JP2870798B2 - Color copier - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a color copying apparatus, and more particularly to a color copying apparatus capable of making a long color copy.

2. Description of the Related Art Shipbuilding, surveying, mapping, plumbing, and other engineering departments need to make long copies of over one meter, and use copying machines and printers for this purpose. But,
All of these conventional devices are black-and-white monochrome copiers or printers. In these departments, it would be very convenient if long color copies could be made. However, in the above-mentioned applications, there is a printer capable of printing a long multicolor with a so-called one-zero image such as an ink-jet printer. Halftone expression is also necessary, and it is often unsatisfactory with current long color print systems. Although a precise color copy system for picture scrolls and the like is strongly demanded by research institutions such as museums, museums, and universities, there is no satisfactory system at present.

As a printer capable of obtaining long-length prints, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-16146 discloses a printer which is not a color copying system but supplies and recovers transfer paper in a roll state. An electrophotographic printer has been disclosed in which the inconvenience caused by the inertia of the roll paper at the time is removed by a tension roller and a brake. In this apparatus, since the transfer is performed by a transfer winding roll for transfer paper, it is difficult to control the speed of the transfer paper and prevent bending. In addition, since there is no cutter between the supply roll and the take-up roll, loss of paper is large when a small number of copies are flinted.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-269851 discloses a multi-stylus recording head and a liquid of a different color from an electrostatic recording paper wound around a supply roller. A plurality of developing heads accommodating a developer (toner) are sequentially fed through a conveying path of an image forming unit, and the leading end of the developing head is wound around a winding roller and fed out. Writing, then developing with the first color developing head,
When the development of the entire length of the print is completed, the electrostatic recording paper wound by the winding roller is rewound to the supply roller, and then the portion where the development of the first color has been completed is unwound from the supply roller again to unload the second color. The writing, developing process, and rewinding are repeated, and this is repeated. When the final color writing and developing process are completed, the paper clamp of the winding roller is released, the paper is discharged from the paper output port of the apparatus, and finally the print length is printed. Then cut with a cutter,
An image recording apparatus for obtaining a multicolor long copy has been disclosed.

In this image recording apparatus, similarly to the above-described apparatus, the supply and winding of the recording paper are performed in a roll shape, so that it is difficult to control the speed of the recording paper, so that images of a plurality of colors are superimposed on the same paper. There is a problem as an apparatus for forming a multicolor image. Further, since the cutter is provided only at the exit of the apparatus, when printing a small number of copies, considerable loss of recording paper occurs. Further, this device is a system in which writing is performed directly on the recording paper itself to develop the recording paper. However, if the liquid-developed recording paper is rolled up on a winding roller and wound up, it may cause stains on the back of the recording paper and image disturbance. There is.

As a color copier using the electrostatographic process,
A color image is formed by forming toner images of different colors on a single photoreceptor, repeatedly transporting the same transfer paper in contact with the transfer position, aligning and transferring a plurality of color toner images, and fixing to form a color image. 2. Description of the Related Art A color copying machine of a registration transfer system is known.

Although not intended for long color copying, the present applicant has proposed a color copying apparatus of this type in Japanese Patent Application No. 63-178070. FIG. 6 shows a schematic configuration thereof.

In this apparatus, a charging charger 4 and a laser are arranged around a photosensitive belt 1 which is wound over a driving roller 2 and a driven roller 3 arranged on the surface and driven in the direction of an arrow in the circumferential direction thereof. Writing optical system 5, yellow, magenta,
Developing devices 6, 9, 11, and 13 each containing a developing agent for each color of cyan and black, developing rollers 6, 8, 10, 12, transfer charger 21, cleaning unit 29, and static eliminator 30 are provided.

A transfer belt 17 that can contact and separate from the photosensitive belt 1 at a position facing the transfer charger 21 includes a driving roller 18 and a driven roller 19.
And is provided substantially horizontally. The drive roller 18 is driven in forward and reverse directions by a motor capable of rotating forward and backward. In the figure, the forward rotation speed at which the upper running section facing the photoreceptor belt 1 moves from right to left is the speed of the photoreceptor belt 1.
And the reversing speed is higher. A contact / separation switching roller 20 which is in contact with the inner surface of the upper running portion of the transfer belt 17 at a position slightly upstream of the transfer position and is moved up and down by a solenoid (not shown) is provided. The transfer belt 17 contacts the photosensitive belt 1 at the raised position of the roller. Then, the transfer belt 17 is separated from the photosensitive belt 1 at the lower position.

The transfer paper in the paper feed cassette 14 is fed near the upper side of the contact position of the transfer / belt switching roller 20 of the transfer belt 17 with the diameter of the paper feed roller 15 and the registration roller 16. At this position, a paper suction charger 23 is provided so as to face the outer peripheral surface of the transfer belt, and the fed transfer paper is charged by this, is electrostatically attracted to the transfer belt 17, and is conveyed. A paper separation charger 24 is provided above the drive roller 18, and the transfer paper conveyed to this portion is charged to the same polarity as the transfer belt and separated from the transfer belt. Tip guide plate 27 or fuser
It is transported to 31. A paper discharge tray 32 is provided for a paper discharge port of the fixing device 31. On the right side of the driven roller 19 of the transfer belt 17, a paper trailing end guide plate 28 is provided. Further, a static elimination charger 22 and a transfer belt cleaning device 25 are provided in the vicinity of the driven roller 19 so as to face the lower running portion of the transfer belt 17.

When color recording is performed by this color image forming apparatus, the original scanning light is projected onto a three-color CCD by a color image reading device (not shown) provided at the top of the apparatus, and the color is converted into three colors of blue, green, and red. Read the divided image information,
The information signal is subjected to image arithmetic processing to obtain image data to be developed in yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, sequentially input to the writing optical system 5 and sequentially optically written on the photoreceptor belt 1. The four types of latent images written are developed units 7, 9, 11, and 13, respectively.
To form yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toner images, which are sequentially fed to a position facing the transfer charger 21.

The transfer belt is moved from the registration roller 16 at a timing such that the leading end of the first color toner image and the leading end of the transfer paper are aligned at the transfer position.
The transfer paper is fed to the transfer belt 17 and conveyed by the transfer belt 17.
The color toner image is transferred, the leading end of the transfer paper is guided by the switching member 26 and slides on the leading end guide 27, and the trailing end of the transfer paper comes to a position advanced by a predetermined distance past the transfer position. When this is detected, the contact / separation switching roller 20 moves down, the transfer belt 17 separates from the photoreceptor belt 1, and then the transfer belt 17 reverses at a high speed, and the transfer paper retreats accordingly. Then, it stops at a position where the leading end has retreated a predetermined distance after passing the transfer position. At this time, the rear end portion is moved straight by the transfer belt 17 and comes on the sheet rear end guide plate.

Next, at the timing when the leading edge of the second color toner image formed on the photoconductor comes to the transfer position, the transfer belt 17 starts normal rotation at such a timing that the leading edge of the transfer paper passes the transfer position,
Next, the contact / separation switching roller 20 is raised, and the transfer paper is transported in the forward direction, and the toner image of the second color is superimposed and transferred on the first color at the transfer position.

The above operation is repeated for the third color and the fourth color.
By switching the path switching member 26 to the fixing device side before reaching the front end of the transfer paper, the transfer paper on which the toner images of the four colors are superimposed and transferred is introduced into the fixing device 31, discharged onto the paper discharge tray 32, and Copy is completed.

However, in this color image forming apparatus, when the transfer paper is fed from a paper feed tray and the transfer paper reciprocates by the transfer belt, a guide plate that guides and supports the front end and the rear end thereof is used in this apparatus. It is made to fit the size of the paper that will fit in the largest paper cassette. I can't guide and support you.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances of a conventional color copying apparatus and a copying apparatus capable of copying a long object. Can be fed to the transfer section without bending or uneven conveyance speed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a color copying apparatus capable of performing a long color copy with a simple configuration, in which a large inertial force does not act at the start and stop of feeding of a transfer sheet.

Means for Solving the Problems The above-mentioned problems are achieved by adding some apparatuses to the above-configured color copying apparatus proposed by the present applicant. According to the present invention, in a color copying apparatus having the above configuration, a transfer paper roll that can be fed to a paper feed position upstream of a transfer position with respect to a forward movement direction of a transfer paper reciprocating conveyance path and a paper feed of a transfer paper wound around the roll. Means, a transfer paper switching means which operates in synchronization with the length of the original drawing data is provided between the paper supply means and the paper supply position, and the transfer paper is sent out beyond both ends of the reciprocating transfer path of the transfer paper. Guide means for guiding the transfer paper so that the transfer paper portion is deflected downward so as to hang down is provided, and the transfer paper is wound around the transfer paper roll and the direction in which the transfer paper turns when the transfer paper hangs down. Are in the same direction.

According to the configuration described above, when a long color copy is to be taken, the transfer paper wound on the transfer paper roll is fed to the paper feed position of the transfer belt via the registration roller, and is synchronized with the length of the original drawing data. When the transfer paper is cut by the transfer paper cutting means, a long transfer paper having a desired length is cut out. The transfer paper is reciprocated a plurality of times beyond the transfer position in the same manner as the transfer paper of the normal size, and a color toner image of one color is transferred in each forward stroke.
If the transfer is performed in a superimposed manner on the same transfer sheet and a predetermined number of transfer operations are completed, the image is fixed by a fixing device to obtain a long color copy. When a long transfer paper is reciprocated by a transfer belt, the end of a reciprocal transfer path whose length is determined according to the maximum size of a sheet-like transfer paper usually used in this color copying machine is provided. Since the guide means is provided to guide the portion of the transfer paper sent out beyond the end so as to hang downward and deflect downward, the portion sent out beyond both ends of the reciprocating transport path of the long transfer paper is smoothly downward. , And hang down by its own weight, and it is pulled up and deflects along the transport path, and reciprocates smoothly. Since the long transfer paper is not wound on both ends, it is not necessary to rotate the roll when reciprocating, and the diameter of the winding does not change, so the control of the transport speed is easy, and the bending is easy. The occurrence of irritation is also reduced.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view showing an embodiment of the present invention in which some components are added to the color copying machine described in FIG. 6 based on the present invention. Therefore, members having the same functions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description will focus on the added points.

On the upstream side of the registration rollers 16, a paper feed conveyance path for long transfer paper by the transfer paper roll 41 is provided separately from the paper feed conveyance path from the paper supply cassette 14. A feed roller 42 for feeding the transfer paper from the roll 41 and a cutter 43 are sequentially provided.

The ends of the paper leading end guide plate 27 and the paper trailing end guide plate 28 provided on both sides in the transport direction of the transfer belt 17 reach the side wall of the copying machine housing, and the housing side wall of this portion is provided with an opening through which the transfer paper can pass. At the corner where the guide plate and the side wall of the housing intersect, guide rollers 45 and 46 which rotate extremely lightly are provided.

Further, in this embodiment, a slitter 47 and a cutter 44 are sequentially provided following the discharge port of the fixing device 31.

The operation of the apparatus for making a long color copy will be described with reference to FIGS.

In this case, the transfer paper web is pulled out from the transfer paper roll 41 by the feed roller 42, and the leading end of the image formed on the photoreceptor belt 1 by the registration roller 16 and the leading end of the transfer paper web are moved by the transfer charger 21 at the transfer position. The toner is sent out to the transfer belt 17 at the timing to be aligned, is attracted to the transfer belt, and is conveyed. The transfer charger 21 transfers the first color toner image formed on the photosensitive belt 1. When the transfer paper web is fed by the length based on the information on the length of the document, the cutter 43 operates at the position of the length, and the transfer paper web is cut. Since the cut transfer paper is longer than the maximum size transfer paper fed from the paper feed cassette 14, the front end of the transfer paper is fed out of the apparatus beyond the end of the paper front guide plate and guided by the guide rollers 45. It hangs outside the housing as indicated by reference numeral 51 in FIG.
At this time, the winding direction of the transfer paper roll 41 and the direction of deflection along the guide rollers 45 and 46 of the long transfer paper are the same direction, and the transfer paper can smoothly and reliably face downward.

When the transfer of the toner image of the first color is completed, the transfer belt 17 reverses at a high speed as in the case of the copy of the normal size, and when the transfer paper is returned, the portion hanging down from the guide roller 45 becomes the guide roller 45. , And is stopped when its leading end reaches a predetermined position beyond the transfer position. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the length of the transfer paper rear end portion exceeds the end of the paper rear end guide plate 28 as indicated by reference numeral 52.
The guide roller 46 deflects downward and hangs out of the apparatus housing. If the copy length is long, guide roller 45,
The end of the transfer paper that hangs outside the machine over 46 reaches the floor, and if the floor is dirty, the copy will be contaminated, so it is desirable to put an appropriate tray below or to support it by hand . The transfer of the second and subsequent colors is performed in the same manner. When the transfer of the predetermined number of times is started, the path switching member 26 is switched to the fixing device 31 side as shown in FIG. As shown in (1), it is introduced into the fixing device 31, and is fixed and discharged. In the case of a normal long copy, the slitter 47 and the cutter 44 are not used.

The slitter 47 and the cutter 44 are used as follows.

As shown in FIG. 5, when a small pattern 54 such as a card is repeatedly and continuously formed on a long transfer paper 53 (by easily inputting the same image information signal to the laser writing optical device 5 repeatedly, it is easily performed). It can be created.) By detecting a cutting mark (not shown) or based on another command, a slitter 44 provided at the fixing device discharge port is used to cut at a line indicated by broken lines 55 and 56 in FIG. Are obtained.

Effects As described above, according to the present invention, a roller feeding mechanism for correctly feeding a long transfer paper is added to a normal size superposition transfer type color copier by adding some components, thereby enabling a simple operation. With this configuration, long color copies can be made. In this case, the reciprocating transfer paper is conveyed with the both ends free while being cut to the length of the copy, so that the transfer paper is not bent or the conveyance speed is not uneven, and the conveyance is not started. A large inertial force does not act when the vehicle stops, and the drive source does not increase in size. In addition, since the curl formed on the roll paper and the direction in which the paper is deflected when it hangs down by the guide means are set to the same direction, the portion of the transfer paper sent out beyond both ends of the transfer paper reciprocating conveyance path is smooth and smooth. It can surely go down.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 to 4 are cross-sectional views illustrating the operation thereof, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the operation of a conventional color copying machine.
It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of an example 1 .... photoconductor, 5 ... writing optical system 6,8,10,12 ... Development roller 7,9,10,13 ... Each color developing device 14, a paper feed cassette, 16 regist roller 17 transfer belt 20 transfer charger 26 switching member 27 paper leading end guide plate 28 paper trailing end guide 31 fixing device 41 transfer paper roller 42 … Feed rollers (feeding means) 43, 44… Cutters (switching means) 45, 46… Guide rollers (guiding means) 47… Slitters

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-62-100359 (JP, A) JP-A-58-198062 (JP, A) JP-A-62-118366 (JP, A) 169564 (JP, U) Fully open sho 59-90954 (JP, U) Fully open sho 62-2564 (JP, U) (58) Fields studied (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G03G 13/01 G03G 15 / 01-15/01 117 B65H 31/00-31/40

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A transfer paper reciprocating conveyance path, which extends one transfer paper through a toner image transfer position along a photoreceptor and extends substantially linearly, passes the transfer position over the entire length of the reciprocating co-transfer paper. It is reciprocated a plurality of times, and the toner images of different colors sequentially formed on the photoreceptor based on the original drawing data in each forward process are superimposed and transferred onto the transfer paper in a position-aligned manner. In a color copying apparatus that discharges paper from a transfer paper reciprocating transport path and performs multicolor copying by fixing the transfer paper, the transfer paper can be fed to a paper feed position upstream of the transfer position in the forward direction of the transfer paper reciprocal transport path. A roll and a paper feeding means for the transfer paper wound around the roll are provided, and a transfer paper cutting means which operates in synchronization with the length of the original drawing data is provided between the paper feeding means and the paper feeding position. Feeds out both ends of the transfer paper reciprocating transport path Guide means for guiding the part of the transfer paper to be deflected downward so as to hang down, and the transfer paper is wrapped around the transfer paper roll and diverted when the transfer paper hangs down. A color copying apparatus, wherein the direction of the color copying is the same.