JPH01214568A - Automatic original carriage device for copying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the conveniences of the use of a copying machine and enhance copying efficiency by applying the constitution wherein a draft on the upper surface of a draft seat glass plate is forcibly discharged via the selection of a forced draft discharge control means when the draft is manually set onto the draft seat glass plate. CONSTITUTION:An ADF(automatic draft feed device) 30 is detachably mounted on the upper surface of a copying machine proper. The ADF 30 is formed with an automatic draft feed part 102 having a draft feed roll 35 for feeding drafts stacked on a draft tray 34 sheet by sheet to a draft carriage belt 31, and a draft carriage part 103 for carrying the drafts to the predetermined position on a draft seat glass plate 25 and discharging the drafts to a discharge tray 38 after a copying process. When the draft carriage part 103 is opened and a draft is manually set onto the upper surface of the draft seat glass plate 25, the draft carriage part 105 is closed and the predetermined number of copies is made. Then, a forced draft discharge key on the ADF 30 is turned on, thereby discharging the drafts on the draft seat glass plate 25 to a sheet discharge tray 38 via a sheet discharge roller pair 36 and a sheet discharge guide 37.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION "Field of Industrial Application" The present invention relates to an automatic document feeder for a copying machine provided with forced document ejection control means.

"Prior Art" A document set on a document tray is sent to a predetermined position on the top surface of the document table glass of a copying machine, and after a predetermined number of copies have been made, the document is automatically ejected, and the next document is placed on top of the document glass. The copying machine's automatic document transport bag W (AD
(referred to as F) is publicly known, and there are two methods for setting the original on the top surface of the document table glass: manual method without using ADF, and method using ADF, and it is possible to selectively set the original document on the top surface of the document table glass. .

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Since the ADF is designed to feed the original set on the original tray to a predetermined position on the top surface of the original platen glass of the copying machine as described above, the arrangement relationship of the image position of the original is fixed. There are cases where it is desired to set the original at a position slightly shifted from the predetermined position and make copies, but in this case it is necessary to make copies without using the ADF. However, the ADF's automatic document ejection means can eject the document regardless of the document set position on the document table glass, so if you can eject the document using the ADF after manually setting the document, you can There is no need to open the case and take out the original.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its specific means is to scan the originals set on the original tray one by one in conjunction with the copying operation of the copying machine. An automatic document feeder that feeds the document to a predetermined position on the top surface of the document table glass, an automatic document eject device that discharges the document on the top surface of the document table glass after a predetermined number of copies have been completed, and a forced document ejection control device are provided. When an original is set on the original glass, the original on the upper surface of the original glass is forcibly ejected by selecting the forced original ejection control means.

"Function" As clarified by the explanation of the above-mentioned specific means, in the present invention, when an original is manually set on the upper surface of the original platen glass of a copying machine, after a predetermined number of copies have been made, the original is set on the ADF. The forced original ejection control means can drive the automatic original ejection means to eject the copied original.

"Example" Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 3, the overall configuration and control circuit of a copying machine that implements the method of the present invention will be explained.

Overall configuration of the copying machine, see FIG. 1> First, the overall configuration of this copying machine will be explained along with its copying operation.

This copying machine has a copy paper storage section and a paper feed section in the lower section, an intermediate tray A directly above the copy paper storage section, an image forming section centered on the photoreceptor drum 2 in the middle section, and an optical system 1 in the upper section. I did it,
By sending the copy paper after copying to the intermediate tray A and refeeding it, composite copying and double-sided copying are possible.

The photosensitive drum 2 is rotatable in the direction of arrow a, and around it are a charging charger 6', a magnetic brush type developing device 3, a transfer charger 5a, a separation charger 5b, a blade type cleaning device 4, and an eraser lamp 7. They are arranged sequentially. As the photoreceptor drum 2 rotates in the direction of arrow a, it is uniformly charged by the charger 6, receives image exposure from the optical system 1, and forms an electrostatic latent image, and this electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing device W3. Developed into a toner image.

The optical system 1 is capable of scanning in the direction of the arrow below the document platen glass 25, and includes an exposure lamp 10 and movable mirrors 11a and 11a.
lb, 1], c, imaging lens 12, fixed mirror],
1 d. The exposure lamp 10 and the movable mirror 11a move integrally at a speed of (V/m) (where m: copying magnification) with respect to the circumferential speed V of the photosensitive drum 2 (constant regardless of magnification or variable magnification). The movable mirror 11b moves in the direction of the arrow.

11c moves integrally in the direction indicated by the arrow at a speed of (v/2m).

On the other hand, the copy paper storage section consists of an upper elevator-type storage section 13a and a lower cassette-type storage section 13b. The paper is selectively fed one by one by the rotation of the paper feed roller 14, and is conveyed to the timing roller pair 16. After the copy paper is temporarily stopped by a pair of timing rollers 16, 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 photosensitive 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 19 is installed between a pair of conveyance rollers 17 and a pair of ejection rollers 18, which are provided immediately after the exit of the fixing device 9, for switching the conveyance path of the copy paper. If the copy paper is to be ejected as is, the lever 19 is set to the state shown by the dashed line in FIG. Further, when performing composite copying and double-sided copying, the lever 19 is set to the solid line state, and the copy paper is fed into the intermediate tray A from the pair of conveying rollers 21 through the guide plate 22. A switching lever 23 is installed at the exit of the guide plate 22, and in the case of composite copying, the switching lever 23 is switched to feed the copy paper from the rear of the intermediate tray A with the copied side facing down.

On the other hand, in the case of double-sided copying, the path of the copy paper that has passed through the guide plate 22 is switched by the switching lever 23.
The paper is fed from the front of intermediate tray A with the copied side facing up.

An ADF (automatic document feeder 30) is removably installed on the upper surface of the copying machine main body.

The ADF 30 is driven by a document feed motor 40,
An automatic document feeding unit 102 includes a pair of document supply rollers 35 that feed documents placed on a document tray 34 one by one to a document conveyance belt 31, and a document feed unit 102 that conveys documents along the top surface of a document table glass 25 of a copying machine. The belt 31 is passed between guide rollers 32 at both ends and a drive roller 33 driven by a transport belt motor 41.The original transport belt 31 transports the original to a predetermined position on the original platen glass 25, and performs the copying operation. When the document is finished, it is composed of a pair of discharge rollers 36 and a document conveying section 103 that discharges the document onto a paper discharge tray 38 by means of a discharge guide 37 disposed in succession to the pair of discharge rollers 36 . Furthermore, a document tray sensor SE3 is provided in front of the pair of document supply rollers 35, and a document feed sensor SE4 is provided in front of the transport bell 1-31 (see FIG. 1).

By installing the ADF 30 in the main body of the copying machine, the copying machine and the ADF 30 are electrically connected, and the controls of the copying machine and the ADF 30 are related to each other, and the operation mode of the copying machine is switched to the ADF mode.

What is ADF mode? When the print key provided on the copying machine is operated, the copying machine remains in standby mode and starts using the ADF30.
The original supply roller pair 35 and the original transport belt 31 start operating, and feed the original placed on the original tray 34 along the upper surface of the original placing glass 25 of the copying machine, so that the leading edge of the original passes through the original sensor SE4. After a predetermined time, the ADF 30 stops at a predetermined position and sends a start signal to the copying machine to start the above-mentioned copying operation. When the final scanning movement for the document is completed, the copying machine sends an operation signal to the ADF 30. appears, and the ADF 30 discharges the document onto the paper discharge tray 38.

At this time, if the next document is on the document tray 34, the next document is also conveyed to a predetermined position at the same time as the sheet is ejected. A document tray sensor SE3 provided on the document tray 34 detects whether a document is set at a predetermined position on the tray.

In addition, when the ADF mode is not in which the ADF 30 is not used, the document transport section 103 is rotatably mounted on a hinge or the like with respect to the main body of the copying machine, as shown in FIG. can be handled. That is, when the ADF 30 is not used, the original transport unit 103
, manually set the original on the original platen glass 25,
The document conveying section 103 is closed and the copying operation is started.

<Operation Panel, See FIG. 2> Next, the arrangement of various operation keys on the operation panel 300 of the main body of the copying machine will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

On this operation panel 300 are a PRINTER 1 key 301 for starting the copying operation, a numerical display device 302 capable of displaying a two-digit numerical value, "1", "2", etc., respectively.
Numeric keys 311 to 32 corresponding to the numbers "9" and "0"
0, Interrupt-V-307 for specifying interrupt copying, Clear/stop key 308, Copy paper size selection key 309 for specifying the copy paper stored in storage sections 13a and 13b by size, Copy image density step Up and down keys 305, 30 for changing and specifying
6, and document ejection prohibition key 303. and its display 303
a, forced document ejection key 304 and its display 304a, magnification setting keys 323-326 and their selection display 323a-
326a, a double-sided copy mode setting key 321 and its display 321a, a composite copy mode setting key 322 and its display 322a, etc. are arranged.

Switches corresponding to these various operation keys and various sensors provided on the main body of the copying machine and the intermediate tray unit A are associated with a control circuit including a microcomputer system, as shown in FIG.

Control circuit, see FIGS. 3(A) and 3(B)> The control circuit for this copy paper will now be described with reference to FIGS. 3(A) and 3(B).

This control circuit is mainly composed of a first microcomputer 340 for controlling the copying operation and a second microcomputer 341 for controlling the optical system, which are connected to each other for mutual synchronization.
A switch matrix 342 in which various operation keys and sensors arranged above are arranged vertically and horizontally is connected.

Further, a main motor, a developing motor, a toner replenishment motor, a paper feed clutch, a paper refeed clutch, a switching solenoid for the lever 19.23, etc. are connected to the output terminals A1 to A12 of the first CPU 340, and the switch matrix 342
Their on/off is controlled based on signals from the. Furthermore, the first CPU 340 is connected to various light emitting elements (L E D
) is connected, and its lighting and extinguishing is controlled.

In addition, the second CP
It is connected to U341 and third CPU 350 (FIG. 3B).

On the other hand, the second CPU 341 is connected to a drive control section 343 of a DC motor for scanning the optical system, a drive control section 344 of a stepping motor for a variable magnification lens, a localization value switch SO of the optical system 1, a timing switch 81, etc. There is.

The third CPU 350 executes operation control of the ADF 30, and controls the operation of the original tray sensor SE3 and the original paper feed sensor SE.
4, a forced document ejection key 304, a motor that drives the pair of document supply rollers 35, a motor that drives the document conveyance belt 31, and the like are connected.

Below, the outline of the contents of the program of the first CPU 340 that controls the copying machine main body 1 will be explained.

FIG. 4 is a main routine, and shows a schematic flowchart of the first CPU 340. When the first CPU 340 is reset and the program starts, first, the RA
The first CPU 340 clears M, sets various registers, etc.
Initialization is performed to set the device to the initial mode (step Sl).

Next, an internal timer built in the first CPU 340 and whose value has been set in advance as an initial setting is started (step 82). Next, a copy operation (step S3), key processing (step S4), and other processing (step S5) are sequentially performed. Next, the second. 3rd C
Perform data communication with PU341, 350 (step 8
6).

When all subroutine processing is completed, wait for the end of the internal timer that was set first (step S7), and
To end the routine, return to step S2). The length of time of one routine is used to count the various timers that appear in the subroutine. (The end of each timer value is determined based on how many times this one routine has been repeated.) In step S3, the aforementioned standard copying operation, composite copying operation, etc. are executed.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the key processing routine described above (step 34).
Step 510)
, if the edge is ON, it is determined whether the document ejection prohibition key display 303a is ON (step 511), and if the display 303a is ON, the display is 0FFL (step 512).
), if it is OFF, it is turned ON (step 813) and other key processing subroutines are called (step 514).

Next, the operation of the ADF 30 will be explained.

The third CP that controls the ADF 30 is shown in FIGS. 6(A) and (B).
A schematic flowchart of U350 is shown. 3rd CPU35
When the program starts after being reset to 0, R
3rd CPU 35 clears AM, sets various registers, etc.
0 initialization and initial settings to put the device into the initial mode are performed (step 521).

Next, an internal timer built in the third CPU 350 and whose value is set in advance as an initial setting is started (step 522).

Next, subroutines for document control (step 823) and other processing (step 524) are sequentially called. When all subroutine processing is completed,
Waiting for the end of the initially set internal timer, one routine ends (step 525). This length of time is used to count the various timers that appear in the subroutine. (Various timer values are
The end of the timer is determined based on how many times this one routine has been counted. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6(B), data communication with the first CPU 340 (step 527) is performed by an interrupt routine, regardless of the main routine, in response to an interrupt request from the first CPU 340 (step 826).

Figure 7 shows the manuscript control. Original forced ejection key 3
When the ON edge of 04 is detected (YES in step S30), the process proceeds to step S545, where it is determined whether or not the scanning operation has been completed, and when it has been completed, the process proceeds to step S.
45: YES), the forced ejection flag is set to °1'' in (step 546), a copy stop processing routine is called (step 547), the next copy operation is stopped, and the process proceeds to (step 544), which will be described later. Calls the original ejection processing routine. It should be noted that the copy stop processing is conventionally known as clear/stop key processing, etc., so a description thereof will be omitted.

If No in the above (step 545), that is, if the scanning operation is in progress, the process proceeds to (step 531), and forced ejection of the original from the original table glass 25 is prohibited. Also,(
If No in step 530), the process advances to step 531), and when there is an original in the original tray, that is, when the original tray sensor SE3 is on (step 531), the first CPU 3
When the ADF start signal from 40 becomes "1" (step 532) or when the document feed flag becomes "1" (step 833), after setting the document feed flag to 0" (
Step 534), turn on the conveyor belt motor 41, and turn on the document feed motor 40 (step 535).
.

The ADF start signal is the document tray 3 of the ADF 30.
When the original is set in the printer 4 and the print key 301 is turned on, the original is set by the first CPU 340. Specifically, in the other key processing routine shown in FIG. 5 (step 514), it is determined whether the print key 301 is on edge, and if there is a document in the document tray 34, it is determined that the document is being copied by the ADF 30, and the ADF start signal is activated. On the other hand, even if the print key 301 is turned on, if there is no original on the original tray 34, it is determined that the original has been manually set, and the ADF start signal is not set to ``1''.

Subsequently, processing is performed in the document feeding processing routine (step 836), and when scanning for the set number of sheets is completed (step 537), the scan end flag is set to "1" (step 838).

When the scan end flag is “1” (83 steps),
Set the scan end flag to 0" (step 540), and if the document ejection prohibition display 303a is OFF, that is, if the document ejection is not prohibited (YES in step S41), use the ADF 30 to remove the document in (step 561) in FIG. 8, which will be described later. In step 542), when the original set flag is set at "1', that is, when the original is set at F2O (AI), the original set flag is is set to "o" (step 843), the document discharge processing routine is performed (step 5).
44). Furthermore, when the document set flag is not "1" (No in step S42), it means that the document has been manually placed in the cellar 1, so the automatic document ejection process (step 544) is performed.
Jump and return. Similarly, if document ejection is prohibited (No in step S41), the process returns without performing the document ejection processing routine.

FIG. 8 shows the document feeding processing routine. When the document is fed and the document feed sensor SE4 is on (step 55)
1) Set flag K to "1" and start timer AI (step 552). This timer A1 is
A timer value used to stop the document feed motor 40 in order to prevent the previous document from being fed and then the next document being fed, and used to stop the document feed motor 40 until the document reaches the position where it is driven by the conveyor belt 31. is set.

Next, when the flag K is 1n (step 853), when the OFF edge of the document feed sensor SE4 comes, that is, the trailing edge of the document is detected (step 554), the flag K is set to ``0''.
timer A2 is started (step 555).
). The value of timer A2 is set when the rear edge of the original is on the original platen glass 2.
The value until reaching the document leading edge localization value of 5 is set.

When the timer A1 ends (step 856), the document feed motor 40 is stopped (step 557).

When the timer A2 ends (step 858), the conveyor belt motor 41 is stopped (step 559), and the first CPU 3
40 (step 560). Next, the ADF 30 automatically sets the document set flag indicating that the document has been set at the normal position value to 1 (step 561).

FIG. 9 shows the document discharge processing routine. (Step 57
When the forced discharge flag is ``1'' in 1), the forced discharge flag is set to ``0'' in (step 574) and the process proceeds to step 57.
Proceeding to step 5), the conveyor belt motor 41 is driven to rotate the conveyor belt 31 in the forward direction (step 575), and timer B is started (step 576). (Step 57
If NO in 1), the process advances to step 572), and if the document tray sensor SE3 determines that there is still another document in the document tray 34 (YES in step S72), the document feed flag is set to '1'. (Step 873). If there is no document, drive the conveyor belt motor 41 to rotate the conveyor belt 31 in the forward direction (Step 575), and start the timer B.
(step 876). Timer B is set for a time period during which the document on the document glass (in the longest case) can be ejected. At the end of timer B (step 577
), the conveyor belt motor 41 is turned off (step 87
8).

As explained above, in this embodiment, when the original forced ejection key 304 is pressed, the original ejection operation is performed, and the original on the original platen glass is ejected. , interrupt the continuous copying operation and eject the original. Note that in the embodiment, the document forced ejection key 304
The ejection operation is shown as an example in which the ejection operation is performed when The document may be automatically ejected at the end of the first copying operation or at the end of the final document scanning operation.

"Effects" As is clear from the above-mentioned explanation of the specific means and operation, when a document is manually set on the top surface of the document table glass of a copying machine, after a predetermined number of copies have been made, the
The forced original ejection control means provided in the DF can drive the automatic original ejection means to eject the copied original, so even if you are not in the ADF mode that does not use the ADF, you can open the original cover and retrieve the copied original. There is no need to take it out, and the usability and copying efficiency of the copying machine can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Attached drawings FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the main body of the copying machine, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the operation panel 300, FIGS. 3A and 3B are control circuit diagrams of the copying machine, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the main routine. , FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the key processing routine, and FIGS. 6 (A) and (B) are the third CPU 3 that controls the ADF.
50, FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the document control routine, FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the document feeding process subroutine, FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the document ejection process subroutine, and FIG. 10 is the document conveyance of the ADF 30. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the section 103 is opened. 25, ,Original table glass, 30, ,Automatic document transport bag W (ADF), 31, ,Original transport belt, 34
,,,original tray, 35. ,, original supply roller pair,
36. Pair of discharge rollers, 38. ,,ejection tray,
40 , document feed motor 41 , transport belt motor 300 , operation panel 301
,,. Print key, 30β1. , document ejection prohibition key, 30
3a, , Display of document ejection prohibition key, 304 , . Forced original ejection key, S E 3, , Original tray sensor, S E 4, , Original paper feed sensor. Patent applicant Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. Agent
Patent attorney Isamu Goto Figure 3 (B) Figure 4 Figure 6 (A) Start initial setting internal timer start manuscript control routine (B) JP-A-214568 (13) Figure 9

Claims (1)

[Claims] An automatic document feeding means that feeds the originals set on the original tray one by one to a predetermined position on the upper surface of the original platen glass in connection with the copying operation of the copying machine, and an automatic document feeding means that feeds the originals set on the original tray one by one to a predetermined position on the upper surface of the original platen glass, and the originals on the upper surface of the original platen glass after a predetermined number of copies have been completed. An automatic document ejection device and a forced document ejection control device are provided, and when a document is manually set on the document table glass, the document on the top of the document glass is forcibly ejected by selecting the forced document ejection control device. An automatic document feeder for a copying machine, characterized in that: