This application is based on and claims priority under 35 USC 119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-167886 filed Oct. 2, 2020.
The present disclosure relates to a rotation device and an image forming apparatus.
JP-A-58-005769 discloses a transfer device for transferring an image on an image carrier. The transfer device includes a transferred material transporting unit, a gripper piece, and a switch member. The transferred material transporting unit moves a transferred material in an endless manner along a circulating movement path. The gripper piece is attached to the transporting unit. The gripper piece is pivotally supported by a rotating shaft. The gripper piece rotates relative to a base member. The gripper piece holds a leading end side of the transferred material. The switch member is attached to a base member side. In order to detect whether the transferred material is in the gripper, a part of a switch member position in the gripper piece is cut out.
Consider a rotation device including a rotary body having a recess in an outer peripheral surface thereof, and a brush that comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the rotary body to remove foreign matter adhering to the outer peripheral surface. If this rotation device has a configuration that the brush is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the rotary body in a state in which the rotation of the rotary body is stopped, settling of the brush may occur.
Aspects of non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure relate to preventing settling of a brush in a state in which rotation of a rotary body is stopped, as compared to a configuration in which the brush is in contact with an outer peripheral surface of the rotary body.
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 a rotation device including: a rotary body having a recess in an outer peripheral surface thereof; and a brush configured to come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the rotary body to remove a foreign matter adhering to the outer peripheral surface, in which the brush is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the rotary body in a state where rotation of the rotary body is stopped.
Exemplary embodiment(s) of the present disclosure will be described in detail based on the following figures, wherein:
Hereinafter, an example of an exemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Image Forming Apparatus 10
A configuration of an image forming apparatus 10 according to the first exemplary embodiment will be described.
The image forming apparatus 10 shown in
Image Forming Unit 14
The image forming unit 14 has a function of forming an ink image on a transported recording medium P. Specifically, as shown in
The ejection units 14Y to 14K are disposed in the above order toward a downstream side in a transport direction of the recording medium P. The ejection units 14Y to 14K are elongated along a width direction of the recording medium P. The width direction of the recording medium P is a direction that intersects the transport direction (specifically, a direction which is perpendicular to the transport direction), and is a direction extending along the front to rear direction of the apparatus.
In the image forming unit 14, the ejection units 14Y to 14K eject ink droplets onto the recording medium P, which is transported by the transport mechanism 12, using a known technique such as a thermal technique or a piezoelectric technique to form the ink image on the recording medium P.
Transport Mechanism 12
The transport mechanism 12 shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In the transport mechanism 12, as shown in
Rotation Device 16
The rotation device 16 includes the opposing cylinder 250, a driving unit 17, a brake 18, and a cleaning device 15. The opposing cylinder 250 is an example of a rotary body. The brake 18 is an example of a separation mechanism and is also an example of a stop unit. The configuration of the brake 18 will be described later.
As shown in
As shown in
More specifically, as shown in
Cleaning Device 15
The cleaning device 15 shown in
Body 40 of Cleaning Device 15
As shown in
Duct Frame 60 and Cleaning Unit 70
As shown in
The cleaning unit 70 includes a box-shaped housing 80, a brush 72, a flicker 74, a transport auger 76, and seal members 78 and 79. The flicker 74 is an example of a contact member.
The housing 80 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and is elongated along the axial direction. The housing 80 has an opening 82 that opens toward the opposing cylinder 250 (that is, opens rightward in
The brush 72 includes a shaft portion 72A and a brush portion 72B provided on an outer periphery of the shaft portion 72A. The brush portion 72B is disposed over the entire circumference of the shaft portion 72A. The brush portion 72B includes fibers that extend radially outward from the shaft portion 72A. As the fibers, for example, resin fibers such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is used. A fiber diameter of the fiber is, for example, 2d (denier) or more and 15d (denier) or less. A fiber density is, for example, 10,000 fibers/inch2 or more and 120,000 fibers/inch2 or less. A part of the brush portion 72B in the circumferential direction is a contact portion that comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the opposing cylinder 250.
Specifically, the brush 72 is housed inside the housing 80. The contact portion of the brush portion 72B to the opposing cylinder 250 is exposed through the opening 82. Then, the contact portion of the brush portion 72B comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the opposing cylinder 250.
The shaft portion 72A of the brush 72 extends in the front to rear direction of the apparatus. Both end portions of the shaft portion 72A in the axial direction are rotatably supported by the body 40 of the cleaning device 15. The shaft portion 72A of the brush 72 is driven by a driving unit (not illustrated), so that the brush 72 rotates in a forward direction with respect to a rotation direction of the opposing cylinder 250. That is, while the opposing cylinder 250 rotates in a counterclockwise direction in
In the brush 72, each part of the brush portion 72B in the circumferential direction repeatedly comes into contact with and separates from the outer peripheral surface of the opposing cylinder 250 as the brush portion 72B rotates. Then, the brush portion 72B elastically deformed by coming into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the opposing cylinder 250 elastically restores, to thereby repel the foreign matter adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the opposing cylinder 250, and physically remove the foreign matter from the outer peripheral surface.
The brush 72 may remove the foreign matter from the outer peripheral surface of the opposing cylinder 250 by electrostatic force in addition to or instead of the physical removal described above.
The flicker 74 is disposed below the brush 72 and is in contact with the brush portion 72B. The flicker 74 is formed in a rod shape and has a circular cross section. The flicker 74 contacts with the rotating brush 72 to drop the foreign matter adhering to the brush 72. The dropped foreign matter is accommodated inside the housing 80 and accumulates on a bottom surface inside the housing 80.
In the present exemplary embodiment, as shown in
In the present exemplary embodiment, SL>SA, where SA is a contact width between the brush 72 and the flicker 74 as viewed in the axial direction, and SL is a contact width between the brush 72 and the outer peripheral surface of the opposing cylinder 250 as viewed in the axial direction. Therefore, the number of contacting filaments of the brush 72 that are in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the opposing cylinder 250 is larger than the number of contacting filaments of the brush 72 that are in contact with the flicker 74. The number of contacting filaments can also be said to be the number of deformed filaments of the brush 72. The contact width SA is, for example, 3 mm or more and 15 mm or less, and the contact width SL is, for example, 5 mm or more and 20 mm or less. The length of the fibers of the brush portion 72B (that is, the length in the radial direction) is, for example, 4 mm or more and 10 mm or less, and the distance between the shaft portion 72A of the brush 72 and the opposing cylinder 250 is 1.2 mm or more and 9.7 mm or less.
As shown in
The shaft portion 76A of the transport auger 76 extends in the front to rear direction of the image forming apparatus 10. Both end portions of the shaft portion 76A in the axial direction are rotatably supported by the body 40. In the transport auger 76, as the shaft portion 76A rotates, the blade portion 76B rotates to transport the foreign matter dropped onto the bottom surface inside the housing 80 rearward along the axial direction of the brush 72, and discharge the foreign matter from a rear end of the housing 80 through a discharge pipe (not illustrated).
The seal members 78 and 79 have a function of preventing the foreign matter accommodated inside the housing 80 from leaking to an outside of the housing 80 through the opening 82 of the housing 80. Each of the seal members 78 and 79 is formed of, for example, a flexible and deformable film material.
As shown in
The seal member 79 is attached to the lower edge 87 provided on a lower side of the opening portion 82 of the housing 80. Specifically, the seal member 79 extends upward from the lower edge 87, and a tip portion of the seal member 79 is in contact with the flicker 74.
The duct frame 60 is a frame that is an element constituting ducts 91 and 92. In the present exemplary embodiment, the ducts 91 and 92 are defined by the duct frame 60 and the housing 80 of the cleaning unit 70. The duct 91 is disposed above the brush 72 and above the housing 80.
The duct 91 has a suction port 91A that opens toward the opposing cylinder 250. As shown in
As shown in
The duct 91 and the duct 92 are connected to each other on the rear side, and a tube (not illustrated) is connected to a coupling portion between the duct 91 and the duct 92. A blower (not illustrated) is provided in the tube. When the blower is driven, air containing the foreign matter is taken into the duct 91 through the suction port 91A and is taken into the duct 92 through the suction port 92A. The air taken into the ducts 91 and 92 flows in the ducts 91 and 92 to the rear side. The air flowing through the ducts 91 and 92 merge with each other, and is discharged through the tube.
Relationship Between Respective Elements of Cleaning Device 15 and Recess 254 of Opposing Cylinder 250
As shown in
An opening width 254L (see
Brake 18
For example, the brake 18 illustrated in
Examples of the rotation mode include a state in which an image formation process of forming an ink image on the recording medium P is executed. Examples of the stop mode include (i) a standby state in which the image formation process is not executed and (ii) a state in which an operation of the image forming apparatus 10 is stopped when a power of the image forming apparatus 10 is turned off.
In the present exemplary embodiment, the brake 18 stops the rotation of the opposing cylinder 250 at the position where the recess 254 opposes the brush 72, to thereby separate the brush 72 from the outer peripheral surface of the opposing cylinder 250 in a state where the rotation of the opposing cylinder 250 is stopped. A detector such as an optical sensor detects if the recess 254 is at the position where the recess 254 opposes the brush 72.
According to the present exemplary embodiment, as described above, when the opposing cylinder 250 transitions from the rotation mode to the stop mode, the brake 18 stops the rotation of the opposing cylinder 250 at the position where the recess 254 opposes the brush 72. As a result, the brake 18 separates the brush 72 from the outer peripheral surface of the opposing cylinder 250 in a state where the rotation of the opposing cylinder 250 is stopped.
In the present exemplary embodiment, the flicker 74 comes into contact with the rotating brush 72 to drop the foreign matter adhering to the brush 72.
In the present exemplary embodiment, as shown in
In the present exemplary embodiment, SL>SA, where SA is the contact width between the brush 72 and the flicker 74 as viewed in the axial direction, and SL is the contact width between the brush 72 and the outer peripheral surface of the opposing cylinder 250 as viewed in the axial direction. Here, since the brush 72 can be separated from the outer peripheral surface of the opposing cylinder 250, it is possible to prevent the settling of the brush 72 due to the brush 72 contacting with the opposing cylinder 250.
Image Forming Apparatus 200
In the first exemplary embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 is the inkjet image forming apparatus that forms an image on the recording medium P using the ink. The present disclosure is not limited thereto. As an example of the image forming apparatus, for example, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus may be used, and any device that forms an image may be used. In the second exemplary embodiment, the electrophotographic image forming apparatus 200 will be described.
Image Forming Unit 214
The image forming apparatus 200 includes an image forming unit 214 instead of the image forming unit 14. The image forming unit 214 has a function of forming a toner image (an example of an image) on a recording medium P by an electrophotographic technique. Specifically, as shown in
Toner Image Forming Unit 222
The toner image forming units 222 shown in
Since the toner image forming units 222 of the respective colors have similar configuration except for a toner used therein, the reference numerals are given to the respective elements of the toner image forming unit 222(K) in
Specifically, the toner image forming unit 222 of each color includes a photoconductor 224 that rotates in one direction (for example, a counterclockwise direction in
In the toner image forming unit 222 of each color, the charging unit 223 charges the photoconductor 224. Further, the exposure device 240 exposes the photoconductor 224 charged by the charging unit 223 to form an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 224. The developing device 238 develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor 224 by the exposure device 240, to form a toner image.
Transfer Device 217
The transfer device 217 shown in
Each primary transfer roller 226 is a roller that transfers the toner image of the photoconductor 224 of the corresponding color to the transfer belt 213 at a primary transfer position T1 between the photoconductor 224 and the primary transfer roller 226. In the present exemplary embodiment, a primary transfer electric field is applied between the primary transfer roller 226 and the photoconductor 224, so that the toner image formed on the photoconductor 224 is transferred to the transfer belt 213 at the primary transfer position T1.
The toner images are transferred from the photoconductors 224 of the respective colors to the outer peripheral surface of the transfer belt 213. As shown in
The transfer cylinder 251 is a transfer body that transfers the toner image transferred to the transfer belt 213 to the recording medium P at a secondary transfer position T2 between the opposing roller 234 and the transfer cylinder 251. In the present exemplary embodiment, when a secondary transfer electric field is applied between the opposing roller 234 and the transfer cylinder 251, the toner image transferred to the transfer belt 213 is transferred to the recording medium P at the secondary transfer position T2. The transfer belt 213 and the outer peripheral surface of the transfer cylinder 251 are in contact with each other at the secondary transfer position T2. The toner image is transferred while the transfer belt 213 and the transfer cylinder 251 transport the recording medium P in a state of nipping the recording medium P at the secondary transfer position T2. The transfer cylinder 251 is configured in a similar manner as the opposing cylinder 250 in the first exemplary embodiment.
Fixing Device 30
In the present exemplary embodiment, the fixing device 30 functions as a device that fixes the toner image transferred to the recording medium P by the transfer cylinder 251 to the recording medium P. Specifically, as shown in
In the fixing device 30, the heating roller 32 is disposed above the pressure roller 31. The heating roller 32 has a heating source 32A such as a halogen lamp inside the heating roller 32.
The pressure roller 31 has a recess 34 in an outer peripheral surface thereof. One recess 34 is provided in a part of the outer peripheral surface of the pressure roller 31 in a circumferential direction. Further, the recess 34 is elongated along the axial direction of the pressure roller 31 and has a depth along a radial direction of the pressure roller 31. The grippers 24 and the attachment member 23, which will be described later, are accommodated in the recess 34.
The pair of sprockets 37 according to the first exemplary embodiment is provided at both axial end portions of the pressure roller 31. The pair of sprockets 37 is disposed coaxially with the pressure roller 31, and rotate integrally with the pressure roller 31.
The fixing device 30 fixes the toner image transferred to the recording medium P to the recording medium P by heating and pressing the recording medium P while transporting the recording medium P in a state in which the recording medium P is sandwiched at the fixing position NP between the heating roller 32 and the pressure roller 31.
In the image forming apparatus 200, as the chain 22 circulates in the circulating direction C in a state in which the grippers 24 hold a leading end portion of the recording medium P, a transport mechanism 12 causes the recording medium P to pass through the secondary transfer position T2 and a fixing position NP between the pressure roller 31 and the heating roller 32. Then, the toner images primarily transferred onto the transfer belt 213 in the superimposed manner at the primary transfer positions T1 of the respective colors are secondarily transferred onto the recording medium P at the secondary transfer position T2. The toner image secondarily transferred to the recording medium P is fixed to the recording medium P at the fixing position NP.
The cleaning device 15 according to the present exemplary embodiment is configured in a similar manner as the cleaning device 15 in the first exemplary embodiment, and the present exemplary embodiment has a similar effect as that of the first exemplary embodiment.
Modification of Separation Mechanism
In the first exemplary embodiment, the brake 18 stops the rotation of the opposing cylinder 250 at the position where the recess 254 opposes the brush 72, to thereby separate the brush 72 from the outer peripheral surface of the opposing cylinder 250. The present disclosure is not limited thereto. A moving mechanism 50 shown in
In the present modification, as shown in
The approach position shown in
As shown in
The moving mechanism 50 is a mechanism that moves the body 40 between the approach position shown in
When the opposing cylinder 250 transitions from the stop mode to the rotation mode, the cam 54 of the moving mechanism 50 swings and a longer diameter portion of the cam 54 comes into contact with the side wall 42B of the housing 42, so that the body 40 is moved to the approaching position shown in
When the opposing cylinder 250 transitions from the rotation mode to the stop mode, the cam 54 of the moving mechanism 50 swings and a shorter diameter portion of the cam 54 opposes the side wall 42B of the housing 42, so that the body 40 is moved to the separated position shown in
In the present modification, since the entire body 40 including the brush 72 and the flicker 74 moves, a positional relationship between the brush 72 and the flicker 74 does not change before and after the body 40 moves to the separated position illustrated in
In the present modification, the brush 72 can be separated from the outer peripheral surface of the opposing cylinder 250 regardless of the position of the recess 254, unlike the case where the brake 18 stops the rotation of the opposing cylinder 250 at the position where the recess 254 faces the brush 72 to thereby separate the brush 72 from the outer peripheral surface of the opposing cylinder 250.
Further, in the present modification, the moving mechanism 50 separates the brush 72 from the outer peripheral surface of the opposing cylinder 250 when the removal of the foreign matter is not executed in a state in which the opposing body 250 rotates, that is, in the rotation mode.
The case where the removal of the foreign matter is not executed in the rotation mode refers to a case where the foreign matter is less likely to adhere to the opposing cylinder 250 during execution of the image forming process. Specifically, this corresponds to a case where an image area of an image to be formed on the recording medium P is narrower than a predetermined area.
Further, in the second exemplary embodiment, the case where the removal of the foreign matter is not executed in the rotation mode may be a case where a size of the recording medium P is equal to or larger than a predetermined size.
The rotation device 16 may include both the brake 18 and the moving mechanism 50. In this configuration, the brake 18 and the moving mechanism 50 are selectively used. For example, when the opposing cylinder 250 transitions from the rotation mode to the stop mode, the brush 72 may be separated from the outer peripheral surface of the opposing cylinder 250 using the brake 18, and when removal of foreign matter is not executed in the rotation mode, the brush 72 may be separated from the outer peripheral surface of the opposing cylinder 250 using the moving mechanism 50.
Other Modifications
In the first and second exemplary embodiment, the brush 72 rotates in a forward direction relative to the rotational direction of the opposing cylinder 250. The present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the brush 72 may rotate in the opposite direction relative to the rotational direction of the opposing cylinder 250. Also, the brush 72 may not rotate. In this case, for example, the flicker 74 is unnecessary.
In the first and second exemplary embodiments, the circumferential speed ratio of the brush 72 to the opposing cylinder 250 is more than 1. The present disclosure is not limited thereto. The circumferential speed ratio of the brush 72 to the opposing cylinder 250 may be 1 or less.
In the first and second exemplary embodiments, the flicker 74 is provided. Alternatively, the flicker 74 may not be provided.
In the first and second exemplary embodiments, as shown in
In the first and second exemplary embodiments, the cleaning device 15 includes the ducts 91 and 92. The present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the cleaning device 15 may include only one of the duct 91 and the duct 92.
In the secondary exemplary embodiment, the transfer belt 213 as the intermediate transfer body is used as an example of the transfer unit. The present disclosure is not limited thereto. As an example of the transfer portion, a photoconductor may be used. Alternatively, a direct transfer type transfer portion may be used.
The present disclosure is not limited to the above exemplary embodiment. Various modifications, changes, and improvements may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the modifications described above may be combined with each other as appropriate.
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.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
JP2020-167886 | Oct 2020 | JP | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5260754 | Yano | Nov 1993 | A |
6151477 | Takeuchi | Nov 2000 | A |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
58-005769 | Jan 1983 | JP |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20220107590 A1 | Apr 2022 | US |