JPH01179068A - Electrophotographic copying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attach and detach a data imprinting device to a copying machine if necessary by forming an electrifying device for imprinting data and an exposing device for imprinting data into a unit. CONSTITUTION:The electrifying device 202 for imprinting of an imprinting head 201 reelectrifies a part of a photosensitive body and the LED array 203 for imprinting imprints the data. The imprinting head 201 is incorporated in a unit case 213, which has projection parts 215 and 216 in its longitudinal direction. And said projection parts are placed on guiding members 302 and 303 provided on a data imprinting unit mount part R which is above a developing device 104a in the copying machine main body so as to slide along the guiding members. Thus, the data imprinting device can be attached and detached according to the requirement of a user or when required.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an electrophotographic copying machine, and particularly to a copying machine capable of imprinting data onto a copied image.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art Electrophotographic copying machines equipped with a data imprinting device have been known for some time. A data imprinting device for this type of copying machine is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 130782-1982 and 136769-1980,
When exposing an original image onto a photoreceptor, a data imprinting area on the photoreceptor is blocked by a movable member such as a shutter, and data is imprinted onto the area by an exposure device for data imprinting.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

Such a data imprinting device has a movable part such as a shutter, and it is difficult to integrate the movable part and the exposure device for data imprinting, so it is difficult to unitize the data imprinting device. there were. For this reason, this data imprinting device was installed in copying machines from the beginning and could not be attached or removed. However, the data imprinting device is expensive, and in addition, some users do not need the data imprinting device. Therefore,
There has been a strong desire for a copying machine in which a data imprinting device can be attached and detached as needed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a copying machine in which a data imprinting device can be attached and detached according to the user's needs.

[Means for solving problems]

As a result of extensive research, the inventor of the present invention has determined that the data imprinting device does not employ a movable part such as a shutter, and the data imprinting device charges the data imprinting area on the photoreceptor after exposing the original image. It was discovered that if it is equipped with a charging device for printing data and a data imprinting exposure device for imprinting data in the imprinting area, it can be easily made into a unit. The present invention was completed by discovering that the unit can be attached to and detached from a copying machine according to the requirements.

That is, the present invention provides a charging device for data imprinting that charges a data imprinting area on a photoreceptor after exposing an original image;
To provide an electrophotographic copying machine, characterized in that the electrophotographic copying machine is equipped with a data imprinting unit mounting part to which a data imprinting unit including a data imprinting exposure device for imprinting data in the imprinting area can be attached and detached. It is.

[For production]

According to the copying machine of the present invention, the user can attach or detach the data imprinting unit prepared for the copying machine to the data imprinting unit mounting portion of the copying machine as necessary. When the unit is installed, the imprinting charging device in the unit charges the data imprinting area on the photoreceptor after exposing the original image, and the data imprinting exposure device imprints data such as characters on the charged area. Write as a latent image. In this way, the original image and the data latent image are both developed and transferred to the transfer material, and finally a copy image in which data is imprinted on a predetermined portion is obtained.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic structure of the photosensitive member and its vicinity of the copying machine according to the embodiment. The photoreceptor drum 100 is driven and rotated at a predetermined speed in the direction of arrow A, and the original image is copied onto a sheet of paper by each element arranged around the photoreceptor.

Each of these elements will be explained below along with the electrophotographic process.

First, the photoreceptor 10 is charged by the main charger 101.
Charge 0. Next, the photoreceptor 1 is exposed by the exposure means 102.
The original image is exposed on 00. Since various exposure methods are already known, their explanations will be omitted here. The portions irradiated with light by the exposure means 102 are neutralized depending on the characteristics of the photoreceptor 100, and the other portions remain charged, thus forming a latent image on the photoreceptor 1004.

The inter-image eraser 103 is composed of, for example, an LED array, and selectively exposes the photoreceptor 100 to light corresponding to unnecessary portions of the document, thereby eliminating static from latent images in the portions of the document that do not need to be copied.

A unitized imprinting device 200 is removably mounted on the imprinting unit mounting section R.

This unit is for imprinting data such as predetermined characters on a part of the image corresponding to the original on the photoreceptor, and the details thereof will be described later.

Subsequently, toner is attached to the latent image in the developing device 104a, and development is performed. The timing roller 105 is a roller that takes timing to align the leading edge of the developed original image and the leading edge of the copy sheet.The sheet that has passed this roller is guided by a guide plate 106 and sent to the transfer section. In the transfer section, the developed toner image is transferred to the transfer unit 107.
The image is transferred onto a sheet of paper by the separation charger 108, and then the sheet of paper is separated from the photoreceptor 100 by the separation charger 108. Photoreceptor 1
The toner remaining on the toner 00 is collected by a cleaner 109, and the potential remaining on the photoreceptor is eliminated by an eraser 110. Thereafter, the photoreceptor 100 is charged again by the charger 101, and the above process is repeated.

Next, the relationship between the photosensitive drum 100 and the imprinting unit 200 will be explained in more detail with reference to FIG. 2 and the like.

Note that, in the unit 200, FIG. 2 shows only the imprinting head 201, which is composed of an imprinting charging device 202 and an imprinting LED array 203.

The charging device 202 and the LED array 203 are integrally coupled so that they are both directed toward the photoreceptor 100. By integrally configuring them in this manner, the accuracy of the positional relationship between the two is improved, and data can be imprinted with greater accuracy.

As shown in FIG. 2, the photosensitive drum 100 is indicated by the arrow (A).
While rotating in the direction, the document image is charged by the main charger 101, and the document image is exposed by the exposure means 102 before the eraser 103. The eraser 103 removes the electric potential of the unnecessary portion, and the latent image of the document image is completed. .

The imprinting charging device 202 of the imprinting head 201 re-charges a part of the photoreceptor, and the imprinting LED array 20
Step 3: Imprint the data.

This imprint head 201 is shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 5.
As shown in the figure, it is built into the unit case 213,
The opening 214 (see FIGS. 1 and 5) facing the photoreceptor of the case faces the surface of the photoreceptor 100, and extends along the direction of the rotation axis of the photoreceptor drum in a direction perpendicular to the rotation direction of the photoreceptor drum. (B or B) (see FIGS. 2 and 3). The drive device for movement will be described in more detail later.

The mechanism for moving the imprint head 201 in the direction (B or B'') along the photoreceptor 100 is as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

Imprint head 20 built into unit case 213
1 is attached to a belt 205 that moves the head left and right. The belt 205 is placed around a drive pulley 211 and a driven pulley 212, and these pulleys are rotatably supported in a unit case 213 by bearings (not shown).

The drive pulley 211 is driven by a gear 206.20 by a stepping motor 204 supported within the unit case 213.
It is designed to be driven reciprocatingly via 7.

Further, the imprinting head 201 moves in the direction of the B-B' force.
A photo ink printer 2°8 for detecting the reference position of the imprint head is provided at one end of the movement range of the ink head.
When the imprinting head 201 reaches the reference position, a light shielding plate 209 that shields the photo ink printer from light is attached to the head 201.
is attached to.

The position of the imprinting radar 201 is determined by how many pulses the stepping motor 204 is rotated from the position where the light shielding plate 209 shields the photo ink club 208 from light.

The imprint unit 200 is removably attached to the main body of the copying machine. The situation is shown in FIG. Fourth
The figure is a schematic explanatory diagram of the copying machine 300 with the front door 301 open. As explained in FIG. 1, various elements are arranged around the photoreceptor 100, and the imprinting unit 200 can be attached to and detached from the main body of the copying machine in the direction of arrow Q in the figure.

This detachable feature will be further explained with reference to FIGS. 1 and 5.

Although various attachment/detachment mechanisms can be employed, the following are employed here. That is, the unit case 213 of the unit 200 is arranged in the longitudinal direction, that is, in the direction of the photoreceptor 10.
Convex portions 215 and 216 are provided on both side portions that are to be arranged parallel to 0.

These protruding stripes are placed on guide members 302 and 303 provided in the data imprinting unit mounting portion R (see FIG. 1) above the developing device 104a in the main body of the copying machine, and are placed along the guides. It is slidable, and thus the unit 200 can be attached to and detached from the unit mounting portion R.

In addition, in this embodiment, the imprinting unit is compatible with a second unitized developing unit 104b (see FIG. 6), which will be described later, and it can be easily converted to monochrome or composite by simply replacing the unit. It is now possible to make multicolor copies.

FIG. 6 shows a state in which the second developing unit 104b is attached to the portion R of the copying machine 300 where the imprinting unit 2°O is attached. As can be seen from this figure, the developing unit 104b has substantially the same external shape as the imprinting unit 200, and is also provided with the same protrusions 215 and 216 as in the imprinting unit. The unit 104b is guided by the aforementioned guide members 302 and 303 inside the copying machine main body, so that the entire unit 104b is detachable from the copying machine.

In other words, the imprinting unit 200 is a copying machine configured to be able to be used interchangeably with a removable developing device at any time for a copying machine having a plurality of developing devices including one that is removably attached to the main body of the copying machine. It is an included unit. Such a data imprinting unit does not need to be provided with a dedicated mounting section for the data imprinting unit in the copying machine, and can be mounted by advantageously using the developer mounting section as it is.

Next, operation control of the imprinting unit 200 will be explained.

First, the configuration of the imprint unit control circuit shown in FIG. 7 will be explained.

This control circuit is centered around a microcomputer 21 (hereinafter simply referred to as "CPU21"), and the CPU
The U input terminal is connected to a host microcomputer 22 (hereinafter simply referred to as "host CP") which controls the operation of the entire copying machine.
The imprint data, information on the imprint position, and timing signal are input from the U22J, and the imprint data is input to the L for actual imprinting.
A character ROM 23 for converting on/off information of the ED array 203 is connected. A signal from a sensor (photo ink labeler) 208 that detects the reference position of the imprinting unit 200 is also input. In addition, the imprint data such as characters and the imprint position are determined by the host CPU.
This is performed using input means on an operation panel (not shown) connected to 22.

On the other hand, from the output terminal of the CPU 21, a control signal for the motor 204 that drives the imprinting unit 200, an on/off signal for the imprinting charging device 202, and an imprinting LE
A control signal for the D array 203 is output. The LED array control signal is output via the shift register and driver.

The CPU 21 realizes data imprinting by controlling these signals. The part indicated by the letter P in FIG. 7 is mounted on the data imprinting unit 200, and therefore the connector 217 that connects various lines for supplying power to this part and communicating with this part is shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 5, it is provided in the unit 200, and
The copying machine main body is provided with a connector 304 to which the connector is attached and removed when the unit 200 is attached to and removed from the copying machine main body.

The flow from when imprint data is input from the CPU 22 until it is output to the imprint LED array 203 will be described with reference to FIG.

The character data to be imprinted is transferred from the CPU 22 to the AS
When the CII code is received, it is stored in character ROM2.
3 is developed into the bitmap data to be actually imprinted, and stored in the bitmap memory for imprinting. Furthermore, the bitmap data in this memory is sequentially sent to the LED array at a predetermined timing and is imprinted on the photosensitive drum 100.

Next, the operation of the CPU 21 is shown in FIGS. 9 to 13 and 15.
This will be explained using the flowchart shown in the figure.

In the following explanation, each step in each flowchart is represented by the letter "S" followed by the letter "0" (indicated by a number 0).For example, rslooJ means "step 5100J."

FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of the main routine for imprint control by the CPU 21.

First, necessary initial settings are made in 5100, and the process proceeds to 5101. In 5101, a routine timer that determines the length of one main routine is started. Thereafter, subroutines 5102 and 5103 are sequentially called. 51
02 is a subroutine that develops imprint data sent as code information from the host CPU 22 through serial communication into bitmap information for actually turning on/off the LED array. 5103 is a stepping motor 204 for moving the imprinting head 201 to a predetermined position.
This is a subroutine that controls the The above subroutine will be described in more detail later. Finally, in step 3104, the process loops until the routine timer ends, performs time adjustment, and returns to step 3101.

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of a subroutine for developing imprint data into a bitmap.

Here, first, at 5200, the bitmap expansion request flag is checked. This flag is set when the reception of imprint data sent from the host CPU 22 by a serial signal is completed by interrupt processing.When the flag is "O", it returns as is, and when it is "1", it returns to 5201. Afterwards, bitmap expansion processing will be performed.

At step 5201, one character of the data sent in the code is read out from the buffer, and at step 5202 it is converted into bitmap data corresponding to the code read from the character ROM 23.Furthermore, at step 5203, the bitmap data is converted to bitmap data. Store in the imprint data area.

At 5204, it is checked whether all the received code data has been converted into bitmaps. If not, the process returns to 5201 and the conversion process is repeated. If it has been converted, the process proceeds to 5205 and the request flag is reset. and return to the main routine.

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of a subroutine for controlling the stepping motor 204 for moving the imprint head 201.

First, at 5300, the values of counter 1 (CNTRI) and counter 2 (CNTR2) are compared. The value of counter 1 indicates the current head position, and the value of counter 2 indicates the target head position in terms of the number of steps of the stepping motor 204. If the comparison shows that the two are equal, the excitation of the stepping motor is turned off in step 3301. , return to the main routine.

Depending on the comparison result (if different, it is checked in 5302 whether or not excitation of the stepping motor is turned on; if it is off, it is turned on in 5303 and returns to the main routine. If excitation is turned on in 5302 is 5
Proceeding to step 304, the magnitude relationship between counter 1 and counter 2 is checked. If the number of steps in the counter 2, ie, the target position, is larger, the excitation signal for the stepping motor is shifted to the left in 5305, and the number of steps in the counter 11, ie, the number of steps in the current position, is incremented in 5306, and the process returns to the main routine. As a result, the stepping motor rotates by one step, and the imprint head 201 moves in a direction away from the reference position (direction B in FIGS. 2 and 3). Also, when counter 2 is smaller in 5304, conversely, 3
At 307, the excitation signal is shifted to the right, and at 5308, the counter 1 is decremented, and the process returns to the main routine. As a result, the imprinting head 201 moves in a direction (
2 and 3).

The imprinting position in the rotation axis direction (B-B' force direction of the photoreceptor 100, in other words, the target position of the imprinting head 201) is input from the host CPU 22 by a serial signal and determined by this motor control routine.

Note that the counters 1 and 2 are so-called soft counters.

The image area signal input from the host CPU 22 in FIG. 12, that is, as shown in FIG.
A flowchart of an interrupt processing routine using a signal notifying the arrival of the tip 701 of the upper layer image area 700 is shown.

When the image area signal falls from "Hi" to "Lo", an interrupt occurs and this processing routine is called.

First, in step 5400, the state of registers etc. before the interrupt is saved.Next, in step 5401, the LED array 20 of the imprinting head is saved.
3 is completely turned off, the process advances to 5402, and timer T1 is started. As shown in FIG. 14, this timer TI is set to the time tl from the tip 701 of the latent image area 700 on the photoreceptor 100 to the data imprinting position 702.

This timer value is predetermined in this embodiment.

Note that this timer value may be set at the time of initial input of the imprint position on the operation panel.
Next, restore the registers etc. that were saved in 5403,
Return to the routine before the interrupt.

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of the timer interrupt processing routine.

This processing routine includes timer T1 shown at 5402 in the flowchart of FIG. 12, timer T2 shown at 5505.5508.3514 in the flowchart of FIG.
When T3 and T4 start and end, an interrupt is generated and called.

First, in step 5500, the state of registers and the like before the interrupt is saved. Then, it is checked in step 5501 whether all the imprint data has been output, and if not, it is checked in step 5501.
If the process has ended, the process proceeds to 5511.

At 5502, it is checked whether the imprinting charging device 202 is on or off, and when it is off, the device 202 is turned on at 5503, the LED array 203 of the imprinting head 201 is fully lit at 5504, and the timer T3 is started at 5505. let This timer T3, as shown in FIG.
A time t2 required to erase a portion where the potential of the charging device 202 is unstable at startup is set. This avoids the occurrence of black streaks at the start of the data imprinting area.

Then, at 5506, the first line of imprint data is sent to the shift register of the imprint head, and at 5517
Proceed to. This one line of imprint data is output to the LED array 203 with the output of the next latch pulse.

When timer T2 ends, a timer interrupt is generated again.
Proceeding to 5500.5501, if the data output is not finished here, when the charging device 202 is on in 5502, a latch pulse of LED lighting data is outputted in 5507,
The imprint data sent to the shift register in advance is
The signal is output to the ED array 203 and the timer T3 is started at 5508.

As shown in FIG. 14, this timer T3 measures the length of one dot (l line width) t3 in the rotational direction of the photosensitive drum 100.
This is what determines. Next, it is further checked in 5509 whether all the imprint data has been output, and if there is any remaining data, the next line of imprint data is sent to the shift register in 5510, and if the data has ended, then it is checked. , proceed directly to 5517.

If the output of imprint data is completed in 5501, 35
Proceed to step 11, check whether the charging device 202 is on or off, and if it is on, turn on the LED array 203 of the imprint head in step 5512, turn off the device 202 in step 5513, and start timer T4 in step 5514. As shown in FIG. 14, the timer T4 (proceeding to step 5517) is set to a time t4 necessary to erase the unstable part of the potential when the charging device 202 is turned off. This prevents the occurrence of black streaks and the like at the end of the data imprinting area.

If the device 202 is off-line at 5511, it is LE at 5515.
The D array 203 is completely turned off, the timer is stopped in 5516, and the process proceeds to 5517. In 5517, the saved registers and the like are restored and the process returns to the routine before the interrupt. Note that the timer 5516 is a timer in the CPU 21 that operates to count the timer values t1 to t4 of the timer Tl-74.

FIG. 15 shows an interrupt routine for performing communication processing with the host CPU 22.

First, in 5600, the state of registers etc. before the interrupt is saved, and the process proceeds to 5601. In 5601, it is checked whether or not an error such as parity has occurred in the received data. If an error has occurred, the process proceeds to 5602. Perform error handling,
Proceed to 5607. Otherwise 5603 and 608
Analyzes the content of the data received.

As a result, the process advances to 5604 if the data is to be imprinted, and to 5609 if it is the imprint position.

When the imprint data is received, it is stored in the data buffer in step 3604. Then, it is checked in step 5605 whether reception of all data has been completed, and if it has been completed, a request flag is set in step 3606; otherwise, the process directly proceeds to step 5607. When this request flag is set, the imprint data is developed into a bitmap in the bitmap development subroutine.

When the imprint position is received, the position information is converted into the number of steps of the stepping motor at 3609, stored in counter 2 at 5610, and the process proceeds to 5607.

At step 5607, the registers and the like are restored to their pre-interrupt state, and the process returns to the pre-interrupt routine.

Although the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

For example, the structure of the data imprinting unit mounting portion of the copying machine and the structure of the imprinting unit to be attached to and detached from the copying machine are not limited to the above embodiments, and various other structures may be adopted.

Further, the structure of the charging device for imprinting is not limited to the charging device 202 in the above embodiment, and an appropriate charging device can be adopted as necessary in terms of the number of discharge wires and other points.
In addition to the LED array in the above embodiments, the exposure device for imprinting can also employ a laser scanner, a liquid crystal shutter, or the like, if necessary.

In the above description, the charging device for imprinting and the exposing device for imprinting are integrally combined and their positions are controlled by one driving device, and furthermore, they are compactly integrated into one case. Furthermore, it is compatible with removable developing units in copying machines having multiple developing units. However, the charging device for imprinting and the exposure device for imprinting may be provided separately without being combined integrally, and in that case, a driving device may be provided for one or both of them as necessary. Furthermore, the charging device for imprinting and the exposure device can each be fixedly provided at a fixed position in the unit case, and even if they are provided movably or fixedly. , the number of them can be determined arbitrarily, and when a plurality of them are provided, the arrangement can be devised as appropriate.

Furthermore, the data imprinting unit does not necessarily have to be compatible with the removable developing device of the copying machine; instead, a data imprinting unit mounting section is provided in the main body of the copying machine separately from the developing device, and the data imprinting unit can be attached and detached to the mounting section. It may be possible to do so.

When the data imprinting unit is detachably attached to the copying machine body, the structure of the data imprinting unit mounting part of the copier and the structure of the imprinting unit to be attached to and detached from the copying machine are not limited to the above embodiments. Various other structures may also be adopted. In short, any structure is sufficient as long as the unit can be attached to and detached from the mounting portion.

Further, the imprint data and the imprint position may be obtained from an external storage device such as an IC card.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, the data imprinting charging device charges the data imprinting area on the photoreceptor after exposing the original image, and the data imprinting exposure device imprints data on the imprinting area. This has the advantage that it is possible to provide an electrophotographic copying machine in which the data imprinting device can be attached or detached according to the user's request or as necessary.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of an electrophotographic copying machine equipped with a data imprinting unit, and Fig. 2 shows a photoconductor, main charging device, etc. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the drive device for the imprinting head; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing that the data imprinting unit is detachable from the copying machine body; FIG. 5 FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a mechanism for attaching and detaching the data imprinting unit to the copying machine body; FIG. FIG. 7 is a data imprinting unit control circuit diagram, and FIG. 8 is a data imprinting unit control circuit diagram after the data imprinting unit control microcomputer receives imprint data from the microcomputer that controls the entire operation of the copying machine. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the main routine of the microcomputer that controls the operation of the data imprinting unit. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the bitmap expansion processing subroutine. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the motor control subroutine. Flowchart, FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the image area interrupt processing routine, FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the timer interrupt processing routine, FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of the timing at which data is imprinted on the latent image area on the photoconductor, and FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the image area interrupt processing routine. The figure is a flowchart of the communication interrupt processing routine. 300...Electrophotographic copying machine, R...Mounting portion of data imprinting device, 100...Photoconductor, 101...Main charger, 102
. . . Original image exposure means, 103 . . . Inter-image eraser,
104a...Developer, 104b...Developer, 107...Transfer charger, 108...Separation charger, 109...Cleaner, 200...Data imprinting unit, 201...Data imprinting Head, 202... Charging device for data imprinting, 203...
LED array for data imprinting, 204... Stepping motor, 205... Belt, 206, 207... Gear, 208... Photo ink club, 209... Light shielding plate, 211, 212... Pulley, 213... Data imprint unit case, 215
．． 216...Convex strip on case 213, 302.30
3... A guide for the copying machine body, 21... A microcomputer that controls the data imprinting unit. Applicant Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. Figure 1 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 7, P Figure 8 Figure 9. Figure 10 Figure 13

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A data copying device equipped with a data imprinting charging device that charges a data imprinting area on a photoconductor after exposing an original image, and a data imprinting exposure device that imprints data on the imprinting area. An electrophotographic copying machine characterized by being equipped with a data imprinting unit mounting section that allows a data imprinting unit to be attached and removed.