JPH04216262A - Picture input/output device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To more improve the function density of the entire device by adding other functions without enlarging the capacity of the entire device so much by more effectively utilizing the inside space of a U turn part to turn recording paper sheets. CONSTITUTION:A conveyer roller 12 is turned while being interlocked with a start button, and an original is conveyed into the device and passed through a conveyer path 15 according to a guide part 32 and a guide board 14. An image sensor 37 is installed in the U turn part and pictures are inputted. On the other hand, the recording paper sheet is turned more than at 180 deg. and passed through the conveyer path 15 after a turn guide part 11 by the conveyer roller 12 so as to be folded without providing any folding stitches. Thus, one part is shared at least for the conveyer path of the original and the conveyer path of the recording paper sheet, and the image sensor is arranged on the conveyer paths.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image input/output device, and more particularly, to an image input/output device using an electrophotographic method, an electrostatic recording method, a magnetic recording method, or the like.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventionally, analog copying machines, digital copying machines,
There were image output devices such as digital printers and analog/digital multifunction machines, and there were some that wrote only in analog or digital, and others that wrote in both analog and digital in recording processes such as electrophotography.

[0003] Also, as small printers, laser printers, LED (light emitting diode) printers, and liquid crystal printers are considered for office use, but LED printers and liquid crystal printers eliminate moving parts from the writing head and aim for high reliability. The company aims to lower prices because it can utilize semiconductor manufacturing processes. On the other hand, the cost of laser printers has been reduced by improving the optical system to reduce the required precision of polygon mirrors. The above three printers are all types of electrophotographic printers that use photosensitive drums, similar to PPCs (plain paper copying machines). The difference is that laser printers use a laser to expose the photosensitive drum, while LED printers and LCD printers use LEDs to expose the photosensitive drum.
By using arrays and liquid crystal shutters for exposure, the number of mechanically moving parts is reduced, resulting in higher reliability, smaller size, and lower cost. In particular, LED printers are attracting attention as they can compete with laser printers in terms of miniaturization. However, a problem with LED printers is correction of variations in the amount of light from the LEDs.

[0004] As described above, image output devices such as analog copiers, digital copiers, digital printers, and analog/digital copiers are increasingly entering offices as office automation progresses, and the number of devices per office is increasing. It's coming. If multiple image output devices are installed, installation space will be taken up. In addition, problems with installation space, arrangement, price, etc., such as the fact that multiple devices become expensive, are only increasing gradually.

FIG. 3 shows the previously proposed patent application No. 2-105.
This is a configuration diagram of the image output device described in No. 781, in which 101 is the main body of the device, 1021 to 1024 are a plurality of rollers, 103 is a photoreceptor, 104 is a charger, and 10
5 is a solid-state scanning optical writing unit (print head); 1
06 is a developing unit, 107 is a developing sleeve, 108 is a supply unit, 109 is a recording paper, 110 is a paper feed roller,
111 is a turn guide, 112 is a conveyance roller, 113 is a space, 114 is a guide plate, 115 is a conveyance path, 116 is a conveyance roller, 117 is a transfer charger, 118 is a sensor section, 119 is a guide, 120 is a fixing unit, 1201
1 is a fixing roller, 1202 is a pressure roller, 121 is a paper ejection roller, 122 and 123 are paper ejection sections, 124 is a cleaning unit, 125 is a blade, 126 is a collection roller, 1
27 is the upper cover, 128, 134, 136 are the fulcrums, 12
9 is an electrical component storage part, 130 is a protection member, 131 is a rib, 132 is a guide part, 133 is an operation panel,
135 is a guide member. The electrical component storage section 129 stores a power supply and the like.

[0006] At least an image output device that supplies recording paper to an image forming section, conveys it, forms an image, and outputs the image,
By configuring the transport path of the recording paper supplied to the image forming section so that the recording paper is turned by 180 degrees or more and folded without creating creases in the recording paper, the internal space of the apparatus can be used effectively. Therefore, the entire device is miniaturized,
In other words, it was shown that it is possible to increase the functional density.

However, as shown in FIG. 3, in order to turn the recording paper over 180° without creating creases,
The curvature of the U-turn cannot be increased beyond a certain level, and the U-turn needs to have a size larger than a certain level. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the utilization efficiency of the space 113 (indicated by the dashed line) inside the U-turn section is lower than the utilization efficiency of other parts within the device.

[0008]

[Purpose] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances. By using the space inside the U-turn section for turning recording paper more effectively, the present invention can perform other functions without increasing the overall volume of the device. The purpose of this invention is to provide an image input/output device that has a reading function added thereto to further increase the functional density of the entire device.

[0009]

[Structure] In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides (1)
a photoreceptor; a charger for charging the surface of the photoreceptor; an optical writing unit for forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoreceptor charged by the charger; It has a developing unit that develops and visualizes the image, and an image sensor that reads the image information of the original, and an image sensor that transports at least the original, reads the image information, and supplies and transports at least recording paper to form an image. In the output device, at least a part of the document conveyance path and the recording paper conveyance path are shared, and an image sensor is disposed on the common conveyance path, or (2) a photoreceptor and a a charging charger for charging a surface of a photoreceptor; an optical writing unit for forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoreceptor charged by the charger; and a developing device for developing the electrostatic latent image. The apparatus includes a developing unit that converts the document into a document, and an image sensor that reads the image information of the document, and at least conveys the document, reads the image information, and turns the recording paper by 180 degrees or more without creating creases in the recording paper. In an image input/output device that is provided with a conveyance path including a turn guide section for folding, and that supplies and conveys at least the recording paper to form an image, the document conveyance path and at least a part of the recording paper conveyance path are provided. A common feature is that an image sensor is disposed on the common conveyance path and inside a U-turn section for turning the recording paper. Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained based on examples.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram for explaining an embodiment of an image input/output device according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is the main body of the device, 21 to 24 are a plurality of rollers, 3 is a photoreceptor, and 4 is a electrification charger, 5 is a solid state scanning optical writing unit (print head), 6 is a developing unit, 7 is a developing sleeve, 8 is a supply unit, 9 is recording paper, 10 is a paper feed roller, 11 is a turn guide, 12 is Conveyance roller, 14 is a guide plate, 15
is a conveyance path, 16 is a conveyance roller, 17 is a transfer charger,
18 is a sensor section, 19 is a guide, 20 is a fixing unit,
201 is a fixing roller, 202 is a pressure roller, 21 is a paper ejection roller, 22, 23 are paper ejection sections, 24 is a cleaning unit, 25 is a blade, 26 is a collection roller, 27 is an upper cover, 28, 34, 36 are fulcrum, 29 is an electrical component storage part, 30 is a protection member, 31 is a rib, 32 is a guide part, 33
35 is an operation panel, 35 is a guide member, 37 is an image sensor, and 38 is a roller.

A belt-shaped photoreceptor 3 is disposed approximately in the center of the apparatus main body 1 and is supported by a plurality of rollers 21, 22, and 23 and rotated clockwise. Process components disposed around the photoreceptor 3 according to the electrophotographic process will be described below.

First, a charger 4 is provided for uniformly charging the surface of the photoreceptor 3. Next, a solid state scanning optical writing unit (also referred to as a print head) 5 is provided which irradiates writing light for forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the charged photoreceptor 3. As the solid-state scanning optical writing unit 5, a fluorescent dot array, an LED array, an LC shutter array, an EL dot array, a plasma dot array, etc. are used. Further, the opposing roller 24 is arranged in contact with the back surface of the photoreceptor 3 with respect to the solid state scanning type optical writing unit 5 in order to maintain the relative position between the solid state scanning type optical writing unit 5 and the photoreceptor 3. It is configured to follow the body 3 to prevent damage. Next, a developing unit 6 is provided which develops and visualizes this electrostatic latent image, and this developing unit 6 is equipped with a developing sleeve 7 and the like.

On the other hand, a paper feed unit 8 is loaded in the lower part of the apparatus main body 1, and the recording paper 9 is separated and fed one by one by a paper feed roller 10. Feeded recording paper 9
continues to be conveyed by a pair of conveyance rollers 12 via a turn guide 11, further passes through a conveyance path 15 formed by a guide section 32 having a rib 31 and a guide plate 14, and passes through a sensor section 18.

That is, the conveyance path of the recording paper 9 is configured to turn the recording paper 9 by 180 degrees or more and fold the recording paper 9 without creating a crease in the recording paper 9. This makes it possible to downsize the device, in other words, to increase the functional density described above. The recording paper 9 that has passed through the sensor section 18 is conveyed toward the photoreceptor 3 by a pair of subsequent conveyance rollers 16 (which can also function as so-called registration rollers), and is then conveyed by the action of the transfer charger 17. to undergo image transfer. The sensor section 18 basically generates different electrical signals depending on the presence or absence of the recording paper 9, but it is possible to detect the leading edge of the recording paper 9 by using this electrical signal. A controller section (not shown) determines the exposure timing of the solid-state scanning optical writing unit 5 based on the point in time when the leading edge of the recording paper 9 is detected.

That is, it is necessary that the leading edge of the recording paper 9 and the leading edge of the image area on the photoreceptor 3 are positioned at the transfer charger 17 at the same timing. Using the known time from when the leading edge passes through the sensor section 18 until it contacts the photoreceptor 3 and is located at the transfer charger 17 section, and based on the point in time when the leading edge of the recording paper 9 is detected, It is determined at what point an image should be formed on the photoreceptor 3. After the transfer, the recording paper 9 is separated from the photoconductor 3 due to the curvature of the photoconductor 3 and the weight of the recording paper 9, and is sent to the fixing unit 20 via a guide 19. In the fixing unit 20, the fixing roller 201
The recording paper 9 is conveyed while being sandwiched between the pressure roller 202 and the pressure roller 202, and further conveyed to the paper discharge roller 21 side and discharged onto a paper discharge section 22 or 23 formed at the upper part of the main body of the apparatus.

On the other hand, residual toner on the surface of the photoreceptor 3 after transfer is removed by a blade 25 of a cleaning unit 24 and collected by a collection roller 26 into a collection container (not shown). Thereafter, the photoreceptor 3 is again subjected to charging by the charging charger 4. When replacing each unit or disposing of a paper jam, the upper cover 27 is rotated upward and opened about the fulcrum 28 as shown by the imaginary line (two-dot chain line) in the figure. When the upper cover 27 is opened, at least the charging charger 4 and the developing unit 6 follow as shown by the imaginary lines, thereby widening the area around the photoreceptor 3.

When paper is to be fed manually rather than from the paper feed unit 8, the operation panel 33 is rotated about the fulcrum 34 as shown by the imaginary line in the figure. In other words, operation panel 3
3, the guide member 35 rotates about the fulcrum 36 along an imaginary line, so after inserting the desired recording paper along the guide member 35 until it collides with the transport roller 12, the operation panel 33 When a print button (not shown) is pressed, the image forming operation starts, and the image is formed on the recording paper through the process described above, and the paper is ejected.

In the above configuration, the image sensor 37 is assumed to be, for example, a close-contact type image sensor, and the roller 38 is for conveying the document while keeping it in close contact with the image sensor 37. When inputting an image, the operation panel 33 is rotated about the fulcrum 34 as shown by the imaginary line in the figure, and the document is inserted with the document surface facing down along the guide member 35 until it hits the transport roller 12. Thereafter, by pressing a reading start button (not shown) on the operation panel 33, the image input operation starts (substantially the same operation as when outputting an image by manual feeding is performed).

That is, the conveyance roller 12 rotates in conjunction with the start button, and the document is conveyed into the apparatus at a constant speed, passes through the conveyance path 15 formed by the guide portion 32 having the ribs 31 and the guide plate 14, and then the document is conveyed into the image. It reaches the sensor 37 section. The image sensor 37 is mounted on the guide plate 1 so that its image reading surface is substantially on the same plane as the upper surface of the guide plate 14.
The image sensor 37 reads the image information of the document by conveying the document at a constant speed while being brought into close contact with the reading surface of the image sensor 37 by the roller 38. . That is, image input is performed.

The original that has passed through the image sensor section passes through the sensor section 18 and is then conveyed toward the photoconductor 3 by a pair of subsequent conveyance rollers 16, and then passes through the transfer charger 17, where the curvature of the photoconductor 3 and the original weight are determined. The paper is separated from the photoreceptor by the guide 19, sent to the fixing unit 20 section, and further discharged by the paper discharge roller 21 onto the paper discharge section 22 or 23 at the upper part of the main body of the apparatus. That is, it has substantially the same conveyance path as when outputting images by manual feeding (manual feeding may be used exclusively for image input).

[0021] At this time, if the same transport path is used for image input as for image output, there is a risk that the document will be stained by toner adhesion, but in order to avoid this, the image input Sometimes it is sufficient to prevent toner from adhering to the photoreceptor.

That is, first, the developing method is the N/P method (
In the developing method (in which toner adheres to exposed areas of the photoreceptor and toner does not adhere to unexposed areas), when inputting an image, the photoreceptor 3 is charged by the charger 4, and the exposure by the optical writing unit 5 is Not performed. Further, at this time, it is preferable not to apply a developing bias to the developing sleeve 7. Next, when the developing method is a P/P method (a developing method in which toner adheres to the unexposed parts of the photoreceptor and does not adhere to the exposed parts), the photoreceptor 3 is charged by the charger 4 when inputting an image. It is better not to charge it. Further, at this time, it is preferable to apply a developing bias.

[0023] Furthermore, the transfer charger 17 at the time of image input is
The original and the photoreceptor 3 can be easily separated by not operating or by discharging the original with the same polarity as that of the photoreceptor by the charger to charge the original to the same polarity as the photoreceptor.

In the embodiment of the present invention, most of the conveyance paths are common during image input and image output, and since the image sensor is disposed at the U-turn section where the recording paper is turned, the image output An image reading function can be added with substantially the same volume of the device as the device itself, and the functional density of the device can be significantly improved. That is, it has functions as a scanner/printer, digital copying machine, and facsimile (a communication mechanism may be added).

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the image input/output device according to the present invention. In the figure, 39 is a guide, 40 is a fulcrum, 41 is a document discharge section, 42 is a rib, and 43 is a guide. Other members having the same functions as those in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals. The guide 39 is for switching the paper conveyance path between image input and image output. The fulcrum 40 is a fulcrum around which the guide 39 rotates. In addition, the image sensor 37 is on the common paper conveyance path during image input/output.
Moreover, it is arranged inside the U-turn section.

First, when outputting an image, the recording paper is fed from the paper feeding unit 8 to the pair of transport rollers 12 by the paper feeding roller 10 or manually, and passes between the roller 38 and the image sensor 37. Guide 39
is rotatable about a fulcrum 40, and is held at the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 during image output. Recording paper is guide 3
9 and the guide plate 14, and further through the conveyance path 15 formed by the guide portion 32 having the ribs 31 and the guide plate 14, and then along the conveyance path similar to that shown in FIG. 1, an image is formed (image sensor 37 - The parts other than the guide 39 are the same as in FIG. 1).

When inputting an image, the operation panel 33 is rotated, and the document is inserted with the document surface facing down along the guide member 35 until it hits the conveyance roller 12, and then the operation panel 33 reads the document. By pressing the start button, the conveyance roller 12 rotates in conjunction with the start button, and an image input operation is started. The document is sent to the image sensor 37 section by the conveyance roller, and the document is read by the image sensor 37 by being conveyed at a constant speed while being brought into close contact with the image sensor 37 by the roller 38 . When inputting an image, the guide 39 is rotated and held at the position indicated by the broken line in the figure. The document that has passed through the image sensor 37 section passes between the right side of the guide section 39 and a guide member 43 having a rib 42, and is discharged from the paper discharge section 41 to the outside of the apparatus. Note that the guide 39 has a ribbed structure.

Here, the paper discharge section 41 and the image sensor 37
A paper discharge roller may be provided between the sections, or a roller 38 may be used as the paper discharge roller as shown in the figure. Furthermore, the conveying roller 12 can be omitted by using the roller 38 as a conveying roller for a document or recording paper.

In the embodiment of the present invention, part of the conveyance path is shared between image input and image output, and an image sensor is disposed at the U-turn section where the recording paper is turned, so that the image output device Compared to a single device, an image reading function can be provided without increasing the volume, and an image input/output device with high functional density can be realized.

[0030] Furthermore, since the conveyance path of the document during image input is short and does not pass through the conveyance path where image formation is performed,
Documents are less likely to get dirty and jams are less likely to occur. Also,
The time required to transport documents can be shortened.

Note that in the above two embodiments, the paper feeding section for recording paper that is manually fed when outputting an image and the paper feeding section for the document when inputting an image are common; The dedicated paper feed unit 8 is used for paper feeding when outputting images.
The device can also be configured to operate only from

Furthermore, although not described above, the timing at which the image scanner starts reading the document at the time of image input may be set as follows. ■When inputting an image, the original is manually inserted from the paper feeder until it hits the transport roller, and then the start button on the operation panel is pressed to start the image input operation. From the distance along the document transport path to the sensor, calculate the time T until the leading edge of the document reaches the image scanner,
A controller unit (not shown) starts reading the document T after the start of conveyance of the document.

(2) A sensor section is provided in front of the image sensor section (on the side of the document feeding section), and the timing for starting reading is determined by the controller section based on the point in time when the leading edge of the document is detected by the sensor section.

■ In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 2, when the conveyance roller 12 is omitted and the roller 38 is used as the conveyance roller, when the leading edge of the document is aligned with the reading section of the image sensor from the beginning, , reading starts at the same time as the start button is pressed, that is, at the same time as the conveyance of the document starts.

In the two embodiments, the image input/output device is provided with a conveyance path including a turn guide section that turns the recording paper by 180 degrees or more during image output and folds the recording paper without creating creases. Although the explanation has been given using the device as an example, even in the image input/output device that does not have the above-mentioned conveyance path, the document conveyance path during image input and the recording paper conveyance path of the image output device are partially shared. It goes without saying that by providing an image sensor on the conveyance path, an image input/output device with high functional density can be realized.

[0036]

[Effects] As is clear from the above description, the present invention has the following effects. (1) Effect corresponding to claim 1: A part of the document conveyance path during image input and the recording paper conveyance path during image output are shared, and an image sensor is disposed on the common conveyance path. Therefore, the portion of the conveyance path that is used only for image input can be made smaller, so the image input/output device can be made smaller. That is, an image input/output device with high functional density can be realized.

(2) Effect corresponding to claim 2: At the time of image output, the conveyance path of the recording paper supplied to the image forming section is turned by turning the recording paper by 180 degrees or more; In a high-performance, high-density image input/output device that is configured to fold recording paper without creating creases in the paper, part of the document conveyance path and the recording paper conveyance path are shared, and on the common conveyance path, In addition, since the image sensor is placed inside the U-turn section of the device, which is used at a relatively low density, it is possible to have an image reading function without increasing the volume of the device much compared to the volume required as an image output device. In addition, an image input/output device with extremely high functional density can be realized.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram for explaining an embodiment of an image input/output device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the image input/output device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a conventional image output device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Device body 3 Photoreceptor 4 Charger 5 Solid state scanning optical writing unit (print head) 6
Development unit 8 Supply unit 9 Recording paper 11 Turn guide 12 Conveyance roller 14 Guide plate 15 Conveyance path 16 Conveyance roller 17 Transfer charger 18 Sensor unit 19 Guide 20 Fixing unit 24 Cleaning unit 27 Upper cover 28, 34, 36 Fulcrum 29 Electrical parts storage Section 31 Rib 32 Guide section 33 Operation panel 35 Guide member 37 Image sensor 38 Roller

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A photoreceptor, a charger for charging the surface of the photoreceptor, an optical writing unit for forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoreceptor charged by the charger, It has a developing unit that develops and visualizes an electrostatic latent image, and an image sensor that reads image information on a document. An image input/output device for forming an image, characterized in that at least a part of the document conveyance path and the recording paper conveyance path are common, and an image sensor is disposed on the common conveyance path. Output device. 2. A photoreceptor, a charger for charging the surface of the photoreceptor, and an optical writing unit for forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoreceptor charged by the charger; It has a developing unit that develops and visualizes an electrostatic latent image, and an image sensor that reads image information of a document, and at least conveys the document, reads the image information, and rotates the recording paper by 180 degrees or more. An image input/output device that is provided with a conveyance path including a turn guide section that allows the recording paper to be folded without creating creases, and that supplies and conveys at least the recording paper to form an image.
At least a portion of the document conveyance path and the recording paper conveyance path are common, and an image sensor is disposed on the common conveyance path and inside a U-turn portion for turning the recording paper. Image input/output device.