JPS62279376A - Developer supply structure for electrophotographic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To control the supply of a developer by a simple structure by providing a return opening which is formed in the bottom surface of a developer tank and returns a developer to a developer bottle, a developer supply opening which is formed at a higher position than the connection part of the return opening and guides the developer to a development part, and its opening/closing means. CONSTITUTION:When a solenoid 125 is excited, an actuator 125A and a valve body 124 are elevated to open the developer supply opening 123, and the developer in the developer tank 126 is supplied to a conduit 122 by its own weight. A compression coil spring 127 is fitted at the intermediate part of the valve body 124 opposite the ceiling surface of the developer tank 126 and when the solenoid 125 is not excited, the valve body 124 is pressed against the developer supply opening 123, which is closed. Further, the return opening 141 for connecting a return conduit 140 is formed in the bottom surface of the developer tank 126 slightly below the developer supply opening 123 and an excessive developer is returned to the developer bottle.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention 3. Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention is used in an electrophotographic apparatus to supply a developer to a process head that performs various processing on electrophotographic film. The present invention relates to a developer supply structure for an electrophotographic device.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art Electrophotographic apparatuses are known that are capable of recording images on predetermined frames of electrophotographic film and projecting or copying the recorded images.

Further, a process head that is disposed in an electrophotographic apparatus and performs charging, exposure, development, etc. on an electrophotographic film is known from Japanese Patent Laid-open Nos. 59-100479 and 59-162580.

The process head disclosed in the above publication includes a charging/exposure section, a developing section, a drying section, and a fixing section. These parts are arranged adjacent to each other in the above order along the feeding direction of the electrophotographic film, and the arrangement pitch of each part is a constant pitch equal to the frame pitch of the electrophotographic film.

In the charging/exposure section, the electrophotographic film (corresponding to the - frame) located in this section is charged and then exposed to the image light of the original. As a result, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image pattern of the original is formed on the electrophotographic film. In the developing section, a liquid developer is applied to the electrophotographic film exposed in the charging/exposure section to visualize the electrostatic latent image.

In the drying section, dry air is blown onto the electrophotographic film moistened with the liquid developer to remove moisture. In the fixing section, the image is fixed on the electrophotographic film by a fixing lamp or the like.

The supply structure for supplying developer to the developing section involves pumping up the developer and supplying it to a developer tank, guiding the developer in this tank to the developing chamber through a pipe, and using an electromagnetic system installed in this pipe. By controlling the supply cutoff of the developer by opening and closing the valve, the developer can always be supplied to the developing section at a constant pressure.

However, if the solenoid valve is closed for a long time, the developer may solidify within the pipe. For this reason, it is necessary to provide a branch pipe in the middle of the conduit to return the developer from the tank to the developer bottle when the solenoid valve is closed. Furthermore, the 1i magnetic valve provided in the middle of the pipe line is expensive, which increases the overall cost.

In consideration of the above-mentioned facts, the present invention aims to provide a developer supply structure for an electrophotographic apparatus that can control the supply of developer with a simple structure.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention is a developer supply structure for an electrophotographic device that guides developer supplied from a developer bottle to a developer tank by its own weight to a developing section, and is formed on the bottom of the developer tank to direct the developer to the developer bottle. A return opening for returning, a developer supply port formed at a higher level 1 than a connecting portion of the return opening of the developer tank and guiding the developer to a developing section, and an opening/closing means for opening and closing the developer supply port. It is characterized by

[Effect]

Therefore, in the present invention, the developer supplied from the developer bottle is stored in the developer tank, and when the developer supply port is opened by driving the opening/closing means, the developer is guided from the tank to the developing section. When the developer is not supplied to the developing section, the developer is returned to the developer bottle from the return pipe opened at the bottom of the developer tank, so the developer may separate or solidify inside the developer tank. Never.

If a solenoid and a valve body driven by the solenoid are used as the opening/closing means for controlling the supply of developer, the structure is simple.
Since it is inexpensive, the overall cost can be reduced.

〔Example〕

(Electrophotographic apparatus "IL") FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an electrophotographic apparatus in which a process head according to the present embodiment is disposed.

The electrophotographic apparatus according to this embodiment has a camera function that captures a document and records the image on an electrophotographic film, a reader function that enlarges and projects the image recorded on the electrophotographic film onto a screen, and an electronic It also has a copy function that enlarges and copies images recorded on photographic film onto copy paper.

The electrophotographic apparatus is constructed by integrating an electrophotographic apparatus main body 10 and a copying apparatus 12 in which a housing 11 also serves as a stand for the electrophotographic apparatus main body 10. Incidentally, if the copy function is not required, it is also possible to use only the electrophotographic apparatus main body 10 in the vehicle body.

The housing 14 of the electrophotographic apparatus main body 10 is composed of a portion 14A located on the left side and having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a portion 14B located on the right side and having a stepped top surface.
The internal spaces of the image parts 14A and 14B are communicated at the rear part.

On the outside of the housing 14A, there is a transparent screen 16 that closes the front opening of the housing and is rolled slightly behind the housing.
is provided, and a document table 18 is provided above. On the document table 18, a transparent glass plate 22 is provided at the bottom of the document holding plate 20, which can be opened and closed, and covers the upper opening of the housing.
(See FIG. 2 below) are arranged. Housing 1
An electrophotographic film 24 (second
A cassette loading section 26 into which a cassette containing a cassette (see figure) is loaded is formed near the center of the top, and a control keyboard 28 for various operations of the electrophotographic apparatus is disposed at the front of the top.

Further, in the housing 11 of the copying device 12, there is an opening 32 in which copied copy paper 30 (see FIG. 4 described later) is placed.
is formed.

(Optical System of Electrophotographic Apparatus) FIGS. 2 to 4 show the optical system of an electrophotographic apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 2, the projection optical system includes the document table 1
A document illumination lamp 36 illuminates a document 34, which is a subject set on the glass slope 22 of No. 8 with the document surface facing downward.
and a third mirror 38 on which the reflected light from the original 34 is incident.
, the second mirror 40 to which the reflected light from the third mirror 38 is incident, the first mirror 42 to which the reflected light from the second mirror 40 is incident, and the reflected light from the first mirror 42 to be electrophotographed. The main lens 44 is connected to the surface of the film 24.

As shown in FIG. 3, the projection optical system includes a projection light source section 46 that illuminates the electrophotographic film 24, and a main lens 4 that connects the light transmitted through the electrophotographic film 24 to a first mirror 42.
4, a second mirror 40 into which the reflected light from the first mirror 42 is incident, and the screen 16 onto which the reflected light from the second mirror 40 is projected.

As shown in FIG. 4, the copying optical system includes a projection light source section 46, a main lens 44, a first mirror 42, a second mirror 40, and a space between the main lens 44 and the first mirror 42. a conversion lens 48 that is disposed on the first mirror 42 to slightly reduce the optical image focused on the first mirror 42; and a second mirror 40.
The copy mirror 52 reflects the reflected light from the copying machine 12 toward the copy paper 30 set on the exposure table 50 disposed in the copying apparatus 12.

The main lens 44, the first mirror 42, and the second mirror 40 are commonly used in the three optical systems described above. The main lens 44 and the first mirror 42 are fixedly disposed within the housing 14B of the electrophotographic apparatus main body 10, and the second mirror 40 is fixedly disposed within the housing 14A.

The third mirror 38, copy mirror 52, conversion lens 48 and screen 16 are selectively used.

The third mirror 38 and the copy mirror 52 are movably disposed within the housing 14A of the electrophotographic apparatus main body IO, and the conversion lens 48 is movably disposed within the housing 14B so as not to interfere with other optical systems. has been done. Since the screen 16 does not interfere with other optical systems, it is fixedly arranged as described above.

Further, the optical system of the electrophotographic apparatus includes a main lens 44 and a first lens.
A shack controlled by an automatic exposure I control device is disposed between the mirror 42 and the mirror 42 .

(Process Head) FIGS. 5 to 13 show an embodiment of a process head according to the present invention disposed in the electrophotographic apparatus.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the process head 5
4 is constructed by integrating a relatively flat, substantially rectangular parallelepiped-shaped main body 56 and a pair of legs 5 located at the bottom of the main body 56, and is made of synthetic resin except for the attachments. Molded. The process head 54 is disposed between the main lens 44 and the electrophotographic film 24 shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, and as shown in FIG. It is attached to a frame 60 disposed within the housing 14B of the photographic apparatus main body 10.

The main lens 44, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7,
It is assembled into the lens barrel 62 and attached to the back surface of the process head 54. The electrophotographic film 24 is constructed by sequentially laminating a transparent conductive layer, an intermediate layer, and a photosensitive layer on a support such as polyethylene, and the photosensitive layer includes a photoconductive layer and a protective layer that protects the photoconductive layer. It consists of The electrophotographic film 24 is in the form of a long tape and is housed in a cassette case.

As shown in the sixth part, the electrophotographic film 24 includes:
Blip marks 2 are placed on the top edge at regular intervals along the longitudinal direction.
4A is printed. The blip mark 24A is provided corresponding to one frame of an image recorded on the electrophotographic film 24. This electrophotographic film 24 is moved in the width direction of the process head 54 (from left to right in FIG. direction). Further, the transparent conductive layer of the electrophotographic film 24 can be electrically connected to the electrophotographic apparatus main body 10 when the cassette is loaded into the electrophotographic apparatus main body 1°. It goes without saying that the electrophotographic film is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and any known film can be used.

The main body 56 of the process head 54 includes
As shown in the figure, charging/exposure sections 64 are sequentially arranged in the width direction.
, a developing section 66, a drying section 68, and a fixing section 70 are formed at a constant pitch corresponding to one frame interval of the electrophotographic film 24.

(Charging/Exposure Section) As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the charging/exposure section 64 has a charging/exposure chamber 72 formed in an internal space on the back side of the front wall 74 of the process head 54. There is. The charging/exposure chamber 72 has an opening in the front wall 74 of the process head 54, and around this opening, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, there is a mask 76 that slightly protrudes from the front wall 74.
is formed. The opening shape of this mask 76 is made into a rectangular shape with a size corresponding to one frame of the electrophotographic film 24. The charging/exposure chamber 72 includes a corona unit 78,
A proximity electrode 80 and a mask electrode 82 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 5, the corona unit 78 includes a corona wire 84 and a synthetic resin holder 86 that holds the corona wire 84, and is inserted into the process head 54 from above. The proximal electrodes 80 are composed of narrow metal plates and are arranged on both sides of the corona wire 84. The mask electrode 82 is formed by bending a metal plate into a rectangular shape, and is disposed near the opening of the front wall 74.

The corona wire 84 is connected to a high voltage power source and the proximal electrode 80
and mask electrode 82 are electrically connected. Normally, the proximal electrode 80 is directly connected to the ground, and the mask electrode 82 is connected to the ground via an electrical resistance, but different bias voltages may be applied to each from an external power source.

In the charging/exposure chamber 72, as shown in FIG. 7, a film cooling air outlet is opened, and cold air is supplied from an air pump 89 through a conduit 87.

The main lens 44, which is assembled into the lens barrel 62 and attached to the back surface of the process head 54 as described above, has its front axis aligned with the center of the opening of the mask 76.

Note that this charging/exposure section 64 has a guide protrusion 77 projecting above the mask 76 and having a longitudinal direction extending laterally.

This guide protrusion 77 is at the same height as the mask 76, so that when the electrophotographic film 24 is loaded into the cassette loading section 26 together with the cassette, the front wall 74 of the process head main body section 56 does not pull the mask 76. It has become.

For this reason, the upper and lower sides of this guide protrusion 77 form inclined surfaces whose height gradually decreases.

(Developing section) In the developing section 66, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6,
A mask 90 is formed, and the mask 90 covers the upper frame 9.
0A, left and right frames 90B and 90C stand up from the surface of a recess 92 formed in the front wall 74. The lower side of the lower frame 90D of the mask 90 stands up from the front wall 74.

Further, both ends of the lower frame 90D extend further in the left-right direction from the connecting portions with the left and right frames 90B and 90C. mask 9
The protrusion height of 0 is set to be at the same level as the mask 76 of the charging/exposure section 64.

A guide protrusion 93 projects above the mask 90 from the recess 92 and is at the same height as the mask 90.

This guide protrusion 93 also has the same role as the guide protrusion 77 of the charging/exposure section 64 and has the same side shape, but the width dimension is
The width dimension is significantly smaller than that of 0.

The opening width of the mask 90 is slightly shorter than the opening width of the mask 76. In addition, the opening height of the mask 90,
That is, the distance between the inner walls of the upper frame 90A and the lower frame 90D is
The inner wall of the lower frame 90D is located lower than that of the mask 76, and is lengthened accordingly.

In the opening of the mask 90, as shown in FIG. 9, a developing device 96 is disposed, supported by a rear wall 94. Developing electrode 96 is connected to a bias power source. The surface of the developing electrode 96 is located slightly inside from the end surface of the mask 90, and a space surrounded by the developing electrode 96 and the inner wall of the mask 90 is defined as a developing chamber 98. The upper and lower parts of the developing electrode 96 are opened, and are provided with a developer/squeeze air inlet 100 and a developer/squeeze air outlet 102, respectively.
It is said that

The wall surface of the developing chamber mask 90 is smoothed to improve the efficiency of liquid removal.

The developer/squeeze air inlet 100 communicates with a passage 104 formed in the internal space of the process head 54 . The passage 104 has a developer supply port 106 and a squeeze air supply port 108 opened on the back side of the process head 54.
It is communicated with.

Further, the developer/squeeze air outlet 102 is communicated with a passage 11O constituted by the internal space of the process head 54. The passage 110 communicates with a developer/squeeze air outlet 112 opened on the back side of the process head 54.

A part of the recess 92 located around the mask 90 serves as a sealing pressure supply port 114, as shown in FIG.

The seal pressure supply port 114 is, as shown in FIG.
Passage 116 constituted by the internal space of process head 54
It is communicated with. The passage 116 communicates with a sealing pressure supply opening 118 opened on the back side of the process head 54 . This seal pressure supply opening 118 is connected to the developer bottle 134 via a suction pump and gas-liquid separation means (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 11, the developer supply port 106 is communicated with a developer tank 126 via a conduit 122. This developer tank 126 is located at a higher position than the process head 54, and a developer supply port 1 is provided at the bottom of the tank 126.
23 is formed.

The developer supply port 123 is closed by abutting a portion of the tapered lower end of a rod-shaped valve body 124 whose axis is vertical. The upper end of this valve body 124 is connected to the developer tank 1.
26 and is connected to the actuator 125A of the solenoid 125. When the solenoid 125 is energized, the actuator 125A and the valve body 124 are raised, the developer supply port 123 is opened, and the developer tank 1 is opened.
The developer in 26 is supplied to the conduit 122 by its own weight.

A compression coil spring 127 is installed between the middle part of the valve body 124 and the ceiling surface of the developer tank 126, and presses the valve body 124 toward the developer supply port 123 to close it when the solenoid 125 is not energized. It is supposed to be done.

One end of a pipe line 132 is connected to the side surface of the developer tank 126, and the other end of this pipe line 132 is connected to the developer bottle 13.
It is connected to 4. The developer bottle 134 is configured such that a developer pump 130 driven by a motor 128 supplies the developer 136 in the developer bottle 134 into the developer tank 126 through a conduit 132.

Further, a pipe line 138 is connected to the side surface of the developer tank 126 on the opposite side of the communication part of the pipe line 132.
The excess developer inside is returned to the developer bottle 134.

A return opening 141 for connecting a return pipe line 140 is formed in the bottom of the developer tank 126 at a position slightly below the developer supply port 123 .

That is, the bottom surface of the developer tank 126 is inclined, and a return opening 141 is opened at the lowest part thereof. This return conduit 140 is communicated with a cylinder 160 that projects upward from the developer bottle 134 to carry excess developer to the developer bottle 1.
It is set to return to 34.

The squeezing air supply port 108 is connected to a pressurized squeezing air pump 144 via a conduit 142, so that squeezing air is supplied.

As shown in FIG. 16, this squeeze air pump 144 is capable of supplying two levels of pressurized air: weak air and strong air. This switching is for pressurized squeeze air pump 1.
44 is configured to be able to supply two levels of pressure (low pressure at the beginning of the supply of pressurized air and high pressure at the latter stage).

In this embodiment, the time H during this strong wind supply.

The supply pressure can be changed periodically.

This periodic fluctuation of the supply pressure occurs for a period of time H from the start of strong wind supply.
It is preferable to do this after 2 hours have elapsed.

Specifically, this time H2 should be 0.5 seconds or more (,
The pressure fluctuation is performed at a period of (0.05 to 0.5) seconds, and a value of at least 100 u+HzO or more is effective for this pressure fluctuation. In addition, the weak wind supply time is about 0.5 seconds, and the pressure difference between the weak wind and the strong wind is (200 to 400) ta HzO1
The strong wind supply time is approximately 1.5 seconds.

Note that the pressure fluctuation does not necessarily have to be performed periodically, and may be a temporary pressure fluctuation that occurs at least once or more.

A return pipe 146 that opens into the gas-liquid separation box 135 of the developer bottle 134 is connected to the developer/squeeze air outlet 112 . A conical dish plate 150 is mounted on the upper part of the developer bottle 134, and the lower end of this dish plate 150 slightly enters the developer bottle 134, and its lower surface is brought into close contact with the upper end of the developer bottle 134 to perform development. The liquid bottle 134 is blocked.

A developer pump 1 passes through the central opening of the dish plate 150.
30 is lifted by the motor 128, the plate plate 1
50 is engaged with the lower end of the developer pump 130 and raised, and the lower end of the dish plate 150 is removed from the developer bottle 134, allowing the developer bottle 134 to be replaced.

When the dish plate 150 rises, it slides inside the cylindrical part 154 hanging from the support plate 152 and rises.
In the illustrated position in FIG. 11 where the dish plate 150 is lowered, the cylindrical portion 1
The tapered elastic membrane 156 attached to the developer bottle 54 comes into contact with the lower end protrusion 158 to seal the inside of the developer bottle 134 from the outside air.

A cylindrical body 160 with which the return pipe 140 is communicated is fixed to the support plate 152, and the gas-liquid separation box 135 adjacent to the cylindrical body 160 has a communication hole 135A with outside air in the upper end side wall.
is formed, and a discharge pipe 135B protruding from the lower end passes through the support plate 152 to return only the developer to the developer bottle 134.

Note that the process head 54 is shown tilted in FIG. 11 because it is tilted with respect to the horizontal plane so that the optical axis of the optical system is perpendicular to the screen 16 arranged tilted. .

(Drying section) The drying section 68 includes, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6,
A frame wall 164 is formed. The frame wall 164 is the upper frame 1
64A and left and right frames 164B and 164C, there is no lower frame.The left frame 164B is continuous from the right end of the lower frame 90D of the mask 90, and the upper frame 16
It stands up from the front wall 74 together with 4A. Further, the cloth frame 164C rises from a front wall recess 168 that is depressed from the front wall 74 in a step-like manner.

The dimensions inside the drying chamber frame 164 are larger than the developing mask 90.

A guide projection 169 projects above the lower frame 164A and is at the same height as the upper frame 164A. This guide protrusion 16
Reference numerals 9 denote a guide protrusion 77 of the charging/exposure section 64 and a developing section 66.
Although it has the same side shape and the same role as the guide projection 93, its width dimension is the same as that of the frame wall 164.

7 and 12 between the left and right frames 164B and 164C.
As shown in the figure, a wall 170 whose surface is located slightly inward from the end face of the frame wall 164 is formed, and furthermore, recesses 172 are formed on both sides of this wall 170. The bottom surface of the recess 172 is located at a position that projects from the wall surface of the front wall recess 168. A space surrounded by the frame wall 164, wall 170, and recess 172 is a drying chamber 174. The inner width of the frame wall 164 is wider than the opening width of the mask 9o. Also, the lower surface (inner surface of the frame) of the upper frame 164A
is located above that of the mask 90 of the developing section 66.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 12, the upper frame 164A
The lower part is opened and serves as a hot air outlet 176. As shown in FIG. 12, the hot air outlet 176 communicates with a passage 178 formed in the internal space of the process head 54. The passage 178 is a passage 1 communicating with a hot air supply port 180 opened on the back side of the process head 54.
A temperature sensor 182 is disposed at 78 . The hot air supply port 180 is connected to an air pump 181 via a heater 179 through a conduit 177 so that hot air is supplied thereto.

(Fixing Section) As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the fixing section 70 is formed between the cloth frame 164C of the upper wall 164 and the front wall 74 located at the right end.

The fixing section 70 has a frame section 184 formed of a lower frame and left and right frames at a position further depressed from the front wall recess 168. A transparent glass plate 186 is provided in the frame portion 184.
is fitted, and the space in front of the glass plate 186 is used as a fixing chamber 188.

As shown in FIG. 13, in the space 190 of the process head 54 formed on the back side of the glass plate 186,
A xenon lamp 192 and a reflection plate 194 are provided. A cooling air outlet 196 is opened in the space 190,
Cold air is supplied from an air pump 195 via a conduit 193. The space 190 and the fixing chamber 188 communicate with each other above the glass plate 186.

(Prip sensor) As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the process head 5
4, a prep sensor 196 is installed at the left end of the front wall 74.
is installed. The prep sensor 196 detects the electrophotographic film 2 being moved along the front surface of the process head 54.
It is located at a height where the blip mark 24A of No. 4 passes, and when the blip mark 24A passes, the light from the light source for the sensor, which is placed facing each other with the electrophotographic film 24 in between, is blocked. I'm starting to know.

(Film Holding Mechanism) As shown in FIGS. 7 and 14, a holding plate 198 is provided in front of the front wall 74 of the process head 54. As shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 15, the presser foot 198 has
A rectangular through hole 200 having a size slightly smaller than the opening shape of the mask 76 formed in the charging/exposure section 64 is formed.

The temporary presser foot 198 is arranged so that the through hole 200 corresponds to the mask 76.

As shown in FIG. 15A (a perspective view of the presser plate viewed from the opposite side of FIG. 15), the presser plate 198 has process holes at the upper and lower ends of the side where the through holes 200 are formed. Claws 202 and 204 are formed that protrude toward the Rad 54 side. The claws 202 and 204 have inner surfaces facing each other that are inclined surfaces 202A.

2048, and as shown in FIG. widely). A cylindrical portion 206 is formed protruding from the tip of the claw 204 . Claw 202
．． Reference numeral 204 denotes a hole 208 formed in the front wall 74 of the process head 54 shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 14.
．． It can be inserted into 210.

A cylindrical portion 212 is formed protrudingly on the back surface of the holding plate 198 facing the process head 54 .
12 has a notch 21 formed at one end of the arm 214.
4A is engaged. A stopper 212A is fixed to the tip of the cylindrical portion 212 to prevent the notch 214A from being pulled out. A boss portion 214B is formed at the other end of the arm 214. The shaft 21 is attached to the boss portion 214B.
6 is fixed.

The shaft 216 is rotatably inserted into and supported by a stand 218 erected on the frame 60 to which the process head 54 is attached, and its lower end protrudes from the back surface of the frame 60 . A third lever 220 is fixed to the lower end of the shaft 216.

A pin 222 is fixed to the tip of the first lever 220.

On the other hand, a shaft 224 is vertically provided on the back surface of the frame 60. An intermediate portion of a second lever 226 is rotatably supported on the shaft 224 . The pin 222 is engaged with a notch 226A formed at one end of the second lever 226. A long hole 22 formed at the other end of the second lever 226
6B is a tension coil spring 2 that urges the second levers 226 in opposite directions and elastically supports the second levers 226.
28, 230 are locked at one end.

The other end of the tension coil spring 228 is locked to a pin 232 vertically installed on the back surface of the frame 60, and the other end of the tension coil spring 230 is connected to a pull-type solenoid 234 attached to the back surface of the frame 60. It is locked to plunger 234A.

The presser plate 198 is spaced apart from the process head 54 when the solenoid 234 is not energized. In this state, as shown in FIG. 14, when the cylinder part 206 of the holding plate 198 is fitted into the hole 210 formed in the process head 54 and the supported solenoid 234 is energized, Plunger 234A
is actuated in the direction of arrow A, and the tension coil spring 228.23
0 is stretched against the force.

As a result, the second lever 226 is rotated in the direction of arrow B around the shaft 224, so the second lever 226 is rotated in the direction of arrow C via the pin 222, and the shaft 216 is rotated in the same direction. . By rotating the shaft 216, the arm 214
is rotated in the direction of the arrow mark and presses the presser plate 198 in the direction of the arrow E.

The presser holder 198 is moved in the direction of arrow E with the cylindrical portion 206 guided by the hole 210 to press the electrophotographic film 24 into contact with the end faces of the mask 76, 90 and the frame wall 164. When the temporary presser foot 198 is moved, if the position of the electrophotographic film 24 is misaligned in the height direction, the claw 202.
The inclined surfaces 202A and 204A of the electrophotographic film 204 act to push down the upper edge of the electrophotographic film 24 or push up the lower edge thereof.

When the holding plate 198 presses the electrophotographic film 24 against the process head 54, the holding plate 198 has claws 202 and 204.
are fitted into holes 208, 210 and accurately positioned in process head 54. Also, the presser plate 198
In this state, the electrophotographic film 24 is elastically pressed by the action of the tension coil springs 228 and 230.

When the solenoid 234 is demagnetized, the tension coil spring 22
8, the second lever 226 is rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow B, the arm 214 is rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow B, the notch 214A presses the stopper 212A, and the holding plate 198 is rotated.
is moved in the opposite direction of arrow E.

(Effect of Example) Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

In an electrophotographic apparatus, when the power switch is turned on, the first
The cassette loading section 26 shown in the figure is raised, and a cassette containing the electrophotographic film 24 can be loaded. After the cassette is loaded into the cassette loading section 26, when the cassette loading section 26 is manually pushed down to its original position, the cassette loading section 26 is restrained at that position. In this state, the electrophotographic film 24 is positioned as shown in FIG. 14, and can be moved along the front surface of the process head 54 by driving a film moving motor (not shown).

When recording the image of the document 34 shown in FIG. 2 on the electrophotographic film 24, a film moving motor (not shown) is driven to move a predetermined frame freely selected from among the frames that have not yet been recorded. is located in front of the mask 76 of the charging/exposure section 64. This operation is performed by specifying a predetermined frame using the control keyboard 28 shown in FIG. It is controlled by

Figure 16 shows the time when, after positioning a predetermined piece as described above and performing a possession, successive possession is performed corresponding to each piece that follows this piece. A chart is shown. In the process heater 54, while the frame located in the charging/exposure section 64 is being charged and exposed, the frames located in the developing section 66, drying section 68, and fixing section 70 are undergoing different processing simultaneously. However, the description below focuses on a part of the process in which the possession button is pressed at position (1) in FIG. 16 and the possession is started.

The I-most shadow of the original 34 is made possible by selecting the camera mode by operating a button on the control keyboard 28.
At the same time as this wet processing, the developing pole 96 of the developing section 66 is energized and a bias voltage is applied, and the heater 179 that heats the air blown into the drying chamber 174 is energized and generates heat.
The capacitor of the xenon lamp 192 of the fixing unit 70 is energized and charged. These continue while the camera mode is selected.

When the [R shadow button] on the control keyboard 28 is pressed, the corona wire 84 of the charging/exposure unit 64 is energized and a high voltage is applied to the proximal ti 80 and the mask electrode 82.
A corona discharge is generated between the As a result, mask 7
The surface of the photosensitive layer of the electrophotographic film 24 located within the opening frame 6 is charged to θ.

Note that at the time the possession button is pressed, the solenoid 234 of the film holding mechanism is energized continuously from the previous process, and the electrophotographic film 24 is pressed by the presser JN198 and the mask 76, 90 of the process head 54 and frame wall 1
64 is pressed into contact with each end face. The presser plate 198 has a through hole 200 formed in a portion corresponding to the mask 76, but since the through hole 200 is smaller than the opening of the mask 76, the electrophotographic film 24 located on the end surface of the mask 76 is pressed by the presser plate surface around the through hole 200. Therefore, since the electrophotographic film 24 is reliably brought into close contact with the end face of the mask 76, the charging range is precisely regulated within the opening range of the mask 76.

In addition, a mask electrode 82 provided in the charging/exposure chamber 72
However, by being held at approximately the same potential as the charged potential of the electrophotographic film 24, the peripheral edge of the part of the electrophotographic film 24 located in the opening of the mask 76 is also charged to a value close to the potential of the center of the frame. The entire part of the electrophotographic film 24 is uniformly charged. By appropriately selecting the value of a resistor (not shown) interposed and electrically connected between the ground and the mask electrode 82, or by
By applying a bias voltage to 2 from an external power source (not shown), the mask ti82 is connected to the electrophotographic film 24.
can be maintained at a potential approximately equal to the charging potential of .

After the 1 shadow button is pressed at the (r) position, the document illumination lamp 36 is turned on after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, and the document 34 placed on the temporary glass 22 of the document table 18 is illuminated. Furthermore, after a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the button is pressed, the current supply to the corona wire 84 is stopped, and the corona discharge ends.

At the same time as the power supply to the corona wire 84 is stopped, a shutter (not shown) (indicated by a symbol in FIG. 16) is opened, and the document is placed on the document table 18 by the optical system shown in FIG. Image light from the original 34 is irradiated onto the electrophotographic film 24 . Furthermore, at the same time, an automatic exposure control device (not shown) (indicated by reference numeral B in FIG. 16) starts integrating the amount of light.

On the other hand, after a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the button is pressed, the first
The motor shown in FIG. 1 (A) is driven to start operating the developer pump 130, and
The developer 136 in the developer tank 126 is pumped up into the developer tank 126. The developer 136 descends from the developer tank 126 under its own weight, passes through the pipe 122, and heads toward the process head 54. However, at this time, the developer supply port 123 is still closed, so the excess in the developer tank 126 is removed. The developer overflows and is returned to the developer bottle 134 through line 139.

In this state, part of the developer below the connection part of the pipe line 139 passes through the return pipe line 140 to the developer bottle 134.
As the developer is returned to the developer tank 126, the developer stored in the developer tank 126 is agitated and no toner settles.
A conduit 13 is arranged so that a certain amount of developer is stored in the conduit 13.
The developer supply amount from 2 is determined.

When the cumulative value of the light amount of the automatic exposure control device (B) reaches the set value, the cumulative value is stopped, the shutter (A) is simultaneously closed, and the document illumination lamp 36 is turned off. At this point, the exposure process is completed, and a portion of the electrophotographic film 24 located in the opening of the mask 76 is electrostatically charged due to a decrease in the charge on the photosensitive layer according to the image pattern of the original 34. A latent image is formed. Variations in image density due to variations in the background density of the original 34, fluctuations in the voltage applied to the original illumination lamp 36, etc. are corrected by the automatic exposure control device B (B), so that proper exposure is always performed. . At this time, when a predetermined time has elapsed since the button was pressed and all processing steps for other frames have been completed, the solenoid 234 of the film holding mechanism is immediately demagnetized. When the solenoid 234 is demagnetized at the (IA) position in FIG. 16, the presser foot 198 is separated from the electrophotographic film 24.

After the solenoid 234 of the film holding mechanism is demagnetized,
After a predetermined period of time has elapsed, a film moving motor (not shown) (indicated by C in FIG. 16) is driven, and the electrophotographic film 24 is partially moved to the right in FIG. As a result, the frame located in the charging/exposure section 64 is moved to the developing section 66. Partial movement of the electrophotographic film 24 is
As in the previous case, control is performed by the prep sensor 196 detecting the blip mark 24A.

After a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the film movement motor (C) is stopped, the solenoid 234 of the film holding mechanism is energized at position (IB) in FIG. be touched.

At the same time, suction from the suction squeeze opening 118 is started,
Solenoid 125 is energized.

As a result, the valve body 124 is raised and the developer supply port 123
When the developer 136 is opened, the developer 136 passes through the conduit 122 to the process head 54, and flows into the developer chamber 98 from the developer/squeeze air inlet 100 of the developer section 66. The toner particles dispersed in the developer 136 are charged to e, and in the process of flowing down the developing chamber 98, the electrophotographic film 24
The electrostatic latent image is visualized by adhering to the charged part of e. The developer 136 flowing down the developing chamber 98 is a developer.
From the squeeze air outlet 102 to the return pipe 146
The developer is returned to the developer bottle 134 through the developer bottle 134.

The developer 136 flowing down the developing chamber 98 is
Since the electrophotographic film 24 is pressed into contact with the end surface of the mask 90 at step 8, it hardly enters the gap between the end surface of the mask 90 and the electrophotographic film 24. When the developer 136 enters from this part, the developer 136 is sucked and captured by the negative pressure generated in the recesses 92 located on both sides of the left and right frame parts 90B and 90C of the mask 90 by a suction pump (not shown). Prompted.

In the developer pump 130, the solenoid 234 of the film holding mechanism is energized f! After a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the drive of the motor 128 is stopped and the operation is stopped, but the developer supply port I23 remains open thereafter. Since the developer 136 is supplied from the developer tank 126 to the process head 54 by gravity, even if the operation of the developer pump 130 is stopped, the developer 136 is not supplied to the developer chamber 9.
The supply of 36 continues. In this way, even after the developer pump 130 is stopped, the supply of the developer 136 is continued, so that when the next frame is exposed, the developer pump 136
Exposure blur caused by vibration can be minimized. In order to prevent image unevenness due to the developer moving within the developing chamber, a period of time may be provided during which the solenoid is closed and static development is performed.

When the developer supply port 123 is opened and a predetermined period of time has elapsed,
The power supply to the solenoid 125 is cut off and the developer supply port 12 is closed.
3 is closed and the supply of developer 136 to the developing chamber 98 is stopped. At the same time, the pressurized squeeze air pump 144 is activated, and pressurized air is supplied from the developer/squeeze air inlet 100 to the passenger compartment 98, and the electrophotographic film 2
The excess developer 136 adhering to 4 is blown off and drained. The blown-off developer 136 is returned to the developer bottle 134 from the developer squeeze air outlet 102 through a return pipe 146.

In this case, as the pressurized air is initially supplied in a weak flow as described above, the developer attached to the image-exposed portion of the electrophotographic film 24 will not be accidentally dropped. In addition, since strong wind is supplied in the latter stage, excess developer is reliably removed.

Particularly in strong winds, periodic pressure fluctuations are added, causing the upper part 90'A, left and right frames 90B, 90C of the mask 90 to
The developer attached to the corner formed by the lower frame 90D and the electrophotographic film 24 that is in close contact with the lower frame 90D can be actively blown away.

The air blowing is controlled by the charging/exposure process for the next frame, which is started by pressing the 1st shadow button at position i) in Figure 16, and the solenoid 234 of the film holding mechanism is demagnetized at position (ffA) in Figure 16. After a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the drive of the film moving motor (C) is started and simultaneously stopped, thereby completing the developing/squeezing process.

Note that during development, the presence of the development electrode 96 makes it possible to obtain an image free of edge effects. Further, since a bias voltage is applied to the developing electrode 96, image fogging is prevented. Image reproducibility can also be improved by applying a pulsed high voltage having the same polarity as the charging polarity of the toner particles during development.

When the drive of the film moving motor (C) is stopped, the electrophotographic film 24 has been moved -9 to the right in FIG. After a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the film movement motor (C) is stopped, the solenoid 234 of the film holding mechanism is energized at position iB) in FIG.
The air pump 181 shown in the figure is activated, and pressurized air is heated and supplied through the pipe 177. The hot air heated by the heater 179 is sent from the hot air outlet 176 of the drying section 68 to the drying chamber 1.
The developer 136 is blown out to the developer 74 and dried. The operation of the air pump 181 is controlled by the frame charging/exposure process that is started when the shooting button is pressed at the (I[[) position in FIG. 16, and the film holding mechanism is activated at the ([IIA) position in FIG. The solenoid 234 is demagnetized and stopped at the same time, completing the drying process.

Note that the warm air supplied to the drying chamber 174 is detected by the temperature sensor 18.
2, the temperature is detected and controlled to be constant.

Since the drying chamber is larger than the developing chamber, the film wet with the developer can be completely dried to the periphery.

In addition, in the above example, solenoid 2 of the film holding mechanism
34, and only when the electrophotographic film 24 is being pressed against the rad 54 to the process, the drying air pump 18
Although the air pump 181 is operated, the air pump 181 may be continuously operated from the start.

After the solenoid 234 of the film holding mechanism is magnetized by 1tjl at the ([ffA) position in FIG. Ru. Film movement motor (C)
After the driving of the fixing unit 70 is stopped, the solenoid 234 of the film holding mechanism is energized at the (I [[B) position] in FIG. 16, and at the same time, the air pump 195 shown in FIG. Cold air is supplied to the space 1.90.

This cold air passes through the upper part of the glass plate 186 from the space 190 and reaches the fixing chamber 188 .

After a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the solenoid 234 of the film holding mechanism was energized, the xenon lamp 192 emits light.
The toner particles are fused and fixed to the surface of the electrophotographic film 24, completing the fixing process.

Air pump 19 removes vaporized substances and scattered substances generated during fixing.
Since the particles are blown off by the cold air supplied by the operation of step 5, they do not adhere to the surface of the glass plate 186.

By completing the above steps, recording of the image on the electrophotographic film is completed.

In the apparatus of this embodiment, after the frame located in the charging/exposure section 64, where the photographing button has been pressed and photographing has started, is partially moved to the developing section 66, the solenoid 2 of the film holding mechanism
Photographing of the next frame becomes possible after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since 4 is excited. From this time until after a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the operation of the pressure squeeze air pump 144 to the developing section 66 ends, the shooting button is pressed to shoot the next consecutive frame. When pressed, it is processed as continuous shooting, and by continuing this, the processing progresses as shown in FIG. 16.

Note that if the shooting button is not pressed within the above-mentioned period, or if the end of the series of shooting is input from the control keyboard 28, the timer will cause the pressurized squeeze air pump 144 to start blowing strong air. The process is stopped, and subsequent drying and fixing are also processed by the timer.

The electrophotographic film 24 on which the original image has been recorded as described above can be projected by selecting the reader mode. In the electrophotographic apparatus of this embodiment, a cassette is loaded by the same operation as described above. In this state, the leader mode is automatically selected (the third mirror 38 has been moved from the position shown in Fig. 2 to another position), and by the same operation as described above, the specified piece is selected. At the same time as it stops at the charging/exposure section 64, the light source of the projection light source section 46 shown in FIG. The electrophotographic film 24 is placed on the screen 16 by the optical system shown in FIG.
The image is enlarged and projected.

Note that at the same time that the light source is turned on, the air pump 89 shown in FIG.
4 is cooled so that it does not reach a high temperature, and defocusing due to thermal deformation is prevented.

In addition, in reader mode, the control keyboard 28
By using the original button, the electrophotographic film 24 can be moved frame by frame and the projected images can be viewed continuously in a short period of time.

In this case, the shutter (A) is closed when the electrophotographic film 24 is moved to prevent flickering due to an afterimage phenomenon.

When the copy button on the control keyboard 28 is pressed while the image is being projected onto the screen 16 as described above, the copy mode is selected and the copy mirror 52 is moved, and the optical system shown in FIG.
The image projected on 6 is recorded on copy paper 30.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the present invention is a developer supply structure for an electrophotographic device, in which the developer supplied from the developer bottle to the developer tank is guided to the developing section by its own weight. a return opening for returning the developer to the developer bottle; a developer supply port that is formed at a position higher than the connection portion of the return opening of the developer tank and that guides the developer to the developing section; and an opening/closing means for opening and closing the developer supply port. Since it is characterized by having the following, it has an excellent effect of being able to reliably control the supply of developer with a simple structure.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an external perspective view showing an embodiment of an electrophotographic device;
The figure is a perspective conceptual diagram showing the photographing optical system of an electrophotographic device.
The figure is a perspective conceptual diagram showing the projection optical system, FIG. 4 is a perspective conceptual diagram showing the copying optical system, and FIGS. An exploded perspective view of the head, FIG. 6 is a front view, FIG. 7 is a view taken along the line ■-■ in FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a view taken along the line ■-■ in FIG. 6, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a view along the line IX-IX in FIG. 6, FIG. 10 is a view along the line X-X in FIG. 6, and FIG. 11 (A) is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the process head developing section and the pond equipment. , 1.1
Figure (B) is an enlarged sectional view showing a part of the developer tank.
Figure 2 is a view taken along the χn-xII line in Figure 6, and Figure 13 is a view of Figure 6.
Fig. 1 is a schematic side view showing the positional relationship between the process head and the holding plate, Fig. 15 is a perspective view showing the film holding mechanism installed in the process head, Fig. 15A The figure is a perspective view of some parts of FIG. 15 viewed from the opposite side, and FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a time chart in the camera mode of the electrophotographic apparatus. A: Electrophotographic device, B: Optical system of the electrophotographic device, C: Charging/exposure section, E: Developing section, F: Drying section, G: Fixing section, 54 . . . Process head, 66 . 132... Conduit.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A developer supply structure for an electrophotographic device that guides the developer supplied from the developer bottle to the developer tank by its own weight to the developing section, and is formed on the bottom of the developer tank and returns the developer to the developer bottle. The developer tank includes a return opening, a developer supply port that is formed at a higher position than a connecting portion of the return opening of the developer tank and that guides the developer to the developing section, and an opening/closing means for opening and closing the developer supply port. Characteristic developer supply structure for electrophotographic devices. (2) The developer supply structure for an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening/closing means includes a valve body that comes into contact with the developer supply port, and a solenoid that drives the valve body.