JP2001013819A - Image-forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to print an additional image without decreasing the productivity for printing an original image by holding paper to be carried on a paper carrier when a judging means judges it to be transferable, and also forming an electrostatic latent image according to an original image and that according to the additional image on an image carrier. SOLUTION: When a user selects to print an advertisement by key operation of an advertisement function selecting part 62 in the image-forming device, a judging part 90 judges whether or not it is possible to print an original image and an advertisement image in a two-sheet chuck mode. A control part 61 controls to permit or inhibit printing of an extra paper advertisement or a back side advertisement based on the judged result by the judging part 90. When the judging part 90 judges that it is possible to print the original image and the back side image in the two-sheet chuck mode, a control means holds two sheets of paper to be carried on a transfer drum, and also controls to form an electrostatic latent image according to the original image and an electrostatic latent image according to the advertisement image on a photoreceptor drum.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is to reduce the productivity of original image printing by providing copying means capable of printing a prestored additional image such as an advertisement image in addition to a read original image. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus capable of realizing printing of an additional image without any need.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of copying machines, a large number of copying machines equipped with a billing device have been installed in convenience stores and the like. The copier installed in such a place is used by an unspecified number of users. Therefore, if a copy is made and printed including image information such as an advertisement, the advertiser can obtain a predetermined advertisement effect.

[0003] In view of such circumstances, various image forming apparatuses have been proposed which can print an advertisement image by additionally synthesizing it in a blank portion generated when a read original image is printed on paper (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI 9-122572). JP-A-8-256256, JP-A-9-90831, and JP-A-9-90832.

In this type of image forming apparatus, when a user desires to print an advertisement image, and there is a margin in the original image, the advertisement image is combined with the original image and printed. There has been known a method in which billing for each of advertisers is distributed based on the total number of sheets printed by the user and the number of sheets printed with the advertisement image (see the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-90832). ).

[0005]

In the image forming apparatus disclosed in the above publication, if the user does not want to combine the advertisement image with the blank portion of the original image, or if the original image has no blank portion, the user is required Even if desired, the advertisement image cannot be printed. Further, only a relatively small advertisement image can be printed in accordance with the size of the margin, and the advertisement effect obtained by the printed advertisement is relatively small. Here, the advertisement effect obtained by the printed advertisement can be said to be greater because the larger the advertisement image, the more attention the user can draw.

Therefore, a large advertisement image is printed on the back side of the sheet on which the original image is printed or on a sheet different from the sheet on which the original image is printed (referred to as "insert paper") instead of the margin. Can be considered.

However, in the case of printing an advertisement on the back side or the slip sheet, the time required for finishing the copy of the user becomes longer for the user, and the productivity of printing the original image is reduced. For this reason, there is a possibility that the user may avoid the use of the advertisement printing because he dislikes the decrease in the productivity.

Therefore, in order to strongly promote the active use of the advertisement printing by the user, it is necessary to print the advertisement image without lowering the productivity of printing the original image.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has as its object to provide an image forming apparatus capable of realizing printing of an additional image without lowering the productivity of printing an original image. I do.

[0010]

The above object is achieved by the following means.

(1) A sheet carrier capable of carrying a plurality of sheets by visualizing an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier in accordance with a prestored additional image such as an advertisement image or a read document image. Copying means for transferring the visible image onto a sheet carried on a body and printing an additional image or an original image, and a copying means for simultaneously displaying the visible image and the additional image on the image carrier according to the original image. Determining means for determining whether or not each of the visible images can be transferred to each of the plurality of sheets carried on the sheet carrier, and when the determining means determines that the transfer is possible, Control means for carrying a plurality of sheets on a sheet carrier and controlling to form an electrostatic latent image corresponding to a document image and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to an additional image on the image carrier. Characteristic image forming device That.

(2) When the determining means determines that the transfer is possible, the control means, when the document scanning operation is not being performed, generates the electrostatic latent image corresponding to the prestored additional image. It is characterized in that it is formed on an image carrier.

(3) The control means forms an electrostatic latent image on the image carrier in accordance with the prestored additional image when the reading means which scans the original returns to the initial position. Features.

(4) The determining means determines that the image can be transferred when a plurality of sheets are carried on the sheet carrier and there is a surface on which the original image is not printed. .

(5) The discriminating means prints an odd number of pages and prints the last number of copies when printing the original image of the last page and printing the last page of the original image. The transfer is possible when the original image of the last page is to be printed on the paper carrier, or when the original image of the last page is to be printed on both sides in the case of two-sided printing of an original consisting of three or more odd pages. It is characterized by determining that there is.

(6) Copying means for printing a pre-stored additional image such as an advertisement image or a read original image, charging means for charging a user of the original image, and use of the original image for printing Discriminating means for determining whether or not a user is performing a setting operation for operating the copying means. When the discriminating means determines that the setting operation is being performed by the print user, the additional information stored in advance is determined. An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls printing of an image.

(7) The determining means determines that the setting operation is being performed by the printing user when the printing user is charging a fee to the charging means.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2A to 2C are views for explaining a printing form by the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 7A shows a form in which only an original image is printed, FIG. 7B shows a form in which an advertisement image is synthesized and printed in a margin portion of the original image, and FIG. 1 shows a form in which the advertisement image is printed in a large size on the back side of the sheet or on another sheet.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 includes:
The apparatus includes a copying machine 11 (corresponding to a copying unit) and a charging device 12 for a user (corresponding to a charging unit).
The billing device 12 in the illustrated example is a coin vender, and a user can copy a document by inserting coins into the billing device 12 and operating the copying machine 11. Here, the billing device 12 displays the inserted amount to the user, permits the copying operation of the copying machine 11 according to the inserted amount, collects a predetermined amount when the copying operation is performed, and subtracts the predetermined amount. After that, the remaining amount is newly displayed.
The amount to be subtracted depends on the paper size used for copying, the set color mode, and the like. When the amount after the subtraction by performing the copy operation is equal to or less than the predetermined amount, the accounting device 12 denies the copy operation of the copying machine 11. And if the fee is added again,
The copying operation of the copying machine 11 is permitted again. in this way,
The billing device 12 has a function of instructing the copying machine 11 to permit or prohibit the copying operation while managing the usage fee and the remaining amount.

More specifically, the charging device 12 has a vertically long box shape, and has a coin slot 13 on its upper surface,
A coin return button 14 for returning coins and a display unit 15 such as a liquid crystal display for displaying the amount of money inserted and the balance are provided, and a coin return slot 16 is provided on the front surface. The charging device 12 is connected to the copying machine 11 via a relay connector 17 pulled out from the back.

The copying machine 11 communicates with the billing device 12 via the relay connector 17. From the copying machine 11, information such as during a copying operation, a paper feed signal, a paper discharge signal, a size, and a copy mode are transmitted to the charging device 12. On the other hand, information such as copy permission, copy non-permission, and input amount is transmitted from the charging device 12 to the copying machine 11. The copying machine 11 is controlled to a copy enabled state or a copy disabled state according to each piece of transmitted information. Also, on the upper surface of the copier 11, an operation panel 1 operated when the user sets a copy mode such as the number of copies is set.
8 are provided.

The billing device 12 calculates a necessary amount from the input amount and the copy mode set by the user.
It is determined whether or not copying is possible, and if copying is possible, a copy permission signal is transmitted to the copying machine 11. The copying machine 11 to which the copy permission signal has been sent is set in a state where the user can execute copying.

When the user starts copying, the copying machine 11
Starts a predetermined copy operation. The copying machine 11 transmits discharge information to the charging device 12 when the paper is discharged, and the charging device 12 subtracts a predetermined amount according to a copy mode such as size and color. When the usage fee is sequentially reduced and the balance becomes less than the amount required for copying,
Billing device 12 transmits a copy prohibition signal to copier 11. The copying machine 11 to which the copy prohibition signal has been sent is set to a copy prohibition state for the user.

It should be noted that the billing device 1 comprising a coin vendor
Although FIG. 2 is illustrated, a charging device may be used in which a medium such as a prepaid card in which amount information is stored is inserted and charge management is performed based on the balance information stored in the card.

The image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, in addition to printing only the original image, if the user desires, the advertisement image can be printed as shown in FIGS. FIG. 7B shows a form in which a blank portion in a document image is detected, and an advertisement image is combined with the blank portion (the lower portion of the sheet in the illustrated example) and printed. FIG. 3C shows a form in which the advertisement image is largely printed on the entire back surface of the sheet on which the document image is printed or on another sheet.

In this specification, an advertisement printed in a margin portion of a document image is referred to as a “margin advertisement”, and an advertisement printed on another sheet, ie, a slip sheet, is referred to as a “slip sheet advertisement”.
The advertisement printed on the back side of the paper on which the document image is printed is referred to as a “back side advertisement”.

As described above, the slip-sheet advertisement and the back-side advertisement can be selectively performed according to the user's preference. Therefore, when it is not desired to combine the advertisement image with the blank portion of the original image or when the blank portion is originally included in the original image. Even when there is no advertisement, advertisement printing can be performed if desired by the user. Furthermore, in the case of a slip-sheet advertisement or a back advertisement, a high advertisement effect can be obtained because printing can be performed using the entire surface of the sheet.

However, in the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the printing of the slip-sheet advertisement or the back advertisement shown in FIG. 2C is permitted as long as the print productivity of the original image is not reduced. I have. As a result, the productivity of printing the original image is not reduced for the user, and there is no fear of refraining from using the advertisement printing. As a result, the active use of the advertisement printing by the user is promoted. It should be noted that a specific description for permitting the printing of the slip-sheet advertisement or the back advertisement is related to the configuration of the copying machine 11, and will be described later in detail.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing the inside of the copying machine 11 shown in FIG.

The illustrated copying machine 11 is a four-cycle full-color copying machine, and includes an image scanner unit 21 for reading an original image, a signal processing unit 22 for processing a signal read by the image scanner unit 21, and an original image. The printer unit 23 includes a printer unit 23 that prints an image corresponding to an image on paper, a paper storage unit 24 that stores paper, and a casing 25 that arranges or stores these units.

In the image scanner section 21, the original placed on the platen glass is irradiated by a lamp, and the light reflected by the original is reflected by a plurality of mirrors 26a, 26b, 26a.
c and a line sensor (CCD) through the condenser lens 27
An image is formed on 28. By driving the scanner motor 29, the first scanner 31 is driven at a speed V and the second scanner 32 is driven at V / 2 in a direction perpendicular to the electrical scanning direction (main scanning direction) of the line sensor 28 (sub scanning direction). Direction), and scans the original surface. The first scanner 31 and the second scanner 32 correspond to reading means for scanning a document.

The signal processing unit 22 receives a signal read by the line sensor 28, generates an image signal by electrically processing the signal, and sends it to the printer unit 23.

The printer unit 23 includes a laser generator 35,
The photosensitive drum 36 that is driven to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG.
(Corresponding to an image carrier), and a transfer drum 37 (corresponding to a paper carrier) for adsorbing and supporting the paper 30 on the outer peripheral surface. Around the photoreceptor drum 36, a charging charger 38 for uniformly charging the photoreceptor drum 36 and a developing device 39 for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor drum 36 are sequentially arranged along the rotation direction. (Developers 39C, 39
M, 39Y, and 39K), a transfer charger 40 that transfers the developed toner image to the sheet 30, and a cleaning device 41 that removes the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 36. The developing device 39C contains cyan (C) toner.
9Y and 39K contain magenta (M) toner, yellow (Y) toner, and black (K) toner, respectively. The laser generator 35 drives and modulates the semiconductor laser according to the level of the image signal sent from the signal processing unit 22. The laser beam is applied to the photosensitive drum 36 at a position between the charger 38 and the developing device 39 via a polygon mirror (not shown), an f-θ lens, and a return mirror. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 36 in accordance with the advertisement image or the read original image stored in advance is developed with a toner in the developing device 39 to be a visible image. In the peripheral opening area of the transfer drum 37, a paper carrying film is integrally provided in a cylindrical shape. As the paper carrying film, a dielectric film such as polycarbonate is used. In order to adsorb the paper on the outer peripheral surface of the film, an electrostatic attraction charger 42 is arranged on the inner peripheral surface side of the film, and an attraction roller 43 is arranged on the outer peripheral surface side facing the electrostatic attraction charger 42.

On the other hand, the paper storage section 24 is provided with a plurality (three in the illustrated example) of paper feed cassettes 45a, 45b and 45c. Each paper cassette 45a, 45b, 45c
, A plurality of sheets having different sheet sizes and vertical and horizontal directions are stored in a stacked state. The copying machine 11
Is a manual feed tray 46 for manually setting paper.
It has. The paper in the paper feed cassettes 45a, 45b, 45c is fed by the paper feed rollers 47a, 47b, 47c.
The sheets are separated and fed one by one, and electrostatically attracted to the outer peripheral surface of the transfer drum 37. When manually fed paper is used, the paper on the manual feed tray 46 is fed.

On the sheet 30 adsorbed on the transfer drum 37,
The developed image is transferred onto the photosensitive drum 36. When the copy mode is monochrome, a monochrome (K) toner image forming, developing and transferring recording process is performed only once to form a monochrome image. On the other hand, when the copy mode is full color, in the copying machine 11 in the illustrated example, the recording process of image formation, development, and transfer is repeated for each color toner to rotate the transfer drum 37 four times, and is attracted to the transfer drum 37. The basic color images of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) are sequentially superimposed on the paper 30 to form a full-color image. It should be noted that it is possible to set a mono color for printing the image in a single color of only cyan (C), only magenta (M), and only yellow (Y). As in the case of monochrome printing, the recording process is performed only once.

The sheet after image formation is separated from the separation charger 48.
And separated from the transfer drum 37 by a separation claw 49,
The sheet is conveyed toward the fixing device 50. The fixing device 50 includes a fixing roller 51 having a built-in heat source such as a halogen heater.
And a pressure roller 52 that presses against the fixing roller 51 via a sheet, and heats and melts the unfixed toner transferred onto the sheet to form a permanent image. The sheet on which the toner has been fixed is discharged onto a discharge tray 53.

The copying machine 11 has a double-sided copying function.
Paper reversing mechanism 5 for reversing the paper on which the image is printed
5 are provided. The sheet reversing mechanism 55 includes a reversing path 56 on which the sheet conveyed from the fixing device 50 is conveyed at the time of double-sided copying, and a switching claw for selectively switching the sheet conveyance destination to the discharge tray 53 or the reversing path 56 57,
It has a paper transport path 57 connected to the manual feed tray 46 and a plurality of transport rollers 58. The paper conveyed to the reversing path 56 has the first surface on which the image is printed becomes the back surface, and the second surface on which the image is not printed becomes the front surface, and is attracted to the transfer drum 37 again.

As described above, the copying machine 11 forms a full-color image by rotating the transfer drum 37 four times.
The circumference of 7 corresponds to the time required for the first and second scanners 31 and 32 to return from the position after scanning the original to the home position, which is the initial position, to the maximum printable paper size. It is necessary to add the length. When the size of the sheet in the sub-scanning direction is equal to or smaller than a predetermined size, copying is performed in a two-sheet chuck mode in which two sheets are simultaneously held in order to enhance copy productivity. That is, the transfer drum 37, for example, carries one sheet of paper in A3 size, but carries two sheets of paper in A4 size. In the two-sheet chuck mode, one rotation of the transfer drum 37 collectively performs the image forming, developing, and transferring recording processes for one color.

If the two-sheet chuck mode is used, a visible image corresponding to the original image and a visible image corresponding to the advertisement image, which are simultaneously visualized on the photosensitive drum 36, are held on the transfer drum 37. The original image and the slip sheet advertisement or the back side advertisement can be printed in the same time as when only the original image is printed after being transferred to each of the two sheets. That is, it is possible to print a slip sheet advertisement or a back side advertisement without reducing the print productivity of the document image.

For this reason, the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment
Is configured to permit printing of a slip-sheet advertisement or a backside advertisement only when the original image and the advertisement image can be printed using the two-sheet chuck mode.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram showing a control system of the image forming apparatus 10.

The image forming apparatus 10 includes a copying machine 11 and a billing device 12 which can communicate with each other via the relay connector 17 and the input / output interfaces 60a and 60b. ), The image scanner unit 21 and the signal processing unit 22 described above.
And the printer unit 23, and the operation panel 18 including the advertisement function selecting unit 62. The control unit 61 further includes an advertisement image memory 63 for storing a plurality of advertisement images in advance, a charge memory 64 for accumulating and storing the number of printed advertisements and charges for the advertiser, temporary storage of image data and image synthesis. Working memory 6 sometimes used
5. A timer 66 for measuring the current time and a counter 67 for integrating the number of printed advertisements are connected.

Further, the control unit 61 includes the photosensitive drum 3
6, whether the visible image corresponding to the original image and the visible image corresponding to the advertisement image, which have been simultaneously visualized, can be transferred to each of the two sheets carried on the transfer drum 37, that is, whether the two A discriminating unit 9 for discriminating whether or not a document image and an advertisement image can be printed using the chuck mode
0 (corresponding to the determination means) is connected. And
The control unit 61 controls the respective units of the copying machine 11 and controls communication with the accounting device 12.

By accumulating and storing the billing for the advertiser in the billing memory 64, the billing information can be collectively obtained every predetermined period. The amount accumulated and stored as one of the billing information is the amount charged to the advertiser, and this amount is collectively charged to the advertiser at predetermined intervals.

The operation panel 18 has a number key for setting the number of copies, a key 70 for setting a color mode (monochrome copy / color copy) for printing an original image, and other copy modes (for example, double-sided copy, enlargement / enlargement). Copy key, start key,
A display section 69 for displaying a setting state, a list of printable advertisements, and other information is provided. Further, an advertisement function selection section 62 is provided in a part of the operation panel 18.

The advertisement function selection unit 62 sets whether or not to print an advertisement, selects an advertisement image to be printed from a plurality of advertisement images, and prints only an advertisement image without printing an original image. Or choose to print
It is operated by the user. Specifically, a key for setting whether or not to perform advertisement printing, a key for selecting whether to print in the form of a margin advertisement, a slip sheet advertisement, or a backside advertisement when performing advertisement printing, A key or the like for selecting a desired advertisement from the image is arranged. Note that the keys of the advertisement function selection unit 62 are touch panel keys.

On the other hand, the display unit 15 described above is connected to the control unit 71 of the charging device 12, and further, a charging table memory 72, a charging memory 73 for accumulating and storing the number of copies and the charging amount for the user are provided. It is connected.
The control unit 71 charges each of the user and the advertiser according to the specific copy operation to be executed, with reference to the table stored in the charging table memory 72. The control unit 71 controls the components of the charging device 12 and controls the communication with the image forming apparatus 10.

The image forming apparatus 10 is connected to a terminal 74 in a store where the image forming apparatus 10 is installed. When the clerk operates the terminal 74, the copy machine 11 such as the current number of remaining sheets and the remaining amount of toner is displayed.
, The use of advertising printing, the amount charged to the advertiser, and the like. In addition, it is also possible for a clerk to remotely switch an advertisement image that can be selected by the user according to the age, sex, and the like of the user.

Further, the image forming apparatus 10 may be connected via a network (not shown) to a terminal in a management facility for centrally managing the image forming apparatuses 10 installed in a plurality of stores. . In this management facility, the operation status of each image forming apparatus 10 is grasped, the billing information to the advertiser sent from each image forming apparatus 10 is integrated, the advertiser is collectively billed, The advertisement image stored in the device 11 can be periodically replaced by remote control.

In the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment, when the user selects to perform advertisement printing by operating the advertisement function selection unit 62, the printing of the original image and the advertisement image using the two-sheet chuck mode is performed. Is determined by the determination unit 90, and the control unit 61 performs control to permit or prohibit printing of the slip-sheet advertisement or the back advertisement based on the determination result by the determination unit 90.

When the determining unit 90 determines that the printing of the original image and the advertisement image using the two-sheet chuck mode is possible, the control unit controls the transfer drum 37 to carry two sheets of paper and the original image. Is formed on the photosensitive drum 36 to form an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the advertisement image. When forming the electrostatic latent image according to the advertisement image, when the document scanning operation is not being performed, preferably, the first and second scanners 31 and 32 that have scanned the document return to the home position from the position after the document scanning. Sometimes done.

The determination unit 90 determines that printing of the original image and the advertisement image using the two-sheet chuck mode is possible because the original image is printed when two sheets are carried on the transfer drum 37. When there is a side that does not exist, there are the following cases. That is, (a) when printing an original consisting of odd pages on one side and printing the last page of the original image, and (b) when printing the last number of original pages and the odd number of copies for printing the original image, (C) This is a case where a document including three or more odd pages is printed on both sides and a sheet on which a document image of the last page is printed is carried on the transfer drum 37. Hereinafter, examples of print control will be described in order.

<< 1. Printing control in the case of single-sided printing of an original consisting of odd pages >> When printing in the two-sheet chuck mode by the transfer drum method, in the case of printing one-sided originals of odd pages and when printing the original page image Thus, only one sheet of paper is adsorbed on the transfer drum 37 to print the original image. For this reason, 2
When a sheet of paper is carried, there is a surface on which the document image is not printed. As a result, the discriminating unit 90 obtains 2
It is determined that printing of the original image and the advertisement image using the sheet chuck mode is possible.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5A, the control unit 61 includes, in addition to the sheet 30A for printing the original image,
A transfer drum 37 is used to transfer a sheet 30B for printing an advertisement image.
Is controlled so as to be simultaneously adsorbed. And the control unit 61
The image forming control for forming an electrostatic latent image for cyan (C) corresponding to the original image and an electrostatic latent image for cyan (C) corresponding to the advertisement image stored in advance on the photosensitive drum 36 is performed. Do.

As shown in the time chart of FIG. 5B, after the image of the original is formed, the first and second scanners 31 and 32 which scan the original are used to scan the original. This is done when returning to the home position from a later position. While the transfer drum 37 makes one rotation, the image formation of both the original image and the advertisement image for cyan (C) is completed. As shown in the time chart, image formation is performed on each of the original image and the advertisement image, but development and transfer are performed on both images at a time. Similarly, for each of magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K), the recording process of image formation, development, and transfer is performed while the transfer drum 37 makes one rotation.

As described above, while the transfer drum 37 makes one rotation, the process of forming, developing, and transferring both the original image and the advertisement image is performed for each color, so that the original image is printed on the paper 30A. Even when an advertisement image is printed on the sheet 30B, printing can be performed at the same time or at the same speed as when printing only the original image. Therefore, it is possible to print an advertisement with a high advertisement effect and to provide the advertisement image to the user without lowering the productivity of printing the original image.

<< 2. Printing Control When the Number of Copies to Print Original Image is Odd Number >> Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG. 6, a print control procedure when the number of copies to print the original image is odd and the last number of copies is printed Will be described.

When printing in the two-sheet chuck mode by the transfer drum method, when the number of copies of the original image, that is, the number of copies set by the user is odd and the last copy is to be printed, the original image is printed. Only one sheet is adsorbed on the transfer drum 37. For this reason, the transfer drum 3
When two sheets are carried on the sheet 7, there is a surface on which the document image is not printed. Thereby, the determination unit 9
0 determines that the original image and the advertisement image can be printed using the two-sheet chuck mode.

Then, as described above, the control unit 61
In addition to the sheet 30A for printing the document image, the sheet 30B for printing the advertisement image is further suctioned to simultaneously suck two sheets of paper, and the first and second scanners 31 which scan the document are scanned. , 32 return to the home position, while forming an advertisement image, print an original image on one sheet 30A and print an advertisement image on the other sheet 30B. With this, printing of a slip-sheet advertisement with a high advertising effect is realized without lowering the productivity of printing the original image.

Referring to FIG. 6, the user can select whether or not to print an advertisement by operating a key provided in advertisement function selecting section 62, and information on whether or not to print an advertisement is copied. It is sent from the machine 11 to the billing device 12.

When the user selects the advertisement printing, a fee is charged to the billing device 12 (S11), and the copy mode such as the number of copies and the paper size is set and the copy is started (S1).
2), one advertisement image is selected from the plurality of advertisement images stored in the advertisement image memory 63. The advertisement image is automatically selected by rotation or the like, or can be arbitrarily selected by the user himself.

The determination unit 90 determines whether or not the two-sheet chuck mode can be used based on the size of the sheet in the sheet passing direction (S).
13). For example, in a copy mode in which a sheet having a size of A4 landscape or smaller is selected, it is determined that the two-sheet chuck mode can be used. If the two-sheet chuck mode can be used (S13 "Y"), it is determined whether or not the set number is an odd number (S14).

If the number is an odd number (S14)
"Y"), since the original image and the advertisement image can be printed using the two-sheet chuck mode as described above, the original image is printed (S15).
In addition to the paper 30A for printing the original image, the paper 30B for printing the advertisement image is further sucked to simultaneously suck two sheets of paper. Then, the document image is printed on one sheet 30A and the advertisement image is printed on the other sheet 30B (S16).

On the other hand, when the two-sheet chuck mode cannot be used (S13 "N"), when the number of sheets is an even number (S1).
4 "N") Since the original image and the advertisement image cannot be printed using the two-sheet chuck mode, only the original image is printed for the set number (S17).

The copy fee for the user is determined by the billing device 1
In 2, a predetermined amount is subtracted from the input amount to be collected. The advertising fee for the advertiser is
The number of printed advertisements and the billing amount are accumulated and stored in the billing memory 64, and are billed collectively later.

As described above, when the number set by the user is an odd number, the original image and the advertisement image can be printed using the two-sheet chuck mode in the same time as when only the original image is printed. Thus, printing of a slip-sheet advertisement with a high advertising effect is realized without lowering the productivity of printing the original image.

<< Print Control in the Case of Double-sided Printing of Original of 3.3 or More Odd Pages >> Next, referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, in the two-sheet chuck mode, three or more odd pages Will be described in the case of performing double-sided printing of an original composed of. The description will be made by taking as an example the case where the setting number is 1 and the document has three pages. In the figure, reference numeral “30A” indicates the last page (page 3) of the document image and the sheet on which the advertisement image is printed, “30A3” indicates the surface on which the page 3 document image is printed, “30A4” indicates the surface on which the advertisement image is printed. In the figure, reference numeral “30B” indicates a sheet on which the first and second page original images are printed, and “30B1” indicates the first sheet.
"30B2" indicates the surface on which the page document image is printed.
The surface on which the document image of the second page is printed is shown.

In the case of double-sided printing, the printed paper must be ejected so that the page order is correctly arranged. Therefore, printing is performed as follows.

As shown in FIG. 7A, when printing in the two-sheet chuck mode by the transfer drum method, when printing an original consisting of three pages on both sides, the original image of the last page (the third page) is printed. Two sheets, a sheet 30A to be printed and a sheet 30B to print the first and second page original images, are attracted to the transfer drum 37. In order to arrange the order of the pages after the odd-numbered original is discharged while performing double-sided printing, when printing the first side, there is no original image page to be printed on the first sheet 30A, but on the subsequent sheet 30B. Needs to print the original image of the second page. In the case of an original consisting of four pages, the original image of the fourth page is printed on the first sheet 30A.

As described above, when two sheets of paper are carried on the transfer drum 37, there is a surface on which the original image is not printed. It is determined that printing with an image is possible.

Then, as described above, the control unit 61
When the first and second scanners 31 and 32 that scan the original return to the home position, while forming the advertisement image, the advertisement image is formed on the first sheet 30A, and the advertisement image is formed on the second sheet 30B. Print the original image of the page.

When the printing of the first side is completed, the sheet 30A,
30B is turned upside down by the sheet reversing mechanism 55, and the first surface on which the image is printed becomes the back surface, while the second surface on which the image is not printed becomes the front surface, and is attracted to the transfer drum 37 again. Then, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the original image of the third page is printed on the first sheet 30A and the original image of the first page is printed on the subsequent sheet 30B, the printing on the second side is completed.

As described above, when two-sided printing of an original consisting of three or more odd-numbered pages is performed and the paper on which the original image of the last page is to be printed is carried on the transfer drum 37, the two-sheet chuck mode is used. To print the original image and the advertisement image in the same time as when only the original image is printed, realizing the printing of the back advertisement with high advertising effect without reducing the productivity of the original image printing Is done.

<Other Embodiments> FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram showing a control system of an image forming apparatus according to another embodiment. The same reference numerals are used for the same elements as those shown in FIG. The description is omitted here.

The control section 61 of the copying machine 11 is connected to a determining section 91 (determining means) for determining whether or not the user is performing a setting operation for operating the copying machine 11. When the determination unit 91 determines that the user is performing a setting operation, the control unit 61 is configured to perform control for printing an advertisement image stored in advance. The determining unit 91 determines that the user is in the process of setting while the user is charging the billing device 12.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a print control procedure of an advertisement image in the image forming apparatus according to another embodiment.

When the determination section 91 detects that the user has begun to insert coins into the charging device 12 (S21), the determination section 91 determines whether or not the setting of the copy mode such as the number of copies and the paper size has been started (S22). ). Whether or not the setting of the copy mode has been started is determined based on whether or not the user is operating a key provided on the operation panel 18.

When the user continues to insert coins, the determination section 91 determines that the setting of the copy mode has not been started and the user is in the setting operation for operating the copying machine 11. (S22 "N"). At this time, since there is some time until the setting of the copy mode is started, the advertisement image can be printed by using this time. Therefore, the control unit 61 determines whether or not the advertisement image has already been printed (S25). If the advertisement image has not been printed (S25 "N"), the advertisement image is printed (S26). In addition, the printing form of the advertisement is a slip sheet advertisement.

On the other hand, when the setting of the copy mode is started (“Y” in S22), the original image may be printed soon, so that the advertisement image is not printed, and when the copy is started, only the original image is printed. Yes (S23 "Y",
S24).

As described above, when the user keeps charging the billing device 12, the user may
Is in the process of setting up for
It is free time. Then, since the advertisement image stored in advance is printed by using the time during the setting operation, which is the idle time, the productivity of the original image is not reduced. Highly effective interleaf advertisement printing is realized.

Although the example in which the printing of the advertisement image is not permitted uniformly when the copy mode setting is started has been described, the copy mode setting by the user also includes selection of paper, setting of the number of sheets, double-sided / single-sided. There are several steps, such as setting up a copy. For this reason, for example, until the predetermined time elapses after the setting of the copy mode is started, it is determined that the user is performing the setting operation for operating the copier 11, and control for printing the advertisement image is performed. You may.

[0083]

According to the present invention described above, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of realizing printing of an additional image without lowering the productivity of printing a document image.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIGS. 2A to 2C are views for explaining a printing mode by the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2A is a mode in which only a document image is printed; (B) shows a form in which an advertisement image is synthesized and printed in a margin portion of a document image, and FIG. (C) shows a form in which the advertisement image is largely printed on the back surface of the sheet on which the document image is printed or on another sheet. I have.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram schematically showing the inside of the copying machine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a control system of the image forming apparatus.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are an explanatory diagram and a time chart for explaining print control in a case where an original including odd pages is printed on one side.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a print control procedure when the number of copies for printing a document image is an odd number.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are explanatory diagrams for explaining print control when two-sided printing is performed on an original including three or more odd pages in a two-sheet chuck mode.

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a control system of an image forming apparatus according to another embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a print control procedure of an advertisement image in an image forming apparatus according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Image forming apparatus 11 ... Copy machine (copying means) 12 ... Charging device (charging means) 18 ... Operation panel 31 ... 1st scanner (reading means) 32 ... 2nd scanner (reading means) 36 ... Photoconductor drum (image) Carrier) 37 Transfer drum (paper carrier) 61 Control unit (control means) of copying machine 62 Advertising function selection unit 63 Advertising image memory 64 Billing memory 71 Control unit of billing device 90 Discrimination Unit (discriminating means) 91 ... Discriminating unit (discriminating means)

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A sheet carrier capable of carrying a plurality of sheets by visualizing an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier in accordance with a prestored additional image such as an advertisement image or a read document image. A copying unit that transfers the visible image to a sheet carried thereon and prints an additional image or an original image; and a visible image and an additional image corresponding to the original image that is simultaneously visualized on the image carrier. Determining means for determining whether or not each of the visible images can be transferred to each of the plurality of sheets carried on the sheet carrier, and when the determining means determines that the transfer is possible,
Control means for carrying a plurality of sheets on the sheet carrier and controlling to form on the image carrier an electrostatic latent image corresponding to a document image and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to an additional image. An image forming apparatus comprising: 2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein, when the determination unit determines that the transfer is possible, the control unit causes the electrostatic latent image corresponding to the prestored additional image to be transferred to the image when the document scanning operation is not being performed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is formed on a carrier. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit forms an electrostatic latent image on the image carrier according to the prestored additional image when the reading unit that scans the document returns to the initial position. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines that the transfer is possible when there is a surface on which the document image is not printed when a plurality of sheets are carried on the sheet carrier. Item 2. The image forming apparatus according to Item 1. 5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discriminating unit prints an odd-numbered original and prints the last number of copies when printing the last page of the original image. The transfer is possible when the original image of the last page is carried on the paper carrier, or when the original consisting of three or more odd pages is printed on both sides. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the determination is made as follows. 6. A copy unit for printing a prestored additional image such as an advertisement image or a read original image, a charging unit for charging a user of the original image, and a print user of the original image A determination unit that determines whether or not a setting operation for operating the copying unit is being performed; and an additional image that is stored in advance when the determination unit determines that the setting operation is being performed by the print user. An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit configured to control printing of an image. 7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the determining unit determines that the setting operation is being performed by the printing user when the printing user is charging the charging unit. Image forming device.