JP4592538B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The invention also relates to a recording sheet sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the recording paper to the recording paper discharge tray, the image forming equipment having a display device for displaying the status of the recording sheet sensor.

  As this type of technology, for example, the inventions described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 are known. Among them, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 performs an operation for the purpose of suppressing power consumption as compared with a conventional image forming apparatus when an operation of detecting the state of the image forming apparatus is performed in the sleep mode of the image forming apparatus. In the image forming apparatus that can enter the sleep mode in which power supply is stopped, a state detection member that detects the state of the image forming apparatus, a power supply member that supplies power to each part of the image forming apparatus, and a state detection member in the sleep mode An image forming apparatus comprising: a state detection member and a control unit that controls a power supply member so that power is supplied only to a member that needs to be operated in order to perform state detection when performing state detection. Has been.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, an error display can be performed even if an error state due to a paper jam or no paper occurs during the energy saving mode, and even if an error state occurs during printing, it is canceled within a predetermined time. The purpose of this is to make it possible to shift to the energy-saving mode without performing an operation to erase the error display, and an image memory for storing and storing image data, and a display unit after image data is printed on recording paper In the communication terminal device for restricting energization to the print output unit and shifting to the energy saving mode, sensor means for detecting jamming of recording paper, no recording paper, and the sensor when receiving image data during the energy saving mode A configuration is described that includes a signal processing unit that cancels the energy-saving mode of the display unit and displays an error when the means detects a jam of the recording paper or no recording paper.

  Further, Patent Document 3 aims at providing a facsimile apparatus capable of preventing the reception file from being mixed in the copy and the loss of the reception file, and the like. In the facsimile apparatus, the presence or absence of recording paper on the recording paper discharge tray is displayed on the copy standby screen, and it is detected whether or not there is recording paper on the recording paper discharge tray when the copying operation starts. There is described an invention that displays on a screen that there is recording paper on the recording paper discharge tray if the switch is on.

In addition, Patent Document 4 discloses means for executing an energy saving standby mode function even when there is a functional defect in the facsimile apparatus, and means for warning the user of a malfunction of the facsimile apparatus even in the energy saving standby mode. In the case where a malfunction in function as an alarm factor has occurred, the system control unit constituting the facsimile apparatus sends a signal to the operation display unit through the bus line to display an alarm. Even when a functional failure occurs, if a request to shift to the energy saving standby mode occurs due to a user command or a timeout, the energy saving control unit 5 constituting the facsimile apparatus sends the power switching unit 12 to the energy saving standby mode. It is described that an instruction is given to switch to a power source.
JP 2002-029117 A JP 2003-319119 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-237327 JP 2002-305615A

  By the way, the conventional multi-function machine includes a recording paper sensor for detecting the presence or absence of recording paper on the recording paper discharge tray, and a display indicating the presence or absence of recording paper on the recording paper discharge tray. When there is a recording sheet on top, there is a unit provided with means for informing the operator of the presence of the recording sheet by the display (for example, see Patent Document 3). In this multi-function device, in order to display the presence / absence of the recording paper on the recording paper discharge tray without the control from the system control unit in order to save power in the energy saving mode, direct recording is performed by the output of the recording paper sensor. Some have means to control the paper. In the case of a multifunction device having such a configuration, since the control of the display device does not go through the system control unit, for example, the recording paper temporarily passes over the recording paper discharge tray in order to invert the recording paper during duplex printing. In this case, there is a problem that the display device shows a recording paper presence state.

An object of the present invention, the presence or absence of paper recording sheet discharging tray during saving energy Gimo over de displayed in direct control of the recording sheet sensor, to be able to display by the control means other than the recording sheet sensor in the normal mode The purpose is to improve the operability.

In order to achieve the above object, the first means includes detection means for detecting the presence or absence of recording paper on a paper discharge tray, display means for displaying the presence or absence of recording paper based on the detection result of the detection means, Control means for controlling each part of the apparatus; a first power supply that is always supplied in the energy saving mode and the normal mode; a second power supply that is not supplied in the energy saving mode and is supplied only in the normal mode; First switching means for inverting and amplifying the output of the detection means and driving the display means; means for cutting off a signal indicating the presence / absence information of the recording paper output from the detection means to the control means in the energy saving mode; A means for pulling up the signal interrupted in the energy saving mode by the means for interrupting in the normal mode and transmitting a signal indicating the presence or absence of the recording paper to the control means. The second image forming apparatus includes a second switching unit that is controlled by a first control signal output from the control unit at a subsequent stage of the first power source, and the second switching unit includes the second switching unit in a normal mode. Based on a first control signal, the power from the first power supply is controlled and supplied to the detection means and the display means. In the energy saving mode, the first control signal is dropped to GND, and the first control signal is supplied to the display means. Power is supplied to the detection means and the display means, and the first switching means is controlled only by a signal from the detection means indicating the presence or absence of recording paper.

The second means includes detection means for detecting the presence or absence of recording paper on the paper discharge tray, display means for displaying the presence or absence of recording paper based on the detection result of the detection means, and control means for controlling each part of the apparatus. And a first power supply that is always supplied in the energy saving mode and the normal mode, a second power supply that is not supplied in the energy saving mode and is supplied only in the normal mode, and the output of the detection means is inverted and amplified. And a first switching unit for driving the display unit, a unit for cutting off a signal indicating the presence / absence of recording paper output from the detection unit to the control unit in the energy saving mode, and the blocking in the normal mode. Means for pulling up the signal interrupted in the energy saving mode by means and transmitting a signal indicating the presence or absence of the recording paper to the control means. The third switching means is connected to the first switching means and operates in accordance with a second control signal output from the control means, and the third switching means outputs from the control means in the normal mode. The control of the first switching means by the detection means is invalidated by the second control signal and the third switching means, and the first control signal is set to the GND level in the energy saving mode. The switching means is controlled only by a signal indicating the presence or absence of recording paper from the detection means.

A third means is characterized in that, in the first or second means, the display means comprises an LED, and the LED is turned on when the presence of recording paper is detected on the paper discharge tray.

According to the present invention, the presence or absence of paper recording sheet discharging tray during saving energy Gimo over de displayed in direct control of the recording paper sensor, since the normal mode can be displayed by the control means other than the recording sheet sensor, for example, a recording When the paper is reversed, the display device does not indicate the presence of the recording paper during the temporary passage, and the operability can be improved.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital multifunction machine as an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the digital multi-function peripheral mainly includes a scanner 1, a plotter 2, a system control unit 3, an operation display unit 4, a communication control unit 5, and a printer control unit 6.

  The scanner 1 has a function of reading a document image with a predetermined resolution, and the plotter 2 has a function of recording and outputting an image with a predetermined resolution. The system control unit 3 controls the inside of the digital multi-function peripheral and each element, and the operation display unit 4 displays various keys necessary for operating the digital multi-function peripheral, various operation guidance messages, time display, and the like. Equipment. The communication control unit 5 has a function of performing communication control such as facsimile transmission / reception, and the printer control unit 6 has a function of processing a print command from a personal computer or the like.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a circuit around a display device indicating a recording paper sensor and a recording paper presence / absence status of a recording paper discharge tray which has been conventionally performed. In the figure, the power supply VCC is including during the energy saving mode, a power is always supplied, power VCCN when saving energy Gimo over de is not supplied, a power source supplied only normal mode. The recording paper sensor S1 is for detecting the presence or absence of recording paper on the recording paper tray. The LED 1 is an indicator that indicates the status of the recording paper detected by the recording paper sensor S1, and the recording paper is the recording paper tray. Lights up when on. The output of S1 is inverted and amplified by the resistor R1 and the transistor Q1, and the LED1 is driven by the transistor Q1. The resistor R3 is used to limit the current of the LED1. The sensor output SOUT is a signal for transmitting the recording sheet presence / absence information to the system control unit 3, and the signal is blocked by the diode D1 in the energy saving mode. The resistor R2 is for pulling up the signal interrupted by the diode D1 in the normal mode.

  FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing circuits around the recording paper sensor of the recording paper discharge tray according to the first embodiment of the present invention and a display device indicating the presence or absence of the recording paper. This is basically the same as the conventional example of FIG. However, this embodiment is different from the configuration of FIG. 2 in that a transistor Q2 that is switching-controlled by a signal VCCCNT is provided at the subsequent stage of the power supply VCC. In the present embodiment, VCC supplied to each circuit is controlled by the transistor Q2. The transistor Q2 is controlled by the signal VCCCNT from the system control unit 3 in the normal mode, becomes the GND level in the energy saving state, and always supplies VCC to the transistor Q2.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing a recording paper sensor of a recording paper discharge tray according to the second embodiment of the present invention and a circuit around a display indicating the presence / absence of recording paper. This is basically the same as the conventional example of FIG. However, the present embodiment is different in that a transistor Q3 that operates in response to a SON signal is provided at the base of the transistor Q1. With this configuration, in the conventional example of FIG. 2, the transistor Q1 is controlled only by the output of the recording paper sensor S1, but in the normal mode, the SON signal from the system control unit 3 and the transistor Q3 are controlled by the recording paper sensor S1. The control of the transistor Q1 can be invalidated. In the energy saving state, the SON signal is at the GND level, and the transistor Q1 is controlled only by the output of the recording paper sensor S1 .

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the multifunction machine according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention. In FIG. 5 , in the energy saving mode (step 601-Yes), the LED 1 is directly controlled via the transistor Q1 by the sensor output from the recording paper sensor S1 (step 606). On the other hand, in the normal mode (step 601-No), when the LED 1 may be controlled in accordance with the output of the recording paper sensor S1 (step 602-Yes), in the first embodiment, the signal VCCCNT is turned on. In the second embodiment, the signal SON is turned ON (step 605), and LED1 direct control from the recording paper sensor S1 is enabled (step 606).

  When it is desired to disable the direct control of the LED 1 by the output of the recording paper sensor S1 (step 602-No), the signal VCCCNT is turned off in the case of the first embodiment, and the signal SON is turned off in the case of the second embodiment ( Step 603), LED1 is always turned off regardless of the output of the recording paper sensor S1 (Step 604).

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a mechanical configuration of a multifunction machine to which the present invention is applied. In the figure, the digital multifunction peripheral is for monochrome image formation, and includes a main body 400, an image reading device 500 installed on the upper portion of the image forming apparatus main body 400, and an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as an automatic document feeder) mounted thereon. , “ADF”) 550, a large-capacity paper feeding device 700 disposed on the right side of the image forming apparatus main body 400 in the same figure, and a sheet post-processing device disposed on the left side of the image forming apparatus main body 400 in the same figure. 800 is basically composed.

  The image forming apparatus main body 400 includes an image writing unit 410, an image forming unit 420, a fixing unit 430, a duplex conveying unit 440, a paper feeding unit 450, a vertical conveying unit 460, and a manual feeding unit 470.

  The image writing unit 410 modulates the LD, which is a light source, based on the image information of the document read by the image reading device 500, and writes laser on the photosensitive drum 421 by a scanning optical system such as a polygon mirror and an fθ lens. is there. The image forming unit 420 includes a photosensitive drum 421 and known electrophotographic imaging elements such as a developing unit 422, a transfer unit 423, a cleaning unit 424, and a charge eliminating unit provided along the outer periphery of the photosensitive drum 421. Consists of.

  The fixing unit 430 fixes the image transferred by the transfer unit 423 on the transfer paper. The double-sided conveyance unit 440 is provided downstream of the fixing unit 420 in the transfer sheet conveyance direction, and includes a first switching claw 441 that switches the transfer sheet conveyance direction to the sheet post-processing device 800 side or the double-side conveyance unit 440 side, , The reverse conveying path 442 guided by the switching claw 441, the image forming side conveying path 443 that conveys the transfer paper reversed by the reverse conveying path 442 to the transfer unit 423 again, and the reverse transfer paper after the sheet post-processing device 800. A second switching claw 445 is disposed at a branch portion between the image forming side conveying path 443 and the post processing side conveying path 444.

  The sheet feeding unit 450 includes four sheet feeding stages, and the transfer sheets stored in the sheet feeding stages selected by the pickup roller and the sheet feeding roller are drawn out and guided to the vertical conveyance unit 460. The vertical conveyance unit 460 conveys the transfer paper fed from each paper feed stage to the registration roller 461 immediately upstream in the paper conveyance direction of the transfer unit 423, and the registration roller 461 provides a visible image on the photosensitive drum 421. The transfer paper is fed into the transfer unit 423 in time with the leading edge. The manual feed portion 470 includes an openable and closable manual feed tray 471, and opens the manual feed tray 471 as needed to supply transfer paper manually. Also in this case, the transfer timing of the transfer paper is taken by the registration roller 461 and is transported.

  The large-capacity paper feeding device 700 supplies a large amount of transfer paper of the same size, and the bottom plate 702 rises as the transfer paper is consumed, so that the paper can always be picked up from the pickup roller 701. ing. The transfer paper fed from the pickup roller 701 is conveyed from the vertical conveyance unit 460 to the nip of the registration roller 461.

  The sheet post-processing apparatus 800 performs predetermined processing such as punching, alignment, stapling, and sorting. In this embodiment, the punch 801, the staple tray (alignment) 802, the stapler 803, and the shift tray 804 are used for the above functions. I have. In other words, the transfer paper carried from the image forming apparatus 400 to the paper post-processing apparatus 800 is punched one by one with the punch 801 when punching, and then if there is no particular processing, the proofing is performed. When sorting, stacking, and sorting to the tray 805, the sheets are discharged to the shift tray 804, respectively. In this embodiment, the sorting is performed by the reciprocating movement of the shift tray 804 by a predetermined amount in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction. In addition, sorting can be performed by moving the paper in a direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction on the paper transport path.

  In the case of alignment, the transfer paper that has been punched or not punched is guided to the lower transport path 806, and the staple tray 804 is aligned in the direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction by the rear end fence. In the jogger fence, alignment in the direction parallel to the paper transport direction is performed. Here, when binding is performed, a predetermined position of the aligned sheet bundle, for example, a predetermined position such as a corner portion or two central positions is bound by the stapler 803 and discharged to the shift tray 804 by the discharge belt. In this embodiment, a pre-stack conveyance path 807 is provided in the lower conveyance path 806, and a plurality of sheets are stacked at the time of conveyance to avoid interruption of the image forming operation on the image forming apparatus main body 400 side during post-processing. Be able to.

  The image reading apparatus 500 is guided onto the contact glass 510 by the ADF 600, optically scans the stopped original, and reads the image formed by the imaging lens through the first to third mirrors, such as a CCD or CMOS. Read by the photoelectric conversion element. The read image data is subjected to predetermined image processing by an image processing circuit (not shown) and temporarily stored in a storage device. Then, it is read from the storage device by the image writing unit 410 during image formation, modulated according to the image data, and optical writing is performed.

  The ADF 550 has a double-sided reading function, and is attached to the contact glass 510 installation surface of the image reading device 500 so as to be freely opened and closed. In the ADF 550, the document placed on the document placement table 551 is automatically sent onto the contact glass 510 when the document is read.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment,
1) In the energy saving mode, the presence or absence of paper on the recording paper discharge tray can be displayed by the display device by direct control of the recording paper sensor for the purpose of power saving. The display unit can be controlled by the unit.
2) Since the effect of 1) is achieved, the display device also indicates the presence of recording paper even when the recording paper temporarily passes over the recording paper discharge tray in order to reverse the recording paper during duplex printing. The operability can be improved.
3) Since the effect of 1 ) is exhibited, the indicator indicates that the recording paper is present even when the recording paper temporarily passes on the recording paper discharge tray in order to invert the recording paper during duplex printing. In this case, the recording paper sensor information can be taken into the system control unit at that time, so that the operability is further improved.
There are effects such as.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a digital multi-function peripheral as an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. It is a circuit diagram which shows an example of the circuit around the indicator which shows the recording paper sensor of the recording paper discharge tray currently implemented and the recording paper presence or absence state. FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating a recording paper sensor of the recording paper discharge tray according to the first embodiment of the present invention and a circuit around the display indicating the presence or absence of the recording paper. FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing a recording paper sensor of a recording paper discharge tray according to a second embodiment of the present invention and a circuit around a display indicating the presence or absence of recording paper. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure of the multifunction peripheral according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a mechanical configuration of a multifunction machine to which the present invention is applied .

Explanation of symbols

1 scanner 2 plotter 3 system controller 4 operation display unit 5 the communication control unit 6 printer control unit LED1 indicator Q1, Q2, Q 3 transistors S1 recording sheet sensor

Claims (3)

Detection means for detecting the presence or absence of recording paper on the paper discharge tray;
Display means for displaying the presence or absence of recording paper based on the detection result of the detection means;
Control means for controlling each part of the device;
A first power source that is constantly supplied in the energy saving mode and the normal mode;
A second power source that is not supplied in the energy saving mode but supplied only in the normal mode;
A first switching means for inverting and amplifying the output of the detection means and driving the display means;
Means for cutting off a signal indicating the presence or absence of recording paper output from the detection means to the control means during the energy saving mode;
Means for pulling up the signal interrupted in the energy saving mode by the means for interrupting in the normal mode and transmitting a signal indicating the presence or absence of the recording paper to the control means;
In an image forming apparatus having
A second switching means controlled by a first control signal output from the control means at a stage subsequent to the first power supply;
The second switching means controls the power from the first power supply based on the first control signal in the normal mode and supplies it to the detection means and the display means, and the first switching means in the energy saving mode. The control signal is dropped to GND, the first power is supplied to the detection means and the display means, and the first switching means is controlled only by a signal indicating the presence or absence of recording paper from the detection means. A featured image forming apparatus. Detection means for detecting the presence or absence of recording paper on the paper discharge tray;
Display means for displaying the presence or absence of recording paper based on the detection result of the detection means;
Control means for controlling each part of the device;
A first power source that is constantly supplied in the energy saving mode and the normal mode;
A second power source that is not supplied in the energy saving mode but supplied only in the normal mode;
A first switching means for inverting and amplifying the output of the detection means and driving the display means;
Means for cutting off a signal indicating the presence or absence of recording paper output from the detection means to the control means in the energy saving mode;
Means for pulling up the signal interrupted in the energy saving mode by the means for interrupting in the normal mode and transmitting a signal indicating the presence or absence of the recording paper to the control means;
In an image forming apparatus having
A third switching means connected to the first switching means and operated by a second control signal output from the control means;
In the normal mode, the third switching means invalidates the control of the first switching means by the detection means by the second control signal output from the control means and the third switching means, and saves it. In the energy mode, the second control signal is set to a GND level, and the first switching unit is controlled only by a signal indicating the presence or absence of recording paper from the detection unit. The display means comprises an LED;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the LED is turned on when it is detected that there is a recording sheet on the paper discharge tray .

Images