US3451320A

US3451320A - Electrostatic printing apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3451320A
Application number: US295652A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ira M Sage
Original assignee: Olivetti SpA
Current assignee: Telecom Italia SpA; Olivetti SpA
Priority date: 1963-07-17
Filing date: 1963-07-17
Publication date: 1969-06-24
Anticipated expiration: 1986-06-24
Also published as: GB1070803A; DE1497020A1; SE307892B; CH426485A; BE650739A; DE1303330B; GB1077107A; DE1303330C2; CH425471A; BE650740A

Description

v June 24, 1969 l, M. SAGE l 3,451,320

ELECTROSTATIC PRINT ING APPRATUS Filed July 1v, 1963 sheet of 12 INVENTOR.

. June 24, v1969 l. M. SAGE 3,451,320

ELECTROSTATIC PRINTING APPARATUS Filed July 17, 196s l sheet Z of 12 N VEN TOR.

lFiled July 17, 1963 Sheet INVENTOR. /A 5,465

Qui

m m QM June 24, 1969 l, M. SAGE 3,451,320

ELECTROS'TATIC PRINTING APPARATUS Filed July 1'?, 1965 Sheet 4 of 12 INVENTOR. /A J/l 6.6

June24, 1969 n. M. SAGE 3,451,320 I I ELECTROSTATIC PRINTING APPARATUS Filed July 17, 1963 sheet 5 of 12 i I V 'y 'INVENTO .F 5 i M24 5,465

June 24, 1969 l. M. SAGE 3,451,320

ELECTROSTATIC vPRINTING APPARATUS Filed July 17, 1963 sheet 6 of 12 INVENTOR F/G. 6 M W June 24, 1969 l. M. SAGE ELECTROSTATIC PRINTING APPARATUS Sheet 7 of 12 Filed July 1'7, 1963 IN VENTOR. 5/4 6E' Annen/5x25 l .lune 24, 1969 l. M. SAGE I ELECTROSTATIC PRINTING APPARATUS Sheet i of l2 Filed July 17, 1963 INVENTOR. /PA 52165 Afro/9ms ys June 24, 1969 l. M. SAGE ELECTROSTATIC PRINTING APPARATUS Sheet Filed July 17, 1963 INVENTOR. /A 5,465

Sheet /O of 12 IN VENTOR. //V $1465 ,4 rra/PA/FYS da www June 24, 1969 l. M. SAGE ELECTROSTATIC PRINTING APPARATUS Filed July 17. 196s June 24, 1969 l. M. SAGE ELECTROSTAIIC PRINTING APPARATUS sheet 0112 Filed July 1.7, 1965 vN l June 24, 1969 l. M. SAGE ELECTROSTATIC PRINTING APPARATUS snet of 12 Filed July 17V. 1965 INVENTOR 6,465

M@ maui pqi United States Patent O U.S. Cl. 355-11 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A11 electrostatic copying machine in which copies can be either on pre-cut sheets of photoconductive copy paper, or on sheets cut to the length of the original from a copy paper roll stored in the machine. Selection between these modes of operation is made simply by operating an electrical switch, The machine has a closed loop recirculation system in which the document to be copied can be recirculated time after time in order to make multiple copies of the document. Means are provided for charging the copy paper, for reflex exposure of the copy paper, developing the latent electrostatic image by brushing it with dry, electrostatically attractable developer particles, and fusing the particles into the copy paper by heat. The same set of charging and developing components is used with both the pre-cut sheets and the sheets cut from the roll stored in the machine.

This invention relates to electrostatic printing apparatus. More particularly, this invention relates to a compact and portable electrostatic office copier for copying documents on photosensitized sheet material.

An object of this invention is to provide electrostatic printing apparatus that produces clear and accurate printing quickly at a low cost.

Another object of this invention is to provide an electrostatic copying machine Which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, occupies relatively little space, can be moved from place to place without permanent installation, and produces copies of documents at a low cost.

A further object of this invention is to provide such a copying machine which is convenient and simple to opcrate, requires little maintenance, and operates with a high degree of reliability.

Other objects, aspects and advantages of the present invention will be pointed out in, or apparent from, the following description and drawings, of which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic View, partly in elevation, and partly in phantom, of an embodiment of the copying machine of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged :detail drawing of a portion of the machine shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a schematic drawing of an electrical circuit for the copying machine shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a schematic drawing of the drive system of the copying machine shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a right side View of the machine shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 6 is a left side View of the machine shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 7 is a front view of the lamp used with the copying machine shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 9 is a front view of the fuser unit used in the copying machine shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view taken along line 111-10 of FIGURE 9.

FIGURE 11 is a partially cut-away top plan view of the fuser shown in FIGURE 9.

rice

FIGURE 12 is an end view of the knife unit used in the copying machine shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 13 is a plan view of the knife unit shown in FIGURE 12.

FIGURE 14 is a view taken on line 14-14 of FIG- URE 13.

FIGURE 15 is a view taken on line 15-15 of FIG- URE 13.

FIGURE 16 is a schematic and partly sectional view of the developer unit used in the copying machine shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 17 is a sectional view taken on line 17-17 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 18 is a view partly in plan, partially cut-away, and partly in longitudinal horizontal section, of the developer unit shown in FIGURE 16 and 17.

FIGURE 19 is a view in vertical section taken on line 19--19 of FIGURE 18.

FIGURE 20 is a plan view, partly broken away, of a brush core used in the developer unit shown in FIG- URES 16 through 19.

FIGURE 21 is a schematic drawing of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIGURE 22 is a schematic isometric representation of the copying machine shown in FIGURE 21, but with parts broken away for clearer showing.

FIGURE 23 is a detail view in vertical section of an alternative construction of a portion of the developer unit of the copying machine shown in FIGURES 21 and 22.

FIGURE 24 is a detail vertical sectional view taken along line 24w24 of FIGURE 23.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2, a document 50 to be copied is inserted into the copying machine through the lower passage 52 of an inlet guide with the surface to be copied facing upward. At the end of the passage the forward edge of the document meets a pair of rolls 56, 58 which feed the document forward. A curved guide 60 bends it over and into another pair of

rolls

62, 64.

Rolls

62, 64 feed the document through an exposure window 66, from which an image of the surface to be copied is transmitted to the printing portion of the machine by a combination of mirrors and lenses. The document then passes on to another pair of rolls 68, 711 which feed the document out of the machine.

In accordance with the present invention, the document 50 may be copied by the machine upon either pre-cut photosensitized sheets, each of which is fed individually into the machine along with the document, or upon photosensitized paper fed from a roll and cut to length within the machine. The machines operator may select between these modes simply and quickly by operating a selector switch located on the outside of the machine.

The upper passage 72 of the inlet guide is used to guide pre-cut sheets 74 of photosensitized copy paper into the machine when the pre-cut sheet mode of operation is selected. It is desirable that the leading edges of such precut sheets be synchronized in the copier with the corresponding edges of the documents to be copied. This is most simply achieved by aligning the edges of the document and sheet before inserting either; then, holding them together at a distance from the leading edges, one spreads them apart just enough to feed the document into the mouth of passage 52 and the copying paper sheet into the mouth of passage 72. When the document and copy sheet are inserted into the machine in this manner, the leading edge of the document 50 depresses a pair of feeler switch ngers to start the machines operation. Almost simultaneously, the copy sheet engages in the bight of

rolls

76, 78 to start its journey upwardly to the printing apparatus of the machine. The document then passes on 3 to the bight of document-transfer rolls 56, 58 and out of the machine as described above.

Photosensitized paper suitable for lmaking copies in the machine is shown, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 3,052,540, to H. G. Grieg. One which I have found particularly suitable can be made, for example, by coating paper with a mixture of an insulating binder, photoconductive pigment, e.g., zinc oxide, vand a dye or dye cornbination to give panchromatic sensitivity. This coating is essentially non-conductive when in the dark or weak `light, but becomes electrically conductive when exposed to stron-ger light. Since the coating in panchromatically sensitive, the document 50 may be any flexible sheet material bearing lines and/or characters of any desired color or colors.

As exposure to light and shadow may deteriorate such paper, it should be protected from strong light, and expecially from non-uniform light. Protection from .such light while the paper is passing through the machine may be provided by a light-tight housing for the entire machine or by shielding enclosing the papers path.

Sheet 74 is moved by the driven rolls 76, 78 onward along a curved guide 80, and through a knife unit 82, which cuts copy paper to length during the roll-feed operation of the machine but performs no function when pre-cut sheets are used. Sheet 74 then .moves onto another pair of rollers l84, 86 which feed the sheet through an electrostatic charging unit `88. This charging unit comprises -a corona discharge device, such as that 4shown in U.S'. Patent No. 2,922,883, which establishes a uniform negative charge on the coated surface of the copy paper passing through it.

The sheet 74 is then engaged by a pair of rollers 90, 92 and fed out of charging unit 88 past an image location 93, between a backing guide plate advantageously made of metal, 94, and -a glass plate 95.

Guide rolls 76, 7-8 and 84, 86 are interconnected or synchronized with

rolls

56, 58 and 62, 64 so that at the instant the sheet 74 reaches the image location 93, the

document 50 likewise reaches the exposure window 66.

This exposure window includes a backing guide plate 96, advantageously of metal, .and a lower guide plate 98, advantageously of glass. A lamp 100 is positioned below glass plate 98 to illuminate the lower .surface of document 50 as it passes the exposure window 66.

Three mirrors 102, 104 and 106 are used to reflect the image of document 50 through .a focusing lens system 108 fand through the glass plate 95 onto the sensitized sheet. Each of these mirrors is set at an angle of 45 to direct the light onto glass plate 95 and is advantageously of the first-surface type; that is, it has -a reflective surface exposed to the incident light. The lens 108 is placed in the path of the image-forming light, erg., between .mirrors 104 -and 106 and is adjusted to focus the image upon the sensitized sheet 74 at the image location 93.

Sheet 74 when driven past image location 93 is synchronized with document 50 moving past the window 98 so that the image of -document 50 projected upon sheet 74 remains txed relative to sheet 7-4 Ithroughout its rtravel past the location 93.

In this manner the charged photosensitive surface of sheet 74 is diiferentially discharged by a light pattern corresponding .to that of the illuminated surface of document 50. In .the areas where light strikes the charged surface of sheet 74 the coating becomes conductive andthe charge is dissipated, while the charge remains on the dark areas, thus leaving 4a charge pattern corresponding to the dark markings on document 50.

An adjustable screen `110 is positioned below glass plate 98 in order to adjust the total light received from window I66 to form the focused moving image at 93. 'Ihe area of the plate 98 in which this screen intercepts light is adjustable to vary the time required for exposure of the copy paper to the focused image of the document at 93 4 and, hence, the strength of the electrostatic image on sheet 74.

Sheet 74, now bearing the electrostatic image, moves on to

rolls

112, 114 which feed the sheet into a devoloper unit 118 =(see also FIGS. 16-19 described in greater det-ail below). In the unit `118 developer powder is uniformly distributed across the image-bearing surface of sheet 74 under conditions such that it is held on the sheet only where a charge exists.

Thi-s powder is composd of a fusible printing material such, for example, as a thermoplastic resin mixed with carbon black, or other dark pigment or dye, which is positively charged. This powder is brushed onto the imagebearing surface where the charged developer particles are attracted to and held by the oppositely charged areas on the sheet corresponding to dark areas on the document. Powder particles touching discharged areas are not held, but pass on or fall `awa-y. Thus, the -sheet 74, when it emerges from the -developer unit 118, has on its surface a visible pat-tern of adhering developer particles. This gives a sharp and clear reproduction of .the document 50.

The darkness of this pattern depends upon the amount of powder held by the electrostatic image. The 'amount of powder so held in each Iarea depends in turn upon the degree to which the area has been discharged and, consequently, upon the whiteness or darkness of the corresponding area on the document and `the intensity of light from source and the amount of such light which is allowed by screen to reach the document. Light screen 110 therefore serves as ya means for controlling the darkness of copies made in the machine.

Sheet 74, now bearing a fusible developer powder image of .the document 50, emerges from the developer un-it 118 .and passes between the outside surface of a rectangularshaped backing tube 119 `and a fuser unit 120. Fuser unit y120 has a radiant heat source 122 and heat reflector 123 which heats the developer powder pattern and fuses it into the copy paper .to produce a nished copy having a permanent, sharp and clear reproduction ofthe document.

The finished copy is next fed around a curved guide 124 which guides the copy over a transport roll 126, an outlet guide plate 128, and out of the machine. A tray or other -appropriate means may be attached near the outlet opening to catch copies as they emerge.

As was mentioned above, the machine illustrated is equipped for using either pre-cut sheets of copy paper inserted into passage 72 or copy paper dispensed from a roll. Such roll-fed copy paper is stored in a roll 132 which is rotatably mounted on a hub 133 and stored in a light-excluding compartment 134 in the machine. When the machines operator selects the automatic roll-feed mode of operation for the machine, driven feed rolls 136, 138 withdraw copy paper 130 from the roll 132 through a dispensing slot 140 n compartment 134 and feed the paper upwardly around curved guide 142, past knife 82, which cuts the paper into lengths corresponding to those of documents being copied, and on to

rolls

84, 86 and the printing apparatus of the machine. This printing apparatus performs the same functions on such machine-cut sheets as on pre-cut sheets fed through passage 72.

This roll-feed mode of operation is semi-automatic in that the operator need not feed in copy paper when he inserts the document into the machine; all he needs to do is insert the document and wait a short time for his copy to emerge. The electrical circuitry used to provide this semi-automatic operation will be described in greater detail below.

For making multiple copies of a document, a curved repeater guide 143 (shown fully in FIG. 2 .and in dashed lines in FIG. 1) is attached between the input end of document passage y52 and the outlet side of

rollers

68, 70. Guide 143 turns the document back into the passage 52 to be recopied, as many times .as desired.

Guide 143 is advantageously made of a stiff resilient sheet material and secured to the housing of the copying machine at its midportion by means of a pair of tabs 141. The resiliency of the material of guide 143 biases its ends away from one another. A toggle linkage 139 pivotally connects these ends of guide 143 together, and a cam 137 is pivotally mounted near linkage 139. Cam 137 can be turned by the machines operator to the position shown in FIGURE 4 so that it does not engage with linkage 139. In this position the links of linkage 139 are aligned with one another and the ends of guide 143 are positioned to receive the document 50 from

rolls

68, 70` and guide it upward into passage 52 to be recirculated and recopied. When cam 137 is turned into engagement with toggle linkage 139, the ends of guide 143 are drawn inwardly by linkage 139 and permit the document to exit from the machine in the manner described above.

Since the sensitivity of the copy paper may be impaired by exposure to light, the paper storage compartment 134 is substantially light-tight and has non-reflective inner surfaces, e.g., an anodized black coating used to line the feed slot 140 as is common in photography. Advantageously, as many of the other interior parts of the machine as practicable are made dark to absorb any stray light.

A centrifugal blower 144 (top of FIG. l), driven by an electric motor 145 blows air through a duct 146, past the fuser unit 120, and through the tube 119 to cool these components Iand avoid over-heating of the copies. A smaller duct 147 (FIG. 1) feeds air from duct 146 to cool lamp 100.

In FIGURE 3 is a diagram showing the interconnection of the electrical components usesd in the copying machine of FIGURE 1. These components are energized from an A.C. power supply 148, e.g., a standard 1Z0-volt, 60-cycle power supply, through an on-oif switch 150 and a fuse 152. This gures shows the circuit as it is initially, before any document has been inserted into the machine, but with on-olf switch 150 closed to turn-on the machine.

As is shown in FIGURES l and 2, a starting switch 154 is located below passage 52 of inlet guide 54. Switch 154 has a pair of side-by-side feeler

type contact arms

156 and 158 extending upwardly into passage 152. These

contact arms

156 and 158 are lightly biased in the upward direction to contact their upper terminals, as is shown in FIGURE 3.

Arms

156 and 158 are depressed substantially simultaneously by the leading edge of a document 50 which is inserted into the machine. The depression of

arms

156 and 158 causes them to contact the lower terminals of switch 154 and energize the printing and feeding components and the roll-feed apparatus of the machine, as will be described below.

A shut-off feeler switch 164 is located below outlet guide 128 at the top of the machine, as is shown in FIG- URE l. Switch 164 has a contact arm 166 which eX- tends into the outlet passage near guide 128. Arm 166 is lightly biased upwardly to contact the upper terminal of switch 164 and is depressed by a finished copy emerging from the exit of the machine. Switch 164 shuts the machine otf when the iinished copy has exited from the machine and no document is being copied.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, a manually-operated switch 168 serves -as a means for selecting pre-cut sheet or roll-feed operation of the machine. Selector switch 168 connects terminal 160 of switch 154 to contact arm 158. By closing switch 168 roll-feed operation is selected and by opening it pre-cut sheet operation is chosen.

Assuming that selector switch 168 has been opened to provide for pre-cut sheet operation of the machine, when a document is inserted into passage 52 it depresses

arms

156 and 158 of starting switch 154. However, since selector switch 168 is open, the depression of arm 158 has no effect on the operation of the machine. The depression of arm 156 causes it to contact terminal 160 and connect a coil 170 of a rachet relay 172 to the power supply 148.

When 4coil 170 is energized in this manner, it pulls arm 178 into contact with terminal 188 and connects the coil 174 of a power relay to the power supply 148. This causes contact arm 180 of relay 176 to be pulled into contact with terminal and connects the electrical printing and feeding components of the machine to the power supply 148 to start the operation of the machine. These components consist of a paper roll drive motor 182, fuser heating element 122, lamp 100, la source of high -voltage 184 for electrostatic charging unit 88, and a blower motor 145.

Relay 172 is used to maintain the energization of coil 174 of relay 176 and keep the printing `and feeding components of the machine energized until the machine is shut olf by relay 164. Relay 172 is a standard rachet relay whose contact arm 178 is mechanically held in one position until its coil 170 receives an electrical pulse. The contact arm 178 of this relay is switched into contact with the opposite terminal o-f the relay only when such an electrical pulse is received. Hence, when arm 156 of starting switch1154 is depressed, it suddenly connects coil 170 of rachet relay 172 to the power supply, thus pulsing the coil and closing the relay. However, relay 172 does not open when arm 156 rises after the document has moved past it because arm 178 is mechanically held in place. This maintains the energization of coil 174 of relay 176 and the machines printing and `feeding components.

When a finished copy depresses arm 166 of switch 164, the energization of coil 170 of the rachet relay is removed. However, relay 172 remains closed because its contact arm is mechanically held in place.

When the finished copy moves past arm 166, it rises and connects coil 170 to power supply 148 through the contacts of relay 172 itself. This pulses coil i170 and causes relay 172 to open and de-energizes coil 174 to shut-oif the printing and feeding components of the machine.

When the operator of the machine closes selector switch 168 to select the roll-feed mode of operation, the operation of the electrical circuit is essentially the same as described above except that arm 158, which is depressed almost simultaneously with arm 156, makes contact with a solenoid 186 which causes a clutch (to be described below) to engage and thereby cause rollers 136 and 138 (FIGURE 1) to be driven and initiate feeding of copy paper 130 from roll 132 upwardly into the printing components of the machine. Copy paper is fed from roll 132 until the trailing edge of the document 50 passes over

arms

156 and 158 and allows them to rise. Arm 158 then connects a pulse network 194 to the power source 148 through rachet relay 172. Upon being so connected to the power source 148, pulse network 194 delivers an electrical pulse to a solenoid 196 which causes a single revolution clutch (to be described below) to engage and thereby actuate the knife unit 82 to cut the copy paper to a length approximately equal to the length of the document 50.

Pulse network 194 consists of a silicon junction diode 198 connected in series with a capacitor 200 which is connected in parallel with a discharge resistor 202. The transient direct current which surges through capacitor 200 when the pulse network is rst connected to the power supply 148 is the electrical pulse output of the network.

The position of switch 154 in passage 52 is adjusted so that the distance between

feeler arms

156 and 158 and the entrance of exposure apparatus 66 is substantially equal to the distance between the cutting edge of knife unit 82 and the entrance of exposure station 93. By this adjustment, the length of paper cut olf by knife 82 will be equal to the length of the document 50 being copied.

The drive mechanism of the copying machine is shown in FIGURES 4, 5 and 6. Referring to these gures, drive motor 182 and its cooling fan 214 are mounted in the lower portion of the copying machine (see FIG. 5). The output shaft of motor 182 is connected to intermediate document transport roll 62 located at the input end of exposure window 66.

In the example illustrated, all drive connections have a one-to-one ratio unless specifically stated otherwise.

A gear wheel 224 is secured to one end of roll 62 (FIG- URE 4). This mates with a similar gear 226 on feed roll 58 at the end of document passage 52. At the opposite end of shaft 62 is attached toothed pulley 228 which is coupled by means of a timing belt 230 to a pulley secured to roll 68 at the output end of the window 66. Another pulley 234 attached to shaft 612 drives roll 78.

A larger pulley 240, approximately twice the diameter of the pulley on 246, is connected through a belt and a clutch 246 to a shaft 248 to which is attached a pair of eccentric cams 250. These cams actuate the knife 82.

Clutch 246 is a single-revolution clutch, and has a tab 254 which is engaged by a plunger 256 of a solenoid 196 to release the clutch in order to prevent the knife 82 from cutting until the plunger 256 of solenoid 196 is lifted to cause clutch 246 to engage. Such a clutch is sold under the trade name Tiny clutch by Taylor-Helander Manufacturing Company.

Roll 78 is connected by belt and pulleys to roll 86, which is located immediately above the knife 82. Roll 78 is geared to roll 138 located just below the knife 82. A second Tiny clutch 270 has a tab 272 (FIG. 5) lwhich is engaged by a plunger 274 of solenoid 186 to disengage the clutch. When plunger 274 is moved back to a position in which it does not engage ta'b 272, clutch 270' is engaged and rolls 136 and 138 are driven to dispense a measured amount of copy paper from roll 1312.

The opposite end of roll 86 is coupled to roll 92 positioned immediately above the charging unit 88 (see FlIGS. 4 and 6). Roll 92 is also coupled to roll 114 positioned above the image location 93. The 4opposite end of roll 114 is coupled to roll 1126 located adjacent output guide 128 and curved guide 124. Shaft 114 is geared to a magnetic toner brush 300 which brushes toner powder onto the electrostatic image on the copy paper. The gear 296 is advantageously somewhat larger than the gear on 114 so that the peripheral speed of brush 300 is somewhat greater than the speed of the copy paper moving past the brush.

Lamp 100 is shown in detail in FIGURES 7 and 8. An iodine-filled lamp tube 302 is mounted in a reflective housing 306, which is mounted on the inside wall of the copying machine, as shown in FIGURE l. Two or more tubes may be used, if desired.

Fuser unit 120 is shown in detail in FIGURES 9, 10 and ll. Referring to these figures, fuser unit 1201 consists of a housing 123 having one open side, with a curved reector 3311 and heating element '.1212 mounted in housing 123 upon an insulating spacer 332.

Heating element 122 consists of a length of Nichrome wire wrapped around a ceramic core and having its ends attached to the core by a pair of terminal clamps 339. The ceramic rod advantageously has metallic caps 342 on its ends which may be clipped into receptacles 346 to provide for easy removal and replacement. Heating element 122 is mounted in reflector 331 by means of receptacles 346. Electrical connections to heating element 122 are made at clamps 339. A pair of mounting brackets 350 are provided for mounting fuser unit 120 in the copying machine as shown in FIGURE l.

FIGURES 12 through 15 show the knife unit 82 in detail. Referring to these figures, a base block 358 having a pair of semi-cylindrical grooves 360 (see FIG. 14) is bolted to a top block 368 and held spaced therefrom by several spacer blocks 374. A knife blade 370 is positioned between base block 358 and blocks 374. Blade 370 also has a rectangular slot 376 at each end forming projections 380 at the rear portion of the blade. Coil springs 384 are tted into grooves 360 and slots 376 so as to abut projections 380. Blade 370 has a pair of indentations 392 at its rear edge for receiving the edges of cams 250.

A shear block 395 having its front edge formed to a cutting edge is aflixed to base block 358 by bolts 402 8 (FIG 13). A slot 410 is formed by a pair of spacers 411 between the blade-carrying base-block 358 and the shear block 395. Slot 410 (see also FIG. l) permits the passage of copy paper through the knife 82 until the paper is cut. The front ends of springs 384 abut upon the front edge of rblock 356 to provide a spring return for blade 370 after it has completed a paper cutting cycle.

When it is required to cut paper passing through knife 82, solenoid 196 (see FIGURE 4) is actuated by pulse network 19'4 (see FIGURE 3) to pull its plunger 256 up and allow clutch 246 to engage shaft 248 for one revolution and thereby turn cams 250 through one revolution. Since plunger 256 is raised for only the short duration of the pulse from network 194, it will be returned to its down position by the time shaft 248 has turned through one revolution. Since these cams are eccentric circular disks, 'blade 370 will be moved towards and over shear block 395 to cut the paper in slot 410, and will then be returned to its initial position by springs 384.

FIGURES 16 through 19 show the developer unit 118 in greater detail. Developer 118 includes a housing 412 which contains a quantity of developer mixture l414.

Developer mixture 414 is composed of developer or toner powder mixed with iron powder. Developer powder 42 is dispensed from a hopper 418 through a hole 422 into housing 412 where it is mixed with iron powder to form the developer mixture 414. The developer powder may have the composition described above, that is, thermoplastic resin with carbon black or light absorbing dye, etc. The particle size of the powder is preferably between 3 and 25 microns. Also, the material of which the powder is composed should be separated from iron in the triboelectric series so that when the iron and developer powder particles are rubbed together the developer powder particles will become charged oppositely to the iron particles and will cling to them. The iron powder particles should be larger than the developer powder particles, preferably being of a size capable of passing through a to 200 mesh screen.

Housing 412 has an opening 424 in its face through whicha small segment of the brush formed on 300 extends to brush across a copy paper sheet 428 passing through the developer. A magnet assembly 426 is positioned opposite slot 424 and is arranged so that brush 300 acts as its armature and is magnetized by it.

As copy paper sheet 428, bearing an electrostatic image, is passed 'between the magnet assembly 426 and the protruding brush 300, the fbrush 300 is rotated and picks up iron particles which arrange themselves along its lines of force like bristles. The developer powder particles cling to the iron particles in these bristles As these bristles are brushed over the electrostatic-imagebearing surface of sheet 428, the developer powder particles, which bear a charge opposite to that of the irnage areas of the electrostatic image, are attracted away from the iron bristles and cling to the image areas of sheet 428 to form a visible powder image capable of being fused to make a permanent finished copy. The ironparticles are held magnetically by the brush 300 until they reach the side of the brush farthest away from magnet assembly 426, at which point the magnetic flux is so weak that the particles fall back into the body of the mixture 414.

Housing l412 and developer powder hopper assembly 418 as oscillated longitudinally so that developer powder 420 is shaken from hopper assembly 418 into housing 412 where it is mixed and rubbed together with iron particles. A paddle assembly 416 helps to mix and circulate the mixture 414 and distributes it evenly along the length of brush 300.

Developer powder hopper assembly 418 includes a conical outer hopper housing 430 which is shaped like the frustum of a cone and is affixed to developer housing 412 with its bottom opening surrounding hole 422. A movable hopper 432 is positioned in housing 430. Movable hopper 432 is shaped like hopper housing 430 except that it is slightly shorter and its sides have a larger included angle between them. A generally Y-shaped jiggle rod `434 is positioned inside movable hopper 432 with its stern 436 extending down through hole 422 into housing 412 to a position near paddle assembly 416. A lid 438 covers the upper opening of the housing 430 to prevent developer powder 420 from spilling out.

Paddle assembly 416 includes an elongated support rod 440 with a series of L-shaped arms 442 attached to the underside of rod 440 with their long portions extending downwardly. Attached to this long portion of each of arms 4'42 is la flat, rectangular liexifble sheet metal blade 444 which forms a paddle. These paddles 4-44 are aligned parallel to one another and at a 45 angle (see FIG. 18) with the longitudinal axis of rod 440. The ends of rod 440 extend through square holes in housing 412 and abut against side frame members 448.

Housing 412'is slidably mounted upon the shaft of brush 300 by means of bushings 452. The brush 300 is rotatably supported by side members 448 and bushings 456.

Triangular cams 460 are aiXed to the exterior of housing 412 near shaft 298 and pins 464 extend perpendicularly from shaft 298 in directions angularly displaced 180 from one another. When the shaft is rotated, pins 464 engage cams 460 alternately and impart an oscillatory u'notion to housing 412 in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of brush 300. The frequency of these oscillations is advantageously about 75 cycles per minute.

The ends of paddle support rod 440, by abutting side frames 448, hold the paddles 444 stationary while housing 412 oscillates. Since paddles 444 are flexible, their rear portions bend toward rod 440 when housing 412 moves to the right (FIG. 18) and permit a quantity of developer mixture 414 to pass between these paddles and the rear wall of housing 412. When housing 412 moves to the left, the rear portions of paddles 444 bend away from rod |440 and prevent the developer mixture from returning to its original position.

A similar mixing action in the developer mixture 414 is set up between the paddles 444 and brush 300. The developer lmixture 414 is thus circulated as indicated by arrows 445 on FIGURE 18 and thoroughly mixed so that developer powder is substantially uniformly destributed in the iron powder and properly charged by rubbing against the iron particles before is is captured in the brush. In addition, this `distributes the mixture evenly along the length of brush 300 and avoids piling up at either end of housing 412.

Oscillating paddles 444 hit the lower end of jiggle rod 434 and cause the bottom opening of movable hopper 432 to be alternately aligned and unaligned with the inlet hole 422 in housing 412 during each cycle of oscillation. This causes a metered amount of powder Ito flow into the housing during each cycle and makes the rate of powder replenishment approximately proportional to the rate of its removal from the mixture. Jiggle rod 434 also stirs the powder in the hopper to lprevent it from caking and to make it flow smoothly into housing 412.

As is shown in FIGURES 18 and 19, brush 300 includes a series of disks 468 mounted in closely spaced relation along shaft 298. One side 470 of shaft'298 is attened and the central holes in the disks conform to the cross-sectional shape of the shaft, assuring their accurate assembly and retention of the shaft. Each disk 468 is separated from the next disk by a washer 472.

Referring now to FIGURE 16, each of the disks 468 is made of soft iron or similar magnetic material and each is advantageously bent along lines 474, which describe a polygon, advantageously a square whose corners are located at the edge of disk 468. The ybends along some of these lines are made in one direction and bends along others of these lines are in the opposite direction, e.g., in FIGURE 17 bends along alternate lines 474 are made towards the observer while bends along intermediate lines 474 are made away from the observer. The angle of these bends is fixed at a value such that the edge of each disk describes a substantially smooth wavy curve, as is best seen in FIGURES 18 and 19. Because the disks 468 have this shape, the instantaneous position of the edge of each disk progresses from side-to-side in the direction of the longitudinal axis of shaft 298 relative to any point at opening 424 when the disk is rotated. This relative motion creates a thorough brushing of the entire surface of copy sheet 428 with developer powder.

Disks 468, which are bent along lines describing a square, create two such side-to-side oscillations for each revolution of shaft 298. The number of these oscillations per revolution may be varied by increasing or decreasing the number of sides of the polygon along the sides of which the bends are made. For example, bending disks 468 along the sides of a hexagon would produce three oscillations per revolution instead of two.

FIGURE 20 illustrates an alternative brush member 300C which can be used in the developer unit 118 in place of brush member 300. This brush member comprises a hollow cylinder 482 made of magnetic material such as soft iron and having a pair of spindles 484 at its ends. A perforated sleeve 486 made of magnet-ic material is secured to the outside of cylinder 484. As is indicated in the drawing, the holes in sleeve 484 are staggered with respect to one another thus leaving generally spiralshaped ribbons of material such as those indicated by dashed lines 488. Since the distance between magnet 426 and the brush member 300e -is the least at points along these ribbons, the iron-powder brush bristles tend to concentrate along these ribbons and Sweep the surface of the copy paper 428 from side-to-side,

A brush similar to brush 300C can be produced by substituting for sleeve 484 a screen comprising wires made of magnetic material. The wires of the screen should be aligned at an angle to the longitudinal axis of cylinder 484 so that the wires describe spiral paths like the ribbons of material in sleeve 484.

An advantage of both of these forms of brush 300C is that they are relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture while providing eicient and complete sweeping of the copy sheet.

Magnet unit 426 includes a permanent magnet or magnets 492 as well as para-magnetic members which concentrate and direct the ux. In the preferred example shown, two permanent magnets 492, which advantageously are ceramic magnets, are arranged with their north poles connected together by a magnetic pole-piece 496 their south poles connected together by a second magnetic pole-piece 498. These pole-pieces are advantageously of soft iron. A pair of magnetic end pieces 500 are bolted to pole-piece 496 and non-magnetic side supports. Members 500 each have a semi-circular cutout end portion bearing against shaft 298 of brush 300, so that, together with the brush 300, members 500 constitute an armature for the permanent magnet. In this arrangement, the lines of magnetic flux flow from the north poles of magnets 492 through pole-piece 496 and end pieces 500, through shaft 298 and disks 468, through the air gap between pole-piece 496 and end pieces 500, through shaft 298 and disks 468, through the air gap between pole-piece 498 and the edge of disks 468, and on to the south poles of magnets 492. In this manner, a strong and evenly distributed magnetic flow is created across the air gap to create strong iron powder bristles 427 for brushing sheet 428.

Magnets 492 are composed of permanently magnetized particles imbedded in ceramic material, and are manufactured under the trade name Indox V by Indiana Steel Products Corporation, a division of Indiana General Corporation. This material is made of barium carbonate and iron oxide, powdered, compressed under high pressure, and sintered. The resulting material is believed 1 1 to be BaFe12O19. These magnets have advantage over other permanent magnets in that they provide a large amount of flux despite their elongated shape. Thus, unit 426 can be more compact and efficient than magnetic devices used previously.

A tray 506 (see FIG. 1) is positioned below developer unit 118 to catch any powder which may be spilled by brush unit 118. This is a shallow, removable tray with a slot in its bottom having upwardly-converging edges 507 to permit paper to pass through lthe tray while preventingl the powder from falling through.

A paper guide 504 (see FIGS. 1 and 16) is bolted to support members 448 and is positioned near opening 424 in housing 412 and near the protruding bristles of brush 300 to guide copy paper past the brush.

The entire apparatus will ordinarily be enclosed in a compact housing which is omitted from FIGURES 1-20 for the purpose of simplification.

FIGURES 21 through 24 show another embodiment of the copying machine of the present invention. The copying machine so illustrated includes a housing 508 having an inlet guide 54d for a sheet of copy paper 74 and an inlet guide 72d for a document 50 to be copied.

Document 50 Ymoves down passage 72d to a pair of

rolls

56d and 58d, which feed document 50 into exposure window 66d along the face of glass plate 98d. A pair of rolls 68d and 70d feed the document away from the window 66d and out of the mach-ine through an outlet guide passage.

A central lamp 100d and a pair of lamps 100d positioned on the outside of the machine and shining through windows 536 in the housing combine to illuminate the document as it passes the window 66d. The image of the document is formed by focusing light which passes through the lens system 108d on to a mirror 106d which reflects the image up to the image location 93d.

Photosensitized copy paper, which may be of the type described above, is inserted into inlet guide 54d and moves over a charging unit 88d which produces a uniform electrostatic charge on the sensitized surface of the sheet. As the sheet passes to and across the screen 95d at the image location 93d, it is exposed to the image of the.

document which induces a corresponding electrostatic image on the sheet. Rolls 114d and 112d feed the sheet around guide 554 and on to another pair of rolls 556, 558 which pass the sheet on to a developer unit 118d where the latent electrostatic image received at the window 93d is converted into a visible image by use of fusible developer powder in the manner described above. The sheet lpasses on through

rollers

562, 564, over the support plate 566, and under fuser unit 120d to x the image on the sheet, and then out of the machine through a slot as shown.

Referring now to FIGURE 22, which illustrates the drive system of copy machine shown in FIGURE 21, a drive motor 182d and its cooling fan 214d are mounted centrally in the housing of the machine. The motor shaft drives a chain 220d. This chain connects the drive sprockets on

rolls

562, 556, 112d, and 94d, for feeding the sheet of copy paper through the machine. An idler sprocket 580 maintains the necessary tension on the chain.

The motor shaft also drives a second chain 230d which connects drive sprockets on

rolls

68d and 58d with the motor shaft to feed the document 50 through the machine. An idler sprocket 586 maintains tension in chain 230d.

A brush drive motor unit 588 has an output shaft 590 and an output 4gear meshing with a drive gear 296:1 on the developer brush shaft 298d to drive brush 300d.

The brush 330:1 of the developer unit may be the same as brush 300 or brush 300C described above, or may be of any similar construction.

Referring again to FIGURE 21, brush 300d is posi` tioned near the sheet of copy paper as it passes through the developer unit 118d. Positioned on the other side of 75 the sheet is a magnet unit 426d used to form the bristles for brushing the toner powder onto the sheet.

Side walls 602 and 604 of developer unit 118d form a housing which holds a supply of iron powder and developer powder mixture 608. The mixture is applied to the brush 300d only in the gap 606 near the bottom of the housing, primarily by magnetic attraction. This arrangement minimizes loss of developer mixture in transit from the housing to the brush.

The brush rotates in the direction indicated by Ithe arrow in FIGURE 2l and the bristles which form in the magnetic field on the lower side of the brush, slump back onto the brush assembly near the top position. The released developer mixture is guided by wall 602 back into the mixture body 608 where it is remixed and enriched with additional toner before being re-applied to the brush 300d. The uppermost edge of wall 602 is positioned close to brush 300 -to remove as much of the loose mixture from the `brush as possible.

Toner powder hooper 418d has a pair of converging side walls 612 and a bottom screen 616i. A pair of supports 620 (see FIG. 22) are provided at the ends of this hopper to support it with respect to the brush 300d. These supports follow the side-to-side oscillating motion of the bent washers of brush 300d and thus shake toner powder onto the brush, Where it is mixed with iron powder and is carried into the developer mixture body 608 where the toner powder and iron powder are rubbed together and dispensed to the brush as described above. In this manner, toner is replaced in developer mixture 608 as it is used, and at a rate proportional to the oscillations of the brush disks.

An alternative toner powder feed device is shown in FIGURES 23 and 24. This device has a hopper 418e with converging side walls 622 and a bottom screen 616e. The hopper is supported by members 628 at its ends which contact the top surface of brush 300d to follow the edges of the bent disks of the brush to provide side-to-side oscillation in the same manner as described above. Several flexible, Y-shaped wires 630 have -their stems depending through screen 616e to contact the surface of brush 300d. Wires 630 agitate the toner powder in the hopper in accordance with the oscillation of the brush and thus facilitate dispensing the powder in a smooth and steady flow, and at a rate proportional to the oscillations of the brush.

Although preferred embodiments of the invention ,and certain modifications have been set -forth in detail, these are not exhaustive or necessarily limitative; on the C011- trary, the showings herein are for the purpose of illustrating the invention and its principles so as to enable others skilled in the art to adapt the invention in such ways as best meet the requirements of particular applications, it being understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

I claim:

1. An electrostatic copying machine comprising, in combination; input guide means for guiding both documents to be coppied and pre-cut sheets of photosensitized copy material along separate paths into said machine; a roll of photosensitized copy material; storage compartment means for rotatably mounting said roll in said machine and dispensing said material; means for cutting material dispensed from said roll into sheets having lengths generally corresponding to the lengths of Said documents; means for electrostatically printing copies of documents on said photosensitized copy material, said printing means comprising; means for establishing a uniform electrical charge upon a surface of said copy material; 'means for illuminating said document at a viewing station and projecting an image of the illuminated document upon said electrically charged surface of said material, thereby establishing an electrostatic image upon said surface; means for contacting said image-bearing surface with fusible developer powder to produce a pattern of said developer powder on said surface conforming to said image, means for fusing said powder into said copy material to produce a permanent copy of said document; means for moving said document from said input guide means, past said viewing station, and out of said machine; means for transporting sheets of copy material through said printing means and out of said machine; means for feeding said pre-cut sheets from said input guide means to said transporting means; roll feed means for feeding said material from said roll, through said cutting means, and on to said copy transporting means; and means responsive to the insertion of a pre-cut sheet of copy material into said input guide means for disabling said roll feed means and thereby preventing feeding of material from said roll.

2. A copying machine, said machine comprising, in combination, a housing, means for guiding a document to be copied into said housing, past an exposure station and out of said housing, means in said housing for charging, exposing and developing electrostatic images on photoconductive copy paper, means for storing a roll of photoconductive copy paper in said housing, cutting means in said housing for severing a length of copy paper from said roll, rst drive means in said housing for moving copy paper sheets past said charging, exposing and developing means, second drive means in said housing for selectively delivering to said first drive means pre-cut sheets of photoconductive copy paper, third drive means in said housing for delivering said severed copy paper lengths to said iirst drive means, and electrical switch means manually operable to activate said third drive means in order to select roll-feed operation of said machine, said cutting means being positioned so that both said pre-cut sheets and the copy paper fed from said roll Iare fed through said cutting means before reaching said rst drive means, and switching means for selectively de-activating said cutting means to enable pre-cut sheets to pass therethrough without being cut.

3. A copying machine as in claim 2, including means selectively activatable to circulate said document in a closed loop path past said exposure station to make multiple copies.

4. A copying machine, said machine comprising, in combination, a housing, means for guiding a document to be copied into said housing, past an exposure station and out of said housing, means in said housing for charging, exposing and developing electrostatic images on photoconductive copy paper, means for storing a roll of photoconductive copy paper in said housing, cutting means in said housing for severing a length of copy paper from said roll, first drive means -in said housing for moving copy paper sheets past said charging, exposing and developing means, second drive means in said housing for selectively delivering to said first drive means pre-cut sheets of photoconductive copy paper, third drive means in said housing for delivering said severed copy paper lengths to said first drive means, and electrical switch means manually operable to activate said third drive means in order to select roll-feed operation of said machine, guide means for rguiding documents into said machine, a solenoid rcsponsive to operation of said manually operable switch to actuate said third drive means, a solenoid for actuating said cutting means for cutting said copy paper lafter it is dispensed from said roll, an electrical power supply, a rst switch responsive to contact with a document in said document guide to connect one of its terminals to said power supply, a second switch whose contact arm is connected to said one terminal of said first switch, .a first terminal of said second switch being connected to a pulse network for energizing said cutting means solenoid, a Second terminal of said second switch being connected to said paper-dispensing solenoid, and said contact arm of said second switch being normally biased to contact said first terminal and being movable by said document in said document guide to Contact said second terminal, and means connected to said one terminal of said first switch for maintaining the connection of said one terminal to said power supply for a finite length of time after Said document moved out of contact with the contact arm of said switches.

`5. A copying machine as in claim 4 including a relay connected between said power supply and the printing and feeding components which comprise said first drive means and said charging, exposing and developing means, means connected to said one terminal of said first switch for energizing said relay in response to said Contact of said document with said first switch and energizing said printing and feeding components, for maintaining the connection of said one terminal to said power supply after said document moves out of contact with said first switch, and for maintaining the energization of said relay until a finished copy has exited from the machine, said manually operable switch means being connected between said contact arm of said second switch and said one -terminal of said first switch for disabling said second switch.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,5 74,2.15 11/1951 Kunstadter.

3,005,388 10/1964 Limberger 95-1.7 3,181,420 5/1965 Rautbord.

2,741,960 4/1956 Oldenboom 95-1.7 2,979,026 4/ 1961 Reuter 95-1.7 X 3,081,677 3/1963 Limberger 951.7 3,091,169 5/1963 Taini et al. 95-1.7 3,143,947 8/ 1964 Limberger 95--75 3,117,891 4/1961 Lehmann 118-6137 3,062,094 11/1963 Mayo 88-24 3,131,594 5/1964 Benson 88-24 3,088,386 5/1963 Sugarman 95-l.7 3,115,814 12/ 1963 Kaprelian 95-1.7 2,898,995 8/1959 Funnell 83-210 2,905,242 9/ 1959 Heffner 83-210 2,852,651 9/1958 Crumrine et al. 219-19 3,053,962 9/ 1962 Cerasani et al 219`19 JOHN M. HORAN, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 88-24g 95-75