Patent Grant
10197954
Embodiments described herein relate generally to an image forming apparatus and an image forming method.
In recent years, in an image forming apparatus, printing is performed on not only ordinary sheets but also various media such as a label paper, a sheet in which a paper surface is coated, a plastic medium such as an OHP and the like.
However, in the case of the media with an adhesive layer such as the label paper, if heat and pressure are applied to the media, there is a case in which glue of the adhesive layer adheres to an image carrier, a fixing device or a conveyance path. The adhering glue is not sufficiently removed by a cleaner section for removing residual toner on the image carrier. Consequently, a cleaning defect occurs, and problems such as a conveyance failure and an image defect occur in some cases.
In accordance with an embodiment, an image forming apparatus comprises a fixing section, a sheet housing section, and a sheet passing controller. The fixing section fixes a developer by heating a label paper onto which the developer is transferred. The sheet housing section houses a cleaning sheet from which adhesive leaking out from the label paper and adhering to the fixing section is removed. The sheet passing controller conveys the cleaning sheet from the sheet housing section to the fixing section.
In the case of printing on a label paper, an image forming apparatus 100 of the present embodiment conveys a cleaning sheet after printing on the label paper. The cleaning sheet is a special paper or a plain paper. A length in a width direction of the cleaning sheet is longer than the label paper. A length in a conveyance direction of the cleaning sheet is longer than that of a perimeter of a roller having the largest diameter (for example, a heat roller 131) of the image forming apparatus 100.
The image forming apparatus 100 forms an image on a sheet using a developer such as a toner. The sheet is, for example, a paper or a label paper. The sheet may be an optional object as long as the image forming apparatus 100 can form an image on a surface thereof.
The display 110 is an image display device such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display and the like. The display 110 displays various information relating to the image forming apparatus 100.
The control panel 120 includes a plurality of buttons. The control panel 120 receives an operation by a user. The control panel 120 outputs a signal in response to an operation executed by the user to a controller of the image forming apparatus 100. Furthermore, the display 110 and the control panel 120 may be constituted as an integrated touch panel.
The printer section 130 forms an image on the sheet based on image information generated by the image reading section 200 or image information received through a communication path. The printer section 130 forms an image through the following processing, for example. An image forming section of the printer section 130 forms an electrostatic latent image on a photoconductive drum 149 based on the image information. The image forming section of the printer section 130 forms a visible image by attaching the developer to the electrostatic latent image. Toner is exemplified as a concrete example of the developer. A transfer section of the printer section 130 transfers the visible image onto the sheet. A fixing section of the printer section 130 fixes the developer that forms the visible image on the sheet by heating and pressurizing the sheet. The sheet on which the image is formed may be a sheet housed in the sheet housing section 140, or a sheet that is manually fed.
The sheet housing section 140 houses the sheet used in the image formation by the printer section 130.
The image reading section 200 reads the image information which is a reading object as intensity of light. The image reading section 200 records the read image information. The recorded image information may be transmitted to another information processing apparatus via a network. The recorded image information may be used to form an image on the sheet by the printer section 130.
The label paper 300 shows a label paper before the sheet passes through the heat roller 131. The label paper 300 is a label paper before the developer is melted and fixed. An arrow 10 indicates the conveyance direction of the label paper 300. The label paper 300 is conveyed along the arrow 10. An arrow 20 indicates the length in the width direction of the label paper 300. A label paper 300a shows a label paper after passing through the heat roller 131. The label paper 300a shows a label paper after the developer is melted and fixed.
If the label paper 300 passes through the heat roller 131, the adhesive leaks from the label paper 300. The leaked adhesive adheres to a position where the heat roller 131 and an end in the width direction of the label paper 300 contact with each other. A dotted line depicted on the heat roller 131 represents the adhesive attached to the heat roller 131. Since the portion other than the end in the width direction of the label paper 300 is cleaned by the label paper 300, the adhesive hardly adheres to the heat roller 131.
The printer section 130 includes the heat roller 131 and a pressure roller 132. The heat roller 131 has a heat generating section therein. The heat roller 131 is heated by the heat generated by the heat generating section. The heated heat roller 131 melts the developer adhering to the passed sheet. The pressure roller 132 fixes the melted developer on the sheet by applying pressure to the passed sheet.
The controller 150 controls the operation of each section of the image forming apparatus 100. The function of the controller 150 is executed by, for example, an apparatus including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a RAM (Random Access Memory) for controlling the entire apparatus. The controller 150 functions as a sheet passing determination section 151, a timer 152 and a sheet passing controller 153 by executing an image forming program.
The sheet passing determination section 151 determines whether to pass the cleaning sheet depending on a paper passing state after the label paper is passed. Specifically, the sheet passing determination section 151 determines to pass the cleaning sheet if a next sheet is not passed in a predetermined time after a printing processing in which the label paper is passed is completed. The sheet passing determination section 151 determines not to pass the cleaning sheet if the sheet with a length in the width direction longer than that of the label paper is passed in the predetermined time after the printing processing in which the label paper is passed is completed. The sheet passing determination section 151 determines to pass the cleaning sheet if the sheet with a length in the width direction shorter than that of the label paper is passed in the predetermined time after the printing processing in which the label paper is passed is completed. The predetermined time may be, for example, a time until the adhesive attached to the heat roller 131 is dried. Apart from the above-described determination processing, the sheet passing determination section 151 may determine to pass the cleaning sheet after the printing processing in which the label paper is passed is completed.
The timer 152 measures the time after the label paper is passed. The timer 152 outputs the measured time to the sheet passing determination section 151. The sheet passing determination section 151 determines whether or not the predetermined time elapses according to the time measured by the timer 152.
The sheet passing controller 153 enables the cleaning sheet to pass through the heat roller 131 if the sheet passing determination section 151 determines to pass the cleaning sheet. Specifically, the cleaning sheet passes through the heat roller 131 in either one of the two patterns shown in
The cleaning sheet housed in the cleaning sheet housing section 141 is conveyed along the conveyance path shown by the arrow 10. The cleaning sheet removes the adhesive attached to the heat roller 131 at the time of passing through the heat roller 131. The cleaning sheet passing through the heat roller 131 is conveyed and discharged along the arrow 11 and the arrow 12.
The cleaning sheet housed in the cleaning sheet placement section 142 is conveyed along the conveyance path shown by the arrow 10. The cleaning sheet removes the adhesive attached to the heat roller 131 at the time of passing the heat roller 131. The cleaning sheet passing through the heat roller 131 is conveyed to the ADU 170 along the arrow 13. The cleaning sheet conveyed to the ADU 170 is conveyed along the conveyance path shown by the arrow 14. The cleaning sheet is conveyed along the conveyance path shown by the arrow 15 to be housed in the cleaning sheet placement section 142. The adhesive adhering to the cleaning sheet does not adhere to the heat roller 131 even if the cleaning sheet is reused.
If the new printing processing is started (Yes in ACT 102), the sheet passing determination section 151 determines whether or not the sheet having the length in the width direction longer than that of the label paper passes by printing (ACT 104). If the sheet having the length in the width direction longer than that of the label paper is passed (Yes in ACT 104), the processing is terminated. If the sheet having the length in the width direction not longer than that of the label paper is passed (No in ACT 104), the sheet passing controller 153 passes the cleaning sheet.
In the image forming apparatus 100 constituted as described above, even if the adhesive leaking out from the edge in the width direction of the label paper adheres to the heat roller 131, by passing the cleaning sheet, the adhesive attached to the heat roller 131 can be removed. By making the length in the width direction of the cleaning sheet longer than that in the width direction of the label paper, the cleaning sheet can cover the adhesive attached to the heat roller 131. Therefore, the cleaning sheet can remove the adhesive more reliably. By making the length of the conveyance direction of the cleaning sheet longer than that of the circumference of the heat roller 131, the cleaning sheet can contact the entire outer periphery of the heat roller 131. Therefore, the cleaning sheet can remove the adhesive more reliably.
While certain embodiments have been described these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms: furthermore various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the invention.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20020112300 | Muhr-Sweeney | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20160098004 | Shinagawa | Apr 2016 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 10-010910 | Jan 1998 | JP |
| 2003189058 | Jul 2003 | JP |
| 2007-206547 | Aug 2007 | JP |
| 2016-090813 | May 2016 | JP |
