JPS626232B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for peeling off a transfer material adhering to an image bearing member. To be more specific, the device for peeling off a transfer material adsorbed on an image bearing member is a device for peeling off a transfer material adhering to an image bearing member. The present invention relates to a device for peeling a transfer material from a carrier.

Generally, in electrophotographic copying machines and similar image forming apparatuses, after developing a photoreceptor or an insulating member, a transfer material is placed on the photoreceptor, etc., and an electric field is applied.
The method includes a step of transferring the developed image onto a transfer material. The transfer material is then peeled off from the photoreceptor, etc., and then subjected to post-processing such as fixing, but the transfer material remains strongly attracted to the surface of the photoreceptor, etc. due to the application of the electric field. Methods for peeling such a transfer material from a photoconductor include (1) interposing a belt between the photoconductor and the transfer material, and (2) providing a member that protrudes on the photoconductor side to remove the transfer material from the photoconductor. The actuation creates an opportunity for peeling. (3) After the transfer, in order to weaken the electrostatic adhesion between the photoreceptor and the transfer material, corona discharge etc. are applied to the transfer material.
Peel off using a suction mechanism. (4) Blow compressed air onto the tip of the transfer material to create an opportunity for peeling. (5) It is known that a claw-like separation member is applied to the leading edge of the photoreceptor and the transfer material to create an opportunity for separation. However, among the above methods, (1) is reliable but creates non-image areas, (2) has the disadvantage that non-image areas exist on the photoreceptor and it is difficult to clean the photoreceptor surface, and (3) There are problems in that the transfer efficiency is lowered and the separation is not reliable, and (4) the developer transferred to the transfer material scatters and disturbs the image. By the way, method (5) uses a separation member to actually separate the photoreceptor and transfer material, so
Even if a portion of the leading edge of the transfer material is somewhat attached to the separation member, reliable separation is possible. That is, the transfer material whose part has been reliably peeled off can be smoothly peeled off from the photoreceptor without requiring strong adsorption force or strong tension. However, in the method using a separating member as described above, since the member directly contacts the photoreceptor, the separating member is brought into contact with the photoreceptor in synchronization with the leading edge of the transfer material, and as soon as the separation member is enabled to be peeled off. It is necessary to break contact with the photoreceptor. If the above operation is not performed reliably, the separation member may damage the photoreceptor or rub against the unfixed image on the transfer material, disturbing the image.

Here, the operating mode of the separating member that acts on an image carrier such as a photoreceptor will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG.
In each figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a drum-shaped photoreceptor which is widely used in electrophotographic copying machines and rotates in the direction of the arrow.
Reference numeral 2 denotes a suction belt having a suction mechanism therein, which is moved by a drive roller 3 in the direction of the arrow at the same speed as the circumferential speed of the photoreceptor 1 . That is, the transfer material partially peeled off from the photoreceptor 1 by the separation member is attracted and conveyed by the suction belt 2, and is further peeled off from the photoreceptor 1 while being conveyed in the direction of the arrow. As a peeling member, there are two types: a strip-shaped thin elastic body provided along the rotation axis of the photoreceptor, and a narrow elastic body shaped like a claw. , the separating member is referred to as a "claw member".

In the mechanism shown in FIG. 1, a rotating shaft 4 is provided between a photoreceptor 1 and a suction belt 2, and by rotating this shaft 4, a claw member 5 attached to the shaft 4 is rotated as shown by the arrow. The photoreceptor 1 and the claw member 5 are brought into contact with each other. According to this mechanism, the claw member 5 and the photoreceptor 1 come into soft and good contact, but when the claw member 5 is not in operation, the claw member 5
The transfer material tends to rub against the transfer material being separated or conveyed on the belt 2, which may disturb the unfixed image on the transfer material. In the mechanism shown in FIG. 2, a central shaft 6 is disposed on the side of the photoreceptor 1, and a claw member 8 is provided on an arm 7 that is pivotally supported by the shaft 6. The claw member 8 is brought into contact with the photoreceptor 1 by rotating the rotating shaft 6 as shown in the figure. According to this mechanism, both the contact state of the claw member 8 with the photoreceptor 1 and the escape state of the claw member 8 from the transfer material when inactive are satisfactory. However, since the rotating shaft 6 is arranged inside the photoreceptor 1 side, the rotating shaft 6 is actually provided outside both ends of the photoreceptor 1. However, photoreceptor 1
When the photoreceptor 1 is moved in and out in the direction of the rotating shaft, such as when attaching or removing the photoreceptor, the rotating shaft 6 becomes an obstacle, which is not preferable.
Since image forming means is generally built around the photoreceptor 1, it is actually difficult to take the photoreceptor 1 in and out from other directions. As described above, the mechanism shown in FIG. 2 has the disadvantage that the structure of the rotating shaft 6 is complicated. In the mechanism shown in FIG.
It operates as shown by the arrow when rotated. In this mechanism, unlike the one shown in FIG. 2, the movement of the photoreceptor 1 into and out is not affected, and the contact state of the claw member 9 with the photoreceptor 1 is also good. However, like the mechanism shown in FIG. 1, there is a drawback in that the claw members 9 tend to rub against the surface of the transfer material being separated or conveyed when not in operation. In the mechanism shown in FIG. 4, the position of the rotating shaft is moved in order to improve the position of the claw member 9 when not in operation, which is a drawback of the mechanism shown in FIG. 3. As shown in the figure, the claw member 12 is operated by the rotation of the rotating shaft 14 by the arm 13 that supports it. In this case, the claw member 12 is largely removed from the transfer material conveyance path when not in operation, but the movement of the claw member 12 is greater than in the above case. Furthermore, since the claw member 12 must come into deep contact with the photoreceptor 1 until it reaches the position for peeling, the tip of the claw member 12 may be damaged during operation, or the direction of rotation of the photoreceptor 1 may be incorrect. Since the contact is strong from the opposite direction, there is a drawback that the photoreceptor 1 may be damaged. A mechanism shown in FIG. 5 can be considered as an improvement on the above-mentioned mechanism for operating the claw member. In the case of FIG. 5, the rotation axis 15 is set between the cases of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 above. As shown in the figure, by rotating the arm 16 around the shaft 15, the claw member 17 can be brought into contact with the photoreceptor 1 without resisting its rotation, and when not in operation, it is relatively large compared to the conveyance path of the transfer material. Since there is a gap, there is no need to worry about the transfer material being rubbed. However, in the mechanism shown in FIG. 5, if the position of the claw member changes even slightly, there is a risk that it will no longer be able to contact the photoreceptor 1, or that it will come into strong contact with the photoreceptor 1, causing the tip of the claw member to turn outward. Therefore, the shape of the claw member and the mechanism of the arm that supports it have a certain degree of precision in the rotation mechanism, which results in the drawbacks of complicating the mechanism and increasing manufacturing costs.

The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of the peeling device, to prevent damage to an image bearing member such as a photoreceptor when in operation, and to prevent the peeled transfer material from being rubbed when not in operation, and to provide a more reliable system. An object of the present invention is to provide a peeling device capable of peeling a transfer material from an image carrier.

To achieve the above object, the present invention is a transfer material separation device that separates a transfer material that has come into contact with an image carrier from the image carrier after transfer, and includes a separation claw located away from the conveyance path at a position that does not interfere with the conveyance of the separated and conveyed transfer material; To,
A separating claw that moves the separating claw linearly or approximately linearly in a direction opposite to the moving direction of the image carrier from the downstream side in the moving direction of the image carrier until the tip of the separating claw comes into contact with the image carrier. and a driving means. still,
The separation member described in the present invention includes a conventional separation member having a shape called a separation claw, and also includes a band-shaped separation member described later. Further, the image carrier includes a photoconductor having a photosensitive layer and an insulating member having an image-shaped electrostatic charge, and the shape thereof includes a drum-like or web-like shape. Further, the transfer material includes sheet-like transfer materials such as plain paper, synthetic resin, and fiber.

The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to principle diagrams and embodiment diagrams.

What is shown in FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the present invention. In the figure, as described above, 1 is a photoreceptor, 2 is a suction belt, and 3 is a driving roller for the belt 2, each of which rotates or rotates in the direction of the arrow.

In the figure, 18 is a peeling member, which will be referred to as a claw member here. The pawl member 18 is located at the solid line position when activated and at the chain line position when not activated. That is, during operation, the claw member 18 moves from the chain line position to the solid line position as shown in the figure.
It moves linearly from the downstream side in the direction of movement of the photoreceptor in a direction opposite to the direction of movement, and comes into contact with the photoreceptor 1 . As a result, the claw member is attached to the photoreceptor as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 above.
As shown in the figure, it comes into contact with the photoconductor 1 without strong resistance, and is at a sufficient distance from the transfer material being conveyed when not in operation, so there is no need to worry about rubbing the unfixed image on the transfer material. do not have. Furthermore, since the claw member 18 moves in the tangential direction with respect to the photoreceptor 1, even if the position of the tip of the claw member 18 changes slightly as in the case of FIG. 3, it is unlikely to be affected by the change. There are advantages. When the claw member 18 according to the present invention partially peels off the leading edge of the transfer material from the photoreceptor 1, it immediately returns to the non-operating position, which is the chain line position, while the leading edge of the transfer material is attracted to the suction belt 2. Thereafter, it is successfully peeled off from the photoreceptor 1 and conveyed as the suction belt 2 moves. In the above diagram explaining the principle, a suction belt is used to peel and convey the transfer material peeled off by the claw member 18, but there is also a suction belt that supports the transfer material that has been partially peeled off from the photoreceptor 1 and continues the peeling. Any means may be used, and is not limited to the suction belt shown in the figure. Other means to replace the suction belt are suction drums and electrostatic adsorption belts. Drums etc. are also applicable. Next, embodiments embodying the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. In implementing the present invention, the operating mechanism of the pawl member becomes a problem. For example, when the claw member is operated directly by a rotating mechanism, if the length of the arm from the rotation axis is set long, the claw member can move approximately linearly, but this is difficult in terms of mechanical arrangement. There are cases. Below, some examples of operating mechanisms that are easy and do not cause any problems in terms of arrangement will be illustrated.

The peeling mechanism shown in FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the main parts of the mechanism which uses a rack pinion and a guide to convert the reciprocating rotational force of a rotary solenoid into reciprocating linear motion. The claw member 19 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 is fixed to the support body 20 by a locking member such as a screw. The support body 20 is provided with a notch opening 21 along the support body at the opposite end supporting the claw member 19, and the opening 21 has fixed guide shafts 22, 23.
are fitted to support the support body so as to be movable in a linear direction. On the other hand, a rack gear 24 is provided on the upper part of the support member 20, and a pinion gear 25 is disposed on a fixed rotating shaft 26 and meshes with the rack gear 24. The rotating shaft 26 to which the pinion gear 25 is fixed has one end continuous with the rotating shaft 28 of the rotary solenoid 27. The solenoid 27 is connected to the guide shafts 22, 23 and the rotating shaft 26.
It is fixed to the side plate 29 supporting the auxiliary support plate 30 via an auxiliary support plate 30. The pawl member 19 and the support body 20 are arranged along the rotation axis of the photoreceptor 31 in a plurality or one piece having the same shape, and the rotary solenoid 2
They operate simultaneously by turning 7. Further, below the above-mentioned peeling mechanism, there is a suction belt 32 that receives the transfer material whose leading end has been peeled off by suction force, and peels and conveys the transfer material. In the figure, 33 is an opening of the suction belt 32;
Further, 34 is a rotating roller that suspends the belt 32;
5 is a rotating shaft of the roller 34, which is rotatably fixed to the side plate 29. On the other hand, the photoreceptor 31
36 at the bottom is a corona discharger for transfer. Since the above suction belt mechanism is well known,
A detailed explanation will be omitted here.

Next, the operation of peeling off the transfer material by the above-mentioned peeling mechanism will be explained. First, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoreceptor 31 through a predetermined process, and then developed by a developing device (not shown) to obtain a visible image on the photoreceptor 31 using a developer. Meanwhile, a transfer material (not shown) is conveyed in synchronization with the rotation of the photoreceptor 31. The photoreceptor 31 and the transfer material come into close contact with each other at the position of the corona discharger 36, and corona discharge is applied. At this time, the application of corona discharge causes the transfer material to electrostatically increase its adhesion to the photoreceptor 31 and reach the separation position. When an electric signal is sent from the rotary solenoid control section according to the positions of the photoreceptor 31 and the transfer material, the solenoid 2
7 rotates in the direction shown by the solid line, and due to this rotation, the rotating shaft 26 rotates and the pinion gear 25 is operated.
Since the pinion gear 25 meshes with the rack gear 24, the rack gear moves linearly in the direction of the solid line according to the amount of rotation of the pinion gear 25. Incidentally, since the rack gear 24 is integrally constructed with a support 20 that supports the claw member 19, the rack gear 24 is
Since it is slidably guided by the guide shafts 22 and 23, it reliably operates in a straight line with respect to the surface of the photoreceptor 31. In the figure,
37 and 38 provided on the guide shafts 22 and 23 are
The support body 20 is a locking member that prevents lateral displacement with respect to the guide shafts 22 and 23.

As described above, the claw member 19 linearly moves and contacts the photoreceptor 31, but after the claw member 19 has been brought into contact with the photoreceptor 31 for a predetermined period of time, the energization to the solenoid 27 is stopped. , the solenoid 27 returns to the starting position. That is, the rotating shaft of the solenoid 27 rotates in the direction of the chain line, and as a result, the claw member 20 returns to the direction of the chain line, and the claw member 19
is smoothly released from contact with the photoreceptor 31. By setting the arrangement direction of the guide shafts 22 and 23, which are guide means, in accordance with the moving direction of the claw member 19, the claw member 19 is linearly aligned with the photoreceptor 31 according to the contact angle. Can reciprocate.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing an embodiment using a Watt type linear motion mechanism of the link mechanism. A first lever 41 that rotates around a support point 40 fixed to the fixed side plate 39 as shown in FIG. 7, a second lever 43 that rotates around a support point 42 fixed to the side plate 39, and A support plate 46 is rotatably connected to one end of each of the first and second levers 41 and 43 by pins 44 and 45, and a claw member 47 is fixed to the support plate 46. A plunger 48 is provided at the other end of the pin 44 of the first lever 41.
are connected via a small lever 49, and further connected to a return spring 50. Here, the distance between the pins 44 and 45 of the first and second levers 41 and 43,
and the distance from the tip of the claw member as shown in the figure a,
b, c, and d, and the surfaces of the linear claw members 47 connecting the pins 44 and 45 are made to coincide. When the plunger 48 is operated in this arrangement, the first lever 41 rotates in the direction of the arrow shown by the solid line, and as a result, the claw member 47 moves approximately linearly in the direction of the arrow shown by the solid line. , photoreceptor 5 rotating in the direction of the arrow
Touch 1. And after a certain amount of time has passed,
When the plunger 48 is de-energized, the tension of the spring 50 causes the first lever 41 to rotate in the direction indicated by the chain line arrow, and the claw member 47 moves in the direction indicated by the chain line to immediately separate it from the photoreceptor 51. I can do things.

By moving the claw member linearly or in a state that is very close to linear movement as in the above embodiments, the claw member can be brought into good contact with the photoreceptor.
Furthermore, since the drive source, rotating shaft, etc. do not overlap the photoconductor position and the side surface, there is no problem in attaching and detaching the photoconductor. Incidentally, unless the mechanism for operating the pawl member has a simple structure, problems will arise in quick operation and durability.

Next, the structure of the claw member will be explained according to the drawings. First, FIG. 9 shows the claw member used in the peeling mechanism shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. In the figure, 63 is a claw member, and 64 is a screw for fixing the claw member 63 to the support 65. The claw member 63 is a conventionally used flexible member, and the thinner the tip 66 in particular, the better. As for the material of the thin member 63, if a resin film or a thin metal is coated or coated with a material having a low coefficient of friction, the photoreceptor will not be damaged when it comes into contact with the photoreceptor.

Note that the side portion 67 of the claw member 63 is bent in order to attach the claw member 63 to the support 65, and the claw member of this embodiment constitutes a substantially flat plate-shaped claw member. . FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing another shape of the claw member. As shown in the figure, by forming the claw member in a "V" (including 〓) shape in cross section, the peeled transfer material contacts the claw member 68 in a linear manner, so even if the contact surface is extremely small, good. In the claw member 68 shown in the figure, if only the vicinity of the tip 69 is formed into a flat shape, the contact with the photoreceptor becomes soft. Next, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the claw member is constructed in the form of a band instead of the claw-like member as described above, and the number 70 in the figure is the claw member, and the material may be the same as that in FIG. 9 above. . When comparing both sides, one side is longer than the other. When coming into contact with the photoreceptor, the longer side of the claw member 70 is in particular contact, so that the transfer material is sequentially peeled off from a portion. Reference numeral 71 denotes a support for supporting the claw member 70, and the claw member 70 is sandwiched between the upper and lower supports 71 and fixed with screws 72.

Here, a series of movements of a transfer material in an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be explained with reference to FIG. The figure is a cross-sectional view of the copying apparatus. In the figure, 73 is a photoconductor having a developed image formed by a developer. In synchronization with the photoconductor 73, a transfer material 74 is sent out by a paper feed roller 75, and a register roller is transferred by a guide 76. It reaches 77. The transfer material 74 is accurately synchronized with the rotation of the photoreceptor 73 by the register roller 77, and the transfer material 74 is moved by the guide 78.
This leads to the transfer section. The transfer material 74 is conveyed by the guide 78 so as to be in contact with the photoconductor 73, and a voltage is applied by the corona discharger 79, and
The microscopic image on 3 is transferred. Thereafter, the peeling device of the present invention is activated, and the leading end of the transfer material 74 is removed from the photoreceptor 73.
It is more forcefully peeled off. When the partial peeling is completed, the claw member 80 returns to the starting position. On the other hand, the transfer material separated from the photoreceptor 73 is attracted by the suction belt 81 and continues to be separated while being conveyed in the direction of the arrow. The unfixed image is then fixed by the heat roller fixing device 82 and is discharged out of the apparatus. As shown in the figure, the peeling mechanism of the present invention does not obstruct the transfer path of the transfer material, and can contact the photoreceptor well to ensure reliable peeling.

As described above, the separating member, such as a claw-shaped or band-shaped separating member, is moved to an angle at which it comes into contact with the image carrier. This allows the separation member to come into good contact with the image carrier and ensure reliable separation.Furthermore, according to the mechanism of the present invention, the transfer material can be conveyed smoothly without the separation mechanism being involved in the path of the transfer material. becomes. By the way, the peeling mechanism of the present invention not only separates the transfer material from the image carrier having the latent image as described above, but also separates the transfer material from the drum member, electrostatic adsorption conveyance member, It goes without saying that this method can also be applied to peeling off a transfer material from a roller fixing device as shown in Figure 12.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 5 are schematic side views of a conventional peeling mechanism, FIG. 6 is a principle diagram of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view showing an embodiment of the peeling mechanism of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a schematic side view of a conventional peeling mechanism. Side views showing other embodiments of the present invention, FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a claw member applicable to the apparatus of the above embodiment, and FIG. 12 is a schematic partial sectional view of the copying apparatus to show the flow of transfer material. In the figure, 1... photoreceptor, 2... suction belt, 3... drive roller, 4, 6, 11, 14, 15... rotary shaft,
5, 8, 9, 12, 17, 18, 19...claw member, 7, 10, 13, 16... arm, 20... support body, 24... rack gear, 25... pinion gear, 27... rotary Solenoid, 31... Photoreceptor, 63... Claw member, 65, 71... Support body,
68, 70...Claw member.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a transfer material separation device that separates a transfer material that has been in contact with an image carrier from the image carrier after transfer, the transfer material that has come into contact with the image carrier and is separated from the image carrier in order to separate the transfer material from the image carrier. a separation pawl located away from the conveyance path at a position that does not interfere with the conveyance of the transfer material being conveyed; separation claw driving means for moving the separation claw linearly or approximately linearly in a direction opposite to the moving direction of the image carrier from the downstream side in the moving direction of the image carrier until the tip of the separating claw comes into contact with the image carrier; A transfer material peeling device comprising: