JPH0530271B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and in particular, it is possible to select two upper and lower paper feed cassettes with a single key, and automatically select paper feed cassettes according to the document and magnification. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that can perform selection.

[Prior art]

In general, in an image forming device that can obtain a copy image at a predetermined magnification relative to the size of the original image, and in particular in an electrophotographic copying device, there is a device located in the operation section to obtain a copy image at a specific magnification. This key is used to select either one of the upper and lower paper cassettes to feed the paper in the upper and lower paper cassettes loaded with the paper to be used. paper size selection key and
If the required paper size is selected according to the original and the magnification ratio, and the required paper size is fed from both cassettes, and the required paper size is not loaded in either paper cassette, The automatic paper selection key is designed to flash the LED for the appropriate paper size, and the paper is selected by pressing one of the keys to obtain a copy image. Even in an image forming apparatus, a key for selecting the two upper and lower paper feed cassettes and an automatic paper selection key for selecting the necessary paper according to the original and the magnification ratio are provided separately. As a result, the operator has to operate one of the keys arranged at a predetermined interval on the operation panel, which becomes a complicated task. This has the drawback that a space must be secured for the operation section, and the operation section itself also becomes large.

[Purpose of the invention]

This invention eliminates the drawbacks of the conventional paper feed cassettes, reduces the number of parts, and eliminates the complexity of the work by using the selection keys of the conventional paper feed cassettes in two stages as the automatic paper selection key. Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus in which the space for an operation section can be reduced.

[Structure of the invention]

The image forming apparatus of the present invention that achieves the above object includes:
In an image forming apparatus in which a plurality of paper feed cassettes are removable and capable of recording at variable magnification, the operation of one selection means 61 automatically selects from one of the cassettes according to the size of the document. Selecting an automatic paper selection mode for supplying paper of a predetermined size, activating a display means corresponding to the automatic paper selection mode, and selecting one of the cassettes by a subsequent operation of the selection means; , activates the display means corresponding to the paper size stored in the selected cassette, and by further operating the selection means, selects another cassette and displays the paper size stored in the selected cassette. The apparatus is characterized in that the process of returning to the automatic paper selection mode is repeated by activating the corresponding display means and further operating the selection means after the selection of the cassette is completed. do.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Embodiments of the invention shown in the drawings will be described below.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic layout of an electrophotographic copying apparatus, which is a type of image forming apparatus.
A platen cover 3 is provided on the upper surface of the original glass table 2, the upper surface of which can be opened and covered.

An exposure lamp 4 is provided inside the upper part of the main body 1 to irradiate light onto the lower surface of the document glass table 2, and the light reflected from the document irradiated by the exposure lamp 4 is transmitted to an exposure section 6 via a group of reflectors 5. , and a lens group 7 that is movable in the horizontal direction (in the direction of the arrow), and a drum-shaped photoreceptor drum 8 that is an image carrier is rotatably provided in the center. A charging device 9 is provided near the top of the photosensitive drum 8 to face it, and an exposure section 6 is provided in front of the charging device 9 in the rotational direction of the photosensitive drum 8.
A developing device 10, a transfer device 11, a separating device 12, a static eliminator 13, and a cleaning device 14 are arranged close to and facing the photoreceptor drum 8, respectively.

Two upper and lower cassette cases 15 and 16 are removably provided at the lower part of the interior of the main body 1, and when each cassette case 15 and 16 is inserted, the top of the stacked paper stacks is inserted into the main body 1. Paper feed rollers 17 that come into contact with the upper surface of the upper sheet are respectively provided, and between the vicinity of the paper feed roller 17 and the vicinity of the transfer device 11, the paper in the selected one of the cassette cases 15 and 16 is provided. A paper feed path 18 is provided for conveying the paper to the transfer device 11.

A portion of the guide plate constituting the paper feed path 18 is cut out, and a pair of upper and lower registration rollers 19 are disposed in this cutout portion.

A fixing device 20 is provided on the other side of the lower part of the interior of the main body 1.
A paper conveyance path 21 is provided between this fixing device 20 and a separation device 12 provided near the photosensitive drum 8, and a paper conveyance path 21 is provided on the opposite side of the conveyance path 21 of the fixing device. A paper discharge section 22 is provided,
A paper discharge tray 23 is provided outside.

The control system of the electrophotographic copying machine as described above is the second
As shown in the figure, 30 is a control board CB consisting of a control unit (microcomputer), an input circuit, and an output circuit, and 31 is an automatic paper selection function unit, which is a yellow part provided on the underside of the platen cover. an APS sensor board that outputs an analog voltage proportional to white to the control board; 32 an EE sensor board for setting the density of the copied image;
33 is an MS sensor for enlarging and reducing;
34 is a non-volatile memory, which stores the PM count number, PM setting number, color count number, APS reference value, bias shift value, etc. when the power is turned off. 35 is a matrix circuit for inputting each setting key. 36 is a temperature detection board, 37 is an AC driver board, and 38 is an AC
Load, 39 is DC load, 40 is optical motor, 41
The optical motor control boards M2 and CB control the ON/OFF, rotation direction, and rotation angle of the optical drive system by signals from the control board 30, and 42 is a DC power supply unit.

When obtaining a copied image using the electrophotographic copying apparatus configured as described above, first,
After placing the original on the original glass stand 2, the original is covered with the platen cover 3 and the operation panel 50 is operated.

This operation panel 50 is configured as shown in FIG.
2.

Further, 53 is an MR button for switching between reduction and enlargement modes, and in the initial state when the power is turned on, it is set to the same magnification of 1:1, and
If you press it once, you can change the top part, that is, convert A4 size to B4.
If you press the button again, you will enter the AMS mode, which will reduce the size of the document to the size of the paper in the selected paper cassette, which will be described later.If you press the button again, the document will be reduced to the first level. mode, when pressed next, it becomes the second reduction mode, and when pressed again, the initial magnification is set. When each mode is set, the corresponding LED 55 lights up. ,
Furthermore, in the AMS mode, "auto" 54 lights up.

Therefore, just by pressing the MR button 53, you can enlarge → auto → reduce the first level → reduce the second level →
The desired magnification can be selected by switching between the same magnification and the same magnification.

Further, 56 is a zoom button, and by pressing the enlarge button or reduce button of this zoom button 56, the magnification can be changed in the range of 0.65 times to 1.55 times in steps of 0.01 times, and the enlargement and reduction modes The contents when the MR button 53 and the zoom button 56 are pressed, that is, the magnification, are displayed on the magnification display LED 57.

Reference numeral 60 denotes a paper cassette selection section, and this paper cassette selection section 60 has a paper size selection button 61. Each time this paper size selection button 61 is pressed, the paper cassette selection mode, lower cassette selection mode, and APS mode are selected. (automatic paper selection mode).

Note that the APS mode mentioned above refers to
A mode that automatically reads the size of the original placed on top and selects the copy paper that matches the original size after copying. Even if the original is the same, the selected copy paper is different when copying with variable magnification.

When one of the upper cassette selection mode, lower cassette selection mode, or APS mode is selected, the LED 6 corresponding to that mode
2 is now lit, and the paper size
The LED 63 displays the selected paper size.

65 is a density selection section for changing the density of the copied image by changing the bias of the developing device 10; when the power is turned on, the manual mode is selected, so press one of the density selection buttons 66. It is possible to select 7 levels of density, and the LED 67 corresponding to the selected density level
lights up, and by pressing the EE button (automatic density selection button) 68, the mode switches from manual mode to automatic density selection mode.
8 LED lights up.

In addition, 59 is a copy start button, 70 is a status display section, and this status display section 70 is a power supply,
Various operations such as paper jam, paper replenishment, toner replenishment, periodic inspection, and thick paper fixing are displayed by blinking the LED 71.

When performing a copying operation by operating the operation unit 50 configured as described above, each copying condition is first set. First, by operating the numeric keypad 51 and pressing the required number of numeric keys, The set number of copies is displayed on the number display LED 52, and the magnification of the copy image with respect to the original is determined by operating the magnification selection section 58, but as described above, in the initial state when the power is turned on, Since the same size is selected, if you want to obtain a copy image of the same size,
There is no need to operate the MR button 53; for example,
If you select "Auto", MR button 53
If you press twice, the AMS
When the auto mode is selected, the auto LED 54 lights up to notify you that this mode has been selected.

Note that the AMS mode mentioned above refers to the original glass stand 2.
A selection mode that automatically reads the size of the original placed on top of the original and sets the image size magnification to match the size of the selected copy paper. When there is no copy paper corresponding to the size in the cassette case, the LED for the corresponding copy paper size is lit.

The flowchart for selecting the magnification is shown in FIG. 4. In the initial state, the equal magnification flag is selected, so by pressing the MR button 53, it is determined whether the equal magnification flag is selected. , since the 1x flag is selected, the selection is switched from the 1x flag to the enlarged flag and the enlarged copy mode routine is started.
Therefore, if the MR button 53 is pressed again, the AMS mode flag is selected and the AMS mode routine is started.

Therefore, the other modes, ie, the first-stage reduction mode and the second-stage reduction mode, are also selected by similar operations and their respective routines are started.

When the AMS mode is selected, a copy image is obtained according to the flowchart shown in Figure 5. In other words, the size of the paper in the paper cassette is selected before selecting the AMS mode. When the AMS mode is selected, the size of the original is detected, the reduction or enlargement ratio, that is, the scaling ratio, is automatically set, and by pressing the copy start button 59, a copy that matches the paper size is made. Images are now available.

Note that in order for this AMS mode to operate, it is a condition that the APS mode (automatic paper selection mode), which will be described later, is not selected.

Furthermore, when a mode other than the AMS mode is selected in the magnification selection section 58, all paper sizes including the APS mode can be selected in the paper cassette selection section 60, and the APS mode is selected when the power is turned on. At the same time, pressing the paper size selection button 61 switches from APS mode to upper cassette selection, and further pressing the paper size selection button selects the lower cassette from the upper cassette.
Also, when each selection is made, the corresponding
LED62 lights up and the paper size LED
63 also lights up.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for selecting this paper feed cassette, and this flowchart will be explained below.

As mentioned above, in this embodiment, when the power is turned on,
APS mode is selected. With this APS mode selected, press the copy start button 1.
When 9 is pressed, copying is executed according to the flowchart of FIG. 6, which will be described later.

If the copy start button 19 is not pressed and the paper size selection button 61 is pressed while the APS mode is selected, the upper cassette is selected. When the copy start button 19 is pressed with this upper cassette selected, a paper feeding routine for the upper cassette is executed.

Further, if the paper size selection button 61 is pressed without the copy start button 19 being pressed, the lower cassette is selected, and if the copy start button 19 is pressed, the paper feeding routine for the lower cassette is executed.

When all the cassette selections have been changed in this way, if the copy start button 19 is not pressed but the paper size selection button 61 is pressed again, the APS mode is selected again.
In other words, in the present invention, each time the paper size selection button 61 is pressed, the paper size selection button 61 is switched in the following order: "APS mode selection → upper cassette selection → lower cassette selection", and the switching occurs without the copy start button 19 being pressed. repeated as long as possible. Of course, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the above-described order; for example, an order such as "APS mode selection→lower cassette selection→upper cassette selection" may be used.

A flowchart when the APS mode is selected is shown in FIG. 6, and the APS mode is a mode in which the paper size is automatically selected based on the original and the magnification selected by the magnification selection section 58. ,
If paper corresponding to the selected paper size is not loaded in either the upper or lower cassette, the LED for the corresponding paper size will blink to notify the operator of the required paper size.

In addition, the numeric keypad 51 has a double function, and if you press each key individually, the number written on the top of each key is entered as the set number of copies, and that number is displayed on the number of copies display LED 52. If you press one of the keys whose functions are written below while pressing the P key, the contents written below each key will be performed.

In other words, pressing the "P" key and the "9" key will fix the cardboard. This is used when setting the fusing temperature for thick paper. As the fusing temperature increases, the LED on the display indicating that the cardboard is being fixed will be displayed. lights up.

Also, if you press the "P" key and the "8" key,
It can be used when copying another document during continuous copying, and interrupt copying is set when the copying at the time of pressing is completed.
Pressing the key and the "7" key activates image shift, which is used when forming the binding margin, and shifts the leading edge of the image backwards by about 10 mm.

Also, if you press the "P" key and the "5" key,
The PM counter number, that is, a certain number for performing periodic inspection, is displayed by lighting on the sheet number display LED 52, and the setting value of this can be changed in the direction described later.

Furthermore, various functions can be performed by pressing the other key "P", and the operation is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

Setting and changing the value of the PM counter is performed as follows.

First, turn on the power while holding down the "2" and "5" keys to enter the PM cycle (maintenance cycle) setting mode, and the LED 5 for displaying the magnification
7 displays "P", "0" and "0", so by pressing the zoom button 56 the display changes to "P" and "2".
Set it to "7".

At this time, if the PM counter has already been set to the value 32000, then the
Since "3" and "0" are displayed on LED52, PM
You can see that the cycle unit in 10,000 is set to "3", and if you enter "2" using the numeric keypad 51, "3" and "2" will appear on the LED 52 for displaying the number of sheets.
is displayed, and then when the copy start button 59 is pressed, the display changes to "2" and "2", thereby indicating that the setting of the unit of 10,000 to "2" has been completed.

Then, when the zoom button 56 is used to set the magnification display LED 57 to "P", "2", or "8",
Now you can input in thousands, and for displaying the number of sheets.
Since "2" and "0" are displayed on the LED 52, for example, if you press "5" on the numeric keypad, the display will become "2" and "5", and if you press the copy start button 59, the display will be "5". ” and “5”, meaning that the PM cycle previously set to 32,000 has been changed to 25,000, and these operations will be as shown in the flowchart shown in FIG.

Therefore, when the number of copies reached between 24,000 and 24,999 by performing normal copying operations from the time this operation is completed, the periodic inspection indicator on the display section 70 lights up, and when the number of copies reaches 25,000 or more, the display blinks. Therefore, the necessity of periodic inspection can be notified by this, and this flowchart is shown in FIG. 10.

In addition, when changing the setting of the total copy number counter, turn on the power while holding down "2" and "5" on the numeric keypad as in the case above, and then use the zoom button 56 to change the magnification display.
If you set the LED 57 to "P", "3", "2", you can change the numerical value in 100,000 units in the same way as above, and "P", "3", "3"
"P""3""4" means thousands, "P""3"
It is possible to set a unit of 100 for "5", a unit of 10 for "P", "3", and "6", and a unit of 1 for "P", "3", and "7".

Furthermore, the total copy value of the PM counter can be reset with a single operation.

That is, if you turn on the power while holding down ``4'' and ``7'' on the numeric keypad 51, the counter reset mode will be activated, and after setting the display to ``P'', ``9'', and ``0'' using the zoom button 56, When the copy start button 59 is pressed, the counter value becomes 0, and the flowchart in this case is shown in FIG.

By changing the value of the total copy counter in this way, if the inspection is performed before the regular regular inspection, etc., the periodic inspection will be performed when the set value of the PM counter is reached depending on the number of copies from that point onwards. is displayed, so that the usage status is always maintained properly.

〔Effect of the invention〕

By configuring this invention as described above,
With one key, you can select the upper and lower paper cassettes,
Since it is possible to switch between the automatic paper selection mode and the automatic paper selection mode, the operator only has to press the same key, improving work efficiency and reducing the number of parts. It has excellent effects such as being able to reduce the area required for the process.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a general schematic diagram of an electrophotographic copying apparatus, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the entire control system of the one shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display section. Figure 4 is a flowchart showing magnification selection, Figure 5 is a flowchart in AMS mode,
Figure 6 is a flowchart in APS mode, Figure 7
Figure 8 is a flowchart showing paper feed cassette selection, Figure 8 is a flowchart showing the double function function of the numeric keypad, Figure 9 is a flowchart when storing the settings of the PM counter in the memory board, and Figure 10. 11 is a flowchart showing a comparison between the set value of the PM counter and the number of copies, and FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the reset of the PM counter. 1...Main body, 2...Original glass stand, 3...Platen cover, 4...Exposure lamp, 5...Reflector group, 6...Exposure section, 7...Lens group, 8...Photoconductor drum, 9...Charging device, 10...Developing device,
11... Transfer device, 12... Separation device, 13...
Static eliminator, 14... Cleaning device, 15, 1
6...Cassette case, 17...Paper feed roller, 1
8... Paper feed path, 19... Registration roller, 20...
... Fixing device, 21 ... Conveyance path, 22 ... Paper discharge section,
23... Paper output tray, 30... Control board, 31...
... Automatic paper selection function section, 32 ... EE sensor board, 33 ... MS sensor, 34 ... Memory board, 35 ... Operation section, 36 ... Temperature detection board, 3
7...AC driver board, 38...AC load, 3
9...DC load, 40...Optical motor, 41...
Optical motor control board, 42...DC power supply unit,
50...Operation panel, 51...Numeric keypad, 52...
...Number of sheets display LED, 53...MR button, 54...
Auto, 55, 62, 67...LED, 56...
Zoom button, 57...Magnification display LED, 59...
...Copy start button, 60...Paper cassette selection section, 61...Paper size selection button, 63...
Paper size LED, 65... Density selection section, 66...
Density selection button, 68...EE button, 70...
Status display section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an image forming apparatus in which a plurality of paper feed cassettes are removable and capable of recording at variable magnification, by operating one selection means 61, the image forming apparatus automatically selects a document according to the size of the document. Selecting an automatic paper selection mode for supplying paper of a predetermined size from one of the cassettes, activating a display means corresponding to the automatic paper selection mode, and performing a subsequent operation of the selection means to select one of the cassettes. While selecting one of them, the display means corresponding to the paper size stored in the selected cassette is activated, and by further operation of the selection means, another cassette is selected and the paper size is changed to the selected cassette. The display means is configured to repeatedly operate the display means corresponding to the stored paper size and return to the automatic paper selection mode again by further operation of the selection means after the selection of the cassette is completed. An image forming apparatus characterized by: