JPH03202833A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily switch an original platen and to obtain the stable quality of an image by disposing plural optical systems, heating means and a means for controlling exposure and heating. CONSTITUTION:In a 1st exposure optical system 1, a lamp 4 is moved so as to irradiate with light and the reflected light is guided to a part 24a for exposing a sheet 12 through a slit 50, mirrors 5, 6 and 10, a lens 11, a mirror 13. In a 2nd exposure optical system 2, an original 14 held to be freely attachable and detachable is moved in a B direction, and the width of the light from the lamp 15 is regulated by the slit 17 and the color of the light is corrected by a filter, and the light transmitted through the original 14 is converged in the exposure part 24b by a lens 19. In the control means, a heater 29 is opened and closed by a temperature sensor 30 and a photosensitive and pressure sensitive type microcapsule is held within the prescribed temperature extent, and the dependency on the temperature is kept constant. Pressure between pressure rollers 33a and 33b is pressurized and released by a clutch so as to transfer color developing dye in the capsule on an image receiving sheet 34. A mode by the optical system 1 or the optical system 2 is selected by an incorporated control means through a CPU in accordance with a control program, and a photosensitive member is kept at a fixed temperature and copying is performed with the stable quality of the image by mutually independent optical pathes.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a plurality of optical systems.

[Conventional technology]

There are various image forming apparatuses that use a process of forming an image by irradiating a light image onto a photosensitive material. For example, a charged photoreceptor is imagewise exposed to form an electrostatic latent image, and this latent image is formed. There are devices that use electrophotography, which develops an image with toner, transfers it onto paper, and fixes it. In addition, the image forming device has
In addition to the apparatus according to the above method, for example, JP-A-58-8
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 8739 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 59-30537, image formation is achieved by destroying photocurable microcapsules, causing the dye contained therein to flow out and coloring the image-receiving sheet. There are devices etc. that perform this.

Such an image forming apparatus usually has a single document mounting table, and an image is copied by placing a document on the document mounting table.

However, the above-mentioned originals include not only general sheet-like originals, but also slide films using transparent film, etc., and when copying with this slide film placed on the above-mentioned original table, it is not enough. It was difficult to obtain good image quality.

Therefore, conventional image forming apparatuses include, for example,
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 182629 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 198442/1982, a film-specific device consisting of a Fresnel lens, a screen, and a slide film projector can be placed on a document table. be. This makes it possible for the image forming apparatus to obtain good image quality by projecting a film image onto the Fresnel lens or screen, and then exposing the projected image onto a photosensitive material.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional image forming apparatus, when switching between the -g original and the slide film, it is necessary to attach or remove a special device for the film, which makes the switching work very difficult, especially when switching is frequent. It becomes a burden. In addition, the above-mentioned image forming apparatus needs to secure a storage area for the removed film-specific equipment.
This film-specific equipment is extremely inconvenient to handle.

Therefore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-182629 has a plurality of document placement tables at different positions, and the switching of these document placement tables is accomplished by a movable switch disposed in the optical path between the document and the photoreceptor. An image forming apparatus using a mirror has been disclosed. As a result, when the above-mentioned film-specific equipment is attached to one of the document trays, the image forming apparatus becomes an image forming apparatus that has a document tray for slide film and a document tray for general documents, reducing the burden of switching work. It becomes possible to reduce the Furthermore, in this case, there is no need to secure a storage space for the film-specific equipment. However, in this image forming apparatus, switching between the two original document mounting tables is performed by changing the optical path, which requires a high degree of positioning accuracy for the switching mirror that changes the optical path, reducing reliability during copying. There is a problem with this.

In addition, the photosensitive material used in the image forming apparatus is -i,
It has a temperature dependence in which the sensitivity characteristics to light change depending on the temperature, and particularly when the photosensitive material is a photocurable microcapsule, the amount of light that starts curing changes sharply depending on the temperature. As a result, in the above-mentioned image forming apparatus, the image density etc. formed by the image forming apparatus fluctuate due to changes in the temperature at the installation location, resulting in unsatisfactory image quality stability.

Therefore, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus that can easily switch between multiple document mounting tables without changing the optical path, and that can obtain stable image quality even if the temperature at the installation location changes. is intended to provide.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the image forming apparatus according to the invention of claim 1 provides a photosensitive member such as a temperature-dependent media sheet with a plurality of, for example, multiple Optical systems such as a first exposure optical system and a second exposure optical system, a heating means such as a heater that heats the photosensitive member at once in a plurality of exposure sections, and at least one optical system are arbitrarily selected to perform image exposure. In addition, it is characterized by having a control means such as an arithmetic processing unit that operates the heating means and maintains it at a predetermined temperature.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the image forming apparatus according to the invention of claim 2 includes a plurality of first image forming apparatuses that imagewise expose a photosensitive member such as a media sheet having temperature dependence to different exposure areas through mutually independent optical paths. Optical systems such as an exposure optical system and a second exposure optical system, heating means such as heaters that individually heat the photosensitive member at each exposure section, and at least one optical system are arbitrarily selected to perform image exposure, and It is characterized in that it includes a control means such as an arithmetic processing unit that operates only the heating means corresponding to the exposure section subjected to image exposure and maintains it at a predetermined temperature.

[Function] According to the structures of claims 1 and 2, the image forming apparatus has a plurality of optical systems. Therefore, for example, one optical system can image-expose a general original document. If the other optical system is used to image-expose a translucent original such as a slide film, the work of attaching and removing film-specific equipment becomes unnecessary, and the burden of switching work can be reduced. It becomes possible. Further, each optical system has an independent optical path, and the optical path is not changed even when switching. Therefore, the image forming apparatus has high reliability during copying due to optical path changes, and
For example, it becomes possible to add another optical system to an image forming apparatus equipped with only a single optical system.

Furthermore, a heating means maintained at a predetermined temperature is provided in the exposure section where imagewise exposure is performed, and this heating means is adapted to heat the photosensitive member to a predetermined temperature. Therefore,
The photosensitive member is always maintained at a constant temperature,
The image forming apparatus is capable of copying with stable image quality regardless of the temperature dependence of the photosensitive member even if the temperature at the installation location fluctuates.

Further, the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect includes a heating means for heating the photosensitive member at a time in a plurality of exposure sections. Therefore, in this image forming apparatus, it is possible to reduce the number of parts of the heating means disposed in the above-mentioned exposure section, and in turn, it is possible to reduce material costs.

On the other hand, the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention is configured to maintain the photosensitive member at a predetermined temperature by operating only the heating means corresponding to the exposure section subjected to imagewise exposure. Therefore, in this image forming apparatus, heating of the photosensitive member is limited to only the necessary portions, thereby minimizing the amount of electric power required to operate the heating means, and thus making it possible to reduce running costs.

[Example] An example of the present invention will be described below based on FIGS. 1 to 5.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus according to this embodiment has the following features:
A first exposure optical system 1 is used when copying general sheet-like or thick originals, and a first exposure optical system 1 is used when copying a translucent original 14 such as a slide film on which an image is formed on a transparent film. 2 and an exposure optical system 2.

The first exposure optical system 1 described above includes an original placing table 3 disposed on the top surface of the image forming apparatus, an exposure lamp 4 that irradiates light onto the original placing table 3 while moving in the direction A, and the original placing table 3. A first optical unit 7 includes a first mirror 5 that reflects reflected light from the mirror 5 to a second mirror 6 (described later) through a slit 50, and a first optical unit 7 that moves in the A direction at half the speed of the first optical unit 7 described above. a second optical unit 9 consisting of a second mirror 6 and a third mirror 10; a zoom lens 11 provided with a color correction filter for correcting the color of the formed image; and a media sheet which is a photosensitive member. 1
2 passes through the fourth mirror 1 that reflects toward the exposure section 24a.
It consists of 3.

On the other hand, the second exposure optical system 2 is disposed at the upper side of the image forming apparatus, and detachably holds the translucent original 14.
A holding member 18 that moves the held translucent original 14 in direction B, and the translucent original 14 held by this holding member 18.
an exposure lamp 15 that irradiates light to the
An exposure fan 16 that cools the original, an exposure slit 17 that regulates the width of the light from the exposure lamp 15, and a color correction filter that corrects the color of the formed image are provided, and the light that has passed through the translucent original 14 is transferred to the exposure section. 24b.

The media sheet 12 to which the light from the first exposure optical system 1 and the second exposure optical system 2 is irradiated is, for example,
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-88739 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 59-30539, a large number of photosensitive and pressure-sensitive microcapsules encapsulating cyan, magenta, and yellow coloring dyes are placed on a sheet made of aluminum. It is coated. The microcapsules described above have a property that their hardness increases when the amount of light irradiated exceeds a predetermined amount.

The above-mentioned media sheet 12 is formed in a roll shape, and the winding core is attached to a media supply shaft 20 that can freely rotate in forward and reverse directions, while the tip end is rotated in the same direction as the above-mentioned media supply shaft 20. It is attached to a media take-up shaft 21 that is rotatable in both directions and in the opposite direction. These media supply shaft 20 and media take-up shaft 2
1 is driven by a main motor via a rewind clutch and a take-up latch (not shown). Further, the media supply shaft 20 and the media take-up shaft 21 are integrally provided in the media cartridge 22, and are removably attached to the image forming apparatus together with the media sheet 12. As a result, the media sheet 12
Just by replacing the media cartridge 22 mentioned above, the update can be performed immediately.

The media cartridge 22 described above is provided with a guide roller 23 that regulates the traveling direction of the media sheet 12. Moreover, above the media cartridge 22,
The media sheet 12 from the guide roller 23 is transferred to the exposure section 2
Conveyance rollers 25a, 25a and a guide roller 26 are arranged to guide the guide rollers 4a and 24b.
is provided with a slit plate 27 in which a plurality of slit holes are formed. The above-mentioned slit plate 27 is provided with a slit sensor 28 such as, for example, a photo ink club, and this slit sensor 28 is connected to a control means to be described later. Thereby, the winding amount of the media sheet 12 is detected by the slit plate 27 and the sensor 28 described above.

In the exposure sections 24a and 24b through which the media sheet 12 whose direction is regulated by the guide roller 26 described above passes, a heater 29, which is a heating means for heating the media sheet 12, is provided on the media cartridge 22 side. As shown in FIG. 2, this heater 29 has a surface facing the media sheet 12 that has a larger area than both exposed parts 24a and 24b, and includes a heat insulating rubber 29b and a built-in part in the heat insulating rubber 29b. and a heater wire 29a, such as a nichrome wire, connected to a power source (not shown).

The heater 29 is provided with a temperature sensor 30 such as a thermistor for detecting temperature in contact with the heat insulating rubber 29b. The temperature sensor 30 is connected to a control means, and the control means controls the heater 29 on and off based on the output from the temperature sensor 30, and controls the heater 29 at a temperature of 35 to 45°C.
It is designed to be maintained within a temperature range of This results in
The photosensitive pressure-sensitive microcapsules of the media sheet 12 are maintained at a temperature within a predetermined range, so that the temperature dependence, in which the sensitivity characteristics to light vary depending on the temperature, is maintained constant.

Further, between the heater 29 and the media sheet 12, there is provided an exposure section 24 for preventing vibration of the traveling media sheet 12.
A support member 31 for positioning the a and 24b is provided, and both ends of the support member 31 are connected to the guide roller 2 described above.
6 and this guide roller 26 as well as the media sheet 12
The guide roller 32 that changes the direction of movement of the guide roller 32 is close to the guide roller 32, and is formed of a sheet metal.

As shown in FIG. 1, the guide roller 32 described above is configured to change the media sheet 12 toward a pressure developing device 33, and this pressure developing device 33 has large diameter and small diameter pressure rollers 33a and 33b. have. These pressure rollers 33a, 33b are connected to and driven by a main motor, and at least one of the pressure rollers 33a, 33b is provided with a pressure release clutch (not shown). As a result, the pressure between the pressure rollers 33a and 33b is applied and released by the pressure release clutch, and the uncured microcapsules of the media sheet 12 are crushed when pressure is applied. ing.

Further, between the pressure rollers 33a and 33b, the coloring dye that has flowed out from the crushed microcapsules is transferred, and the image receiving sheet 34 coated with a developing material for coloring this coloring dye is passed through. It has become. still,
This developing material is one commonly used in carbon-free technology, such as phenolic aldehyde resin or phenolacetylene polycondensation resin.

The image receiving sheet 34 described above is housed in a paper cartridge 35 that is removably provided at the lower side of the image forming apparatus, and above the paper cartridge 35 is a paper detection sensor 36 that detects the presence or absence of the image receiving sheet 34. and a suction fan 37 that floats the image receiving sheet 34 upward. Further, between the paper cartridge 35 and the pressure developing device 33, there is a paper feed roller 38 with a belt that pulls out the image receiving sheet 34 from the paper cartridge 35, and a timing roller 39 that sends the image receiving sheet 34 between the pressure rollers 33a and 33b. These paper feed rollers 38 and timing rollers 39 are driven by a main motor (not shown). Further, a trailing edge detection sensor 40 is provided between the paper feed roller 38 and the timing roller 39 to detect the trailing edge of the image receiving sheet 34 .

On the other hand, a pressure developing bag? The image receiving sheet 34 that has passed through I33 is discharged onto a tray 48 via a sheet conveyance system, and this sheet conveyance system includes a conveyor belt 41 and conveyor rollers 43a and 43 driven by a main motor.
It has b. Between the conveyance roller 43a and the conveyance belt 41, there are heating rollers 44a and 44b that increase the coloring speed of the color-forming dye transferred to the image-receiving sheet 34.
A heat treatment device 44, which is also a glossing device, is disposed, and a cooling blower 45 for cooling the heated image receiving sheet 34 is disposed below this heat treatment device 44. In addition, this heat treatment device 44 and the conveyor belt 4
1, there is a paper detection sensor 46 for detecting a paper jam.
A paper detection sensor 47 similar to this paper detection sensor 46 is also provided between the transport rollers 43a and 43b.

The paper detection sensors 47 and 48 described above are connected to a control means, and as shown in FIG.
3, an output interface 101a/IO1b, and a memory. The above memory is ROM (R
ead 0nly Memory) 114 and R
AM (Random Access Memory
) 115, and the ROM 114 contains setting time data T, ・T2 ・T3T used for image exposure.
4 and a control program for controlling the image forming apparatus. This control program selects a first mode in which the first exposure optical system 1 performs exposure scanning and image exposure, and a second mode in which the second exposure optical system 2 performs exposure scanning and image exposure. It is set to run.

On the other hand, the RAM 115 temporarily stores a calculation data area that temporarily stores operational data used in calculation processing and information processing based on the control program, and time data t that sets the operating time of each device. A time data area and the like to be stored are formed.

In addition, one output interface 101a connected to the arithmetic processing device 100 includes an output terminal portion 117, 1, such as a relay, which is operated by the output from the arithmetic processing device 100.
A plurality of numbers 18, 102 to 109, and 116 are provided.

The above output terminal section 1F 118 is the first exposure optical system 1
and the second exposure optical system 2, and the other output terminal parts 102 to 109 and 116 are respectively connected to the main motor, the winding latch, the rewinding clutch, the paper feed roller clutch, the timing roller clutch, and the second exposure optical system 2. It is connected to the suction fan 37 shown in FIG. 1, the heat treatment device 44 which is also a glossing device, and the heater 29 to operate these.

Furthermore, a display section 111 that displays, for example, the operation mode, the number of copies, etc. is connected to the other output interface 101b. This display section 111 is the key human power section 11
2 is provided on the upper surface of the image forming apparatus as an operation section 110, and the key manual section 112 includes, for example, a mode selection key for selecting the first n-light optical system 1 and the second exposure optical system 2, and a mode selection key for selecting the copy density. A density selection key to manually set the number of copies, a copy start key to command the start of a copying operation, an interrupt key to command the interruption of the copying operation, and the like are provided.

Each of the above-mentioned keys is connected to the above-mentioned input interface 113, and the signal selected by each key is input to the arithmetic processing device 100 via this input interface 113. Further, the input interface 113 is provided with input terminal sections 119 to 124 connected to each sensor, and these input terminal sections 119 to 124 are connected to the paper detection sensor 36 and the rear end of FIG. 1, respectively. Detection sensor 40, paper detection sensor 46/4
7, a slit sensor 28, and a temperature sensor 30.

In the above configuration, the operation of the image forming apparatus during copying will be described below based on the flowchart of FIG. 4.

First, in step (hereinafter referred to as S) 1, the third
Copying conditions such as the number of copies, copying mode, and image density are input as operating data from, for example, a number of copies setting key, a mode selection key, and a density selection key of the key manual section 112 shown in the figure. These operating data are then stored in a calculation data area formed in the RAM and displayed on the display unit 111. At this time, when copying a general manuscript,
The first mode is selected, and the above-mentioned original is placed on the original placing table 3 shown in FIG. On the other hand, when copying the translucent original 14, the second mode is selected and the translucent original 14 is inserted into the holding member 18 (31, then the key manual section 112
It is determined whether or not the copy start key has been turned on. If it has not been turned on, it is determined as No and the process waits while repeating the above determination until the copy start key is turned on. If the copy start key is turned on, the answer is YES and S3 is executed (S2).

When the copy start key is turned ON, the time data t to which O is assigned is stored in the time data area, and this time data t
1 is accumulated from O at predetermined intervals (S3). Next, an output signal is output from the arithmetic processing unit 100 to the output terminal section 104, and the winding latch connected to the output terminal section 104 is activated. Then, the actuated take-up latch transmits the drive of the main motor to the media take-up shaft 21 to transport the media sheet 12 in the D direction at a predetermined speed (S 4 ).

Subsequently, operation data in the copy mode is extracted from the calculation data area, and it is determined whether this operation data is in the first mode. Then, in the case of the first mode, Y
S6 is executed as ES, while if the mode is not the first mode, S7 is executed as NO (S5).

In S6, which is the jump destination in the first mode, the first
Exposure scanning is performed by the exposure optical system 1.

That is, while the first optical unit 7 is traveling in the direction A at a predetermined speed, the second optical unit 9 is moving toward the first optical unit 7.
Similarly, it travels in the A direction at half the speed of . 1st above
The exposure lamp 4 of the optical unit 7 is, for example, 600 to 80
Light with a power of 0 W is irradiated onto the original on the original placing table 3, and the reflected light from this original is sent to the slit 50. First mirror 5, second mirror 6, third mirror 10, zoom lens 11
, and are irradiated to the exposure section 24a via the fourth mirror 13 as a light image. As a result, the exposure section 24a
As shown in FIG. 2, image exposure is performed using the slit width of the slit 50.

At this time, the media sheet 12 to which the above-mentioned optical image is irradiated has microcapsules containing a color-forming dye, and these microcapsules have a property that the sensitivity characteristics of the photosensitivity vary depending on the temperature. However, the exposure section 24a.
A heater 29 is disposed at 24b, and this heater 29 maintains constant sensitivity characteristics by raising the temperature of the microcapsules to a predetermined temperature. As a result, the above-mentioned light image stably and selectively hardens the microcapsules of the media sheet 12 even if the temperature at the installation location fluctuates, and the hardened microcapsules are used to form images. A cured image with constant density and color tone is formed (S6).

On the other hand, in S4, S7 is determined as No, which is not the first mode.
is executed, the second mode will be executed. That is, the time data t to which 0 was substituted in S3 is compared with the set time data T2, which is a delay time for making the leading edge of the cured image coincide in the first mode and the second mode. Then, the above integration is repeatedly executed with NO until the time data t1 becomes equal to or greater than the set time data T0, while if the time data tl becomes equal to or greater than the set time data 573, it is determined that the leading ends coincide with YES and S8 will be executed (S7).

In S8, the second exposure optical system 2 performs an exposure scan.

That is, light having a power of, for example, 400 to 600 W is irradiated from the exposure lamp 15 onto the translucent original 14 through the exposure slit 17 . At this time, the translucent original 14 is moved at a predetermined speed in the direction B by the holding member 18, and the light irradiated onto the translucent original 14 is transmitted through the translucent original 14 as a light image. Thereafter, the light reaches the exposure section 24b via the lens 19. As a result, the exposure section 24b is image-exposed with the slit width of the slit 17, as shown in FIG. Then, the above-mentioned light image selectively hardens the media sheet 120 microcapsules heated to a constant temperature by the above-mentioned heater 29, and a hardened image is formed by the hardened microcapsules (S8). .

In this way, the first mode is executed in S5 and S6, while the second mode is executed in S7 and S8, and in these first and second modes, the media sheet 12 is A cured image is formed in sequence. Then, when the first mode or the second mode is executed, S9 is executed. In this S9, the set time data T and the time data t1 to be accumulated are compared, and if it is determined that the time data t1 is greater than or equal to the set time data T1, the answer is YES and 3.
10 is executed. In addition, the above setting time data T1 is
This is the time required for the leading edge of the cured image formed on the media sheet 12 and the leading edge of the image receiving sheet 34 to reach the pressure developing device 33 at the same time (S9).

When the above-mentioned time data t exceeds the set time data T, the timing roller clutch is activated, and this timing roller clutch transmits the drive of the main motor to the timing roller 39.
The image-receiving sheet 34, which has been waiting on the timing roller 39 in advance, is fed to the pressure developing device 33 (31
0).

After this, the time data h to which O has been substituted is stored in the time data area (Sll), and the pressure rollers 33a and 33b
rotation is started (S12). Then, while the above time data tl is integrated from O at predetermined intervals, the time data t and the leading edge of the image receiving sheet 34 are integrated into the pressure developing device 33.
The set time data T3, which is the time required to reach , is compared. From this comparison result, if the time data tl is less than the set time data T3, it is determined as No and the system waits while repeating the data comparison, and if the time data t1 is greater than or equal to the set time data 573, the image receiving sheet
If the tip reaches the pressure developing device 33 (YES), S1
4 is executed (313).

Then, in S14, the pressure roller clutch is turned on to apply pressure to the pressure rollers 33a and 33b. At this time, the media sheet 12 and the image receiving sheet 34 are pressed into contact between the pressure rollers 33a and 33b. Therefore, the above-mentioned pressure crushes the uncured microcapsules on which the cured image of the media sheet 12 is not formed, and the coloring dye flows out from the crushed microcapsules. After this color-forming dye is transferred to the image-receiving sheet 34, the color is developed by the developing material applied to the image-receiving sheet 34 to form an image (314).

While an image is being formed on the image receiving sheet 34 by the pressure applied between the pressure rollers 33a and 33b, the arithmetic processing unit 10
0 monitors a detection signal from a trailing edge detection sensor 40 that detects the trailing edge of the image receiving sheet 34. If the above-mentioned detection signal cannot be recognized, it is determined that the image receiving sheet 34 is still being conveyed by the timing roller 39 and an image is being formed, and the monitoring of the detection signal is continued as a result of "No". −
On the other hand, when the detection signal is recognized, the set time data T4
It is determined that the image formation is completed after the time set in , and S16 is executed (S15).

In S16, the time data tl to which O has been substituted is stored in the time data area (316), and the above set time data T4 and time data 1. are compared. Then, when the time data h exceeds the set time data T4,
318 is executed as YES indicating that the transfer has been completed (S17
), the pressure between the pressure rollers 33a and 33b is released, and the take-up latch is turned off. At this time, the image-receiving sheet 34 is conveyed by a conveyor belt 41 to a heat treatment device 44, and is heated by this heat treatment device 44, thereby promoting color development of the color-forming dye and making the surface glossy. After the image receiving sheet 34 is forcibly cooled by the cooling roller 45, it is carried out onto the tray 48 via the conveying rollers 43a and 43b (31B).

On the other hand, when the rewinding clutch is turned off, O is substituted into the count data CT, and this count data CT is stored in the calculation data area (S19). Then, the rewinding clutch is turned on and the media sheet 12 is fed back in the C direction (S20). The resulting signals are integrated, and this integrated value is used as the amount by which the media sheet 12 is rewound.

Therefore, the above count data CT is compared with a predetermined amount, and if the count data CT exceeds the predetermined amount, S22 is executed as YES indicating that rewinding has ended (321). . Then, in S22, the rewinding clutch is turned off, and the reverse feeding of the media sheet 12 is stopped. Note that for the predetermined amount of rewinding described above, the tip of the unused media sheet 12 is exposed to the exposed portion 24a.
The value is set to be slightly closer to the guide roller 26 than the guide roller 26 (322).

As described above, the image forming apparatus of this embodiment has the first exposure optical system 1 and the second exposure optical system 2.
The exposure optical system 1 and the second exposure optical system 2 can be switched arbitrarily. As a result, when the image forming apparatus switches between a general document and a slide film, there is no need to attach or remove a film-specific device, and the burden of the switching operation can be reduced.

Further, the optical paths of the first exposure optical system 1 and the second exposure optical system 2 are independent from each other, and the optical paths are not changed even when switching. Therefore, the image forming apparatus has high reliability during copying due to optical path changes. Furthermore, the independent optical path makes it possible to easily add the second exposure optical system 2 to an image forming apparatus equipped with only the first exposure optical system 1, for example.

Furthermore, the media sheet 12 passing through the exposure sections 24a and 24b is heated by a heater 2 that is placed close to the exposure sections 24a and 24b.
9, the temperature is raised to a predetermined temperature, and the media sheet 12
The microcapsules have stable light sensitivity characteristics by being kept at a constant temperature. This makes it possible for the image forming apparatus to always obtain stable image quality such as image density even if the temperature at the installation location changes. Further, the heater 29 is connected to both the exposure sections 2
By heating the media sheet 12 at once with 4a and 24b, it is possible to reduce the number of parts, which in turn makes it possible to reduce material costs.

Note that in this embodiment, the first exposure optical system 1 and the second
Although there are two optical systems, the exposure optical system 2, the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more optical systems may be provided.

In addition, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
Although it is designed to be heated all at once, it is not limited to this, for example, the individual exposed parts 24a and 24
The heating may be performed in parts b.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the exposure sections 24a and 24b are provided with heaters 62 and 60, which are heating means and have areas corresponding to the respective exposure sections 24a and 24b. These heaters 62 and 60, as well as the heater 29 in FIG.
The heater wires 62a and 60a are built in the heater wires 62a and 60b and are made of, for example, nichrome wires and are connected to a power source (not shown). Further, the heaters 62 and 60 are provided with temperature sensors 63 and 61 such as thermistors for detecting temperature in contact with the heat insulating rubbers 62b and 60b. These temperature sensors 63 and 6I are connected to a control means,
This control means performs ON-OFF control of each heater 62-60 based on the output from the temperature sensors 63 and 61, and
It is designed to maintain a temperature range of ~45°C.

The above control means also controls whether the heaters 62 and 60 are turned on or off.
The FFs can be switched individually, and when the first mode is executed, only the heater 62 is turned on and the media sheet 12 is heated in the exposure section 24a. On the other hand, when the second mode is executed, only the heater 60 is turned on and the media sheet 12 is heated in the exposure section 24b.

As a result, the above-described image forming apparatus has the exposure sections 24a and 2.
4b can be heated independently by the individual heaters 62 and 60, making it possible to heat the microcapsules of the media sheet 12 with a minimum amount of electric power, which in turn makes it possible to reduce running costs. There is.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the image forming apparatus according to the invention of claim 1 includes a plurality of optical systems that imagewise expose a temperature-dependent photosensitive member to different exposure portions through mutually independent optical paths, and a plurality of the photosensitive members. A configuration comprising a heating means for collectively heating the exposure section of the apparatus, and a control means for arbitrarily selecting at least one optical system for image exposure and operating the heating means to maintain it at a predetermined temperature. It is.

As a result, since a plurality of optical systems are provided, it is not necessary to switch between attaching and removing a film-specific device, for example, and it is possible to reduce the burden of switching. In addition, the optical paths of multiple optical systems are independent of each other, and the optical paths are not changed even when switching, which increases reliability when copying due to optical path changes. It also becomes possible to easily add another optical system to an image forming apparatus equipped with this system.

In addition, since the heating means installed in the exposure section heats the photosensitive member and maintains it at a constant temperature, stable image quality can be maintained regardless of the temperature dependence of the photosensitive member, even if the temperature at the installation location fluctuates. It becomes possible to make copies. Furthermore, since the above-mentioned heating means heats the photosensitive member in multiple exposure areas all at once, it becomes possible to reduce the number of parts of the heating means, which in turn makes it possible to reduce material costs. be effective.

As described above, the image forming apparatus according to the invention of claim 2 includes a plurality of light 7 systems that imagewise expose a temperature-dependent photosensitive member to different exposure portions through independent optical paths, and the above-mentioned photosensitive member. A heating means for individually heating the member at each exposure portion, and at least one optical system for imagewise exposure by arbitrarily selecting;
This configuration includes a control means that operates only the heating means corresponding to the exposure section subjected to image exposure and maintains the temperature at a predetermined temperature.

As a result, since a plurality of optical systems are provided, it is not necessary to switch between attaching and removing a film-specific device, for example, and it is possible to reduce the burden of switching. In addition, the optical paths of the multiple optical systems are independent of each other, and the optical paths are not changed even when switching, so reliability is high when copying due to changing optical paths.
Furthermore, for example, it becomes possible to easily add another optical system to an image forming apparatus equipped with a single optical system.

In addition, since the heating means installed in the exposure section heats the photosensitive member and maintains it at a constant temperature, stable image quality can be maintained regardless of the temperature dependence of the photosensitive member, even if the temperature at the installation location fluctuates. It becomes possible to make copies. Furthermore, since the above-mentioned heating means operates only the heating means corresponding to the imagewise exposed area to maintain it at a predetermined temperature, heating of the photosensitive member is limited to only the necessary parts, and the heating means This has the effect of reducing running costs by minimizing the amount of power required to operate the system.

Device (control means) It is.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 5 show one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an enlarged exposure section of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the control means. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the control program. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an enlarged exposure section of the image forming apparatus. 1 is a first exposure optical system, 2 is a second exposure optical system, 4 and 15 are exposure lamps, 12 is a media sheet (photosensitive member), 24
a-24b is an exposure unit, 29-60 and 62 are heaters (heating means), and 100 is arithmetic processing.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A plurality of optical systems that imagewise expose a photosensitive member having temperature dependence to different exposure areas through mutually independent optical paths, and a heating means that collectively heats the photosensitive member at the plurality of exposure areas. and a control means for arbitrarily selecting at least one optical system for image exposure and operating the heating means to maintain the temperature at a predetermined temperature. 2. A plurality of optical systems that imagewise expose a temperature-dependent photosensitive member to different exposure areas through mutually independent optical paths, heating means that individually heats the photosensitive member at each exposure area, and at least one optical system. 1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a control means for selectively performing imagewise exposure and for maintaining a predetermined temperature by operating only a heating means corresponding to an exposure section subjected to imagewise exposure.