JPH0332066B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an electrostatographic reproduction apparatus, and more particularly to an electrostatographic reproduction apparatus capable of variable medium reproduction.

Conventionally, variable magnification copying apparatuses have been proposed that have two or more variable magnification ratios for copying original documents, such as equal magnification and either reduction or enlargement at a predetermined magnification. , when copying, use a single copy paper size in advance, such as A4 or
By standardizing the copy paper size such as B5, it is not only convenient for copy paper film, etc., but also allows you to change the paper cassette to match the original size each time you make reduced or enlarged copies. It is said to be extremely useful from the perspective of streamlining administrative processing.

However, although variable magnification copying devices that have been proposed in the past have the above-mentioned advantages, the structure of the device itself is complicated and the price is high. Since copy errors may occur due to mistakes or the like, this method is troublesome in that it is necessary to be familiar with the copy operation method to some extent beforehand.

The present invention has been achieved based on the above-mentioned points, and it is possible to simplify the entire device, and the operation section has a simple structure with almost no difference from a copying machine dedicated to the same size. To provide a variable magnification copying device that allows anyone to easily perform a copying operation.

That is, according to the present invention, a universal cassette is used that can accommodate copy paper of various sizes in the same paper feed cassette, and the switch means provided in the universal cassette allows copy paper to be printed at the same size, reduced, or enlarged. It is possible to control the movement speed conversion of the document table and the position correction of the optical device according to the copy selection such as
During copying operations, by loading the desired copy paper related to the original size into the universal cassette, you can make copies at 100% or 100% without requiring any special operations related to scaling. The present invention provides a variable-magnification copying device that enables copying such as reduction and enlargement.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail based on one embodiment.

First, the overall structure of a copying apparatus will be outlined with reference to FIG. 1, which is a simplified cross-sectional view of a specific example of a variable-magnification copying apparatus constructed according to the present invention.

The copying apparatus shown in FIG. 1 has a generally rectangular parallelepiped-shaped housing, the whole of which is indicated by the symbol A, and a transparent plate 1 on which a document to be copied is placed is disposed on the upper surface of the housing A. ing. The transparent plate 1 is
The housing A is provided so as to be movable in the horizontal direction of the paper of FIG. 1 by means of a support frame (not shown) attached to the upper surface of the housing A. From the home position indicated by the solid line, the preparatory movement is carried out to the right on the paper to the scanning exposure movement start position indicated by the two-dot chain line 1a, and then from the scanning exposure start position to the left on the paper with the two-dot chain line 1b.
The scanning exposure is moved to the scanning exposure end position shown by
Thereafter, one cycle in the copying process is completed by returning from the scanning exposure end position to the home position. A support frame (not shown) on which the transparent plate 1 is supported is equipped with a document press cover 2 that can be opened and closed to cover the transparent plate 1 and the document placed thereon.

Furthermore, a horizontal substrate 3 is disposed within the housing A so as to divide the inside of the housing A into an upper space and a lower space, and a cylindrical substrate 3 constituting a support base for the photoreceptor is located approximately in the center of the lower space. A rotating drum 4 is rotatably mounted, and the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum 4 is covered with a photoreceptor 5. The photosensitive layer of the photoreceptor 5 may be made of, for example, Se, CDS,
ZnO, PVK, etc. are preferred, and since processes such as charging, exposure, development, transfer, and cleaning are performed repeatedly, the shape of the photoreceptor must be easily repeatable. Therefore, a drum-shaped photoreceptor configured directly in a drum shape or a belt shape,
A belt-like photoreceptor, a sheet-like photoreceptor configured in the form of a sheet or a roll, etc. are used.

Further, around the rotating drum 4, which is normally driven to rotate in the direction indicated by arrow B, there are, in order in the direction of rotation, a charging corona discharger 6, a static eliminator 7 that operates during reduction copying, and a developing device 8. , a transfer corona discharger 9 and a cleaning device 10 are provided.

The charging corona discharger 6 substantially uniformly charges the photoreceptor 5 to a specific polarity, and passes through an exposure area C between the charging corona discharger 6 and the static eliminator 7, as described below. The original on the transparent plate 1 is projected by the optical device, and an electrostatic latent image is thus formed on the photoreceptor 5. At this time, the static eliminator 7 acts when reduction copying is performed as will be described later, and is used in non-projection areas where the original image is not projected in the exposure area C despite being charged by the charging corona discharger 6. The charge on both sides or one side of the photoreceptor 5 in the area is eliminated to eliminate the charge on both sides or one side. That is, in the so-called one-end reference copying method in which the original is positioned and set at one end corner on the transparent plate 1 of the document table, one side is neutralized and the original is positioned with the center on the transparent plate 1 as the reference. In the so-called center-based copying method, both sides are operated to eliminate static electricity.

Next, the developing device 8 forms an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor 5, causes colored toner to adhere to the surface of the photoreceptor 5 by electrostatic attraction, and develops it into a visible toner image.

Further, the photoreceptor 5 is heated by the transfer corona discharger 9.
The toner image visualized above is transferred onto copy paper that is conveyed from a paper feed section, which will be described later.
The illustrated cleaning device 10 has an elastic blade in the vicinity of its tip brought into contact with the photoconductor 5 at a predetermined angle, and is pressed against and separated from the surface of the photoconductor 5 using a well-known solenoid, cam, etc. It functions to remove residual toner on the acute angle side of the angle between the photoreceptor 5 and the blade or on the opposite side.

Further, in the lower part of the housing A, there is a paper feeding device, which is generally designated by the symbol D, and a copy paper fed from the paper feeding device D is passed through a transfer area where it is transferred by the transfer corona discharger 9. A conveyance device, generally designated by symbol E, is provided for conveyance. The illustrated paper feeding device D includes a cassette receiving section 11 including a detection means S for controlling the moving speed conversion of the document table and the position correction of the optical device. It is configured to function as a dual-purpose cassette receiving section 11. Thus, the paper feed roller 13 is transferred from the universal cassette 12 which is detachably attached to the cassette receiving part 11.
The stacked sheets of copy paper stored in the universal cassette 12 are fed to the conveying device E via the universal cassette 12.

The conveyance device E includes a pair of carry-in rollers 14 for conveying the copy paper fed from the paper feed device D, a guide plate 15, a pair of conveyance rollers 16, and a pair of conveyance rollers 1.
a pair of guide plates 17 for guiding the copy paper from 6 to the transfer area;
A roller 19, a guide plate 20, a fixing roller pair 21, a guide plate 22, which separates the copy paper from the photoreceptor 5 and carries it out from the transfer area by a claw separating mechanism 18 installed near the end of transfer in the transfer area. It includes a carry-out roller 23 and a discharge tray 24 that accommodates the copy paper discharged from the carry-out roller 23 to the outside of the housing A. Note that one of the rollers of the pair of fixing rollers 21, for example, the upper roller, is equipped with a heating element inside, and presses and heats the surface of the copy paper on which the toner image transferred from the photoreceptor 5 is formed.
It thus functions to fix the toner image onto the copy paper. Further, a static eliminating lamp 25 is disposed above the guide plate 20, and this static eliminating lamp 25 irradiates light onto the copy paper being conveyed on the guide plate 20 to eliminate the electric charge remaining on the copy paper. At the same time, light is irradiated onto the photoreceptor 5 in the region between the transfer corona discharger 9 and the cleaning device 10 to eliminate residual charges after transfer.

Further, in the upper space above the horizontal substrate 3 in the housing A, a document table G including a transparent plate 1 and a document pressing cover 2 is moved from a scanning exposure start position indicated by a two-dot chain line 1a, also indicated by a two-dot chain line 1b. An optical device, generally designated by the symbol H, is provided for projecting the original set on the original platen G onto the photoreceptor 5 for slit exposure during scanning exposure to the scanning exposure end position. The optical device H has an original irradiation lamp 27 for irradiating the original set on the original platen G through an original irradiation opening 26 formed on the upper surface of the housing A, and also directs light reflected from the original onto a photoreceptor. a first reflecting mirror 28 for projecting onto 5, and second and third reflecting mirrors 29, 30,
Furthermore, it passes through the lens assembly 31 to the fourth reflecting mirror 3.
2, is reflected by the fourth reflecting mirror 32, passes through the opening 33 formed in the horizontal substrate 3, and reaches the exposure area C of the photoreceptor 5. Further, a filter for compensating the color tone characteristics of the photoreceptor 5, a slit exposure adjustment member for regulating the slit exposure width, etc. are disposed between the opening 33 and the photoreceptor 5, as necessary.

Therefore, the copying machine of the present invention has at least two types of magnification ratios, for example, copying at substantially the same size, reduced copying with a length ratio of about 0.7 times, and copying with a length ratio of about 1.2 times. It enables enlarged copying, and its basic principle will be explained according to an embodiment of the present invention.The rotating drum 4 is always driven to rotate at a predetermined speed regardless of the copying ratio. At this time, the conveying speed of the conveying device E also conveys the copy paper at substantially the same speed as the circumferential speed of the rotary drum 4, regardless of the copying magnification. On the other hand, the scanning speed of the document table G is changed according to the copy magnification, and the optical device H projects the document set on the document table G onto the photoreceptor 5 at a set copy magnification. That is, when performing a copying process at substantially the same magnification, the document table G scans and exposes the photoreceptor 5 at substantially the same speed as the circumferential speed, and the optical device H
projects the original set on the original table G onto the photoreceptor 5 at substantially the same magnification.

However, when copying is performed at a predetermined copying magnification, for example M times the length ratio, the document table G is scanned and exposed at a speed of V/M relative to the speed V when copying at the same size, and thus the photoreceptor 5 The electrostatic latent image formed thereon will be reduced or enlarged by M times. At this time,
In the optical device H, the lens assembly 31 and the second and third reflecting mirrors 29 and 30 are moved and corrected to the required positions, and the original set on the original table G is made M times the size (reduced or enlarged). Then, the image is projected onto the photoreceptor 5.

Based on the above-mentioned principle, desired copying such as same size, reduction, enlargement, etc. is possible, but generally when performing the above-mentioned desired copying, for example, the reduction display section displayed on the operation section is changed from A3 to A4. , A3 → A4, B4 → A4, B4 → B5, etc., and check whether the original size and copy paper size match the size selected using the above selection keys, and then start the copying process. must be carried out. The same applies when enlarging, and when performing a same size copy, make sure that the selection key on the operation panel display is the same size display, or if it is not at the same size position, press the selection key for the same size display. It is often necessary to perform the copying process after operating the printer.

Therefore, the document table G of the present invention that eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks
The configuration of the paper feeding device D including the cassette receiving section 11 and the universal cassette 12 which control the moving speed conversion of the optical device H and the position correction of the optical device H will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. A regulating member 41 for regulating the width of the copy paper 40 is mounted inside the universal cassette 12 so as to be movable and adjustable in a direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction.
A switch operating piece 46 is provided at the distal end of the regulating member 41, passing through a long groove 43 opened in the front wall 42a of the cassette body 42 and integrally constructed. The regulating member 41 includes a claw member 44 for reliably feeding the copy paper 40 one by one, and
A fixing member 45 is provided for fixing the regulating member 41 at a desired position depending on the copy paper width, and is configured to move integrally with the regulating member 41.
Also, the switch SW1 and the switch SW1 are installed in the cassette receiver 11.
SW2 is installed, and the switches SW1 and SW
2 is installed at a position related to the displacement position of the actuating piece 46. That is, the above switch SW1
Alternatively, the detection means S composed of SW2 and the actuating piece 46 detects the actuating piece 46 when either the switch SW1 or SW2 detects the actuating piece 46.
The manuscript table G can be adapted to either one of the variable magnification ratios of the species.
functions to control both or either one of the movement speed conversion of the optical device H and the position correction of the optical device H,
Further, an actuating piece 46 that moves integrally with the regulating member 41
To adjust the movement of the fixing member 45, the cassette body 42
The guide groove 48 formed on the back side of the bottom plate 42b and a movable guide member 50 installed through a key groove 49 opened in the guide groove 48 are screwed together to enable movement adjustment and position fixation. configured.

In the case of movement adjustment and position fixing in the above-mentioned movement adjustment means, it has the advantage of being able to set the position at random to a desired position, but on the other hand, the size display
It is necessary to accurately fix the position at the T ₁ and T ₂ positions by visual inspection, and the fixing member 45 must be loosened or tightened each time, which is a frequent operation.

This problem is solved in the embodiment shown in the third figure. That is, basically, it is constructed by adding a positioning means to the above-mentioned position adjustment means shown in the second figure, and the guide member 50 is replaced by a regulating member 41, and the regulating member 41 is connected to the guide groove 48 of the bottom plate 42b and the regulating member 41. Keyway 49
is installed in a movable state as a guide, and furthermore,
By forming a plurality of conical holes 51a, 51b at intervals corresponding to the size indication _T1 , _T2 positions, and by providing positioning means consisting of an elastic member 52 such as a spring and a ball 53 on the regulating member 41, the above-mentioned By simply moving the regulating member 41 along the guide groove 48 and the key groove 49, the ball 53 enters the desired conical hole 51, and its position is regulated by the biasing force of the elastic member 52. Therefore, positioning can be performed by simply moving the regulating member 41 without requiring any other operation, and there is an advantage that there is no need for the above-mentioned troubles. In addition to the above embodiments,
It is also possible to adjust the position using a well-known rack and pinion mechanism, worm and worm wheel mechanism, or even a cam mechanism. Further, in the case of the universal cassette 12, a so-called one-end reference method in which only one regulating member 41 is moved has been described, but a so-called center reference method in which both are moved may also be used.

Furthermore, a control method for the paper feeding device D will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7.

Generally, when setting a copy original on the document table G, the method of setting the original is as shown in FIGS. 4 to 5.
As shown in the figure, there is an end reference and a center reference. That is, the copy original P ₁ ,
The copy document is placed based on one end reference (shown in the fourth diagram) for positioning P ₂ and the center m of one side d on the transparent plate 1.
Center standard for positioning P ₃ and P ₄ (as shown in Figure 5)
Depending on which of the above-mentioned original setting methods is adopted, various problems occur when reducing or enlarging copies.

First, when setting the above-mentioned copy originals P ₁ to _{P 4} using the center reference or one end reference, there is no problem when making full-size copies, but when making reduced copies, the direction in which the copy paper is set should be set at 90 degrees. It is necessary to change direction. For example, assuming that the manuscripts P ₁ and P ₂ shown in the fourth figure are A3 and B4, respectively, and the manuscripts P ₁ and P ₂ of A3 and B4 are
When trying to make a reduced copy on A4 or B5, the paper feed set N that accommodates A4 or B5 is usually the 6th paper set.
As shown in Figure A, the copy sheets Q 1 and Q 2 are housed in a state where they can be copied at the same size, so the copy sheets Q ₁ and Q ₂ must be re-stored in a state where the direction is turned 90 degrees as shown in Figure 6 B. Such inconveniences may occur. Therefore,
Conventionally, this type of problem has been solved by separately preparing a paper feed set N exclusively for reduction. In addition, when making enlarged copies, if the copy documents P ₃ and P ₄ set on the document table G are of the size of, for example, B5 or A4,
In theory, it is possible to enlarge the copy manuscripts P ₃ and P ₄ to B4 or A3 size in the same manner as the reduction copy described above, but as shown in FIG. Copy paper stored in paper feed cassette N considering the size of copy paper Q ₃ and Q ₄
It is difficult to change the direction of Q ₃ and Q ₄ by 90 degrees due to the structure of the machine, and therefore, currently, enlarged copying is used less frequently than full-size or reduced copying, so document table G is used. Copy manuscripts P ₃ and P ₄ set in
(P' ₃ shown in Figures 4 and 5)
P′ ₄ ) Enlarged copying has become possible.

In contrast to the above-described copying method, if the copy originals P ₁ to _{P 4} set on the original table G are set uniformly in the longitudinal direction or width direction regardless of the size of the originals, the above-mentioned problem can be solved. However, on the other hand, in the longitudinal direction (Figs. 4 and 5)
P' ₃ , P' ₄ direction), the frequency of partial use of the photoconductor 5 increases, causing variations in the sensitivity of the photoconductor 5 itself, which affects copying and at the same time increases the exposure distance of the document. The disadvantages, such as a decrease in copy speed (number of copies per minute), are greater. This tendency is particularly noticeable in the so-called random return method in which the exposure distance varies depending on the copy size. Furthermore, if the originals are set uniformly in the width direction, the structure of the machine increases the size of the body, which is undesirable.

However, in the present invention, a universal cassette 12 that can accommodate copy sheets of various sizes in the same paper feed cassette is used, and the actuating piece 46 that moves in relation to the regulating member 41 of the universal cassette 12 is When setting the copy paper 40, as described above, it is disposed at a position corresponding to the displacement position of the actuating piece 46 by displacing it in accordance with the copy selection such as equal size and reduction, equal size and enlargement, or reduction and enlargement. switch SW1 of the cassette receiving part 11 and
When one of SW2 is activated, the original platen G is adapted to one magnification selected from normal magnification, reduction, enlargement, etc.
The moving speed of the optical device H and the appropriate position of the optical device H are controlled. In addition, the above-mentioned actuating piece 46 and switch
Detection means S consisting of SW1 or SW2
It is also possible to use a direct contact type limit switch or micro switch, or a non-contact type reed switch, or an optical detection means consisting of a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode and a light receiving element such as a phototransistor.

Furthermore, with reference to FIGS. 2 and 8, specific means for controlling the moving speed conversion of the document table G and the position correction of the optical device H in the present invention will be described in detail.

In order to simplify the _explanation in the electric circuit shown in Figure ₈ , the clutch for converting the moving speed of the document platen, M, is used to correct the position of the optical device H. First, we will explain the same-size copying as a drive motor for copying.
When the universal cassette 12 containing copy paper 40 of a predetermined size is inserted and set into the paper feed section, the actuating piece 46 switches the contact a of the equal-magnification switch SW1 to the contact b, and further activates the relay Ry. The contacts Ry-1, Ry-2, and Ry-3 are switched, and the drive motor M of the optical device H starts to drive. Next, when the optical device H reaches a predetermined position, that is, the same magnification position, the micro switch MS1 is activated by a protrusion or the like (not shown) provided at one end of the optical device.
is turned OFF, and the drive motor M stops. At this time,
The clutch for converting the moving speed of the document table G is maintained such that the clutch for equal magnification _CL1 is energized. By performing the copy operation in the above state, the same-size copying process is performed.

Further, when the universal cassette 12 containing copy paper 40 of a predetermined size is inserted into the paper feed section and the operating piece 46 is at the reduction size position 46a, the reduction switch is activated by the actuation piece 46. Contact a of SW2 switches to contact b, and the clutch for converting the moving speed of document table G becomes the clutch for reduction.
CL ₂ is maintained in a energized state. At this time, the equal magnification switch SW1 maintains a state in which the contact a side can be energized, and by energizing in this state, the drive motor M of the optical device H is reversed and moved from the equal magnification position toward the reduced position. Moving. Furthermore, the optical device H
When the optical device H reaches the retracted position, a protrusion (not shown) provided at one end of the optical device H causes the micro switch to
Turn off MS2 and drive motor M stops. Thus, by performing a copy operation in the above state, a reduction copying process is performed.

Furthermore, in the same manner as the above-mentioned variable magnification of equal magnification and reduction, variable magnification such as equal magnification and enlargement or reduction and enlargement can be performed.

Although the present invention has been described in detail as an embodiment of a copying apparatus using a moving document table, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this and can be similarly implemented in a case where a document table is fixed. . In addition, from the viewpoint of ease of copying, it is better to control the detection means S for controlling the speed conversion of the document table G and the position correction of the optical device H at the same time even if it is the paper feeder D as described above. It is better to use the original platen G.
The speed conversion of the optical device H is operated by the operating section, and
It is also possible to control the position correction on the paper feed side, and vice versa. As mentioned above, in the case of enlarged copying, the originals _P1 to _P4 set on document table G are often reset to a state suitable for enlarged copying in relation to the paper feed side. In the case of a relatively small size (for example, B5, A4 or smaller) or when partially enlarging a copy, it is possible to perform the enlarged copy using the method described above.

As described above, according to the present invention, the detection means is provided in the cassette receiving section of the paper feeding device that feeds copy sheets one by one in connection with the scanning of copied originals, and the detecting means is provided in the cassette receiving section for feeding copy sheets one by one in connection with the scanning of copied originals. By inserting a universal cassette provided with an actuating piece that moves in relation to the position of the regulating member that regulates the paper, the detecting means detects the actuating piece, and the paper is magnified or reduced based only on the detection output. , a variable magnification copying apparatus characterized in that it is configured to control at least one of document scanning speed conversion and position correction of an optical device according to a copy magnification selection of enlargement, Since no operations such as magnification or enlargement are required, the copying operation is easy, and the structure of the operating section and other machines is simplified. Further, since a universal cassette that accommodates copy paper of various sizes can be used as a common cassette, it has advantages such as being economical.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a copying apparatus used in the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view showing a universal cassette of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the positioning means and other components in the universal cassette. FIGS. 4 to 7 are explanatory diagrams showing a method of setting an original and copy paper, and FIG. 8 is a control circuit diagram of the original scanning speed and the optical device. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11...Cassette receiving part, 12...Universal cassette, 41...Restriction member, 46...Operating piece, D...Paper feeder, G...Document stand, H...Optical device, S...Detection means, SW1, SW2...Switch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A detection means is provided in a cassette receiving section of a paper feeding device that feeds copy paper one sheet at a time in connection with the scanning of a copy document, and a detection means is provided at the position of a regulating member that regulates copy papers of various sizes in the cassette receiving section. by inserting a universal cassette provided with an associated moving actuating piece, said actuating piece being detected by said sensing means;
A variable magnification copying apparatus characterized in that the variable magnification copying apparatus is configured to control at least one of document scanning speed conversion and position correction of an optical device in accordance with a copy magnification selection of equal magnification, reduction, and enlargement based only on the detection output. .