JP2007034127A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus which replenishes papers that have been through with an image erasing process to a paper supplying cassette even during an image forming process. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus is provided with: an image forming main body unit 2 with a plurality of paper supplying cassettes 21A and 21B and forming an image on paper P by extracting the paper P from these paper supplying cassettes 21A and 21B; an image erasing unit 3 with storing cassettes 31A and 31B which can store the paper P' with an image formed on it and erasing the image on the paper P' by extracting the paper P' with the image formed on it from the storing cassettes 31A and 31B; and a paper transporting means 4 sending the paper P with the image erased by the image erasing unit 3 to the paper supplying cassette 21A (or 21B) which is other than the one from which the paper is being extracted in the image forming main body unit 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction machine having these functions, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus capable of reusing image-formed paper.

Conventionally, as an apparatus for reusing an image-formed sheet, for example, Patent Document 1 describes a recording medium reproducing apparatus that erases and reproduces an image on an image-formed sheet. Patent Document 2 describes an image forming apparatus that includes a mechanism for erasing an image on an image-formed sheet in addition to an original mechanism for forming an image on a sheet.
Japanese Patent No. 2965366 Japanese Patent No. 3061313

  However, in order to reuse an image-formed sheet using the recording medium reproducing apparatus of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to set the sheet in the image forming apparatus after the image-formed sheet is processed by the recording medium reproducing apparatus. Yes, it takes time.

  Further, in the image forming apparatus of Patent Document 2, the image-formed paper is subjected to image erasing processing in the image forming apparatus and sent to the paper feed cassette, so it is necessary to set the paper after the image erasing processing. However, since this image forming apparatus is configured to perform the image forming process and the image erasing process on the same conveyance path, these processes cannot be performed at the same time, and the image forming process is performed. While the image is being printed, it is not possible to supply the paper having been subjected to image erasure processing to the paper feed cassette.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus that can replenish paper that has been subjected to image erasure processing even during image formation processing.

  The invention of claim 1 has a plurality of paper feed cassettes, an image forming main unit for taking out paper from these paper feed cassettes and forming an image on the paper, and a storage cassette capable of storing image-formed paper. The image erasing unit removes the image-formed paper from the storage cassette and erases the image on the paper, and the image erasing unit removes the image from the paper cassette of the image forming main unit other than the paper being removed. An image forming apparatus comprising: a sheet conveying unit that feeds the sheet on which the image is erased.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, each paper feed cassette is provided with a paper remaining amount detection sensor for detecting the remaining amount of paper, and the image erasing unit and the paper transporting means are The image forming main unit is configured to operate when the remaining amount of paper in the paper feeding cassette other than the paper being taken out is below a predetermined value.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the image erasing unit has a plurality of storage cassettes, and each of the storage cassettes and each of the paper feed cassettes has a sheet of paper. A paper size detection sensor for detecting the size is provided, and the image erasing unit is provided with a storage cassette that stores paper of a size that matches the paper size of the paper feed cassette other than the paper being removed from the image forming main unit. The image forming paper is configured to be taken out.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the image erasing unit further includes an operation time input unit for inputting a time zone in which the image erasing unit and the paper conveying unit are operated. The unit and the paper transporting unit are configured to operate in a time zone input by the operating time input unit.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the image forming main unit and the image erasing unit are connected in a vertical direction. is there.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the sheet conveying means feeds the sheet to the sheet feeding cassette other than the sheet being taken out of the image forming main unit. When the paper is fed in, there is a risk of paper jamming due to the relation between the feeding and taking out of the paper. However, the paper can be replenished to the paper feeding cassette without such a situation. Moreover, since the paper transport means feeds the paper on which the image has been erased by the image erasing unit to the paper feeding cassette, the image erasing process can be performed simply by storing the image-formed paper in the storage cassette of the image erasing unit. Can be replenished to the paper cassette. Furthermore, since the image forming main unit and the image erasing unit are configured separately, image forming processing and image erasing processing can be performed in parallel, and paper is supplied even when the image forming main unit is in operation. can do.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to automatically replenish paper when the remaining amount of paper in the paper feed cassette decreases.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the image erasing process can be performed on the paper having the same size as that of the paper in the paper cassette to be replenished, so that the image erasing process can be performed efficiently. become.

  According to the invention of claim 4, for example, by setting the time zone during which the image erasing unit and the sheet conveying means are operated to nighttime or lunch break when the operation of the image forming main unit is relatively low, The paper can be replenished at a time.

  According to the invention of claim 5, the installation space of the image forming apparatus can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a printer 1 which is an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The present invention is not limited to a printer, and can be applied to other image forming apparatuses such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction machine.

  The printer 1 includes a box-shaped image forming main body unit 2 and an image erasing unit 3 which are continuously provided in the vertical direction, and a paper transport unit 4 disposed inside the image forming main body unit 2. In this specification, for convenience of explanation, the left side of FIG. 1 is referred to as the rear side, and the right side of FIG. 1 is referred to as the front side.

  The image forming body unit 2 has upper and lower two-stage paper feed cassettes 21A and 21B. The paper P is taken out from these paper feed cassettes 21A and 21B, and the paper P is taken from the paper feed cassettes 21A and 21B. Also, an image is formed on the paper P while being conveyed upward along a conveyance path L1 extending in the substantially vertical direction on the rear side.

  Above the rear ends of the paper feed cassettes 21A and 21B, paper remaining amount detection sensors 21a and 21b for detecting the remaining amount of paper are provided, and at substantially the center in the front-rear direction of the paper feed cassettes 21A and 21B. Are provided with paper size detection sensors 21c and 21d for detecting the size of the paper P. In addition, a lift plate 21h that can be moved up and down to a lowered position that is substantially parallel to the bottom surface of the paper cassettes 21A and 21B and a raised position that pushes up the paper P is provided inside the paper cassettes 21A and 21B. Yes.

  The image forming process performed by the image forming main unit 2 will be described in detail. The paper P stored in the paper feed cassettes 21A and 21B is pushed up by the lift plate 21h and pressed against the pickup roller 22a. Thereafter, the paper P is taken out from the paper feed cassettes 21A and 21B by the pickup roller 22a and sent out to the transport path L1.

  The paper P sent to the transport path L1 is separated one by one by the paper feed roller 22g, and then sent between the photosensitive drum 22c and the transfer roller 22d aligned in the front-rear direction at a predetermined timing by the registration roller 22h. .

  An electrostatic latent image is formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 22c by being irradiated with laser light from an exposure unit 23b made of LSU or the like after the peripheral surface is uniformly charged by the charging unit 23a. Further, a toner image is formed on the peripheral surface on which the electrostatic latent image is formed by supplying toner by the developing unit 23c.

  The sheet P fed between the photosensitive drum 22c and the transfer roller 22d is conveyed while being pressed against the photosensitive drum 22c by the transfer roller 22d, and thus is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 22c. The transferred toner image is transferred. The toner and residual charge remaining on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 22c after the transfer are removed by the cleaning unit 23d.

  The paper P onto which the toner image has been transferred is fed between a pair of front and rear fixing rollers 22e, where the toner image is fixed. Thereafter, the paper P is discharged to a discharge portion 24 formed on the upper surface of the image forming main body unit by a discharge roller 22f.

  If a switchback device is provided, images can be formed on both sides of the paper P.

  The image erasing unit 3 includes upper and lower storage cassettes 31A and 31B capable of storing the image-formed paper P ′, and an image erasing processing unit 33. From these storage cassettes 31A and 31B, image formation is performed. The used paper P ′ is taken out, and the image of the paper P ′ is erased while the paper P ′ is transported along the transport path L2.

  The storage cassettes 31A and 31B are provided so as to be able to be drawn out to the image erasing unit 3, and an image-formed sheet P 'can be inserted into the storage cassettes 31A and 31B. In addition, paper size detection sensors 31a and 31b for detecting the size of the paper P ′ are provided at substantially the center in the front-rear direction of the storage cassettes 31A and 31B, and the storage cassettes 31A and 31B include storage cassettes. A lift plate 31h that can be raised and lowered is provided at a lowered position that is substantially parallel to the bottom surfaces of 31A and 31B and a raised position that pushes up the image-formed paper P ′.

  The image-formed paper P ′ used in this embodiment has an image formed with toner dispersed in a specific solvent, and a surface on which an image is to be erased (hereinafter referred to as an image erasure surface) is an upper surface. Are inserted into the storage cassettes 31A and 31B. As the image-formed paper P ′, it is possible to use, for example, a paper on which an image is formed with photodegradable toner depending on the relationship with the image erasing processing unit 33 described later.

  The conveying path L2 once rises in the vertical direction from the rear side of the storage cassettes 31A and 31B, then extends horizontally from the rear side to the front side, and further rises in the vertical direction on the front side of the storage cassettes 31A and 31B. The image erasing unit 3 has a shape opening at the front end of the upper surface.

  The image erasing process performed by the image erasing unit 3 will be specifically described. The image-formed paper P ′ stored in the storage cassettes 31A and 31B is pushed up by the lift plate 31h and pressed against the pickup roller 32a. Thereafter, the image-formed paper P ′ is taken out from the storage cassettes 31 </ b> A and 31 </ b> B by the pickup roller 32 a and sent out to the transport path L <b> 2.

  The image-formed paper P ′ sent to the transport path L2 is separated one by one by the paper feed roller 32b, and then is image-erased in a state in which the image erase surface is inverted by the transport roller 32c. Sent to the unit 33.

  The image erasure processing unit 33 sandwiches the image-formed paper P ′ between the solvent application roller 33b partially immersed in the solvent 33c and the press roller 33a disposed above the solvent application roller 33a. The solvent 33c is applied to the lower surface (image erasing surface) of the image-formed paper P ′ to release the toner that forms the image from the image-formed paper P ′, and then the toner is applied to the image-formed paper P ′ by the cleaning unit 33d. The image on the image-formed paper P ′ is erased by removing from the image. If the solvent 33c is supplied also to the pressing roller 33a and the cleaning portions 33d are provided on both upper and lower sides of the transport path L2, the images on both sides of the image-formed paper P ′ can be erased. It is. Further, the image erasure processing unit 33 is not limited to the solvent type, and for example, when the toner that forms the image of the image-formed paper P ′ has photodegradability, a photodecomposition type may be adopted. Is possible.

  Then, the image-formed paper P ′ from which the image has been erased by the image erasure processing unit 33 becomes a paper P on which an image can be formed, and is moved upward from the front end on the upper surface of the image erasing unit 3 by the transport roller 32c. Discharged.

  The paper transport means 4 is for feeding the paper P discharged from the image erasing unit 3 to the paper feed cassettes 21A and 21B. The sheet conveying means 4 extends in the vertical direction on the front side of the lower sheet feeding cassette 21B, and is opened to the lower surface of the image forming main unit 2 at a position that coincides with the position where the conveying path L2 of the image erasing unit 3 is opened. It has a path L3 and transport paths L4 and L5 that are bifurcated from the upper end of the transport path L3.

  A switching guide 27 is provided at the upper end of the transport path L3 to selectively switch between the transport path L3 and the transport path L4 or the transport path L3 and the transport path L5. The conveyance path L4 extends from the upper end of the conveyance path L3 to the upper side of the front end of the lower paper feed cassette 21B while being bent from the upper end of the conveyance path L3. It extends to above the front end of the paper cassette 21A. Each of the transport paths L3 to L5 is provided with transport rollers 25a to 25c at appropriate positions.

  Further, the sheet conveying means 4 has an upper guide member 26b and a lower guide member 26a on the downstream side of the conveying paths L4 and L5, and the conveying paths L4 and L5 are between these guide members 26a and 26b. Transport paths L6 and L7 extending in the horizontal direction are formed so as to be connected to each other. A pair of upper and lower transport rollers 25d and 25e are provided at the rear end portions of the transport paths L6 and L7.

  The upper guide member 26b is fixed inside the image forming body unit 2, while the lower guide member 26a has a triangular shape that is sharply pointed to the front side when viewed from the side, and is below the conveying rollers 25d and 25e. Is supported by the pivot shafts 25f and 25g on the side so as to be swingable, and the horizontal position where the conveying paths L6 and L7 are formed between the upper guide member 26b and the front end from the state is the upper guide member 26b. It can swing between the upper guide member 26b and the inclined position where the conveying paths L6 and L7 are not formed. That is, when the size of the paper P to be supplied to the paper cassettes 21A and 21B is small, the lower guide member 26a moves to the horizontal position, and the paper P sent out from the transport paths L4 and L5 passes through the transport paths L6 and L7. When the size of the paper P is large, the lower guide member 26a moves to the inclined position, and the paper P is fed directly from the transport paths L4 and L5. The cassettes 21A and 21B are fed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the printer 1 of the present embodiment includes an operation time input unit 5 for inputting a time zone in which the image erasing unit 3 and the paper transport unit 4 are operated, and various sensors 21 a to 21 d, 31 a, Based on the signal from 31b and the time zone input by the operating time input unit 5, the lower guide member 26a, the switching guide 27, the lift plates 21h and 31h, the image erasing processing unit 33, and the various rollers 32a to 32c and 25a. And a CPU for controlling driving of 25e.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing operations related to the image erasing unit 3 and the sheet conveying unit 4 among the operations of the printer 1 of the present embodiment. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 2, operations relating to the image erasing unit 3 and the sheet conveying unit 4 will be described.

  First, after the power is turned on, it is confirmed that the time period during which the image erasing unit 3 and the paper transport unit 4 are operated is input by the operating time input unit 5 (step S1). In the state immediately after the power is turned on, the lift plates 21h and 31h of the paper feed cassettes 21A and 21B and the storage cassettes 31A and 31B are in the lowered position. If it is determined that the current time is not within the input time zone (NO in step S2), the image erasing unit 3 and the paper transport unit 4 are not operated.

  Conversely, if it is determined that the current time is within the input time zone (YES in step S2), the remaining amount of paper in each of the paper feed cassettes 21A and 21B is confirmed by the remaining amount detection sensors 21a and 21b. (Step S3). When it is determined that there are no paper feed cassettes 21A and 21B whose remaining amount of paper is less than the threshold (NO in step S4), the image erasing unit 3 and the paper transport unit 4 are not operated.

  Conversely, if it is determined that there are paper feed cassettes 21A and 21B whose remaining paper amount is less than the threshold (YES in step S4), the paper size of the paper P in the paper feed cassettes 21A and 21B is detected by the paper size detection sensors 21c and 21d. The size is confirmed (step S5). At this time, the CPU moves the lower guide member 26a to the horizontal position or the inclined position based on the size of the paper P.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the image forming main unit 2 is in operation (step S6). If the image forming main unit 2 is in operation, the size of the paper P in the paper supply cassette 21A (or 21B) during paper extraction is confirmed ( After step S7), the process proceeds to step S8. Although the description of the operation of the image forming main unit 2 is omitted, the CPU lifts the plate 21h of the paper feed cassette 21A (or 21B) from which the paper P should be taken out when a signal for starting the image forming process is input. When the image forming process is completed, the lift plate 21h is lowered to the lowered position. That is, the paper feed cassette 21A (or 21B) in which the lift plate 21h is in the raised position is a paper feed cassette that is currently taking out paper. On the other hand, if the image forming main unit 2 is not in operation, the process proceeds to step S8.

  In step S8, the priority size is determined in order to send the paper P to the paper feed cassette 21B (or 21A) other than the paper being taken out. Specifically, in the present embodiment, since the paper feed cassettes 21A and 21B have only two stages, when the image forming main unit 2 is in operation, the paper feed cassette 21B (or 21A) other than the paper being taken out is used. When the image forming main unit 2 is not in operation, the paper cassettes 21A and 21B are not in the process of taking out the paper, and therefore the paper with the smaller remaining amount of paper is selected. Let the size of P be the first priority size and the other size be the second priority size. At this time, the CPU switches the switching guide 27 so that the paper P can be replenished to the paper feeding cassette 21B (or 21A) of the priority size (first priority size).

  Then, the presence / absence of image-formed paper P ′ having a size that matches the priority size (first priority size) is confirmed by the paper size detection sensors 31a and 31b (step S9). If it is determined that there is (YES in step S9), the CPU raises the lift plate 31h of the storage cassette 31A (or 31B) storing the image-formed paper P ′ of that size, and also deletes the image. 33 and various rollers 32a to 32c and 25a to 25e are driven to operate the image erasing unit 3 and the sheet conveying means 4 (step S10). As a result, the sheet P that has been subjected to the image erasing process is supplied to the sheet feeding cassette 21B (or 21A) other than the sheet being removed.

  Conversely, if it is determined that there is no image-formed paper P ′ having a size that matches the priority size (first priority size) (NO in step S9), it is confirmed whether there is a next priority size (step S11). If not (NO in step S11), the image erasing unit 3 and the sheet conveying means 4 are not operated. If there is (YES in step S11), the same determination as in step S9 is made (step S12), and the image erasing unit 3 and It is determined whether or not to operate the sheet conveying means 4.

  In the printer 1 of the present embodiment, since the paper transport unit 4 is controlled to send the paper P to the paper feed cassette 21B (or 21A) other than the paper being taken out of the image forming main unit 2, the paper is being taken out. When paper P is fed into the paper feeding cassette 21A (or 21B), there is a risk of paper jamming due to the relation between the feeding and removal of the paper P. However, there is no paper in the paper feeding cassettes 21A and 21B. P can be replenished. In addition, since the paper conveying means 4 is configured to send the paper P from which the image has been erased by the image erasing unit 3 to the paper feeding cassettes 21A, 21B, the image has already been formed in the storage cassettes 31A, 31B of the image erasing unit 3. The paper P subjected to the image erasing process can be supplied to the paper feed cassettes 21A and 21B simply by storing the paper P ′. Furthermore, since the image forming main unit 2 and the image erasing unit 3 are configured separately, the image forming process and the image erasing process can be performed in parallel, even if the image forming main unit 2 is in operation. The paper P can be replenished.

  Each of the paper feed cassettes 21A and 21B is provided with paper remaining amount detection sensors 21a and 21b for detecting the remaining amount of paper. When the remaining amount of paper is smaller than a threshold value, the image erasing unit 3 and the paper transporting unit 4 is operated, the paper P can be automatically replenished when the remaining amount of paper in the paper feed cassettes 21A and 21B decreases. In other words, it is possible to prevent the paper P from being replenished when the remaining amount of paper in the paper feed cassettes 21A and 21B is large, thereby preventing paper jamming.

  Further, the paper cassettes 21A, 21B and the storage cassettes 31A, 31B are provided with paper size detection sensors 21c, 21d, 31a, 31b for detecting the sizes of the papers P, P ′, respectively, so that the paper P is supplied. Since the image erasing process is performed on the paper P ′ having a size that matches the size of the paper P in the paper feed cassette 21B (or 21A), the image erasing process can be performed efficiently.

  In addition, since the operation time input unit 5 for inputting the time zone for operating the image erasing unit 3 and the sheet conveying means 4 is provided, for example, the time zone is set to nighttime or lunch break when the operation of the image forming main unit 2 is relatively small. As a result, the paper P can be replenished to the frequently used paper feed cassette 21A (or 21B) at a time.

  In the embodiment, the image forming main body unit 2 and the image erasing unit 3 are connected in the vertical direction, but may be connected in the horizontal direction or the front and back. However, the installation space of the printer 1 can be reduced if it is arranged vertically as in the embodiment.

  Further, even if the image forming main unit 2 and the image erasing unit 3 are not connected in series, they may be installed in a separated state, and the sheet conveying means 4 may be installed between them.

  Further, when the image erasing unit 3 and the image forming main unit 2 are connected in the front-rear direction, for example, the paper conveying unit 4 is provided with an insertion port through which the paper P can be inserted on the front surface of the image forming main unit 2. It is also possible to arrange in the image erasing unit 3.

  Further, the paper feed cassettes 21A and 21B need only be provided in at least two stages, and may be provided in three or more stages. On the other hand, the storage cassettes 31A and 31B may have one stage or three or more stages.

1 is a configuration diagram of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement regarding an image erasing unit and a paper conveyance means among operation | movement of the said printer. It is a control block diagram of the printer.

Explanation of symbols

1 Printer (image forming device)
2 Image forming main unit 21A, 21B Paper cassette 21a, 21b Paper remaining amount detection sensor 21c, 21d Paper size detection sensor 27 Switching guide 3 Image erasure unit 31A, 31B Storage cassette 31a, 31b Paper size detection sensor 33 Image erasure processing unit 4 Paper transport means 5 Operating time input section L1 to L7 Transport path P Paper P 'Image-formed paper

Claims (5)

An image forming main unit having a plurality of paper feed cassettes, taking out paper from these paper feed cassettes, and forming an image on the paper;
An image erasing unit having a storage cassette capable of storing image-formed paper, taking out the image-formed paper from the storage cassette, and erasing the image on the paper;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a sheet conveying unit that feeds a sheet from which an image has been erased by an image erasing unit to a sheet feeding cassette other than the sheet being removed from the image forming main unit.   Each paper cassette is provided with a paper remaining amount detection sensor for detecting the remaining amount of paper, and the image erasing unit and the paper transporting unit are used for the remaining amount of paper in the paper cassette other than the paper being taken out of the image forming main unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is configured to operate when the value is equal to or less than a predetermined value.   The image erasure unit has a plurality of storage cassettes, and each storage cassette and each paper feed cassette is provided with a paper size detection sensor for detecting the paper size. 2. An image-formed sheet is taken out from a storage cassette that stores a sheet of a size that matches a size of a sheet in a sheet feeding cassette other than the sheet being removed from the forming main unit. Or the image forming apparatus according to 2;   An operation time input unit for inputting a time zone for operating the image erasing unit and the paper transport unit is further provided, and the image erasing unit and the paper transport unit are configured to operate in a time zone input by the operation time input unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus.   5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming main body unit and the image erasing unit are connected in a vertical direction.

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