JPH0969914A - Image copying device and facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily constitute a device and equipment at low cost and maintain accurate print precision. SOLUTION: This device and equiment is provided with an image read part which reads out a document into which image information is entered, a sheet conveyance part which conveys a sheet material such as transfer paper and photosensitive paper, an image formation part which records image information read out of the document by the image read part on the sheet material conveyed by the sheet conveyance part, a TOP sensor 21 which detects the front end of the conveyed sheet material, and a read start sensor 18 which is arranged on the upstream side of the TOP sensor 21 and detects the front end of the sheet material, and is equipped with a control part which outputs a signal for driving the image read part when the read start sensor 18 detects the front end of the sheet material.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image copying apparatus and a facsimile apparatus, and more particularly to a sheet material in which image information of a document set in a document reading section is separately fed to an image forming section. The present invention relates to an image copying apparatus and a facsimile apparatus for copying.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in a copying machine or a facsimile machine using an electrophotographic recording system, the following control is performed when copying an original set in an original reading section by an operator.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a control system of a conventional facsimile apparatus using an LBP (laser beam printer). The control system of the facsimile machine is the CPU 20.
1, an operation unit 202, a display unit 203, and a reading unit 204
And a recording unit 205 and an HDD (hard disk device) 2
50, CPU external interface 251, communication control unit 252, and connection unit 2 attached to the communication control unit 252.
53 and the connection unit 253 has a communication network 25.
4, the handset 255 is connected.

The CPU 201 is an MPU, ROM, RA
M, an image processing unit and the like. The operation unit 202 includes a numeric keypad, function keys, one-touch key, start key, stop key, etc., and the display unit 203 is
An LCD (liquid crystal display device), various LEDs, a tally lamp, and the like are provided. The reading unit 204 includes a driving unit, a reading sensor,
The recording unit 205 includes an image processing unit and various sensors.
Includes a drive unit, a recording unit, an image processing unit, and various sensors.

The copy operation by the conventional facsimile apparatus having the above-mentioned structure is performed as follows. When the operator sets a document on the reading unit 204, the sensor of the reading unit 204 detects the setting of the document, and the reading motor of the drive unit is driven for a certain period of time to reliably convey the document. When the operator presses the start key of the operation unit 202 at that time, the reading motor is driven again based on the drive signal output from the CPU 201, and the document conveyance is started. After the leading edge of the original is detected by the sensor, the image of the original is read by the reading sensor so that the leading edges of the original coincide with each other, and the RA is performed via the image processing unit of the CPU 201.
Image information is stored in M.

When one or more pages of image information is stored in the RAM of the CPU 201, a drive signal is output from the CPU 201 to the recording unit 205, and the recording motor of the driving unit of the recording unit 205 rotates to start driving. When a certain time has elapsed from the start of driving, the CPU 201 outputs a signal instructing the feeding of the recording paper to the recording unit 205, and the recording paper is conveyed from the sheet material feeding unit. When the recording sheet is conveyed, the image processing unit of the recording unit 205 controls the conveyance so that the leading edge of the recording sheet matches the image.

For example, when image formation is performed by means of a laser or the like, the image information stored in the RAM of the CPU 201 is transmitted to the image processing unit of the recording unit 205, and the laser is turned on / off based on the image information. By controlling
An image of the dot pattern is formed on the photosensitive drum.
The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum becomes a visible image with toner by the image processing unit of the recording unit 205. The visible image formed on the photosensitive drum is transferred to the recording paper, but the visible image is only on the recording paper (Before fixing) Then, it is conveyed to the fixing unit. The recording paper conveyed to the fixing unit becomes a permanent image when heat and pressure are applied by the fixing unit. Then, when the series of copying operations described above is completed, a message of completion of copying is displayed on the LCD of the display unit 203.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a conventional copying machine using the LBP. The copying machine includes a paper feed roller 206, a conveyance roller 207, a separation roller 208, a vertical pass roller 209, a pre-registration roller 210, and a registration roller 21.
1, a document illumination lamp 212, a mirror 213, a CC
D (charge coupled device) section 214, laser 215, photosensitive drum 216, developing section 217, and transfer charger 218.
A transport unit 219, a fixing unit 220, and a paper discharge unit 221.
And a CPU, an electromagnetic clutch (not shown), and the like.

The copying operation by the conventional copying machine having the above-mentioned structure is performed as follows. When the operator presses the copy button after setting the original on the reading section of the copier, CP
The recording motor is driven based on the drive signal output from U. After a lapse of a certain time from the start of driving, the CPU outputs a signal instructing the feeding of the recording paper to the recording unit, and the paper feeding roller 206 rotates to convey the recording paper from the sheet material feeding unit. The recording sheet sent from the sheet material feeding unit is sent to the carrying path only by the carrying roller 207 and the separating roller 208. Thereafter, the recording paper is conveyed to the registration roller 211 by the vertical pass roller 209 and the pre-registration roller 210 which are arranged so that the recording paper of the smallest size can be conveyed. Registration roller 2
The recording paper conveyed to 11 is held by the registration roller 211 which is in a stopped state via an electromagnetic clutch or the like.

Next, the registration roller 211 is turned ON / O.
The drive of the optical system motor is started by the FF control, the document is exposed by the document illumination lamp 212, and the reflected light is reflected by the mirror 213 to the CCD unit 214.
Is irradiated. When a document is read by the CCD unit 214, the laser 215 is controlled to be turned on / off based on the image information of the read document, so that a dot pattern image is formed on the photosensitive drum 216. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 216 is stored in the developing unit 2 of the recording unit.
At 17, the toner forms a visible image.

After that, the registration roller 211 is driven so that the leading edge of the image formed on the photosensitive drum 216 and the leading edge of the recording paper coincide with each other, and the image on the photosensitive drum 216 is transferred onto the recording paper by the transfer charger 218. Transcribed. Since the image transferred onto the recording paper is only placed on the recording paper (because it has not been fixed yet), it is conveyed to the fixing unit 220 by the conveying unit 219 without giving an impact to the recording paper. The recording paper conveyed to the fixing unit 220 is fixed to the fixing unit 220.
By applying heat and pressure, a permanent image is formed. Then, the recording paper on which the image information is copied is output to the paper output unit 2
The paper is stacked on a paper discharge tray that is detachably loaded into the copying machine from 21.

[0012]

However, in the conventional facsimile apparatus, at the time of copying one or more pages of image information, when the image information is stored in the RAM of the CPU at least one page, the C
Since control is performed to output a drive signal from the PU to the recording unit, it is necessary to always mount a memory having a storage capacity corresponding to one page of the document on the apparatus. For example, even in the case of copying a document having a large amount of image information such as a photographic image, it is necessary to record the image so that the image is not missing. Indispensable. As described above, mounting a large number of memories having high component unit costs on the device has a problem of increasing the cost of the entire device.

Further, the conventional copying machine does not require much memory unlike the facsimile machine,
It is necessary to temporarily hold the recording paper sent from the sheet material feeding section to the conveying path by means such as registration rollers. For this reason, it becomes necessary to incorporate a component such as an electromagnetic clutch for keeping the registration roller in a stopped state in the copying machine, which raises a problem that the cost of the entire apparatus increases as in the case of the facsimile apparatus.

Since the pair of registration rollers of the copying machine is composed of a metal roller and a rubber roller, if the sheet material is conveyed in a skewed state, the sheet material will be Even if the tip of the sheet strikes the rubber roller of the pair of registration rollers in the skewed state, and then the sheet is excessively conveyed by the feed roller to form a loop on the sheet, the tip of the sheet is made of rubber. The phenomenon of not sliding on the roller occurs. For this reason, skew feeding of the sheet material is not properly corrected, and when the sheet material is obliquely fed or in an extreme case, a situation in which the sheet cannot be fed may occur.

On the other hand, depending on the position where the sheet material abuts against the metal roller of the registration roller pair, the sheet material does not accurately enter the nip portion (gap) of the registration roller pair. As a result, the leading edge of the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum and the leading edge of the sheet material do not coincide with each other, and the printing accuracy deteriorates. As described above, in the structure using the registration roller pair, the printing accuracy is deteriorated unless the sheet material is accurately guided to the nip portion of the registration roller pair, so that it is necessary to increase the component accuracy and the assembly accuracy. There was a problem that increased costs.

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned points, and in particular, an image copying apparatus that enables the apparatus to be configured with a simple structure and at low cost and to maintain accurate printing accuracy, and It is an object to provide a facsimile machine.

[0017]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is an image reading means for reading an original document in which image information is described, and a sheet for conveying a sheet material such as transfer paper or photosensitive paper. In an image copying apparatus comprising a material conveying means and an image forming means for recording image information read from a document by the image reading means on the sheet material conveyed by the sheet material conveying means, the sheet material conveying means First detecting means for detecting the leading edge of the conveyed sheet material, and second detecting means arranged upstream of the first detecting means for detecting the leading edge of the sheet material conveyed by the sheet material conveying means. It is characterized by comprising a detecting means and a control means for outputting a signal for driving the image reading means when the leading edge of the sheet material is detected by the second detecting means.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 2 is the image copying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of sheet material conveying paths which are merged at a predetermined location. The means is provided on the downstream side of the confluence of the plurality of sheet material conveying paths.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 3 is the image copying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, and the image copying apparatus receives an image received from a device such as an external computer via a communication line. And a communication control unit for forming a received image by transmitting the received image to the device.

[0020]

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

First, the overall schematic structure of a facsimile apparatus including the sheet feeding apparatus and the image recording apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 is a sectional view of the facsimile machine, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the facsimile machine.

The facsimile apparatus includes an apparatus main body 101,
Document mounting table 102, image reading unit 103, recording device main body 104, operation unit 105, document conveying unit 106, document pressing unit 107, contact image sensor 108, document discharge tray 109, laser A scanner 110, an image forming unit 111, a cassette sheet feeding unit 112, a sheet discharging unit 113, a cartridge cover 114, an ADF (auto document feeder) cover 115, an outer document guide 116, and a document pressing plate 117; , Inner document guide 11
8, a partitioning section 119, a control section 120, a sheet conveying section 121, a front cover 122, and a discharge cover 123.
, Resist transport section 124, MP (multi-paper)
The paper feed unit 125 is provided.

Explaining in detail the configuration and function of each of the above-mentioned parts, the document placing table 102 is configured so that a plurality of documents S can be stacked in a stacked state. A slider 102a slidable in a direction perpendicular to the direction (width direction of the document S) and an extension document tray 1
02b. With the slider 102a,
Both sides of the original S stacked on the original placing table 102 can be aligned, and when the original S is long, the extension original tray 102b is opened, so that the rear end of the original S is placed on the original placing table. It can be prevented from protruding from 102 and hanging down.

The image reading unit 103 separates the originals S stacked on the original placing table 102 one by one by a separation roller 106b which is in pressure contact with a separation pad 106a, and is conveyed in pressure contact with a conveyance roller 106c which is pressed by a pressing spring. Roller 106
By d, a U-turn paper path constituted by the outer document guide 116 and a part of the inner document guide 118 is carried. Further, the document S is conveyed to the close contact type image sensor 108 by a sheet feeding roller 106f pressed against a sheet feeding roller 106e pressed by a pressing spring, and the document S is deformed by the document pressing portion 107 so that the document S is closely contacted. Type image sensor 10
The image information of the document S is read while being pressed against and closely contacted with the reference numeral 8. Thereafter, the discharge rollers 1 pressing the original S by the pressing spring
The sheet is ejected to the document ejection tray 109 by the sheet ejection roller 106h pressed against 06g. During this time, the original S is guided by the outer original guide 116 and the inner original guide 118.

The recording apparatus main body 104 is composed of, for example, a laser beam printer, and emits a modulated beam from the laser beam oscillator 110a of the laser scanner 110 based on an image signal output from the control unit 120, and the modulated beam. Based on polygon mirror 110b
Irradiates scanning light to the photosensitive drum 111a of the image forming unit 111. As a result, image information is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 111a, and the image information is transferred and fixed to the sheet material P fed from the cassette sheet feeding unit 112 to the image forming unit 111. The sheet is discharged to 113.

The sheet material is a transfer paper supplied to office equipment such as copying machines, printers and printing machines including this facsimile machine, and various other equipment using sheet materials.
Photosensitive paper, thermal paper, electrostatic recording paper, printing paper, manuscript, card,
It is a sheet (cut sheet) such as an envelope, and the material is not limited to paper.

The operation unit 105 is composed of various keys such as input keys and a display unit, and is arranged on the front side of the apparatus main body 101.

The original conveying section 106 is a separation pad 106.
a, separation roller 106b, transport roller 106c, transport roller 106d, paper feed roller 106e, paper feed roller 106f,
It has a discharge roller 106g and a discharge roller 106h,
The document S is transported.

The document pressing portion 107 presses the document by the elastic force that deforms the document pressing plate 117.

The contact-type image sensor 108 irradiates the image information surface of the document S with light from an LED array as a light source, and couples the reflected light reflected by the image information surface to the sensor element with a SELFOC lens (trade name). Image information is read by forming an image.

The document discharge tray 109 is used for the image reading unit 10.
3 is for stacking originals from which image information has been read.

The laser scanner 110 comprises a laser beam oscillator 110a, a polygon mirror 110b, and a folding mirror 110c.
, A scanning signal is emitted to the photosensitive drum 111a by the polygon mirror 110b, and the scanning light is reflected by the return mirror 110c.

The image forming section 111 includes a photosensitive drum 111.
a, primary charger 111b, developing roller 111c, cleaning blade 111d, recording cartridge 111e,
Transfer charger 111f, thermal fixing device 111g, paper discharge roller 1
11h, and a drum exposure prevention shutter 111i.

The photosensitive drum 111a is integrally incorporated in the recording cartridge 111e together with the primary charger 111b, the developing roller 111c, and the cleaning blade 111d, and is detachable from the apparatus main body 101. The surface of the photosensitive drum 111a is uniformly charged by the primary charger 111b, and the scanning light from the polygon mirror 110b is reflected on the surface by the return mirror 110c.
The latent image is formed by reflection and irradiation of the latent image, and the latent image is visualized by toner supplied from the developing roller 111c.

Further, a transfer charger 111f is arranged around the photosensitive drum 111a, and the transfer charger 111f is provided.
1a, a heat fixing device 11
1g and a paper discharge roller 111h.

The sheet material P is conveyed along the sheet conveying section 121 after the toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 111a is transferred by the transfer charger 111f, and then the toner image is fixed by the thermal fixing device 111g. Then, the sheet is discharged to the sheet discharge section 113 by the discharge roller 111h.

The cassette paper feed unit 112 is used for the paper feed cassette 1.
12a, paper feed roller 112b, separation pad 112c, sheet regulating plate 112d, middle plate 112e, middle plate spring 112f
And is arranged at the bottom of the apparatus main body 101.

The sheet materials P stacked in the sheet feeding cassette 112a are pressed against the semicircular sheet feeding roller 112b by the middle plate 112e being urged upward by the middle leaf spring 112f, and separated. The pads 112c are separated one by one by the friction piece separation method and conveyed. The separated sheet material P is stored in a registration sensor 1 described later after a predetermined time.
The tip is detected by 24b.

When the registration sensor 124b does not detect the leading edge of the sheet material P within a predetermined time from the start of sheet feeding, it is determined that a jam has occurred, and a display indicating that a jam has occurred is displayed on the display unit of the operation unit 105. On the other hand, if the registration sensor 124b detects the leading end of the sheet material P within a predetermined time from the start of sheet feeding, the separated sheet material P
The conveyance is continued while being pressed by the separation pad 112c and the separation pad 112c, and is guided to a pressure nip N of the registration roller pair 124a described later.

The sheet discharging section 113 is constructed so that a plurality of sheet materials P can be stacked on the top cover of the apparatus main body 101.

The cartridge cover 114 and the ADF (auto document) cover 115 are covers provided on the apparatus main body 101.

The cartridge cover 114 is attached to the apparatus main body 101 so as to be openable and closable, and by opening the cartridge cover 114, the recording cartridge 111e can be pulled out of the apparatus main body 101 and replaced. . Also, the cartridge cover 11
4 is provided with an interlock mechanism. When the cartridge cover 114 is opened or the recording cartridge 111e is not set in the apparatus main body 101, the operation of the recording apparatus main body 104 is performed by the interlock mechanism. It is configured to be prohibited.

Further, the drum photosensitive prevention shutter 111i provided in the recording cartridge 111e is provided in the apparatus main body 10
It is configured to work in conjunction with the setting operation of the recording cartridge 111e for No. 1. Cartridge cover 11
4 to open the recording cartridge 111e in the apparatus main body 101.
Is set, the drum exposure prevention shutter 111i opens, and when the recording cartridge 111e is taken out of the apparatus main body 101, the drum exposure prevention shutter 111i is closed to prevent unnecessary exposure of the photoconductor drum 111a. It has become.

If a jam occurs during recording,
By opening any one of the cartridge cover 114, the front cover 122, and the paper discharge cover 123, the sheet material P staying inside can be taken out.

Outer document guide 116, inner document guide 118
Is for guiding a document.

The original pressing plate 117 is for pressing the original S against the contact type image sensor 108 by the elastic force deformed by the original pressing portion 107 to bring them into close contact.

The partition section 119 is a duct for separating the image reading section 103 and the recording apparatus main body 104. By rotating a fan (not shown) through the partition unit 119 to flow air, the image reading unit 103 is adversely affected by heat generated from the apparatus main body 101, and water vapor evaporating from the sheet material P is condensed and condensed. It is configured to prevent dripping on P.

The control unit 120 outputs an image signal for operating the recording apparatus main body 104 as described above,
It controls each unit of the apparatus, such as outputting a signal for starting MP sheet feeding, as will be described later.

The sheet conveying section 121 includes a transfer charger 111.
This is for transporting the sheet material P on which the toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 111a is transferred at f to the thermal fixing device 111g.

Front cover 122, paper discharge cover 123
Is a cover provided on the apparatus main body 101.

The resist conveying section 124 includes a pair of resist rollers 124a, a resist sensor 124b, a resist conveying guide 124c, a sheet U turn guide 124d, a pre-transfer roller pair 124e, a TOP sensor 124f, and an MP guide 124g.

The registration roller pair 124a is made of the sheet material P.
The rotation stop state is controlled when the leading end of the pair reaches the pressure contact nip portion N of the pair of registration rollers 124a. The registration roller pair 124 in which the leading end of the sheet material P is in the rotation stopped state
The sheet material P is set so that a certain amount of bending loop is generated in the sheet material P by the sheet material P being fed by the sheet feeding roller 112b while being abutted against the pressure contact nip portion N of FIG. The skew of the sheet material P is corrected by parallelizing the leading edge of the sheet material P along the nip line of the press-contact nip N by the reaction force of the bending loop.

The registration roller pair 124a is constructed so as to be driven at a predetermined timing, and the sheet material P is conveyed as the registration roller pair 124a is driven. The conveyed sheet material P is transferred to a pair of registration rollers 124.
a and a sheet conveying U-turn guide 124d, which is a part of the main body frame forming the framework of the apparatus main body 101, and an MP guide 125g disposed on the apparatus main body 101. Inverted.

Further, the sheet material P being fed continues to be conveyed after reaching the pre-transfer roller pair 124e, and
The tip position is detected by the TOP sensor 124f. Thereafter, the sheet feeding and image output timings are adjusted so that the leading end of the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 111a and the leading end of the sheet material P coincide with each other.
11f and the photosensitive drum 111a.

The side edges of the sheet material P are regulated by the sheet regulating plate 112d mounted so as to be movable according to the sheet size, so that skewing and non-feeding can be prevented. . The image is in paper cassette 1.
It is recorded on the lower surface side of the sheet material P stacked on the sheet 12a.
The presence or absence of the sheet material P is detected by a cassette sensor. Further, the above-described paper feed cassette 112a is capable of stacking, for example, about 250 sheet materials,
It is configured such that it can be pulled out in the front direction with respect to 01 (front loading method). Also, the paper cassette 1
12a has various sheet sizes (for example, A3, A4,
A5, B4, B5, letter, and legal).

The MP (multi-paper) sheet feeding section 125
MP feed roller 125a, MP separation pad 125b, M
P middle plate 125c, MP extension tray 125e, MP tray 125f, MP middle plate spring 125h, sheet regulating plate 125
i.

In this facsimile apparatus, the front cover 122 mounted on the front surface of the apparatus main body 101 can be removed to mount the MP (multi-paper) sheet feeding section 125. When the MP paper feeding unit 125 is mounted, the MP tray 125f that can be opened and closed is used for recording paper of a normal size.
With respect to recording paper of a size that cannot be stacked on the recording paper f, the trailing edge of the recording paper is
It is configured to prevent the P tray 125f from protruding from the P tray 125f and hanging down. The MP middle plate 125c is urged upward by the MP middle plate spring 125h.
Since the P middle plate 125c is pressed down by a cam (not shown) in the standby state, the sheet material P can be stacked on the MP middle plate 125c.

From the control unit 120 of the facsimile machine to MP
When a signal for instructing the start of sheet feeding is output, the cam (not shown) is rotated, and the stacked sheet material P is released by pressing down the MP middle plate 125c.
25a, and are separated and conveyed one by one by a friction piece separation method by an MP separation pad 125b. The separated sheet material P continues to be pressed and conveyed by the MP feed roller 125a and the MP separation pad 125b, and is transferred to the pre-transfer roller pair 124e.

If the TOP sensor 124f does not detect the leading edge of the sheet material P within a predetermined time from the start of sheet feeding, it is determined that a jam has occurred, and a display indicating that a jam has occurred is displayed on the display unit of the operation unit 105.

Further, the sheet material P being fed continues to be conveyed after reaching the pre-transfer roller pair 124e, and
The tip position is detected by the TOP sensor 124f. Thereafter, the sheet feeding and image output timings are adjusted so that the leading end of the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 111a and the leading end of the sheet material P coincide with each other.
11f and the photosensitive drum 111a.

Since the MP sheet feeding section 125 has no resist, the sheet material P has its side end surfaces regulated by the sheet regulation plate 125i mounted so as to be movable according to the sheet size, and skewing and non-feeding are prevented. It is supposed to be done. The image is recorded on the lower surface side of the sheet material P stacked on the sheet cassette 112a. The presence or absence of the sheet material P is detected by the MP sensor 125d. Further, the MP sheet feeding section 125 has a structure capable of stacking, for example, about 100 sheet materials P. Further, since the MP sheet feeding unit 125 can be attached to the apparatus main body 101, a postcard, a business card, and the like can be added to a sheet size that can be fed.

In addition, the cassette paper feed unit 112 described above,
A second-stage cassette paper supply unit (not shown) having a configuration similar to that of the cassette paper supply unit 112 can be separated / coupled as an option. As a result, the number of sheets that can be stacked on the entire facsimile machine is, for example, about 2
It is possible to change from 50 sheets to about 600 sheets.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a control system of a facsimile apparatus using the LBP (laser beam printer) according to this embodiment. The control system of the facsimile machine is C
PU 301, operation unit 302, display unit 303, reading unit 304, recording unit 305, communication control unit 306, C
A PU external interface 309, an HDD (hard disk device) 310, and a connection unit 329 are provided,
The configuration is such that the CPU 301 and each of the elements 302 to 310 are connected via an interface.

The configuration and functions of the control system of the facsimile apparatus will be described in detail. The CPU 301 controls the entire apparatus, and includes an MPU 311, a ROM 312 for storing a control program for the MPU 311, a work area for various data processing, and image information. RAM used as temporary storage
313, an image processing unit 3 for performing scaling, resolution conversion, etc. of an image
14 etc. are provided. The CPU 301 has a calendar / clock function and the like having a known configuration.
An area for storing important system setting information such as one-touch key destination information and software switch information in the RAM 313 of the 301 is protected from an accidental failure such as a power failure by a battery backup.

The operation section 302 is provided with various key switches such as a ten key 315, a function key 316, a one-touch key 317, a start key 318a and a stop key 318b.

The display unit 303 includes an LCD (liquid crystal display device) 319 for displaying various messages, various LEDs 320a for displaying a transmission mode and the like, a tally lamp 320b for notifying a distant operator of a communication state and a failure occurrence. I have it.

The reading unit 304 is a driving unit 3 such as a reading motor.
21, a reading sensor 322 for reading an image, an image processing unit 323 for shading and binarizing the read image,
It is provided with various sensors 324 and the like for detecting a document.

The recording unit 305 is a drive unit 3 such as a recording motor.
25, a recording unit 326 for controlling a laser scanner or an electrophotographic process, an image processing unit 327 for smoothing an image to be recorded, and various sensors 328 for detecting recording paper and the like.

The communication control unit 306 is for performing call origination / incoming call / encoding of image data and the like.
A connection unit 329 including a MODEM (modem), an NCU (network control unit), and the like is additionally provided at 6. The connection unit 329 includes a communication network 307 and a handset 3
08 is connected.

The CPU external interface 309 is C
An interface for directly transmitting and receiving data from the PU 301, such as RS232C (standard interface for serial data transmission), SCSI (standard interface for connecting small computers and peripheral devices), and LAN
By connecting the facsimile apparatus to an external computer via an interface such as a (premise information communication network) or a line, the facsimile apparatus can be used as a scanner printer or the like of the external computer.

The HDD (hard disk device) 310 is
This is a large-capacity nonvolatile memory, and is used for storing image information and the like.

Next, the LB installed in the facsimile machine
FIG. 7 shows the configuration and basic operation of the P (laser beam printer).
A description will be given based on the conceptual diagram of. The LBP is a semiconductor laser 400 that blinks a laser beam for image data to be recorded.
A polygon motor 401, a polygon mirror 402 rotated by the polygon motor 401, an optical system 403 for performing image formation and tilt correction, and a photodetector 40.
4, a folding mirror 405, a photosensitive drum 406,
The configuration includes a developing device 407, a conveyance guide 409, and a fixing device 410. Reference symbol P in the figure is a recording paper.

In the above structure, first, the laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser 400 is reflected by the polygon mirror 40.
The light is deflected by being reflected by the light 2 and is irradiated onto the photosensitive drum 406 via the optical system 403 and the folding mirror 405 (main scanning). At this time, the head is searched by the photodetector 404 and the irradiation position is determined. While the main scanning is completed for one line, the photosensitive drum 406 is rotated for one line (sub-scanning). The image formed on the photosensitive drum 406 as described above is developed by the developing device 407 and is transferred onto the recording paper P. The recording sheet P to which the image has been transferred is conveyed along the conveyance guide 409, and the image of the recording sheet P is fixed by the fixing device 410 and discharged.

Incidentally, the above-mentioned photosensitive drum 406 and developing device 4
Elements constituting the sub-scanning system such as the fixing unit 07 and the fixing device 410 are driven in synchronization by a recording motor, a gear, a belt, and the like (not shown).

By the way, in the conventional facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. 8 described above, many memories having high unit prices must be mounted in the apparatus, and in the conventional copying machine shown in FIG. Due to the fact that it is necessary to incorporate parts such as an electromagnetic clutch into the device in order to stop it, there was a problem that it would increase the cost of the entire device.Therefore, the present embodiment solves the problem of the conventional cost increase. Therefore, as a method of copying an original with almost no memory required, a synchronous copy method is adopted in which the original is temporarily stopped and then synchronized with the recording paper.

Next, details of the synchronous copy method are shown in FIG.
It will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a detailed cross-sectional view of an image forming unit when a sheet material is conveyed at high speed, FIG. 2 is a detailed cross-sectional view of the image forming unit, and FIG. 3 is a detailed cross-sectional view of the image reading unit.

The image forming section, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
Paper feed shaft 1, paper feed roller 2, MP paper feed shaft 3, MP paper feed roller 4, cam 5, MP mid plate 6, MP mid leaf spring 7, roller 8,
MP separation pad 9, MP separation pad spring 10, registration sensor 11, registration roller pair 12, pressure contact arm 13,
Registration spring 14, registration frame 15, sheet conveying U-turn guide 16, MP guide 17, reading start sensor 18, reading start sensor photo interrupter 19, pre-transfer roller 20, TOP sensor 21, TOP sensor photo interrupter 22, before transfer Guide 23, static elimination needle 24,
Photosensitive drum 25, charging roller 26, developing roller 28, transfer roller 29, transfer spring 30, cleaning blade 3
1 and the conveyor belt 32.

The structure and function of each of the above parts will be described in detail. The paper feed shaft 1 is formed by bending a sheet metal into a U-shape, and is rotatably mounted on the left and right bearing parts (not shown) of the apparatus body. It is supported. The paper feed roller 2 is a rubber roller integrally formed on the outer periphery of the core cylinder as a feeding means. The paper feed shaft 1 is inserted into the core cylinder and movement along the paper feed shaft 1 is restricted. It is constructed so that it is always driven integrally with the paper feed shaft 1.

The MP paper feed shaft 3 is formed by bending a sheet metal into a U-shape, and is rotatably supported by left and right bearing portions (not shown) of the main body of the apparatus. MP paper feed roller 4
Is a rubber roller integrally formed on the outer periphery of the core cylinder as a feeding means, and allows the MP paper feed shaft 3 to be inserted into the core cylinder and restricts the movement along the MP paper feed shaft 3; It is constructed so that it is always driven integrally with the paper feeding shaft 3.

The cam 5 is provided coaxially with the MP paper feed shaft 3 and is rotated integrally therewith, and has a function as a moving means for moving the MP intermediate plate 6 up and down. The MP middle plate 6 is arranged below the MP paper feed roller 4 with its front end side positioned, and is lifted by the MP middle plate spring 7 in a direction in which the front end side approaches the lower surface of the MP paper feed roller 4. It is urged in the state where it was. The roller 8 is rotatably provided on the MP middle plate 6 and slides smoothly in conjunction with the rotation of the cam 5.

The MP separation pad 9 is for separating the sheet materials one by one, and is located at a position downstream of the leading edge side of the MP intermediate plate 6 in the sheet material conveying direction and close to the leading edge side. The MP separation pad spring 10 is arranged so as to be constantly pressed against and contact the lower surface of the MP paper feed roller 4.

The registration sensor 11 is rotatably attached to the registration frame 15, and when the front end of the sheet material abuts on the registration sensor 11, the portion that blocked the light receiving portion of the photo interrupter (not shown) is rotated. The photo interrupter can be activated to receive light. The registration roller pair 12 is provided on the registration frame 15, one of which is a driving-side registration roller having an outer peripheral portion formed of rubber, and the other of which is a moldable registration roller. The mold resist roller is pressed against the rubber resist roller side via a resist spring 14 by a pressure contact arm 13 that is rotatable with respect to the resist frame 15.

The registration frame 15 is a frame in which the registration sensor 11, the registration roller pair 12, the pressure contact arm 13, the registration spring 14, the reading start sensor 18, and the reading start sensor photointerrupter 19 are arranged, and a part of them is a sheet. It is composed of a resist conveyance guide 15a adapted to convey the material. The sheet conveying U-turn guide 16 is a guide configured by a part of a main body frame forming a skeleton of the apparatus main body 101. MP guide 1
Reference numeral 7 denotes a sheet metal guide arranged in the apparatus main body 101 for reversing the sheet material.

The reading start sensor 18 is provided on the registration frame 15 to start the reading unit, and is rotated clockwise by a spring (not shown) with a very weak force in FIG. The rotation is restricted by a part of the abutting part of the abutting part of the resist frame 15. The photo-interrupter 19 for the reading start sensor has its light receiving portion normally blocked by the reading start sensor 18, and when the leading edge of the sheet material comes into contact with the reading start sensor 18, the rotation fulcrum provided on the registration frame 15 is centered. 1 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1, and the light is received by the light receiving portion.

The pre-transfer roller 20 is rotatably supported by a bearing portion (not shown) of the apparatus main body, and one of the pre-transfer rollers 20 is a drive-side pre-transfer roller having an outer peripheral portion made of rubber.
The other is composed of a moldable pre-transfer roller. T
The OP sensor 21 is configured to have the same shape as the reading start sensor 18, and has a very weak force due to a spring (not shown).
The sensor 21 is rotated clockwise and a part of the sensor 21 abuts a part of the pre-transfer guide 23 to stop the rotation.

Photointerrupter 22 for TOP sensor
The light receiving section of the sheet is normally blocked by the TOP sensor 21, and when the leading edge of the sheet material comes into contact with the TOP sensor 21, the sheet rotates in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1 about the rotation fulcrum provided on the body frame. The light is received by the light receiving portion. The pre-transfer guide 23 is a guide for accurately guiding the recording paper to the nip portion between the photosensitive drum 25 and the transfer roller 29.

The static elimination needle 24 is screwed to the pre-transfer guide 23, and when the sheet material P is rubbed by the sheet feeding roller 2 and the separation pad 112c, static electricity is generated only in the friction portion and an image is formed. It is provided to prevent adverse effects. The photosensitive drum 25 is configured as an image carrier (non-charged body), and basically includes a drum base such as aluminum as a conductive base layer and a photoconductor layer formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof as a non-charged body. It is a constituent layer and is rotationally driven at a predetermined peripheral speed.

The charging roller 26 is composed of a central core metal, a conductive layer formed on the outer peripheral portion of the core metal, and a resistance layer formed on the outer peripheral portion of the conductive layer. The portion is rotatably supported by a bearing member (not shown).
The charging roller 26 is pressed against the photosensitive drum 25 with a predetermined pressing force by pressing means (not shown).
The laser light 27 is emitted from the above-described semiconductor laser 400, is deflected by being reflected by the polygon mirror 402, and is irradiated onto the photosensitive drum 25 via the folding mirror 405.

The developing roller 28 is a roller made of magnet and adheres toner to the photosensitive drum 25. The transfer roller 29 sequentially transfers the toner on the photosensitive drum 25 onto the upper surface of the sheet material by charging the sheet material on the back surface side with a polarity opposite to that of the toner. Further, the transfer roller 29 is
The transfer spring 30 is pressed against the photosensitive drum 25 with a predetermined pressing force. The cleaning blade 31 removes adhered contaminants such as transfer residual developer (residual toner) on the photosensitive drum 25. The conveyor belt 32 conveys the sheet material, to which the toner has been transferred by the transfer roller 29, to the fixing unit without giving an impact or the like.

As shown in FIG. 3, the document reading section includes a transport roller 50, a transport roller 51, an outer document guide 52, an inner document guide 53, a document cueing sensor 54, a document cueing sensor photo interrupter 55, and a sheet feeding unit. Paper roller 56, paper feed roller 57, contact image sensor 58, paper ejection roller 59,
The sheet feeding roller 60 and the sheet 61 are provided.

To explain in detail the structure and function of each of the above-mentioned parts, the conveyance roller 50 is rotatably supported by the outer manuscript guide 52 at both left and right ends by bearing members (not shown), and the core part is provided with a rubber part (EPDM). ) Has been placed. Transport roller 51
Is a mold roller provided on the inner document guide 53 and pressed by the conveying roller 50 by a pressing spring (not shown). The outer document guide 52 constitutes the outside of the document transport path, and the transport roller 50 is arranged therein. The inner document guide 53 constitutes the inside of the document transport path, and includes a transport roller 51, a document cue sensor 54, a document cue sensor photointerrupter 55, a paper feed roller 57, and a paper discharge roller 6.
0 is arranged.

The document cueing sensor 54 is moved by its own weight as shown in FIG.
As the sensor 54 rotates in the clockwise direction, a part of the sensor 54 abuts against the document guide 53 to stop the rotation. The photointerrupter 55 for the document cueing sensor always has its light receiving portion blocked by the document cueing sensor 54, and when the leading edge of the document comes into contact with the document cueing sensor 54,
It rotates around a rotation fulcrum provided on the inner document guide 53, and the light is received by the light receiving portion thereof.

The left and right ends of the paper feed roller 56 are rotatably supported by bearing members (not shown), and a rubber part (EPDM) is arranged on a core metal. The paper feed roller 57 is
It is a moldable roller that is pressed against the paper feed roller 56 by a pressing spring (not shown), and is provided on the inner document guide 53. The contact-type image sensor 58 uses an L as a light source.
The image information surface of the original S is irradiated with light from the ED array, and the reflected light reflected by the image information surface is imaged on the sensor element by the SELFOC lens (product name) to read the image information.

The left and right ends of the paper discharge roller 59 are rotatably supported by bearing members (not shown), and a rubber part (EPDM) is arranged on a core metal. The paper feed roller 60 is
It is a moldable roller that is pressed against the paper discharge roller 59 by a pressing spring (not shown), and is provided on the inner document guide 53. The sheet 61 is a white flexible sheet for adjusting the white balance of the contact image sensor 58.

Next, the copy operation in the facsimile apparatus configured as described above will be described.

First, when the operator sets the document S on the document table 102 of the facsimile apparatus and then presses the start key 318a of the operation unit 302, the image reading unit 103
Separates the originals S stacked on the original placing table 102 one by one by the separation roller 106b which is in pressure contact with the separation pad 106a, and the outer roller guide 50 is in contact with the conveyance roller 51 which is pressed by the pressing spring and the conveyance roller 50 which is pressed. A U-turn paper path constituted by 52 and a part of the inner document guide 53 is conveyed.

After passing through the U-turn paper path, the leading edge of the document S tries to reach the document cueing sensor 54. In this case, the document cueing sensor 54 rotates clockwise in FIG. 3 due to its own weight, and a part of the sensor 54 causes the document guide 5 to move.
The rotation is stopped by hitting 3. The document cueing sensor 54 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 3 from the stopped state by the conveyance force of the document S by the conveyance roller 51 and the conveyance roller 50. Along with this, a part of the document cueing sensor 54 blocking the light receiving part of the photo interrupter 55 for the document cueing sensor is rotated, so that the light is received by the light receiving part. It is determined that the leading edge of the document S is detected.

Further, the document S is stopped in a state where the document S is conveyed by x [mm] (see FIG. 3) from the document cueing sensor 54 by the sheet feeding roller 56 which is pressed against the sheet feeding roller 57 which is pressed by the pressing spring. Then, the state of waiting for the cueing signal of the sheet material P is output.

On the other hand, for the sheet materials P stacked in the paper feed cassette 112a, the operator operates the start key 3 of the operation unit 302.
As a result of pressing 18a, the semi-circular sheet feeding roller 2 and the separating pad 112c separate and convey the sheets one by one by the friction piece separating method by the operation described above, and after passing through the registration sensor 11, Registration roller pair 12
Is guided to the pressure contact nip part.

The registration roller pair 12 is controlled to stop rotating when the leading edge of the sheet material P reaches the pressure nip portion of the registration roller pair 12. The leading edge of the sheet material P abuts and is locked by the pressure contact nip portion of the registration roller pair 12 in the rotation stopped state, and thereafter, the sheet feeding roller 2
When the sheet material P is fed by the sheet material P, a flexible loop is formed on the sheet material P to some extent. Therefore, the reaction force of the flexible loop causes the leading edge of the sheet material P to be parallel to the nip line of the pressure contact nip portion. By skewing, skewing of the sheet material P is corrected.

Next, when the registration roller pair 12 is driven based on the signal from the registration sensor 11, the sheet material P is conveyed by the registration roller pair 12 and the registration conveyance in which the registration roller pair 12 and the registration sensor 11 are arranged. A sheet conveying U-turn guide 16 including a guide 15a, a part of a main body frame forming the skeleton of the apparatus main body 101, and an MP guide 17 arranged in the apparatus main body 101.
Inverted by and.

Further, the sheet material P being fed is continuously conveyed by the pre-transfer roller pair 20, and the leading end thereof reaches the TOP sensor 21 (two-dot chain line in FIG. 2) in the standby state. In this case, the TOP sensor 21 is rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG. 2 with a very weak force by a spring (not shown), and a part of the TOP sensor 21 abuts against the pre-transfer guide 23 to stop the rotation. From the stopped state, the TOP sensor 21 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 2 by the conveying force of the sheet material P by the pre-transfer roller pair 20. With this, TO
A part of the TOP sensor 21 blocking the light receiving portion of the P sensor photo interrupter 22 is rotated, so that light is received by the light receiving portion.
Determines that the leading edge of the sheet material P has been detected (solid line state in FIG. 2).

Based on the signal from the TOP sensor 21, the CPU 301 of the apparatus main body again drives the driving unit 3 of the reading unit 304.
A signal is supplied to 21. Here, if the conveyance speed of the sheet material P of the image forming unit is Vp [mm / sec], then TO
The time (tp [sec]) from when the P sensor 21 is turned on until the sheet material P reaches the nip portion between the photosensitive drum 25 and the transfer roller 29 is tp [sec] = 1 [mm] / Vp [mm / Sec] (l [mm]: distance indicated by arrow in FIG. 2). By the way, by controlling ON / OFF of the laser based on the image information of the document S read by the contact image sensor 58, an image of a dot pattern is formed on the photosensitive drum 25. The time (ts [mm]) from when the contact type image sensor 58 starts to read the document S is ts [mm] = (l [mm] −α / 360 × d [mm]) /
If it is not Vp [mm / sec] (α: angle shown in FIG. 2, d: distance shown in FIG. 2), the original document S and the sheet material P to be recorded cannot be synchronized for copying. Therefore, the original S is stopped in a state where the original S is conveyed from the original cue sensor 54 by x [mm], and the distance to the reading position of the contact image sensor 58 is minimized to minimize the original S and the sheet material P. Be synchronized with.

When the conveyance speed of the document S in the document reading unit is Vy [m
m / sec], the time (ty [sec]) required for the document S to be conveyed from the stopped position to the reading position of the contact image sensor 58 is ty [sec] = y [mm] / Vy [Mm / sec] (y [mm]: distance indicated by arrow in FIG. 2).

From the above, the relation of ts [sec] = ty [sec] is established as a condition for establishing the synchronous copy.

Since the synchronous copy method does not require an expensive memory, the facsimile apparatus can be constructed at a low cost. Further, it is possible to obtain a simple and accurate printing accuracy without depending on the assembly accuracy and the parts accuracy of the registration roller. The above description is only for the case of feeding the cassette, but the control itself of the synchronous copy is the same regardless of the sheet feeding port.

By the way, with the recent increase in speed and mass of information, there is a demand for improvement in the processing speed of the recording unit of the facsimile apparatus, and further, the downsizing and integration of the facsimile apparatus are required. Along with the progress, there is an increasing number of opportunities to use as a multi-function machine of a copying machine and a printer, instead of the conventional facsimile machine alone. Therefore, unless the processing capability of the image forming unit of the facsimile apparatus is high, the apparatus is always in an operating state, and for example, copying cannot be performed during reception of a facsimile, and the recording speed of the conventional facsimile apparatus. However, the speed is slow to use as a copying machine, and it is difficult for the operator to use it comfortably.

Therefore, when the value of Vp [mm / sec] is increased in order to meet the demand for increasing the conveying speed of the recording paper (sheet material), the photosensitive drum 25 and the transfer roller 29 are turned on after the TOP sensor 21 is turned on. Time until the recording paper (sheet material) reaches the nip part of
c]) is shortened, and the time (ts [sec]) from when the TOP sensor 21 is turned on until the reading of the original S by the contact image sensor 58 is started is shortened. Therefore, since the relation of ts [sec] <ty [sec] is established, synchronous copy is impossible. Therefore, as a countermeasure against this, the document S is fed to the document cue sensor 54.
Distance from the position of (x [m
m]), the contact image sensor 5
It is conceivable to make the distance to the reading position of 8 as small as possible so that the recording paper (sheet material) and the document are synchronized.

However, since it takes a certain amount of time for the rotation speed of the image reading motor to reach a constant conveying speed,
From the position where the document S is stopped, the contact type image sensor 58
The distance (y [mm]) to the reading position cannot be shortened too much. Although it can be improved to some extent by changing the image reading motor to a high-performance motor having a short rise time, the cost becomes high.

Further, since high printing quality is required in order to use the facsimile machine as a multifunctional machine, TOP
It is necessary to minimize the distance (l [mm]) from when the sensor 21 is turned on until the sheet material P reaches the nip portion between the photosensitive drum 25 and the transfer roller 29. The reason for this is that the waist strength of the sheet material P changes depending on the environment, and therefore the distance from when the TOP sensor 21 is turned on to when it reaches the nip portion between the photosensitive drum 25 and the transfer roller 29 is long. This is because the sheet material P runs violently in the conveyance path and the theoretically set l [mm] is different from the actual value, and the printing accuracy is deteriorated.

Since the distance l [mm] from when the TOP sensor 21 is turned on to when it reaches the nip portion between the photosensitive drum 25 and the transfer roller 29 is shortened, the image reading motor has a high start-up time and high performance. Even if the motor is changed, it is very difficult to realize the synchronous copy.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, on the upstream side of the TOP sensor 21 for the apparatus for performing high-speed image formation and on the downstream side of the confluent portion of the MP paper feed conveyance path, A reading start sensor 18 is provided. The reading operation of the document S and the paper feed control of the sheet material P up to the registration rollers 12 are the same as above, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.

When the registration roller pair 12 is driven based on the signal from the registration sensor 11, the registration roller pair 1
The sheet material P is conveyed by 2 and the registration roller pair 12
A sheet conveying U-turn guide 1 including a resist conveying guide 15a in which the resist sensor 11 is arranged and a part of a main body frame forming a skeleton of the apparatus main body 101.
6, it is reversed by the MP guide 17 arranged in the apparatus main body 101.

The reading start sensor 1 arranged after the reversed sheet material P is merged with the conveyance from the MP sheet feeding conveyance path.
8, the reading start sensor 18 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 1 by the conveying force of the sheet material P. Along with this,
By rotating a part of the reading start sensor 18 which has blocked the light receiving part of the photo interrupter 19 for the reading start sensor, the light is received by the light receiving part, and the CPU 30 of the apparatus main body is received.
1 determines that the front end of the sheet material P has been detected. Based on the signal from the reading start sensor 18, the CPU 30 of the apparatus main body
The signal for driving the image reading unit 103 is output from 1 again.

Here, assuming that the transport speed of the document S of the image reading unit 103 is Vy [mm / sec], the time required for the document S to reach the reading position of the contact image sensor 58 from the stopped position ( ty [sec]) is ty [sec] = y [mm] / Vy [mm / sec].

Further, the sheet material P being fed is continuously conveyed by the pre-transfer roller pair 20, and the leading end of the sheet material P reaches the TOP sensor 21 (two-dot chain line in FIG. 2) in the standby state. The TOP sensor 21 is rotated by a spring (not shown) with a very weak force in the clockwise direction in FIG.
A part of it abuts against the pre-transfer guide 23 and the rotation is stopped. From the stopped state, the TOP sensor 21 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 2 by the conveying force of the sheet material P by the pre-transfer roller pair 20. Along with this, a part of the TOP sensor 21 blocking the light receiving portion of the TOP sensor photo interrupter 22 is rotated, so that light is received by the light receiving portion, and the CPU 301 of the apparatus main body detects the tip of the sheet material P. It is determined that it has been detected (solid line state in FIG. 1).

However, in the case of synchronous copying, the CPU 301 of the apparatus main body drives the image reading unit 103 again based on the signal from the reading start sensor 18, so that the signal from the TOP sensor 21 indicates whether a jam has occurred. It is used only for the judgment. However, since the strength of the waist of the sheet material P changes depending on the environment, the reading start sensor 18 turns off.
If the distance from when N is reached until the nip portion between the photosensitive drum 25 and the transfer roller 29 is reached is long, the sheet material P violates in the transport path, and the printing accuracy deteriorates. Therefore, the ON / OFF of the laser is controlled by the signal from the TOP sensor 21 in order to maintain the printing accuracy during the image formation other than the synchronous copy.

The conveyance speed of the sheet material P at the time of image formation is set to V
If p ′ [mm / sec], the time (tp ′ [sec]) from when the reading start sensor 18 is turned on to when it reaches the nip portion between the photosensitive drum 25 and the transfer roller 29.
Is tp '[sec] = l1 + l2 [mm] / Vp' [mm
/ Sec] (where l1 and l2 are distances indicated by arrows in FIG. 1).

The dot pattern image is formed on the photosensitive drum 2 by controlling the laser ON / OFF based on the image information of the original S read by the contact image sensor 58.
5, the time (ts '[sec]) from when the reading start sensor 18 is turned on until the reading of the document S by the contact image sensor 58 is started is ts' [sec] = (L1 + l2-α / 360 × d) /
If it is not Vp ', it is not possible to copy the read original S and the sheet material P to be recorded in synchronization.

From the above, the relation of ts' [sec] = ty [sec] is established as the condition for establishing the synchronous copy. Here, since ts'[sec]> ts [sec], the conveying speed of the sheet material P in the image forming unit is V
Even if p ′ [mm / sec] becomes larger than the conventional one, there is no problem with regard to the cueing of the original S.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
Considering a device that forms images at high speed, the TOP sensor 2
The reading start sensor 18 is provided on the upstream side of 1, and the control unit 120 sends a signal for driving the image reading unit 103 again based on a signal from the reading start sensor 18 when the sheet material comes into contact with the reading start sensor 18. Since the output is performed, the synchronous copy method in which the original and the sheet material are synchronously copied is possible. Therefore, it is not necessary to mount many expensive memories in the device as in the past, and as a result, the device is simple and easy to use. It is possible to configure at low cost,
Accurate printing accuracy can be maintained.

Further, according to the present embodiment, since the reading start sensor 18 is provided on the downstream side of the portion where the conveying paths from the plurality of sheet feeding ports meet, the reading start sensor 18 is provided for each sheet feeding port. Since it is not necessary to provide it, as a result, it is possible to configure the apparatus at low cost and it is possible to maintain accurate printing accuracy.

The above description of the present embodiment has been made only from the cassette paper feeding, but the control itself of the synchronous copy is the same regardless of the paper feeding port.

Although the facsimile apparatus having the copying function has been described in the present embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the facsimile apparatus, and is applied to a copying machine, a complex machine including a copying machine and a printer, and the like. It is also possible.

[0125]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, the image copying apparatus conveys the image reading means for reading the original document in which the image information is written and the sheet material such as transfer paper or photosensitive paper. In the image copying apparatus including the sheet material transporting means for controlling the sheet material and the image forming means for recording the image information read from the original on the sheet material, the first detecting means for detecting the leading edge of the sheet material, and the first detecting means. And a control means for outputting a signal for driving the image reading means when the front end of the sheet material is detected by the second detection means. Because
It is possible to use a synchronous copy method in which a document and a sheet material are synchronously copied without mounting a large number of expensive memories in the device as in the past, and as a result, the device can be configured at low cost. At the same time, accurate printing accuracy can be maintained.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image copying apparatus according to the first aspect, a plurality of sheet material conveying paths that join at a predetermined position are provided, and a second detecting means is provided for the plurality of sheet materials. Since it is provided on the downstream side of the confluence point of the conveying path, it is not necessary to provide the second detecting means for each of the plurality of sheet material conveying paths (for each sheet feeding port), and as a result, the apparatus is configured at low cost. As a result, accurate printing accuracy can be maintained.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the facsimile apparatus transmits the image received from the image copying apparatus according to the first or second aspect and an external computer or the like via the communication line to the image copying apparatus. And a communication control means for forming a received image, the same as the inventions of claims 1 and 2 even when the facsimile machine is used as a scanner printer of equipment such as an external computer. In addition, the device can be constructed at low cost, and accurate printing accuracy can be maintained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a detailed cross-sectional view of an image forming unit when a sheet material according to an embodiment of the present invention is conveyed at high speed.

FIG. 2 is a detailed cross-sectional view of an image forming unit according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a detailed cross-sectional view of a document reading unit according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a facsimile apparatus using the image recording apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a facsimile apparatus using the image recording apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a control system of a facsimile apparatus using the LBP according to this embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a basic operation of the LBP according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a control system of a facsimile apparatus using an LBP according to a conventional example.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a copying machine using an LBP according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 18 Reading Activation Sensor (First Detection Means) 21 TOP Sensor (Second Detection Means) 103 Image Reading Section (Image Reading Means) 111 Image Forming Section (Image Forming Means) 120 Control Section (Control Means) 121 Sheet Conveying Section (Sheet material conveying means) 306 Communication control unit (communication control means)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image reading unit for reading an original document on which image information is described, a sheet material conveying unit for conveying a sheet material such as transfer paper or photosensitive paper, and image information read from the original document by the image reading unit. In an image copying apparatus including an image forming unit for recording on a sheet material conveyed by the sheet material conveying unit, a first detecting unit for detecting a front end of the sheet material conveyed by the sheet material conveying unit, Second detecting means arranged upstream of the first detecting means for detecting the leading edge of the sheet material conveyed by the sheet material conveying means, and the second detecting means for detecting the leading edge of the sheet material. An image copying apparatus comprising: a control unit that outputs a signal for driving the image reading unit. 2. The image copying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of sheet material conveying paths which are joined at a predetermined location, and wherein the second detecting means is provided at a joining point of the plurality of sheet material conveying paths. An image copying apparatus provided downstream of the image copying apparatus. 3. The image copying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, and communication control means for transmitting an image received from a device such as an external computer via a communication line to the image copying apparatus to form a received image. A facsimile machine comprising: