JPH06133107A - Composite equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent an original from being dirty due to toner or from being damaged to be crumpled even when a branch guide is out of order and the original is carried to a print path by providing a mis-carrying detection means to the equipment. CONSTITUTION:When the original is carried to a print path of a transfer path carrying path, it is detected based on a detection signal of a photo sensor 16 in the picture read operation by a scanner section, and the original is stopped before the original reaches the surface of a photosensing body 6 at ts detection and a request of maintenance is displayed on an operation panel or a host, then the original is surely protected. That is, even when a branch guide 5 is in improper operation and the original is carried to the print path, it is prevented that the original is in contact with the surface of the photosensing body 6, resulting in being dirty by toner or the original is butted to a fixing roller of a fixer 11, resulting in being crumpled and damaged.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a compound machine having an image reading section (scanner) and an image forming section (printer).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In some of the above-mentioned multi-function machines, a part of a document conveying path during an image reading operation and a part of a transfer sheet conveying path during an image forming operation are shared. In such a multifunction device, the original and the transfer paper are discriminated, and the original is fed from the shared portion to the original discharge portion and the transfer paper is fed from the shared portion to the print path by a branch guide provided immediately after the registration roller. Have control over.

[0003]

However, the branch guide may malfunction due to some reason and the original may be conveyed to the printing path. In such a case, the original may adhere to the surface of the photoconductor. There is a possibility that the original document may be contaminated by the toner that has been used, or that the photoconductor and the fixing roller are not rotating during the image reading operation, and the original document may be crispy, or the original document may be damaged.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and even when the original is conveyed to the printing path due to the malfunction of the branch guide, the original is contaminated or crunched by the toner. The purpose is to prevent it from being damaged.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention comprises an image reading section and an image forming section, and provides a document conveying path during an image reading operation and a transfer sheet conveying path during an image forming operation. In a multifunction machine that shares a part and has a photo sensor for detecting the amount of toner adhered to the surface of the photoconductor in the image forming section, the original is printed based on the detection signal of the photo sensor during the image reading operation by the image reading section. An erroneous conveyance detecting means is provided for detecting the case where the transfer sheet is conveyed to the printing path of the transfer sheet conveyance path.

Further, when the erroneous conveyance detecting means detects that the original has been conveyed to the printing path of the transfer paper conveying path during the image reading operation, the original is stopped before reaching the surface of the photoconductor. It is desirable to provide a means for displaying a maintenance request.

[0007]

According to the multi-function peripheral of the present invention, when a document is conveyed to the print path of the transfer paper conveyance path, it is detected based on the detection signal of the photosensor during the image reading operation by the image reading section. Therefore, in that case, by stopping the original before reaching the surface of the photoreceptor,
Even if the branch guide malfunctions and the original is conveyed to the printing path, the original may come into contact with the surface of the photoconductor and become dirty with toner, or may hit the fixing roller and become crunchy, resulting in damage. The original can be reliably protected.

Also, the fact that the original is conveyed to the printing path of the transfer paper conveying path during the image reading operation means
Since an abnormality may have occurred in the branch guide as described above, by displaying some maintenance request, the operator can quickly recognize the abnormality and prevent the recurrence of the abnormality. Further, since the photo sensor for detecting the toner adhesion amount on the surface of the photoconductor also serves as the erroneous conveyance detection sensor, the cost can be reduced.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a multifunction machine showing an embodiment of the present invention. This multi-function machine includes a cassette sheet feeding device 1, a pair of registration rollers 2, a manual sheet feeding device 3, a pair of reading timing rollers 4, and a branch guide 5 as a sheet feeding / conveying portion for conveying a recording sheet (transfer sheet) or a document. , A drum-shaped photoconductor 6, an electrification charger 7, a laser optical system 8 as an image forming portion for forming an image and transferring it to a recording sheet,
A developing device 9 and a transfer charger 10 are provided respectively.

Further, a fixing device 11 for fixing the transferred toner image on the recording paper, a paper discharge unit (paper discharge tray) 12 for discharging the fixed recording paper, and a residual on the photoconductor 6. Cleaning device 13 for removing toner
And an image reading sensor 1 for reading the image information of the document.
4 and a paper discharge unit (document discharge tray) for discharging a document
15 and a photo sensor 16 for detecting the toner adhesion amount on the surface of the photoconductor. Further, although not shown, a structure and a control unit for holding and controlling them are provided.

First, the image forming operation of the mechanical portion of this multifunction machine will be described. When the image forming operation is started, the recording sheet (transfer sheet) is fed from the cassette sheet feeding device 1 toward the registration roller pair 2, and the leading end of the recording sheet (transfer sheet) is abutted against the stopped registration roller pair 2 and stopped. Skew correction.

Also, the raster data (video data) is 1
In a state in which more than one page has been created, the photoconductor 6 is rotated in the direction of the arrow, and the surface charged by the charging charger 7 is
A laser beam modulated in accordance with raster data by the laser optical system 8 is irradiated while performing main scanning in the drum axis direction to be exposed to form a latent image. The latent image is visualized by the toner from the developing device 9, and the toner image is transferred by the transfer charger 10 to the recording paper fed by the registration roller pair 2 at a predetermined timing.

After that, the recording paper on which the toner image has been transferred is peeled from the photoconductor 6 and conveyed to the fixing device 11, where the toner image is fixed and heated and fixed on the recording paper, and then discharged to the paper discharge unit 12. To do. On the other hand, the toner remaining on the photoconductor 6 after the toner image transfer is removed by the cleaning device 13, and the collected toner is collected and stored in a collecting tank to prepare for the next image formation.

The above-described image forming operation is not limited to the recording paper fed from the cassette paper feeding device 1,
The same can be applied to the recording paper fed from the manual paper feeding device 3.

Next, the image reading operation of the mechanical portion of this multifunction machine will be described. When the image reading operation is started, the document is fed from the manual paper feeding device 3 toward the image reading sensor 14 such as a CCD line sensor, and its leading end is abutted against the reading timing roller pair 4 which is stopped. Perform skew correction.

After that, the reading timing roller pair 4 takes the timing to carry it to the reading surface of the image reading sensor 14 to read the image information. The original from which the image information is read continues to be conveyed as it is, and is guided to the paper ejection unit 15 and ejected by switching the rotatable branch guide 5 provided on the conveyance path. If there is a large amount of originals, the originals can be stored in the cassette sheet feeding device 1 and sequentially fed from there.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the control system of this multi-function machine. The controller 22 and the engine control unit 2 are shown in FIG.
3, a scanner unit (image reading unit) 24, a printer unit (image forming unit) 25, an operation panel 27, an IC card 28, a storage device 29, and a FAX I / F 30. Note that the option 26 is an optional sheet feeding device, a double-sided device, or the like, but it is not installed in the multifunction peripheral of FIG. The host 21 is an information processing device such as a personal computer having a display and a keyboard.

The controller 22 converts the print data from the host 21 into raster data by using the font in the font ROM and stores it in the image memory, and transfers it to the engine control unit 23 as write data or the scanner unit. The image information read by the image reading sensor 14 of 24 is stored in the image memory and then sent to the host 21.

The engine control unit 23 outputs a drive signal for causing the scanner unit 24 to perform an image reading operation, a drive signal for causing the printer unit 25 to perform write data from the controller 22 and an image forming operation, to an option 26. Drive signals for causing the respective units to perform the operation.

The scanner section 24 performs an image reading operation according to a drive signal from the engine control section 23. That is, a sequence device such as a drive motor rotates each roller such as the reading timing roller 14 according to a drive signal to convey an original, and the image reading sensor 14 reads image information of the original conveyed on the reading surface. Output.

The printer section 25 performs an image forming operation according to the write data and the drive signal from the engine control section 23. That is, the laser optical system 8 performs a laser scanning operation according to the write data, and each sequence device such as a drive motor, a clutch, and a solenoid performs an operation according to the drive signal to form an image on the recording paper. The photoconductor 6 and a photosensor 16 for detecting the amount of toner adhering to the surface of the photoconductor 6 are also included in the printer unit 25.

The operation panel 27 comprises a display section for displaying various kinds of information and an operation section for inputting various kinds of information. The IC card 28 is a removable memory card used when externally supplying font data and programs.

The storage device 29 is an external storage device for storing various data such as font data, programs and print data, and is a floppy disk device (FDD) or a hard disk device (HDD). I for FAX
The / F 30 controls transmission / reception of facsimile data to / from another facsimile device.

First, the image forming operation of the control system of this multifunction machine will be described. Information (print data) processed by the host 21 for printing is sent to the controller 22 in the form of text, bitmap, or the like. The controller 22 that has received the print data sets the font RO
After generating the raster data in the image memory using the font information in M and the internal function, the raster data including the drive signal is sent to the engine control unit 23 to cause the printer unit 25 to perform the image forming operation.

Next, the image reading operation of the control system of this multifunction machine will be described. When an image reading request from the host 21 is sent to the engine control unit 23 via the controller 22, the engine control unit 23 causes the scanner unit 24 to perform an image reading operation and displays the image information read by the image reading sensor 14. The controller 22 outputs the image information to the controller 22, buffers the image information in the image memory, and then sends the image information to the host 21.

Next, the facsimile communication operation of the control system of this multifunction machine will be described. During facsimile transmission, telephone number information is sent from the host 21 to the FAX I / F 30 via the controller 22. At the same time, the controller 22 issues an image capture request to the engine control unit 23 to capture image information from the scanner unit 24.
To the I / F 30 for use.

The FAX I / F 30 calls up the facsimile machine of the other party using the communication line and compresses the received image information by MH, MR or the like and sends it out. When the transmitted image information is internal information from the host 21 or the storage device 29, the image information is not fetched.

At the time of receiving a facsimile, it is divided into printing immediately or storing in the storage device 29. When printing immediately, the FAX I / F 30 receives and expands the image information transmitted by facsimile, and sends it to the printer unit 5 via the controller 22 and the engine control unit 23.

When the image information is stored in the storage device 29, the received image information is sent to the storage device 29 while being compressed. The contents of the accumulated image information can be confirmed on the display of the host 21 via the controller 22, and printing can be performed as necessary.

Next, the operation according to the present invention in this composite machine will be described with reference to FIG. The routine of FIG. 1 starts when the leading edge of the document passes the registration roller pair 2 by the image reading operation. Then, first, the photo sensor 16 is turned on, and it is determined whether the time t has elapsed.
Here, at the time t, when the branch guide 5 is on the print path side (the position shown by the phantom line in FIG. 2), the leading edge of the document passes the photo sensor 16 after passing the registration roller pair 2. This is the required time plus a predetermined time tα.

Then, when the time t has not elapsed, the process shifts to a judgment as to whether or not the output of the photo sensor 16 has changed, and when the output has not changed, it is judged whether or not the time t has elapsed. Return to and repeat this routine. And
If the output of the photo sensor 16 changes before the time t elapses, it is considered that the document is erroneously conveyed, and the image reading operation is stopped so that the document is not conveyed any more.

Further, the image information read up to that point is cleared, the unreadable information and the maintenance request command are sent to the operation panel 27 or the host 21 for display, and the processing is terminated. It should be noted that, in addition to the respective information, information for prompting re-reading may be displayed. In addition, when the output of the photo sensor 16 does not change, the time t
When has passed, the photo sensor 16 is turned off, and the process ends.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the photo sensor 16 is used during the image reading operation by the scanner section 24.
When a document is conveyed to the print path of the transfer sheet conveyance path based on the detection signal of the detection signal, it is detected, and at the time of detection, the document is stopped before reaching the surface of the photoconductor 6, and the operation panel Since the maintenance request is displayed on 27 or the host 21, the document can be protected without fail.

That is, even when the branch guide 5 malfunctions and the document is conveyed to the printing path, the document comes into contact with the surface of the photoconductor 6 and is contaminated with toner, or the fixing roller of the fixing device 11 is damaged. It will not be damaged by hitting it and becoming crunchy.
Further, the operator can promptly recognize the abnormality and prevent the recurrence. Further, since the photo sensor 16 for detecting the toner adhesion amount on the surface of the photoconductor 6 also has the function of detecting erroneous conveyance, low cost can be realized.

[0035]

As described above, according to the multi-function peripheral of the present invention, even when the original is conveyed to the printing path due to the malfunction of the branch guide, the original is smeared by the toner or is crushed. It will no longer be damaged.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a processing operation according to the present invention according to the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the control system of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Cassette Paper Feeding Device 2 Registration Roller Pair 3 Manual Feeding Paper Feeding Device 4 Reading Timing Roller Pair 5 Branching Guide 6 Photoreceptor 7 Charging Charger 8 Laser Optical System 9 Developing Device 10 Transfer Charger 11 Fixing Device 12, 15 Paper Ejection Section 13 Cleaning Device 14 image reading sensor 16 photo sensor 16 21 host 22 controller 23 engine control unit 24 scanner unit 25 printer unit 27 operation panel 28 IC card 29 storage device 30 FAX I / F

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image reading unit and an image forming unit are provided, and a part of a document conveying path during an image reading operation and a part of a transfer paper conveying path during an image forming operation are shared, and a surface of a photoconductor in the image forming section is shared. In a multifunction machine having a photo sensor for detecting the toner adhesion amount, based on a detection signal of the photo sensor during the image reading operation by the image reading unit,
A multi-function machine comprising: an erroneous conveyance detection unit for detecting an original when the original has been conveyed to the printing path of the transfer paper conveyance path. 2. The multi-function peripheral according to claim 1, wherein when the erroneous conveyance detection unit detects that an original has been conveyed to a print path of the transfer paper conveyance path during an image reading operation, the original is detected. A multifunction machine comprising means for stopping the photosensitive member before it reaches the surface of the photosensitive member. 3. The multifunction machine according to claim 1, wherein:
A multi-function peripheral comprising means for displaying a maintenance request when the erroneous conveyance detection means detects that an original has been conveyed to the print path of the transfer paper conveyance path during an image reading operation. .