JP2622449B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for reading and printing information written in an image memory.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of image forming apparatus,
It reads information written in an image memory, converts it into an electric signal, forms a latent image on a photoreceptor with laser light modulated by the electric signal, develops it with toner, and transfers it to paper. Known (for example,
-52749).

[0003]

However, in such an image forming apparatus, the information written in the image memory is converted into an electric signal, and the laser light is modulated by the electric signal. However, since a latent image is formed on the photoreceptor, there has been a problem that the configuration is complicated. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides an image forming apparatus with a simplified configuration by forming a latent image directly on a photoconductor from an image written in an image memory. is there.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a document table on which a document is placed, first irradiating means for irradiating and reflecting light on the document on the document table, and a hollow cylindrical polyhedron. A drum having a window on each surface of the polyhedron, a liquid crystal cell mounted on each window of the drum, receiving an image light from the front surface to read an image, and reading the image by light received on the back surface,
A second irradiating means for irradiating the back surface of the liquid crystal cell with light and reflecting the light, and a liquid crystal cell provided in each window of the drum sequentially receives the reflected light from the document on the front surface and the second irradiating means on the back surface. Drum driving means for rotating the drum so as to receive light from the photoreceptor, a photoreceptor for forming an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the original image by receiving reflected light from the back surface of the liquid crystal cell, and developing the electrostatic latent image An image forming apparatus provided with a developing unit that transfers the developed image to a sheet, and a fixing unit that fixes the transferred image.

Preferably, the polyhedron is movable in the direction of the axis of rotation of the drum. The drum has an opening on one side for guiding light from the second irradiation unit to the back surface of the liquid crystal cell,
The other side surface may be provided with an opening for guiding light reflected from the back surface of the liquid crystal cell to the photoconductor. It is preferable that the photoreceptor is formed in an endless belt shape, and a surface for receiving light reflected from the back surface of the liquid crystal cell is disposed in a direction orthogonal to the document table.

[0006]

Since the liquid crystal cells are mounted on the windows of each surface of the polyhedron of the drum, when the drum is rotated, the liquid crystal cells sequentially receive the reflected light from the original from the surface and read the original image. Then, an image is read by the light illuminating the back surface of the liquid crystal cell, and the photoreceptor receives the image light from the back surface of the liquid crystal cell to form an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the original image. Developing means develops the electrostatic latent image, and the developed image is transferred and fixed on paper.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings. This does not limit the present invention. FIG. 1 is a structural explanatory view showing an embodiment of the present invention, wherein 1 is an image forming apparatus main body, 2 is a document mounting table made of a transparent glass plate and on which a document 3 is mounted, and 4 and 5 are document irradiations for irradiating a document. Lamps, 6a and 6b are reflection mirrors, M is a liquid crystal cell, and 7 is a zoom lens that forms image light reflected from the original 3 on the surface of the liquid crystal cell M and writes an image of the original 3 on the liquid crystal cell.

Here, as shown in FIG. 9, the liquid crystal cell M comprises glass substrates 8a and 8b, transparent electrodes 9a and 9b, a photoconductive layer 10, a light blocking layer 11, a reflecting film 12, and a liquid crystal layer 13 as shown in FIG.
And an AC voltage e is applied to the transparent electrodes 9a and 9b.

For the photoconductive layer 10, the resistance per unit area with and without light irradiation, that is, the light resistance R (ON) and the dark resistance R (OFF) are the resistance per unit area of the liquid crystal layer 13. For R (LC), R (OFF) ≫
R (LC) ≫R (ON).

Therefore, when there is no light irradiation, most of the applied voltage e is applied to the photoconductive layer 10, and the electro-optical effect does not occur in the liquid crystal layer 13. When the photoconductive layer 10 is irradiated with light,
Since the resistance of the photoconductive layer 10 decreases and a voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer 13, an electro-optical effect is generated.

Since R (ON) depends on the intensity of the irradiation light, the voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer 13 also depends on the intensity of the irradiation light, and the analog response according to the type of the electro-optic effect of the liquid crystal layer 13 also increases. Obtainable.

That is, when the light irradiated on the photoconductive layer 10 is image information having an intensity distribution, a voltage distribution according to the intensity distribution is applied to the liquid crystal layer 13 to correspond to the incident image. An image to be formed is formed (memory) on the liquid crystal layer 13 by the electro-optic effect.

The material of the photoconductive layer 10 is most commonly CdS, but ZnS, ZnO, Se, SeTe, or an amorphous silicon thin film is also used. The liquid crystal layer 13 includes, for example, N- (4-methoxybenzyliden).
e) 4-n-butylaniline (MBBA) or other nematic liquid crystal is used.

As shown in FIG. 9, when a writing voltage is applied between the transparent electrodes 9a and 9b and image light is irradiated from the direction of arrow A, an image is written on the liquid crystal layer 13 and even if the writing voltage is removed. The written image is stored in the liquid crystal layer 13. The stored image can be read out by irradiating light from the direction of arrow B.

In this case, even if light is irradiated in the direction of arrow B, the memory image does not change, so that reading can be performed any number of times. When a new image is stored in the memory, an erasing voltage is applied between the transparent electrodes 9a and 9b to erase the memory image.

As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid crystal cell M is a drum 1
4, an image is written by image light from the zoom lens 7, irradiated by a liquid crystal irradiation lamp 15, and read. Reference numeral 15a denotes a lamp house, 16 denotes a projection zoom lens, 17 and 18 denote mirrors, and 19 denotes a photosensitive belt (endless belt).

The projection zoom lens 16 applies image light (reflected light) read from the liquid crystal cell M to the mirror 1.
An image is formed on the photoreceptor belt 19 through the layers 7 and 18 to form an electrostatic latent image. The photoreceptor belt 19 is arranged such that the surface for receiving the reflected light from the liquid crystal cell M is orthogonal to the document table 2 in order to effectively use the space of the main body 1.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a developing unit that develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor belt 19 with toner, 21 denotes a cleaner that collects toner and charge remaining on the photoreceptor belt 13 and removes electricity, and 22 denotes a photoreceptor belt 19. Charger 23 for uniformly charging the paper, 23 a container for accommodating paper, 24 a paper feed roller for sending out paper from the container 23, 25 a container 23 for paper
Reference numeral 26 denotes a registration roller that determines the timing of sheet transport with respect to the position of the photosensitive belt 19 to be transported.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a transfer charger for transferring a toner image from the photosensitive belt 19 to a sheet, and reference numeral 28 denotes a photosensitive belt 1.
A separation charger for separating the paper from the paper 9, a transport belt 29 for transporting the paper, a fixing roller 30 for fixing the image of the paper, a discharge roller 31 for discharging the paper, and a housing 32 for temporarily storing the copied paper , A transport path for transporting the copied paper to the container, a switching device for switching the transport path, a paper feed roller for feeding the paper in the container, a registration roller for the paper in the container. 26 is a transport path for transporting the sheet.

Reference numeral 37 denotes an operation panel provided with a keyboard for setting various copying conditions, and reference numeral 38 denotes a display panel provided with a liquid crystal display for displaying the set copying conditions and original images.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the drum 14, FIG. 4 is a side view of the drum 14, FIG. 5 is a top view of the drum 14, and FIG. In these figures, reference numeral 39 denotes a drum main body made of a hollow cylindrical regular dodecahedron, and reference numeral 40 denotes a hollow cylindrical regular dodecahedral holder slidably mounted outside the drum main body 39. Each of the outer peripheral surfaces is provided with a window holding two liquid crystal cells M arranged two by two in the axial direction of the drum 39. That is, the holder 40 has 24 (2 × 12) liquid crystal cells M
Is installed.

Reference numeral 41 denotes an opening provided at the center of each surface on the outer periphery of the main body 39; 42, a rotating shaft for rotating the drum main body;
43 is a support plate, 44 is a bearing for rotatably supporting the drum body 39, 45 is an opening 41 for irradiating the irradiation light of the projection lamp 15.
Drum body 39 for guiding to the back surface of the liquid crystal cell M through the
The holes 46 provided in the end wall are holes provided in the support plate for guiding the light from the projection zoom lens 16 to the mirror 17.

Reference numeral 47 denotes a CCD camera; 48, a support for the CCD camera; 49, a sliding shaft that slidably supports the support 48; 50, a pinion gear that meshes with a rack gear (not shown) on the back of the support 48; 51 is pinion gear 5
0 is a CCD camera moving motor that drives the CCD camera.

When the CCD camera moving motor 51 is driven, the pinion gear 50 rotates to move the support base 48 to the position shown in FIG. 3, and the image of the liquid crystal cell M irradiated by the liquid crystal irradiation lamp 15 is picked up by the CCD camera 47. Is done.

Reference numeral 52 denotes a rotation position detection sensor for detecting a home position when the drum body 39 rotates, 53 a movement position detection sensor for detecting the home position when the holder 40 slides, and 54 a rotation shaft 42. 55 is a drum rotation motor (stepping motor) for rotating the drum 39; 56 and 57 are gears for transmitting the rotational force of the motor 55 to the rotary shaft 42; 58 is the holder 40 in the direction of the arrow A or B; It is a holder moving motor (stepping motor) that slides.

Reference numeral 59 denotes a flange provided on the outer edge of the holder 40; 60, a sliding piece for rotatably supporting the flange 59 to position the holder 40; 61, a sliding piece for supporting the sliding piece 60 so as to be slidable. The table, 62 is a wire for moving the sliding piece 60 in the direction of arrow A or B, 63, 64 are wires 6
Pulleys 65 and 66 for supporting 2 are gears for transmitting the rotational force of the holder moving motor 58 to the wire 62.

Reference numeral 67 denotes a commutator fixed to the rotating shaft 42 for supplying power to the liquid crystal cell M, and 68 denotes a commutator 6.
69, a pair of power supply brushes provided to contact
Is a brush support. As shown in FIG. 7, the slider 67 a of the commutator 67 uses a wiring pattern 70 provided on the drum main body 39 to make the transparent electrodes 9 a,
9b is connected to each terminal 71.

Then, when the holder 40 moves as shown in FIG. 8 and another liquid crystal cell M faces the opening 41, the connection of the wiring pattern 70 to the liquid crystal cell M is switched. That is, the wiring pattern 70 is connected to the liquid crystal cell M located in the opening 41.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a main part of the control circuit of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. MC is a control section containing a microcomputer, ZM1 is a zoom lens motor for driving a zoom lens 7, and ZM2 is a projection. A projection zoom lens motor that drives the zoom lens 16, MM is a main motor that drives various driving units of the main body 1, and SC is a solenoid clutch that turns ON / OFF transmission of the rotational force of the main motor MM to the various driving units.

The control unit MC includes an operation panel 37, a rotation position detection sensor 52, a movement position detection sensor 53, and a CCD.
Upon receiving outputs from the camera 47 and the like, the liquid crystal cell M, the zoom lens motor ZM1, the projection zoom lens motor ZM2, the CCD camera moving motor 51, the drum rotating motor 55, the holder moving motor 58, the display panel 3
8, the document irradiation lamp 4, the liquid crystal irradiation lamp 15, the solenoid clutch SC, the main motor MM, the charger 22, the transfer charger 27, the separation charger 28 and the like are driven.

The operation in such a configuration will now be described. First, when the document 3 is placed on the document table 2 and the document irradiating lamps 6a and 6b are turned on, image light from the document forms an image on the surface of the liquid crystal cell 7 by the zoom lens 7, and the image is formed on the liquid crystal cell 7. Written. Next, the CCD camera 47
Moves to the position shown in FIG. 3 and the liquid crystal cell irradiation lamp 15 is turned on to irradiate the back surface of the liquid crystal cell M. The image written in the liquid crystal cell M is captured by the CCD camera 47 and converted into an electric signal. Is displayed on the display panel 38.

The user can determine the magnification of the zoom lens 7 with respect to the size and position of the copy sheet, the position of the document 3, the image quality, and the brightness of the document irradiation lamp 4 and the liquid crystal irradiation lamp 15 from the image displayed on the display panel 38. Confirm. As a result of the check, if any of the images needs to be adjusted, the image written in the liquid crystal cell M is erased once, and after the adjustment, the above operation is repeated to check the image.

The position of the original with respect to the paper can be adjusted by moving the holder 40 or rotating the drum 39, and the copy magnification can be adjusted by the projection zoom lens 1.
6 is also possible.

Next, when "copy start" is input on the operation panel 37, the CCD camera 47 returns to the position shown in FIG. 2, and the liquid crystal irradiation lamp 15 is turned on for a predetermined time.
The back surface of the liquid crystal cell M is irradiated. The image light from the liquid crystal cell M is guided onto the photoreceptor belt 19 via the projection zoom lens 16, mirror 17, and mirror 18 to form an electrostatic latent image.

Next, the photoreceptor belt 19 moves in the direction of arrow C, and the electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing device 20 and is transferred to the sheet sent from the container 23. The transferred paper is separated from the photoreceptor belt 19 and is fixed to the fixing roller 30.
After being fixed by the main body 1,
Is discharged to the outside.

When the fixed paper is reused (for example, for two-sided copying), the fixed paper is stored in the container 32 by the switching device 34. Thus, the copying operation on the paper is completed.

When a plurality of copies are set by the operation panel 37, the operation after reading the image from the liquid crystal cell M among the above operations is repeated. When the copying operation using one document is completed and copying using another document is performed, the operation panel 37 is operated to rotate the drum 14 or move the holder 40 to zoom another liquid crystal cell M. It is made to face the lens 7.

By repeating the above-described copying operation, copying with the next original is performed. Therefore, since the image of the document once copied is sequentially stored in each liquid crystal cell M, the memory image can be reused for double-sided copying and other various copying processes.

Further, by adjusting the position of the liquid crystal cell M facing the zoom lens 7 by sliding the holder 40, two original images are stored in the image writing area of one liquid crystal cell M as shown in FIG. a and b can be written and copied to individual sheets. Therefore, for example, A3
One document may be written in one liquid crystal cell M for a size document, and two documents may be written in one liquid crystal cell M for an A4 size document. In this way, the number of original images stored in the liquid crystal cell M can be increased.

[0040]

According to the present invention, a document image can be read by a liquid crystal cell, and the image can be read from the liquid crystal cell and copied to a sheet without using a laser beam, thereby simplifying the configuration of the image forming apparatus. Is done.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration explanatory view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a drum according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an operation inside the drum of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the drum of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a top view showing the drum of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing the drum of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part of the drum of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a main part of the drum of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a configuration explanatory view showing a liquid crystal cell of an example.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a control circuit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a top view showing an image writing area of the liquid crystal cell of the example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Image forming apparatus main body 2 Document mounting table 4, 5 Document irradiation lamp 7 Zoom lens M Liquid crystal cell 14 Drum 15 Liquid crystal irradiation lamp 16 Projection zoom lens 17, 18 Mirror 19 Photoconductor belt 27 Transfer charger 30 Fixing roller

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-368967 (JP, A) JP-A-4-106584 (JP, A) JP-A-3-194535 (JP, A) JP-A-2-259781 (JP) JP-A-2-212859 (JP, A) JP-A-2-68575 (JP, A) JP-A-2-53087 (JP, A) JP-A-2-53086 (JP, A) 1-243078 (JP, A) JP-A-62-56925 (JP, A) JP-A-62-14638 (JP, A) JP-A-61-210323 (JP, A) JP-A-57-13458 (JP, A) A) JP-A-56-32161 (JP, A) JP-A-56-16149 (JP, A)

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] An original mounting table on which an original is mounted, first irradiating means for irradiating the original on the original mounting table with light and reflecting the light, and a hollow cylindrical polyhedron having a window on each surface of the polyhedron. A drum, a liquid crystal cell mounted on each window of the drum to receive image light from the front side, read an image, and read the image by light received on the back side, and a second irradiation for irradiating the back side of the liquid crystal cell with light for reflection The means and the liquid crystal cell provided in each window of the drum sequentially receive the reflected light from the original on the surface,
A drum driving means for rotating a drum on the back surface so as to receive light from the second irradiation means; and a photoreceptor for forming an electrostatic latent image corresponding to a document image by receiving reflected light from the back surface of the liquid crystal cell An image forming apparatus comprising: a developing unit that develops an electrostatic latent image; a transfer unit that transfers a developed image to a sheet; and a fixing unit that fixes the transferred image. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the polyhedron is movable in a rotation axis direction of the drum. 3. The drum has an opening on one side for guiding light from the second irradiating means to the back surface of the liquid crystal cell, and the other side surface for guiding light reflected from the back surface of the liquid crystal cell to the photoreceptor. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an opening. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the photosensitive member is formed in an endless belt shape, and a surface for receiving the reflected light from the back surface of the liquid crystal cell is arranged in a direction orthogonal to the document table. apparatus.