JPH02255441A - Belt conveyor for copying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make a smudge stuck to a belt conveyor surface easy to be removed as well as to reduce an anti-glass friction factor and a load current by forming plural numbers of intermittent grooves on the belt surface. CONSTITUTION:Plural numbers of rectangular intermittent grooves 6 of more than 0.5-3mm in short side and 0.5mm in long side are formed on the surface of an endless copying machine belt conveyor 5 which sets an original sheet 7 to the top of platen glass 3 piece by piece in a close-contact state. Owing to the presence of these intermittent grooves, an antiglass friction factor and a load current are reducible, while a cleaner can be applied on the surface of the belt 5 uniformly at time of cleaning the belt 5.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is directed to an endless paper sheet for setting originals that have been automatically fed one by one onto the platen glass surface in close contact with the platen glass surface. This invention relates to a conveyor belt for a copying machine.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various types of copying machines have been proposed and developed that are equipped with various functions, and one of them is one equipped with an automatic document feeder suitable for high-speed copying. Then, this automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as Δ
The DF device (referred to as a DF device) is installed on the upper side of the copying machine main body, and sends out documents one by one from the storage section in which a large number of documents are stacked toward the platen glass side, and then sends out one document at a time on the side of the platen glass. There is a known device in which the original is set tightly on the platen glass surface using an endless conveyor belt (ADF belt) stretched between a pair of rollers, and is exposed to light by an exposure lamp and written. The documents whose contents have been read are sequentially ejected from the machine.

However, in such a copying machine equipped with an ADF device, there is a risk that the conveyor belt may be contaminated by adhesion of toner, carbon, etc. from the original paper, leading to various problems such as deterioration of image quality.

Therefore, in such cases, measures such as wiping off contaminants such as toner adhering to the surface with a cleaner such as alcohol are taken.

In addition, in such a conveyor belt, in order to stably convey the original, the coefficient of friction against the paper is 0. In addition, the coefficient of friction against the glass is set to 1.2 or less in order to keep the drive motor load current low during contact with the platen glass.

[Problem to be solved]

However, in order to reduce the coefficient of friction against glass, these conveyor belts are generally textured with fine grains, which means that when you try to remove dirt using a cleaner, the dirt that gets into the textured areas is easily removed. The disadvantage was that it could not be removed.

It is obvious that a belt with a smooth surface without wrinkles or grooves is advantageous for wiping off dirt, but sometimes when the belt is driven immediately after cleaning with a cleaner, the belt and platen glass may come into close contact. , the load current may flow excessively, damaging the motor or causing the belt to not rotate.

Therefore, this invention makes it easy to remove dirt from the conveyor belt.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a conveyor belt for a copying machine that achieves a reduction in the coefficient of friction against glass and a reduction in load current.

[Failure to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an endless conveyor belt for a copying machine, which is formed by molding a thermoplastic elastomer, and sets documents one by one on a glass platen surface in close contact with each other. A plurality of interrupted grooves are formed.

[Effect]

When the conveyor belt of the present invention is driven, the presence of the intermittent grooves can reduce the coefficient of friction against glass, and also reduce the load current. Further, when trying to remove dirt using a cleaner, the cleaner can be applied evenly.

[Real Square Example] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the overall simplified sectional view shown in FIG.
In a casing 2 serving as a platen cover, a conveyor belt 5 is stretched between a pair of rollers 4, 4 provided above a platen glass 3 and facing each other.

A plurality of interrupted grooves 6 are formed on the surface of the conveyor belt 5 over the entire circumference in the running direction.

Multiple sheets of original paper 7 are stacked in a storage section 8 adjacent to the ADF device 1, and the original paper 7 is fed out toward the platen glass 3 by rollers 9, 9.

Reference numeral 10 in FIG. 1 is the main body of the copying machine.

In FIG. 2, intermittent grooves 6 are arranged on the belt 5 at 90° in the direction perpendicular to the belt, and the pitch thereof is shifted by 0.5 pitch in the direction perpendicular to the belt. Using such a mechanism and belts with various grooves, Table 1 shows the differences in characteristics depending on the grooves.

In Table 1! ! ! The interrupted grooves 6 of Example 1 are shown in Fig. 3(a) -
It has the appearance and cross-sectional shape as shown in (b), and manufacturing example 2 is shown in Fig. 4 (a) and (b), and manufacturing example 3 is shown in Fig. 5 (a).
(b), Production example 4 is shown in Figure 6 (a) and (b), Production example 5.
7(a)-(b), and Manufacturing Example 6 is shown in FIG. 8(a).
・(b), Manufacturing Example 7 is as shown in FIGS. 9(a) and 9(b).

Further, Comparative Example 1 is a belt having an appearance and cross-sectional shape as shown in FIGS. 10(a) and (b), and has unevenness in Table 1hj, and Comparative Example 2 is a belt with grooves. It is.

Here, the test machine was a copying machine with an ADF, and unless otherwise specified, the belt was made by extrusion molding using thermoplastic urethane, and then by heat processing.
The desired fullness and grain were produced.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing means for measuring short pieces and long sides of the interrupted grooves 6, and FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing means for measuring the depth of the interrupted grooves 6, where 6Δ indicates the bottom surface. FIG. 13 shows means for measuring the pitch of the interrupted grooves 6.

The transmission stability in Table 1 was evaluated by making 1,000 copies for each groove shape, measuring the number of sheets in which the original was conveyed with a deviation of 8 m1I+ or more, and giving an evaluation of 1 to 5 as shown in Table 2.

Table 2 In addition, the contamination property in Table 1 indicates the rate of decrease in reflectance after copying 4000 sheets.

The size of the above-mentioned interrupted grooves 6 is such that the short pieces on the surface of the belt 5 are 0.5 to 3 mm, preferably 0.5 to 3 mm. 8-2.0m
m, the long side is 0.5 cylinder or more, more preferably 2.5++
It is desirable that the shape be a square such as a rectangle with a size of +m or more and 5 mm or less, an oval shape, an oval shape, or a combination thereof.

If the short side deviates from this dimension, the conveyance becomes unstable.
If the long side comes off, the noise will increase.

In addition, the pitch is 1.5 to 1.5 to
6n+m preferably 2 to 4 mm, 4 to 3 mm in the direction perpendicular to the belt, preferably 2 to b. If the pitch is too fine, cleaning performance will deteriorate; however,
If it is too large, the effect of the interrupted grooves 6 will be lost, and the belt feeding performance will deteriorate.

The arrangement of the interrupted grooves 6 is such that the front and rear grooves in the belt feeding direction are shifted by 0.5 to 1 pitch in the perpendicular direction.

In the depth direction of the interrupted groove 6, each end of the groove is formed with a straight or curved gently sloped surface from the belt surface to the groove bottom, and the slope angle is 60° to 150°, preferably 90° to 13°.
0°, and the bottom surface 6A is formed as a flat or curved surface, and its depth is preferably lower than the upper edge of the groove, and is preferably 400 μm or less at maximum.

Moreover, these interrupted grooves 6 have an angle of 90° with respect to the belt feeding direction.
with an angle of between 30° and 60°, preferably less than 90°
° or more is desirable. If this angle is too low, the effect of the grooves will be lost, resulting in a lack of stability in paper conveyance.

All elastomers can be used as the material for the belt 5, but thermoplastic elastomers are particularly preferred from the viewpoint of ease of groove processing, and urethane elastomers are more preferred from the viewpoint of belt strength. ing.

Further, as the molding method in the present invention, a molding method for boat fishing resin can be used. Additionally, groove processing can be performed simultaneously on molds, dies, sizing plates, etc. during molding, or it can be performed as secondary processing before or after molding using various energies such as heat and ultrasonic waves. be.

〔effect〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, since a plurality of intermittent grooves are formed on the surface of the belt, dirt adhering to the surface of the conveyor belt can be easily removed, and the coefficient of friction against glass and the load current can be reduced. I can do it.

In addition, since dirt adhering to the surface of the conveyor belt can be sufficiently removed, the dirt can be repeatedly wiped off, resulting in a longer service life than a textured conveyor belt made of the same material.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a simplified sectional view of the entire invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the belt, and Figs. 3(a) and 9(b) to 9(a) and
10(a) and 10(b) are external views and sectional views of Comparative Example 1, and FIG. 11 shows the short and long pieces of the interrupted groove. FIG. 12 is a plan view showing the means for measuring the sides; FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing the means for measuring the depth of the interrupted groove;
FIG. 13 is a plan view showing means for measuring the pitch of interrupted grooves. 5...Belt, 6...Intermittent groove. N2 diagram

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An endless conveyor belt for a copying machine that is formed by molding an elastomer and sets original documents one by one on a platen glass surface in close contact with each other, the belt surface having a plurality of interrupted grooves. A conveyor belt for a copying machine, characterized in that: 2. The size of the interrupted groove is a rectangle with a short side of 0.5 to 3 mm and a long side of 0.5 mm or more on the belt surface, or /
The conveyor belt for a copying machine according to claim 1, which has an oval shape and/or an oval shape. 3. The pitch of the interrupted grooves is 1.
The conveyor belt for a copying machine according to claim 1 or 2, having a length of 5 to 6 mm and 4 to 8 mm in a direction perpendicular to the belt. 4. The copying machine according to claim 1, wherein in the arrangement of the intermittent grooves, the front and rear grooves in the belt feeding direction are shifted in pitch by 0.5 to 1 mm in the perpendicular direction. conveyor belt. 5. The conveyor belt for a copying machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein each end of the interrupted groove is formed as a straight or curved gently sloped surface from the surface to the groove bottom. . 6. The conveyor belt for a copying machine according to claim 1, wherein the bottom surface of the interrupted groove is formed as a flat or curved surface. 7. The conveyor for a copying machine according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the depth of the bottom surface of the interrupted groove is lower than the surface of the smallest belt and 400 μm or less from the upper edge of the largest groove. belt. 8. The intermittent groove is at an angle of 90° to 3° with respect to the belt feeding direction.
The conveyor belt for a copying machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it is formed at an angle of 0°. 9. The conveyor belt for a copying machine according to claim 1, wherein the elastomer is a thermoplastic elastomer, particularly a urethane-based elastomer.