JPH0827583B2 - Copier equipped with document size detector - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a copying machine for copying an original, and more particularly to a copying machine provided with a device for detecting the size of the original to be copied.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A copying machine is equipped with a document holding section made of a transparent material on the upper part of the copying machine body for copying a copy document. As a means for identifying the original placed on the original holder, an original detecting means including light emitting and receiving means is provided to identify the original size according to the presence / absence of the original. By identifying this original size, the size of the paper loaded in the main body of the copying machine is also detected, and by detecting the coincidence between the detected paper size and the identified original size,
A size paper corresponding to the size of the original is automatically selected and the paper of that size is automatically fed.

For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Sho 50-112242, the presence or absence of a document on a document placed on a document holding portion is detected by a detecting means composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and a plurality of the detecting means are provided. A method has been proposed in which the document size is identified according to the detection status of the set. Further, it proposes a copying machine that automatically selects a paper size that matches the detected document size and automatically feeds the selected paper.

In this copying machine, a desired size of paper is selected simply by placing the copy original on the holding portion. Therefore, the operation of selecting the size of the paper is omitted and the size of the original is automatically adjusted without erroneous operation. It is very advantageous in that it can be copied onto paper.

[0005]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
According to the copying machine equipped with the document size detecting device described in Japanese Patent Publication No. -11242, no description is made about the case where there is no paper size that matches the document size.

In particular, when there is no paper of a size corresponding to the original size detected by the original size detecting means, it is impossible to determine what size of paper should be attached to the main body of the copying machine as it is. Further, the user himself does not realize that it is necessary to load a paper of a different size other than the currently loaded paper size. Therefore, it is possible to select a paper size that is completely different from the original size, start the copying operation, and make a miscopy.

In view of the above problems, the present invention warns that there is no corresponding sheet if there is no sheet size corresponding to the detected original size, and at the same time displays the detected original size, so that it is necessary to mount the original. It is an object of the present invention to provide a copier that informs a user of a certain paper size.

[0008]

A copying machine equipped with a document size detecting apparatus according to the present invention includes a document size detecting unit for automatically detecting the size of a document placed on a holding unit for holding a document, and a copying machine. Paper size detecting means for automatically detecting the size of the paper accommodated in the paper accommodating means mounted on the main body of the machine, the original size detected by the original size detecting means and the original size detected by the paper size detecting means. Comparing means for detecting that the same paper size matches, a means for selecting a paper size that matches the original size by matching detection by the comparing means, and allowing the paper to be fed, and a mismatch for the comparing means. In response to the detection, a warning means is provided to warn that a paper of a size matching the original size detected is not loaded, and the original size automatically detected by the original size detection means. And size display means for displaying a figure, characterized in that was equipped with.

[0009]

According to the copying machine equipped with the document size detecting device of the present invention, when the document is first placed on the holding portion, the size of the placed document is automatically detected by the document size detecting means. It The detected document size is a signal that automatically detects the size of the paper loaded in the copier body,
The comparison means compares the coincidence states. As a result of the comparison made by the comparison means, if the size of the loaded paper and the size of the original document held in the holding unit match, the paper size is automatically selected and the paper is set to be feedable.

On the other hand, if the document size and the paper size do not match, the warning means notifies that the loaded paper does not match the size of the placed document. At this time, the document size automatically detected by the document size detecting means is displayed on the display means. Therefore, in accordance with the warning notification, it is possible to know the paper size that matches the size of the original that is not loaded in the copier body, and the user only needs to load the size of the paper according to the size display in the copier body. Can be easily understood. Therefore, the user does not need to input the size of the manuscript or the size of the paper, and only needs to mount the paper of the size according to the display, and a very troublesome operation by the user can be omitted.

[0011]

1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention for detecting the presence or absence of a document and identifying the document size, FIG.
3 shows an example in which a light receiving element is arranged to identify the original size, FIG. 2 shows the maximum original size B4, and FIG. 3 shows the maximum original size A3.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 designates a frame body of the copying machine, and has a document holding portion 2 made of transparent glass on the upper surface thereof. The original document holder 2 holds a copied original document, and an original document cover 3 for pressing the original document on the holding surface is provided on the upper surface of the original document holder 2 so as to be opened and closed. Reference numeral 4 in the drawing denotes a detection switch which is provided on the upper surface of the frame body 1 so as to face the document cover 3 and detects opening / closing of the document cover 3. When the detection switch 4 detects that the document cover 3 is closed, the auxiliary lamp 5 provided so as not to obstruct the back surface of the document holding portion 2 during exposure is turned on. Reference numeral 6 is a light receiving element provided in the document cover 3 so as to receive light from the auxiliary lamp 5 through the holding surface, and reference numeral 7 is a lead line for guiding a signal from the light receiving element to the copying machine main body. The auxiliary lamp 5 is provided separately from the original document illumination lamp for exposure. However, the auxiliary lamp 5 also serves as an illumination lamp, and the signal from the detection switch 4 is used to operate the copy switch so that the auxiliary lamp 5 is lit for a certain period of time before copying. You may comprise.

In the apparatus having the above-described structure, by turning on the power switch of the main body of the copying machine, placing the document on the holding portion 2 and closing the document cover 3, the presence or absence of the held document is automatically detected. Then, the document size is automatically detected. That is, when the document cover 3 is closed and the open / close detection switch 4 detects it, the auxiliary lamp 5, which is a unit for detecting the document size, is turned on, and the light receiving element 6 enables the light receiving operation. In response to the detection signal from the open / close detection switch 4, the document presence / absence detection operation is started by means (operation start means) not shown. Therefore, the light from the auxiliary lamp 5 of the placed document is shielded according to the size of the document, or the presence or absence of the document is detected by the light receiving element 6, and the document size is automatically determined according to the presence or absence state of the document. Identification (detection)
To be done. Therefore, by appropriately arranging a large number of the light receiving elements 6, the sizes of various documents can be automatically detected.

2 and 3 show examples of the above-mentioned document size identification. Here, one side of the document holding portion 2 is the document placement regulation position, and in this example, one side on the left side of the drawing is the document regulation position.

First, in FIG. 2, this shows an embodiment of an identification state when the maximum document size is B4, and the light receiving elements 6X and 6Y arranged on the document cover 3 are attached to the holding section 2.
It will be installed near the center line of. That is, the light receiving element 6X
Is provided on the side closer to the original regulation position than the center line and at a position where light is not blocked by placing a size A4 document, and the light receiving element 6Y is provided at a position behind the center line and where light is blocked by a size A4 document. ing. Therefore, the light receiving element 6
The sizes of the originals placed on the original holder 2 can be identified as shown in Table 1 below according to the light receiving state with and without X and 6Y originals.

[0016]

[Table 1]

In Table 1, "1" indicates that the light is not blocked by the original and the light is received by the light receiving element (no original).
“0” is when the light is blocked by the original and the light is not received by the light receiving element 6 (there is an original).

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment in which the maximum size of the original document held in the original document holder 2 is A3, and light receiving elements 6X to 6Z are arranged in accordance with the size of the original document. . Therefore, as in the case of FIG. 2, it is possible to confirm the presence and absence of the document size as shown in Table 2.

[0019]

[Table 2]

In the above example, the light receiving element 6 and the illuminating lamp 5 are provided to face each other with the document holding portion sandwiched therebetween for the purpose of identifying the document. May be provided. As an example of this, a light emitting portion may be provided on the original cover 3 according to the original size, and light from the light emitting portion may be diffusely reflected by the placed original, and a light receiving element may be provided in a portion that receives the light. Alternatively, the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion may be provided at different positions instead of being provided on the document cover 3, and an optical fiber that transmits light may be provided on the document cover 3.

Therefore, FIG. 4 shows an embodiment in which the original size is automatically identified based on the detection of the presence or absence of the original in FIG. 2 and the copy paper corresponding to the size is automatically selected and fed. In the figure, B4, A4, and B5 are signals for discriminating the size of the cassette loaded in the copying machine main body. For example, when a cassette accommodating B4 size paper is loaded in the copying machine main body, B4 is With the "1" signal, the other A4 and B5 become "0". As for the discrimination of this cassette, a code peculiar to it is provided on the side of the cassette which accommodates a copy paper of a desired size, and the size of the cassette can be automatically discriminated by detecting this code at the time of mounting. Alternatively, even if each cassette is provided with a protrusion peculiar to the cassette and the micro switch or the like corresponding to the protrusion is operated when the cassette is attached to the main body of the copying machine, the size of the paper accommodated in the cassette can be changed. It can be determined automatically. Other various methods are possible. The example shown in FIG. 4 shows an embodiment in which one cassette is mounted in the main body of the copying machine.

In FIG. 4, signals from the respective light receiving elements 6X and 6Y provided on the original cover 3 are applied to a NAND gate G _1, and the output of the gate G ₁ is sent to a lamp drive circuit 8 for instructing the original. Added. That is, when the document cover 3 is closed, based on the operation of the switch 4, the above-mentioned auxiliary lamp 5 is turned on by the disclosing means (not shown) for starting the detecting operation, as described above. Therefore, the presence or absence detecting operation of the original is started, if the document on the surface of the document holding portion 2 has been retained, both light receiving elements 6X, light valid only NAND gate G ₁ is received in 6Y, document from the gate G ₁ That is, a pear signal is output.

The signals from the light receiving elements 6X and 6Y are input to the NAND gate G ₂ via the inverters In ₁ and In ₂ . The output of the gate G ₂ is a signal indicating the size B4 of the document placed on the document holder 2.

Further, the signal of the light receiving element 6X and the light receiving element 6
The NAND gate G ₄ to which the signal obtained through the inverter In ₂ is added to the Y signal derives an output (“0”) when an A4 size document is placed. The NAND gate G ₆ outputs the signal from the light receiving element 6X to the inverter I
The signal obtained through n ₁ and the signal from the light receiving element 6 are input. If the output of the NAND gate G ₆ is "0", is recognized as a document of size B5 is placed.
This signal provides a display indicating B5 size.

As described above, each NAND gate G ₁ , G ₂ ,
G _4, will be the size of the document placed on the output of the G ₆ is detected, it constitutes a document size detection means including the tip of the auxiliary lamp 5 and the light receiving element 6. Moreover, if there is an output from the gate G _1, it will be described later that there is no document, but even if the copy switch or the like is operated, the copy operation is not performed and a warning is also issued.

Here, the original size is identified as described above, and a copying machine using this is described below. This is to automatically select a copy sheet. In FIG. 4, a signal recognizing the document size, particularly a signal from the NAND gate G ₂ is applied to one input terminal of the NAND gate G ₃ via an inverter In ₃ . Also,
To the other input end of the gate G ₃ , a signal indicating the B4 size of the discrimination signals of the cassette mounted in the copying machine main body is added. Therefore, if the original placed on the original holder 2 is of B4 size and the cassette installed in the main body of the copying machine accommodates B4 copy paper, the gate G ₃ becomes effective and the print switch is turned on. Copying is performed by pressing. Here, the output of the gate G ₂ is used as a signal for driving a display lamp (not shown) indicating that a B4 size document is placed on the holding portion. Therefore, by looking at this display, even if the document cover 3 covers the document, it can be seen at a glance what document is placed.

The output of the NAND gate G ₄ for recognizing the A4 size is sent to the NAND gate G ₄ via the inverter In _4.
5 is added to one input terminal. Further, a signal indicating a cassette A4 is added to the other input terminal of the gate G _5. Therefore, if the gate G ₄ is valid, a display showing the A4 size is made, and if the cassette A4 is mounted on the main body, the gate G ₅ is valid, and copying is started by pressing the print switch. It

Further, the output of the NAND gate G ₆ is applied to one input end of the NAND gate G ₇ , and the signal indicating the cassette B5 is input to the other input end of the gate G ₇ . Therefore, when the gate G ₇ becomes valid, copying is started by pressing the print switch.

In the circuit configuration as described above, the gate G
_Reference numerals ₃ , G ₅ , G ₇ are comparison means for comparing whether or not a paper having a size corresponding to the detected original size is mounted in the copying machine, and their outputs are supplied to a 3-input NAND gate G ₈ . In addition, the output of the gate G ₈ is added to the NAND gate G ₉ . A signal from the print switch 9 is applied to the other input terminal of the gate G ₉ .

The output of the gate G ₉ is applied to the copy controller 10 surrounded by the dotted line. That is, the output end is connected to the base of the transistor Tr via a parallel circuit of a resistor and a capacitor. The transistor Tr has an emitter grounded and a collector connected to a power supply + Vcc through a resistor. A series circuit of the relay coil 11 and a resistor whose one end is grounded is connected to the collector. The relay coil 11 has a normally open contact 11-a and a normally closed contact 11-b, and the copy control circuit 12 and the alarm lamp 13 are connected to the power source V via the respective contacts.

[0031] In the above configuration, the document size placed on the original holder 2, and the cassette corresponding to the document size is output NAND gate G ₈ Yono signal "1" if it is attached to the copying machine main body It Therefore, the print switch 9
When is pressed, the output of the gate G ₉ becomes “0” (“L”) and the transistor Tr is turned off. Therefore, a current flows through the relay coil 11, and its contact 11-a closes and the contact 11-b opens. Therefore, when the copying is started, the alarm lamp 13 is turned off. On the contrary, if the document size and the copy paper size do not match, the transistor Tr is turned on even when the print switch 9 is pressed, so that copying is not performed and the alarm lamp 1 as described above is also added.
3 is driven and the state is notified. Therefore, the gate G
According to the document size display displayed in response to the size signals from ₂ , G ₄ , and G ₆ , by mounting the cassette containing the paper of the same size in the main body of the copying machine, press the print switch 9 to copy. To be executed.

FIG. 5 shows that, when the cassettes containing copy papers of different sizes are mounted in the upper and lower stages of the copying machine, the papers are automatically selected based on the recognition of the original size and the like according to the present invention. It is a circuit block diagram which shows the other Example of this. That is, among the cassettes mounted in the upper and lower stages, the cassette corresponding to the size of the placed original is selected and the copy paper is fed. In the figure, 14 and 15 are an upper cassette discriminating circuit and a lower cassette discriminating circuit which are provided in the cassette mounting portion of the copying machine body. The output signals from the discriminating circuits 14 and 15 at the upper and lower stages are inputted to the respective NAND gates G ₁₀ to G ₁₅ .

On the other hand, each original size detection signal is input to the other input terminal of the gates G ₁₀ to G ₁₅ in correspondence with the signal from each discriminating circuit. This NAND gate G
₁₀ ~G ₁₅ is a NAND gate G ₃ in FIG. 4, G _5, G
Similar to ₇ , it is a means for comparing whether the size of the paper loaded in the copying machine matches the size of the original. The outputs of the gates G ₁₀ , G ₁₁ and G ₁₂ are three-input NAND gate G
_16, the output of gate G _13, G ₁₄ and G ₁₅ are the 3-input NAND gate G _17, are added respectively. Gate G above
The output of ₁₆ is introduced to a drive circuit 16 and a copy control circuit which drive a paper feed roller for feeding the copy paper of the upper cassette. Further, the output of the gate G ₁₇ is introduced to a drive circuit 17 and a copy control circuit which drive a paper feed roller for feeding copy paper in the lower cassette.

Now, let us consider a case where an A4 cassette is mounted on the upper stage, a B5 cassette is mounted on the lower stage, and an A4 size document is placed on the document holder 2.
The signal of A4 is applied to the gate G ₁₁ from the upper cassette discriminating circuit 4, and the signal indicating the document size A4 is output from the gate G ₄ and input via the inverter In ₄ to the other input end of the gate G _11. It Therefore, the gate G ₁₁
Are enabled and a signal is applied to the drive circuit 16 via the gate G ₁₆ .

Further, from the lower cassette discriminating circuit 15 to B5
However, since the original is A4, the gate G ₁₄ or G ₁₅ is not effective, and the signal is not derived from the gate G ₁₇ to the drive circuit 17.

[0036] In other words, the NAND gate G ₁₀ ~ is a comparison means
When a coincidence signal is output from any of G ₁₅ , the gate G ₁₆
Alternatively, a selection signal is output from any one of the paper feed selection means configured by G ₁₇ , and either the paper feed drive circuit 16 or 17 is selected. Moreover, by either from the selection signal of the gate G _16, G ₁₇ is output to the NAND gate G ₉ via the OR gate G ₁₈ and the inverter an In ₆ above selection signal is supplied, the other of the gate G ₉ Since the signal from the print switch 9 is supplied to the input terminal, the gate G ₁₈ , G ₉ and the inverter In ₆ and the print switch 9 send a signal for starting the copying operation to the gate G.
_The control means to output from ₉ is configured. Therefore, by operating the print switch 9, the paper is fed and the copying operation is executed.

It is also assumed that a B4 size document is placed on the document holding section 2 and the A4 and B5 cassettes are mounted on the upper and lower stages as described above. In this case, all the outputs of the gates G ₁₀ to G ₁₅ are “1” (“H”), and the outputs of the gates G ₁₆ and G ₁₇ are “0” (“L”). Therefore, no signal is applied to the upper and lower paper feed drive circuits, and no copy paper is fed.

That is, when the discrepancy between the original size and the copy paper size is detected, no selection signal is output from the gates G ₁₆ and G ₁₇ , and the non-selection signal is the OR gate G ₁₈ and the inverter I.
Since it is added to the NAND gate G ₉ through n ₆ , the operation of the print switch 9 does not output a signal for starting the copying operation from the NAND gate G ₉ and prohibits the copying operation. Therefore, when a match between the document size and the copy paper size is detected, the control means for outputting a signal for starting the copy operation from the gate G ₉ by operating the print switch 9 prohibits the start of the copy operation by detecting the size mismatch. . Therefore, power is not supplied to the copy control circuit 12, and the warning lamp 13 lights up to inform the user that a copy paper cassette corresponding to the original size is not mounted. In accordance with this notification, if the display according to the detected document size is performed as described above with reference to FIG. 4, the cassette containing the copy paper of the size according to the display is attached to the copying machine main body. You can understand at a glance what you need to do.

According to the present invention, if the cassette storing the copy paper corresponding to the original size is not mounted in the main body of the copying machine, the copying is not performed without being fed, but it is provided separately after pressing the print switch. By pressing the reset button, it is possible to copy even a size different from the original size.

[0040]

As described above, according to the copying machine of the present invention, the original size is automatically detected, and the paper of the size corresponding to the original size can be automatically selected, so that the manual size selection operation is unnecessary. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate operation mistakes due to it. In particular, it is possible to eliminate a manual selection error of the document size and the paper size, and to prevent a copying error due to this.

In this case, when the paper size is automatically selected, if the paper to be selected is not loaded, the detected original size is displayed as it is, so that the paper of the size corresponding to this display is not mistaken. It can be easily attached to the main body of the copying machine, and the size display circuit therefor becomes very simple. Therefore, the user does not need to perform a very troublesome operation by merely placing the original, and can automatically select the paper that matches the original size, or the work of loading the paper that matches the original size becomes easy. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment for detecting the presence or absence of a document and identifying a document size according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an arrangement example of document presence / absence detection means for identifying a document size according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another arrangement example of means for detecting the presence / absence of an original for identifying the original size according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a circuit configuration diagram showing a specific example in which the apparatus for detecting a document size according to the present invention is used in a copying machine.

FIG. 5 is a circuit configuration diagram showing another specific example in which the apparatus for detecting the document size of the present invention is used in a copying machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Document holding unit 3 Document cover 4 Open / close detection switch 5 Auxiliary lamp 6 Light receiving element 8 Drive circuit for displaying no document 10 Copy control unit 13 Warning lamp 14, 15 Paper size determination circuit 16, 17 Paper feed roller drive circuit G ₁ , G ₂ , G ₄ , G ₆ NAND gates for identifying document size G ₃ , G ₅ , G ₇ , G _{10 to} G ₁₅ NAND gates for comparison

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A document size detecting means for automatically detecting a size of a document placed on a holding part for holding a document, and a size of a sheet accommodated in a sheet accommodating means mounted on a main body of a copying machine. to the paper size detection means for detecting, comparing means for detecting that the the detected sheet size in the detected document size and the paper size detecting means at the document size detection means coincide, the comparing means The paper size that matches the original size is selected by the match detection by the, and the paper size that matches the original size detected in response to the mismatch detection by the comparison means is loaded. warning that not a warning means, the document size automatically detected size display means and consists comprises a document size detection for displaying document size by the detection means Copying machine provided with a device.