Patent Application
20060133876
This application is based on and claims the priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 from the Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-364234 filed in Japan on Dec. 16, 2004, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a moistening device which moistens an image recording sheet (to be referred to as a sheet hereinafter) and an electrophotographic image printing apparatus which includes the moistening device and, more particularly, to a moistening technique of supplying moisture to a sheet to which an image has been fixed by a thermal fixing device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In an image printing apparatus which prints an image by electrophotography, generally, a toner image is formed on a sheet with a fine toner powder. The toner image is fixed on the sheet by heating and pressurizing processes.
During the heating process in a fixing step, moisture evaporates from the sheet. As the sheet is exposed to the atmosphere, the sheet absorbs moisture, and the moisture to be contained in the sheet is recovered gradually. Moisture recovery is not uniform, however, and progresses with different proportions at different portions of the sheet. For example, when a plurality of sheets are left in a bundled state, moisture absorption of the sheets progresses fast in the peripheral portion of the sheet, but is slow or does not occur at the central portion of the sheet.
Due to a difference in moisture content, the elongation of the sheet differs depending on the location to cause a waving phenomenon on the sheet where an image has been printed.
The waving phenomenon occurs often in sheets which are printed and deposited on a delivery tray or in sheets deposited on a binding stacker, and is conspicuous particularly in sheets which are deposited in a large amount on a delivery tray including a large-volume stacker. Also, sometimes a sheet curls to form a curl.
According to a sheet moisture replacement system proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,264,899 (patent reference 1), a porous moistening roller is used to convey a sheet. Water is supplied to the moistening roller from its shaft core to moisten the sheet, thus preventing waving or the like of the sheet.
In this manner, deformation of a sheet after image printing includes waving deformation caused by a waving phenomenon which occurs because the elongation of the sheet differs depending on the location and deformation caused by a curling phenomenon which occurs as the sheet curls in the convey direction.
The waving phenomenon can be solved by supplying moisture to the sheet so that the entire surface of the sheet is moistened substantially uniformly. The curling phenomenon can be solved by making the moisture difference of obverse and reverse surfaces of the sheet small.
In a moistening device, a dampening mechanism damps one of two moistening rollers. The moistening roller which has been damped dampens the other moistening roller. A nip portion formed by the two moistening rollers moistens the sheet. With this moistening device, the moistening roller which is directly damped by the dampening mechanism dampens the sheet with a larger amount of water than in damping from the other moistening roller to the sheet. Therefore, the moisture difference of obverse and reverse surfaces of the sheet becomes large, and the curl phenomenon is easy to come to occur.
The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and has as its object to provide a moistening device which does not cause a waving phenomenon or curling phenomenon, and an image printing apparatus which includes this moistening device.
According to one main practical aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet moistening device comprising a pair of moistening rollers which respectively have porous layers and form a nip to convey a sheet, and a dampening mechanism which supplies water to at least one of the pair of moistening rollers through a surface thereof, wherein a roller surface hardness differs between the pair of moistening rollers which form the nip.
The sheet moistening device according to the above aspect can further comprise a regulating device which regulates an amount of water to be supplied to the moistening roller.
According to another main practical aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image printing apparatus comprising an image printing unit which transfers a toner image to a predetermined position on a sheet to form an image, a fixing device which heats and pressurizes the sheet on which the image has been transferred to fix the image, and a moistening device according to the above first example which moistens the sheet on which the image has been fixed by the fixing device.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings which are meant to be exemplary, not limiting, and wherein like elements are numbered alike in several Figures, in which:
The several preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The image printing apparatus main body A has an automatic document feeder 1 and image reader 2 in its upper portion, and its lower portion includes a printer unit and sheet storages 3 and 4 for storing sheets P.
The printer unit has an image printing unit 5. The image printing unit 5 has a photosensitive drum 6 and prints a toner image on the photosensitive drum 6 by an electrophotographic process of charging, exposure, and development. In the image printing unit 5, an image is printed on the sheet P, and the printed image is fixed by a fixing device 7. In the fixing device 7, a heat roller 7a incorporating a heat source 7c and a pressure roller 7b form a nip to convey the sheet P. While conveying the sheet P, the fixing device 7 heats and pressurizes the sheet P to melt the toner, thus printing the image on the sheet P.
The sheet P is supplied from the sheet storage 3 or 4 and temporarily stopped at a feeding portion 5a of the image printing unit 5. Then, the sheet P is fed from the feeding portion 5a of the image printing unit 5 to print the image. The image-printed sheet P is delivered by delivery rollers 10 through a delivery port 13.
A sheet convey path includes a sheet feed path 8 extending from the sheet storages 3 and 4 to the image printing unit 5, a convey path 9 extending from the image printing unit 5 to the delivery port 13 through the fixing device 7 and delivery rollers 10, and a reverse surface convey path 12 which reverses and conveys the sheet P. In
The image printing mode includes single-face-down delivery mode, single-face-up delivery mode, and double-sided mode. In the single-face-down delivery mode, a sheet P which has been printed on its one surface and passed through the fixing device 7 is converted upside down by a converting process and delivered as it is conveyed by the delivery rollers 10.
In the single-face-up delivery mode, a sheet P which has been printed on its one surface and conveyed along the convey path 9 is directly delivered as it is conveyed by the delivery rollers 10.
In the double-sided mode, a sheet P which has been printed on its one surface and passed through the fixing device 7 travels downward to advance to the reverse surface convey path 12. The sheet P is reversed and fed to the sheet feed path 8 again.
The image printing unit 5 forms a reverse image on the reverse surface of the sheet P which is fed to the sheet feed path 8 again. The sheet P which is printed on its reverse surface passes through the fixing device 7 and is delivered as it is conveyed by the delivery rollers 10.
Reference numeral 14 denotes an operation unit. Various types of modes of the image printing apparatus main body A and an output mode using the post-processing device C can be set by operating the operation unit 14.
The sheet P which is delivered from the image printing apparatus main body A through the delivery port 13 is conveyed to the post-processing device C through the moistening device B. The moistening device B will be described later.
The post-processing device C has a staple process unit 202, shift process unit 203, and intermediate stacker 204. The post-processing device C performs a staple process or shift process to the sheet P, and delivers the processed sheet P to an elevating delivery tray 206.
The post-processing device C further has a stationary deliver tray 205. In a small-amount image printing job, a sheet P introduced from an introduction port 201 is delivered onto the stationary deliver tray 205.
In the staple process, a preset number of sheets are piled on the intermediate stacker 204 and subjected to the staple process by the staple process unit 202. The bundle of processed sheets P moves upward along the intermediate stacker 204 and is delivered onto the elevating delivery tray 206.
Even in a mode in which a post-process such as the staple process or shift process is not performed, if a large amount of images are to be printed, the sheets P are delivered onto the elevating delivery tray 206.
The moistening device B has a pair of moistening rollers which respectively have porous layers and form a nip to convey the sheet P, and a dampening mechanism which supplies water to one moistening roller through its surface. The roller surface hardness differs between the two moistening rollers. The moistening roller having a harder surface serves as a moistening roller to which water is supplied from the dampening mechanism.
Referring to
As the dampening roller 102, one which has no shaft core 102a and forms a roller or pad made of only a porous material can be used. The dampening roller 102 preferably has the porous layer 102b, as described above, to dampen the moistening roller 101 quickly when the moistening device B is started. However, a porous layer is not always necessary, and a roller made of a material, e.g., a metal or hydrophilic resin, or solid rubber, which has a hydrophilic surface that does not absorb water but can retain water in its surface can be used. The moistening rollers 100 and 101 and dampening roller 102 are driven by motors (not shown) to rotate as shown in arrows so as to convey the sheet P.
Reference numeral 103 denotes a regulating member which forms a regulating device and is made of a rigid body such as a round-rod-shaped metal or hard resin. The regulating member 103 comes into tight contact with the moistening roller 101 to suppress moisture contained in the surface portion of the porous layer 101b, thus regulating the amount of moisture to be supplied to the sheet P. More specifically, the regulating member 103 comes into tight contact with the porous layer 101b of the moistening roller 101 to deform the porous layer 101b, thereby squeezing out water contained in the porous layer 101b. This regulates the amount of water to be supplied to the sheet P, so that the sheet P is moistened appropriately. When the contact pressure of the regulating member 103 with the moistening roller 101 is adjusted, appropriate moistening can be performed.
While the sheet P to be conveyed is nipped by the moistening rollers 100 and 101 and conveyed, it is moistened by water soaking from the porous layer at the nip between the moistening rollers 100 and 101. The amount of water to be supplied to the sheet P is regulated appropriately by squeezing it by the regulating member 103.
The regulating member 103 comes into tight contact with the moistening roller 101 to regulate the amount of water to be supplied. The regulating member 103 may be driven by the moistening roller 101 to rotate, or may not rotate but come into tight contact with the moistening roller 101. The pressure with which the regulating member 103 comes into tight contact with the moistening roller 101 is set appropriately. Although water supply from the dampening roller 102 to the moistening rollers is started with the lower moistening roller 101, it may be started with the upper moistening roller 100. Alternatively, water may be supplied to both, upper and lower moistening rollers 100 and 101.
When the amount of water to be supplied to the moistening rollers 100 and 101 by the regulating member 103 is regulated in this manner, the sheet P to be conveyed is moistened appropriately. If moistening is insufficient, waving of the sheet P may not be corrected sufficiently. If moistening is excessive, the sheets P piled on the delivery unit may stick to each other, or the toner that forms the image may attach to the member or sheet with which it is in contact. However, these inconveniences are prevented well.
In the first embodiment shown in
When the nip amount of the nip formed between the moistening rollers 100 and 101, that is, the length in the convey direction of the nip is changed, the amount of water to be supplied to the sheet P can be adjusted. The amount of water to be supplied to the sheet P can also be adjusted by changing the pressure of the regulating member 103.
In the moistening device B of the first embodiment, the hardness of the roller surface of the moistening roller 101 is set to be higher than that of the moistening roller 100.
Regarding the hardness (rubber hardness) of the roller surface at the porous layer portion of the moistening roller, when it is expressed by Asker-C representation based on the standard of JIS K7312 and JIS S6050, the hardness of each of the two moistening rollers 100 and 101 falls between Asker-C 5° to 60°. Preferably, the rubber hardness of the moistening roller 101 shows a value higher than that of the moistening roller 100 by 5° to 15°.
Here, as an interpretation of the Asker-C, please refer to the attached materials of JIS K 7312: 1996 where a testing method, testing equipment, etc., concerning the Asker-C are disclosed.
According to the first embodiment, the moistening device B uses a roller having a hardness of Asker-C 10° as the moistening roller 100 and a roller having a hardness of Asker-C 20° as the moistening roller 101 to moisten the sheet P conveyed from the fixing device 7. Since almost equal amounts of moistures are supplied to the obverse and reverse surfaces of the sheet that passes through the nip, both a waving phenomenon and a curling phenomenon do not occur.
The above graph shows that it is appropriate to employ a roller having a high rubber hardness as the moistening roller 101 which is more advantageous in terms of moisture supply conditions than the moistening roller 100.
From the viewpoint of occurrence of the waving phenomenon, to what extent a difference in moisture content between the obverse and reverse surfaces of the sheet is allowed differs depending on the paper quality, paper thickness, and the like. The harder the paper quality, the lower the water absorptivity, and the larger the paper thickness, the larger the tolerance for a difference in moisture content.
According to the second embodiment, a regulating member 106 is in tight contact with a dampening roller 102. The amount of water contained in the dampening roller 102 is regulated. Hence, the regulating member 106 is not brought into tight contact with a moistening roller 101 but with the dampening roller 102. Thus, deformation of the moistening roller 101 can be prevented.
In the second embodiment, a difference is provided in roller surface hardness between a moistening roller 100 and the moistening roller 101. As the moistening roller 101, a roller having a higher hardness than that of the moistening roller 100 is used. Thus, a sheet delivered through a nip portion is free from a curl phenomenon or waving phenomenon but is moistened uniformly.
According to the third embodiment, a regulating device includes two regulating members 103 and 106. The regulating member 103 is brought into tight contact with a moistening roller 101 to regulate the amount of water contained in the moistening roller 101. The regulating member 106 is brought into tight contact with a dampening roller 102 to control the amount of water contained in the dampening roller 102. When the two regulating members 103 and 106 are used in this manner, the proportion of water to be supplied to a sheet P can be controlled more accurately, so that the sheet P can be corrected well.
In the third embodiment, a difference is provided in roller surface hardness between a moistening roller 100 and the moistening roller 101. As the moistening roller 101, a roller having a higher hardness than the moistening roller 100 is used. Thus, a sheet delivered through a nip portion is free from a curl phenomenon or waving phenomenon but is moistened uniformly.
According to the fourth embodiment, a dampening mechanism includes a dampening roller 102 and relay roller 107. More specifically, the relay roller 107 is interposed between a lower moistening roller 101 and the dampening roller 102. The relay roller 107 is a member which receives water from the dampening roller 102 and supplies it to the moistening roller 101, and preferably has a porous layer. A hydrophilic non-porous roller which can retain water in its surface can also be used as the relay roller 107. As indicated by the broken line, the relay roller 107 can move to a retreat position spaced apart from the moistening roller 101. When the image printing apparatus is to be started, the relay roller 107 is set at the operative position indicated by the solid line. When the image printing apparatus is to be stopped, the relay roller 107 is retreated to the position indicated by the broken line. In the example of
With the above arrangement, while the image printing apparatus is stopped and the moistening roller 101 is stopped, water is supplied to the moistening roller 101. Consequently, when the moistening roller 101 is rotated to moisten a sheet P, nonuniform dampening is prevented. When a moistening roller 100 and the moistening roller 101 are to be rotated without conveying a sheet P, water is prevented from being excessively supplied to the moistening rollers 100 and 101, and inconveniences such as excessive wetting of the moistening rollers 100 and 101 can be prevented. An arrangement is also possible in which the relay roller 107 is brought into contact with the moistening roller 100 to dampen it.
In the fourth embodiment, a difference is provided in roller surface hardness between the moistening rollers 100 and 101. As the moistening roller 101, a roller having a higher hardness than that of the moistening roller 100 is used. Thus, a sheet delivered through a nip portion is free from a curl phenomenon or waving phenomenon but is moistened uniformly.
According to the fifth embodiment, a relay roller 107 is provided between a moistening roller 101 and dampening roller 102, and a regulating member 103 is brought into tight contact with the moistening roller 101 to regulate the amount of water to be supplied to a sheet P. In the fifth embodiment, an appropriate amount of water is supplied to the sheet P, and water can be prevented from being excessively supplied to a moistening roller 100 and the moistening roller 101.
In the fifth embodiment, a difference is provided in roller surface hardness between the moistening rollers 100 and 101. As the moistening roller 101, a roller having a higher hardness than that of the moistening roller 100 is used. Thus, a sheet delivered through a nip portion is free from a curl phenomenon or waving phenomenon but is moistened uniformly.
According to the sixth embodiment, a relay roller 107 is provided between a moistening roller 101 and dampening roller 102, and a regulating member 106 is brought into tight contact with the dampening roller 102 to regulate the amount of water to be supplied to a sheet P. In the sixth embodiment, an appropriate amount of water is supplied to a sheet P, and water can be prevented from being excessively supplied to a moistening roller 100 and the moistening roller 101.
In the sixth embodiment, a difference is provided in roller surface hardness between the moistening rollers 100 and 101. As the moistening roller 101, a roller having a higher hardness than that of the moistening roller 100 is used. Thus, a sheet delivered through a nip portion is free from a curl phenomenon or waving phenomenon but is moistened uniformly.
According to the seventh embodiment, a relay roller 107 is provided between a moistening roller 101 and dampening roller 102, and a regulating member 106 is brought into tight contact with the relay roller 107 to regulate the amount of water to be supplied to a sheet P. In the seventh embodiment, an appropriate amount of water is supplied to the sheet P, and water is prevented from being excessively supplied to a moistening roller 100 and the moistening roller 101.
In the seventh embodiment, a difference is provided in roller surface hardness between the moistening rollers 100 and 101. As the moistening roller 101, a roller having a higher hardness than that of the moistening roller 100 is used. Thus, a sheet delivered through a nip portion is free from a curl phenomenon or waving phenomenon but is moistened uniformly.
One of the moistening devices described in the first to seventh embodiments can be provided downstream of the fixing device in the image printing apparatus main body and upstream of the delivery rollers 10.
When the switching gate 16 is located at the position indicated by a solid line, it guides forward a sheet P delivered from the fixing device 7 to delivery rollers 10. When the switching gate 16 is located at the position indicated by a broken line, it guides the sheet P downward. As described above, in the single-face-down delivery mode, after the sheet P is fixed, it travels downward, is conveyed upward by converting rollers 17, and is guided forward to the delivery rollers 10 by the switching gate 16 and delivered. In the single-face-up delivery mode, the sheet P delivered from the fixing device 7 is directly guided by the switching gate 16 to the delivery rollers 10 and delivered. In the double-sided mode, the sheet P which has been printed on its obverse surface and passed through the fixing device 7 is guided by the switching gate 16 to travel downward, and is fed to an image printing unit 5 again through a reverse surface convey path 12 shown in
With this arrangement, after the sheet P having the obverse image is passed through the moistening device B to supply moisture to the sheet P, the sheet P is supplied again to print an image on the reverse surface, so that obverse and reverse images having equal qualities are printed.
The embodiments of the present invention described above exhibits the following effects.
According to the embodiments, a difference is provided in roller surface hardness between the moistening rollers that form the nip, to make the water absorptivity and water retaining rate different between the two moistening rollers. Thus, nonuniform moistening to the obverse and reverse surfaces of the sheet which is caused due to the structure of the apparatus can be solved by making the moistening roller surfaces to have different hardnesses, so that almost similar moistening can be performed on the obverse and reverse surfaces of the sheet. Therefore, the waving and curling phenomenon of the sheet can be suppressed.
According to the embodiments, when compared to the moistening roller which is dampened by the dampening mechanism, the moistening roller which is dampened by the moistening roller uses a porous roller which has a lower surface hardness, a higher moisture content, and an excellent water absorptivity. Therefore, the moistening roller which is directly dampened by the dampening mechanism sufficiently dampens the other moistening roller with which it is in contact through the nip portion. The moistening roller containing a large amount of water and the moistening roller which is dampened by the dampening mechanism moisten the obverse and reverse surfaces of the sheet to almost similar stable states, thus eliminating the waving and curling phenomenon.
According to the embodiments, the obverse and reverse surfaces of the sheet are respectively moistened appropriately, thus further suppressing deformation such as waving.
According to the embodiments, since the regulating device is provided, water is prevented from being excessively supplied to the pair of moistening rollers. Thus, inconveniences caused by excessive water supply are prevented.
According to the embodiments, since the dampening roller is used as the dampening mechanism, water is supplied from the surface of the moistening roller. Thus, moisture is uniformly supplied to a passing sheet more reliably.
According to the embodiments, since the moistening device is provided at the stage after the fixing device, the sheet is delivered from the image printing apparatus to have no deformation such as waving or curling.
According to the embodiments, since the sheet is loaded in a flat state into the post-processing device, good post-processing without jamming or the like is performed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-364234 | Dec 2004 | JP | national |
