Electrophotographic apparatus capable of selectively using cut sheet and continuous paper and method therefor

Abstract

An electrophotographic apparatus of this invention includes a stacking section for cut sheet; a stacking section for fanfold paper; a feed section for supplying printing paper which is cut sheet or fanfold paper from one of the stacking sections via one of different supplying paths; an exposure unit for forming an electrostatic latent image on a photosesitive drum; a developing unit for developing the latent image into a toner image; a belt conveyer for conveying the printing paper received from the feed section along common feeding path, a transferring unit for transferring the toner image on the photosensitive drum onto the printing paper; a fixing unit for fixing the transferred toner image on the printing paper; an ejecting section for receiving the printed printing paper from the belt conveyer; and a cutting device for cutting apart the printed fanfold paper at the perforation line thereof. The fanfold paper left behind on the common feeding path after the cutting operation is set back to a position which does not obstruct supply of cut paper in the feed section.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electrophotographic apparatus comprising: first supplying means for supplying cut sheet as printing paper towards a common feeding path;   second supplying means for supplying continuous paper as printing paper towards said common feeding path;   feeding means for feeding the printing paper supplied from one of said first and second supplying means along said common feeding path;   image forming means for forming an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive medium;   developing means for developing the latent image on the photosensitive medium into a toner image;   transferring means for transferring the toner image on said photosensitive medium onto the printing paper lying on said common feeding path at a present transferring position;   fixing means for fixing the transferred toner image on the printing paper at a preset fixing position on said common feeding path;   cutting means for cutting continuous paper at a cutting position set on a downstream side of the fixing position with respect to a feeding direction of the printing paper;   retracting means for drawing back the continuous paper which is left behind on said common feeding path after the continuous paper is cut apart to a position which lies on an upstream side of said common feeding path and does not prevent supply of the cut sheet by said first supplying means; and   separating means for separating said common feeding path from said photosensitive medium and said fixing means when the continuous paper is moved in a reverse direction.   
     
     
       2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said photosensitive medium is disposed on the upstream side of said common feeding path, and said first and second supplying means include a confluence guide disposed near the upstream side of said common feeding path, for guiding the cut sheet and continuous paper towards said common feeding path and moving means for moving said confluence guide towards and apart from said photosensitive medium. 
     
     
       3. An apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for operating said separating means in connection with said moving means. 
     
     
       4. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said photosensitive medium includes a rotatable drum having a peripheral surface as a photosensitive surface; said first and second supplying means have a supplying speed of the printing paper which is the same as a moving speed of said photosensitive surface; and   said feeding means feeds the printing paper along said common feeding path at one of first and second feeding speeds which are respectively set for different types of printing papers, said first feeding speed, used when the printing paper is cut sheet, being set equal to said moving speed and supplying speed, and said second feeding speed, used when the printing paper is continuous paper, being set to be higher than said moving speed and supplying speed.   
     
     
       5. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said feeding means includes detecting means for detecting the rear end of the continuous paper on said second supplying means and a driving source for lowering said second feeding speed to said supplying speed in a period from the time the detecting means has detected the rear end of the continuous paper until the rear end of the continuous paper passes said second supplying means. 
     
     
       6. An electrophotographic apparatus comprising: first supplying means for supplying cut sheet as printing paper towards a common feeding path;   second supplying means for supplying fanfold paper as printing paper towards said common feeding path;   feeding means for feeding the printing paper supplied from one of said first and second supplying means along said common feeding path, said feeding means including a pair of feeding rollers rotatably arranged at a preset position on said common feeding path, the printing paper passing between the feeding rollers;   image forming means for forming an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive medium;   developing means for developing the latent image on the photosensitive medium into a toner image;   transferring means for transferring the toner image on said photosensitive medium onto the printing paper lying on said common feeding path at a transferring position;   fixing means for fixing the transferred toner image on the printing paper at a fixing position on said common feeding path, the fixing position being set on an upstream side of the preset position with respect to a feeding direction of the printing paper; and   cutting means for cutting fanfold paper at a cutting position set on a downstream side of the feeding rollers;   wherein said cutting means includes means for aligning one of perforation lines of the fanfold paper along which the fanfold paper is to be cut off with the cutting position; holding means for holding a portion of the fanfold paper which lies on a downstream side with respect to the aligned perforation line; and a cutting member for cutting off the fanfold paper at the aligned perforation line by pulling the fanfold paper in a direction perpendicular to the aligned perforation line while being moved along the aligned perforation line.   
     
     
       7. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said cutting means has a standby position which is set at one side of a feeding area of the printing paper and in which said cutting member is set in a non-operative mode. 
     
     
       8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said cutting member is a disk which is movable along the aligned perforation line of the fanfold paper while being rotated as it contacts the fanfold paper. 
     
     
       9. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said apparatus further comprises retracting means for drawing back the fanfold paper which is left behind on said common feeding path after the fanfold paper is cut apart to a position which lies on an upstream side of said common feeding path and does not prevent supply of the cut sheet by said first supplying means. 
     
     
       10. An apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising separating means for separating said common feeding path from said photosensitive medium when the fanfold paper is moved in a reverse direction. 
     
     
       11. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said photosensitive medium is disposed on the upstream side of said common feeding path, and said first and second supplying means include a confluence guide disposed near the upstream side of said common feeding path, for guiding the cut sheet and fanfold paper towards said common feeding path and moving means for moving said confluence guide towards and apart from said photosensitive medium. 
     
     
       12. An apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising separating means for separating said common feeding path from said photosensitive medium and fixing means when the fanfold paper is moved in a reverse direction. 
     
     
       13. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said photosensitive medium is disposed on the upstream side of said common feeding path, and said first and second supplying means include a confluence guide disposed near the upstream side of said common feeding path, for guiding the cut sheet and fanfold paper towards said common feeding path and moving means for moving said confluence guide towards and apart from said photosensitive medium. 
     
     
       14. An apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising means for operating said separating means in connection with said moving means. 
     
     
       15. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said photosensitive medium includes a rotatable drum having a peripheral surface as a photosensitive surface; said first and second supplying means have a supplying speed of the printing paper which is the same as a moving speed of said photosensitive surface; and   said feeding means feeds the printing paper along said common feeding path at one of first and second feeding speeds which are respectively set for different types of printing papers, said first feeding speed, used when the printing paper is cut sheet being set equal to said moving speed and supplying speed, and said second feeding speed, used when the printing paper is fanfold paper, being set to be higher than said moving speed and supplying speed.   
     
     
       16. An apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said feeding means includes detecting means for detecting the rear end of the fanfold paper on said second supplying means and a driving source for lowering said second feeding speed to said supplying speed in a period from the time the detecting means has detected the rear end of the fanfold paper until the rear end of the fanfold paper passes said second supplying means. 
     
     
       17. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said fixing means includes a fixing unit for fixing the toner image on the printing paper while not contacting the printing paper. 
     
     
       18. An electrophotographic method comprising: a supplying step of selecting one of cut sheet and continuous paper as a printing paper and supplying the selected printing paper towards a common feeding path;   a feeding step of feeding the printing paper supplied from said supplying step along said common feeding path;   an image forming step of forming an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive medium;   a developing step of developing the latent image on said photosensitive medium into a toner image;   a transferring step of transferring the toner image onto the printing paper at a preset transferring position set on said common feeding path;   a fixing step of fixing the transferred toner image on the printing paper at a preset fixing position set on said common feeding path;   a cutting step of cutting apart the continuous paper at a cutting position defined on a downstream side of said fixing position in a feeding direction of the printing paper;   a separation step of separating said common feeding path from said photosensitive medium and a fixing unit for effecting said fixing step; and   a retracting step of drawing back the continuous paper which is left behind on said common feeding path after the continuous paper is cut apart to a position which lies on an upstream side of said common feeding path and does not prevent supply of the cut paper.   
     
     
       19. A method according to claim 18, wherein said image forming step and developing step includes a process for moving said photosensitive medium; the printing paper is supplied towards said common feeding path at a supplying speed which is the same as a moving speed of said photosensitive medium in said supplying step; and, in said feeding step, the printing paper is fed by feeding means having a first feeding speed which is the same as said moving speed and supplying speed when the printing paper is cut paper and the printing paper is fed by the feeding means having a second feeding speed which is higher than said moving speed when the printing paper is continuous paper. 
     
     
       20. A method according to claim 19, further comprising a detection step of detecting the rear end of the continuous paper after the rear end of the continuous paper is subjected to said supplying step and before the rear end of the continuous paper is subjected to said feeding step; and a step of lowering a feeding speed of the continuous paper to said supplying speed in a period from the time the rear end of the continuous paper is detected in said detection step until the rear end of the continuous paper is supplied after being subjected to said supplying step. 
     
     
       21. An electrophotographic method comprising: a supplying step of selecting one of cut paper and fanfold paper as a printing paper and supplying the selected printing paper towards a common feeding path;   a feeding step of feeding the printing paper supplied from said supplying step along said common feeding path, the printing paper passing between a pair of feeding rollers which are rotatably arranged at a present position on said common feeding path;   an image forming step of forming an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive medium;   a developing step of developing the latent image on said photosensitive medium into a toner image;   a transferring step of transferring the toner image onto the printing paper at a transferring position set on said common feeding path, the transferring position being set on an upstream side of the preset position in a feeding direction of the printing paper;   a fixing step of fixing the transferred toner image on the printing paper at a fixing position between the transferring position and the present position on said common feeding path; and   a cutting step of cutting apart the fanfold paper at a cutting position defined on a downstream side of the preset position on said common feeding path after said fixing step is effected;   wherein said cutting step includes a process for aligning one of perforation lines of the fanfold paper along which the fanfold paper is to be cut off with the cutting position; a holding process for holding a portion of the fanfold paper which lies on a downstream side with respect to the aligned perforation line; and a cutting process for cutting off the fanfold paper at the aligned perforation line by pulling the fanfold paper in a direction perpendicular to the aligned perforation line.   
     
     
       22. A method according to claim 21, further comprising a retracting step of drawing back the fanfold paper which is left behind on said common feeding path after said cutting step to a position which lies on an upstream side of said common feeding path and does not prevent supply of the cut paper in said supplying step. 
     
     
       23. A method according to claim 22, further comprising a retracting step effected before said retracting step, for separating said common feeding path from said photosensitive medium. 
     
     
       24. A method according to claim 22, further comprising a separating step effected before said retracting step, for separating said common feeding path from said photosensitive medium and a fixing unit for effecting said firing step. 
     
     
       25. A method according to claim 22, wherein said image forming step and developing step includes a process for moving said photosensitive medium; the printing paper is supplied towards said common feeding path at a supplying speed which is the same as a moving speed of said photosensitive medium in said supplying step; and, in said feeding step, the printing paper is fed by feeding means having a first feeding speed which is the same as said moving speed and supplying speed when the printing paper is cut paper and the printing paper is fed by the feeding means having a second feeding speed which is higher than said moving speed and supplying speed when the printing paper is fanfold paper. 
     
     
       26. A method according to claim 25, further comprising a detection step of detecting the rear end of the fanfold paper after the rear end of the fanfold paper is subjected to said supplying step and before the rear end of the fanfold paper is subjected to said feeding step; and a step of lowering the feeding speed of the fanfold paper in said feeding step to said supplying speed in a period from the time the rear end of the fanfold paper is detected in said detection step until the rear end of the fanfold paper is supplied after being subjected to said supplying step. 
     
     
       27. A method according to claim 21, wherein said fixing step is carried out by a fixing unit which fixes the toner image on the printing paper while not contacting the printing paper. .Iadd. 
     
     
       28.  A printing apparatus comprising: first supplying means for supplying cut sheet as printing paper towards a common feeding path;   second supplying means for supplying continuous paper as printing paper towards said common feeding path;   feeding means for feeding the printing paper supplied from one of said first and second supplying means alone said common feeding path;   image forming means for forming an image on the printing paper at an image forming position;   cutting means for cutting continuous paper at a cutting position set on a downstream side of the image forming position with respect to a feeding direction of the printing paper;   retracting means for drawing back the continuous paper which is left behind on said common feeding path after the continuous paper is cut apart to a position which lies on an upstream side of said common feeding path and does not prevent supply of the cut sheet by said first supplying means; and   separating means for separating said common feeding path from the image forming means when the continuous paper is moved in a reverse direction. .Iaddend..Iadd.29. The apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the image forming position is located on the upstream side of said common feeding path, and said first and second supplying means include a confluence guide disposed near the upstream side of said common feeding path, for guiding the cut sheet and continuous paper towards said common feeding path and moving means for moving said confluence guide towards and apart from the image forming position. .Iaddend..Iadd.30. The apparatus according to claim 29, further comprising means for operating said separating means in connection with said moving means. .Iaddend..Iadd.31. The apparatus according to claim 28, wherein said image forming means has an image forming speed in relation to the feeding of printing paper;   said first and second supplying means have a supplying speed of the printing paper which is the same as the image forming speed of said image forming means; and   said feeding means feeds the printing paper along said common feeding path at one of first and second feeding speeds which are respectively set for different types of printing papers, said first feeding speed, used when the printing paper is cut sheet, being set equal to said image forming speed, and said second feeding speed, used when the printing paper is continuous paper, being set to be higher than said image forming speed. .Iaddend..Iadd.32. The apparatus according to claim 31, wherein said feeding means includes detecting means for detecting the rear end of the continuous paper on said second supplying means and a driving source for lowering said second feeding speed to said supplying speed in a period from the time the detecting means has detected the rear end of the continuous paper until the rear end of the continuous paper passes said   
     
     
        second supplying means. .Iaddend..Iadd.33.  A printing apparatus comprising: image forming means for forming an image on fanfold paper;   feeding means for feeding fanfold paper; and   cutting means for cutting the fanfold paper at a cutting position on a downstream side of said image forming means;   wherein said cutting means includes means for aligning a perforation line of the fanfold paper along which the fanfold paper is to be cut off with the cutting position; holding means for holding portions of the fanfold paper which respectively lie on upstream and downstream sides with respect to the aligned perforation line; and a cutting member for cutting off the fanfold paper at the aligned perforation line by pulling the fanfold paper in a direction perpendicular to the aligned perforation line while being moved along the aligned perforation line. .Iaddend..Iadd.34. The apparatus according to claim 33, wherein said cutting means has a standby position which is set at one side of a feeding area of the fanfold paper and in which said cutting member is set in a non-operative mode. .Iaddend..Iadd.35. The apparatus according to claim 34, wherein said cutting member is a disk which is moveable along the aligned perforation line of the fanfold paper while being rotated as it contacts the fanfold paper. .Iaddend..Iadd.36. The apparatus according to claim 33, wherein said feeding means includes supplying means for supplying cut sheet one by one on which an image is formed by said image forming means, and a common feeding path on which the fanfold paper and cut sheet are fed from said image forming means toward the cutting position;   said apparatus further comprises retracting means for drawing back the fanfold paper which is left behind on said common feeding path after the fanfold paper is cut apart to a position which lies on an upstream side of said common feeding path and does not prevent supplying of the cut sheet by said supplying means. .Iaddend..Iadd.37. The apparatus according to claim 36, further comprising separating means for separating said common feeding path from said image forming means when the fanfold paper is moved in a reverse direction. .Iaddend..Iadd.38. The apparatus according to claim 37, wherein said image forming means is disposed on an upstream end of said common feeding path, and said feeding means further includes a confluence guide disposed near the upstream end of said common feeding path, for guiding the cut sheet and fanfold paper towards said common feeding path; and moving means for moving said confluence guide towards and apart from said image forming means. .Iaddend..Iadd.39. The apparatus according to claim 38, further comprising means for operating said separating means in connection with said moving means. .Iaddend..Iadd.40. The apparatus according to claim 33, wherein said image forming means has an image forming speed in relation to the feeding of the fanfold paper;   said feeding means includes supplying means for supplying cut sheets one by one on which an image is formed by said image forming means, and a common feeding path for guiding one of the fanfold paper and cut sheet from said image forming means toward the cutting position, wherein said feeding means feeds the fanfold paper at a first supply speed towards said common feeding path and said supplying means feeds a cut sheet at a second supply speed towards said common feeding path, the first and second supply speeds being the same as the image forming speed of said image forming means;   said feeding means feeds one of the fanfold paper and cut sheet along said common feeding path from said image forming means toward the cutting position at one of first and second feeding speeds which are respectively set for the cut sheet and fanfold paper, said first feeding speed for the cut sheet being set equal to said image forming speed and said second feeding speed for the fanfold paper being set to be higher than said image   
     
     
        forming speed. .Iaddend..Iadd.41.  The apparatus according to claim 40, wherein said feeding means further includes detecting means for detecting the rear end of the fanfold paper when the fanfold paper is fed at said first supply speed and a driving source for lowering said second feeding speed to said first supply speed in a period from the time the detecting means has detected the rear end of the fanfold paper until the rear end of the fanfold paper is fed at said second feeding speed. .Iaddend..Iadd.42. A printing apparatus comprising: image forming means for forming an image on continuous printing paper at an image forming position;   first feeding means for feeding the printing paper towards said image forming position;   second feeding means for feeding the printing paper towards a cutting position on a downstream side of said image forming position with respect to the feeding direction of the printing paper;   cutting means for cutting the printing paper at said cutting position; and   retracting means for drawing back the printing paper after the cutting process for the printing paper is completed so that the front edge of the printing paper is located at said image forming position when the printing paper is to be subjected to successive printing, or the front edge of the printing paper is located at a position when the printing paper is to be removed. .Iaddend..Iadd.43. The apparatus according to claim 42, further comprising separating means for separating the printing paper from said image forming position towards a direction perpendicular to the face of the printing paper, and wherein said first feeding means includes means for compensating a deviation of the front edge of the printing paper in the feeding direction of the printing paper, the deviation being produced by the motion of said separating means after the cutting process for the printing paper is completed when the printing paper is to be subjected to successive printing. .Iaddend..Iadd.44. A printing method comprising:   a first supplying step of supplying cut sheet as printing paper towards a common feeding path;   a second supplying step of supplying continuous paper as printing paper towards said common feeding path;   a feeding step of feeding the printing paper supplied by one of said first and second supplying steps along said common feeding path;   an image forming step of forming an image on the printing paper at an image forming position;   a cutting step of cutting continuous paper at a cutting position defined on a downstream side of the image forming position with respect to a feeding direction of the printing paper;   a retracting step of drawing back the continuous paper which is left behind on said common feeding path after the continuous paper is cut apart to a position which lies on an upstream side of said common feeding path and does not prevent supply of the cut sheet by said first supplying step; and   a separating step of separating said common feeding path from the image forming position when the continuous paper is moved in a reverse direction. .Iaddend..Iadd.45. The method according to claim 44, wherein said first and second supplying steps includes a guiding process for guiding one of the cut sheet and continuous paper towards the image forming position by means of a confluence guide disposed on an upstream side of the image forming position and a moving process for moving said confluence guide towards and apart from the image forming position. .Iaddend..Iadd.46. The method according to claim 45, wherein said separating step is executed in connection with said moving process. .Iaddend..Iadd.47. The method according to claim 44, wherein   an image is formed at an image forming speed in relation to the feeding of printing paper in said image forming step;   the printing paper is supplied at a supplying speed which is the same as the image forming speed in one of said first and second supplying steps; and   the printing paper is fed along said common feeding path by said feeding step at one of first and second feeding speeds which are respectively set for different types of printing papers, said first feeding speed used for cut sheet being set equal to said image forming speed, and said second feeding speed used for the continuous paper being set to be higher than said image forming speed. .Iaddend..Iadd.48. The method according to claim 47, wherein said feeding step includes a detecting process for detecting the rear end of the continuous paper, and a decelerating process for lowering said second feeding speed to said supplying speed while the rear end of the continuous paper is supplied at said supplying speed after the rear end of the continuous paper has been detected by said detecting process. .Iaddend..Iadd.49. A printing method comprising:   an image forming step of forming an image on fanfold paper at an image forming position;   a feeding step of feeding the fanfold paper; and   a cutting step of cutting the fanfold paper at a cutting position on a downstream side of said image forming position with respect to a feeding direction of the fanfold paper;   wherein said cutting step includes a aligning process for aligning a perforation line of the fanfold paper along which the fanfold paper is to be cut off with the cutting position; a holding process for holding portions of the fanfold paper which respectively lie on upstream and downstream sides with respect to the aligned perforation line, and a cutting process for cutting off the fanfold paper at the aligned perforation line by using a cutting member, said cutting member pulling the fanfold paper in a direction perpendicular to the aligned perforation line while being moved along the aligned perforation line.   
     
     
        .Iaddend..Iadd. 0.  The method according to claim 49, wherein said cutting member is set in a non-operative mode at a standby position which is set at one side of a feeding area of the fanfold paper before said cutting step is executed. .Iaddend..Iadd.51. The method according to claim 50, wherein a disk as said cutting member is used; said disk is moved along the aligned perforation line of the fanfold paper while being rotated as it contacts the fanfold paper in said cutting step. .Iaddend..Iadd.52. The method according to claim 49, wherein said feeding step includes a supplying process for supplying cut sheet one by one on which an image is formed by said image forming step, the fanfold paper and cut sheet are fed along a common feeding path from said image forming position toward the cutting position; and   said method further comprises a retracting step of drawing back the fanfold paper which is left behind on said common feeding path after the fanfold paper is cut apart to a position which lies on an upstream side of said common feeding path and does not prevent supply of the cut sheet by said supplying process. .Iaddend..Iadd.53. The method according to claim 52, further comprising a separating step of separating said common feeding path from said image forming position when the fanfold paper is moved in a reverse direction. .Iaddend..Iadd.54. The method according to claim 53, wherein said feeding step further includes a guide process for guiding the cut sheet and fanfold paper towards said common feeding path by means of a confluence guide which is disposed on the upstream end of said image forming position and a moving process for moving said confluence guide towards and apart from said image forming position. .Iaddend..Iadd.55. The method according to claim 54, wherein said separating step is executed in connection with said moving process. .Iaddend..Iadd.56. The method according to claim 49, wherein an image is formed at an image forming speed in relation to the feeding of the fanfold paper in said image forming step;   said feeding step includes a supplying process for supplying cut sheets one by one on which an image is formed by said image forming step, one of the fanfold paper and cut sheet is fed along a common feeding path from said image forming position toward the cutting position in said feeding step, wherein the fanfold paper and cut sheet are supplied at a supply speed towards said common feeding path, respectively, said supply speed being the same as the image forming speed in said image forming step; and   one of the fanfold paper and cut sheet is fed along said common feeding path from said image forming position toward the cutting position in said feeding step at one of first and second feeding speeds which are respectively set for the cut sheet and fanfold paper, said first feeding speed for the cut sheet being set equal to said image forming speed, and said second feeding speed for the fanfold paper being set to be higher than said image forming speed. .Iaddend..Iadd.57. The method according to claim 56, wherein said feeding step further includes a detecting process for detecting the rear end of the fanfold paper when the fanfold paper is fed at said supply speed and a deceleration process for lowering said second feeding speed to said supply speed while the rear end of the fanfold paper is fed at said supply speed after the rear end of the fanfold paper has been detected. .Iaddend..Iadd.58. A printing method comprising:   an image forming step of forming an image on continuous printing paper at an image forming position;   a first feeding step of feeding the printing paper towards said image forming position;   a second feeding step of feeding the printing paper towards a cutting position on a downstream side of said image forming position with respect to a feeding direction of the printing paper;   a cutting step of cutting the printing paper at said cutting position; and   a retracting step of drawing back the printing paper after the cutting step is completed so that the front edge of the printing paper is located at said image forming position when the printing paper is to be subjected to successive printing, or the front edge of the printing paper is located at a position on the upstream side of said image forming position when the printing paper is to be removed. .Iaddend..Iadd.59. The method according to claim 58, further comprising a separating step of separating the printing paper from said image forming position towards a direction perpendicular to the face of the printing paper, and wherein said first feeding step includes a process for compensating a deviation of the front edge of the printing paper in the feeding direction of the printing paper, the deviation being produced by said separating step after the cutting step is completed when the printing paper is to be subjected to successive printing. .Iaddend.