JP6237541B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus provided with a plurality of stages of paper feed cassettes.

  Proposed image forming device with multi-stage paper cassettes that performs limitless paper feeding by switching to another paper cassette when a paper end occurs during continuous copying by paper feeding from the paper cassette (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-252945 A

  However, in the prior art, paper is fed from the same paper cassette until there is no recording paper. Then, in a paper feeding cassette in which paper feeding is performed, a paper feeding clutch that controls transmission of rotational force to a pickup roller that takes out the recording paper and a paper feeding roller that feeds the recording paper taken out by the pickup roller to the downstream side Is turned on / off continuously. The on / off interval of the paper feed clutch becomes shorter as the paper feed speed (sheets / minute) is faster. Therefore, in the case of an apparatus having a high sheet feeding speed (sheets / minute), a large load is concentrated on a specific sheet feeding cassette (sheet feeding clutch) among a plurality of stages of sheet feeding cassettes, resulting in sheet feeding failure. There is a problem that the life of the paper cassette is shortened.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of solving the problems of the prior art, preventing the occurrence of a paper feed failure, and extending the life of a paper feed cassette. is there.

An image forming apparatus of the present invention is an image forming apparatus including a recording unit that performs printing on a recording sheet and a plurality of sheet feeding cassettes that feed the recording sheet to the recording unit. When performing continuous printing and a paper feed cassette specifying unit for specifying a paper feed cassette in which recording paper is stored, when a plurality of paper feed cassettes are specified by the paper feed cassette specifying unit, a plurality of specified paper feed cassettes are specified. A paper feeding cassette selecting unit for selecting a paper feeding cassette to be used for feeding recording paper to the recording unit from the paper feeding cassette and feeding paper from the selected paper feeding cassette; The selection means distributes the selected paper cassettes without continuously selecting the same paper cassette, and performs the next paper feeding with the paper cassette being fed to each of the plurality of paper cassettes. Notify the paper cassette To wherein there by comprising shown means.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus including a recording unit that performs printing on a recording sheet and a plurality of sheet feeding cassettes that feed the recording sheet to the recording unit. A paper feed cassette specifying means for specifying a paper feed cassette storing a recording paper of a size, and when performing continuous printing, a plurality of paper feed cassettes are specified by the paper feed cassette specifying means. Paper feeding cassette selection means for selecting a paper feeding cassette to be used for feeding recording paper to the recording unit from a plurality of paper feeding cassettes and feeding paper from the selected paper feeding cassette; The paper cassette selection means distributes the selected paper cassettes without continuously selecting the same paper cassette, and a different sound is assigned to each of the plurality of paper cassettes. Discount for each paper cassette To wherein there by comprising a sound output means for outputting a hit was sound.
Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the paper feed cassette selecting unit may select a paper feed cassette having the shortest feeding distance for feeding the recording paper to the recording unit for the first printing. Good .

  According to the present invention, paper feeding cassettes used for feeding recording paper are dispersed to prevent concentration of loads on specific paper feeding cassettes, so that it is possible to prevent paper feeding defects from occurring. There is an effect that the life of the paper cassette can be extended.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration example of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the structure of the paper feed cassette shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a printing operation according to the embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a printing operation according to the embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the invention.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
The image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is a copying machine, and includes a document reading unit 10, a document feeding unit 20, and a recording unit 30, as shown in FIG. The document reading unit 10 is disposed above the recording unit 30, and the document feeding unit 20 is disposed above the document reading unit 10. Further, a touch panel device 2 for setting the image forming device 1 and instructing operation is disposed on the front side of the image forming device 1. In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 is described as a copying machine. However, the image forming apparatus 1 may be a scanner device, a printer device, an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral), or the like.

  The document reading unit 10 includes a scanner 11, a platen glass 12, and a document reading slit 13. The scanner 11 includes light emitting means such as an exposure lamp and LED, and reading means such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor, and is configured to be movable in the transport direction of the document MS by the document feeding unit 20. The platen glass 12 is an original table made of a transparent member such as glass. The document reading slit 13 has a slit formed in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the document MS is conveyed by the document feeding unit 20.

  When reading the document MS placed on the platen glass 12, the scanner 11 is moved to a position facing the platen glass 12 and reads the document MS while scanning the document MS placed on the platen glass 12. Image data is acquired, and the acquired image data is output to the recording unit 30. When reading the document MS conveyed by the document feeding unit 20, the scanner 11 is moved to a position facing the document reading slit 13, and the document MS by the document feeding unit 20 is passed through the document reading slit 13. The document MS is read in synchronism with the conveying operation to acquire image data, and the acquired image data is output to the recording unit 30.

  The document feeding unit 20 includes a document placement unit 21, a document discharge unit 22, and a document transport mechanism 23. The documents MS placed on the document placement unit 21 are sequentially fed out one by one by the document conveyance mechanism 23 and conveyed to a position facing the document reading slit 13 of the document reading unit 10, and then the document discharge unit. 22 is discharged. The document feeding unit 20 is configured to be retractable, and the upper surface of the platen glass 12 can be opened by lifting the document feeding unit 20 upward.

  The recording unit 30 includes a photosensitive drum 31, a charging unit 32, an exposure unit 33, a developing unit 34, a transfer unit 35, a cleaning unit 36, and a fixing unit 37. The exposure unit 33 is an optical unit including a laser device, a mirror, and the like. The exposure unit 33 outputs laser light based on image data, exposes the photosensitive drum 31 charged by the charging unit 32, and An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface. The developing unit 34 is a developing unit that develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 31 using toner, and forms a toner image based on the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 31. The transfer unit 35 transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 31 by the developing unit 34 to the recording paper P. The fixing unit 37 heats the recording paper P on which the toner image is transferred by the transfer unit 35 to fix the toner image on the recording paper P.

  A paper feed unit 40 that supplies the recording paper P to the recording unit 30 is disposed below the recording unit 30. The paper feed unit 40 is configured to be able to select the number of stages of the paper feed cassette 50 that stores the recording paper P according to the needs of the user. In the present embodiment, the paper feed unit 40 includes four stages of paper feed cassettes 50. The uppermost sheet cassette 50a is disposed below the recording unit 30, and the sheet cassettes 50b, 50c, and 50d are sequentially disposed from the top.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the paper feed cassette 50 includes an elevating plate 51 for stacking a plurality of recording papers P, and an elevating mechanism 52 for elevating the elevating plate 51. The up-and-down plate 51 is rotatably supported by an upstream end 51a located upstream of the recording paper P in the feeding direction. Then, the lifting plate 51 is rotated by a lifting mechanism 52 that is operated by power of a motor (not shown) or the like, so that the lifting plate 51 is moved up and down to be displaced between the paper feeding position and the retracted position. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the elevating plate 51 is pushed up to the paper feeding position.

  The paper feed cassette 50 includes a pickup roller 53 that picks up a plurality of recording papers P stacked on the lifting plate 51, a paper feed roller 54 provided on the downstream side of the pickup roller 53 in the paper feeding direction, and a paper feed roller The rotational force of a motor (not shown) is applied to the separating roller 55 provided below the conveying roller 56, the conveying roller 56 provided downstream in the feeding direction of the paper feeding roller 54, and the pickup roller 53 and the paper feeding roller 54. A paper feeding clutch 57 for transmission.

  The paper feed roller 54 feeds the recording paper P taken out by the pickup roller 53 to the transport roller 56. The paper feed roller 54 rotates in the direction in which the recording paper P is transported downstream, whereas the separating roller 55 rotates in the direction in which the recording paper P is sent back upstream. Therefore, even when several recording papers P taken out by the pickup roller 53 are overlapped, it is possible to prevent the paper other than the uppermost recording paper P from being fed in the direction of the transporting roller 56 by the separating roller 55. As a result, only the uppermost recording paper P is transported to the transport roller 56 by the paper feed roller 54.

  The transport roller 56 feeds the recording paper P fed from the paper feed roller 54 or the transport roller 56 of the lower paper feed cassette 50 to the recording unit 30 (in the uppermost stage) or the upper paper feed cassette 50. To the transport roller 56. The transport roller 56 is rotationally driven in conjunction with the power of a motor (not shown) provided in the recording unit 30, and the recording roller P is fed at the same speed as the transport speed of the recording paper P in the recording unit 30. Transport. The recording paper P conveyed to the recording unit 30 is conveyed to the transfer unit 35 by the registration roller 38 at a predetermined timing, and recording is performed by the recording unit 30. Then, the recording sheet P on which recording has been performed is guided to the discharge roller 39 and output to the discharge tray 3.

  The paper feed clutch 57 is an electromagnetic clutch, and transmits or interrupts the rotational force of a motor (not shown) to the pickup roller 53 and the paper feed roller 54.

Next, a hardware configuration example of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
The touch panel device 2, the document reading unit 10, the document feeding unit 20, the recording unit 30, and the sheet feeding unit 40 are connected to the main body control unit 60 and controlled in operation by the main body control unit 60. In addition, a storage unit 61 and an image processing unit 62 are connected to the main body control unit 60.

  The main body control unit 60 is an information processing unit such as a microcomputer including a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The ROM stores a control program for controlling the operation of the image forming apparatus 1. The main body control unit 60 reads the control program stored in the ROM and develops the control program in the RAM, thereby controlling the entire apparatus according to predetermined instruction information input from the touch panel device 2.

  The storage unit 61 is a storage unit such as a semiconductor memory or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and stores image data acquired by reading a document by the document reading unit 10.

  The image processing unit 62 is a unit that performs predetermined image processing on the image data. For example, image improvement processing such as enlargement / reduction processing, density adjustment, and gradation adjustment is performed.

  Cassette control units 70a, 70b, 70c, and 70d are provided in the paper supply cassettes 50a, 50b, 50c, and 50d of the paper supply unit 40, respectively. The cassette control units 70a, 70b, 70c, and 70d are constituted by a microcontroller or the like, and have a function of starting the paper supply by controlling the paper supply clutch 57 based on an instruction from the main body control unit 60. ing. When the cassette controllers 70a, 70b, 70c, and 70d detect the arrival of the recording paper P to the transport roller 56 by a sensor (not shown), the cassette control units 70a, 70b, 70c, and 70d turn off the paper feeding clutch 57. Thereby, the recording paper P is conveyed to the recording unit 30 by the conveying roller 56. The cassette controllers 70a, 70b, 70c, and 70d have a function of detecting the size of the recording paper P stored in the paper cassettes 50a, 50b, 50c, and 50d by a sensor (not shown) and notifying the main body controller 60. And a function of detecting the paper end of the recording paper P stored in the paper feed cassettes 50a, 50b, 50c, and 50d by a sensor (not shown) and notifying the main body control unit 60.

Next, a printing method by the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
When the main body control unit 60 receives a print instruction via the touch panel device 2 or a network (not shown), the main body control unit 60 converts the paper feed cassette 50 containing the recording paper P having a size to be printed into the paper feed cassette 50a of the paper feed unit 40, It identifies from 50b, 50c, 50d (step S1). Then, the main body control unit 60 determines whether or not there is the paper feed cassette 50 specified in step S1 (step S2), and determines whether or not there is one paper feed cassette 50 specified in step S1. (Step S3). If there is no paper feed cassette 50 specified in step S2, the main body control unit 60 displays an error on the touch panel device 2 (step S4) and ends the printing operation. If there is only one paper feed cassette 50 specified in step S3, paper is fed from the one paper feed cassette 50 specified in step S1, and a printing operation is executed (step S5).

  When there are a plurality of paper feed cassettes 50 specified in step S3, the main body control unit 60 first positions the uppermost position among the paper feed cassettes 50 specified in step S1, that is, the recording unit 30. The paper feed cassette 50 with the shortest feeding distance for feeding the recording paper P is selected to feed paper (step S6). Then, 1 is set to the variable n (step S7), and the printing process is executed by the recording unit 30 (step S8). As shown in FIG. 5A, when the size of the recording paper P to be printed is “A4” and the recording paper P of “A4” size is stored in the paper feed cassettes 50a, 50c, and 50d, one sheet In the printing of the eyes, paper is fed from the uppermost paper feed cassette 50a in step S6. Thereby, the first print time can be minimized.

  Next, the main body control unit 60 determines whether or not the variable n has reached the print sheet number N (step S9). If the variable n has not reached the number N of prints in step S9, the main body control unit 60 feeds paper from the paper feed cassette 50 specified in step S1 during the n-th print process. A paper feed cassette 50 different from the performed paper feed cassette 50 is selected, and paper is fed from the selected paper feed cassette 50 (step S10). Then, the variable n is incremented (step S11), the process returns to step S8, and the nth printing process is executed by the recording unit 30. In step S10, for example, as shown in FIG. 5B, a paper feed cassette 50c different from the paper feed cassette 50a that has fed paper during the n-th printing process is selected, and the paper feed cassette 50c is selected. Paper is fed. Note that the order of the paper feeding cassettes 50 selected in step S10 may be set in advance (for example, the order of the paper feeding cassettes 50a-50c-50d), or may be selected randomly each time. The determination in step S9 and the selection operation in step S10 are performed in parallel with the printing process in step S8. If the paper feeding cassette 50 having a long conveyance distance is selected in step S10, the printing process in step S8. And the paper feeding operation in step S10 is performed in parallel. Therefore, for example, even when the feeding speed of the first-stage paper cassette 50a is slow and the performance is only 20 (sheets / minute), paper is fed from another paper cassette 50 at the first-stage paper feeding interval. As a result, a performance equivalent to 40 (sheets / minute) can be provided.

  As a result, the paper feed cassette 50 that feeds paper is distributed to the plurality of paper feed cassettes 50a, 50c, and 50d specified in step S1. When the variable n reaches the number of printed sheets N in step S5, the printing operation is terminated. Therefore, the concentration of a large load does not concentrate on the specific paper feed cassette 50. That is, it is possible to reduce the operation of the sheet feeding clutch 57 that is continuous at a short interval in the specific sheet feeding cassette 50. As a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a paper feed failure and extend the life of the paper feed cassette 50.

  In step S10, since a paper feed cassette 50 different from the paper feed cassette 50 that has fed paper is selected, even if a paper end is detected in the paper feed cassette 50 that has fed paper, another paper feed is detected. Since paper is fed from the cassette 50, the printing speed is not reduced by the paper end. The paper feed cassette 50 in which the paper end is detected is excluded from the selection in the next step S10.

  In addition, a display unit such as an LED is provided in the paper feed cassette 50 so that the display units of the paper feed cassette 50 that is feeding paper and the paper feed cassette 50 that performs the next paper feed are turned on, and the paper feed cassette 50 from which the paper feed cassette 50 is fed. You may comprise so that it may notify whether paper is performed. In this case, when the display sections of the paper feeding cassette 50 that is currently feeding and the paper feeding cassette 50 that is to be fed next time are lighted by distinguishing them by color, blinking, or the like, the user can select the paper feeding cassette 50 that feeds paper. The transition can be easily seen.

  Furthermore, a sound output unit such as a speaker may be connected to the main body control unit 60 so that a different sound is output for each paper feed cassette 50 to be fed. For example, when different recording sounds such as “do”, “le”, “mi”, “fa”, etc. are assigned to the paper feed cassettes 50a, 50b, 50c, 50d, and the recording paper P fed to the transport roller 56 arrives. , Output the assigned sound. As a result, the user can easily recognize the change of the paper feeding cassette 50 for feeding paper by sound.

As described above, the present embodiment includes the recording unit 30 that prints on the recording paper P, and a plurality of paper feed cassettes 50a, 50b, 50c, and 50d that feed the recording paper P to the recording unit 30. The image forming apparatus 1 functions as a paper feed cassette specifying means for specifying the paper feed cassette 50 in which the recording paper P of a size to be printed is stored, and when performing continuous printing, the paper feed cassette specifying means When a plurality of paper feed cassettes 50 are specified by the above, the paper feed cassette 50 to be used for feeding the recording paper P to the recording unit 30 is selected from the plurality of specified paper feed cassettes 50 and selected. A main body control unit 60 that functions as a paper cassette selecting unit that feeds paper from the paper cassette 50 is provided. The main body control unit 60 functioning as a sheet cassette selection unit is configured to disperse selected sheet cassettes without continuously selecting the same sheet cassette.
With this configuration, it is possible to disperse the paper feeding cassettes 50 used for feeding the recording paper P and prevent concentration of loads on specific paper feeding cassettes 50. As a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a paper feed failure and extend the life of the paper feed cassette.

Further, in the present embodiment, the main body control unit 60 (paper feed cassette selecting means) uses the paper feed cassette with the shortest feeding distance for feeding the recording paper P to the recording unit for the first printing. select.
With this configuration, the first print time can be minimized.

Further, in the present embodiment, each of the plurality of paper feed cassettes is provided with display means for notifying the paper feed cassette 50 that is currently feeding paper and the paper feed cassette 50 that is to be fed next time.
With this configuration, the user can easily visually recognize the transition of the paper feed cassette 50 that feeds paper.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, different sounds are assigned to each of the plurality of paper feed cassettes 50a, 50b, 50c, and 50d, and an audio output that outputs the sound assigned to each paper feed cassette 50 to be fed. Means.
With this configuration, the user can easily recognize the change of the paper feeding cassette 50 for feeding paper by sound.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it is obvious that the embodiments can be appropriately changed within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. In addition, the number, position, shape, and the like of the constituent members are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be set to a suitable number, position, shape, and the like in practicing the present invention. In each figure, the same numerals are given to the same component.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Touch panel apparatus 3 Discharge tray 10 Original reading part 11 Scanner 12 Platen glass 13 Original reading slit 20 Original feeding part 21 Original placing part 22 Original discharge part 23 Original conveyance mechanism 30 Recording part 31 Photosensitive drum 32 Charging Section 33 Exposure section 34 Development section 35 Transfer section 36 Cleaning section 37 Fixing section 38 Registration roller 39 Discharge roller 40 Paper feed section 50, 50a, 50b, 50c, 50d Paper feed cassette 51 Lift plate 52 Lift mechanism 53 Pickup roller 54 Paper feed Roller 55 Rolling roller 56 Conveying roller 57 Feed clutch 60 Main body control unit 61 Storage unit 62 Image processing units 70a, 70b, 70c, 70d Cassette control unit

Claims (3)

An image forming apparatus comprising: a recording unit that performs printing on a recording sheet; and a plurality of paper feeding cassettes that feed the recording sheet to the recording unit.
Paper feed cassette specifying means for specifying a paper feed cassette storing recording paper of a size to be printed;
In the case of performing continuous printing, when a plurality of paper feed cassettes are specified by the paper feed cassette specifying means, the paper feed used for feeding the recording paper to the recording unit from among the specified paper feed cassettes A paper cassette selecting means for selecting a cassette and feeding paper from the selected paper cassette;
The paper feed cassette selection means distributes paper feed cassettes to be selected without continuously selecting the same paper feed cassette ,
An image forming apparatus comprising: a display unit configured to notify each of a plurality of paper feed cassettes of a paper feed cassette being fed and a paper feed cassette to be fed next time . An image forming apparatus comprising: a recording unit that performs printing on a recording sheet; and a plurality of paper feeding cassettes that feed the recording sheet to the recording unit.
Paper feed cassette specifying means for specifying a paper feed cassette storing recording paper of a size to be printed;
In the case of performing continuous printing, when a plurality of paper feed cassettes are specified by the paper feed cassette specifying means, the paper feed used for feeding the recording paper to the recording unit from among the specified paper feed cassettes A paper cassette selecting means for selecting a cassette and feeding paper from the selected paper cassette;
The paper feed cassette selection means distributes paper feed cassettes to be selected without continuously selecting the same paper feed cassette ,
An image forming apparatus comprising: a sound output unit configured to output a sound assigned to each of a plurality of paper feed cassettes, each of which has a different sound assigned to each of a plurality of paper feed cassettes . The paper feed cassette selection means, the printing of the first sheet, according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the feeding distance for feeding the recording sheet to the recording unit selects the shortest paper feed cassette Image forming apparatus.

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