JPS6057878A - Copying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To constitute a thin, simple device by extending a beltlike photosensitive body between two rollers, and arranging respective means for exposure, development, transfer, and separation around it. CONSTITUTION:The beltlike photosensitive body 20 is extended between the 1st and the 2nd rollers 21 and 22, and a developing device 33 is arranged at or near the roller 21; and the exposure means consisting of an exposure lamp 27 is arranged at either side between the rollers 21 and 22, and the transfer means which uses a corotron 25 for transferring a developed image to transfer paper 37' is arranged at the other side. Thus, the thickness of the device is reduced. Further, a paper guide 52 which guides the transfer paper 37' nearly in a tangential direction is provided in contact with the 2nd roller 22 to separate the transfer paper 37' from the photosensitive body 20 wound around the roller 22 naturally by its own rigidity, so that the device is simplified. The transfer means is composed of a corotron 25 to perform electrostatic charge in the 1st turn of the photosensitive body 20 and transfer in the 2nd turn, thereby further simplifying the device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention forms an electrostatic latent image on a photoreceptor, develops it with toner, etc., and then transfers it onto transfer paper. This invention relates to a copying machine that uses a so-called electrophotographic method.

Conventional configuration and problems thereof In recent years, copying machines have become increasingly smaller and cheaper.

A conventional electrophotographic copying machine will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 is a block diagram of a conventional electrophotographic copying machine.
is a drum-shaped photoreceptor, 2 is a corotron for charging, 3 is a fiber lens array, 4 is a developer, 5 is a corotron for transfer, 6 is a transfer material, 7 is an AC corotron for peeling off the transfer material, 8
9 is a cleaning blade, 9 is an AC corotron for static elimination,
10 is a fixing device.

Regarding the electrophotographic copying machine configured as described above,
The entire operation is described below. First, a corotron 2 charges the photoreceptor 1, and then an image of the original 11 is formed on the photoreceptor 1 by a lens 3 to create an electrostatic image.
Develop. The transfer material 6 is charged from the back surface by a transfer corotron, and the developed toner 12 on the photoreceptor 1 is transferred onto the transfer material 6. The transfer material 6 is neutralized by an AC corotron for transfer stripping and is stripped from the photoreceptor 1.

The image is sent to the fixing device 1o, fixed, and then discharged outside the machine.

On the other hand, the untransferred toner 13 on the photoreceptor 1 is scraped off by the IJ-Jung blade 8. The charge is removed by an AC corotron for charge removal, and the charging process begins again.

However, in the above configuration.

In addition to requiring many corotrons for charging, transferring, peeling, and neutralizing, the configuration is complicated, and a toner collection box 14 is required to collect toner scraped off by a cleaning blade or the like. Since the photoreceptor needs to have a large diameter, there are problems in that the device is large and tall.

Additionally, when powder is used as toner, the toner tends to fly up from the developer and scatter inside the machine.In the conventional configuration shown in Figure 1, toner from the developer is transferred. There is a problem in that not only the material 6, the corotons 5, 7, etc. become dirty, but also the toner flying upwards causes the shifter lens array 3 to become dirty.

In addition, since the amount of untransferred cleaning toner 14 is large, in order to reuse it, the toner must be transported from the toner collection box 14 to the developing device 4, which requires a complicated device. It had problems such as:

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a copying machine that is thin, easy to use, small in size, and inexpensive.

Structure of the Invention In the copying machine of the present invention, a belt-like photoreceptor is stretched between at least a first and a second roller, and a developing means is disposed at or near the first roller.

An exposure means is disposed on one side between the first and the twentieth rollers, and a transfer means for transferring the image developed by the developing means to the transfer section is disposed on the other side. This makes it possible to make the device thinner, and furthermore, the transfer means is disposed on the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive member that advances from the first roller toward the second roller.

Moreover, by providing a discharge path for the transfer material in a substantially tangential direction at a position in contact with the second roller, the transfer member can be naturally separated from the photoconductor wound around the second roller due to its own rigidity. This makes it possible to simplify the device. Furthermore, the above transfer means is a corotron.

The apparatus is further simplified by configuring the photoreceptor to perform charging during the first rotation and transfer during the second rotation.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to two drawings.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of an electrophotographic copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are side sectional views for explaining the operation.

In FIG. 2, 2o is a belt-shaped photoreceptor, 20' is a seam for endlessly creating the photoreceptor 2o, and 21
．． Reference numeral 22 denotes first and second rollers that stretch the photoreceptor 20 and make it run; 23 a motor; and 24 a photoreceptor position sensor that detects the rotational position of the photoreceptor 2o, which is provided on the photoreceptor 20. Marks a, b, and ci are detected. 26 is a corotron, 26 is a huff eye bar lens array, 27 is an exposure lamp, 28 is a reflector, and the original 3 on the original table 29 is
An image of o is formed on the photoreceptor 20. A cleaning blade 31 is used to scrape off untransferred toner on the photoreceptor 20. Reference numeral 32 denotes a static elimination lamp, and 33 a developing device, which conveys toner 35 to the entire surface of the photoreceptor by a magnetic roller 34 and develops it. Reference numeral 36 denotes a paper feeder, and 37 a transfer material, which is placed on a paper feed plate 38 and is pressed onto a paper feed belt 40 by a pressure bonding plate 39.

44 and 45 are timing rollers, and 46 is a fixing device.

A document table position sensor 47 detects marks d, e, and f (B) provided on the document table 29.

The operation of the copying machine of this embodiment configured as described above will be described below.

1) Copy Start From the state shown in FIG. 2, the motor 23 is rotated as shown in FIG. 3 to cause the photoreceptor 20 to travel in the direction of the arrow.

At the same time, the original platen 29 is moved backward to the right as indicated by the arrow, and stopped when the original platen sensor 47 detects all the marks e.

Furthermore, the paper feed bell) 40i is rotated in the direction of the arrow to feed the transfer paper 37 into the paper feed path 43 p'q tc.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the leading edge of the transfer paper 37' reaches the timing rollers 44, 45, the paper feed belt 40i is stopped and the paper feeding operation is completed.

2) Start of charging As shown in FIG. 3, when the photoreceptor 20 rotates and the photoreceptor position sensor 24 detects the mark af provided on the back surface of the photoreceptor, the corotron 26 is activated to start charging the photoreceptor 20. do. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the surface of the photoreceptor 2o is cleaned by scraping off the residual toner 48 with the cleaning grade 31, and the surface of the photoreceptor 2o is cleaned by the cleaning grade 31.
Since the residual charge on the surface is eliminated by the static eliminating light 2, the surface remains clean even after passing through the developing device 33.

3) Start of exposure From the charging start position shown in FIG.
When the photoconductor position sensor 24 detects the mark b, the exposure lamp 27 is fully lit, and the document table 29 is started to move to the left at the same speed as the photoconductor 2o. , the image of the original 30 is transferred to the photoreceptor 2
00 surface to create an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the original on the photoreceptor surface.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the joint 20' of the photoreceptor 2o almost reaches the cleaning blade 31, that is, when the photoreceptor position sensor 24 detects the mark C, the cleaning blade 31 is rotated about the shaft 49. Make it move,
It is evacuated from the surface of the photoreceptor 20. At this time, the untransferred toner 48' that has been scraped off by the cleaning blade S1 and dammed up on the photoreceptor 20 moves while remaining on the photoreceptor and falls onto the developing device 33.

It is housed in the developing device 33 and combines with the toner in the developing device.
In addition, by stopping the lighting of the static eliminating lamp 320 at the same time as the cleaning blade 31 is retracted, the cleaning blade and the static eliminating light are applied to the electrostatic latent image 50 on the photoreceptor 2o.
can be prevented from harming the

With the above operations, the photoreceptor has made one rotation from the initial state shown in FIG.

4) Development and Transfer As the photoreceptor 20 continues to rotate as shown in FIG. Developing toner 61 is adhered.

In addition, the joint 20' of the photoreceptor 20 is again connected to the corotron 25.
When passing above, that is, the photoconductor position f-24 is
When the transfer a is detected, the timing rollers 44 and 45 are operated to send the transfer paper 37' into the transfer path, so that the transfer paper 37' is charged from the back side by the corotron 25, and the developed toner on the photoreceptor 2o is charged. 51 is transferred onto the surface of the transfer paper 37'. In addition, generally Corotron 26
The operating conditions during charging and transfer are often different.

However, when the photoreceptor position sensor 24 detects the mark a, it is also possible to switch the corotron operating condition from the charging condition to the transfer condition. It is still necessary to properly align the tip of the developing device 51 and the tip of the transfer section 37'.

This is possible by adjusting the position of the document leading edge position regulating plate 52 on the document table 29.

6) During transfer, the peelable transfer material is strongly charged from the back side by the corotron 25, so that it is strongly brought into close contact with the photoreceptor 20 by electrostatic force.

Therefore, in order to peel off the transfer portion from the photoreceptor, it is necessary to forcibly peel it off mechanically using a means such as a peeling claw, or
32 In the case of the present invention, it was necessary to eliminate static electricity using an alternating current (AC) corotron.

As shown in FIG. 5, after the photoreceptor 20 passes through the transfer section,
The outer diameter of the first and second rollers 22 immediately wound by the second roller 22 is sufficiently smaller than the outer diameter of the conventional photosensitive drum shown in FIG. Therefore, the transfer material 37
A bending rigidity force of ' is applied, and the transfer portion is naturally peeled off from the photoreceptor surface against the electrostatic force applied to the photoreceptor, and is conveyed along the paper guide 52 toward the fixing device 46.

From the state shown in FIG. 6, when the photoreceptor continues to rotate and the seam 20' of the photoreceptor 20 reaches the bottom of the fiber lens array 26 again, the exposure process for the original 30 is completed and the original platen is rotated. When the position sensor 47 detects the mark f, it stops, starts returning to its original position again, and stops when it detects the mark d.

6) Start of cleaning As shown in FIG. 5, untransferred toner 48 remains on the photoreceptor 20 after the transfer. It is necessary to clean the photoreceptor surface before starting the next charging exposure step. However, when the photoconductor continues to rotate from the state shown in FIG. 5 and the photoconductor position sensor 24 detects mark C as shown in FIG. 6, the cleaning blade 31 is again pressed onto the photoconductor 20. At least start the scraping operation of the remaining amount of toner 48 1
At this time, the static elimination lamp 32 is simultaneously turned on to irradiate the surface of the photoreceptor after cleaning with light to eliminate the residual potential on the photoreceptor and prepare for the next charging process.

At this time, the photoreceptor 20 has rotated twice from its initial state.

When the photoreceptor 20 further continues to rotate and the seam 20' passes through the corotron 25'' again, the voltage applied to the corotron 25' is stopped to prevent unnecessary charging on the photoreceptor 20.

When the photoreceptor 20 further continues to rotate and the joint 20' passes over the corotron 25 again, the voltage applied to the corotron 26' is stopped to prevent unnecessary charging of the photoreceptor 20.

Further, when the photoreceptor 20 continues to rotate and the seam 20' reaches the vicinity of the cleaning grade 31, that is, the photoreceptor 2
When o has rotated 3 times, the cleaning process is completed, the motor 23 is stopped, and the motor 23 is turned off. Become.

. During this time, the transfer material 37' has finished transferring and fixing and is discharged outside the machine. The document table 29 has also returned to its original position as shown in FIG.

The above is the operation when making a single copy, but when making several copies from one original, in the operation explanation above, after the transfer is completed, without stopping the voltage applied to the corotron 25. , then switch to the next charging operation, and then switch to the document platen 2.
By continuing to move 9 to the exposure start position,
Continuous copy operations can be performed.

In this case, one copy can be obtained by two rotations of the photoreceptor 2o, and the copying speed can be increased compared to a single copy operation.

In the above embodiments, a static eliminating lamp and a cleaning blade are used as static eliminating and cleaning means, but the present invention is not limited to these.

Any material may be used as long as it has static elimination and cleaning effects.

Further, in the above embodiment, a method in which the document table moves is described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The document table is fixed, and an optical system such as a lens and a mirror moves to scan the document. It goes without saying that the misfire ψJ can be similarly implemented in the case of the method.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above explanation, the copying machine of the present invention has a belt-shaped photoreceptor stretched between two rollers, a developing means is disposed at or near the first roller, and the above-mentioned By disposing a transfer means between the first and second rollers and further providing a transfer material peeling means on the second roller section, the entire copying machine can be easily made thinner, and the developing means can be easily made thinner. By arranging it at the bottom of the device and away from the transfer means and exposure means, it has the effect of preventing staining caused by toner flying up from the developing means.

By providing a developing means at the bottom of the first roller, untransferred cleaned toner can be carried onto the photoreceptor simply by moving the cleaning blade up and down, without the need for a toner collection box or the like. This makes it possible to store the device in the developing means and use it again, making the device more compact.
This has a great effect on simplification.

Furthermore, by configuring the means for transferring, peeling, fixing, tough paper, etc. to the transfer material approximately in a straight line, it not only stabilizes the transfer process but also prevents the transferred image on the transfer material from being disturbed. It also has the effect of preventing the occurrence of paper jams, etc.

Furthermore, by utilizing the winding action of the photoreceptor by the second roller to naturally separate the transfer material from the photoreceptor due to the rigidity of the transfer material itself, it is possible to use a corotron for static elimination without removing the transfer material.

The effect is that the apparatus can be further simplified without requiring a mechanical peeling means or the like.

Further, by arranging the configuration in which one corotron performs the electric operation and the transfer operation, it is possible to further reduce the size of the apparatus.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional electrophotographic copying machine;
The figure is a side sectional view of an electrophotographic copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3, 4, 5, and 6 are side sectional views for explaining the operation of the embodiment. be. 20... Belt-shaped photoreceptor, 25... Corotron, 26... Fiber lens array, 2
9. Mountain: Original platen, 31: Cleaning blade, 32: Mark/static elimination rung, 33: Developing device, 37: Transfer material, 46... ...Fuser.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A belt-shaped photoreceptor is stretched between at least the first and 20th rollers, a cash means is disposed at or near the first roller, and one of the belt-like photoreceptors is placed between the first and second rollers. By the exposing means on one side and the above-mentioned developing means on the other side! 2fJJ, a copying machine characterized by being provided with a transfer means for transferring an image to a transfer member. (2) A transfer means is disposed along the photosensitive surface of the photoconductor that advances from the first roller toward the second roller, and the transfer means is arranged in a substantially tangential direction at a position in contact with the second lawn. By providing a discharge passage, the transfer member is separated from the photoreceptor wound around the second roller due to its own rigidity and advances to the discharge passage. Copying machine described in scope item (1). (3) The transfer means is a corotron, and the corotron charges the surface of the photoreceptor during the first rotation of the photoreceptor, and transfers to the transfer material during the second rotation of the photoreceptor. A copying machine according to claim 0) or (2), characterized in that: (4) A photoreceptor, and an exposure means, a cleaning means, a static eliminating exposure means, a developing means, and a transfer charger are arranged in that order in the direction of rotation or movement of the photoreceptor, and the above-mentioned A copying machine characterized in that the photoconductor surface is charged by a transfer charger so that transfer is performed during the second rotation.