JPH02234171A - Printing and copying machine with auxiliary master drum - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To minimize the interruption of the printing operation for exchanging a master drum by providing the master drum with an unused master. CONSTITUTION:The master is incorporated in the drum 1 when this member is led to the drum outer surface and used with the master being continually wound up, and when there is no unused surface left, an auxiliary master drum 16 which is stored in a part of a main body etc. is used. That is, after mounting and fixing the detached master drum 1 with the used master on a drum stand 14, the auxiliary master drum 16 with the unused master stored separately is pulled out and mounted on a sliding rail assembly 13. Thus the interruption of the printing operation for exchanging the master can be minimized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a printing copying machine, and more particularly to a copying machine having both printing and copying functions.

[Conventional technology]

The present applicant has already proposed a dry type printing/copying machine having both printing and copying functions in Japanese Patent Application No. 80-278839. In this machine, the image signal of the retention method in the print mode is not generated from static electricity as in the past, but is generated from a toner image fixed on a photoreceptor. For this reason, in order to process the fixed toner image produced for each printing after its use, the photoreceptor is a master that is built into a master drum in the form of a roll and is placed on the outer surface of the master drum. The toner image fixed on the master is moved by winding the master into the master drum for each printing, while the unused side of the master is set on the surface of the master drum. It is composed of

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In such a printing/copying machine, when one roll of master is used up, the user of the printing/copying machine opens the front cover of the printing/copying machine, pulls out the master drum, and removes the end plate of the master drum. , the used master is removed, a new master is set in the master drum, the end plates are fixed, the master drum is inserted and fixed into the printing/copying machine, and the front cover is closed. Since this is a troublesome and time-consuming task for the user of the copying machine, this loss of exchange time is fatal when printing a plurality of originals is urgently required. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a device that can minimize interruptions in printing work due to master replacement in a printing/copying machine of this type in which a master is built into the master drum. .

[Summary of means to solve the problem]

In the present invention, as a result of studying the work procedure when replacing the master, it was found that in order for the user of a printing/copying machine to replace the master, the user must take out the master drum from the printing/copying machine.
There is work to replace the master in the master drum that has been taken out, and the work of resetting the master drum with the replaced master into the printing copying machine. Of these, the work that the printing and copying machine user mainly spends time on is Focusing on the work to replace the master on the master drum that has been taken out, in order to minimize the time for the above work, the master drum with the new master set should be placed in advance in the copying machine itself. It has been found that the problem can be solved by arranging it at or near it. Further, in the present invention, the time that the user of the printing/copying machine spends to take out the master drum from the printing/copying machine and the time spent resetting the new master drum with a new master installed in the printing/copying machine is further provided. We have also considered a configuration that can shorten the time, and have also considered ways to further shorten the overall time required for master exchange.

Originally, in a copying machine, the drum on which the photoreceptor is arranged can be used semi-permanently, so there is no need to equip the copying machine with a spare drum. In addition to the speed of copying, the compactness of the machine as an office machine is emphasized. Therefore, as in the present invention, an additional drum that can be handled by the user of the copying machine is provided in or near the main body of the copying machine. This would have been difficult for a person skilled in the art to predict. Moreover, it was completely unexpected to prepare a master drum with a new master set instead of simply arranging a spare drum. This is a significant invention in that it does not inhibit one major factor.

〔Example〕

The configuration of the present invention will be explained below along with examples.

FIG. 1 shows the internal structure of a printing/copying machine disclosed by the present applicant in Japanese Patent Application No. 80-276639. Reference numeral 1 denotes a master drum, and a master 2 contained therein is configured to be developed on the outer surface of the master drum 1. In addition to the charger 3, charger lamp 4, developer 6, and paper peeling unit 8 that are included in a normal copying machine, there are also a charger 3, a flash fixer 5, a transfer charger 7, and a transfer charger 7. It is equipped with The basic operation of this printing/copying machine is as follows.

When you select the copy mode and press the start button, the master drum 1 starts rotating at a medium speed, and this master drum 1
A master 2 developed from the inside on the outer surface of the master drum 2 is charged by a charger 3, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the original is formed on the master 2 by image exposure synchronized with the master drum 1. After developing this latent image with toner, the upper tray lO
Alternatively, a copy can be obtained by transferring the image onto a sheet of paper fed from the lower tray 11 and fixing it in the fixing device 9. In the case of copying, the master 2 can be reused after cleaning.

When the print mode is selected and the start button is pressed, the master drum 1 begins to rotate at a medium speed, the master 2 is charged with a charger, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the original is created by image exposure synchronized with the master drum 1. is formed on the master 2, and this latent image is developed to form a toner image. Next, the master drum 1 is rotated at a low speed, and the toner image on the master 2 is fixed by a flash fixing device 5. The plate made in this way is exposed to uniform exposure lamp 3 (also serves as a static elimination lamp).
The entire surface of master 2 is exposed to light, leaving only the toner image area charged. This is developed with toner in a developing device 6, transferred to paper, and fixed in a fixing device 9, thereby obtaining a print. After printing is completed, the used side of the master 2 is wound into the master drum 1, and the unused side is set.

Such printing continues, the master 2 continues to be wound up one after another, and when there is no unused side of the master 2, a master replacement message is displayed.

When this display appears, the user of the printing/copying machine opens the front cover 12 of the printing/copying machine as shown in FIG. 13 and pull it out to the front of the copier. Next, the master drum 1 is lifted upward from the rail assembly 13 and placed and fixed on a drum upright stand that is retractably arranged on the front side of the printing/copying machine (FIG. 3). In the case of printing that is not too urgent, remove the end plate 15 of the master drum 1 in this state and replace the used master 2 that is housed inside and covers the outer surface of the master drum 1 with a new master. After replacing it, the end plate 15 is set again.

On the other hand, if you want to continue printing immediately,
According to the present invention, a spare master drum 16 is used which is housed in a part of the main body of the copying machine, as shown by way of example in FIG.

That is, in such a case, after the master drum 1 with the used master 2 taken out from the printing/copying machine is placed and fixed on the drum stand 14, the unused master stored separately is placed. 16 spare master drums
is immediately pulled out and the slide rail assembly 17
placed on a shelf. Then, the slide rail assembly 17 carrying the master drum 1 is pushed into the main body of the printing/copying machine, and the front cover 12 is closed, so that the printing operation can be resumed and continued with only a short pause. Of course, while continuing this printing work, the master 2 of the master drum 1 mounted and fixed on the drum erecting stand 14 can be replaced.

In the above embodiment, the master drum with an unused master was placed inside the main body of the printing/copying machine, but this master drum may be installed in a cabinet disposed close to the printing/copying machine, for example, under the cabinet located at the bottom. cabinet,
Alternatively, it is of course possible to arrange it in a side cabinet arranged on the side. In either case, it is desirable to have a storage and retrieval system that allows the user of the printing/copying machine to quickly handle the spare master drum without damaging it. From this point of view, the slide rail assembly system for removing the master drum from the main body, as shown in Figure 2, is also effective for the Yosan master drum, especially from the viewpoint of ease of handling by the user. Therefore, it is convenient to have exactly the same configuration, and it is also advantageous in terms of the number of manufactured parts.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the master is built into the drum, and in a printing/copying machine having a type of master drum in which the master is used by being spread out on the outer surface of the drum, the used When replacing the master, there is no need to disassemble a part of the master drum and replace the master, which is a time-consuming process as in the past, so interruptions in printing work are minimized and efficient. Furthermore, the configuration for taking out the spare master drum prepared for this purpose can be the same as the configuration for taking out the main drum, so even users of printing/copying machines can quickly replace the master drum. death,
Advantages are also expected in the production of printing/copying machines, such as the fact that there is no need to increase the number of parts.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a front view with some parts removed to show the internal mechanism of the printing/copying machine, Figure 2 is a perspective view with the master drum removed, and Figure 3 shows the master drum on the stand. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the copying machine is placed and fixed, and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a spare master drum disposed within the main body of the copying machine as viewed from the front. 1 is the master drum, 2 is the master, 3 is the charge remover/charger,
4 is a static elimination lamp, 5 is a flash fixing device, 6 is a developing device,
7 is a transfer charger, 8 is a paper peeling unit, 9 is a fixing device, 10 is an upper tray, 11 is a lower tray, 12 is a front cover 1
3 is a slide rail assembly, 14 is a drum erecting sland, 15 is an end plate, and 16 is a spare master drum. Applicant Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Agent Patent Attorney Masaaki Yonehara

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) In a printing/copying machine that has a master drum in which the master is built into the drum and the master is used by being spread out on the outer surface of the drum, a spare master drum containing an unused master is used. A printing/copying machine characterized by: (2) The printing/copying machine according to claim 1, wherein the spare master drum is provided within the main body of the printing/copying machine. (3) The printing/copying machine according to claim 1, wherein the spare master drum is arranged in a cabinet attached to the printing/copying machine.