JPH06282138A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an image forming device capable of preventing a medium where an image should be formed from being wasted in the case of using an automatic document feeder. CONSTITUTION:This image forming device 1 is equipped with a placing plate on which a document is placed, an image forming means, a designation means designating the start of image forming actions, the automatic document feeder 7, a 1st detecting means detecting that the document is held in the automatic document feeder, a 2nd detecting means 16 detecting the switching operation of the automatic document feeder, a storing means storing the effect that the image forming action executed by the image forming means requires to use the feeder 7 in that case, and a control means 32 controlling so that the designation of the start of the image forming action by the designation means may not be accepted by referring to the detected result by the 1st and the 2nd detecting means and the content stored in the storing means. By such constitution, the medium where the image should be formed us surely prevented from being wasted in the case of using the feeder 7.

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,
More specifically, a copying apparatus or the like having a document table on which a document is placed and an automatic document feeder which is arranged to be openable and closable with respect to the document table and automatically feeds a document to be fed onto the document table in the closed state. Image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a copying apparatus of this type, when an automatic document feeder is normally closed with respect to a platen, an image forming operation is performed on a sheet or the like by pressing a copy button regardless of the presence or absence of a document on the platen. Was going on. For this reason, there is no original to be supplied from the automatic original feeder to the original plate and the original is not placed on the original plate, but a useless image forming operation is performed on a sheet or the like by pressing the copy button. It was uneconomical.

In order to avoid such a situation, for example, a reflection type optical sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the original on the original table is provided, and when the optical sensor detects the absence of the original, the copy button is pressed. It is also necessary to prohibit the image forming operation.

[0004]

As described above, in the conventional copying apparatus, when the image forming operation using the automatic document feeder is completed, the paper is wasted when the image is further formed. However, it is easy to cause waste of paper, which causes an uneconomical situation, or requires a special optical sensor.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of preventing waste of paper when using the automatic document feeder without taking special measures.

[0006]

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus including: a mounting table on which a document is mounted; and an image of the document mounted on the document table, which is formed on an image forming body. Forming means, instructing means for instructing the image forming means to start an image forming operation, and arranged to be openable and closable with respect to the document table and capable of holding a plurality of documents. An automatic document feeder that conveys the documents held in the closed state one by one to the document table; a first detection unit that detects that the documents are held by the automatic document feeder; Second detection means for detecting the opening / closing operation of the automatic document feeder, and storage means for storing the fact that the image forming operation performed by the image forming means uses the automatic document feeder. And the first and second inspections By referring to the stored contents of the detection result and the storage means by means, in which and a control means for controlling so as not to accept the instruction of the image forming operation start by the instruction means.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the document is mounted on the automatic document feeder while the control unit does not accept the instruction to start the image forming operation from the instruction unit by the control unit. It further comprises a display unit for displaying a warning prompting.

According to another aspect of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, a document table on which a document is placed, image forming means for forming an image of the document placed on the document table on an image forming body, and the image. Instructing means for instructing the forming means to start the image forming operation, and a plurality of originals which can be opened and closed with respect to the original table and can hold a plurality of originals. An automatic document feeder which conveys the originals one by one to the document table, a first detecting means for detecting that the originals are held by the automatic document feeder, and an opening / closing of the automatic document feeder After the image forming operation of the image forming means using the second detecting means for detecting the operation and the automatic document feeder is completed, the original is held in the automatic document feeder by the first detecting means. Is detected If opening and closing operation of the automatic document feeder is not detected by the serial second sensing means, in which a control means for controlling so as not to accept the instruction of the image forming operation start by the instruction means.

The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 3.
In the image forming apparatus described above, a display unit that displays a warning prompting the user to load a document on the automatic document feeder while the control unit controls the image forming operation start instruction from the instruction unit is not accepted. Is further provided.

[0010]

The operation of this image forming apparatus will be described below.

After the image forming operation of the image forming means using the automatic document feeder in the image forming apparatus is completed, the first detecting means determines whether or not the document is held in the automatic document feeder. Is detected and detection information is sent to the control means. The second detection means detects the opening / closing operation of the automatic document feeder and sends the detection information to the control means.

[0012] When the image forming operation performed by the image forming means uses the automatic document feeder, the storage means stores that effect.

The control means refers to the detection results of the first and second detection means and the stored contents of the storage means to control so as not to accept the instruction to start the image forming operation by the instruction means. .

As a result, even if the instruction means is operated by mistake without placing the original, the image forming operation is not performed, and no special measures are taken, and the paper of the automatic original feeder is used. It is possible to prevent waste.

[0015]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below.

1 and 2 show a copying apparatus 1 which is an example of an image forming apparatus.

The copying apparatus 1 comprises a box-shaped three-stage paper feeding unit 3 and a box-shaped main body 2 arranged on the three-stage paper feeding unit 3.

The three-stage paper feeding unit 3 comprises, for example, a first cassette 4 containing A4 size sheets, a second cassette 4 containing B4 size sheets, and a third cassette 5 containing A3 size sheets. Three cassettes are detachably attached.

On the upper surface of the main body 2, an original table 6 made of transparent glass is provided. Further, the original table 6 is arranged so as to be openable and closable with respect to the original table 6 and the original document G0 is fed onto the original table 6 in a closed state. Automatic document feeder (A
DF) 7 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic document feeder 7 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and automatically feeds a fed document G0 from the fed document feeding section 8 to the document table 6, and also on the document table 6. The fed document G0 which has reached the above condition is automatically discharged to the fed document discharging section 9.

On the front side of the upper surface of the main body 2, an operation panel 10 is provided as an instruction means for performing various operations of the copying apparatus 1.
The operation panel 10 is provided with a key group 1 for various operations.
1, a display unit 12 for displaying various messages, a copy key 13 and the like are provided.

Further, a magnet 14 is arranged at the end of the joint surface of the automatic document feeder 7 with the document table 6, and a reed switch 15 is arranged inside the upper surface of the main body 2 corresponding to the magnet 14. The magnet 14 and the reed switch 15 constitute a second detecting means 16 for detecting the presence / absence of the open / close state of the automatic document feeder 7.

On the right side of the main body 2 in the drawing, for example, a cassette 17 containing B5 size paper is mounted, and a manual feed guide 18 is provided on the upper portion of the cassette 17. Further, a large amount document feeding means (LCF) 25 is attached to the lower part of the cassette 17. Further, a paper discharge section 19 is provided on the left side of the main body 2 in the figure.

As shown in FIG. 3, an optical sensor as a first detecting means for detecting the installation of the feed original G0 is provided in the installation area of the feed original G0 in the feed original feeding section 8 of the automatic document feeder 7 as shown in FIG. Such a sent document detecting means 20 is provided. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 21 is a feed document receiving tray, and 22 is a feed document guide.

Next, the main part of the control system of the copying machine 1 is shown in FIG.
Will be described with reference to.

The copying apparatus 1 is provided with a control unit 30 for controlling the whole and a control unit 32 including a storage unit 31 which is a storage unit, and the control unit 30 includes the second detection unit 1.
6, sent document detecting means 20, the key group 11, display unit 1
2, copy key 13 and the like are connected.

Further, the control unit 30 confirms that the automatic document feeder 7 is used in the storage unit 31 based on the detection information indicating the closed state of the automatic document feeder 7 from the second detection means 16. The “flag 1” as the usage information is stored,
Further, the "flag 1" stored in the storage unit 31 is reset based on the detection information indicating the closed state of the automatic document feeder 7 from the second detection means 16.

Next, the operation of the copying apparatus 1 will be described mainly with reference to FIG. 5 mainly when the copying operation is performed by using the automatic document feeder 7.

First, the copy operation performed immediately before is
The control unit 30 determines whether the automatic document feeder 7 is used (ST1). If the automatic document feeder 7 is used, the control unit 3
0 stores “flag 1” in the storage section 31 as usage information indicating that the automatic document feeder 7 has been used (ST
2).

Next, the control section 30 judges the open / closed state of the automatic document feeder 7 based on the detection information from the second detecting means 16 (ST3), and the automatic document feeder 7 is opened. If there is, "flag 1" is reset (ST4) and the process proceeds to step 5, and if the automatic document feeder 7 is closed,
That is, if the automatic document feeder 7 continues to be in the closed state, the process proceeds to step 5, and it is further determined whether or not the copy key 13 is pressed (ST5). And
When the copy key 13 is pressed, it is further determined based on the detection information from the feed document detecting means 20 whether or not the feed document G0 exists on the feed platen 21 of the automatic document feeder 7. (ST6). When the original document G0 is not present on the original document table 21, the control unit 30 confirms the presence of the "flag 1" (ST7), and if the "flag 1" is present, the copy key 13 is also pressed. Regardless, control is performed so that the copy instruction from the copy key 13 is not accepted.
At the same time, the control unit 30 displays a warning message such as "Please set the document" on the display unit 12 (ST8).

In step 6, it is judged that the feed original G0 is on the feed original table 21, and further, in step 7
Then, when the "flag 1" is reset, the normal copy operation based on the depression of the copy key 13 is executed (ST9).

Due to the operation of the copying apparatus 1 as described above, even if the copy key 13 is operated by mistake without placing the feed original G0, the image forming operation is not performed on the sheet, and special measures are taken. Without automatic document feeder 7
It is possible to prevent waste of paper when using.

Further, in accordance with the control by the control means 32 not accepting the instruction to start the image forming operation from the copy key 13, the original document G0 to be fed to the automatic document feeder 7 is sent.
Since the display unit 12 that displays a warning prompting the user to place the device is provided, it is possible to prevent an error in the operation of the user and improve the operability.

Next, another operation of the copying apparatus 1 will be described with reference mainly to the case where the automatic document feeder 7 is used to perform the copying operation and with reference to FIG.

First, the control section 30 judges whether or not the copy operation performed immediately before was performed using the automatic document feeder 7 (ST11), and the automatic document feeder 7 is used. If it has been performed, the control unit 30
Further, the presence / absence of the feed document G0 on the feed platen 21 is determined based on the detection information from the feed document detecting means 20 (ST12). If there is no feed original G0 on the feed original table 21, the control unit 30 further determines whether or not "flag 1" is present, and if "flag 1" is present, "set the original" on the display unit 12, for example. Is displayed (ST1
4). Further, when it is determined in step 11 that the automatic document feeder 7 is not used, when it is determined in step 12 that the fed document G0 exists on the fed document table 21, "flag 1" is present in step 13. In the case where it is determined, for example, "Copy is possible."
And the like are displayed (ST15).

After this, steps 16 to 20 similar to steps 3 to 7 described above are executed,
If "flag 1" is present in step 20, the process returns to step 16, and if the original document G0 is present on the original table 21 or if "flag 1" is reset, the copy key 13 is pressed. Based on this, a normal copy operation is executed (ST21).

With such an operation, it is possible to prevent waste of paper when the automatic document feeder 7 is used,
In addition, since both the warning display and the copy enable display are selectively performed, the operability of the user can be improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention.

[0039]

According to the present invention described in detail above, the image forming operation is not performed even if the instruction means is operated by mistake without placing the original, and no special measures are taken.
It is possible to provide an automatic document feeder that can prevent waste of paper when the automatic document feeder is used.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the automatic document feeder of the apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention in an open state.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a document to be fed is set in the automatic document feeder of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control system of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing another operation of the apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Copying device 2 Main body 6 Document table 7 Automatic document feeder 16 Detecting means 20 Feeding document detecting means 30 Control section 31 Storage section 32 Control means G0 Feeding document

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A mounting table on which a document is placed, an image forming means for forming an image of the document placed on the document table on an image forming body, and an image forming operation for the image forming means. And an instruction means for instructing the start of the original and a plurality of originals arranged to be openable and closable with respect to the original table and capable of holding a plurality of originals. An automatic document feeder that conveys to the table,
The first detecting means for detecting that the original is held in the automatic original feeding device, the second detecting means for detecting the opening / closing operation of the automatic original feeding device, and the image formed by the image forming means. When the forming operation uses the automatic document feeder, by referring to the storage means for storing that effect and the detection results by the first and second detection means and the storage content of the storage means An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the image forming operation start instruction from the instruction unit not to be accepted. 2. A display unit for displaying a warning for urging the document to be mounted on the automatic document feeder while the control for not accepting an instruction to start an image forming operation from the instruction unit by the control unit is being performed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. A document table on which a document is placed, an image forming means for forming an image of the document placed on the document table on an image forming body, and an image forming operation for the image forming means. And an instruction means for instructing the start of the original and a plurality of originals arranged to be openable and closable with respect to the original table and capable of holding a plurality of originals. An automatic document feeder that conveys to the table,
Using the first detecting means for detecting that the original is held in the automatic document feeder, the second detecting means for detecting the opening / closing operation of the automatic document feeder, and the automatic document feeder After the image forming operation of the image forming means is completed, it is detected by the first detecting means that the original is held in the automatic original feeding device, and the second detecting means detects the automatic original feeding device. An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls so as not to accept an instruction to start the image forming operation from the instruction unit when the opening / closing operation is not detected. 4. A display unit for displaying a warning for urging a document to be mounted on the automatic document feeder while the control unit controls the image forming operation start instruction from the instruction unit is not accepted. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: