JPS60656B2 - Optical image transmitter end face cleaning method - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a method for cleaning an end face of an optical image transmitting member.

Optical image transmitters made by bundling optical fibers or east-focusing optical transmitters are used in exposure optical systems of copying machines and reading devices of facsimile machines. One end of the bundled optical fibers or east concentrating optical transmission body is arranged to have an elongated slit-like end face, and is placed facing the original. When the optical image transmitting body is used as an exposure optical system, the end portion of the optical image transmitting body is also arranged into an elongated slit-like end face, and the arrangement of optical fibers or east concentrating optical transmitting bodies on both end faces is mutually arranged. Be responsive. When the optical image transmitting body is used in a cutting device, the other end portion is often bundled into a bundle. Incidentally, if dirt or dust adheres to the end face of the optical image transmitter, it not only reduces the amount of transmitted light but also causes flare, which ultimately causes a decline in the quality of the image obtained on the recording sheet. It will become.

Therefore, it is necessary to properly clean the end surface to remove dust and dust attached to the end surface.

In the following, in order to provide a concrete explanation, an optical image transmitting body as shown in FIG. 1 will be taken as an example.

The optical image transmitting body 1 includes a large number of slender cylindrical east-focusing optical transmitting bodies 11i, which are cut to a length capable of forming an erect, same-size image, in a direction perpendicular to the length direction thereof. , parallel to and close to each other, aligned and bundled in the most dense manner, aligning both lengthwise ends of the east-focusing optical transmission bodies 1-i, and fine end surfaces of the individual east-focusing optical transmission bodies 1-i. They are integrated by a resin frame 1a so that the collecting surfaces form elongated slit-like end surfaces.

An east concentrating optical transmitter is an optical transmitter generally known by the trade name Self-Oc, and its refractive index changes quadratically in the radial direction, and changes in the axial direction. The transmitted light snakes along a sinusoidal curve. Therefore,
By cutting this into an appropriate length, imaging performance can be imparted. As a method for IJ cleaning the end face of such an optical image transmitting body, a method has been proposed in which a brush or an elastic body is used to directly wipe away dirt and dust on the end face.

Although this cleaning method is very effective, as cleaning is repeated, it is inevitable that dirt and dust will accumulate on the brush and the elastic body, gradually reducing the cleaning effect. There was a drawback that there was a risk that the end face of the east concentrating optical transmitter would be damaged by the sliding moat using brushes and brushes.

In view of these points, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for cleaning the end face of an optical image transmitting member, which does not reduce the cleaning effect and does not cause damage to the end face of the optical image transmitting member.

The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows one application example of the present invention, and shows an exposure section of an electronic copying machine.

That is, in the figure, numeral 2 is a photoreceptor, numeral 11 is a manuscript glass, numeral 12 is a substrate, numeral 13 is a support for the optical image transmitting body 1, numerals 14 and 15 are reflector members, and numeral 16 is a manuscript. 17 is a fan, 18 is a casing for the fan 17, and 19 is a filter. In this example, the photoreceptor 2 is formed into a drum shape, and is disposed with its ball facing in a direction perpendicular to the drawing, and is rotated around the axis by an arrow B.
It can be rotated in the direction of.

The document layer glass 11 is provided substantially horizontally above the photoreceptor 2.
The size of the shortest distance is determined by the imaging characteristics of the east concentrating optical transmission body 1-i in the optical image transmission body 1.

The optical image transmitting member 1 has a longitudinal direction parallel to the spreading axis direction of the photoreceptor 2, and one end face facing the manuscript war history glass 11 at a portion where the photoreceptor 2 and the manuscript war history glass 11 are closest to each other. It is arranged so that the other end face faces the circumferential surface of the photoreceptor 2 and satisfies predetermined conditions, and is held by the support body 13 .

The end face of the optical image transmitter 1 facing the original glass 11 side is called an input end face, and the other end face is called an output end face.

The above-mentioned predetermined conditions in the arrangement of the optical image transmitting body 1 are such that the optical distance between the input end face and the upper surface of the document layer glass 11 is the same as the optical distance between the output end face and the photoreceptor 2, and the optical distance between the output end face and the photoreceptor 2 is It means that they are equal.

The curved surfaces of the reflector members 14 and 15 are mirror surfaces. The shape of this mirror surface is in the longitudinal direction, ie. Although it is uniform in the direction perpendicular to the drawing, the cross-sectional shape is approximately an elliptical arc. The mirror surfaces of the reflector members 14 and 15 focus the ellipses determined by their respective cross-sectional shapes,
The mirror surfaces are shared in the longitudinal direction, and the other focal point of each mirror surface is set near the top of the document glass surface facing the input end surface of the optical image transmitting body 1. The document illumination lamp 16 is a tube light whose longitudinal direction is perpendicular to the drawing, and is arranged with its center aligned with the focal point shared by the mirror surfaces of the reflector members 14 and 15. . Therefore, on the original layer glass 11, the original to be copied ○
When the lamp 16 for illuminating the original is emitted, a part of the light from the lamp 16 for illuminating the original is transmitted to the part of the original facing the input end surface of the optical image transmitting body 1 through the slit due to the mirror surface. The light is condensed into a shape, and an erect equal-sized image of this illumination section is projected onto the circumferential surface of the photoreceptor 2 by the imaging performance of the optical image transmitter 1. Therefore, while charging the surface of the photoconductor 2, the photoconductor 2 is rotated in the direction of the arrow, and the original cover pupil glass 11 is moved in the direction of the arrow A at a speed equal to the moving speed of its circumferential surface. When the document ○ is transported, a static latent image corresponding to the document 0 is formed on the photoreceptor 2. When the document illumination lamp 16 emits light, it emits a considerable amount of heat and its temperature becomes high, so it is necessary to cool it appropriately. Fan 17 is for this purpose.

The reflector members 14 and 15 are provided with a lamp 16 for illuminating the document.
A slit is formed in the longitudinal direction of the document illumination lamp 16 adjacent to the document illumination lamp 16, and the fan 17 is placed on the opposite side of the lamp 16 through this slit, and close to the slit.
It is provided. A casing 18 provided with this fan 17 as a whole forms a passage for cooling air flow from the slit to its own entrance.
When the fan 17 rotates, the reflector members 14,1
5, the air on both sides of the mirror flows around the document illumination lamp 16, cooling the lamp and the reflector members, and
It is sucked into the casing 18 through the slit, flows through the casing 18, and is discharged from the opening. Now, in this example of the apparatus, the present invention is applied as follows in order to clean the input end face of the optical image transmitting body 1 where dust and dirt tend to accumulate.

That is, the support body 13 which is a peripheral member of the input end surface;
The input end surface of the optical image transmitting body 1 is surrounded using reflector members 14, 15, a spacer 12, a document layer glass 11, etc., and an air inlet 13a is bored in the support body 13. That's true.

The space surrounding the input end face is closed except for the air inlet 13a and the slit between the reflector members 14 and 15 (see FIG. 3). The air inflow row 3a is
The cross-sectional shape is bare, and gradually narrows from the outside to the inside, forming a gap near the pole of the input end surface of the optical image transmitting body 1, as shown in FIG.

A filter 19 is provided at the outer opening of the air inlet 13a. The filter 19 may not necessarily be provided. As a result, Manuscript Senki Glass 11, Sbaser 12,
Support body 13, reflector members 14 and 15, and a pair of side plates 20 [FIG. 3 (one side not shown).

)] form an air flow path. When the fan 17 operates, air flows as indicated by the thick arrow.

That is, after the air passes through the filter 19 and removes fine dust, it flows through the air inlet 13a, blows out forcefully from the narrow edge onto the input end face of the optical image transmitting body 1, and further flows, The light flows into the casing 18 through the slits formed by the reflector members 14 and 15 while cooling the reflector members 14 and 15 and the document illumination lamp 16. The air flow blown from the air inlet 13a onto the input end face of the optical image transmitting body 1 is sufficient to blow away dust and dirt on the input end face, and the input end face is cleaned by the air flow. be done.

In this way, if cleaning is carried out by blowing air flow onto the end face of the optical image transmitting body to be cleaned, the cleaning effect can always be kept stable. The end face will not be damaged.

It is also conceivable to use a dedicated air nozzle to blow the air stream onto the end face of the optical image transmitter. However, in the case of the above example, the cleaning air flow is
It has the advantage that it can be used to cool the lamp, which is a heating element, and its surrounding parts. At the same time, the airflow also serves to clean the mirror surface of the reflector. In the above example, the case where only the input end face of the optical image transmitting body 1 is cleaned has been explained, but it is possible for those skilled in the art to arrange the above example so that the output end face can also be cleaned if necessary. would be extremely easy. Finally, the following points should be added regarding the baser 12 in the above example.

That is, as the manuscript battle record glass 11 moves, the smoother 12 slides the back surface of the manuscript battle record glass 11, so by appropriately selecting the material of the baser 12, it can be applied to the manuscript battle record glass 11. 11 can be provided with a cleaning function.

In dry copying machines, toner and other substances tend to adhere to the back side of the printer, so this cleaning function is not practical.
Extremely useful.

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided an optical image transmitting body which has an excellent cleaning function, a stable cleaning effect, and which can be carried out with a simple device without damaging the end face of the optical image transmitting body during cleaning. An end face cleaning method can be provided.

In the above explanation, cleaning of the end face of an optical image transmitting body as shown in FIG. 1 was taken as an example, but the above explanation does not lose its generality to other general optical image transmitting bodies. should be obvious.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an optical image transmission body, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of an optical image transmitting body.
FIG. 3 is a front cross-sectional view showing an example of an apparatus for carrying out the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing essential parts of the apparatus shown in FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Light transmission body, 1-a...Falling light transmission body, 13...Support body, 13a...Air inlet, 1
4, 15...Reflector member, 16...
...Lamp for illuminating the original, 17...Fan. Hakama Izu Kasu 2 Zukan 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method for cleaning the end face of an optical image transmitting body arranged facing a document, the end face of which is formed by closely bundling a large number of optical fibers or focusing light transmitting bodies and arranged into a long and narrow slit shape, the method comprising: A reflector of a document illumination lamp and a peripheral member of the end face surround the end face, a cooling slit in the reflector, an air inlet bored in the peripheral member, the reflector, the peripheral member, and the end face. By forming an air flow path and forcibly passing an air flow through the air flow path, the air flow is blown onto the end face, cleaning the end face, and cooling the reflector and document illumination lamp. 1. A method for cleaning an end face of an optical image transmitting body.