JP6540342B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and an image forming apparatus used for a complex machine of these. In particular, the image reading unit is held on the upper portion of the apparatus main body provided with a fixing device for heating and fixing the toner image on the sheet via the coupling holding unit, and the sheet fixed by the fixing device is In the image forming apparatus, the sheet is discharged to a sheet discharge area formed between the apparatus main body and the image reading unit, and the sheet is stacked on a sheet discharge tray provided on a bottom surface of the sheet discharge area. At the same time, the air discharged is suctioned, and ultrafine particles such as volatile organic compounds (hereinafter abbreviated as VOC) contained in the discharged air (Ultrafine Particle: hereinafter abbreviated as UFP). Is characterized in that it is collected to eliminate the release to the outside.

  In an image forming apparatus used for a copying machine, a facsimile and these multifunction machines, a sheet on which a toner image is formed in the apparatus main body is guided to a fixing device, and the toner image is heated and fixed on the sheet by the fixing device. The sheet is discharged from the inside of the apparatus main body.

  Here, in the image forming apparatus as described above, VOCs are generated when the resin component and the like blended in the toner is heated to high temperature and evaporated in the fixing device that heats and fixes the toner image on the sheet. This VOC may adversely affect the human body, and there is also a problem that the odor gives the human a sense of discomfort. The silicone rubber used in the fixing device generates cyclic siloxane at temperatures of 160 ° C. or higher. In addition, ultrafine particles (UFP) including VOCs have become a problem as an influence factor to health.

  Heretofore, in order to remove UFP including VOC generated in the image forming apparatus, it is known that the air is discharged to the outside through a gas removing means composed of a filter and an exhaust fan inside the apparatus body. There is.

  However, it is difficult to completely remove the UFP generated inside the device body, and the UFP remains inside the device body, and the remaining UFP is discharged to the outside together with the paper.

  Then, the UFP discharged to the outside in this way also gives the user an unpleasant feeling as an odor. Therefore, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for reducing the discomfort felt by the user due to the odor discharged to the paper discharge tray.

  Here, in the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, a fixing unit that heats a toner image formed on a sheet to fix the sheet on the sheet, a housing that accommodates the fixing section inside, and an outer side of the housing An image forming apparatus including: a paper discharge receiving unit provided on the front side of the housing and a sheet on which a toner image is fixed by the fixing unit is discharged from the inside of the housing; On the front side of the housing, the odor discharged together with the paper is configured to be blown and diffused by a blower along the discharge direction of the paper from the inside of the housing to the paper receiving portion.

  Here, when the sheet is discharged to the sheet discharge receiving unit, the image forming apparatus diffuses the odor discharged together with the sheet to reduce the discomfort felt by the user.

  However, in the image forming apparatus, the odor discharged together with the paper, that is, the UFP is diffused around and emitted. With the recent increase in environmental awareness, it is desirable to reduce the discharge of UFP generated in the fixing part, but in the case of Patent Document 1 described above, the problem is that air containing UFP is diffused to the surroundings. Still existed.

JP, 2015-11215, A

  The present invention is directed to an image forming apparatus in which a sheet on which a toner image is formed is guided to a fixing device, the toner image is heated and fixed to the sheet by the fixing device, and then the sheet is discharged from the apparatus main body. An object of the present invention is to collect the UFP contained in the air discharged together with the sheet from the apparatus body without diffusing it to the outside of the apparatus, and to reduce the amount of the UFP released to the outside.

In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, in order to solve the problems as described above, the image reading unit is provided on the upper portion of the apparatus main body and the fixing device for heating and fixing the toner image on the sheet. A sheet held and fixed by the fixing device is discharged from a sheet discharge unit to a discharge area formed between the apparatus main body and the image reading unit, and a discharge tray unit provided on the bottom of the discharge area In the image forming apparatus in which sheets are stacked, the sheet discharge area is open on the side facing the wall portion of the connection holding portion, and the air intake opening is formed on the wall portion located on the sheet discharge portion side of the connection holding portion. It is provided, wherein the air discharged together with the paper from the paper discharge unit so as to be sucked by the exhaust fan through the filter from said inlet, discharge tray on the end of the open side of the sheet discharge area ahead of the paper ejected To contact the section, constitute the so that the paper guide portion is provided on the discharge tray portion.

  As described above, the wall portion of the connection holding portion is provided with an intake port for suctioning the air discharged together with the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge portion, and the air is sucked by the exhaust fan through the filter from the suction port. The air containing the UFP discharged together with the paper from the paper discharge unit is sucked from the air intake port, the UFP is adsorbed and removed by the filter, and the removed air is discharged to the outside, thereby to the outside of the UFP. The amount of diffusion will be suppressed.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, so as to open the side wall portion facing the connection holding section in the paper ejection area as the end of the open side of the sheet discharge area in the paper ejected A sheet guide portion is provided in the sheet discharge tray portion so that the portion comes in contact with the sheet discharge tray portion first .

Further, the intake port is preferably provided above the said sheet discharge portion, further, the intake port is preferably formed to face the discharge direction of the sheet from the sheet discharge side.

  Further, as the sheet guiding portion, a slope can be provided so that the sheet abutting surface with which the sheet discharged to the sheet discharging tray abuts has a lower wall portion side than the open side. . In this case, a sheet alignment guide can be installed on the wall portion side of the discharge tray portion so that the end portion of the sheet is aligned on the wall portion side of the discharge tray portion. Can be provided.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, as described above, an intake port is provided in the wall on the sheet discharge unit side of the connection holding unit that holds the image reading unit at the top of the apparatus main body. Since the air discharged together with the sheet is sucked through the filter through the filter by the exhaust fan, the air including the UFP discharged along with the sheet from the sheet discharge unit is drawn through the inlet and the UFP contained in the air It is released to the outside in a state where it is adsorbed and removed by the filter, and it is suppressed that the UFP is diffused and released to the outside, and the amount of UFP discharged from the image forming apparatus can be reduced. Become.

FIG. 7 is a schematic explanatory view showing a state in which a toner image is formed on a recording medium in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment (reference) of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment (reference) . FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory view of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment (reference) as viewed from the sheet discharge side. FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a schematic explanatory view of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment as viewed from the sheet discharge side. FIG. 10 is a schematic explanatory view of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment as viewed from the sheet discharge side. FIG. 10 is a schematic explanatory view of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment as viewed from the sheet discharge side. FIG. 10 is a schematic explanatory view of an image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the sheet discharge side. FIG. 14 is a schematic perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14 is a schematic explanatory view of an image forming apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the sheet discharge side. FIG. 14 is a schematic perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 18 is a schematic perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 18 is a schematic explanatory view of an image forming apparatus according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the sheet discharge side.

Next, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment (reference) of the present invention will be specifically described based on the attached drawings. Note that the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to those shown in the following embodiment (reference), and can be appropriately changed and implemented without departing from the scope of the invention.

In the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment (reference) of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the image reading unit 2 is provided on the apparatus main body 10, and the image reading unit 2 is the apparatus main body. A paper discharge area 30 is formed between the apparatus main body 10 and the image reading unit 2.

  Here, in the sheet discharge area 30, the side facing the wall portion 31 on the sheet discharge portion 16 side of the connection holding portion 3 is opened. That is, the front side in the direction orthogonal to the direction of the sheet S discharged from the sheet discharge unit 16 is opened, and the back side is the wall portion 31 of the connection holding unit 3. The sheet S on which the toner image is formed is discharged to the sheet discharge area 30.

  Further, at the bottom of the sheet discharge area 30, a sheet discharge tray 32 is formed on which the discharged sheets S are stacked.

  Then, in the image forming apparatus 1, when forming a toner image on the sheet S, the sheet S is accommodated in the sheet feeding cassette 11 provided in the lower part of the apparatus main body 10, and the sheet S is fed by the sheet feeding roller 12. The sheet S fed from the sheet cassette 11 is guided between the pair of resist rollers 13 so that the sheet S is fed to the image forming unit 20 at an appropriate timing by the resist rollers 13. .

  Here, in the image forming section 20, an image carrier 21 made of a photosensitive member, a charging device 22 for charging the surface of the image carrier 21, and image information on the surface of the charged image carrier 21 are used. And a developing device 24 that supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the image carrier 21 to form a toner image. The four imaging cartridges 20A to 20D are provided.

  Further, in each developing device 24 in each of the imaging cartridges 20A to 20D, toners of different colors of black, yellow, magenta and cyan are accommodated, and each image carrier in each of the imaging cartridges 20A to 20D Toners of respective colors are supplied from the respective developing devices 24 to the electrostatic latent images formed on the surface of the image 21 to form toner images of the respective colors on the surface of the respective image carriers 21. There is.

  Then, the toner image of each color formed on the surface of each image carrier 21 in each of the imaging cartridges 20A to 20D as described above is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 25 which is rotationally driven, The toner image of each color is combined to form a toner image.

  Then, the toner image thus formed on the intermediate transfer belt 25 is guided to the position of the transfer roller 26, while the sheet S is interposed between the intermediate transfer belt 25 and the transfer roller 26 by the resist roller 13. The toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 25 is transferred onto the sheet S, and the sheet S on which the toner image has been transferred is guided to the fixing device 27.

  Then, the toner image transferred onto the sheet S is heated and fixed onto the sheet S by the fixing device 27, and then the sheet S is guided to the sheet discharge roller 15, and the sheet S is transported to the sheet S by the sheet discharge unit 16. The fixed sheet S is discharged to the sheet discharge area 30, and the sheet S is stacked on the sheet discharge tray portion 32.

  In this manner, when the sheet S on which the toner image is fixed is discharged from the sheet discharge unit 16 to the sheet discharge area 30, air including UFP such as VOC is discharged to the sheet discharge area 30 together with the sheet S.

Then, in the first embodiment (reference) , the air inlet 33 for suctioning the air released together with the sheet S is attached to the wall portion 31 of the connection holding portion 3 so as not to diffuse the released UFP to the outside. Provided in Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the filter 34 and the exhaust fan 35 are connected to the air inlet 33 through the duct 33 a so as to suck air from the air inlet 33 and discharge the air to the outside. It is provided in the device body 10. The filter 34 has a function of adsorbing UFPs such as VOCs.

  Then, the air containing the UFP released together with the sheet S is sucked from the air inlet 33, the UFP contained in the air is adsorbed and removed by the filter 34, and the air from which the UFP is removed is released to the outside. Is controlled to reduce the amount released to the outside and diffused.

  Here, the intake port 33 extends in the discharge direction of the sheet S from the vicinity of the sheet discharge portion 16 and is formed in a rectangular shape in which the discharge direction of the sheet S is longer than the vertical direction. Further, in this embodiment, the intake port 33 is provided above the sheet discharge unit 16. As described above, by providing the intake port 33 above the sheet discharge unit 16, the air discharged together with the sheet S discharged from the sheet discharge unit 16 is suctioned as quickly as possible.

  Then, if the intake port 33 is formed to have a length corresponding to the maximum length in the discharge direction of the sheet S to be used, the air discharged together with the sheet S can be suctioned along the discharge direction, and along the sheet S The moving air can be sucked efficiently.

  When the printing operation of the image forming apparatus 1 is started, the exhaust fan 35 starts driving, suction of air from the air inlet 33 is started, and when printing is completed, the driving is stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed. After the printing is completed and the sheet S is discharged to the sheet discharge tray 32, the exhaust fan 35 is driven for a predetermined time to suck the air in the sheet discharge area 30, and the UFP discharged together with the sheet S is discharged. To ensure that the air containing air is sucked.

In the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment (reference) , an air inlet 33 is provided in a wall portion 31 of the connection holding portion 3 formed between the apparatus main body 10 and the image reading portion 2, Since the air discharged together with the sheet S is suctioned through the opening 33, the air inlet 33, the duct 33a, the filter 34, and the exhaust fan 35 are provided at a place where the mechanism of the paper discharge unit such as the paper discharge roller 15 does not exist. It can be arranged. For this reason, it is possible to easily cope with increasing the suction of air by enlarging the suction port 33, and the air discharged together with the sheet S can be reliably sucked and the UFP can be collected by the filter 34. It will be.

  Next, an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 4 to 7.

Here, in the case of the first embodiment (reference) , when the sheet S is discharged from the sheet discharge unit 16 to the sheet discharge area 30, the air is discharged not only to the wall 31 but also to the open side. May be pushed out and air may leak from the discharge area 30. Then, in the second embodiment, in order to reduce the leakage of air from the open side, the discharge tray portion 32 is brought into contact so that the open side of the discharge area 30 of the sheet S comes in contact with the discharge tray portion 32 first. The sheet guiding portion 32a is provided.

  Here, in the one shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the sheet contact surface on which the sheet S discharged to the sheet discharge tray portion 32 is in contact as the sheet guide portion 32 a is on the open side of the sheet discharge area 30. A slope is provided so that the side of the wall 31 is lower in comparison. In addition, the angle of this gradient is about 10-30 degrees.

  If this is done, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, due to the slope of the sheet guide portion 32a, the portion of the sheet discharge tray portion 32 on the open side which is raised in the sheet discharge area 30 The end of the sheet S comes in contact first, and thereafter, the end of the sheet S on the side of the wall 31 comes in contact with the portion of the sheet discharge tray 32 on the side of the wall 31 which is lowered. That is, the sheet S discharged from the sheet discharge unit 16 falls from the open side of the sheet discharge tray 32 to the wall 31 due to the gradient of the sheet guide portion 32 a formed in the sheet discharge tray 32. .

  As a result, the air including the UFP discharged together with the sheet S flows toward the wall 31 without being pushed out to the open side of the discharge area 30, and the air including the UFP is provided on the wall 31 The air is drawn into the air intake 33 efficiently, and the UFP contained in the air is efficiently adsorbed and removed by the filter 34.

  Then, when the next sheet S is discharged from the sheet discharge unit 16, as shown in FIG. 7, the next sheet S is placed on the previous sheet S placed along the slope of the sheet discharge tray 32. Similarly, the air containing UFP discharged together with the next sheet S is efficiently sucked into the air inlet 33 in the same manner as in the case of the previous sheet S, The UFP contained therein is efficiently adsorbed to the filter 34 and removed.

In the same manner as in the first embodiment (reference) , the intake port 33 extends in the discharge direction of the sheet S from the vicinity of the sheet discharge portion 16 at a position above the sheet discharge portion 16. Thus, the sheet S is formed in a rectangular shape longer in the discharge direction than in the vertical direction.

  Further, in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 8, in the second embodiment, the sheet 33 is disposed at both the position above the sheet discharge section 16 and the position below it. It is provided to extend in the discharge direction of the sheet S from the vicinity of the discharge unit 16. In this way, air including UFP can be efficiently sucked through the inlets 33 provided at positions above and below the sheet discharge unit 16.

  Further, in the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the paper alignment guide 36 is provided on the side of the wall 31 of the discharge tray 32 having a slope. Here, the sheet alignment guide 36 is installed at a position slightly away from the wall portion 31 so as to extend in the sheet discharge direction from almost directly below the sheet discharge portion 16 on the wall portion 31 side. The sheet alignment guide 36 is provided with a plurality of ventilation windows 36 a through which air passes.

  Then, the end portion on the side of the wall 31 of the sheet S discharged from the sheet discharge unit 16 is brought into contact with the sheet alignment guide 36, and the sheet S discharged to the sheet discharge tray 32 is along the sheet alignment guide 36. The air containing UFP, which has been aligned and discharged together with the sheet S, passes through the vent window 36a and is drawn into the air inlet 33. In the example shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of rectangular ventilation windows 36a are provided in parallel, but the ventilation windows 36a are not limited to such ones, and may be mesh-like, round holes, etc. . Further, it is preferable that the size of the ventilation window 36a be such that the sheets S do not fall apart and the stackability does not drop.

  Further, when the sheet alignment guide 36 is provided on the side of the wall portion 31 in the discharge tray portion 32 in which the wall portion 31 has a lower slope than the open side of the sheet discharge area 30 as described above, When the sheet S is discharged to the sheet discharge tray unit 32 having a slope, the sheet S can be stacked at a predetermined position.

  Further, the sheet alignment guide 36 installed on the wall 31 side can be movably provided in the sheet discharge tray 32 so that the distance to the wall 31 can be freely changed. Then, according to the type and thickness of the sheet S, the position of the sheet alignment guide 36 with respect to the wall portion 31 is changed, and the air including UFP discharged from the sheet discharge unit 16 together with the sheet S is most efficiently to the intake port 33 It can be set to the distance to head.

  Next, in the fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the paper discharge tray portion 32 is provided with a slope so that the wall portion 31 side is lower than the open side of the paper discharge area 30 as described above. The discharge tray portion 32 on the open side of the discharge area 30 is provided with a tapered portion 32b that protrudes in a tapered shape, and the sheet discharge portion 16 and the discharge portion are discharged on the open side of the discharge area 30 by the tapered portion 32b. The paper tray unit 32 is in close proximity.

  As a result, the sheet S discharged from the sheet discharge unit 16 is sent to the wall 31 side along the tapered portion 32 b, and the sheet S is clogged between the sheet discharge unit 16 and the discharge tray unit 32. And the air containing the UFP discharged together with the paper S from the paper discharge unit 16 leaks out from between the paper discharge unit 16 and the paper discharge tray unit 32 on the open side of the paper discharge area 30. Can be prevented as much as possible.

  Further, in the sixth embodiment shown in FIG. 11, as the sheet guide portion in the sheet discharge tray portion 32, the protrusion 32c is provided so that the open side of the sheet discharge area 30 of the sheet S comes in contact with the sheet discharge tray portion 32 first. To provide Here, the protrusion 32 c is provided on the discharge tray portion 32 at a position on the side of the wall portion 31 which is several cm away from the sheet discharge portion 16. Further, the protrusions 32 c have a height such that they do not inhibit the discharge of the sheet S from the sheet discharge unit 16, and are provided at positions where the end portion on the side of the wall portion 31 of the sheet S abuts. There is.

  Then, when such a projection 32 c is provided, the sheet S discharged from the sheet discharge unit 16 is discharged obliquely so that the open side of the discharge area 30 is on the bottom, and the discharge area 30 of the sheet S is opened. The side first comes in contact with the sheet discharge tray portion 32, and thereafter, the sheet S falls onto the wall portion 31 side of the sheet discharge tray portion 32.

  As a result, as in the second embodiment and the like, the air including the UFP discharged together with the sheet S flows toward the wall 31 without being pushed out to the open side of the sheet discharge area 30, Is efficiently sucked into the air intake 33 provided on the wall 31 side, and the UFP contained in the air is efficiently adsorbed and removed by the filter 34.

  Further, in the seventh embodiment shown in FIG. 12, as the sheet guide portion in the sheet discharge tray portion 32, a recess is provided so that the open side of the sheet discharge area 30 of the sheet S comes in contact with the sheet discharge tray portion 32 first. 32d is provided. Here, when providing the recess 32 d, a recess is provided on the wall 31 side of the sheet discharge tray 32 so as to have a size and a depth that do not affect the sheet discharge from the sheet discharge unit 16. There is.

  When such a recess 32 d is provided, the open side of the sheet S discharge area 30 of the sheet S discharged from the sheet discharge unit 16 to the sheet discharge tray 32 first contacts the sheet discharge tray 32. Thereafter, the rear end wall 31 of the sheet S falls into the recess 32d, and the sheet S falls onto the wall 31 of the sheet discharge tray 32.

  As a result, as in the second embodiment and the like, the air including the UFP discharged together with the sheet S flows toward the wall 31 without being pushed out to the open side of the sheet discharge area 30, Is efficiently sucked into the air intake 33 provided on the wall 31 side, and the UFP contained in the air is efficiently adsorbed and removed by the filter 34.

  Further, in the eighth embodiment shown in FIG. 13, the sheet discharge unit 16 is disposed in the discharge area 30 so that the open side of the discharge area 30 of the sheet S comes in contact with the discharge tray portion 32 first. It is provided obliquely so that the open side is low and the wall 31 side is high.

  As described above, when the sheet discharge unit 16 is provided obliquely, the sheet S discharged from the sheet discharge unit 16 is discharged obliquely so that the open side of the discharge area 30 is on the bottom, and the discharge area of the sheet S is discharged. The open side of the sheet 30 comes in contact with the sheet discharge tray portion 32 first, and thereafter, the sheet S falls to the wall portion 31 side of the sheet discharge tray portion 32.

  As a result, as in the second embodiment and the like, the air including the UFP discharged together with the sheet S flows toward the wall 31 without being pushed out to the open side of the sheet discharge area 30, Is efficiently sucked into the air intake 33 provided on the wall 31 side, and the UFP contained in the air is efficiently adsorbed and removed by the filter 34.

1: Image forming apparatus 2: Image reading unit 3: Connection holding unit 10: Device main body 11: Paper feed cassette 12: Paper feed roller 13: Registration roller 15: Paper discharge roller 16: Paper discharge unit 20: Image forming unit 27: Fixing device 30: discharge area 31: wall portion 32: discharge tray portion 32a: sheet guide portion 32c: projection 32d: recess 33, 33b: inlet 33a: duct 34: filter 35: exhaust fan 36: sheet alignment guide 36a: vent window

Claims (6)

The image reading unit is held on the upper portion of the apparatus main body provided with a fixing device for heating and fixing the toner image on the sheet via the connection holding portion, and the sheet fixed by the fixing device is from the sheet discharge unit In the image forming apparatus, the sheet is discharged to a sheet discharge area formed between the image reading section and the image reading section, and the sheet is stacked on a sheet discharge tray section provided on the bottom surface of the sheet discharge area;
The discharge area is open on the side facing the wall portion of the connection holding portion, and an intake port is provided in a wall portion positioned on the sheet discharge portion side of the connection holding portion, and the sheet discharge portion The discharge tray is made to suck the discharged air through the filter through the filter by the exhaust fan, and the open end of the discharge area of the discharged sheet comes in contact with the discharge tray portion first. An image forming apparatus characterized in that a sheet guide unit is provided in the unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the intake port is provided above the sheet discharge unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the intake port is formed to be directed in the sheet discharge direction from the sheet discharge unit side . The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein, as the sheet guiding unit, a sheet abutting surface with which the sheet discharged to the sheet discharging tray abuts is compared with the open side. An image forming apparatus characterized in that a slope is provided to lower the wall side. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein a sheet alignment guide is installed on a wall of the sheet discharge tray. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the sheet alignment guide is provided with a ventilation window.

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