JPH087403Y2 - Copier display device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a display device of an image forming apparatus.

(Prior Art) As is well known, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine (hereinafter, the case of the copying machine will be described), a plain paper or the like is used depending on the size of the original to be copied or the original image. A copy sheet (hereinafter referred to as a sheet) is selected and an image is transferred onto the copy sheet.

For this reason, the copying machine is provided with a display device for displaying the size of the sheet that can be fed at the present stage at the start of use and for confirming the size of the sheet when it is used again.

Although not shown in detail, this display device is applied to the one having a standard mode and an automatic paper selection mode in the paper feeding mode in the copying machine. In the standard mode, the paper is selected when the operator selects the paper. Display the size,
Then, in the case of the automatic paper selection mode, it is displayed that the automatic paper selection mode is to automatically select the paper according to the size of the original or the scaling factor of the original image.

In the conventional display device, when the standard mode is switched to the automatic paper selection mode as described above, the display panel surface indicates the size of the paper selected in the standard mode as shown in FIG. A display B indicating "automatic paper selection" with the display frame a in the display unit A kept lit
When the operator sees this display, he / she may select the paper size again despite the automatic paper selection mode. Therefore, even though the automatic paper selection mode is set, the function of that mode, that is, the function of saving the trouble of paper selection is not utilized.

(Purpose) In view of the problems in the conventional display device, an object of the present invention is to obtain a display device which can be easily confirmed by the operator who uses the copying machine without making a mistake.

(Structure) To achieve this object, the present invention enables the display of the size of the selected paper in the standard mode to be erased in the automatic paper selection mode so that the size of the selected paper can be displayed automatically. I suggest that.

According to the present invention, when the mode is switched to the automatic paper selection mode, the paper size displayed in the standard mode that has been displayed so far is erased, and only the automatic paper selection mode and the size of the paper selected in that mode are deleted. Is displayed.

Hereinafter, the details of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control unit of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The control unit 1 in this embodiment is composed of a microcomputer 2 as a main part, and a liquid crystal display (hereinafter, referred to as LCD) having a dot matrix for displaying messages and a fixed pattern for displaying each symbol on the output side thereof.
Dot matrix LCD driver 3 for driving 3
A and a fixed pattern LCD driver 3B are respectively connected, and a mode setting LED driver 5 for driving the mode setting segment type LED 4 is connected.

In the figure, reference numeral 6 indicates a ROM, in which a control program for each display process and character display data for a message are written.
On the input side of the microcomputer 2, there is provided a key input means 7 for setting information required at the time of copying, for example, the number of copies, paper size, magnification, or clearing or setting of such information with a ten key. It is connected.

On the other hand, the main controller 9 on the copying machine side is connected to the above-mentioned microcomputer 2 via the serial bus 8, and the microcomputer 2 is controlled by the copying machine by the data sent via the serial bus 8. A fixed pattern display such as the operating state and the setting state, warning display, abnormal display, and various warning display processing such as guidance is performed. This processing will be described in detail later.

The main controller 9 described above is provided with a microcomputer inside, and this computer is
The key input means 7 selects one of the size detecting means 10 for detecting the size of the paper in a paper feed cassette (not shown) which is provided in a plurality of stages and accommodates a plurality of types of paper, and the above-mentioned paper feed cassette. A size selection detecting unit 11 for detecting the fluttering, a document size detecting unit 12 for detecting the size of the document to be copied, and a setting unit 13 for controlling the drive of the optical system according to the magnification of the document set by the input unit 7.
Also, an automatic paper selection means 14 for automatically selecting and feeding a copy paper size according to the size of the set original or a copy paper size capable of transferring a variable-magnification image is connected, The operation control of each means and its contents are input to and output from the microcomputer 2 of the display control unit 1. Therefore, each unit is connected to the main controller 9 via the I / O interface 15.

On the other hand, the dot matrix LCD driver 3A and
The LCD 3 connected to the microcomputer 2 via the fixed pattern LCD driver 3B has the content shown in FIG.

That is, FIG. 2 shows a state in which the LCD 3 is fully illuminated, and the LCD 3 is composed of a dot matrix display section 30 and a numerical value and symbol (hereinafter, referred to as fixed pattern) display section 31.

In the case of the present embodiment, the dot matrix display unit 30 described above is composed of a matrix of 5 × 10 dots, and can contain up to 40 numbers, letters, katakana, symbols and any other characters.
It is a liquid crystal display for guidance display that allows individual display.

In addition, the fixed pattern display section 31 includes a segment display 31A for displaying the copy magnification as a three-digit numerical value, a segment display 31B for displaying the number of copies, etc. as a three-digit numerical value, and the paper size and orientation of each paper feeding system. Symbol group 31C shown, symbol group 31D showing various abnormalities and warnings, ready display symbol 3
1E, weight display (standby display) symbol 31F, copy density symbol 31G, serviceman call symbol 31H, display for jam occurrence position and display for each peripheral device presence / absence and paper cassette presence / absence display It is equipped with a container 31I, etc.

When a signal for setting each operation is input from the key input means 7, the control unit 1 for such a display device gives various commands to the main control unit 9 and at the same time outputs from the main control unit 9. Based on each output signal, each LCD driver 3A, 3
A drive signal for B is output. In addition to this output signal, when the automatic paper selection means 14 in the main control device 9 operates, when the paper feed mode by that means is selected, the display up to that time is displayed. And a signal for displaying the size of the automatically selected paper during the operation of the copying machine after the start of the copy operation.

Since the present embodiment has the above-described configuration, the operation of each unit including the control unit 1 is as shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 and 4.

That is, in FIG. 3, for example, when the standard mode described above, that is, the sheet selection by the operator is performed, when the standard mode is selected by the key operation of the key input means 7, this signal is sent to the control unit. 1 is output to the main controller 9, and the main controller 9 checks this signal to determine whether it is the automatic paper selection mode (ST1), and outputs the determination result to the microcomputer 2 of the controller 1. To do.

When this standard mode is selected, the presence / absence of a cassette on the copying machine side is first determined. That is, this determination is made in steps ST100 to 108 in FIG. 3, and if the sheet cassette is set on the copying machine side, the size detecting means 10 (see FIG. 1) in each stage is The signal is read by the microcomputer of the main controller 9, and the size data is output to the microcomputer 2 in the display control unit 1 via the serial bus 8.

In the microcomputer 2 of the control unit 1, this data is sorted into the buffer for each stage, and if there is size data, the presence or absence of the cassette is determined by the flag.
In these processes, in addition to the steps described above in FIG. 3, the steps indicated by reference numerals ST110 to 115 in FIG. 3 are used, and the corresponding display is performed by the latter steps.

These judgments, that is, the absence of paper and the presence / absence of a paper feed cassette, are performed by transmitting the input signal of the cassette selection key of the key input means 7 to the microcomputer 2 of the control unit 1 via the serial bus 8.

Then, in the control unit 1 which is output from the main control unit 9 indicating that the mode is the standard mode, the number of inputs from the size selection detecting unit 11 via the key input unit 7 is sequentially output by the main control unit 9. In response, the number of times is counted. That is, when it is determined that the mode is the standard mode, a sheet for transferring an image is selected. This sheet selection can be set by the number of key operations on the key input means 7 side. Therefore, the number of key operations is stored in the RAM of the microcomputer 2 one by one, and the presence or absence of paper is checked by the size detecting means 10 at this stage, that is, ST120 to ST120 in FIG. In the step indicated by 127, when the paper-out condition occurs due to the presence / absence of paper in the selected cassette, the corresponding cassette number display is blinked.

On the other hand, when there is paper in the selected cassette, the paper feed size obtained by the number of key operations from the key input means 7 described above is represented by the reference numeral in FIG.
After making a determination in steps ST2 to ST5, the frame 31C1 surrounding the display size in the symbol group 31C indicating the paper size and orientation of each paper feed system is lit on the display surface as shown in FIG. .

On the other hand, when the automatic paper selection mode is set by the key input means 7, the selection signal is sent by the main controller 9.
As in the standard mode, it is determined whether or not the automatic paper selection mode is selected (ST1), and the presence / absence of a paper feed cassette is determined (ST100 to 108, ST110 to 115, ST12).
(0 to 127), the size display in the symbol group 31C indicating the paper size and orientation of each paper feed system, which is currently lit at this stage, is turned off (FIG. 3). Middle step ST130), and the display frame 31C1 in the symbol group 31C indicating the paper size and orientation of each paper feed system is turned off at this stage (indicated by ST6 in FIG. 4). Step).

Then, along with the steps described above, in FIG.
In the step shown by 7, a message 3M indicating that automatic paper selection is performed is turned on as shown in FIG. 6 (reference numeral ST7 in FIG. 4).

At this time, in the main control device 9, the movement control of the optical system according to the magnification change is performed by the setting device 13 based on the command from the key input device 7, or it is detected by the pre-scanning of the exposure optical system. In order to select the paper corresponding to the original size, the automatic paper selection means 14 operates together with the size detection means 11 and the original size detection means 12.

On the other hand, when the automatic paper selection means 14 described above operates, the main controller 9 selects the paper on which the original to be copied can be transferred according to the signals from the original size detection means 12 and the setting means 13. Determined (ST in FIG. 4)
8) If there is a paper of that size, the signal is output to the microcomputer 2 in the control unit 1 and the paper of each paper feed system is displayed on the display surface in the same manner as the processing shown in FIG. The size display in the symbol group 31C indicating the size and orientation and the display frame 31C1 in the size display section
It lights up as shown (reference numeral ST9 in FIG. 4).

On the contrary, when there is no sheet to be selected, the microcomputer 2 in the control unit 1 responds to the transmission from the main control device 9 as indicated by reference numeral ST10 in FIG. Send it to LCD driver 3B to display the message "No compatible size".

Therefore, for the operator, at the time of setting the automatic paper selection mode, the display of this state can only identify the display of "automatic paper selection", and is confused with other information regarding the setting of the paper feeding state. There is nothing.

Further, in this way, when the copy operation is performed in the copying machine after the display in the automatic paper selection mode is performed, it is stored in the ROM 6 in advance when the message display unit 30 determines the message-on state. LCD driver for dot matrix 3A
As shown in FIG. 7, a symbol indicating the paper size and orientation in the paper feed system is displayed to indicate that the paper is being selected and the size of the paper currently selected. Lighting of the display frame 31C1 of the group 31C is continued. Also, the display in the automatic paper selection mode described above,
Instead of displaying the size of the selected paper and turning on the display frame, instead of displaying the size of the paper in the automatic paper selection mode, the display frame 31C1 of the corresponding size display section You may make it light.

On the other hand, when the automatic paper selection mode is switched to the standard mode again, the size of the paper stored in the RAM of the microcomputer 2 is displayed.

(Effect) As described above, according to the present invention, in the paper feeding system of the copying machine, the automatic paper selection mode for automatically selecting the paper size corresponding to the original size or the paper capable of transferring the scaled image If it is, the information display related to the size of the paper that has been displayed until then is erased and only automatic paper selection is displayed, so there is no misidentification of the information related to paper feeding. Also, since the paper selection information in this mode is also revealed, this makes no changes to the ease of operation, in other words, the operation related to paper feeding, which is a function of the automatic paper selection mode. It is possible to fully exert the function of avoiding it. Moreover, regarding the prevention of the above-mentioned misidentification, the environment for new paper selection is set only by selecting the automatic paper selection mode, so use it until the paper selection is completed. It is possible to prevent an erroneous operation such as recognizing the paper size and performing a necessary selection operation as in the case where the displayed paper size is displayed. Further, when the automatic paper selection mode is set, the operator can know whether or not his / her intended paper has been selected / used before discharging the paper, so if the paper is not the intended paper, It is also possible to stop the operation of the device immediately.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main part of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a display surface of the display device according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are shown in FIG. Flowcharts for explaining the operation of the blocks shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 are plan views corresponding to FIG. 2 showing the state of the display surface of the display device according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a conventional display device. FIG. 3 is a plan view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing a display surface that can be placed on the display. 1 ... Display control unit, 2 ... Microcomputer,
3 ... Liquid crystal display, 9 ... Main control device, 10 ... Size detecting means, 11 ... Size selecting means, 12 ... Original size detecting means, 13 ... Setting means, 14 ... Automatic paper selecting means.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --- Continued from the front page (56) Reference JP 61-80172 (JP, A) JP 61-262733 (JP, A) JP 57-13462 (JP, A) JP 61- 61140 (JP, A) JP 62-83945 (JP, A) JP 63-300249 (JP, A) JP 64-61768 (JP, A) JP 62-270973 (JP, A) JP-A-62-270974 (JP, A) JP-A-58-127945 (JP, A) JP-A-62-270974 (JP, A) Actual opening 63-62845 (JP, U) Actual opening 61-109453 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A size detecting means for detecting the size of a copy sheet corresponding to a storage section for storing copy sheets of a plurality of sizes, and a size selection detection for detecting selection of one of the copy sheets in the storage section. A size that can transfer a variable-magnification image based on the settings of the setting means, the original size detection means for detecting the size of the original to be copied, and the means for setting the scaling ratio for the original. Has a main control device for outputting an operation signal to an automatic paper selection means for automatically selecting the copy paper according to the copy paper or the document size, and displays the detection contents of the size selection detection means in the main control device. A display device including a display control unit for the display unit, wherein the display control unit includes a microcomputer,
When the automatic paper selection mode using the automatic paper selection means is set, the contents displayed by the operation of the size selection detection means are erased and the size of the paper selected by the automatic paper selection means is displayed. A display device for a copying machine, which is characterized by having the function of