JP2011234130A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To discharge a document quickly while terminating reading of the document during the reading of the document when receiving an instruction of termination during the reading of the document.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus, that reads the document while feeding the document at a predetermined feeding speed, stops temporarily reading the document (S101) when receiving an instruction of termination during the reading of the document from a user. The image forming apparatus discharges the document in a positive direction or a reverse direction by a designation from the user (S102, S106) at accelerated speed. When a termination is designated (S109) a process is terminated with the document left in a jam state.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that reads an original image and forms an image on a recording sheet, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus that can quickly process an original after reading is stopped.

  A scanner or copier that scans a document while conveying it on a predetermined conveyance path at a predetermined speed, conveys a recording sheet on a predetermined conveyance path, and forms an image of the document on the recording sheet in a printer engine unit. An image forming apparatus is conventionally used. In such an image forming apparatus that can handle particularly wide originals, a long original of A0 size or larger is read while conveying (pre-feeding) the original to the reading unit as described above, and the discharge unit Eject the document.

  In such a conventional image forming apparatus, after the start of reading, when an emergency stop situation is reached, such as when there is a risk of document damage due to oblique feeding of the document, the user presses the emergency stop key provided in the image forming apparatus. The document conveying mechanism is stopped by pressing, and after the document conveying mechanism is stopped, jamming processing such as opening the cover of the document reading unit and taking out a jammed document is performed.

  In addition, when the image forming apparatus is urgently stopped with the emergency stop key, there is a large risk of document damage, so only the document transport mechanism should be stopped, and the paper transport mechanism should not be stopped until the paper is discharged out of the machine. In the image forming apparatus (1), it is possible to selectively control the paper jam processing, the control to stop both the document transport mechanism and the paper transport mechanism, or the drive stop of either the document transport mechanism or the paper transport mechanism. Patent Document 1) is known.

  In these conventional image forming apparatuses, the purpose of stopping the document transport mechanism is mainly to prevent damage to the document. When the document transport mechanism is stopped, the document cover is opened after the stop and the document is jammed. (Jam) Processing must be done.

  On the other hand, if there is no possibility of damage to the document, for example, if the user wants to stop reading the document and retry the document reading operation due to an incorrect reading setting, etc. An image forming apparatus that can stop the reading is also known. However, in this image forming apparatus, there is no way to stop the reading once the reading of the original is started, and the original reading operation is performed again after waiting for the end of the reading of the original.

  In particular, in the case of an image forming apparatus corresponding to a wide document of A0 size or larger, the length of the document may reach several meters, and it is time to wait until the unnecessary reading is completed in order to redo the document reading operation. Is a waste of money.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and its object is to immediately stop reading of a document and promptly delete the document when an instruction to stop reading is given during reading of the document. This is to reduce the time required for discharging and re-reading the original.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus that includes a transport unit that transports a document and reads a document transported at a predetermined speed by the transport unit, and instructs to cancel the reading while scanning the document. An instruction unit; and a control unit that controls the conveying unit to stop the reading and to discharge the document at a speed higher than the predetermined speed based on the reading stop instruction of the reading stop instruction unit. It is characterized by.

  According to the present invention, when an instruction to cancel reading is given during reading of an original, the reading of the original is stopped and the original is quickly discharged, thereby reducing the time required for re-reading the original. be able to.

1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an internal configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an operation instruction screen displayed on the display panel of the operation unit after the document conveyance is stopped. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of document reading cancellation processing of the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an internal configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 includes an apparatus main body 1 and a paper feeding unit 2, and a cutter in which roll papers 41 to 43 held by the paper feeding unit 2 are provided on a paper conveyance path. The paper is cut by 31 and 32 and is conveyed as recording paper to the printer engine unit 7 in the apparatus main body 1 through the conveyance rollers 51 to 54 and the registration roller 6.

  The printer engine unit 7 includes a drum-shaped photoconductor 8, and a charging device 9, a developing device 10, a transfer / separation device 11, and a cleaning device (not shown) provided around the photoconductor 8 to realize an electrophotographic process. ), A static elimination device 12, a fixing device 13 provided downstream in the recording paper conveyance direction, paper discharge rollers 14, 15 and the like. The recording paper on which the image has been transferred by the electrophotographic process is fixed by the fixing device 13 and then discharged to the paper discharge unit 16 through the paper discharge rollers 14 and 15.

  In the upper part of the printer engine unit 7, a document table 17, a document entrance roller 18, a document insertion sensor 19, a document registration sensor 20, a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) 21, a document discharge roller 22, a discharge tray 23 or 24, a manuscript reading unit 26 including an operation unit 25, a manuscript cover 27, and the like is provided.

  The operation unit 25 displays various setting information based on an input key such as a start key for instructing reading start, a reading stop key for instructing to stop reading, a numeric keypad for inputting numbers and the like, and an instruction input by the input key. And a display panel 251 (see FIG. 2). Note that the reading stop key of the operation unit 25 constitutes a reading stop instruction means for stopping the reading of the document.

  In the document reading unit 26, when the user manually inserts a document on the document table 17 with the image surface facing downward, the document insertion sensor 19 detects the leading edge of the document, and the document entrance roller 18 is activated to read the document. When the leading edge of the document is detected by the document registration sensor 20, the document entrance roller 18 stops.

  When a reading start instruction is input by the user through the operation unit 25, the document entrance roller 18 rotates at a predetermined speed, the document passes over the CIS 21, and an image of the document is read. A document is conveyed at a predetermined speed by a document conveying means such as a document entrance roller 18 and a document discharge roller 22, and is discharged to a discharge tray 23 or 24.

  A control unit (not shown) can control the document entrance roller 18 and the document discharge roller 22 in accordance with an instruction input from the operation unit 25 to rotate faster than a normal document transport speed. Further, the original is discharged to the paper discharge tray 23 or 24 in the normal original discharge direction (forward direction) (that is, the original entrance roller 18 and the original discharge roller 22 are rotated forward), or in the normal original discharge direction. The document can be returned to the document table 17 and discharged in the opposite direction (reverse direction) (that is, the document entrance roller 18 and the document discharge roller 22 are reversed).

  When the user presses a reading stop key of the operation unit 25 during reading of a document and a control unit (not shown) receives an instruction to stop reading, the document entrance roller 18 and the document discharge roller 22 stop rotating, and the document Is temporarily stopped, and the user follows the operation instruction screen on the display panel 251 (FIG. 2) of the operation unit 25 to discharge the next operation, for example, the document to the discharge tray 23 or 24, or the document table 17 Specify whether to return to, or to end the control as it is. When the user designates the next operation using the input key on the operation unit 25, one of the above operations is executed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an operation instruction screen displayed on the display panel 251 of the operation unit 25 after the document conveyance is stopped.
In FIG. 2, when the reading stop key is pressed during reading of the original and the original entrance roller 18 and the original discharge roller 22 are stopped, an operation instruction screen for prompting the user to specify the next operation appears on the display panel 251.
In the drawing, A1 to A3 are input keys for designating “send original”, “return original”, and “end”, which represent the next operations on the operation instruction screen, respectively. It is a designation means.

  Here, when the user designates the “Send Document” key (A1) on the operation instruction screen, the document entrance roller 18 and the document discharge roller 22 rotate forward at a speed higher than the normal predetermined speed, and the document Is immediately discharged to the discharge tray 23 or 24. When the “return original” key (A 2) is designated, the original entrance roller 18 and the original discharge roller 22 are reversely rotated at a speed higher than a normal predetermined speed to return the original to the original table 17. When the “end” key (A3) is designated, the document discharge process is not performed, the control of the document reading unit 26 is terminated, and the document remains in the jammed state (document jammed state) in the document reading unit 26. become.

  If the user confirms that there is no possibility of damage even if the user transports the document after the reading is stopped, the “send document” key (A1) or the “return document” key (A2) is designated. be able to. If there is a possibility that the document is damaged when the document is conveyed, the “end” key (A3) is designated to end the control.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the document reading stop process of the image forming apparatus 100 of the present embodiment.
In FIG. 3, when the reading stop key of the operation unit 25 is pressed by the user during the reading of the document, the document entrance roller 18 and the document discharge roller 22 are temporarily stopped to stop transporting the document (S101). When the conveyance of the original is stopped, an operation instruction screen prompting the user to specify the next operation appears on the display panel of the operation unit 25.

  First, when the user designates the “Send Document” key (A1) on the operation instruction screen (S102), the document entrance roller 18 and the document discharge roller 22 rotate forward at an increased speed to discharge the document. The paper is immediately discharged to the tray 23 or 24 (S103). Next, it is confirmed whether or not the document is completely discharged to the paper discharge tray 23 or 24 (S104). When it is confirmed that the document is completely discharged (S104: YES), the image forming apparatus 100 shifts to a standby state. (S105), the process ends.

Here, the following method can be used as a method for determining whether or not the document ejection in step S104 is completed.
For example, when the distance from the document registration sensor 20 to the document discharge roller 22 is X1 and the transport speed is V1, the time T1 required to transport the document from the document registration sensor 20 to the document discharge roller 22 can be obtained by the following equation. it can.
T1 = X1 / V1
Accordingly, if the time T1 is counted after the trailing edge of the document passes the document registration sensor 20, it can be determined whether or not the document has been completely discharged. The counting of the time T1 and the determination of the completion of the document discharge are executed by a control unit (not shown).

  In step S102, no document feed instruction is issued (S102: NO), and in step S106, when the user designates the “return document” key (A2) on the operation instruction screen appearing on the operation unit 25 (S106: YES), The document entrance roller 18 and the document discharge roller 22 are increased and reversely rotated to quickly return the document to the document table 17 (S107). Next, it is confirmed whether or not the document is completely discharged onto the document table 17 (S108). When the completion of the document discharge is confirmed (S108: YES), the image forming apparatus 100 shifts to a standby state (S105). The process is terminated.

Here, as a method for determining whether or not the discharge of the document to the document table 17 in step S108 is completed, the following method can be used.
For example, when the distance from the document registration sensor 20 to the document entrance roller 18 is X2 and the transport speed is V2, the time T2 required to transport the document from the document registration sensor 20 to the document entrance roller 18 can be obtained by the following equation. it can.
T2 = X2 / V2
Therefore, if the time T2 is counted after the leading edge of the document passes through the document registration sensor 20, it can be determined whether or not the document has been completely discharged. The counting of time T2 and the completion determination of the document discharge are executed by a control unit (not shown).

  In step S106, the original return instruction is not issued (S106: NO), and when the user designates the “end” key (A3) on the operation instruction screen appearing on the operation unit 25 (S109: YES), the original is read. Without discharging from the inside, the image forming apparatus 100 shifts to a jam state (S110), and the process ends. After the processing is completed, the user performs jam processing such as opening the document cover 27 and taking out the document.

  Although the end designation is not performed in step S109 (S109: NO) and is not shown in the operation instruction screen of FIG. 2, if the document cover 27 is opened (S111: YES), the user may take out the document. If the document is conveyed, there is a possibility that the document is damaged. Therefore, the image forming apparatus 100 shifts to a jam state without discharging the document from the reading apparatus (S110), and the process is terminated.

  Whether or not the document entrance roller 18 and the document discharge roller 22 are stopped and the document is sent to the discharge tray 23 or 24 or the document is returned to the document table 17 as described above is accepted as described above. The user can specify and decide on the operation instruction screen displayed on the display panel 251 of the operation unit 25, but can be automatically decided by the control unit (not shown) by the following determination method. You can also.

  As described above, in the document reading unit 26, when the user manually inserts a document on the document table 17 with the image surface facing downward, the document insertion sensor 19 detects the leading edge of the document, but the control unit reads the document. When the reading of the document is stopped upon receiving the stop instruction, the control unit counts the length of the document already conveyed, for example, the time from when the leading edge of the document is detected by the document insertion sensor 19, If it is determined from the count value that the length of the conveyed document is equal to or longer than a predetermined length (for example, 50 cm), the document entrance roller 18 and the document discharge roller 22 are rotated forward and forward. If the document is quickly discharged to the discharge tray 23 or 24 and the length of the already transported document is less than a predetermined length, the document entrance roller 18 and the document discharge roller 22 are accelerated. By rolling, to discharge the document on the document table 17.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, according to the present embodiment, when the control unit receives an instruction to cancel reading by operating the reading stop key of the operation unit 25 during reading of the document, In addition to stopping the conveyance and controlling the speed of the conveyance means including the document entrance roller 18 and the document discharge roller 22 to be faster than the normal predetermined document conveyance speed, It is possible to reduce the time required for redoing the document reading operation by eliminating the troublesome troublesome processing of jamming of the document performed at the time of emergency stop.

In addition, when the control unit accepts an instruction to stop reading while reading a document with the reading stop key and stops the conveyance of the document, “Send Document”, “Return Document”, “End” on the operation instruction screen By specifying the next operation such as “Yes” and performing the specified operation, it is possible to further shorten the time for discharging the document and prevent the document from being damaged.
Further, as described above, the designation of whether to send the document to the paper discharge tray 23 or 24 or to return the document to the document table 17 is automatically determined based on the length of the conveyed document when reading is stopped. This saves the user from having to specify the transport direction.

In addition, when an instruction to cancel scanning is received while scanning a document, if you want to stop the document in an emergency by temporarily stopping the conveyance of the document, stop scanning instead of the emergency stop key. Even if the key is pressed, it is possible to prevent a situation where the document is suddenly increased and damaged.
The reading stop key that gives an instruction to stop reading while reading a document according to this embodiment can act as an emergency stop input unit such as an emergency stop key, and can be used in combination with the emergency stop input unit. .

  In addition, after the reading of the original is stopped and the original is stopped, before specifying the above operation on the operation instruction screen of the display panel 251, before specifying whether or not to discharge the original, the original cover is opened. When there is a situation where it is necessary to interrupt the conveyance of the document even during normal times, that is, when a predetermined situation occurs, the control unit controls the prohibition of document ejection, thereby suppressing the risk of document damage. be able to.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Apparatus main body, 2 ... Paper feed part, 31, 32 ... Cutter, 41-43 ... Roll paper, 51-54 ... Conveyance roller, 6 ... Registration roller, 7. ..Printer engine section, 8 ... photosensitive member, 9 ... charging device, 10 ... developing device, 11 ... transfer / separation device, 12 ... static elimination device, 13 ... fixing device, 14, 15... Paper discharge roller, 16... Paper discharge unit, 17... Document table, 18... Document entrance roller, 19. ... CIS, 22... Document discharge roller, 23 and 24... Paper discharge tray, 25... Operation unit, 26.

JP 2003-15480 A

Claims (7)

Having a conveying means for conveying the document;
An image forming apparatus for reading a document conveyed at a predetermined speed by the conveying means,
Reading stop instruction means for instructing to stop reading during reading of the original;
And a control unit that controls the conveying unit to stop the reading and to discharge the document at a speed higher than the predetermined speed based on a reading stop instruction from the reading stop instruction unit. Image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
An operation designating unit for designating an operation to be performed when the reading is stopped based on the reading stop instruction of the reading stop instruction unit;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation designating unit designates either a forward direction or a reverse direction of a document in which the reading is stopped. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the operation designating unit further designates whether or not to convey the document whose reading has been stopped. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2,
When the operation designating unit instructs conveyance of the document whose reading has been stopped, the control unit moves the document in the normal or reverse direction based on the length of the document that has been conveyed from a predetermined position of the document reading unit. An image forming apparatus for discharging. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs discharge control of the document on condition of a stop instruction from the reading stop instruction unit and a discharge instruction from the operation specifying unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the operation instruction unit instructs the conveyance of the document whose reading is stopped, the control unit recognizes the jam of the document. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs control for prohibiting discharge of the original when a predetermined situation that prohibits discharging the predetermined original before designating the operation occurs.

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