Belt support structure in copying machine

Claim 1

A belt support structure in a photoelectrostatic copying machine comprising a housing structure having an access opening in a plane and adapted to be selectively closed and opened, said access opening leading into the interior of said housing structure in which necessary operating elements of the copying machine are arranged, which belt support structure comprises: a photoreceptor belt assembly including a photoreceptor belt and first and second side plates and a plurality of rolls rotatably supported between said first and second side plates in spaced relation to each other, tension adjusting means for adjustment of tension imparted to said photoreceptor belt, said photoreceptor belt being suspended around said rolls, one of said rolls being adapted to be drivingly coupled to a source of driving force when said belt assembly is inserted into said housing structure, and said first side plate being situated remote from said access opening when said belt assembly is inserted into said housing structure and having alignment elements thereon, counter-alignment elements stationarily held in position within the housing structure and engaged by said alignment elements when said belt assembly is within said housing structure for accurately positioning said belt assembly when the latter is inserted into said housing structure; stationary guide means rigidly secured at least at two spaced points to a wall member of the housing structure within said housing structure, said stationary guide means extending in a direction substantially intersecting the plane of said access opening; intermediate guide means telescopically movably mounted on said stationary guide means; movable guide means telescopically mounted on said intermediate guide means; and hinge means for hingedly mounting said photoreceptor belt assembly on one end portion of said movable guide means for pivotal movement between an operative position, in which the plane of a portion of said photoreceptor belt onto which the incoming light carrying an optical image of an original to be copied is projected lies at right angles to said incoming light when said belt assembly is held in position within said housing structure, and a released position in which said portion of said photoreceptor belt in angularly displaced from the direction of the telescopic movement of said intermediate and movable guide means when said belt assembly is in position outside said housing structure, said belt assembly being selectively drawn out of and inserted into said housing structure with said intermediate and movable guide means fully extended and folded relative to said stationary guide means, respectively.