on the most downstream side are provided. The metal pipe 165 that connects the two is also connected on the same side. That is, all the flow path forming members such as the rubber tube 164 and the metal pipe 165 connected to each liquid cooling plate 158 are connected to the same side surface of each liquid cooling plate 158.
Therefore, when the maintenance work is performed with the front-side clamping unit 110 and the back-side clamping unit 130 separated from each other, the flow path forming member connected to each liquid cooling plate 158 may interfere with the user's work, or may have flexibility. It is possible to avoid the rubber tube 164 having the damage.

  If a jam occurs while the paper P is passing through the cooling and conveying apparatus 100, or if the printer 300 is urgently stopped due to other reasons, the number of liquid cooling plates 158 is small and the back side clamping unit 130 on the light side is provided. As shown in FIG. 9B, the rotary shaft 114 is rotated. By rotating in this way, the paper conveying surface of the front side endless belt 121 of the front side clamping unit 110 is separated from the paper conveyance surface of the back side endless belt 141 of the back side clamping unit 130 so that the jammed paper P or the stop is stopped. The discharged paper P is discharged.

  As described above, the rotational movement is difficult unless at least three liquid cooling plates 158 are connected to each other by a flexible and deformable rubber tube 164 or the like. However, in the example shown in FIG. 9, the other parts do not move, so the metal pipes 165 with a lower risk of cooling liquid leakage are used to connect the liquid cooling members constituting the liquid cooling means. Yes. However, a rubber tube 164 may be used instead of the metal pipe 165.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as described with reference to FIGS. 8, 9A, and 9B, the number of liquid cooling plates 158 provided in the front side clamping unit 110 and the back side clamping unit 130 is different. And the position of the back side clamping part 130 which is a clamping part with the smaller number of liquid cooling plates 158 provided in each of the front side clamping part 110 and the back side clamping part 130 is the front side clamping which is the clamping part with the larger number. The part 110 is configured to be displaceable.

Since it is configured in this manner, as shown in FIG. 10A, which is an example in which the liquid storage tank 163 is not provided, the back side clamping unit 130 with the smaller number of liquid cooling plates 158 can be displaced. . For this reason, the flow of a flexible rubber tube 164 or the like for connecting the liquid cooling plate 158b provided in the back-side clamping unit 130 for displacing the position and a liquid cooling member constituting another liquid cooling means. The number of path forming members can be reduced.
That is, when displacing the back side clamping unit 130 having the smaller number of liquid cooling plates 158 (b), the front side clamping unit 110 having the larger number of liquid cooling plates 158 (a, c) is maintained in a fixed state. it can. For this reason, the metal pipe 165 is used to connect the liquid cooling plates 158a and 158c held in the fixed front-side clamping unit 110 and a liquid cooling member such as the radiator 161 constituting other liquid cooling means, The number of rubber tubes 164 having flexibility can be reduced.

  Specifically, it will be described as follows using the example shown in FIG. Two liquid-cooling plates 158a and 158c on the most upstream side in the coolant conveyance direction provided in the front-side clamping unit 110 and two liquid-cooling plates 158b provided in the back-side clamping unit 130 are connected. Only the rubber tube 164 can be used. And the metal pipe 165 can be used as a flow-path formation member which connects the liquid cooling member of the other location which comprises a liquid cooling means. Therefore, a place where a rubber tube 164 is provided which is a flexible flow path forming member that may be damaged during maintenance work or the like, or may be damaged due to repeated bending or tearing, resulting in problems such as liquid leakage. Decrease.

Here, for comparison, among the front side holding part 110 and the back side holding part 130, the position of the front side holding part 110, which is the holding part with the larger number of liquid cooling plates 158 provided in each, is the holding part with the smaller number. The case where it is configured to be displaceable with respect to the back-side clamping unit 130 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 10B, which is an example in which the liquid storage tank 163 is not provided, the front side clamping unit 110 having the larger number of liquid cooling plates 158 (a, c) is displaced. Then, the flow path forming member such as the rubber tube 164 having flexibility for connecting the liquid cooling plates 158a and 158c provided in the front-side clamping unit 110 and the liquid cooling member constituting other liquid cooling means. The number will increase.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10 (b), all are connected to the liquid cooling plates 158a, c provided in the front side holding unit 110 and the liquid cooling plate 158b provided in the back side holding unit 130. It is necessary to use the rubber tube 164 as the flow path forming member of the book. The metal pipe 165 can be used as one flow path forming member that is not connected to each liquid cooling plate 158 in the example of FIG.

In each of the above-described embodiments, only the configuration related to displacing and separating the position of the back-side clamping unit 130 with a light weight with respect to the front-side clamping unit 110 with a heavy weight has been described. However, the cooling transfer device 100 according to the present embodiment. Has the following configuration. They are a lock mechanism that maintains the separated state by displacing the position of the back-side clamping unit 130 with respect to the front-side clamping unit 110, and a damper mechanism that alleviates the impact when separating. The present invention can also achieve the effect of reducing the load on the constituent members constituting these mechanisms.
Moreover, although the example which applied this invention to the cooling conveyance apparatus 100 whose weight of the front side clamping part 110 is heavier than the weight of the back side clamping part 130 was demonstrated, this invention is not limited to such a structure. . The present invention can also be applied to a cooling and conveying apparatus in which the weight of the back side clamping unit is heavier than the weight of the front side clamping unit.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to the intermediate transfer type printer 300 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, for example, a direct transfer type image forming apparatus. Is also applicable.
Further, in each of the drawings, an example in which the present invention is applied to a printer 300 including a cooling conveyance device 100 in which a front side clamping unit 110 is disposed above a substantially horizontal sheet conveyance path and a back side clamping unit 130 is disposed below. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus provided with a cooling conveyance device in a substantially vertical sheet conveyance path facing upward.
Further, although an example in which the present invention is applied to the printer 300 having one cooling and conveying apparatus 100 has been described, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, for example, an image having a plurality of cooling and conveying apparatuses. It can also be applied to a forming apparatus.

What has been described above is merely an example, and the present invention has a specific effect for each of the following modes.
(Aspect A)
And a rear clamping portion such as front clamping portion and the rear clamping portion 130, such as the front clamping portion 110 which conveys to sandwich the recording material such as paper P from the front and back, each of the rear clamping portion and the front clamping portion, In a cooling / conveying device such as the cooling / conveying device 100 provided with at least one cooling member such as a cooling roller 151 that directly or indirectly absorbs and cools the heat of the recording material, the front-side clamping unit including the cooling member ; The rear side holding part including the cooling member is different in weight from each other , and the holding part having a lighter weight is displaceable with respect to the holding part having a heavier weight, and the front side including the cooling member and the holding portion, said separating operation of separating said rear clamping portion including a cooling member, in a state of fixing the clamping portion such as the front clamping portion 110 towards the heavy weight, the back side clamping portion of the weight lighter It is characterized in that performing the sandwiching portion such as 30 is displaced.

According to this, as described in the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. Write weight holding portion to be displaced during the separating operation is light, that is, the weight is displaced to only the clamping portion of the lighter one. Therefore, compared to the conventional configuration in which both of the sandwiching portions are displaced, the weight of the cooling member and the constituent members such as the guide member 155 accompanying the cooling member and the member such as the guide rail 115 that holds the sandwiching portion to be displaced are used. Can be reduced. Therefore, when the front-side clamping part and the back-side clamping part are brought into contact with and separated from each other during maintenance work or the like, the load on the user or the member holding the clamping part to be displaced due to the weight of the cooling member and the constituent members attached thereto is conventionally increased. It is possible to provide a cooling and conveying device that can be reduced more than that. Furthermore, by providing at least one cooling member for each of the front-side clamping unit and the back-side clamping unit, the recording material such as the paper P can be cooled more efficiently than the configuration in which the cooling member is provided in one of the clamping units. Is possible.

(Aspect B )
In (Aspect A), the cooling member such as the liquid cooling plate 158 has an internal flow path through which the cooling liquid passes, and includes at least the liquid cooling member including the cooling member and a heat exchanger such as the radiator 161, It is composed of a flow path forming member such as a rubber tube 164 and a metal pipe 165 that forms a flow path through which the cooling liquid is connected by connecting a liquid cooling member, and heat absorbed from the recording material such as paper P by the cooling member. Is provided with a liquid cooling means for transferring heat to the heat exchanger and dissipating heat with the coolant passing through the internal flow path.
According to this, as described in the fourth embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. When the front-side clamping part and the back-side clamping part are brought into contact with or separated from each other during maintenance work, the load on the user or the member holding the clamping part to be displaced due to the weight of the cooling member and the component members accompanying the cooling member is more than conventional. It is possible to provide a cooling and conveying apparatus that employs a liquid cooling method that can be reduced.

(Aspect C )
In (Aspect A ), the cooling member such as the liquid cooling plate 158 has an internal flow path through which the cooling liquid passes, and includes a liquid cooling member including at least a heat exchanger such as the radiator 161 and a plurality of the cooling members. And a plurality of rubber tube 164 and a flow path forming member such as a metal pipe 165 that connect the liquid cooling members to form a flow path for allowing the cooling liquid to pass therethrough. A liquid cooling means for transferring heat to the heat exchanger by means of a cooling liquid passing through the internal flow path to dissipate the heat absorbed from the material, and the cooling member provided in the displaceable clamping part; and the displaceable The flow path forming member that connects the liquid cooling member that maintains its position even when the holding portion is displaced has flexibility.
According to this, as described in the fourth embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. Even in the configuration using the liquid cooling member constituting the liquid cooling means as the cooling member, the position of the sandwiching portion on the lighter side is changed from the liquid cooling member or the flow path forming member constituting the liquid cooling means such as the cooling member. Displacement (movable, rotatable) is possible without removing the coolant.

(Aspect D )
In (Aspect C ), the cooling members such as the liquid cooling plates 158a, 158b, and the like are provided with the internal flow path on one side surface in the recording material width direction orthogonal to the recording material conveyance direction of the recording material such as paper P. An inflow port and an outflow port for the coolant to be passed are formed, and a flow path such as the rubber tube 164 having flexibility is formed in the inflow port or the outflow port formed on the same side surface of each cooling member. The members are connected to each other.
According to this, as described in the fourth embodiment, a flexible flow path is used when performing maintenance work or the like by separating the front-side clamping unit and the back-side clamping unit such as the back-side clamping unit 130 from each other. It is possible to avoid that the forming member hinders or damages the user's work.

(Aspect E )
In (Aspect C ), the cooling members such as the liquid cooling plates 158a, 158b, and the like are provided with the internal flow path on one side surface in the recording material width direction orthogonal to the recording material conveyance direction of the recording material such as paper P. An inflow port and an outflow port for the coolant to be passed are formed, and the flow paths such as the rubber tube 164 and the metal pipe 165 are formed in the inflow port or the outflow port formed on the same side surface of each cooling member. The members are connected to each other.
According to this, as described in the fourth embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. When the maintenance work or the like is performed with the front side clamping part and the back side clamping part such as the back side clamping part 130 separated from each other, it is possible to avoid the flow path forming member connected to each cooling member from interfering with the user's work. Also, a place where a flow path forming member such as a flexible rubber tube 164 is provided which may be damaged during maintenance work, or may be deteriorated or broken due to repeated bending to cause problems such as liquid leakage. Decrease.

(Aspect F )
In any one of (Aspect A) to (Aspect E ), the cooling members such as the cooling roller 151 provided in each of the front side clamping part such as the front side clamping part 110 and the back side clamping part such as the back side clamping part 130 are all the same. with those of a different number of said cooling member provided together, the said front clamping unit including a cooling member, a separating operation of separating said rear clamping portion including said cooling member, the number of said cooling member In a state where the larger number of clamping parts are fixed, the displaceable clamping part having the smaller number of cooling members is displaced.
According to this, as described in the first embodiment, in addition to the common cooling member, the structural members such as the heat radiating fins 153 and the guide member 155 associated with the cooling member can be shared. Cost reduction can be achieved.

  As described in the third embodiment, when the liquid cooling method (liquid cooling means) is used as the cooling method, the following effects can also be achieved. When displacing the pinching portion having a smaller number of cooling members such as the liquid cooling plate 158b, the pinching portion having a larger number of cooling members such as the liquid cooling plates 158a and 158c can be maintained in a fixed state. For this reason, a flow path forming member such as a metal pipe 165 can be used to connect the cooling member provided in the clamped portion in a fixed state and a member such as the radiator 161 constituting another liquid cooling means. . Therefore, a place where a rubber tube 164 is provided which is a flexible flow path forming member that may be damaged during maintenance work or the like, or may be damaged due to repeated bending or tearing, resulting in problems such as liquid leakage. Decrease.

(Aspect G )
In (Aspect A) to (Aspect F 1 ), the front-side clamping part such as the front-side clamping part 110 and the back-side clamping part such as the back-side clamping part 130 are each a plurality of rollers such as each stretching roller and the front-side driving roller 123. A belt conveying means such as a front side belt conveying mechanism 120 and a back side belt conveying mechanism 140 having endless belt members such as a front side endless belt 121 and a back side endless belt 141 which are stretched and rotated is provided. Is.
According to this, as described in the second embodiment, it is possible to provide a wider cooling surface as compared with the configuration using a rotating roller-shaped cooling member such as the cooling roller 151, so that a high cooling effect is achieved. can get.

(Aspect H )
In an image forming apparatus including a cooling and conveying device that cools a recording material such as a sheet P while nipping and conveying, the cooling conveying device 100 according to any one of (Aspect A) to (Aspect G ) is used as the cooling conveying device. The present invention is characterized in that a transport device is provided.
According to this, as described in the present embodiment described above, an image forming apparatus such as a printer 300 that can achieve the same effect as any one of the cooling and conveying apparatus of (Aspect A) to (Aspect G ) is provided. it can.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photoconductor 2 Optical writing device 3 Developing device 4 Photoconductor cleaning device 5 Charging device 10 Image station 11 Primary transfer roller 15 Fixing device 21 Intermediate transfer belt 22 First tension roller 23 Second tension roller 24 Third tension roller Roller 25 Secondary transfer roller 26 Cleaning counter roller 27 Belt cleaning device 31 Paper feed cassette 32 Paper feed path 33 Paper discharge tray 34 Manual feed tray 35 Paper feed path 36 Reverse paper feed path 41 Paper feed roller (paper feed cassette)
42 Registration roller pair 43 Paper feed roller (manual feed tray)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Cooling conveyance apparatus 110 Front side clamping part 111 Front side holding frame 112a, b Front side board 113 Rotating shaft holding part 114 Rotating shaft 115 Guide rail 120 Front side endless belt 122 Front side stretching roller 123 Front side driving roller 130 Back side Clamping portion 131 Back side holding frame 132a, b Back side plate 133 Boss portion 134 Rotating shaft hole 140 Back side belt conveyance mechanism 141 Back side endless belt 142 Back side stretching roller 151 Cooling roller 152 Cooling roller shaft 153 Radiation fin 154 Air cooling fan 155 Guide member 156a Air-cooled heat sink (large)
156b Air-cooled heat sink (small)
158 Liquid cooling plate 161 Radiator 162 Pump 163 Liquid storage tank 164 Rubber tube 165 Metal pipe 200 Main body 300 Printer P Paper

Japanese Patent No. 5045568

Claims (7)

It has a front side clamping part and a back side clamping part that clamp and convey the recording material from the front and back,
In the cooling and conveying apparatus in which each of the front side clamping unit and the back side clamping unit is provided with at least one cooling member that absorbs and cools the heat of the recording material directly or indirectly,
The front side holding part including the cooling member and the back side holding part including the cooling member have different weights,
The cooling members provided in each of the front-side holding part and the back-side holding part have the same configuration, and the number of the cooling members provided to each other is different.
The number of the cooling members in the state in which the holding portion having the larger number of the cooling members is fixed in the separating operation for separating the front side holding portion including the cooling member and the back side holding portion including the cooling member. A cooling and conveying apparatus characterized in that it is performed by displacing the displaceable holding part with the smaller number . In the cooling conveyance apparatus of Claim 1,
The cooling member has an internal flow path through which the coolant passes,
A liquid cooling member including at least the cooling member and a heat exchanger; and a flow path forming member that connects the liquid cooling member to form a flow path for allowing the cooling liquid to pass therethrough. A cooling / conveying device, comprising: liquid cooling means for transferring heat to the heat exchanger and dissipating heat by the cooling liquid passing through the internal flow path. In the cooling conveyance apparatus of Claim 1,
The cooling member has an internal flow path through which the coolant passes,
A liquid cooling member including at least a heat exchanger and a plurality of the cooling members; and a plurality of flow path forming members that connect the liquid cooling members to form a flow path for allowing the cooling liquid to pass therethrough. A liquid cooling means for transferring heat to the heat exchanger by means of a cooling liquid passing through the internal flow path for heat absorbed from the recording material by a member;
The flow path forming member that connects the cooling member provided in the displaceable holding portion and the liquid cooling member that maintains the position even when the displaceable holding portion is displaced has flexibility. A cooling and conveying apparatus characterized by that. In the cooling conveyance apparatus of Claim 3,
The cooling member has an inlet and an outlet for a coolant passing through the internal channel on one side surface in the recording material width direction orthogonal to the recording material conveyance direction of the recording material,
The cooling and conveying apparatus, wherein the flexible flow path forming member is connected to the inflow port or the outflow port formed on the same side surface of each cooling member. In the cooling conveyance apparatus of Claim 3,
The cooling member has an inlet and an outlet for cooling liquid passing through the internal flow path on one side surface in the recording material width direction orthogonal to the recording material conveyance direction of the recording material,
The cooling and conveying apparatus, wherein the flow path forming member is connected to the inflow port or the outflow port formed on the same side surface of each cooling member . In the cooling conveyor device according to any one of 請 Motomeko 1 to 5,
The cooling and conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the front-side clamping unit and the back-side clamping unit includes belt conveying means having an endless belt member that is stretched and rotated by a plurality of rollers. In an image forming apparatus provided with a cooling and conveying device that cools while sandwiching and conveying a recording material,
Wherein as a cooling conveyor apparatus, an image forming apparatus comprising the cooling conveyor device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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