JP2002308517A - Image forming device with partition paper mode - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that conventionally sorting of the plural printed matters delivered is troublesome in a device having only one deliver tray such as a recent composite machine. SOLUTION: Even a person other than a user can easily identify a destination of the printed matter by inserting partition paper whereon printing information is printed even for plural printing jobs with some intervals.

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 an inter-sheet mode, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus having an inter-sheet mode.
Alternatively, the present invention relates to a printer having a mode in which sheets having different discharge directions are used as partition sheets.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An inter-sheet mode in a conventional image forming apparatus such as a copying machine is used when printing on an OHP.
Because transparent OHP characters are difficult to read, printing on OHP → feeding white paper (interleaf paper) → printing on OHP is performed sequentially, and OHP, interleaf paper, OHP ... are stacked on the paper tray. There is a so-called interleaving mode.

[0003] Another use of the inter-sheet mode is as follows: a first sheet cassette in which sheets for printing are stacked; a colored sheet used as a partition sheet;
Alternatively, a second sheet loaded with sheets larger than the sheet size loaded in the first sheet cassette or sheets with different sheet feed directions.
When a plurality of copies are made from a series of originals, the printed copy is fed from the first paper feed cassette, and a copy is provided between each copy as a separator. Paper was fed from the second paper cassette. In addition, there is a partition paper mode in which when a print job is input from a plurality of users, paper is fed between the printed materials of each job as a partition paper to facilitate sorting later.

[0004]

However, in the latter mode, when a plurality of jobs are input at the same time, the image forming apparatus can insert a partition between the jobs. If the user who printed the job leaves the printed matter in the output tray and another user performs another print, no partition paper is inserted, and the two printed matters must be sorted. . Further, when the first job is printing one sheet and the next job is a job covering a large number of sheets, a later user may erroneously carry away the first printed matter as it is. In order to solve this problem, it is only necessary to discharge the partition paper at the beginning of the job or to control the discharge of the partition paper after the job is completed. However, this increases waste of the partition paper.

[0005] Therefore, there is a technique for interleaving when the next printing is performed only when there is a sheet in the sheet discharge tray, as in the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-255879. In this state, the paper ejected in the previous printing remains
When the next print is performed, a separator sheet is inserted so that it can be distinguished, but the next user can remove only his / her own print without being able to identify who performed the previous print. For example, only the paper of the previous print remains again, and the slip sheets are output one after another.

According to the present invention, even between jobs instructed at intervals of time, a partition sheet can be inserted without waste, and a person other than the user who has printed can transfer it to the person who has performed printing. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus having an inter-sheet mode that can be used.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus having an inter-sheet mode, comprising: a discharge tray for receiving printed sheets; A paper discharge detection unit that detects whether or not there is paper in the paper discharge tray, a print information holding unit that holds print information related to printing, and a printing device that starts printing when a current print command is issued. When the paper discharge detecting means detects a sheet, the first sheet is fed as a partition sheet, and the print information of the previous print held in the print information holding means is printed on the partition sheet. The print information holding means uses an image forming apparatus having a partition paper feed control means for updating the print information of the current print and starting printing of the current print.

[0008] In the second invention, the print information is at least one of personal identification information instructing a print command, time information of printing, identification information of a PC instructing the print command, and information of facsimile reception. An image forming apparatus according to a first aspect is used.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus further includes a time measuring means for measuring a time from the end of the previous printing, and a predetermined time has elapsed since the time measuring means started the time measurement. In this case, the image forming apparatus according to the first or second invention is characterized in that warning information is added to the print information.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus further comprises a forced separation sheet discharge mode for discharging a separation sheet by a user's operation. A forming device is used.

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the partition paper mode is selected, it is first checked before the start of printing whether or not another printed material is already present in the discharge tray, and if so, the print information is checked. The next printing is performed after the printed partition paper is discharged, and if there is no printing, the printing is performed as it is, so even if there is a time interval between jobs, the partition paper is inserted, Further, even a person who has not performed printing can remove the discharged sheet from the discharge tray.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, if the identification information is personal identification information, the individual can take it as it is, and another person can give the printed matter to the individual.
If the identification information is time information, the person can predict from the printing time. If the identification information is the PC identification information, the printed matter may be given to the person working on the PC. If the identification information is facsimile reception, it is possible to judge who should give the printed matter from the sentence of the printed matter.

[0013] In the third invention of the present invention, when the time for leaving the printed matter exceeds the predetermined time, the printed matter is left unattended by adding the elapsed time and a warning message to the print information to be printed on the partition paper. Warn users not to leave too much in the future.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the partition paper can be printed even when the next printing is not performed, and the person passing by the neighborhood of the image forming apparatus simply tries to deliver the printed matter left in a kind manner to the person who printed it. Also available in case.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An image forming apparatus employing the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The image forming apparatus 1 includes first to third paper feed cassettes (111 to 113), a bypass paper feed 114, a conveyance path 12, a pair of registration rollers 13, an image forming means 14, a fixing means 15, a paper discharge port 16, a cylinder. It includes an internal paper discharge unit 17, an internal paper discharge tray 171, a paper discharge detection unit 172, and a scanner unit 18.

First to third sheet cassettes (111 to 11)
In 3), sheets are loaded. In order to make it easy to distinguish between the discharged printed matter and the partition paper, for example, color paper is stacked in the first paper feed cassette 111, and
The second and third paper cassettes (112, 113) may be loaded with white paper for normal printing, or only the first paper cassette 111 may be loaded with large-sized paper. May be. Further, although it is difficult to distinguish between the printed material and the partition paper, the printed material and the partition paper may be fed from the same paper cassette. In this embodiment, in order to facilitate the explanation of the control, sheets of colored A4 lengthwise paper are set in the first cassette 111 and the second and third sheet cassettes (112, 1) are set.
In 13), A4 vertical plain paper is set.

The internal discharge section includes an internal discharge tray 171, a discharge detection means 172, and the like, and all the sheets discharged from the discharge port 16 are discharged to the discharge tray 171. The paper discharge detection means 172 is for detecting whether or not there is paper in the paper discharge tray 171 and includes a photo sensor,
The photo sensor may be shut off when the sheet is in contact with the actuator using an actuator.

The flow of a sheet during normal printing will be described with reference to FIG. The paper fed from any of the first to third paper feed cassettes (111 to 113) or the paper feed bypass 114 passes through the transport path 12 and passes through the LSU.
From the registration roller pair 13 for synchronizing with the timing of writing the latent image to the photosensitive drum and aligning the leading edge of the sheet, the toner image is transferred to the sheet by the image forming unit 14 at the appropriate timing, and then The toner image is fixed by being nipped and heated by the fixing roller 15 and the heat roller and the pressure roller, and thereafter discharged from the discharge port 16 to the internal discharge tray 171.

A block diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The control unit 2 controls the entire image forming apparatus 1. As described above, the printer unit 3 (common to the image forming apparatus according to the mechanical description described above, but is given a new reference numeral as a block diagram description) includes the paper feed cassettes (111 to 111). 113), a command for printing on the image forming unit 14, and detection signals from the sensors such as the sheet ejection detection means 172 are controlled. The print information holding unit 4 is a memory for storing print information relating to each print, and stores personal identification information, PC identification information, print time information, and facsimile information as in the first invention.
The operation display unit 5 may be provided with a key input unit 51 such as a print button or a numeric keypad, a display unit 52 for displaying various guidances and warnings, and a forced separation sheet discharge button 53 according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, if necessary. good.

Since the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is a multifunction machine, it is connected to a plurality of PCs via a network line 6 and also connected to a facsimile machine via a public telephone line 6. When there is a print command from the PC, the signal sent from this network line is decoded by a communication control means (not shown), developed into a bit image, and sequentially sent to the printer unit 3 to send the LSU to the LSU. It becomes an image as a signal. An image signal sent from the other party's facsimile via a public line is also decoded from a CODEC (not shown), sequentially developed into a bit image, and sent to the printer unit 3 to be an image.

The operation of the first invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, it is determined whether or not there is a print command (S101), and if so, it is determined whether or not the partition mode is selected (S102). If the partition paper mode is not selected, paper is sequentially fed from the paper feed cassette, and the current printing is performed (S108).
In this embodiment, for normal printing, plain paper is fed from the second and third paper feed cassettes (112, 113). If the partition mode is selected, it is next determined whether or not there is a sheet that has already been discharged to the discharge tray (S10).
3) If there is no discharged sheet, the process proceeds to S105. If there is a discharged sheet, it is determined whether or not there is print information in the print information holding means (S104). Paper is fed, printing information is printed on the partition paper, and the paper is discharged (S105). FIG. 5 shows an example of the print information of the partition paper. FIG. 4A shows a printout of personal identification information, time information, and PC identification information. Anyone can know that the previous print was performed and can deliver the printed matter. No printed matter accumulates on the tray. FIG. 4B shows facsimile reception, display of a destination facsimile number, and time information. In the case of normal facsimile reception, a cover page and the like are also sent at the same time, so that it is possible to know who should receive the partition sheet and the cover sheet. If there is no print information in the print information holding means in S104, it is determined whether the partition paper can be identified as a normal print paper (S10).
6) If the paper cannot be distinguished from normal paper, or if paper is fed from the same paper cassette, the paper is not fed, and
The flow advances to step 108, and if it can be identified, the partition paper is fed (S107), and the paper is discharged to the discharge tray without printing on the partition paper, and the flow advances to S108. In this embodiment, since color paper is loaded on the first paper feed cassette 111 as partition paper, the paper is fed from here in S105 and S107. Next, it is determined whether the current printing is completed (S10).
9) Upon completion, the content of the print information holding unit is updated to the print information of the current print (S110), and the process ends. As described above, the information held in the print information is the information of the previous print, and becomes unnecessary when the current print starts.
S110 may be any time after S105.

The operation of the control means of the third invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Instead of S109 in FIG. 3, it is first determined whether or not the current printing is completed (S2).
01), upon completion, the print information in the print information holding means is updated (S202). Here, the timer is started (S202), and it is determined whether or not there is a next print command (S204). If not, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed (S205). Here, the predetermined time is, for example, a predetermined time = 30 minutes if a warning is to be given unless a print is to be collected for 30 minutes or more. Here, if the predetermined time has elapsed, information for printing a warning message is added to the print information of the print information holding means, and the elapsed time is written (S206). FIG. 5C shows an example with the warning sentence. By attaching a warning text such as "I have been left for 30 minutes after being printed !!" The operations from S204 to S206 are repeated until the next print command is received. When the next command is input in S204, the timer is stopped (S20).
7) The process proceeds to S102 of FIG.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the operation display section is provided with a forced separating paper discharge button, and when a printed material is left unattended and the subsequent printed material is not output, the button is operated by operating this button. Can be ejected and handed over to the owner of the printed matter. This button can also be used in such a case, since it is troublesome if printed matter is left unattended even though a large amount of printing is desired.

In addition, if the partition paper is discharged, if the billing is performed in combination with the accounting system of the department management, it is considered that the neglected printed matter is further reduced.

[0025]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the partition mode is selected, before starting printing, it is first checked whether or not another printed material is already present in the output tray. If the paper with the print information is ejected, the next printing is performed before the next printing, and if there is no printing, the printing is performed as it is, so even if there is a time interval between jobs, the Is inserted, and even a person who has not performed printing can remove the discharged sheet from the discharge tray. Usually, a printed matter that can be identified by a recipient, such as a facsimile printed matter, is not collected by the recipient even if the recipient does not go to get it.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, if the identification information is the personal identification information, the individual can take it as it is and the printed matter can be handed over to another individual. If the identification information is time information, the person can predict from the printing time. If the identification information is the PC identification information, the printed matter may be given to the person working on the PC. If the identification information is facsimile reception, it is possible to judge who should give the printed matter from the sentence of the printed matter.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the printed material has been left for a predetermined period of time, the elapsed time and a warning message are added to the print information to be printed on the partition paper. Can be warned not to leave too much in the future.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to print a partition sheet even when the next printing is not performed, and a person passing by the street near the image forming apparatus simply sends the printed matter kindly left to the person who printed it. It can also be used when

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus employing the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an image forming apparatus employing the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an operation in a partition sheet mode of the first invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an operation for writing a warning sentence according to the third invention.

FIG. 5 is an example of display contents of a partition sheet of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SYMBOLS 1; image forming apparatus 11; first to third paper feed cassettes, bypass paper feed 12; transport path 13; registration roller pair 14; image forming unit 15; Internal paper discharge unit 171; Internal paper discharge tray 172; Paper discharge detection means 18; Scanner unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C061 AP01 AP03 HJ06 HK04 HK11 HK23 2C087 AA03 AB06 CA12 DA02 2C187 AD03 AE06 2H027 DA40 DA50 DC12 ED17 FA27 FD10 GA30 GB05 ZA07 3F107 AA01 AB01 AC03 AC05 BA02 CA03

Claims (4)

[Claims] In an image forming apparatus having an inter-sheet mode, a paper discharge tray for receiving printed paper, paper discharge detection means for detecting whether or not paper is present in the paper discharge tray;
Print information holding means for holding print information related to printing,
Before the start of printing when there is a command for the current printing, if the paper discharge detecting means detects a sheet, the first sheet is fed as a partition sheet, and then the print information is printed on the partition sheet. The print information of the previous print held in the holding means is printed, and the print information holding means is updated to the print information of the current print, and has a partition sheet feed control means for starting the printing of the current print. An image forming apparatus comprising: 2. The print information includes: personal identification information for which a print command has been issued;
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is at least one of the following identification information and facsimile reception information. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a timer for measuring a time period after the end of the previous printing. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein warning information is added to the information. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said image forming apparatus further has a forced separating sheet discharging mode for discharging a separating sheet by a user operation.