JPH01117137A - Image former - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform a job for position conformed to size of a storage sheet by setting a side guide of a paper refeeding tray according to the sheet width detection of a manual feed sheet. CONSTITUTION:Movable parts 162 and 163, moving in a (j) direction by dint of pressing force of paper, are installed each in each inner surface of manual feed guides 160 and 161, and at each backside of these movable parts 162, 163, there are provided with sensors 381 and 382 which detect these movable parts when they moved in the (j) direction. Accordingly, these two sensors 381, 382 are all turned to ON whereby a fact that manual feed paper has been correctly set to a tray 156 is thus detectable and, what is more, paper width is righteously findable out of the value of variable resistance 383 at that time. If the paper width is correctly found out, and amount of travel of a side regulating plate for a paper refeeding tray and a side racer lighting position are accurately determinable.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a laser beam printer, and in particular, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a laser beam printer, and in particular, the same sheet is repeatedly subjected to image formation to produce double-sided printing or multicolor printing. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that is capable of image composition.

(Prior Art) In this image forming apparatus, there are times when it is desired to form an image on a sheet different from the standard sheets that are always set. A manual feed table has been used conventionally.

The manual feeding table guides the manual feeding of sheets on which images are to be formed one by one, and allows the sheets to be automatically fed by the feeding means. For this reason, in the manual feed tray, the position of the side guide is adjusted according to the size of the manually fed sheet, so that the manually fed sheet can be reliably guided.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, the refeeding tray that temporarily stores sheets after image formation for double-sided printing, multicolor printing, or image formation is not suitable for refeeding sheets that are used for image formation again. To refeed the sheet, it is necessary to position the sheet according to its size, but if the position of the side guide does not correspond accurately to the size of the manually fed sheet, jams or misaligned images may occur. Cause. Especially in the case of multicolor printing or image composition, image misalignment directly affects the quality of the image.

Conventionally, the size of a manual feed sheet can be detected by the position of a side guide on a manual feed table, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-1022.
It is known from Japanese Patent Application No. 75 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-113474, and it may be possible to use this method to position the side guides of the intermediate tray according to the sheet size, but the side guides of manual feed sheets are not suitable for manual feeding. It is not always the case that the manual feed sheet is positioned correctly; rather, it is relatively common for the user to forget to adjust the position, or for example, the side guide is not adjusted correctly, such as when there is a gap between the side guide and the manual sheet.

Therefore, even if the position of the side guide of the refeed tray is determined based on such information, it is not possible to reliably position the sheet according to its size. Therefore, conventionally, double-sided printing, image compositing, and multicolor printing are prohibited when using a manual feed tray.

Therefore, when a sheet is manually fed from a manual feed sheet, the size of the manually fed sheet is accurately detected by the position of the side guide that guides it, and the position of the side guide of the refeed tray is adjusted to the size of the manually fed sheet. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus that can accurately perform settings corresponding to the above conditions and successfully achieve double-sided printing by refeeding sheets, image composition, multicolor printing, etc.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, the present invention provides a feeding means for feeding a sheet to be supplied for image formation, and a sheet manually fed to the feeding means. a manual feed tray for guiding; a side guide movable in a direction perpendicular to the sheet manual feed direction so as to come into contact with a side edge of the sheet on the manual feed tray and guide the sheet at a position corresponding to the sheet size;
a sheet contact detection means for detecting that the sheet is in contact with a side guide; a sheet width detection means for detecting the sheet width based on the side guide position when the sheet contact detection means detects the sheet contact; and a re-feeding tray that receives a sheet, positions it by a side guide that moves according to its size, and supplies it again for image formation, and re-feeds it according to the sheet width detection of the manually fed sheet by a sheet width detection means. The present invention is characterized in that the side guide position of the tray is set to perform positioning according to the size of the accommodated sheets.

(Function) The sheet to be manually fed can be reliably guided to the feeding means by the manual feeding table and the side guide attached to it, and can be fed at an appropriate position according to the sheet size.

In particular, when the side guide is in contact with the manual sheet to guide it correctly, this is detected by the sheet contact detection means, and the sheet width detection means determines the sheet to be manually fed depending on the position of the side guide when this detection occurs. Since the sheet width is detected based on the position of the side guides, the side guides are in contact with the sheet to be guided and positioned correctly, and are at the appropriate position corresponding to the size of the manual feed sheet. This makes it possible to prevent the sheet width from being erroneously detected when the position adjustment is inappropriate or forgotten.

Furthermore, the position of the side guide of the refeed tray is set according to the sheet width detection result, but since the sheet width of the manual feed sheet is accurately detected, the position of the side guide of the refeed tray can also be set manually. Since it is done properly according to the size of the sheet, even if it is a manually fed sheet, after image formation, it can be accepted and used for image formation again at the appropriate position, and it can be used for double-sided printing, image compositing, and multicolor printing. Printing can be achieved without shifting the image position.

(Example) An embodiment of the present invention shown in the drawings will be described below.

This embodiment shows the case of an electrophotographic copying machine capable of double-sided copying.

First, the overall configuration of a copying machine equipped with a paper refeeding device will be described along with copying operations.

This copying machine has a copy paper storage section and a paper feed section in the lower section, a paper refeed tray unit A directly above the copy paper storage section, an image forming section centered on the photoreceptor drum 2 in the middle section, and an image forming section centered on the photoreceptor drum 2 in the upper section. Optical system 1 is installed, and copy paper is re-feeded to tray unit A after copying.
Double-sided copying is possible by feeding the paper again.

The photosensitive drum 2 is rotatable in the direction of the arrow a, and around it are arranged in order a charging charger 6, a magnetic brush type developing device 3, a transfer charger 5as separation charger 5b, a blade type cleaning device 4, and an eraser lamp 7. has been done. As the photosensitive drum 2 rotates in the direction of arrow a, it is uniformly charged by a charging charger 6, and receives image exposure from the optical system 1 to form an electrostatic latent image. This electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image by the developing device 3.

The optical system 1 is capable of scanning in the direction of the arrow below the document platen glass 16, and includes a light source lO, a movable mirror 118111b,
llc, an imaging lens 12, and a fixed mirror lid. The light source IO and the movable mirror 11a move together in the direction indicated by the arrow at a speed of TV/m (where m: copy magnification) with respect to the circumferential speed V of the photoreceptor drum 2 (constant regardless of whether the magnification is the same or variable magnification). The movable mirrors 11b and llc move integrally in the direction indicated by the arrow at a speed of V/2m (7).

On the other hand, the copy paper storage section is an elevator-type storage section 42 on the upper stage.
and a lower cassette type storage section 43, both of which can be pulled out from the main body of the copying machine toward the front side by means of rails 46, 47 and 48, 49. The copy paper in the storage section 42 is selectively fed out by the rotation of the paper feed roller 18, and the copy paper in the storage section 43 is fed out by the rotation of the paper feed roller 19. The copy sheets are separated and fed one by one from the storage section 42.43 by separation rollers 20.21 and 22.23, respectively. The intermediate tray unit A also has a paper refeed roller 38 for refeeding paper, and the copy paper sent out by it is separated by separation rollers 39.4.
The paper is sorted by 0 and fed one by one. These fed copy sheets are conveyed to the timing roller pair 13 by conveyance rollers 24 to 34 of each section.

After the copy paper is temporarily stopped by a pair of multi-timing rollers 13, it is sent to a transfer section in synchronization with the image formed on the photosensitive drum 2, and the toner image is transferred by the discharge of the transfer charger 5a. At the same time, the toner image is separated from the surface of the photoreceptor drum 2 by the discharge of the separation charger 5b, and sent to the fixing device 9 by the conveyor belt 8 equipped with an air suction means 8a, where the toner image is melted and fixed. .

A lever 41 for switching the conveyance path of the copy paper is installed between a pair of conveyance rollers 14 and a pair of discharge rollers 15, which are provided immediately after the exit of the fixing device 9. If the copy paper is to be ejected as is, the lever 41 is set to the state shown by the dashed line in FIG.

In addition, when double-sided copying is to be performed, the lever 41 is set to the solid line state, and the copy paper is fed from the conveying roller 35 through the guide plate 37 into the paper refeeding tray unit A.

On the other hand, residual toner is removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 2 after the transfer by a cleaning device 4 in preparation for the next copying.

Next, a schematic configuration of the paper refeeding tray unit A will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2, the paper refeeding tray unit A includes a receiving block I, a transport block ■, a reversing block ■,
It is composed of an alignment/intermediate tray block ■ and a paper refeeding block V, and is an integral unit. In other words, it can be pulled out in a direction perpendicular to the copy paper conveyance path. The reason why this unit A can be pulled out from the main body of the copying machine is to facilitate various types of maintenance, facilitate clogging removal, and the like.

Incidentally, although the receiving block I is equipped with conveyance rollers 50 and 51, this block I is not provided in the intermediate tray unit A, but may be provided on the copying machine main body side.

The transport block ■ has transport rollers 52.53.54.55,
It is composed of guide plates 201, 202, 203, and 204, and can be opened upward about a support shaft 95 when the unit A is pulled forward. The reason why this block (2) can be opened upward is to facilitate the handling of paper jams in the unit A.

The reversing block (2) is composed of reversing transport rollers 56, 57 and a reversing guide 93, and has the function of reversing the copy paper transported inside the transport block (2) and feeding it onto the re-feeding tray 58.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the alignment and intermediate tray block (2) includes the paper refeed tray 58, slide rails 77, 78, .
79 and slide members 73.74.7 guided by them
5, and both side and rear regulating plates 62, 63, 65 attached to each slide member 73, 74, 75, and has the function of aligning the copy sheets fed onto the paper refeed tray 58.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the paper refeeding block V is composed of a paper refeeding roller 38, a holder 66 that holds them, the above-mentioned sorting rollers 39, 40, and a guide plate 88, and a paper refeeding tray. This is for refeeding the aligned copy sheets on the sheet 58 one by one.

As shown in FIG. 5, the paper refeed roller 38 is supported in a cantilever manner by a support shaft 87 rotatably attached to a holder 66, and the holder 66 is supported by a support shaft 86 rotatably attached to a frame (not shown) of unit A. Fixed at the rear end. The support shaft 86 is connected to the driving means of each conveyance roller to the unit by a clutch (not shown), and is rotated in the direction of arrow j by turning on this clutch only at the time of paper refeeding.
This rotation is caused by a pulley 126.1 fixed to a support shaft 86.87.
It is transmitted to the paper refeed roller 38 via a timing belt 128 stretched over the paper feed roller 27 .

A swing lever 145 is swingably attached to one end of the support shaft 86, and one end of a shaft 145a protruding from both sides of the free end faces the projecting piece 66a of the holder 66 from below, and the other end faces the projecting piece 66a of the holder 66 from below. faces the actuator of switch 380 from above.

A sector gear 145b is formed at the tail end of the swinging lever 145, to which a motor 150 and a reduction gear mechanism 151 are connected.When the motor 150 rotates forward, the swinging lever 145 is rotated upward in an arc, and the shaft 145a, the holder 66 is rotated upward in an arc via the protruding piece 66a, and the paper refeed roller 38 is moved upward to a non-operating position, whereas when the motor 150 is reversed, the swing lever 145 is rotated in a downward arc. Since the holder 66 is rotated, its own weight causes the shaft 145a and the protruding piece 66a to
The refeeding roller 38 tries to follow the downward movement of the swing lever 145 through the refeeding tray 58, and presses the refeed roller 38 against the copy paper on the refeed tray 58 by its own weight, making it possible to refeed the paper.

Whether the paper refeeding roller 38 is in the non-operating position or in a state where paper can be refeed is detected by whether or not the shaft 145a is pushing the actuator of the switch 380.

The support shaft 86 further rotatably holds the tail end of a holder 133 having a static elimination brush 135 at its tip, and the holder 66 is rotated vertically in an arc by the bias of a spring 134 acting between it and the surrounding fixed wall. via a shaft 132, so that it comes into contact with the uppermost copy sheet on the re-feed tray 58 only when re-feeding the paper. Reference numeral 136 denotes an upward movement restricting stopper for the holder 133, which also indirectly plays the same role for the holder 66.

Note that for double-sided copying using the paper refeed tray 58,
Press the selection key 30 on the operation panel 300 (see FIG. 8) in advance.
3 to select the double-sided copy mode and start copying, the switching lever 41 is switched to the solid line position in FIG. 35 to the conveyance roller 5 guided by a guide plate 37.
0.51. Copy paper is conveyed by rollers 50.51
is fed into the transport block ■ by the guide plate 201.
．． Conveying rollers 52 and 53 while being guided by 203 and 204
．． At 54.55, the sheet is further conveyed to the left in FIG. 2, reversed by reversing conveyance rollers 56, 57 and reversing guide plate 93, and fed onto re-feeding tray 58 with the copied side facing up. Then, the sheets are aligned on the paper re-feeding tray 58 by an alignment mechanism which will be described in detail below, and the sheets are re-fed one by one by the clockwise rotation of the paper re-feeding roller 38.

The re-fed copy paper is sorted or punched by the sorting rollers 39, 40, and is conveyed to the timing roller pair 13 through the conveying rollers 32, 33, 34, and then transferred to the second side in the same way as in the normal copying process. A copy is made. In addition, in the paper refeed tray unit A, each regulation plate 62, 63 is used to place the copy paper fed onto the paper refeed tray 58 at a predetermined position according to its size.
．． 65 has a matching function.

Here, the regulation plate 65 is driven by the rear regulation plate drive motor 154 (FIG. 9), which is a stepping motor, but until the paper is stored, it waits at the position where the sensor 84 in FIG. 2 is turned on. . At this home position, the light shielding portion 79 provided on the regulating plate 65 shields the sensor 84 from light. This home position is the 85th edition horizontal feed paper B5, which is the minimum double-sided copying size of this copier.
It corresponds to the length of paper B in the transport direction of 182 m.
When the paper 5Y is stored, the leading edge of the paper (the leading edge in refeeding) is located at an appropriate position for refeeding.

After the paper reaches the paper sensor 60 in front of the reversing conveyance rollers 56, 57 and a certain period of time (time for conveying 182 minutes), the regulating plate 65 adjusts the paper conveyance speed in the direction of g° in FIG. Start moving at equal speed. and,
When the trailing edge of the paper passes through the paper sensor 60, the movement is stopped. In other words, in the case of paper 85Y, the rear regulation plate 6
The timing when B5Y starts to be moved in the g' force direction coincides with the timing when the trailing edge of the paper passes through the sensor 60 and stops moving, and the rear regulating plate 65 moves the paper B5Y to reach the refeeding position. Accept and adjust on the spot. On the other hand, for a sheet whose size in the transport direction is larger than sheet B5Y, the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the sensor 60 with a delay corresponding to the larger size, which delays the stop timing of the rear regulating plate 65. Reference numeral 65 is always located at a position to receive paper according to its size at the paper refeeding position.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, side regulating plates 62 and 63 are driven by a side regulating plate drive motor 152, which is a stepping motor, to drive a pinion 152a and a rack 62a that meshes with the pinion 152a.
, 63a. When the motor 152 rotates in the direction i, the regulation plates 62 and 63 are moved in the direction h, increasing the distance between them. When the motor 152 rotates in the direction i", which is opposite to l, the regulation plates 62 and 63 move in the direction h". are moved in the direction of , and the distance between them narrows.

Before paper storage, the motor 152 rotates once in the i direction,
When the light blocking portion 153 provided on the side regulating plate 62 reaches the sensor 85, it stops. This widest position is considered the home position. Now, when copying starts, the side regulation plates 62 and 63 start moving in the h' direction, and stop when the distance between both side regulation plates reaches the paper width based on the paper width detection result of the selected tray. .

After a certain period of time has elapsed since the paper was conveyed and the leading edge reached the sensor 60, the side regulating plates 62 and 63 each move 5 inches in the h direction and then stop.

As a result, the side regulating plates 62 and 63 have a margin of 5- on both sides against the entry of paper.

After a certain period of time has elapsed since the trailing edge of the paper passes the sensor 60 (until the paper is completely placed on the re-feeding tray 58), the 5th interval moves in the h'' direction and stops.

Similar paper alignment is performed for subsequent sheets.

As a result, all the sheets accommodated on the paper refeed tray 58 are positioned and aligned at widthwise positions according to their sizes each time they are accommodated.

When the last paper has been stored, the paper refeed roller 38, which had been waiting at the - dotted chain line position, descends to the solid line position and prepares for paper refeeding.

Next, the first side of the copied paper fed by the paper refeed roller 38 at the start of printing is separated by the separation roller 39.40.
The image is transferred via the conveyance rollers 32, 33, 34 and the timing roller 13 to a different surface from the previous one and fixed. At this time, the ejection switching claw 41 has been switched to the position shown in dashed lines, and the ejection is ejected onto the ejection tray 36.

Furthermore, this example of copy paper is provided with a manual feed tray 156, which guides the manual feed paper to conveyance rollers 154, 155, and the conveyance rollers 154, 155 send it to the timing roller 13 for copying. . As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, this manual feed tray 156 has manual feed guides 160 that guide both sides of the paper to be manually fed.
161 is installed. Manual feed guide 160.161
The racks 160a and 161a connected to the racks 160a and 161a are engaged with the same pinion 380, so that they are interlocked with each other. For this reason, the manual feed guide 160.16
1 in the h direction, the other one also moves in the h direction (spreading direction) as the pinion 380 rotates in the i direction. Further, a variable resistor 383 is directly connected to the pinion 380 and rotates in the i direction. Conversely, manual feed guide 1
When 60 and 161 move in the h' direction, the pinion 380 and the variable resistor 383 rotate in the i' direction, which is opposite to i. As a result, the manual feed guides 160 and 161 are always at the same distance from the paper feeding center, and the manual feed guides 160 and 161 touch both sides of paper of any size without any play, allowing for correct alignment using the center alignment method. be able to. Furthermore, the size of the correctly positioned manually fed sheet can be detected based on the value of the variable resistor 383 at the time of positioning.

On the other hand, the inner surfaces of the manual feed guides 160 and 161 have movable parts 162 and 1 that move in the j direction by the pressing force of the paper, respectively.
63 is provided, and a sensor 381 is provided on the back side of each movable part 162, 163 to detect when it moves in the j direction.
and 382 are provided as shown in FIG.

Therefore, when these two sensors 381 and 382 are both turned on, it is possible to detect that the manual paper is correctly set in the manual paper tray 156, and the paper width can be determined correctly from the value of the variable resistor at that time. can.

If the paper width is determined correctly, the amount of movement of the side regulating plates 62 and 63 of the paper refeeding tray 58 and the lighting position of the sight tracer (not shown) can be determined accurately.

Next, the arrangement of various operation keys on the operation panel 300 of the copying machine main body will be explained with reference to FIG.

On this operation panel 300, in addition to the double-sided copy selection key 303, a print key 301 for starting the copying operation, and a numerical display device 30 capable of displaying a two-digit numerical value are provided.
2, respectively rl J・“2”−・−“9”・“
Numeric keys 311 to 320 corresponding to the numerical value "0", an interrupt key 307 for specifying interrupt copying, a clear/stop key 308, a copy paper size selection for specifying the copy paper stored in the storage section 42, 43 by size. key 3
09, up and down keys 306, 307, etc. for changing and specifying the copy image density in steps are arranged.

The switches corresponding to these various operation keys and the various sensors installed on the copying machine main body and paper refeed tray unit A are as follows:
As shown in FIG. 9, it is associated with a control circuit including a microcomputer system.

Here, the control circuit for this copy paper will be explained with reference to FIG.

This control circuit is mainly composed of a first CPU 340 for copying operation control and a second CPU 341 for optical system control, which are connected to each other for mutual synchronization.
The PU 340 has a switch matrix 342 in which various operation keys and sensors on the operation panel 300 are arranged vertically and horizontally.
is connected. Manual feed guide 160.161 mentioned above
By changing the resistance value of the variable resistor 383 linked to the variable resistor 383, an analog voltage that changes accordingly is input to the first CPU 340.
The data is A/D converted and stored as digital data.

In addition, the output terminals ^1 to A12 of the first CPυ340 are
A main motor, a developing motor, a toner supply motor, a paper feed clutch, a paper refeed clutch, a switching solenoid for the switching lever 41, etc. are connected to the switch matrix 34.
Their on/off is controlled based on the signal from 2. A motor 1501 for displacing the paper refeeding roller 38, a drive motor 152 for the side regulation plates 62 and 63, and a drive motor 154 for the rear regulation plate 65 are also connected to perform position control.

Furthermore, the copy number display section 302
and other various display light emitting elements Ll! D303a, 30
98 to 309d, etc. are connected, and their lighting and extinguishing are controlled.

On the other hand, the second CPU 341 is connected to a drive control section 343 for a DC motor for scanning the optical system, a drive control section 344 for a stepping motor for a variable magnification lens, a fixed position switch 511% timing switch 31 for the optical system 1, and the like. ing.

FIG. 10 shows the main routine of operation control in the control circuit of FIG. 9.

When the power is turned on and the device is reset and started, initial settings are made to put each device into the initial mode in step #l. At this time, 5TATE, STF, etc., which will be described later, are set to 0.

Next, in step #2, an internal timer is started. This internal timer was set in step #1 and is 1
This determines the processing time of the routine, and serves as the reference time for one count of the timer, which will be described later.

Subsequently, each of the subroutines in steps #3 to #7 is sequentially called, and when the processing of all subroutines is completed, the internal timer is terminated in step #8, and the process returns to step #2.

Note that step #3 is performed using the paper size selection key 30 in FIG.
Step #4 is a duplex mode select subroutine for selecting a duplex copy mode based on whether the duplex copy selection key 303 is on or off. #5 is the paper re-feed tray 58 in double-sided copy mode
A double-sided copy control subroutine that controls the movement of the side regulating plates 62 and 63 and switching of the ejection switching solenoid, step #6 is the paper refeed roller 3.
Step #7 is a copying operation subroutine for executing a series of copying operations from paper feeding to image formation and ejection. .

FIG. 11 shows the copy operation subroutine.

Generally, the manual copy start subroutine (step #71) starts manual copy.

A normal copy start subroutine (step #72) that starts copying from the upper and lower paper feed slots of the main body.
Paper refeed copy start subroutine, which starts copying from the paper refeed tray 58 (step #73), and ejects the paper fed by the above three subroutines #71, #72, and #73 to the outside of the machine. There is a conveyance control subroutine (step #74) that conveys the paper until it is fixed, an image forming control subroutine (step #75) that controls the photoreceptor, and a fixing control subroutine (step #76) that controls the temperature of the fixing roller. .

FIG. 12 shows details of the manual copy subroutine.

If the document is "copying in progress" and scanning of the last sheet fed from one of the paper feed ports has not been completed (Step #711: Yes), manual feeding is prohibited (Step #712). ).

If copying is not in progress (Step #711: No), paper is set in the manual feed tray 156 and the manual feed sensor 3
84 is on (step #713; Yes), it is determined whether it is double-sided copy mode (step #714)
.

In the double-sided copy mode, the manual feed guide 160 comes into contact with the paper and the sensor 381 turns on (step #715); Y
es) and if the manual feed guide 161 is also in contact with the paper and the sensor 382 is on (step #716; Yes)
, if timer M has not started (step 471).
7; No, Step #721; No), starts the timer M (Step #722 ”), and when the timer M ends (Step #717; Yes), turns on the manual feed clutch and drives the conveyance rollers 154 and 155. .

If it is determined in step #714 that it is not double-sided copying, the process directly proceeds to step Gaff 1 and below, and the manual feed clutch is turned on when the timer M ends, regardless of whether the sensors 381 and 382 are on or off. - where the transport roller 154.1
55, in the case of double-sided copying, even if the manual feed paper is detected by the sensor 384, the manual feed guides 160 and 161 correctly contact the manual paper and the sensor 381.38 detects the paper.
2 is not detected, it will not be driven, and therefore manual paper will not be fed and double-sided copying will be prohibited. Therefore, copying in the double-sided copy mode is performed only when the manual feed guides 160 and 161 are in contact with both sides of the manual paper and their positions accurately indicate the width size of the manual paper. The side regulating plates 62 and 63 of 58 can be accurately positioned according to the size of the manually fed paper. As a result, the copy paper stored in the re-feed tray 58 after the first side copying is manually fed and positioned at the same center position as when it was used for the first side copying, and is then reused from that position for the second side copying. Paper is fed.

On the other hand, even though the manual paper is detected by the sensor 384 and other conditions are met, the timer M is activated when the conveyance roller 154
．． 155 is delayed for a certain period of time, for example, 1 second, and while the drive of the transport rollers 154 and 155 is delayed, the nip between them stops the leading edge of the paper being manually fed and aligns it. Prevent skew.

After turning on the manual clutch (step 4718)
: On) sets the flag for manual copying (
Step #719) Use the judgment in step #711 and clear the timer M to prepare for the next operation.

Also, by the time the manual feed clutch is turned on, that is, all the sensors 384, 381, 382 are turned on, and by the time the timer M ends, those three sensors 384, 381.
If any one of 382 is turned off, the process returns to step #711 via step #721, and when repeating the manual copy start subroutine, step #713 is turned off.
, #715, or #716 to step #720
Jump to and clear timer M.

FIG. 12 shows the double-sided copy control subroutine.

As a general process, after the power is turned on, a regulation plate standby subroutine moves the regulation plates 62, 63, 65 on both sides of the paper refeed tray 58 and the rear regulation plates 62, 63, 65 to their home positions, and positions the regulation plates 62, 63, 65. However, there is a storage subroutine that aligns the sheets, and a paper refeeding subroutine that waits from the completion of storage of the paper whose first side has been copied until the completion of paper refeeding, and these are selectively executed according to the 5TATEO value.

First 1. Since S T A T E is set to 0 in the initial setting (step #51; Yes), the regulation plate standby subroutine (step #53) is executed.

FIG. 13 shows the contents of the regulation plate standby subroutine.

If the sensor 85 is off in step #531, that is, if the regulating plates 62, 63 are moved in the h' force direction and the power is turned off, the side regulating plate drive motor 151 is moved in the i direction ( (see Figure 4).
Step #532), when the sensor 85 is turned on (
Step #531; N.

) Stop the motor 151 (step #533).

As a result of this process, the side regulating plates 62 and 63 stand by at the home position where they are widened the most.

Next, if the sensor 84 is off, that is, the regulation plate 65
is moved in the g direction (see Figure 3) and the power is turned off (step #534; Yes).
, the rear regulation plate drive motor 154 is rotated so that the rear regulation plate 65 moves in the g direction (step #535), and the sensor 8
4 is turned on (step #534; No), it is stopped (step #536). This position is the rear regulation plate 65
is the position closest to the paper refeed roller 38 side, which is the storage position for the paper B5Y.

Furthermore, if it is not double-sided copy mode (step #53
7; Yes) until both sensors 84 and 85 turn on (
Step #538; No) prohibits paper feeding (step #53C). Both turned on (Step #538: Y
es) After that, ST indicating the state of the subroutine being stored.
F is set to O (step #53A), and 5TATE, which is the stater of the duplex copy control subroutine, is set to 1 (step #53B).

Now, returning to FIG. 13, when 5TATE becomes 1 (step #52; Yes).

The storing subroutine is executed (step #54).

FIG. 15 shows the contents of the storing subroutine.

In step #53A, the STF is set to 0 (step #541; Yes), and when paper is fed from any paper feed port and copying is in progress (including manual copying) (step #542; Yes).

When paper is fed from the upper paper feed (paper feed tray 42) opening (step #543: Yes), the side regulation plate is moved based on the output of the paper width detection sensor provided on the paper feed tray 42 (not shown) 62 and 63 (the amount of rotation of the motor 151 from the home position) are determined (step #544). When paper is fed from the lower paper feed (paper feed tray 43) opening (step #545: Yes), the side regulation plates 62, 63 are adjusted based on the output of the paper width detection sensor provided on the paper feed tray 43. Determine the target position (rotation amount of the motor 151 from the home position) (step #
546).

If the paper is not fed from either the upper or lower paper feed ports, that is, if copying is by manual paper feeding, in step #548, linear conversion (resistance value x constant 1 x The target position of the side regulating plate is determined by constant 2). After determining the target position in this manner, the side regulating plate motor 151 is started to rotate in the i° force direction (step #549), and the STF is set to 1 (step #54A). When STF is set to 1 (step #54B
), on the condition that the side regulating plates 62 and 63 have reached their target positions (step #54C), the side regulating plate drive motor 151 is stopped (step #54D), and the STF is set to 2 (step #54B). At this point, the side regulation plate 62
The interval between and 63 matches the paper width.

When STF is set to 2 (step #54F: Yes),
The rear regulating plate position setting routine shown in FIG. 16 puts the rear regulating plate on standby (step #54G), and the aligning operation routine shown in FIG. 17 performs an alignment operation by opening and closing the side regulating plate for each stored sheet. (Step #54H
). In FIG. 16, the SFF is set to O by default (step #54G1.Yes), and when the sensor 60 is turned on before storing the paper refeed tray (step 954G2).
Timer port 1 should start (step #54G3),
Set SFF to 1 (step #54G4).

When 5HIP becomes 1 (Step #54G1; No)
, if the sensor 60 continues to be on (step #
54G5; No), wait for the timer O1 to end (Step 454G9; Yes), and rotate the rear regulation plate motor 154 so that the rear regulation plate 65 moves in the g° force direction (Fig. 3) (Step 454GA). Sensor 60 is at the rear end
When it passes through and turns off (step #54G5.Yes)
, stop the motor (step #54G6), and sp.
p is set to O (step #54G?) and STF is set to 3 (step #54G8). Since STF is now 3, the post-regulating plate does not move when the second and subsequent sheets are loaded. The timer D1 is the time for conveying the paper length 182cm of the minimum storage size 85Y, and the rear regulating plate moves backward in the g' direction by the length of the paper longer than that.

In the alignment operation subroutine of FIG. 17, when the paper reaches the sensor 60 (step #54H1; Yes), the timer D3 starts (step #54H2).

When timer D3 ends (step #54H3, Ye
s) Rotate the side regulation plate drive motor 151 in the i direction to move the regulation plates 62 and 63 by 5 cylinders each in the h direction (step #54H4). (See Figure 8) Next, when the trailing edge of the paper passes the sensor 60 (step #
54H5; Yes), start timer D4 (
Step #54H6). At this time, the timer end state has been released, and in step #54H3, the timer D
3, it is determined that the process is not finished.

The timer D4 delays the paper until it completely stops on the paper refeeding tray 58. When the timer D4 ends (step #54H7; Yes), the side regulating plate drive motor is rotated in the i' direction. Side regulation plate 62.6
3 by 5 mm in each of the h' force directions (step #54H8). This means that it has returned to the position it was in when the first one was stored. Repeat this paper alignment operation until the set number of sheets are stored (Step #54119; Yes)
, 5TATE is set to 2 (step #5411A).

When 5TATE becomes 2, the paper refeed subroutine (step #55) is executed.

The contents of the paper refeeding subroutine are shown in FIG.

When the paper refeeding roller 38 completes its descent from the retracted position shown by the dashed line to the paper refeeding position shown by the solid line (step #55
1 ; Yes), allow paper refeeding (step #5
52). As a result, paper is fed from the paper re-feeding tray 58 by the copy operation subroutine after the print button is turned on. When the number of sheets stored is fed and there are no more sheets in the re-feeding tray 58 (step #553; Yes
) Set 5TATE to 0 (Step #554) to retract the regulation plate to the initial position.

Returning to FIG. 13, 5TATE is also set to O by turning off the main switch (step #56; Yes) (step #57).

In the above embodiment, the paper re-feed tray 58 is used only for re-feeding paper for double-sided copying, but it can also be used for re-feeding paper for image compositing and multicolor printing in addition to double-sided copying. It is also convenient to perform manual copying control similar to that used for refeeding paper in the case of double-sided copying.

(Effects of the Invention) Since the present invention has the above-described structure and operation, even when making a manual copy, the size can be accurately detected, and based on that, it can be reproduced to perform double-sided printing, multicolor printing, and image formation. The side guide position of the paper feed tray can be set accurately according to the size of the manually fed sheet, and the image formation by refeeding the paper can be performed at the appropriate position without misalignment from the previous image formation. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side view of the internal structure of a duplex copying machine showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of the paper refeed unit, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the paper refeed tray section. , Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the moving mechanism of the side guide plate of the paper refeed tray, Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the vertical movement mechanism of the paper refeed roller, and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the side guide plate of the manual feed tray. 7 is a perspective view showing the sheet contact detection sensor mounting section provided on the side guide plate of the manual feed tray, FIG. 8 is a plan view of the operation panel provided on the copying machine, and FIG. 9 is a control Circuit diagram, 1st
Figure 0 is a flowchart of the main routine for copying operation control of the copying machine, Figure 11 is a flowchart of the copying operation subroutine, Figure 12 is a flowchart of the manual copy start subroutine, Figure 13 is a flowchart of the duplex copy control subroutine, and Figure 14. 15 is a flowchart of the regulating plate standby subroutine, FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the storing subroutine, FIG. 16 is a flowchart of the rear regulating plate position setting subroutine, FIG. 17 is a flowchart of the alignment operation subroutine, and FIG. 18 is a flowchart of the paper refeeding subroutine. It is a flowchart.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A feeding device that feeds the sheet to be used for image formation, a manual feed tray that guides the sheet manually fed to the feeding device, and a tray that comes into contact with the side edge of the sheet on the manual feed tray according to the sheet size. a side guide that is movable in a direction perpendicular to the manual sheet feeding direction so as to guide the sheet at a position where the sheet is manually fed; a sheet contact detection means that detects that the sheet is in contact with the side guide; and a sheet contact detection means. a sheet width detection means for detecting the sheet width based on the side guide position at the time of sheet contact detection; and a sheet width detection means for receiving the sheet after image formation, positioning it by the side guide that moves according to the size of the sheet, and subjecting it to image formation again. and a re-feeding tray, the side guide position of the re-feeding tray is set according to the sheet width detection of the manually fed sheet by a sheet width detection means, and positioning is performed according to the size of the accommodated sheets. .