JPH06127720A - Paper storage cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a paper storage cassette wherein by uniformly humidifying a sheaf of papers in the paper storage cassette while achieving simplification of a structure and space saving, a boundary of a condition change on the paper is prevented from being generated to prevent image distortion further picture fuzziness due to position displacement of an image and its contraction from being generated in a humidified part and nonhumidified part. CONSTITUTION:In an image forming device provided with a paper storage cassette 18 for storing paper 3 and a paper feed roller coming into contact with the paper in the paper storage cassette 18 to feed this paper, an air forced circulating means 50 for forcing air inside the cassette circulated is arranged in a side wall of a main unit of the paper storage cassette 18.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of a sheet storage cassette for storing a sheet recording material in an image forming apparatus or the like. More specifically, an electrophotographic copying machine,
The present invention relates to improvement of the storage environment of paper in a paper storage cassette of a diazo copying machine, a facsimile, a printer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, sheets (sheet-shaped recording material) stored in a sheet storage cassette used in an image forming apparatus,
Especially for large size paper such as A1 or A2 size used in wide width diazo copier, if the storage environment of the storage cassette is high humidity, the paper in the paper storage cassette (photosensitive paper in case of diazo copier) However, the exposed part (moisture absorption part) in contact with the paper feed roller absorbs moisture and expands into a wavy state, while the non-exposed part (non-moisture absorption part) covered with the lid of the cassette becomes smooth, so that the space between both parts is There was a boundary of state change (see FIG. 8). This is generally shown in FIG.
As is clear from the graph in Fig. 3, the elongation rate of the paper increases or decreases depending on the amount of absorbed moisture.

When the recording material having a partial variation in the amount of moisture absorption as described above is subjected to exposure (transfer of an image in the electrophotographic system) in the exposure section of the image forming apparatus, the vicinity of the above-mentioned boundary is reached. Rippled wrinkles are formed on the sheet, or the positional relationship of the paper with respect to the original (image) is slightly shifted, and the image is dislocated between the moisture absorbing portion and the non-moisture absorbing portion, image distortion due to reduction, and further image blurring. The image quality has deteriorated. That is, FIG. 10A shows an image forming procedure in the case of the diazo copying machine, in which the upper edge of the sheet is expanded and corrugated due to moisture absorption. When a latent image is formed on this paper and then a developing solution is applied and developed, the entire surface absorbs moisture, and when this is dried, a part of the image is shifted and the image due to reduction is displayed as shown in the bottom figure. Distortion and image blurring occur. Further, FIG. 10 (b) shows an image forming procedure by the electrophotographic copying machine. In this case as well, deterioration of the image quality after heating and fixing can be avoided as long as the paper partially absorbing moisture is used. There wasn't.

In order to avoid such a problem, in order to prevent moisture absorption of the paper in the paper storage cassette, the lid of the paper storage cassette may be opened only when the paper is fed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-61). (See Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 162324), the paper storage cassette is opened only when it is attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-116331). However, the conventional method described above has drawbacks such as a complicated structure for opening and closing the cassette, an increase in the number of parts, and an increase in space.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned conventional paper accommodating cassette, when it is attempted to prevent moisture absorption of the paper in the paper accommodating cassette, the structure is always complicated, the number of parts is increased, and the space is enlarged. There was a point.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention is intended to solve such a problem. That is, the present invention prevents the occurrence of the boundary of the state change (variation of the amount of moisture absorption) on the sheet by allowing the sheet bundle in the sheet storage cassette to absorb moisture evenly while simplifying the structure and saving space. ,
An object of the present invention is to provide a paper storage cassette that does not cause image distortion due to image misalignment or reduction between the moisture absorbing portion and the non-moisture absorbing portion and further image blurring.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a sheet storage cassette for storing sheets and a sheet feed roller for coming into contact with the sheet in the sheet storage cassette and feeding the sheet. In the provided image forming apparatus, an air forced circulation means for forcibly circulating the air inside the cassette is disposed on the side wall of the sheet storage cassette body, the forced air circulation means can forcibly introduce outside air, The driving power source of the forced circulation means is a solar cell provided on the surface of the sheet storage cassette main body, the sheet in the sheet storage cassette is folded in half, and the air forced circulation means is located inside the folded portion. Characterized by the fact that

[0008]

The paper storage cassette configured as described above is
Since the air forced circulation means is provided in the paper storage cassette,
It becomes possible to absorb moisture evenly on the entire surface of the paper, and the exposed part (moisture absorption part) in contact with the paper feed roller absorbs and expands due to the difference in moisture absorption to become wavy, or the unexposed part covered with the lid (non-moisture absorption part) It is possible to prevent the occurrence of a boundary of state change between both regions due to the smoothness of the image, and it is possible to eliminate the image distortion and the image blur due to the positional shift or reduction of the image.

Further, since the outside air is forcedly introduced, it is possible to quickly and uniformly absorb moisture over the entire surface. Furthermore, since the power source of the forced air circulation means is obtained from the solar cell mounted on the surface of the sheet storage cassette body, it is possible to save space and energy. Further, since the forced air circulation means is provided inside the folded paper in the paper storage cassette body, it is possible to save space.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the construction of a so-called diazo copying machine to which the present invention is applied. The sheet-shaped recording material 3 and the original 4 stored in the paper feed cassette are subjected to a predetermined process in the paper feed unit 5, the exposure unit 6, the separation unit 7, the conveyance unit 8 and the developing unit 9 to complete the copying. . FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view of the diazo copying machine shown in FIG. 1. When a document 4 is inserted into a document feeding unit from a paper feed port provided at the right end of a table 10 constituting the paper feeding unit 5, the document is fed. It enters toward the first feed roller 11 located in the paper mouth. First feeding roller 11
Is composed of a driving side roller 11a and a driven side roller 11b. The driven side roller 11b is retracted from the conveyance path while being separated from the driving side roller 11a, and
Only a is constantly rotated. A detection unit 13 and a first stopper 12 are sequentially arranged on the downstream side of the first feed roller 11. When the document 4 passes the first feed roller 11,
The control means (not shown) detects the document at a position 0 to 3 mm upstream of the first stopper 12 which can stand in and out in the "out" state, and the control unit (not shown) "retracts" the first stopper 12 based on the detection result. Then, the driven side roller 11b of the first feeding roller 11 which is in the separated state is brought into contact with the driving side roller 11a, and the conveyance of the original 4 is started. At the same time, the sheet-shaped recording material 3 is transferred to the paper feed roller 1
Paper feeding is started by 5. The sheet-shaped recording material storage cassette 18 for storing the sheet-shaped recording material 3 is composed of a sheet-shaped recording material storage box main body 14 having an open upper surface, a lid member 16 that can be attached to and detached from the storage box main body 14, and the like. .
The paper feed roller 15 contacts the uppermost sheet of the sheet-shaped recording material bundle stored in the storage cassette 18, and starts the transportation of the uppermost sheet so as to convey a predetermined distance set in advance.

The original 4 is conveyed to the inside of the apparatus through the original conveying path indicated by the arrow, and the sheet-shaped recording material 3 is guided to the merging and conveying path 19 for both sheets passing through the sheet-shaped recording material conveying path indicated by the arrow. The second feed roller 20 arranged in the confluent transport unit 19
Is composed of a driving side roller 20a and a driven side roller 20b, and the driven side roller 20b is configured to be able to move forward and backward with respect to the driving side roller. The second stopper 21, which is arranged on the downstream side of the second feed roller 20 and has a configuration capable of retracting in the transport path, moves in and out in conjunction with the advancing / retreating operation of the driven roller 20b. That is, when the second stopper 21 is set to the “out” state, the driven roller 20b is set to the “separated” state and retracts from the merging / conveying path 19, so that the original 4 and the sheet-like recording material 3 are formed.
Is brought into contact with the second stopper 21 to align and align the original 4 and the leading end of the sheet-shaped recording material 3. Then the second
When the stopper 21 is put into the “sunk” state, the driven roller 20
The state "b" is in "contact" with the driving side roller 20a, and the original 4 and the sheet-shaped recording material 3 which are in a superposed state are fed to the exposure section 6 by a driving means (not shown).

The exposure unit 6 includes a transparent cylinder glass 27, which is rotatably positioned and supported by an endless belt 25 and a cylinder receiving roller 26, which are stretched between a driving roller 22, a pulling roller 23, and an idle roller 24, and a cylinder glass. A fluorescent lamp 28 located inside 27 and held by a holding means (not shown) is provided, and a part of the endless belt 25 is wrapped around the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder glass 27. The fluorescent lamp 28 is turned on by a fluorescent lamp lighting means (not shown), and the light energy of the fluorescent lamp 28 in the state where the document 4 and the sheet-shaped recording material 3 in the superposed state are sandwiched between the endless belt 25 and the cylinder glass 27. The sheet-shaped recording material 3 is exposed to form a latent image.

In the separating section 7, the pick-off plate 29 is biased to the cylinder glass 27 by a biasing means (not shown),
The exposed original 4 and sheet-like recording material 3 are peeled off from the surface of the cylinder glass 27 and guided to the introduction portion of the separating portion, and then they are superposed by the original suction plate 30 and the recording material suction plate 34. The original 4 and the recording material 3 are separated and separated. On the document suction side, a document suction means 30, a driving side roller 31 axially supported by the document suction side, a driven side roller 32, an endless transport belt 33 hung over them, and a document firmly adhere to the transport belt 33. It is composed of a document-side neutral holding member arranged to prevent such a situation. On the other hand, the sheet-shaped recording material suction side abuts on the sheet-shaped recording material side at a position substantially opposite to the sheet-shaped recording material suction means 34 and the neutral holding member of the document suction means 30 to bring the sheet-shaped recording material 3 into the sheet-shaped recording material. A neutral holding member which is separated from the suction means 34 by an arbitrary minute distance, and a suction fan (not shown in the suction means 30 and 34) generates a negative pressure which is set in advance.
Are adsorbed and conveyed, respectively, and separated.

The conveying section 8 rotates counterclockwise to facilitate the discharge of the original 4 and the reverse roller 35 and the original suction means 30.
A group of parts for ejecting the original 4 to the outside of the machine by the original conveying roller 36 abutting on the conveying belt 33 hung on the driven side roller 32, and a sheet-shaped recording material conveying roller 37 abutting on the sheet-shaped recording material adsorbing means 34. Relay transport roller 3
8, a return roller 39, and a group of parts for guiding the sheet-shaped recording material 3 to the developing section 9 by a group of guide members filling the space between these rollers. The developing unit 9 includes a developing plate 41, a coating roller 42, a developing roller 43, and a developing roller pair of a pressure roller 44.
When passing between the pressure rollers 44, a slight amount of the developing solution makes the image visible, and the discharge roller pair 45 discharges it onto the copy tray to complete the copy.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the construction of the paper storage cassette of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a top view showing the state in which the lid member of FIG. 3 is removed. In FIGS. 3 and 4, the paper storage cassette 18 that stores the paper and sends the paper 3 one by one in the direction of the arrow C is a paper storage cassette main body 14 and the paper 3 is fed by the paper feed roller (not shown) one by one in the arrow C direction. An opening 14a for feeding sheets and a lid member 16 for covering the upper portion of the sheet storage cassette body 14 are formed, and a space defined by the cassette body 14 and the lid member 16 constitutes a sheet storage portion 17. ing. Further, an air forced circulation means (fan) 50 is supported by a support member 51 provided inside the paper storage cassette body 14 so as to forcibly circulate the air in the paper storage portion 17 in the direction of arrow D. . That is, the support member 51 is fixed parallel to the side wall parallel to the sheet feeding direction C, and the air in the cassette is circulated by the forced air circulation means 50 fixed to the support member 51. A ventilation port may be provided on the side wall corresponding to the circulation means 50 to introduce and circulate the outside air. Further, the circulation means 50 may be provided on the side wall in the sheet feeding direction (or on the opposite side).

FIG. 5 is a top view showing the configuration of another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the paper storage cassette 18 for storing paper and sending it one by one in the direction of arrow C is called the paper storage cassette body 14. The sheet storage cassette body comprises an opening 14a for feeding the sheets 3 one by one in the direction of arrow C by a sheet feed roller (not shown) to feed the sheets, and a lid member (not shown) covering the upper portion of the sheet storage cassette body 14. A sheet storage unit 17 is configured by 14 and the lid member. Forced air circulation means (fan) for forcedly introducing the outside air in the direction of the arrow E to circulate it in the paper storage unit 17.
50 is provided on the side wall of the paper storage cassette body 14. Further, the circulation means 50 may be provided on the side wall on the side of the sheet feeding direction.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the structure of a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view thereof.
The paper storage cassette 18 that stores paper and feeds the papers one by one in the direction of arrow C includes a paper storage cassette body 14 and an opening 14a for feeding the papers 3 one by one in the direction of arrow C by a paper feed roller (not shown). And a lid member 16 that covers the upper portion of the paper storage cassette body 14,
A support member 52 is fixed between the side walls in the paper storage unit 17, and the paper 3 is folded in two by the support member 52 and stored in the paper storage unit 17. The paper storage unit 17
The forced air circulation means 50 is provided for the forced circulation of the outside air in the direction of the arrow F to circulate the outside air.
It is supported by a support member (not shown) in the inner space (the position corresponding to it) of the paper 3 folded in half inside the paper 4. The forced air circulation unit 50 is, for example, a fan, and operates using the solar cell 54 exposed to the outside of the cassette body 14 (outside of the image forming apparatus) as a power source. It is possible to use a solar cell as the power source of the forced air circulation means 50 of the first and second embodiments.

[0018]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it is possible to evenly absorb moisture over the entire surface of the paper by providing air forced circulation means in the paper storage cassette. Therefore, the exposed portion (moisture absorption portion) in contact with the paper feed roller absorbs and expands due to the difference in moisture absorption to be in a wavy state, while the non-exposed portion covered by the lid (non-moisture absorption portion) becomes smooth, thereby Since the boundary of the state change is prevented from occurring between the areas, it is possible to eliminate the image distortion and the image blur due to the position shift and the reduction of the image. Further, since the outside air is forcedly introduced into the cassette by using a fan, it is possible to quickly absorb moisture evenly over the entire surface. Further, since the power source of the forced air circulation means is obtained from the solar cell mounted on the surface of the sheet storage cassette body, it is possible to save space and energy. Further, since the forced air circulation means is provided inside the folded paper in the paper storage cassette body, it is possible to save space.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view of a diazo copying machine to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view of a diazo copying machine for detailed description of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a paper storage cassette showing the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a top view with the lid member of FIG. 3 removed.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the paper storage cassette according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main part of a paper storage cassette showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 8 shows an example of paper stored in a conventional paper storage cassette.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing the relationship between paper humidity (%) and elongation (%).

FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b) are image forming examples of a sheet having an expanded portion and a non-hygroscopic portion due to partial moisture absorption stored in a paper storage cassette of a conventional diazo copying machine, and a conventional electronic device. An example of image formation on a sheet having an expanded portion and a non-hygroscopic portion due to partial moisture absorption stored in a paper storage cassette of a photo PPC.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 ... Sheet recording material, 4 ... Original, 5 ... Paper feeding section, 6 ... Exposure section, 7 ... Separating section, 8 ... Conveying section, 9 ... Developing section 10 ... table, 11 ...
First feed roller, 11a ... Driving side roller, 11b
..Driven rollers, 12 ... First stopper, 13 ...
.Detection means 14 ... Sheet-shaped recording material storage box main body,
15 ... Paper feeding roller, 16 ... Lid member, 17 ...
Shielding member, 18 ... Sheet-shaped recording material storage cassette,
19 ... Confluence conveyance path, 20 ... Second feed roller, 2
0a ... drive side roller, 20b ... driven side roller,
21 ... Second stopper, 22 ... Drive roller, 23
... Tensile rollers, 24 ... Idle rollers, 25
... Endless belt, 26 ... Cylinder receiving roller, 27
... Cylinder glass, 28 ... Fluorescent lamp, 29
... Pickoff plate, 30 ... Document suction means, 31 ...
..Drive side rollers, 32 ... Driven side rollers, 33 ...
.Conveying belt, 34 ... Sheet-shaped recording material adsorbing means,
35 ... Reversing roller, 36 ... Original conveying roller, 3
7 ... Sheet-shaped recording material conveying roller, 38 ... Relay conveying roller, 40 ... Return roller, 41 ... Developing plate, 42 ... Coating roller, 43 ... Developing roller,
44 ... Pressure roller, 45 ... Paper discharge roller pair, 50
... Air forced circulation means, 54 ... Solar cell.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus comprising a paper storage cassette for storing paper and a paper feed roller for coming into contact with paper in the paper storage cassette and feeding the paper. A paper storage cassette having an air forced circulation means for forcibly circulating the air inside the cassette. 2. The sheet storage cassette according to claim 1, wherein the forced air circulation means is capable of forcedly introducing outside air. 3. The sheet storage cassette according to claim 1, wherein the drive power source for the forced air circulation means is a solar cell provided on the surface of the sheet storage cassette body. 4. The paper is folded in two in the paper storage cassette, and the forced air circulation means is located inside the bent portion. Paper storage cassette.