JPH04256974A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform copying even in the case that magnification obtained at the time of selecting AMS is improper when a paper obtained at the time of selecting APS does not exist in a tray. CONSTITUTION:An LLM 58 is provided with an APS means 60 and an AMS means 80. The APS means 60 searches the tray where the papers of optimum paper size and corresponding size are housed based on original size and set magnification. When the obtained optimum paper is not housed in any tray, the paper having a larger size than the optimum size is selected. The AHS means 80 decides the optimum magnification based on the original size and a set paper, and when the obtained optimum magnification is improper, the value of the magnification is changed to be a value smaller or larger than the optimum magnification. At the time of selecting the APS, copying is performed even in the case that the optimum paper does not exist and at the time of selecting the AMS, the magnification is automatically appropriately corrected.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to an image recording device.
In particular, it relates to automatic paper selection function (APS) and automatic magnification selection function (AMS).

0002

[Prior Art] Conventionally, there has been an APS function that automatically selects paper of a size that exactly fits the image of the original based on the set magnification and original size, and the selected paper size and original size. AMS that automatically sets the magnification to fit the original image exactly on the selected paper based on
Copying machines are known that are provided with the following functions.

[0003] By providing these functions, if the user wants to make a copy of the same size as the original, there is no need to know the original size, and the user can simply press the magnification selection button.
By simply setting 100% and selecting the APS function, you can copy onto paper of the same size as the original, and if you want to copy the image of the original to the desired size, you do not need to know the magnification, just select the paper. Copies can be made onto paper of the desired size by simply selecting the desired paper size using the button or tray selection button and selecting the AMS function.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, according to the conventional APS, if the desired paper size is not stored in the tray, the user must replenish the tray with the paper, Copying was extremely troublesome.

[0005] Furthermore, when AMS is selected, depending on the relationship between the paper and original sizes, the magnification obtained by AMS may exceed the maximum magnification set for the copier or be lower than the minimum magnification, resulting in an error. There may be cases where the image of the original does not fit exactly on the set paper, and in this case, with conventional copiers, it is required to cancel AMS and manually input the magnification. In some cases, it was very troublesome.

[0006] In recent years, there has also been a function (hereinafter referred to as
This feature is called a prohibited tray). The former tray priority is a function that determines the order in which the trays are used, and the latter prohibited tray is as follows. In addition to regular copy paper, various types of paper may be used for copying, such as color paper, paper with a predetermined logo printed on it, and tracing paper. It is used only for this purpose and must not be used during normal copying, and the prohibition tray function accomplishes this.

[0007] When such a new function that has not existed before is provided, the APS function is required to select an optimal tray by taking these priorities and prohibited trays into account. This was something that could not be handled at all.

[0008] The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and allows copying to be performed even when the paper required when APS is selected is not in the tray or when the magnification determined when AMS is selected is inappropriate. The object of the present invention is to provide an image recording device that can perform the following steps.

[0009]

[Means and operations for solving the problem] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention gives top priority to making copies without requiring the user to perform troublesome operations, and for this purpose, when using APS, the original size If the optimal paper calculated from the original size and the set magnification is not stored in the tray, paper larger than the optimal size is selected and copied, and when using AMS, if the magnification calculated from the original size and the set paper is inappropriate. To copy, select a smaller or larger magnification than the optimal magnification.

[0010] As a result, when APS is selected, copies can be made even if the optimum paper is not available, and when AMS is selected, the magnification is automatically corrected to an appropriate value.

[0011]

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, a copying machine will be taken up as an example of an image recording device, but it goes without saying that the present invention is applicable not only to copying machines but also to image recording devices in general.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a copying machine to which the present invention is applied. A base machine 1 is equipped with a double-sided automatic document feeder (DADF) 2 and a sorter 3, and the base machine 1 is connected to a console. The DA controls the mechanism including attached devices according to the job set on the panel 4.
After performing image processing on the specified size paper supplied from the tray 5 based on the image information read from the document sent by the DF 2, the paper is ejected and the paper subjected to the image processing is processed in the sorter 3. The system is configured to perform sorting.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the paper conveyance system of this copying machine. A photosensitive drum 7 is arranged inside the copying machine, and a photosensitive member 8 is arranged in a layer on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 7. It is formed. The photosensitive drum 7 is connected to a drive device (not shown) so as to rotate in the direction of the arrow. On the outer periphery of the photosensitive drum 7, a charge corotron 9 and developing devices 11, 1 are arranged.
2. A transfer corotron 13 and a cleaning device 15 are arranged.

As the photosensitive drum 7 rotates in the direction of the arrow, the photosensitive member 8 is uniformly charged by the charge corotron 9, and then is irradiated with light at the exposed portion 16, forming an electrostatic latent image. A light image of a document (not shown) placed on a platen glass 17 placed on the top surface of the copying machine is incident on the exposure area 16 . For this purpose, an exposure lamp 19 and a plurality of mirrors 20 and optical lenses 21 that transmit reflected light from the surface of the original illuminated by the exposure lamp 19 are arranged. It is now possible to do so. The photoreceptor 8 on which the electrostatic latent image has been formed is then developed by a developing device. The toner image formed on the photoreceptor 8 is transferred onto the paper by the transfer corotron 13, thermally fixed between the heat roll 23 and the pressure roll 24, and then transported out. On the other hand, the photoreceptor 8 is cleaned by a cleaning device 15 and is reused.

On the other hand, the paper 27 stored in the supply tray 25 disposed in the copying machine or the manual feed tray 2
The paper 27 that is manually fed along the line 8 is sent out by the feed roll 29 or 31, and then transferred to the conveyor roll 3.
2 and passes between the photosensitive drum 7 and the transfer corotron 13. At this time, the toner image is transferred onto the paper 27. The paper 27 after the transfer passes between the heat roll 23 and the pressure roll 24 and is thermally fixed. Then, it passes between the transport rolls 32 and is delivered to the sorter 3, which is a delivery tray.

Note that the intermediate tray 33 is used for double-sided or multiple copying.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the electrical system. A user interface (UI) 50 is a MAINPWBA that executes settings/input data processing by operating buttons on the control panel 4 and manages the system of this machine.
(hereinafter referred to as the MAIN system) and displays the input data to the user.

The DADF controller 51 performs control to convey the original onto the platen glass in accordance with the reading timing in order to read image information from both sides of the original.

An optical reading device (OPT) controller 52 performs optical reading control of image information specified by the user from the document conveyed onto the platen glass. That is,
The DADF transports the document with one side facing the platen glass. Then, the OPT operates and performs the first exposure. Next, when the DADF returns the original after exposure to the tray in the apparatus, it turns it upside down. As a result, when this original is sent out again, the original feeding mechanism and the optical system are controlled so that the opposite side to the previously exposed side is exposed. In the base machine, paper conveyance control and duplex tray drive control are performed in response to a double-sided copy command.

Static eliminator (ISIL) controller 5
3 controls editing processing such as erasing unnecessary parts from the image information of the original, frame erasing processing for erasing the periphery of the original, and drawing specific information from the image information of the original.

Image recording device (IOT) controller 54
manages paper conveyance control, paper jam detection, and development process control when performing image processing based on image information read from a document.

[0022] The specific tray (DDM/TRAY[X]) controller 55 reverses the paper that has already undergone image processing on one side and performs image processing on the back side based on a command regarding double-sided image processing from the IOT. In addition, the double-sided tray is controlled to temporarily stand by until the next development timing, and a special tray [X] that is handled separately from other trays, such as the bottom tray (tray 4), is controlled by a special tray operation command from the IOT. ). This is D
This is to allow users who do not use the DM to remove the DDM and use it as a tray. Therefore, information regarding the DDM and tray 4 is notified from the specific tray controller 55 to the IOT 54 through communication.

The bin sorter controller 56 includes, for example, two bin sorter controllers.
0 bin sorter is driven by sorting commands from IOT,
Performs control to store paper after image processing carried out from the base machine in a designated bin.

The stipple sorter controller 57 has an I
After collating the sheets stored in the bins according to the binding and sorting command from the OT, control is performed to staple them. The light lens manager (LLM) 58 centrally manages the entire system, and mainly controls system timing control to temporally match document image processing and paper conveyance, and controls jobs such as copy mode set by the user. Perform management.

Serial Data Communications Processor (SCP)
59 transmits and receives data to and from the UI, DADF, OPT, and ISIL through serial communication, and also performs data processing for exchanging data with the LLM through parallel communication.

In particular, data exchange between the SCP and the LLM is performed through the dual port RAM built into the SCP. That is, the LLM reads/writes the RAM of the SCP allocated on its own address map, and the SCP reads/writes this RAM to transmit information.

The above hardware includes an independent CPU for each function, and the CPU and peripheral LSI constitute an electric circuit board (PWBA).

Here, the LLM, SCP, and IOT form the core of the control system of the base machine, and the CPU and peripheral LSIs that share each function constitute the MAIN system. Figure 4 shows the console panel (hereinafter referred to as the control panel)
This is a diagram showing paper size, magnification,
Buttons are used as hard keys to perform operations such as setting/inputting the number of copies, start, stop, interrupt, confirmation of settings, etc., and the display area corresponds to the functions displayed on the LCD screen using a liquid crystal display device. A button is provided as a touch key. Further, on the control panel 4, the status of selections and settings when operating the hard keys is displayed by lamps or the like. Note that since these functions are well known, they will be explained only when necessary.

[0029] The LCD screen 45 has a size of 320 x 200 dots.
(1 dot = 0.33 x 0.33 mm) pixels, and a touch panel is arranged within the LCD screen formed by these pixels. This touch panel is 10x7t
ile (1 tile=32×24 dots).

Next, the priority order of trays and the setting of prohibited trays will be explained. FIG. 5 is an example of an initial screen displayed on the LCD screen 45, and three types of functions are provided: basic, advanced, and specialized.

[0031] The basic button 200 is a button for the operator to select the functions necessary for basic copying, and the advanced buttons 300 are for monochrome color, binding margin, border erase, page continuous copying, OHP interleaf, and advanced document feed. The special button 400 is a button for the operator to select a function necessary for specialized copy.

When the specialty button 400 is touched in the state shown in FIG. 5, a specialty screen 401 shown in FIG. 6 is displayed. The specialized screen 401 is provided with buttons corresponding to the following functions: composition 410, dimension scaling 420, job memory 430, and specification setting 440.

[0033] Specification setting is a function that allows the user to partially set the machine status, which was conventionally done in the self-diagnosis (diagnostics) mode. The copier can be set to a desired state according to the copy job.

[0034] Then, on the screen shown in FIG.
When touched, the screen changes to the one shown in FIG. 7A, where specification setting items are displayed, and the cursor 402 is placed at the first item, ``Initial Mode Setting.'' Then, by touching the scroll button 403 on this screen, the cursor 402 is moved to the position of the item "Auto mode priority/prohibited tray" as shown in FIG. The screen changes to the screen shown in C, and the desired priority order can be set for each tray by pressing buttons 1 to 4 on the numeric keypad of the control panel 4 while moving the cursor 402 on this screen.
Further, for example, by pressing the 0 button on the numeric keypad, a desired tray can be set as a prohibited tray. now,
Set the priority of tray 1 to 1st (priority value = 1), the priority of tray 2 to 2nd (priority value = 2), tray 3
If the priority level is set to third place (priority value = 3) and 0 is entered for tray 4 using the numeric keypad to set the prohibited tray, the screen display will become as shown in FIG.

[0035] After setting the priority order or the prohibited tray, when the OK button is touched, the UI 50 displays the SCP
59, the LLM 58 is notified of the determined tray status. As a result, the LLM 58 writes the latest tray setting states to a non-volatile memory (not shown in FIG. 3), and immediately reflects these tray states when the start of the next copy job is instructed. Therefore, when the tray priority order or prohibited trays are set and the specification setting function is exited, the set tray status is immediately reflected in the APS.

Next, APS processing according to the present invention will be explained. The LLM 58 is an APS means 6 as shown in FIG.
0. The operation of the APS means 60 in the platen mode will be explained with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 10 to 14.

[0037] The magnification is set and the tray selection button 4 is pressed.
2, when APS is selected by APS means 60
executes the process shown in FIG. 10 every 10 msec. First, the document detection unit 62 checks whether the set copy mode is simplex or side 1 copy based on the copy mode information notified from the UI 50 (step S1). This means that the copy you will make this time will be
This is a process to determine whether or not the paper is to be transported from the DM.When transporting paper contained in the DDM, the paper size is known, so in this case there is no need to start APS. The document detection unit 62 performs the processing from step S2 onwards when the copy mode is simplex or side 1 copy, but otherwise ends the processing.

In the case of "Yes" in step S1, the document detection section 62 determines whether or not a document has been detected or whether the start button 40 has been pressed (step S2).
), if the original is not detected or start button 40
If is not pressed, the process ends. For example, assuming that document detection is performed when the platen cover is closed and when the start button 40 is pressed with the platen cover open, the document detection unit 62
performs the process of step S2 by taking in the state of the platen switch and the button information of the start button 40 as a document detection signal.

The reason for making this judgment is as follows. When document detection is not performed, there are two cases: a case in which the document is not placed, and a case in which the state in which the document is placed is maintained. In the former case, since copy processing is not requested, it is clear that there is no need to execute the APS function, and in the latter case, when the original is placed for the first time, the processing from step S3 onwards, which will be described later, is performed. is executed, the tray is selected, and the same original is placed there, so there is no need to execute the APS function anew, and the tray determined by the first APS operation can be used as is. Become. Therefore, if the original is not detected, there is no need to perform APS processing, and this is checked in step S2.

When the original is detected, the original detecting section 6
2 identifies the document size. This processing is performed, for example, by taking in the output of a document size sensor disposed below the platen glass 17. Now, if the lower limit of document detection is A5 size, then the document size is A5.
If the size is smaller or there is no original placed, select A.
It is excluded from the PS processing (step S3), and the state detection control unit 65 is notified of this fact. As a result, the state detection control unit 65 requests the UI 50 to display a message such as "Please select a tray" (step S4). That is, if there is no document or if there is a document but its size is below the document detection lower limit, APS operation should not be performed, so the APS function is canceled and the user is requested to manually select a tray. It is.

If the original size is A5 or larger, the original detecting section 62 notifies the paper detecting section 63 of the document presence information and the original size. The paper detecting section 63 is a document detecting section 6.
In step S, the information about the presence of a manuscript and the manuscript size notified from 2 and the magnification notified from the UI 50 are taken in.
The suitable paper is determined by performing the process in step 5. Specifically, the process of step S5 is performed as shown in FIG. 11. The paper detection unit 63 is equipped with a table in which the paper size is determined based on the relationship between the document size and the magnification as shown in FIG.
Step S7). For example, when the magnification is 100%, the fifth table from the top in FIG. 15 is determined. In addition, in FIG. 15, "S" such as "A4S" means short edge feed (short edge feed), and "L" such as "B5L" means long edge feed (lo
ngedge feed).

[0042] Then, the first data of the table is read (step S8), and it is determined whether the size written in the table and the imported original size match (step S9), and if they match, the entire image of the original can be copied. It is determined whether or not (step S10). In other words, the APS function is a function that selects a paper that is just the right size to copy the entire image of the original based on the relationship between the original size and the set magnification, but for example, when the maximum size that can be copied is A3, As in the case where the magnification is set to 110% for an original, an inappropriate state may be set in which the entire image of the original cannot be copied due to the relationship between the original size and the magnification. Step S10 is a process for determining whether the relationship between the document size and the magnification is compatible, and if it is not compatible, the paper detection unit 63 notifies the selected tray determination unit 65 to that effect. . As a result, the selected tray determining unit 65 requests the UI 50 to display a message such as "Copying of the entire document is not possible" indicating that the magnification is inappropriate (step S11). At this time,
The message is only prepared to be displayed, but is not actually displayed. This is because when a message with a higher priority is requested to be displayed in the process described below, the message displayed will change within a short period of time, resulting in flickering on the display screen and making it difficult to read. It is. Note that even if the document size and magnification do not match, the paper detection unit 63 detects the paper size as shown by the shaded area in FIG.

When the process of step S5 is completed as described above, the paper detecting section 63 notifies the tray determining section 64 of the detected paper size. The tray detection unit 64 performs the process of step S6 based on the paper size and tray information, and determines the optimal tray. Here, the tray information is LLM5
Tray table managed by 8 (not shown in Figure 3)
Obtain by referring to . This tray table contains, for each tray, tray priority information set in the specification settings immediately before the relevant copy process, information on prohibited trays, paper size notified from the IOT 54, paper presence/absence, and lift-up status. , lift failure, read
y) That is, various tray states such as lift-up completion are written. Note that the IOT 54 monitors the status of each tray and immediately notifies the LLM 58 when any change occurs, so the tray determining unit 64 can always refer to the latest tray information.

Specifically, the process of step S6 is performed as shown in FIG. The tray determining unit 64 first saves the state of no corresponding tray (state value=9) as the state of the tray (step S12). Next, the tray information of tray 1 is read out (step S13), and it is determined whether the paper size stored in tray 1 matches the paper size detected by paper detection section 63 (step S14). If they match, the processes from step S15 onwards are executed, but if they do not match, the process returns from step S20 to step S13 and the tray information of tray 2 is read. The same applies below. Note that the processing in step S14 is performed by detecting the position of the size switch of each tray, and the presence or absence of paper in the tray is not determined at this point.

[0045] If the paper sizes match, step S15
The tray condition is processed by This process is a process for identifying the current state of the tray, and is specifically performed as shown in FIG. 13. First, if the tray with the matching paper size in step S14 is tray 4, it is determined whether a communication error has occurred (step S22), and if a communication error has occurred, a communication error state (status value = 8) is saved (step S32), but if the tray in question is other than tray 4, or if it is tray 4 and no communication error has occurred, it is checked in step S23 and step S25 whether or not there is paper in the tray. By determining whether or not the relevant tray is being lifted up, the state of the tray can be changed to the paper present state (
Status value = 1), lifting up status (status value = 2)
and paper-free state (state value = 3).

Next, it is detected from the tray information whether or not the tray is set as a prohibited tray (step S2).
8) If there is a setting for a prohibited tray, 3 is added to the current state value and saved (step S29). As a result, if the paper presence state is saved in step S24, the paper presence state (status value = 4) is saved in the prohibited tray, and if the lifting up status is saved in step S26, the prohibited tray is used to lift up. Medium state (state value =
5) is saved and the out-of-paper state is saved in step S27, the out-of-paper state in the prohibited tray (state value =
6) will be saved. Furthermore, it is determined whether or not there is a failure in the elevator (step S30), and if there is a failure, the lifter fail state (state value = 7) is saved.

Through the above processing, one of the status values 1 to 9 is saved for the tray that stores the paper of the same size as the paper size detected by the paper detection section 63.

Next, the tray determining unit 64 performs step S15.
The state value of the tray obtained in step S16 is set as the new state and compared with the state value of the old state (step S16), and if the state value of the new state is smaller than the state value of the old state, the new state is replaced with the old state (
Step S19), otherwise if there is paper (
Step S17) Determine the tray to which the paper should be transported based on the priority order.

Specifically, the process is as follows. Now, assume that A4L is determined by the paper detection unit 63, and tray 1 is A4L.
While lifting up, tray 2 has A4L paper, tray 3
Assuming that there is A4L paper in tray 4, tray 4 is A4L and has no paper, and the priorities are set in the order of trays 4, 3, 2, and 1, when first making the determination in step S24, the state value of the old state is used. is 9 and the new state value is 2, so step S
27, the state value of the old state is set to 2. In the next routine, the state of tray 2 is compared to the old state, ie the state of tray 1 in this case. Since the status value of tray 2 is 1, this becomes the old status in step S27. In the next routine, the state of tray 3 is compared to the old state, in this case the state of tray 2. Tray 3 has the same status value as tray 2, but both have paper, and the new priority, in this case the priority of tray 3, is higher than the old priority, in this case the priority of tray 2 (priority (the value is small), the process branches from step S18 to step S19, and the old state is established. In the next routine, the state of tray 4 is compared with the old state, but since the state value of tray 4 is greater than the state value of tray 3 and there is no paper, the old state does not change.

Therefore, in this case, tray 3 will be selected when step S20 is completed.

The above is a case where the desired paper size is stored in one of the trays, but if no paper of the desired size is stored in any tray,
The paper detection unit 63 returns from step S20 to step S13 again while maintaining the state of "no applicable tray", and then returns to step S13 again from step S20.
Search for trays containing paper with a size larger than the requested paper size. Therefore, for example, if the paper size obtained as a result of referring to the table shown in FIG. 15 in step 9 is B5S, a tray that stores A4S paper is searched for, and if there is a corresponding tray, the steps from step S15 onwards are performed. The process is performed, but if there is no tray to store A4S paper, a search is made for a tray to store B4 paper, and then a tray to store A3 paper. In this case, only trays that have paper and have been lifted up, including prohibited trays, are searched.

When the tray selection process is completed as described above, the tray determining section 64 notifies the state detection control section 65 of the selected tray and its state. State detection control section 6
5 performs the process of step S21, and this process is specifically as shown in FIG. 14, in which the LED of the tray number notified from the tray detection unit 64 is turned on, and a message is sent according to the status value of the tray. A display request is made to the UI 50.

As described above, if there is a tray that stores the paper determined in step S9, when the start button 40 is pressed, the status value of the tray is
If it is 1, the tray number is from LLM58 to IOT54
is notified, the paper is fed, and the copying operation is started; otherwise, the start is invalidated. Note that when a tray that is set as a prohibited tray is determined, as in the case of old status = 4 in Fig. 14, a message indicating that the tray is a prohibited tray is displayed. When the start button 40 is pressed, copy processing is executed. This is because in this case, it is possible to confirm the user's intention to allow copies to be made on special paper.

Further, if there is no tray to store the paper found in step S9, a message requesting replenishment of the paper suitable for the tray is displayed, but when the start button 40 is pressed, The UI 50 accepts it and notifies the LLM 58. As a result, the original image is copied at the set magnification onto a sheet larger than the optimal sheet. By performing the above processing, it is possible to copy the original image at the set magnification even if the optimal size paper is not stored in the tray, so it is possible to copy the original image at the set magnification. This eliminates the hassle of replenishing paper.

In the above embodiment, the magnification is not changed by simply selecting a paper larger than the optimum paper size, so although the above objective can be achieved, the balance of the obtained copy image with respect to the paper size is not desirable. Therefore, it is obvious that the tray determining unit 64 may change the paper to a larger one and automatically change the magnification so that the original image fits on the changed paper.

Next, AMS processing according to the present invention will be explained. The LLM 58 includes AMS means 80 as shown in FIG. The operation of the AMS means 80 in the platen mode will be explained with reference to a flowchart. When a position other than APS is set by the tray selection button 42 and AMS is selected by the fixed magnification button 43A, the AMS means 80 executes the process shown in FIG. 17 for 10 msec.
Execute every time. First, the document/tray detection section 81
Based on the copy mode information notified from 0, it is checked whether the set copy mode is simplex or side 1 copy (step S1), and if not, DDM is checked (step S41).
If so, it is determined whether a document has been detected or whether the start button 40 has been pressed (step S42).
, if no original is detected or if the start button 40 is not pressed, the process ends. This processing is similar to APS processing.

When the document detection is performed, the document/tray detection section 81 checks the state of the selected tray by referring to the latest tray information. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 18, the presence or absence of a tray, the presence or absence of paper, and whether or not it is being lifted up are sequentially determined, and if there is no tray, that is, if the set tray has been pulled out, the The state detection control unit 83 displays a message requesting tray insertion.
(step S49), and if there is no paper, a request is made to display a message indicating that there is no paper (step S51), and if lift-up is in progress, a request is made to display a message indicating that lift-up is in progress (step S53).

Next, if it is determined in steps S44 and S45 that there is a selected tray and the document size is A5 or larger, the document/tray detection section 81 sends the document size, selected tray, and paper to the magnification determination section 82. Inform size. Note that in step S45, there is no document or the document size is A5.
If it is less than AM, the document/tray detection unit 81 detects AM
As not subject to S, the state detection control unit 83 is requested to display a message requesting manual setting of the fixed magnification (step S46).

The process of step S47 is performed as follows. The magnification/tray determination unit 82 includes a magnification determination table in which the magnification for the document size is written for each paper size, and refers to the magnification determination table based on the document size and paper size notified from the document/tray detection unit 81. to find the optimal magnification. Then, it is determined whether the optimal magnification found is an appropriate value. This judgment is made by detecting whether or not the original image will fit on the selected paper when copying at the determined optimum magnification, and whether or not the optimum magnification is within a preset magnification range. It can be carried out. As a result of this determination, if it is determined that the obtained optimal magnification is inappropriate, the magnification/tray determination unit 82 changes the magnification value and/or changes the paper size. That is, if the original image can fit on the selected paper by simply changing the magnification, the magnification value is changed from the optimum magnification to a value smaller or larger. This process is performed, for example, by setting the optimal magnification larger or smaller by a predetermined value, and then repeating the process of determining whether the original image will fit on the selected paper to improve the magnification value. be able to. Further, if the optimum magnification is less than the minimum magnification, the magnification is changed to the minimum magnification, but since this alone does not allow the entire document image to fit on the selected paper, the magnification/tray determination unit 82 changes the minimum magnification. Find the paper size that will accommodate the original image, and search for a tray that can accommodate paper of that size. This tray search process can be performed in the same way as the APS process described above. The same applies when the optimum magnification exceeds the maximum magnification.

When the above processing is completed, the magnification/tray determination section 82 notifies the state detection control section 83 of the finally obtained magnification, selected tray, and paper size. The state detection control unit 83 notifies the IOT 54 of the notified information and also notifies the UI 50. As a result, the LED of the selected tray and the LED of the selected paper are lit. Further, it is also possible to display the finally determined magnification value at this time on the arbitrary magnification display section.

By performing the above processing, even if the magnification calculated from the original size and paper size is inappropriate, the original image can be copied onto the selected paper, thereby eliminating the rush that previously occurred. This eliminates the trouble of replenishing paper when copying is required.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and that various modifications can be made.

[0063]

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, when there is no paper size selected in APS,
Since it is possible to perform copying even when the magnification selected by AMS is inappropriate, it is possible to eliminate the trouble of replenishing paper or setting the magnification, which conventionally occurred, thereby improving operability and This can improve productivity.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a copying machine to which the present invention is applied.

2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a paper conveyance system of the copying machine shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

3 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the electrical system of the copying machine shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

4 is a diagram showing a console panel of the copying machine shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a basic function screen.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a specialized function screen.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for setting tray priorities and prohibited trays using the specification setting function.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of tray priority and prohibited tray settings.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an APS means.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the entire APS process.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing specific processing contents of step S5.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing specific processing contents of step S6.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing specific processing contents of step S15.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing specific processing contents of step S21.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a table for determining paper size from set magnification and document size.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an AMS means.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the entire AMS process.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing specific processing contents of step S43.

[Explanation of symbols]

60...APS means, 62...Document detection section, 63...Paper detection section, 64...Tray determination section, 65...State detection control section, 80
...AMS means, 81... Original/tray detection section, 82... Magnification/tray determination section, 83... State detection control section.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. The present invention is characterized by comprising means for selecting a tray that stores paper having a size equal to or larger than the paper size when the paper size determined from the original size and the set magnification is not stored. Image recording device. 2. An image recording apparatus comprising means for setting a magnification smaller or larger than the magnification when the magnification determined from the document size and the set paper size is inappropriate.