Cooling device and image forming apparatus

Abstract

To omit operations to process a wet coolant with a simple configuration.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus comprises: a tank 31 that is provided with a hole 31H in its upper part and stores coolant; a pump that sends out the coolant; a heat receiving unit that transmits heat received from a heat source to the coolant; a heat radiation unit 34 that radiates the heat of the coolant; pipes 41, 44 that form a circuit for circulating the coolant through the tank 31, pump 32, heat receiving unit, and heat radiation unit 34; and an accommodation unit 50 that is formed in a box shape opening at its upper part, accommodates the pump and heat radiation unit 34, and is provided with a hole 50H in its bottom part 50B. The tank 31 is provided below the accommodation unit 50. The hole 31H provided in the tank 31 and the hole 50H provided in the accommodation unit 50 communicate with each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooling device and an image forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, the amount of heat generated inside an image forming apparatus has increased with the increase in the speed of the image forming apparatus, and therefore the importance of a cooling device has increased. However, measures against leakage of cooling liquid are essential for the cooling device. Therefore, techniques for preventing leakage of cooling liquid from the cooling device have been studied. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a cooling device that includes a recovery unit that recovers the cooling medium leaked from a circulation path pipe located lower than the outlet of the reserve tank, and an auxiliary tank that stores the cooling medium recovered by the recovery unit. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-15280 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the configuration described in Patent Document 1, the tray member serving as the recovery means covers the area including the tank, the pump, and the heat dissipation unit, so the size of the tray member becomes large. Also, the cooling liquid that accumulates in the auxiliary tank needs to be disposed of, which increases the maintenance work.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE In consideration of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a cooling device and an image forming apparatus that have a simple configuration and that can omit the task of cleaning up leaked cooling liquid. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the cooling device of the present invention comprises a tank with a hole at the top for storing cooling liquid, a pump for pumping out the cooling liquid, a heat receiving part for transferring heat received from a heat source to the cooling liquid, a heat dissipation part for dissipating heat from the cooling liquid, a pipe forming a circuit for circulating the cooling liquid via the tank, the pump, the heat receiving part and the heat dissipation part, and a storage part formed in a box shape with an open top, housing the pump and the heat dissipation part and having a hole at the bottom, wherein the tank is located below the storage part, and the hole provided in the tank is connected to the hole provided in the storage part.

[0007] The bottom of the storage section may be inclined so that the hole side is lower.

[0008] The cooling device may include a tank housing portion that houses the tank.

[0009] In addition, the image forming apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that it comprises a developing device that develops a latent image using toner and any of the cooling devices described above, and the heat receiving portion is provided in the developing device. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, the operation of treating leaked cooling liquid can be omitted with a simple configuration. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view showing a schematic internal configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a circuit of a cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 3] 1 is a perspective view of a cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a storage section according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a front view of a cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] First, the overall configuration of image forming apparatus 100 will be described. Fig. 1 is a front view showing a schematic internal configuration of image forming apparatus 100. In the following description, the front side of the paper in Fig. 1 is the front side (front side) of image forming apparatus 100, and the left and right directions are described based on the direction when image forming apparatus 100 is viewed from the front. In each figure, U, Lo, L, R, Fr, and Rr respectively indicate up, down, left, right, front, and rear.

[0014] The image forming apparatus 100 includes a printer 1, a scanner 110, and a document transport device 120. The scanner 110 is provided above the printer 1, and the document transport device 120 is provided above the scanner 110. The document transport device 120 transports a document along a transport path that passes through a reading position of the scanner 110. The scanner 110 is a flatbed type image scanner that reads a document and generates image data. The printer 1 forms an image on a sheet S based on the image data.

[0015] The printer 1 and scanner 110 are integrated into a rectangular parallelepiped main housing 3. At the bottom inside the main housing 3, there are a paper feed cassette 4 in which sheets S are stored, and a paper feed roller 5 that sends sheets S from the paper feed cassette 4 to the right. Above the paper feed cassette 4, there is an image creating device 6 that forms a toner image by electrophotography, and above the upper right of the image creating device 6, there is a fixing device 7 that fixes the toner image to the sheet S. Above the fixing device 7, there are a paper discharge roller 8 that discharges the sheet S on which the toner image has been fixed, and a paper discharge tray 9 on which the discharged sheets S are stacked.

[0016] The image forming device 6 includes a photoconductor drum 11 whose potential changes when irradiated with light, a charging device 12 which charges the photoconductor drum 11, an exposure device 13 which emits laser light according to image data, a developing device 14 which supplies toner to the photoconductor drum 11, a primary transfer roller 15A which generates a transfer bias, an intermediate transfer belt 15B onto which the toner image on the photoconductor drum 11 is transferred, a secondary transfer roller 15C which generates a transfer bias, and a cleaning device 16 which removes toner remaining on the photoconductor drum 11. A toner container 20 which supplies toner to the developing device 14 is connected to the developing device 14.

[0017] Inside the main body housing 3, a transport path 10 is provided that runs from the paper feed roller 5 through the imaging device 6 and the fixing device 7 to the paper discharge roller 8. The transport path 10 is mainly formed of plate-like members that face each other with a gap therebetween to allow the sheet S to pass through, and transport rollers 17 that hold and transport the sheet S are provided at multiple locations in the transport direction Y. A registration roller 18 is provided upstream of the imaging device 6 in the transport direction Y. To the right of the fixing device 7, a reversing transport path 10R is provided that branches off from the transport path 10 downstream of the fixing device 7 in the transport direction Y and joins the transport path 10 upstream of the registration roller 18 in the transport direction Y.

[0018] The control unit 2 includes a calculation unit and a storage unit. The calculation unit is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The storage unit includes storage media such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory). The calculation unit performs various processes by reading and executing a control program stored in the storage unit. The control unit 2 may be realized by an integrated circuit that does not use software.

[0019] An operation panel (not shown) is provided on the front side of the scanner 110. The operation panel includes a display panel, a touch panel superimposed on the display surface of the display panel, and a keypad adjacent to the display panel. The control unit 2 displays screens showing operation menus and statuses of the printer 1 and scanner 110 on the display panel, and controls each part of the printer 1 and scanner 110 in response to operations detected by the touch panel and the keypad.

[0020] The basic image forming operation of the printer 1 is as follows. When a print job for single-sided printing is input to the printer 1 from an external computer or the like, the paper feed roller 5 feeds the sheet S from the paper feed cassette 4 to the transport path 10, the registration roller 18, whose rotation has been stopped, corrects the skew of the sheet S, and the registration roller 18 feeds the sheet S to the image forming device 6 at a predetermined timing. In the image forming device 6, the charging device 12 charges the photosensitive drum 11 to a predetermined potential, the exposure device 13 writes a latent image on the photosensitive drum 11, the developing device 14 develops the latent image using toner supplied from the toner container 20 to form a toner image, the primary transfer roller 15A transfers the toner image to the intermediate transfer belt 15B, and the secondary transfer roller 15C transfers the toner image to the sheet S. Next, the fixing device 7 melts the toner image while clamping and transporting the sheet S to fix the toner image to the sheet S, and the paper discharge roller 8 discharges the sheet S to the paper discharge tray 9. The cleaning device 16 removes toner remaining on the photoconductor drum 11. In the case of double-sided printing, the sheet S with a toner image fixed on its first surface is sent into the transport path 10 via the inverted transport path 10R, whereby the toner image is transferred to the second surface.

[0021] Next, the cooling device 30 will be described. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the circuit of the cooling device 30. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the cooling device 30. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the accommodating section 50. Fig. 5 is a front view of the cooling device 30. Figs. 6 and 7 are cross-sectional views of the cooling device 30. Fig. 6 shows a cross section passing through the center of the hole 50H, and Fig. 7 shows a cross section passing through the front side of the pump 32.

[0022] The cooling device 30 includes a tank 31 having a hole 31H at the top thereof and storing the cooling liquid, a pump 32 for pumping out the cooling liquid, a heat receiving section 33 for transferring heat received from a heat source to the cooling liquid, a heat dissipating section 34 for dissipating heat from the cooling liquid, pipes 41, 42, 43, and 44 forming a circuit for circulating the cooling liquid via the tank 31, the pump 32, the heat receiving section 33, and the heat dissipating section 34, and a storage section 50 having a box shape with an open top, housing the pump 32 and the heat dissipating section 34, and a hole 50H at a bottom 50B. The tank 31 is provided below the storage section 50, and the hole 31H provided in the tank 31 communicates with the hole 50H provided in the storage section 50. Specifically, the structure is as follows.

[0023] [tank] The tank 31 (see FIGS. 6 and 7) is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and has a hole 31H formed in the upper surface thereof, which penetrates in the vertical direction. The tank 31 stores a cooling liquid whose main component is water.

[0024] [pump] The pump 32 pumps the cooling liquid sucked from the tank 31 toward a heat receiving portion 33, which will be described later.

[0025] [Heat receiving part] The heat receiving section 33 (see FIG. 2) is provided in the developing device 14 (see FIG. 1). A screw is provided inside the developing device 14, and the toner supplied from the toner container 20 is stirred and transported by the screw. The heat receiving section 33 is in contact with the outer surface of the part of the developing device 14 where the toner is stirred and transported. The heat receiving section 33 has a hollow structure, and a cooling liquid flows inside it. In the developing device 14, frictional heat is generated when the toner is stirred and transported. The frictional heat is transferred to the cooling liquid flowing through the heat receiving section 33.

[0026] [Heat dissipation part] The heat dissipation unit 34 (see Figs. 3 and 5) includes a housing 34H (see Figs. 6 and 7), a heat dissipation pipe 34P, and a cooling fan 34F. Openings 34A are provided on the front and rear sides of the housing 34H (the rear side is not shown). An exhaust port is provided on the rear surface of the main body housing 3 (not shown), and the rear opening 34A faces the exhaust port. A meandering heat dissipation pipe 34P having a number of fins is accommodated inside the housing 34H. The cooling fan 34F is provided at the front opening 34A of the housing 34H and blows air to the heat dissipation pipe 34P. Air passing through the gaps in the heat dissipation pipe 34P removes heat from the cooling liquid flowing inside the heat dissipation pipe 34P and is discharged from the exhaust port.

[0027] [pipe] The tank 31 and the pump 32 are connected by a pipe 41 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). The pump 32 and the heat receiving section 33 are connected by a pipe 42. The heat receiving section 33 and the heat dissipation pipe 34P of the heat dissipation section 34 are connected by a pipe 43. The heat dissipation pipe 34P of the heat dissipation section 34 and the tank 31 are connected by a pipe 44. With this configuration, a circuit is formed that circulates the coolant via the tank 31, the pump 32, the heat receiving section 33, and the heat dissipation section 34.

[0028] [Containment section] The storage section 50 (see Figs. 3 to 7) is formed in a box shape with the left-right direction as the longitudinal direction and is open at the top. The storage section 50 includes a bottom section 50B and a side wall section 50W provided above the edge of the bottom section 50B. The pump 32 is provided in the front right part of the bottom section 50B, and the heat dissipation section 34 is provided slightly rearward and rightward from the center of the bottom section 50B.

[0029] A first inclined portion 51 and a hole 50H are provided in a rectangular region 50R (see FIG. 4) between the left end of the bottom portion 50B and the left end of the heat dissipation portion 34. The hole 50H is provided on the left rear side of the center of the rectangular region 50R and penetrates in the vertical direction. The first inclined portion 51 is inclined so as to be lower from the four sides of the rectangular region 50R toward the hole 50H. The first inclined portion 51 has a shape corresponding to the inner surface of the pyramid surface of an inverted quadrangular pyramid, and the hole 50H is provided at a position corresponding to the apex of the quadrangular pyramid. A second inclined portion 52 is provided between the pump 32 and the first inclined portion 51, inclined so that the first inclined portion 51 side is lower. The left end of the second inclined portion 52 may be equal in height to the right end of the first inclined portion 51, or may be higher than the right end of the first inclined portion 51.

[0030] [Tank storage section] A tank storage section 60 is provided below the storage section 50 (see Figs. 6 and 7). The tank storage section 60 includes a bottom 60B facing the bottom 50B of the storage section 50, and a side wall 60W provided above the edge of the bottom 60B and reaching the edge of the bottom 50B. The tank storage section 60 has a rectangular parallelepiped space surrounded by the bottom 60B, the side wall 60W, and the bottom 50B, and stores a tank 31. The tank 31 is provided below the first inclined section 51. A hole 31H of the tank 31 is provided directly below the hole 50H of the bottom 50B and communicates with the hole 50H of the bottom 50B.

[0031] Next, the operation of the cooling device 30 will be described. The pump 32 sends the cooling liquid stored in the tank 31 to the heat receiving section 33. The heat receiving section 33 transfers heat generated from the developing device 14 to the cooling liquid. The heat dissipating section 34 cools the cooling liquid by the cooling fan 34F blowing air to the heat dissipating pipe 34P. The cooled cooling liquid is returned to the tank 31.

[0032] If the cooling liquid leaks at the connection between the pump 32 and the pipe 41 or 42, the leaking cooling liquid flows down along the second inclined portion 52 and the first inclined portion 51, and passes through the holes 50H and 31H to fall into the inside of the tank 31. If the cooling liquid leaks at the connection between the heat dissipation portion 34 and the pipe 43 or 44, the leaking cooling liquid flows down along the first inclined portion 51, and passes through the holes 50H and 31H to fall into the inside of the tank 31. The cooling liquid that has fallen into the inside of the tank 31 mixes with the cooling liquid stored in the tank 31, and is sent to the heat receiving portion 33 by the pump 32.

[0033] According to the cooling device 30 of the present embodiment described above, the cooling device 30 includes a tank 31 having a hole 31H at the top and storing a cooling liquid, a pump 32 for pumping out the cooling liquid, a heat receiving section 33 for transferring heat received from a heat source to the cooling liquid, a heat dissipation section 34 for dissipating heat from the cooling liquid, pipes 41, 42, 43, 44 forming a circuit for circulating the cooling liquid via the tank 31, the pump 32, the heat receiving section 33, and the heat dissipation section 34, and a storage section 50 formed in a box shape with an open top, housing the pump 32 and the heat dissipation section 34, and having a hole 50H at a bottom 50B, the tank 31 is provided below the storage section 50, and the hole 31H provided in the tank 31 is connected to the hole 50H provided in the storage section 50. According to this configuration, the cooling liquid leaking from the connection between the pump 32 and the pipes 41, 42 and the connection between the heat dissipation unit 34 and the pipes 43, 44 flows into the tank 31, so that the configuration is simple and the work of treating the leaked cooling liquid can be omitted. In addition, the cooling liquid that flows into the tank 31 is pumped out again by the pump 32, so the leaked cooling liquid can be reused. In addition, the leaked cooling liquid flows into the tank 31 by gravity, so there is no need to provide a device for sending the leaked cooling liquid to the tank 31.

[0034] Furthermore, according to the cooling device 30 of this embodiment, the bottom 50B of the storage section 50 is inclined so that the hole 50H side is lower. This makes it difficult for the cooling liquid to stagnate in the storage section 50.

[0035] Furthermore, according to the cooling device 30 of this embodiment, since the tank accommodating portion 60 for accommodating the tank 31 is provided, leakage of the cooling liquid to the outside of the cooling device 30 can be prevented.

[0036] The above embodiment may be modified as follows.

[0037] The positions of the first inclined portion 51, the hole 50H, and the tank 31 in the above embodiment are merely examples, and the first inclined portion 51, the hole 50H, and the tank 31 may be provided at other positions on the bottom portion 50B. For example, the first inclined portion 51, the hole 50H, and the tank 31 may be provided below the heat dissipation portion 34 or the pump 32.

[0038] In the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which the first inclined portion 51 is provided in a portion of the bottom portion 50B, but the first inclined portion 51 may be provided over the entire area of ​​the bottom portion 50B.

[0039] The shape of the first inclined portion 51 in the above embodiment is merely an example, and any shape may be used as long as the first inclined portion 51 is inclined so that the hole 50H side is lower. For example, the first inclined portion 51 may be formed in a funnel shape.

[0040] In the bottom portion 50B, a portion below the connection between the heat dissipation portion 34 and the pipes 43, 44 may be inclined similarly to the second inclined portion 52.

[0041] The tank receiving section 60 does not necessarily have to be provided.

[0042] In the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which the heat receiving section 33 of the cooling device 30 is provided in the developing device 14, but the heat receiving section 33 may be provided in a location other than the developing device 14. For example, the heat receiving section 33 may be provided in the paper discharge tray 9. With this configuration, compared to a case in which the cooling device 30 is not provided, the temperature of the toner heated by the fixing device 7 can be lowered, and it is possible to prevent the toner from adhering to the sheet S that has been discharged earlier. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1. Printer (image forming device) 14 Developing device 30 Cooling device 31 Tank 31H hole 32 Pump 33 Heat receiving part 34 Heat radiation part 41, 42, 43, 44 Pipes 50 Storage unit 50B bottom 50H hole 60 Tank housing section

Claims

1. a tank having a hole at an upper portion thereof for storing a cooling liquid; A pump for pumping the cooling liquid; a heat receiving portion that transfers heat received from a heat source to the cooling liquid; a heat dissipation portion that dissipates heat of the cooling liquid; a pipe forming a circuit for circulating the cooling liquid via the tank, the pump, the heat receiving portion, and the heat radiating portion; a housing part formed in a box shape with an open top, housing the pump and the heat dissipation part, and having a hole in a bottom part, The tank is provided below the storage unit, A cooling device, characterized in that the hole provided in the tank and the hole provided in the storage portion are in communication with each other.

2. The cooling device according to claim 1 , wherein the bottom of the container is inclined so that the hole side is lower.

3. 3. The cooling device according to claim 1, further comprising a tank housing portion for housing the tank.

4. a developing device for developing the latent image with toner; The cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heat receiving portion is provided in the developing device.

Images