JP2015176138A - Cleaning device, image transcription device, and image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform excellent cleaning.SOLUTION: There is provided a cleaning device 301 for collecting extraneous matter T sticking to the surface of an image carrier by causing a surface 1a of a belt-shaped cleaning member to touch a surface 50a of the image carrier, the cleaning device comprising: a contact member 3 composed of a rotary body abutting on a face 1b of the cleaning member opposite the surface thereof; an auxiliary member 31 for suppressing the bending of the contact member by abutting on the contract member; and movement means 5 for moving, in a contact part 4 where the surface of the image carrier and the surface of the cleaning member come into contact, the surface of the cleaning member in a direction in which the extraneous matter on the surface of the image carrier does not slip through the contact part, wherein the cleaning member comes into contact with the surface of the image carrier in a small-diameter part 2 that is formed as an outer circumferential face 3a of the contact member is pressed against the face 1b of the cleaning member opposite the surface thereof, the auxiliary member 31 being secured to device fixation parts 101, 102.

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning device that collects deposits from the surface of an image carrier, an image transfer device that transfers an image, and an image forming apparatus including the same.

  The image forming apparatus includes a cleaning device that collects deposits adhering to the surface of an object to be cleaned such as the surface of an image carrier and the surface of an intermediate transfer member, and various images from a transfer source such as an intermediate transfer member or a recording medium. Some include an image transfer device that transfers an image from a surface to a transfer target such as an intermediate transfer member or a recording medium. In some of these cleaning devices and image transfer devices, a belt member wound around a roller is used as a cleaning member or an object to be transferred, and is brought into pressure contact or sliding contact with the surface of the object to be cleaned or the surface of the transfer source. For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2.

When performing cleaning or image transfer using a belt-shaped cleaning member or transfer target as in the past, if there is a variation in the contact state between the belt-shaped surface and the surface of the object to be cleaned or the transfer destination, the object to be cleaned In addition, the contact state with the surface of the transfer destination is not stabilized, and the adhered matter to be collected or the image to be transferred slips through the contact portion between the two, resulting in cleaning failure and image transfer failure.
An object of the present invention is to enable good cleaning and good image transfer.

The cleaning device according to the present invention adheres to the surface of the image carrier by bringing the surface of the belt-like cleaning member into contact with the surface of the image carrier that can carry the image and whose surface is movable. The contact member is made up of a rotating body that contacts the surface opposite to the surface of the cleaning member, and the contact member is restrained from bending by contacting the contact member. Moving the surface of the cleaning member in a direction in which deposits on the surface of the image carrier do not pass through the contact portion at the contact portion where the surface of the image carrier and the surface of the cleaning member contact each other And a cleaning member is formed by pressing the outer peripheral surface of the abutting member against a surface opposite to the surface of the cleaning member to form a small-diameter portion, and the small-diameter portion contacts the surface of the image carrier to assist Part It is characterized in that it is fixed to the device fixing part.
The image transfer apparatus according to the present invention is a belt-shaped transfer destination to which an image on the image carrier can be transferred by contacting the surface of the image carrier that can carry the image and whose surface is movable. A transfer member, a contact member made up of a rotating member that contacts the surface opposite to the surface of the transfer member, and an auxiliary member that suppresses the bending of the contact member by contacting the contact member And a moving means for moving the surface of the image receiving member in a direction where the image on the surface of the image bearing member does not pass through the contact portion at a contact portion where the surface of the image bearing member and the surface of the image receiving member are in contact with each other The transferred body has a small diameter portion formed by pressing the outer peripheral surface of the abutting member against the surface opposite to the surface of the transferred body, and the small diameter portion contacts the surface of the image carrier. The auxiliary member is fixed to the device fixing portion.

According to the present invention, the auxiliary member that suppresses the bending of the contact member by contacting the contact member that forms the small diameter portion by pressing the outer peripheral surface against the surface opposite to the surface of the belt-shaped cleaning member. Since this is fixed to the device fixing portion, the position of the contact member is stabilized. For this reason, the contact state between the belt-shaped cleaning member and the surface of the image carrier at the small diameter portion is stabilized, and the attached matter is less likely to pass through the contact portions of the two, so that good cleaning can be performed.
According to the present invention, the auxiliary member that suppresses the bending of the contact member by contacting the contact member that forms the small diameter portion by pressing the outer peripheral surface against the surface opposite to the surface of the belt-shaped transfer target. Since the member is fixed to the device fixing portion, the position of the contact member is stabilized. For this reason, the contact state between the belt-shaped transfer object at the small diameter portion and the surface of the image carrier is stabilized, and the image does not easily pass through both contact portions, and good transfer can be performed.

The figure explaining the structure of the cleaning apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the form of an auxiliary member, (a) is an enlarged view of the contact state of the auxiliary member as a rotating body, and a contact member, (b) is an expansion of the contact state of a deformable auxiliary member and a contact member. FIG. 4C is an enlarged view of a contact state between the auxiliary member having a flat contact surface and the contact member. (A) is a figure explaining the support mechanism of the contact member and the auxiliary member of a rotary body, (b) is a figure explaining the support mechanism of a contact member and a block-shaped auxiliary member. The comparison figure of the conventional cleaning apparatus and the cleaning apparatus which concerns on this invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a second embodiment in which a cleaning device according to the present invention is applied to a color image forming apparatus. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a third embodiment in which the cleaning device according to the invention is applied to an ink jet type color image forming apparatus. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a fourth embodiment of an image forming apparatus including an image transfer device according to the present invention. It is a figure explaining the form of an auxiliary member, (a) is an enlarged view of the contact state of the auxiliary member as a rotating body, and a contact member, (b) is an expansion of the contact state of a deformable auxiliary member and a contact member. FIG. 4C is an enlarged view of a contact state between the auxiliary member having a flat contact surface and the contact member. (A) is a figure explaining the support mechanism of the contact member and the auxiliary member of a rotary body, (b) is a figure explaining the support mechanism of a contact member and a block-shaped auxiliary member. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a fifth embodiment in which the image transfer device according to the invention is applied to a color image forming apparatus. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a sixth embodiment in which the image transfer device according to the invention is applied to an ink jet type color image forming apparatus. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 10. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 11.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, the cleaning apparatus and the image forming apparatus including the cleaning apparatus will be described, and then the image transfer apparatus and the image forming apparatus including the image transfer apparatus will be described. In each embodiment, the same member is denoted by the same reference numeral, and description thereof is omitted in the following embodiments.

(First embodiment)
A cleaning device 301 shown in FIG. 1 has a surface of an endless belt-like cleaning member 10 on a surface 50a (hereinafter referred to as “image carrier surface”) 50a that can carry an image on its surface and rotates. By bringing the recovery surface 1a into contact with each other, the adhering matter T adhering to the image carrier surface 50a is scooped and recovered. The cleaning member 1 has a small-diameter portion 2 formed in a part thereof, and a collection surface 1a located in the small-diameter portion 2 is brought into contact with the image carrier surface 50a. In the inner loop of the cleaning member 1, an abutting member 3 using a roller member for bringing the collection surface 1a into contact with the image carrier surface 50a and an auxiliary member 31 are disposed. The small-diameter portion 2 is formed as an arcuate surface by pressing the outer peripheral surface 3a of the contact member 3 against the inner surface 1b of the cleaning member 1 which is the surface opposite to the cleaning surface 1a of the cleaning member. Yes.
The cleaning member 1 has a recovery surface of the cleaning member 1 in a direction in which the deposit T on the image carrier surface 50a does not pass through the contact portion 4 at the contact portion 4 where the image carrier surface 50a contacts the recovery surface 1a. It has the moving means 5 which moves 1a. The moving means 5 includes a roller 6 around which the cleaning member 1 is wound, and a drive motor 7 as a drive means for rotationally driving a roller drive shaft 6A that supports the roller 6.
The cleaning member 1 is stretched between the roller 6 and the contact member 3. The cleaning member 1 rotates and moves while being in contact with, preferably in pressure contact with, the image carrier 50 when the driving force from the driving motor 7 is transmitted to the roller driving shaft 6A and the roller 6 is rotationally driven. A tension is applied to the cleaning member 1 by arranging the roller 6 or the abutting member 3 in a direction away from each other or urging either one in a direction away from each other.
In the present embodiment, in the contact portion 4, the image carrier 50 rotates in the clockwise direction in the drawing so that the moving direction of the image carrier surface 50a and the moving direction of the collection surface 1a are opposite to each other. The cleaning member 1 rotates in the clockwise direction. In the contact portion 4 in FIG. 1, the image carrier surface 50a moves from left to right, and the collection surface 1a moves from right to left. That is, the image carrier surface 50a and the collection surface 1a rotate and move in opposite directions at the portions where they face each other.

The cleaning device 301 has a deposit removing means 8 that removes the deposit T from the recovery surface 1a. The deposit removing means 8 comes into contact with the recovery surface 1a downstream of the contact portion 4 in the moving direction of the cleaning member 1, and the cleaning member 1 rotates to move in sliding contact with the recovery surface 1a. The deposit T is removed from the recovery surface.
In this embodiment, it has the auxiliary member 31 which suppresses the bending of the contact member 3 using a roller member. If the diameter of the contact member 3 is small, the curvature is small and the transferability is improved. However, since the entire abutting member 3 becomes thin, the strength of the abutting member 3 itself is reduced, and it becomes easy to bend. For this reason, in order to realize a stable contact state (contact nip) with respect to the cleaning member 1 in the entire region of the contact member 3 in the rotation axis direction, the contact member 3 can be rotated between the cleaning member 1 and the auxiliary member 31. The abutting member 3 is arranged, and the abutting member 3 is sandwiched between the two so as to suppress the deflection of the abutting member 3 and stabilize the abutting state (abutting nip) with the cleaning member 1. .

The auxiliary member 31 is disposed on the side opposite to the contact portion 4 and functions as a restriction member that restricts the movement of the contact member 3 in the direction away from the cleaning member 1. The direction away from the cleaning member 1 refers to the direction in which the abutting member 3 bends, and the auxiliary member 31 is supported on the abutting member 3 from the bending direction, so that the thin abutting member 3 can be used. The strength of the contact member 3 can be supplemented, and the contact state (contact nip) with the cleaning member 1 due to bending can be stabilized while improving the transferability. In order to further stabilize the contact state (contact nip), the auxiliary member 31 contacts the outer peripheral surface 3a of the contact member 3 as shown in FIG. This position is fixed to the frames 101 and 102 which are the device fixing portions of the cleaning device 301 so as to be maintained so as to be rotatable by the support shaft 3A. That is, the auxiliary member 31 is fixed to the frames 101 and 102 via the support shaft 31A.
As a result, the position of the contact member 3 that constitutes the contact portion 4 between the cleaning member 1 and the image carrier surface 50a is stabilized. The small diameter portion 2 of the member 1 is transferred to the recovery surface 1a of the cleaning member 1. As a result, the deposit T on the surface 50a of the image carrier can be recovered well, and good cleaning can be achieved.

  The auxiliary member 31 shown in FIG. 1 is composed of a rotating body whose surface 31a contacts the outer peripheral surface 3a of the contact member 3 as shown in FIG. When the auxiliary member 31 is configured as a rotating body in this manner, there is an advantage that the friction with the contact member 3 is eliminated by being rotated with the contact member 3 and wear of the contact member 3 can be prevented.

When the auxiliary member is configured as a rotating body, the material may be formed of an elastic material. That is, as shown in FIG. 2C, the elastic roller 32 may be used as an auxiliary member supported on a frame so as to be rotatable by a support shaft 32A. When the auxiliary member is configured by the elastic roller 32 as described above, the urging force of the contact member 3 can be adjusted by the amount of biting between the contact member 3 and the elastic roller 32, and the position of the shaft portion 32A of the elastic roller 32 can be adjusted. Since the influence of vibration is reduced and the positional stability of the contact member 3 is improved, better cleaning properties can be obtained.
The shape of the auxiliary member is not a rotating body, but is a rectangular parallelepiped or a cubic block member in which at least the contact surface 3a that contacts the outer peripheral surface 3a of the contact member 3 is a flat end surface, as shown in FIG. The auxiliary member 30 comprised by may be sufficient.
In this way, when the contact surface 3a that contacts the outer peripheral surface 3a of the contact member 3 is a flat end surface, the contact surface is evenly contacted with the outer peripheral surface 3a of the contact member 3, and the contact state is improved. The bending of the member 3 can be suppressed, and good cleaning properties can be obtained, which is preferable.

Next, the support structure of the contact member 3 and the auxiliary member will be described with reference to FIG.
3A shows a support structure of the contact member 3 and the auxiliary member 31 shown in FIG. 2A, and FIG. 3B shows the contact member 3 and the auxiliary member shown in FIG. 30 support structures are shown.
The support structure shown in FIG. 3A is a structure in which the rotating body 31 is pressed against the contact member 3 and the distance between the contact member 3 and the outer peripheral surface 31a of the rotating body 31 is constant. . The support structure includes fixing portions 513 and 514 that rotatably support both ends of the support shaft 3 </ b> A of the contact member 3 via a pair of bearings 511 and 511. Both ends of the shaft 31 </ b> A of the rotating body 31 are rotatably supported by the fixing portions 513 and 514 via a pair of bearings 512 and 512. The support shaft 3A and the shaft 31A are rotatably supported so as to be parallel to each other. For this reason, the roller-shaped contact member 3 and the auxiliary member 31 can be supported by the same fixing portion 513, 514, and the inter-axis distance between the shaft 3A of the contact member 3 and the support shaft 31A of the auxiliary member 31 ( The pitch between the center of the support shaft 31A and the center of the shaft 3A) can be made constant. For this reason, fluctuations in the positional relationship between the two can be suppressed, and not only the positional accuracy of the contact member 3 is improved, but also the position of the contact member 3 is stable even when vibration is applied to the apparatus. It is also a strong structure.

The fixing portions 513 and 514 are formed integrally with the side plates 101 and 102 which are fixing portions of the cleaning device, respectively. The fixing portions 513 and 514 may be integrally formed with the side plates 101 and 102 or may be individually formed and then integrated later, but the support shaft 3A and the shaft 31A of the rotating body 31 Are supported and fixed by the same member. Supporting in this way is preferable because it can be kept within a moving range that can suppress or ignore the distance fluctuation between the two.
By providing the support structure having such a configuration, the outer peripheral surface 31a of the rotating body 31 can be held in a state of being pressed against the outer peripheral surface 3a of the abutting member 3, so that the diameter of the abutting member 3 is reduced to a small diameter. Even if it falls, the bending | deflection of the contact member 3 can be prevented by backing by the rotary body 31 reliably.

In the support structure shown in FIG. 3B, the pair of bearings 512 and 512 are removed from the fixing portions 513 and 514, and the support shaft 3A of the contact member 3 and the contact surface 30a are in a block shape so as to be parallel to each other. Both ends of the auxiliary member 30 are fixed to the fixing portions 513 and 514. For this reason, the roller-shaped contact member 3 and the auxiliary member 30 can be supported by the same fixing portions 513 and 514, and the distance between them can be made constant.
With the support structure having such a configuration, the outer peripheral surface 3a of the contact member 3 and the contact surface 30a of the auxiliary member 30 can be held in pressure contact with each other, so that the diameter of the contact member 3 is reduced. Even when the rigidity is lowered, the backing of the contact member 3 can be prevented by reliably backing the auxiliary member 30.

The inventors of the present application created a model of the cleaning device 301 having such a configuration, and formed and tested the deposit T on the image carrier 50 with, for example, toner. In the moving direction of the cleaning member 1, the cleaning member 1 does not pass through to the downstream side in the rotation direction of the image carrier 50 with respect to the contact portion 4 and does not pass through to the downstream side in the rotation direction of the image carrier 50 with respect to the contact portion 4. It was confirmed that the material was sequentially transferred to the member 1.
Therefore, the deposit T on the image carrier 50 can be attached to the cleaning member 1 and collected without applying a bias to the cleaning member 1 as in the prior art. In addition, since no bias is used, there is no variation in electric field generated by bias application due to environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. Therefore, when the deposit T is collected from the image carrier 50 by the cleaning member 1, it is difficult to be affected by environmental conditions, and good cleaning can be achieved. In addition, since no bias is used, facilities such as a power source are not required, and space saving and cost reduction are facilitated.

Next, the point that the configuration of the cleaning device 301 described above is superior to the configuration of the conventional web cleaning device will be discussed with reference to FIG. FIG. 4A is an enlarged view schematically showing the vicinity of the contact portion of the web cleaning device, and FIG. 4B is an enlarged view schematically showing the vicinity of the contact portion of the cleaning device according to the present invention.
In the case of the web cleaning device, as shown in FIG. 4A, it is inferred that the deposit is sandwiched at the contact portion, and the deposit is transferred from the surface of the image carrier to the cleaning member in the sandwiched area. . This is presumably because the radius of curvature of the abutting member is large and the adhering matter is sandwiched up to the contact portion.
On the other hand, in the cleaning device 301 according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4B, the arcuate small-diameter portion 2 is formed by the contact member 3 at the entrance of the contact portion 4. It is assumed that the deposit T is transferred from the image carrier surface 50a to the cleaning member 1. This is presumably because the radius of curvature of the arcuate surface 2 a by the contact member 3 is small and the deposit T is not sandwiched up to the contact portion 4.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 5 is a schematic view in which a cleaning device 301 is applied as a cleaning device for an intermediate transfer member provided in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.
The image forming apparatus is capable of full-color image formation using yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toners. In the figure, Y, M, C, and K are suffixes indicating members related to yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. The subscripts Y, M, C, and K are omitted as appropriate to avoid complications.
The image forming apparatus includes a drum-shaped photoconductor 111 (Y, M, C, K) serving as an image carrier, and an image forming unit that forms a toner image of each color on the surface (photoconductor surface) 111a of each photoconductor. 110 (Y, M, C, K), a belt-like intermediate transfer body 112 on which toner images formed on the respective photoreceptor surfaces 111a are sequentially transferred and carried as a toner image 130, and an exposure unit 117. .
Each image forming unit includes a known charging unit 110a (Y, M, C, K) disposed around each photoconductor 111 that rotates in a clockwise direction in FIG. 5 and a developing unit 110b (Y, M, K). C, K) and the cleaning unit 110c (Y, M, C, K) are provided.

  The intermediate transfer body 112 is wound around rollers 113, 114, and 115. The intermediate transfer body 112 positioned between the roller 113 and the roller 114 is brought into contact with each photoreceptor surface 111a by a primary transfer roller 116 (Y, M, C, K), thereby forming a primary transfer portion. ing. A primary transfer bias is applied to each primary transfer roller 116. The roller 113 is a drive roller and is driven to rotate counterclockwise by the drive motor 113A. The belt-shaped intermediate transfer body 112 rotates in the counterclockwise direction when the roller 113 is driven to rotate counterclockwise.

  A secondary transfer roller 118 is disposed at a position facing the roller 115 so as to be in contact with the surface 112a of the intermediate transfer body 112 to form a secondary transfer portion. A secondary transfer bias is applied to the secondary transfer portion. The toner images 130 formed by the toner images sequentially transferred onto the surface 112a of the intermediate transfer body 112 in each primary transfer portion are transferred from a paper supply portion (not shown) to the secondary transfer portion by a tanmin that reaches the transfer portion. The paper P is conveyed.

  The cleaning device 301 is disposed downstream of the secondary transfer portion in the moving direction of the intermediate transfer body 112, and the collection surface 1 a of the cleaning member 1 is in contact with the surface 112 a of the intermediate transfer body 112. In the present embodiment, the cleaning member 1 is rotationally moved in the counterclockwise direction in the figure by the drive motor 7. Further, when the linear velocity of the cleaning member 1 is α and the linear velocity of the intermediate transfer body 112 is β, the linear velocity difference is set so that α> β.

When forming a color image in the image forming apparatus having such a configuration, each photoconductor surface 111a is charged by each charging unit 110a and exposed and scanned by exposure light corresponding to the image signal of each color from the exposure unit 117. Thus, the latent images of the respective colors are formed. Each formed latent image becomes a toner image of each color developed by the toner of each color supplied from the developing unit 110b of each color. The toner image formed and carried on each photoreceptor surface 110a is sequentially transferred to the surface 112a of the intermediate transfer body 112 by the action of the primary transfer bias in each primary transfer portion, and carried as a toner image 130. It is conveyed to the next transfer section. Each photoconductor 111 to which the toner image has been transferred is cleaned by each cleaning means 110c and initialized by a charge eliminating means (not shown).
In the secondary transfer portion, the toner images 130 carried on the surface 112a of the intermediate transfer body 112 are collectively transferred onto the transfer paper P delivered in accordance with the arrival timing of the toner images 130. The transfer paper P onto which the toner image 130 has been transferred is conveyed to a fixing means (not shown), and the toner image is fixed by receiving heat and pressure.

  On the other hand, the surface 112 a of the intermediate transfer body 112 on which the toner image 130 is transferred to the transfer paper P in the secondary transfer portion moves toward the cleaning device 301. Then, the adherent T1 such as transfer residual toner or paper dust reaches the contact portion 4 where the small diameter portion 2 of the contact member 3 is located. At this time, in the cleaning device 301, since the cleaning member 1 rotates in the counterclockwise direction in the figure, the deposit T1 on the surface 112a of the intermediate transfer body 112 causes the contact portion 4 to move downstream of the intermediate transfer body in the rotation direction. Without moving through, it moves in a direction that does not pass through, and is sequentially transferred to the collecting surface 1a of the cleaning member 1 and collected. The deposit T1 collected by the cleaning member 1 is removed from the collection surface 1a by the deposit removing means 8.

As described above, when the cleaning device 301 according to the present embodiment is applied to the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 5, the bias T1 on the surface 112a of the intermediate transfer body 112 that has passed through the secondary transfer portion is recovered. It becomes difficult to be influenced by environmental conditions and good cleaning can be achieved. Also, because no bias is used. Equipment such as a power supply is not required, and it is easy to save space and reduce the cost of the image forming apparatus. Further, since the linear velocity difference between the intermediate transfer body 112 and the transfer paper P is α> β, the toner hardly accumulates in the cleaning portion, and the cleaning performance is maintained over time.
The linear velocity α and linear velocity β between the intermediate transfer body 112 and the transfer sheet P may be α <β or α = β. When α <β, the amount of rubbing is reduced, so that the durability of the intermediate transfer member 112 is increased. When α = β, the rotational speed of the drive motor 7 Since it is not necessary to consider a speed change such as a change in the gear ratio of the drive transmission system, a controllable and mechanical structure can be simplified. For this reason, it can be easily controlled.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram in which the cleaning device 301 is applied to the above-described intermediate transfer member in an image forming apparatus that ejects ink that becomes droplets from a nozzle head.
The image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 6 is capable of full-color image formation using yellow, magenta, cyan, and black inks. In the figure, Y, M, C, and K are suffixes indicating members related to yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. The subscripts Y, M, C, and K are omitted as appropriate to avoid complications.
The image forming apparatus has a nozzle head 201 (Y, M, C, K) that ejects ink serving as an image forming unit and an image formed by ejecting each nozzle head 201 (Y, M, C, K). A transfer belt 202 is provided as an image carrier to be carried. The nozzle head 201 (Y, M, C, K) ejects ink onto the surface 202 a of the transfer belt 202 in accordance with the image signal of each color.

The transfer belt 202 is wound around rollers 213, 214, and 215. The roller 213 is a driving roller and is driven to rotate counterclockwise by the driving motor 213A. When the roller 213 is rotationally driven in the counterclockwise direction, the transfer belt 202 rotates in the counterclockwise direction. The transfer belt 202 positioned between the rollers 213 and 214 forms and carries an image 230 in which inks are sequentially ejected from the nozzle heads 201 and are combined. At a position facing the roller 215, the transfer roller 218 is disposed so as to be in contact with the surface 202a of the transfer belt 202 to form a transfer portion. The transfer sheet P is transported from a paper supply unit (not shown) to the transfer unit by a tanmin that the image 230 carried on the transfer belt 202 reaches the transfer unit. In the present embodiment, the transfer belt 202 is configured to rotate in a counterclockwise direction.
The cleaning device 301 is disposed on the downstream side of the transfer unit in the moving direction of the transfer belt 202, and the collection surface 1 a of the cleaning member 1 is brought into contact with the surface 202 a of the transfer belt 202. In the present embodiment, the cleaning member 1 is rotationally moved in the counterclockwise direction in the figure by the drive motor 7. Further, when the linear velocity of the cleaning member 1 is α and the linear velocity of the transfer belt 202 is β, the linear velocity difference is set so that α> β.

  When an image forming apparatus having such a configuration forms a color image, ink is ejected from each nozzle head 201 to form an ink image 230 on the surface 202 a of the transfer belt 202. The image 230 is carried on the transfer belt 202 and conveyed to the transfer unit. In the transfer unit, the images 230 carried on the surface 202 a of the transfer belt 202 are collectively transferred onto the transfer paper P delivered in accordance with the arrival timing of the images 230.

  On the other hand, the surface 202 a of the transfer belt 202 on which the image 230 is transferred to the transfer paper P in the transfer portion moves toward the cleaning device 301. Then, the adherent T2 such as residual ink or paper dust reaches the contact portion 4 where the small diameter portion 2 of the contact member 3 is located. At this time, in the cleaning device 301, since the cleaning member 1 rotates in the counterclockwise direction in the figure, the deposit T2 on the surface 202a of the transfer belt 202 causes the contact portion 4 to move downstream in the intermediate transfer member rotation direction. Without moving through, it moves in a direction that does not pass through, and is sequentially transferred to the collecting surface 1a of the cleaning member 1 and collected. The deposit T2 collected by the cleaning member 1 is removed from the collection surface 1a by the deposit removing means 8.

As described above, when the cleaning device 301 according to this embodiment is applied to the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 6, bias and environmental conditions are collected when collecting the deposit T2 on the surface 202a of the transfer belt 202 that has passed through the transfer unit. It is difficult to be affected by the above, and good cleaning can be achieved. Also, because no bias is used. Equipment such as a power supply is not required, and it is easy to save space and reduce the cost of the image forming apparatus. In addition, it becomes difficult for ink to accumulate in the cleaning section, and the cleaning performance is maintained over time.
The linear velocity α and linear velocity β between the transfer belt 202 and the transfer paper P may be α <β or α = β. When α <β, the amount of rubbing is reduced, so that the durability of the transfer belt 202 is increased. When α = β, the rotational speed of the drive motor 7 and the drive are generated in order to generate a speed difference between the two. Since it is not necessary to consider a speed change such as a change in the transmission gear ratio, a controllable and mechanical structure can be simplified. For this reason, it can be easily controlled.

  In the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 5, the cleaning device 301 is applied as a cleaning device for the intermediate transfer body 112, but transfer residual toner, paper dust, etc. remaining on each photoconductor even when used as a cleaning device for each photoconductor. This can be said to be a preferable form because it can be cleaned well.

  In the above embodiment, an endless belt is used as the cleaning member, but an endless belt may be used instead. In the description of the above embodiment, the bias is not applied to each cleaning member. However, the configuration in which the bias is applied to the cleaning member or the contact member of the cleaning device described in the above embodiment is also described. It is included in the category of the invention.

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, an image transfer apparatus and an image forming apparatus provided with the image transfer apparatus will be described.
In the first to third embodiments, the scooping function in the present invention is applied to a cleaning device that removes deposits from the intermediate transfer member. In the present embodiment, the above scooping function is used to transfer an image. This is applied to the image transfer apparatus 400.
FIG. 7 is a schematic view in which the image transfer device 400 is applied to the primary transfer portion of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. This image forming apparatus is a transfer source, and can support an image, and a drum-shaped photoconductor 401 serving as a movable image carrier, and an image for forming a toner image 430 on the photoconductor surface 401a. The image forming apparatus includes a forming unit 400, a belt-like intermediate transfer body 402 that is a transfer destination to which the toner image 430 formed on the photoreceptor surface 501a is transferred, and an exposure unit 407. The image forming unit 400 includes a known configuration of a known charging unit 403, a developing unit 404, and a cleaning unit 405 arranged around a photoreceptor 401 that rotates in a clockwise direction in FIG. 7.

The image transfer apparatus 400 includes an intermediate transfer member 402, a contact member 411 formed of a rotating body that contacts a back surface 402b that is a surface opposite to the surface 402a of the intermediate transfer member 402, and a contact member 411. An auxiliary member 431 that suppresses the bending of the contact member by contact, and a primary transfer portion 406 that is a contact portion where the surface 401a of the intermediate transfer body and the surface 402a of the intermediate transfer body come into contact with each other on the surface 401a of the photoconductor. The moving unit 5A moves the surface 402a of the intermediate transfer member 402 in a direction in which the image 430 does not pass through the contact portion of the primary transfer unit 406.
The intermediate transfer body 402 is wound around rollers 413 and 414 and a roller-like contact member 411. The photosensitive member surface 401a and the surface 402a of the intermediate transfer member 402 are in contact with each other at a position where the contact member 411 and the photosensitive member surface 401a face each other, thereby forming a primary transfer portion 406 serving as a contact portion. No transfer bias is used for the primary transfer unit 406. In the present embodiment, the intermediate transfer member 402 is configured to rotate in a clockwise direction by a drive motor 7A as a drive unit that rotationally drives a roller drive shaft 414A that supports the roller 414, and is a primary transfer unit. In 406, the photosensitive member surface 401a is configured to rotate and move in the opposite direction. That is, in this embodiment, the moving means 5A is configured by the rollers 413 and 414 and the drive motor 7A. In this embodiment, when the linear velocity of the intermediate transfer member 402 is α and the linear velocity of the photosensitive member 401 is β, the linear velocity difference is set so that α <β.
The intermediate transfer member 402 has a small diameter portion 472 formed by pressing the outer peripheral surface 411a of the contact member 411 against the back surface 402b of the intermediate transfer member 402, and the small diameter portion 472 is in contact with the photoreceptor surface 401a.

  A secondary transfer roller 415 is disposed at a portion facing the roller 403 such that the surface 415 a contacts the surface 413 a of the roller 413 through the intermediate transfer body 402. A secondary transfer portion 408 is formed at a contact portion between the surface 415 a of the secondary transfer roller 415 and the surface 402 a of the intermediate transfer body 402. The toner image 430 transferred to the intermediate transfer member 402 is conveyed to the secondary transfer unit 408 from a paper supply unit (not shown) by tanning that reaches the transfer unit. The secondary transfer roller 405 is applied with a transfer bias that generates a transfer electric field in the secondary transfer unit 408 and secondarily transfers the toner image 430 of the intermediate transfer body 402 onto the transfer paper P.

  In the image forming apparatus having such a configuration, when an image is formed, the photoreceptor surface 401a is charged by the charging unit 403 and exposed and scanned by the exposure light from the exposure unit 407 to form a latent image. The formed latent image becomes a toner image 430 developed by the toner supplied from the developing unit 404. When the toner image 430 formed and carried on the photoreceptor surface 401a reaches the primary transfer portion 406, the linear velocity difference between the intermediate transfer body 402 and the photoreceptor 401 is α <β, and the moving direction of both is The transfer unit 406 has a reverse direction. For this reason, the toner image 430 on the surface 401 a of the photoreceptor is sequentially transferred and transferred to the surface 402 a of the intermediate transfer body 402 in a direction in which the toner image 430 does not pass through the transfer unit 406 downstream in the rotation direction of the photoreceptor. When the toner image 430 transferred to the surface 402a of the intermediate transfer body 402 reaches the secondary transfer portion 408, it is transferred to the recording paper P by the action of the secondary transfer bias. The transfer paper P onto which the toner image 430 has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing means 409, and the toner image is fixed by receiving heat and pressure. On the other hand, the photosensitive member 401 to which the toner image 430 has been transferred is cleaned by a cleaning unit 405 and initialized by a neutralizing unit (not shown).

  As described above, when the image transfer apparatus 400 according to the present embodiment is applied to the image forming apparatus, the transfer of the toner image 430 in the primary transfer unit 406 is less affected by the transfer electric field and environmental conditions, and the image transfer is excellent. Can be transferred to the intermediate transfer member 402, and good image formation can be achieved. Since the transfer electric field is not required, facilities such as a power source are not required, and it is easy to save space and reduce the cost of the image forming apparatus. Further, since the linear velocity difference is set by setting the linear velocity α of the intermediate transfer member 402 and the linear velocity β of the photosensitive member 401 to α <β, the bulk of the toner image 530 on the photosensitive image 401 side can be reduced, and the primary transfer is performed. The toner image 430 transferred to the intermediate transfer body 402 by the portion 406 is not easily broken, and stable image transfer can be performed.

  In this embodiment, it has the auxiliary member 431 which suppresses the bending of the small diameter contact member 411 comprised as a rotary body. When the contact member 411 is configured as a rotating body, the curvature is small and the transferability is improved when the diameter is small. However, since the entire contact member 411 is thinned, the strength of the contact member 411 itself is reduced, and the contact member 411 is easily bent. Therefore, it is expected that it is difficult to realize a stable contact state (contact nip) with respect to the intermediate transfer body 402 in the entire region of the contact member 411 in the rotation axis direction. Therefore, a rotatable contact member 411 is disposed between the intermediate transfer body 402 and the auxiliary member 431, and the contact member 411 is sandwiched between the intermediate transfer body 402 and the auxiliary member 431, thereby suppressing the bending of the contact member 411 and the intermediate transfer body 402. The contact state (contact nip) is stabilized.

The auxiliary member 431 is disposed on the side opposite to the primary transfer portion (contact portion) 406 and can be said to function as a restriction member that restricts the movement of the contact member 411 in the direction away from the intermediate transfer body 402. . The direction away from the intermediate transfer body 402 refers to the direction in which the contact member 411 bends, and the thin contact member 411 is used by backing the auxiliary member 431 against the contact member 411 from the bending direction. In addition, the strength of the abutting member 411 can be supplemented, and the abutting state (abutting nip) with the intermediate transfer body 402 due to bending can be stabilized while improving the transferability. In this embodiment, in order to further stabilize the contact state (contact nip), the auxiliary member 431 contacts the outer peripheral surface 411a of the contact member 411 as shown in FIG. 8A. The position is fixed to the frames 101A and 102A, which are the apparatus fixing portions of the image transfer apparatus 400, so that the maintained state can be maintained by the support shaft 431A. That is, the auxiliary member 431 is fixed to the frames 101A and 102A via the support shaft 431A.
As a result, the position of the contact member 411 constituting the primary transfer portion 406 that is the contact portion between the intermediate transfer body 402 and the photoreceptor surface 401a is stabilized, so that the image 430 does not easily pass through the primary transfer portion 406. Therefore, the image 430 is transferred to the surface 402 a of the intermediate transfer body 402 in the small diameter portion 472 of the intermediate transfer body 402. As a result, the image on the photoreceptor surface 401a can be satisfactorily transferred to the surface 402 of the intermediate transfer member, and satisfactory transfer can be achieved.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, the auxiliary member 431 shown in FIG. 7 is composed of a rotating body whose surface 431a comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface 411a of the contact member 411. When the auxiliary member 431 is configured as a rotating body in this way, there is an advantage that the friction with the contact member 411 is eliminated by rotating the contact member 411 and wear of the contact member 411 can be prevented.

When the auxiliary member 431 is configured as a rotating body, the material thereof may be formed of an elastic material. That is, the elastic roller 432 may be used as the auxiliary member. When the auxiliary member is configured by the elastic roller 432 as described above, the biasing force of the contact member 411 can be adjusted by the amount of biting between the contact member 411 and the elastic roller 432, and the position of the shaft portion 432A of the elastic roller 432 is adjusted. Is fixed, and the influence of vibration is reduced, and the positional stability of the contact member 411 is improved.
The shape of the auxiliary member is not a rotating body, but is a rectangular parallelepiped or a cubic block member in which at least the contact surface 433a that contacts the outer peripheral surface 411a of the contact member 411 has a flat end surface, as shown in FIG. 8C. The auxiliary member 433 configured by the above may be used.
Thus, when the contact surface 433a that contacts the outer peripheral surface 411a of the contact member 411 is a flat end surface, the contact state with the outer peripheral surface 411a is improved, and the bending of the contact member 411 can be further suppressed, which is preferable. .

Next, a support structure for the contact member 411 and the auxiliary member will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 9A shows a support structure of the contact member 411 shown in FIG. 8A and the auxiliary member 431 formed of a rotating body, and FIG. 9B shows the support structure shown in FIG. The support structure of the contact member 411 and the block-shaped auxiliary member 433 is shown.
In the support structure shown in FIG. 9A, the auxiliary member 431 is brought into a pressure contact state with the contact member 411, and the distance between the contact member 411 and the contact surface 431a of the auxiliary member 431 is made constant. .

  The support structure includes fixing portions 513 and 514 that rotatably support both ends of the support shaft 411A of the contact member 411 via a pair of bearings 511 and 511. Both ends of the shaft 431 </ b> A of the auxiliary member 431 are rotatably supported by the fixing portions 513 and 514 via a pair of bearings 512 and 512. The support shaft 411A and the shaft 431A are rotatably supported so as to be parallel to each other. For this reason, the roller-shaped contact member 411 and the auxiliary member 431 can be supported by the same fixing portions 513 and 514, and the distance between the axes (the pitch between the center of the support shaft 431A and the center of the shaft 411A) is set. Can be constant. For this reason, fluctuations in the positional relationship between the two are suppressed, and not only the positional accuracy of the contact member 411 is improved, but also the position of the contact member 411 is stable even when vibration is applied to the apparatus. It is also a strong structure.

The fixing portions 513 and 514 are integrally formed on the side plates 101A and 102A that are fixing portions of the image transfer apparatus 400, respectively. The support plate 411A and the shaft 431A of the auxiliary member 431 are supported and fixed by the same member, although they may be formed integrally with the side plates 101A and 102A or formed separately and then integrated later. . Supporting in this way is preferable because it can be kept within a moving range that can suppress or ignore the distance fluctuation between the two.
By providing the support structure having such a configuration, the outer peripheral surface 431a of the auxiliary member 431 can be held in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface 411a of the contact member 411. Even in the case where the contact member 411 is lowered, it is possible to prevent the contact member 411 from being bent by reliably backing the auxiliary member 431.

In the support structure shown in FIG. 9B, the pair of bearings 512 and 512 are removed from the fixing portions 513 and 514, and the support shaft 411A of the contact member 411 and the contact surface 433a are in a block shape so as to be parallel to each other. Both ends of the auxiliary member 433 are fixed to the fixing portions 513 and 514. For this reason, the roller-shaped contact member 411 and the auxiliary member 433 can be supported by the same fixing portions 513 and 514, and the distance between the axes of both can be made constant.
By providing the support structure having such a configuration, the outer peripheral surface 411a of the contact member 411 and the contact surface 433a of the auxiliary member 433 can be held in pressure contact with each other, so that the diameter of the contact member 411 is reduced. Even when the rigidity is lowered, the backing of the contact member 411 can be prevented by reliably backing the auxiliary member 433.

(Fifth embodiment)
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram in which the above-described image transfer device 400 is applied to a secondary transfer portion of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.
The image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 10 is capable of full-color image formation using yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toners. In the figure, Y, M, C, and K are suffixes indicating members related to yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. The subscripts Y, M, C, and K are omitted as appropriate to avoid complications.
The image forming apparatus includes a drum-shaped photoconductor 611 (Y, M, C, K) serving as an image carrier, and an image forming unit that forms a toner image of each color on the surface (photoconductor surface) surface 611a of each photoconductor. 610 (Y, M, C, K), a belt-like intermediate transfer member 612 to be a transfer member to which a toner image formed on each photoreceptor surface 611a is sequentially transferred and carried as a toner image 430A, and an exposure unit 617 is provided.
Each image forming unit includes a known charging unit 610a (Y, M, C, K) disposed around each photoconductor 611 that rotates in a clockwise direction in FIG. 10 and a developing unit 610b (Y, M, C, K) and a known configuration of the cleaning means 610c (Y, M, C, K).

The image transfer apparatus 400 includes an intermediate transfer member 612 and a contact member 411. The intermediate transfer member 612 is wound around rollers 613 and 614 and a roller-shaped contact member 411, and tension is applied by the roller 615. The intermediate transfer member 612 positioned between the rollers 613 and 614 is brought into contact with the respective photosensitive member surfaces 611a by the primary transfer rollers 617 (Y, M, C, K), whereby the primary transfer unit 616 (Y, M, C, K). A primary transfer bias is applied to each primary transfer roller 617.
A secondary transfer roller 622 is disposed at a position facing the contact member 411 so as to be in contact with the surface 612a of the intermediate transfer body 612, thereby forming a secondary transfer portion 618 serving as a contact portion. The intermediate transfer body 612 has a small-diameter portion 472 formed by pressing the outer peripheral surface 411a of the contact member 411 against the back surface 612b of the intermediate transfer body 612. The small-diameter portion 472 contacts the surface 622a of the secondary transfer roller 622. Yes. A transfer bias is not applied to the secondary transfer portion 618. In the secondary transfer unit 618, the toner image 430A formed by the toner images sequentially transferred to the intermediate transfer member 612 in each primary transfer unit is transferred from the paper supply unit (not shown) to the transfer paper P by the tamming that reaches the transfer unit. Is transported.
In the present embodiment, the intermediate transfer member 612 has the surface 612a of the intermediate transfer member 612 in the secondary transfer portion 618 in a direction in which the image 430A on the surface 612a of the intermediate transfer member 612 does not pass through the secondary transfer portion 618. A moving means 5B for moving is provided. The moving unit 5B includes rollers 613 and 614 and a driving motor 7A as a driving unit that rotationally drives a roller driving shaft 614A that supports the roller 614. In the present embodiment, the intermediate transfer body 612 is configured to rotate in the counterclockwise direction, and rotates in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the transfer paper P in the secondary transfer unit 618. In this embodiment, when the linear velocity of the intermediate transfer body 612 is α and the linear velocity of the transfer paper P is β, the linear velocity difference is set so that α <β.

When a color image is formed in the image forming apparatus having such a configuration, each photoreceptor surface 611a is charged by each charging unit 610a and exposed and scanned by exposure light corresponding to each color from the exposure unit 617. Each latent image is shaped. Each formed latent image becomes a toner image of each color developed by the toner of each color supplied from the developing means 610b of each color. The toner image formed and carried on each photoreceptor surface 610a is sequentially transferred to the surface 612a of the intermediate transfer body 612 by the action of the transfer bias in each primary transfer unit 616, and carried as a toner image 430A. It is conveyed to the transfer unit 618. Each photoconductor 611 to which the toner image has been transferred is cleaned by each cleaning means 610c and initialized by a charge eliminating means (not shown).
In the secondary transfer unit 618, the transfer paper P is delivered in accordance with the arrival timing of the toner image 430A. At this time, the linear velocity difference between the intermediate transfer body 612 and the transfer paper P is α <β, and the moving direction of both is opposite in the secondary transfer portion 618. Therefore, the toner image 430A on the surface 612a of the intermediate transfer body is transferred to the transfer paper P that moves in the direction in which the toner image 430A does not pass through the secondary transfer portion 618 and does not pass through the downstream side in the rotation direction of the intermediate transfer body. The transfer paper P onto which the toner image 430A has been transferred is conveyed to a fixing unit 619, and the toner image is fixed by receiving heat and pressure.

As described above, when the image transfer apparatus 400 according to the present embodiment is applied to the image forming apparatus, the transfer of the toner image 430A in the secondary transfer unit 618 is less affected by the transfer electric field and environmental conditions, and a good image is obtained. The image can be transferred onto the transfer paper P, and good image formation can be achieved. Since the transfer electric field is not required, facilities such as a power source are not required, and it is easy to save space and reduce the cost of the image forming apparatus.
Further, since the linear velocity difference is set by setting the linear velocity α of the intermediate transfer body 412 and the linear velocity β of the transfer paper P to α <β, the moving speed of each photoconductor 611 and each image forming unit 610 can be reduced. The durability of each photoconductor 611 and each image forming unit 610 can be improved while maintaining the image forming productivity.

(Sixth embodiment)
FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram in which the above-described image transfer apparatus 400 is applied to a secondary transfer portion of an image forming apparatus that ejects ink that becomes droplets from a nozzle head.
The image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 11 is capable of full-color image formation using yellow, magenta, cyan, and black inks. In the figure, Y, M, C, and K are suffixes indicating members related to yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. The subscripts Y, M, C, and K are omitted as appropriate to avoid complications.
The image forming apparatus has a nozzle head 701 (Y, M, C, K) that ejects ink serving as an image forming unit and an image formed by ejecting each nozzle head 701 (Y, M, C, K). A transfer belt 702 is provided as an image carrier to be carried. The nozzle head 701 (Y, M, C, K) ejects ink onto the surface 702a of the transfer belt 702 in accordance with each color image signal.

The image transfer apparatus 400 includes a transfer belt 702 and a contact member 411. The transfer belt 702 is wound around rollers 713 and 714 and a contact member 411, and is given tension by the roller 712. A transfer belt 702 located between the rollers 713 and 714 carries an image 730 formed by sequentially ejecting ink from the nozzle heads 701 and being synthesized.
At a position facing the contact member 411, the transfer roller 712 is disposed so as to be in contact with the surface 702 a of the transfer belt 702, thereby forming a transfer portion 708 serving as a contact portion. The transfer belt 702 has a small-diameter portion 472 formed by pressing the outer peripheral surface 411 a of the contact member 411 against the back surface 702 b of the transfer belt 702, and this transfer portion is in contact with the surface 712 a of the transfer roller 712 by the small-diameter portion 472. In 708, no transfer bias is applied. The transfer sheet P is transported to the transfer unit 708 from a paper supply unit (not shown) by the tanking that the image 730 carried on the transfer belt 702 reaches the transfer unit.
In the present embodiment, the transfer belt 702 includes a moving unit 5C that moves the surface 708a of the transfer belt 702 in a direction in which the image 730 on the surface 702a of the transfer belt 702 does not pass through the transfer unit 708 in the transfer unit 708. ing. The moving unit 5C includes rollers 713 and 714 and a drive motor 7A as a drive unit that rotationally drives a roller drive shaft 714A that supports the roller 714. In this embodiment, the transfer belt 702 is configured to rotate in the counterclockwise direction, and in the transfer unit 708, the transfer belt 702 rotates in a direction opposite to the moving direction of the transfer paper P. In this embodiment, when the linear velocity of the transfer belt 702 is α and the linear velocity of the transfer paper P is β, the linear velocity difference is set so that α <β.

  When an image forming apparatus having such a configuration forms a color image, ink is ejected from each nozzle head 701 to form an ink image 730 on the surface 702a of the transfer belt 702. The image 730 is carried on the transfer belt 702 and conveyed to the transfer unit 708. The transfer sheet P is delivered to the transfer unit 708 in accordance with the arrival timing of the image 730. At this time, the linear velocity difference between the transfer belt 702 and the transfer paper P is α <β, and the movement direction of both is opposite in the transfer unit 708. For this reason, the image 730 on the surface 702a of the transfer belt 702 is transferred to the transfer paper P that moves in the direction in which the image does not pass through the transfer unit 708 without passing through the transfer unit 708 downstream.

As described above, when the image transfer apparatus 400 according to the present embodiment is applied to an image forming apparatus, the transfer unit 708 is less susceptible to the influence of the transfer electric field and environmental conditions when the image 730 is transferred to the transfer paper P. The image can be transferred to the transfer paper P, and good image formation can be achieved. Since the transfer electric field is not required, facilities such as a power source are not required, and it is easy to save space and reduce the cost of the image forming apparatus.
Further, since the linear velocity difference is set by setting the linear velocity α of the transfer belt 702 and the linear velocity β of the transfer paper P to α <β, the ejection speed of each nozzle head 701 and the moving speed of the transfer belt 702 can be slowed. The durability of each nozzle head 701 and transfer belt 702 can be improved while maintaining the productivity of image formation.

In the configuration of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 10, the transfer paper P cut to a predetermined length is conveyed to the secondary transfer unit 718, but the transfer form of the transfer paper P is as shown in FIG. 12. Alternatively, continuous length roll-shaped transfer paper P1 may be used. In this case, the roll-shaped transfer paper P1 is brought into contact with the intermediate transfer member 412 at a position facing the contact member 411 through the lower side of the intermediate transfer member 412, thereby forming a secondary transfer portion 618 serving as a contact portion. In this case, the collection roll unit 750 that winds up the transfer paper P1 is arranged upstream of the secondary transfer unit 618 in the rotational movement direction of the intermediate transfer member, so that the transfer direction of the transfer paper P is changed in the secondary transfer unit 618. The moving direction of the intermediate transfer member 412 can be reversed.
Even with such a configuration, the transfer of the toner image 430A in the secondary transfer unit 618 is hardly affected by the transfer electric field and environmental conditions, and a good image can be transferred to the transfer paper P, and a good image formation can be achieved. Can be achieved. Since the transfer electric field is not required, facilities such as a power source are not required, and it is easy to save space and reduce the cost of the image forming apparatus.

In the configuration of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 11, the transfer paper P cut to a predetermined length is transported to the transfer unit 708. However, as a transfer form of the transfer paper P, as shown in FIG. A continuous length roll-shaped transfer paper P1 may be used. In this case, the roll-shaped transfer paper P1 is brought into contact with the transfer belt 702 at a position facing the contact member 411 through the lower side of the transfer belt 702 to form a transfer portion 708 serving as a contact portion. In this case, the collection roll unit 750 that winds up the transfer paper P1 is disposed upstream of the transfer unit 708 in the transfer belt rotational movement direction, so that the transfer unit 708 moves the transfer paper P in the transfer belt 702 and the transfer belt 702. The moving direction can be reversed.
Even with such a configuration, when transferring the toner image 730 in the transfer unit 708, it becomes difficult to be affected by the transfer electric field and environmental conditions, and a good image can be transferred to the transfer paper P, thereby achieving good image formation. can do. Since the transfer electric field is not required, facilities such as a power source are not required, and it is easy to save space and reduce the cost of the image forming apparatus.

  In addition to the configuration of the image forming apparatus described above, a power source that applies a bias may be provided, and an electric field may be formed at the contact portion between the image carrier and the transfer target by applying the bias. The present invention can also be applied to an electrophotographic apparatus, an apparatus that ejects ink from a nozzle head, and an apparatus that performs so-called offset printing.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, and the present invention described in the claims is not specifically limited by the above description. Various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the above. The effects described in the embodiments of the present invention are only the most preferable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are limited to those described in the embodiments of the present invention. is not.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Belt-shaped cleaning member 1a Surface of cleaning member 1b Opposite surface 2,472 Small diameter portion 3,411 Contact member 4,406 Contact portion 5,5A, 5B, 5C Moving means 30, 31, 32, 431, 432 433 Auxiliary member 50, 400 Image carrier 50a, 400a Image carrier surface 101, 102, 101A, 102A Device fixing part 130, 230, 430, 430A, 730 Image 301 Cleaning device 400 Image transfer device 402, 612, 702 Belt-shaped transferred object 402a, 612a, 702a Surface of belt-shaped transferred object 402a, 612b, 702b Opposite surface T, T1, T2 Deposits

JP 2009-192805 A Japanese Patent No. 4818795

Claims (10)

A cleaning device for collecting deposits adhering to the surface of the image carrier by bringing the surface of the belt-shaped cleaning member into contact with the surface of the image carrier,
An abutting member composed of a rotating body that abuts against the surface opposite to the surface of the cleaning member;
An auxiliary member that suppresses bending of the contact member by contacting the contact member;
In the contact portion where the surface of the image carrier and the surface of the cleaning member are in contact with each other, the movement of the surface of the cleaning member in a direction in which deposits on the surface of the image carrier do not pass through the contact portion. Means and
The cleaning member has a small-diameter portion formed by pressing the outer peripheral surface of the abutting member against a surface opposite to the surface of the cleaning member, and the small-diameter portion contacts the surface of the image carrier.
The auxiliary member is a cleaning device fixed to a device fixing portion. The cleaning device according to claim 1.
A cleaning device in which the contact member and the auxiliary member are fixed and supported by the same device fixing portion. The cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2,
The auxiliary member is a cleaning device made of an elastic material. The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The moving means rotates the cleaning member at the contact portion so that at least the moving direction of the surface of the image carrier and the moving direction of the surface of the cleaning member are opposite to each other. Cleaning device.   An image forming apparatus comprising the cleaning device according to claim 1. A belt-shaped transfer object that is a transfer destination to which an image on the image carrier can be transferred by contacting the surface of the image carrier that can carry an image and whose surface is movable;
An abutting member composed of a rotating body that abuts on the surface opposite to the surface of the transfer object;
An auxiliary member that suppresses bending of the contact member by contacting the contact member;
At the contact portion where the surface of the image carrier and the surface of the transfer object are in contact, the surface of the transfer object is moved in a direction in which an image on the surface of the image carrier does not pass through the contact part. Moving means,
The transferred body has a small diameter portion formed by pressing the outer peripheral surface of the contact member against the surface opposite to the surface of the transferred body, and the small diameter portion is in contact with the surface of the image carrier,
The auxiliary member is an image transfer device fixed to a device fixing portion. The image transfer apparatus according to claim 6.
An image transfer apparatus in which the contact member and the auxiliary member are fixed and supported by the same apparatus fixing portion. The image transfer apparatus according to claim 6 or 7,
The image transfer apparatus, wherein the auxiliary member is made of an elastic material. The image transfer apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8,
The moving unit rotates and moves the transferred body at the contact portion so that at least the moving direction of the surface of the image carrier and the moving direction of the surface of the transferred body are opposite to each other. An image transfer device.   An image forming apparatus comprising the image transfer apparatus according to claim 6.

Images