JPH0270644A - Media sheet storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten an automatic loading distance so as to reduce generation of a jam by providing a means for hooking a media sheet, drawn out from a media cartridge, to be engaged with a conveying roller of a bucket drawn out from a main unit. CONSTITUTION:Under a condition that a bucket 2 is drawn out from a picture forming device main unit 1, a hole part 21b in the point end of a media sheet 31 is manually hooked to a protrusion-shaped guide 21a of a conveying roller (conveying sprocket) 21, provided in this bucket 2, successively by an order of approaching a media cartridge 3. Next the bucket 2 is intruded to this main unit 1, and the media sheet 31 is hooked by automatic loading to a conveying roller in the main unit 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (AL Industrial Field of Application) This invention provides a mechanism that automatically pulls out the leading edge of a media sheet stored in a media cartridge and guides it to a take-up shaft via a conveyance roller or the like. The present invention relates to an improvement in a media sheet storage device for storing the media sheet in an image forming apparatus equipped with the above.

(bl Conventional Technology) Using a media sheet coated with microcapsules containing a photocurable substance and a color-forming dye, and an image-receiving sheet coated with a developer that causes the color-forming dye to develop,
There is a method of forming an image (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-88739, etc.). In this method, a media sheet is image-formingly exposed, and then an image-receiving sheet is placed on the exposed area and pressure is applied to remove unhardened microcapsules. (Microcapsules that were not exposed to light) are destroyed, and the color-forming dye that flows out develops color to form a colored image on the image-receiving sheet.

Conventionally, the media sheet is wound in a roll around a supply shaft and housed in a media cartridge so as to be shielded from stray light. The film is then wound onto a winding shaft via a plurality of conveyance rollers, an exposure section where image-forming exposure is performed, and a pressure transfer section (pressure roller) where microcapsules are destroyed.

(The problem to be solved by the C1 invention is that the media cartridge is detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus, and when the media sheet runs out, the whole cartridge is replaced. At the time of this replacement, the media sheet inside the media cartridge is The tip of the image forming apparatus must be pulled out, passed through multiple conveyance rollers, an exposure section, and a pressure transfer section before being wound onto the take-up shaft. This poses a burden on the user, and in particular, pressure must be released when passing the media sheet through the pressure transfer section, resulting in a problem of increased work burden.

For this reason, conventionally, a stiff material was used for the leading edge of the media sheet, and the leading edge of the media sheet was automatically fed by the rotation of a conveyance roller (auto loading: Japanese Patent Application No. 181195/1983). Jitsugan Showa 63-
No. 89104, etc.).

However, there are many conveyance rollers inside the image forming apparatus, and when performing autoloading, J
AM (clogging) sometimes occurred.

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to pull out a part of the conveyance roller from the main body of the image forming apparatus, and to manually pull out the media sheet to the conveyance roller up to the pulled out part. To provide a media sheet storage device that is simple and can shorten autoloading distance.

(Means for Solving Problem d1) The present invention provides an image forming apparatus that winds a media sheet pulled out from a media cartridge onto a take-up shaft via a plurality of transport rollers by autoloading, wherein one of the transport rollers is closest to the media cartridge. A bucket including an arbitrary number of conveyance rollers and a media cartridge storage section is provided from the side, and this bucket is supported so as to be pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus, and a media sheet is engaged with the conveyance rollers provided in the bucket. It is characterized by having a means.

(e) Function In the media sheet storage device of the present invention, some of the transport rollers are provided on the bucket that is supported so as to be able to be pulled out from the image forming apparatus main body. All you have to do is manually hang the leading ends of the media sheets on the conveyance roller in order from the media cartridge, and since the bucket is pulled out, this work can be done easily. Once the media sheet is hung on the conveyance roller in the bucket, the bucket is pushed into the main body of the image forming apparatus, and then the media sheet is hung on the conveyance roller inside the main body of the image forming apparatus by auto-loading.

(f) Embodiment FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a copying machine equipped with a media sheet storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A document table 11 on which a document to be copied is placed is provided on the top surface of the copying machine body 1, and an optical system 12 including a light source, mirrors, lenses, etc. is provided below the document table 11. The optical system 12 scans the original on the original platen 11, and guides the reflected light to an exposure section, which will be described later, to expose the media sheet.

A pair of pressure rollers 13 are disposed approximately in the center of the copying machine body 1 and are pressed against each other. The pressure roller 13 is pressed with a high pressure of about 90 kg/am by a pressing mechanism including a spring and the like. A bucket 2 for storing a media cartridge is provided on the left side of the pressure roller 13. Bucket 2 has a box-like shape without a lid, and slider 2
a and 2b, it can be pulled out to the front of the copying machine main body (toward the front in the figure).

FIG. 2 is an external view showing the bucket 2 pulled out to the front of the copying machine main body 1. A media cartridge 3 is installed inside the box-shaped bucket 2. The media cartridge 3 includes a supply shaft 3a and a take-up shaft 3b. An unused media sheet 31 is wound around the supply shaft 3a, forming a media roll. This media roll is
It is protected by the frame of the media cartridge and the light blocking sheet 32 to prevent it from being exposed to stray light, but an opening 33 is formed at one end so that the media sheet 31 can be fed out. It has become. A roller 34 is provided in the opening 33, and the leading end of the media sheet is locked on this roller 34 when the media cartridge is new. The media cartridge 3 can be attached to and removed from the bucket 2 in the vertical direction. When replacing the media cartridge 3, first pull out the bucket 2 from the copier main body 1 to the front, take out the media cartridge 3 upward, and then install a new media cartridge. can. In addition, the bucket 2 is provided with a locking mechanism including a solenoid (not shown), and the supply shaft 3 is locked when necessary.
Lock a to stop feeding the media sheet.

A conveyance sprocket 21 is provided on the upper right side of the bucket 2. The conveyance sprocket 21 is a rotatable roller with protruding guides 21a provided at both ends thereof, and is one type of conveyance roller. - On the other hand, holes 21b are formed on both sides of the media sheet 31. This hole 21b
is engaged with the guide 21, and as the conveying sprocket 21 rotates, the media sheet 31 is fed out from the media cartridge 3. When the media cartridge 3 is installed in the bucket 2, the user pulls out the media sheet 31 that is engaged on the roller 34, and engages the hole 21b at the tip with the conveyance sprocket 21. This operation can be easily performed because the bucket 2 is pulled out to the front of the copying machine main body 1, and it does not put a burden on the user. When pushed into the copying machine main body 1, it meshes with a gear on the copying machine main body side.

A drive system is connected to the gear on the copying machine main body side via a clutch, and when a media sheet is automatically loaded, the clutch is turned on and driving force is transmitted to the conveying sprocket 21. There is a knob 2 on the front of the sprocket 21 that feeds #1.
1c is provided and is used when replacing the media sheet or when a jam occurs in the media sheet.

A sensor 5IS2 is provided in the bucket insertion portion of the copying machine main body 1. The sensor S1 is provided above the bucket 2 at a position facing the media sheet 31, and detects the presence or absence of the media sheet 31. Sensor S2 is bucket 2
A bucket 2 is provided in the upper part and is connected to the copying machine main body 1.
Detects whether or not the device is attached.

The media sheet 31 fed out from the media cartridge 3 is transported by the aforementioned transport sprocket 21, the exposure section PI,
Guide roller 41. Buffalo roller 42.1 feed roller 1
4. The film is wound onto the winding shaft 3b via the pressure transfer portion P2 between the pressure rollers 13 and the conveyance roller 15. As mentioned above, the transport sprocket 21 is connected to a drive system (not shown),
Rotates during autoloading. buffalo 42
A buffer motor that can rotate in both forward and reverse directions is connected via a clutch to move in the directions of arrows A and B in the figure. Further, the pressure roller 13 is also connected to a drive system (not shown) via a clutch, and rotates during pressure transfer. Note that the upper right region of the buffer roller 42, indicated by the two-point line tA in the figure, is a buffer section in which media sheets on which selectively cured images are formed are stocked.

As described above, reflected light from the original is guided to the exposure portion P1 by the optical system 12, and the media sheet 31 is exposed. The buffer roller 42 moves in the direction of arrow A by the rotation of the buffer motor to feed out the media sheet 31 from the media cartridge 3 when the media sheet 31 is exposed in the exposure section P1, and also applies pressure when pressure transfer is performed. The media sheet is pulled by the rotation of the roller 13, and the buffer roller 42 is moved in the direction of arrow B.
The media sheet on which the selectively cured image is formed is sent to the pressure transfer section P2. A paper cassette 17 is provided on the right side of the copying machine main body 1, and when pressure transfer is performed, an image receiving sheet is fed from one of the paper force centers. The image-receiving sheet is superimposed on the selectively cured image on the media sheet and is pressed by a pressure roller 13 to form a colored image.

FIGS. 3A to 3C are schematic diagrams showing the process of conveying the media sheet 31. FIG.

First, FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a state in which the media sheet 31 is manually pulled out to the conveyance sprocket 21 and is then automatically loaded. First, the buffer roller 42 is moved to a loading position (hereinafter referred to as RP). This RP is the exposed part P
1. Guide roller 41. This position is set so that the media sheet 31 passing through the buffer roller 42 becomes substantially straight, and an RP sensor is provided to detect the presence or absence of the buffer roller. The leading end of the media sheet 31 pulled out from the media cartridge is hung on the conveyance sprocket 21 as described above, and is automatically loaded by the rotation of the conveyance system such as the conveyance sprocket 21 and the pressure roller. Guide roller 41°Buffer roller 42. Pressure roller 13. It is wound around the winding shaft 3b via the roller 14. Note that a predetermined length portion from the tip of the media sheet 31 is made of a stiff resin sheet, and is easily sent out by rotation of the conveyance sprocket 21 or the like. Further, a vapor guide 16 is provided along the conveyance path of the media sheet, so that the media sheet 31 is conveyed along the conveyance path during autoloading.

Figures (B) and (C) are diagrams showing the operating state of the buffer roller during image formation. During image formation, the home position (hereinafter referred to as HP) of the buffalo roller 42 is located between the center line of the buffalo roller 42 in the moving direction and the guide roller 41.
is set at a position where the center line of
The buffer roller 42 is controlled to move in the directions of arrows A and B based on the image forming process. This HP is provided with an HP sensor that detects the presence or absence of a buffer roller. When the media sheet is exposed to light in the exposure section P1, the buffer roller 42 moves in the direction of arrow A with HP as a reference. 31 is pulled out, and the media sheet 31 is irradiated with reflected light from the original at the exposure portion P1, and the microcapsules on the media sheet 31 are partially hardened to form a selectively hardened image. After the irradiation of the original reflected light onto the media sheet 31 is completed, the exposure section P1-pressure transfer section P2
After the media sheet, which is slightly longer than the length between the media sheets, is sent to the buffer section, the movement of the buffer roller 42 in the direction of the arrow is stopped. This extra feed is due to the fact that the rear end of the image forming area (the area where the selectively cured image is formed) reaches the downstream side of the pressure roller 13 (relative to the media sea [1 feed direction)] when the pressure transfer is completed. This is the amount of withdrawal required for Note that the pressure roller 13 does not rotate during exposure.

When the exposure process in the exposure part P1 is completed, the pressure transfer process is started in the pressure transfer part P2. As shown in FIG. As a result, the buffer roller 42 moves in the direction of arrow B, and the media sheet 31 is fed and wound around the take-up shaft 3b. At this time, the selectively cured image of the media sheet 31 is superimposed on the image receiving sheet. Both the media sheet and the image receiving sheet are pressed by a pressure roller 13 in the pressure transfer section P2,
The uncured microcapsules are destroyed, and the colorless dye that flows out forms a colored image on the image-receiving sheet. As mentioned above, a media sheet longer than the length between the exposure section P1 and the pressure transfer section P2 is further fed behind the selectively cured image into the buffer section, and the buffer roller 4
2 returns to HP, the rear end of the selectively cured image is located at the pressure transfer portion P2.

As described above, image formation is performed by moving the buffer roller 42 in the direction of the arrow AB force. Since the tt p of the buffer roller 42 is determined at the intersection of the center line in the movement direction of the cover/nofa roller and the center line of the guide roller, the conveyance speed of the media sheet becomes unstable when it starts moving in the direction of arrow A. Never.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for media sea 1 feeding, in which (A) shows the processing procedure during autoloading, and (B) shows the processing procedure during image formation.

First, the procedure for automatically loading a media sheet will be explained.

When the sensor S2 that determines the presence or absence of the bucket 2 is turned off, the flowchart shown in FIG. S2
OFF indicates that the bucket 2 has been pulled out from the copying machine main body 1, and the media cartridge 3 is replaced during this time. When the media cartridge 3 is replaced and the bucket 2 is inserted into the copier main body 1, the nl
, n2, it is determined whether the sensors St and S2 are on.

Sensor S1. Turning on S2 indicates that the leading end of the media sheet 31 has been pulled out from the media cartridge 3 and is hooked on the conveyance sprocket 21, and the process proceeds to autoloading processing.

The buffer roller 42 is normally stopped at the IP and moves it to the RP before autoloading. That is, the buffer motor is reversed, the buffer roller clutch is turned on, and the buffer roller 42 is moved in the direction of arrow B (n3→n4).

If the buffer roller 42 moves to RP and the RP sensor turns on (n5), 'Clutch off, stop the buffer motor (n 6. n'?)' The buffer roller 42
Stop with RP. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3(A), the exposed portion P1. Guide roller 41. Since the media sheet becomes substantially linear between the buffer rollers 42 and is fed substantially linearly during autoloading, it is possible to prevent JAM from occurring.

When the buffer roller 42 is moved to RP, the media sheet conveyance system is turned on and a timer is started. This timer measures the time it takes for the media sheet 31 hung on the conveyance sprocket 21 to be conveyed to the take-up shaft 3b. When the media sheet conveyance system is turned on, the conveyance sprocket 21, pressure roller 13, etc. rotate, and the media sheet is automatically loaded. (If the timer times up (nlo), the media sheet conveyance system is turned off and the conveyance sprocket 21, pressure roller 13, etc. are rotated. Please stop the rollers etc.
1l), completes the autoloading of the media sheet.

Then, the buffer roller 42 is returned to the HP and the process is completed. That is, by rotating the buffer motor in the normal direction and then turning on the clutch (n12-n13), the buffer roller 42 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow.
reaches HP) (If P sensor turns on (n 14)
, turn off the clutch and stop the buffer motor (n15, n16) to bring the buffer roller 42 to HP.
to stop it.

As described above, autoloading is performed when media sheets are replaced.

Next, the conveyance process of the media sheet during image formation will be explained. As shown in FIG. 4(B), when the print switch provided on the main body of the copying machine is operated, control of media sea 1 feed a is started.

When the print switch is turned on, the supply shaft 3a of the media cartridge 3 is unlocked (n21), the buffer motor rotates forward, the buffer roller is clutched on, and the media sheet 31 is fed out from the media cartridge 3. (n22→n23). In parallel with this feeding of the media sheet, the original on the original platen 11 is scanned, and the reflected light is guided to the exposure section P1 to expose the media sheet 31 to form a selectively cured image on the media sheet. Then, when the exposure is completed, Cn 24) n25
Start the timer at . This timer measures the time it takes for the media sheet 31 to feed out an amount of media sheet slightly larger than the length between the exposure section P1 and the pressure transfer section P2. That is, the extra pullout is performed so that the rear end of the selectively cured image reaches the downstream side of the pressure turning section P2 when the image forming process is completed. If the timer times up (n
26), the buffer roller clutch is turned off and the buffer motor is turned off to stop feeding out the media sheet (n27, n2B), and the supply shaft 3a of the media cartridge 3 is locked (n29).

After the exposure is completed as described above, pressure transfer is performed next. Pressure roller 13 by turning on the pressure roller clutch.
(n30), the media sheet in the buffer section is pulled and the buffer roller 42 moves in the direction of arrow B, and the media sheet 31 is gradually bitten by the pressure roller 13 and pressurized. (At this time, an image-receiving sheet is superimposed on the selectively hardened image on the media sheet 31, and the unhardened microcapsules are destroyed by pressure, and a colored image is formed on the image-receiving sheet.Then, the buffalo roller 42 When the HP is reached (n31), the clutch of the pressure roller is released and the pressure roller 13 is stopped.At this time, the trailing edge of the selectively cured image on the media sheet reaches the downstream of the pressure roller 13, and the pressure transfer of the image forming area is completed. In this embodiment, the bucket 2 is provided with only the transport sprocket (C1ti transport roller) 21, but the bucket 2 may also be provided with other transport rollers such as guide rollers. In addition, the HP of the buffalo roller may be set to the right side (Fig. 1) of the intersection of the center line of the buffalo roller moving direction and the center line of the guide roller, and even in that case, when the buffalo roller moves in the direction of arrow A, The media sheet is accurately fed out at two speeds, that is, the moving speed of the buffer roller from the start of movement, and the conveyance speed does not become unstable.

(g) Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the media sheet pulled out from the media cartridge is engaged with the conveyance roller of the bucket pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus, and autoloading starts from that position. This allows the autoloading distance to be shortened.
The probability of occurrence of M can be lowered. Moreover, since the leading end of the media sheet can be hung on the conveyance roller provided in the bucket while the bucket is pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus, there is an advantage that the work is easy to perform.

1-media cartridge, a-supply shaft, b-take-up shaft, 1-1&i feed sprocket ORt feed roller), 1-media sheet.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic front view of a copying machine equipped with a media sheet storage device, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the media sheet storage section pulled out from the copying machine body, and Fig. 3 shows the media sheet 1 feed state. Figure 1 shows the state during autoloading, (B) and (C) show the state during image formation, and Figure 4 shows the processing procedure for conveying the media sheet. FIG. 10A is a flowchart showing the processing procedure during autoloading, and FIG. 3B showing the processing procedure during image formation.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In an image forming apparatus that winds a media sheet pulled out from a media cartridge onto a take-up shaft via a plurality of transport rollers by autoloading, an arbitrary number of transport rollers from the side closest to the media cartridge among the transport rollers, and a media A media sheet, comprising: a bucket having a cartridge storage section; supporting the bucket so as to be able to draw out the main body of the image forming apparatus; and providing means for engaging the media sheet with a conveyance roller provided in the bucket. Storage device.