JPH07261606A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an image forming device capable of forming the images of both pages of a spread on different paper sheets respectively with an excellent layout, even if the size of a paper sheet is different from the sizes of both pages of the spread of a book. CONSTITUTION:When a consecutive photographing mode is set, the regions of both pages of the spread of the book D placed on an original platen 2 are detected along an exposing direction. The images in the region of the first page out of the detected regions are exposed and read by a first reading means and the images of the region of the second page out of the detected regions are exposed and read by a second reading means. These read images are formed on the different paper sheets while securing the margin of a suitable size on both sides of each paper, so that the image of the excellent layout can be obtained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus, such as a copying machine, reads an image of a document placed on a document table by exposure scanning (scanning) and forms the read image on a sheet. Some of the copying machines have a so-called page continuous shooting mode.
When the page continuous shooting mode is set, the images of both pages of the book spread can be automatically and continuously copied one by one onto separate sheets. The state of continuous shooting of pages is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 91 designates a document table made of a transparent glass plate, which is provided with an indicator portion 92 attached at an adjacent position. The indicator unit 92 has scale scales corresponding to various document sizes on the upper surface. Platen 9
There is a carriage 93 on the lower surface side of the carriage 1.
The image of the document D placed on the document table 93 is read by moving 3 along the longitudinal direction of the document table 91 and operating an exposure lamp (not shown) on the carriage 93.

When the document D is a book, the page continuous shooting mode is set and both spread pages of the book D are placed on the document table 91. In this case, the carriage 93 is moved to an arbitrary position on the document table 91 according to the paper size designated in advance, and the yellow instruction line 9 on the carriage 93 is moved.
The boundary position of both double-page spreads of book D (hereinafter referred to as page boundary position) is aligned with 3a.

When the print key is turned on in this state,
The carriage 91 moves to the scan home position below the indicator portion 92, and from there, the carriage 91 moves to the page boundary position. At this time, the carriage 91
The exposure lamp of illuminates, and the image on the first page of book D is read. The read image is formed on the first sheet of paper P ₁ . The read image includes a margin as well as an effective image V ₁ such as characters and pictures, and the margin portion is secured as a margin M on both sides of the sheet P ₁ .

When the first copy is finished, the carriage 9
This time, 1 moves from the page boundary position to the document rear end position (determined according to the designated paper size). At this time, the exposure lamp of the carriage 91 emits light and the image of the second page of the book D is read. The read image is the second sheet of paper P ₂
Formed on. The read image includes a margin in addition to the effective image V ₂ such as characters and pictures, and the margin portion is secured as the margin M on both sides of the sheet P ₂ . The example up to here is a case where the specified paper size is A4 and the size of both facing pages of book D is A4.

[0007]

The page continuous shooting may be performed in a state where the paper size and the size of the book D are different from each other. For example, there are cases where the designated paper size is A4 and the size of both facing pages of book D is B5. The state of this continuous page shooting is shown in FIG.

That is, the carriage 93 is at the position for A4 size, and the instruction line 93a on the carriage 93 is used.
The page boundary position of book D is aligned with. When the print key is turned on in this state, the carriage 91 moves to the scan home position below the indicator portion 92, and then the carriage 91 moves to the page boundary position.
At this time, the exposure lamp of the carriage 91 emits light, and the main D
The image of the first page is read. The read image is formed on the first sheet of paper P ₁ .

When the first copy is finished, the carriage 9
This time, 1 moves from the page boundary position to the document rear end position (determined according to the designated paper size). At this time, the exposure lamp of the carriage 91 emits light and the image of the second page of the book D is read. The read image is the second sheet of paper P ₂
Formed on.

Such page continuous shooting has the following problems. First, the read image of the first page includes an unnecessary image of the non-original area in addition to the effective image V ₁ such as characters and pictures and the margins around it. The image of the non-original area corresponds to the first half of the reading period, and it remains as it is with a large margin M on the left side of the sheet P ₁ , and the effective image V ₁ is greatly shifted to the right side of the sheet P _1. Becomes

On the other hand, the read image on the second page also includes an unnecessary image of the non-original area in addition to the effective image V ₂ such as characters and pictures and the margins around it. The image in the non-original area corresponds to the latter part of the reading period, and the large margin M is left as it is on the right side of the sheet P ₂ , and the effective image V ₂ is greatly shifted to the left side of the sheet P _2. Becomes

The present invention takes the above circumstances into consideration,
An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of forming images of both two-page spreads on separate sheets with good layout even when the paper size and the size of both two-page spreads of a book as an original are different.

[0013]

An image forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises means for setting a continuous shooting mode and detection means for detecting an area of a document placed on a platen when the continuous shooting mode is set. And a first reading unit that exposes a predetermined first region in the detection region of the detection unit to read an image, and a second region different from the predetermined first region in the detection region of the detection unit. And a second reading unit for exposing an image to read an image, and an image forming unit for forming images read by the first reading unit and the second reading unit on different sheets, respectively.

The image forming apparatus of the second invention comprises means for setting the continuous shooting mode, and detection means for detecting the area of the document placed on the platen along the exposure direction when the continuous shooting mode is set. First reading means for exposing the front half area in the detection area of the detection means to read an image, and second reading means for exposing the rear half area in the detection area of the detection means to read the image Image forming means for forming images read by the first reading means and the second reading means on different sheets, respectively.

The image forming apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention comprises means for setting the continuous shooting mode, and detection means for detecting the area of the document placed on the platen along the exposure direction when the continuous shooting mode is set. First reading means for exposing the front half area in the detection area of the detection means to read an image, and second reading means for exposing the rear half area in the detection area of the detection means to read the image An image forming means for forming the images read by the first reading means and the second reading means on separate sheets while securing a margin, and setting means for setting the size of the margin secured on both sides of each sheet. With.

The image forming apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention includes means for setting a continuous shooting mode for continuously shooting both two-page spreads of a book, and is placed on a document table when the continuous shooting mode is set. Detecting means for detecting areas of both pages of the book spread along the exposure direction, first reading means for exposing the first page area in the detecting area of the detecting means to read an image, and detecting area of the detecting means Second reading means for exposing an image by exposing the second page area in the inside, and image forming means for forming the read images by the first reading means and the second reading means on different sheets while securing margins respectively. , And setting means for setting the size of the margins secured on both sides of each sheet.

[0017]

In the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, the area of the document placed on the document table is detected when the continuous shooting mode is set.
An image of a predetermined first area in the detection area is exposed and read by the first reading means, and an image of a second area different from the predetermined first area in the detection area is read by the second reading means. Is read by exposure. The images read by the first reading unit and the second reading unit are formed on different sheets, respectively.

In the image forming apparatus of the second invention, when the continuous shooting mode is set, the area of the document placed on the document table is detected along the exposure direction. The image in the front half of the detection area is exposed and read by the first reading unit, and the image in the rear half of the detection area is exposed and read by the second reading unit. The images read by the first reading unit and the second reading unit are formed on different sheets, respectively.

In the image forming apparatus of the third invention, when the continuous shooting mode is set, the area of the document placed on the document table is detected along the exposure direction. The image in the front half of the detection area is exposed and read by the first reading unit, and the image in the rear half of the detection area is exposed and read by the second reading unit. The images read by the first reading unit and the second reading unit are formed on different sheets while ensuring margins. The size of the margin secured on both sides of each sheet is arbitrarily set by the setting means.

In the image forming apparatus of the fourth invention, there is a continuous shooting mode for continuously shooting both double-page spreads of a book, and when this is set, the book spread placed on the document table is spread. The areas of both pages are detected along the exposure direction. The image of the first page area in the detection area is exposed and read by the first reading means, and the image of the second page area in the detection area is exposed and read by the second reading means. The images read by the first reading unit and the second reading unit are formed on different sheets while ensuring margins. The size of the margin secured on both sides of each sheet is arbitrarily set by the setting means.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 shows the internal structure of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine. A document table 2 is provided on the upper part of the main body 1, and a document cover 4 is provided at a position corresponding to the document table 2.

As shown in FIG. 4, the document table 2 is provided with an indicator portion 3 attached to an adjacent position. The indicator portion 3 has scale scales corresponding to various document sizes on its upper surface, and the document table 2 is provided so that the document can be easily set.
Has a step with respect to the face. The document cover 4 is attached to the main body 1 via a retractable hinge 5, and can be vertically moved according to the thickness of the document D placed on the document table 2.

The photosensitive drum 20 is provided at the substantially central portion of the main body 1.
Is rotatably provided. Around the photosensitive drum 20, a charging charger 21, an exposure unit 22a, a developing unit 23,
Transfer charger 25, peeling charger 26, cleaner 2
7. The static eliminator 28 is sequentially arranged.

An exposure system 22 is provided in the upper part of the main body 1. The exposure system 22 includes an exposure lamp 61, first to third reflection mirrors 62a, 62b and 62c, a variable magnification lens block 63, and fourth to sixth reflection mirrors 62d and 6.
2e, 62f.

The exposure lamp 61 is provided on a carriage 60 which can freely reciprocate along the document table 2, and the forward movement of the carriage 60 to the right in the drawing and the light emission of the exposure lamp 61 cause the document table 2 to move. Exposure scanning is performed over the entire surface. By this exposure scanning, a reflected light image corresponding to the image on the document D is obtained, and the reflected light image is projected onto the exposure section 22a by the respective reflection mirrors and the magnification varying lens block 63.

A document sensor 64 and a document size sensor 65 are provided on the carriage 60. The document sensor 64 is
The document D on the document table 2 has a light emitting section that emits light toward the document table 2 and a light receiving section that receives reflected light from the document table 2 side.
The presence or absence of is optically detected. The document size sensor 65 is
By capturing the reflected light from the document table 2 side based on the light emission of the exposure lamp 61, the document D in the direction of the exposure scanning can be obtained.
Detects the front end position and the rear end position of the.

A paper feed cassette 10 is provided at the bottom of the main body 1. Further, the paper feed cassette 11 is mounted on the lateral portion of the main body 1. This paper feed cassette 10 and paper feed cassette 1
A large number of sheets P having different sizes are accommodated in the sheet No. 1, and the sheets P in one of the cassettes are taken out one by one in response to a command from the control unit 100 described later. Pick-up rollers 37a and 37b are provided for this take-out. The paper P taken out is separated by the separators 38a, 3a.
It is separated from each paper feed cassette by 8b and sent to the registration roller 32 to wait for the rotation of the photosensitive drum 20 there.

The charging charger 21 applies a high voltage supplied from a high voltage power supply unit 107, which will be described later, to the photoconductor drum 20 to charge the surface of the photoconductor drum 20 with an electrostatic charge. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoconductor drum 20 by this charging and the image formation from the exposure system 22 on the photoconductor drum 20.

The electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 20 is developed by the developing device 2.
The developer is visualized by receiving the developer at 3, and the image is transferred to the transfer charger 25. Paper P is sent from the registration roller 32 to the transfer charger 25 in synchronization with the rotation of the photoconductor drum 20, and the visible image on the photoconductor drum 20 is transferred to the paper P. The sheet P on which the image has been transferred in this way is peeled from the photoconductor drum 20 by the peeling charger 26, and is sent to the fixing roller 33 by the conveyance belt 36. Then, the fixed paper P is ejected to the paper ejection tray 9 by the paper ejection roller 34. After the transfer, the photoconductor drum 2
0 passes through the cleaner 27 and the static eliminator 28 to prepare for the next copy.

On the other hand, the main part of the control circuit is shown in FIG. 80
Is a control unit for controlling the entire copying machine. This control unit 80
The copying mechanism 81, the document size sensor 64, the document sensor 65, and the operation panel 82 are connected to the. The document sensor 65 is also used as a size sensor.

The copy mechanism section 81 drives various devices in the main body 1 involved in the copy operation. The operation panel 82 has various keys for setting the copy mode and the number of copies, and a display unit. In particular, it has a page continuous shooting key 83 for setting a continuous shooting mode used for continuously shooting both double-page spread pages, and a margin setting key 84 for setting a margin size.

Then, the control unit 80 is provided with the following functional means for page continuous shooting control in addition to the ordinary copy control functional means. [1] When the page continuous shooting mode is set, the document sensor 65 is set on the document table 2 with the document (both facing pages of the book) D.
, The exposure scanning by the forward movement of the carriage 60 is performed once, and the output of the document size sensors 64 and 65 is used to detect the area of the document (both pages of the book) D (the leading end position and the trailing end position along the exposure direction). ) Detecting means for detecting.

[2] First reading means for reading an image by exposing the first area (first page) of the front half in the detection area of the detection means. [3] Second reading means for exposing the second half (second page) of the rear half in the detection area of the detection means to read an image.

[4] Image forming means for forming the images read by the first reading means and the second reading means on different sheets while securing a margin. [5] Setting means for setting the size of the margins secured on both sides of each sheet according to the operation of the margin setting key 84.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.
And it demonstrates with reference to FIG. When copying both spread pages of the book, the page continuous shooting key 83 is turned on to set the page continuous shooting mode, and the book D is placed at an appropriate position on the document table 2 with the book D opened as shown in FIG. To do. The book D may be placed at any position as long as the book D is placed on the document sensor 65. Further, the side of the book D may be placed so as to be substantially parallel to the peripheral edge of the document table 2 and the indicator portion 3.

In the example of FIG. 1, the designated paper size is A, for example.
4. The size of both double-page spreads of book D is B5. When the book D is set on the document table 2, it is detected by the document sensor 65 (step 101). At this time, if the page continuous shooting mode is set (step 10
2 YES), the carriage 60 scans the document by the forward movement of the carriage 60 once from the scan home position below the indicator portion 3 (step).
103). Then, the document size sensor 6 based on this scanning
Based on the output signals (size detection signals) of 4, 65, the areas of both facing pages of the book D are detected along the exposure direction (step 104).

That is, in the exposure direction, the front end position of the book D (the point where the size detection signal rises from the logic "0" to the logic "1") is detected as the length L ₁ from the indicator unit 3, and the rear end position. (The point where the size detection signal falls from the logic “1” to the logic “0”) is detected as the length L ₃ from the indicator unit 3. The lengths L ₁ and L ₃ can be captured by the scan time t from the scan home position.

When the leading end position L ₁ and the trailing end position L ₃ of the book D are detected, the boundary position (hereinafter, referred to as page boundary position) L _{2 of} both facing pages of the book D is obtained by the following formula ( Step 105).

L ₂ = (L ₃ −L ₁ ) / 2 In this state, when the print key of the operation panel 82 is turned on (YES in step 106), the carriage 60 moves to the leading end position L ₁ (step 107). . Then, while the exposure lamp 61 emits light, the carriage 60 moves from the front end position L ₁ to the page boundary position L _2, and the image of the first page of the book D is read (step 108). The scanned image is
It is formed on the first sheet of A4 size paper P ₁ (step 109).

At the time of copying the first sheet, the supply timing of the paper P ₁ to the photosensitive drum 20 is set to the optimum timing in consideration of the margin. That is, in the image read from the first page, the effective image V such as characters and pictures is displayed.
_In addition to ₁ , the margin around the effective image V ₁ is included. Further, in the actual image formation, a blank space having a size corresponding to the difference between the size of the sheet P ₁ (A4) and the size of the double-page spread pages of the book D (B5) is generated. The combined margins are secured as margins M on both the left and right sides of the sheet P ₁ .

The margin M can be arbitrarily set by operating the margin setting key 84 on the operation panel 82,
As shown in FIG. 1, the left and right sides can be set equally, and the left margin M can be made larger than the right margin M to be used as a binding margin. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a copy image having a good layout, in which the balance between the size of the effective image V _{1 and} the size of the sheet P ₁ is well taken into consideration.

When the first copy is finished, the carriage 6
0 moves to the page boundary position L ₂ (step 110).
Then, while the exposure lamp 61 emits light, the carriage 60
Moves from the page boundary position L ₂ to the rear end position L _3, and the image of the second page of book D is read (step 111).
Read image is formed on the sheet P ₂ of second sheet of A4 size (step 112).

When copying the second sheet, the supply timing of the sheet P ₂ to the photosensitive drum 20 is set to the optimum timing in consideration of the margin, as in the case of the first sheet. That is, in accordance with the operation of the margin setting key 84, margins of arbitrary sizes are secured on the left and right sides of the paper P ₂ , and the size of the effective image V ₂ of the second page and the size of the paper P ₂ are well balanced. A copy image having a good layout in consideration can be obtained.

On the other hand, when the designated paper size is A4 and the two-page spreads of the book D are the same A4, the position of the indicator portion 3 remains the leading end position of the book D as shown in FIG. That is, L ₁ = zero. Also in this case, the page boundary position L ₂ is obtained, and the continuous page shooting similar to the above is performed.

In this way, since the area of both double-page spreads of book D is detected, and only the image in the detected area is read and the pages are continuously shot, the designated paper size and the size of both double-page spreads of book D are detected. Even if the values are different, there is no need to copy unnecessary images in the non-original area as in the past.
The images on the first and second pages can be copied onto the sheets P ₁ and P ₂ with a good layout.

In particular, the placement position of the book D with respect to the document table 2 need not be aligned with the instruction line of the carriage 60, and may be anywhere within the area corresponding to the designated paper size. Therefore, pay attention to the placement position. And the efficiency of copy work can be improved.

Further, since the document size sensors 64 and 65 are used not only for continuous page copying but also for normal copying, it is not necessary to prepare a special sensor only for detecting the area of the book D. You can avoid rising costs.

In the above embodiment, the case where the original D is a book has been described as an example, but the type of the original D is not limited and may be, for example, a notebook. Besides, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention, the area of the original placed on the original table is detected, and the image of the predetermined first area within the detection area is exposed by the first reading means. Read, and an image of a second area different from the predetermined first area in the detection area is exposed and read by the second reading means,
Since the images read by the first reading unit and the second reading unit are formed on different sheets, respectively, even if the sheet size and the two-page spread of the original document are different, the two-page spread of the book is different. It is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of forming images of pages on separate sheets one by one with good layout.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a region detection operation of a B5 size document and an image creation state according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an area detection operation and an image creation state of an A4 size original according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the internal structure of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a relationship between a document table and an exposure unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a main part of a control circuit in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the same embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a conventional A4 size document area detection operation and image creation state.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a conventional B5 size document area detection operation and an image creation state.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Main body, 2 ... Manuscript table, D ... Manuscript (book), V ₁ , V ₂ ...
Effective image, P _1, P ₂ ... sheet, 60 ... carriage, 61
... exposure lamp, 64 ... original size sensor, 65 ... original sensor, 80 ... control unit, 82 ... operation panel, page continuous shooting key 83, margin setting key 84.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location H04N 1/107

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus for exposing and reading an image of a document placed on a platen, and forming the read image on a sheet, means for setting a continuous shooting mode, and setting of the continuous shooting mode. At this time, detection means for detecting the area of the original placed on the original table, first reading means for exposing a predetermined first area in the detection area of the detection means to read an image, and the detection means of the detection means Second reading means for exposing an image by exposing a second area different from the predetermined first area in the detection area, and images read by the first reading means and the second reading means on different sheets. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that forms each image. 2. An image forming apparatus for exposing and reading an image of a document placed on a document table, and forming the read image on a sheet, means for setting a continuous shooting mode, and setting of the continuous shooting mode. At this time, detection means for detecting the area of the original placed on the original table along the direction of the exposure, and first reading means for exposing the front half area of the detection area of the detection means to read an image And second reading means for reading an image by exposing the rear half of the detection area of the detecting means, and images for forming the read images of the first reading means and the second reading means on different sheets, respectively. An image forming apparatus comprising: a forming unit. 3. An image forming apparatus for exposing and reading an image of a document placed on a document table, and forming the read image on a sheet, means for setting a continuous shooting mode, and setting of the continuous shooting mode. At this time, detection means for detecting the area of the original placed on the original table along the direction of the exposure, and first reading means for exposing the front half area of the detection area of the detection means to read an image And second reading means for exposing an image in the rear half of the detection area of the detecting means to read an image, and margins for the images read by the first reading means and the second reading means on different sheets. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that forms a sheet while forming a sheet; and a setting unit that sets a size of a margin secured on both sides of each sheet. 4. An image forming apparatus for exposing and reading an image of a document placed on a document table, and forming the read image on a sheet of paper. Means for setting a photographing mode, a detecting means for detecting the two-page spread pages of a book placed on the original table when the continuous photographing mode is set, and a detecting means for detecting the detecting means. First reading means for exposing the first page area in the area to read the image, second reading means for exposing the second page area in the detection area of the detecting means to read the image, and these first reading means And image forming means for forming the images read by the second reading means on separate sheets while securing a margin, respectively, and setting means for setting the size of the margin secured on both sides of each sheet. Image shape characterized by Apparatus.