JPH0440206Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a flash fixing device for fixing unfixed toner using light from a flash lamp, and particularly relates to a flash fixing device with improved transportability. It is.

[Background of the idea]

For example, an electrophotographic copying machine includes a rotating drum-shaped photoconductor, a charging section, an exposure section, a developing section, a transfer section, and a fixing section arranged around the photoconductor. The resulting toner image is usually transferred to a support such as paper and then fixed in a fixing section, thereby forming a copy image.

Conventionally known methods for fixing toner images include a gas fixing method, a pressure fixing method, a heating fixing method, and the like.

However, gas fixing systems usually have a problem in that the apparatus is complicated and therefore difficult to operate. Further, in the pressure fixing method, since the toner image is fixed by directly applying pressure using, for example, a pressure roller, there is a problem that distortion is likely to occur in the fixed image.

In addition, the heat fixing method is most commonly used when the support is paper, but even in this heat fixing method, the toner image is usually fixed with a heated roller in contact with the toner image. Since the image is fixed by transferring heat, there is a problem in that the fixed image is likely to be distorted, and especially when the support is a plastic film that is sensitive to heat, the support may be deformed (waving) by the heat during fixing. Sometimes it happens.

For this reason, a fixing method using light from a flash lamp, that is, a flash fixing method, has recently come into use. According to this flash fixing method, quick fixing is possible without requiring waiting time, and since fixing can be done without any object coming into contact with the toner image on the support, the resolution of the toner image obtained by development is improved. This has the advantage that it is possible to fix the film without reducing the film quality, and that a variety of supports having different thicknesses can be selected. In the flash fixing method, the light from the flash lamp is absorbed by the toner and this can be converted into heat to achieve fixing, and the light irradiation time is 0.1~
Because it is extremely short, only a few milliseconds, deformation (waving) caused by heat occurs even when fixing is performed using a support that is relatively weak against heat, such as plastic film.
It is possible to achieve good fixing without the need for.

Furthermore, when using toner to form images such as maps or drawings that require long-term storage, if paper is used as a support, the support is likely to expand and contract due to moisture, so the resulting image cannot be obtained. The dimensional accuracy of the fixed image changes depending on the storage environment conditions of the support, making it difficult to maintain stable dimensional accuracy of the image. For this reason, special paper in which plastic or metal core materials, which do not easily expand or contract due to moisture, are sandwiched in a sandwich-like manner, has come to be used as a support.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

In addition, when forming an image using toner, the unfixed toner image transferred onto the support is not fixed immediately, but is ejected from the electrophotographic copying machine in an unfixed state, and this unfixed toner image is used as needed. In some cases, it is desired to make corrections and fix them to form a final visible image.In response to these requests, we are researching and developing a flash fixing device for fixing that is independent from the electrophotographic copying machine. is being actively carried out.

Such a flash fixing device requires a conveying means to convey the support from the inlet to the outlet, but since there is an unfixed toner image on the conveyed support, it is difficult to destroy this toner image. It is necessary to transport the materials stably without any problems. As a means for conveying the support, it is simple and preferable to use a plurality of endless belts.

However, in conveying means that uses multiple endless belts, due to variations in length, width, thickness, etc. of each endless belt, the tension applied to each endless belt becomes uneven, and as a result, some of the endless belts During driving, the position may change or the support may meander, making it impossible to stably transport the support.

[Purpose of invention]

The present invention was developed based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to use a simple conveyance means using an endless belt, while ensuring that the endless belt runs stably without any displacement or meandering. It is an object of the present invention to provide a flash fixing device exclusively for fixing, which can stably transport a support placed on an endless belt.

[Means for solving problems]

The flash fixing device of the present invention includes a flash lamp, a negative pressure box which also serves as a transport platform and which has a suction hole in its top plate and which is disposed opposite to the bottom of the flash lamp, one end of the negative pressure box, and a an inlet roller and an outlet roller respectively disposed at the ends and moving along the top plate of the negative pressure box;
comprising: an endless conveying belt suspended on the entrance roller and the exit roller; and a position regulating ring member provided protruding from the outer periphery of the entrance roller and/or the exit roller and regulating the side edge position of the belt; The position regulating ring member has a regulating surface that faces the side end surface of the endless conveyance belt and approaches the side end surface as it goes in the thickness direction of the endless conveyance belt, and the side end surface is It is characterized by extending beyond the upper surface of the endless conveyor belt.

[Function and effect of the idea]

According to the present invention, the position regulating ring member provided on the outer periphery of the entrance roller and/or the exit roller faces the side end surface of the endless conveying belt and moves toward the thickness direction of the endless conveying belt. It has a regulating surface that approaches the side end surface, and this side end surface extends beyond the top surface of the endless conveying belt, so when the side end surface of the endless conveying belt collides with the regulating surface, it will be forced downward by the regulating surface. As a result, the conveying endless belt is prevented from running over the regulating surface of the position regulating ring member and being largely displaced. Therefore, even if there are variations in the length, width, thickness, etc. of the endless belt for conveyance, the endless belt for conveyance will reliably pass through the position defined by the position regulating ring member. Become.

As a result, the suction holes provided on the top plate of the negative pressure box are not accidentally covered by the endless transport belt, so the support placed on the endless transport belt can be moved by the suction force from the suction holes. It is possible to smoothly convey the toner while maintaining a stable posture, and as a result, good fixing can be achieved by the light of the flash lamp.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are explanatory diagrams showing an outline of an embodiment of the present invention, and in these figures, 10
20 is a flash lamp, 20 is a negative pressure box which also serves as a conveyance table, 30 is an endless belt for conveyance (hereinafter also simply referred to as "belt"), and 40 is a position regulating ring member.

Negative pressure box 20 is disposed below and opposite flash lamp 10 . Top plate 2 of this negative pressure box 20
1 is provided with a large number of suction holes 22, these suction holes 22 communicate with the internal space 23 of the negative pressure box 20,
This internal space 23 is connected to a suction mechanism that brings the internal space 23 into a reduced pressure state. These suction holes 22 are located in a portion of the top plate 21 excluding the area through which the belt 30 passes.
A plurality of them are arranged at appropriate distances apart. The diameter of each suction hole 22 is, for example, about 3 mm. The suction mechanism 50 is constituted by, for example, a Sirotskov fan, and the maximum air volume of this Sirotskov fan is, for example, about 1800 to 2000 cm ³ /min.

31 is an entrance roller, and 32 is an exit roller, and the entrance roller 31 and the exit roller 32 are arranged at one end and the other end of the negative pressure box 20, respectively. The belts 30 are suspended from the entrance roller 31 and the exit roller 32 while being spaced apart from each other in the width direction, and are arranged to move along the upper surface plate 21 of the negative pressure box 20, for example, in contact with each other. There is. The exit roller 32 is a driving roller driven by a motor (not shown), and the entrance roller 31 is a driven roller. 33 is a contact roller provided in combination with the exit roller 32.

The position regulating ring member 40 is provided on the outer periphery of the exit roller 32, which is a drive roller in this example. This position regulating ring member 40
is made of, for example, an O-ring, and one belt 30
A pair of ring members 40, 4 are provided for each ring member.
The distance between the belts 30 and 30 is the same as or slightly larger than the width of the corresponding belt 30, and the corresponding belt 30 is suspended between the ring members 40, 40 and placed between the exit rollers 32.

In this example, each ring member 40 is held in a fit state by its elastic force in a groove 50 provided along the outer periphery of the exit roller 32.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each ring member 40 faces the side end surface 35 of the belt 30, and increases as the thickness of the belt 30 increases in an upward direction perpendicular to the top surface of the belt 30. It has a regulating surface 41 that approaches the side end surface 35 and extends beyond the upper surface of the belt 30 . Specifically, the exit roller 32
The regulating surface 41 cut along a plane including the axis of the groove 50
This is a part that protrudes from the exit roller 3 and curves opposite the side end surface 35 of the belt 30, and passes through the cross-sectional center Q of the ring member 40.
This is an arcuate portion of less than 1/4 of the length of the regulation surface 41, which is closer to the exit roller 32 than the straight line P parallel to the exit roller 32.
It is a ring-shaped curved surface formed by rotating around the axis of.

To give an example of specific dimensions, when the thickness of the belt 30 is about 1 mm, the regulating surface 4
The maximum value D of the protrusion height of No. 1 is preferably 1.5 mm or more.

Each ring member 40 is preferably formed of a heat-resistant and elastic material such as silicone resin, but the material is not particularly limited.

Each belt 30 is preferably one that does not stretch much in the direction of movement, that is, does not loosen, and has sufficient elasticity in the thickness direction. Specifically, it is made of a material such as polyurethane. is preferable. It is preferable to have a narrow, thin and flat shape, and preferably to have a white color with low heat absorption. To give an example of specific dimensions, for example, the thickness is approximately 0.5
mm, and its width is approximately 10 mm. In this example, a total of ten belts 30 are provided at appropriate intervals and are configured to be able to transport fixing supports of different sizes.

10 is a flash lamp, and this flash lamp 10 is made of, for example, a xenon flash lamp. The flash lamp 10 is held by a holder 11 so as to face an upper plate 21 on the downstream side of the negative pressure box 20 in the belt movement direction, that is, on the side closer to the exit roller 32 . 12 is a reflecting mirror, 13 is a transparent cover glass,
14 is an air cooling mechanism, and 15 is an air conduit connected to the air cooling mechanism 14.

In such a flash fixing device exclusively for fixing, a support having an unfixed toner image carried on its surface, ejected from, for example, an electrophotographic copying machine, is
The top plate 2 of the negative pressure box 20 through the plurality of suction holes 22
The supporting body is conveyed in the direction of arrow A by each belt 30 while being attracted by Each time the support moves through the distance of the effective fixing width, the flash lamp 10 is emitted repeatedly, for example, at a frequency of 2 Hz, about 4 to 18 times depending on the length of the support, and the entire area is fixed. be exposed.

According to the above embodiment, the position of the side edge of each belt 30 is regulated. A position regulating ring member 40 provided on the outer periphery of the exit roller 32 opposes the side end surface 35 of the belt 30 and controls a regulating surface 41 that approaches the side end surface 35 in the thickness direction of the belt 30. Moreover, since the regulating surface 41 extends beyond the upper surface of the belt 30, when the side end surface 35 of the belt 30 collides with the regulating surface 41, it is restrained downward by the regulating surface 41, As a result, the belt 30 will not run over the regulating surface 41 of the ring member 40 and its position will not be significantly displaced. Therefore, in each belt 30,
Even if there are variations in length, width, thickness, etc., each belt 30 has a pair of ring members 40,
40 to ensure that the vehicle passes through the specified position. Moreover, the rotational position of each belt 30 is kept constant at the entrance roller 31 due to its own tension, and therefore the rotational position of each belt 30 is stabilized even without providing a ring member at the entrance roller 31. However, positional displacement or meandering of the belt 30 is prevented.

In this way, each belt 30 passes through a predetermined position relative to the negative pressure box 20, so that the suction hole 22 of the negative pressure box 20 is not accidentally covered by the belt 30, and therefore each belt The support placed on the support 30 can be smoothly transported while being kept in a stable posture by the suction force from the many suction holes 22, and good fixing can be achieved by the light of the flash lamp 10. I can do it.

In this example, since the regulating surface 41 of the position regulating ring member 40 has a smooth convex shape,
The impact when the belt 30 collides with the regulating surface 41 is considerably reduced, and as a result, the position can be regulated without applying excessive force to the belt 30. Therefore, there is little risk of damage or elongation of the belt 30, and as a result, the belt 30 can be used in good condition for a long period of time.

Each of the position regulating ring members 40 is fitted into a groove 50 provided along the outer periphery of the exit roller 32, so that displacement of the position regulating ring members 40 in the length direction of the exit roller 32 is ensured. Therefore, position regulation by the position regulation ring member 40 can be achieved with high precision.

And the regulating surface 41 of the position regulating ring member 40
Since the maximum protrusion height D is larger than the thickness of the belt 30, the position regulating ring member 40 protrudes from the upper surface of the belt 30, and as a result, the support after fixing is ejected from the exit roller 32. When the ring member 40 is attached to the belt 30
It also has the function of peeling off the support that is in close contact with the top plate 21, so that the support can be easily discharged.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made as described below.

(1) The position regulating ring member may be disposed not only on the exit roller but also on the entrance roller.

(2) The position regulating ring member may have a regulating surface that has a straight cross-sectional shape when cut along a plane that includes the roller axis.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 are an explanatory partially cutaway front view showing an outline of one embodiment and an explanatory plan view showing the main parts, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are a specific form of the position regulating ring member, respectively. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram and a longitudinal sectional view thereof showing an example. 10...Flash lamp, 11...Holder, 12...Reflector, 13...Cover glass, 2
0... Negative pressure box, 21... Top plate, 22... Suction hole, 23... Internal space, 24... Bottom plate, 30...
...Conveyance endless belt, 31...Entrance roller, 32...Outlet roller, 33...Contact roller, 35...Side end surface, 40...Position regulation ring member, 41...Regulation surface, 50...Groove .

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] A flash lamp, a negative pressure box that is placed opposite to the bottom of the flash lamp and that also serves as a transport platform and has a suction hole in its top plate, one end of the negative pressure box, and other parts of the negative pressure box. an inlet roller and an outlet roller respectively arranged at the ends; an endless transport belt suspended on the inlet roller and the outlet roller so as to move along the top plate of the negative pressure box; and the inlet roller and/or the outlet roller. a position regulating ring member provided protruding from the outer periphery of the roller and regulating the side edge position of the belt, the position regulating ring member facing the side end surface of the endless conveying belt, A flash fixing device comprising a regulating surface that approaches the side end surface in the thickness direction of the belt, and the side end surface extends beyond the upper surface of the endless conveying belt.