JPH07239629A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] When an image is formed on a transfer paper from which toner has been removed, good image formation can be performed on the transfer paper even if the state of the transfer paper changes due to the toner removal processing. To do so. An image forming section 8 for forming a desired toner image on a transfer sheet 1 conveyed by a sheet conveying section using an electrophotographic process, and a sheet conveying section in synchronization with an image forming operation by the image forming section 8. A registration unit for performing a paper feeding operation of the transfer paper 1 by the image forming unit 8 and a fixing unit 14 for fixing the toner image transferred to the transfer paper 1 by the image forming unit 8 are provided to supply the image forming unit 8 in the recycled paper use mode. The state of the transfer sheet 1 to be sent is detected by the state detecting means, and the operating states of the sheet conveying means, the registration means, the image forming section 8 and the fixing section 14 are controlled based on the detection result, and the state is changed by the toner removal processing. The image forming operation is performed satisfactorily even on the changing transfer paper.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for forming a desired image by adhering toner to transfer paper, and more particularly, it is reproduced by removing the toner stably adhering to transfer paper. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus suitable for using a transfer sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus for forming a desired image by stably adhering toner to a transfer paper has been put into practical use as a variety of apparatuses such as a copying machine, a printer and a facsimile, and has been widely spread. ing. Such an image forming apparatus generally forms an electrostatic latent image on a charged photoconductor, visualizes the electrostatic latent image by attaching a charged toner to the electrostatic latent image, and visualizes the electrostatic latent image. The toner image is transferred onto a transfer sheet, and the toner image transferred onto the transfer sheet is heated and pressured to melt the toner, thereby stably attaching the toner to the transfer sheet. .

On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus, as the transfer paper for adhering the toner to form an image, a paper made from pulp is usually used. In recent years, however, it is necessary to protect the earth resources and the environment. From the point of view, there has been an increasing movement to process the unused transfer paper and reuse it as recycled paper, and various techniques for recycling used transfer paper that can be executed in offices have been proposed. As a technique for recycling such a transfer paper, the applicant of the present application was selected from the group consisting of water, an aqueous solution containing a surfactant, an aqueous solution containing an aqueous polymer, and an aqueous solution containing a surfactant and an aqueous polymer. At least one kind of water or an aqueous treatment liquid is prepared, and the treatment liquid is supplied to the transfer paper to make the adhered state of the toner stably adhering to the surface thereof unstable. We have proposed a toner removal technique of a method of peeling from a transfer paper by heat-adhesion or pressure-adhesion to (for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 4-259916).
According to such a method, the use of special transfer paper or toner is not required, and the transfer paper is not significantly damaged,
Moreover, it is possible to realize a highly safe device that does not adversely affect the human body or the environment.

[0004]

According to the above-mentioned toner removal method proposed by the present applicant, the toner is removed by the method of supplying the processing liquid to the transfer paper or drying the transfer paper. The condition of the transfer paper changes.
For example, the water content of the transfer paper may change from that before toner removal,
The expansion and contraction may change the size of the transfer paper or cause the transfer paper to be wavy. Such a change in the state becomes more remarkable as the number of times the toner is removed from one transfer sheet increases.

On the other hand, when an image is formed by the image forming apparatus on the transfer paper whose state is changed by removing the toner in this way, various inconveniences occur. For example, during the electrophotographic process for image formation, in order to transfer the toner image adhering to the photoconductor onto the transfer paper, the toner is transferred from the back surface of the transfer paper by corona charging with a polarity opposite to the polarity of the toner. It includes the transfer process of copying on paper. However, in this transfer process, when the water content of the transfer paper is large, the toner is apt to adhere to the transfer paper, so that the toner tends to adhere to the transfer paper with a large water content, and the image quality deteriorates. There is an inconvenience that it will end up. Further, if the length of the transfer paper changes, the registration timing and the jam detection timing may be displaced, resulting in erroneous detection of image displacement and jam. In addition, when the fixing operation is performed on the transfer paper having waviness with a normal heating amount, the wavy state is increased and wrinkles are likely to occur.

[0006]

The invention according to claim 1 is
A sheet conveying unit that conveys the transfer sheet along a predetermined guide path, and an image forming unit that forms a desired toner image on the transfer sheet by an electrophotographic process in the process of conveying the transfer sheet by the sheet conveying unit. A registering unit for performing a transfer sheet feeding operation by the sheet conveying unit in synchronism with the image forming operation by the image forming unit; and a fixing unit for fixing the toner image transferred onto the transfer sheet by the image forming unit. The recycled paper usage mode setting means sets the mode to the recycled paper usage mode, the status detection means detects the status of the transfer paper fed to the image forming unit in the recycled paper usage mode, and the status detection means in the recycled paper usage mode. And a motion control means for controlling the motion state of each part based on the detection result of 1. Here, the "state of the transfer paper fed to the image forming section" includes the water content of the transfer paper, the length error caused by the expansion and contraction of the transfer paper, the corrugation of the transfer paper, and the like. Further, as the "operating state of each part", the registration timing by the registration means, the jam detection timing when a means for detecting the conveyance timing of the transfer sheet to detect a jam is provided, the electronic in the image forming section There are control of the transfer current during the photographic process, control of the amount of heat supplied to the transfer paper at the fixing section, and the like.

According to a second aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the state detecting means is means for detecting the length of the transfer paper.

According to a third aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the operation state controlled by the operation control means is the registration timing by the registration means.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the jam is detected by detecting whether or not the transfer paper passes through a predetermined detection position in the guide route at a predetermined timing. A jam detecting means for detecting the occurrence is further provided, and the operation state controlled by the operation control means is the jam detecting timing by the jam detecting means.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the operation state controlled by the operation control means is control of the transfer current in the image forming process of the image forming section.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the operation state controlled by the operation control means is the control of the amount of heat supplied to the transfer sheet at the fixing section. Here, the "control of the amount of heat supplied to the transfer paper" includes changing the amount of heat generated in the fixing unit, changing the nip width of the fixing roller when used, and changing the transfer speed of the transfer paper passing through the fixing device. Etc.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the state detecting means is a means for detecting the water content of the transfer paper, and the operation state controlled by the operation control means is image-formed by the image forming section. The transfer current was controlled in the process.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the state detecting means is a means for detecting the water content of the transfer sheet, and the operation state controlled by the operation control means is applied to the transfer sheet at the fixing section. The amount of heat supplied was controlled. Here, the "control of the amount of heat supplied to the transfer paper" includes changing the amount of heat generated in the fixing unit, changing the nip width of the fixing roller when used, and changing the transfer speed of the transfer paper passing through the fixing device. Etc.

[0014]

According to the present invention, when the operation mode of the apparatus is set to the recycled paper use mode by the recycled paper use mode setting means, the state of the transfer paper fed to the image forming section is detected by the state detection means. Detected. When the sheet conveying means, the registration means, the image forming section and the fixing section are operated to perform the image forming operation on the transfer sheet, the operation control section controls the operation state of each section based on the detected state of the transfer sheet. It Therefore, even with respect to the transfer paper whose state has been changed by the toner removal processing, a good image forming operation, proper transfer paper transport, and the like are performed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the length of the transfer sheet fed to the image forming portion is detected by the state detecting means, and the operation state of each portion is controlled by the operation controlling means according to the detection result. It As a result, for example, by controlling the operation state such as shifting the registration timing by the registration means, it is possible to prevent the positional deviation of the image formed on the transfer sheet or to prevent the transfer sheet from being properly conveyed. Detection and the like are performed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the registration timing by the registration means is shifted according to the state of the transfer paper detected by the state detection means, for example, the error in the length of the transfer paper. This prevents displacement of the image formed on the transfer sheet. Further, when the guide path is provided with a means for detecting the transport state of the transfer paper, the proper detection operation is performed by the means.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the jam of the transfer paper in the guide path is detected by the jam detecting means. At this time, the jam detection timing by the jam detection unit is shifted according to the state of the transfer sheet detected by the state detection unit, for example, the error in the length of the transfer sheet. As a result, an appropriate jam detection operation is performed.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the transfer current in the image forming process is controlled according to the state of the transfer sheet detected by the state detecting means, for example, the water content of the transfer sheet. That is, as the water content increases, the toner is more easily transferred to the transfer paper. Therefore, the transfer current decreases as the water content increases. This maintains the image quality.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, the amount of heat supplied from the fixing unit to the transfer sheet is controlled according to the state of the transfer sheet detected by the state detecting unit, for example, the water content of the transfer sheet or the corrugation. In other words, when the water content is high, the amount of heat supplied to the transfer paper is increased to ensure that the toner image is fixed to the transfer paper, and when waviness occurs, the amount of heat supplied to the transfer paper is reduced. Avoid the growth of the wavy state.

According to the seventh aspect of the invention, the transfer current in the image forming process is controlled according to the water content of the transfer sheet detected by the state detecting means. That is, as the water content increases, the toner is more easily transferred to the transfer paper. Therefore, the transfer current decreases as the water content increases. This maintains the image quality.

According to the eighth aspect of the invention, the amount of heat supplied from the fixing unit to the transfer paper is controlled according to the water content of the transfer paper detected by the state detection means. That is, when the water content is large, the amount of heat supplied to the transfer paper is increased to ensure that the toner image is fixed on the transfer paper.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, an image forming device 2 for forming a desired image on the transfer paper 1 and a transfer paper regenerating device 3 for erasing the toner stably adhering to the surface of the recorded transfer paper 1 are combined. An example of the image forming / erasing device 4 will be described.

First, the image forming apparatus 2 placed on the transfer paper reproducing apparatus 3 will be described. The image forming apparatus 2 has a configuration as a digital copying machine that also has a printer and a facsimile function. That is,
The image forming apparatus 2 irradiates a document surface of a document (not shown) placed on the contact glass 5 with light, receives the reflected light, and outputs the document reading section 6 as a binarized signal.
By irradiating the photoconductor 7 with a laser beam in accordance with the output of the document reading unit 6 or print data or facsimile transmission data, a latent image is formed on the photoconductor 7 and a latent image is formed by adhering toner to the latent image. Transfer of toner image 1
An image forming unit 8 that forms an image on the transfer paper 1 through a typical image forming process in the electrophotographic method such as transfer to the sheet is included as an important component. That is, the document reading section 6 emits light toward the contact glass 5, a CCD sensor 6b, and light emitted from the light source 6a and reflected on the document surface on the contact glass 5. The CCD sensor 6b includes an optical system 6c that leads to the light receiving portion. The image forming unit 8 includes a laser 8a that emits a laser beam, an optical system 8b that converges the laser beam emitted from the laser 8a to a predetermined irradiation position s on the surface of the photoconductor 7, and the irradiation position. Immediately before the upstream side of s, a charge removing charger 8c for removing charge from the photoconductor 7 and a charge charger 8d for uniformly charging the same.
And a developing unit 8e for making the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor 7 adhere to the charged toner to visualize the electrostatic latent image formed by the laser beam irradiation immediately after the irradiation position s, and the developing unit 8e. A transfer charger 8f that transfers the toner onto the transfer paper 1 by applying a corona charge having a polarity opposite to that of the toner from the back side of the transfer paper 1 on the downstream side of the transfer paper 1 and a cleaning unit 8g provided on the downstream side of the transfer charger 8f. Has been done.

On one side of the image forming apparatus 2, an openable / closeable manual feed tray 9 for manual paper feed, a first paper feed cassette 10 and a second paper feed cassette 11 are provided in order from above. A paper discharge tray 12 is provided on the other side.
Here, the manual tray 9 and the paper discharge tray 12 are
The transfer papers 1 are connected by a conveyance path 13 passing through a position in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 7 in a substantially straight path shape. A fixing device 14 is provided in the transport path 13 so as to be located downstream of the image forming section 8.

Further, the conveying path 13 is branched downward just before the upstream side of the photoconductor 7, and the branched portion is a vertical conveying path 15 communicating with the outside on the lower surface of the apparatus.
Has become. Then, in the vertical transport path 15, the first and second sheet feeding cassettes 10 and 11 and the reversing path 16 are provided.
And are respectively connected. The reversing path 16 is a conveyance path arranged substantially horizontally below the inside of the image forming apparatus 2, and has a structure in which it is bent in a U shape and has a reversing tray 17 above. Such an inversion path 16 includes
It is located at the entrance of the reversing tray 17, and the conveyance path 13 immediately downstream of the fixing device 14 is connected,
A switching claw 18 that selectively switches the conveyance direction of the transfer sheet 1 between the sheet discharge tray 12 side and the reversing path 16 side is provided at this connecting portion. Also, the reversing tray 1
A reversing drive roller 19 that can freely move in and out of the reversing tray 17 is provided above the reversing tray 7.

Next, the transfer paper recycling device 3 will be described. The transfer sheet reproducing device 3 stably attaches to the transfer sheet 1 in the process of transporting the transfer sheet 1 from the sheet feeding position A located on one side to the sheet discharging position B located on the other side. It has a structure for removing the remaining toner. That is, the transfer paper recycling apparatus 3 is located at the paper feed position A, and the paper feed unit 20 that feeds the transfer paper 1 having the toner image that is no longer required and is a target for producing recycled paper; A toner removal processing unit 21 that actually executes a toner removal process, a delivery tray 22 located at a delivery position B where the transfer paper 1 from which toner has been removed to become recycled paper is delivered, and The transfer path 1 is configured to transfer the transfer paper 1 from the paper supply unit 20 to the discharge tray 22. In addition, this transport path 23
Is a transfer paper take-in path 24 that branches upward on the upstream side of the paper discharge tray 22 at the paper discharge position B, and the branched portion communicates with the vertical transport path 15 provided in the image forming apparatus 2. Has been formed. At the branch position between the transfer paper intake path 24 and the transport path 23, a switching claw 25 that selectively switches the transport direction of the transfer paper 1 between the discharge tray 22 direction and the transfer paper intake path 24 direction. Is provided.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the toner removal processing section 21 is provided with a liquid applying unit 26 for supplying a predetermined processing liquid to the transfer paper 1 fed from the paper feeding section 20, and the liquid applying unit 26. It is composed of a toner peeling unit 27 that removes toner from the supplied transfer paper 1 and a drying unit 28 that dries the transfer paper 1 from which toner has been removed. The details of each of these units 26, 27, 28 will be described below.

[Liquid Applying Unit 26] The liquid applying unit 26 applies to the transfer paper 1 a treatment liquid which is a destabilizing agent for making the adhesion state of the transfer paper 1 and the toner unstable. The processing liquid is configured to be able to permeate at least the interface between the transfer paper 1 and the toner. For example,
It is configured such that an excess processing liquid is removed from the transfer paper 1 after guiding the toner adhering surface of the transfer paper 1 in the processing liquid filled with a predetermined amount in a container or the like (not shown) and immersing it in the processing liquid. There is.

Here, the treatment liquid is at least one selected from the group consisting of water, an aqueous solution containing a water-soluble polymer, an aqueous solution containing a surfactant, and an aqueous solution containing a water-soluble polymer and a surfactant. Water or an aqueous solution can be used. Further, these water or aqueous solution may contain a predetermined organic solvent. Furthermore, you may make it use only an organic solvent as a process liquid.

Examples of the water-soluble polymer include starchy substances (branch starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, wheat starch, corn starch, etc.), mannan (konjac, etc.), seaweeds (funnel, agar, sodium alginate, etc.), plants. Natural polymers such as mucilages (Trolloiye, tragacanth, acacia, etc.), microbial mucilages (dextran, levan, etc.), proteins (such as glue, gelatin, casein, collagen, etc.),
Cellulose type (viscose, methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, etc.), starch type (soluble starch,
Carboxymethyl starch, dialdehyde starch, etc.)
However, the present invention is not limited to these.

Examples of the surfactant include, for example,
Anionic (carboxylate, sulfonate, sulfate ester, phosphate ester, phosphonate, etc.), cationic (amine salt, quaternary ammonium salt, benzalkonium salt, benzethonium chloride salt, pyrivinium) Salt, imidazolinium salt, sulfonium salt, polyethylene polyamine, etc.), amphoteric system (amino acid, carbocybetaine, sulfobetaine, aminosulfate ester, aminocarboxylic acid salt,
(Imidazoline derivative, etc.), non-ionic type (ether type, ether ester type, ester type, nitrogen-containing type, polyhydric alcohol, amino alcohol, polyethylene glycol, etc.)
However, the present invention is not limited to these.

Further, as the organic solvent contained in water or an aqueous solution, for example, terbentine, dibenten,
Butyl acetate, carbon tetrachloride, cellosolve acetate, xylene, toluene, ethyl acetate, diacetone alcohol, methyl cellosolve acetate, benzene, methyl etiketone, methyl acetate, methylene chloride, ethylene dichloride, cyclohexane, cellosolve, dioxane, acetone, methyl cellosolve , Cyclohexanol, butanol and the like, but are not limited thereto.

On the other hand, as the organic solvent which can be used alone, hexane, heptane, octane, nonane, spirit, naphtha Nos. 1 to 6 (trade name of Shell Petroleum Co.), Isoper E, L and K, which are carbon-hydrogen type solvents, can be used. , V (trade name of Exxon Co.), IP Solvent (trade name of Idemitsu Oil Co., Ltd.), Shell-sol 70, 71, Solvesso 100,
150 (trade name of Shell Oil), Ascom OMS,
460 (trade name of Spirits), Vegasol 103
0,2130,3040 (trade name of Mobil Oil Co., Ltd.) and the like. Furthermore, Fluorinert FC40, 43, 70, 77 (trade name of Sumitomo 3M), Aflude E10, 16, 18 etc. which are fluorine-based solvents, Shin-Etsu Silicone KF96 (trade name) which is a silicone solvent, Toray Silicone SH200, 344 (trade name), TOSHIBA SILICONE TSF431 (trade name) and the like can be cited, but the present invention is not limited to these.

[Toner Peeling Unit 27] Next, the toner peeling unit 27 will be described. The toner peeling unit 27 has a structure in which the treatment liquid is permeated by the pre-liquid applying unit 26 and peels the toner from the interface portion of the transfer paper 1 where the adhesive force of the toner is weakened. Specifically, a peeling member (not shown) that generates heat for softening the toner, for example, a pair of peeling rollers, a peeling claw (not shown) that peels the transfer paper 1 from these peeling rollers, and a cleaning (not shown) that cleans the peeling roller. It is composed of a device and the like.

Here, the peeling roller has a surface structure having an adhesive force larger than the adhesive force between the transfer paper 1 and the toner to at least the softened toner. Specifically, a toner component resin that is the same as or similar to the above toner, a component resin of an adhesive, or the like can be used, and a metal material such as an aluminum-based or copper-based nickel-based material can also be used. It is not limited to. Further, these resins may be water-soluble or water-insoluble.

Examples of the toner component resin include polystyrene resin, acrylic resin, methacrylic resin, styrene-butyl acrylic copolymer, styrene-butadiene copolymer, polyester resin, epoxy resin, and the like. It is not limited.

As the component resin of the adhesive, protein adhesives such as glue, gelatin, albumin and casein, and carbohydrate adhesives such as starch, cellulose and complex polysaccharides (eg gum arabic, tragacanth etc.) are used. Agents, vinyl acetate polymers and copolymers, acrylics,
Thermoplastic adhesives such as ethylene-based co-aggregates, polyamides, polyesters, polyurethanes, polychloroprene-based, nitrile rubber-based, regenerated rubber-based, SBR-based, rubber-based adhesives such as natural rubber-based, rubber-based, acrylic-based Polyethylene terephthalate (P
ET) and the like, but not limited thereto.

When these resins are used, it is desirable to have a multilayer structure of at least two layers of a support and a surface layer from the viewpoints of preventing elongation due to tension and heat, durability and the like. That is, in the case of a roller-shaped peeling member, it is desirable to form a peeling member by forming a surface layer made of these resins or the like on a base roller as a support. As the support for supporting such a resin, for example, a rubber roller, a sheet, a cellophane tape, a kraft paper adhesive tape, a polyvinyl chloride tape, an acetone tape, a tape such as a filament reinforcing tape, or the like can be used, but is not limited thereto. Not something.

The heating of the peeling roller heats and softens the toner adhered to the front and back surfaces of the transfer paper 1 and fixed to the transfer paper 1, thereby facilitating the peeling of the toner from the fibers of the transfer paper 1. To do so. It is desirable to perform this heating to such an extent that the toner on the transfer paper 1 does not melt at the pressure contact portion. This is because if the toner melts, it becomes difficult to transfer the toner on the transfer paper 1 to the peeling roller side without dividing the toner on the paper side and the peeling roller side. Also,
If it is heated too much, the transfer paper 1 will be too dry while passing through the pressure contact portion of the pair of peeling rollers, and the fixing force of the toner to the transfer paper 1 will be stronger than that when the transfer paper 1 is wet, and the transfer paper 1 There is a possibility that it may stick to the peeling roller via the and may not be peeled off by the peeling claw. Therefore, it is desirable to heat the transfer paper 1 after passing through the heating unit to such an extent that a small amount of damp air remains and toner re-adhesion can be prevented.

[Drying Unit 28] Next, the drying unit 28 has a structure for drying the transfer paper 1 that is still wet by being immersed in the treatment liquid in the liquid applying unit 26. For example, it is configured by a structure in which a drying roller made of aluminum or the like having a built-in heating lamp and a drying roller having a surface layer made of a liquid supply agent are brought into pressure contact with each other, a hot air fan, an infrared lamp and the like.

Here, in the image forming apparatus 2 and the transfer paper reproducing apparatus 3 having the above-mentioned configurations, a transfer path 13 for transferring the transfer paper 1, a vertical transfer path 15, a reverse path 16, and a transfer path. A path 23 and a transfer paper intake path 24 are provided, and these paths form a guide path 29 for the transfer paper 1. Then, it is various roller pairs and conveyor belts that convey the transfer paper 1 guided by the guide path 29, and these roller pairs and conveyor belts are driven by a conveyor motor (not shown), and this conveyor motor is not shown. It is configured to be appropriately driven by an instruction of the CPU according to the operation program stored in the ROM in the control unit. Here, the sheet conveying means is configured.

Further, as a roller pair for conveying the transfer paper in the guide path 29, it is positioned immediately upstream of the photosensitive member 7 in the conveying path 13 and the registration roller 3 is provided.
0 is provided. A registration sensor 31 is provided immediately upstream of the registration roller 30 in the transport path 13. Here, when the registration sensor 31 detects the front end of the transfer paper 1 in the ROM in the control unit, the registration roller 30 is made to hold the transfer paper 1 in a stopped state, and the image forming operation by the image forming unit 8 is performed. An operation program for executing the feeding operation of the transfer sheet 1 by the registration roller 30 in synchronization with the above is stored, and the operation control of each unit according to such an operation program is configured to be performed by the instruction of the CPU. ing. The resist means is configured here.

In addition, the manual feed tray 9, the first paper feed cassette 10, the second paper feed cassette 11, and the second paper feed cassette 11 in the vertical transport path 15 upstream from the second paper feed cassette 11,
That is, a paper feed sensor 32 for detecting the presence or absence of the transfer paper 1 fed from the manual tray 9 or the like is provided at a position near the transfer paper reproducing device 3 and in the vicinity of the paper feed section 20. . In addition, the fixing unit 14 includes the fixing unit 14
A fixing sensor 33 is provided to detect the presence or absence of the transfer sheet 1 therein. Further, a paper ejection sensor 34 for detecting the presence or absence of the transfer paper 1 at the paper ejection opening for ejecting the transfer paper 1 to the paper ejection tray 12 and the paper ejection opening of the toner removal processing section 21.
Is provided. And each of these sensors 32, 3
The jam detecting means for detecting the occurrence of a jam by detecting whether or not the transfer paper 1 is detected by 3, 34 at a predetermined timing is the sensor 32, 33, 34 and each of these sensors 32, 33, 34. Is connected to the control unit.

The control section also includes recycled paper use mode setting means for setting the operation mode of the image forming / erasing apparatus 4 to the recycled paper use mode. The recycled paper use mode setting means is an operation mode for executing the image forming processing by the image forming apparatus 2 on the transfer paper 1 from which the toner has been removed, and the setting is, for example, an operation not shown. It is done by the operation on the panel. The recycled paper use mode setting means is composed of an operation program stored in the ROM of the control section, a CPU that centrally controls the operation of each section according to the operation program, and the like.

In the image forming / erasing device 4, the state detecting means for detecting the state of the transfer sheet 1 to be fed to the image forming section 8 in the recycled sheet use mode, and the image based on the detection result. An operation control unit for controlling the operation states of the forming unit 8, the fixing unit 14, the sheet conveying unit, the registration unit, and the jam detecting unit is provided.

[State Detecting Means] The state of the transfer paper 1 to be detected includes the water content of the transfer paper 1, the expansion and contraction amount of the transfer paper 1, and the transfer paper 1.
Is rippling. 1) As a means for detecting the water content of the transfer paper 1, the manual tray 9 is provided with a weight detection sensor (not shown). That is, the weight of the transfer sheet 1 set on the manual tray 9 is detected by the weight detection sensor, and the output value is sent to the control section, which controls the reference of the transfer sheet 1 stored in the ROM. The weight and the output value of the weight sensor are compared, and the water content of the transfer paper 1 is obtained by the calculation processing of the CPU based on the result. Here, the ROM stores the value of the reference weight according to the type of the transfer paper 1, for example, the size and the paper thickness. However, as a method for detecting the weight of the transfer paper 1, for example, the transfer paper 1 fed from the manual tray 9, the first and second paper feed cassettes 10 and 11 and the vertical transport path 15 is used. The transport belt with a weight detection sensor is used to transport the image to the image forming unit 8.
A method in which the weight of the transfer sheet 1 is detected on the conveyor belt may be used. 2) As a means for detecting the expansion and contraction of the transfer paper 1, the paper feed sensor 32 detects the front and rear ends of the transfer paper 1 to be fed, and the control unit detects the detection time and the standard time stored in the ROM. Are compared with each other, and the expansion / contraction amount of the transfer paper 1 is obtained by the calculation processing of the CPU based on the result. 3) As a means for detecting the waviness of the transfer paper 1, a laser range finder 35 is provided adjacent to the registration sensor 31.
The variation in the distance from the laser range finder 35 to the surface of the transfer sheet 1 is obtained by the CPU in the control unit based on the output value of the laser range finder 35, whereby the transfer sheet 1 is transferred.
The wavy state of is detected. [Operation Control Unit] The states of the respective parts to be controlled are the control of the transfer current in the image forming unit 8, the amount of heat supplied to the transfer paper 1 in the fixing unit 14, the resist timing, and the jam detection timing. That is, when the water content of the transfer paper 1 is detected by the state detection means, the control of the CPU in the control unit controls to decrease the transfer current to the transfer charger 8f as the water content increases. At this time, the ROM stores a table showing the relationship between the water content of the transfer paper 1 and the transfer current for each type of the transfer paper 1, and the transfer current is determined by searching this table. In addition, when the water content of the transfer paper 1 is detected by the state detection means, the higher the water content, the more the fixing unit 1
The control of increasing the amount of heat supplied to the transfer paper 1 by means of 4 is performed by the instruction of the CPU in the control unit. At this time, the ROM stores a table showing the relationship between the water content of the transfer paper 1 and the amount of heat supplied to the transfer paper 1 for each type of the transfer paper 1, and the amount of heat supplied to the transfer paper 1 is stored in this table. It is determined by the search of. The amount of heat supplied to the transfer paper 1 is changed by changing the voltage value applied to the fixing unit 14. However, the present invention is not limited to such a method, and for example, a method in which the inter-roller distance between the rollers in the fixing unit 14 is freely changeable and the nip amount is changed, and the transfer speed of the transfer paper 1 in the fixing unit 14 is changed. A method of changing may be used. Further, when the expansion / contraction amount of the transfer paper 1 is detected by the state detection unit, the control is performed such that the registration timing by the registration unit and the jam detection timing by the jam detection unit are set according to the detected expansion / contraction amount. It is made by the instruction of the CPU in the department. Further, when the state detecting means detects the waviness of the transfer paper 1, the control process of the fixing unit 14 based on the water content of the transfer paper 1 described above is canceled, and the larger the waviness is, the more the fixing unit 14 performs the process. Transfer paper 1
The control of reducing the amount of heat supplied to the CPU is performed by an instruction from the CPU in the control unit. At this time, in the ROM, a table showing the relationship between the waviness of the transfer paper 1 and the amount of heat supplied to the transfer paper 1 is stored, and the amount of heat supplied to the transfer paper 1 is determined by searching this table. Then, the amount of heat supplied to the transfer paper 1 is changed by the same method as when the water content of the transfer paper 1 is detected.

In such a structure, the image forming apparatus 2
Then, a toner image is formed on the transfer paper 1 fed to the conveyance path 13 and conveyed to the photoconductor 7 by an image forming process by an electrostatic photography method, and the toner image is fixed to the fixing unit 1.
The transfer paper 1 is heated by passing through 4 and pressed against.
Settles in. In this state, the toner is stably attached to the transfer paper 1. After that, the transfer paper 1 is selectively guided to the paper discharge tray 12 or the reversal tray 17 by the selective switching of the switching claw 18. That is, in the case of single-sided printing, paper ejection to the paper ejection tray 12 is selected, and in the case of double-sided printing, paper ejection to the reverse tray 17 is selected. In the case of double-sided printing, the reversing drive roller 19 descends, contacts the transfer paper 1 discharged to the reversing tray 17, and sends the transfer paper 1 to the reversing path 16. Then, the transfer sheet 1 is returned from the reversing path 16 to the position immediately upstream of the photoconductor 7 in the carrying path 13 via the vertical carrying path 15. At this time, since the back surface of the transfer paper 1 faces the photoreceptor 7, the double-sided printing is performed on the transfer paper 1 by executing the image forming process.

When the image forming / erasing device 4 is used as a digital copying machine, the image formation on the transfer paper 1 is executed based on the information of the original surface read by the original reading portion 6. When used as a printer or a facsimile, it is executed based on the image information transmitted to the control unit.

Next, in the transfer paper reproducing apparatus 3, the paper feeding unit 2
When the transfer paper 1 on which the toner is stably attached is sent from 0 to the toner removal processing section 21, the processing liquid is uniformly supplied to the toner image surface by the liquid applying unit 26 and is sent to the toner peeling unit 27. . In the toner peeling unit 27, the toner adhered to the transfer paper 1 is softened by heating from the peeling roller, so that the toner easily adheres to the surface of the peeling roller and the toner is removed from the transfer paper 1. The transfer paper 1 from which the toner has been removed in this way is dried by the drying unit 28 and is discharged to the paper discharge tray 22.

According to such a transfer paper regenerating apparatus 3, the processing liquid is supplied to the transfer paper 1 to which the toner adheres, and the toner is peeled off while the processing liquid permeates the interface with the toner. Toner can be removed without damaging the fibers. Further, since the paper is brought into contact with the peeling roller while the surface of the paper is wet with the treatment liquid and is heated to the extent that the paper can be kept wet even when the paper is separated from the peeling roller, the surface of the peeling roller has toner adhesiveness. Even when it is made of a material, it is possible to prevent the paper surface itself from adhering to the surface of the peeling roller to cause separation failure, and to prevent retransfer of the toner due to the separated paper portion coming into contact with the peeling roller again. . The transfer paper 1 for removing the toner and the toner to be removed from the transfer paper 1 are not required to be of a special type, and the versatility is extremely high.

Here, the transfer paper 1 from which the toner has been removed by the toner removal processing section 21 is not only ejected to the ejection tray 22 but may be sent back to the image forming apparatus 2. That is, by the setting operation of the image forming / erasing device 4, the switching claw 2 is moved in the direction in which the transfer paper intake path 24 is opened.
5 is switched, the transfer paper 1 after the toner removal processing discharged from the toner removal processing unit 21 is transferred to the transfer paper intake path 2
4 and is guided to the vertical conveyance path 15 in the image forming apparatus 2. Then, the paper is conveyed through the vertical conveyance path 15 to the conveyance path 13 of the image forming apparatus 2, and is used for image formation by the image forming unit 8. That is, the transfer sheet 1 from which the toner has been removed by the transfer sheet reproducing apparatus 3 is immediately sent to the image forming apparatus 2, and the desired image is formed by the image forming apparatus 2. Therefore, when the image forming apparatus 2 immediately forms an image on the transfer sheet 1 that has been reproduced by the transfer sheet reproducing apparatus 3, unnecessary time and labor are saved, and workability becomes extremely good.

Next, in the image forming apparatus 2, the state of the transfer sheet 1 fed to the image forming section 8 is detected by the state detecting means. That is, when the transfer sheet 1 is set on the manual tray 9, the weight thereof is detected, and the CPU in the control unit
The water content of the transfer paper 1 is obtained by the calculation processing of. Further, when the transfer paper 1 fed to the image forming unit 8 is detected by the paper feed sensor 32, the expansion / contraction amount of the transfer paper 1 is obtained by the arithmetic processing of the CPU. further,
The wavy state of the transfer paper 1 fed to the image forming unit 8 is obtained by the arithmetic processing of the CPU based on the detection result of the laser range finder 35. Then, based on the state of the transfer paper 1 detected in this way, operation control of each part is performed by the operation control means. Details of such operation control are shown below.

[Control of Paper Conveying Means, Registering Means, and Jam Detecting Means] According to the detected expansion / contraction amount of the transfer paper 1,
The registration timing by the registration means is set, and the transfer paper 1 is fed by the paper conveyance means in accordance with the registration timing. As a result, even if the length of the transfer paper 1 changes, the transferred image does not shift and the image quality is maintained. Further, the jam detection timing by the jam detection unit is set according to the detected expansion / contraction amount of the transfer paper 1, and the proper detection of the jam is performed.

[Control of Image Forming Section 8] The larger the detected water content of the transfer sheet 1, the smaller the transfer current to the transfer charger 8f in the image forming section 8. This is because the toner is easily transferred to the transfer paper 1 having a large water content, so that the transfer amount of the toner is constant regardless of the water content of the transfer paper 1. Thereby, the image quality can be made uniform regardless of the water content of the transfer paper 1.

[Control of Fixing Unit 14] Detected Transfer Paper 1
The higher the water content, the more heat is supplied to the transfer paper 1 from the fixing unit 14. As a result, the toner image is reliably fixed on the transfer paper 1, and the fixing failure is prevented. On the other hand, when the transfer paper 1 is wavy, the control process of the fixing unit 14 based on the water content of the transfer paper 1 is canceled, and the larger the waviness is, the more the fixing unit 14 supplies the transfer paper 1. The amount of heat is reduced. As a result, the increase of the wavy state due to the supply of an excessive amount of heat to the transfer paper 1 is prevented.

[0056]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a sheet conveying means for conveying the transfer sheet along a predetermined guide path, and an electrophotographic process is used for the transfer sheet in the step of conveying the transfer sheet by the sheet conveying means. An image forming unit for forming a desired toner image, a registration unit for performing a sheet feeding operation of the transfer sheet by the sheet conveying unit in synchronization with the image forming operation by the image forming unit, and an image forming unit for transferring the transfer sheet. A fixing unit that fixes the transferred toner image, a recycled paper use mode setting unit that sets the operation mode to a recycled paper use mode, and a state that detects the state of the transfer paper fed to the image forming unit in the recycled paper use mode The state of the transfer paper fed to the image forming unit is improved because the detection unit and the operation control unit that controls the operation state of each unit based on the detection result of the state detection unit in the recycled paper use mode are included. Can be performed to control the operating state of each part Flip was, therefore, also the transfer sheet state by the removal process of the toner is changed, an effect such as can perform good image forming operation.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the state detecting means is a means for detecting the length of the transfer sheet. Therefore, the operation control means according to the detected length of the transfer sheet. By controlling the operating state of each part by, for example, performing control such as shifting the registration timing by the registration means, it is possible to prevent the displacement of the image formed on the transfer paper.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the operation state controlled by the operation control means is the registration timing by the registration means. Therefore, the detected state of the transfer sheet, for example, the transfer sheet is detected. By shifting the registration timing according to the length error, it is possible to prevent the positional deviation of the image formed on the transfer sheet, and also to provide a means for detecting the transfer sheet conveyance state in the guide path. If so, there is an effect that it can contribute to the optimization of the detection operation by the means.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the jam is detected by detecting whether or not the transfer paper passes through a predetermined detection position in the guide route at a predetermined timing. Since the jam detecting means for detecting the occurrence is further provided and the operation state controlled by the operation controlling means is set as the jam detecting timing by the jam detecting means,
By shifting the jam detection timing according to the detected state of the transfer sheet, for example, the error in the length of the transfer sheet, the jam detection operation can be optimized.

According to the invention of claim 5, in the invention of claim 1, the operation state controlled by the operation control means is the control of the transfer current in the image forming process of the image forming section. By controlling the transfer current according to the state, for example, the water content of the transfer paper, it is possible to maintain the image quality regardless of the water content of the transfer paper.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the operation state controlled by the operation control means is set to control the amount of heat supplied to the transfer sheet at the fixing section. By controlling the amount of heat supplied to the transfer paper from the fixing unit according to the state, for example, the water content of the transfer paper or the waviness, it is possible to reliably fix the toner image on the transfer paper and to avoid the increase of the wavy state. It has the effect of being able to.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the state detecting means is a means for detecting the water content of the transfer paper, and the operation state controlled by the operation control means is image-formed by the image forming section. Since the transfer current is controlled in the process, the image quality can be maintained by controlling the transfer current according to the detected water content of the transfer paper, regardless of the water content of the transfer paper. Have the effect of.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the state detecting means is a means for detecting the water content of the transfer sheet, and the operation state controlled by the operation control means is transferred to the transfer sheet at the fixing section. Since it was the control of the amount of heat supplied,
By controlling the amount of heat supplied from the fixing unit to the transfer paper according to the detected water content of the transfer paper, it is possible to reliably fix the toner image on the transfer paper.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall vertical sectional front view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a structural block diagram showing an outline of a toner removal processing unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Transfer Paper 8 Image Forming Section 14 Fixing Section 29 Guide Route

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display area G03G 15/16 15/20 109 // G03G 7/00 101 Z

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A sheet conveying means for conveying a transfer sheet along a predetermined guide path, and a desired toner image is formed on the transfer sheet by an electrophotographic process in the step of conveying the transfer sheet by the sheet conveying means. An image forming unit to be formed, a registration unit that causes the sheet conveying unit to perform a sheet feeding operation of the transfer sheet in synchronization with an image forming operation by the image forming unit, and the image forming unit transfers the transfer sheet onto the transfer sheet. A fixing unit that fixes the toner image, a recycled paper use mode setting unit that sets the operation mode to a recycled paper use mode, and a state that detects the state of the transfer paper fed to the image forming unit in the recycled paper use mode A detection means, and an operation control means for controlling the operation state of each part based on the detection result of the state detection means in the recycled paper use mode;
An image forming apparatus comprising: 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the state detection unit is a unit that detects the length of the transfer sheet. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation state controlled by the operation control unit is a registration timing by the registration unit. 4. A jam detection means for detecting the occurrence of a jam by detecting whether or not the transfer paper passes through a predetermined detection position in the guide route at a predetermined timing determined in advance, and an operation control means. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation state controlled by is the jam detection timing by the jam detection unit. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation state controlled by the operation control means is control of a transfer current in an image forming process of the image forming unit. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation state controlled by the operation control means is control of the amount of heat supplied to the transfer paper at the fixing unit. 7. The state detection means is means for detecting the water content of the transfer paper, and the operation state controlled by the operation control means is control of the transfer current in the image forming process of the image forming section. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 8. The state detection means is means for detecting the water content of the transfer paper, and the operation state controlled by the operation control means is control of the amount of heat supplied to the transfer paper at the fixing section. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.