JP2017102317A - Image forming apparatus and image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus that, when a surface member is bonded to a surface of a recording medium, can suppress the recording medium from being peeled off from the surface member, and an image forming system including the image forming apparatus.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus comprises: a toner image forming part that forms a toner image on a recording medium by using a toner containing a first resin made of a mold release agent and a second resin having a lower melting point than that of the first resin and a smaller releasability than that of the first resin; a fixing part that thermally fixes the toner image formed on the recording medium to the recording medium; and a control part that, after the toner image is fixed to the recording medium by the fixing part, performs control of causing the first resin and the second resin to solidify in this order.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming system.

  In general, an image forming apparatus (printer, copying machine, facsimile, etc.) using an electrophotographic process technology irradiates (exposes) a charged photosensitive drum (image carrier) with laser light based on image data. To form an electrostatic latent image. Then, by supplying toner from the developing device to the photosensitive drum on which the electrostatic latent image is formed, the electrostatic latent image is visualized to form a toner image. Further, after the toner image is directly or indirectly transferred to the sheet, the toner image is formed on the sheet by fixing it by heating and pressing at the fixing nip.

  Practical use of an image forming system including such an image forming apparatus and a laminating unit for performing a laminating process (adhesion process) on a label paper (recording medium) on which a toner image is formed by the image forming apparatus. Is underway. The label paper mainly consists of three layers: a surface layer, an adhesive layer, and a release layer. After a toner image is formed on the surface layer, it is pressed and heated together with a laminate portion (surface member) having the adhesive layer in a subsequent process. It is cut later and used as a laminated label sticker attached to the target product. Laminated label seals are used in advertisements, industrial products, foods, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and the like, and have improved durability, water resistance, visibility, and the like by laminating label paper.

  In addition, the toner used in such an image forming apparatus includes a wax and a release agent in order to ensure separability from a constituent member (for example, a fixing belt) of the fixing unit (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ). The toner described in Patent Document 1 contains at least a resin, a colorant, and a release agent.

JP2013-242448A

  However, during image formation, the wax and the release agent may ooze out of the toner due to the influence of heat in the fixing process. If wax or a release agent oozes out from the toner image formed on the surface layer of the label paper, the toner image on the surface layer of the label paper becomes easy to release from the adhesive layer of the laminate part. The adhesive force between the layer and the adhesive layer of the laminate portion is reduced. As the coverage of the toner image formed on the surface layer of the label paper increases, the adhesive area between the surface layer of the label paper and the adhesive layer of the laminate portion decreases, and the adhesive force decreases.

  Therefore, when a toner image is formed on the surface layer of a label paper for lamination using a toner containing a release agent as described in Patent Document 1, a portion that becomes a label seal from the label paper is removed. When cut, there was a problem that the laminate part might be peeled off from the label paper.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming system capable of suppressing peeling of a surface member from the recording medium when the surface member is bonded to the surface of the recording medium. .

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes:
A toner image is formed on a recording medium using a toner having a first resin composed of a release agent and a second resin having a melting point lower than that of the first resin and lower releasability than the first resin. A toner image forming unit;
A fixing unit for thermally fixing the toner image formed on the recording medium to the recording medium;
A controller that controls the first resin and the second resin to solidify in order after the toner image is fixed on the recording medium by the fixing unit;
Is provided.

An image forming system according to the present invention includes:
The image forming apparatus described above;
An adhesion processing apparatus for adhering a surface member to the recording medium on which a toner image is formed;
Is provided.

  According to the present invention, when the surface member is bonded to the surface of the recording medium, the surface member can be prevented from being peeled off from the recording medium.

1 is a diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a main part of a control system of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows schematically the whole structure of the laminating apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment 1. FIG. It is sectional drawing of the label paper by which the lamination part was processed. It is a figure which shows the label paper by which the cutting process was carried out. It is a figure which shows the toner on the label paper before fixing. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating toner on a label sheet during fixing. It is a figure which shows a label paper when 1st resin crystallizes after fixing. It is a figure which shows a label paper when the 2nd resin is hardened after fixing. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a label paper that has been processed in a laminating portion, and shows a state where a first resin has oozed out on the toner surface. It is sectional drawing of the label paper by which the lamination part was processed, Comprising: It is a figure which shows when 2nd resin is hardened. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of an image forming system including an image forming apparatus and a laminating apparatus according to a first embodiment.

  Hereinafter, the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a main part of a control system of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment.

  The image forming apparatus 1 uses label paper P or paper S (non-label paper) such as continuous paper or long paper indicated by bold lines in FIG. 1 and forms an image on the label paper P or paper S. . The label paper P includes three layers, that is, a surface layer, an adhesive layer, and a release layer. For example, the label paper P is fed into the image forming apparatus 1 from a paper feeding apparatus 2 configured separately from the image forming apparatus 1. The label paper P corresponds to the “recording medium” of the present invention.

  An image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is an intermediate transfer type color image forming apparatus using electrophotographic process technology. That is, the image forming apparatus 1 primarily transfers the Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K (black) toner images formed on the photosensitive drum 413 to the intermediate transfer belt 421. After the toner images of four colors are superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 421, an image is formed by secondary transfer onto the label paper P or the paper S.

  Further, in the image forming apparatus 1, the photosensitive drums 413 corresponding to the four colors of YMCK are arranged in series in the running direction of the intermediate transfer belt 421, and the respective color toner images are sequentially transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 421 in one step. Tandem system is adopted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an image reading unit 10, an operation display unit 20, an image processing unit 30, an image forming unit 40, a paper transport unit 50, a fixing unit 60, an ultraviolet irradiation unit 90, and a control unit 101. Is provided.

  The control unit 101 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 102, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 103, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 104, and the like. The CPU 102 reads out a program corresponding to the processing content from the ROM 103 and develops it in the RAM 104, and centrally controls the operation of each block of the image forming apparatus 1 in cooperation with the developed program. At this time, various data stored in the storage unit 72 is referred to. The storage unit 72 includes, for example, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory (so-called flash memory) or a hard disk drive.

  The control unit 101 transmits and receives various data to and from an external device (for example, a personal computer) connected to a communication network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network) via the communication unit 71. . For example, the control unit 101 receives image data (input image data) transmitted from an external device, and forms an image on the label paper P or the paper S based on the image data. The communication unit 71 is composed of a communication control card such as a LAN card, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image reading unit 10 includes an automatic document feeder 11 called an ADF (Auto Document Feeder), a document image scanning device 12 (scanner), and the like.

  The automatic document feeder 11 transports the document D placed on the document tray by a transport mechanism and sends it out to the document image scanning device 12. The automatic document feeder 11 can continuously read images (including both sides) of a large number of documents D placed on the document tray all at once.

  The document image scanning device 12 optically scans a document conveyed on the contact glass from the automatic document feeder 11 or a document placed on the contact glass, and reflects light from the document to a CCD (Charge Coupled Device). ) An image is formed on the light receiving surface of the sensor 12a, and an original image is read. The image reading unit 10 generates input image data based on the reading result by the document image scanning device 12. The input image data is subjected to predetermined image processing in the image processing unit 30.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the operation display unit 20 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) with a touch panel, and functions as a display unit 21 and an operation unit 22. The display unit 21 displays various operation screens, image states, operation states of functions, and the like according to a display control signal input from the control unit 101. The operation unit 22 includes various operation keys such as a numeric keypad and a start key, receives various input operations by the user, and outputs an operation signal to the control unit 101.

  The image processing unit 30 includes a circuit that performs digital image processing on input image data according to initial settings or user settings. For example, the image processing unit 30 performs gradation correction based on the gradation correction data (gradation correction table) under the control of the control unit 101. Further, the image processing unit 30 performs various correction processes such as color correction and shading correction, a compression process, and the like on the input image data in addition to the gradation correction. The image forming unit 40 is controlled based on the image data subjected to these processes.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming unit 40 is based on input image data, and image forming units 41Y, 41M, and 41C for forming an image using colored toners of Y component, M component, C component, and K component. , 41K, intermediate transfer unit 42 and the like. The image forming unit 40 corresponds to the “toner image forming unit” of the present invention.

  The Y component, M component, C component, and K component image forming units 41Y, 41M, 41C, and 41K have the same configuration. For convenience of illustration and description, common constituent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and in order to distinguish them, Y, M, C, or K is added to the reference numerals. In FIG. 1, only the components of the Y-component image forming unit 41Y are denoted by reference numerals, and the constituent elements of the other image forming units 41M, 41C, and 41K are omitted.

  The image forming unit 41 includes an exposure device 411, a developing device 412, a photosensitive drum 413, a charging device 414, a drum cleaning device 415, and the like.

  The photoreceptor drum 413 is made of an organic photoreceptor in which a photosensitive layer made of a resin containing an organic photoconductor is formed on the outer peripheral surface of a drum-shaped metal substrate, for example.

  The control unit 101 rotates the photosensitive drum 413 at a constant peripheral speed by controlling a driving current supplied to a driving motor (not shown) that rotates the photosensitive drum 413.

  The charging device 414 is, for example, a charging charger, and uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 413 having photoconductivity by generating corona discharge.

  The exposure device 411 is composed of, for example, a semiconductor laser, and irradiates the photosensitive drum 413 with laser light corresponding to the image of each color component. As a result, an electrostatic latent image of each color component is formed in the image area irradiated with laser light on the surface of the photosensitive drum 413 due to a potential difference from the background area.

  The developing device 412 is a two-component reversal developing device, and attaches a developer of each color component to the surface of the photosensitive drum 413 to visualize the electrostatic latent image and form a toner image.

  For example, a DC developing bias having the same polarity as the charging polarity of the charging device 414 or a developing bias in which a DC voltage having the same polarity as the charging polarity of the charging device 414 is superimposed on an AC voltage is applied to the developing device 412. As a result, reverse development is performed in which toner is attached to the electrostatic latent image formed by the exposure device 411.

  The drum cleaning device 415 is in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 413 and has a plate-like drum cleaning blade 415A made of an elastic material, etc., and remains on the surface of the photosensitive drum 413 without being transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 421. Remove toner.

  The intermediate transfer unit 42 includes an intermediate transfer belt 421, a primary transfer roller 422, a plurality of support rollers 423, a secondary transfer roller 424, a belt cleaning device 426, and the like.

  The intermediate transfer unit 42 is composed of an endless belt, and is stretched around a plurality of support rollers 423 in a loop shape. At least one of the plurality of support rollers 423 is configured by a driving roller, and the other is configured by a driven roller. For example, it is preferable that the roller 423A disposed downstream of the K component primary transfer roller 422 in the belt traveling direction is a driving roller. This makes it easy to keep the belt running speed at the primary transfer nip constant. As the driving roller 423A rotates, the intermediate transfer belt 421 travels in the direction of arrow A at a constant speed.

  The intermediate transfer belt 421 is a belt having conductivity and elasticity, and has a high resistance layer having a volume resistivity of 8 to 11 [log Ω · cm] on the surface. The intermediate transfer belt 421 is rotationally driven by a control signal from the control unit 101. Note that the material, thickness, and hardness of the intermediate transfer belt 421 are not limited as long as they have conductivity and elasticity.

  The primary transfer roller 422 is disposed on the inner peripheral surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 421 so as to face the photosensitive drum 413 of each color component. The primary transfer roller 422 is pressed against the photosensitive drum 413 with the intermediate transfer belt 421 interposed therebetween, thereby forming a primary transfer nip for transferring a toner image from the photosensitive drum 413 to the intermediate transfer belt 421.

  The secondary transfer roller 424 is disposed on the outer peripheral surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 421 so as to face the backup roller 423B disposed on the downstream side in the belt traveling direction of the drive roller 423A. The secondary transfer roller 424 is pressed against the backup roller 423B with the intermediate transfer belt 421 interposed therebetween, thereby forming a secondary transfer nip for transferring the toner image from the intermediate transfer belt 421 to the label paper P or the paper S. The

  When the intermediate transfer belt 421 passes through the primary transfer nip, the toner images on the photoconductive drum 413 are primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 421 in sequence. Specifically, by applying a primary transfer bias to the primary transfer roller 422 and applying a charge having a polarity opposite to that of the toner to the back side of the intermediate transfer belt 421, that is, the side in contact with the primary transfer roller 422, the toner image Is electrostatically transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 421.

  Thereafter, when the label paper P or paper S passes through the secondary transfer nip, the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 421 is secondarily transferred to the label paper P or paper S. Specifically, by applying a secondary transfer bias to the backup roller 423B, and applying a charge having the same polarity as the toner to the surface side of the label paper P or the paper S, that is, the side in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 421, The toner image is electrostatically transferred to the label paper P or paper S, and the label paper P or paper S is conveyed toward the fixing unit 60.

  The belt cleaning device 426 removes transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 421 after the secondary transfer. Instead of the secondary transfer roller 424, a so-called belt-type secondary transfer unit in which a secondary transfer belt is stretched in a loop shape on a plurality of support rollers including the secondary transfer roller may be adopted. .

  The fixing unit 60 includes an upper fixing unit 60A having a fixing surface side member disposed on the fixing surface of the label paper P or the paper S, that is, the surface on which the toner image is formed, and the back surface of the label paper P or the paper S, that is, fixing. A lower fixing unit 60B having a back-side support member disposed on the opposite side of the surface, a heating source 60C, and the like are provided. When the back surface side support member is pressed against the fixing surface side member, a fixing nip for nipping and transporting the label paper P or the paper S is formed.

  The fixing unit 60 fixes the toner image on the label paper P or the paper S by heating and pressurizing the label paper P or the paper S that has been secondarily transferred and conveyed at the fixing nip. The fixing unit 60 is disposed in the fixing device F as a unit. The fixing device F may be provided with an air separation unit that separates the label paper P or the paper S from the fixing surface side member or the back surface side support member by blowing air.

  The ultraviolet irradiation unit 90 is, for example, a UV lamp, and is disposed between the fixing unit 60 and a later-described paper discharge unit 52 in the paper transport direction. The ultraviolet irradiation unit 90 irradiates the label paper P that has passed through the fixing nip with ultraviolet rays under the control of the control unit 101.

  The paper transport unit 50 includes a paper feed unit 51, a paper discharge unit 52, a transport path unit 53, and the like. In the three paper feed tray units 51a to 51c constituting the paper feed unit 51, paper S (standard paper, special paper) identified based on basis weight, size, etc. is stored for each preset type. . The conveyance path unit 53 includes a plurality of conveyance rollers such as a pair of registration rollers 53a.

  The sheets S stored in the sheet feed tray units 51 a to 51 c are sent one by one from the top and are conveyed to the image forming unit 40 by the conveyance path unit 53. At this time, the registration roller portion provided with the registration roller pair 53a corrects the inclination of the fed paper S and adjusts the conveyance timing. In the image forming unit 40, the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 421 is secondarily transferred onto one side of the sheet S at a time, and a fixing process is performed in the fixing unit 60.

  Further, the label paper P fed from the paper feeding device 2 to the image forming apparatus 1 is conveyed to the image forming unit 40 by the conveyance path unit 53. In the image forming unit 40, the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 421 is secondarily transferred to one side of the label paper P at a time, and a fixing process is performed in the fixing unit 60. The image-formed paper S or label paper P is discharged out of the apparatus by a paper discharge unit 52 having a paper discharge roller 52a.

  The label paper P discharged out of the machine is accommodated in the laminating apparatus 3 when being laminated in a roll shape by, for example, a winding apparatus or the like. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of the laminating apparatus 3 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the label paper P obtained by processing the laminate portion L.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, the laminating apparatus 3 includes a laminate transport unit 4, a laminate processing unit 5, and a die cut processing unit 6. The laminating unit 5 corresponds to the “bonding processing device” of the present invention, and the die cut processing unit 6 corresponds to the “cutting processing device” of the present invention.

  The laminate transport unit 4 accommodates a first roll unit 4A in which the laminate unit L is wound in a roll shape, and a second roll unit 4B in which a label paper P on which a toner image is formed is wound in a roll shape. The part L and the label paper P are each conveyed toward the laminating part 5. In addition, the 2nd roll part 4B is arrange | positioned in the laminate conveyance part 4 by the user.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the laminate part L is a transparent film sheet stretched on the label paper P by heat treatment, and has a surface layer L1 and an adhesive layer L2. The surface layer L1 is made of a material such as polyester, polyethylene, or polypropylene. The laminate portion L corresponds to the “surface member” of the present invention.

  The label paper P has a surface layer P01 on which a toner image is formed, an adhesive layer P02, and a release layer P03. The surface layer P01 and the release layer P03 are adhered by the adhesive layer P02, and the adhesive layer L2 of the laminate portion L is placed on the surface layer P01.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the laminating portion L and the label paper P are conveyed by a conveying roller or the like that is omitted from the reference numeral, and the laminating portion L is superimposed on the surface of the label paper P on which the toner image is formed. In this state, it is conveyed toward the laminating unit 5.

  The laminating unit 5 includes a heating roller 5A and a pressure roller 5B. The laminating unit 5 applies the laminating process by thermally fixing the laminating part L to the label paper P when the laminating part L and the label paper P pass through the nip position between the heating roller 5A and the pressure roller 5B.

  The die cut processing unit 6 includes a die cut roller 6A and a counter roller 6B. On the surface of the die cut roller 6A, a die cut blade 6C capable of cutting the laminate portion L and the label paper P in accordance with a seal shape such as a circle or a quadrangle is provided. A plurality of die cut blades 6C are arranged in the circumferential direction and the axial direction of the die cut roller 6A. In FIG. 3, only one die-cutting blade 6C is shown in the circumferential direction of the die-cutting roller 6A for convenience.

  By rotating the die cut roller 6A and the counter roller 6B, the laminate part L and the label paper P are cut by the die cut blade 6C moved to the nip position between the die cut roller 6A and the counter roller 6B.

  For example, when the die-cutting blade 6C is circular, as shown in FIG. 5, the label paper P is divided into a first portion P1 that is a toner image region in the circular cutting line C and a second portion P2 that is the other portion. Are separated.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the die-cutting blade 6C cuts portions other than the release layer P03, that is, the laminate portion L, the surface layer P01 of the label paper P, and the adhesive layer P02 of the label paper P.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the label paper P that has passed through the die-cut processing unit 6 is taken up by a take-up device (not shown). More specifically, after the label paper P passes through the die-cut processing unit 6, the first portion P1 remains attached to the release layer P03 of the label paper P after the second portion P2 is peeled off from the release layer P03. And the 2nd part P2 peeled off from the peeling layer P03 is wound up separately.

  In other words, by separating the release layer P03 from the adhesive layer P02 of the label paper P, the first part P1 and the second part P2 are separated while leaving the first part P1 that is a part that becomes a label seal in the release layer P03. Therefore, only the first portion P1 in the label paper P can be collected. And parts other than peeling layer P03 in the 1st part P1 are inspected, and a good article is stuck on goods.

  Next, the toner T used for forming the toner image in the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the toner T on the label paper P before fixing.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the toner T is a color toner for Y component, M component, C component, or K component, and is accommodated in the developing device 412 of the image forming unit 41 corresponding to each component. The toner T contains the first resin T1 and the second resin T2. The melting point of the toner T is higher than the melting point of the first resin T1, for example, 130 ° C. to 180 ° C.

  The first resin T1 is a release agent such as a wax having a melting point of, for example, 120 ° C. to 160 ° C., and is contained in the toner T as an internal additive or an external additive. By including the first resin T1 in the toner T, for example, when the label paper P passes through the fixing nip, the toner T on the label paper P can be separated from the fixing belt, and the fixing belt or the like can be secured. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of an offset.

  The second resin T2 is an ultraviolet curable resin such as 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, for example, and is solidified by being irradiated with ultraviolet rays by the ultraviolet irradiation unit 90 under the control of the control unit 101. The second resin T2 has a melting point higher than that of normal temperature (for example, 25 ° C.) and is lower than that of the first resin T1. The glass transition temperature of the second resin T2 is 86 ° C., for example.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the toner T containing the first resin T1 and the second resin T2 is heated and pressurized in the fixing nip when passing through the fixing nip while being placed on the label paper P. As a result, the label paper P is crushed.

  The fixing temperature is higher than the melting points of the toner T, the first resin T1, and the second resin T2. When the toner T, the first resin T1, and the second resin T2 pass through the fixing nip, respectively. It is in a softened state.

  When the toner T is crushed, the first resin T1 and the second resin T2 contained in the toner T are extruded from the toner T, and a mixture T3 of the first resin T1 and the second resin T2 softened by the heat of the fixing unit 60 is formed. The toner T on the label paper P is covered.

  When the label paper P in such a state passes through the fixing nip, the temperature around the toner T fixed on the label paper P gradually decreases, and as shown in FIG. 8, the toner T and the first resin T1. Of the second resin T2, the toner T having the highest melting point is solidified.

  As the temperature around the toner T further decreases, the first resin T1 having the next highest melting point after the toner T crystallizes. When the first resin T1 is crystallized, the softened second resin T2 is pushed out around the first resin T1 to cover the toner T and the first resin T1.

  As shown in FIG. 9, in the first embodiment, the control unit 101 controls the ultraviolet irradiation unit 90 located on the downstream side of the fixing unit 60 to irradiate the label paper P with ultraviolet rays. 2 Resin T2 solidifies quickly. That is, after the toner image is fixed on the label paper P by the fixing unit 60, the first resin T1 and the second resin T2 are solidified in this order. Then, the toner T area on the label paper P is covered with the second resin T2. That is, the second resin T2 serves as a protective layer for the first resin T1 and the toner T.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 10, for example, when the toner T contains only the first resin T <b> 1, since the first resin T <b> 1 has oozed out on the toner T, the label paper P is laminated. When this occurs, the adhesive layer L2 of the laminate portion L becomes slippery with respect to the surface layer P01 of the label paper P due to the influence of the first resin T1, and the adhesive layer L2 of the laminate portion L and the surface layer P01 of the label paper P Adhesive strength decreases. Therefore, there is a possibility that the laminate portion L is peeled off from the surface layer P01 of the label paper P at the portion of the cutting line C at the time of inspection of the portion that becomes the label seal.

  However, as shown in FIG. 11, in the first embodiment, the second resin T2 having a lower releasability than the first resin T1 covers the area of the toner T. Therefore, when the label paper P is laminated, In addition, compared with the first resin T1, the adhesive layer L2 of the laminate portion L is less likely to slip with respect to the surface layer P01 of the label paper P. Therefore, it can suppress that the laminate part L peels from the surface layer P01 of the label paper P.

  Next, the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 12 is a diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment. In the following description, the same components as those in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a heating unit 91 in place of the ultraviolet irradiation unit 90 in the first embodiment described above. The heating unit 91 corresponds to the “temperature control unit” of the present invention. The main part of the control system in the second embodiment is obtained by replacing the ultraviolet irradiation unit 90 in FIG.

  The heating unit 91 is disposed on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the paper S of the fixing unit 60, and heats the label paper P or the paper S under the control of the control unit 101, thereby controlling the temperature of the label paper P or the paper S. Adjust.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the toner T in the second embodiment contains the first resin T1 and the second resin T2 as in the first embodiment, but the second resin T2 is The second resin T2 in the first embodiment is made of a different material.

  The second resin T2 is, for example, a resin made of crystalline polyester, has a melting point lower than that of the first resin T1, and lower releasability than that of the first resin T1. The second resin T <b> 2 has a softening point of 100 ° C. to 120 ° C., and the hardness is controlled by being heated by the heating unit 91 under the control of the control unit 101. Note that the melting point of the second resin T2 is desirably equal to or higher than normal temperature.

  In this second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, when the label paper P passes through the fixing nip and becomes in the state as shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 101 controls the temperature of the label paper P. Is controlled to be equal to or lower than the melting point of the first resin T1 and equal to or higher than the melting point of the second resin T2.

  By doing so, the second resin T2 on the label paper P is maintained in a softened state after passing through the fixing unit 60 and discharged to the outside of the apparatus, and crystallized first resin T1. It will be in a state of covering the top. Then, after the paper is discharged outside the apparatus, the temperature of the label paper P is lowered, so that it solidifies and becomes a protective layer of the toner T and the first resin T1 on the label paper P. Thereby, it can suppress that the laminate part L peels from the surface layer P01 of the label paper P similarly to the said Embodiment 1. FIG.

  Note that the second resin T2 may be cured by quickly reducing the temperature of the label paper P by cooling with a cooling member such as a fan.

  Further, the above embodiment can be applied to the image forming system 100 having the image forming apparatus 1 and the laminating apparatus 3. FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of an image forming system 100 including the image forming apparatus 1 and the laminating apparatus 3 according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the image forming system 100 includes the image forming apparatus 1 and the paper feeding apparatus 2 shown in FIG. 1, and the laminating apparatus 3 shown in FIG. The laminating conveyance unit 4 in the laminating apparatus 3 is not provided with the second roll unit 4B, and the label paper P discharged from the paper discharge unit 52 passes through the laminating conveyance unit 4 and is directly laminated. It is transported toward the.

  Even in such a configuration, the peeling of the laminate can be suppressed by the transparent toner as in the above embodiment. Further, in the image forming system 100, the laminating apparatus 3 has the die cut processing unit 6. However, for example, when only the laminating process is required, the die cutting processing unit 6 may not be provided.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the die-cut process part 6 was illustrated as a cutting processing apparatus, this invention is not limited to this, For example, you may use the apparatus which cuts label paper with a laser.

  In addition, each of the above-described embodiments is merely an example of actualization in carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited thereto. That is, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist or the main features thereof.

Finally, an evaluation experiment in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.
In this experiment, when the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 12 and the laminating apparatus 3 shown in FIG. 3 are used to laminate the label paper P on which the toner image is formed, the peeling of the laminate occurs. Confirmed what to do. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the label paper P is cut into a circular shape by a laminating process, and then a predetermined adhesive tape is pasted on the label paper P, and the laminate peels off when the adhesive tape is peeled off. It was confirmed whether or not it occurred.

  As experimental conditions, Example 1 was set to the same condition as that of the first embodiment, and Example 2 was set to be the same condition as that of the above-described second embodiment. In the comparative example, the toner contains only the first resin. In addition, experiments were performed with toner image densities of 25%, 50%, and 100%.

Table 1 shows the evaluation results.

  In the evaluation results, “◯” indicates that no peeling of the laminate occurs, “×” indicates that the peeling of the laminate has occurred, and “△” indicates that a portion of the peeling of the laminate has occurred. This indicates that the level is satisfactory.

  From the above results, in the comparative example, when the density of the toner image was 25%, although “Δ”, the peeling of the laminate occurred in all conditions, whereas in Examples 1 and 2, all the conditions It was confirmed that no peeling of the laminate occurred.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 40 Image forming part 90 Ultraviolet irradiation part 101 Control part T Toner T1 1st resin T2 2nd resin

Claims (5)

A toner image is formed on a recording medium using a toner having a first resin composed of a release agent and a second resin having a melting point lower than that of the first resin and lower releasability than the first resin. A toner image forming unit;
A fixing unit for thermally fixing the toner image formed on the recording medium to the recording medium;
A controller that controls the first resin and the second resin to solidify in order after the toner image is fixed on the recording medium by the fixing unit;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The second resin is an ultraviolet curable resin,
An ultraviolet irradiation unit for irradiating the recording medium with ultraviolet rays;
The control unit fixes the toner image on the recording medium by the fixing unit and solidifies the second resin by irradiating the recording medium with ultraviolet rays after the first resin is solidified. So as to control the ultraviolet irradiation unit,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. A temperature control unit for adjusting the temperature of the recording medium;
After the toner image is fixed on the recording medium by the fixing unit and the first resin is solidified, the control unit adjusts the temperature of the recording medium to adjust the temperature of the recording medium. Controlling the temperature control unit to be equal to or lower than the melting point of the resin and equal to or higher than the melting point of the second resin;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An adhesion processing apparatus for adhering a surface member to the recording medium on which a toner image is formed;
An image forming system comprising: A cutting processing device that cuts the recording medium on which the surface member is bonded by the bonding processing device into a predetermined size;
The image forming system according to claim 4.

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