JPH04115259A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To conduct the pressure-development of an image information on recording paper by transporting the paper to the prescribed path together with a photosensitive recording medium for which an image information on the desired original is exposed, when a discrimination means discriminates the recording paper as a front side. CONSTITUTION:The microcapsule paper 12 on which a latent image is formed, is transported, and the color developing paper 28 at the highest order of a paper supply cassette 29 is transported with a paper supply mechanism 30, a convey roller 31a, etc. When it passes under a front side/rear side detecting sensor 40 and the color developing paper 28 is discriminated to be at the front side, it is supplied to the pressure-developing device 22 in a integrated state that the capsule paper 12 and the color developing paper 28 are adhesived closely, and the capsule side forming a latent image of the capsule paper 12 and the coating side of the color developer of the color developing paper 28 are interposed between a large diameter roller 22a and a back up roller 22b and pressed, while they are integrally in a state that they are in contact with the insides. With this pressure the microcapsules of the unexposed capsule paper 12 are destroyed and the image is formed on the color developing paper 28.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and particularly to an image forming apparatus equipped with a recording paper processing device after determining whether the recording paper is front or back.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, an image forming apparatus that uses a photosensitive pressure-sensitive sheet as a recording medium exposes image information on a document to a photosensitive recording medium (microcapsule paper), and then transfers the exposed photosensitive recording medium to light. It is pressed onto a recording paper (color developing paper), and an image is pressure developed on the recording paper. Note that the recording paper has a predetermined color developer coated only on one side of the base paper.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-described image forming apparatus, if the recording paper is fed upside down, the side of the recording paper that is not coated with the color developer will be pressed against the photosensitive recording medium. Even if a series of image formation is performed thereafter, the desired image is not formed on the recording paper, and the recording paper is wasted. Moreover, during the heat fixing stage of image formation, the color developer coated surface of the recording paper may adhere to the heat fixing device of the image forming apparatus, causing paper jams or malfunctioning of the main unit. It became.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to quickly eject the recording paper without forming a series of images when the recording paper is fed upside down. The purpose is to provide a forming device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The image forming apparatus of the present invention has been made to achieve the above object, and includes a photosensitive recording medium on which image information on a desired document has been exposed, and recording paper. Transport it to a predetermined route,
An image forming apparatus that performs pressure development on the photosensitive recording medium onto the recording paper, comprising: a determining means for determining whether the recording paper is front or back; an ejection path for discharging the recording paper from a predetermined path to a paper ejection port; and a discharge means for transporting the recording paper from a predetermined path to the discharge path when the means determines that the recording paper is on the back side.

[Operation] In the image forming apparatus described above, the determining means determines whether the fed recording paper is front or reverse. When the determining means determines that the recording paper is front side, the recording paper is conveyed to a predetermined path. Further, the photosensitive recording medium on which the image information on the desired document has been exposed is also conveyed to a predetermined path, and the image information on the photosensitive recording medium is pressure-developed onto the recording paper.

On the other hand, if the determining means determines that the recording paper is on the back side,
A discharge means transports the recording paper from a predetermined route to a discharge route,
Eject the paper to the paper ejection port.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3.

First, to explain the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus, as shown in FIG.
A photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 12 (hereinafter referred to as microcapsule paper) which is a photosensitive recording medium and a color developing paper (hereinafter referred to as microcapsule paper) which develops color by pressure development.
Recording paper) 28 is used. Microcapsule paper 12
Microcapsules are coated on the surface of the support, and the microcapsules contain dye precursors and the like that react with the color developer described below. A color developer is coated on the surface of the support of the color developer paper 28, and develops color by reacting with the dye precursor. That is, an image is formed on the color developer paper 28 only when the surface of the color developer paper 280 and the surface of the microcapsule paper 12 are supplied in a state where they are in close contact with each other and are integrated. Note that the details are described in US Pat. No. 4,399,209, etc., and will not be described here.

At the top of the copying machine 1, there is a document table glass 2 and a document table cover 3.
A desired original 4 is placed on the original platen glass 2.
is placed face down and the document table cover 3 is closed.

A halogen lamp 5a and a reflector 5b are provided below the document table glass 2 in the upper part of the copying machine 1.

A light source unit 5 equipped with a reflecting mirror 8 and the like is disposed so as to be movable back and forth along a shaft 13 extending parallel to the document table glass 2. The light source unit 5 irradiates light onto the document table glass 2 in a line in a direction perpendicular to the movement direction.

The irradiated light passes through the transparent document platen glass 2 and is reflected downward by the document 4 placed thereon.

Further, a mirror part 9 is disposed below the document platen glass 2 and is movable separately from the light source section 5 and includes reflective mirrors 9a and 9b. 8.9a and 9b are reflected in this order and guided in parallel to the moving direction of the light source section 5.

Furthermore, a projection lens 7, which is normally fixed, and a filter 6 for adjusting the color tone of the copied image are disposed below the document table glass 2, and the light reflected by the reflection mirror 9b passes through the projection lens. 7. The light projected by the lens 7 is reflected by reflection mirror groups 10a and 10b.

An exposure stage 11 for exposing the microcapsule paper 12 is disposed to the right of the reflective mirror 10b, and a reflective mirror 10c for switching the optical path is disposed between the reflective mirror 10b and the exposure stage 11. ing. Image information on the document 4 is formed on the microcapsule paper arranged along the exposure table 11.

Further, the reflecting mirrors 10a and 10b are usually fixed or are set as appropriate when enlarging or reducing the size of the latent image formed on the microcapsule paper 12, and change the optical path length according to a change in the projection magnification m. Therefore, they are configured to be able to move together in the axial direction of the shaft 13.

On the other hand, in the center of the copying machine 1, there is provided a cartridge 15 that is removably attached to the machine body. 12 pieces of microcapsule paper are stored there. Then, with the cartridge 15 set in a predetermined position inside the machine, the microcapsule paper] 2
The distal end portion of is pulled out toward the exposure table 11.

A dancer roller 21 for tension adjustment of the feed roller 19 is disposed below the exposure table 11. A pressure developing device 22 including a large diameter roller 22a and a backup roller 22b is disposed to the right of the dancer roller 21. On the right side of the pressure developing device 22, a separation roller 23 for separating the microcapsule paper 12 and the color developing paper 28 that are in close contact with each other is disposed as will be described later. A winding shaft 24 for fitting and holding the microcapsule paper 12 is disposed between the two. The microcapsule paper 12 coming out from the top of the cartridge 15 is transferred to the tension roller 19
After passing above the exposure table 11, the film passes through a dancer roller 21.degree. pressure developing device 22, is further guided to a separation roller 23, and is then wound onto a winding shaft 24.

The unexposed microcapsule paper 12 after leaving the cartridge 15 is maintained in an unexposed state by a light-shielding cover.

A paper feed cassette 29 containing developer paper 28 is installed below the pressure developing device 22 . A suction cup-type paper feeding mechanism 30 that sucks paper using negative pressure suction is arranged above the paper feeding cassette 29.
0, one by one is taken out. A feed guide 31d and a feed roller 31a are provided between the paper feeding mechanism 30 and the pressure developing device 22.

31b, 31C, front and back detection sensors 40 are provided, and the color developing paper 28 is conveyed by the feed roller 3]a, 31. b.

31c and a feed guide 31d, and is carried into the pressure developing device 22. At this time, the color developing paper 28 passes under the front/back detection sensor 40.

Furthermore, a discharge path 62 that merges with the conveyance path 60 is provided to the left of the front/back detection sensor 40 . If it is determined that the side of the color developer paper 28 that has passed under the front/back detection sensor 40 is the reverse side, after passing the terminal end of the color developer paper 28 or the branch point 52, the color developer paper 28 is reversely rotated by the reverse rotation of the feed roller 31c. transported. The feed guide 31d constituting the discharge path 62 is provided with a protrusion 64 that protrudes somewhat toward the conveyance path 60 side. As a result, the developer paper 28 that has been reversely transported hits the protrusion 64 and is transported to the discharge path 62 without returning to the transport path 60 . The developer paper 28 is then discharged from the discharge path 62 to the paper discharge port 50 by the discharge roller 51.

A heat fixing device 32 is disposed to the right of the pressure developing device 22, and a paper discharge tray 33 for storing the developer paper 28 on which an image is formed is disposed to the right of the heat fixing device 32. ing.

Furthermore, this copying machine has an autoloading function for automatically setting the microcapsule paper 12 on a predetermined transport path within the apparatus. This is a function that automatically projects a leader film attached to the tip of the microcapsule paper 12 into the apparatus, transports it within the apparatus, and winds it around the winding shaft 24. As a result, the microcapsule paper 12 following the leader film section] 8 is also wound up on the winding shaft 24, and the setting in the apparatus is completed.

For this automatic loading, a half-moon roller 17 is provided between the roller 19 and the cartridge 15 for pulling the leader film portion, and a take-up shaft 24 is provided between the roller 19 and the cartridge 15.
A separation chute 27 is rotatably attached to guide the user. Around the winding shaft 24, a winding guide 25 and a winding guide 26 for winding the leader film are arranged.

Next, the front/back discrimination sensor 40 will be explained.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the front/back discriminator 40,
The light emitting element 41 and the light receiving element 42 are disposed in close contact with the optical path guide 46, facing each other at a certain distance. Further, a detection circuit as shown in FIG. 3 is arranged on the substrate 45. The detection circuit shown in FIG. 3 is a circuit for detecting the reflectance of the color developing paper 28, and includes the light emitting elements 41. Light receiving element 42
, two amplifiers 43. It is composed of a constant current circuit 44 and the like. In FIG. 3, V rer is a reference voltage for driving the light emitting element with a constant current, and the light emitting element 41 is driven with a constant current by this value. The light emitted from the light emitting element 41 is reflected by the color developing paper 28 and reaches the light receiving element 42 . Then, it is amplified by an amplifier 43 and outputted as v out. The output Vout is input to a control device (not shown), such as a CPU with an A/D converter, and the front and back sides of the color developer paper 28 are determined according to the value.

Next, the operation of this copying machine will be explained.

When the cartridge 15 is set in the copying machine 1, autoloading is started. Then, the half-moon roller 17 becomes
Only at the start of auto-loading, the leader film section 18 is rotated once to several times in the conveying direction, and the leader film section 18 is sent out by the roller 20. Thereafter, the half-moon roller 17 stops, and subsequent conveyance is performed by driving the roller 20. At this time, the take-up guide 251, the take-up guide 262, and the separation chute 27 have been rotated to the position shown by the - dotted chain line.

Then, when the auto-loading process is completed, the leader film section 18 attached to the tip of the microcapsule paper 12 is wound around the winding shaft 24.
returns to the position shown by the solid line and becomes ready for copying.

Next, when the copy start key is operated, the reflection mirror 8. The halogen lamp 5 is a microcapsule paper 12
If the conveyance speed is V and the projection magnification is m, then the moving speed V
/ m, and the reflecting mirrors 9a and 9b move at a moving speed of V
/ Move at 2 m.

The conveyance speed of the microcapsule paper 12 is determined by the mirror group 89a,
Since the moving speed of the document 9b is synchronized as described above, latent images of predetermined lines of the document 4 are sequentially formed on the microcapsule paper 12 as it passes through the exposure table 11. Note that the predetermined speed ratio is predetermined based on the setting of the magnification.

The microcapsule paper 12 on which the latent image has been formed is transported,
The topmost color developing paper 28 of the paper feed cassette 29 is fed to the paper feed mechanism 30.
．． It is conveyed by feed rollers 31a, 31b, 31c, etc. Then, the color developing paper 28 is connected to the front/back detection sensor 40.
When passing under the microcapsule paper 12, the reflectance of the color developer paper 28 is read by the detection circuit shown in FIG. It is determined whether there is a color developer on the surface, and only if the surface is coated with a color developer, the process proceeds to the next step.

That is, if it is determined that the developing paper 28 in contact with the microcapsule paper 12 is the front surface, the microcapsule paper 1
The microcapsule surface on which the latent image of the microcapsule paper 12 is formed, and the developer-coated surface of the developer paper 28, They are sandwiched between the large-diameter roller 22a and the backup roller 22b as one body in a state where they are in contact with each other on the inside, and pressure is applied thereto. This pressure destroys the microcapsules in the unexposed microcapsule paper 12, and the developer paper 28
An image is formed on top.

The microcapsule paper 12 and the color developer paper 28 that have come out of the pressure developing device 22 are separated by the separation roller 23, and then the color development of the color developer paper 28 is promoted by the heat roller 32a of the heat fixing device 32 to form an image. After that, the paper ejection roller 32b
The paper is carried out to the paper discharge tray 33 by the paper discharge tray 33. Note that the separated microcapsule paper 12 is wound up on a winding shaft 24 via a separation roller 23e.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the side of the developer paper 28 that is in contact with the microcapsule paper 12 is the back side, after the terminal end of the developer paper 28 passes the branch point 52, the developer paper 28 is transferred to the feeding roller 3.
It is reversely conveyed by the reverse rotation of 1c. The developing paper 28 that has been reversely conveyed hits the protrusion 64 of the feed guide 31d, returns to the conveyance path 60, and then is conveyed to the discharge path 62-\. Further, the color developing paper 28 is transferred to a discharge path 62 by a discharge roller 51.
The paper is discharged from the paper discharge port 50.

As described above, in the image forming apparatus of this embodiment, the color developing paper 2
8. It is also possible to prevent wasteful work in which the paper is fed with the front side reversed and the desired image is not formed. In addition, it is possible to prevent the developer paper 28 from adhering to the heat fixing device 32 of the image forming apparatus during the heat fixing process stage of image formation, causing a paper jam or a malfunction of the main unit. can.

If the paper discharge port 50 is used as a manual insertion port, the developing paper 28 that has been discharged after being determined to be the back side can be turned over with its back side and front side, and then inserted again through the manual insertion port 50.

Thereby, the discharged color developing paper 28 can be reused without wasting it.

Furthermore, the extra work of resetting the paper into the paper feed cassette 29 can be omitted.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent wasteful work in which the recording paper is fed with the front side reversed and the desired image is not formed, and also to prevent paper clogging. Failure of the main unit can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a copying machine showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of a front/back discrimination sensor, and FIG. 3 is a detection circuit. In the figure, 1 is a photosensitive and pressure sensitive copying machine, 2 is a photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper, 28 is a color developer paper, 40 is a front/back detection sensor, 50 is a paper ejection port, 5
1 is a discharge roller, 60 is a conveyance path, and 62 is a discharge path.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In an image forming apparatus that conveys a photosensitive recording medium and a recording sheet onto which image information on a desired document has been exposed, to a predetermined path, and develops the photosensitive recording medium onto the recording sheet under pressure. , a discriminating means for discriminating whether the recording paper is front or back; an ejection path for discharging the recording paper from a predetermined path to a paper ejection port; and when the discriminating means determines that the recording paper is the back side, the recording paper An image forming apparatus comprising: a discharge means for transporting paper from the predetermined path to the discharge path.