Patent GB-1231621-A (GB)
Inventor: GARDNER J F
IPC: B65H31/20
Filed: 1968-04-16
Abstract: 1,231,621. Electro-photographic apparatus. RANK XEROX Ltd. April 16, 1968 [April 21, 1967(6)], No.17879/68. Heading G2H. An automatic xerographic machine, e.g. for creating facsimiles of original documents on to data processing media and duplicating the media, includes feeding means to forward a document to an exposure station, exposure means to illuminate a document at the exposure station with a highintensity short duration flash of light whereby a whole frame exposure of the document is obtained, optical means to form a light pattern image of said document at a photo-conductive surface, the optical means providing an optical path having a conjugate length emanating from the exposure station and terminating at the photo-conductive surface, and including means to select the magnification of the light pattern image at the photo-conductive surface without varying the conjugate length, the photoconductive surface being substantially planar at the terminal point of the optical path, and means to develop the light pattern image formed at the photo-conductive surface. General arrangement The machine is split into two sections by a vertical partition (85) Fig. 5 (not shown). The first section contains an automatic document feeder 200, Fig.4, an exposure transport system 300, and an exposure optical system 400 consisting of mirrors 424, 425, and either one of two lenses, 450 to form a reduced image of a document and 451 to form a same sized image of the document. The lenses are mounted on support shafts 452, 453 and operated by a reversible motor MOT-3. The second section of the apparatus receives the optical image on a photo-conductive surface of a xerographic belt 10, Fig. 3 which has exposure stations 2, developing station 3, transfer station 4, a cleaning and discharge station 5, and a pre-charging station 1. The transfer media consists of a stack 501 of electrical accounting or data processing cards which are forwarded by a card feeder 500 on to a card transport system 700 to the transfer station 4, and thence to a fusing unit 800 and conveyers 730, 509 to an output stack 508. Document feeder Original documents are fed from a document support tray 210, Fig. 8, to the exposure transport system 300, Fig.12. The tray is pivotally mounted between side frame plates 220, 222 via pivot shaft 211. A document support member 212 projects above the surface of the tray so that documents have a draped or arched configuration to reduce the tendency of documents to stick together. A pair of upstanding paper guide plates 214, 216 are mounted for complementary movement by a cable 187, which cable also adjusts paper guide plates (191, 192) Fig.6 (not shown) in a document return conveyer and stacker apparatus located below tray 210. The pivoting of document support tray 210 about shaft 211 is adjustably controlled via cables 231 by an air motor 234. An A. C. motor MOT-1 continuously drives via flexible chain 226 a drive sprocket 229 of an electromagnetically actuated clutch and brake assembly 230 which provides intermittent rotation of a drive-shaft 256 via a coupling 257. An idler shaft 255 is driven by overhead advancing guide belts 266. Documents are fed from tray 210 by a nudger or feed wheel 250 formed from a material having a high co-efficient of friction which is driven from idler shaft 255 so as to have a peripheral velocity of four inches a second, and thence by a flexible separator feed belt 260 also formed of material having a high coefficient of friction and driven from shaft 256 so as to have a peripheral velocity of fourteen inches a second. A retarding abutment member (282), Fig. 7, (not shown) co-operates with belt 260 to form a wrap and thus separate adhering overlapping sheets. Absence of documents on tray 210 is detected by a pair of wire rod members 238, a magnet being attached to an upper end of one of the members for actuation of a magnetically actuated red switch SW-6. A motor MOT-2, Fig. 12, continuously drives a shaft fixedly carrying a plurality of axially spaced friction roll members 316 which engage a plurality of idler roll members 330 rotatably mounted on a shaft 327. Shaft 327 fixedly carries a plurality of sheet interrupting members 326 each having a plurality of notched projections 329 which extend into the spaces between friction roll members 316 to form a sheet registration gate or sheet interrupting means. The sheet registration gate assembly is indexed to a first position, as shown in response to an electrical signal to an electromagnetic clutch 321 to interrupt the advancement of the leading edge of a sheet which forms a hump or buckle in the sheet, and to a second position which releases an engaged sheet into the bite of the pinch roll arrangement. Documents fed from support tray 210 pass idler rolls (278) Fig. 7 (not shown) which co-operate with the drive pulley 213 of belt 260, and if the idler rolls move more than an amount corresponding to the passage of more than a single document or a crumpled document the sheet interrupting means inhibits the release of a document. Documents fed by rolls 316, 330 are electrostatically tacked to an exposure transport belt 302 by passage through a corotron, the release of documents on to the belt being determined by detection of a slot 345 in the belt by photo-cells PC3, PC4 so that the leading edge of the document half covers the slot. The belt is stopped in the exposure position by detection of light from lamp L4, Fig.4, vacuum applied by a vacuum plate n beneath the belt and a whole frame flash exposure made by lamps 420. The belt is then restarted, and the document is transported via turn round belts 335 past a detacking corotron to the return conveyer and stacking apparatus. Card transport A card is ejected from stack 501, Fig.3, by nudger wheels 502 and friction wheels 503 to a stop switch 505 which generates a signal upon arrival of a card to stop primary feed rolls 504 and wheels 502, 503. The card is then fed by a registration conveyer 710 to a registration gate 740. A photocell PC10 scans the developed image on belt 10 to detect a timing mark placed thereon at the same time as exposure at station 2 which detection allows gate 740 to release the card, so that the card and developed image arrive simultaneously at transfer station 4. The card conveyer module consisting of registration conveyer 710, transfer conveyer 780, fusing conveyer 720 and return conveyer 730 are formed as one unit which is slidably positioned within the machine to facilitate replacement of belt 10 or to clear card jams. Machine operation Machine controls permit selection of either a reduced sized copy or a duplicate sized copy, and control by a decade counter of the number of copies. The operation of the machine is controlled by logic circuitry which monitors the position of documents in the machine by photo-cells and switches the machine off in the event of malfunction, e.g. double feed or card jam.