JPH02213874A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To write information at the same time that an original picture is formed and to use a normal image forming device so as to reduce costs by permitting a shutter means to shield light from a scanning means which irradiates an original, and writing required information on the surface of an image carrier where the light is shielded. CONSTITUTION:A first carriage 411 is provided with a shutter unit 71; a shutter 78 provided on the shutter unit 71 is inserted into light which is generated from an exposure lamp 4 and irradiates the original, thereby shielding a part of the light. And a character is written on the surface of a photosensitive drum 10, which corresponds to the shielded part, by a LED array 81c provided on a writing unit 81. Therefore, the required character can be written at the same time that the original picture is copied, also the character can be written by means of a normal copying machine; and thus, manufacturing costs can be reduced compared to a digital copying machine.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is applied to, for example, an electronic copying machine, and is particularly applicable to an image on which arbitrary characters can be written in addition to copying an original image. The present invention relates to a forming device.

(Prior Art) Recently, electronic copying machines have been developed that are capable of writing information such as characters on a copied image that is different from the original image.

However, this type of electronic copying machine, for example, first copies an original image onto a sheet of paper, then guides the sheet on which this original image has been copied to the image forming section again, and in this state, another image is first formed. It was meant to be written in the original image. Therefore, two processes are required: copying the original image and writing other image information, and the image forming speed is slow.

On the other hand, in a so-called digital copying machine that reads an original image, converts it into an electrical signal, and forms an image according to this electrical signal, as the original image is copied, other characters such as characters are printed on the paper on which the original image is formed. It is possible to write information. However, in this case, the manufacturing cost of the device was higher than that of a normal electronic copying machine.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) This invention solves the problem that it is difficult to easily form required information together with a document image, and its purpose is to solve the problem that it is difficult to easily form required information together with a document image. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus that can easily write arbitrary characters and the like on a sheet of paper in addition to forming an original image.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention exposes and scans a document placed on a document table by irradiating light onto the document placed on a document table by a scanning means, and transfers a latent image corresponding to the document image to an image carrier. In an image forming apparatus, the latent image formed on the image carrier is developed into a visible image by a developing means, and the developed visible image is transferred to a transfer material by a transfer means, a shutter means provided in a visible range from the document table to block part of the light irradiated onto the document from the scanning device; and a surface of the image carrier from which the light from the document is blocked by the shutter means. and a writing means for writing a desired image on the portion.

(Function) In the present invention, light irradiated from the scanning means to the original is blocked by the shutter means, and necessary information is written by the writing means onto the surface portion of the image carrier from which the light from the original is blocked by the shutter means. By writing, necessary information can be written together with the operation of forming a document image, and furthermore, by using a normal image forming apparatus, costs can be reduced.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 15 and 16 schematically show an image forming apparatus of the present invention, such as a copying machine. That is, 1 is a main body of a copying machine, and a document table (transparent glass) 2 for supporting a document is fixed to the upper surface of the main body 1. The document table 2 is provided with a fixed scale 21 that serves as a reference for setting the document.
Furthermore, a document cover 11 that can be opened and closed is provided near the document table 2.
is provided.

The original placed on the document table 2 is exposed and scanned by an optical system consisting of an exposure lamp 4 and mirrors 5, 6, and 7 reciprocating along the lower surface of the document table 2 in the direction of arrow a. It is now possible to do so. In this case, mirror 6.7
moves at half the speed of the mirror 5 so as to maintain the optical exposure length. The light reflected from the original by the scanning of the above optical system,
In other words, the light reflected from the original by the exposure lamp 4 is reflected by the mirror 5.6.7, passes through the variable magnification lens block 8, is further reflected by the mirror 9192.93, and hits the photosensitive drum 10. The image of the document is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10.

The photosensitive drum 10 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure, and first, the surface is charged by the charging device 11, and then the image is exposed to slit light at the exposure section Ph.
An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface. This electrostatic latent image is
2, the toner is applied and visualized.

On the other hand, sheets of paper (material to be transferred) are taken out one by one from the selected upper paper feed cassette 131 or lower paper feed cassette 132 by the feed rollers 14], 142 and the pair of rollers 151, 152, and the paper guide path 161, '162, and is guided to a pair of registration rollers 17, and guided to a transfer section by this pair of registration rollers 17.

Here, the paper feed cassettes 131, 13□ are removably provided at the lower right end of the main body 1, and one of them can be selected on the operation panel described later. In addition, each of the paper feed cassettes 131 and 132 is
The cassette size is detected by cassette size detection switches 601 and 602, respectively.

The cassette size detection switches 601 and 602 are composed of a plurality of microswitches that are turned on and off according to the insertion of cassettes of different sizes.

Furthermore, a manual feed guide 13a is provided on the upper surface of the paper feed cassette 131.
The paper manually inserted through the feed roller 14a
The sheet is guided to the pair of rollers 151 by the roller pair 151, and is then conveyed in the same manner as sheets fed from the sheet feed cassette 13.

On the other hand, the paper sent to the transfer section comes into close contact with the surface of the photoreceptor drum 10 at the transfer charger 18, so that the toner image on the photoreceptor drum 10 is transferred by the action of the charger 18. . This transferred paper P is transferred to the peeling charger 1
It is electrostatically peeled off from the photoreceptor drum 10 by the action of step 9 and conveyed by a conveyor belt 20, and is sent to a fixing roller 21 as a fixing device provided at the end of the conveyor belt. The image is fixed. After fixing, the sheet is discharged to a tray 25 outside the main body 1 by a pair of delivery rollers 22. Further, after the photosensitive drum 10 has been transferred, residual toner on the surface thereof is removed by a cleaner 26, and any residual image is erased by a static elimination lamp 27, so that the photosensitive drum 10 returns to its initial state. Two cooling fans are used to prevent the temperature inside the main body from rising. Further, the exposure lamp 4 and the mirror 5 are provided in the first carriage 411, and the mirror 6.7 is provided in the second carriage 412.

On the other hand, the first carriage 411 is provided with a shutter unit 71 that is movable in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the first carriage 41.

This shutter unit 71 is a writing unit 8 which will be described later.
1, when writing required characters, etc. into a copied image, the writing position is specified prior to the copying operation, and during the copying operation, the exposure lamp for the original image is set according to the specified writing position. It plays a role of blocking light from 4.

Further, a writing unit 81 is provided between the exposure section ph and the developing device]2. This writing unit 81
In addition to the copying operation of the original image, the copying operation also writes necessary characters and the like on the paper on which the original image is to be formed. Details of this writing unit 81 will be described later.

FIG. 17 shows an operation panel 30 provided on the copying machine main body 1.
This shows that. 30. 302 is a copy key for instructing the start of copying, and 302 is for setting the number of copies and the writing unit 8]
302 is a display that displays the numbers and characters entered from the numeric keypad 302, and 303 is a display that displays the operating status of each part and paper jams, etc. 304 is a cassette selection key for selecting the upper and lower cassettes 13] 132; 305 is a cassette display section for displaying the selected cassette; 306 is a magnification setting key for setting the copy magnification; 30
7 is a zoom key to set the copy magnification steplessly 30. 309 is a density setting section for setting the copy density; 30a to 30d are operation keys 30e to be operated to move the shutter unit 71 to a predetermined position; The position designation key 30f for inputting the position where the character is written is operated when writing a desired character by the writing unit 81.The writing mode setting section 30g sets the numeric keypad 302 to the character manual mode in the writing mode. This is a function switch key.

1 and 2 show the shutter unit 71. FIG. This shutter unit 71 is slidably provided on a guide shaft 72, and this shutter unit 71 is connected to a timing belt (toothed belt) 73 disposed along the guide shaft 72. This timing belt 73 is passed between a pulley 75 provided on the rotating shaft of a pulse motor 74 and a driven pulley 76. Therefore, by rotating the pulse motor 74, the shutter unit 71 is moved along the longitudinal direction of the exposure lamp 4 (in the direction of arrow X in the figure). Further, the guide shaft 72
A sensor 77 consisting of a microswitch that detects the initial position of the shutter unit 71 is provided near one end of the shutter unit 71 . Furthermore, the first carriage 411 is connected to the motor 4
3 in the direction of the arrow y in the figure.

Further, the shutter unit 71 is provided with a shutter member 78 that can be freely moved in and out of the shutter unit 71. This shutter member 78, as shown in FIG.
The shutter unit 7 is attached to a plunger 71b that constitutes a solenoid plunger 71a provided inside the shutter unit 7. Normally, the solenoid 71c of this solenoid plunger 71a is in an off state, and the plunger 71b
is pulled into the inside of the solenoid 71c by a spring (not shown). Furthermore, when the solenoid 71c is turned on, the plunger 71b is projected from the solenoid 7'lc. Therefore, the tip of the shutter member 78 enters into the optical path of the exposure lamp 4, and when the exposure lamp 4 is turned on, part of the light generated from the exposure lamp 4 and irradiated onto the document table 2 is blocked. .

FIG. 4 shows the writing unit 81.

This writing unit 81 is movably provided on guide shafts 82 and 83 disposed along the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum 10. Pulleys 84.85 are provided near both ends of the guide shaft 82.83, and a timing belt 86 is stretched around these pulleys 84.85. The writing unit 81 is fixed to this timing belt 86. The pulley 85 is driven by a motor 87.
By driving the writing unit 81, the writing unit 81 is moved along the photosensitive drum 10 via the timing belt 86.

FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the writing unit 81. Inside this writing unit 81, a printed wiring board 8 is provided.
1a is provided, and this printed wiring board 81a has a board 8
1b is provided. As shown in FIG. 6, this substrate 81b is provided with a light emitting diode array (hereinafter referred to as LED array) 81C. This light emitting diode array 8 ], C is opposed to the photoreceptor drum 10 .

This LED array 8], C is composed of a plurality of LEDs 81d arranged along the longitudinal direction of the photoreceptor drum 10, and the total length A of this LED array 81c is 1 of the maximum copy width of the photoreceptor drum 10. /2. This LED array 81c, as shown in FIG.
The lights are selectively turned on in response to signals corresponding to characters and the like supplied from an LED driving section, which will be described later, via a flat cable 81e. Further, inside the writing unit 81, a light focusing lens 81f is provided that guides the light generated by the LED array 81c to the surface of the photoreceptor drum 10.

Next, the photosensitive drum 1 is turned on by the LED array 81c.
The relationship between the image formed on the photosensitive drum 10 and the portion of the incident light Bi incident on the photosensitive drum 10 that is blocked by the shutter 78 will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the total length A of the LED array 81c is longer than the width B of the shutter 78 by δ in each end direction.

When the width B of the shutter 78 is made equal to or shorter than the total length A of the LED array 81c, the incident light Bi is blocked by the shutter 78, and the width of the charge remaining on the photoreceptor drum 10 becomes the total length of the LED array 81c. It will be longer than A. For this reason, the LED arrays 8 ], c cannot erase all of this charge, and when the developing device 12 develops, the portions corresponding to both ends of the LED array 81c remain as black lines.

However, as mentioned above, the total length A of the LED array 81c is
By making the width B of the shutter 78 longer by δ in each end direction, it is possible to prevent charges from remaining unerased.

That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the LEDs of the LED array 81c
81d, the part corresponding to the character is turned off, and the part other than the character is turned on. The width C of the character is the width B of the shutter 78
It has been narrower. Therefore, within the width C of the character, the portion where the LED 81d is turned off is located on the photosensitive drum 10.
When the charge remains and is developed by the developing device 12, the characters are visualized as shown in FIG. In addition, since the LEDs 81d corresponding to both ends of the character width C are all turned on, the charges in the corresponding parts are erased, and unnecessary black lines are not generated in the parts corresponding to both ends of the character width C. It's something that doesn't exist.

On the other hand, the incident light Bi reflected from the original set on the original platen 2 and incident on the photoreceptor drum 10 is provided closer to the LED array 81c in the rotational direction of the photoreceptor drum 10. Therefore, depending on the relationship between the insertion timing of the shutter 78 into the optical path of the exposure lamp 4 and the lighting timing of the LED array 81c, the shutter 78 may
The image corresponding to the tip of 8 disappears and remains. Therefore, the insertion timing of the shutter 78 and the lighting timing of the LED array 81c are set as follows.

In FIG. 10, when writing characters etc. in the copied image,
The LED array 8]c is turned on Δt1 hours before the shutter 78 is inserted, and then the shutter 78 is inserted into the optical path of the exposure lamp 4.

Here, tl is the time required until the shutter 78 is completely inserted into the optical path. In this state, when characters, etc. are written and the writing of characters, etc. is finished, the shutter 78 is first pulled out from the optical path of the exposure lamp 4 (t2
After the shutter 78 is closed, the LED array 8 ], c is turned off after Δt2 time has elapsed.

By controlling the lighting of the LED array 81c at such timing, it is possible to prevent the image corresponding to the tip portion of the shutter 78 from remaining unerased.

FIG. 11 shows the configuration of the main parts of the control system. The control section 91 controls the entire copying machine, and the operation panel 30 is connected to this control section 91, and a plurality of dots corresponding to characters specified by the operation of the operation panel 30 are connected to the control section 91. A character generator 92 that generates a character pattern, a memory 93 in which operating programs for the control section 91, etc. are stored, a drive motor 74 for the Nyatta unit 71, a drive motor 43 for the first carriage 411, and a drive for the writing unit 71. A motor drive circuit 94 that drives and controls the motor 87 etc., a solenoid drive circuit 95 that drives and controls the drive solenoid 71c of the shutter 78, and the LED array 81c in response to character signals supplied from the character generator 82. LED drive circuit 9 for lighting control
6. A lamp control section 97 that controls turning on and off of the exposure lamp 4 is connected.

The operation of the above configuration will be explained with reference to FIG. 12.

If the write mode setting key 30f of the operation panel 30 is not operated, the copying operation described above is performed by operating the copying key 301 (step STI, 2).
) On the other hand, when the write mode setting key 30f is operated, the character write mode is set. In this character writing mode, for example, first, the numeric keypad 30 □ of the operation panel 30 is
The required characters are entered manually (step 5T3). In this case, when the function switching key 30g of the operation panel 30 is operated, the keys corresponding to the numbers "1" to "10" on the numeric keypad 302 correspond to the alphabets "A" to "J",
Furthermore, if you operate the function selector key 30g, "1" to "1" will be displayed.
The keys corresponding to the number 0" correspond to the following alphabets.

In this way, when you change the function of the numeric keypad 302 and input the desired character, the input character will be displayed on the display 30□
1 and stored in the memory 93.

Next, the writing position of the input character is input (steps ST4 to ST8). The writing position is manually designated by operating the operation keys 30a to 30d and the position designation key 30e of the operation panel 30 to move the shutter unit 71.

That is, as shown in FIG. 13, when any of the operation keys 30a to 30d is operated with the original OG set face up on the original table 2 (step 5T4), the motor 74.43 is driven by the motor drive circuit 85. At the same time, the exposure lamp 4 is controlled by the lamp control section 97.
The light is turned on at a lower brightness than when exposing the original, and the solenoid 7 ], c is turned on by the solenoid drive circuit 95, and the shutter 78 is inserted into the optical path of the exposure lamp 4 (step ST5.6.7). Therefore, the original 0. A shadow of the shutter 78 is projected onto G, and this shadow is moved according to the operation of the operation keys 30a to 30d.

In the above state, the shutter 78 is moved to the writing start position (X
+, Yl), press position designation key 3.
When 0e is operated (step 5T8), that position is stored in the memory 93 as the writing start position, and then the motor 87 is driven by the motor drive circuit 94 and the writing unit 81 is moved to the position Xl as shown in the figure. (Step 5T9). Also, at this time, the solenoid 71c is turned off by the solenoid drive circuit 95, and the first carriage 411 is moved to the copying start position.

When the copy key 301 is operated with the writing start position specified in this way (Sterap 5T10),
A copying operation is started (step 5TI1.). In this copying operation, when the exposure scanning position of the original approaches the specified writing start position (yl), the LED drive circuit 9
6, all the LEDs of the LED array 81c are lit (
Step 5T12) When 611 hours have passed in this state, the solenoid drive circuit 95 causes the solenoid 71 to
c is turned on, and the shutter 78 is inserted into the optical path of the exposure lamp 4 (step 5T13).

Then, when time t1 has elapsed, the LED array 81C is selectively turned on according to the written information (step 5T1
4).

That is, the character generator 92 sequentially generates character patterns corresponding to the set characters, and among the generated character patterns, - column position information is sent to the LED drive circuit 96.
The light is sequentially supplied to the LED array 81c via the LED array 81c. And L E D 71 C of the part corresponding to the character pattern
By turning off the light, an electric charge corresponding to the character pattern remains on the photoreceptor drum ]0.

In this way, when the writing of characters by the LED array 81c is completed, the solenoid 71c is deenergized by the solenoid drive circuit 95, and the shutter 78 is opened to the exposure lamp 4.
(Step 5T15). After the shutter 78 is completely removed from the optical path, when Δt2 time has elapsed, the LED drive circuit 96 drives the LED array 8.
1c is turned off (step 5T16).

The characters formed on the photoreceptor drum 10 along with the copying of the original image are then developed by the developing device 12, transferred and fixed onto the paper, and then placed on the paper output tray of the copying machine main body 1.
5 (step 5T17).

FIG. 14 shows an image copied as described above, in which an original image is formed on paper P and required characters are written at designated positions.

According to the embodiment described above, the first carriage 411 is provided with the shutter unit 71, and the shutter 78 provided on the shutter unit 71 is inserted into the light emitted from the exposure lamp 4 and irradiated onto the document. A portion of the photosensitive drum 10 is blocked, and an LED array 81c provided in the writing unit 81 is used to write on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 corresponding to the blocked portion.
I'm trying to write letters. Therefore, it is possible to write the required characters at the same time as copying the original image, and since the characters can be written using a normal copying machine, the manufacturing cost is lower than that of a digital copying machine. is possible.

Further, the writing position of characters can be specified on the document set on the document table 2 by the shutter 78 of the shutter unit 71. Therefore, the writing position can be specified easily and reliably, and there is an advantage that a separate display or the like is not required for specifying the writing position.

Furthermore, the longitudinal direction irradiation box area A of the photoreceptor drum 10 of the LED array 81c is set wider than the longitudinal width B of the photoreceptor drum 10 of the shutter 78. Therefore, it is possible to prevent images of the shutter 78 corresponding to both ends of the photoreceptor drum 10 in the longitudinal direction from remaining unerased.

Further, the shutter 78 sets the width B of the photoreceptor drum 10 in the longitudinal direction to be wider than the width C of characters, etc. formed by the LED array 81c. Therefore, information such as characters to be written will not be missing, and writing can be performed reliably.

Further, when writing information such as characters, the LED array 81c is turned on prior to the insertion operation of the shutter 78, and is turned off after the closing operation. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the image corresponding to the tip of the shutter 81C from remaining unerased.

Note that this invention is not limited to the above embodiments,
Of course, various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the light irradiated from the scanning means to the original is blocked by the shutter means, and the light from the original is blocked by the shutter means. By writing the required information on the surface portion using a writing means, the required information can be written along with the operation of forming the original image, and furthermore, by using a normal image forming device, costs can be reduced. It is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that can perform the following operations.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 each show one embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the main parts showing the shutter unit, FIG. 2 is a side view of the main parts showing the shutter unit, and FIG.
Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the main parts of the writing unit, Figure 5 is a side view showing the main parts of the writing unit, and Figure 6 is a plan view showing the configuration of the LED array. , Figures 7 to 9 show the shutter and LED, respectively.
Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the main part, Fig. 8 is a side view of the main part, Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the relation between the shutter and the LED array, and Fig. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between the shutter and the LED array. FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing the control system; FIGS. 12 to 14 are diagrams explaining the operation; FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the relationship between insertion timing and lighting timing of the LED array; , and 16 respectively show the configuration of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 15 is an external perspective view, FIG. 16 is a side sectional view, and FIGS. FIG. 1... Copying machine main body, 4... Exposure lamp, 10...
Photosensitive drum, 12...Developer, 30...Operation panel, 71...Shutter unit, 78...Shutter, 71a...Solenoid plunger, 81...Writing unit, 81c... LED array, 91...control unit, 92...character generator, 97...lamp control unit, B
i...Incoming light. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) The scanning means irradiates light onto the document placed on the document table and scans it with light to form a latent image corresponding to the document image on the image carrier, and the latent image formed on the image carrier is In an image forming apparatus that develops a visible image using a developing means and transfers the developed visible image to a transfer material using a transfer means, the image forming apparatus is provided within a visible range from the document table, and the document is transferred from the scanning means to the image forming apparatus. a shutter means for blocking part of the light irradiated to the document; and a writing means for writing a desired image on the surface portion of the image carrier where the light from the document is blocked by the shutter means. An image forming apparatus characterized by: (2) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shutter means is provided on the scanning means so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to a moving direction of the scanning means.