JPH0485575A - image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the scratch and the adhesion of grease and oil to the exposed part of a belt at the time of detaching an intermediate transfer body by constituting so that the belt of the intermediate transfer body may be always stopped at a specified position when the intermediate transfer body is detached from a main body device. CONSTITUTION:The intermediate transfer body 2A is constituted so that the belt 2a of the transfer body 2A is covered with a cover 15 and only part of the belt 15 is exposed, and the belt 15 of the transfer body 2a is always stopped at the specified position after finishing a printing action. Then, the transfer body 2A is provided with a locking member so that the belt 2a of the transfer body 2A may not turn at the time of detaching the transfer body 2A from the main body device and further constituted so that the always exposed pat of the belt of the intermediate transfer body is set as a non-printing area. When the transfer body 2a is detached from the main body device, only the non- printing area on the belt 2a is always exposed and the printing area is covered with the cover 15, so that the scratch and the adhesion of grease and oil to the printing area are prevented.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention is a method for transferring toner images formed on a latent image carrier such as a photoreceptor or an insulator onto an intermediate transfer member in sequence, and finally transferring them all at once. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that performs image transfer onto a transfer material.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, transfer-type image forming apparatuses have developed a system in which toner images of different colors are sequentially formed on a latent image carrier such as a photoreceptor or an insulator, and each toner image is multiple-transferred onto a transfer material. This method has come to be used.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 55-90972 describes a transfer method in which individual yellow 0-. cyan 7
Magenta and black toner images are transferred onto an intermediate transfer body (drum or heald) which is an intermediate image carrier, and toner images of 3 to 54 colors are transferred onto transfer materials ζ, -. A method of bulk transcription has been proposed.

A conventional color image forming apparatus will be explained below based on the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a conventional color image forming apparatus. 1 in the figure is a photoreceptor having a photoconductive layer on its surface, which rotates in the direction of the arrow force. a charger 7 for uniformly charging the photoconductor around the photoconductor; a laser scanner or LE for writing to form an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 1;
An optical system 4 such as a D head, and developing units 38 to 3d for visualizing the electrostatic latent image are arranged.

Developing units 3a to 3d have yellow, magenta, and cyan 1.
Each color of black toner is included.

The photoreceptor is in contact with the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer member 2 on the downstream side of the developing device 3a with respect to the rotating direction of the photoreceptor. The belt 2a of the intermediate transfer body 2 is made of resin with a material such as carbon dispersed therein, and has a resistance of 51.0-9 mm to 1 mm.
It is controlled to 0.012Ω and is made of material. 9
is a cleaning device for cleaning the remaining torches on the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer body 2, and is equipped with a blade made of synthetic resin such as urethane, a magnetic brush, a conductive brush, etc. It consists of Cleaning device 9
11 of the intermediate transfer body 2 is a photoreceptor], and is an intermediate transfer device for transferring toner from the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer body 2 to a corona discharger to which a high voltage is applied, metal 17-no, or synthetic resin. It is composed of a conductive material in which carbon or the like is dispersed and a high voltage is applied to the 2-layer, and is arranged inside the intermediate transfer body 2 at a position where the intermediate transfer body 2 and the photoreceptor 1 are in contact with each other. 5 is a transfer material 13 from the heald 2a of the intermediate transfer body 2
This is a transfer device for transferring toner. 6 is the photoreceptor 1. This cleaning device is disposed downstream of the position where the photoreceptor 1 and the heald 2a of the intermediate transfer member 2 are in contact with each other.

8 is a transfer material] 3 is conveyed by adjusting the timing to the composite image of the soil on the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer member 2, and the l/in roller transports the transfer material 1-3;] 0 is a roller that fixes the toner of the transfer material 1' onto the transfer material A fixing device 12 is a transfer material cassette that stores the transfer material.

The operation of the color image forming apparatus 1 configured as above will be described below.

First, the photoreceptor 1-, which has a high resistance in the dark area, is uniformly charged by a charger 7 that generates corona ions by corona discharge, and is then charged with a laser scanner or with a laser scanner.
By exposing the photoreceptor 1 to light according to image data by an optical system 4 constituted by a head, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoreceptor, which is a photoconductor. Next, the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 7 is developed with yellow toner from the developing device 3a, thereby obtaining a yellow toner image on the photoconductor. Next, the yellow toner image is transferred to the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer member 2 that is in contact with the photoreceptor 1 using a corona discharger to which a high voltage is applied, a metal roller, or a conductive material made of synthetic resin mixed with carbon or the like. Intermediate transfer device 1 configured to apply high voltage to rollers
-1 to transfer.

Residual toner that has not been transferred from the photoreceptor 1 to the heald 2F1 of the intermediate transfer member 2 is cleaned by a cleaning device 6 (J') and removed from the photoreceptor 1.

Thereafter, the same steps are repeated for each color component (1) to obtain a composite image on the belt 2fi of the intermediate transfer member 2.

The composite image obtained on the belt 2 a l of the intermediate transfer body 2 is aligned with the transfer material 13 sent out from the transfer material cassette 12 by the registration rollers 8, and transferred between the intermediate transfer body 2 and the transfer device 5. The transfer material 13 is guided to the section. The composite image of the soil on the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer member 2 is transferred all at once onto the soil on the transfer material 13 by a transfer device 5, which is a corona discharger to which a high voltage is applied. The composite image transferred all at once onto the transfer material 13 is transferred to the fixing device 10.
is guided onto the transfer material] 3 by heat and pressure, and is discharged.

The toner of the composite image that has not been completely transferred to the transfer material 13 by the transfer device 5 remains on the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer member 2 as residual toner.

The residual toner on the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer member 2 is removed by cleaning device 9 and refreshed. The cleaning device 9 is configured to be able to move toward and away from the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer body 2, and remains in a position separated from the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer body 2 until one composite image is obtained. After a composite image is obtained and the composite image is transferred onto the transfer material 13 by the transfer device 5, a contact state is established and residual toner is cleaned.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the configuration of the conventional image forming apparatus described above, when the intermediate transfer member is removed from the main unit, the belt of the intermediate transfer member is exposed, so it is not susceptible to scratches, oil, etc. There was a problem in that the kimono easily adhered to the belt, resulting in deterioration of image characteristics. Further, there was a problem in that the exposed portion of the belt of the intermediate transfer member was wide and it was difficult to provide a shutter.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an image forming apparatus in which scratches, oil, etc. do not adhere to the exposed portion of the belt when the intermediate transfer member is removed.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has a structure in which the belt of the intermediate transfer member is covered with a cover and only a portion of the belt is exposed, so that the belt of the intermediate transfer member is always closed after the printing operation is completed. A locking member is provided to prevent the belt of the intermediate transfer body from rotating when the intermediate transfer body is stopped at a predetermined position and removed from the main unit, and a lock member is provided to prevent the belt of the intermediate transfer body from rotating when the belt of the intermediate transfer body is stopped at a predetermined position and is removed from the main unit. It is configured to be a printing area.

Function The present invention has the above-described configuration, so that when the intermediate transfer member is removed from the main unit, only the non-printing area on the belt is always exposed, and the printing area is covered with a cover, so there are no scratches, oil or grease on the printing area. There is no adhesion such as.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings. Note that parts that are the same as those in the conventional example are given the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

The characteristic structure of this embodiment is that the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer body 2 described in the conventional example is provided with a cover that partially exposes, and a stop position regulating means for regulating the stop position of the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer body 2 is provided. The structure includes a locking member that prevents the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer body 2 from rotating when the intermediate transfer body 2 is taken out from the main unit.

That is, in FIGS. 1 and 2, 15 is a cover for the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer body 2A, and the cover 15 is a cleaning device 9 disposed close to the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer body 2A. Only the belt portions of the intermediate transfer device 11 and the transfer device 5 are exposed to form an exposed portion A, and the portion covered by the cover 15 is at least as wide as the guaranteed printing dimension of the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer body 2A. It has a cover.

Further, in the exposed portion A of the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer body 2A,
A position sensor (stop position regulating means) 21, such as a reflective sensor or a transmission sensor, is provided close to the belt 2a to detect the position of the bell 2a of the intermediate transfer member 2A. Furthermore, a stop gear 20 is integrally provided on the support roller 22 that rotatably supports the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer body 2A, and a stop lever 17 that engages with the stop gear 20 is connected to the cover 1.
It is swingably fixed to a rotating shaft 16 provided at one end of the 5. A spring 1 is provided between the stop lever 17 and the cover 15 to pull the stop lever 17 toward the stop gear 20.
9 is provided, and by engaging the stop lever 17 with the stop gear 20, the rotation of the support roller 22 can be locked. Further, the stop lever 17 has a lever 18 extending from the other end that swings the stop lever 17, and when the two intermediate transfer bodies are attached to the main device, the lever 18 It is configured to contact the device contact member 14 to release the engagement between the stop lever 17 and the stop gear 20.

In the above configuration, when performing a printing operation, when two intermediate transfer members are attached to the main unit, the lever 18 comes into contact with the main unit contact member] 4, and the stop leno<-17 is rotated around the rotating shaft 16. The stop lever 17 is separated from the stop gear 20 against the urging force of the swing 11 and the spring 1.9, and the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer body 2A is allowed to rotate. At the same time, the position sensor 21 allows two intermediate transfer members to be transferred to each other.
Your location will be monitored.

Further, after the printing operation is completed, the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer member 2A is controlled to always stop at the same position based on the detection signal from the position sensor 21. , Next, when the two intermediate transfer bodies are taken out from the main unit, the lever 18 is moved to the main unit abutting member 1.
4, the stop lever 17 engages with the stop gear 20 by the biasing force of the spring 19, and as a result, the belt 2a of the intermediate transfer body 2A cannot rotate. At this time, in this locked state, the position sensor 2 is always controlled so that the exposed portion A of the belt 2aJ of the intermediate transfer member 2 is in the non-print area and the portion covered by the cover 15 is in the print area. .

Therefore, even if the two intermediate transfer bodies are removed and moved, there will be no scratches, oil or grease on the printing area, and good images can always be obtained.1. As described above, the image forming apparatus of the present invention has a structure in which the belt of the intermediate transfer member is covered with a cover and only a part of the nozzle is exposed, so that the belt of the intermediate transfer member is always at a predetermined position after the printing operation path f'. l#'cyI stop. \Remove the intermediate transfer body from the main unit and lAL! :,,! By providing a locking member to prevent the belt of the intermediate transfer body from rotating and making the always exposed part of the heald of the intermediate transfer body a non-printing area, the printing area of the belt is covered with a cover. Since only the printing area is exposed, no scratches or adhesion of oil or fat will occur, which will improve the lifespan of the intermediate transfer body, and will always produce stable and good images. can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view showing an intermediate transfer body of the same image forming apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a conventional color image forming apparatus. It is a diagram. 1...Photoreceptor, 2...Intermediate transfer body, 2
a...Belt, 15...Cover, A.
...Exposed part (non-print area). Name of agent: Patent attorney Shigetaka Awano, etc. Name? Button? g -54℃ Deaf

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A photoreceptor coated with a photosensitive layer and a light image separated for each color component are individually exposed on the uniformly charged photoreceptor to form an electrostatic latent image for each color component. an exposure means for
A developing means for individually developing the electrostatic latent image for each color component with a developer for each color component, and a composite image by sequentially superimposing the developed image on the photoreceptor on a belt of an intermediate transfer member. The intermediate transfer member has a structure in which the belt is covered with a cover so that only a portion of the belt is exposed, and when the intermediate transfer member is removed from the main device,
An image forming apparatus configured such that the belt of the intermediate transfer member always stops at a predetermined position. (2) When the intermediate transfer body is removed from the main unit,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a locking member to prevent the belt of the intermediate transfer member from rotating. (3) When the intermediate transfer body is removed from the main unit,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an exposed portion of the belt of the intermediate transfer member is a non-printing area.