Recording material cooling device, image forming apparatus

Abstract

To provide a recording material cooling device of a belt cooling system that allows efficient use of a storage space in a recovery box that recovers an attachment including abrasion powder of a belt.SOLUTION: A recovery box 71 is shaken together with an upper frame body to be in an inclined state with respect to a horizontal plane in a separated state where a first belt and a second belt are separated from each other. The recovery box 71 has a wall surface part 71c on the outside of a contact area Z of the first belt with which a scraper 70 is in contact with respect to a width direction. The recovery box 71 is formed on the inside with a plurality of partition wall ribs 71a as partition wall parts that divide an internal space for storing an attachment into plurality in a longitudinal direction. With this, when the recovery box 71 is inclined with a shaking operation of the upper frame body, the attachment can be easily dispersed and spread in the recovery box 71, which allows efficient use of a storage space in the recovery box 71.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a recording material cooling device for cooling a recording material via a belt, which is suitable for use in an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine, and an image forming measure including the same.

Background Art

[0002] In an image forming apparatus, a toner image formed on a recording material is fixed to the recording material by heating and pressing the toner image with a fixing device. Fixing of the toner image to the recording material is performed by sandwiching and conveying the recording material between a fixing roller heated by a halogen heater or the like and a pressure roller pressed against the fixing roller. Since the recording material is heated during fixing of the toner image, the recording material conveyed from the fixing device has a higher temperature than before fixing. Then, if the recording material after toner image fixing is stacked on the stacking unit while being at a high temperature, there is a risk that the stacked recording materials will stick to each other due to the toner. In order to suppress such sticking of the recording materials, a recording material cooling device for lowering the temperature of the recording material after toner image fixing is provided (Patent Document 1). The recording material cooling device described in Patent Document 1 is a belt cooling type device, in which a belt that sandwiches and conveys the recording material conveyed from the fixing device is cooled by a heat sink, and the temperature of the recording material is lowered via the belt.

[0003] When cooling the belt with a heat sink as described above, in order to efficiently cool the belt, the belt is in contact with the heat sink while applying a predetermined pressure thereto. Therefore, the rotating belt may be scraped by the heat sink, generating wear powder (also called shaving powder) of the belt. This wear powder adheres to the belt and is carried as an adherent together with paper powder or the like, and tends to accumulate at the upstream end of the heat sink. When the amount of the accumulated adherents increases and a part of the accumulated adherents enters between the heat sink and the belt, the heat resistance may increase accordingly, deteriorating the cooling performance of the recording material. Therefore, a cooling device has been proposed that includes a cleaning member such as a blade or a fiber brush for removing the adherents including the wear powder of the belt generated by scraping the heat sink from the belt, and a case for receiving the adherents removed by the cleaning member (Patent Document 2).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] By the way, as a recording material cooling device, there is one provided with a mechanism for swinging an upper unit having a belt in order to separate the belt from a conveying member that contacts the belt and sandwiches and conveys the recording material together with the belt. This is to facilitate the removal of the recording material staying in the conveying nip where the belt and the conveying member sandwich and convey the recording material when, for example, an abnormal conveyance of the recording material occurs by separating the belt from the conveying member. It is conceivable to apply the device described in Patent Document 2 above to a recording material cooling device having such a mechanism for swinging the upper unit. However, in such a case, there is a risk that the adherents may overflow from the case when the upper unit is rotated.

[0006] In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a recording material cooling device using a belt cooling method, which has a mechanism for the belt to swing with respect to a conveying member that sandwiches and conveys a recording material together with the belt, and aims to provide a recording material cooling device capable of suppressing the overflow of deposits from the case when the belt swings.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] A recording material cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a recording material cooling device that cools a recording material that has passed through a fixing device that fixes a toner image to the recording material by heating, and includes a belt, a plurality of rollers that stretch the belt, a cooling unit that contacts the inner peripheral surface of the belt and cools the belt, a conveying unit that contacts the outer peripheral surface of the belt and forms a nip portion through which the recording material on which the toner image is formed is conveyed, a removing unit that removes deposits adhering to the inner peripheral surface of the belt, a receiving container that has an opening for receiving the deposits removed by the removing unit, and a holding unit that holds the plurality of rollers, the cooling unit, and the receiving container, and is swingable between a first position where the nip portion is formed between the belt and the conveying unit and a second position where the belt is separated from the conveying unit. The plurality of rollers include a driving roller that drives the belt, the swing center of the holding unit extends in a direction intersecting the rotational axis direction of the driving roller and the vertical direction, and the receiving container has a bottom surface portion that extends in the rotational axis direction of the driving roller and receives the deposits, and wall surface portions at both ends of the bottom surface portion in the rotational axis direction to the first Wall surface portion and the second wall surface portion, Has and a partition portion that partitions the inside of the receiving container into a plurality of accommodation chambers between the first wall surface portion and the second wall surface portion in the direction of the rotation axis. The partition portion includes a first partition portion located closer to the first wall surface portion than the center between the first wall surface portion and the second wall surface portion, and a second partition portion located closer to the second wall surface portion than the center between the first wall surface portion and the second wall surface portion. Both the first partition portion and the second partition portion are formed obliquely such that the downstream end side in the moving direction of the belt is closer to the swing center than the upstream end side. , and is characterized by the above.

Effects of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the overflow of deposits from the receiving container when the belt swings with respect to the conveying member that sandwiches and conveys the recording material together with the belt. in the part With respect to , a receiving container that receives the deposits removed from the belt by the removing portion is Swing when Deposits from the receiving container falling Can be suppressed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] <First Embodiment> [Image Forming Apparatus] Hereinafter, the recording material cooling device of the present embodiment will be described. First, the schematic configuration of a suitable image forming apparatus using the recording material cooling device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 is an electrophotographic tandem type full-color printer. The image forming apparatus 100 has image forming units PY, PM, PC, and PK that form yellow, magenta, cyan, and black images, respectively. The image forming apparatus 100 forms a toner image on the recording material S in response to an image signal from an external device such as a document reading device (not shown) connected to the apparatus main body 100A or a personal computer communicably connected to the apparatus main body 100A. In the case of the present embodiment, an image forming unit 500 that forms a toner image on the recording material S is configured by the image forming units PY to PK, the primary transfer roller 5, the intermediate transfer belt 8, a plurality of rollers (9, 9a, 9b), and the secondary transfer roller 10. In addition, examples of the recording material S include various types of sheet materials such as plain paper, thick paper, rough paper, embossed paper, coated paper, plastic film, and cloth.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming units PY, PM, PC, and PK are arranged side by side in the apparatus main body 100A along the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 8. The intermediate transfer belt 8 is stretched over a plurality of rollers (9, 9a, 9b) and is configured to move (rotate) in the direction of arrow R2 in the figure. The intermediate transfer belt 8 carries and conveys the primary transferred toner image. And a secondary transfer roller 10 is arranged at a position facing the roller 9 that stretches the intermediate transfer belt 8 with the intermediate transfer belt 8 interposed therebetween, forming a secondary transfer unit T2 that transfers the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 8 to the recording material S. A fixing device 11 is arranged downstream of the secondary transfer unit T2 in the recording material conveyance direction. Further, downstream of the fixing device 11 in the recording material conveyance direction, a conveyance device 90 and a recording material cooling device 20 are arranged in order from the upstream side.

[0012] Below the image forming apparatus 100, a cassette 12 containing a recording material S is arranged. The recording material S is conveyed from the cassette 12 toward the registration roller 14 by the conveyance roller 13, and is conveyed through a conveyance path 600 that forms a passage for the recording material S within the apparatus main body 100A. Thereafter, when the registration roller 14 starts rotating in synchronization with the toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 as described later, the recording material S is conveyed through the conveyance path 600 to the secondary transfer portion T2.

[0013] Here, only one cassette 12 is shown, but a plurality of cassettes 12 may be arranged so as to be capable of accommodating recording materials S having different sizes and thicknesses. In that case, the recording material S may be selectively conveyed to the conveyance path 600 from any of the plurality of cassettes 12. Further, not limited to the recording material S accommodated in the cassette 12, the recording material S placed on a manual feeding unit (not shown) may be conveyed to the conveyance path 600.

[0014] [Image Forming Unit] The four image forming units PY, PM, PC, and PK included in the image forming apparatus 100 have substantially the same configuration except that the developing colors are different. Therefore, here, the black image forming unit PK will be described as a representative, and the description of the other image forming units PY, PM, and PC will be omitted.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 2, in the image forming unit PK, a cylindrical photosensitive drum 1 is disposed as a photoreceptor. The photosensitive drum 1 is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow R1 in the figure. Around the photosensitive drum 1, a charging device 2, an exposure device 3, a developing device 4, a primary transfer roller 5, and a drum cleaning device 6 are arranged.

[0016] The process of forming, for example, a full-color image by the image forming apparatus 100 will be described. First, when the image forming operation is started, the surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 1 is uniformly charged by the charging device 2. The charging device 2 is, for example, a corona charger that irradiates charged particles associated with corona discharge to charge the photosensitive drum 1 to a uniform negative dark potential. Next, the photosensitive drum 1 is scanned and exposed by the laser beam L corresponding to the image signal emitted from the exposure device 3. As a result, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image signal is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 is visualized by the toner (developer) accommodated in the developing device 4 to become a visible image.

[0017] The toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 8 at the primary transfer unit T1 formed between the photosensitive drum 1 and the primary transfer roller 5 disposed with the intermediate transfer belt 8 interposed therebetween. At this time, a primary transfer bias is applied to the primary transfer roller 5. The toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after the primary transfer is removed by the drum cleaning device 6.

[0018] Returning to FIG. 1, the above-described operations are sequentially performed in each of the yellow, magenta, cyan, and black image forming units PY to PK, and the four-color toner images are superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 8. Thereafter, the recording material S accommodated in the cassette 12 is conveyed to the secondary transfer unit T2 in accordance with the formation timing of the toner image. Then, by applying a secondary transfer bias to the secondary transfer roller 10, the full-color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 is collectively secondarily transferred to the recording material S.

[0019] Next, the recording material S is conveyed to the fixing device 11. The fixing device 11 includes a rotatably disposed fixing roller 11a and a pressure roller 11b that rotates while being in pressure contact with the fixing roller 11a. The fixing roller 11a is in pressure contact with the pressure roller 11b (for example, the pressure contact force is about 784 N (about 80 kgf)) and is rotated at a predetermined rotational speed (for example, 400 mm / s) by a drive motor (not shown). A halogen heater 11c is disposed inside the fixing roller 11a, and the surface temperature of the fixing roller 11a is raised by this halogen heater 11c (for example, to 180° C.), so that the fixing device 11 can heat the recording material S.

[0020] The fixing device 11 heats and presses the conveyed recording material S by sandwiching and conveying the recording material S on which the toner image is formed in the fixing nip T3 formed by the fixing roller 11a and the pressure roller 11b, thereby fixing the toner image on the recording material S. That is, the toner of the toner image formed on the recording material S by heating and pressing is melted and mixed, and is fixed on the recording material S as a full-color image. In this way, a series of image forming processes is completed. Then, the recording material S on which the toner image is fixed is conveyed to the recording material cooling device 20 by the conveying device 90. The conveying device 90 conveys the recording material S from the fixing device 11 to the recording material cooling device 20 by rotating a belt that holds the recording material S by, for example, air adsorption at a predetermined rotational speed (for example, 400 mm / s). The recording material cooling device 20 cools the recording material S conveyed by the conveying device 90. The temperature of the recording material S is, for example, about 90° C. before being cooled by the recording material cooling device 20, but is lowered to about 60° C. by the recording material cooling device 20. The recording material cooling device 20 will be described later (see FIGS. 3 to 4(b)).

[0021] In the case of this embodiment, for double-sided printing, the conveyance path 600 has a reverse conveyance unit 600a that reverses the front and back of the recording material S cooled by the recording material cooling device 20 and re-conveys it to the image forming units PY, PM, PC, and PK. That is, in the case of single-sided printing, the recording material S with the toner image fixed on the first side (front surface) is discharged outside the machine and loaded onto the stacking unit 60 after being cooled by the recording material cooling device 20. On the other hand, in the case of double-sided printing, the recording material S with the toner image fixed on the first side (front surface) is reversed front and back by the reverse conveyance unit 600a and conveyed to the conveyance path 600 after being cooled by the recording material cooling device 20, and the toner image is fixed on the second side (back surface). The recording material S with the toner image fixed on the second side is discharged outside the machine and loaded onto the stacking unit 60 after being cooled by the recording material cooling device 20.

[0022] [Recording material cooling device] Next, the recording material cooling device 20 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 4(b). The recording material cooling device 20 of this embodiment is a cooling device using the belt cooling method. As shown in FIG. 3, the recording material cooling device 20 has an endless first belt 21 and an endless second belt 25 that sandwiches and conveys the recording material S with the first belt 21. Both the first belt 21 and the second belt 25 are endless belts formed using, for example, a high-strength polyimide resin or the like, having a thickness of 100 μm and a belt circumference of 942 mm.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 3, the first belt 21 is stretched over a plurality of first belt stretching rollers (22a to 22d), and at least one of the first belt stretching rollers (22a to 22d) is rotated by a drive motor (not shown). In the case of this embodiment, for example, when the roller 22d is rotated by a drive motor (not shown), the first belt 21 moves in the direction of arrow Q in the figure. The roller 22d as the drive roller has, for example, a rubber layer with a thickness of 1 mm on the surface layer and is formed with an outer diameter of φ40 mm.

[0024] The roller 22b as the second roller is provided so as to be capable of stretching the first belt 21 in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the first belt 21 together with the roller 22c, and is a steering roller that controls the deviation in the width direction of the first belt 21 (the direction of the rotation axis of the roller 22c). The roller 22b has a rubber layer with a thickness of 1 mm on its surface layer. By performing a steering operation of turning the steering angle with respect to the roller 22c as the first roller, the meandering of the first belt 21 can be controlled. The roller 22b is steered by the steering mechanism unit 81. The steering mechanism unit 81 holds a roller holder 81a that holds the roller 22b and is swingable about the center of swing at the central portion in the width direction, and a spring 81b as biasing means that biases the roller 22b held by the roller holder 81a toward the first belt 21. For example, the roller holder 81a has a bearing (not shown) that pivotally supports the rotation axis of the roller 22b, and this bearing is biased by the spring 81b. This spring 81b has a spring pressure fixed such that it can bias the roller 22b with a biasing force that causes the tension of the first belt 21 to be about 39.2 N (about 4 kgf). And the roller holder 81a is held so as to be swingable about a swing center axis that intersects the rotation axis of the roller 22b.

[0025] On the inner peripheral side of the first belt 21, in addition to a plurality of first belt stretching rollers (22a to 22d) and the steering mechanism unit 81, a heat sink 30, a scraper 70, and a collection box 71 are provided. The heat sink 30, the scraper 70, and the collection box 71 will be described later.

[0026] On the other hand, the second belt 25 as a conveying member (belt-shaped member) is stretched over a plurality of second belt stretching rollers (26a to 26d) and abuts on the outer peripheral surface of the first belt 21. In the case of this embodiment, the second belt 25 abuts on the first belt 21 from below in the direction of gravity. The second belt 25 abuts on the outer peripheral surface of the first belt 21 to form a cooling nip portion T4 for cooling while conveying the recording material S on which the toner image is formed. In the case of this embodiment, the roller 26d is pressed by the roller 22d, for example, with a pressure of about 49 N (about 5 kgf). Although not shown, the roller 26d is connected to a drive motor that drives the roller 22d via a drive gear. By being rotated by this drive motor, the second belt 25 moves in the direction of arrow R in the figure. That is, the second belt 25 moves (rotates) together with the first belt 21. The roller 26b is a steering roller that controls the deviation of the second belt 25 in the width direction (the direction of the rotation axis of the roller 26c). The roller 26b performs a steering operation of turning the rudder angle with respect to the roller 26c with the center of the width direction as the swing center to control the meandering of the second belt 25. That is, the roller 26b is steered by a steering mechanism 82 similar to the above-described steering mechanism portion 81.

[0027] On the inner peripheral side of the second belt 25, a plurality of pressing rollers are provided to press the second belt 25 toward a heat sink 30 described later disposed on the inner peripheral side of the first belt 21. In this embodiment, as an example, with respect to the recording material conveying direction (the direction of arrow R in the figure), the pressing roller 26e is provided on the downstream end side of the cooling nip portion T4, and the pressing roller 26f is provided on the upstream end side of the cooling nip portion T4. These pressing rollers 26e and 26f press the second belt 25 with a pressing force of, for example, 9.8 N (1 kgf), and reliably abut the first belt 21 on the heat sink 30 via the second belt 25.

[0028] Here, an example in which both the first belt 21 and the second belt 25 are driven has been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, only the first belt 21 may be driven to make the second belt 25 follow the first belt 21, or alternatively, only the second belt 25 may be driven to make the first belt 21 follow the second belt 25.

[0029] [Heat sink] On the inner circumferential side of the first belt 21, a heat sink 30 for cooling the first belt 21 is disposed. In the case of the present embodiment, the heat sink 30 is brought into contact with the inner circumferential surface of the first belt 21 that contacts the recording material S on the surface side where the toner image is formed by the fixing device 11. That is, the recording material S on which the toner image has been fixed is sandwiched between the first belt 21 and the second belt 25 and is conveyed in the recording material conveyance direction (the direction of arrow R in the figure) following the rotation of these belts. At this time, the recording material S passes through a cooling nip portion T4 as a nip portion formed by the contact of the first belt 21 and the second belt 25. In the case of the present embodiment, the first belt 21 forming the cooling nip portion T4 is cooled by the heat sink 30. The heat sink 30 is in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the first belt 21 at a location where the cooling nip portion T4 is formed by the plurality of first belt tension rollers (22a to 22d) tensioning the first belt 21 in order to efficiently cool the recording material S. When the recording material S passes through the cooling nip portion T4, its temperature is lowered through the first belt 21 cooled by the heat sink 30.

[0030] The heat sink 30 as a cooling member is a heat dissipation plate formed of a metal such as aluminum. The heat sink 30 has a heat receiving portion 30a that contacts the first belt 21 and takes heat from the first belt 21, a heat radiating portion 30b that radiates heat, and a fin base 30c that conducts heat from the heat receiving portion 30a to the heat radiating portion 30b. The heat radiating portion 30b is formed of a number of heat radiating fins to increase the contact area with air and promote efficient heat dissipation. For example, the heat radiating fins are set to have a thickness of 1 mm, a height of 100 mm, and a pitch of 5 mm, and the fin base 30c is set to have a thickness of 10 mm. Further, in order to forcibly cool the heat sink 30 itself, a cooling fan 40 that blows air toward the heat sink 30 (specifically, the heat radiating portion 30b) is provided. The air volume of this cooling fan 40 is set to, for example, 2 m 3 / min.

[0031] [Scraper] Also, on the inner peripheral side of the first belt 21, a scraper 70 as a removing member is disposed on the downstream side of the heat sink 30 with respect to the moving direction of the first belt 21 (the direction of arrow Q in the figure). In the case of this embodiment, the scraper 70 is provided so as to be located between the downstream of the roller 22c and the upstream of the roller 22b with respect to the moving direction of the first belt 21. The scraper 70 is a film-like sheet member formed of, for example, a PET sheet with a thickness of 0.1 mm and having a length that contacts at least the range through which the recording material S passes in the width direction of the first belt 21, which is orthogonal to the thickness direction and the rotation direction of the first belt 21. The scraper 70 is provided so as to contact from the counter direction with respect to the moving direction of the first belt 21. Since such a scraper 70 has flexibility, it can maintain a state of contacting the first belt 21 following the movement of the moving (rotating) first belt 21.

[0032] The above-described scraper 70 is provided to be able to clean the first belt 21 by removing the deposits including wear powder and paper powder attached to the first belt 21. That is, as described above, since the heat sink 30 is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the first belt 21, the inner peripheral surface of the first belt 21 is rubbed against the heat sink 30 as it rotates. Then, since the first belt 21 is scraped by the heat sink 30, wear powder (also called shaving) of the belt can be generated. This wear powder adheres to the first belt 21 and is carried as a deposit together with paper powder and the like, and tends to accumulate at the upstream end of the heat sink 30. And when the amount of the accumulated deposits increases, a part of the accumulated deposits may enter between the heat sink 30 and the first belt 21, thereby increasing the thermal resistance and degrading the cooling performance of the recording material S.

[0033] In order to suppress the generation of the above-described wear powder, as the first belt 21, for example, a belt formed of a polyimide resin containing a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filler is used. The PTFE filler content is, for example, about 5% by weight. When the PTFE filler is contained in the base polyimide resin, the frictional resistance with the heat sink 30 decreases. Therefore, the first belt 21 containing the PTFE filler is less likely to be scraped by the heat sink 30 than when the PTFE filler is not contained. However, even when a belt containing the PTFE filler is used, wear powder of the belt will inevitably be generated. Since this wear powder contains the PTFE filler, it is difficult to adhere to the first belt 21. However, even such wear powder can adhere to the first belt 21 when it passes through the sliding surface between the heat sink 30 and the first belt 21. Therefore, as the usage time of the first belt 21 becomes longer, the amount of the deposits including the wear powder accumulated at the upstream end of the heat sink 30 increases. Therefore, in order to remove the deposits attached to the first belt 21 from the first belt 21, as described above, the scraper 70 is disposed on the downstream side of the heat sink 30 in the rotational direction of the first belt.

[0034] Below the scraper 70 in the direction of gravity, a collection box 71 for collecting the deposits scraped off from the first belt 21 by the scraper 70 is arranged. The collection box 71 is open upward in the direction of gravity, and the collection box 71 is arranged so that deposits can be received from the opening also upstream of the moving direction of the first belt 21 from the contact portion between the scraper 70 and the first belt 21. Details of the collection box 71 will be described later (Figs. 5 to 6(b)). Incidentally, the scraper 70 is fixed to the collection box 71 by, for example, a double-sided tape or the like.

[0035] As described above, the first belt 21 is scraped and worn by the heat sink 30, and can also deteriorate over time. Also, the second belt 25 where the heat sink 30 is not disposed wears more slowly than the first belt 21, but wears depending on use and can also deteriorate over time. Therefore, the first belt 21 and the second belt 25 are each provided so as to be insertable and removable into and from the upper frame 62 and the lower frame 63 (see Figs. 4(a) and 4(b) described later) of the recording medium cooling device 20 so that an operator can replace the worn or deteriorated first belt 21 and second belt 25. However, when the operator replaces the first belt 21 or the second belt 25, it is difficult to insert and remove the belt while the first belt 21 and the second belt 25 are in contact with each other. Therefore, the first belt 21 and the second belt 25 are provided so as to be relatively movable so that they can be changed between a contact state where the first belt 21 and the second belt 25 are in contact with each other and a separated state where the first belt 21 and the second belt 25 are separated (opened).

[0036] [Contact separation mechanism] A mechanism (referred to as an engaging and disengaging mechanism) for relatively moving the first belt 21 and the second belt 25 will be described. FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) are views of the recording material cooling device 20 as seen from the downstream side in the recording material conveyance direction. In FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b), the right side is the "front side" of the image forming apparatus 100 (recording material cooling device 20), and the left side is the "rear side" of the image forming apparatus 100 (recording material cooling device 20). In the case of this embodiment, the engaging and disengaging mechanism 610 is provided such that the upper frame body 62 on which the scraper 70 and the recovery box 71 are disposed can swing upward in the direction of gravity. The upper frame body 62 is swung so as to move the other end side (front side) with one end side (rear side) in the width direction as the swing center. In this embodiment, the engaging and disengaging mechanism 610, which is a support portion, is mainly composed of a swing shaft 62a, a hook member 64, a pin 65, and a compression spring 66.

[0037] As shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b), the recording material cooling device 20 of this embodiment is roughly divided into an upper frame body 62 and a lower frame body 63. The upper frame body 62 as a holding body rotatably holds the above-described first belt tensioning rollers (22a to 22d), and also holds the heat sink 30 and the recovery box 71. The scraper 70 is held by the recovery box 71. On the other hand, the lower frame body 63 rotatably holds the above-described second belt tensioning rollers (26a to 26d), and the pressing rollers 26e and 26f. The upper frame body 62 and the lower frame body 63 are swingably connected with a swing shaft 62a provided at one end side (rear side) in the width direction as the swing center. The first belt 21 is provided so as to be insertable and removable from the other end side (front side) in the width direction with respect to the upper frame body 62, and the second belt 25 is provided so as to be insertable and removable from the other end side (front side) in the width direction with respect to the lower frame body 63.

[0038] A hook member 64 is provided on the other end side (front side) in the width direction of the upper frame body 62, and a pin 65 is provided on the other end side (front side) in the width direction of the lower frame body 63. A compression spring 66 that biases the upper frame body 62 upward in the gravitational direction is disposed on one end side in the width direction of the lower frame body 63. The hook member 64 is provided with a gripping portion 67, and an operator can rotate the hook member 64 by holding the gripping portion 67 from the front side of the recording material cooling device 20, engage the hook member 64 with the pin 65, or release the engagement between the hook member 64 and the pin 65. As shown in FIG. 4(a), when the hook member 64 is engaged with the pin 65, the first belt 21 and the second belt 25 are in a contacting state where they are in contact with each other. The operator presses down the upper frame body 62 toward the lower frame body 63 against the force of the compression spring 66 to engage the hook member 64 with the pin 65. The spring force of the compression spring 66 only needs to be set to a value corresponding to the weight of the upper frame body 62. In the case of this embodiment, it is set to a value that allows the operator to engage the hook member 64 with the pin 65 with a force of about 10 N.

[0039] When the operator replaces the first belt 21 or the second belt 25, the engagement between the hook member 64 and the pin 65 is released. When the engagement between the hook member 64 and the pin 65 is released, as shown in FIG. 4(b), the upper frame body 62 swings upward by the compression spring 66. At this time, the first belt tensioning rollers (22a to 22d), the first belt 21, the heat sink 30, the scraper 70, and the collection box 71 are moved integrally with the upper frame body 62. Then, the upper frame body 62 is positioned at a predetermined position by being stopped from swinging by a stopper (not shown). In this way, when the upper frame body 62 swings with respect to the lower frame body 63, the first belt 21 and the second belt 25 are in a separated state where they are separated from each other. In the case of this embodiment, the collection box 71 is provided so as to be able to move such that when the belts are in a contacting state, it is not inclined with respect to the horizontal plane, and when the belts are in a separated state, it is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane.

[0040] Here, the configuration in which the first belt 21 and the second belt 25 are moved closer to and away from each other by the above-described separating and approaching mechanism 610 is used when replacing the first belt 21 or the second belt 25. However, the separating and approaching mechanism 610 may be used in other cases. For example, when a so-called jam occurs in which the recording material S stays between the cooling nip portion T4 of the first belt 21 and the second belt 25, the first belt 21 and the second belt 25 may be separated using the separating and approaching mechanism 610. In this case, since the gripping portion 67 is on the front side as described above, the user can remove the stuck recording material S from the front side of the recording material cooling device 20, and the workability is good. Even in this case, when the upper frame body 62 swings with respect to the lower frame body 63, the first belt 21 and the second belt 25 may be in a separated state. Therefore, even when removing the recording material S stuck between the first belt 21 and the second belt 25, the recovery box 71 swings together with the upper frame body 62, so that the recovery box 71 is in a tilted state with respect to the horizontal plane. In the present embodiment, the state in which the cooling nip portion T4 is formed by the first belt 21 and the second belt 25 is defined as the first position of the upper frame body 62. Further, the state in which the second belt 25 is swung with respect to the first belt 21 (the state in which the first belt 21 is tilted) when removing the recording material S stuck in the cooling nip portion T4 or the like is defined as the second position of the upper frame body 62. Here, the state in which the cooling nip portion T4 is formed means a state in which the recording material S can be conveyed by the recording material cooling device 20.

[0041] [Recovery box] Next, the recovery box 71 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 6(b) while referring to FIG. 3. In the following description, the other end side in the width direction of the upper frame body 62 described above (the front right side in FIGS. 5 to 6(b)) is also referred to as the "front (or front side)" of the image forming apparatus 100 (recording material cooling device 20). Further, one end side in the width direction of the upper frame body 62 is also referred to as the "rear" of the image forming apparatus 100 (recording material cooling device 20) (the left rear side in FIGS. 5 to 6(b)).

[0042] As shown in FIG. 5, the collection box 71 as the receiving container is provided along the longitudinal direction of the scraper 70 (the width direction of the first belt 21, the rotation axis direction), and collects the deposits removed from the inner peripheral surface of the first belt 21 by the scraper 70. The collection box 71 of the present embodiment has a wall surface portion 71c outside the contact region Z where the scraper 70 contacts the first belt 21 in the width direction (the longitudinal direction of the scraper - 70). The wall surface portion 71c is located on the one - end side of the first belt 21 in the width direction, downstream of the ridge line portion 70a of the scraper 70 that contacts the first belt 21 at least in the moving direction (the direction of arrow Q in the figure) of the first belt 21, with respect to the contact region of the ridge line portion 70a. Also, the wall surface portion 71c is provided such that the upstream side of the ridge line portion 70a in the moving direction is located on the one - end side of the first belt 21 in the width direction, with respect to the contact region of the ridge line portion 70a. This wall surface portion 71c dams up the accommodated deposits when the collection box 71 tilts with the swing of the upper frame body 62. Therefore, even if the collection box 71 tilts with the swing of the upper frame body 62, it is possible to prevent the deposits from overflowing from the collection box 71.

[0043] In the present embodiment, when the collection box 71 accommodates a predetermined amount of deposits, the collection box 71 is replaced. The predetermined amount here is the amount of deposits collected in the collection box 71 when the first belt 21 makes a predetermined rotation (for example, 1,500,000 rotations). Also, the replacement timing of the collection box 71 is the same as the replacement timing of the first belt 21.

[0044] In the case of this embodiment, the amount of deposits recovered when the first belt 21 rotates, for example, 1,500,000 times is set as the allowable capacity that can be recovered by the recovery box 71 when the recording material cooling device 20 is normally used. Therefore, the wall surface portion 71c is provided so as to be able to prevent the leakage of deposits when the deposits recovered in the recovery box 71 are below the allowable capacity even when the upper frame body 62 swings. In this embodiment, when the recovery box 71 recovers deposits below a predetermined amount (the allowable capacity that can be recovered by the recovery box 71), the object is to prevent the deposits from overflowing from the recovery box 71 even when the upper frame body 62 swings within the normal use range. Therefore, outside the normal use range, the deposits may overflow from the recovery box 71. Here, the outside of the normal use range is, for example, when an amount of deposits exceeding the allowable capacity is recovered in the recovery box, or when the upper frame body 62 swings more violently than in the normal use case, etc.

[0045] In the case of this embodiment, the ridge line portion 70a, which is the contact portion where the scraper 70 contacts the first belt 21 in the moving direction of the first belt 21, is provided so as to be located inside the recovery box 71 in the moving direction of the first belt 21 (the direction of arrow Q in the figure). That is, the scraper 70 is attached to the recovery box 71 such that the ridge line portion 70a is located between the upstream wall 70b and the downstream wall 70c of the recovery box 71 in the direction of arrow Q. In this embodiment, the distance between the upstream wall 70b and the downstream wall 70c in the direction of arrow Q is set to 20 - 30 mm.

[0046] Further, the depth from the upper end portion 71e surrounding the opening of the collection box 71 to the bottom surface portion 71d is formed such that the downstream side in the moving direction of the first belt 21 (the direction of arrow Q in the figure) is deeper than the upstream side. That is, the downstream wall 70c of the collection box 71 in the direction of arrow Q of the first belt 21 is higher than the upstream wall 70b. In the present embodiment, the height of the downstream wall 70c in the direction of arrow Q is set to 2 to 4.5 mm. The collection box 71 has an opening for receiving deposits including worn powder scraped off by the scraper 70, and is arranged with a predetermined interval between the upper end portion 71e surrounding the opening and the inner peripheral surface of the first belt 21. Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the opening of the collection box 71 is formed by the upper end portion 71e connecting the upper end portions of the wall surface portions 71b, 71c and the walls 70b, 70c.

[0047] Furthermore, inside the collection box 71, a plurality of partition ribs 71a are formed as partition portions that divide the internal space for storing deposits into a plurality in the longitudinal direction of the scraper 70. In the present embodiment, in the longitudinal direction, five partition ribs 71a are provided at equal intervals, so that the inside of the collection box 71 is partitioned into six storage chambers capable of accommodating deposits. These partition ribs 71a are arranged such that the height from the bottom surface portion 71d of the collection box 71 is higher on the downstream side than on the upstream side in the moving direction of the first belt 21 (the direction of arrow Q in the figure) in accordance with the depth of the collection box 71. Thus, in each storage chamber isolated by the partition ribs 71a, a larger amount of deposits can be stored on the downstream side than on the upstream side in the moving direction of the first belt 21 (the direction of arrow Q in the figure).

[0048] Thus, in the recovery box 71 having an opening for recovering the deposits scraped off by the scraper 70, a plurality of partition ribs 71a are provided. By doing so, the amount of deposits recovered by the recovery box 71 can be increased as compared with the case where the recovery box 71 is constituted only by the wall surface portions 71b and 71c without the partition ribs 71a. This is because, as described above, when the deposits moving along with the rotation of the upper frame body 62 are blocked by both the wall surface portion 71c and the plurality of partition ribs 71a rather than being blocked only by the wall surface portion 71c, the amount of deposits that can be recovered before the deposits leak from the wall surface portion 71c to the back side when the recovery box 71 is tilted can be increased.

[0049] Also, in order to investigate the separation operation of the belt and the deposition state of the deposits in the recovery box, the inventors of the present application conducted experiments respectively according to the following Condition 1 and Condition 2 using the above-described recovery box 71. Condition 1 is the case where the recording material cooling device 20 is continuously operated for 8 hours per day and the above-described separation operation of the belt is not performed at all. The deposition state of the deposits in the recovery box 71 when the experiment was conducted under Condition 1 is shown in FIG. 6(a). On the other hand, Condition 2 is the case where the recording material cooling device 20 is continuously operated for 8 hours per day as in Condition 1, but different from Condition 1, the above-described separation operation of the belt is performed at a frequency of about once every 7 days. The deposition state of the deposits in the recovery box 71 when the experiment was conducted under Condition 2 is shown in FIG. 6(b). The inventors of the present application conducted experiments under these Condition 1 and Condition 2 and investigated the number of days until the deposits leaked out of the recovery box 71.

[0050] When the experiment was conducted under Condition 1, the number of days until the deposits leaked out of the recovery box 71 was 111 days. That is, as shown in FIG. 6(a), the deposits W (thick diagonal lines in the figure) are deposited in a mountain shape substantially directly below the ridge line portion 70a which is the region where the scraper 70 contacts the first belt 21. In the case of Condition 1, the deposits W are deposited only directly below the ridge line portion 70a, and the capacity of the recovery box 71 cannot be fully utilized.

[0051] On the other hand, when the experiment was conducted under Condition 2, the number of days until the deposits leaked out from the collection box 71 was 139 days. For example, when removing the recording material S where the user stayed, etc., as the rocking operation of lifting the upper frame body 62 upward is performed, the collection box 71 tilts so that the wall surface portion 71b (the other end side wall surface portion) on the front side of the wall surface portion 71c on the back side is positioned above the gravity direction. Also, from the top view with the upper frame body 62 (see Fig. 4(a)) lifted upward, the rocking is stopped at a predetermined position by a stopper (not shown), and at that time, a certain shock is applied to the collection box 71. Thus, the collection box 71 is tilted and a certain shock is applied, so that the deposits W stored in a mountain shape as shown in Fig. 6(a) collapse to the back side. Then, the collapsed deposits W are blocked by the wall surface portion 71c and the partition rib 71a, and are moved while being leveled from the upstream side to the downstream side in the moving direction of the first belt 21 along the partition rib 71a. Thus, in the present embodiment, the mountain of the deposits W deposited in a mountain shape directly below the ridge line portion 70a is collapsed, and the deposits W can be stored while being moved to the deeper downstream space, that is, the downstream space with a larger storage capacity. That is, by moving the deposits W to the base side (fixed side) of the scraper 70, the area directly below the scraper 70 in the collection box 71 is effectively utilized.

[0052] After reaching the state shown in Fig. 6(b), when the recording material cooling device 20 is further continuously operated, the deposit W starts to deposit again near directly below the ridge line portion 70a of the scraper 70. Then, each time the recovery box 71 is tilted as a result of performing a swinging operation of lifting the upper frame body 62 upward, for example, when the user removes the staying recording material S, the pile of the deposit W is broken up and stored in each storage chamber. Further, the wall surface portion 71c prevents the deposit W from flowing to the back side and overflowing from the recovery box 71 when the recovery box 71 is tilted. Furthermore, by partitioning the inside of the recovery box 71 into a plurality of storage chambers by the partition ribs 71a, it is possible to prevent the deposit W from flowing to the back side and overflowing from the recovery box 71 when the recovery box 71 is tilted, and to store more deposits. In this way, by tilting the recovery box 71 and breaking up the pile of the deposit W, it is possible to suppress the deposit W from overflowing from the recovery box 71 by depositing only on a part of the recovery box 71.

[0053] As described above, in this embodiment, when the recovery box 71 is swung together with the upper frame body 62 and the first belt 21 and the second belt 25 are in a separated state where they are separated from each other, the recovery box 71 is in a state inclined with respect to the horizontal plane. The recovery box 71 has a wall surface portion 71c outside the contact region Z of the first belt 21 with which the scraper 70 is in contact in the width direction. Further, inside the recovery box 71, a plurality of partition ribs 71a are formed that divide the internal space for storing the deposits containing the abrasion powder into a plurality of parts in the longitudinal direction. Thus, when the user tilts the recovery box 71 along with the swinging operation of the upper frame body 62 when removing the retained recording material S or the like, it is possible to suppress the deposits W that move toward the rotation center side of the upper frame body 62 in the recovery box 71 from overflowing from the rotation center side of the recovery box 71. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the inside of the recording material cooling device 20 from being soiled due to the outflow of the deposits W. Further, since the deposits in the recovery box 71 are likely to be dispersed and spread evenly in the recovery box 71, the storage space of the recovery box 71 can be used efficiently. If that is the case, the recovery box 71 can accommodate a larger amount of deposits, and thus the frequency of the operation of removing the deposits from the recovery box 71 by the operator can be reduced.

[0054] Note that the recovery box 71 may be provided so as to be insertable and removable from the other end side in the width direction (the left side in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b)) with respect to the upper frame body 62. Further, it is preferable that the operator can insert and remove the recovery box 71 only when the first belt 21 and the second belt 25 shown in FIG. 4(a) are in the contact state where they are in contact with each other. That is, in the contact state, the recovery box 71 is detached from the upper frame body 62 in a non-inclined state, and it is advantageous because deposits are less likely to spill from the recovery box 71 during detachment.

[0055] <Second Embodiment> Next, the collection box of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b). As shown in FIG. 7(a), the collection box 72 of the second embodiment has wall surface portions 72b and 72c outside the contact region Z of the first belt 21 with which the scraper 70 is in contact in the width direction, similar to the collection box 71 (see FIG. 5) of the first embodiment. Inside the collection box 72, a plurality of partition ribs 72a as partition portions are formed and partitioned into six storage chambers. These partition ribs 72a are formed such that the height from the bottom surface portion 72d of the collection box 72 is higher on the downstream side than on the upstream side in the moving direction.

[0056] Furthermore, unlike the collection box 71 (see FIG. 5), the collection box 72 is formed obliquely such that, when viewed from the moving direction of the first belt 21 (direction of arrow Q in the figure), the downstream end side of the partition rib 72a is closer to the swing center side than the upstream end side. As the operator performs a swinging operation of lifting the upper frame body 62 upward, the collection box 72 also tilts accordingly. Then, as shown in FIG. 7(b), the adhered matter W that was stored in a mountain shape collapses toward the back side, and the collapsed adhered matter W is blocked by the partition rib 72a. And the partition rib 72a is formed obliquely as described above. Therefore, the adhered matter W easily enters the area directly below the scraper 70. Thereby, compared with the case of the first embodiment, the area directly below the scraper 70 can be utilized more effectively to deposit the adhered matter W.

[0057] Regarding the above second embodiment, when the number of days until the adhered matter leaks out from the collection box 72 was examined, it was 187 days. This is longer than 139 days which is the experimental result (condition 2) of the first embodiment. That is, in the case of the second embodiment, compared with the case of the first embodiment, the storage pace in the collection box 72 can be used more efficiently, and the frequency with which the operator removes the adhered matter W from the collection box 72 can be extended more.

[0058] <Other Embodiments> In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the upper frame body 62 is swung upward in the gravitational direction has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the lower frame body 63 may be swung downward in the gravitational direction with respect to the upper frame body 62 with the swing axis 62a as the swing center. In that case, for example, in FIG. 7(a), the inclination direction of the partition rib 72a is reversed. With such a configuration, as the lower frame body 63 swings, the recovery box 72 is tilted so that the side with the wall surface portion 72c moves downward in the gravitational direction. Accordingly, the deposit W that had been stored in a mountain shape collapses toward the front side, and the collapsed deposit W is blocked by the obliquely formed partition rib 72a and can enter the region directly below the scraper 70.

[0059] In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the recording material cooling device 20 is provided in the apparatus main body 100A of the image forming apparatus 100 has been shown as an example (see FIG. 1), but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the recording material cooling device 20 may be provided outside the apparatus main body 100A. FIG. 8 shows an example in which the recording material cooling device 20 is provided outside the apparatus main body 100A.

[0060] As shown in FIG. 8, an external cooling unit 101 as an external cooling device is connected to the apparatus main body 100A. The external cooling unit 101 is configured to be connectable to the image forming apparatus 100 as one of peripheral devices (referred to as option units, etc.) that can be retrofitted to expand the functions of the image forming apparatus 100. The external cooling unit 101 is disposed to cool the recording material S discharged from the apparatus main body 100A and lower the temperature of the recording material S, which is higher than before fixing, to a predetermined temperature or lower. The external cooling unit 101 has the above-described recording material cooling device 20 for cooling the recording material S.

[0061] The recording material S cooled by the external cooling unit 101 is discharged from the external cooling unit 101 by the discharge roller 17 and loaded onto the loading unit 60. The loading unit 60 is detachably provided with respect to the external cooling unit 101 and the image forming apparatus 100. That is, the loading unit 60 is attached to the image forming apparatus 100 when the external cooling unit 101 is not connected to the image forming apparatus 100 (see FIG. 1). Then, when the external cooling unit 101 is connected to the image forming apparatus 100, it is removed from the image forming apparatus 100 by the user and replaced with the external cooling unit 101.

[0062] Note that, as peripheral devices, a plurality of external cooling units 101 may be connected. By increasing the number of external cooling units 101 to be connected, an operator can easily improve the cooling capacity of the recording material S with respect to the existing image forming apparatus 100.

[0063] Also, in each of the above-described embodiments, the entire wall surface portion 71c is arranged outside the contact region Z with the first belt 21 of the scraper 70. However, as long as the deposits W scraped off by the scraper 70 can be collected, other configurations may be used. For example, in the width direction of the first belt 21, the wall surface portion 71c may be located inside the width of the contact region Z of the scraper 70. FIGS. 9(a) to 9(c) show an example in which a part of the wall surface portion 71b (the other end side wall surface portion) and the wall surface portion 71c is provided so as to overlap the contact region Z of the scraper 70. FIG. 9(a) is a cross-sectional view taken along the thickness direction of the first belt 21 at the position of the ridge line portion 70a which is the contact position between the first belt 21 and the scraper 70, as viewed from the upstream side in the moving direction Q of the first belt 21. FIG. 9(b) is a view seen from above in the vertical direction and is an explanatory view showing the positional relationship between the ridge line portion 70a of the scraper 70 and the wall surface portions 71b and 71c. Note that the partition rib 71a is not shown in FIGS. 9(b) and 9(c).

[0064] As shown in FIGS. 9(a) and 9(b), at the position of the ridge line portion 70a indicating the region where the scraper 70 abuts on the first belt 21, a part of the wall surface portions 71b and 71c is located outside in the longitudinal direction of the recovery box 71. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9(b), the wall surface portion 71c is located on the one end side of the first belt 21 in the width direction with respect to the contact region Z of the ridge line portion 70a at least on the downstream side of the ridge line portion 70a in the moving direction (arrow Q direction in the figure) of the first belt 21. Further, the wall surface portion 71c is provided in an inclined shape so as to overlap a part of the contact region Z in the rotation axis direction on the upstream side of the ridge line portion 70a in the moving direction. On the other hand, the wall surface portion 71b is located on the other end side of the first belt 21 in the rotation axis direction with respect to the contact region Z at least on the downstream side of the ridge line portion 70a in the moving direction. Further, the wall surface portion 71b is provided in an inclined shape so as to overlap a part of the contact region Z in the rotation axis direction on the upstream side of the ridge line portion 70a in the moving direction. Here, with respect to the moving direction of the first belt 21, the interval L1 between the upstream end portions of the wall surface portion 71b and the wall surface portion 71c is shorter than the contact region Z in the width direction. Further, with respect to the moving direction of the first belt 21, the interval L2 between the downstream end portions of the wall surface portion 71b and the wall surface portion 71c is longer than the contact region Z in the width direction. Even with such a configuration, at the position of the ridge line portion 70a where the scraper 70 abuts on the first belt 21, since the wall surface portions 71b and 71c are located outside, the scraped deposits W can be recovered. Note that the wall surface portion 71b is inclined such that the upstream end portion of the wall surface portion 71b is located in a direction away from the ridge line portion 70a and the upstream end portion is located in a direction approaching the ridge line portion 70a in the width direction. By doing so, the region for recovering the deposits W can be expanded on the downstream side of the ridge line portion 70a.

[0065] In FIG. 9(b), the wall surface portions 71b and 71c are inclined in different directions. However, as shown in FIG. 9(c), the wall surface portions 71b and 71c may be inclined in the same direction. That is, the upstream side of the wall surface portion 71b in the moving direction is located on the other end side of the first belt 21 with respect to the contact region Z in the rotation axis direction, and it overlaps a part of the contact region Z in the rotation axis direction on the downstream side of the ridge line portion 70a in the moving direction. Thus, in the case of this configuration, the upstream end portion of the wall surface portion 71c in the moving direction is located inside the ridge line portion 70a in the width direction, and the downstream end portion of the wall surface portion 71b is located inside the ridge line portion 70a in the width direction. Even with such a configuration, since the wall surface portions 71b and 71c are located outside at the position of the ridge line portion 70a where the scraper 70 is in contact with the first belt 21, the scraped deposits W can be collected.

[0066] In each of the above-described embodiments, the scraper 70 is shown as an example of the removing member. However, other removing members may be used as long as they can remove deposits on the inner peripheral surface of the belt, such as a fiber brush or a non-woven fabric.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0067] 11... Fixing device, 20... Recording material cooling device, 21... Belt (first belt), 22a - 22d... Rollers (first belt tensioning rollers), 25... Conveying member (belt-like member, second belt), 30... Cooling member (heat sink, heat sink), 62... Holding body (upper frame body), 70... Removing member (scraper), 70a... Contact portion (ridge line portion), 71(72)... Receiving container (recovery box), 71a(72a)... Partition portion (partition rib), 71b(72b)... Other end side wall surface portion, 71c(72c)... Wall surface portion, 71d... Bottom surface portion, 100... Image forming apparatus, 500... Image forming unit, 610... Support portion (contact / separation mechanism), S... Recording material, T4... nip portion (cooling nip portion)

Claims

1. In a recording material cooling device that cools a recording material that has passed through a fixing device for fixing a toner image on the recording material by heating, a belt, a plurality of rollers around which the belt is stretched, a cooling unit that contacts the inner peripheral surface of the belt and cools the belt, a conveying unit that contacts the outer peripheral surface of the belt and forms a nip portion through which the recording material on which the toner image is formed is conveyed, a removing unit that removes deposits adhering to the inner peripheral surface of the belt, a receiving container having an opening for receiving the deposits removed by the removing unit, a holding unit that holds the plurality of rollers, the cooling unit, and the receiving container and is swingable between a first position where the nip portion is formed between the belt and the conveying unit and a second position where the belt is separated from the conveying unit, the plurality of rollers includes a driving roller that drives the belt, the swing center of the holding unit extends in a direction intersecting the rotational axis direction of the driving roller and the vertical direction, the receiving container has a bottom surface portion that extends in the rotational axis direction of the driving roller and receives the deposits, and a first wall surface portion and a second wall surface portion at both ends of the bottom surface portion in the rotational axis direction, a partition portion that divides the interior of the receiving container into a plurality of storage chambers between the first wall surface portion and the second wall surface portion in the rotational axis direction, the partition portion having a first partition portion located closer to the first wall surface portion than the center between the first wall surface portion and the second wall surface portion and a second partition portion located closer to the second wall surface portion than the center between the first wall surface portion and the second wall surface portion, both the first partition portion and the second partition portion are formed obliquely such that the downstream end side in the moving direction of the belt is closer to the swing center than the upstream end side, a recording material cooling device characterized by the above.

2. At least a part of the first wall surface portion located downstream of the contact portion that contacts the belt of the removing unit in the moving direction of the belt is provided such that it is located on one end side of the belt rather than the contact area of the contact portion in the rotational axis direction. The recording material cooling device according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. A part of the first wall surface portion located upstream of the contact portion that contacts the belt of the removing unit in the moving direction of the belt is provided such that it is located on one end side of the belt rather than the contact area of the contact portion in the rotational axis direction. The recording material cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that

4. A part of the first wall surface portion located upstream of the contact portion contacting the belt of the removing portion in the moving direction of the belt is provided obliquely so as to overlap a part of the contact area of the contact portion in the direction of the rotation axis. The recording material cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that

5. At least a part of the second wall surface portion located downstream of the contact portion contacting the belt of the removing portion in the moving direction of the belt is provided so as to be located on the other end side of the belt with respect to the contact area of the contact portion in the direction of the rotation axis. The recording material cooling device according to claim 2, characterized in that

6. In the direction of the rotation axis, the distance between the first wall surface portion and the second wall surface portion is longer than the length of the contact portion contacting the belt of the removing portion. The recording material cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that

7. The receiving container is formed such that the downstream side in the moving direction of the belt is deeper than the upstream side. The height of the partition portion from the bottom surface portion is higher on the downstream side than on the upstream side in the moving direction. The recording material cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that

8. The removing portion is held in the receiving container. The recording material cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that

9. The cooling portion is a heat radiating plate that contacts the belt and radiates heat. The recording material cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that

10. The conveying portion is a belt-like member. The recording material cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that

11. A support portion that supports the holding portion so as to be swingable between the first position and the second position is provided. The swing center of the support portion is arranged on the back side of the recording material cooling device with respect to the nip portion in the direction of the rotation axis. The recording material cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that

12. In a state where the holding portion is in the first position, the first wall surface portion is arranged closer to the swing center of the holding portion than the bottom surface portion of the receiving container in the direction of the rotation axis. The recording material cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that

13. an upper unit in which the belt, the plurality of rollers, the cooling unit, the removing unit, the receiving container, and the holding unit are disposed; a lower unit in which the conveying unit is disposed; a locking portion provided on the side opposite to the rotation axis direction with respect to the swing center of the holding portion, for locking the upper unit to the lower unit in a state where the holding portion is in the first position; and a recording material cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that.

14. an image forming unit that forms a toner image on a recording material; a fixing unit that fixes the toner image formed by the image forming unit by heating; a recording material cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, provided on the downstream side of the fixing unit in the conveying direction of the recording material, for cooling the recording material that has passed through the fixing unit; and an image forming apparatus, characterized in that.

Images