JP2900372B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a recording apparatus capable of setting a plurality of latent image areas, and particularly to a reference timing according to a change in pitch division corresponding to a document size, an LDC mode, and the like. The present invention relates to a recording device that changes a signal instantaneously.

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, recording devices such as copying machines and facsimile machines have high image quality,
Advances such as multifunctionality and high reliability have been remarkable, and they are widely used in various fields. However, user needs are diverse,
Further, it is necessary to meet demands for high image quality, multifunctionality, high reliability, low cost, low energy consumption, and high speed. From such a viewpoint, for example, taking a copying machine as an example, a proposal has been made in which a photosensitive material can be divided into a plurality of copy frames and a latent image is formed in each frame. By the way, in forming a latent image on a light-sensitive material, it is necessary to create a timing signal serving as a reference for forming an image at a predetermined position on the light-sensitive material, that is, a pitch reset signal. That is, when the number of pitch divisions is changed, the position of the image forming area is changed, so that the reference timing signal must also be changed. Conventionally, the change of the reference timing signal is as follows.
When the pitch division is changed, the detection of the next reference position on the photosensitive material, for example, the detection of a belt hole, is followed by resetting the timer, thereby generating a reference timing signal.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, when the paper size is changed due to, for example, a MIX original, or when the copy is completed in the automatic paper selection mode in the platen mode and the original with a different size is set again before the standby mode is entered, the start key is pressed. When the cause of pitch division change such as paper size change or magnification change occurs as in the case of (restart), wait for detection of the next belt hole, reset the timer, and send the pitch reset signal. To create,
A time delay of one rotation of the photosensitive material occurs at the maximum, resulting in a reduction in work efficiency, and it has not always been possible to sufficiently respond to a user's request for a quick copy operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has as its object to provide a recording apparatus capable of generating a pitch reset signal in the shortest time when a cause of change in pitch division occurs.

[Means for solving the problem]

For this purpose, the recording apparatus according to the present invention includes a reference position detecting unit 01 for detecting a reference position provided on a photoreceptor capable of setting a plurality of latent image forming areas, and a reference position detection timing by the reference position detecting unit. The latent image forming timing generating means 02 sequentially generates all the latent image forming timings corresponding to the latent image areas that can be generated according to the latent image forming conditions in one rotation of the photoconductor, and the latent image forming conditions have been changed. A latent image forming unit that forms a latent image based on a latent image forming timing corresponding to the changed latent image forming condition among the latent image forming timings generated by the latent image forming timing generating unit. It is characterized by having.

[Action]

The recording apparatus of the present invention detects a reference position provided on a photoconductor in which a plurality of latent image formation areas can be set, and, based on the detection timing of the reference position, in accordance with a latent image forming condition in one rotation of the photoconductor. All latent image formation timings corresponding to the latent image areas that can be generated are sequentially generated, and when the latent image formation conditions are changed, the latent image formation timings corresponding to the changed latent image formation conditions are generated. The latent image is formed based on the latent image forming timing. In this manner, the latent image formation timings sequentially generated correspond to all the latent image areas that can be generated in one rotation of the photoconductor, and no matter when the latent image formation conditions are requested to be changed, A latent image can be formed based on a latent image formation timing corresponding to the latent image formation condition changed at the timing.

〔Example〕

 Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on examples.

In this embodiment, a copying machine will be described as an example of a recording device. Prior to the description, a table of contents for the description of the present embodiment is shown. In the following description, (I) and (II) are sections describing the outline of the overall configuration of a copying machine to which the present invention is applied, and sections describing the embodiments of the present invention in the configuration. Is the item (III).

(I) Outline of apparatus (I-1) Apparatus configuration (I-2) Function and characteristics of system (I-3) Configuration of electric control system of copying machine (I-4) Serial communication method (I-5) State (II) Specific configuration of each part (II-1) Optical system (II-2) User interface (II-3) Paper transport system (II-4) Automatic document feeder (II-5) Sorter (III) (III-1) Outline of belt rotation (III-2) Imaging module (III-3) Marking system (III-4) Description of each element of belt rotation (III-5) Generation of reference timing signal (the present invention) (I) Outline of Apparatus (I-1) Apparatus Configuration FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a copying machine to which the present invention is applied.

The copying machine to which the present invention is applied can be equipped with some additional devices to the base machine 1. The base machine 1, which is a basic configuration, has a platen glass 2 on which an original is placed. Are arranged, and the respective devices of the optical system 3 and the marking system 5 are arranged below it. On the other hand, the base machine 1 has an upper tray 6-1, a middle tray 6-2,
The lower tray 6-3 is attached, and all of these paper feed trays can be pulled out to the front, so that operability can be improved and the copier layout space can be saved, and the tray does not protrude from the base machine 1. A neatly designed copier has been realized. In addition, inverters 9 and 10 and a duplex tray 11 are arranged in the paper transport system 7 for transporting the paper in the paper feed tray. Further, a user interface 12 composed of a CRT display is mounted on the base machine 1, and a DADF (Duplex Auto Document Feeder: automatic double-sided document feeder) 13 is mounted on the platen glass 2.
Is attached. The user interface 12
Is a stand type, on which a card device can be attached.

Next, an additional device of the base machine 1 will be described. Instead of DADF13, RDH (Recirculated Document Handler: a device that returns originals to the original feed state and automatically repeats document feeding) 15 or a normal ADF (Auto Document Feeder: automatic document feeder), editor pad (coordinate input) It is also possible to attach either a platen with a device) or a platen cover. Further, on the supply side of the paper transport system 7, an MSI (multi-sheet inserter: a manual tray capable of placing a plurality of papers at once) 16 and an HCF
(High capacity feeder: large capacity tray) 17 can be installed.
One or a plurality of sorters 19 can be arranged. DA
When the DF13 is arranged, the simple catch tray 20 or the sorter 19 can be attached. When the RDH15 is attached, the offset catch tray 21, in which the copied sets are alternately stacked, the copy is performed. A finisher 22 that staples each set made can be attached.
Further, a folder 23 having a paper folding function can be attached.

(I-2) Function and Features of System (A) Function The present invention fully automates the operation from the entrance to the exit of the copying operation while providing various functions corresponding to the needs of the user. The main feature is that the selection of functions, the selection of execution conditions, and the display of other menus and the like are performed on the CRT display, so that anyone can easily operate.

The main function is to switch the display screen on the CRT display to categorize into basic copy, applied copy and specialty copy modes, and to display menus such as function selection and execution condition settings in each mode. At the same time, the cascade of the screen is moved by key input to select and designate a function, and to input execution condition data.

The functions of the copying machine to which the present invention is applied include a main function, an automatic function, an additional function, a display function, a diagnostic function, and the like.

The main functions are not only the standard sizes of paper sizes A6 to A2 and B6 to B3, but also can be used outside the standard sizes, and have a three-stage built-in tray as described above. In addition, a fixed magnification of 7 steps and 1
You can adjust the magnification in percentage increments and fine-tune in 0.15% increments between 99% and 101%. Further, there are a density selection function in a fixed 7-step and a photo mode, a double-sided function, a left and right independent binding margin setting function in a range of 1 mm to 16 mm, a billing function, and the like.

The automatic function automatically selects the paper size according to the document size, selects the magnification in the specified paper state, controls the density, starts the fuser ready after the power is turned on, and clears and saves power after a certain period of time after copying is completed. And so on.

Additional functions include composite copy, interrupt, preheat mode,
Clear the set number, clear all to auto mode, information explaining the function, P key for using the IC card, maximum lock original return to limit the set number, full job recovery using DADF, other than the jam section Editor for purging paper, full-copying without bleeding, partial copying or partial deletion of originals, 1
There are a job program that calls and processes jobs one by one, a slip sheet that inserts blank sheets one by one between copies, and a center eraser / frame eraser that is used for a book.

The display function uses a CRT display etc. to provide the operator with information on jam display, paper remaining amount display, toner remaining amount display, collected toner full display, fuser warm-up wait time display, inconsistency in function selection and machine status. There are functions such as message display.

The diagnostic functions include NVRAM initialization, input check, output check, history files such as the number of jams and the number of paper feeds, adjustment of initial values used for process codes around marking and photosensitive material belts, and registration gate on timing. There are functions such as adjustment and configuration setting.

Further, optionally, MS as described above
I, HCF, second deve colors (red, blue, green, brown), editor, etc. can be equipped as appropriate.

(B) Features The whole system of the present invention having the above functions has the following features.

(B) Achieving power saving A 1.5kVA high-speed, high-performance copier has been realized. Therefore, a control method for achieving 1.5 kVA in each operation mode is determined, and power distribution by function for setting a target value is determined. In addition, an energy system table for determining the energy transfer path is created, and management and verification by the energy system are performed.

(B) Cost reduction The in-house production of high-priced parts and technical improvement and standardization are being pursued. At the same time, the art material life has been improved from the hardware side and the toner consumption has been reduced to reduce the cost of the art material.

(C) Improving reliability To reduce component failures and extend their life, clarify the in / out conditions of each parameter, reduce design defects,
Aiming to achieve 100kCV no menincinance.

(D) Achieving high image quality The present apparatus employs a method in which toner particles are made fine by using microcarriers made of ferrite, and development is performed by using a repulsive magnetic field. As the photoreceptor, a high-sensitivity panchromatic organic light-sensitive material belt formed by coating the organic light-sensitive material in multiple layers is adopted, and a halftone can be expressed by a pictorial mode utilizing a set point. As a result, the generation copy has been improved and the black spot has been reduced, and an unprecedented high image quality has been achieved.

(E) Improved operability A fully automatic mode in which copying is performed in a predetermined mode by operating the start key just by setting the original and entering the number of copies, and a screen divided into basic copy, applied copy, and specialized copy The user can select various mode settings including a copy mode setting according to the user's request. These user interfaces are performed using a CRT display and a few keys and LEDs arranged in correspondence with the screen around the CRT display, making it possible to set the mode with an easy-to-read display menu and simple operations. Also,
By preliminarily storing the copy mode and its execution conditions in a nonvolatile memory or an IC card, it is possible to automate a predetermined operation.

(C) Example of differentiation The function of a copying machine to which the present invention is applied can be controlled by a program stored in an IC card. Therefore, by changing the program stored in the IC card for each card, it is possible to differentiate the use of the copying machine. This will be described with some easy-to-understand examples.

As a first example, a multi-purpose building is provided with a copier shared by a plurality of companies, or a copier shared by different departments even within one company or factory. The case will be described. The latter joint use is necessary for budget control, and in the past, use control of each department was performed using a device such as a copy riser.

This copier has an IC card device, a DADF 13, a sorter 19, a UI 12, a supply tray (6-
1-6-3), and a copying machine having a relatively advanced system configuration including the duplex tray 11. Some co-users require the DADF 13 or sorter 19, while others do not require any additional equipment.

If a plurality of persons or departments having different usage modes try to determine the cost burden of the copying machine solely from their own copy volumes, those who only make low-volume copies will be required to make copies with various additional devices. This would oppose the introduction of the copier, making it difficult to coordinate with people or departments that want to use the copier to a high degree.

In such a case, prepare IC cards according to the usage of each person or each department, and the more people or departments who want advanced functions will bear more basic costs and utilize more functions. You should be able to do so. For example, the owner of the most advanced IC card operates the copier with the IC card set in the IC card device, thereby obtaining the DADF 13, the sorter 19, and the supply tray (6-1).
6-3) and the duplex tray 11 can be used freely, and office efficiency can be improved. On the other hand, those who do not need copy paper sorting have ICs that lack a program for sorting.
By setting a card and using only the catch tray 20, costs can be reduced.

As a second example, a case where a copy agency runs a self-copy service shop with an IC card will be described.

In the store, a plurality of copying machines are arranged, and an IC card device 22 is attached to each of them. The customer requests an IC card according to the service mode, sets it in a desired copying machine, and makes a copy by self-service. Customers who are unfamiliar with copiers can request an IC card equipped with a program for displaying operation explanations as a program, and by setting this, it is possible to display various operation information on the UI 12 and it is possible to execute copy work without fail it can. Whether the DADF 13 can be used, whether multi-color printing can be performed, and the like can be determined by the IC card to be lent, and the type of use can be limited, so that customers who are charged can be managed. Furthermore, since the actual copy operation such as the number of copies and the size of the used copy paper can be written on the IC card, billing becomes easy, and detailed services such as discounting copy fees to regular customers are also possible. .

As a third example, a service using an IC card storing a program for a specific user will be described. For example, at a patent office, when examining patent publications reduced by photoengraving, it is necessary to make the same copy as the original size.
There are jobs that make copies at a relatively large enlargement rate of 0%. Also, when preparing a drawing to be submitted to a government office, work to reduce or enlarge the original drawing in small steps is performed to meet the request. In addition, in the department that copies the resident's card such as the city hall or the ward office, copy the image information of the places that are not covered by the claim and the image information of the places that should be kept secret in order to protect personal privacy And make an abstract.

There is a demand for using such a copying machine in a special use mode depending on such a user (user). If the functions of the copying machine are set so as to satisfy all such requirements, the console panel becomes complicated and the ROM inside the copying machine becomes large. Therefore, by preparing an IC card for each specific user and setting the IC card, a copying machine having a function most suitable for the user can be realized.

For example, in the case of a patent office, by purchasing a dedicated IC card, in addition to the normal several types of reduced magnification,
You can easily select a reduction ratio of 200%. In addition, the reduction ratio can be set in a range requiring fine adjustment, for example, in increments of 1%. In addition, the resident card issuance department can indicate the type of resident card and the fields and items to be deleted on the display such as the liquid crystal display by operating keys such as numeric keys, and then the start button is pressed. By pressing, only the desired range of the original is copied, or only the necessary portion is edited and recorded.

(I-3) Configuration of Electric System Control System of Copying Machine FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a subsystem of the copying machine to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration by a CPU.

As shown in FIG. 3, the copier system to which the present invention is applied includes four subsystems including a SQMGR subsystem 32, a CHM subsystem 33, an IMM subsystem 34, and a marking subsystem 35 on a main board 31. , U / around it
It is composed of nine subsystems including five subsystems including an I subsystem 36, an INPUT subsystem 37, an OUTPUT subsystem 38, an OPT subsystem 39, and an IEL subsystem 40. Then, for the SQMGR subsystem 32, the CHM subsystem 33 and the IMM subsystem 34
Since it is executed by software under the main CPU 41 shown in FIG. 4 together with the R subsystem 32, it is connected by an interface between subsystems (represented by solid lines) which does not require communication. However, other subsystems are
Since it is executed by software under the CPU separate from 1, it is connected by a serial communication interface (shown by dotted lines). Next, these subsystems will be described briefly.

The SQMGR subsystem 32 receives the setting information of the copy mode from the U / I subsystem 36 and issues a work instruction to each subsystem while synchronizing the subsystems so that the copying operation can be performed efficiently. In addition, it is a sequence manager that constantly monitors the status of each subsystem and performs a quick status determination process when an abnormality occurs.

The CHM subsystem 33 is a subsystem that controls a paper storage tray, a duplex tray, and a manual feed tray, controls the feed of copy paper, and controls the purge operation of copy paper.

The IMM subsystem 34 is divided into panels on the photosensitive belt,
It is a subsystem that controls the running / stop of the photosensitive material belt, the control of the main motor, and other controls around the photosensitive material belt.

The marking subsystem 35 is a subsystem that controls the potential of the corotron, the exposure lamp, the developing machine, the potential of the photosensitive material belt, and the toner density.

The U / I subsystem 36 is a subsystem that performs all control of the user interface, display of machine status, job management such as determination of a copy mode, and job recovery.

The INPUT subsystem 37 includes automatic document feed (DADF), semi-automatic document feed (SADF), large size (A2) document feed (LDC), computer form document feed (CFF),
This is a subsystem for controlling the automatic feed (2-UP) of the original, controlling the automatic repetition of the original (RDH), and detecting the original size.

The OUTPUT subsystem 37 is a subsystem that controls a sorter and a finisher, outputs a copy in each mode of sorting, stacking, and non-sorting, and performs binding output.

The OPT subsystem 39 is a subsystem that controls scanning, lens movement, shutter, and PIS / NON-PIS when exposing a document, and moves the carriage in the LDC mode.

The IEL subsystem 40 is a subsystem that erases unnecessary images on the photosensitive material belt, erases the leading and trailing edges of the images, and erases images according to the edit mode.

The above-mentioned system is constituted by using seven CPUs shown in FIG. 4 as a core, and can flexibly cope with a combination of the pace machine 1 and additional devices surrounding the pace machine 1.
Here, the main CPU 41 is on the main board of the base machine 1 and has the SQMGR subsystem 32, the CHM subsystem 33,
It includes software of the IMM subsystem 34 and is connected to each of the CPUs 42 to 47 via the serial bus 53. These CPUs 42-47
Correspond one-to-one with each subsystem connected by the serial communication interface shown in FIG. Serial communication is performed between the main CPU 41 and each of the other CPUs 42 to 47 according to a predetermined timing with 100 msec as one communication cycle. Therefore, for signals that require strict timing mechanically and cannot be synchronized with the timing of serial communication, an interrupt port (INT terminal signal) is provided in each CPU and interrupts are issued by a hot line separate from the serial bus 53. It is processed. That is, for example, a copy operation is performed at a process speed of 309 mm / sec at 64 cpm (A4LEF), and
If it is set to 1 mm, there are jobs that cannot be processed in the communication cycle of 100 msec as described above. A hotline is required to guarantee the execution of such a job.

Therefore, in this copier, a system configuration corresponding to each of these additional devices can be adopted for software in response to the fact that various additional devices can be attached.

One of the reasons for adopting such a configuration is that (i) if the operation control program for all of these additional devices is prepared in the base machine 1, the memory capacity required for this is enormous. It is due to becoming. Also,
(Ii) When a new additional device is developed in the future or the current additional device is improved, the ROM (read only memory) in the base machine 1 is not replaced or expanded.
This is because these additional devices can be used.

For this reason, the base machine 1 has a basic storage area for controlling a basic part of the copying machine, and an additional storage area for storing a program fetched together with the function information of the present invention from an IC card. Various programs such as a control program of the DADF 13 and a control program of the UI 12 are stored in the additional storage area. Then, when an IC card is set in the IC card device 22 with a predetermined additional device attached to the base machine 1, a program required for a copy operation is read through the UI 12 and loaded into the additional storage device. I have. The loaded program controls the copy operation in cooperation with the program written in the basic storage area or with a priority over the program. The memory used here is a nonvolatile memory composed of a random access memory backed up by a battery. Of course, other storage media such as an IC card, a magnetic card, and a floppy disk can be used as the nonvolatile memory. In this copying machine, in order to reduce the burden of operation by an operator, setting of image density and magnification can be preset, and the preset values are stored in a nonvolatile memory. ing.

(I-4) Serial Communication System FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a transfer data structure and transmission timing of serial communication, and FIG. 6 is a time chart showing a mutual communication interval in one communication cycle.

In the serial communication performed between the main CPU 41 and each of the CPUs (42 to 47), a data amount as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2A, for example, a UI
In the case of, the transmission data TX from the main CPU 41 is 7 bytes, the reception data RX is 15 bytes, and the next slave, that is, the transmission timing t _i to the optical CPU 45 ((c) in the figure) is 26 ms. Is shown. According to this example, the total communication amount is 86 bytes, and a communication speed of 9600 BPS has a period of about 100 ms. The data length includes a header, a command, and data as shown in FIG. When the transmission / reception with the maximum data length shown in FIG. 6A is targeted, the entire communication cycle is as shown in FIG. Here, from the communication speed of 9600 BPS, the time required for transmission of one byte is 1.2 mS, the time from the end of reception of the slave to the start of transmission is 1 mS, and as a result, 100 mS is one communication cycle.

(I-5) State Division FIG. 7 is a diagram showing state division of the main system.

In the state division, a job to be performed in each state is determined by dividing a state after power ON from a copy operation and a state after the end of the copy operation into several parts. This is to ensure the efficiency and accuracy of the control by not shifting to the next state unless all the jobs in each state are completed. The subsystem knows which state the main system is in by referring to this flag, and determines what to do. Each subsystem is also divided into states, and a flag is similarly determined corresponding to each state. The main system refers to the flag and grasps and manages the state of each subsystem.

First, when the power is turned on, the state of the processor is initialized, and it is determined whether the mode is the diagnostic mode or the user mode (copy mode). The diagnostic mode is a mode used by a service person for repairs and the like, and performs various tests based on the conditions set in the NVM.

In the initialization state in the user mode, the initialization is performed according to the contents of the NVM. For example, the carriage is set at the home position, the lens is set at a position of 100% magnification, and an initialization command is issued to each subsystem. When the initialization ends, the state transits to standby.

Standby is a state until all subsystems have completed the initial setting and the start button is pressed,
Display "Please wait" on the fully automatic screen. Then, the Colt lamp is turned on and the fuser idles for a predetermined time, and when the fuser reaches a predetermined control temperature, the U /
I will display the message "Can be copied" in the message. This standby state is a period of about several tens of seconds at the first power ON.

The setup is a preparatory state for copying started by pressing the start button, and the main motor and the sorter motor are driven to adjust the constants such as the V _{DDP of the} photosensitive material belt. Also, the ADF motor is turned on, the first document feed starts, the first document reaches the registration gate, and the document size is detected.
The magnification is determined and the ADF manuscript is laid on the platen. Then, the second document of the ADF is sent out to the registration gate, and the state shifts to cycle-up.

Cycle-up is a state where the belt is divided into several pitches and panel management is performed, and the first panel reaches the get park point. That is, the pitch is determined in accordance with the copy mode, and the optical subsystem is informed of the magnification and the lens is moved. Then, the copy mode is notified to the CHM subsystem and the IMM subsystem,
When the magnification set is recognized, the scan length is determined by the magnification and the paper size, and the optical subsystem is notified. Then, the copy mode is notified to the marking subsystem, and when the start of the marking subsystem is completed, the panel L / E determined by the pitch is checked by the IMM subsystem, and the first copy panel is found, and the get copy point is set. When it reaches, it becomes get park ready and enters the cycle.

The cycle is a copy operation, and the ADC (Automatic D
The copy operation is repeatedly performed while performing ensity control), AE (Automatic Exposure), DDP control, and the like.
When R / L = counted number of sheets, document exchange is performed, and when this is performed for a predetermined number of sheets, a coincidence signal is output and the cycle starts.

Cycle down is a state in which the carriage scan, paper feed, etc. are completed and the copy operation is cleaned up.Each corotron, developing machine, etc. are turned off, and the panel next to the last used panel stops at the stop park position. Panel management to ensure that only specific panels are used and do not cause fatigue.

From this cycle down, it usually returns to standby,
If the start key is pressed again when copying in the platen mode, the process returns to the setup in the case of restart. If a cycle-down factor such as a jam occurs even from setup and cycle-up, the state transitions to cycle-down.

Purging is a state in which a jam has occurred, and when the cause jam sheet is removed, other sheets are automatically discharged. Normally, when a jam occurs, the state transitions from any state to cycle down → standby → purge. Then, a transition is made to standby or set-up due to the purge end, but if a jam occurs again, a transition to cycle down occurs.

The belt-down occurs when a jam occurs on the tray side from the tacking point. In a state where the belt drive is stopped by releasing the belt clutch, the paper before the belt can be discharged.

The 24V power supply is cut off in a state where the interlock is opened and a dangerous state occurs or a machine clock failure occurs and the control becomes uncontrollable.

Then, when these belt down and hard down factors are removed, the state shifts to standby.

(II-1) Optical System FIG. 8 (a) is a schematic side view of the optical system of the copying machine, FIG. 8 (b) is a plan view, and FIG. 8 (c) is a side view in the XX direction of FIG. It is. The scanning exposure apparatus 3 of the present embodiment moves the second scanning system B in the reverse direction when the first scanning system A scans the original, and moves the image on the photosensitive material at a speed higher than the moving speed of the photosensitive material 4. PIS (precession imaging system) method of exposing to light, and fixing the second scanning system B,
The first scanning system A is made independently movable.

In FIG. 8A, a first scanning system A is an exposure lamp.
First carriage 101 having 102 and first mirror 103
And a second carriage 105 having a second mirror 106 and a third mirror 107, and scans an original placed on the platen glass 2. On the other hand, the second scanning system B includes a third carriage 10 having a fourth mirror 110 and a fifth mirror 111.
9 and a fourth carriage 112 having a sixth mirror 113. A lens 108 is disposed on the optical axis between the third mirror 107 and the fourth mirror 110 and is moved by a lens motor according to the magnification, but is fixed during scanning exposure.

The first scanning system A and the second scanning system B are driven by a carriage motor 114 which is a DC servo motor. The transmission shaft 11 is provided on both sides of the output shaft 115 of the carriage motor 114.
6 and 117 are provided, and timing belts 119a and 119b are stretched between a timing pulley 115a fixed to the output shaft 115 and timing pulleys 116a and 117a fixed to the transmission shafts 116 and 117. The transmission shaft 116 has a capstan pulley 1
16b is fixed, and the driven roller 1 is disposed opposite to the fixed roller 16b.
A first wire cable 121a is stretched in a cross shape between 20a and 120b, the first carriage 101 is fixed to the wire cable 121a, and the wire cable 121a is provided on the second carriage 105. Set speed reduction pulley 1
When the carriage motor 114 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure, the first carriage 101
₁ moves in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG.
There has been so moved in the same direction at a speed V _1/2.

Also, a timing pulley 117b fixed to the transmission shaft 117
A timing belt 119c is stretched between the timing pulley 123a of the transmission shaft 123 and the driven shaft 120c disposed opposite to the capstan pulley 123b of the transmission shaft 123. Second wire cable 12
1b is stretched. The fourth carriage 112 is fixed to the wire cable 121b, and the wire cable 121b is wound around a reduction pulley 122b provided on the third carriage 109, and rotates the carriage motor 114 in the direction indicated by the arrow. If so, the fourth carriage 112
There together moves in the arrow direction at a speed V _2, the third carriage 109 is so moved in the same direction at a speed V _2/2.

FIG. 8B is a plan view for explaining a power transmission mechanism of the optical system of the copying machine shown in FIG.
The PIS clutch 117 is provided with a PIS clutch 125 (electromagnetic clutch) for transmitting the rotation of the timing pulley 117a to the timing pulley 117b. Of the transmission shaft 1
It is transmitted to 17,123. Further, when the PIS clutch 125 is energized and released, the rotation of the rotating shaft 115 is not transmitted to the transmission shafts 117 and 123.

Also, as shown in FIG.
An engagement protrusion 126a is provided on the side surface of the 116a, and the engagement piece 126b is turned on by turning on the LDC lock solenoid 127.
And the transmission shaft 116 is fixed, that is, the first scanning system A
And the LDC lock switch 129 is turned on. Further, an engagement protrusion 130a is provided on a side surface of the timing pulley 123a, and when the PIS lock solenoid 131 is turned on, the engagement piece 130b engages with the engagement protrusion 130a, and the transmission shaft 12a
3 is fixed, that is, the second scanning system B is fixed, and the PIS lock switch 132 is turned on.

In the scanning exposure apparatus configured as described above, the PIS (precession imaging system) mode and the NON-PIS mode are selected by the engagement and release of the PIS clutch 125. In the PIS mode, for example, when the magnification is 65% or more, the PIS clutch 125 is engaged to move the second scanning system B to the speed V _2.
In by moving, moves the exposure point of the photosensitive material belt 4 and in the opposite direction sensitive material belt 4, the number of copies per unit with relatively faster than the scanning speed V ₁ of the process speed V _P time of the optical system Is increasing.

At this time, if the magnification is M, V ₁ = V _P × 3.5 / (3.5M−
1), and if M = 1 and V _P = 308.9 mm / s, V ₁ = 432.5
mm / s. Also, V ₂ is the timing pulleys _{117b, V 2 = (1 /} 3~1 / 4) determined by the diameter of 123a has a V _1. on the other hand. In the NON-PIS mode, for example, in the case of 64% or less, the PIS clutch 125 is released and the PSI lock solenoid is turned on, thereby fixing the second scanning system B and scanning with the exposure point fixed. This is because in the PIS method, the speed of the scanning system increases at the time of reduction, and the illumination power must be increased.

As shown in FIG. 9A, the lens 108 has a lens carriage 135 disposed below the platen glass 2.
Is slidably attached to a support shaft 136 fixed to the support shaft 136. The lens 108 is connected to the lens motor Z137 by a wire (not shown), and the rotation of the lens motor Z137 moves the lens 108 in the Z direction (vertical direction in the figure) along the support shaft 136 to change the magnification. Let it.

Further, the lens carriage 135 is provided with a support shaft 139 on the base side.
Is slidably attached to the lens carriage X140, and is connected to the lens motor X140 by a wire (not shown).
Move in the X direction (horizontal direction in the figure) along 39 to change the magnification. These lens motors 137 and 140 are four-phase stepping motors. When the lens carriage 135 moves, the small gear 142 provided on the lens carriage 135
The gear rotates along the cloud surface of the lens cam 143, thereby rotating the large gear 144, and moving the mounting base 146 of the second scanning system via the wire cable 145. Therefore, the lens motor X14
With the rotation of 0, the distance between the lens 108 and the second scanning system B can be set for a predetermined magnification.

As shown in FIG. 9 (b), a lens shutter 147 is provided on one side of the lens 108 so as to be openable and closable by a link mechanism 148. When the shutter solenoid 149 is turned on and off, the lens shutter 147 is opened during image scanning. , And is closed when the image scan is completed. As described above, the reason why the lens shutter 147 is closed and the optical path is shut off except during image scanning is that DDP patches and ADC patches for process control are formed on the belt photosensitive material, and the second scanning system B is in the PIS mode. The purpose is to return to catch up with the latent image formed on the belt photosensitive material to prevent the image from being erased, and to prevent fatigue of the photosensitive material due to disturbance light when the platen cover is opened.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an outline of a subsystem of the optical system. As mentioned earlier, optical
The CPU 45 is connected to the main CPU 41 by serial communication and a hot line, and controls each carriage, lens, and the like in order to form a latent image on a photosensitive material in a copy mode transmitted from the main CPU 41. The control power supply 152 consists of a logic power supply (5V), an analog power supply (± 15V), a solenoid, and a clutch power supply (24V).
53 is composed of 38V.

The carriage registration sensor 155 is disposed at a position where the actuator 154 provided on the first carriage 101 depresses the carriage registration sensor 155 when the first carriage 101 comes to the document registration position, and the actuator attached to the first scanning system A is When the carriage registration sensor 155 is depressed, a signal is output. This signal is sent to the optical CPU 45 and serves as a reference for determining a position or timing for performing registration or for determining a home position P when the first scanning system A returns. Also,
The first home sensor 15 for detecting the position of the carriage
6a, a second home sensor 156b is provided, and the first home sensor 156a is disposed at a predetermined position between the registration position and the stop position of the first scanning system A, and detects the position of the first scanning system A. Output signal. In addition, the second home sensor 15
6b detects the position of the second scanning system and outputs a signal.

The rotary encoder 157 is of a type that outputs A-phase and B-phase pulse signals that are 90 ° out of phase in accordance with the rotation angle of the carriage motor 114.
With rotation, the pitch pitch of the timing pulley of the first scanning system is 0.15
Designed for 71mm / pulse.

The magnification solenoid 159 moves a magnification lens (not shown) in the vertical direction under the control of the CPU 45, and confirms the ON operation of the magnification switch 161 fixed in the optical path. The lens home sensors 161 and 162 are sensors that detect the home position of the lens 108 in the X direction and the Z direction, and are arranged on the reduction side at a predetermined interval from the position at the same magnification.

The LDC lock solenoid 127 is the first
Scanning system A is fixed at a predetermined position, and it is confirmed by turning on LDC lock switch 129 that the first scanning system is locked.

The PIS lock solenoid 131 is the PIS lock solenoid in the NON-PIS mode.
When the clutch 125 is released, the second scanning system B is fixed, and it is confirmed by turning on the PIS lock switch 132 that the second scanning system is locked.

The PIS clutch 125 is of a type that disengages the clutch when energized and engages the clutch when not energized, and reduces power consumption in the PIS mode.

Next, control of the scan cycle of the optical system will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 (a) and 11 (b). FIG. 11A shows the relationship between the speed of the carriage motor 114 and time. This control scans the first scanning system A at a designated magnification and scan length, and starts when a scan start signal is received from a hot line. From the scan length data received from the main, an image scan count, which is the count number of the encoder clock from the interruption of the registration sensor to the end of the scan, is calculated.

First, after setting the reference clock data corresponding to the magnification, the carriage motor is moved in the scanning direction (C
W), and in the speed mode, DAC data is set every interruption of the encoder pulse, and acceleration control during scanning is performed (step). Then in the steps
Set to the PLL (phase control) mode. If there is an interrupt signal that turns off the registration sensor in the step, proceed to the step. If the count of the encoder clock exceeds the number corresponding to the scan length, release the PLL mode. The speed mode is set, and the carriage motor is decelerated by applying a reverse driving force.

Next, in step CW to CCW (reverse signal)
It is determined whether there is an interruption to the vehicle. If so, acceleration control at the time of return is performed in the speed mode (step). If the count number of the encoder reaches a preset brake start point (step), at the time of return, Deceleration control, and when the registration sensor is depressed, the scan end signal (high level) is notified to the main CPU (step),
If there is a reverse rotation signal again, the carriage motor is stopped (step). Note that the CPU resets the counter that counts the encoder clock at points 0, 1, and 0 to zero.

FIG. 11B shows opening / closing control of the shutter 147. Since there is a time lag between the on / off of the shutter solenoid and the fully open / close of the shutter, the shutter turns on the solenoid immediately before passing the registration sensor,
Control is performed so that the solenoid is turned off immediately before the scan end. First, the number of counts from the start of the scan until the shutter is turned on (opened) is referred to as a shutter-on count. Then, the image scan count and the count number from the time the shutter is turned off (closed) until the scan end (shutter-off count) are calculated. Calculate the difference between These shutter-on count and shutter-off count data are prepared in the ROM as a table. According to this method, since the scan count is calculated from the paper size data, there is no need to have a shutter-on count and shutter-off count table for each paper size. Next, an image scan is started, the shutter is opened if the number of encoder clocks is equal to or greater than the shutter-on count, and if there is a resistent-off interrupt, the encoder clock number is compared with the shutter-off count here. When the count becomes equal to or greater than the shutter-off count, the shutter is closed and the image scan is completed.

(II-2) User interface (U / I) (II-2-1) Features of the user interface FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an attached state of a user interface using a display, and FIG. 13 is a user interface using a display. FIG.

Conventional user interfaces are mainly composed of console panels on which keys, LEDs, and liquid crystal displays are arranged, and include, for example, a backlit type and a type with a message display. The backlit console panel is designed to be readable by selectively illuminating a display plate on which a fixed message is arranged at a predetermined position in advance with a lamp or the like from behind, and has a message display. The console panel is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display element and displays various messages as needed without increasing the display area. Which of these console panels is adopted is determined for each copying machine in consideration of the complexity of the system configuration of the copying machine, operability, and the like.

(A) Characteristics of Mounting Position The present invention is characterized in that a stand-type display is adopted as a user interface, instead of employing the conventional console panel as described above. When a display is employed, the user can mount the display unit three-dimensionally above the copier body (base machine) 1 as shown in FIG. 12 (a). By arranging the copier in the right rear corner of the copier main body 1, the size of the copier can be designed without considering the user interface 12, and the apparatus can be made compact. Further, in the copying machine, the height of the platen, that is, the height of the apparatus is designed to be a waist high enough to set a document, and this height regulates the height of the apparatus. As described above, the conventional console panel is mounted on the same upper surface as this height, and the operation unit and the display unit for function selection and execution condition setting are arranged at a considerable distance from the eyes. In this regard, in the user interface 12 of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 12 (c), the position is higher than the platen, that is, close to the eye level, so that it is easy to see and the position is not downward but forward for the operator. In addition, it is on the right side, and the operation is easy. In addition, by making the mounting height of the display close to the eye level, the lower side can be effectively used as a mounting space for the control board of the user interface and the card device 24. Therefore, a structural change for mounting the card device 24 is not required, and the card device 24 can be additionally provided without changing the appearance at all. At the same time, the mounting position and height of the display can be easily viewed.
Further, the display may be fixed at a predetermined angle, but it is needless to say that the angle may be changed. Thus, unlike the conventional console panel which is mounted flat on the front side of the platen, its front direction can be easily changed.
By turning the display screen slightly upward according to the operator's eyes as shown in Fig. 12 and facing left as shown in Fig. 12 (b), that is, upward in the center (toward the operator's eyes), the operability is further improved. A good user interface 12 can be provided. By adopting such a configuration, particularly in a compact apparatus, the operator can operate the document set and the user interface without moving at the center of the apparatus.

(B) Features on Screen On the other hand, even when a display is adopted, a large amount of information is required to provide information corresponding to multi-functionality, so a large display area is required when simply considered.
It has the aspect that it is difficult to respond to compactness. When a display having a compact size is employed, it is difficult to provide all necessary information on one screen, not only because of the problem of display density, but also because it is necessary to provide a screen which is easy for the operator to see and understand. Therefore, various ideas have been devised in order to display even a compact size in an easily understandable manner.

For example, in the user interface of the present invention, the display screens are switched by classifying in the copy mode, and menus such as function selection and execution condition setting are displayed in each mode, and a cascade (cursor) of the screen is displayed by key input. You can move to specify options and input execution condition data. In addition, depending on menu options, the detailed items are displayed in a pop-up display (overlapped display or window display) to enhance the display contents. As a result, even if there are many selectable functions and setting conditions,
The display screen can be refreshed and operability can be improved. As described above, in the present invention, the screen division configuration, the area division on each screen, the brightness adjustment, the gray display, and other display modes are devised.
By successfully combining D and D, the operation unit has a simple configuration, diversifying and simplifying the display control, display contents and operation input of the display, and solving the problem of realizing both compactness and multifunctionality of the device. ing.

FIG. 13 shows the appearance of a user interface configured using a CRT display. In this example,
A key / LED board is arranged below the CRT display 301 and in front of the right side. As a screen configuration, in the selection mode screen, the screen is divided into a plurality of regions, a selection region is provided as one of the regions, and the selection region is vertically divided so that each can be selected and set as a cascade region. Therefore, on the key / LED board, cascade keys 319-1 to 319-5 for cascade selection setting are arranged below the selection area of the vertically divided screen, and a mode selection key for switching the selection mode screen. 308-310 Other keys (302-304, 306, 307, 315-318) and LEDs (305, 311
To 314) adopt a configuration arranged on the right side.

(II-2-2) Display Screen Configuration The screen includes a selection mode screen for selecting the copy mode, a review screen for confirming the setting state of the copy mode, and a screen for executing the copy in the standard mode. It is composed of an automatic screen, an information screen for providing an explanation screen for a multifunctional copy mode, a jam screen for appropriately displaying the position of a jam when it occurs, and the like.

(A) Selection mode screen FIG. 14 is a view for explaining the selection mode screen.

As the selection mode screen, three screens of a basic copy, an application copy, and a specialty copy shown in FIGS. 14A to 14C are set, and are switched to the CRT display by operating the mode selection keys 308 to 310. Of these screens,
The basic copy screen categorizes the most commonly used functions into groups, the application copy screen categorizes the most commonly used functions into groups, and the remaining special technical functions. The professional copy screens are grouped by category.

Each selection mode screen is divided into a message area A basically composed of two lines from the top, a setting state display area B composed of three lines, and a selection area C composed of nine lines.
In the message area A, a J code message when there is a contradiction in the copy execution conditions, a J code message when there is a hardware failure that requires contacting a service person, a C code message that prompts the operator to take various precautions, and the like are displayed. Is done. Among them, the J-code message includes a check table for a combination of copy execution conditions according to the setting contents of each cascade. When the start key 318 is operated, the table is checked by referring to the table and output when there is a conflict in the copy mode. Is done. In the setting state display area B, a selection state of another mode, for example, a selection state of application copy and specialty copy with respect to the basic copy screen is displayed. In this display of the selected state, when the cascade state of the selection area C is other than the default (lower row), the cascade is displayed. In the selection area C, the cascade name is displayed in the upper row, the bottom area of each cascade area is a default area, and the area above it is a non-default area. You can choose to. Therefore, when the selection operation is not performed, the default area is selected, and the default state is the fully automatic copy mode. The selection area is selected and set by the lower cascade keys 319-1 to 319-5 corresponding to the vertically divided cascade area. It should be noted that the right side of the message area A serves as a count section for displaying the set count and the maid count.
Used as a maintenance information section for toner supply and the like. The contents of the cascade area of each selection mode screen will be described below.

(A) Basic Copy The basic copy screen includes a cascade of “paper tray”, “reduction / enlargement”, “double-sided copy”, “copy density”, and “sorter” as shown in FIG. 14 (a).

In the “paper tray”, automatic is the default, and in this case, a tray containing paper of the same size as the document size is automatically selected. By operating the cascade key, one of the manual tray, large capacity tray, upper tray, middle tray, and lower tray can be selected using an area other than the default area. In the column of each tray, the paper size, type, and icon (pictogram) are displayed as shown in the drawing so that the stored paper can be easily identified. There is a setting for feeding the paper in the longitudinal direction and a setting for feeding the paper in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

"Reduced / Enlarged" defaults to 1: 1
Automatic, fixed / arbitrary can be selected by operating the cascade key. In the automatic mode, the magnification is automatically set according to the selected paper size, and copying is performed. Magnification (line magnification)
Can be set from 50% to 200% arbitrarily in 1% increments. In fixed / arbitrary settings, the contents of the specific setting target are displayed in a pop-up screen by operating the cascade key, and 50.7%, 70% , 81%, 100%, 121%, 141
The user can select a fixed magnification consisting of seven levels of% and 200%, and can select and set an arbitrary magnification that changes continuously by 1%.

"Double-sided copy" is one-sided by default,
Other than the default, two-sided → one-sided, two-sided → two-sided, one-sided → two-sided can be selected in the relation of original → copy. For example, double-sided → single-sided is for performing single-sided copying on a double-sided original, and single-sided → double-sided is for performing single-sided copying of a single-sided original. When making double-sided copy, the copy paper whose copy has been made on the first side is first stored in a duplex tray. Next, copy paper is sent out again from the duplex tray, and copying is performed on the back side.

For "Copy Density", automatic is the default,
Seven levels of density can be set other than the default, and seven levels of density can be set even in the photo mode. The setting of this content is performed by a pop-up screen.

"Sorter" has a default copy receiver, and you can select a collation or stack other than the default. Collating is a mode in which copy sheets are sorted into each bin of the sorter, and stack mode is a mode in which copy sheets are sequentially stacked.

(B) Application Copy The application copy screen includes a cascade of “special original”, “margin”, “color”, “insert”, and “discharge surface” as shown in FIG. 14 (b).

The "special manuscript" is a function to copy large manuscripts such as A2 / B3 (LDC), a function to count holes in a manuscript output from a continuous form of a computer and copy one page at a time (CFF; computer form feeder), same size Two originals
It is possible to select a function other than the default, which is a double hook function (2-UP) for copying on a sheet of paper.

The "margin" is 1mm at the right or left edge of the copy
The "binding margin" is set in a range of up to 16 mm, and the right binding, skipping left, and the length of the binding margin can be set other than the default.

"Color" is black by default, and you can select red other than the default.

“Slip sheet” is a function to insert a blank sheet in the middle during OHP copying, and can be selected other than the default.

The “discharge surface” can be selected other than the default so that any one of the front surface and the back surface is forcibly specified and discharged.

(C) Specialized copy As shown in Fig. 14 (c), the specialized copy screen contains "job memory", "edit / combine", "1x fine adjustment",
It consists of a cascade of "erasing".

"Job memory" is a page program that uses a card, in which a plurality of jobs are registered, called up, and automatically copied by pressing the start key. Calling and registration can be selected other than the default.

“Editing / combining” can select an editing function and a compositing function other than the default. The editing function is a function for inputting data for editing using an editor or the like, and a function of partial color, partial photograph, partial deletion, and marking color can be selected on the pop-up screen. As for the partial color, only the designated area is copied with one color, and the remaining part is copied with black. The partial photo copies the photo to the specified area, and the partial deletion does not copy the specified area. As for the marking color, when an area to be marked is specified, as an example, a light color is superimposed and recorded on the area to obtain an effect as if marking was performed.

The synthesizing function is a function of making one copy from two originals using a duplex tray, and includes sheet synthesizing and parallel synthesizing. Sheet combining is a function for recording both the first document and the second document in a state of being overlapped on one sheet of paper, and it is also possible to copy the first document and the second document in different colors. It is possible. On the other hand, the parallel composition is a function of creating a composite copy on one sheet of paper in a state where the entirety of the second original is attached to the entirety of the first original.

"Same-size fine adjustment" is set in steps of 0.15% at a magnification of 99% to 101%, and this function can be selected other than the default.

“Erasure” is to copy the image information around the original and not to copy the image information, as if a “frame” was set around the image information. You can select any size other than the default in the full copy mode without setting any dimensions and erasing.

(B) Other screens FIG. 15 is a diagram showing examples of screens other than the selection mode screen.

(A) Review screen The review screen displays the status of the copy mode selected on each of the three selection mode screens described above, and as shown in FIG. The setting state of the cascade of the mode screen is displayed on one screen. In this review screen, the selection items, that is, the cascade name and the currently selected mode, that is, the options, are displayed. When the selected mode is the default, for example, gray-back is used. The inverted display with the background is adopted.

(B) Full-automatic screen The fully-automatic screen is a screen as shown in FIG. 15 (a). When the power is turned on, the preheating key 306 is operated in the preheating mode, or the all clear key 316 is operated. When displayed. This is a screen in which all cascades of the respective selection mode screens are set to default. On this screen, place the original on the platen as instructed, set the number of copies using the numeric keypad, and
When the user presses 318, a sheet having the same size as the document is selected, and the set number of copies is executed.

(C) Information screen The information screen is a screen for providing an explanation screen such as how to make a copy in each copy mode as shown in FIG. 15 (c). The explanation screen is displayed by inputting the information code displayed on the screen from the ten keys.

(D) Jam screen As shown in FIG. 15 (d), the jam screen is superimposed on the screen that was being displayed during the copy operation, and is displayed by reducing the brightness of the original screen by one rank. To make the content clearer.

(C) Display Mode According to the present invention, as described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, by switching and displaying a plurality of screens, unnecessary information at each time is reduced and information on one screen is simplified. By changing the display mode in accordance with the display area of these layouts, the input setting state thereof, and the like, a screen with accents that is easy to see and understand is configured. For example, as described above, the selection mode screen is divided into the message area (including the count area), the setting state display area (including the maintenance information area), and the selection area, but the display mode of each area is changed. ing. For example, in the message area including the counting section, the back is black and only the character string of the message is displayed in high brightness, and the same expression as that of the back lid type console panel is adopted. Further, in the setting state display area, the background is displayed in a mesh, that is, the dots are displayed with a certain uniform density, and the display portion of the cascade name is displayed in reverse (the characters are dark and the background is light). That is, this display is a representation of each cascade name in a card image. Further, the lower one line of the setting state display area is used as a maintenance information area such as toner bottle fullness and toner replenishment.
This information has a different characteristic from the setting state display information, so that the difference can be clearly recognized. Therefore, a display mode similar to that of the message area is employed. And
In the selection area, the periphery is displayed in a mesh, and the entire cascade display area is displayed in gray with low brightness, and options and cascade names are highlighted. Further, in addition to this display, the background of the set option area is displayed as a high-brightness display (inverted display). Characters are displayed in high brightness.

In the fully automatic screen shown in FIG. 15 (a), the background of the display area is displayed in a dark mesh, the area displaying each operation instruction such as "document setting" is displayed in a bright mesh, and the border is bordered. To improve the clarity of the display and make it easier to see. As described above, it is needless to say that the display modes of the background can be freely changed and combined as appropriate.

In particular, by bordering the background as shown in the figure, the background is displayed with high brightness (normal brightness by paper white), gray gradation display with reduced brightness, or display with a predetermined light and dark dot density. To give the image of the card. As described above, by performing the border display while changing the display mode of the background of each area, the display contents of each area can be clearly distinguished for the operator, and an easy-to-view screen is provided. Also,
Also in the display of characters, the display is displayed in reverse or blinking, so that the user can be alerted to a characteristic attention for each display information.

In addition to devising the change in the background and the luminance of the character in the character string as described above, the present invention adds an icon (pictogram) to an option, a cascade name, and other character strings to provide a more image-like image. Another feature is that the characterized display mode is adopted. For example, on the basic copy screen, the cascade names “reduce / enlarge”, “double-sided copy”,
These are those added to the head of “copy density” and “sorter”, and those added after the lower, middle, and upper paper sizes in the “paper tray” option. This icon conveys information to the user visually from another aspect, that is, the fact that the accent of the information is diminished by the character string alone, that is, the image is more accurate and intuitive than the character string depending on the content of the information. There is a great merit in that important information can be transmitted to the user.

(II-2-3) Key / LED board The user interface is a CRT as shown in Fig. 13.
Although the display is composed of a display and a key / LED board, in the present invention, the number of keys and LEDs on the key / LED board is particularly increased because the display and setting of options are performed using the screen of the CRT display. We are trying to minimize it.

Mode selection keys 308 to 310 for screen switching and a cascade key 319-1 for selecting each cascade area
The function can be selected and set with eight keys of 319-5. Therefore, when one of the basic copy screen, the advanced copy screen, and the specialty copy screen is selected by operating the mode selection keys 308 to 310, the cascade key
Except for the operations of 319-1 to 319-5, all functions can be selected only by inputting numerical values using the numeric keypad 307, and copying by a desired function can be executed. Cascade key 319-1
319-5 are pairs of up and down movement keys for selecting and setting a function by moving the setting cursor up and down in each cascade area. As described above, the selection mode screen is selected by the mode selection keys 308 to 310 out of the three, and only one of them is displayed.
LED 311-31 to show what is selected by
3 is used. That is, when the mode selection keys 308 to 310 are operated to display the screen of the selection mode, the LEDs 311 to 313 corresponding to the mode selection keys 308 to 310 are turned on.

When many functions are provided, it is not easy for the user to learn all the functions and make full use of them. Therefore, the information key 302 is used to provide a screen for explaining how to make a copy in each copy mode. This information function is executed as follows. First, the information key 302
Is operated, a list of information codes is displayed on the information index screen as shown in FIG. 15 (c). When the information code specified on this screen is selected and input using the numeric keypad 307, the screen shifts to an information pop-up screen corresponding to the code, where a copy mode explanation screen is displayed.

Further, since the selection mode screen is divided into three as described above, and various functions defined by the three screens are selected and set, the entire setting state including other screens can be confirmed. Is also required. Therefore, the review key 303 is used to confirm such a setting state of the entire screen.

The dual language key 304 is a key for switching the language of the display screen. With internationalization, users using various different languages often share devices. Even in such an environment, display data and a font memory are prepared in, for example, two languages, Japanese and English, in order to eliminate language obstacles. The display screen can be output by freely switching between words and English. The language is not limited to two languages, and a plurality of languages may be facilitated, and the languages may be switched in a predetermined order by operating the dual language key 304.

The preheating key 306 is used to set a preheating mode in order to save power consumption in the non-use state and to enable a quick transition from the non-use state to the copy operation. Switches to the fully automatic mode. Therefore, the LED 305 is used to indicate which of the states is in.

The all clear key 316 is used to clear the copier, that is, to set a full automatic mode in which each of the selection mode screens is set to a default, and displays the full automatic screen. This is the content of the screen that informs the operator that the current copy mode is a fully automatic mode, as shown in FIG.

The interrupt key 315 is used when continuous copying is being performed and another emergency copy needs to be made. When the interrupt processing is completed, the interrupt key 315 is used to return to the original copy work. Is also canceled. LED314
Indicates whether the interrupt key 315 is in an interrupted state or in a released state.

The stop key 317 is used to stop the copying operation in the middle, to set the number of copies, and to set the pins of the sorter.

A start key 318 is used to start a copy operation in which the function selection and its execution conditions have been completed.

(II-2-4) Control System Configuration of User Interface FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of the user interface, and FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a software configuration of the user interface.

(A) Hardware configuration The user interface system equipped with the U / I CPU 46 basically has hardware as shown in FIG.
CRT board 331, CRT display 301 and key / LED board 333
It is composed of The CRT board 331 includes a U / I CPU 46 that controls the entire system and a CRT that controls the CRT display 301.
It has a controller 335, a keyboard / display controller 336 that controls the key / LED board 333, and
A program memory (ROM) 337 for storing the above-described programs as a memory, a frame memory (ROM) 338 for storing frame data, a part of which is configured as a non-volatile memory for storing tables, display control data, etc., and a work area RAM 339, two sets of V-RAM (RAM for video) 340, a character generator 342, and the like.

The CRT display 301 has, for example, a 9-inch size, and has a display color of paper white and a non-glare surface treatment. Using a screen of this size, if the total number of dots is 480 x 240, the dot pitch is 0.33 mm x 0.46 mm, and the dot configuration of tiles (characters) is 8 x 16 in a display area of 160 mm (H) x 110 mm (V), The number of tiles is
It becomes 60 × 15. Therefore, if you display kanji and kana at 16 dots x 16 dots and alphanumeric characters and symbols at 8 dots x 16 dots,
Kanji and Kana can display 30x15 characters using two tiles. In addition, display is performed by specifying four levels of normal luminance, gray 1, gray 2, and black level in units of tiles, and displaying reverse, blink, and the like. Input signal timing of such display, a dot frequency f _d When 10 MHz, 480 × 240, was treated between video data of 48μS at the period of the horizontal synchronizing signal 64 .mu.s, at the period of the vertical synchronizing signal of 16.90MS 15.36 mS
During this time, the video data is processed.

Keyboard / display controller 336 is for U / I
The output of the clock generator 346 input to the CPU 46 is divided into 1/4 by the counter 347, and a clock whose frequency is set to 2.7648 MHz is input. Creates key / LED scan time for ms. If the scan time is too long, it takes a long time to detect the input.Therefore, there is a problem that the input data is not captured when the key operation time by the operator is short.
The operation frequency of U increases, and the throughput decreases. Therefore, it is necessary to select an optimal scan time in consideration of these situations.

(B) Software configuration The software configuration of the user interface
As shown in the figure, a monitor with I / O management, task management, and communication protocol functions, a video controller with key input management and screen output management functions, job management, control, selection judgment, mode determination, etc. And a job controller having the following functions. For key input, the video controller processes the physical information of the key,
The job controller recognizes the mode, checks the reception conditions, and controls the job. In screen display, the job controller controls the screen based on machine status information and selection mode information, issues interface commands to the video controller, executes the command on the video controller, edits the screen,
Perform drawing. The key change detection unit 36 described below
2. The blocks that process, generate, and control other data are shown in fixed program units (modules), and these constituent units are grouped together for convenience of explanation. Of course, there are cases in which a plurality of modules are configured, or a plurality of modules are collectively configured.

In the video controller, the key change detection unit 362
Is for performing a double-press check and a continuous key press state detection on the physical key information passed from the monitor by the physical key table 361. The key conversion unit 363 converts the currently pressed physical key detected as described above into a logical key (logical information), and checks the key reception condition of the logical key (current key). Request the job controller. The conversion table 364 is referred to by the key conversion unit 363 at the time of conversion from the physical key to the logical key. For example, even if the cascade key is the same physical key, the logical information differs depending on the screen, so the display control The conversion from the physical key to the logical key is controlled by the display screen information of the data 367.

The screen switching unit 368 receives the key reception signal and the logical key from the job controller, or receives the logical key from the key conversion unit 363 directly in the video controller, and the logical key calls the basic copy screen or the application copy screen, or cascades. When the key is a simple screen switching key for expanding a pop-up screen by moving the key, and does not have a mode update or a state update, the display control data 367 is updated to the screen number corresponding to the screen number. Therefore, the screen switching unit 368 stores a logical key for developing the pop-up screen as a table, and displays the pop-up screen to be expanded when the logical key is operated and no other key is input within 750 msec. Control data
Update 367. In this process, in the process of selecting a certain option, the option of expanding the pop-up screen may be temporarily selected by operating the cascade key,
Even in such a case, the pop-up screen is prevented from being developed one by one. Therefore, even if a logical key for expanding the pop-up screen is input within 750 msec, another key input is ignored as a temporary key input. In the case of updating a state such as occurrence of a jam, moving a cascade or other copy modes, and updating a message or count value, the display control unit 369 receives an interface command from the job controller, analyzes the received command, and performs display control. The data 367 is updated.

The display control data 367 has data for controlling the display of each screen, such as a screen number to be displayed and display variable information in the screen, and the dialog data 370 includes a basic frame of each screen,
This is a hierarchically structured database having display data of each frame and a reference address of variable data of the display data (address of display control data 367 storing display variable information). The dialog editing unit 366 reads the basic frame of the screen to be displayed based on the screen number displayed by the display control data 367, the display data from the dialog data 370, and further displays the variable data according to the display variable information of the display control data 367. Determine the data, edit the screen, and edit the V-RAM3
Draw and expand the display screen on 65.

In the job controller, the key management unit 14 checks whether or not the logical key is in a receivable state by referring to the state table 371. If the logical key is receivable, other key information is not updated until 750 msec elapses thereafter. The key information is determined on condition that no input is made, and sent to the key control unit 375. The key control unit 375 performs a key reception process to update the copy mode 378, issue a mode check and a copy execution command, grasp the machine state, and pass display control information to the display management unit 377 to perform display control. Is what you do. In the copy mode 378, copy setting information of basic copy, applied copy, and specialty copy is set. The display management unit 377 issues an interface command to the video controller based on the processing result of the key management unit 14 or the key control unit 375, and activates an interface routine (display control unit 369). After operating the start key, the job control unit 376 receives the operation information of the machine, issues a command for machine control, and performs management for executing a copy operation for one document. Command control section
373 notifies the state management unit 372 and the job control unit 376 of the state of the received command transmitted from the main body, and also executes the job control unit 376 during job execution.
And sends the command to the main unit. Therefore, when the start key is operated and the key control unit 375 sets a command corresponding to the copy mode in the transmission buffer 380 to execute the copy operation, the command of the operation state of the machine is sequentially received in the reception buffer 379. You. The command control unit 373 notifies the job control unit 376 of this command, so that a predetermined number of copies are completed and a command for executing the next copy is executed each time the copy is completed until a machine stop command is issued. Is issued. During a copy operation, when a jam occurrence command is received, the state management unit 372 recognizes the jam state through the command control unit 373, updates the state table 371, and simultaneously displays the display management unit 377 through the key control unit 375.
Issues a jam screen control interface command to the video controller.

(II-3) Paper transport system In FIG. 18, the upper tray 6 is used as a paper tray.
1, middle tray 6-2, lower tray 6-3, and duplex tray 11 are installed in the base machine, and high capacity tray (HCF) 17 and manual tray (MSI) 16 are optionally installed on the side. Is provided with a paperless sensor, a size sensor, a clutch and the like as appropriate. Here, the no-paper sensor is a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a copy sheet in the supply tray, and the size sensor is a sensor for determining the size of the copy sheet stored in the tray. The clutch is a component for controlling on / off of driving of each paper feed roll. As described above, by allowing copy paper of the same size to be set in a plurality of supply trays, when one copy tray runs out of copy paper, copy paper of the same size is automatically fed from another supply tray. .

The feeding of copy sheets is performed by a dedicated feed motor, and a step motor is used as the feed motor. Whether or not the copy sheet is normally fed is detected by the feed sensor. Then, a gate solenoid is used for registration for aligning the leading edge of the copy sheet once sent. The gate solenoid is different from a normal solenoid of this type in that the gate is opened at the time of energization so that the copy sheet is passed. Therefore, in a standby state in which no copy paper arrives, power is not supplied to the gate solenoid, and the gate is kept open to reduce power consumption. The gate solenoid is energized slightly before the arrival of the copy sheet, and the gate closes to prevent passage. Thereafter, when the conveyance of the copy sheet is restarted at a predetermined timing, the power supply is stopped and the gate is opened. By performing such control, the position of the gate is less likely to fluctuate when the leading edge of the copy sheet is blocked from passing. Can be done accurately.

When copying again in the duplex mode where copying is performed on both sides of the paper or the composite mode where copying is performed multiple times on the same side,
The sheet is guided to a transport path stacked on the duplex tray 11. In the case of the duplex mode, the sheets are stacked directly on the duplex tray 11 from the transport path. Be guided. A gate 503 is provided at a branch point between the discharge outlet 502 from the transport path 501 to a sorter and the like and the duplex tray 11 side, and a transport path is provided at a branch point leading to the synthesis mode inverter 10 on the duplex tray 11 side. Gates 505 and 506 for switching are provided, and a discharge outlet 502 is provided with a gate 507 and is inverted by a triroll inverter 9 so that the copied surface can be discharged with its front side facing.

The upper tray and the middle tray are trays that can store a sheet size of about 500 sheets, A3 to B5, legal, letter, special B4, and 11 × 17. As shown in FIG. 19, a tray motor 551 is provided, and the tray 552 is inclined when the number of sheets is reduced. As sensors, three paper size sensors 553-5 to detect paper size
55, a paperless sensor 556 for detecting running out of paper, and a surface control sensor 557 used for adjusting the height of the tray. There is also an emergency switch 558 for preventing the tray from rising too high. The lower tray is a tray capable of storing about 1100 sheets and storing the same sheet size as the upper tray and the middle tray.

In FIG. 18, a duplex tray is a tray that can hold about 50 sheets and can hold the same sheet size as each of the above trays. This is a tray for temporarily storing the copied paper when performing copying. Feed roll 50
7. A gate 505 is provided, and the gate 505 controls switching of sheet conveyance according to the combination mode and the duplex mode. For example, in the case of the double-sided mode, the sheet conveyed from above is guided to the feed roll 509 side by the gate 505, and in the case of the synthesizing mode, the sheet conveyed from above is temporarily set by the gates 505 and 506 in the synthesizing mode. After that, when it is turned over, it is led to the feed roll 510 and the duplex tray 11 side by the gate 506. To store paper in the duplex tray 11 and allow it to fall freely to the specified edge
A tray tilt angle of about 20 ° is required. However, in the present invention, since the duplex tray 11 is accommodated in a small space in order to reduce the size of the apparatus, only the maximum inclination angle of 8 ° can be obtained. So, duplex tray
11, a side guide 561 and an end guide 562 are provided as shown in FIG. In the control of the side guide and the end guide, when the sheet size is determined, the sheet is stopped at a position corresponding to the sheet size.

A high capacity tray (HCF) is a supply tray that can hold thousands of copy sheets. For example, it is often appropriate for a customer who does not need to make a copy by enlarging or reducing a document or a customer having a small copy amount to purchase the base machine alone. On the other hand, a customer who makes a large number of copies or a customer who requires a complicated copying operation often needs a duplex tray or a large-capacity tray. As a means to fulfill these various requirements, this copier system has a structure in which each additional device can be easily installed or removed, and some additional devices have independent CPUs (central processing units). Then, distributed control by a plurality of CPUs is performed. This not only has the advantage that the product desired by the customer is easily obtained, but also the possibility of installing new additional equipment teaches the customer the possibility of a new copying operation. This will greatly enhance the purchase of this copier system in promoting the evolution of office paperwork.

The manual feed tray (MSI) 16 is a tray capable of storing about 50 sheets and paper sizes A2F to A6F, and is particularly capable of using large-size paper that cannot be stored in another tray. Conventional manual feed trays of this type
Since the manual feed is performed one sheet at a time, the copy sheet may be preferentially sent out from the manual feed tray when the manual feed is performed, and the operator does not need to select the manual feed tray itself. On the other hand, the manual feed tray 16 of the present invention can set a plurality of copy sheets at the same time. Therefore, if the feeding from the manual feed tray 16 is performed by setting the copy sheets, the feed may be started at the time when a plurality of copy sheets are set. In order to prevent such a situation, the manual tray 16 is selected.

In the present invention, compactness is achieved by adopting a configuration in which a nudger roll 513, a feed roll 512, and a takeaway roll 511 are integrally attached to a tray. After the leading edge of the paper is nipped by the take-away roll 511, the feed-out sensor detects the leading edge and pauses it to perform pre-registration to adjust the transfer position and absorb variations in paper feeding in the feeder section are doing. The fed sheet is fed to the transfer position of the photosensitive material belt 4 via the aligner 515.

(II-4) Automatic Document Feeder (DADF) In FIG. 21, the DADF 13 is mounted on the platen glass 2 of the base machine 1. In this DADF13,
A document tray 602 on which a document 601 is placed is provided. A delivery paddle 603 is arranged on the document sending side of the document tray 602, so that the documents 601 are sent out one by one. The fed document 601 is conveyed to an arc-shaped conveyance path 609 by a first driving roller 605 and a driven roller 606 thereof and a second driving roller 607 and a driven roller 608 thereof. Further, the arc-shaped conveyance path 609 joins with the manual conveyance path 610 and is connected to the horizontal conveyance path 611. At the exit of the arc-shaped conveyance path 609, a third drive roller 612 and its driven roller 613 are provided. Is provided. The third drive roller 612 is vertically movable by a solenoid (not shown).
The driven roller 613 is configured to be able to approach and separate from the driven roller. The horizontal transport path 611 is provided with a stop gate 615 that is rotated by a drive motor (not shown).
A reversing conveyance path 616 is connected to the arcuate conveyance path 609. A fourth drive roller 617 is provided in the reversing conveyance path 616.
Is provided. Further, a belt driving roller 619 is provided on the platen glass 2 so as to face the exit of the horizontal conveyance path 611, and the belt 621 stretched between the driven rollers 620 can be rotated forward and backward. At the exit of this belt conveyor,
A fifth drive roller 622 is provided, and a sixth drive roller 623 is provided in the manual feed path 610.
The two drive rollers 623 are provided in the front-rear direction of the base machine 1 (perpendicular to the paper surface in the figure), and are used to drive two originals of the same size.
It is configured to be able to send sheets simultaneously. 625
Reference numeral denotes a cleaning tape for cleaning the surface of the delivery paddle # 03 by the seventh driving roller 626.

Next, the photo sensor S ₁ to S ₁₂ will be described with reference also to Figure 22. S ₁ is no paper sensor, the take-away sensor S ₂ is for detecting passage of the document, S _3, S ₄ the manual feed conveying path 610 for detecting the presence of a document 601 on the document tray 602
Feed sensor provided before and after the, S ₅ is a registration sensor, which document at the stop gate 615 skewing of the document is corrected by the skew rollers 627 for detecting whether or not in position, S ₆ to S ₁₀ is the size of the document paper size sensor for detecting, S ₁₁ is a discharge sensor, S ₁₂ for detecting whether the document has been discharged is an end sensor for detecting the end of the cleaning tape 625.

Next, the operation of the DADF 13 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. (A) is a platen mode in which the original 601 is placed on the platen 2 and exposed.

(B) is the simplex mode, and the document tray 602
The document 601 is stacked such that the first side to be copied is on the upper side. When you press the start button,
While the first drive roller 605 and the second drive roller 607 rotate, the third drive roller 612 moves upward and separates from the driven roller 613, and the stop gate 615 descends to block the horizontal transport path 611. I do. As a result, the original 601 passes through the arc-shaped conveyance path 609 and is pressed against the stop gate 615 (to
). The skew roller 627 at the position of the stop gate 615, the document with its end portion is corrected so as to be perpendicular to the horizontal conveyance path 611, the document size is detected by the sensor S ₆ to S _10. Next, the third drive roller 612 moves downward to come into contact with the driven roller 613, and the stop gate 615 is moved.
Rises to open the horizontal transport path 611, and the third drive roller 61
2. The belt drive roller 619 and the fifth drive roller 622 rotate, and the platen 2
After being sent to an upper predetermined position and exposed, it is discharged. The same operation is performed when a single original is sent from the manual feed path 610. In addition to the function of sending originals one by one, a function of simultaneously sending two originals of the same size (2-UP), a large original It has a function to send paper (LDC) and a computer form feeder (CCF) to send continuous paper for computers.

(C) is a duplex mode in which the step of exposing one side of the document is the same as the steps (1) to (4) above, but when the one-sided exposure is completed, the belt drive roller 619 rotates in reverse and the third drive is performed. The roller 612 moves upward and separates from the driven roller 613, and the stop gate 615 descends to shut off the horizontal transport path 611. Therefore, the original is
16 and the fourth drive roller 617 and the second drive roller 617.
The roller 607 passes through the arc-shaped conveyance path 609 and is pressed against the stop gate 615 (-). Then the third
Of the third drive roller 612, the belt drive roller 619, and the fifth drive roller 622, while the drive roller 612 moves downward and comes into contact with the driven roller 613, and the stop gate 615 rises to open the horizontal transport path 611. Rotates, and the document is sent to a predetermined position on the platen 2 with the back surface of the document facing down and is exposed. When the exposure on both sides is completed, the belt drive roller 619 is again rotated in the reverse direction, is again conveyed to the reversing conveyance path 616, passes through the platen 2 in the same manner, and is discharged by the fifth drive roller 622 (〜). Accordingly, the discharged originals are stacked in the order in which the originals are first stacked on the original tray 602 with the first surface to be copied facing down.

(II-5) Sorter In FIG. 24, the sorter 19 has a sorter main body 652 and 20 pins 653 on a movable carriage 651. Sorter body 652
Inside the belt drive roller 6 that drives the conveyor belt 655
56 and its driven roller 657 are provided, and a chain drive sprocket 660 for driving the chain 659 and its driven sprocket 661 are provided. These belt drive roller 656 and chain drive sprocket 6
60 is driven by one sorter motor 658. Above the conveyor belt 655, a paper inlet 662, a paper outlet 663, and a switching gate 665 driven by a solenoid (not shown).
Is provided. An indexer 666 for switching and supplying copy paper to each bin is attached to the chain 659. As shown in Fig. 25, the motor for the sorter
658 drive shaft 671 rotation timing belt 67
It is transmitted to pulley 673 via 2. The rotation of the pulley 673 is transmitted to the belt drive roller 656 and to the chain drive sprocket 660 via the gear device 674.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIG. (A) shows the non-sort mode, and the switching gate 665 is for feeding the copy sheet to the uppermost discharge tray at the non-sort position. (B) indicates the sort mode, and the switching gate 665 is shown.
Is switched to the sort position, the odd-numbered sheets are conveyed to the bins in the odd-numbered stages from the top to the bottom bin, and the sheets of the even-numbered sheets are moved to the bins in the even-numbered stages toward the bottom-to-top bin. Conveyed. This reduces the sorting time. (C) and (D) show the stack mode, (C) shows an example in which four copies of four documents are copied for each document, and (D) shows a case where the maximum number of sheets per bin is exceeded. For example, if the number of sheets exceeds 50, it is stored in the next bin.

(III) Belt rotation (III-1) Outline of belt rotation The belt rotation consists of an imaging system and a marking system.

The imaging system is managed by the IMM subsystem 34, and writes and deletes a latent image. The marking system is managed by a marking subsystem 35, and performs charging, exposure, surface potential detection, development, transfer, and the like. In the present invention, the IMM subsystem 34 and the marking subsystem 35 cooperate with each other in order to achieve high-speed copying and high image quality by performing panel management and patch formation on the belt as described below. Thus, a latent image forming unit is configured.

 FIG. 27 is a diagram showing an outline of a belt periphery.

An organic photosensitive material belt 4 is arranged in the base machine 1. Since the organic photosensitive material belt forms the photosensitive material by coating the charge generating layer, the transfer layer, etc. on many layers, the degree of freedom is greater than the photosensitive drum which forms the photosensitive material by depositing Se,
Since the manufacturing is easy, the cost can be reduced, and the space around the belt can be increased, thereby facilitating the layout.

On the other hand, the belt expands and contracts, and the diameter of the roll also changes due to the temperature difference.Therefore, a belt hole is provided at a fixed distance from the belt seam to detect this, and a pulse corresponding to the rotation speed of the main motor Is generated by an encoder to form a machine clock, and a machine clock for one round is constantly counted, whereby a pitch signal serving as a reference for starting a carriage and a timing of a registration gate are corrected in accordance with expansion and contraction of a belt.

The organic photosensitive material belt 4 in this device has a length of 1 m or more, and 4 A4 size sheets and 3 A3 size sheets are mounted. However, since the belt has a seam, a panel (image formed on the belt) is always used. (Formation area) A copy of a panel that has not been managed cannot be taken. Therefore, the position of the panel is determined based on the belt hole provided at a certain distance from the seam, the number of panels (number of peaches) to be placed on the belt is determined according to the copy mode specified by the user, and the paper size. A signal is issued when the panel that first makes a copy by pressing the button comes to the position of the get park near the roll 201, and gives a signal that a copy can be made from here.

Organic photosensitive material belt 4 is charged corotron (charger) 21
1 is uniformly charged, and is driven at a constant speed in the clockwise direction in the figure. When the first panel comes a fixed time before the register (exposed portion) 231, a pitch signal is output, and the timing of carriage scanning and paper feed is set based on this pitch signal. Charge Corotron 21
The belt surface charged by 1 is exposed at an exposure location 231. A light image of a document placed on the platen glass 2 arranged on the upper surface of the base machine 1 is incident on the exposure location 231. For this purpose, an exposure lamp 102, a plurality of mirrors 101 to 113 for transmitting reflected light of the document surface illuminated by the lamp, and an optical lens 108 are arranged, of which the mirror 101 is used for reading the document. Be scanned. The mirrors 110, 111, and 113 constitute a second scanning optical system, which is called a PIS (Precession Image Scan). Since there is a limit in increasing the process speed, the copy speed can be increased without increasing the process speed. Scan the second scanning optical system in the direction opposite to the belt movement direction to increase the relative speed, and increase the maximum speed to 64 sheets / m
in (CPM).

An electrostatic latent image corresponding to the document is formed on the organic photosensitive material belt 4 by the image information exposed in a slit shape at the exposure portion 231. And IEL (Inter Image Lamp) 215
After performing unnecessary image and erase between images and side erasing, the electrostatic latent image is usually developed by a developing device 216 for black toner or a developing device 217 for color toner to create a toner image. The toner image moves with the rotation of the organic photosensitive material belt 4, and is transferred to a pre-transfer corotron (transfer device).
218, passing near the transfer corotron 220. The pre-transfer corotron 218 is usually for weakening the electric adhesion of the toner by applying an alternating current to facilitate the movement of the toner. Also, since the belt is formed of a transparent material, the belt is illuminated with light from the back with a pre-transfer lamp 225 (also used for erasing) before transfer, further weakening the electrical adhesion of the toner and transferring. Make it easier.

On the other hand, the copy paper accommodated in the supply tray of the base machine 1 or the copy paper manually fed along the manual feed tray 16 is sent out by a feed roll, guided by the conveyance path 501, and Pass between Transfer Corotron 220. The paper feed is basically performed by LEF (Long Edge Feed), and the registration gate is opened and closed so that the leading edge of the paper coincides with the exposure start position at the tacking point, and the toner image is transferred onto the copy paper. Then, the paper and the photosensitive material belt 4 are peeled off by the detack corotron 221 and the strip finger 222, and the copy paper after the transfer passes through the space between the heat roll 232 and the pressure roll 233 and is thermally fixed. And is discharged onto a discharge tray (not shown).

The photosensitive material belt 4 from which the copy paper has been peeled is easily cleaned by the pre-clean corotron 224, and the lamp 2
Unnecessary charges are erased by light irradiation from the back surface by the blade 25, and unnecessary toner, dust, and the like are scraped off by the blade 226.

A patch is formed between images on the belt 4 by the patch generator 212, and the electrostatic potential of the patch portion is detected by the ESV sensor 214 for density adjustment. Also belt 4
Has a hole as described above, and the belt speed is detected by the belt hole sensor 213 to detect the belt speed and control the process speed. ADC (Aut
o Density Control) The sensor 219 compares the amount of reflected light from the toner on the patch with the amount of reflected light when there is no toner to detect the degree of toner adhesion. Is detected when it is wrapped around.

FIG. 28 shows a state of panel division on the photosensitive material belt 4.

Since the belt 4 has a seam portion 251, an image is not placed on the belt portion 251. A belt hole 252 is provided at a position at a fixed distance l from the seam portion. For example, when the circumference is 1158 mm, l is 70 mm. . 253 and 254 in the figure are the first and last panels when the photosensitive material belt surface is divided into N pitches.
Is the panel interval, C is the panel length, and D is the panel pitch length, which is 289.5 mm for 4-pitch division, 386 mm for 3-pitch division, and 579 mm for 2-pitch division.
Seam 251 consists of LE (Lead Edge) on panel 253 and panel 254
A = B / 2 so as to be at the center with the TE (Tail Edge).

Note that the LE of the panel needs to match the LE of the paper, but the TE does not always match, and matches the maximum paper TE applicable to the panel.

(III-2) Imaging Module (III-2-1) Function of Imaging Module Next, the function of the IMM (imaging module) will be described.

FIG. 29 is a block diagram showing an outline of functions of the IMM subsystem.

When the functions of the IMM subsystem 34 are outlined, serial communication is performed with the IEL subsystem 40 via a bus line, an interrupt signal is sent by a hot line to perform high-precision control, and image formation is managed. A control signal is sent to the system 35 and the CHM subsystem 33 to control around the belt.

In addition, the main motor is controlled by detecting a hole opened in the organic photosensitive material belt 4, and a panel formation position is determined to perform panel management. In a low-temperature environment, the fuser is rotated idle to maintain the fixing roll at a predetermined temperature so that quick copying can be performed. When the start key is pressed, the system enters the setup state, _adjusts constants such as _VDP before copying, and when the copy cycle starts, erases the leading and trailing edges of the image based on the document size. Forming an image area. Further, a patch for toner density adjustment is formed by forming a patch in the inter-image area. Further, when a hard down cause such as a jam cause or a belt failure is detected, the belt is stopped or the machine is stopped by communicating with the sequence manager.

Next, input / output signals and operations of the IMM subsystem will be described.

A detection signal of the toner in the black toner bottle 261 and the color toner bottle 262 is input, and the remaining amount of the toner is detected.

From the optical registration sensor 155, an optical registration signal serving as a reference for a PG request signal, a bias request signal, and an ADC request signal output from the IMM subsystem to the marking subsystem is input.

The original size is input from the platen original size sensors S _{6 to} S ₁₀ , and the erase area by the IEL 215 is determined based on the original size and the paper size.

A belt hole signal is input from the belt hole sensor 213, and the process speed is controlled by the main motors 264 and 265 to correct for variations in the time the belt makes one revolution. Two main motors are provided so that they can be operated at an efficient operating point, the power of the motor can be efficiently output according to the load condition, and the effective use of the power and the stop position accuracy are improved. Regenerative braking by motor. Also, the motor can perform reverse drive. This is because if cleaning is performed by bringing the blade into close contact with the photosensitive material belt, paper dust and toner residue accumulate on the front side of the blade, and this is removed. Belt clutch 267
And only the belt can be selectively stopped. A pulse is generated from the encoder in synchronization with the rotation of the motor, and the pulse is used as a machine clock to obtain a machine clock corresponding to the belt speed.

If a hole cannot be detected for a certain period of time by the belt hole sensor 213 or the size of the hole has changed, this is transmitted from the IMM to the sequence manager, and the machine is stopped.

Further, the IMM subsystem performs serial communication with the IEL subsystem 40, sends an interrupt signal through a hot line, and sends out an IEL enable signal, an IEL image signal, an ADC patch signal, and an IEL black band signal. Unnecessary images are erased using the IEL image signal, and A
With the DC patch signal, the IEL subsystem 40 defines the shape and area of the patch area formed by the patch generator 212, and adjusts the charge amount to increase the electrostatic potential to 500 to 600V.
Adjust to a constant potential. The IEL black band signal forms a black band between the images at predetermined intervals so that toner adheres to the belt 4 at predetermined intervals so that the belt 4 is not damaged by the blade 226, and acts as a kind of lubricant. The belt 4 is prevented from being damaged even in the case of copying when the toner amount is extremely small as in the case of the following.

Further, the IMM communicates with the marking subsystem 35 via a hot line, and a patch formation request signal, a bias request signal, an AD
Send a C request signal. In response, the marking subsystem 35 drives the patch generator 212 to form a patch, drives the ESV sensor 214 to detect an electrostatic potential, and drives the developing machines 216 and 217 to form a toner image. doing. Further, it controls the drive of the pre-transfer corotron 218, the transfer corotron 220, and the detack corotron 221.

A pitch reset signal is sent from the IMM,
The start timing of the carriage is set based on this.

A detection signal as to whether or not the color developing unit is mounted is input to detect whether the toner of the developing unit is black or color.

A registration gate trigger signal is sent from the IMM to the CHM subsystem 33 to control so that the sheet and the leading edge of the image coincide at the tacking point, and when it is necessary to correct the timing of opening the registration gate, the correction amount is set. Calculated and sent.

The toner scraped off by the blade 226 is collected in a collected toner bottle 268, a detection signal of the amount of toner in the bottle is input to the IMM, and an alarm is issued when the amount exceeds a predetermined amount.

The IMM drives the fan motor 263 to prevent an abnormal temperature rise, so that the environmental temperature is within the allowable temperature range and a copy of stable image quality can be obtained.

(III-2-2) Timing chart FIG. 30 shows a timing chart.

The reference time for the control is the position of the optical registration sensor. The IEL is turned off after a predetermined time (T1) of the optical registration sensor ON / OFF signal. That is, the front end is turned on until T1 and the rear end is turned on after T2. In this manner, the image is formed by the IEL image signal, and the leading edge of the sheet at the tacking point is made to coincide with the leading edge of the image by controlling the timing of the registration gate. After the image formation is completed, an ADC patch signal is generated by a patch generator request signal (T5 after the reference time), and a patch is formed on the inter image. After the patch is formed, a bias request signal is issued (after T6) to perform development, and then an ADC request signal is issued (after T7) to detect toner density. Further, a black band is formed in the inter image by the black band signal.

During AE (Auto Exposure) scanning, I
Does not turn on / off the EL image signal.

(III-2-3) Circuit Configuration FIG. 31 is a diagram showing the connection between the main CPU and the IEL.

IELCPU47 is arranged at right angles to the belt movement direction
The image forming, patch forming, potential control, and the like are performed by controlling the IEL 215 consisting of 189 light emitting diodes of 2.4 mm square. IE
The LCPU 47 and the main CPU 41 perform serial communication, but the main CPU is responsible for this is the IMM 34 mounted on the main CPU, and the IMM 34 is a module mounted on the main CPU together with the sequence manager 32. The sequence manager 32 exchanges information by communication on software. FIG. 31 illustrates this module as if it were a circuit. Then, in serial communication with the IEL subsystem 40, an IEL enable signal, an IEL image signal, an SDC patch signal, and a black band signal are sent through a hot line by interrupt processing.

(III-3) Marking system (III-3-1) Marking system control system configuration Fig. 32 shows the relationship between the marking CPU and the main CPU connected by serial communication, and Fig. 33 shows the marking CPU.
Fig. 34 is a diagram showing a connection configuration with each element of Fig. 34. Fig. 34 is a diagram showing a software configuration of a marking system.

(A) Hardware configuration As shown in FIG. 32, the main CPU 41 has a ROM 323, NVRAM
(Non-volatile memory) 324, an interface 321 for transmitting and receiving data to and from the base machine, and an interface 322 for transmitting and receiving data to and from an additional device (OPTION). It is configured to communicate with the U / I CPU 46 and other CPUs on the serial communication line through the communication control circuit 327. The ROM 323 stores a program including subsystems such as the sequence manager, the imaging module, and the copy handling module described above. Bus arbiter 326, system RAM 32
The ROM 328 holds data transmitted from the main CPU 41 to other CPUs and data received from other CPUs so that the main CPU 41 can exchange data asynchronously with the timing of serial communication. , Communication control circuit 327
Stores a communication program for transmitting and receiving data via a serial communication line. Note that the main CPU 41 may be configured to perform all functions related to the bus arbiter 326 and the communication control circuit 327 related to communication. The subsystem of the sequence manager in the main CPU 41 monitors the status of each subsystem by serial communication, and when a copy mode signal is received from the user interface, the subsystem controls each subsystem so that copying can be efficiently performed at a predetermined timing. Give work instructions.

The marking CPU 42, as shown in FIG.
Is mounted on the main board. In the figure, the IMM 34 controls the IEL, the main motor through the servo system, and the cleaner 760.

The marking CPU 42 includes an exposure lamp power supply 703, a charge corotron power supply (CC HVPS) 702 for charging the photosensitive material, a pre-transfer corotron power supply (PTC HVPS) 904 for facilitating the transfer of the developed toner, and development. Transfer corotron power supply (TC HVPS) 905 to transfer the transferred toner, detack corotron power supply (DTC HVPS) 906 to discharge the paper from the photosensitive material, and prevent the toner cloud from entering the machine And a developing bias power supply 712, 713, and a pre-clean corotron power supply (PCC HVPS) 907 for cleaning the photosensitive material. The black and color developing machines 715 and 716 drive the mag roll using the power of the main motor, and this driving is performed via clutches 715 and 716 controlled by the marking CPU. Black and color developing machines 71
5,716 is selectively switched and used, and when one approaches the belt, the other is separated from the belt,
A sensor managed by the marking CPU detects whether the belt is set at a predetermined position in proximity to the belt. Also, the marking CPU 42 is connected via the relay board 902.
The SSR (Solid State Relay) controls the driving of the Colt lamp and detects the fuser temperature with a sensor to monitor the temperature. In addition, the thermostat of the fuser is operated offline, and the control by the marking is not performed. The marking CPU 42 controls the exposure amount by controlling the driving current of the lamp 102 through the FLPS 703, controls the driving of the exposure lamp heater, and controls the driving of the power supply 903 for the erase / pre-transfer lamp via the relay board 902. To control the erase / pre-transfer lamp.

(B) Software Configuration FIG. 34 is a diagram showing the software configuration of the Marquig CPU.

The marking system consists of a system initialization unit 921, a sequence control unit 922, and an interface data handler 923.
Only AM and NVM checks are performed. The sequence control unit 922 includes a state control unit 924 and a state analysis unit 925. The state analysis unit 925 analyzes which state the job is in, and whether or not all jobs in that state have been completed. At 924, control is made as to which state is to be entered next. The interface data handler 923 includes an input signal monitoring unit 926, an input data analysis unit 927, an input data handler 928, and an output data handler 929.The input signal monitoring unit 926 monitors communication from the main system to the marking system, When a communication interrupt is generated and detected, the read buffer is read and the input data handler 928 fetches data. The input data is analyzed by the input data analysis unit 927 to analyze what the input data means and what must be performed. Then, data to be transmitted to the main system is transmitted through the transmission buffer by the output data handler 929.

(III-3-2) State transition FIG. 35 is a diagram showing a state transition of the marking system.

The power-on state is a power-on / initialize state, in which various data and flags are initialized according to the contents written to the NVM, and a timer processing table for setting I / O input / output time is registered. At the same time, it is determined whether the normal copy mode or the dig mode has been selected.

The diagnostic mode is a mode provided for a serviceman to perform machine adjustment and the like, and is a mode for checking a failure history and the like and performing various setups. When the diagnostic mode is selected, the routine shifts to diagnostic standby (). The diagnosis standby is a state in which code numbers such as P3, P5, and P10 are selected and the start key is pressed. When the start key is pressed, the state becomes a diagran (), the code number is read, and P5, P10, etc. are executed to perform various adjustments. Upon completion, the state returns to the diagnosis standby state (). Return from the diagnostic mode to the normal mode is performed by power off / on.

When the initial setting in which the normal mode is selected is completed (), the process shifts to the standby in the normal mode. The standby state is a state until the start key is pressed, and there are (a) a standby NOT READY state and (b) a standby READY state.
In preparation for the fixing function, the fuser is raised to a constant temperature and the temperature distribution is made uniform. When this operation is completed, the operation shifts to standby READY, and when the start key is pressed, the operation shifts to the idle state (). In addition, standby NOT RE
The start key is accepted even in the ADY state, and the automatic start is performed when the fuser reaches a certain temperature. The reason why the state is divided into the standby NOT READY state and the standby READY state is to facilitate the fuser control.

Idle is a period of 100 msec after the start key is pressed, and is a state for performing processing that needs to be performed simultaneously with the rotation of the belt, for example, applying a developing machine bias, applying a voltage to an erase / pre-transfer lamp, Waiting for a copy start command from the main system.
Upon receiving the start stop command, the system returns to the standby READY state (), and shifts to the setup state by the setup request command from the main system (). Purge request from main system
When a command is received, the state shifts to a purge state. The idle state is provided to simplify state entry and exit and facilitate state control.

The setup condition is to clean the TARC on the photosensitive material, adjust the current value of each corotron to the target value,
_It adjusts the _{DDP to} the target value and adjusts the exposure.
When these processes are completed, the process returns to the idle state (). Shift to copy cycle ().

Cycle status includes charging, exposure, development, transfer, fixing,
Repeat the cleaning until receiving the all request command. Then, the shutdown of the marking system is completed, the outputs other than the BIAS and erase / pre-transfer lamps are stopped, a standby command is transmitted to the main system, and the system shifts to an idle state (), and returns to standby (). .

When a jam occurs, the printer shifts to the purge mode. When the jam is removed, the other paper that has already been fed is automatically discharged. P / R (Photo / Recept
er) The belt is cleaned, and the state is shifted to an idle state by a purge end command (). When a copy mode command is received in the idle state, the state is shifted to a cycle state ().

The emergency status changes from any state when an emergency jam occurs during a machine run or when an emergency stop such as the opening of the front interlock occurs, and the marking is controlled because post-processing is required. A process such as turning off all the output is performed. Then, when the emergency stop processing is completed, the processing shifts to standby ().

Further, the failure is a state in which all outputs are turned off when a failure condition, for example, overheating of the fuser, disconnection of the thermistor, etc. occurs regardless of whether the machine is running or in a standby state.

(III-4) Description of each element around belt (III-4-1) Charge corotron FIG. 36 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of control of the charge corotron.

The potential of the organic photosensitive material belt 4 varies depending on the fatigue of the photoreceptor, environmental conditions such as humidity and temperature, dirt and deterioration of the charge corotron, the type of photosensitive material, and the like. Development Potential must be maintained at the target value.

Therefore, after power-on, a set-up cycle is performed only at the first start, during which the dark potential (VDDP) of the photosensitive material belt is adjusted to a target value. During control,
VD in the inter-image holding VDDP on the belt
By sampling the DP patch area every cycle
Maintain VDDP at the target value. Turn off charge corotron
VDDP is corrected to decrease at the next start according to the time (9 steps). At the time of setup, at the end of setup, and at the three timings during copying, VDDP is checked.

In order to perform the above correction, the potential signal of the photosensitive material surface detected by the ESV sensor 214 is input to the marking CPU 42 arranged on the main board. The marking CPU 42 outputs a control signal so that the surface potential becomes the reference potential, and the D / A converter 701 converts the control signal into an analog control signal to control the high-voltage power supply 702. As a result, a predetermined grid voltage is applied from the high voltage power supply 702 to the charge corotron 211 to charge the belt. Then, the charge is sampled again by the ESV sensor, and a control signal is similarly output by the CPU 87. By repeating this, the potential on the belt is adjusted to a predetermined potential, and the remote value at this time is held.
The reference potential is, for example, 800 V and is held as ROM data. Then, during a copy cycle, a VDDP patch area is formed in a predetermined inter-image, and potential detection is performed once during each copy cycle, and control is performed so that VDDP is maintained at a target value. Also, charge corotron OF
The charging characteristic of the photosensitive material belt is recovered by F, but VDDP is reduced and corrected according to the OFF time. The VDDP is checked at the first time of setup, at the end of setup, and at three timings during copying. If the VDDP is out of the allowable range, control is performed in the open loop mode using the target charge corotron during setup.

(III-4-2) Illumination Control of Optical System FIG. 37 shows a configuration for performing illumination control of the optical system by the marking CPU.

Fluctuations in light intensity occur due to fluctuations in light intensity due to dirt on the optical system, changes in required light intensity due to magnification selection, changes in required light intensity due to density selection, and fluctuations in light intensity due to changes in lamp tube wall temperature. Therefore, it is necessary to correct such a variation.

Illumination control in this apparatus is performed by two methods, that is, control of the tube wall temperature of the exposure lamp and adjustment of the exposure amount.

Lens 108, mirrors 110, 11 directly with light from lamp 102
The photosensitive material belt 4 is exposed to light via 1 and 113, and the resulting electrostatic potential is detected by the ESV sensor 214. As an exposure amount detection signal,
The lamp wall temperature is detected by the lamp thermistor 706 and is input to the marking CPU 42 as a tube wall detection signal. Interface signals such as an M / C clock, a belt hole sensor, a scan end signal, a magnification setting, and a density setting are also input. Receiving these inputs, marking CP
The U42 controls ON / OFF of the lamp power supply 703, controls the supply current, controls the lamp heater 705, and also controls the cooling fan 263 to cool and control the light amount and the temperature. Is going.

(III-4-3) Developing Machine Control FIG. 38 is a view for explaining developing machine control by the marking CPU.

The marking CPU 42 is sent from the sensors 718 and 719 to the developing machine 21
Detection signals of black toner and color toner of 6, 217 are input. The signals from the D / A converter 711 control the de-bias power supplies 712, 713 to control the magrolls 721a, 721.
In addition to controlling the voltage applied to 1b and the voltage applied to the mag roll 722a to adjust the toner development amount, turning on / off the catch-up bias voltage and controlling the voltage applied to the catch-up roll from the development bias power supply 714 to the carrier. Is prevented from adhering to the photosensitive material. In addition, ON / OFF control of the development clutches 715 and 716 is performed to load the toner on the belt, and a retract motor 717 is controlled to separate the development housing from the belt.

(III-4-4) Schematic Configuration of Developing Machine FIG. 39 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the developing machine.

As shown in FIG. 39 (a), the copying machine of the present invention has a first developing device for black toner and a second developing device for color toner, and a first mag roll and a second mag roll, respectively. 721a, 722a, 721b and 722b are provided. The first developing machine and the second developing machine are operated by cams 735 and 736, respectively.
It is rotatable about pivots 738, 739 so that when one is in contact with the belt, the other is away. In addition, each developing machine is provided with catch-up rolls 723a and 723b, and the toner is dispersed in the form of a cloud in the machine, so that the toner does not stain the inside of the machine or reduce the amount of light in the patch area. And attracts it.

As shown in Fig. 39 (b), the toner is in the toner box
744, agitator 745, dispense auger 746
Dispensed through and through pipe 747 in auger 731
Is introduced and distributed. These drives are performed by a dispense motor 743. This toner is paddle 7
It is carried to the mag roll side by 33 and 734, and is carried to the belt surface by the mag roll. At this time, the toner supply amount is adjusted by the trimmers 739a and 739b, and the toner adhered to the mag roll surface is scraped off by the scrapers 740a and 740b.

(III-4-5) Control of the current value of the corotron FIG. 40 is for explaining the control of the current value of the corotron by the marking CPU.

The marking CPU 42 is a pre-transfer corotron 218 for facilitating transfer by weakening the electrical adhesion of the toner adhered to the photosensitive material belt, and for transferring the toner adhered to the photosensitive material belt to the paper for transfer. The transfer corotron 220 monitors the state of the detack corotron 221 to weaken the electrical suction force between the transfer corotron 220 and the photosensitive material belt to separate the paper and the photosensitive material belt, and controls ON / OFF the applied voltage to each. Similarly, an erase / pre-transfer lamp 225 for irradiating light from the back of the belt to facilitate the transfer while eliminating unnecessary charges and a pre-clean roller for easy cleaning The current supplied to the TRON 224 is controlled.

(III-4-6) Automatic Exposure Amount Control FIG. 41 is for explaining the outline of AE (Automatic Exposure).

The AE mode is executed when the AE mode is selected by U / I, and in the platen mode, every start print.
In F, SADF, LDC, CCF, RDH, and bypass modes, this is performed for each start print and document exchange. However, the document must be stopped at a predetermined position. The AE includes a mode in which AE pre-scan for measuring the density of the original is performed and a mode in which AE pre-scan is not performed.

When the exposure lamp 102 scans the original, the organic photosensitive material belt 4
A latent image potential corresponding to the original is formed thereon. This is ESV
The data is read by the sensor 214, and the output of the ESV sensor is taken from the A / D converter 751 into the marking CPU for the designated number of times at a designated timing. The density of the original is determined from the minimum value in the acquired data, and the developing bias, light amount, and the like are controlled.

(III-4-7) Schematic Configuration of Cleaner FIG. 42 is for describing the schematic configuration of the cleaner.

The cleaning blade 761 of the cleaner 760 is provided in the cleaner housing 768, is driven by a self-holding retract solenoid 765, and is configured to come into contact with or be separated from the belt 4. The toner scraped off by the cleaning blade 761 is prevented from falling down by the film seal 762, collected in the cleaner housing 768, and transferred by the auger 764. 769 is a guide rail, and 770 is a pre-clean charge corotron.

(III-4-8) Schematic Configuration of ADC FIG. 43 shows a schematic configuration of the ADC.

The ADC detects the amount of toner adhering to the ADC patch and compares it with a reference value to determine whether the toner density in the developing unit is excessive or insufficient. Based on the paper size and the amount of toner adhering at the time of detection, the toner supply in the developing device housing is performed. By controlling the amount, the reproducibility of a high-concentration solid portion is improved, and its maintenance is guaranteed.

When performing ADC, when scanning back the optical system, block the light with the lens shutter 707 so that the patch area is not erased, adjust it to a predetermined potential V _ADC with the patch generator, and adjust the potential to ESV. The measurement is performed by the sensor 214. V _BIAS is controlled so that V _ADC −V _BIAS = V _CONT is constant according to the measurement result. In this case, unnecessary charges other than the patch portion are eliminated by the IEL 214. When the patch passes through the developing device, a toner image is formed on the photosensitive material belt, so it is detected by the ADC sensor, amplified by the ADC amplifier, and the light reflection output is converted into a voltage value for marking.
Import to CPU42. On the other hand, the output of the clean surface on the belt is measured in advance. Thus, V _PATCH ÷ V
Judge whether _CLEAN × 200 is larger or smaller than the preset _value.If it is lower, turn off the motor of toner box 781 or 782.If it is higher, set the motor ON time according to the degree and paper size, and turn it ON / OFF. Control the time.

(III-5) Generation of Reference Timing Signal (Main Part of the Present Invention) (III-5-1) Division of Copy Frame The organic photosensitive material belt in this apparatus has a length of 1158 mm, and four sheets of A4 size. Three sheets of A3 size are placed, but the photosensitive material has a seam, and the seam part has different photosensitive characteristics from other parts, so split the copy frame to prevent development of the seam part There is a need. The number of divisions depends on the paper size and magnification.
The division of the copy frame in the case of 4-pitch, 3-pitch, 2-pitch, and 1-pitch will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 44 is a diagram showing division of a copy frame in the present invention.

In the present invention, 4 pitches, 3 pitches, 2 pitches,
The copy frame is divided into one pitch, and the copy frames are sequentially numbered as # 1, # 2,... Counting from the seam. And
The seam is positioned at the center of the inter image, and the copy frame is positioned in the case of 4 pitches and 3 pitches so that the copy frames are arranged at equal intervals. Is aligned with the lead edge of the # 2 copy frame in the case of 1 pitch and in the case of 1 pitch. A patch area for ADC or VDDP is formed in the inter image. In this embodiment, one round of the belt is 1158 mm.
In the 4, 3, 2, 1 pitch division, 289.5m from the lead edge of the copy frame to the lead edge
m, 386 mm, 579 mm, 1158 mm, and copy frame widths are 216 mm, 297 mm, 297 mm, and 670 mm, respectively. It should be noted that such a pitch division is determined by the paper size and magnification in the main system and is transmitted to the IMM.

(III-5-2) Pitch reset generation timing Exposure for forming a latent image is performed at the OPT REGI position. In this embodiment, PIS (Precession Image Scan) is performed so that the copier speed is increased without increasing the process speed. The exposure position is not fixed but moves because the optical system is used. Therefore, the OPT REGI position (exposure start position) on the photosensitive material is determined by the
This is the exposure point when it is just below the position. Then, at the start of the latent image formation, the leading end of the copy frame for forming the latent image
It must be at the OPT REGI position, and the leading edge of the copy frame on which the latent image has been formed and the paper must coincide at the tacking point. Therefore, the pitch reset is issued a predetermined time before the actuator of the carriage depresses the REGI sensor so that the preparation of the CHM paper feed and the OPT scan start can be made in time. In this case, the LDC does not form a latent image by scanning, but rather moves the document on the exposed carriage. The pitch reset is issued earlier than in the case of scanning, and the LDC 200% is one copy frame earlier.

FIG. 45 is a diagram showing a relationship between a belt hole sensor as a reference position detecting means, a lead edge of each copy frame and timing, and FIG. 46 is a diagram for explaining a formula for calculating a pitch reset occurrence timing.

In FIG. 45, the distance from the belt hole sensor to the OPT REGI position C (the exposure start position for forming a latent image) is B.
(= 152.8mm), the distance from the OPT REGI position to the pitch reset position is A (= 78.8mm), the distance from the seam to the belt hole is D (= 70mm), from the seam to the lead edge of the # 1 copy frame Is E (36.75 mm for 4-pitch division, 44.5 mm for 3-pitch division), the process speed is 308.9 mm / sec, and the required time from the belt hole sensor to each copy frame is T1, T2, T3, T
4. Let X1, X2, X3, X4 be the time required from the pitch reset occurrence position to the read edge of each copy frame.

As shown in FIG. 46, (A) In the case of 4-pitch division, Becomes Further, the time from the belt hole to the pitch position a = 750 msec is subtracted, and the time from the pitch position to the leading end of each copy frame is obtained. X1 = T1−a = 80 msec X2 = T2−a = 1017 msec X3 = T3−a = 1954msec X4 = T4-a = 2891msec.

The reason why the value of the distance A from the OPT REGI position to the pitch reset occurrence position was set to 78.8 mm is that the pitch reset signal is a reference signal for the carriage scan start. For example, a photosensitive material corresponding to the scan start of the carriage so that the preparation for the carriage start such as the sensor check, the motor check, the position check of the second optical system, etc. can be sufficiently performed even if there is a variation, for example, in a range of about 70 to 180 msec. The purpose is to issue a pitch reset 255 msec before the upper REGI position, which is converted to a distance of 78.8 mm. By managing the time from this position to the copy frame, it is possible to prepare for the start of scanning of the carriage in all cases.

(B) In the case of three pitch division, Becomes When the time from the belt hole to the pitch position a ≒ 750 msec is subtracted and the time from the pitch position to the leading end of each copy frame is obtained, X1 = T1−a = 417msec X2 = T2−a = 1667msec X3 = T3−a = It will be 2917 msec.

The above is the theoretical value of the timing with respect to the pitch position of the leading end of each copy frame.
The clocks are converted into microseconds and managed by clocks. Further, in consideration of the variation in the number of clocks for one rotation of the belt, this is corrected and used when detecting a belt hole. By performing management using such a clock, even if there is a speed change due to belt expansion and contraction, a change in the roll diameter, or the like, this change is incorporated as a change in the number of clocks, so that this change can be absorbed.

Next, correction of the M / C clock at the time of belt hole detection will be described.

FIG. 47 is a diagram showing a machine clock table. M1, M2, M3, and M4 represented by pointer values 0 to 3 are the number of machine clocks in the past four rounds of the belt. Assuming that the current pointer indicates 0, when the number of M / C clocks for one round of the belt is obtained, the value is updated as the value of M1. Then, the pointer is incremented, and when the number of M / C clocks for the next round of the belt is obtained, the value is updated as the value of M2. In this way, the number of M / C clocks in each of the past four rounds of the belt is always rewritten, and (M1 + M2 + M3 + M4) / 4 is used to correct variations in the number of machine clocks.

The timing value of the leading end of each copy frame with respect to the pitch position thus obtained is created as a pitch timer table as shown in FIG. 48, and the pointer value is made to correspond. In addition, since it is actually managed by the M / C clock,
In the table in the figure, the number of M / C clocks is also shown corresponding to the timing value.

The pointer value is set to, for example, 0 to 6 so as to correspond to all pitch reset timings that may occur during one round of the belt. For example, in the case of 4-pitch division, the pointer value 0,
2, 4, and 5 correspond, and in the case of three-pitch division, pointer values 1, 3, and 6 correspond. In the case of two pitch division,
The pointer values 0 and 4 correspond to each other, and in the case of one pitch division, the pointer value 2 corresponds.

Then, as shown in FIG. 49, the M / C clock is counted based on the time of belt hole detection, and when the count value becomes the same as each set M / C clock value of the pitch timer table, that is, in FIG. A pitch reset is generated at the timing of. Then, in accordance with the selected pitch division, it is determined only whether or not the timing is a relevant pitch reset occurrence timing, and if the timing is a relevant timing corresponding to the selected pitch division, a pitch reset signal is generated. When the pitch reset signal is generated, the IMM notifies the timing of the pitch by activating the pitch processing of the SQMGR and the CHM. It should be noted that the pitch reset signal itself is not informed to any of the subsystems, and the other subsystems are informed of some timing based on the pitch via the SQMGR. As described above, since all pitch reset timings are always generated, it is possible to generate a pitch reset signal at the shortest pitch reset timing from any request for changing the pitch.

(III-5-3) Software Configuration of IMM FIG. 50 is a diagram showing a software configuration of the IMM.

IMM is 100 ms every 10 ms from main system monitor
10 ms interval processing unit 82 that is started each time
0, 100 msec interval processing unit 821, event processing unit 822 also started from the monitor, M / C clock interrupt processing unit 823 started by M / C clock interrupt, REGI
REGI interrupt processing unit activated by interrupt from sensor
It consists of 824.

(A) 10 msec interval processing The 10 msec interval processing unit 820 is called from the main monitor every 10 msec, and receives interface data between modules, serial interface data, and a processor state. Since the IMM is a module mounted on the same CPU as the SQMGR, data exchange with the SQMGR is processed as inter-module interface data.

After receiving power from the SQMGR, perform initialization and M / C startup processing after the power is turned on. In the setup after the power is turned on, detect the belt hole by rotating the belt 4 to 5 times, and count the M / C clock during that time. Then, the average of the past four M / C clocks is obtained, and the belt management can be normally performed only when the average M / C clock is obtained. For other setups, the machine that turns on the main motor and IEL is started. Thereafter, the setup process simply returns a setup end command to the SQMGR immediately upon receiving the setup command. In the start copy process, the SQMG
Information about the start, such as information on paper size, magnification, binding margin, etc., is received from R, and a timer for erasing is created, or the created data is sent to IEL. The process of creating various timers is performed. In the get park process, when the machine starts moving, various remote processes, such as charging the photosensitive material with a charge corotron, are performed.
The get park request is sent to the MM, and the IMM receives the get park request and notifies the SQMGR when the lead edge of the charged copyable copy frame reaches the get park point. 996μsec for M / C clock fail check processing
If the M / C clock that should be output every time does not come out or is irregular, it will be impossible to control it. First, monitoring is performed for 300 msec, and if the M / C clock does not enter during this time, a failure is determined. Thereafter, monitoring is performed every 100 msec to determine whether the M / C clock is input or not, and monitoring is repeatedly performed until the main motor stops. In the shutdown processing, stop park processing for stopping the first copy panel at the stop park point in the next copy operation, jam processing, and emergency stop processing are performed. In the jam processing, the SQMGR notifies the IMM of the occurrence of the jam based on the jam information from the CHM, etc., and upon receiving this information, the IMM performs a process of stopping the main motor, and changes the stopping method according to the jam position and the copy mode. This is because if you stop the M / C, you will not know where the paper is stopped.In particular, if the paper stops between the units and stops, there is a high possibility that the paper will break when you pull out the unit and remove the paper. Therefore, basically, the paper preceding the jammed paper is discharged, and the main module is stopped so that the paper succeeding the jammed paper does not straddle between the units. In the emergency stop processing, the processor state sent from the SQMGR and managed by the main system is monitored, and if a hard down occurs due to a failure or opening / closing of an interlock, an emergency stop of the M / C is performed. ing.

The IMM performs serial communication only with the IEL, and performs serial interface data processing with the IEL.

The communication error check is a process of checking the communication error with the IEL. The monitor checks whether there is a communication error, and sets a flag at a predetermined address when a communication failure occurs, and the IMM looks at this flag. It knows that a communication error has occurred and informs SQMGR of that fact.

In the belt management processing, creation of the M / C clock table,
Creation of a belt management table consisting of the values of the lead edge of each panel, creation of a pitch timer table, REGI correction to correct the timing of register gate open, PG request, BIAS request, and SDC request during 5 consecutive laps An open loop check to notify the marking and a belt fail check to monitor if the number of M / C clocks around the belt is too large, the belt hole is too large, the belt is not running, etc. are performed.

(B) 100 msec interval processing The 100 msec interval processing unit 821 receives a developing machine signal, a toner sensor signal, a bottle full sensor signal, and an APS sensor signal, and detects the position / presence of the developing device which does not require much urgency. The color detection device detects the empty toner, detects the fullness of the collection bottle, and detects the size of the platen document, and outputs the detected information. 100m platen document size detection
The reason for setting sec is that when a person sets a document on the platen, the document is not properly set at the predetermined position from the beginning, and it takes time to set the document at the predetermined position. The output of the size sensor may change many times, each time the SQMGR
Is to detect a different document size.

(C) Event Processing In the event processing performed by the event processing unit 822, since pitch reset requires accuracy, it should be created by an interrupt of the 1M / C clock. M /
The C clock is counted, and when the timing of the pitch is found, the pitch signal is sent once to the monitor to have the monitor start up. And IMM from the monitor
Is activated, the IMM processes the pitch
R is calling CHM.

(D) M / C clock interrupt processing The M / C clock interrupt processing unit 823 receives an M / C clock count and a belt hole detection signal each time an M / C clock interrupt occurs, and detects a belt hole. A belt hole detection process is performed, and a pitch timing check process is performed to check whether each timing value in the pitch timer table matches the M / C clock count value.

(E) REGI interrupt processing The REGI interrupt processing sets each timer by an interrupt at the timing when an image starts to be loaded, and performs a predetermined processing at a predetermined position on the photosensitive material. Depending on the set, IEL ON / OFF processing at a predetermined timing from the REGI interrupt, image erasing processing, DDP timing control to control the timing of detecting the surface potential of the patch area provided in the inter image, similarly provided in the inter image ADC timing control to control the timing to detect the surface potential and toner density of the patch area
In addition, black band processing for reducing the friction coefficient of the photosensitive material by placing toner on a predetermined inter-image area, and REGI gate timing control are performed.

REGI gate timing control is a process in which the IMM informs the CHM of the timing of opening the REGI gate.
Notify CHM at a predetermined timing from the GI interrupt, CHM has set a further timer from that timing,
This timer is set based on three pieces of information: the binding margin, the opening timing of the registration gate specified by NVMAM, and registration correction data.

(III-5-4) Software Configuration for Generating Reference Timing Signal FIG. 51 is a diagram showing a software configuration for generating a reference timing signal according to the present invention.

When the belt hole check processing unit 804 detects that the belt hole is normal, the counter 801 is cleared each time a belt hole is detected, and the pitch timer table creation unit 806 creates the pitch timer table 808 at the same time. The pitch pointer 807 indicates what the current pitch is, and is cleared each time a belt hole is detected. The pitch reset determination processing unit 802 compares the value of the counter 801 with the value of the pitch timer table indicated by the pitch pointer every time the M / C clock is interrupted. It is determined whether or not the magnification is 200% in the LDC mode, and a pitch reset signal is generated at a predetermined timing from the pitch reset generation processing unit 803 accordingly. The pitch reset determination processing unit 802, the pitch timer table 808, and the pitch reset generation processing unit 803 constitute a latent image formation timing generation unit.

(III-5-5) Flow of Pitch Reset Signal Generation Processing FIG. 52 is a diagram showing a flow of pitch timer table creation processing and pitch reset determination processing at the time of belt hole detection and M / C clock interruption.

FIG. 52 (a) shows a pitch timer table creation process by the pitch timer table creation unit 806 of FIG. 51,
When a belt hole is detected (step 1002), the belt 1
The M / C clock counter is cleared to obtain the number of M / C clocks for the circumference, and the pitch pointer is cleared to newly generate a pitch reset signal for one round of the belt (steps 1003 and 1004). Then, the timing value of the leading end of each copy frame with respect to the REGI position is calculated, and the calculated timing is calculated as the average value of the number of clocks for one rotation of the belt (the last 4 clocks).
The number of clocks using
The pitch timer table shown in the figure is created (step 1005).

FIG. 52 (b) shows a pitch reset determination process for creating a pitch reset by the pitch reset determination processing unit 802 in FIG. 51 using the pitch timer table created in the process of FIG. 52 (a). I have.

Each time an M / C clock interrupt occurs (step 101
1), the M / C clock counter is incremented (step 1012), and thereafter the M / C clock is counted. Then, it is determined whether or not the content of the M / C clock counter matches the M / C clock value of the pitch timer table indicated by the pitch pointer, and if they match, it is time to issue a pitch reset. The following pitch reset determination processing is performed (steps 1013 and 1014). In this case, since the M / C clock value of the pitch timer table is a value from the REGI position, the content of the M / C clock counter is also adjusted to this.

FIG. 53 is a diagram showing a flow of pitch determination processing for each pitch division.

FIG. 53 (a) shows a case where the pitch pointer indicates φ, that is, the pitch pointer home position, which is a case of 4 pitches or 1 pitch. Therefore, it is first determined whether or not the pitch division at that time is 4 pitches (step 1022). If the pitch is 4 pitches, it matches the value φ of the pitch pointer, so that a pitch reset signal is generated (step 1025). Next, if it is not four pitches, it is determined whether or not it is one pitch. In the case of one pitch, there is a case of LDC mode in some cases. Therefore, it is determined whether the mode is other than the LDC mode. If the pitch is one pitch and not LDC, it matches the pitch pointer value φ. In other cases, pitch reset generation processing is not performed.

FIG. 53 (b) shows the case where the pitch pointer is 1, that is, 3 pitches. Then, it is determined whether or not the pitch division at this time is 3 pitches (step 1032). If the pitch is 3 pitches, it matches the pitch pointer value 1 and pitch reset generation processing is performed (step 1033). This is not performed in cases other than 3 pitches.

FIG. 53 (c) shows the case where the pitch pointer is 2, that is, 4 pitches or 2 pitches.

First, it is determined whether or not the pitch division at this time is 4 pitches (step 1042).
Therefore, pitch reset generation processing is performed (step 1044). Next, if it is not 4 pitches, it is determined whether or not it is 2 pitches (step 1043). If it is 2 pitches, it matches the pitch pointer 2 and the same pitch reset generation processing is performed (step 1044). No reset occurs.

FIG. 53 (d) shows a case where the pitch pointer is 3, which is a case of 3 pitches.

Therefore, it is determined whether or not the pitch division at this time is 3 pitches (step 1052). If the pitch is 3 pitches, it matches the pitch pointer 3, so that a pitch reset generation process is performed to generate a pitch reset signal (step 1053). It does not occur in other cases.

FIG. 53 (e) shows a case where the pitch pointer is 4, that is, 4 pitches or 1 pitch and the magnification is 200% in the LDC mode.

First, it is determined whether or not the pitch division at this time is 4 pitches (step 1062).
Therefore, pitch reset generation processing is performed (step 1066).
Judge whether the mode is the LDC mode or the magnification is 200%.
In the case of the C mode and the magnification of 200%, the pitch coincides with the pitch pointer 4, so that a pitch reset signal is generated. In other cases, the pitch reset signal is not generated (steps 1063 to 1063).
65).

FIG. 53 (f) shows that the pitch pointer is 5, that is, 4 pitches,
This is the case of LDC mode with 2 pitches or 1 pitch and magnification of 200%.

Therefore, it is first determined whether or not the pitch division of K is 4 pitches (step 1072). If the pitch is 4 pitches, it matches the pitch pointer 5, so that a pitch reset signal is generated (step 1077). It is determined whether or not the pitch is 2 pitches (step 1073). If the pitch is 2 pitches, the pitch pointer 5 is matched, so that a pitch reset signal is generated in the same manner. It is determined whether or not the magnification is 200%. In the case of LDC mode with one pitch, and when the magnification is 200%, the pitch coincides with the pitch pointer 5, so that a pitch reset signal is similarly generated (1074 to 1074).
76), otherwise, no pitch reset signal is generated.

FIG. 53 (g) shows a case where the pitch pointer is 6 and a pitch is 3 pitches.

Therefore, at this time, it is determined whether or not the pitch division is three pitches. If the pitch is three pitches, the pitch pointer 6 is signified, and a pitch reset signal is generated (steps 1082 and 108).
3) In other cases, no pitch reset signal is generated.

By performing the processing described above, 7 shown in FIG.
Among the pitch reset signals, a pitch reset signal corresponding to the corresponding pitch is generated.

In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which all pitch reset signals generated in one rotation of the belt are prepared as a table.
The clock is counted, and when the pitch is changed, the next pitch reset timing is obtained by calculation based on the timing of the changed pitch and the number of M / C clocks counted from the current belt hole detection. You may do so.

(III-5-6) Belt hole detection Belt hole detection is a process for recognizing the base point of one round of the belt, and is performed every time an M / C clock interrupt occurs at an interval of 996 μsec. State is 7M / C
If there is more than the clock, it is assumed that a regular belt hole has been detected, and the accuracy of 1 msec is secured by detecting it in the M / C clock interrupt. Checking whether the detected belt hole is abnormal is performed by the belt management processing in the processing called from the monitor every 10 msec, and it is regarded as normal if the clock is 29 M / C clock or less. This is because the belt hole is the starting point for all
The detection is strictly performed for each M / C clock, and the abnormality check after detection is performed every 10 msec, for example, even if the belt hole becomes slightly larger in the longitudinal direction, as long as the belt does not break, no problem occurs. The process is performed.

FIG. 54 is a diagram showing a state of belt hole detection, and FIG. 55 is a diagram showing a timing chart of belt hole detection.

In FIG. 54, when a belt hole sensor composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element arranged opposite to each other with the belt therebetween is opposed to the belt hole, it is turned on, and a rising a and a falling b of the detection output as shown in the figure are obtained. . The interval at which the detection output is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold level V _T and counted in M / C clock. This belt hole length is 16.9 when the M / C clock cycle is 996 μsec.
Pulses are standard, max18.8 pulses, min15.1 pulses. If there is 7M / C clock (equivalent to 2.15mm length), it is recognized as a regular belt hole. It corresponds to almost half of the regular belt hole for 7M / C clock, and there is no erroneous detection due to noise at this level. Also, since the belt hole length is detected based on the number of M / C clocks, it can be detected with an accuracy of 1 M / C clock.

The timing chart at this time is as shown in Fig. 55. When the belt hole detection is performed and the 7M / C clock is counted, the belt hole detection flag is set, the number of M / C clocks for one revolution of the belt is saved, and the pitch pointer is set. A hole job such as clearing is started.

(A) Main CPU configuration for belt hole detection FIG. 56 is a diagram showing the configuration of the main CPU for belt hole detection.

Main CPU: Address ADφ-15, ABφ-7, input port PAφ-7, PBφ-2, 4-7, output port PB3, PC
1, 4, external interrupt terminals INT1 and INT2, a counter input terminal Ci, and the like. Two interrupts are required because special hardware settings are required. Meanwhile, OPT REGI
The sensor signal, scan end signal, LDC lead edge signal, and DOCUMENT REGI signal all want to be used as interrupt signals, so for the OPT REGI sensor signal, scan end signal, and LDC lead edge signal, one external interrupt terminal is passed through the OR circuit. Input to INT2, and if there is any one of the three inputs, this is taken in as an interrupt signal. The DOCUMENT REGI signal is input to another external interrupt terminal INT1 and used exclusively.
Also, OPT REGI sensor signal, scan end signal, LDC
The read edge signal is input to PB4, 6, and 7, for example, INT
2 and PB4 have an OPT REGI sensor signal interrupt, INT2 and PB6 have an LDC read edge signal interrupt, and INT2 and PB7 have a scan end signal interrupt. INT2 as if there was
When there is an interrupt to, it refers to another port to determine what the interrupt is. The counter input Ci to which the M / C clock is input has a function of generating an interrupt when the input pulse enters the timer event counter and the count value reaches a set value, and is used as an M / C clock interrupt terminal. It is functioning. The value set in the timer table of the monitor is counted down every time the M / C clock is input, and the processing performed by the timer is executed. The detection of the belt hole is performed by incrementing the counter every time there is an M / C clock interrupt during the ON period of the belt hole sensor due to the input of the PB2 terminal, so that the detection can be performed with an accuracy of 1 M / C clock. I have to.

(B) Belt hole detection processing flow FIG. 57 is a diagram showing a processing flow of belt hole detection.

If there is an M / C clock interrupt, this process is started and it is determined whether or not the belt hole sensor is ON (step 1091).
If it is, the M / C clock counter is incremented (step 1093), and if the belt hole counter is 7, the belt hole detection flag is set (steps 1094 and 109).
5) By referring to this, it can be seen that the belt hole was detected. And M / from the previous belt hole detection
The number of C clocks, that is, the number of M / C clocks for one revolution of the belt is saved (step 1096), and the pitch pointer and the belt hole counter are cleared by φ (steps 1097 and 1098). In addition,
If the belt hole counter does not reach 7 in step 1094, when the belt hole sensor is turned off, the belt hole counter is cleared (step 1099), and the belt hole detection flag is not set.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, a reference position provided on a photoconductor in which a plurality of latent image formation areas can be set is detected, and one rotation of the photoconductor is performed with reference to the detection timing of the reference position. Since all the latent image formation timings corresponding to the latent image areas that can be generated according to the latent image formation conditions are sequentially generated, no matter when the latent image formation conditions are requested to be changed, the shortest timing from there is required. A latent image can be formed based on a latent image forming timing corresponding to the changed latent image forming condition. For example, in the case of R / L = 1, 4 MIX originals, and ADF mode, the conventional method has to wait a maximum of one revolution of the belt every time the original size is switched. In contrast, according to the present invention,
For example, when 4 pitches and 3 pitches occur alternately and one skip does not occur, copying ends in 7/6 laps (= 2/4 + 2/3).

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a recording apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an overall schematic configuration, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a control system, and FIG. 4 is a hardware configuration of a CPU. FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a transfer data structure and transmission timing of serial communication, FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a time chart showing a mutual communication interval in one communication cycle, and FIG. 7 is a state of the main system. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a scanning exposure apparatus, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration of a lens driving system, FIG.
10 is a diagram showing a control system configuration of the optical system, FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the optical system, FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a user interface mounting state using a display, FIG. 13 is a display Fig. 14 is a diagram for explaining the selection mode, Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a screen other than the selection mode screen, and Fig. 16 is a hardware configuration of the user interface. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a software configuration of a user interface, FIG. 18 is a side view for explaining a paper transport system, FIG. 19 is a side view of a paper tray, FIG.
20 is a plan view of the duplex tray, FIG. 21 is a side view of the automatic document feeder, FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of the sensors, FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the automatic document feed,
24 is a side view showing a configuration of the sorter, FIG. 25 is a side view showing a drive system of the sorter, FIG. 26 is a view for explaining the operation of the sorter, and FIG. 27 is a view showing an outline of the belt rotation. FIG. 28 is a view showing a state of panel division on the photosensitive material belt, FIG. 29 is a view for explaining the function of the imaging module, FIG.
FIG. 30 shows a timing chart, FIG. 31 is a circuit block diagram of an imaging module, and FIG. 32 is a marking.
FIG. 33 is a diagram showing a relationship between a CPU and a main CPU connected by serial communication, FIG. 33 is a diagram showing a connection relationship between a marking CPU and a control element, FIG. 34 is a diagram showing a software configuration of a marking CPU, and FIG. The figure shows the state transition diagram of the marking system,
FIG. 36 is a diagram for explaining the grid potential control of the charge corotron, FIG. 37 is a diagram for explaining the illumination control of the optical system, FIG. 38 is a diagram for explaining the control of the developing machine, and FIG. FIG. 40 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a developing machine, FIG. 40 is a diagram showing current value control of a corotron, FIG. 41 is a diagram for explaining AE, FIG. 42 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a cleaner, FIG. FIG. 44 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ADC, FIG. 44 is a diagram showing division of a copy frame in the present invention, FIG. FIG. 47 is a diagram for explaining a formula for calculating a pitch reset occurrence timing, FIG. 47 is a diagram showing a machine clock timer table, FIG. 48 is a diagram showing a pitch timer table, FIG.
FIG. 50 shows a timing chart, FIG. 50 shows a software configuration of the IMM, FIG. 51 shows a configuration of an apparatus for generating a reference timing signal of the present invention, and FIG. 52 shows a pitch timer table creation process. FIG. 53 is a diagram showing the flow of pitch reset determination processing for each pitch pointer value, FIG. 53 is a diagram showing the state of belt hole detection, and FIG. FIG. 56 is a diagram showing a timing chart of detection, FIG. 56 is a diagram showing the configuration of a main CPU for belt hole detection, and FIG. 57 is a diagram showing a processing flow of belt hole detection. 01: Reference position detection means, 02: Reference timing signal creation means, 03: Pitch timer table.

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-60-257439 (JP, A) JP-A-62-269160 (JP, A) JP-A-57-44158 (JP, A) JP-A-62-150268 (JP, A) , A) JP-A-62-127765 (JP, A) JP-A-62-132564 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G03G 21/00 370-540 G03G 21 /14

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A reference position detecting means for detecting a reference position provided on a photoreceptor capable of setting a plurality of latent image forming areas, and a photoreceptor 1 based on a detection timing of the reference position by the reference position detecting means. A latent image forming timing generating means for sequentially generating all latent image forming timings corresponding to a latent image area that can be generated according to a latent image forming condition in the circumference; and forming the latent image when the latent image forming condition is changed. A latent image forming means for forming a latent image based on a latent image forming timing corresponding to the changed latent image forming condition among the latent image forming timings generated by the timing generating means.