JPH08202232A - Image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To improve a processing performance, by making a maximum transporting number of transfer paper allowed to be present in an inversion path as an unit-cycle at the time of both sides recording mode, by controlling so as to always transport the maximum transporting number excepting the last cycle. CONSTITUTION: At the time of both sides copying mode, the transfer paper copied on one side is inverted in a non-stuck automatic inversion part 19, then a toner image is transferred on the transfer paper rear side in the image forming process part 15, the toner image stuck on the rear side is fixed by a fixing device, and thereafter it is discharged from a paper discharge part. Moreover, plural paper detection means are provided along the transporting path of the transfer paper, for detecting the presence or absence of the transfer paper under transportation inside the machine. Now, a control part 21 controls so as to make the maximum number of the transfer paper allowed to be present in the inversion path of the transfer paper inversion part as one cycle, and to perform the image recording by making the maximum transporting number of sheet present for every cycle excepting the last cycle. As a result, the more number of sheets is set, the better processing effect 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 recording apparatus which is equipped with an automatic document feeder for reading double-sided originals and is capable of double-sided copying, and more particularly to an image recording having a non-stack type automatic reversing unit. It relates to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As copying machines, models having excellent processability and operability have been provided year by year. The automatic document feeder automatically transports an original document placed at the exposure position on the platen for a single sheet to the exposure position, and is synchronized with the automatic document transport to the exposure position. Then, image formation was performed. However, due to the spread of digitalization and the reduction in cost of memory, a memory (image storage unit) is provided in the machine, the originals are automatically conveyed to the exposure position one by one by the automatic document conveying means, and a reading device having photoelectric conversion means such as CCD is provided. The original information at the exposure position is read by the means, all the original information is temporarily stored in the memory, and when the image is formed, the image information of the required page is called from the memory to copy regardless of the operation of the automatic original feeding means. Came to be done. Conventionally, when copying a plurality of copies of a document consisting of a plurality of sheets, the automatic document feeder circulates the document a plurality of times to obtain a plurality of copies, but a so-called electronic RDH accumulating in the memory is adopted. By doing so, such an operation became unnecessary.

Further, many copiers having a double-sided copy function have come to be provided. That is, while an automatic document feeder for enabling the reading of double-sided originals is provided, an automatic reversing unit (ADU) is provided in the copying machine as well, and the transfer paper after copying on one side is discharged to the outside of the machine. Instead, the transfer paper is reversely conveyed by the ADU inside the machine, the back side is copied, and double-sided copying is performed, and then the paper is ejected outside the machine. The ADU is equipped with a stacker inside the machine, and a stack type ADU that temporarily stores the transfer paper that has been copied on one side in the stacker and then copies the back side. There is a stack type ADU. Although the stack type ADU and the non-stack type ADU have their respective merits and demerits, the non-stack type is superior in processability to the electronic RDH.

[0004]

As described above,
Image information is stored in a memory with a large storage capacity,
It becomes possible to read as needed, and the non-stack type image recording device has improved processability (the number of copies per hour) in performing double-sided copying compared to the conventional method, but consider it further. Furthermore, it has become clear that there is room for improvement in processability in the following two points.

In the non-stack type image recording apparatus,
The maximum number of sheets of transfer paper that can be present in the inversion path of the inversion unit is determined by the apparatus, and image processing is performed for each cycle with the maximum number of sheets of transfer being one cycle. Then, when copying a plurality of copies, for the transfer paper that has exceeded the maximum number of sheets to be conveyed during the output of one copy, only the remaining portion is conveyed and one copy is completed, and one page of image data starts from the next cycle. The transfer paper was being conveyed from the eyes. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image recording apparatus with improved processability by improving the conventional transfer sheet conveying system.

Conventionally, when document data is read by an automatic document feeder in a two-sided document feeding mode, reading to a memory is performed by reading and storing in the output order at the time of image recording, and reading from the memory and outputting in the same order. Was there.
However, making the reading order from the memory different from the reading order does not affect the operability of copying. The present invention pays attention to this point, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus having higher processability.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems The above-mentioned objects are storage means for storing image information in a memory, image forming means for reading out the image information from the storage means to form an image, and transfer paper on one or both sides. A double-sided recording mode is provided for an image recording apparatus having a transfer sheet conveying unit having a non-stack type transfer sheet reversing unit for recording images on both sides and a control unit for performing calculation and control. When is selected, the control unit sets the maximum number of transfer sheets that can be present in the reversing path of the transfer sheet reversing unit as one cycle, and the transfer sheet is conveyed in all cycles except the final cycle. Image recording apparatus characterized by controlling to perform image recording as described above (first invention)
An automatic document feeder for automatically transporting a double-sided document to a document reading unit, a reading unit for reading image information of the document in the document reading unit, and a storage unit for storing the read image information in a memory; An image forming unit for reading image information from the storage unit to form an image and a transfer having a non-stack type transfer sheet reversing unit for enabling image recording on one side or both sides of the transfer sheet. In an image recording apparatus having a paper conveying means and a control section for controlling these operations, when the double-sided original reading mode of the automatic original conveying apparatus is set, the double-sided recording mode is also set for transfer paper. When the selected document is conveyed by the automatic document feeder, the document is fed-read-reversed-
This is achieved by an image recording apparatus (second invention) characterized in that reading is performed in the order of reverse sheet ejection, and the reading order of originals is controlled by the control unit so as not to be restricted by the image reading order to be output.

[0008]

In the first invention and the second invention, the image recording apparatus has a common storage means for storing image information in a memory,
An image forming unit for reading image information from the storage unit to form an image and a transfer having a non-stack type transfer sheet reversing unit for enabling image recording on one side or both sides of the transfer sheet. The image recording apparatus includes a paper conveying unit and a control unit that performs calculation and control.

In the image recording apparatus of the first aspect of the invention, when the double-sided recording mode is selected, the control section sets the maximum number of transfer sheets that can be present in the reversing path of the transfer sheet reversing section as one cycle. It is characterized in that the transfer paper is controlled so that the image recording is performed so that the number of the conveyed sheets is maximum in each cycle except the final cycle.

For example, when the maximum number of sheets to be conveyed in one cycle in the image recording apparatus is 3 and image data is output on 8 sides (pages), the conventional mode and the present invention are compared as shown in the following table.

[0011]

[Table 1]

That is, in the present invention, since the number of conveyed sheets is conveyed in the transfer sheet reversing unit at the maximum number of conveyed sheets except the final cycle, the effect of improving the processability becomes greater as the number of set copies to be copied increases. .

An image recording apparatus according to a second aspect of the invention is an image recording apparatus equipped with an automatic document feeder for reading double-sided originals, and when the double-sided original reading mode of the automatic document feeder is set. Double-sided recording mode is also selected for transfer paper, and the originals are fed by the automatic document feeder in the following order: paper feed-read-reverse (turn over) -read-reverse discharge. Is controlled by the control unit so as not to be restricted by the image reading order to be output.

The movement of a document in the conventional automatic document feeder has been carried out in the order of reverse paper feed- (reading) -reverse (upside-down)-(reading) -paper discharge. Paper feed- (reading) -reversing (turning over)-(reading) -reversing paper ejection. That is, in the present invention, the number of times of reversing the original until the second (reading) of the original is completed is smaller than that of the conventional example by one, so that the reading completion timing can be advanced, which is the same as when reading a double-sided original. This will improve the copy processing performance.

For example, when the number of originals is one, it is only necessary to reverse the original once until the reading is completed. In the case of a plurality of originals, the next original feeding can be started during the original reversal for discharging, so that the processing performance is further improved. Of course, the reading order of the image data at the time of output is different from the reading order. The following table shows one example.

[0016]

[Table 2]

The reading order of the image data once stored in the memory is different from the reading order.
However, making the reading order different from the reading order is
It does not affect the copy processing performance. According to the present invention, when the double-sided original reading mode for reading both sides of the original with the automatic original feeder is set, the double-sided recording mode is automatically selected for the transfer paper as well, thus further improving the copy productivity. To do. However, even after such automatic setting, it is possible to manually switch to the single-sided recording mode.

[0018]

1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an image recording apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit structure. An automatic document feeder 11 is provided on the upper surface of the image recording apparatus body 10.
Is located. In the automatic document feeder 11, one sheet is picked up from the original placed on the upper side and is fed onto the platen glass 12a for reading the original image. Further, the automatic document feeder 11 is capable of reversing both sides of a document and automatically feeding it onto the platen glass 12a. The automatic document feeder 11 will be described later in detail.

A reading unit 12 is composed of a moving mirror, an image forming optical system, and a light receiving element such as a CCD, and scans a document placed at an exposure position on the platen glass to scan the original document at the image forming position such as CCD. The light receiving element reads the image information of the document and outputs the image information as an image signal. 13 is an image processing unit,
The image signal output from the reading unit 12 is converted and processed into a recording signal suitable for laser recording. The recording signal is temporarily stored in the image storage unit 22 for each page. An image output unit 14 is a laser optical system that emits light in response to a storage signal called from the image storage unit 22 and optically scans the rotating photosensitive drum 15a to form a latent image.

The photosensitive drum 15a and the peripheral portion thereof are provided.
An image forming process unit 15 including a charging device, a developing device, and the like develops the latent image into a toner image, and the toner image is fed to the paper feeding unit 16.
The transfer / separation unit 15b performs transfer on the transfer paper discharged from any one of (a), (b), (c), and (d) in a synchronized manner, and is separated from the photosensitive drum 15a and fixed. Guided to vessel 17. The transfer sheet holding the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 17, and then is ejected as a single-sided copy from the paper ejection unit 18 in the single-sided copy mode.

In the double-sided copy (ADU) mode, the transfer paper which has been fixed on the transfer paper one-sided toner image by the fixing device 17 is transferred to the non-stack automatic reversal unit (ADU) 19 After that, the toner image is transferred to the back surface of the transfer paper in the image forming process unit 15, and the fixing device is fixed.
The toner image adhered to the back surface is fixed at 17 and then discharged from the paper discharge unit 18. Although not shown, the paper discharge unit 18 is provided with a finisher capable of finishing such as stapling, and staple processing can be performed for each set of a plurality of discharged transfer papers. Has become.

Further, a plurality of paper detecting means 25 are provided along the transfer paper conveyance path so that the presence or absence of the transfer paper being conveyed inside the machine can be detected. A control panel 30 (not shown) is provided on the upper surface of the main body of the image recording apparatus 10, and a reading mode selection button for selecting one-sided or two-sided document reading
32, a copy mode selection button 31 for selecting one-sided copy or two-sided copy, a copy button 33 pressed at the start of copying, a numeric keypad 34 for setting and inputting the number of copies, a display section 35 using a liquid crystal, etc. are provided. Are connected to the control unit 21.

In the image recording apparatus, so-called high-speed processing is performed in which a large number of copies are made within a fixed time, and the transfer paper is continuously conveyed while keeping a slight interval between the transfer papers, and an image is recorded on the transfer paper. It Therefore, in the double-sided copy mode, the maximum number of sheets to be conveyed N sheets (for example, 3 sheets) of A4 size transfer sheet on one side There is a transfer sheet that has been fixed, is in a counterclockwise direction in the machine in the drawing, and image recording is performed as one cycle for every N maximum transferred sheets.

With respect to the image recording apparatus described above, the first invention will be described with reference to the first embodiment, and the second invention will be described with reference to the second embodiment.

(Embodiment 1) First Invention FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of the present invention (first invention). After the double-sided recording mode is set by the copy mode selection button 31 of the operation panel 30 (F1) and the number of copies is set by the ten keys 34 (F2), the copy button 32 is pressed (ON).
Then, (F3), the document of the automatic document feeder 11 is automatically fed, the document information is read (scanned) by the reading unit 12, the image processing unit performs image processing, and then stored in the image storage unit 22. It is checked whether or not the scanning of all the originals is completed, and it is confirmed that the scanning of all the originals is completed, and then the copy operation is started. That is, the image information of the original document stored in the image storage unit 22 is called, and the image output unit 14 forms a latent image on the photosensitive drum 15a.
The image forming process unit 15 makes a set number of double-sided copies.

In the image recording apparatus according to the present invention, the control unit 21 has F
Subsequent to 3, the following arithmetic processing is performed. As a specific example, the right side of the flowchart shows a case where the maximum number of conveyed sheets per cycle N = 3, image data is 8 (pages), and the number of copies is 2.

First, the recording numbers of all the set copies are arranged in order of the recording surface on the discharged transfer paper (F4). Next, a division is made from the beginning of the recording numbers arranged by the maximum number of conveyed sheets (2N) for both sides (F5). Then the separated cycle (2
By separating the odd number and the even number for each N), the arrangement order is changed to the front surface and the back surface (F6). Next, the calling order of the image data and the paper feed time program are created. That is, when the image data corresponding to the surface of the transfer paper is called, a latent image is formed on the photoconductor drum 15a by the image data of the called recording number, and the toner image formed by development is transferred onto the transfer paper at the transfer / separation unit 15b. The image output unit 14 is controlled and a paper feed time program is created so that the above procedure is performed (F7). The control unit 21 records an image according to the created program (F8).

When the image recording is performed according to the above-described flow chart, the image recording is performed so that the transfer sheet is conveyed so that the maximum number of sheets is conveyed in each cycle except the final cycle. The number of copies per time increases, and the effect becomes remarkable especially when the number of copies set is large.

(Second Embodiment) Second Invention FIG. 4A shows the automatic document feeder of FIG. 1 taken out. In the figure, 111 is a document placing section, 112 is a document feeding section for picking up and feeding one original from the document placing section 111, 1
13 is a conveyor belt that rotates forward and backward and feeds and unloads the document to the reading position, 114 is a reverse sheet discharge roller that rotates in the reverse clockwise direction in the figure to reverse or discharge the document, and 115 is a document transport path. There is a switching member for switching between reversing or discharging the document, and 116 is a tray on which the discharged document is placed.

FIG. 4 shows the movement of the original according to the present invention.
(B). The original (three double-sided originals shown in the figure) is turned over as shown in FIG. 4A and placed on the original placing section 111, and the original feeding section 112 separates the upper original into one sheet, It is sent to the reading position on the platen glass 12a, temporarily stopped, and reading is performed. At this time, the fifth surface is read. Then, the document is moved to the right, inverted by the reverse sheet discharge roller 114, returned to the reading position on the platen glass 12a, and read. At this time, the sixth surface is read. Next, the document is moved to the right, inverted and returned again, and then the switching member 115 is switched and the document is discharged onto the tray 116. The reason for reversing the originals prior to the discharge of the originals is that the originals that are discharged onto the tray 116 and overlapped with each other have the same order as the originals placed on the original placing portion 111. That is, the conveyance of a document according to the present invention is performed by feeding-reading-reversing (turning over)-
The order of reading-reverse discharge is performed, and the reading order of documents (the order shown in the example is 5, 6) is different from the image reading order (6, 5 in this example).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the present invention (second invention). When the double-sided original reading mode is set by the reading mode selection button 32 (H1) and the copy button 33 is pressed (H2), one original placed on the original placing section 111 is separated and fed. Documents are conveyed in the order of (reading) -reversal (turning over)-(reading) -reversal discharge, and reading is performed (H3). in the meantime,
It has been checked whether the original has been scanned (H
4) When the completion of reading the original is detected, image recording is automatically performed in the double-sided recording mode (H5). In this embodiment, when the reading mode of the double-sided original is set by the reading mode selection button 32, the display section by the copy mode selection button 31 is also automatically switched to the double-sided copy mode.
Two-sided copying is performed after the completion of reading the two-sided original. Generally, double-sided originals are required for double-sided copying, which is extremely convenient, but if you want to make single-sided copies from double-sided originals, press the copy mode selection button 31 while scanning double-sided originals to select the single-sided copy mode. Set it again to.

In the present invention, the originals are read in an order different from the order of reading the image data, but the number of times the originals are reversed until the second reading of the originals is completed as compared with the conventional reading of originals. Is reduced by one time, the completion timing of original reading can be advanced, and the processability is improved.

Conventional document reading will be described for a specific comparison. FIG. 4C shows a conventional movement of a document. First, the document fed from the document placing section 111 is reversed and fed, and then the document is once passed over the platen glass 12a and then the platen glass 12a. The original is read by returning to the upper reading position. At this time, the sixth surface is read. Next, the document is moved to the right, inverted, returned to the reading position again, and the fifth surface is read.
When the reading is completed, it is discharged onto the tray 116.

The operation of one original has been described above, but the paper is fed in parallel with the original when it is discharged. In the present invention described with reference to FIG. 4B, sheet feeding is performed at the same time as reverse sheet ejection. Further, in the conventional example of FIG. 4C, the reverse sheet feeding is performed at the same time as the sheet discharging. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the time required for these operations. For A4 size originals, the linear speed is switched between two steps, 1176 m / s and 599 m / s, and the linear speed is 599 m / s for the parts that need to hit the reversing discharge roller 114 and to correct the bending when feeding the original. I am trying. The reading time of the original is 840 ms, but since the present invention and the conventional example are the same, omitting this and comparing only the conveyance time, the present invention shows that (i) reversal (turning over) and (b) reversal ejection Paper feeding, and in the conventional example, (a) reversal (turning over) and (c) ejection and reversal paper feeding.

Comparing the present invention with the conventional example and the processing time, the present invention = (a) + (b) = 1100 msec + 1500 ms = 2600 msec Conventional example = (a) + (c) = 1100 msec + 1700 msec = 2800 msec In the present invention, it has been clarified that the transport processing time per document is shortened by 200 msec and the processing efficiency is improved.

[0036]

The present invention has the effect of improving the processing performance of an image recording apparatus capable of double-sided copying.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the double-sided copy mode, the number of transfer sheets conveyed in the reverse path is the maximum except for the final cycle. Therefore, the processing effect improves as the number of set copies increases.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the movement of the original in the double-sided original reading mode in the automatic original feeding device is performed without being restricted by the order of reading the image data. Even if the reading order of the image data is different from the reading order, the processing time is not affected, so that the processing efficiency is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an image recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control main body system of the image recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart when the double-sided recording mode of the present invention (first invention) is selected.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of an automatic document feeder of the present invention (second invention).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart when the double-sided original reading mode of the present invention (second invention) is selected.

FIG. 6 is a linear velocity diagram of a document in an automatic document feeder.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Image recording device main body 11 Automatic document feeder 12 Reading unit 14 Image output unit 15 Image forming process unit 19 Non-stack automatic reversing unit 21 Control unit 22 Image storage unit 31 Copy mode selection button 32 Reading mode selection button 33 Copy button 34 Numeric keypad

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A storage unit for storing image information in a memory, an image forming unit for reading out the image information from the storage unit to form an image, and an image recording on a transfer paper on one side or both sides. In a image recording apparatus having a transfer sheet conveying unit having a non-stack type transfer sheet reversing unit for image recording and a control unit for performing calculation and control, when the double-sided recording mode is selected, the control unit is The maximum number of transfer sheets that can be present in the reversing path of the transfer sheet reversing unit is set as one cycle, and the transfer sheet is controlled to perform image recording so that all the cycles except the final cycle have the maximum number of sheets to be transferred. An image recording device characterized by the above. 2. An automatic document feeder for enabling double-sided originals to be automatically conveyed to a document reading unit, a reading unit for reading image information of the document in the document reading unit, and a memory for storing the read image information in a memory. Means and image forming means for reading out image information from the storage means to form an image, and a non-stack type transfer paper reversing unit for enabling image recording on one or both sides of transfer paper. In an image recording apparatus having a transfer sheet conveying means provided therein and a control section for controlling these operations, when the double-sided original reading mode of the automatic document conveying apparatus is set, both sides of the transfer sheet are also set. When the recording mode is selected, the documents are conveyed by the automatic document feeder in the order of paper feed-read-reverse-read-reverse discharge, and the document read order is output. An image recording apparatus, which is controlled by the control unit so as not to be restricted by an image reading order to be performed.