JPH0488342A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate waste of micro capsule paper and to reduce running cost by installing a dancer roll absorbing any slack in the micro capsule paper after exposure between an exposure base and a pressure developing device and providing a specified control circuit. CONSTITUTION:Any slack in the micro capsule paper 17 during an exposure operation is absorbed by the dancer roll 21 by controlling carrying speed of the pressure developing device 26 to be slower than the carrying speed of the exposure base 14 when continuously copying, and controlling to carry out pressure developing while eliminating the slack in the micro capsule paper 17 absorbed by the dancer roll 21 by stopping the carrying of the micro capsule paper 17 at the exposure base 14 after the exposure is finished. Therefore, developing by the pressure developing device 26 can be carried out without the micro capsule paper 17 being carried. Thus, the micro capsule paper 17 is not carried for more than required, the waste of the micro capsule paper 17 can be eliminated, and the running cost can be reduced.

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 that forms a latent image of a predetermined original on microcapsule paper by exposure, and then overlaps this microcapsule paper and color developer paper. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms a desired image by applying pressure in a combined state.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, a desired color image is formed by irradiating a desired original with light, exposing microcapsule paper to the reflected light, and pressing the microcapsule paper and color developer paper while overlapping each other. Many image forming apparatuses are used for this purpose.

Inside such an image forming apparatus, a light source that irradiates light onto a desired original is disposed, and an optical system that sends reflected light of the light irradiated onto the original from this light source to a predetermined exposure position. It is arranged.

Further, an exposure stage is provided at the exposure position for forming a latent image of the document on a sheet of microcapsule paper, and the microcapsule paper is wound around a cartridge shaft and The capsule paper is housed inside the cartridge to prevent it from being exposed to light.

Further, on the downstream side of the exposure table in the conveyance direction, a pressure developing device is disposed for superimposing and developing the microcapsule paper and the color developer paper on which the latent image has been formed on the exposure table.

In the conventional image forming apparatus, the light source irradiates a desired document with light, and the reflected light is irradiated onto a microcapsule paper conveyed to an exposure stage to form a latent image of the document. Thereafter, the microcapsule paper is conveyed to the pressure development device, and the developer paper and the microcapsule paper are pressed in a superimposed state by the pressure development device,
A color image is formed on the color developing paper.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in the conventional image forming apparatus, the exposed microcapsule paper and the color developer paper are conveyed to the pressure developing device in a superimposed state and pressurized, and the exposure of the microcapsule paper is completed. However, since pressure development is performed using a pressure development device, unexposed microcapsule paper must be transported until the pressure development is completed by the pressure development device, which reduces waste of microcapsule paper. This poses a problem in that the number of units increases significantly, resulting in high running costs.

Therefore, in the case of single copying, in which one sheet of paper is copied, after an image is formed on developer paper using the aforementioned self-pressure developing device, the microcapsule paper is placed so that the unexposed part of the microcapsule paper is located on the exposure stage. By rewinding
Efforts have been made to improve the usage efficiency of microcapsule paper, but when performing continuous copying, it is necessary to increase the copying speed, so the microcapsule paper cannot be rewound, and the microcapsule paper cannot be rewound. There is a problem in that it is not possible to eliminate waste of capsule paper.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus that can eliminate waste of microcapsule paper and reduce running costs.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes:
An image forming apparatus comprising an exposure stage for forming a latent image on microcapsule paper inside, and a pressure developing device for overlapping the exposed microcapsule paper and developer paper and developing them under pressure. , a dancer roller is disposed between the exposure table and the pressure development device to absorb the slack of the exposed microcapsule paper, and during continuous copying, the conveyance speed of the pressure development device is slower than the conveyance speed of the exposure table. The dancer roller absorbs the slack of the microcapsule paper during the exposure operation by controlling it, and after the exposure is completed, the conveyance of the microcapsule paper on the exposure table is stopped to remove the slack of the microcapsule paper absorbed by the dancer roller. The system is equipped with a control circuit that controls the pressure development.

[Effect]

According to the present invention, during continuous copying, the conveyance speed of the pressure developing device is controlled to be slower than the conveyance speed of the exposure table, so that the slack of the microcapsule paper during the exposure operation is absorbed by the dancer roller, and after the exposure is completed, the conveyance speed of the pressure development device is controlled to be slower than the conveyance speed of the exposure table. Since pressure development is controlled to be performed while removing slack, development can be performed using the pressure development device without transporting the microcapsule paper, which results in the microcapsule paper being transported more than necessary. This eliminates waste of microcapsule paper and reduces running costs.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 1 shows a vertical cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.
A transparent original platen glass 3 on which a document is placed is disposed, and a document platen cover 4 that covers the original 2 and the original platen glass 3 is provided above the original platen glass 3 so as to be openable and closable. There is.

Below the document table glass 3 in the upper part of the main body 1, there is a
A line-shaped halogen lamp 5 extending in the width direction of the original platen glass 3, a reflector 6 that irradiates the irradiated light from the halogen lamp 5 in the direction of the original platen glass 3, and a reflector 6 that is irradiated from the halogen lamp 5 to the original platen glass. A light source section 8 having a reflection mirror 7 that receives light reflected by the document 2 on the document table 3 is disposed so as to be able to reciprocate along an axis 9 extending parallel to the document table glass 3. On one side of the light source section 8, there is a mirror part having two reflecting mirrors 10a and 10b that reflect the light reflected by the reflecting mirror 7 of the light source section 8 in a direction parallel to the moving direction of the light source section 8. 10 is movably arranged separately from the light source section 8.

A projection lens 11 is disposed below the document table glass 3 and on the optical path of the light reflected from the mirror section 10, and near the downstream side of the optical path of this projection lens 11, a copy image is placed. A filter 12 for adjusting the color tone is provided.

Further, on the end side of the main body 1, a reflection mirror group 13 consisting of two reflection mirrors 13a and 13b that reflects the light projected from the projection lens 11 via the filter 12 is provided.
is arranged, and this reflecting mirror group 13 is arranged along the axis 9.
This movement changes the optical path length of the projection light, enlarging the latent image to be exposed,
It is made so that it can be reduced. Furthermore, in the vicinity of the reflection mirror group 13, there is a reflection mirror 13b.
A reflecting mirror 13c is disposed to reflect the reflected light from the mirror to a predetermined exposure position, and an exposure table 14 is disposed at the exposure position by this reflecting mirror 13c.

Further, a cartridge 15 is disposed at the center of the interior of the main body 1 so as to be detachable from the main body 1, and a cartridge shaft 1 is disposed inside the cartridge 15.
A long microcapsule paper 17 wound around 6 is housed. A half-moon roller 18 is disposed near the cartridge 15 for feeding out the leading end of the microcapsule paper 17 when the cartridge 15 is installed, and the microcapsule paper is disposed near the upstream side of the exposure table 14 in the transport direction. A conveyance roller 19 is provided to convey the photosensitive material 17 to the exposure table 14 portion. Further, on the downstream side of the exposure table 14 in the conveyance direction, a dancer roller 21 that applies a certain tension to the conveyance roller 20 and the microcapsule paper 17 is disposed, respectively. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the dancer roller 21 is rotatably attached to the tip of a roller holding arm 23 that is swingable about a rotation shaft 22. The holding arm 23 is configured to swing according to the slack of the microcapsule paper 17 so as to absorb the slack.

Further, in the vicinity of the dancer roller 21, a large diameter roller 2
4 and a backup roller 25 that is in pressure contact with the large-diameter roller 24. A pressure developing device 26 is provided near the discharge side of the pressure developing device 26. A winding shaft 28 for winding up the paper 17 is provided.

Furthermore, an upper winding guide 29 for winding the microcapsule paper 17 is swingably disposed above the winding shaft 28, and a lower winding guide 29 is provided below the winding shaft 27. A guide 3o is provided.

When the cartridge 15 is installed in the main body 1, by rotating the half-moon roller 18 once to several times, the league film portion stuck to the tip of the microcapsule paper 17 is moved toward the exposure table 14. The league film portion of this microcapsule paper 17 is transferred to each transport roller 19, 20, pressure developing device 26 and separation roller 2.
7 in the direction of the winding shaft 26. The league film portion of the microcapsule paper 17 is wound around the winding shaft 28 by the upper winding guide 29 and the lower winding guide 30, thereby automatically winding the microcapsule paper 17. It is now possible to perform auto-loading.

Further, a paper feed cassette 32 containing a color developer paper 31 is removably disposed inside the main body 1, and near the paper feed cassette 32, the color developer paper 31 is provided by negative pressure suction. A suction cup-type paper feed mechanism 33 is provided that sucks the paper sheets one by one and supplies them to a predetermined conveyance path. The paper feeding mechanism 3
3 and the pressure developing device 26, an arc-shaped conveyance guide 34 is disposed in the middle of the conveyance guide 34, and the developer paper 31 supplied by the paper feed mechanism 33 is conveyed Three transport rollers 35a transport the pressure developing device 26 along the guide 34.

35b and 35c are provided.

Further, a separation chute 36 is disposed near the discharge side of the pressure developing device 26, and a conveyance guide 37 and a plurality of conveyance rollers 38a, 38b are provided on the downstream side of the separation chute 36 in the sheet conveyance direction. A thermal fixing device 40 having a thermal fixing roller 39 is also provided. On the outside of the main body 1 and on the discharge side of the thermal fixing device 40, there is provided a paper discharge tray 41 for discharging the developer paper 31 on which an image has been formed.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained based on FIGS. 1 to 3.

First, when the cartridge 15 is attached to the main body 1, auto-loading is started, and the microcapsule paper 17 is automatically passed through a predetermined transport path and wound around the winding shaft 28, making it possible to form an image.

Next, when setting a plurality of copies and performing continuous copying, place the desired original 2 on the top surface of the original platen glass 3, close the original platen cover 4, and then turn the copy start switch. When the operation is performed, in step S-1, it is determined whether or not continuous copying is to be performed based on the number of copies. If the determination here is continuous copying, the halogen lamp 5 is turned on, and at the same time, the light source section 8 is turned on along the axis 9. will be moved. As a result, light is transmitted through the original platen glass 3 and irradiated onto the original 2, and the reflected light is sent to the projection lens 11 via the reflecting mirror 7 and the reflecting mirrors 10a and 10b of the mirror section 10, and is sent to the reflecting mirror group. 13, the image of the original document 2 is formed as a latent image on the micrograph paper 17 located on the exposure table 14 (step 5-2). At this time, the micro cassette paper 17 is transported by each transport roller 19, 20.
The latent image of a predetermined line is sequentially exposed while being conveyed in synchronization with the movement of the light source section 8. For example, if the conveyance speed of the microcapsule paper 17 is v1 and the projection magnification is m, then the light source section 8 is moved at a speed of (1/m) ・■, and the reflecting mirrors 10a, 10 of the mirror part 10
b is moved at a speed of (1/(2m))·V. The exposed microcapsule paper 17 is the color developer paper 3
1 and is fed to a pressure developing device 26 for development processing. In this case, the large-diameter roller 24 of the pressure developing device 26 is driven to rotate at a slower speed than the conveying rollers 19 and 20 (step 5-3). Due to the difference in rotation speed between each of the transport rollers 19, 20 and the large diameter roller 24, as the exposure of the microcapsule paper 17 progresses, the microcapsule paper 17 becomes slack. In response to this slack, the dancer roller 21 provided at the tip of the roller holding arm 23 absorbs the slack of the microcapsule paper 17 by rotating the roller holding arm 23 counterclockwise from position A in FIG. Absorb (Step 5-4
). Next, it is determined whether or not the exposure has ended, and when it is determined that the exposure has ended (step 5-5), the driving of each of the transport rollers 19 and 20 is stopped, and the microcapsule paper 1
7 is stopped (step 5-6). At this time, the dancer roller 21 has moved to position B in FIG. If it is determined in step S-5 that exposure is not completed, the process returns to step S-2 and repeats the operations up to step S-5. Note that the drive control is performed by a control circuit.

On the other hand, the uppermost color developing paper 31 of the paper feed cassette 32 is taken out one by one by the paper feed mechanism 33, and is transported by the transport roller 35 through the transport guide 34 to the pressure developing device 26. This color developing paper 31 is supplied to the pressure developing device 26 in a state in which it is positioned and overlapped with the tip of the latent image on the exposed microcapsule paper 17. Then, by this pressure developing device 26, the surface of the microcapsule paper 17 on which the latent image is formed and the developer coated surface of the color developer paper 31 are brought into close contact with each other, and are pressed together by the large diameter roller 24 and the backup roller 25. pressure is applied. This pressure destroys the unexposed microcapsules, and the developer paper 3
1, an image is formed based on the latent image.
By the rotation of the large diameter roller 24, the microcapsule paper 1
As the microcapsule paper 17 and the color developing paper 31 are conveyed, the pressure development process is continued while the slack of the microcapsule paper 17 is removed (step 5-7). At this time, the roller holding arm 23 is rotated from the direction B in the figure to the direction A, and when the pressure development by the pressure developing device 26 is completed, the dancer roller 21 is moved to its original position (position A in the figure). Ru.

Meanwhile, the light source section 8 returns to the starting position (step 5
-8). After the light source unit 8 returns, it is determined whether the dancer roller 21 has returned to the original position A (step 5-9).
When the restoration is confirmed, it is determined whether there is a next copy or not (step S-10). Note that if the dancer roller 21 has not returned to the original position A in step S-9, the operations from step S-7 to step S-9 are repeated. If it is determined in step 5-10 that there is a next copy, steps S-2 to Step 5-
Repeat step 10. If it is determined that there is no next copy, the microcapsule paper 17 is transported and the final latent image surface formed on the microcapsule paper 17 is subjected to pressure development processing (step S-11). ). Microcapsule paper 1 discharged from the pressure developing device 26
7 and the developer paper 31 are separated by a separation roller 27, and the microcapsule paper 17 is wound up on a winding shaft 28. Then, the developer paper 31 is conveyed by a conveyance roller 38 through a conveyance guide 37 to a thermal fixing device 4o, and after the image is fixed by this thermal fixing device 40, it is discharged onto a paper discharge tray 41. . After that, it is determined whether all outputs have been completed or not (step S-12).
, if the process is not completed, the process returns to step 5-11, but when completion is confirmed, the microcapsule paper 17 is rewound so that the unexposed part of the microcapsule paper 17 is positioned on the exposure stage 14 (step S-13). ).

Also, if you want to make a single copy with one copy, when you operate the copy start switch, step s
If =1, it is determined that the copy is a single copy based on the number of copies, and the exposure device performs exposure processing while transporting the microcapsule paper 17 (step S-20). Pressure developing device 2
The large diameter roller 24 of No. 6 is rotated at a normal speed in synchronization with the respective conveyance rollers 19 and 20. As a result, even when the microcapsule paper 17 is exposed, the microcapsule paper 17 does not sag, so the dancer roller 21 is always held at position A in FIG. 2. After exposure, the microcapsule paper 17 is transferred to the color developer paper 31.
Pressure development is performed by the pressure development device 26 in close contact with the film (step S-21). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the exposure has been completed (S-22), and when completion is confirmed, pressure development processing is performed on the final latent image surface formed on the microcapsule paper 17 (S-11). . However, if the completion of exposure is not confirmed in step 5-22, the operations from step S-20 to step 5-22 are repeated.

Next, when it is determined whether all output has been completed and a decision is made to confirm the output (S-12), the pressure development is completed and the color developer paper 31 is separated by the separation roller 27. At times, the large-diameter roller 24 and the transport rollers 19, 20 of the pressure developing device 26 are rotated in the opposite direction to transport the microcapsule paper 17 in the opposite direction, and the unexposed portion of the microcapsule paper 17 is transferred to the exposure stage. The microcapsule paper 17 is rewound so that it is located at the position 14 (step S-13). However, in step 5-12,
If it is determined that the output has not been completed, the process returns to step 5-11.

Therefore, in this embodiment, when performing continuous copying, the large diameter aperture roller 24 of the pressure developing device 26 is rotated at a slower speed than the respective transport rollers 19, 20 to expose the microcapsule paper 17. The slack of the microcapsule paper 17 is absorbed by the dancer roller 21, and after the exposure is completed, the pressure development is performed by the pressure developing device 26 while removing the slack of the microcapsule paper 17 by the dancer roller 21. Development can be performed by the pressure developing device 26 without transporting the microcapsule paper 17, and as a result, the microcapsule paper 17 is not transported more than necessary, eliminating waste of the microcapsule paper 17 and reducing running costs. can be achieved.

Furthermore, in the case of single copying, the microcapsule paper 17 is rewound so that the unexposed part of the microcapsule paper 17 is located on the exposure table 14, so that the usage efficiency of the microcapsule paper 17 can be increased. Similarly, running costs can be reduced.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments,
Various changes can be made as necessary.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention allows the dancer roller to absorb the slack of the microcapsule paper during the exposure operation during continuous copying, and after the exposure is completed, pressurized development is performed while removing the slack of the microcapsule paper. Since the microcapsule paper is controlled so as to be carried out, development can be carried out by the pressure developing device while the microcapsule paper is stopped. As a result, the microcapsule paper is not transported more than necessary, the waste of the microcapsule paper can be eliminated, and running costs can be significantly reduced.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged configuration diagram of the dancer roller portion of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the apparatus of the embodiment. be. 1...Main body, 2...Document, 8...Light source section, 14.
...Exposure table, 15...Cartridge, 17...Microcapsule paper, 21...Dancer roller, 23...
Roller holding arm, 24... Large diameter roller, 26...
Pressure developing device, 27... Separation roller, 31... Color developer paper.

Claims (1)

[Claims] An image forming apparatus comprising an exposure stage for forming a latent image on microcapsule paper inside, and a pressure developing device for overlapping the exposed microcapsule paper and developer paper and developing them under pressure. , a dancer roller is disposed between the exposure table and the pressure development device to absorb the slack of the exposed microcapsule paper, and during continuous copying, the conveyance speed of the pressure development device is slower than the conveyance speed of the exposure table. The dancer roller absorbs the slack of the microcapsule paper during the exposure operation by controlling it, and after the exposure is completed, the conveyance of the microcapsule paper on the exposure table is stopped to remove the slack of the microcapsule paper absorbed by the dancer roller. An image forming apparatus characterized in that it is provided with a control circuit that controls pressure development to be performed while the image forming apparatus is in use.