JPS60232572A - Small-sized electrophotographic copying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an image of excellent picture quality and reduce the size, weight, and cost of the copying machine more by using an endless original support body and moving the upper side of an electrophotographic sensitive body and the lower part of the original support body which contact each other synchronously in the same direction. CONSTITUTION:The film type electrophotographic sensitive body 5 for contact reflection exposure is arranged below the original support body 2 and formed endlessly, and this is driven while extended among a couple of rolls 6a and 6b and a tension roll 6c and circulated and reused. The upper part 5a of this electrophotographic sensitive body 5 is driven in the same direction with the lower part 2b of the original support body 2; and the electrophotographic sensitive body 5 and original support body 2 rotate clockwise and counterclockwise respectively while synchronizing with each other. A copy form 11 is fed out of a cassette 15 by a paper feed roll 16 and then sent to a transfer part by a couple of upper and lower pinch rollers 17 which rotate synchronously with the running speed of the electrophotographic sensitive body 5.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Field of Industrial Use] The present invention relates to the improvement of an electrophotographic copying machine that is small and light enough to be portable, and it is possible to improve the electrophotographic copying machine by connecting document supports in a ring. This makes it possible to create a compact prosthesis.

<Prior Art> In recent years, in order to improve the utilization efficiency of one-sentence documents and the like, these are often copied and used, and various copying machines have been proposed and put into practical use.

The inventor of the present invention first introduced a method for replacing the conventional glass plate as a document mounting table (M document support) in a document moving slit type projection exposure copying machine in order to realize miniaturization and cost reduction. He proposed a method using a document mounting table made of a transparent film (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-40567), and also interposed a document support between the surface of the photoconductor and the document surface. A film-like film in which an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of a photoreceptor by irradiating light from the back of the photoreceptor while the original surface is in close contact with the photoreceptor (hereinafter referred to as "contact reflection ring"). We have proposed an electrophotographic photoreceptor that eliminates the need for a projection exposure optical system.

In this way, electrophotographic copying machines have been made smaller and lighter.
Conventionally, both ends of a film-like electrophotographic photoreceptor are wound into rolls, and both ends of a document support made of transparent gelaste film are wound into rolls, and each is used in the copying process. Take-up.

Either they are rewound each time, or they are rewound all together and then rewound for reuse.

However, when an electrophotographic photoreceptor is used in the form of a roll, there are problems in that the copying speed is low and the length is long, resulting in increased weight and cost.

Therefore, it is conceivable to connect these electrophotographic photoreceptors in a ring to form an endless belt.

In this case, the electrophotographic photoreceptor lamp can be used continuously by simply feeding it in one direction, but the bamboo is taken up one after another by the roll-shaped document support, and if you try to unwind it, the surface of the electrophotographic photoreceptor There are problems such as electrification of the cine film that has been rubbed and scratched, resulting in poor image quality.

<Object of the Invention> The present invention solves such conventional problems, and even if the electrophotographic photoreceptor is made into an endless belt, it is not affected by the original support and high-quality images can be obtained, and the image quality is further reduced in size, weight, and cost. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a compact electrophotographic copying machine that is cost-effective.

<Configuration of the Invention> The configuration of the present invention to achieve the above object includes at least an annularly connected and movably supported document support made of a transparent glass film, and an annular document support located below the document support. The upper @ part is supported to be movable in synchronization with the lower part of the document support, and is irradiated from the rear side to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface while viewing the document support at an exposure position. a film-like electrophotographic photoreceptor, a charging unit that charges the surface of the electrophotographic photoreceptor, and a charging unit that faces the original surface at the exposure position with the document support and the charged electrophotographic photoreceptor sandwiched therebetween; , a flashing section that irradiates light onto the document surface and forms an electrostatic latent image of the document surface on the surface of the electrophotographic photoreceptor by close reflection II light, and a developing section that develops this electrostatic latent image with toner; A transfer unit that transfers a toner image to a transfer medium, a fixing unit that fixes the toner image to the transfer medium, a history removal unit that removes residual history tl-$9, and a cleaner unit that removes residual toner. It is characterized by:

<Effects of the Invention> According to the present invention having the above configuration, as the electrophotographic photoreceptor is made into an endless belt, the sound of the document support is also made into an endless belt, and the upper side of the electrophotographic photoreceptor and the document support are in contact with each other. Since the lower parts of the body are moved in synchronization with each other in one direction, a good image can be obtained without scratches caused by rubbing against each other or with unnecessary charging. J again. There is no possibility that the am support will be further wound up, making copying difficult. Furthermore, the use of an endless belt allows for smaller size, greater quantity, and lower cost than the conventional winding type.

<81! Embodiment> Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

Figures 1 and 2 are from Book 1 #5f! FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the main parts.

The document support 2, on which the document L is placed so that the surface of the document to be copied faces downward, has both ends connected to rolls 3a and 3, respectively.
The document support 2 is formed into an endless belt which is wound around the rollers 3a and 3b and connected in a ring.
The trap is formed such that the upper part 2a and lower part 2b of the trap overlap. This document support 2 is 1, for example, a bolieterentele 7.
It is formed of a transparent long thin film like tallate film, and its thickness is about half that of a conventional roll-up document support, and is exposed through the double document support 2. For example, 25μ
It is assumed that the thickness is 10 to 100 μm, and if image quality such as contrast and resolution is taken into account, 20 to 100 μm is acceptable.
The thickness is preferably 50 μm.

In addition, in order to prevent deterioration of image quality due to unnecessary charging of the document support 2 itself, a transparent conductive layer obtained by vapor-depositing tin oxide, indium oxide, steel iodide, etc. on the inner peripheral surface of the transparent plastic film, or a transparent conductive layer obtained by vapor-depositing tin oxide, indium oxide, steel iodide, etc. A two-layer structure with a transparent conductive layer obtained by dispersing and coating powder in a resin, or a three-layer structure with a transparent conductive layer inside a transparent plastic film, in either case, the transparent conductive layer is The rolls 3a and 3b may be grounded.

An electrophotographic photoreceptor 5 in the form of a film for close reflection exposure is disposed on the lower blade of the document support 2, and is formed into an endless belt with a pair of rolls 6a, 6b and a tension roll 6 (!, !: The electrophotographic photoreceptor 5 is driven in a state where it is wound around and is reused in a circular manner. In the illustrated example, the secondary photographic photoreceptor 5 is rotated clockwise and the document support 2 is rotated counterclockwise so that the legs 1 are rotated in the same direction.

As the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5 capable of close reflection exposure, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 52-78443,
A mesh-like opaque layer having a transparent part and a transparent part on a flexible transparent support such as a plastic film, a transparent conductive layer, and a transparent photoconductive layer that can transmit light irradiated from the side of the flexible transparent support. In addition, an electrophotographic photoreceptor that can obtain a sufficiently large contrast by contact reflection exposure can be used (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-109953, Mukai 57- 1099
No. 54 e).

In addition, a thin film of a material with an extremely small coefficient of friction, such as tetrafluoroethylene resin, is formed on the surface of the document support 2 that contacts the document l and on the surface of the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5, respectively, so that the document can be transferred cleanly. You can also do it.

An exposure section 7 is provided to face the original 1 with the original support 2 and the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5 in between, and to face the back surface of the upper portion 51 of the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5 . This cliff light section 7 is a surface light source based on electroluminescence that can be raised and lowered by a lifting device (not shown) so that the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5 is brought into close contact with the original 1 via the original support 2. The light panel 8 is made up of a wire 1, for example, a conductive back plate, a layer in which a phosphor is embedded, and a transparent conductive film, and the voltage applied to the phosphor and A device that controls the brightness by changing the frequency is used.

Also, instead of a surface light source, a slit-shaped source such as a fluorescent tube is used,
When this light source is arranged to move, it becomes a Noh effect. .

A known charging method such as a corona charging method or a contact charging method that makes the surface of the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5 static is applied to the roll 6& side of the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5 before the exposure section 7 in the feeding direction. A charger 9 using a charger 9 is installed in m contact with the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5.

Further, at the back of the light-emitting part 7, a known one-component magnetic brush development method or a two-component magnetic brush development method for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the electrophotographic photoreceptor 50 at the exposure position with toner is provided. A cleaner 14 removes toner adhering to the child photoreceptor 5 by using a developing method, a developer 10, a transfer device 12 that transfers the toner image on the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5 onto copy paper 11, which is a transfer medium. and a history remover 13 for removing history remaining on the photoreceptor 5 are successively provided adjacent to the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5.

In the developing device 10, it is possible to arbitrarily select a normal image in which toner is attached to the charged portion of the electrostatic latent image, or a reverse development in which toner is attached to the non-charged portion of the electrostatic latent image. .

In addition, a lamp static elimination rung is used as the history remover 13,
The electrostatic charge is removed by uniformly exposing the entire surface of the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5 to light.

In front of the transfer device 12, a cassette 15 containing copy paper 11 is arranged, and the copy paper 11 is fed to the paper feed roller 1.
6, it is fed out from the cartridge set 15, and then sent to the transfer section by a pair of upper and lower pinch rollers 17 that rotate in synchronization with the running speed of the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5. A pair of fixing rollers 19 are provided as a fixing device 18 on the exit side of the copy paper 11, and a heater embedded in the roller on the toner image side fixes the toner on the copy paper 11 by thermal fusing. The temperature is detected and controlled by a thermistor 21, and the surface is kept clean by a cleaner 22.

As a fixing method, in addition to heat fusion as in this embodiment, pressure fixing is also possible.

In this embodiment, the document conveying device 23 is configured so that the thin document 1 can be automatically fed to the original position.
For example, above the document support 2, there is a pair of rollers 24 that are removable or can be opened and closed to accommodate thick documents, and a pair of rollers 24 that are rotated by the M-movement, and a friction force that is wound around these rollers. It is composed of an endless conveyor belt 25 for conveying the original 1.

In the compact electronic copying machine configured as described above, a copying switch (not shown) is turned on when copying is started.

Document It - When the document is placed in the document conveyance device 23 with its surface facing downward, this is detected and the roller 24 of the document conveyance device 23 is driven. is electrostatically charged by a corona Teiden hojin, and is fed out together with the document support 2 by a predetermined length, such as a length corresponding to the size of the original a1. During this feeding, the upper portion 111flS portion 5a of the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5 and the lower portion 2b of the document support 2 are driven in the same direction and in synchronization, so that they are not rubbed against each other. Then, a document 1 and a document support 2.
Further, after the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5 is stopped at the exposure position, the light panel 8 of the exposure section 7 is lifted up by the lifting device, and the light panel 8 of the exposure section 7 is moved up and down through the upper part 2a and the lower part 2b of the original support 2, and then the original , and the upper portion 5a of the secondary photographic photoreceptor 5 are brought into close contact with each other, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5 by close reflection exposure by the source irradiated by the light panel 8.

In this way, the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5 on which an electrostatic latent image on the original surface is formed by the surface light source of the exposure section 7 is sent to the developing device 10, where a toner image is formed by, for example, magnetic brush development, and then sent to the transfer device 12. It will be done.

In the transfer device 12, the toner image on the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5 is transferred to the copy paper 11 sent out by the pinch roller 17, and the copy paper 11 is sent out of the machine via the fixing device 18.

After the transfer, the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5 is sent to a cleaner 14 to remove the attached toner, and further, the remaining history is sent to a history remover 13 to be removed and recycled for circulation. According to such a small electrophotographic copying machine, as the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5 is made into an endless belt, the document support 2 is also made into an endless belt, and the upper portion 5a of the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5 and the original are in contact with each other. Since the lower part 2b of the support body 2 is moved synchronously in the same direction, a good image can be obtained without causing scratches or improper charging due to mutual friction. By converting both the document support 2 and the electrophotographic photoreceptor 5 into endless belts, it is possible to achieve further miniaturization, weight reduction, and cost reduction compared to the case of 9 winders, and the drive mechanism for these can also be driven in one direction. It only needs to be able to be sent to other countries, and the structure is simple and inexpensive.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 show an embodiment of a small-sized electrophotographic copying machine of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the case. In the drawing. l is the manuscript. 2 is a manuscript support. 2a is the upper part. 2b is the lower part. aa and ab are rolls, 4a and 4b are guide rolls, and 5 is an electrophotographic photoreceptor. 5a is the upper part. 6a and 6b are rolls. 7 is Mugenbu. 9 is a charger, and IO is a developer. 11 is copy paper. 12 is a transfer device, 13 is a line history remover, and 14 is a cleaner. 18 is a fixing device. 19 is a fixing roller. Patent applicant: Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. Representative patent attorney: Shibu Mitsuishi (and one other person)

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] An original support made of at least a transparent plastic film, connected in an annular manner and movably supported; a film-shaped electrophotographic photoreceptor that is supported so as to be movable in synchronization with the side portions, is in close contact with the document support at an exposure position, and has an electrostatic latent image formed on its surface by light irradiated from the back; A charging unit that charges the surface of a photoconductor is arranged to face the document surface at the exposure position by sandwiching the document support and the charged electrophotographic photoconductor, and irradiates light onto the document surface to perform contact reflection exposure. an exposure section that forms an electrostatic latent image of a document surface on the surface of the electrophotographic sensitive element; a developing section that develops the electrostatic latent image with toner, a transfer section that transfers the toner image to a transfer medium, a fixing section that fixes the toner image to the transfer medium, and a history removal section that removes residual history; A small electrophotographic copying machine comprising a cleaner section for removing residual toner.