JP2543714B2 - Recording device with interface function - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial field of application> The present invention inserts a delimiter sheet of a different type from a recording sheet of a plurality of pages discharged to the same sheet discharge unit. The present invention relates to a recording device such as a copying machine having a sheet mode.

<Prior Art> As this kind of recording apparatus with intersheet function (especially copying machine), the one described in JP-A-59-190139 has been known.

This is a non-recording state in which a separator sheet having a color or a size different from that of the recording paper is fed from the separator sheet feeding section for each predetermined number of sheets designated in advance by the operation of the operation panel during the copying of the original. It is possible to easily perform the identification for each predetermined number of identical recording papers or the identification for each kind of recording papers of different types without using a sorter.

However, the intersheet function is applicable not only to a relatively simple copying machine without a sorter, but also to a copying machine equipped with an automatic document feeder (ADF) and a sorter, a recirculating document handling device (RDH) or a stapler and stapler. It is more useful to use for separating multiple pages of recording paper discharged to the same paper discharge unit (each bin of the sorter or a single paper discharge tray) in a copying machine equipped with a finisher for stopping. is there.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, in the recording apparatus with the intersheet function described in the above publication, although the insertion page of the separator sheet in the intersheet mode can be freely set by the ten keys, the intersheet It was not possible to put it into practical use because it could not be usefully used by inserting a separator sheet as a cover in front of the first page of the recording paper, which is considered to be the usage of the function.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a recording apparatus with an inter-sheet function, which allows a separator sheet to be inserted before the first page of a recording sheet by a simple operation.

<Means for Solving Problems> Therefore, according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, the insertion page setting means capable of setting the insertion page of the separator sheet in the inter-sheet mode and the set value of the insertion page are set. Accordingly, a delimiter sheet insertion means for inserting a delimiter sheet into the corresponding page of the recording paper is provided, and the delimiter sheet is inserted before the first page of the recording paper by setting "0" by the insertion page setting means. The first page insertion means is provided.

<Operation> In the above configuration, the predetermined setting operation, that is,
By a simple operation of setting the set value of the inserted page to "0", one separator sheet can be inserted as a cover in front of the first page of the recording paper discharged in the same paper discharge section in the order of original pages. , Will be extremely useful.

<Examples> Examples of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic structure of a copying machine as a recording device,
Reference numeral 10 is the main body of the copying machine. 11 to 13 are recording paper (paper) paper feed trays, into which paper feed cassettes loaded with papers P _{1 to} P ₂ are mounted. 14 to 16 are feed rollers, 17 is a recording drum,
Reference numeral 18 is a fixing unit, 19 is a paper discharge roller, 20 is a switching guide for an automatic duplex unit, 21 is a sorter sorting guide, and 22 is a sorter bin.

Also, 23 is an operation panel, 24 is an automatic document feeder (AD
F) and 25 are automatic duplex units (ADU).

FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of the control circuit, which includes CPU31, ROM32, RA.
A microcomputer including an M33 and an input / output interface 34 is provided. Here, the CPU 31 performs arithmetic processing based on a command given from the operation panel 23 and information detected by various sensors (microswitch, photosensor, etc.) 35 according to a program stored in the ROM 32, and an input / output interface 34 Via the main body control unit 36 for controlling the optical system, the sheet feeding unit driving unit 37 for controlling the sheet feeding rollers 14 to 16 and the like, the ADF control unit 38 for controlling the ADF 24, the control of the ADU 25 For controlling the ADU drive unit 39 and the sorter control unit 40 for controlling the sorter.

In a normal copying operation, when, for example, the upper paper feed tray 11 is selected by a predetermined operation of the operation panel 23, the paper P ₁ there is conveyed by the paper feed roller 14 and the recording drum
Up to 17. Then, the document set by the ADF 24 is transferred and recorded on the recording drum 17 in cooperation with the optical system, and then the fixing unit 18 performs heat fixing. After that, the sheet is conveyed by the sheet discharge roller 19, passes through the switching guide 20, and is discharged by the sorting guide 21 to an appropriate bin 22 of the sorter.

In addition, when using the ADU25, for example, to make a single-sided original → double-sided copy, switch the recording paper after the one-sided copy.
The sheet is guided downward by 20 and is reversed by the reversing roller 26 to be temporarily stored in the reversing discharge tray 27. Then, in synchronization with the setting of the document on the back side by the ADF 24, the recording paper in the reverse paper ejection tray 27 is sent to the recording drum 17 by the conveying roller 28 and double-sided copying is performed.

 Next, the inter-sheet mode will be described.

In the case of the inter-sheet mode, the paper feed tray used as the paper feed unit for the separation sheet is previously determined by the DIP switch. Therefore, for example, the upper paper feed tray
When 11 is set for the separation sheet, for example, yellow paper P ₁ is set as the separation sheet in the upper paper feed tray 11 and the other paper trays 12 or 13 are provided with normal white paper P of the same size. Set ₂ or P ₃ .

Then, the inter-sheet mode is set by a predetermined operation on the operation panel 23.

Here, the operation panel 23 is provided with an operation unit and a display unit as shown in FIG. 4, for example. In the figure, 41 is a copy button, 42 is a stop / clear button, and 43 is a multi-function button (P
Buttons), 44 is a numeric keypad, 45 is a copy number display section, and 46 is a message display section.

To set the inter-sheet mode, first press the P button 43
Then, press the "0" button on the numeric keypad 44, and then press the copy button 41. Incidentally, instead of assigning one function of the multi-function button for setting the inter-sheet mode as described above, a dedicated inter-sheet button may be provided and only the operation thereof may be performed.

By operating a predetermined button to enter the inter seat mode, an inter seat setting routine shown as a flowchart in FIG. 5 is started.

In this inter-sheet setting routine, in step 1 (denoted as S1 in the figure; the same applies hereinafter), it is checked whether or not a predetermined inter-sheet condition is satisfied.
Specifically, check that interrupt copying is not in progress, that the ADF 24 is closed, that there is paper in the paper tray 11 as a separation sheet, and that there is paper in the paper tray 12 or 13 that is the same size as the separation sheet. Confirm. If the conditions are not met, proceed to step 2 and display the message
Display appropriate warning text at 46.

If the inter-sheet conditions are met, step 3
Then, the message display section 46 is displayed and "Intersheet:" and "Page set can be done with ten keys" are displayed.
After proceeding to step 4 and clearing the count values C ₁ and C ₂ , the operation of the ten key 44 is monitored in step 5, the operation of the copy button 41 is monitored in step 6, and step 7
The operation of the stop / clear button 42 is monitored with.

When the ten key 44 is pressed, the count values C ₁ and C ₂ are cleared in step 51, and then the numerical value pressed in step 52 is temporarily stored in the shift register.

When the copy button 41 is pressed, the count value C ₁ is incremented by ₁ and the count value C ₂ is cleared in step 61, and then the count value C ₁ is determined in step 62. C ₁ = 1
In the case of, the process proceeds to step 63, and the numerical value temporarily stored in the shift register in step 52 described above is set to a predetermined maximum value.
Compared to MAX (maximum number of original documents is 50, maximum number of original documents in double-sided original copy mode x 2), and if less than the maximum value, proceed to step 64 and insert the separator sheet in inter-sheet mode. Memory is stored as the set value of the page. If the value exceeds the maximum value, step
Proceed to step 65 and store the maximum value as the setting value of the insertion page of the separator sheet in the inter-sheet mode.

In the case of C ₁ = 2, it means that the copy button 41 has been pressed twice in succession. In this case, it is assumed that the setting of the insertion page in which a plurality of settings can be made is completed, and the process proceeds to step 66 and the message display unit 46 "Ready to copy" is displayed.

In the case of C ₁ = 3, it means that the copy button 41 has been pressed three times in succession, and this is the operation of the copy button 41 after the setting of the inserted page is completed. Enter the copy operation in sheet mode.

Here, the ten key 44, the copy button 41, and steps 5, 51, 52, 6, 61 to 66 of the inter-sheet setting routine correspond to insertion page setting means.

When the stop / clear button 42 is pressed, the count value C ₁ is cleared and the count value C ₂ is cleared in step 71.
After incrementing by 1, the count value C ₂ is determined in step 72. When C ₂ = 1, the process proceeds to step 73, and all the set values of the inserted page stored in the above step 64 or 65 are cleared. When C ₂ = 2, that is, the stop / clear button 42
If is pressed twice in succession, step 72 to step
Proceed to 74 to cancel the inter-sheet mode.

The procedure for setting the insertion page of the break sheet in the inter-sheet mode will be described in further detail. For example, when copying a plurality of copies of a document of pages 1 to 20, the first page (1
Page, before page 5, after page 5 and after the last page (page 20), insert 0, 5 and 20, or 0
Set to an appropriate number of 5 and 21 or more (for example, 25). Here, setting the insertion page to 0 is a predetermined setting operation for inserting the separator sheet before the first page.

To set to 0, 5 and 25, use the numeric keypad 44 "0",
The copy button 41, the ten key button 44 "5", the copy button 41, the ten key 44 "2", "5", and the copy button 41 are pressed in this order. At this time, the message display section 46 displays “Intersheet: 0/5/2
5 ”is displayed.

Next, when the copy button 41 is pressed, the display changes to "Ready to copy" to notify the completion of setting the inserted page. Then, when the copy button 41 is pressed next, the copying operation in the inter-sheet mode is started.

While setting the insert page, for example, "Intersheet: 0/5/2
If you want to change this after setting up to 5 ", press the stop / clear button 42 once. Then, the setting of the inserted page up to that point is cleared, the display changes to only "Intersheet:", and the setting can be performed again. To stop the inter-sheet mode, press the stop / clear button 42 again. Then, the inter-sheet mode is released, the display changes to "Ready to copy", and the normal copy mode is set.

Next, the inter-sheet operation routine shown as a flowchart in FIG. 6 will be described. In this example, the one-sided original is copied to the one-sided copy.

In step 101, the number of copies N set separately is read. In step 102, the page count value P is initialized to 0, the copy count value C is initialized to 0, and the flag F is initialized to 0.

Next, at step 103, it is judged whether or not there is "0" in the set value of the inserted page set and stored in the intersheet setting routine, and if "0" is found,
After inserting the delimiter sheet by executing steps 121 to 128 described below, assuming that the delimiter sheet is inserted before the first page, the process proceeds to the next step 104.

Next, at step 104, the ADF 24 is operated to set the document. When this document is set, the presence or absence of the document is determined in step 105. If there is a document, steps 106 to 109 are repeated N times for the set number of copies, and copying is performed.

That is, in step 106, the feeding roller 15 or 16 is operated to feed the sheet of the same size as the separating sheet from the feeding tray 12 or 13, in step 107, the exposure is performed, and in step 108, the sheet discharging roller 19 or the like. To discharge the paper. Then, in step 109, the count value C of the number of copies
1 up. Then, in step 110, it is judged whether or not the count value C of the number of copies has reached the set number of copies N, and if not, the process returns to step 106 and the copying operation of the same original document is repeated. In this case, the discharged sheets are distributed to the bins 22 of the sorter.

When the copying of the set number of copies N is completed, the process proceeds from step 110 to step 111, and the count value C of the number of copies is set to 0,
In step 112, the page count value P is incremented by one.

Next, at step 113, it is judged whether or not there is a value equal to the count value P of the current number of pages in the set values of the inserted pages set and stored by the above-mentioned intersheet setting routine. By executing steps 121 to 128, which will be described later, by inserting a separator sheet,
After inserting the delimiter sheet, the process returns to step 104.

Here, when inserting a separator sheet based on the determination in step 103 or step 113, first step
Feeder tray 1 that separates the paper feed unit at 121 and is the paper feed unit for sheets
Switch to 1.

Next, steps 122 to 124 are repeated N times for the set number of copies to insert a separator sheet. That is, in step 122, the paper feed roller 14 is operated to feed the separator sheets in the paper feed tray 11, and in step 123, the paper ejection roller 19 or the like is operated to eject the sheet in a non-recorded state without exposure. Then, in step 124, the count value C of the number of copies is incremented by 1. Then, in step 125, it is judged whether or not the count value C of the number of copies has reached the set number of copies N, and if not, the process returns to step 122 to repeat the insertion of the separator sheets.

When the insertion of the separator sheet with the set number of copies N is completed,
After proceeding from step 125 to step 126 and setting the count value C of the number of copies to 0, in step 127 the paper feed unit is switched to the original paper feed tray 12 or 13. Then, the value of the flag F is determined, and if F = 0, the process returns to step 104.

Here, based on the determination in step 113, step 121
The part for executing steps 127 to 127 corresponds to the separating sheet inserting means, and steps 121 to 127 are executed based on the judgment in step 103.
The part that executes is equivalent to the first page inserting means.

FIG. 7 shows an inter-sheet control time chart in the case where the number N of plural copies is 3 and the number of inserted pages of the separator sheet is 5.

When all the originals have been copied and there are no more originals when the originals are set by the ADF 24 in step 104, step 105
According to the presence / absence of the document, the process proceeds to step 131.

In step 131, a value larger than the count value P of the current number of pages (P represents the number of originals at this time) is included in the set values of the inserted pages set and stored in the intersheet setting routine described above. It is determined whether or not there is, and if it does not exist, the process ends. If there is, the process proceeds to step 132, the flag F is set to 1, and then the above step 121
Do ~ 128 to insert a separator sheet after the last page. When the separator sheet is inserted after the last page in this way, since F = 1 in the determination at step 128, this routine ends.

Although an example of a copying machine having an ADF and a sorter has been described above, it is needless to say that the invention can be applied to various kinds of copying machines having an RDH and a finisher. In the case of RDH, since the number of originals is counted before the copying operation is started, it is possible to process according to the count value.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, according to the present invention, the insertion page setting means is used to perform a simple operation of setting the setting value of the insertion page to “0”. It becomes possible to insert a separator sheet as a cover sheet in front of a page, which improves usability and is useful.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a copying machine showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a control circuit, and FIG. 4 is an operation panel. Appearance diagram, No. 5
FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an inter-sheet setting routine, FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an inter-sheet operation routine,
FIG. 7 is an inter-sheet control time chart. 10 …… Copier body, 11 to 13 …… Paper feed tray, 14 to 16 ……
Paper feed roller, 17 …… Recording drum, 19 …… Discharge roller, 23
...... Operation panel, 24 ...... Automatic document feeder (ADF), 25
...... Automatic duplex unit (ADU), 31 ...... CPU, 41 ...... Copy button, 42 ...... Stop / Clear button, 43 ...... Multi-function button,
44 …… Numeric keypad

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An intersheet in which a separator sheet of a different type from the recording paper is fed from a separator sheet feeder to be inserted into a separator of recording sheets discharged in the same sheet discharge section in the order of pages of a document. In a recording apparatus having a mode, an insert page setting means capable of setting an insert page of a separator sheet in an inter-sheet mode, and a separator sheet inserting means for inserting a separator sheet into a corresponding page of recording paper according to a set value of the insert page And a leading page inserting means for inserting a delimiter sheet before the leading page of the recording paper by setting "0" by the inserting page setting means. .