JP4252067B2 - Image forming system having post-processing function and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system including an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, or a multi-function machine and a post-processing device that conveys a sheet to form an image on the sheet, and the image forming apparatus, in particular. The present invention relates to an image forming system related to the control when stapling is attempted beyond the upper limit number of staple processing and the image forming apparatus.

  In a conventional post-processing apparatus, when a sheet exceeding the stapling number is carried in, it is discharged without being stapled as shown in FIG. For this reason, a jam occurs or the copy processing operation is interrupted.

Therefore, in Patent Document 1 below, as shown in FIG. 16, when the number of sheets carried into the stapling apparatus is counted and the counted value exceeds the number of sheets that can be stapled, for example, the number of sheets that can be stapled. When 30 sheets are set to 30 sheets, if 50 sheets are to be copied, the sheet bundle is discharged to the tray with 31 sheet bundles held in the stack unit 26. In order to discharge the remaining 19 sheets on the same tray, the 19 sheets are similarly stacked and discharged.
Japanese Patent No. 2723987

  However, when the number of sheets is the same, this jam is more likely to occur when the sheet bundle is not bound than when the staple process is performed. For this reason, in order to reduce the jam occurrence rate, the upper limit value of the number of sheets for stapling must be set less than the capacity of the stapling apparatus, and only a stapling apparatus having a low capacity can be used. .

In view of the above problems, the object of the present invention is to reduce the occurrence of jam in the stack portion of the post-processing apparatus and to suppress processing delay when the number of read original images exceeds the maximum number of staple processing. An image forming system and an image forming apparatus therefor are provided.

In one aspect of the image forming system according to the present invention,
An image forming apparatus having a storage unit and a control unit for storing the upper limit number of staple processes and processed image data, and a sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus are held in the stack unit and carried into the stack unit In an image forming system having an end processing unit that binds an end portion of a sheet bundle with a staple processing unit and discharges the bound sheet to a tray, the control unit relates to a job for which staple processing is selected.
A first process for counting the number of read original images and a second process for processing the image data in units of pages and storing the processed image data in the storage unit;
When it is determined that the count value in the first process exceeds the upper limit number of staple processes, the staple process selection is canceled and the processed image data stored in the storage unit is supplied to the image forming unit. A third process for forming an image on a sheet and discharging the sheet without passing through the stack unit of the post-processing apparatus is performed in parallel with the first process and the second process.

  Here, the “number of processed image data pages” is the number of pages of image data that is calculated or actually processed after being processed or processed, and is the number of original image data read pages + on the original tray. It may be the number of pages of original image data processing such as one page by paper detection, or the number of pages after aggregation processing or the like.

According to the configuration of the above aspect, before the image data processing page number count value exceeds the upper limit number of staple processing, the first processing and the second processing are performed in parallel, and the image data processing page number count value is the staple value. When the upper limit number of processing is exceeded, the third processing is further added and processed in parallel. Therefore, when the number of original image readings exceeds the upper limit number of staple processing, the occurrence of jamming in the stack unit of the post-processing apparatus is zero. The delay due to waiting for the start of the third processing process can be suppressed.

  Other objects, configurations and effects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In this system, a post-processing device 20 is connected to the paper discharge side of the image forming apparatus 10.

  In the image forming apparatus 10, data set by operating the operation / display unit 11 is stored in the storage unit 13 via the image formation control unit 12. This setting includes paper size, type and feed direction, document density, frame erasing, binding margin, 4-in-1 aggregation processing, and the like, and it is necessary to perform image processing according to the setting. The time required for image processing depends on this setting. The image formation control unit 12 includes a processor, and a storage unit 13 coupled thereto stores a multi-function application program for performing multi-thread processing.

  When an original is placed on the tray 140 of the auto sheet feeder 14 and the start button of the operation / display unit 11 is pressed, if the paper sensor 141 detects the original paper, the auto sheet feeder 14 makes the original one by one. The original image is scanned by the scanner 142 and the read image data is stored in the storage unit 13 via the image formation control unit 12.

  The image formation control unit 12 performs preprocessing such as image noise removal on the data, performs the image processing, and supplies the data to the print engine 15 in units of pages. As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum of the print engine 15, and this is developed with toner.

  On the other hand, the paper taken out from the paper supply unit 16 is sent to the registration roller 17 and stopped once, and the paper is conveyed again by the registration roller 17 at the timing when the photosensitive drum of the print engine 15 reaches a predetermined rotation angle. The toner image is transferred to the paper. This sheet is heated and pressurized through the fixing unit 18, and thereby the toner image is fixed on the sheet. The sheet is further discharged through a discharge roller 19 and supplied to the post-processing device 20.

  In the post-processing device 20, when the staple processing is selected, the branching tool 21 fixed to one of the two angle states is set to the downward guiding state indicated by the solid line, and otherwise the two-dot chain line. The horizontal guide state shown is set.

  When the stapling process is not selected, the sheet that has passed through the conveyance roller 221 is discharged onto the tray 230 through the discharge roller 222 without being influenced by the branching tool 21. A sheet sensor 24 that detects the trailing edge of the sheet is disposed between the conveyance rollers 220 and 221, and an output signal thereof is supplied to the post-processing control unit 25.

  When the stapling process is selected, the paper discharged from the paper discharge roller 19 is transported by the transport rollers 220 and 221, guided downward by the branching tool 21, and supplied to the stack unit 26. .

  The stack unit 26 includes a sheet bundle conveying device 260 in which a belt is stretched between two rollers, and a stopper 261 for holding the lower end portion of the sheet bundle is attached to the belt. The sheet bundle held in the stack unit 26 is bound by the staple processing device 27 at the lower end thereof.

  Here, the storage unit 28 stores in advance a staple processing upper limit number NS0 corresponding to the paper type and size. The upper limit number NS0 of staple processing is, for example, 30 sheets for the plain paper B4 size and 50 sheets for the plain paper A4 size.

  In this embodiment, the staple processing upper limit sheet number NS0 is used in the image forming control unit 12, but the value of the staple processing upper limit sheet number NS0 differs depending on the type of the post-processing apparatus 20 that can be combined with the image forming apparatus 10. The upper limit number NS0 of staple processes is stored in 28 nonvolatile storage areas (ROM, hard disk or the like). This staple processing upper limit number NS0 is volatilized in the storage unit 13 from the storage unit 28 via the post-processing control unit 25 and the image formation control unit 12 in the initialization process when the image forming apparatus 10 and the operation / display unit 11 are turned on. Stored in a random storage area (RAM).

  If there is one type of post-processing apparatus 20 that can be combined with the image forming apparatus 10 or if the type of post-processing apparatus 20 that can be combined with the image forming apparatus 10 is determined in advance, the storage unit 13. The non-volatile storage area may store the staple processing upper limit number NS0.

  The tray 231 is lowered by the tray lifting and lowering device 29 after discharging the sheet bundle according to the type and number of sheets, that is, according to the thickness of the sheet bundle.

  Next, a copy process performed by the image forming control unit 12 when the auto sheet feeder 14 is used and the staple process is selected will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing this processing. This process is started by pressing the start button of the operation / display unit 11. In the following, the step identification codes in the figure are shown in parentheses.

  (S0) The initial value 0 is substituted into the document number counter N.

  (S1) If the paper sensor 141 detects a document, the process proceeds to step S2, and if not, the process proceeds to step S11.

  (S2) If the image forming number counter NX is equal to the staple processing upper limit number NS0, the process proceeds to step S3. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S4. In a normal case, the image formation number counter NX is equal to the document number counter N. However, for example, in the 4-in-1 aggregation process, NX = [(N−1) / 4] +1. Here, [] is an operator that rounds down the decimal point to the result of the mathematical expression in it to make it an integer. In this embodiment, when NX = NS0, it is determined that there is a document in step S1, and therefore it is determined that NX> NS0.

  (S3) The selected staple process is canceled and this is notified to the post-processing control unit 25. In response to this, the post-processing control unit 25 switches the branching tool 21 from the downward guide state indicated by the solid line to the horizontal guide state indicated by the two-point difference line. The image formation control unit 12 also generates and activates a thread for the processes in steps S8 and S9 to start the image formation process by the print engine 15 so that the processes in steps S8 and S9 are performed in parallel with the other processes. .

  (S4) The auto sheet feeder 14 is driven to feed one document, and the scanner 142 scans the image. The image data from the scanner 142 is temporarily stored in the storage unit 28.

  If N = 1, in order to perform the processes in steps S6 and S7 in parallel with other processes, a thread for the processes in steps S6 and S7 is generated and activated.

  (S5) Increment N by 1 and return to step S1.

  (S6) The above-described image processing is performed on the image data stored in the storage unit 28 in step S4 in units of pages, and the processed image data is stored in the storage unit 13.

  (S7) If there is unprocessed page data, the process returns to step S6; otherwise, the threads of steps S6 and S7 are terminated.

  (S8) One page of processed image data stored in the storage unit 13 is supplied to the print engine 15.

  (S9) If there is unsupplied page data, the process returns to step S8; otherwise, the threads of steps S8 and S9 are terminated.

  (S10) If the selected stapling process is not cancelled, the value of the image forming number counter NX is supplied to the post-processing control unit 25 as the total image forming number Nm. The post-processing control unit 25 determines the end of the paper carry-in processing to the stack unit 26 using this Nm.

  (S11) If the threads in steps S8 and S9 are not generated in step S3, the threads are generated and activated to start the image forming process by the print engine 15.

  When the staple processing is selected, the image formation control unit 12 supplies a post-processing start command to the post-processing control unit 25 when the processing of step S8 is completed for the first page. In response to this, the post-processing control unit 25 starts the post-processing as in the conventional case. In other words, the sheets carried into the stack unit 26 are started to be counted by the sensor 24. When the count value reaches Nm, the post-processing control unit 25 binds the trailing end portion of the sheet bundle with the staple processing device 27, raises the sheet bundle with the conveying device 260, and discharges it onto the tray 231.

  FIGS. 3A and 3B are time charts showing a specific example of the processing as described above when the staple processing is selected before the job starts. FIG. 3A shows a case where Nm> NS0 and the staple process is canceled when NX = NX0, and FIG. 3B shows a case where Nm <NS0 and the staple process is executed. Indicates. In the case of FIG. 3A, execution of step S8 is started in step S3, and in the case of FIG. 3B, execution of step S8 is started in step S10.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, when the image forming apparatus 10 reads the upper limit number NS0 of staple processing and the sheet sensor 141 detects the next original, that is, When it is determined that the image data processing page count value exceeds the staple processing upper limit number NS0, the staple processing selection is canceled (S3), and the processed image data stored in the storage unit 13 is used as an image forming unit. Therefore, the sheet is discharged from the discharge roller 222 to the tray 230 without passing through the stack unit 26, and jamming due to discharge of the sheet bundle through the stack unit 26 can be prevented. This contributes to improving the reliability of the image forming system. In addition, this effect makes it possible to increase the upper limit number of staple processing than before.

  Further, when discharging a bundle of sheets via the stack unit 26, the remaining sheets cannot be carried into the stack unit 26 during the discharge process, so it is necessary to interrupt the image formation / discharge process until this process is completed. However, according to the first embodiment, there is no such interruption, and the image forming process can be continuously executed.

  Note that the image forming process of this job cannot be executed until N = NS, but during this time, the image forming process of another job can be executed by parallel processing. Further, when the image data processing time for one page is longer than the image forming time for one page, the processed image data for NS0 page is stored in the storage unit 13, so the image forming process is performed. Continuous execution is possible without interruption.

  The present invention includes various modifications in addition to the above.

  For example, in FIG. 2, the counting of the counter in step S5 and the determination position in step S2 are arbitrary, and these may be arranged in the loop of steps S6 and S7 or in the loop of steps S8 and S9. However, when counting the number N of pages after aggregation processing such as 4 in 1, N is used instead of the above-described NX.

  Further, since the image forming control unit 12 and the post-processing control unit 25 are coupled so as to be able to transmit information to each other, the staple processing upper limit number NS0 only needs to be stored in one of the storage unit 28 and the storage unit 13. Further, the post-processing device 20 may be controlled by the image forming control unit 12 without including the post-processing control unit 25 and the storage unit 28. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the image forming apparatus 10 and the post-processing apparatus 20 may be integrally configured.

  Furthermore, although the case where the present invention is applied to the copy function of the image forming apparatus has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention can also be applied to a print or facsimile function.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a copy process performed by an image formation control unit when an auto sheet feeder is used and staple processing is selected. (A) and (B) are time charts showing a specific example of the process of FIG. 2 when the staple process is selected before the start of the job, and (A) is the total number of formed images Nm> the maximum number of staple processes. NS0 is a case where the staple process is canceled when NX = NX0, and (B) shows a case where Nm <NS0 and the staple process is executed. It is explanatory drawing of the problem of a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 11 Operation / display part 12 Image formation control part 13, 28 Storage part 14 Auto sheet feeder 140, 230, 231 Tray 141, 24 Paper sensor 142 Scanner 15 Print engine 16 Paper feed part 17 Registration roller 18 Fixing device 19 , 222 Paper discharge roller 20 Post-processing device 21 Branch tool 220, 221 Conveying roller 25 Post-processing control unit 26 Stack unit 260 Sheet bundle conveying device 261 Stopper 27 Staple processing device 29 Tray lifting device NS0 Staple processing upper limit number Nm Total number of images formed

Claims (2)

An image forming apparatus having a storage unit and a control unit for storing the upper limit number of staple processes and processed image data, and a sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus are held in the stack unit and carried into the stack unit In an image forming system having an end processing unit that binds an end portion of a sheet bundle with a staple processing unit and discharges the bound sheet to a tray, the control unit relates to a job for which staple processing is selected.
A first process for counting the number of read original images and a second process for processing the image data in units of pages and storing the processed image data in the storage unit;
When it is determined that the count value in the first process exceeds the upper limit number of staple processes, the staple process selection is canceled and the processed image data stored in the storage unit is supplied to the image forming unit. A third process for forming an image on a sheet and discharging the sheet without passing through the stack unit of the post-processing device, in parallel with the first process and the second process,
An image forming system. In an image forming apparatus comprising storage means for storing the upper limit number of staple processes and processed image data, and image forming means, the control means relates to a job for which staple processing is selected.
A first process for counting the number of read original images and a second process for processing the image data in units of pages and storing the processed image data in the storage unit;
When it is determined that the count value in the first process exceeds the upper limit number of staple processes, the staple process selection is canceled and the processed image data stored in the storage unit is supplied to the image forming unit. A third process for forming an image on the sheet and discharging the sheet without passing through the stacking unit of the post-processing device, in parallel with the first process and the second process.
An image forming apparatus.

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