JP2001134146A - Image forming device, image forming method and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device by which an image recording condition is changed after starting continuous image recording on different kinds of recording media such as an OHP sheet or a normal sheet of paper. SOLUTION: An operation panel is provided, by which printing is interrupted on the operation panel after starting continuous printing onto the recording media and the setting of a printing condition to the respective recording media is changed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus, an image recording method, and a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When using a copier in which copying of an OHP sheet and recording paper can be performed once (hereinafter referred to as a presentation mode), distribution materials and presentation OHP materials are prepared from manuscripts for a conference. When printing is started after inputting each setting condition in the presentation mode, the image recording apparatus forms an image on recording paper through a charging process, an exposure process, a developing process, a transfer process, and a fixing process according to the recording medium conditions. .

[0003] Here, when the presentation mode is stopped after the printing is started (for example, when the user notices unnecessary or rethinks the need for the OHP sheet material), conventionally, all printing is terminated in the presentation mode. Unnecessary items have to be discarded, or the presentation mode has to be interrupted, unnecessary documents must be removed, the presentation mode must be reset, and copying resumed.

[0004]

In the conventional presentation mode, it is not possible to cancel only the OHP sheet or only the plain paper after the printing is started. It is necessary to set and input only the recording paper. Therefore, there are problems such as waste of resources and long copy time.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to change image forming conditions after starting continuous image formation on different types of recording media. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of forming an image on a recording medium.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention has the following arrangement. That is, an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a plurality of different types of recording media, a setting unit for setting image forming conditions for each of the different types of recording media, and the image corresponding to the image formation on each of the recording media Image forming means for performing in accordance with forming conditions; instruction means for instructing a change in the image forming conditions during image formation by the image forming means; and image formation on a recording medium changed in response to the change instruction by the instructing means. Control means for controlling image formation on the recording medium by the image forming means based on a condition.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the image forming method of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, an image forming method for forming images on different types of recording media, wherein the setting step of setting image forming conditions for each of a plurality of different types of recording media, and the image forming method corresponding to the respective types of recording media An image forming step performed in accordance with image forming conditions, an instruction step of instructing a change in the image forming conditions during image formation in the image forming step, and an image on a recording medium changed in response to the change instruction in the instruction step A control step of controlling image formation on the recording medium by the image forming step based on the forming conditions.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the recording medium of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, a storage medium storing an image forming processing program for controlling a process of forming an image on different types of recording media, wherein the image forming processing program stores image forming conditions for a plurality of different types of recording media. A setting step of setting, an image forming step of forming an image on each recording medium according to the corresponding image forming condition, and an instruction step of instructing a change of the image forming condition during image formation by the image forming step. Based on the image forming conditions on the recording medium changed according to the change instruction in the instruction step,
A control step of controlling image formation on the recording medium by the image forming step.

[0009]

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

FIG. 1A is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a digital copying machine 100 according to this embodiment. Copy manuscript
When the document is conveyed to the image reading unit by the automatic document feeder 1, light is emitted from a document illumination lamp 5. The reflected light is taken into the CCD 7 via the first mirror 2, the second mirror 3, the third mirror 4, and the lens 6, and is converted into a laser beam by the modulation circuit according to the density of the original image. The laser beam is emitted from the laser unit 8 and irradiates the surface of the photoconductor 16 via the laser mirror 10 and the dustproof glass 11.

Around the photosensitive member 16, a charging roller 13,
A developing device 12, a transfer roller 17, a static elimination needle 15, a cleaner unit 14, a pre-exposure lamp 9, and the like are sequentially arranged. Using these, the respective processes of charging, exposure, and development are performed. A toner image is formed on the photoconductor 16. The toner image is transferred onto plain paper fed from a cassette 20 conveyed onto the transfer roller 17 or onto an OHP sheet fed from a multi-feeder feed tray 19. The transferred paper is fixed by the fixing unit 23 via the transport unit 22. The fixing conditions can be switched depending on the recording medium, and the recording paper after the fixing is sent to the finisher 24 to perform a set process such as punching and the like.
It is discharged to 5.

FIG. 1B is an enlarged view of an operation panel 26 of the digital copying machine 100. The operation panel 26 has a liquid crystal display 27, a stop key 28, and the like that can be input by simply touching a corresponding frame. Settings and operations can be performed, and the status of the copying machine is displayed. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a digital copying machine 100 according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which a sorter tray 29 is used in place of the sheet discharge tray 25 used in FIG.

Next, a method of inputting the presentation mode setting will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S10, a print mode is selected. Next, proceeding to step S20, when "Presentation" on the liquid crystal display 27 is touched, the "Presentation" frame is shaded and the display mode is set. (A display example of “presentation” on the liquid crystal display 27 is shown in a display example D20 of FIG. 4.) Next, the process proceeds to step S30, where “plain paper” or “O” is displayed.
HP "and make detailed settings for each recording medium. (A display example on the liquid crystal display 27 is shown as a display example D30 in FIG. 4.) When selecting OHP paper, the process proceeds to step S40 to set the number of copies and the density.
(A display example on the liquid crystal display 27 is a display example D4 in FIG.
0 is shown. Next, when setting plain paper, the process proceeds to step S50, and "plain paper" is selected in the state of display example D30 in FIG. Next, the process proceeds to step S60, in which the number of copies and the density of plain paper are set. (The display example on the liquid crystal display 27 is similar to the display example D40 in FIG. 4.) Thus, when the setting of each of the OHP paper and the plain paper is completed, the process proceeds to step S70, and the operation panel 26 (FIG. 1) is displayed. By pressing the START button, copying is started with the set number of OHP sheets and recording sheets in the presentation mode.

Next, a method for changing the printing conditions after the start of printing in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 5 shows three copies of distributed materials (PPC1 to PPC1 for each copy) in a presentation mode using a digital copying machine 100 using a sorter of this embodiment for a document composed of three sheets M1, M2 and M3. An example of the printing order of the OHP sheet printed on the sorter T1 bin to the T4 bin and the three material copies when the creation of the PPC 3) and one copy of the OHP sheet (OHP1 to OHP3) is set is shown. That is, M1, M2, M
The printing of No. 3, for example, proceeds in the order shown in FIG. 4 and the following, and is classified into sorters T1 to T4 as shown in FIG.

M1 OHP1 → PPC1 → PPC1 → PPC1 M2 → PPC2 → PPC2 → PPC2 → OHP2 M3 → OHP3 → PPC3 → PPC3 → PPC3 Here, at the timing indicated by the broken arrow in FIG. 5 (during printing of the second PPC2). , When printing of only the OHP sheet is stopped, OHP2, OH
Only printing of P3 is stopped, and printing of other recording paper is executed as scheduled. In the case of this example, the T
Only OHP1 is discharged to one bin, and T2, T3, T
One set of distributed materials is discharged to each of the four bins.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which only plain paper is canceled in the same setting as in FIG. When printing of only plain paper is stopped at the timing indicated by the dashed arrow in FIG. 6 (during printing of the second sheet of PPC2), one shaded PPC1 in FIG. 6, three sheets of PPC2, and three shades of PPC3 in FIG.
Is stopped printing three sheets, and the sorter tray 29
One set of OHP sheets (three sets) is delivered to the pins, and distribution materials (only PPC1) are delivered one by one to the T2 and T3 bins. Printing of seven sheets of PPC1 to PPC3 is stopped, and printing of other recording paper is executed as scheduled.

FIG. 7 shows an example in which the paper discharge tray 25 is used in the same setting as in FIG. Here, at the timing indicated by the dashed arrow in FIG. 5 (during printing of the second PPC2 sheet), the OH
When the printing of only the P sheet is stopped, only the printing of the OHP 3 shaded in FIG. 5 is stopped, and the printing of the other recording paper is executed as scheduled.

Next, a method of changing the printing conditions after the start of printing will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, in step S100 of FIG. 8, when printing conditions are changed during printing in the presentation mode,
Proceeding to step S110, the STOP button 28 is depressed, and then proceeding to step S120 to select either "ALL" cancellation or "OHP only, plain paper only" cancellation. (A display example on the liquid crystal display 27 is shown as a display example D120 in FIG. 9.) When “ALL” is selected in step 120, step S1 is performed.
Proceed to 30 and cancel all running copies. On the other hand, if "only OHP, only plain paper" is selected in step S120, the process proceeds to step S140, and the recording paper to be canceled is selected. (The display example on the liquid crystal display 27 is
This is shown as a display example D140 in FIG. O to cancel
In the case of HP paper, "OHP" is selected, and the process proceeds to FIG.

In FIG. 10, first, at step S150,
After the HP cancel mode is set, the process proceeds to step S160, and the display “Copying. OHP copy is stopped” is confirmed. When “Confirmation” is selected in the final confirmation selection, a table on the liquid crystal display 27 is displayed. An example is shown in a display example D160 in FIG. 11). The process proceeds to step S170. If the current print is plain paper, the process proceeds to step S180, the OHP copy reservation is released, and the process proceeds to step S200. After performing the copy process, the print process is terminated.

On the other hand, if the current printing is OHP paper in step S170, the flow advances to step S190 to stop the OHP copy being executed, cancel the OHP copy setting, and then to step S200, where the remaining OHP copy setting is canceled. After performing the copy process of the plain paper, the print process ends. In the case where plain paper is canceled in step 140 of FIG. 8, "plain paper" is selected, and a display example on the liquid crystal display 27 is shown as a display example D140 in FIG. move on.

Next, the plain paper cancel mode in step S210 in FIG. 12 is set, and the flow advances to step S220 to confirm the display of "Copying. Stop plain paper copy." When "confirmation" is selected, the process proceeds to step S230 (a display example on the liquid crystal display 27 is shown as a display example D220 in FIG. 13), and if the current print is OHP paper, the process proceeds to step S240 to reserve plain paper copy. Is released, and then the process proceeds to step S260, where the copy processing of the remaining plain paper is performed, and then the print processing ends.

On the other hand, if the current printing is plain paper in step S230, the process proceeds to step S250, in which the plain paper copy being executed is stopped, the plain paper copy setting is released, and then the process proceeds to step S260. After performing the copy processing of the remaining plain paper, the print processing ends.

[Other Embodiments] Even if the present invention is applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), an apparatus (for example, a copying machine) Machine, facsimile machine, etc.).

Another object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium (or a recording medium) storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and to provide a computer (a computer) of the system or the apparatus. It is needless to say that the present invention can also be achieved by a CPU or an MPU) reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium implements the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. Also,
When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also the operating system (OS) running on the computer based on the instructions of the program code.
It goes without saying that a case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are implemented by performing some or all of the actual processing, and the processing performs the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into the memory provided in the function expansion card inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the program code is read based on the instruction of the program code. Needless to say, the CPU included in the function expansion card or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention,
After starting continuous image formation on different types of recording media, it is possible to perform image formation on the recording medium by changing the image formation conditions, thereby shortening the image formation time and saving resources.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a digital copying machine according to a first embodiment, and FIG. 1B is an enlarged view of an operation panel.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a digital copying machine according to a second embodiment using a saw turbine.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a presentation mode setting.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an input method using a liquid crystal display.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flow of printing when printing of only an OHP sheet is interrupted during printing in the presentation mode in the digital copying machine of the present embodiment using a sorter.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flow of printing when printing of only plain paper is interrupted during printing in the presentation mode in the digital copying machine of the present embodiment using a sorter.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flow of printing when printing of only an OHP sheet is interrupted during printing in the presentation mode in the digital copying machine of the present embodiment using a finisher.

FIG. 8 shows a state in which the digital copier is printing in the presentation mode.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process when changing printing conditions.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an input method using a liquid crystal display.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process when changing printing conditions during printing in the presentation mode of the digital copying machine. (Continuation of FIG. 8)

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an input method using a liquid crystal display.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process when changing printing conditions during printing in the presentation mode of the digital copying machine. (Continuation of FIG. 8)

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an input method of a liquid crystal display.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on different types of recording media, wherein setting means for setting image forming conditions for each of a plurality of different types of recording media corresponds to image formation on each of the recording media. An image forming unit that performs the image forming condition according to the image forming condition; an instruction unit that instructs the image forming condition to be changed during image formation by the image forming unit; A control unit that controls image formation on the recording medium by the image forming unit based on the image forming conditions. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of recording media include an OHP sheet,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus includes one of plain paper and glossy paper. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the instruction unit instructs to change the number of images to be formed on the recording medium. 4. When the image formation on any type of recording medium is interrupted, the control unit interrupts the image formation on that type of recording medium and continues the image formation on another type of recording medium. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 5. An image forming method for forming an image on different types of recording media, wherein a setting step of setting image forming conditions for each of a plurality of different types of recording media and forming an image on each of the recording media are supported. An image forming step performed in accordance with the image forming condition, an instruction step of instructing a change of the image forming condition during image formation in the image forming step, and a recording medium changed in response to the change instruction in the instruction step A control step of controlling the image formation on the recording medium by the image forming step based on the image forming conditions. 6. The image forming method according to claim 5, wherein the instruction step instructs to change the number of images to be formed on the recording medium. 7. The control step, when image formation on any type of recording medium is interrupted, interrupts image formation on that type of recording medium and continues image formation on another type of recording medium. The image forming method according to claim 5, wherein: 8. A storage medium storing an image forming processing program for controlling a process of forming an image on different types of recording media, wherein the image forming processing program is provided for each of a plurality of different types of recording media. A setting step of setting image forming conditions; an image forming step of forming an image on each recording medium according to the corresponding image forming conditions; and an instruction to change the image forming conditions during image formation by the image forming steps. An instruction step, and a control step of controlling image formation on the recording medium by the image forming step based on an image forming condition on the recording medium changed according to the change instruction by the instruction step. Characteristic storage medium.