JPH05301422A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to form an image by another image forming means in place of the following case even when the image forming can not be performed by one of an image forming means among a plurality of different systems and to attempt to perform space saving and low cost. CONSTITUTION:A means detecting selected image forming means (III, IV) or a worable condition of this recording material carrying means (II) and a means wherein the selected image forming means (III, IV) or image forming based on this means (III, IV) and the recording material carrying means (II) are switched and an image forming based on other image forming means (IV, III) is performed, are provided.

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 for forming an image according to an image signal or an original image, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus having a plurality of image forming means of different systems in the same apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus using various image forming means has been put into practical use. In particular, page printers that form images by electrophotography are excellent in image forming speed and quietness, and are widely used as output devices for copying machines and computers. In addition, in order to support multicolor images and pictorial images, electrophotographic devices capable of forming images in multiple colors have been developed, but at present, the device becomes complicated and large, and running cost and initial cost of the device are increased. It is hard to say that it is widely used.

In the multicolor image formation, in order to solve these drawbacks of the electrophotographic system, an ink jet type recording apparatus, a thermal transfer type multicolor image forming apparatus and the like have been put into practical use. Furthermore, an image forming apparatus has been devised which combines the image forming means of these different systems and utilizes the advantages of each image forming method. For example, an image forming unit of an electrophotographic apparatus, which is advantageous in terms of image forming speed and running cost, is used for forming a black-and-white image, which occupies most of image forming, and when forming a multicolor image, running cost is reduced. The image forming apparatus is one in which an image is formed by an inkjet method or a thermal transfer method, which is advantageous in terms of initial cost and size of the apparatus.

[0004]

However, in the above conventional example, one of a plurality of image forming means of different systems is used.
For example, when there is no consumable item to be replenished at hand while the device is waiting for replenishment of consumable items (toner, paper, etc.), or when image formation is impossible due to mechanical or electrical trouble. However, there is a drawback that a warning is issued and no image can be formed.

The present invention solves the above drawbacks of the prior art, and even if one of a plurality of image forming means of different systems cannot form an image, another image forming means forms an image instead. An object is to provide an image forming apparatus.

[0006]

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus comprising image forming means of a plurality of different systems, wherein any one of the image forming means of the plurality of schemes is selected. It is characterized in that it has a selection means for performing image formation.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the means for detecting the operable state of the selected image forming means or the recording material conveying means of this means together with the selecting means for image formation, and the detected state By providing the means for switching the image formation by the selected image forming means and determining whether or not to execute the image formation by the other image forming means, the switching image formation becomes possible.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram for explaining an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention in a copying machine. The copying machine body constitutes a document scanning section I and a part of a recording material conveying means. It is composed of a paper portion II, an electrophotographic recording portion III which constitutes the first image forming means, and an ink jet recording portion IV which constitutes the second image forming means. In this embodiment, a multicolor image is formed by the inkjet recording unit IV when the chromatic portion is present in the original, and a black and white image is formed by the electrophotographic recording unit III when the chromatic portion is not present. so,
It has a plurality of image forming means of different systems and uses the image forming means differently for each recording material.

Hereinafter, electrophotographic recording, inkjet printing, electrophotography, inkjet composite printing, electrophotographic recording, printer parallel processing, printer and facsimile parallel processing will be described in this order.

The (electrophotographic recording) 101 is a controller unit, which is composed of means for controlling the copy sequence as a whole. Reference numeral 102 is a power switch, and 103 is an original exposure lamp, which constitutes a scanning mirror and an optical scanning system, and scans and moves at a predetermined speed. An image forming lens 104 forms an image of the reflected light on the photosensitive drum 301 of the electrophotographic recording section III.
An optical system drive motor (optical motor) 105 drives the optical scanning system and the like with high accuracy.

In the sheet feeding operation by the first-stage cassette 201 used for electrophotographic recording and constituting the first recording material conveying means, the cut sheet SH is driven by driving the sheet feeding roller 205.
Is fed from the cassette and is conveyed to the registration roller 211 by the conveyance roller 209. Similarly, in the sheet feeding operation by the second-stage cassette 202, the cut sheet SH is fed from the cassette by driving the sheet feeding roller 206, and is conveyed to the registration roller 211 by the conveying rollers 210 and 209. The first and second stage cassettes 20
It is assumed that 1,202 contains plain paper (SK paper or the like, not coated paper).

The cut sheet SH fed by the driving of the sheet feeding rollers 205 and 206 and conveyed by the conveying rollers 209 and 210 is temporarily stopped by the registration roller 211,
After synchronizing the leading edge of the image, the sheet is conveyed again by the registration roller 211.

In the electrophotographic recording section III which constitutes the first image forming means, 302 is a developing unit which is arranged close to the photosensitive drum 301 which is an image carrier.

A transfer charger 303 cuts the toner image developed by the developing unit 302 into a cut sheet SH.
After the transfer, the cut sheet SH is separated from the photosensitive drum 301 by the separation charger 304. A pre-exposure lamp 305 neutralizes the surface potential of the photosensitive drum 301 to prepare for the primary charging. A cleaner device 306 includes a cleaning blade and a cleaning roller,
The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 301 is collected. 307
Is a fixing device for fixing the toner image transferred to the cut sheet SH by heat and pressure. 212 is a conveyance roller, which conveys the cut sheet SH for which the fixing process has been completed to the conveyance belt 2
The sheet is conveyed to the discharge tray 213 via 19.

(Inkjet printing) FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the document scanning unit I. The document image on the document table 106 is read by the CCD image reading unit 107. The image reading unit 107 includes a document illumination lamp 107A, a CCD image forming lens 107B, and a CCD line sensor 107C.
Composed of. This CCD line sensor 107C is R
It is possible to read as a full-color image by having a GB filter.

The CCD reading unit 107 is a unit supported on the rail 108, and is driven by a main scanning direction drive system including a main scanning motor 112 and a wire 113 provided in a scanning system unit 111 supported on the rails 109 and 110. , On the rail 108 to read the image on the platen glass 106 in the main scanning direction. The main-scanning home position sensor 114 is used for position control when the CCD reading unit 107 is moved. Scanning system unit 1
11 is moved by a sub-scanning direction drive system including a sub-scanning motor 115 and wires 116 and 117. In this case, it is possible to share the driving of the document scanning in the electrophotographic image forming means in the sub-scanning direction with the scanning system unit 111, and to drive the both sub-scanning directions by the same driving means. The sub scanning home position sensor 118 is connected to the rails 109 and 110 by the scanning system unit 111.
Used for position control when moving up.

As shown in FIG. 3, the scanning method of the CCD reading unit 107 is such that an image having a width of 8 mm is read by one scanning, and printing is also performed in synchronization with it. However, the line indicated by the arrow indicates the midpoint of the CCD sensor 107C. CCD sensor 10 prior to main scanning of original image
Black level correction, shading correction, and color correction for correcting the 7C output are performed. This correction operation is performed for each scan, and the first scan X to the final scan Y
Can be continued until the entire original image is read. After the completion, the CCD reading unit 107 is returned to the home position of the main / sub scanning again (Z). In this embodiment, the document glass 106 can read a document image of maximum A3 size.

The image read by the CCD reading unit 107 is subjected to various kinds of image processing by the scanner unit and the controller unit, and recorded on the recording paper by the printer unit. As the recording paper, in the standard state, a special paper called a coated paper in which the water-soluble ink does not easily bleed is used. However, even an inkjet printer can select coated paper or plain paper when it is used as a computer printer, a facsimile, or when only black is required.

The coated paper SH, which is cut one by one, is fed by the pickup rollers 207 and 208 from the inkjet recording coated paper cassettes 203 and 204 constituting the second recording material conveying means. As shown in FIG. 4, the coated paper 401 (SH) is the positioning roller 4
It is conveyed to a predetermined position by 02 and 403. The predetermined position is the print start position detected by the paper detection sensor 404. When the coated paper 401 comes to a predetermined position, recording is performed by the inkjet recording head and the printing operation is started. The recording head unit 405 that constitutes the second image forming unit is composed of four heads of C, M, Y, and Bk, and performs recording with a predetermined width in that order. Meanwhile, the positioning roller 40 driven by the paper feed motor 406
2, 403 are stopped and the coated paper 401 is fixed.
The head unit 405 is driven by a head scanning motor 407 to record an image on the coated paper 401 with a predetermined width while scanning. When one scan is completed, the positioning roller 40
2, 403 convey the coated paper 401 by the predetermined width, and the head unit 405 returns to the recording start position whose position is controlled by the home position sensor 408. By repeating this operation, a full-color image corresponding to the paper size is formed.

When the recording on the entire surface of the original is completed, the coated paper 4
01 is carried by the carrying rollers 210 and 209, and by switching the flapper 214, the recorded coated paper 401 is sent to the carrying path for inkjet recording, and is again carried by the carrying rollers 215, 216 and 217, and the flapper at the final stage. 218 discharge trays 213, 21
8 is selected and the paper is ejected. As described above, in this embodiment, the conveyance means corresponding to the two image forming means is provided, and the image output by both means is a switching means for the same paper discharge tray or different paper discharge trays. This can be done by the flapper 218.

(Electrophotographic, Inkjet composite printing) When electrophotographic recording is performed after inkjet printing, the cut sheet SH is conveyed by the conveying rollers 210, 209.
The flapper 214 diverges toward the registration roller 211 and conveys it to the registration roller 211. The cut sheet SH conveyed here is once stopped, and after synchronizing the leading edge of the image, the cut sheet SH is conveyed again. In this embodiment, the distance between the inkjet recording unit IV and the electrophotographic recording unit III, to be precise, the distance between the inkjet recording head 405 and the registration roller 211 is set to be larger than the maximum paper size (A3) and the cut sheet is used. In order to improve the recording image quality, the inkjet recording unit IV is arranged so that the electrophotographic recording unit III is located after the transfer of the SH, and the inkjet recording is performed before the image fixing operation in the electrophotographic recording. There is.

The toner image developed by the developing unit 302 is transferred to the cut sheet SH, and after the transfer, the separation charger 304 removes the cut sheet SH from the photosensitive drum 301.
Separate. 305 is a pre-exposure lamp, which is the photosensitive drum 3
The surface potential of 01 is neutralized to prepare for primary charging. 306
Is a cleaner device, which includes a cleaning blade and a cleaning roller, and collects toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 301. A fixing device 307 is a cut sheet SH.
The toner image transferred to is fixed by heat and pressure. Two
A conveyance roller 12 conveys the cut sheet SH, for which the fixing process has been completed, to the discharge tray 213.

(Electrophotographic recording, parallel processing of printers)
When the I / F control unit requests digital information processing as a printer, the I / F control unit performs a function of recording the input information by inkjet printing. When the request is made, if only analog printing is performed, either operation is accepted. In other words, control is performed in order to process the work of the printer, which is analog printing and digital information processing, in parallel. At this time, analog printing,
This is a common transport path for both inkjet printing. Also, since inkjet printing has a slower printing speed than analog printing, paper feeding for analog printing is completed every time one inkjet printing is completed, and the time for one inkjet print is stopped, and only that inkjet print is performed. The flapper 214 is switched to send it to the inkjet conveyance path. Then, the inkjet-printed paper is ejected to the inkjet discharge tray 218 by the flapper 218 at the final stage.
To output to the side. The analog print continues to operate in the normal state.

(Parallel Processing of Printer and Facsimile) When a request for digital information processing as a printer or a facsimile comes from the I / F control unit, a function of recording the input information by ink jet printing is performed. When the request is made, if only analog printing is performed, either operation is accepted.
That is, the work of the printer, which is analog printing and digital information processing, is controlled in order to perform processing in parallel.
The following is the same as the above-mentioned electrophotographic recording and parallel processing of the printer.

(Functional Block) Next, the functional block of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

Controllers 501, 521, 541, 561,
Reference numeral 581 denotes a control unit that controls the master control unit 500, the scanner control unit 520, the image control unit 540, the inkjet control unit 560, and the electrophotographic control unit 580, and includes a microcomputer, program ROM, data memory, and communication. It is composed of circuits. Control unit 50
0-520, controller 500-540, controller 500
-560 and between the control units 500 and 580 are connected by a communication line, and a so-called master / slave control mode in which the control units 520, 540, 560, and 580 operate according to an instruction from the control unit 500 is adopted. ing. When operating as a copying machine, the master control unit 500 operates according to inputs from the operation unit 502 and the editor 503. The operation unit 502 uses liquid crystal as a display unit, for example, and has a touch panel made of a transparent electrode on the surface thereof, so that selection instructions such as designation regarding color and designation of editing operation can be performed. Also, use of keys related to operation, such as a key for instructing the start of copy operation (start key), a key for instructing stop of copy operation (stop key), and a key for resetting the operation mode to the standard state (reset key). Frequent keys are provided independently.

The editor 503 is for inputting position information such as trimming / masking processing, and is connected as an option when complicated editing processing is required. Further, the feeder 504 is for automatically setting a plurality of originals, and the sorter 505 is for sorting cut sheets to be ejected, and is connected as an option.

The control unit 541 controls a control circuit (I / F control unit) 547 of a general-purpose parallel interface such as a GP-IB interface, and inputs / outputs image data between external devices and by an external device. Remote control can be performed via this interface. Further, the control unit 541 includes a multi-value synthesis unit 542 and an image processing unit 54 that perform various types of processing related to images.
It also controls the binarization processing unit 544, the binarization synthesis unit 545, and the buffer memory 546.

The control unit 521 controls the mechanical drive unit 524 that drives the mechanical portion of the scanner control unit 520.
The exposure control units 525 (for inkjet) and 526 (for electrophotography) of the lamp at the time of reading the reflection original are controlled. The control unit 521 also controls the analog signal processing unit 522 and the input image processing unit 523 that perform various types of processing related to images.

The control unit 561 is the inkjet control unit 5.
Mechanical drive unit 563 for driving the mechanical portion of 60
Then, the synchronous delay memory 562 is controlled to absorb the temporal variation in the mechanical operation of the inkjet control unit 560 and to perform the delay correction for the mechanical alignment of the recording head 405.

The control unit 581 includes a mechanical drive unit 582 for driving the mechanical portion of the electrophotographic control unit 580 and a blank exposure unit 5 for erasing unnecessary portions of the electrophotographic image.
84 and the high voltage unit 583 for applying a voltage of a predetermined potential to the charging system and the developing unit 302.

Next, the image processing block of FIG. 5 will be described along the flow of the image. The image formed on the CCD sensor 107C via the CCD image forming lens 107B is the CCD1.
It is converted into an analog electric signal from 07C. The converted image information is serially processed like red → green → blue,
It is input to the analog signal processing unit 522.

In the analog signal processing unit 522, red, green,
After sample & hold, dark level correction and dynamic range control for each blue color, analog
Digital conversion (A / D conversion) is performed to convert into a serial multi-value (in this embodiment, 8-bit length for each color) digital image signal and output to the input image processing unit 523.

In the input image processing unit 523, correction processing necessary for the reading system such as shading correction, color correction, and γ correction is similarly performed with the serial multivalued digital image signal.

The multi-value synthesis section 542 of the image control section 540
This is a circuit block for selecting and synthesizing a serial multi-valued digital image signal sent from the scanner control unit 520 and a serial multi-valued digital image signal sent via a parallel I / F. The image data that has been selectively combined is sent to the image processing unit 543 as a serial multivalued digital image signal.

The image processing unit 543 performs smoothing processing,
It is a circuit that performs edge enhancement, black extraction, masking processing for color correction of recording ink used in the recording head 405, and the like. The serial multi-value digital image signal output is input to the binarization processing unit 544 and the buffer memory 546, respectively.

The binarization processing unit 544 is a circuit for binarizing a serial multivalued digital image signal, and selects simple binary with fixed slice level, pseudo halftone processing with dither method, and the like. You can Here, the serial multi-valued digital image signal is converted into a 4-color binary parallel image signal. Image data of four colors is sent to the binary synthesis unit 545, and image data of three colors is sent to the buffer memory 546.

The binary synthesizing unit 545 is provided in the buffer memory 5
And a binary parallel image signal of three colors sent from 46,
This is a circuit for selecting and synthesizing the four-color binary parallel image signals sent from the binarization processing unit 544 into a four-color binary parallel image signal.

The buffer memory 546 is a parallel I /
It is a buffer memory for inputting and outputting a multi-valued image and a binary image via F, and has a memory for three colors.

The synchronous delay memory 562 of the ink jet control unit 560 is a circuit for absorbing the time variation of the mechanical operation of the ink jet control unit 560 and correcting the delay of the mechanical arrangement of the print head 405. It also generates the timing required to drive 405.

The head driver 564 is the recording head 4
This is an analog drive circuit for driving 05, and internally generates a signal capable of directly driving the recording head 405. The recording head 405 ejects cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks and records an image on the recording.

FIG. 6 is an explanation of the timing of the image between the circuit blocks described in FIG. 5, but the signal BVE is a signal indicating the image effective section for each scan of the main scanning reading operation described in FIG. .. The image of the entire screen is output by outputting the signal BVE a plurality of times. Also, the signal V
E is a signal indicating an image effective section for each line read by the CCD 107C. Signal V when signal BVE is valid
Only E is valid.

The signal VCK is a sending clock signal for the image data VD. The signal BVE and the signal VE also change in synchronization with this signal VCK. Also, the signal HS is
The signal VE is a signal used when the valid and invalid sections are discontinuously repeated while one line is output, and the signal VE is 1
This signal is an unnecessary signal when it is continuously effective during line output, and is a signal indicating the start of image output for one line.

(Optical system operation flow of scanner controller)
On the other hand, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an operation flow in the optical system sub-scanning direction of the control unit 521 of the scanner control unit 520 of FIG. When an optical system start command is input from the master control unit 500, it is determined in step 701 whether to operate the optical system for electrophotography. In the case of electrophotography, the optical system is driven for electrophotography in step 702. To do. Step 7
When it is determined that the image is not an electrophotographic image in 01, the optical system is driven for inkjet in step 703.

Next, in step 704, it is determined whether or not there is a next operation request, and if there is, a step 70 is executed.
Jump to 1 and repeat steps 701 to 704. If it is determined in step 704 that there is no request, the operation ends.

(Operation Panel) FIG. 8 is a layout view showing an operation panel of the embodiment apparatus shown in FIG. An asterisk key 801 is used by the operator in setting modes such as binding margin amount setting, document frame erasing size setting, and copy paper type setting. An all reset key 802 is pressed to return to the standard mode. A copy start key 803 is pressed to start copying. 80
A clear / stop key 4 has the functions of a clear key during standby and a stop key during copy recording. This clear key is pressed to release the set number of copies, and also used to release the asterisk mode. The stop key is pressed to interrupt continuous copying. Reference numeral 805 denotes a ten-key pad which is pressed when setting the number of copies and is also used when setting the asterisk mode. Reference numeral 806 denotes a cassette selection key, which is pressed when selecting the first stage cassette 201, the second stage cassette 202, the third stage cassette 203, and the fourth stage cassette 204.
Arrow keys 807 and 808 are used when setting the asterisk mode.

Reference numeral 809 denotes an LCD (liquid crystal) type message display for displaying information relating to copying. For example, one character is composed of 5 × 7 dots and a message for 40 characters can be displayed. A copy number display 810 displays the number of copies. Reference numeral 811 denotes a used cassette indicator, which includes a first stage cassette 201, a second stage cassette 202, a third stage cassette 203, and a fourth stage cassette 204.
Displays which is selected. Reference numeral 812 denotes a copy paper type display, which displays the type of copy paper contained in each cassette.

[0049]

[Table 1]

Table 1 above describes the asterisk mode. First, every time the asterisk key 801 is pressed, menu messages in the asterisk mode are sequentially displayed on the message display 809. There are three types of asterisk modes, and binding margin width setting, document frame erasing size setting, and copy paper type setting can be performed.

To set the binding margin width, first press the asterisk key 801, enter the number instructed in the binding margin width setting section of the menu message using the ten keys 805, and then press the asterisk key 801 to bind the binding margin. Enter the width setting mode. When the number of the desired binding margin width is input with the ten key 805 according to the message and the asterisk key 801 is pressed, the binding margin width is set. When creating a binding margin, the width is set here.

To set the document frame erasing size, first, similarly to the binding margin width setting, the asterisk key 801 and ten key 805 are used to enter the document frame erasing setting mode. The arrow keys 807 and 808 which are the designated keys
Display the desired size using the message display 80
To be displayed on 9. If the asterisk key 801 is pressed when the desired size is displayed, that size is registered.

In order to set the type of copy paper, first, similarly to the setting of the binding margin width, a mode for setting the type of copy paper is entered using the asterisk key 801 and the ten key 805. The arrow key 807, which is the designated key,
808 is used to display the desired cassette tray and copy paper type on the message display 809. When the desired cassette stage and copy paper type are displayed, the asterisk key 801 is pressed to register the size.

The type of copying paper set by the asterisk mode is detected, and the type of copying paper displayed in the copying paper type display 812 is displayed correspondingly.

(Setting of Copy Paper Type) FIG. 9 shows the setting of the Dip. It is a functional block diagram of SW902. First
The step cassette 201 is a Dip. When SW1 is ON, coated paper,
It is assumed that plain paper is loaded when it is OFF. Similarly, the second
The step cassette 202 is a Dip. When SW2 is ON, coated paper,
It is assumed that plain paper is loaded when it is OFF. The third stage cassette 203 is Dip. Suppose that SW3 is ON for coated paper and OFF for plain paper. The fourth stage cassette 204 is Dip. Suppose that SW4 is ON for coated paper and OFF for plain paper. Dip. The type of copy paper set by SW (paper setting means) is detected by the paper detection means of the CPU 901, and correspondingly, a copy paper type indicator (paper display means) 902 is set for each cassette. Displays the type of copy paper.

(Detection of Type of Copy Paper) FIG.
FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram illustrating a SW 1002 provided in a master control unit 500 for detecting the type of copy sheet by a type (removable) type of copy sheet attached to a cassette (removable). By inserting the cassette into the main body, the frames attached to the cassettes 201 to 204 can be detected by the SW (sheet detecting means) 1002. By detecting the ON / OFF of the SW by this frame, it is determined that ON is coated paper and OFF is plain paper. Depending on the presence / absence of the frames attached to the first-stage cassette 201, the coated paper can be turned off by turning on SW1.
Judge that plain paper is loaded in. Similarly, when the SW2 of the second-stage cassette 202 is ON, it is determined that coated paper is loaded and when OFF, plain paper is loaded. Third stage cassette 20
In case of SW3, when SW3 is ON, it is determined that coated paper and when OFF is plain paper. When the SW4 of the fourth-stage cassette 204 is ON, it is determined that coated paper is loaded, and when OFF, plain paper is loaded. When a cassette is inserted, the CPU 1001 detects the type of copy paper set by the SW 1002, and the copy paper type indicator 812 (see FIG. 8) correspondingly detects the copy paper contained in each cassette. Display the type.

(Operation Procedures Corresponding to Embodiments) The operation procedures corresponding to various embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to flowcharts.

FIG. 11 shows a basic operation procedure corresponding to the first embodiment of the present invention. First,
When the operator presses the copy start key (S
1101), the selecting unit for selecting one of the two image forming units to form an image determines whether the electrophotographic system is selected (S1102). In the case of the electrophotographic method, the electrophotographic image formation is performed (S1103),
If it is not the electrophotographic system, inkjet image formation is performed (S1104). If there is no next image formation request, the process ends. If there is a request, the process returns to step S1102,
The next image formation is executed (S1105).

FIG. 12 shows an operation procedure corresponding to the second embodiment of the present invention. When the operation request of the electrophotographic image forming means is received (S1201), the electrophotographic image formation is performed. (S1202), and if there is no next image formation request, the process ends (S1203). If there is a request, the process returns to step S1202 to execute the next image formation. When an operation request of the inkjet image forming unit is received (S1104), the image formation of the inkjet method is performed (S1205), and if there is no next image forming request, the process ends (S1206). If there is a request, the process returns to step S1205, and next. Image formation is performed.

FIG. 13 shows an operation procedure corresponding to the third embodiment of the present invention. In step S1301, when an operation request of the ink jet type image forming means is received, in step S1302. Inkjet image formation is performed. Next, in step S1303, if there is a request for forming a composite image of an inkjet method or an electrophotographic method, step S1304.
In the case where the electrophotographic image formation is executed and there is no composite image formation request, or when the electrophotographic image formation is completed, the next image formation request is determined (S1).
305). If there is no image formation request, the process ends. If there is a request, the process returns to step S1302 to execute the next image formation.

In step S1306, when the operation request of the electrophotographic image forming means is received, the electrophotographic image formation is performed (S1307), and if the next image forming request is not made, the process is ended. S1307
Then, the next image formation is executed (S1308).

FIG. 14 shows an operation procedure corresponding to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. Depending on the means for detecting the operable state of the selected image forming means and the detected state. It has means for switching the image formation by the selected image forming means and executing the image formation by the other image forming means.

First, when the operator selects the electrophotographic method and presses the copy start key (S140).
1) In step S1402, the electrophotographic method is determined. Then, as a means for detecting the operable state of the image forming means by the electrophotographic method, for example, the heat fixing temperature is detected by the fixing device temperature detecting means, and it is judged that this temperature has reached the predetermined temperature (S1403). The image is formed by the image forming means by the electrophotographic method (S140).
4). If the fixing temperature has not been reached, the process advances to step S1405 to switch the image formation of the electrophotographic image forming means, and image formation is performed by the inkjet image forming means. Then, step S140
If there is no next image formation request in step 6, the process ends, and if there is a request, the process returns to step S1402 to execute image formation.

FIG. 15 shows an operation procedure corresponding to the first modification of the fourth embodiment according to the present invention. First, the case where the electrophotographic system is selected by the operator will be described.

When the operator presses the copy start key (S1501), the electrophotographic system is determined in step S1502. Next, the remaining amount of toner is determined by the toner detection means, which is one of the means for detecting the operable state of the image forming means by the electrophotographic method (S1).
503). If there is toner, image formation by the image forming means by electrophotography is executed (S1504). If there is no next image formation request, the process ends, and if there is a request, the process returns to step S1502 to request the next image formation (S15).
05).

When it is detected that there is no toner in step S1503, "no toner" is displayed (S1508), the image formation of the electrophotographic image forming means is switched, and the image formation of the ink jet type image forming means is executed. (S1506, S1507).

Next, the case where the operator selects the ink jet system will be described.

When the operator presses the copy start key (S1501). In step S1502, the inkjet method is determined, and the process advances to step S1506. Therefore, the remaining amount of ink is determined by the ink detecting means, which is one of the means for detecting the operable state of the image forming means using the inkjet method (S1506). If there is ink, image formation by the image forming means by the inkjet method is executed (S1507). If there is no next image formation request, the process ends, and if there is a request, step S15.
The process returns to step 02 and requests the next image formation (S1505).
When it is detected that there is no ink in step 1506, no ink is displayed (S1509), the image forming means of the inkjet method is switched, and the image formation of the image forming means of the electrophotographic method is executed (S1503, S1503).
1504).

FIG. 16 shows an operation procedure corresponding to the second modification of the fourth embodiment according to the present invention. First, the case where the electrophotographic system is selected by the operator will be described. When the copy start key is pressed by the operator (S1601), the operable state of the recording material transporting means of the electrophotographic image forming means is detected in step S1602. When there is no paper by the means for detecting the presence / absence of paper on the conveying means (no paper jam), the electrophotographic method is judged (S1603), and image formation by the image forming means by the electrophotographic method is executed (S1).
604).

If there is no next image forming request, the process ends. If there is a request, the process returns to step S1602 to request the next image forming (S1605).

If it is determined in step S1602 that there is paper by the means for detecting the presence or absence of paper on the conveying means (paper jam), the process proceeds to step S1607 and the first image forming means (electrophotographic method) is used. When there is no paper on the passing paper transport path, it is determined by the second image forming means (inkjet method) that there is paper on the passing paper path, and the paper presence position is displayed (S1608), and the image by the electrophotographic method is displayed. Image formation by the forming means is executed (S160).
4). If there is no next image formation request, the process ends. If there is a request, the process returns to step S1602 to request the next image formation (S1605).

In step S1607, there is paper on the paper transport path that the first image forming means (electrophotographic method) passes through, and the second image forming means (inkjet method).
When there is no paper on the paper transport path that passes by, the first image forming unit (electrophotographic system) determines that there is paper on the paper transport path that passes (S1609), and displays the paper present position (S1610). The image formation by the image forming means by the inkjet method is executed (S1606). If there is no next image forming request, the process ends, and if there is a request, step S
Returning to 1602, the next image formation is requested (S160).
5).

At step S1607, there is paper on the paper transport path that is passed by the first image forming means (electrophotographic system), and at step S1609, it is also on the paper transport path that is passed by the second image forming means (inkjet system). When there is paper, the paper cannot be conveyed, so copy execution is impossible and paper removal is displayed (S1611).

The same applies to the case where the operator selects the ink jet method. When the operator presses the copy start key (S1601), if there is no paper by the means for detecting the presence or absence of paper on the conveying means, (S1602), the inkjet method is determined (S1603), and image formation by the image forming means by the inkjet method is executed (S1606). If there is no next image forming request, the process ends, and if there is a request, step S
Returning to 1602, the next image formation is requested (S160).
5). When there is paper by the means for detecting the presence or absence of paper on the conveying means (S1602), when there is no paper on the paper conveying path passing by the first image forming means (electrophotographic method), the second image It is determined that there is paper on the paper path passing by the forming means (inkjet method) (S1607).
The position with paper is displayed (S1608), and image formation by the image forming means by electrophotography is executed (S1604).
If there is no next image formation request, the process ends, and if there is a request, the process returns to step S1602 to request the next image formation (S1605).

There is paper on the paper transport path that passes by the first image forming means (electrophotographic system) (S1607), and the second
When there is no paper on the paper transport path that passes by the image forming unit (inkjet system), it is determined that there is paper on the paper path that passes by the first image forming unit (electrophotographic system) (S1609) The position is displayed (S1610), and inkjet image formation is executed (S160).
6). If there is no next image formation request, the process ends. If there is a request, the process returns to S1602 to request the next image formation (S1605).

There is paper on the paper transport path which is passed by the first image forming means (electrophotographic system) (S1607), and the second
When there is paper on the paper transport path through which the image forming means (inkjet system) passes (S1609), since paper cannot be transported, copy execution is disabled and paper removal is displayed (S1611).

In the fourth embodiment, the thermal fixing temperature, the remaining amount of toner, the remaining amount of ink, and the presence / absence of a recording material have been described as examples for detecting the operable state. The electrophotographic recording section III is provided with various sensors for executing or monitoring the image forming process, similar to a normal image forming apparatus for forming an image by each recording method, and an abnormality occurs in the apparatus. Sometimes, it has a function to self-diagnose the abnormal place and the cause of the abnormality and issue a warning. For example, in the electrophotographic recording unit III, in addition to the remaining amount of toner, the amount of waste toner stored, the potential of the drum surface, the drive current of each device such as a developing device, etc. are detected by various sensors, and a warning value, or Issues a warning if the value deviates from the range specified in advance. Similarly, in the ink jet recording unit IV, the operation status for clearing the clogging of the head nozzles, the temperature of the head nozzles, the scanning status of the recording heads, etc. are monitored at any time during image formation in addition to the remaining ink amount. Therefore, it goes without saying that the operable state can be detected using these.

FIG. 17 shows an operation procedure corresponding to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, in which an automatic document processor (DF) is used to once make a bundle of originals including black and white originals. Shows a specific example of copying to. For example, an example of a single copy operation when there are 10 originals and color originals are included in the third and fifth originals will be described.

That is, the third and fifth color document insertion positions are set by key input on the operation unit (S1701).
When the copy key input is detected (S1702), a document feed request is issued to the DF, and the DF feeds the first document (S1703). Upon completion of document feeding, a completion signal is output from the DF (S1704). At that time, it is determined whether the original is a monochrome original or a color original (S1705). If the original is a monochrome original, an electrophotographic recording operation is performed (S1706), and if it is a color original, an inkjet printing operation is performed (S1707). After the operation is completed, the document is discharged (S17)
08). If there is an original in the DF (copying of 10 originals has not been completed), the process returns to step S1703 to repeat the operation, and if there is no original (when 10 copies have been completed), the operation ends (S1709). In the repeated image forming operation, the electrophotographic recording operation is performed because it is determined that the third and fifth sheets are black and white originals, and the inkjet printing operation is performed as the third and fifth sheets as color originals.

FIG. 18 shows an operation procedure corresponding to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. When the operator presses the copy start key (S1801), it is determined whether the electrophotographic method is selected (S1801). S1802). In the case of the electrophotographic method, a cassette containing plain paper is automatically selected (S1803), and then electrophotographic image formation is performed (S1804). If it is not the electrophotographic method, the cassette containing the coated paper recommended by the inkjet method is automatically selected (S1806), and then the inkjet image formation is performed (S180).
7).

Both the electrophotographic system and the inkjet system
If there is no next image formation request, the process ends. If there is a request, the process returns to step S1802 to execute the next image formation (S1).
805).

FIG. 19 shows a case where a cassette containing plain paper is automatically selected in the electrophotographic system (S180).
An operation example of 3) will be shown. In the selection operation, it is determined whether or not plain paper is loaded in the first stage cassette (S1901), and if it is loaded, the first stage cassette is selected (S1902). First
If there is no plain paper in the tray cassette,
It is determined whether plain paper is loaded in the corrugated cassette (S19
03), if present, select the second stage cassette (S1
904). If plain paper is not loaded in the second cassette, it is determined whether plain paper is loaded in the third cassette (S1905), and if it is, the third cassette is selected (S1906). If plain paper is not loaded in the third cassette, it is determined whether plain paper is loaded in the fourth cassette (S1907), and if it is, the fourth cassette is selected (S1908). If plain paper is not loaded in the fourth-stage cassette, it means that plain paper is not loaded in all of the cassettes, so that there is no suitable paper (S1909).

FIG. 20 shows a case of automatically selecting a cassette containing coated paper in the case of the electrophotographic system (S18).
03) shows an operation example. In the selection operation, it is determined whether or not coated paper is loaded in the first-stage cassette (S2001), and if it is present, the first-stage cassette is selected (S2002).
If no coated paper is loaded in the first cassette, it is determined whether coated paper is loaded in the second cassette (S2003), and if it is loaded, the second cassette is selected (S2004). If no coated paper is loaded in the second cassette, it is determined whether coated paper is loaded in the third cassette (S2005). If yes, the third cassette is selected (S2006). If the third-stage cassette does not contain the coated paper, it is determined whether the fourth-stage cassette contains the coated paper (S200
7) If yes, select the 4th stage cassette (S20)
08). If there is no coated paper in the fourth-stage cassette, it means that there is no coated paper in all of them, so that there is no proper paper (S200).
9).

In the above embodiments, the image forming apparatus using both the ink jet recording apparatus and the electrophotographic recording apparatus has been described by taking the copying machine as an example. However, the combination of other image forming means such as a thermal transfer recording device and an electrophotographic recording device, or other practically used image forming means does not exceed the scope of the claims of the present invention. Further, the arrangement order (image formation order) of these devices is not limited to the present embodiment. Further, in the above embodiment,
Although a plurality of image forming means are selectively used for each recording material depending on the presence / absence of the chromatic color portion, for example, the detection of them is prescanned by the reading sensor of the apparatus itself without depending on the operator's input, and the chromatic color portion is automatically detected. It is also possible to judge the presence or absence. Further, it is also possible to input to the area of the chromatic color portion by an operator's operation or read by the reading sensor of the apparatus itself, and to selectively use the image forming means in the chromatic color portion and other areas on the same recording material.

(Others) The present invention is provided with a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating heat energy as energy used for ejecting ink, particularly in the ink jet recording system. The present invention provides excellent effects in a recording head and a recording apparatus of the type in which the thermal energy causes a change in ink state. This is because such a system can achieve high density recording and high definition recording.

Regarding the typical structure and principle thereof, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740.
What is done using the basic principles disclosed in 796 is preferred. This method is a so-called on-demand type,
It can be applied to any of the continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, it can be applied to the sheet holding the liquid (ink) or the electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the liquid path. By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and giving a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal converter, and film boiling is caused on the heat acting surface of the recording head. Liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal as a result
This is effective because bubbles can be formed inside. Due to the growth and contraction of the bubbles, liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection openings to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make this drive signal into a pulse shape, because the bubble growth and contraction are immediately and appropriately performed, so that the ejection of the liquid (ink) with excellent responsiveness can be achieved. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, in addition to the combination constitution of the ejection port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the linear liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333, U.S. Pat. No. 44, which discloses a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
The configuration using the specification of No. 59600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is provided. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration corresponding to the ejection portion is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-138461. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be surely and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium which can be recorded by the recording apparatus. Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies the length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads or a configuration as one recording head integrally formed.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type as in the above example, the recording head fixed to the main body of the apparatus or the electrical connection to the main body of the apparatus or the ink from the main body of the apparatus by being attached to the main body of the apparatus. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be supplied or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is integrally provided in the recording head itself is used.

Further, as the constitution of the recording apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable to add the ejection recovery means of the recording head, the preliminary auxiliary means and the like because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, heating is performed by using a capping means, a cleaning means, a pressure or suction means for the recording head, an electrothermal converter or a heating element other than this, or a combination thereof. Examples thereof include a preliminary heating unit for performing the discharge and a preliminary discharge unit for performing discharge different from the recording.

Regarding the type or number of recording heads to be mounted, for example, only one is provided corresponding to a single color ink, or a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities are supported. A plurality of pieces may be provided. That is, for example, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but may be either integrally formed of the recording heads or a combination of a plurality of them. The present invention is also very effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of full-color recording modes by color mixing.

In addition, in the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the ink is described as a liquid, but an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower and that softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used. Or, in the inkjet method, it is common to adjust the temperature of the ink itself within the range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is within the stable ejection range. At times, a liquid ink may be used. In addition, the temperature rise due to thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as the energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or in order to prevent the evaporation of the ink, it is solidified and heated in a standing state. You may use the ink liquefied by. In any case, by applying heat energy such as ink that is liquefied by applying heat energy according to the recording signal and liquid ink is ejected, or that begins to solidify when it reaches the recording medium. The present invention can be applied to the case where an ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time is used. In this case, the ink is
JP 54-56847 A or JP 60-7.
As described in Japanese Patent No. 1260, it may be configured to face the electrothermal converter in a state of being held as a liquid or a solid in the concave portion or the through hole of the porous sheet. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, as a form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, other than the one used as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmitting / receiving function are provided. It may be in a form or the like.

[0094]

As described above, in an image forming apparatus having a plurality of different image forming units, one image forming unit cannot form an image for some reason and the other image forming unit forms an image. When it is possible, it was impossible to form an image in the past because it was impossible to form an image at all, but an image forming means capable of forming an image according to the present invention is selected to form an image. It is effective for the user because it can. Especially when the user needs time to repair the device at a remote place or when trouble occurs during the time when maintenance cannot be performed, it is possible to form an image by using a part of the device,
Minimal user disability.

By providing a plurality of image forming means in one device, space saving and cost reduction can be achieved, and one device can be used for recording material including both black and white and color. It will be possible to deal with.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram illustrating an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention with a copying apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a document scanning unit.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a scanning method of a CCD reading unit.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of an inkjet recording unit.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a timing explanatory diagram of an image between the functional blocks described in FIG. 5;

7 is a diagram showing an operation flow in an optical system sub-scanning direction of a control unit 521 of the scanner control unit 520 described in FIG.

8 is a layout view showing an operation panel of the embodiment apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a Dip. It is a functional block diagram of SW902.

FIG. 10 is a switch SW1002 provided in the master control unit 500 for detecting the type of copy paper by the copy paper type distinguishing piece (removable) attached to the cassette.
It is a functional block diagram of.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure corresponding to the first example of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure corresponding to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure corresponding to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure corresponding to the fourth example of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure corresponding to a first modified example of the fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure corresponding to a second modification of the fourth embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure corresponding to the fifth example of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure corresponding to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an operation example in the case of automatically selecting a cassette containing plain paper in the electrophotographic system.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an operation example in the case of automatically selecting a cassette containing coated paper in the electrophotographic system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 I Original Scanning Section II Paper Feeding Section III Electrophotographic Recording Section IV Inkjet Recording Section 201-204 Cassette 205-208 Feeding Rollers 209, 210, 212 Conveying Roller 211 Registration Roller 301 Photosensitive Drum 302 Developing Unit 303 Transfer Charger 304 Separation Charging Device 305 Pre-exposure lamp 306 Cleaner device 307 Fixing device 402, 403 Positioning roller 404 Paper detection sensor 405 Inkjet recording head 408 Home position sensor

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Internal reference number FI Technical display location G03G 15/00 102 302 15/01 Z 15/22 103 Z 6830-2H H04N 1/23 101 Z 9186 -5C 103 Z 9186-5C (72) Inventor Atsushi Munakata 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus comprising image forming means of different plural systems, characterized by comprising a selecting means for selecting one of the image forming means of different plural systems to perform image formation. Image forming apparatus. 2. An image forming apparatus comprising image forming means of a plurality of different types, said means for detecting an operable state of said image forming means selected by said selecting means, and said selecting according to the detected state. An image forming apparatus comprising: a unit configured to switch image formation by the image forming unit and execute image formation by the other image forming unit. 3. An image forming apparatus comprising image forming means of different types, and a means for detecting an operable state of a recording material conveying means of the image forming means selected by the selecting means, A means for switching the image formation by the selected image forming means and the recording material conveying means depending on the state and executing the image formation by the other image forming means and the recording material conveying means. Image forming apparatus. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the image forming units of different plural systems is a unit for forming a monochrome image, and the other is a unit for forming a multicolor image. apparatus. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of different image forming units is an electrophotographic system and the other is an inkjet system. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a sub-scanning mechanism that drives the sub-scanning direction in scanning an original by different image forming units of the plurality of methods by the same driving unit. 7. The image forming means based on the other inkjet system is arranged upstream of the image forming means based on the one electrophotographic system in the conveying direction of the recording material, and
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a distance between both image forming units is larger than a maximum length of the recording material. 8. A recording head used in the image forming means of the ink jet system, as an element for generating energy used for ejecting ink, electrothermal conversion for generating thermal energy for causing film boiling in the ink. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, which has a body. 9. The detection of the operable state is performed by the heat fixing temperature of the image forming means by the electrophotographic method,
3. The image forming according to claim 2, wherein even when the image forming by the one image forming unit is selected when it is detected that the heat fixing temperature is not reached, the image forming is executed by the image forming unit by the other ink jet method. apparatus. 10. The operable state is detected by the remaining amount of toner of the image forming unit of the electrophotographic system, and when the absence of toner is detected, the image forming of the image forming unit is selected. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming is performed by an image forming unit based on the other inkjet method. 11. The detection of the operable state is performed by the ink remaining amount of the image forming unit of the other ink jet system, and when the absence of ink is detected, the image formation by the other image forming unit is selected. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming unit executes the image formation by the image forming unit according to the one electrophotographic method. 12. The detection of the operable state is performed based on the presence or absence of a recording material on the recording material conveying means of the one image forming means, and the one image forming means is detected when the presence of the recording material is detected. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image forming is executed by the other image forming means and the recording material conveying means even when the image forming by the recording material conveying means is selected.