JPH05294547A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the discrimination of individual sheet discharge even though sheets are selectively discharged into a plurality of sheet discharge parts. CONSTITUTION:Detecting means detects the presence of sheets in a plurality of sheet discharge trays 4 to 6. Sheet discharge is carried out into empty sheet discharge trays 4 to 6 one by one in accordance with a detection output from the detecting means and a predetermined priority order, and the history of sheet discharge such as the order of sheet discharge for the sheet discharge trays 4 to 6 and the discharge time, and the number of discharged sheets are displayed on an LCD 15. Thereby it is possible to discriminate a sheet discharge tray individual for the user himself in accordance with the history of sheet discharge and the number of discharged sheets.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer having a plurality of paper discharge units.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus having a plurality of paper discharge units, the paper on which the image is formed discharged to each paper discharge unit is detected, and the paper is present in one of the paper discharge units when the image formation is started. It has been proposed that discharge is preferentially assigned to a discharge unit in which no sheet is detected when a sheet is detected.

[0003]

The above-mentioned conventional image forming apparatus is provided with display means for displaying the use history of the paper discharge section, and can display the order of use of the paper discharge section or the time of use. ..

However, when one image forming apparatus is used by several people, or when a certain time has passed from the time of use, the sheet relating to the user is in any of the sheet discharge sections according to the order of use or time alone. There is a problem that it becomes difficult to determine whether or not.

In particular, it is more difficult to discriminate between the type in which the paper discharge unit is housed inside the apparatus and the type in which it is remotely operated.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of easily discriminating a discharged sheet relating to itself even if the plural discharged sections are selectively discharged.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus in which a sheet is supplied from a sheet feeding section, passed through an image forming section and discharged to a sheet discharging section. A plurality of paper discharge units in which paper discharge priorities are set in advance, and detection means for detecting the presence or absence of paper in each paper discharge unit,
Means for allocating the next paper discharge in the paper discharge section based on the detection output from the detection means and the priority, counting means for accumulating the number of paper discharged in each paper discharge section, and each paper discharge section And a display unit for displaying the discharge history and the number of discharged sheets.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the apparatus further comprises means for automatically clearing the display of the display means relating to the discharged sheet discharging section.

Further, it is characterized in that the display means can display a plurality of discharge histories.

Further, the display means is provided with a display section for displaying a display regarding an operation stop during paper ejection.

Further, it is characterized in that it is provided with means for holding the display information of the display means even after the power is turned off.

[0012]

According to the above means, when a plurality of papers are discharged, the papers are selectively discharged sequentially in accordance with the priority order of the paper discharge section, and even when a certain time has passed from the time of use, the corresponding paper discharge is performed. The user can easily collect his or her own paper by searching for a paper discharge section that displays the paper history and the number of discharged paper that matches the number of used paper.

Further, when the paper is removed from the paper discharge unit to collect the paper, the display related to the paper discharge unit is automatically cleared.

Even when the sheets are discharged a plurality of times so that they are stacked on the same sheet discharge section, the sheet can be discriminated from the sheet discharge history and the number of discharged sheets displayed on the display means.

Even if some trouble occurs in the paper discharge section, the operation is stopped and a predetermined number of paper is not discharged,
From the display related to the operation stop and the number of discharged sheets, it is possible to know how many pages have been formed in which sheet in which sheet discharge section, and it is easy to perform the image forming operation again.

If the power is turned on again after the power is turned off,
Since the display information is held, it is possible to make the above determination based on the display content at any time.

[0017]

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

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall construction of an embodiment of the present invention. 1, 2 are paper feed cassettes, 3 is a large-volume paper feed cassette, and 4, 5, 6 are plural (in the figure, three stages are shown. (Shown) is a paper ejection tray which is a paper ejection unit, and 7 is an optical writing unit 8
An image forming unit 14 including a photosensitive drum 9, a developing unit 10, a transfer unit 11, a cleaning unit 12, a fixing unit 13 and the like.
a and 14b are switching claws for switching the transport path to the discharge trays 4 to 6 from which the sheets transported from the image forming unit 7 are discharged,
15 is an LCD (liquid crystal display) that displays the discharge information
Is.

2 is a perspective view of the detection means provided in each of the discharge trays 4 to 6, and FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the detection means of FIG. 2. In the detection means 16, 20 is a tray bottom plate, and 21 is a tray bottom plate. Is a detection filler protruding from the cutout portion 20a of the tray bottom plate 20 to the outside, and one end of which is fixed to the shaft 22, and 23 is the shaft 22.
The light-blocking plate fixed to the light-blocking plate 24 is a photointerrupter installed in the moving area of the light-blocking plate 23.

FIG. 4 is an electric circuit diagram of the photo interrupter 24, in which a light emitting diode 25 which is a light emitting element and a photo transistor 26 which is a light receiving element are installed opposite to each other. R is a resistance.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a paper discharge counter which is a counting means provided at the paper discharge ports of the paper discharge trays 4 to 6, and FIG. 6 is a side view of the paper discharge counter of FIG. The paper discharge counter 29 is also used as a paper discharge jam detection sensor, 30 is a jam detection filler installed opposite to the paper discharge port 31, 32 is a shaft to which one end of the jam detection filler 30 is fixed, and 33 is The light shield plate is fixed to the shaft 32 and moves in the photo interrupter 34 having the same structure as the photo interrupter 24.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing an example of the display of the LCD 15, the discharge start time (OUTPUT TIME) and the discharge tray 4
~ 6 as A, B, C in order from the top, in the order used (O
UTPUTTRAY) is displayed from the left, and the discharge history is displayed in the discharge start time and the order of use. Further, the number of discharged sheets (COUNT) is displayed under the display of each discharge tray.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the main part of the control system of the present embodiment. Reference numeral 35 is a CPU (central processing unit), and 36 is a ROM (read / write memory) storing a program relating to image formation.
(Only memory), 37 is a memory section including an E ² PROM (electrically erasable PROM) that stores and holds the display information of the LCD 15, and 38 is a detection means 16 and a paper discharge counter in each paper discharge tray 4-6. An input interface for inputting signals from 29 and other sensors (not shown) to the CPU 35, and 39 outputs a drive signal from the CPU 35 to the discharge port selection plunger 40 and the LCD 15 for switching the switching claws 14a and 14b. Is an output interface for

In the embodiment having the above-described structure, as shown in FIG. 1, a sheet is selected from any one of the sheet feeding cassettes 1 and 2 or the large number sheet feeding cassette 3 and is supplied to the image forming section 7. A known electrostatic image forming action is performed at 7, and the sheet is discharged to any one of the sheet discharge units 4 to 6 selected as described later.

When the paper is discharged to the paper discharge trays 4 to 6, the detection means 16 shown in FIGS. It is pushed down by the paper and rotates with the shaft 22, and the shading plate 23 fixed to the shaft 22 moves to pass the light path between the light emitting diode 25 of the photo interrupter 24 and the phototransistor 26.

Therefore, in the phototransistor 26, the base receives the light from the light emitting diode 25, the output signal changes from high to low, and it is detected that the paper is present.

Further, in the paper discharge counter 29 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, every time the paper is discharged from the paper discharge port 31 at a predetermined timing, the jam detection filler 30 is rotated together with the shaft 32 by the paper, The light blocking plate 33 fixed to 32 moves to block the optical path of the photo interrupter 34 and outputs a count signal,
At the same time, it is detected that there is no jam or the like and the paper is properly discharged. The count signal is input to the CPU 35, and C of the LCD 15
The total number of discharged sheets is displayed in the OUNT section.

9 to 13 are flowcharts relating to the operation of each part of the above-mentioned embodiment, and FIG. 9 shows a main routine, which includes initial setting (S1-1), process sequence processing (S1-2),
Interface processing (S1-3), status check (S1-
4), each error check (S1-5), and error processing (S1-6) are sequentially performed.

FIG. 10 shows a subroutine of the initial setting (S1-1) of FIG. 9, in which the initial setting of each part (S2-1) and the paper discharge tray setting (S2-1).
2-2) is performed. In this paper ejection tray setting (S2-2), the one with the highest priority is selected from the paper ejection trays 4 to 6 having the priorities set at the time of the default (DEFAULT),
Is set.

FIG. 11 shows a subroutine of the paper discharge tray setting (S2-2) shown in FIG. 10. When the user specifies the paper discharge tray (YES in S3-1), the paper discharge is the specified paper discharge tray. (S3-2). However, if the output tray is not specified
(NO in S3-1), the output signal of the detection means 16 of each discharge tray 4 to 6 is checked (S3-3), and all output signals are high (all discharge trays are in a non-discharge state). In this case (YES in S3-4), set the output tray set by default as the output destination (S
3-5), proceed to the next process sequence processing as it is, and perform the printing operation.

When any of the output signals of the detection means 16 is low (NO in S3-4), the CPU 35 selects one of the output trays having the high output signal in descending order of priority. , Is set as the paper discharge destination (S3-6), then the main routine is restored and the printing operation is performed.

FIG. 12 shows a subroutine of each error check (S1-5) of FIG. 9, and in the whole error check (S4-1), a paper discharge counter having a function of a paper discharge jam detection sensor is shown.
The output from 29 is used to check the discharge jam described below (S4-2).

FIG. 13 shows a subroutine of the paper discharge jam check (S4-2) in FIG. 12, and when the paper passes through the jam detection filler 30 of the paper discharge counter 29 at the timing according to the paper size (S5- (YES at 1), the count signal is output as described above, and the integrated value of the number of discharged sheets in the sheet discharge tray is incremented by +1 (S5-2).

However, when the sheet does not pass at the above timing (NO in S5-1), the sheet discharge jam flag is turned on and the sheet discharge jam flag is turned on (S5-3).

FIG. 7 shows a display example of the LCD 15 when the sheets are discharged to the sheet discharge trays 4 to 6 as described above. In this example, the upper one of the discharge trays 4 to 6 (display A)
To 7 sheets at 10:30, and to the middle one (display B)
It is displayed that 12 sheets were ejected at 45 minutes and 4 sheets were ejected at 10:50 to the lower one (display C).

Therefore, the user searches for the discharge tray in which the corresponding number of discharged sheets is displayed based on the number of prints stored in his / her own memory, and selects the discharge tray in which the relevant sheet is discharged. Since it can be discriminated, the paper can be easily collected.

FIG. 14 shows a subroutine of the status check (S1-4) of FIG. 9, and the entire status check (S6-1)
In step S6-2, a sheet presence / absence check is performed to determine whether or not the sheet on the discharge tray has been collected.

FIG. 15 shows the paper presence / absence check (S6-2) subroutine of FIG. 14, in which the detection output of the detection means 16 of each paper discharge tray 4-6 is checked (S7-1), and the output of the detection means 16 is checked. When the signal is high and there is no paper (NO in S7-2), the display section of the discharge history (OUTPUT TIME) and the number of discharged sheets (COUNT) of the discharge tray in the LCD 15 is cleared (S7- 3).

Therefore, since the display relating to the paper discharge tray is automatically cleared after the paper is collected, the user does not have to pay attention to the display on the LCD 15 at the time of collection, and the workability is improved.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory view showing another display example on the LCD 15, wherein a plurality of discharge histories of one discharge tray can be displayed, and paper is discharged to all discharge trays. When the paper is being carried, the history carry is carried out, and even if the paper is ejected multiple times so that it is stacked on the same paper ejection tray, the paper ejection tray indicating the paper ejection tray to which the paper relating to itself is ejected It can be identified by.

Further, by providing a display section for displaying the operation stop on the LCD 15 or by blinking the display of the discharge history and the number of discharged sheets corresponding to the discharge tray in which the operation is stopped, a jam or the like can be generated. When paper ejection is stopped, the display unit is turned on or blinks, and the number of paper ejected until it is stopped is displayed, so that the user can check the number of paper ejections that matches the number of prints stored in his / her memory. Even when there is no display, the LCD 15 makes it possible to recognize that the paper was stopped in the middle of discharging and how many pages could be printed, and it is easy to reprint.

Further, display information such as the use history, the number of discharged sheets, the stop of discharging, etc. is stored in the memory section 37, and the presence of the sheet is detected by the detecting means 16 at the time of restarting after the power is turned off. The display section of the LCD 15 corresponding to the discharged sheet discharge tray is redisplayed based on the display information.

Therefore, even if the power is turned off without collecting the paper for a long time after the paper is discharged, the display is reproduced when the power is turned on again, so that there is no trouble in collecting the paper, and it is smooth and reliable. You can do it.

Although the LCD 15 is used as the display means in the above-mentioned embodiment, it is shown in FIG.
LED (light emitting diode) segment as shown in 18
A configuration using 45 may be used. In FIG. 17, the number 1
3 to 3 indicate the discharge order, and the LED
A segment 45 is provided. The segment display shows the number of discharged sheets, and in this case, the discharge order of the three discharge trays can be shown.

In FIG. 18, the numbers 1 to 6 are written so as to indicate the discharge order for six times, and as in the display example of the LCD 15 in FIG. 16, a plurality of discharge histories are recorded in the same discharge tray. I am trying to be seen.

[0046]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Even if the paper is ejected multiple times, the paper can be ejected selectively to multiple paper ejection units, the paper ejection is smooth, and the ejection history and the number of ejected sheets are displayed for each ejection unit. Therefore, it is possible to easily identify the ejected paper related to itself by displaying the ejection history or the number of ejected sheets, and it is possible to reduce troubles in collecting the paper. Also, when the paper is collected from the paper ejection section, the display of the paper ejection section is displayed. Is automatically cleared, the workability is improved, and even if multiple sheets are ejected to the same sheet ejection section, the ejected sheets can be easily identified by displaying the ejected history multiple times. Also, even if there is an operation stop during paper ejection, the display related to the operation stop and the number of pages that have been ejected are displayed, so it is easy to identify the ejected paper and restart the image formation. Also, even if the power is turned off, the original display content can be displayed again by turning the power on again. Sometimes the like can determine the paper discharge paper by the display content, be made selectively discharge a plurality of discharge unit, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus can be easily discrimination of the paper discharge paper according to self.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall configuration of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of detection means.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the detection means of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an electric circuit diagram of a photo interrupter.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a paper discharge counter.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the paper discharge counter of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of an LCD.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a main part of a control system.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a main routine.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a subroutine for initial setting in FIG.

11 is a flowchart of a discharge tray setting subroutine in FIG.

12 is a flowchart of a subroutine of each error check of FIG.

13 is a flowchart of a discharge jam check subroutine of FIG.

14 is a flowchart of a status check subroutine of FIG.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a paper presence / absence check subroutine of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing another display example of the LCD.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of display means.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of display means.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 2 and 3 ... Paper feeding cassette (paper feeding unit), 4, 5, 6 ... Paper discharging tray (paper discharging unit), 7 ... Image forming unit, 14a, 14b ... Switching claw, 15 ... LCD (display means) , 16 ... Detection means, 29 ...
Paper discharge counter (counting means), 35 ... CPU, 37 ... Memory section, 40 ... Paper discharge port selection plunger.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus that supplies paper from a paper feeding unit, travels through the image forming unit, and discharges the paper to a paper discharging unit. Section, and detection means for detecting the presence or absence of paper in each paper discharge section,
Means for allocating the next paper discharge in the paper discharge section based on the detection output from the detection means and the priority, counting means for accumulating the number of paper discharged in each paper discharge section, and each paper discharge section An image forming apparatus comprising: a display unit that displays the sheet discharge history and the number of discharged sheets. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for automatically clearing the display of the display means relating to the discharged sheet discharging portion. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display means is capable of displaying a plurality of paper discharge histories. 4. The display unit according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit for displaying a display regarding an operation stop during paper discharge.
2 or 3 image forming apparatuses. 5. The device according to claim 1, further comprising means for holding the display information of the display means even after the power is turned off.
3 or 4 image forming apparatus.