JP2001117473A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To operate a means for removing dew condensation at the time of starting operation of reading an original when there is fear of generating dew condensation at a platen in an image reader to be used in combination with an image forming device. SOLUTION: A dew condensation remover 40 is arranged in the full rate carriage 24 of an image reader and many opening parts 46 are formed at a surface facing to a platen of an air discharging member 45 to jet hot air sent from a fixing device 15 toward the platen from the opening parts of the air discharging member. Heat of the device 15 is sent toward a duct member 44 through a pipe 42 by a fan 41 and when the operation of the image reader is started, the carriage 24 is moved in a sub-scanning direction to jet the hot air toward the platen from the member 45 for operation to remove dew condensation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, such as a copying machine or a facsimile apparatus, in which an image forming section and an image reading apparatus are combined, and to a device for removing fogging of a reading glass of the image reading apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus, such as a facsimile apparatus or a copying machine, provided with a combination of an electrophotographic image forming section and an image reading apparatus, scanning is performed along the lower surface of a reading glass (platen) on which an original is set. The device is provided so as to be movable in the sub-scanning direction. The scanning device is provided with a light source such as a lamp, irradiates the image surface of the original with light from the lamp, reflects the reflected light through a plurality of mirrors and the like, and performs photoelectric conversion means such as a CCD by a lens. And output as a digital signal. The information on the image of the document obtained from the CCD of the image forming apparatus is used not only as a transmission signal of the facsimile apparatus but also for preparing a recording sheet in a copying machine.

[0003]

In the image reading apparatus, an original is set on a platen as a reading glass, and an image of the original is read by a scanning device which moves along the lower surface of the platen. It can be so.
However, in an environment where the outside air temperature is low such as in a cold region, dew condensation may occur on the lower surface of the platen, and clear image information may not be obtained due to the cloudiness of the platen. In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, for example, a heater or the like is provided inside the frame of the image reading apparatus,
Before the dew condensation is removed by the heat of the heater or the operation of the image reading apparatus is started, the reading lamp is turned on for a predetermined time,
Means for removing condensation by the heat of the lamp have been proposed. However, the heat of the lamp is relatively weak, and even in the case where a heater is provided, there is a problem that it is difficult to use a heater or the like having a large amount of heat generation in consideration of the influence on other devices. It is desired to develop a device capable of removing dew condensation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus capable of quickly eliminating the condensation on a platen of an image reading apparatus. The heat of a fixing device having a large amount of heat is guided to the image reading apparatus to remove the condensation on the platen. The aim is to provide a possible device.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which an image forming section and an image reading device are provided integrally. The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is characterized in that wind from a fan for cooling the fixing device of the image forming section is guided to a reading glass surface of the image reading device to remove dew condensation on the reading glass surface. . Therefore, a large amount of hot air can be sent to the image reading device only by providing a means for guiding the air between the fixing device and the platen, and the dew can be efficiently removed at an early stage.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, a means for detecting an outside air temperature is provided, and the temperature detected by the outside air temperature detecting means becomes equal to or lower than a temperature set in a control device. In this case, the fixing device and the cooling fan of the image forming unit are operated to remove dew on the reading glass surface. When the main switch of the image forming apparatus is turned on, hot air is sent toward the platen only when the outside air temperature is equal to or lower than the temperature at which dew condensation is likely to occur.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, when predetermined operation information is input, the fixing device and the cooling fan are operated to remove condensation on the reading glass surface. It is characterized by doing. Then, only when a signal to restart the operation is input in the stopped state of the image forming apparatus, using the heat at the time of warming up the fixing apparatus,
Dew condensation can be eliminated.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The configuration of the apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated example. The example shown in FIG. 1 shows one example of an image forming apparatus which can be equipped with a dew condensation preventing means. The image forming apparatus 1 is configured by combining an image forming section 2 for creating a recording sheet and an image reading apparatus 20. I do. In the image forming section 2, a feed roller 4 for feeding out a sheet from a sheet feed tray 3 and a transport path 5 for transporting the sheet toward the image transfer section are arranged. In the transport path 5, transport roller devices 6, 6a are provided. Deploy. A photoconductive drum 7 and a transfer roller 9 are disposed in a downstream portion of the transport roller device 6 so as to face each other, and a toner image formed on the photoconductive drum is transferred to a sheet by a potential applied from the transfer roller 9, The sheet carrying the image is fixed through the fixing device 15, and the created recording sheet is discharged to the outside of the apparatus by the discharge roller device 13.

As in the case of an image forming apparatus using a general electrophotographic system, a charging device 1 is attached to the photosensitive drum 7.
2, the writing means 8 and the developing device 10 are arranged according to the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 7. Then, after uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum by the charger 12, the writing unit 8 irradiates the image with light to form an electrostatic latent image, and supplies the latent image from the developing roller 11 of the developing device 10. Toner is attached to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image, and the toner image is transferred to a sheet by a potential applied from the transfer roller 9. The charging device 12 is formed of a brush-like member so as to also disturb the toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor drum. So that it can be easily collected in the developing device.

The image reading device 20 disposed above the image forming unit is a flat bed type reading device (FB).
S) and an automatic document feeder (ADF).
1 has a platen 22 corresponding to FBS and an AD
The platen 23 corresponding to F is arranged. Inside the main body frame 21 of the image reading device 20, as in the case of a general image reading device, a full-rate carriage 24 that moves a distance corresponding to the length of a document and a half-rate carriage 25 that moves half the distance Are provided. The two carriages 24, 25 are provided with a driving device 28.
Are reciprocated along the lower surface of the platen 22 in accordance with the respective moving speeds by using wires driven by two pulleys provided in the scanner, and read the image of the document.

Then, the light of the lamp provided on the full rate carriage 24 is irradiated on the original set on the platen 22, and the reflected light is transmitted to the mirror m2 of the half rate carriage 25 via the mirror m1, and is transmitted via the mirror m3. The light is reflected toward the lens 26, and is imaged on the CCD 27 by the lens 26. The CCD 27 converts the input optical information into an electric signal, converts the electric signal into a digital signal, transmits the digital signal to the writing device of the image forming unit 2, and uses it for recording an image on a recording sheet. When the image reading device 20 is configured in combination with a facsimile device, the image information can be used as a facsimile transmission signal and transmitted to another facsimile device via a telephone line.

In the image reading device 20, a document set on the platen 22 with the image face down is closed by an elastic body (sponge) 31 by closing an opening / closing frame 30 disposed on the platen 22. It is fixed and held in the pressed state, and reading by the scanning device is performed. When reading an image using the ADF function, the two carriages 24 and 25 are moved to the left ends (indicated by phantom lines) in the figure and stopped there.
The image of the document passing above the document is read.

When an image is read by the ADF 32, a document set on a document tray 38 is taken out by a pickup roller 33, conveyed through a conveyance path 35, and scanned by a scanning device fixed below the platen 23. read. A paper separating device 34 and a reading roller device 36 are disposed in the transport path 35, and the documents separated one by one by the paper separating device are read while being transported at a constant speed by the reading roller device 36. I have. Even when the two carriages 24 and 25 of the scanning device are fixed at the ends of the main body frame 21, the image signal obtained by the CCD is used as a recording paper creation signal or a facsimile transmission signal. Can be.

As described above, the fogging (condensation) of the platen in an apparatus for reading an image of an original set on the platen or passing over the platen is a cause of an unclear image signal to be obtained. Becomes Therefore, in order to prevent clouding on the platen, as described below, air for cooling the heat roller of the fixing device is supplied to the image reading device 20 to blow hot air from the lower surface of the platen. The apparatus configured to equip the image forming apparatus with the dew condensation preventing device is described. In addition,
The occurrence of dew condensation on the platen is particularly remarkable when the difference between the room temperature during working hours in a cold region or the like and the temperature at night is large, but in a humid season,
May occur even in cold climates.

The example shown in FIG. 2 shows the structure of the dew condensation removing device 40 arranged in the image reading device 20 of FIG. 1, and the carriage frame 24F of the full rate carriage 24 has an optical path for reflecting light. An opening 46 for discharging hot air toward the platen at a predetermined position where no influence is exerted.
Are disposed. Air for cooling the heat roller 16 of the fixing device 15 is sucked by the fan 41 to the exhaust member 45 and sent out through the pipe 42 toward the inside of the main body frame of the image reading device 20.
A duct member 44 is disposed on the main body frame 21 via an air inlet 43 connecting a pipe 42, and hot air is supplied to the exhaust member 45 via the duct member 44. An intake pipe 47 is provided at one end of the exhaust member 45,
The hot air is guided from the duct member 44 toward the exhaust member 45. The cross-sectional structure of the duct member 44 and the inlet pipe 4
The intake structure 7 can be arbitrarily configured as long as it can supply hot air.

The example shown in FIG. 3 shows an example in which a mechanism of one decondensing device is used to supply a large amount of hot air from the duct member 44 toward the exhaust member 45. An intake pipe 47 is provided at the intake end of the exhaust member 45.
And a fan 48 is provided between them. Then, the hot air from the duct member 44 is sucked by the fan 48 so that the hot air is sucked between the air inlet 43 and the air inlet pipe 47 shown in FIG.
A flow path in which air is short-circuited through the duct member 44 can be formed. Further, since the air supplied by the fan 48 toward the inside of the exhaust member 45 is blown out from the opening 46 at a high pressure, it is possible to blow hot air toward the lower surface of the platen.

In the image reading device 20 provided with the dew condensation removing device 40, a control device 50 as shown in FIG.
Can be attached to a control circuit of the main body, and the decondensing device 40 can be operated in a case where dew condensation (cloudiness) occurs on the platen or in a temperature condition where dew condensation is expected to occur. The CPU 51 of the control device 50 includes an input circuit 53 for inputting input control information and control conditions required for the control operation, an output circuit 54 for outputting an operation command to an operation device, and And a memory 52 for setting information for operating the decondensing device. The information input through the input circuit 53 includes the outside air temperature information of the temperature detecting member 55, an on / off signal of the main switch 56 of the image forming apparatus, an operation switch 57 as an operation start signal of the image reading apparatus, and a control. The signal is a signal input from the setting input unit 58 for changing the condition.

A signal output from the CPU 51 via the output circuit 54 includes a driving signal for the driving device 19 for driving the carriage 24, an operation start signal for the fixing device 15 or a heater for energizing the heater to start a heating operation. And a drive signal for the fan 41. Then, an operation signal is output from the output circuit 54 to each operating device, and the heat of the heater provided on the heat roller of the fixing device 15 is supplied by the fan 41 to the dew condensation removing device 40, and the driving device 19 is turned on. When activated, the full-rate carriage 24 is moved along the lower surface of the platen 22, thereby heating the lower surface of the platen to remove dew. In addition, when an operation of removing condensation is performed on the platen 23 corresponding to the ADF, the control condition set in the image reading apparatus may be used.
The two carriages 24 and 25 of the scanning device are attached to the platen 23.
Is stopped at the position of the lower surface, and hot air is supplied by the dew condensation removing device 40 to remove dew.

The dew condensation device 40 can be operated to remove dew condensation according to the following conditions. Note that the fan 41 for supplying hot air from the fixing device 15 to the condensation removing device 40 provided in the image reading device may be a dedicated fan that operates only when the condensation is removed. Also, when a recording paper is created in a normal image forming unit, a valve for switching an exhaust air path is provided for a fan that removes heat of the fixing device, and air is supplied to the exhaust fan toward the dew condensation removing device. May be used. A control device can be used in combination with the device shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 to prevent condensation (removal).

A: General method for removing dew condensation: When the main switch of the image forming apparatus is turned on and warming up of the apparatus is started, power is supplied to the heater of the fixing apparatus, so that a fan for discharging heat from the heater is used. By operating 41, air is supplied to the image reading device 20 to remove dew. In addition to the above operation, when the operation switch 57 is turned on to change the operation mode of the image reading apparatus from the state in which the image forming apparatus is in the standby state in the energy saving mode, the warming-up of the fixing apparatus is started. Then, the heat of the fixing device at that time is supplied by the fan 41 to the dew condensation removing device 40 to perform the dew condensation removing operation.

B: Using the outside air temperature condition: A mode using outside air temperature information is set in the control conditions of the image forming apparatus, and outside air temperature detection information is output from the temperature detecting member 55. Further, a threshold value for the operation of the control device is set in advance, and in an environment below a set predetermined temperature, the heater of the fixing device 15 is activated at regular intervals to increase the temperature of the heat roller, The heat is sent out to the dew condensation removing device 40. Note that the fixed time is the operating time of the fixing device when the fixing device was operated last time to perform the fixing operation (total time when the recording paper was created).
Thereafter, when a predetermined time set in the memory elapses, the fixing device 15 may be automatically operated to supply hot air to the dew condensation removing device 40.

In the case of a copying machine, a warm-up operation of the fixing device is always started by inputting a signal from the operation switch 57 at the time of starting the creation of recording paper. On the other hand, in the transmission signal of the facsimile machine,
Since the operation of the image forming section is not started, the conditions for starting the operation of the fixing device and the operation of the decondensing device should be set in the CPU 51 even when the original scanning signal of the facsimile apparatus is input from the operation switch 57. Is required.

C: Automatic operation by providing a dew condensation prevention switch: When a dew condensation prevention switch is connected to the input circuit 53 of the control device 50 and the dew condensation prevention switch is turned on, the image forming apparatus Even during the standby time, the heater of the heat roller of the fixing device is energized at regular intervals, the fan 41 is operated, and the decondensing device 40 is used to remove the dew condensation as needed. Then, the apparatus is set to a standby state so that the operation of scanning the original by the facsimile function can always be performed satisfactorily. When a condensation prevention switch is provided in correspondence with the facsimile function, the on / off setting of the condensation prevention switch can be arbitrarily set according to the environment where the device is placed and the use conditions. A control program to be set in the memory 52 is provided in advance.

D: To operate the dew condensation device only when the dew condensation prevention switch is turned on: the control device 5
A dew condensation prevention switch connected to the input circuit 53 of 0,
Only when the anti-condensation switch is turned on by the operator,
The heater of the fixing device is energized, and heat is supplied from the fan 41 toward the dew condensation removing device 40 to perform an operation of removing dew condensation. This method is relatively simple, but if the operator forgets to operate the switch, the image is read through the frosted glass, and in some cases, it is assumed that the read image becomes unclear. Therefore,
If a dew condensation prevention switch is provided in combination with the above methods a and b, automatic / manual control can be performed.

[0025]

Since the apparatus of the present invention is constructed as described above, the wind from the fan for cooling the fixing device of the image forming section is guided to the reading glass surface of the image reading device.
By removing the dew condensation on the reading glass surface, a large amount of hot air can be sent to the image reading device simply by providing a means for guiding the wind between the fixing device and the platen, and the dew condensation can be efficiently removed at an early stage. can do. Further, a means for detecting the outside air temperature is provided, and when the temperature detected by the outside air temperature detection means becomes equal to or lower than the temperature set in the control device, the fixing device and the cooling fan of the image forming section are operated. By using the means for removing dew condensation on the reading glass surface, when the main switch of the image forming apparatus is turned on,
Hot air is sent toward the platen only when the outside air temperature is equal to or lower than the temperature at which dew condensation is likely to occur, so that extra heating action can be prevented. Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus, when predetermined operation information is input, the fixing device and the cooling fan are operated to remove dew condensation on the reading glass surface. Only when an activation signal is input, it is possible to eliminate condensation by using the heat generated when the fixing device warms up.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a dew condensation removing device.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged explanatory view of an exhaust member.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a control device provided in the image forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus, 2 image forming part, 7 photoreceptor drum, 9 transfer roller, 10 developing device,
Reference Signs List 15 fixing device, 16 heat roller, 20 image forming device, 21 body frame, 22, 23 platen, 24 full rate carriage, 24a
Ramp, 25 half-rate carriage, 26
Lens, 27 CCD, 32 ADF, 36
Reading roller device, 38 Document tray, 39
Discharge tray, 40 dew removal device, 41 fan, 42 pipe, 43 air inlet, 44 duct member, 45 exhaust member, 46 opening, 4
7 intake pipe, 48 fan, 50 control device, 51 CPU, 52 memory, 53
Input circuit, 54 output circuit, 55 temperature detection member, 56 main switch, 57 operation switch, 58 setting input section.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus comprising an image forming unit and an image reading device provided integrally, wherein wind from a fan for cooling a fixing device of the image forming unit is guided to a reading glass surface of the image reading device. An image forming apparatus, wherein dew condensation on the reading glass surface is removed. 2. A fixing device, a cooling fan, and a cooling fan for an image forming section, wherein a means for detecting an outside air temperature is provided, and when a temperature detected by the outside air temperature detecting means falls below a temperature set in a control device. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is operated to remove dew condensation on the reading glass surface. 3. When predetermined operation information is input,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fixing device and the cooling fan are operated to remove condensation on the reading glass surface.