Static electricity eliminating device and media processing system using same

Abstract

A static electricity eliminating device and a medium processing system using the same, the static electricity eliminating device including: static electricity eliminating rollers having a pair structure, each having a roller body continuously extending in an axial direction intersecting a moving direction of a medium, and moving the medium in a state of sandwiching the medium to perform static electricity elimination; a static electricity eliminating power supply for applying a static electricity eliminating voltage to at least one of the static electricity eliminating rollers of the pair structure; and a restricting member that restricts the moving direction of the medium by extending forward and backward in the moving direction of the medium through a non-contact portion formed on a portion of the contact region of the static eliminating rollers of the pair structure in the axial direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a static eliminator and a media processing system using the static eliminator. Background Art

[0002] As a conventional static eliminator of this type, for example, the static eliminator described in Patent Document 1 is known.

[0003] In Patent Document 1, the static elimination device includes two static elimination rollers and a peeling component. The two static elimination rollers are configured to apply voltages of different potentials, and static elimination is performed by allowing paper to pass through to reduce the charge of the paper. The peeling component is configured to be arranged in contact with the surface of one of the two static elimination rollers, and peels off the paper attached to the static elimination roller as the static elimination roller rotates.

[0004] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-161567 (Specific Implementation Method, Figure 6 ) Summary of the invention

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an electrostatic eliminator and a media processing system using the electrostatic eliminator, which can well maintain the electrostatic eliminator effect on the media and effectively prevent the media from winding around the electrostatic eliminator rollers without damaging the surface of the paired electrostatic eliminator rollers.

[0006] The first technical feature of the present invention is an electrostatic elimination device, characterized in that it comprises: a pair of electrostatic elimination rollers, each having a roller body extending continuously along an axial direction intersecting the moving direction of the medium, and moving the medium in a state of clamping the medium to eliminate static electricity; a power supply for electrostatic elimination, applying a voltage for electrostatic elimination to at least one side of the electrostatic elimination rollers in the pair of electrostatic elimination rollers; and a limiting member, which is formed through a non-contact portion on a part of the axial direction of the contact area of ​​the pair of electrostatic elimination rollers and extends back and forth along the moving direction of the medium to limit the moving direction of the medium.

[0007] A second technical feature of the present invention is that in the static elimination device having the first technical feature, the limiting member is a bridging member that bridges between front and rear fixing members across a contact region of the paired static elimination rollers.

[0008] The third technical feature of the present invention is that in the static elimination device having the second technical feature, the fixing member is composed of a pair of guide components that guide the moving path of the medium, and the bridging component is integrated with the pair of guide components.

[0009] The fourth technical feature of the present invention is that in an electrostatic elimination device having any one of the first to third technical features, the limiting member has an annular groove opposite to an axial portion of the surface of each of the paired electrostatic elimination rollers, and the non-contact portion passes between the grooves of the paired electrostatic elimination rollers.

[0010] The fifth technical feature of the present invention is that in the static elimination device having the fourth technical feature, the groove has a rectangular cross-section.

[0011] The sixth technical feature of the present invention is that in the static elimination device having the fourth technical feature, the restriction member is arranged in a state not protruding from the surface of the groove within the range of the contact area of ​​the static elimination rollers of the paired structure.

[0012] A seventh technical feature of the present invention is that in the static elimination device having any one of the first to sixth technical features, the limiting member is made of an insulating material.

[0013] The eighth technical feature of the present invention is that in the static elimination device having any one of the first to seventh technical features, the limiting member is configured to have a rectangular cross-section or a circular cross-section.

[0014] A ninth technical feature of the present invention is that in the static elimination device having any one of the first to eighth technical features, the limiting member is provided in a region through which all of the usable media pass.

[0015] The tenth technical feature of the present invention is that in the static elimination device having the ninth technical feature, the medium moves with the center of a direction intersecting the moving direction of the medium as a reference line, and the limiting member is arranged at a position including the reference line.

[0016] The 11th technical feature of the present invention is characterized in that, in an electrostatic elimination device having any one of the 1st to 10th technical features, a plurality of groups of electrostatic elimination rollers of the paired structure are arranged in the moving direction of the medium, and the limiting members are respectively arranged on each group of the electrostatic elimination rollers of the paired structure, and the limiting members of each group are offset in a direction intersecting the moving direction of the medium.

[0017] The twelfth technical feature of the present invention is a media processing system, characterized in that it comprises: a processing component that performs a process accompanied by charging on the moved media; and an electrostatic elimination device having any one of the first to eleventh technical features, which eliminates static electricity by allowing the media to pass through.

[0018] Effects of the Invention

[0019] According to the first technical feature of the present invention, the static elimination effect on the medium can be well maintained, and the medium can be effectively prevented from being wrapped around the static elimination rollers without damaging the surfaces of the paired static elimination rollers.

[0020] According to the second feature of the present invention, compared with a case where no bridge member is used as the restriction member, the restriction member can be stably arranged at the non-contact portion of the static elimination roller, and the medium can be more reliably prevented from being wound around the static elimination roller.

[0021] According to the third feature of the present invention, the bridge member can be easily constructed by utilizing the existing guide member as the fixing member.

[0022] According to the fourth feature of the present invention, when the restricting member is arranged, the non-contact portion to be formed on the static eliminating rollers of the paired structure can be easily constructed.

[0023] According to the fifth feature of the present invention, compared with the case where the groove is formed in a shape other than a rectangular cross-sectional shape, the non-contact portion can be easily constructed while ensuring a wide cross-sectional space of the non-contact portion.

[0024] According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to effectively prevent the medium from being wrapped around the static eliminating rollers without damaging the static eliminating effect of the medium by the static eliminating rollers having a paired structure.

[0025] According to the seventh feature of the present invention, compared with a case where the restriction member is made of a conductive material, current leakage through the restriction member can be suppressed, thereby stabilizing the static elimination effect of the pair of static elimination rollers.

[0026] According to the eighth feature of the present invention, compared with a case where the cross-sectional shape of the restricting member is other shapes, it can be easily arranged in the non-contact portion of the paired static eliminating rollers and the contact between the corners and the medium can be suppressed.

[0027] According to the ninth technical feature of the present invention, it is possible to achieve both the static elimination effect and the effect of preventing the medium from being wound around the static elimination roller for any of the usable media.

[0028] According to the tenth technical feature of the present invention, in the method of moving with the center of the intersecting direction intersecting the moving direction of the medium as the reference line, it is possible to achieve both the static elimination effect and the effect of preventing the medium from being wound around the static elimination roller for any of the usable media.

[0029] According to the eleventh technical feature of the present invention, static elimination can be performed on a portion of the medium corresponding to the non-contact portion of the paired static elimination rollers, thereby achieving static elimination action on the entire area of ​​the medium.

[0030] According to the twelfth technical feature of the present invention, it is possible to easily construct a media processing system including an electrostatic eliminator, wherein the electrostatic eliminator can well maintain the electrostatic eliminator effect on the media and effectively prevent the media from being wound around the electrostatic eliminator rollers without damaging the surface of the paired structured electrostatic eliminator rollers. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings.

[0032] exist Figure 1 middle, Figure 1 (a) is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of an embodiment of a media processing system including a static elimination device to which the present invention is applied, Figure 1 (b) is from Figure 1 The view from the B direction in (a) is as follows: Figure 1 (c) is along Figure 1 A cross-sectional view taken along line CC in (a);

[0033] Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall structure of the media processing system involved in Implementation Method 1;

[0034] Figure 3 Yes means Figure 2 An explanatory diagram of an example of an image forming device used in the media processing system;

[0035] Figure 4 Yes means Figure 2 An explanatory diagram showing an overview of a static elimination unit used in the media processing system;

[0036] Figure 5 Yes means Figure 4 An explanatory diagram of a structural example of the static eliminator involved;

[0037] exist Figure 6 middle, Figure 6 (a) is a perspective view showing the main parts of the contact type static eliminator used in Embodiment 1, Figure 6 (b) is from Figure 6 The view from the B direction in (a);

[0038] exist Figure 7 middle, Figure 7 (a) is the contact type static elimination device used in the first embodiment. Figure 6A cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in (b), Figure 7 (b) is along Figure 7 The cross-sectional view taken along line BB in (a) is as follows: Figure 7 (c) is an explanatory diagram of the main part showing the behavior of the medium passing through the contact type static eliminator;

[0039] exist Figure 8 middle, Figure 8 (a) is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the static elimination effect of a contact type static elimination device, Figure 8 (b) is a schematic representation based on Figure 5 The diagrams for explaining the basic static elimination effects of the contact type static elimination device and the non-contact type static elimination device are shown in FIG. Figure 8 (c) is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the static elimination effect of the contact type static elimination device involved in this embodiment on the width direction of the medium;

[0040] exist Fig. 9 middle, Fig. 9 (a) is an explanatory diagram showing the main parts of a first modification of the contact-type static eliminator used in the first embodiment, Fig. 9 (b) is an explanatory diagram showing the main parts of a second modification of the contact-type static eliminator used in the first embodiment;

[0041] Fig.10 This is an explanatory diagram showing the main parts of the static elimination device involved in Embodiment 2;

[0042] exist Fig.11 middle, Fig.11 (a) is a perspective view showing the main parts of the contact type static eliminator used in Embodiment 2, Fig.11 (b) is from Fig.11 The view from the B direction in (a);

[0043] exist Fig.12 middle, Fig.12 (a) is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the static elimination effect on the medium that has passed through the first static eliminator of the contact type static eliminator. Fig.12 (b) is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the static elimination effect on the medium that has passed through the second static eliminator of the contact-type static eliminator.

[0044] Explanation of symbols

[0045] 1 (1a, 1b) - static electricity elimination roller, 3 - roller body, 4 - power supply for static electricity elimination, 5 - limiting member, 6 - non-contact part, 7 - groove, 8 - bridging member, 10 - processing member, 11 - static electricity elimination device, 12 - fixing member, 13 - guiding member, CN - contact area, S - medium. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] ◎Overview of implementation method

[0047] exist Figure 1 (a) shows an overview of an embodiment of a media processing system to which the present invention is applied.

[0048] exist Figure 1 In (a), the media processing system includes: a processing unit 10 for performing a process involving charging on the moving medium S; and a static eliminator 11 for eliminating static electricity by allowing the medium S to pass.

[0049] Such a media processing system only needs to include a processing component 10 that requires a static elimination action by a static elimination device 11, and the processing component 10 broadly includes a component that performs a process involving charging on the conveyed medium S (for example, a process of transferring an image to the medium S by causing a transfer electric field to act). Furthermore, as a media processing system, the processing component 10 and the static elimination device 11 are not limited to a form in which the processing component 10 and the static elimination device 11 are separate unit structures, and a form in which they are assembled in the same unit is also included.

[0050] Furthermore, in this case, Figure 1 (a) to Figure 1 As shown in (c), the static elimination device 11 comprises: a pair of static elimination rollers 1 (specifically, 1a, 1b), each having a roller body 3 extending continuously in an axial direction intersecting the moving direction of the medium S, and moving the medium S in a state of clamping it to eliminate static electricity; a static elimination power supply 4, applying a static elimination voltage to at least one side of the static elimination roller (for example, 1a) of the paired static elimination rollers 1; and a limiting member 5, which is formed through a non-contact portion 6 on a part of the axial direction of the contact area CN of the paired static elimination rollers 1 and extends back and forth along the moving direction of the medium S to limit the moving direction of the medium S.

[0051] This technical means assumes that the paired static eliminating rollers 1 (1a, 1b) have roller bodies 3 extending continuously in the axial direction. Therefore, a method in which a plurality of roller bodies are divided and arranged in the axial direction with respect to the rotation axis, such as a conveying roller conveying the medium S, is excluded.

[0052] Furthermore, it is sufficient that, in the paired static-eliminating rollers 1 (1a, 1b), it is necessary to make the static-eliminating electric field work when the medium S passes through, for example, a static-eliminating power source 4 for applying a static-eliminating voltage is provided on one static-eliminating roller 1a (or 1b), and the static-eliminating roller 1b (or 1a) on the side to which the static-eliminating voltage is not applied is grounded. In addition, it is of course possible to distribute and apply the static-eliminating voltage to both the paired static-eliminating rollers 1a and 1b.

[0053] Furthermore, the restricting member 5 broadly includes a member that restricts the conveying direction of the medium S passing through the static eliminating rollers 1 in a paired structure.

[0054] However, the non-contact portion 6 is formed in a part of the contact area CN of the paired static eliminating rollers 1 in the axial direction, and the restricting member 5 only needs to extend forward and backward in the moving direction of the medium S so as to pass through the non-contact portion 6 .

[0055] In this example, the medium S may be wound around any one of the paired static elimination rollers 1, so it is preferable to provide a pair of limiting members 5, for example, on the front side and the back side of the medium S. However, there is a tendency that, for example, the static elimination roller 1b on the ground side of the paired static elimination rollers 1 (1a, 1b) is more likely to be wound than the static elimination roller 1a on the side to which the static elimination voltage is applied, so, for example, the limiting member 5 may be provided only on the static elimination roller 1b on the ground side.

[0056] According to this static elimination device 11, when the charged medium S passes through the paired static elimination rollers 1 (1a, 1b), the medium S is conveyed in a clamped state in the contact area CN of the paired static elimination rollers 1. At this time, the static elimination voltage from the static elimination power supply 4 is applied to at least one side of the paired static elimination rollers 1, so that the area of ​​the medium S passing through the contact area CN is static eliminated. However, the area of ​​the medium S passing through the non-contact portion 6 of the paired static elimination rollers 1 is not in contact with the roller body 3 of the static elimination rollers 1, and therefore is not directly static eliminated, but the charge in the medium S is only indirectly static eliminated by an amount equivalent to the static elimination portion attracted to the area other than the non-contact portion 6.

[0057] Furthermore, the area of ​​the medium S that passes through the contact area CN of the paired static elimination rollers 1 may be wound around any one of the static elimination rollers 1a or 1b, but even if the medium S is wound around any one of the static elimination rollers 1a or 1b in the contact area CN, the area of ​​the medium S corresponding to the non-contact portion 6 abuts against the limiting member 5 disposed in the non-contact portion 6. Therefore, the leading end of the medium S that attempts to be wound around the static elimination roller 1 (1a or 1b) is peeled off from the static elimination roller 1 by the limiting member 5, and is transported in the transport direction restricted by the limiting member 5.

[0058] Next, typical aspects or preferred aspects of the static eliminator according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0059] First, as a mode of the restriction member 5 , there can be mentioned a bridge member 8 that bridges between the front and rear fixing members 12 sandwiching the contact region CN of the static elimination rollers 1 in a paired structure.

[0060] In this example, the fixing member 12 may be fixedly disposed at a predetermined position, for example, a pair of guide members 13 that guide the moving path of the medium S, and the bridging member 8 is formed integrally with the pair of guide members 13. Here, the bridging member 8 may be a structure pre-integrated with the guide member 13 as the fixing member 12, or may be a member that is separated from the guide member 13 as the fixing member 12 but then integrally fixed.

[0061] Furthermore, as another embodiment of the limiting member 5, the following embodiments can be cited: Figure 1 (b) Figure 1 As shown in (c), an annular groove 7 is provided which is opposed to a part of the surface of each of the paired static eliminating rollers 1 in the axial direction, and a non-contact portion 6 passes between the grooves 7 of the paired static eliminating rollers 1.

[0062] In this example, the cross-sectional shape of the concave groove 7 may be a rectangular shape, a semicircular shape, a semi-elliptical shape, or the like, but from the viewpoint of ensuring a wide cross-sectional space, a rectangular cross-sectional shape is preferred.

[0063] In addition, for example, the limiting member 5 is preferably configured in a state where it does not protrude from the surface of the groove 7 within the range of the contact area CN of the paired static elimination roller 1, so that when the limiting member 5 passes through the paired static elimination roller 1, the contact state between the circumferential surface of the roller body 3 and the medium S will not be damaged.

[0064] The material of the limiting member 5 may be appropriately selected, but from the viewpoint of suppressing the current leakage through the limiting member 5 , it is preferably made of, for example, an insulating material.

[0065] The cross-sectional shape of the restricting member 5 may be appropriately selected, but in consideration of ease of arrangement in the non-contact portion 6 and contact resistance with the medium S, a configuration having, for example, a rectangular cross-sectional shape or a circular cross-sectional shape is preferred.

[0066] In addition, regarding the layout of the limiting member 5, for example, it is preferable to arrange the limiting member 5 in an area where all the media S used pass. For example, in a method in which the media S moves with the center of the intersecting direction intersecting the moving direction of the media S as a reference line, the limiting member 5 only needs to be arranged at a position including the reference line. The same is true in a method in which the reference line is a side edge of the media S in the intersecting direction.

[0067] Furthermore, the pair of static eliminating rollers 1 does not need to be one set, and a plurality of sets may be provided in the moving direction of the medium S.

[0068] In this example, for example, the following method is preferred: each group of the paired static elimination rollers 1 is provided with a restriction member 5, and each group of restriction members 5 is offset in a direction intersecting the moving direction of the medium S. In the method in which the paired static elimination rollers 1 are one group, the area of ​​the medium S corresponding to the non-contact portion 6 of the static elimination roller 1 is not directly subjected to the static elimination effect by the static elimination roller 1. In contrast, in this example, for example, although the area of ​​the medium S corresponding to the non-contact portion 6 of the static elimination roller 1 located in the front stage is not directly subjected to the static elimination effect, the non-static elimination effect portion of the medium S passes through the contact area CN of the static elimination roller 1 located in the rear stage, and is directly subjected to the static elimination effect. Therefore, in the method of passing through multiple groups of static elimination rollers 1, the static elimination effect can be applied to the entire area of ​​the medium S.

[0069] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.

[0070] ◎Implementation method 1

[0071] Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall structure of the media processing system involved in Implementation Method 1;

[0072] -Structure example of media processing system-

[0073] exist Figure 2In the embodiment, the media processing system 20 comprises: an image forming device 21 for forming an image on a medium; a first post-processing device 22 for performing a predetermined post-processing on the medium having passed through the image forming device 21; an insert 23 for inserting a backing paper; a static elimination unit 24 for performing static elimination on the charged medium; an inspection device 25 for inspecting the image on the medium after static elimination; a stacker 26 for storing the medium having an image formed thereon; and a second post-processing device 27 for performing a predetermined post-processing on the medium having an image formed thereon. In addition, the structural example of the media processing system 20 is not limited to Figure 2 The method shown can, of course, be modified in design as appropriate.

[0074] <Overall Structure of Image Forming Apparatus>

[0075] exist Figure 3 2 shows the overall structure of the image forming apparatus 21.

[0076] exist Figure 3 In the figure, the basic structure of the image forming device 21 is as follows: an image generating engine 31 for producing a plurality of color component images is mounted in a device frame 30, and below the image generating engine 31 there is a media transmission system 80 for transmitting media to the image generating engine 31, and a fixing device 70 for fixing the image produced by the image generating engine 31 on the media.

[0077] Then, in this example, the image generation engine 31 includes: an image forming unit 32 (specifically, 32a to 32d) that forms images of multiple color components (yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) in this embodiment); a belt-shaped intermediate transfer body 40 that sequentially transfers (primary transfer) and holds the color component images formed by each image forming unit 32; and a secondary transfer device (collective transfer device) 50 that secondary transfers (collective transfer) the color component images transferred to the intermediate transfer body 40 to a medium (paper or film). In addition, Figure 3 In the figure, reference numeral 60 denotes an operation panel for operating the image forming apparatus.

[0078] <Image forming unit>

[0079] In the present embodiment, each image forming unit 32 (32a~32d) has a drum-shaped photosensitive body 33, and around each photosensitive body 33 are respectively arranged: a charging device 34 such as a corotron and a transfer roller for charging the photosensitive body 33; an exposure device 35 such as a laser scanning device for writing an electrostatic latent image on the charged photosensitive body 33; a developing device 36 for developing the electrostatic latent image written on the photosensitive body 33 with each color component toner of YMCK; a primary transfer device 37 such as a transfer roller for transferring the toner image on the photosensitive body 33 to the intermediate transfer body 40; and a photosensitive body cleaning device 38 for removing residual toner on the photosensitive body 33.

[0080] The intermediate transfer body 40 is mounted on a plurality of (three in this embodiment) tension rollers 41 to 43. For example, the tension roller 41 is used as a driving roller driven by a driving motor (not shown) and is circulated by the driving roller. In addition, an intermediate transfer body cleaning device 45 is provided between the tension rollers 41 and 43 to remove residual toner on the intermediate transfer body 40 after secondary transfer.

[0081] <Secondary transfer device (batch transfer device)>

[0082] In the secondary transfer device (collective transfer device) 50, for example, a transfer roller 55 is arranged in pressure contact with a portion opposed to the tension roller 43 of the intermediate transfer body 40, and the tension roller 43 of the intermediate transfer body 40 is set as an opposing roller 56 constituting an opposing electrode of the transfer roller 55. Here, in this example, the transfer roller 55 is configured such that an elastic layer of foamed polyurethane rubber or EPDM mixed with carbon black or the like is coated around a metal shaft, and a transfer voltage from a transfer power source (not shown) is applied to the opposing roller 56 (which also serves as the tension roller 43 in this example) via a conductive power supply roller (not shown), and on the other hand, the transfer roller 55 is grounded, so that a predetermined transfer electric field is formed between the transfer roller 55 and the opposing roller 56, so that the sandwiched area of ​​the intermediate transfer body 40 sandwiched between the transfer roller 55 and the opposing roller 56 functions as a secondary transfer area (collective transfer area) TR. In addition, the secondary transfer device 50 is a mode using the transfer roller 55, but the present invention is not limited to this, and of course, a transfer belt module or the like in which a transfer belt is stretched using the transfer roller 55 as one of the tension rollers may be used.

[0083] <Fixing device>

[0084] The fixing device 70 comprises: a heated fixing roller 71, which is arranged in contact with the image retaining surface side of the medium and can be driven to rotate; and a pressurized fixing roller 72, which is arranged opposite to the heated fixing roller 71 and is pressed against it, and rotates following the heated fixing roller 71. The fixing device 70 allows the image retained on the medium to pass through a fixing area between the two fixing rollers 71 and 72, and heats and pressurizes the image to fix it.

[0085] Here, the heating fixing roller 71 heats the roller body by, for example, embedding a heater in the roller body or making an external heater contact with the outer peripheral surface of the roller body, and of course, a heater may be added to the pressure fixing roller 72 as needed. In addition, although the roller pair structure example is shown in this example, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to appropriately select, for example, a heating fixing belt using an electromagnetic induction heating method to constitute the heating fixing roller 71.

[0086] <Media transmission system>

[0087] In addition, the medium conveying system 80 includes a plurality of (two-stage in this example) medium supply containers 81 and 82, and the medium supplied from any one of the medium supply containers 81 and 82 is conveyed from a vertical conveying path 83 extending in a substantially vertical direction to a horizontal conveying path 84 extending in a substantially horizontal direction to the secondary transfer area TR, and then the medium holding the transferred image is conveyed via a conveyor belt 85 to the fixing area based on the fixing device 70, and is discharged from a discharge port 86 of the device housing 30 to the first post-processing device 22 (see FIG. Figure 2 )discharge.

[0088] In addition, the medium conveying system 80 has a reversible branch conveying path 87 that branches downward from a portion of the horizontal conveying path 84 located on the downstream side of the fixing device 70 in the medium conveying direction, so that the medium reversed in the branch conveying path 87 is returned and returned from the vertical conveying path 83 to the horizontal conveying path 84 again through the conveying path 88, and an image is transferred to the back side of the medium in the secondary transfer area TR, and is discharged from the discharge port 86 of the device housing 30 through the fixing device 70. In addition, a branch return conveying path 89 that branches midway and conveys the reversed medium to the discharge port 86 side is provided in the branch conveying path 87.

[0089] Furthermore, in the medium transport system 80, in addition to the position alignment roller 90 for aligning the position of the medium and supplying it to the secondary transfer area TR, a suitable number of transport rollers 91 are provided on each transport path 83, 84, 87, 88, and 89, and a discharge roller 92 is provided at the exit portion of the horizontal transport path 84 toward the discharge port 86. In addition, a manual feed medium supply device 95 that can supply the manual feed medium toward the horizontal transport path 84 is provided on the side of the device housing 30 opposite to the discharge port 86.

[0090] <Components other than the image forming device>

[0091] The first post-processing device 22 performs post-processing such as cooling, curl correction, inserting a backing paper, or punching on the medium after the image is formed by the image forming device 21, and conveys the medium to the inserter 23 at the subsequent stage.

[0092] The inserter 23 is an interleaving paper inserting device that inserts the interleaving paper to be set in the middle of the conveying path.

[0093] The static eliminator 24 performs static elimination to reduce the amount of charge on the charged medium during the transfer process by the secondary transfer device 50 of the image forming apparatus 21. The details of the static eliminator 24 will be described later.

[0094] The inspection device 25 receives the medium after the image is formed by the image forming device 21 from the static elimination unit 24 of the previous stage, and inspects the image formed on the medium, that is, determines whether the image formed on the medium is abnormal. Specifically, the inspection device 25 receives the image data of the image to be formed on the medium from the image forming device 21, reads the image of the medium transmitted from the image forming device 21, compares the image of the received image data with the read image, and determines whether the image formed on the transmitted medium is normal or abnormal.

[0095] When a medium on which an image has been formed by the image forming device 21 is conveyed, the stacker 26 stores the medium therein.

[0096] The second post-processing device 27 performs post-processing on the medium after the image is formed by the image forming device 21. Specifically, the second post-processing device 27 has at least one or more functions of a folding function, a cutting function, a stapling function, a binding function, a stacking function, an alignment function, a punching function, and a paper discharge function on the medium after the image is formed by the image forming device 21. Here, the folding function is a function of performing a folding process on the medium. And, the cutting function is a function of cutting the upper and lower parts and edges of the medium formed into a booklet. And, the stapling function is also called a booklet function, and is a function of bundling a plurality of media to generate a booklet. The binding function is also called a staple function, and is a function of binding a plurality of media using staples. The stacking function is a function of stacking the conveyed media on the discharge tray 27a in sequence. The alignment function is also called a tampering / paper aligning fence function, and is a function of aligning the width direction of the media, etc. The punching function is also called a punching function, and is a function of forming punch holes at predetermined locations on the media.

[0097] -Necessity of static electricity elimination treatment-

[0098] In this example, the image forming device 21 performs a series of image generation processes as follows: a laser beam or the like is irradiated onto the charged photoreceptor 33 to form an electrostatic latent image, the formed electrostatic latent image is developed with a colorant such as a toner, and the developed image is transferred to a medium and then subjected to a fixing process. In particular, when a dielectric having a high resistance such as a resin film is used as a medium, the medium is likely to be charged with a large amount of charge. Furthermore, if the surface of such a medium is charged with a negative charge, for example, a positive charge of + is induced on the back side of the medium by dielectric polarization. As a result, the media are attracted to each other by electrostatic attraction, and when the second post-processing device 27 attempts to post-process the charged media, the media may be charged and attached to each other due to the overlap of the media on the discharge tray, or discharge may occur to the human body.

[0099] Furthermore, when the medium in a charged state passes through the inspection device 25, noise may be generated during the inspection, which may cause an erroneous inspection result.

[0100] Therefore, in this embodiment, a static elimination unit 24 for eliminating static electricity to reduce the charge on the medium is provided at the rear stage of the image forming device 21 (in this example, the rear stage of the inserter 23 ).

[0101] -Static elimination unit-

[0102] exist Figure 4 Detailed contents of the static eliminating unit 24 used in this embodiment are shown in FIG.

[0103] exist Figure 4 In the figure, the static elimination unit 24 has a box-shaped unit frame 100, in which an entrance 101 that can be connected to the insert 23 located in the front section and an exit 102 that can be connected to the inspection device 25 located in the rear section are opened, and a media transmission path 103 extending from the entrance 101 toward the exit 102 in a roughly horizontal direction is provided.

[0104] In this example, multiple groups (three groups in this example) of paired conveying rollers 111 to 113 for clamping and conveying the medium S are provided at appropriate intervals on the media conveying path 103 from the upstream side in the conveying direction of the medium S. In this example, the conveying roller 111 is arranged immediately after the inlet 101, the conveying roller 113 is arranged immediately before the outlet 102, and the conveying roller 112 is arranged near the center of the media conveying path 103 in the conveying direction.

[0105] Furthermore, on the medium conveying path 103, a contact type static eliminator 120 (equivalent to Figure 1A non-contact type static eliminator 160 is provided between the conveying rollers 112 and 113.

[0106] In this example, guide grooves 131 to 133 as guide members for guiding the transport path of the medium S are provided before and after the contact type static eliminator 120 and the non-contact type static eliminator 160 on the medium transport path 103 .

[0107] Each guide groove 131 to 133 is composed of a pair of plate-like members arranged to face the front and back sides of the medium S, and guides the medium S conveyed to the static elimination area of ​​the contact type static elimination device 120 or the non-contact type static elimination device 160 .

[0108] In this example, each conveying roller 111 to 113 has a structure that includes a divided roller body 114 divided into a plurality of parts in the axial direction of the rotation axis, and each guide groove 131 to 133 is formed with an opening (not shown) for avoiding the divided roller body 114 of each conveying roller 111 to 113.

[0109] - Example of the structure of a contact type static eliminator -

[0110] In this example, if Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the contact type static elimination device 120 has a pair of static elimination rollers 121 and 122 in a static elimination frame 127. The pair of static elimination rollers 121 and 122 each have a metal rotating shaft 123 and a roller body 124 extending continuously in the axial direction around the rotating shaft 123 along the axial direction intersecting the conveying direction of the medium S, and the roller bodies 124 are arranged in a contact state with each other, and static elimination is performed while the medium S is moved while being sandwiched between the roller bodies 124.

[0111] In this example, the driving force from a driving motor (not shown) is transmitted to either side of the paired static elimination rollers 121, 122, for example, static elimination roller 121, via a drive transmission mechanism such as gears (not shown), and static elimination roller 122 contacts static elimination roller 121 and rotates therewith.

[0112] In this example, a static eliminating power source 125 is connected to one side of the static eliminating roller 121 , and a static eliminating bias Vd1 (a positive polarity DC voltage is used in this example) is applied from the static eliminating power source 125 , while the other side of the static eliminating roller 122 is grounded.

[0113] Furthermore, the static eliminating power source 125 is provided with a switch 126 , and the switch 126 is turned on and off according to a control signal from the control device 170 , so that the static eliminating bias Vd1 is applied from the static eliminating power source 125 at a predetermined timing.

[0114] In this example, the roller body 124 of the static elimination rollers 121 and 122 is formed by covering the metal rotating shaft 123 with an elastic layer of foamed polyurethane rubber or EPDM mixed with carbon black, and the surface of the elastic layer is covered with a protective layer such as fluororesin. In addition, a static elimination bias voltage Vd1 from a static elimination power supply 125 is applied to the metal rotating shaft 123.

[0115] Furthermore, the static elimination rollers 121 and 122 are arranged in contact with each other even when the medium S does not pass through, but the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto, and the static elimination rollers 121 and 122 may be arranged in non-contact with each other when the medium S does not pass through. However, regarding the gap between the static elimination rollers 121 and 122, when the medium S passes between the static elimination rollers 121 and 122, the static elimination rollers 121 and 122 are in contact with the front and back surfaces of the medium S, and the contact pressure on the medium S in the contact area may be appropriately selected within a range that ensures the transportability of the medium S by the static elimination rollers 121 and 122 and does not damage the static elimination operation on the medium S.

[0116] In addition, regarding the setting of the static electricity elimination power supply 125, it can be set on either the front side or the back side of the medium S. In the method of configuring it on the back side of the medium S, it is sufficient to use a power supply with a polarity opposite to that of the static electricity elimination bias or static electricity elimination current used in the method of configuring it on the front side of the medium S.

[0117] -Restricted institutions-

[0118] In particular, in this embodiment, if Figures 5 to 7 As shown, the contact type static eliminator 120 includes a limiting mechanism 150 as a limiting member for limiting the moving direction of the medium S to prevent the medium S passing through the contact area CN of the paired static eliminator rollers 121 and 122 from adhering to the peripheral surfaces of the static eliminator rollers 121 and 122 .

[0119] In this example, if Figure 6 (a) Figure 6 (b) and Figure 7 (a) Figure 7 As shown in (b), the limiting mechanism 150 is formed through a non-contact portion 140 on a portion of the axial direction of the contact area CN of the paired static elimination rollers 121 and 122, and is provided with bridging parts 151 and 152 that bridge the guide grooves 131 and 132 arranged front and back across the contact area CN.

[0120] In this embodiment, if Figure 6 As shown in (b), the medium S moves with the center of the intersecting direction intersecting the moving direction of the medium S as the reference line L0, and the limiting mechanism 150 is provided at the central part of the paired static elimination rollers 121 and 122 in the axial direction so as to include the reference line L0.

[0121] <Example of the structure of the non-contact part>

[0122] In this example, the non-contact portion 140 is formed into annular grooves 141 and 142 that are opposite to the axial center of the surfaces of the paired static elimination rollers 121 and 122, and a space is ensured between the grooves 141 and 142. The cross-sectional shape of the grooves 141 and 142 may be appropriately selected, but in this example, Figure 7 (a) Figure 7 As shown in (b), the cross-sectional shape is formed into a rectangular shape with a width dimension w and a depth h. Here, the width dimension w and the depth h of the grooves 141 and 142 can be selected so that the bridge members 151 and 152 can pass through the inner walls of the grooves 141 and 142 in a non-contact state. However, if the width dimension w is too wide, the range in which the static elimination treatment cannot be directly performed on the medium S is expanded. Therefore, it can be appropriately selected within the range of, for example, 1 / 100 to 1 / 30 of the axial length of the roller body 124 relative to the static elimination rollers 121 and 122.

[0123] <Structure example of bridge member>

[0124] Furthermore, the cross-sectional shape of the bridge members 151 and 152 may be selected as a rectangle, a circle, etc., but in this example, the bridge members 151 and 152 are formed into a rectangular cross-sectional shape (for example, a thin-walled film) so as to be able to pass through the grooves 141 and 142 in a non-contact manner. In addition, as the circular cross-sectional shape, for example, a linear wire material may be used.

[0125] In particular, in this example, the bridge members 151 and 152 are arranged in a state where they do not protrude from the surfaces of the concave grooves 141 and 142 in the contact region CN of the static eliminating rollers 121 and 122 .

[0126] In addition, the bridge members 151 and 152 are formed integrally with a portion of the front and rear guide grooves 131 and 132. In this case, the bridge members 151 and 152 may be formed integrally between the guide grooves 131 and 132 in advance, or the bridge members 151 and 152 may be integrally fixedly connected between the guide grooves 131 and 132 as separate components by subsequent installation.

[0127] In addition, the bridge members 151 and 152 may be made of any of a conductive material and an insulating material, but in this example, the bridge members 151 and 152 are made of an insulating material. In this case, when the guide grooves 131 and 132 are made of an insulating material, the bridge members 151 and 152 may be integrally formed. On the other hand, when the guide grooves 131 and 132 are made of a conductive material, the integrally formed bridge members 151 and 152 are also made of a conductive material, but the surface of the bridge members 151 and 152 may be coated with a coating layer made of an insulating material, or the bridge members 151 and 152 made of an insulating material may be attached as separate components later.

[0128] -Non-contact static eliminator-

[0129] In this embodiment, if Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the non-contact static elimination device 160 has a static elimination frame 161 with a channel cross-section shape that is open toward the front side of the medium S that is transported along the medium transmission path 103. A plurality of (two in this example) discharge wires 162 are set up along the length direction inside the static elimination frame 161 as discharge components, and a static elimination power supply 165 is connected to the discharge wire 162, and a static elimination bias voltage Vd2 is applied from the static elimination power supply 165. On the other hand, a guide groove 134 that partitions the transmission path of the medium S is arranged on the back side of the medium S.

[0130] Furthermore, a switch 166 is provided on the static electricity eliminating power supply 165, and the switch 166 is turned on and off according to a control signal from the control device 170, and the static electricity eliminating bias Vd2 is applied from the static electricity eliminating power supply 165 at a predetermined timing. At this time, the static electricity eliminating power supply 165 only needs to apply the static electricity eliminating bias Vd2 including at least an AC voltage component, but it can also be set to apply a DC voltage component as needed. In addition, the guide groove 134 is grounded and is provided separately from the guide groove 132 or 133 of the paired structure, but it can also be provided as a single component with one side component of the guide groove 132 or 133 of the paired structure.

[0131] In this example, two discharge wires 162 are used, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and one or more discharge wires 162 may be used. In this example, a so-called corotron method is used, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and a method (so-called grid corotron method) in which a grid plate as a control electrode is added to the opening facing the static elimination frame 161 may also be used. In addition, a needle-shaped electrode may be provided instead of the discharge wire 162.

[0132] - Operation of the static elimination unit -

[0133] <Overview of static electricity elimination processing by static electricity elimination unit>

[0134] In the present embodiment, the medium S after image formation by the image forming device 21 is charged by the transfer process by the secondary transfer device 50 or the like, and thus the charged medium S enters the static eliminating unit 24 .

[0135] At this time, for example, when the medium S has a high resistance such as a resin film, Figure 8 As shown in (a), the surface of the medium S is charged with negative charge (-) by the secondary transfer device 50, and the back surface of the medium S is charged with positive charge (+) by dielectric polarization.

[0136] In this state, if Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, when the medium S reaches the inlet 101 of the static eliminator 24, the medium S is first guided to the contact type static eliminator 120 along the guide groove 131, and passes through the contact area CN of the paired static eliminator rollers 121 and 122. Then, the medium S is guided to the non-contact type static eliminator 160 along the guide groove 132, and receives static elimination treatment by the non-contact type static eliminator 160, and reaches the outlet 102 of the static eliminator 24 along the guide groove 133.

[0137] <Static elimination effect by contact type static elimination device>

[0138] In this example, the static elimination action by the contact type static elimination device 120 is as follows.

[0139] In this example, if Figure 8As shown in (a), when the contact type static eliminator 120 performs the static eliminator operation, the static eliminator power supply 125 applies a positive polarity static eliminator bias voltage Vd1 to the static eliminator roller 121. As a result, corona discharge occurs before and after the contact area CN of the static eliminator roller 121 on one side and the static eliminator roller 122 on the other side. In particular, in this example, in the gap on the inlet side of the contact area CN of the static eliminator rollers 121 and 122, since the high-resistance medium S with a high surface potential before static eliminator enters, a strong current discharge occurs in the area far from the contact area CN and a weak current discharge occurs in the area close to the contact area CN. In addition, in the gap on the outlet side of the contact area CN of the static eliminator rollers 121 and 122, since the medium S with a low surface potential after static eliminator passes, a weak current discharge occurs in the area close to the contact area CN. As a result, only a predetermined amount of positive charge (+) is given to the surface of the charged high-resistance medium S, and only negative charge (-) on the surface of the medium S corresponding to the given charge is statically eliminated. In this state, as the surface charge of the medium S decreases, the positive charge (+) of the dielectric polarization on the back surface of the medium S also decreases.

[0140] At this time, if Figure 8 As shown in (b), regarding the surface potential of the medium S that has passed through the contact region CN of the paired static eliminating rollers 121 and 122, the surface potential of the medium S that was charged at the potential Vc before static elimination reaches a potential ΔV1 close to substantially zero.

[0141] However, in this case, if Figure 6 (a) Figure 6 As shown in (b), there is a non-contact portion 140 that is non-contact with the medium S at the center of the axial direction of the paired static elimination rollers 121 and 122, so Figure 8 As shown in (c), the direct static elimination effect of the static elimination roller 121 does not occur in the surface portion of the medium S corresponding to the non-contact portion 140. Therefore, the surface potential Vc1 of the portion R corresponding to the non-contact portion 140 (corresponding to the vicinity of the center in the width direction intersecting the conveying direction of the medium S) on the surface of the medium S reaches a value slightly lower than the charged potential Vc before static elimination by an amount corresponding to an amount by which the charged charges are slightly dispersed to the surroundings as the surface potential around the medium S decreases to ΔV1.

[0142] <Transfer properties of media using contact-type static eliminators>

[0143] The medium S passing through the contact type static eliminator 120 passes through the contact area CN of the paired static eliminator rollers 121 and 122 at a location other than the non-contact portion 140 , and passes between the paired bridging members 151 and 152 as the limiting mechanism 150 in the non-contact portion 140 .

[0144] Therefore, when the medium S passes through the contact area CN of the paired static elimination rollers 121 and 122, even if the static elimination rollers 121 and 122 are Figure 7 The behavior of the front end of the medium S in the moving direction trying to wrap around the peripheral surface of either the static elimination roller 121 or 122 as shown by the dotted line in (c) can also be suppressed by the bridging members 151 and 152. Specifically, the bridging members 151 and 152 of the paired structure of the non-contact portion 140 extend back and forth across the contact area CN, so that the moving direction of the medium S at the portion corresponding to the non-contact portion 140 in the medium S is restricted by the bridging members 151 and 152. Therefore, Figure 7 As shown in (c) , the medium S passing through the contact area CN of the paired static elimination rollers 121 and 122 moves toward the guide groove 132 without being wound around the peripheral surface of the static elimination roller 121 or 122 .

[0145] Furthermore, in this example, the paired bridging members 151 and 152 are integrally bridged with the front and rear guide grooves 131 and 132 , so that the medium S passing through the paired static elimination rollers 121 and 122 moves from the guide groove 131 toward the guide groove 132 by drawing a stable moving trajectory by the bridging members 151 and 152 .

[0146] In addition, in this example, the bridging members 151 and 152 are arranged in a pair structure, which can prevent the medium S from being wound around either of the static elimination rollers 121 and 122. However, there is a tendency for the medium S to be easily wound around the static elimination roller 122 on the ground side, so it is also possible to set only one side of the bridging member 152.

[0147] <Other functions of contact-type static eliminators>

[0148] In this embodiment, the paired bridging members 151, 152 are made of insulating material. Therefore, even if the bridging members 151, 152 are in contact with the inner walls of the grooves 141, 142 serving as the non-contact portion 140, the electrostatic elimination bias Vd1 applied to the paired electrostatic elimination roller 121 will not leak through the bridging members 151, 152, thereby maintaining the electrostatic elimination effect of the paired electrostatic elimination rollers 121, 122 well.

[0149] Furthermore, in this example, the paired bridging members 151 and 152 are arranged in a state where they do not protrude from the surfaces of the grooves 141 and 142 as the non-contact portion 140 within the range of the contact region CN of the paired static elimination rollers 121 and 122. Therefore, the portion of the medium S that passes through the portion corresponding to the non-contact portion 140 is not pushed up radially outward from the circumference of the roller body 124 by the bridging members 151 and 152, and the contact state between the circumference of the roller body 124 and the medium S around the non-contact portion 140 of the paired static elimination rollers 121 and 122 is not damaged. Therefore, the static elimination effect of the paired static elimination rollers 121 and 122 is effectively exerted in the entire contact region CN.

[0150] <Static elimination effect by non-contact type static elimination device>

[0151] In this example, the static elimination effect by the non-contact static elimination device 160 is as follows.

[0152] In this example, if Figure 5 As shown, the non-contact type static eliminator 160 applies a static eliminating bias voltage Vd2 composed of an AC voltage component between the discharge wire 162 and the static eliminating frame 161 .

[0153] At this time, positive ions (+) and negative ions (-) are mixed and generated by corona discharge from the surrounding of the discharge wire 162, and are imparted to the surface of the medium S passing through the non-contact static eliminator 160, thereby removing the negative charges (-) or positive charges (+) remaining on the surface of the medium S. In addition, the back surface of the medium S is in contact with the grounded guide groove 134, so that the dielectric polarization charge on the back surface of the medium S is reduced as the surface charge of the medium S is reduced.

[0154] As a result, regarding the surface potential of the medium S that has passed through the non-contact static eliminator 160 , the surface potential ΔV1 of the medium S before passing through is further reduced to reach a uniform surface potential ΔV2 .

[0155] In the present embodiment, the static eliminator unit 24 is a combination of the contact type static eliminator 120 and the non-contact type static eliminator 160 , but it is of course possible to use only the contact type static eliminator 120 .

[0156] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the bridge members 151 and 152 integrated with the guide grooves 131 and 132 are used as the restriction mechanism 150 . However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and for example, the following modified forms 1 and 2 may be used.

[0157] ◎Deformation method 1

[0158] exist Fig. 9 (a) shows the limiting mechanism involved in the first modification.

[0159] exist Fig. 9 In (a), as in the first embodiment, the limiting mechanism 150 passes through the grooves 141, 142 of the non-contact portion 140 of the static elimination rollers 121, 122 as a pair structure, but unlike the first embodiment, the limiting mechanism 150 is not bridged between the front and rear guide grooves 131, 132, but is configured as a pair of protruding members 157, 158 cantilevered by the guide groove 131 on the front stage side. The protruding members 157, 158 of the pair structure are formed integrally with the guide groove 131 on the front stage side, and extend toward the guide groove 132 on the rear stage side, and the front end portion thereof is arranged close to the entrance portion of the guide groove 132.

[0160] In this example, the entrance of the guide groove 132 on the rear side has an opening larger than the gap between the paired protruding members 157 and 158 and is gradually narrowed toward the traveling direction of the medium S. Therefore, the medium S that has passed through the contact type static eliminator 120 is positionally restricted by the paired protruding members 157 and 158 and guided to the guide groove 132 on the rear side.

[0161] ◎Deformation method 2

[0162] exist Fig. 9 (b) shows the limiting mechanism involved in deformation method 2.

[0163] exist Fig. 9 In (b), as in the first embodiment, the limiting mechanism 150 passes through the grooves 141 and 142 of the non-contact portion 140 of the paired static elimination rollers 121 and 122, but unlike the first embodiment, the limiting mechanism 150 is not bridged between the front and rear guide grooves 131 and 132, but is configured as a paired bridging member 181 and 182 that bridges between the inlet side opening 127a and the outlet side opening 127b of the static elimination frame 127 of the contact type static elimination device 120 through which the medium S passes. The paired bridging members 181 and 182 are, for example, formed integrally with the static elimination frame 127.

[0164] According to this example, after the medium S guided by the guide groove 131 on the front side enters the inlet side opening 127a of the static elimination frame 127 of the contact type static elimination device 120, it is restricted in position by the paired bridging components 181 and 182, and is discharged from the outlet side opening 127b of the static elimination frame 127 through the contact area CN of the paired static elimination rollers 121 and 122, and moves toward the guide groove 132 on the rear side.

[0165] In addition, in this example, the paired bridging components 181 and 182 bridge between the inlet side opening 127a and the outlet side opening 127b of the static elimination frame 127, but can also be configured as a protruding component (not shown) cantilevered by the inlet side opening 127a of the static elimination frame 127 as in variant 1.

[0166] ◎Implementation method 2

[0167] exist Fig.10 Detailed description is given of the main parts of the static elimination unit according to the second embodiment.

[0168] exist Fig.10 In the embodiment, the static eliminator 24 has the contact type static eliminator 120 and the non-contact type static eliminator 160 as in the first embodiment, but the contact type static eliminator 120 has a structure different from that in the first embodiment. In addition, the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment are given to the same components as those in the first embodiment, and their detailed description is omitted here.

[0169] In this example, the contact type static eliminator 120 is formed by sequentially arranging a first static eliminator 190 and a second static eliminator 200 along the medium conveying path 103 in the static eliminator housing 127. In addition, in this example, an intermediate guide groove 135 is provided between the first static eliminator 190 and the second static eliminator 200 as a guide member for guiding the medium S.

[0170] In this example, the first ionizer 190 includes a pair of ionizing rollers 191 and 192 having substantially the same structure as that of the first embodiment, and a restricting mechanism 150 is provided at the axial center of the ionizing rollers 191 and 192 .

[0171] The second static eliminator 200 has a pair of static eliminator rollers 201 and 202 having substantially the same structure as that of the first embodiment, and a limiting mechanism 150 is provided at two locations offset in the axial direction across the axial center of the static eliminator rollers 201 and 202 (including the reference line L0).

[0172] Here, if Fig.11 (a) Fig.11 As shown in (b), each limiting mechanism 150 of the second static eliminator 200 is configured to be offset from the axial center of the paired static eliminator rollers 201 and 202 by distances d1 and d2 (in this example, d1=d2), but is selected in a manner that is at least within the range of the width dimension of the medium S of the minimum use size.

[0173] In this example, if Fig.10 and Fig.11 (a) Fig.11As shown in (b), the limiting mechanism 150 of the first static eliminator 190 forms grooves 141, 142 as non-contact portions 140 in the axial central portions of the paired static eliminator rollers 191, 192, and is configured so that the bridging components 151, 152 between the bridging guide groove 131 and the middle guide groove 135 pass through the respective grooves 141, 142.

[0174] And, if Fig.10 and Fig.11 (a) Fig.11 As shown in (b), the limiting mechanism 150 of the second static eliminator 200 forms grooves 143 to 146 as non-contact portions 140 at two locations axially offset across the axial center portions of the paired static eliminator rollers 191 and 192, and is configured so that bridging components 153 to 156 bridging the middle guide groove 135 and the guide groove 132 pass through each of the grooves 143 to 146.

[0175] In the present embodiment, assuming that a medium S having a high resistance and a negatively charged surface passes through the contact type static eliminator 120 , the medium S first passes through the first static eliminator 190 .

[0176] Then, the medium S passes through the contact area CN of the pair of static eliminating rollers 191 and 192 while being positionally restricted by the pair of bridge members 151 and 152 .

[0177] At this time, if Fig.12 As shown in (a), regarding the surface potential of the medium S that has passed through the contact area CN of the paired static elimination rollers 191 and 192, the surface potential of the medium S, which was charged at the potential Vc before static elimination, reaches a potential ΔV1 close to substantially 0. However, the surface potential Vc1 of a portion R1 corresponding to the non-contact portion 140 on the surface of the medium S reaches a value slightly lower than the charged potential Vc before static elimination by an amount corresponding to an amount by which the charged charges are slightly dispersed to the surroundings as the surface potential around the medium S is reduced to ΔV1.

[0178] Next, the medium S having passed through the first ionizer 190 is guided to the middle guide groove 135 and then reaches the second ionizer 200 .

[0179] Then, the medium S passes through the contact region CN of the paired static eliminating rollers 201 and 202 while being positionally restricted by the paired bridge members 153 to 156 .

[0180] At this time, the medium S that has passed through the contact area CN of the paired static eliminator rollers 201 and 202 is further subjected to the static eliminator effect, and the residual charge of the medium S is removed. Therefore, the portion R1 corresponding to the non-contact portion 140 of the first static eliminator 190 (corresponding to the vicinity of the center in the width direction intersecting the conveying direction of the medium S) passes through the contact area CN of the paired static eliminator rollers 201 and 202 in the second static eliminator 200, and therefore the residual charge of the portion corresponding to the non-contact portion 140 of the first static eliminator 190 is removed when passing through the second static eliminator 200.

[0181] Therefore, if Fig.12 As shown in (b), the surface potential of the medium S reaches a potential ΔV1' which is closer to 0 than the surface potential ΔV1 after the static elimination by the first static eliminator 190. Fig.12 In (b), in the portion R2 corresponding to the non-contact portion 140 of the second static eliminator 200, there is no direct static elimination effect based on the second static eliminator 200, but since it has been subjected to the static elimination effect based on the first static eliminator 190, the static elimination property of this portion is not impaired.

[0182] Thereafter, the medium S having passed through the contact type static eliminator 120 passes through the non-contact type static eliminator 160 and is subjected to the same static eliminator action as that in the first embodiment.

[0183] In this example, the static elimination effect of the contact type static eliminator 120 removes the residual charge of the medium S more uniformly than the method used in the first embodiment. Therefore, the static elimination performance of the medium S passing through the non-contact type static eliminator 160 is better than that of the first embodiment.

[0184] In the present embodiment, the first ionizer 190 and the second ionizer 200 constituting the contact type ionizer 120 are assembled in one ionizer housing 127 , but the present invention is not limited thereto and they may be separately provided in different ionizer housings.

[0185] Furthermore, in this example, the limiting mechanism 150 uses bridging parts 151, 152 or bridging parts 153~156 that bridge between the front and rear guide grooves 131, 135 or between the guide grooves 135, 132, but it is not limited to this method. Of course, it can also be set to adopt a method similar to that shown in deformation method 1 and deformation method 2.

[0186] In this example, the second static eliminator 200 includes the limiting mechanism 150 at two locations, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the limiting mechanism 150 may be at one location, or may be at a plurality of locations of three or more locations.

[0187] (Note) (1)

[0189] A static elimination device, characterized in that it comprises:

[0190] The static elimination rollers of the paired structure each have a roller body extending continuously in an axial direction intersecting with the moving direction of the medium, and move the medium while clamping the medium to eliminate static electricity;

[0191] a static electricity eliminating power source for applying a static electricity eliminating voltage to at least one of the static electricity eliminating rollers in the paired structure; and

[0192] The restricting member extends forward and backward along the moving direction of the medium through a non-contact portion formed on a part of the contact region of the pair of static eliminating rollers in the axial direction to restrict the moving direction of the medium. (2)

[0194] The static eliminator according to (1) is characterized in that:

[0195] The restricting member is a bridging member that bridges between front and rear fixing members across a contact region of the pair of static eliminating rollers. (3)

[0197] The static elimination device according to (2) is characterized in that:

[0198] The fixing member is composed of a pair of guide components that guide the moving path of the medium, and the bridge component is integrally formed with the pair of guide components. (4)

[0200] The static eliminator according to any one of (1) to (3), characterized in that:

[0201] The restricting member has an annular groove opposed to a portion of the surface of each of the paired destaticizing rollers in the axial direction, and passes between the grooves of the paired destaticizing rollers as the non-contact portion. (5)

[0203] The static elimination device according to (4) is characterized in that:

[0204] The groove has a rectangular cross section. (6)

[0206] The static elimination device according to (4) is characterized in that:

[0207] The restricting member is disposed in a state where it does not protrude from the surface of the groove within the range of the contact area of ​​the static eliminating rollers of the paired structure. (7)

[0209] The static eliminator according to any one of (1) to (6), characterized in that:

[0210] The limiting member is made of an insulating material. (8)

[0212] The static eliminator according to any one of (1) to (7), characterized in that:

[0213] The restricting member is configured to have a rectangular cross-section or a circular cross-section. (9)

[0215] The static eliminator according to any one of (1) to (8), characterized in that:

[0216] The limiting member is provided in a region through which all of the usable media pass. (10)

[0218] The static elimination device according to (9) is characterized in that

[0219] The medium moves with the center of the intersecting direction intersecting with the moving direction of the medium as a reference line,

[0220] The restriction member is disposed at a location including the reference line. (11)

[0222] The static elimination device according to any one of (1) to (10) is characterized in that, in a mode in which a plurality of pairs of static elimination rollers are provided in the moving direction of the medium,

[0223] The restriction members are provided on each set of the pair of static eliminating rollers, and the restriction members of each set are arranged offset in a direction intersecting the moving direction of the medium. (12)

[0225] A media processing system, characterized by comprising:

[0226] a processing unit for performing a process on the moved medium accompanied by charging; and

[0227] The static elimination device according to any one of (1) to (11) performs static elimination by passing the medium.

[0228] According to the static eliminator according to (1), the static eliminator effect on the medium can be well maintained, and the medium can be effectively prevented from being wrapped around the static eliminator rollers without damaging the surfaces of the paired static eliminator rollers.

[0229] According to the static elimination device according to (2), compared with a case where no bridge member is used as the restriction member, the restriction member can be stably arranged at the non-contact portion of the static elimination roller, and the medium can be more reliably prevented from being wound around the static elimination roller.

[0230] According to the static elimination device according to (3), the bridge member can be easily constructed by using the existing guide member as the fixing member.

[0231] According to the static elimination device according to (4), when the restricting member is arranged, the non-contact portion to be formed on the static elimination rollers of the paired structure can be easily constructed.

[0232] According to the static elimination device according to (5), compared with the case where the groove is formed in a shape other than a rectangular cross-sectional shape, the non-contact portion can be easily constructed while ensuring a wide cross-sectional space of the non-contact portion.

[0233] According to the static eliminator device according to (6), it is possible to effectively suppress the medium from being wrapped around the static eliminator rollers without damaging the static eliminator effect of the medium by the paired static eliminator rollers.

[0234] According to the static elimination device according to (7), compared with a case where the restriction member is made of a conductive material, current leakage through the restriction member can be suppressed, thereby stabilizing the static elimination action by the pair of static elimination rollers.

[0235] According to the static elimination device of (8), compared with a case where the cross-sectional shape of the restriction member is other shapes, it is easier to arrange it in the non-contact portion of the paired static elimination rollers and the corner portion can be prevented from contacting the medium.

[0236] According to the static eliminator according to (9), it is possible to achieve both the static eliminator effect and the effect of preventing the medium from being wound around the static eliminator roller for any of the usable media.

[0237] According to the static eliminator device involved in (10), in a method of moving with the center of the intersecting direction intersecting the moving direction of the medium as a reference line, it is possible to achieve both the static eliminator effect and the effect of preventing the medium from being wound around the static eliminator roller for any of the usable media.

[0238] According to the static eliminating device of (11), static elimination can be performed on a portion of the medium corresponding to the non-contact portion of the static eliminating rollers forming a pair, thereby performing a static eliminating action on the entire area of ​​the medium.

[0239] According to the media processing system involved in (12), it is possible to easily construct a media processing system including an electrostatic eliminator, wherein the electrostatic eliminator can well maintain the electrostatic eliminator effect on the media and effectively prevent the media from being wound around the electrostatic eliminator rollers without damaging the surface of the paired structured electrostatic eliminator rollers.

[0240] The above-mentioned embodiments of the present invention are provided for the purpose of illustration and description. In addition, the embodiments of the present invention do not fully and exhaustively include the present invention, and do not limit the present invention to the disclosed methods. Obviously, various modifications and changes are self-evident to those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs. The present embodiment is selected and described in order to most easily understand the principles of the present invention and its application. Thus, other technicians in the art can understand the present invention through various variations optimized for specific uses assumed to be various embodiments. The scope of the present invention is defined by the above claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A static elimination device, characterized in that: have: The static elimination rollers of the paired structure each have a roller body extending continuously in an axial direction intersecting with the moving direction of the medium, and move the medium while clamping the medium to eliminate static electricity; A static electricity eliminating power source for applying a static electricity eliminating voltage to at least one of the static electricity eliminating rollers in the paired structure; and The restricting member extends forward and backward along the moving direction of the medium through a non-contact portion formed on a part of the contact region of the pair of static eliminating rollers in the axial direction to restrict the moving direction of the medium.

2. The static eliminator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The restricting member is a bridging member that bridges between front and rear fixing members across a contact region of the pair of static eliminating rollers.

3. The static eliminator according to claim 2, characterized in that: The fixing member is composed of a pair of guide components that guide the moving path of the medium, and the bridge component is integrally formed with the pair of guide components.

4. The static eliminator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The restricting member has an annular groove opposed to a portion of the surface of each of the paired destaticizing rollers in the axial direction, and passes between the grooves of the paired destaticizing rollers as the non-contact portion.

5. The static eliminator according to claim 4, characterized in that: The groove has a rectangular cross section.

6. The static eliminator according to claim 4, characterized in that: The restricting member is disposed in a state where it does not protrude from the surface of the groove within the range of the contact area of ​​the static eliminating rollers of the paired structure.

7. The static eliminator according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The limiting member is made of an insulating material.

8. The static eliminator according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The restricting member is configured to have a rectangular cross-section or a circular cross-section.

9. The static eliminator according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The limiting member is provided in a region through which all of the usable media pass.

10. The static eliminator according to claim 9, characterized in that: The medium moves with the center of the intersecting direction intersecting with the moving direction of the medium as a reference line, The restriction member is disposed at a location including the reference line.

11. The static eliminator according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: In a mode where the paired static elimination rollers are provided in a plurality of groups in the moving direction of the medium, The restriction members are provided on each set of the pair of static eliminating rollers, and the restriction members of each set are arranged offset in a direction intersecting the moving direction of the medium.

12. A media processing system, characterized in that: have: a processing means for performing a process accompanied by charging on the moved medium; and The static elimination device according to any one of claims 1 to 11 eliminates static electricity by passing the medium.

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