JP4219831B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  Conventional image forming apparatuses such as copiers, printers, facsimiles, and printing apparatuses include large-sized ones that can handle wide paper and long paper. Usually, multiple paper output destinations can be selected, and the image forming apparatus installation environment It can be switched according to constraints such as. There are various combinations, such as providing multiple paper discharge destinations such as the front paper discharge outlet and the rear paper discharge outlet, and making it possible to selectively attach and detach from the plurality of trays that store the paper discharged from the rear paper discharge outlet. To do.

  In Patent Document 1, a standard-size paper or a long paper having a paper discharge destination as a rear paper discharge port does not fall on the floor or the like to cause a stain or a paper break, or dissipate. There has been proposed an image forming apparatus provided with a stack tray that accommodates (stacks) a bundle of discharged sheets so as to be easily taken out by an operator.

  In the image forming apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-26883, paper on which an image is formed is discharged to a stack tray installed in a horizontal direction. When paper of a long size, a wide size, a large size, or the like is discharged, the paper is dropped or dissipated. To do. For this reason, there has been proposed an image forming apparatus provided with a floor tray that can stack sheets of a long size, a wide size, a large size, and the like discharged from the rear discharge port in the vertical direction.

  In an image forming apparatus provided with a plurality of paper discharge destinations such as a front paper discharge port and a rear paper discharge port, the order of documents to be stacked differs depending on the paper discharge destination.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when a large-size copy sheet is discharged from the rear discharge port 171 to the floor-mounted discharge tray 173, the leading end of the copy sheet discharged from the discharge destination switching device 170 The rear end 23 of the copy paper is continuously pushed out by the driving force of the fixing roller 161 of the fixing device 16 even after 22 is conveyed downward by its own weight and comes into contact with the lowest portion 1732 of the floor-mounted paper discharge tray 173. 22 is pressed by the lowest portion 1732 of the floor-mounted paper discharge tray 173 and the central portion is bent, so that the trailing edge 23 of the copy paper discharged from the paper discharge destination switching device 170 exceeds the outer outer wall 1730. The copy paper covers the outer outer wall 1730 with the copy print surface 20 facing downward, and similarly, the copy print surface 20 of the copy paper to be subsequently discharged is the back surface 21 side of the previously discharged copy paper. It is stacked and stacked sequentially so as to cover. Therefore, when the originals are read sequentially from the top as shown in FIG. 8A, when the images are formed (printed in the same order) and discharged in the same order as the reading order, the reading order is shown as shown in FIG. Can be stacked in the same order as

  As shown in FIG. 9, when a small-size copy sheet is discharged from the rear discharge port 171 to the floor discharge tray 173, the leading end 22 of the copy sheet discharged from the discharge leading edge switching device 170. Is transported downward by its own weight and passes through the fixing roller 161 of the fixing device 16 before the rear end portion 23 of the copy sheet passes through the fixing roller 161 of the fixing device 16 before coming into contact with the lowest portion 1732 of the floor-mounted paper discharge tray 173. The paper is ejected and falls. Since the copy paper does not bend, it is discharged toward the inner outer wall 1731 with the rear surface 21 facing the inner outer wall 1731 of the floor-mounted paper discharge tray 173. Similarly, the rear surface 21 of the copy paper that is subsequently discharged is The copy sheets discharged before are stacked so as to overlap the copy printing surface 20 side. Therefore, when the originals are read in order from the top as shown in FIG. 10A, if they are printed in the same order and discharged, they are stacked in the reverse order to the reading order as shown in FIG. When the image is formed (reverse order printing) and discharged, stacking can be performed in the same order as the reading order as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 11, when a copy sheet is discharged from the rear discharge port 171 to the option stack tray 177, the copy sheet discharged from the discharge destination switching device 170 is a copy print surface regardless of the sheet size. The copy sheets discharged with 20 facing upward and subsequently discharged are stacked on the copy printing surface 20 side of the previously discharged copy sheets. Therefore, when the originals are read sequentially from the top as shown in FIG. 10A, if they are printed in the same order and discharged, they are stacked in the reverse order to the reading order as shown in FIG. When discharged, stacking can be performed in the same order as the reading order as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 12, when a copy sheet is discharged from the front discharge port 174 to the front discharge tray 175, the copy sheet is discharged with the copy printing surface 20 facing down regardless of the sheet size. Subsequently, the discharged copy sheets are stacked on the back surface 21 side of the previously discharged copy sheets. Therefore, when the originals are read in order from the top as shown in FIG. 8A, if they are printed in the same order and discharged, they can be stacked in the same order as the reading order as shown in FIG. 8B.

In this way, in order for the operator to print in the same order as the reading order, whether to print in the same order or in reverse order with familiarity with the stock status of the paper in the paper discharge tray according to any paper size and paper discharge destination The copy productivity is low because it is necessary to judge and set, and depends on the ability of the operator, resulting in complexity and work mistakes.
JP-A-10-265115

  The present invention provides an image forming apparatus that can automatically change the order of sheets on which images are formed according to the sheet discharge destination, the sheet size, and the type of tray attached to the sheet discharge destination, and discharge and stack the sheets. Objective.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a rear discharge port that reads images sequentially from a plurality of originals, stores the read images together with the reading order, and discharges the paper with the image-formed side facing upward and the image-formed surface as an upper surface. Select one of the front paper discharge outlets that discharges with the image-formed side facing down and the front side as the bottom, and select the scanned image in the same or reverse order as the reading order. An image is formed, the image-formed sheet is discharged from a specified discharge destination, the sheet discharged from the rear discharge port is stored in a floor-mounted discharge tray, and an order selection unit is provided. The order selection means determines whether the stored image size is a large size or a small size when the paper discharge destination is designated as the rear discharge port. If the size is large, the order of image formation is the same as the reading order. If a small size is selected, the reading order and the reverse order are selected as the order of image formation, and when the paper discharge destination is designated as the front discharge port, the same order as the reading order is selected as the order of image formation.

  In addition, a stack tray mounting portion and an optional stack tray are provided, and the stack tray mounting portion is installed at the rear discharge port so that the optional stack tray can be detachably mounted. If the paper discharge destination is designated as the rear paper discharge port, the reading order and the reverse order may be selected as the order of image formation, and an electronic sensor is further provided. It is preferable to detect the attachment / detachment state of the option stack tray at.

  Furthermore, a plurality of reserved jobs including a group of images read sequentially from a plurality of documents, a reading order, and an input paper discharge destination may be stored, and an image may be sequentially formed for each reserved job.

  When paper is ejected to the floor-mounted paper ejection tray, the image formation order is automatically changed according to the paper output destination and paper size, so images are formed on any paper size without depending on the operator's familiarity. The surfaces can be stored in the same direction as the original in the same order.

  As shown in the configuration diagram of FIG. 1 and the signal system configuration diagram of FIG. 2, the copying apparatus 1 of the first embodiment includes a processing unit 10, an image reading unit 11, a memory 12, an image processing unit 13, and a paper feeding unit 14. A transfer device 15, a fixing device 16, a paper discharge unit 17, and an operation unit 18. The image of the original is read, and the image read on the copy paper is formed on the copy paper and discharged. Although the copying apparatus 1 will be described as an image forming apparatus, it may be a facsimile transmission / reception apparatus, a printing apparatus, a copying apparatus composite type image forming apparatus, or the like.

  The image reading unit 11 detects the size of the document placed on the document table by the document size detecting device, scans the light while feeding the document by the automatic document feeder, receives the reflected light, and reads the image of each document. And stored in the memory 12 together with the reading order. The image processing unit 13 reads the image designated by the processing unit 10 from the memory 12 and creates a writing signal for creating a toner image. The paper supply unit 14 is loaded with a plurality of roll papers 140 having various widths such as tracing paper and film sheets, and a cutting member 142 such as a cutter provided between the transfer device 15 and the paper drawing unit 141. Thus, the roll paper 140 drawn out by the paper drawing unit 141 is cut into paper (copy paper) having a paper size designated by the processing unit 10 and sent to the transfer device 15.

  The transfer device 15 receives a write signal created by the image processing unit 13 and charges, exposes, and develops a photoconductor provided for each toner color to form a toner image on the surface. A toner image of each toner color is superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt that rotates in conjunction with the toner image, and is primary-transferred. The fixing device 16 fixes the toner image on the copy paper by heating and pressing the secondary-transferred copy paper between the fixing roller 161 composed of a heating roller and a pressure roller.

  The paper discharge unit 17 includes a paper discharge destination switching device 170, a rear paper discharge port 171, a transport path 172, a floor-mounted paper discharge tray 173 (standard stack tray), a front paper discharge port 174, a front paper discharge tray 175, and a stack tray attached. A portion 176, an optional stack tray 177, and an electronic sensor 178.

  When a copy sheet is sent from the fixing device 16 with the image-formed copy printing surface as the upper surface and the non-image-formed back surface as the lower surface, the discharge destination switching device 170 sends a copy sheet discharge destination from the processing unit 10. In response to the input, the direction of the guide claw or the like is changed, and the copy sheet is discharged from the rear discharge port 171 installed facing backward, or the copy sheet is guided to the conveyance path 172. The copy paper discharged from the rear paper discharge port 171 with the copy printing surface facing upward is mainly stored in a floor discharge tray 173 that stores large copy paper such as A0 in the vertical direction.

  The conveyance path 172 includes a paper guide plate 1720 and a conveyance roller 1721, and the copy paper sent from the paper discharge destination switching device 170 is conveyed by the conveyance roller 1721 with the front and back being reversed while being guided by the paper guide plate 1720. The paper is discharged from a front paper discharge port 174 installed toward the front. The copy sheet discharged from the front discharge port 174 with the copy printing surface facing downward is stored in the front discharge tray 175.

  The floor-mounted paper discharge tray 173 is attached to a stack tray mounting portion 176 provided in the vicinity of the rear paper discharge port. The stack tray mounting portion 176 replaces the floor-mounted paper discharge tray 173 and is configured as shown in FIG. The optional stack tray 177 that can be attached at an arbitrary angle and receives the lower surface of the sheet discharged from the rear discharge port from below is accommodated. The electronic sensor 178 detects which one of the floor-mounted paper discharge tray 173 and the optional stack tray 177 is attached to the stack tray mounting portion 176.

  Here, the copy paper is classified into a large size and a small size. As shown in FIG. 4, the large size indicates that the copy printing surface 20 is moved from the discharge destination switching device 170 on the outer wall of the floor discharge tray 173. This is the size of the copy paper 30 that is discharged over the far outer wall 1730 and overlapped with the copy printing surface 20 of the next paper discharged on the back surface 21. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the small size is discharged toward the inner outer wall 1731 with the back surface 21 facing the inner outer wall 1731 side near the discharge destination switching device 170 of the outer wall of the floor discharge tray 173. The size of the copy paper 31 on which the next paper to be discharged overlaps the copy printing surface 20. For example, the standard of whether each paper size is large or small is stored in the memory 12 in advance, such as A0 is a large size and A4 is a small size. If the size for image formation is not the prescribed size, the reference length is stored in the memory 12, and a paper having a length equal to or larger than the reference length is set as a large size, and a paper having a length shorter than the reference length is set as a small size.

  The operation unit 18 includes a paper discharge destination input unit and a variable magnification input unit. The paper discharge destination input unit receives an input from the rear paper discharge port 171 or the front paper discharge port 174 as a paper discharge destination for processing. The scaling factor input unit receives the input of the scaling factor of the document and outputs it to the processing unit 10.

  The processing unit 10 executes the image forming process by reading the image forming process program stored in the memory 12 to control the operation of the entire copying apparatus 1 and executing the image forming process according to the procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG. When a document is set on the image reading unit 11, a paper discharge destination is input at the paper discharge destination input unit, and a variable magnification is input from the variable magnification input unit, the processing unit 10 reads the original set on the image reading unit 11. The size of the image is detected, the images of the document are read in sequence, and the group of images read, the reading order, the detected size of the document, the input paper discharge destination and the scaling factor are stored in the memory 12 as one reserved job ( Step S1). The contents of the stored reservation job can be displayed on the screen of the operation unit 18 as shown in the example of the reservation content list screen 181 in FIG.

  The processing unit 10 sequentially reads the reserved jobs from the memory 12 and functions as an order selection unit. The processing unit 10 functioning as an order selection unit determines whether the paper discharge destination is the rear paper discharge port 171 (step S2). If the input paper discharge destination is the rear paper discharge port 171, the stack tray attachment unit Whether or not the floor discharge tray 173 is attached to the stack tray 176 is detected (step S3), and when the floor discharge tray 173 is attached to the stack tray mounting portion 176, the paper size is calculated from the document size and the scaling factor. Then, it is determined whether the calculated paper size corresponds to the small size in accordance with the reference stored in the memory 12 (step S4).

  When the calculated paper size corresponds to the small size, the processing unit 10 that functions as the order selection unit selects reverse printing for forming an image in the reverse order to the reading order (step S5), and the calculated paper size is reduced to the small size. If it is not applicable and corresponds to a large size, the same order printing for forming an image in the same order as the reading order is selected (step S6).

  When the paper discharge destination is not the rear paper discharge port 171 but the front paper discharge port 174, the processing unit 10 functioning as the order selection unit selects the same order printing (step S6), and the paper discharge destination is the rear paper discharge port. If the optional stack tray 177 is attached to the stack tray mounting portion 176 instead of the floor-mounted paper discharge tray 173, reverse order printing is selected (step S5).

  When the reverse order printing is selected, the processing unit 10 reverses the reading order (step S7), and when the same order printing is selected, the processing unit 10 stores the image stored in the memory 12 in the same order as the reading order (step S8). The image processing unit 13 is designated to create a writing signal, the input paper size is designated to the paper feeding unit 14, the copy paper is sent to the transfer device 15, and the transfer device 15 is caused to form a toner image. Then, the image is fixed by the fixing device 16, the paper discharge destination is designated in the paper discharge destination switching device 170, and the fixed copy paper is discharged.

  According to the copying apparatus 1, a plurality of originals can be automatically stacked in the order of pages according to the paper size and the type of paper discharge destination, and the copy productivity is improved.

1 is a configuration diagram of a copying apparatus equipped with a floor-mounted paper discharge tray. 1 is a configuration diagram of a signal system of a copying apparatus. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a copying apparatus equipped with an option stack tray. It is a figure which shows the discharge state of a copy paper of a large size and a small size. It is a flowchart of an image formation process. It is a figure which shows the example of a reservation content list screen. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a large-size copy sheet is discharged. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the order of image formation, and the order of stacking. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state where a small-size copy sheet is discharged. It is a figure which shows the other relationship between the order of image formation, and the order of stacking. It is a figure which shows the discharge state of an option stack tray. It is a figure which shows the paper discharge state of an upper front paper discharge outlet.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1; Copying apparatus, 10; Processing part, 11: Image reading part, 12; Memory, 13; Image processing part,
14; paper feeding unit, 15; transfer device, 16; fixing device, 17; paper discharge unit, 18;
20; copy printing surface, 21; back surface, 22; leading edge, 23; trailing edge, 30; copy paper,
31; copy paper, 140; roll paper, 141; paper drawer, 142; cutting member,
161; fixing roller, 170; discharge destination switching device, 171; rear discharge port, 172; transport path,
173; floor discharge tray, 174; front discharge outlet, 175; front discharge tray,
176; stack tray mounting portion, 177; optional stack tray,
178; electronic sensor, 181; reservation contents list screen, 1720; paper guide plate,
1721; transfer roller, 1730; outer outer wall, 1731; inner outer wall, 1743; lowest part

Claims (4)

Either a rear discharge port that discharges paper with the image-formed side facing up and the front side or a front discharge port that discharges paper with the image-formed surface facing down and the bottom side Specify the paper discharge destination, scan images from multiple documents in sequence, store the scanned images together with the scanning order, select the scanned images in the same order or reverse order, form an image, and specify the An image forming apparatus for discharging a sheet on which an image has been formed from a paper tip and storing the sheet discharged from the rear discharge port in a floor discharge tray,
Order selection means,
The order selection unit determines whether the stored image size is a large size or a small size when a paper discharge destination is designated as the rear paper discharge port. The same order is selected, and if the size is small, the reading order and the reverse order are selected as the order of image formation, and when the paper discharge destination is designated as the front discharge port, the same order as the reading order is set as the order of image formation. An image forming apparatus comprising: selecting an image forming apparatus. It has a stack tray mounting part and an optional stack tray,
The stack tray mounting portion is installed at the rear discharge port and detachably mounts the optional stack tray.
2. The order selection unit selects a reading order and a reverse order as an image forming order when the optional stack tray is mounted on the stack tray attaching portion and a discharge destination is designated as the rear discharge port. The image forming apparatus described in 1. With electronic sensors,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the electronic sensor detects an attachment / detachment state of the option stack tray at the stack tray attaching portion. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of reserved jobs including a group of images read sequentially from a plurality of originals, a reading order, and an input paper discharge destination are stored, and images are sequentially formed for each reserved job.

Images