Cleaning and liquid contact with solids – Processes – Using solid work treating agents
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-15
2003-10-07
El-Arini, Zeinab (Department: 1746)
Cleaning and liquid contact with solids
Processes
Using solid work treating agents
C134S006000, C134S033000, C015S256500, C015S256510, C015S256530
Reexamination Certificate
active
06630035
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cleaning unit and method for removing foreign matters, e.g., dust, which stick onto a surface of a member to be cleaned.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of an arrangement of a recording device of the type in which an image receiving sheet and a toner sheet are put, in this order, on a recording rotational drum in close contact manner, and the toner sheet on the drum is irradiated with laser light for exposure, is shown in FIG.
11
. The recording apparatus incorporates an optical head
1
capable of emitting a plurality of laser beams and arranged to modulate and turn the laser beam on/off to conform to record data. The optical head
1
is able to move in parallel with the rotational axis. The recording apparatus further incorporates a recording rotational drum
2
having the outer surface to which a recording medium
3
is joined, the recording rotational drum
2
being rotatively supported.
The optical head
1
is placed on a movable stage
4
which is able to move in parallel with the recording rotational drum
2
. The foregoing movement corresponds to sub-scanning direction when an image is formed. The rotational direction of the recording rotational drum
2
corresponds to the main scanning direction.
As is shown in
FIG. 12
, the recording medium
3
is composed of an image-receiving sheet
5
and a toner sheet
6
.
The image-receiving sheet
5
incorporates a support member, a cushion layer and an image receiving layer formed sequentially from a position adjacent to the recording rotational drum
2
. The toner sheet
6
incorporates a support member, a photo-thermo conversion layer and a toner layer formed sequentially from a position adjacent to the position from which the laser beam is applied (see FIG.
13
). The image-receiving sheet
5
is joined to the recording rotational drum
2
such that the toner sheet
6
is laminated on the image-receiving sheet
5
. The toner layer of the toner sheet
6
joined as described above faces the image-receiving sheet
5
. When a laser beam is applied to the toner sheet
6
from a position opposite to the image-receiving sheet
5
, the toner layer portion irradiated with the laser beam is transferred to the image receiving layer owing to heat.
The support member is made of a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) base, a TAC (triacetyl cellulose) base, a PEN (polyethylene naphthalate) base or the like which permits penetration of the laser beam. The photothermo-conversion layer is constituted by a material, such as carbon, black pigment, infrared-ray absorption pigment, a substance for absorbing a specific wavelength or the like which efficiently converts the laser energy into heat.
The toner layer includes toner sheets in KCMY. A toner sheet in gold, silver, brown, gray, orange or green is sometimes used.
The image receiving layer receives transferred toner. The cushion layer absorbs the stepped portion formed when toner is laminated into a plurality of layers and absorbs a stepped portion formed owing to dust.
As for detailed contents of the image-receiving sheet
5
and the toner sheet
6
serving as the recording medium
3
, refer to JP-A-4-296594, JP-A-4-327982 and JP-A-4-327983 applied by the applicant of the present invention. As for an image recording apparatus incorporating the foregoing recording medium, refer to JP-A-6-275183 if necessary.
Description will now be performed about a step for laser recording in each of KCMY and a step for separating the toner sheet
6
from the image-receiving sheet
5
after the recording operation has been completed. When a laminating process is performed, the laminating step is performed before the laser recording step. Then, the steps will sequentially be described with reference to FIG.
12
.
(1) The image-receiving sheet
5
is wound around the recording rotational drum
2
;
(2) To perform a K step, K toner sheet
6
is wound on its image-receiving sheet
5
;
(3) Laser beams are applied in accordance with K image and/or character data to perform recording;
(4) The K toner sheet
6
is separated from the image-receiving sheet
5
(K step is completed);
(5) Then, a C step is performed. That is, the C toner sheet is wound on its image-receiving sheet;
(6) Laser recording is performed with C data;
(7) Finally, the C toner sheet is separated from the image receiving sheet (the C step is completed);
(8) Then, a M step is performed. That is, a M toner sheet is wound on its image receiving sheet;
(9) Laser recording is performed with M data;
(10) The M toner sheet is separated from the image receiving sheet (the M step is completed);
(11) A Y step is performed. That is, a Y toner sheet is wound on its image receiving sheet;
(12) Laser recording is performed with Y data;
(13) Finally, the Y toner sheet is separated from the image receiving sheet (the Y step is completed):
(14) Thus, KCMY are adequately laminated on the image receiving sheet so that a required color image is formed; and
(15) The color image is transferred to the main paper.
When the laminating process is performed, the toner sheet is pressed by a pressing roller or a heated roller immediately before the laser recording operation for each color is performed. Thus, toner sheet is brought into hermetic contact with the image receiving sheet.
It is preferable that the recording speed in the foregoing recording step satisfies a range from 0.5 m/s to 50 m/s, more preferably 1 m/s to 16 m/s. The basic recording operation of the recording apparatus is performed as described above.
The foregoing recording apparatus sometimes encounters deterioration in the quality of a result of the recording operation owing to a foreign matter (an object) such as dust when foreign matter is allowed to adhere to the outer surface of the recording rotational drum.
When foreign matter X is present between the image-receiving sheet
5
and the surface of the recording rotational drum as shown in
FIG. 13
, the foreign matter X deforms or causes defective adhesion of the image-receiving sheet
5
and the toner sheet
6
. Thus, the focal point of the recording laser beam L is deviated. When deviation of the position in the optical axis of the photo-thermo conversion layer of the toner sheet
6
is larger than an allowable value, a sufficiently high energy density cannot be obtained. Hence it follows that thinning of the image and/or reduction in the density occurs in the range indicated with an arrow C in the drawing. As a result, an annular missing of an image or a white image is undesirably formed.
Another problem arises in that heat cannot sufficiently be relieved from the support member of the image-receiving sheet
5
to the recording rotational drum. Therefore, the temperature of the contact portion between the image-receiving sheet
5
and the toner sheet
6
is raised as compared with the temperature which is realized when no dust X is present. Thus, the density of the image in the range indicated with symbol C shown in the drawing is sometimes raised.
In the foregoing case, the housing covering the apparatus is opened to manually clean the outer surface of the drum. When the foregoing operation is performed whenever contamination occurs, a great labor and time are required.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
For the above background reasons, the present invention has an foreign matter to provide a cleaning unit and method which are capable of removing foreign matters sticking to a surface of a member to be cleaned by cleaning the member surface by a simple operation.
To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a first cleaning unit which is comprised of:
a cleaning head in which a solution applying portion for applying a cleaning solution to a member to be cleaned, and a foreign-matter scraping blade for scraping foreign matters on the surface of the member to be cleaned are arranged substantially parallel to a cleaning direction,
wherein the solution applying portion and the foreign-matter scraping blade of the cleaning head are simultaneously b
Hashiguchi Akihiro
Sato Hironobu
Sawano Mitsuru
El-Arini Zeinab
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
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