Charge quenching apparatus for electrophotographic copying machine

Abstract

A charge quenching apparatus for quenching unnecessary charges on a latent electrostatic-image bearing photoconductor of an electrophotographic copying machine for making copies with clean margins when the size of the maximum-latent-image area on the photoconductor, corresponding to the size of the original, is smaller than the transfer sheet employed, in the unit magnification and in the variable magnification, and for making copies without applying excess load to a cleaning apparatus of the photoconductor when copies bearing part of the image of the original are made or when copies bearing a reduced-size image of the original are made. In the charge quenching apparatus, the size of the maximum-latent-image area selected and the size of the transfer sheet selected are compared, and charges in the area outside the area corresponding to the smaller size determined by the above-mentioned comparison are quenched.