Patent Application
20240160130
This application is based on and claims priority under 35 USC 119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-183597 filed Nov. 16, 2022.
The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus.
A heating device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2022-024892 includes a heating unit that heats in a non-contact manner an upper surface of a transport material that is transported, and a blowing unit that blows air against a lower surface of the transport material via a blowing hole that is provided in an opposing surface opposing the lower surface of the transport material, the opposing surface being obliquely disposed with respect to a horizontal direction.
An existing image forming apparatus includes a transport unit that transports a recording medium and that includes a grip portion that grips the recording medium on which a toner image is formed and a movement unit that moves the grip portion. The image forming apparatus also includes a heating unit that heats the recording medium that is transported by the transport unit.
When an anomaly occurs, the image forming apparatus immediately stops transporting the recording medium. If transporting the recording medium is stopped with the recording medium heated by the heating unit, then the temperature of the recording medium becomes high.
Aspects of non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the case where the temperature of a recording medium is inhibited from being high, unlike the case where transporting a recording medium is immediately stopped when an anomaly occurs in an image forming apparatus.
Aspects of certain non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure address the above advantages and/or other advantages not described above. However, aspects of the non-limiting embodiments are not required to address the advantages described above, and aspects of the non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure may not address advantages described above.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an image forming apparatus including a transport unit that transports a recording medium and that includes a grip portion that grips the recording medium on which a toner image is formed, and a movement unit that moves the grip portion; a heating unit that heats the recording medium that is transported by the transport unit; and a controller that exerts control such that the transport unit stops transport after the recording medium is retracted to a position downstream of the heating unit in a case where the transport unit stops the transport.
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail based on the following figures, wherein:
An image forming apparatus according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described by way of example with reference to
An image forming apparatus 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment is an electrophotographic image forming apparatus that forms toner images on a sheet material P corresponding to a recording medium. As illustrated in
The container units 50 are disposed at a side portion of the image forming apparatus 10 in the width direction and are arranged in the up-down direction, and the number thereof is two. The container units 50 contain the sheet materials P. Each sheet material P is selectively fed from the two container units 50.
The discharge portion 52 is disposed at another side portion of the image forming apparatus 10 in the width direction, and the sheet material P on which the toner images are formed is discharged onto the discharge portion 52. Specifically, the toner images are fixed by the fixing device 100, and the sheet material P is subsequently cooled by the cooling portion 90 and is discharged onto the discharge portion 52.
The image forming unit 12 includes toner image forming units 20 that are disposed between the container units 50 and the discharge portion 52 in the width direction and that form the toner images and a transfer device 30 that transfers the toner images that are formed by the toner image forming units 20 to the sheet material P.
The multiple toner image forming units 20 form the toner images in colors. The image forming apparatus 10 includes the toner image forming units 20 for four colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) in total. Symbols of (Y), (M), (C), and (K) illustrated in
The toner image forming units 20 for the respective colors basically have the same structure except for toner to be used. Specifically, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
The first transfer rollers 33 transfer the toner images that are formed on the photoconductor drums 21 to the transfer belt 31 at first transfer positions T (see
The transfer belt 31 has no ends and is wound around multiple rollers 32 so as to have predetermined posture. At least one of the multiple rollers 32 is rotated, and the transfer belt 31 consequently turns in the direction of an arrow B and transports a first-transferred image to a second transfer position NT.
A part of the transfer belt 31 is wound around the second transfer roller 34. The facing roller 36 faces the second transfer roller 34 with the transfer belt 31 interposed therebetween.
Consequently, the second transfer roller 34 rotates along with the transfer belt 31 that turns, and the toner images on the transfer belt 31 are transferred to the sheet material P that is transported and that passes through the second transfer position NT with the sheet material P interposed between the facing roller 36 and the transfer belt 31 that rotate. The facing roller 36 is an example of a rotation member. The second transfer roller 34 is an example of a transfer member.
As illustrated in
The multiple transport rollers 64a transport the sheet material P that is fed from the feed rollers 62 to the chain gripper 66. The multiple transport rollers 64b transport the sheet material P that is transported by the chain gripper 66 to the cooling portion 90 (see
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Both end portions of each holding member 68 that holds the sheet material P are mounted on the two chains 72. The chains 72 are examples of a movement unit.
As illustrated in
The multiple grippers 76 are mounted on the mount members 75 at a predetermined interval in the depth direction of the apparatus. Specifically, each gripper 76 includes a pawl 76a. Each mount member 75 includes a contact portion 75a with which the pawl 76a comes into contact. The gripper 76 grips the leading edge portion of the sheet material P by interposing the leading edge portion of the sheet material P between the pawl 76a and the contact portion 75a. As for the gripper 76, for example, the pawl 76a is pressed against the contact portion 75a by using, for example, a spring, and the pawl 76a comes into contact or is separated from the contact portion 75a by using, for example, a cam action.
With this structure, the chains 72 turn in the direction of the arrow C, the chain gripper 66 illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
With this structure, the driven roller 150 rotates in conjunction with the heat roller 130. The driven roller 150 heats the heat roller 130.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
A fan 142 faces the pressure roller 140 and cools the holding members 68 after the sheet material P is given to the transport rollers 64b (see
With this structure, the two urging members 158 urge the pressure roller 140 toward the heat roller 130, and the pressure roller 140 consequently presses the sheet material P toward the heat roller 130. A drive member, not illustrated, transmits rotational force to the pressure roller 140, and the pressure roller 140 consequently rotates. The heat roller 130 rotates in conjunction with the pressure roller 140 that rotates. The driven roller 150 rotates in conjunction with the heat roller 130 that rotates. The heat roller 130 and the pressure roller 140 transport the sheet material P to which the toner images are transferred with the sheet material P interposed therebetween, and the toner images are consequently fixed to the sheet material P. The heat roller 130 and the pressure roller 140 thus transport the sheet material P while rotating with the sheet material P interposed therebetween, the sheet material P is heated, and the toner image are consequently fixed to the sheet material P.
As illustrated in
The pre-heat member 102 includes a reflection member 104, multiple infrared heaters 106 (referred to below as “heaters 106”), heat plates 114, a wire net 112, and a shutter 132.
The reflection member 104 is composed of an aluminum plate and has a shallow box shape that opens toward the sheet material P that is transported. As illustrated in
The heaters 106 are infrared heaters that have a columnar shape, face the reflection surface 104a of the reflection member 104 in the up-down direction of the apparatus, and extend in the depth direction of the apparatus as illustrated in
As illustrated in
With this structure, the heat plates 114 absorb the infrared rays that are emitted from the heaters 106 and the infrared rays that are reflected by the reflection surface 104a. Consequently, the temperature thereof increases, and heat is dissipated. The heat plates 114 that have an increased temperature heat the sheet material P that is transported in a contactless manner.
The wire net 112 is fixed to an edge of the reflection member 104 by using, for example, a fixation member, not illustrated, and separates an inner portion of the reflection member 104 from a portion outside the reflection member 104 as illustrated in
As illustrated in
With this structure, the shutter 132 uncovers the opening of the reflection member 104 while the pre-heat member 102 is operating (see
As illustrated in
With this structure, the multiple fans 172 blow air toward the sheet material P that is transported and stabilize the posture of the sheet material P that is transported.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
With this structure, an air-sending mechanism, not illustrated, causes air to flow through an inner portion of the cooling roller 92 that is cylindrical, and the temperature of the surface of the cooling roller 92 decreases. A drive member, not illustrated, transmits rotational force to the cooling roller 92b, and the cooling roller 92b consequently rotates. The cooling roller 92a rotates in conjunction with the cooling roller 92b. The cooling rollers 92a and 92b transport the sheet material P with the sheet material P interposed therebetween and cool the sheet material P.
The actions of the image forming apparatus 10 will now be described.
The image forming apparatus 10 illustrated in
The chargers 22 for the respective colors illustrated in
Consequently, the electrostatic latent images depending on the image data are formed on the respective surfaces of the photoconductor drums 21. The developing devices 24 for the respective colors develop the electrostatic latent images as visible toner images. The first transfer rollers 33 of the transfer device 30 transfer the toner images that are formed on the surfaces of the photoconductor drums 21 for the respective colors to the transfer belt 31.
The sheet material P that is fed by the feed rollers 62 from one of the container units 50 illustrated in
At the second transfer position NT, the sheet material P is interposed between the transfer belt 31 and the facing roller 36 and is transported, and the toner images on the surface of the transfer belt 31 are consequently transferred to the surface of the sheet material P.
The chains 72 that turn transport the sheet material P to which the toner images are transferred. The fans 172 illustrated in
A voltage is applied to the heaters 106 of the pre-heat member 102. The heat plates 114 absorb the infrared rays that are emitted from the heaters 106 to which the voltage is applied and the infrared rays that are reflected by the reflection surface 104a. Consequently, the temperature thereof increases, and heat is dissipated. From above, the heat plates 114 that have an increased temperature heat the sheet material P that is transported by the chains 72 that turn in a contactless manner. The sheet material P is heated, and consequently, the toner for forming the toner images that are transferred to the sheet material P is softened.
As for the heat member 120, the heat roller 130 and the pressure roller 140 transport the sheet material P that is heated by the heat plates 114 of the pre-heat member 102 with the sheet material P interposed therebetween and fix the toner images to the sheet material P. The sheet material P to which the toner images are fixed is released from the grippers 76, is transported by the transport rollers 64b illustrated in
The controller 14 will now be described.
As illustrated in
The CPU 81 is a central processing unit that runs various programs and controls components. That is, the CPU 81 reads a program from the ROM 82 or the storage 84 and runs the program with the RAM 83 used as a work area. The CPU 81 controls the components and performs various kinds of arithmetic processing in accordance with the program that is stored in the ROM 82 or the storage 84.
The ROM 82 stores the various programs and various kinds of data. The RAM 83 serves as the work area that temporarily stores a program or data. The storage 84 includes a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD) and stores the various programs including an operating system and the various kinds of data. The communication interface 85 is an interface for the controller 14 to communicate with, for example, the chain gripper 66, the heating unit 160, the transfer device 30, and the blower unit 170.
Among the actions for the components, the control of the components by using the controller 14 (see
For example, when a sensor, not illustrated, detects, for example, a transfer failure or paper jam, the controller 14 stops image formation operations of the toner image forming units 20 for the respective colors, the feed rollers 62, and the transport rollers 64a.
After these are stopped, the controller 14 stops the heat operations of the pre-heat member 102 and the heat member 120 at a step S100. Specifically, the controller 14 stops the heaters 106 of the pre-heat member 102 illustrated in
At a step S200, the controller 14 causes the shutter 132 that uncovers the opening of the reflection member 104 to operate, and the shutter 132 is unwound such that the shutter 132 covers the opening of the reflection member 104 (see
At a step S300, the sensor 110 illustrated in
At a step S400, the controller 14 that receives a detection signal from the sensor 110 stops the chain gripper 66, the second transfer roller 34, the transfer belt 31, and the transport rollers 64b. This is the end of a series of operations.
As for the image forming apparatus 10, the controller 14 controls the chain gripper 66 such that the sheet material P is retracted from the heating unit 160 in the case where an anomaly occurs in the image forming apparatus 10, and the transport rollers 64a stop as described above.
As for the image forming apparatus 10, the controller 14 stops the chain gripper 66, the second transfer roller 34, and the transfer belt 31 after the sheet material P is retracted from the heating unit 160. In this way, friction between the facing roller 36 and the second transfer roller 34 may be reduced, unlike the case where only the chain gripper 66 is stopped. Specifically, friction that acts on the transfer belt 31 between the facing roller 36 and the second transfer roller 34 may be reduced.
As for the image forming apparatus 10, the controller 14 stops the chain gripper 66 after the heat operation of the heat member 120 is stopped.
As for the image forming apparatus 10, the controller 14 stops the chain gripper 66 after the heat operation of the pre-heat member 102 is stopped.
An image forming apparatus according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described by way of example with reference to
As illustrated in
The movement device 238 includes a known mechanism and moves the second transfer roller 34 between a position of contact (see
With this structure, the controller 14 causes the second transfer roller 34 located at the position of contact to move to the position of separation in the case where the transport rollers 64a stop. In other words, the second transfer roller 34 located at the position of contact is moved to the position of separation before the chain gripper 66 is stopped. In this way, friction between the facing roller 36 and the second transfer roller 34 may be reduced, unlike the case where the second transfer roller located at the position of contact is moved to the position of separation after the chain gripper 66 is stopped. Specifically, friction that acts on the transfer belt 31 between the facing roller 36 and the second transfer roller 34 may be reduced.
The controller 14 stops the second transfer roller 34 and the transfer belt 31 after the second transfer roller 34 located at the position of contact is moved to the position of separation. In this way, energy consumption may be reduced, unlike the case where neither the second transfer roller nor the transfer belt is stopped after the second transfer roller 34 is moved to the position of separation.
The specific exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail. The present disclosure, however, is not limited to the exemplary embodiments, and it is obvious for a person skilled in the art that various other exemplary embodiments may be in the range of the present disclosure. For example, the controller 14 may stop the fan 142 after the holding members 68 that give the sheet material P to the transport rollers 64b pass through a position facing the fan 142, although this is not particularly described according to the exemplary embodiments described above. Consequently, the temperature of the holding members 68 decreases, unlike the case where the fan 142 is stopped before the holding members 68 pass through the position facing the fan 142.
According to the exemplary embodiments described above, the toner images that are transferred to the transfer belt 31 are transferred to the sheet material P. In an example, however, the toner images that are formed on the photoconductor drums may be directly transferred to the sheet material P.
According to the exemplary embodiments described above, the controller 14 stops the chain gripper 66, the second transfer roller 34, and the transfer belt 31 after the sheet material P is retracted from the heating unit 160. However, the chain gripper, the second transfer roller, and the transfer belt may not be stopped. In this case, however, the actions that are taken by stopping the chain gripper 66, the second transfer roller 34, and the transfer belt 31 are not taken.
According to the second exemplary embodiment described above, the controller 14 stops the second transfer roller 34 and the transfer belt 31 after the second transfer roller 34 located at the position of contact is moved to the position of separation. However, neither the second transfer roller nor the transfer belt may be stopped. In this case, the actions that are taken by stopping the second transfer roller and the transfer belt are not taken.
According to the exemplary embodiments described above, the heating unit 160 includes the pre-heat member 102 but may not include the pre-heat member.
The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the disclosure and its practical applications, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the disclosure for various embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the disclosure be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.
(((1)))
An image forming apparatus includes a transport unit that transports a recording medium and that includes a grip portion that grips the recording medium on which a toner image is formed, and a movement unit that moves the grip portion; a heating unit that heats the recording medium that is transported by the transport unit; and a controller that exerts control such that the transport unit stops transport after the recording medium is retracted to a position downstream of the heating unit in a case where the transport unit stops the transport.
(((2)))
The image forming apparatus described in (((1))) further includes a rotation member that is disposed upstream of the heating unit in a direction in which the recording medium is transported and that rotates along with movement of the movement unit; and a transfer member that transfers the toner image to the recording medium while rotating with the recording medium interposed between the transfer member and the rotation member. The controller exerts control such that the transport of the transport unit and rotation of the transfer member are stopped after the recording medium is retracted to the position downstream of the heating unit.
(((3)))
The image forming apparatus described in (((1))) further includes a rotation member that is disposed upstream of the heating unit in a direction in which the recording medium is transported and that rotates along with movement of the movement unit; and a transfer member that transfers the toner image to the recording medium while rotating with the recording medium interposed between the transfer member and the rotation member. The controller exerts control such that the transfer member is separated from the rotation member before the transport of the transport unit is stopped.
(((4)))
As for the image forming apparatus described in (((3))), the controller exerts control such that the transfer member that rotates is stopped after the transfer member is separated from the rotation member.
(((5)))
As for the image forming apparatus described in any one of (((1))) to (((4))), the heating unit includes a heat member that rotates and transports the recording medium with the recording medium interposed therein and that heats the recording medium, and the controller exerts control such that the transport unit is stopped after a heat operation of the heat member is stopped.
(((6)))
As for the image forming apparatus described in (((5))), the heating unit includes a pre-heat member that is disposed upstream of the heat member and that heats the recording medium that is transported in a contactless manner, and the controller exerts control such that the transport unit is stopped after a heat operation of the pre-heat member is stopped.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-183597 | Nov 2022 | JP | national |
