JPH06291928A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To send picture information proper to a size without cost increase even when the size of an original on which picture information subjected to be facsimile transmission is formed is not a predetermined one. CONSTITUTION:After 'manual' key displayed on a liquid crystal touch panel 232 of an operation section is depressed, a 'lateral'/'longitudinal' entry key is used to enter each length of an original on which picture information subjected to be facsimile transmission is formed in the main scanning direction and the subscanning direction as an original size. Or the entered original sizes have been registered and any of plural registered original sizes may be selected by a registration selection key. Or when the original is of a routine size, the size is designated by the routine size key. Or the size of the original is automatically detected by depressing an 'automatic' key.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a facsimile function such as a facsimile machine and a digital copying machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus having a facsimile function reads image information of an original with an image scanner and sends the image information by facsimile to an external device via a public line or receives a facsimile from the external device via a public line. Image information can be printed out on paper.

In such an image forming apparatus, when the image information of a document is transmitted by facsimile to an external device, the size of the document (original size of the document is set so that the image information is not missing or extra white information is not transmitted. The lengths in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction) are automatically detected, and the operator waits for input designation from the operation unit.

In the image forming apparatus for automatically detecting the size of the original, when the automatic original feeding device for automatically feeding the original is provided, the length in the main scanning direction with respect to the transmission direction ( The width) is detected by a sensor that detects the position of the side guide, and the length in the sub-scanning direction is detected by counting the document feed time. Further, when the automatic document feeder is not provided, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, a plurality of photosensors S1 to S are provided under the contact glass CG.
4 is arranged so that the size of the document is detected by the on / off state of each sensor.

[0005]

However, in the former image forming apparatus, the sensor for detecting the side guides is located at the break position of the standard paper (for example, A4 in the main scanning direction).
Approximately 215 from the reference point A to distinguish B4 and A3
mm and 260 mm), and there is a disadvantage that the accurate size of the irregular shaped paper other than the A and B series cannot be detected.

Further, in the latter image forming apparatus, as shown in FIG. 13, the sensors S1 to S4 are arranged only at the specific positions necessary for discriminating the standard size. However, there is a problem that it is not possible to detect various sizes. It should be noted that the detection of the document size becomes more accurate in both cases if the number of sensors is increased, but it is general that the sensors are arranged only at positions that are key points in terms of cost.

If the document size is judged by the information of only a small number of the sensors arranged as described above, when the image information of the document of an irregular size is transmitted by facsimile,
The following problems occur. For example, when the image information of an original having a size shown by P in FIG. 14 is to be transmitted by facsimile, the detection states of the sensors S1 to S4 are as shown in the figure (on: original is present, off: original is not present), The original size is determined to be B4 in width and A4 in length. On the side of the receiving device, an image in the main scanning direction is partially lost and an extra white image is added in the subscanning direction as shown in FIG. I will end up.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and even if the size of the original on which the image information to be facsimile-transmitted is formed is irregular, the original size can be adjusted without increasing the cost. The purpose is to enable suitable image information transmission.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus having a facsimile function in the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction of an original document on which image information to be transmitted by facsimile is formed. A document size input means for inputting the length of the document as a document size is provided.

It is preferable to provide means for registering the original size input by the original size input means and original size selecting means for selecting one of the plurality of original sizes registered by the means. Further, a standard size designating means for designating a standard size of a document on which image information to be transmitted by facsimile is formed may be provided.

Further, which of the original size automatic detection means for automatically detecting the size of the original formed with the image information to be transmitted by facsimile and the detection result of the means and the original size input by the original size input means is used. A means for switching whether to enable may be provided. Alternatively, the original size automatic detection means for automatically detecting the size of the original on which the image information to be transmitted by facsimile is detected, and the detection result of the means and the original size selected by the original size selection means are enabled. There may be provided a means for switching between these.

[0012]

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the lengths in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction of the original on which the image information to be transmitted by facsimile is formed by the original size input means can be input as the original size. Even if the size of the original on which the image information to be sent by facsimile is formed is irregular, the image information suitable for the original size can be sent without increasing the cost, resulting in missing images or extra white images. It will not be added.

If the original size input by the original size input means is registered and one of the registered plural original sizes is selected by the original size selection means, every time a facsimile transmission is performed. Further, it is not necessary to perform the input work by the document size input means. Further, when the size of the document on which the image information to be transmitted by facsimile is formed is the standard size, if the size is designated by the standard size designation means, the input work by the document size input means can be omitted.

Further, a document size automatic detection means for automatically detecting the size of the document on which the image information to be transmitted by facsimile is formed is provided, and the detection result of the means and the document size input means or the document size selection means are manually operated. If the user can freely switch which one of the input or selected document size is valid according to the purpose, the usability is further improved.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. 2 is a diagram showing the internal construction of a digital copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the optical writing section thereof. As shown in FIG. 2, this digital copying machine is composed of four units: a copying machine main body A, an automatic document feeder B, a sorter C, and a double-sided reversing unit D.

<Copier Main Body> Among them, the copier main body A includes a scanner section, an optical writing section, a photoconductor section, a developing section, and a transport section. Here, the configuration and operation of each unit will be specifically described.

Scanner Section The scanner section 15 is equipped with a first mirror that is equipped with a reflecting mirror 1, a light source 3 and a first mirror 2 and moves at a constant speed, and a second scanner that is equipped with a second mirror 4 and a third mirror 5. 1 in 1 Scanner
Second moving at a speed of / 2 following the first scanner
And a scanner.

An original document (not shown) on the contact glass 9 is optically scanned by the first scanner and the second scanner, and the reflected image is guided to the lens 7 through the color filter 6 and then on the one-dimensional solid-state image pickup device 8. It is imaged. A fluorescent lamp or a halogen lamp is used as the light source 3, and a fluorescent lamp is generally used because of its stable wavelength and long life. Although the reflecting mirror 1 is attached to one light source 3 in this embodiment, two or more light sources may be used.

Since the one-dimensional solid-state image pickup device 8 has a constant sampling clock, the light source 3 will adversely affect the image unless it is turned on at a higher frequency. A CCD is generally used as the one-dimensional solid-state image sensor 8. Since the image signal read by the one-dimensional solid-state image sensor 8 is an analog value, it is A / D converted, and various kinds of image processing (binarization, multi-value processing, gradation processing, scaling processing) is performed by the circuit of the image processing board 10. Processed, edited, etc.) and converted into a digital signal as a set of spots.

In order to obtain color image information, in this embodiment, a color filter 6 for transmitting only necessary color information is arranged so that it can be taken in and out along the optical path guided from the original to the one-dimensional solid-state image pickup device 8. . A wide variety of copies can be created by inserting / removing the color filter 6 in accordance with the scanning of the original and operating the functions such as multiple transfer and double-sided copy each time.

Optical writing unit The image information after the image processing is processed by the optical writing unit 16 in the form of a set of light spots in raster scanning of laser light by the photosensitive drum 4.
Written above zero. As a laser light source, a He-Ne laser has been generally used conventionally. This He-Ne
The wavelength of the laser is 633 nm, and it has been used because it matches well with the sensitivity of conventional photoconductors for copying machines. However, the laser light source itself is very expensive and the device becomes complicated because direct modulation is not possible. Has the problem of.

In recent years, due to the increased sensitivity of the photoconductor in the long wavelength region, inexpensive semiconductor lasers capable of direct modulation have come into use. This semiconductor laser is also used in this embodiment. In this optical writing unit 16, as shown in FIG. 3, the semiconductor laser 2 mounted on the housing 31 is mounted.
The laser light emitted from 0 is converted into a parallel light flux by the collimation lens 21 and shaped into a constant light flux by the aperture 32.

The shaped laser beam is incident on the polygon mirror 24 in a form compressed by the first cylinder lens 22 in the sub-scanning direction. The polygon mirror 24 has an accurate polygonal shape and is rotated by a polygon motor 25 (see FIG. 2) in a fixed direction at a fixed speed. This rotation speed is determined by the rotation speed of the photosensitive drum 40, the writing density, and the number of faces of the polygon mirror 24.

The reflected light of the laser light incident on the polygon mirror 24 is deflected by the rotation of the mirror 24. The deflected laser light is reflected by the fθ lenses 26a and 26a.
b and 26c are sequentially incident. Each of the fθ lenses converts scanning light of a constant speed so as to scan the photosensitive drum 40 at a constant speed, forms an image on the photosensitive drum 40 so as to have a minimum light spot, and also has a face tilt correction mechanism. Have

The laser light which has passed through the fθ lenses 26a, 26b and 26c is guided outside the image area by the synchronization detection mirror 29 to the synchronization detection sensor 30 and is kept constant after the synchronization signal for issuing the cue signal in the main scanning direction is issued. After one hour, the image data for one line is output.
Will form two images.

Photosensitive Member A photosensitive layer is formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 40 shown in FIG. OPC (organic photoreceptor), α-S as a photosensitive layer having sensitivity to a semiconductor laser (wavelength 780 nm)
Although i, Se-Te and the like are known, OPC is used in this embodiment. Generally in the case of laser writing,
Negative / positive (N / P) process of shining light on the image area,
2 of positive / positive (P / P) process of shining light on the background
There is a street, and in this embodiment, the former negative / positive process is adopted.

The charging charger 41 is of the scorotron type having a grid on the photoconductor side, and is a photoconductor drum 40.
The surface of (1) is uniformly (-) charged, and the image area is irradiated with laser light to reduce the potential of that area. As a result, the background portion of the surface of the photosensitive drum 40 is -750 to -800V, and the image portion is-.
The potential is about 500 V, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor drum 40. This is the developing device 42a and 4
In 2b, a bias voltage of -500 to -600 V is applied to each developing roller, and toner charged in (-) is attached to visualize the toner.

Developing Unit The developing unit of the digital copying machine main body A is a main developing unit 42.
Two developing devices, namely a and a sub-developing device 42b are provided.
Then, in the case of a black color, the sub-developing device 42b and its toner replenishing device 43b are removed.

In this embodiment having two developing devices, black toner is put in the toner replenishing device 43a paired with the main developing device 42a, and color toner is put in the toner replenishing device 43b paired with the sub developing device 42b. As a result, during the development of one color, the development is selectively performed by changing the main pole position of the developing device for the other color. By using this development to read color information by switching the color filter 6 of the scanner, and by combining the paper transfer system multiple transfer and double-sided copying functions, multifunctional color copying and color editing are possible.

Development of three or more colors can be achieved by a method of arranging three or more developing devices around the photosensitive drum 40 and a revolver system in which three or more developing devices are rotated and switched. The images visualized by the developing devices 42a and 42b are transferred onto the paper sent in synchronization with the rotation of the photoconductor drum 40 from the back surface of the paper by a (+) charge by the transfer charger 44. It

The sheet on which the image has been transferred is subjected to AC charge elimination by a separation charger 45 which is integrally held with a transfer charger 44, and is separated by the separation claw 46 from the photosensitive drum 40.
Separated from. The photoconductor drum 40 is not transferred to the paper.
The toner remaining on the surface is scraped off from the photoconductor drum 40 by the cleaning blade 47, and the attached tank 48
Will be collected. Further, the potential pattern remaining on the photoconductor drum 40 is erased by the irradiation light from the static elimination lamp 49.

The transport unit digital copying machine main body 1 may holds paper of different sizes each paper feed cassette 60a, 60b, 60c are detachably mounted. Each of the paper feed cassettes 60a,
When either 60b or 60c is selected and a start button (not shown) is pressed, the paper feed rollers 61 (61a, 61b, 6) arranged in the vicinity of the selected paper feed cassette.
1c) starts rotating, the topmost sheet in the sheet feeding cassette is fed, and stops at a position where the leading end of the sheet hits the registration roller 62.

Although the registration roller 62 is not rotating at this time, the registration roller 62 starts rotating at the timing of the position of the image formed on the photosensitive drum 40, and feeds the paper to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 40. After the toner image is transferred on the paper at the transfer section, the heat roller 6 is transferred through the separation / conveyance section 63.
The toner image transferred by the fixing roller composed of a pair of the pressure roller 4 and the pressure roller 65 is thermally fixed on the sheet.

The fixed sheet is guided to the sheet discharge port on the sorter C side by the switching claw 67 at the time of normal copying, and the re-feeding loop at the lower side without changing the traveling direction by the switching claw 68 at the time of multiple copying. After passing through 72, it is fed again to the image transfer portion. In the case of double-sided copying, there are two cases, that is, only the copying machine main body A is used and the case where the double-sided reversing unit D is used. Here, the former case will be described.

The sheet guided downward by the switching claw 67 is further guided downward by the switching claw 68, and is guided by the next switching claw 69 to the double-sided tray 70 further below the refeeding loop 72. After that, the conveyance direction is reversed by the reverse rotation of the roller 71, the sheet is guided to the sheet re-feeding loop 72 by the switching of the switching claw 69, and is fed again to the image transfer portion.

<Automatic Document Feeder> Automatic Document Feeder B
Is an automatic operation for guiding the originals one by one onto the contact glass 9 and discharging them after copying. The stack of documents placed on the document feeder 100 is aligned in the width direction of the documents by the side guides 101. The originals are separated and fed one by one by a feeding roller 104,
When the conveyor belt 102 is rotated, it is carried to a predetermined position on the contact glass 9 and positioned.

When the copying of the predetermined number of sheets is completed, the original is conveyed again by the rotation of the conveyor belt 102 and is ejected onto the ejection tray 103. The size of the document can be detected by counting the position of the side guide 101 and the document feed time.

<Sorter> The sorter C is a device for selectively discharging the copy paper discharged from the copying machine main body A, for example, in the order of pages, for each page, or to the preset bins 111a to 111x. Copy paper sent by a plurality of rollers that are rotationally driven by the motor 110 is discharged to the selected bin 111 by switching the claws arranged near the entrance of each bin 111.

<Double-Sided Reversing Unit> The copying machine main body A can only perform single-sided double-sided copying, but by providing the double-sided reversing unit D, it is possible to perform double-sided copying collectively. When making a double-sided copy for a plurality of sheets collectively, the sheet guided downward by the sheet discharge roller 66 is sent to the double-sided reversing unit D by the next switching claw 68.

The sheet that has entered the double-sided reversing unit D is conveyed by the sheet ejection roller 120 and is conveyed to the tray 123.
Accumulated on top. At that time, the feed roller 121 and the side surface alignment guide 122 align the paper vertically and horizontally. The sheets accumulated on the tray 123 are re-fed by the re-feeding roller 124 at the time of back side copying, and at this time, the switching claw 69 directly guides them to the re-feeding loop 72. 2 and 3, 23 is a soundproof glass, 27 is a mirror, 28 is a dustproof glass, 73 is a main motor, and 74 is a fan motor.

<Control Unit> Next, the control unit of this digital copying machine will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7. 4 and 5 are block diagrams showing a schematic configuration of a control unit of the entire digital copying machine, which is divided into two diagrams for convenience of illustration.

The control unit of the copying machine main body A has two CPs.
U130 and U131 are provided to share and control the sequence relation and the operation relation, respectively. The CPUs 130 and 131 are connected to each other by a serial interface (RS-232C). First, the sequence control will be described.

The sequence control CPU 130 includes, in addition to the main CPU 131, a paper size sensor, other sensors such as discharge detection and registration detection, sensor switches such as dip switches, a high-voltage power supply unit, and a relay. , A solenoid, a motor, etc., a laser beam scanner unit (optical writing section) 16, an image control circuit 132, external units such as a sorter unit (sorter) C and a double-sided unit (double-sided reversal unit) D. , I / O, a timer counter, etc., respectively.

Regarding the sensor, a paper size sensor for detecting the size and orientation of the paper stored in each of the paper feed cassettes 60a, 60b, 60c shown in FIG. 2 and outputting an electric signal according to the result, There are sensors related to paper transport such as registration detection and paper discharge detection, sensors that detect the presence or absence of supplies such as oil ends and toner ends, and sensors that detect machine abnormalities such as door open and fuse blown. Voltage signal is I / O
And the like to the CPU 130.

The high-voltage power supply unit includes a charging charger 41, a transfer charger 44, and a separation charger 4 shown in FIG.
Predetermined high-voltage power is applied to each of the chargers 5 and developing bias electrodes. The driver is related to the paper feed clutch,
Registration clutch, counter, main motor 73 (Fig. 2
Motors such as), toner replenishment solenoids, power relays, fixing heaters, etc.

In the duplex unit D, there are a motor for adjusting the width of the sheet, a sheet feeding clutch, a home position sensor of a side fence for changing the conveying path, a sensor for conveying the sheet, and the like. The sorter unit C is connected to the main body A of the copying machine via a serial interface, and conveys a sheet at a predetermined timing according to a signal from the sequence and discharges the sheet to each bin.

The CPU 130 for sequence control inputs as analog inputs an input from a thermistor installed in the vicinity of the fixing unit, a monitor input of the laser diode, a reference voltage signal of the laser diode, etc., for example, an input from the thermistor. The ON / OFF control is performed so that the temperature of the fixing unit becomes constant. As an adjusting mechanism for keeping the emission power of the laser diode constant, A /
The analog inputs of the D converter and the CPU are used. This is controlled so that the monitor voltage when the laser diode is turned on matches a preset reference voltage (this voltage is set so that the laser diode becomes 3 mW).

Further, the CPU 130 for sequence control
Is based on toner consumption amount calculation data, which will be described later, sent from the scanner unit 15, and the toner replenishment solenoid 84
Controls the on / off control of. The image control circuit 132 generates timing signals such as masking, trimming, and erasing, counts ON signals of the laser diode, and outputs video signals (VDATA0 to VDATA0) to the laser diode.
3) is given.

The gate array 134 is provided with binary data DATA 1 and DATA 2 and 16-value (multi-value) data DATA 10 to 13 and DATA 20 to 2 sent from the scanner unit 15.
The laser beam scanner unit 1 converts each image data of 3
The image control circuit 1 is synchronized with the synchronization signal PMSYNC from 6 and further converted into a 4-bit serial signal (ODATA 0 to 3) synchronized with the image writing signal FGATE.
To 32.

Binary data DATA1 and DATA2
Is 1-bit data corresponding to each of the odd-numbered and even-numbered pixels (dots), and the respective data are collectively made into 2-bit parallel data. Also,
16-value data DATA10-13, DATA20-23
Is also 4-bit data corresponding to each of the odd-numbered and even-numbered pixels, and the respective data are collectively made into 8-bit parallel data.

Next, the operation-related control will be described. The main CPU 131 controls a plurality of serial ports and the calendar IC 135. In addition to the CPU 130 for sequence control, the plurality of serial ports include an operation unit 136, a scanner unit 15, a fax transmission / reception unit (FAX) 137, and an interface unit 13.
8, a CG card 139, an editor 140, etc. are connected.

The operation unit 136 has an input key for an operator and a display for displaying the status of the copying machine. The key input information is serially transmitted to the main CPU 131 and serially received from the CPU 131. Turn on the display. The scanner unit 15 serially transmits information regarding image processing and image reading, and the fax transmission / reception unit 137 and the interface unit 138 exchange preset information contents with the CPU 131.

The calendar IC 135 stores the date and time, and the on / off control of the device can be performed based on this information. A CG (character generator) card (font card) 139 is a removable memory card used when externally supplying font data corresponding to a code data file. The font data includes outline fonts and bitmap fonts.

The editor 140 is a unit for inputting an editing function, and serially transmits the image editing data (masking, trimming, image shift, etc.) input by the operator to the main CPU 131.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control circuit of the scanner section 15 shown in FIG. Document 150 output from CCD image sensor 8 which is a one-dimensional solid-state image sensor
Image signal corresponding to the image of
Is amplified by and is converted into a digital multi-level signal by the A / D converter 152. This signal is corrected by the shading correction circuit 153 and input to the signal separation circuit 154.

The signal separation circuit 154 processes the input image information and separates it into a binary image component signal such as a character and a halftone image component signal, and the binarization processing circuit 156 and the multi-value conversion processing circuit 155, respectively. To enter. Binarization processing circuit 1
Reference numeral 56 converts the input binary image component signal into binary data by a preset fixed threshold value.

The multi-value quantization processing circuit 155 determines the input data by a threshold value set in advance for each scanning position, and converts it into 16-value data containing halftone information. The scan control circuit 160 uses the lamp control circuit 158 and the timing control circuit 15 according to the instruction from the CPU 131 shown in FIG.
9, electric scaling circuit 161, and scanner drive motor 1
65 are controlled respectively.

The lamp control circuit 158 controls the on / off control and light amount control of the exposure lamp 3, which is a light source, in accordance with an instruction from the scan control circuit 160. A rotary encoder 166 is connected to the drive shaft of the scanner drive motor 165, and the position sensor 162 detects the reference position of the sub-scanning drive mechanism. The electrical scaling circuit 161 performs electrical scaling processing on the multivalued image data and the binarized image data according to the main scanning side magnification data set by the main control circuit 160.

The multi-value data conversion circuit 167 converts the binary data from the electric scaling circuit 161 into multi-value data. For example, if the input binary data is "0" or "1", each of the data is converted into parallel data "0000" and "1111" of 4 bits. The toner consumption amount calculation circuit 200 takes in the multi-valued data in the image area for each page sent from the electric scaling circuit 161 and the multi-valued data conversion circuit 167, and the toner amount consumed by the multi-valued data Is calculated and the calculation result is input to the CPU 130 as toner consumption amount data.

The timing control circuit 159 outputs each signal according to the instruction from the scan control circuit 160. That is, when reading is started, a transfer signal for transferring data for one line to the shift register and a shift clock pulse for outputting the data in the shift register bit by bit are given to the CCD image sensor 8. Also,
An image reproducing system unit, that is, a fax transmitting / receiving unit 137, an interface unit 138 and a gate array 134 shown in FIG.
K, main scanning synchronizing pulse LSYNC and main scanning effective period signal LGATE are output.

The pixel synchronizing clock pulse CLK is
The signal is substantially the same as the shift clock pulse given to the CCD image sensor 8. Main scanning sync pulse LSYNC
Is a signal substantially the same as the main scanning synchronization signal PMSYNC output from the beam sensor of the optical writing unit 16 shown in FIG. 2, but the output is prohibited when the image is not read.

The main scanning effective period signal LGATE is the output data DATA1, DATA2, DATA10-13, D.
It becomes high level at the timing when ATA 20 to 23 are regarded as valid data. In this example, CCD
The image sensor 8 outputs 4800 bits of effective data per line.

The scan control circuit 160 has a CPU 131.
When a reading start instruction is received from the lamp control circuit 15
8, the exposure lamp 3 is turned on, the scanner driving motor 165 is started, the timing control circuit 159 is controlled, and the reading by the CCD image sensor 8 is started. Further, the sub-scanning effective period signal FGATE is set to a high level.

The sub-scanning effective period signal FGATE becomes low level when the time required for scanning the maximum reading length (for example, the size in the longitudinal direction of A size) in the sub-scanning direction after being set to high level. .

FIG. 7 shows the fax transmission / reception unit 137 of FIG.
3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of FIG. This fax transmission / reception unit 137 has a G3 facsimile function, and CP
U201, ROM202, RAM203, dual port RAM204, data compression reproduction circuit (DCR) 20
5, scaling circuit 206, modem 207, network control circuit (NC
U) 208, speaker 209, voice circuit 210, and RO
It is composed of an M211, a RAM 212, and a SAF memory 213.

Since the fax transmission / reception unit 137 is basically based on memory transmission / reception, at the time of transmission, the image information sent from the scanner unit 15 of FIG. 4 is temporarily stored in the SAF memory 213 and then sent. When receiving, the image information is temporarily stored in the SAF memory 213 and then C
It is sent to the PU 131 and printed out by the printer function described above.

FIG. 8 is a layout diagram showing a configuration example of the operation unit 136 of FIG. This operation unit 13
Reference numeral 6 includes an operation unit 220 including a hard key group 222 including a start key 221, and an application-specific operation unit 230 including a hard key group 231 and a liquid crystal touch panel 232. The operation unit 220 performs the normal operation of the copying machine and the operation of the application including the fax transmission / reception unit 137, and the operation unit 230 performs the operation dedicated to the application.

When the power of the copying machine is turned on, the CPU 131 shown in FIG. 4 displays the screen shown in FIG. 9 on the liquid crystal touch panel 232 of FIG. After that, when the user performs a normal facsimile transmission, the user presses the "fax" key on the screen, and the CPU 13
1 switches the screen of the liquid crystal touch panel 232 to the screen shown in FIG. 10, for example.

Next, the user specifies the fax number of the other party by using the ten-key pad (numerical keys of 0 to 9), and FIG.
By pressing the start key 221 of
Reference numeral 31 causes the fax transmission / reception unit 137 to perform facsimile transmission. At this time, the transmission reading condition of the document on which the image information to be facsimile-transmitted is formed can be specified by pressing the "transmission condition" key in FIG.
Since the CPU 131 switches the screen of the liquid crystal touch panel 232 to the screen of FIG. 1, the user can specify the transmission reading condition on the screen.

That is, if "automatic" of the document size menu is designated on the screen shown in FIG. 1, the CPU 131 can automatically determine the document size based on the information of the sensor provided in this copying machine. Therefore, the user can save the labor of operation. However, if you try to send image information of a document of irregular size, the problem described above will occur. In that case, by specifying "Manual" in the document size menu, the user can select the desired size. Can be specified. The processing of the CPU 131 in that case will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid crystal touch panel 232 displays the key of each item in the main scanning direction (horizontal) and the sub-scanning direction (vertical) of the document on which the image information to be transmitted by facsimile is formed. At the beginning, 100 mm is displayed on each of the keys. Therefore,
Each time the user presses each of the keys, the CPU 131 increases the displayed length by 50 mm and returns it to 100 mm when it reaches 450 mm.

As described above, according to this embodiment, in the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction of the original document on which the image information to be transmitted by facsimile is formed by the key operation on the screen displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 232 in FIG. Since each length can be entered as the original size, without increasing the cost,
Even if the size of the document on which the image information to be transmitted by facsimile is formed is irregular, the image information suitable for the size of the document can be transmitted. Therefore, the loss of the image is eliminated and the useless blank space is reduced. The original size can be changed between pages of the original.

The original size input by the key operation on the screen of FIG. 1 can be registered. Alternatively, the original size similar to the original size can be registered in advance by another means before the facsimile transmission. The registration in this case is performed by, for example, the liquid crystal touch panel 232.
This can be done by displaying a document size registration screen (not shown) on the screen and operating a key on the screen.

Then, when the facsimile transmission is actually performed, one of a plurality of document sizes registered on the screen of the liquid crystal touch panel 232 is selected. For example, by displaying the screen shown in FIG. 11 on the liquid crystal touch panel 232,
One of the two registered document sizes is selected by pressing the "registration A" key or the "registration B" key. As a result, it is not necessary to input the document size as described above every time the facsimile transmission is performed.

If a standard size designation key is also displayed in addition to the registration key corresponding to the registered document size as shown in FIG. 12, for example, the document with image information to be facsimile-transmitted is formed. When the size is the standard size, the size can be designated by pressing the standard size designation key, and in such a case, the input work as described above can be omitted. Further, when a plurality of originals in which standard sizes and irregular sizes are mixed are set as originals on which image information to be transmitted by facsimile is formed, by using both the registration key and the standard size designation key, It is also possible to send the image information of each document together by facsimile.

Further, on the screens shown in FIGS. 1, 11, and 12, an "automatic" key for automatically detecting the size of the original on which the image information to be transmitted by facsimile is formed is also displayed. The user can freely switch which of the detection result by the key and the document size input or selected in the "manual" as described above to be valid according to the purpose or the like. That is, "automatic"
Since it is possible to switch from "manual" to "manual" or from "manual" to "automatic" in the middle, usability is further improved.

[0077]

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the length in the main scanning direction and the length in the sub scanning direction of the original on which the image information to be transmitted by facsimile is formed by the original size inputting means. Since the size of the original can be entered as the original size, the optimal image information for the original size can be sent without increasing the cost, even if the size of the original on which the image information to be sent by facsimile is formed is irregular. There will be no missing or useless margins.

If the document size input by the document size input means is registered and one of the registered plurality of document sizes is selected by the document size selection means, every time a facsimile transmission is performed. Further, it is not necessary to perform the input work by the document size input means. Further, when the size of the document on which the image information to be transmitted by facsimile is formed is a standard size, if the size is designated by the standard size designation means, the input work by the document size input means can be omitted. .

Further, a document size automatic detection means for automatically detecting the size of the document on which image information to be transmitted by facsimile is formed is provided, and the detection result and the document size input means or the document size selection means are used to manually input or If the user can freely switch which of the selected document sizes is valid according to the purpose, the usability is further improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen displayed on a liquid crystal touch panel 232 shown in FIG. 8 when a transmission condition key is pressed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a digital copying machine that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a configuration example of an optical writing section in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block configuration diagram showing a part of a control unit of the entire digital copying machine of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the remaining part of the same.

6 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a control circuit of the scanner unit in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a fax transmission / reception unit.

8 is a layout diagram showing a configuration example of an operation unit 136 of FIG.

9 is an explanatory diagram showing an initial screen displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 232 shown in FIG. 8 when the power is turned on.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen when the fax key is pressed.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing another screen when the transmission condition key is pressed.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing still another screen when the transmission condition key is pressed.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a contact glass of a copying machine and a document size sensor arranged below the contact glass.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram regarding a detection result by a document size sensor when a document of an irregular size is set on the contact glass.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of printing on the receiving device side when facsimile transmission is performed based on the detection result.

[Explanation of symbols]

A copy basic body B automatic document feeder C sorter D double-sided reversing unit 15 scanner section 16 optical writing section 130, 131, 201 CPU 136 operation section unit 137 fax transmission / reception section 138 interface unit 140 editor 201 CPU 202 ROM 203 RAM 204 dual port RAM 205 data compression / reproduction circuit 206 scaling circuit 207 modem 208 network control circuit 209 speaker 210 voice circuit 211 ROM 212 RAM 213 SAF memory 220, 230 operation unit 221 start key 222, 231 hard key group 232 liquid crystal touch panel

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] February 9, 1994

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 6

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 6]

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Koichi Shiono 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus having a facsimile function is provided with a document size input means for inputting, as a document size, respective lengths in a main scanning direction and a sub scanning direction of a document on which image information to be transmitted by facsimile is formed. An image forming apparatus characterized by the above. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
An image forming apparatus comprising: a unit for registering a document size input by the document size input unit; and a document size selecting unit for selecting one of a plurality of document sizes registered by the unit. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a fixed size designating unit for designating a fixed size of a document on which image information to be transmitted by facsimile is formed. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
A document size automatic detection means for automatically detecting the size of a document on which image information to be transmitted by facsimile is formed, and which of the detection result of the means and the document size input by the document size input means is valid An image forming apparatus comprising: 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2,
A document size automatic detection means for automatically detecting the size of a document on which image information to be transmitted by facsimile is formed, and which of the detection result of the means and the document size selected by the document size selection means is valid An image forming apparatus comprising: