JPH0882964A - Copying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To shorten working time of a copying device and to reduce the amount of toner used by making original moving speed variable, fast-forwarding an unnecessary image part and reading it while skipping. CONSTITUTION: When an original passes an original sensor 8, the measurement of exposing time is started. When a 2nd roller 5 is driven at a high speed after the leading edge of the original passes a 3rd sensor 7, sagging on the original caused by speed difference is absorbed by a 1st exit 9. After the leading edge of the original passes an exposing point, stored timing is compared with the exposing time. In the case where they coincide with each other, high speed driving or constant speed driving is switched and a counter 9 is incremented. By executing processing only when a condition of a counter 1 >= counter 2 holds, image processing is performed without executing the processing at the time of copying a first sheet even when the previous data is stored in an array. Therefore, by performing erasion interlocking with the high speed driving, the unnecessary image is not inversed to the copy, the finish of the copy becomes clear, and also the toner is saved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a copying machine or a facsimile machine, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus having a function of skipping unnecessary image areas in the same document.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For a long original or the like, when it is desired to copy a part of the original or when the paper is shorter than the original, it is necessary to skip the copy-unnecessary portion of the original. As disclosed in the publication,
Stop the exposure lamp below the platen glass,
Exposure by pressing the copy start button when a long original is run with a light source that can be lit and a long original is started by the start button and the portion of the original to be copied passes the specified position. There is a thing that the lamp lights up and you get a copy of the required part.

However, in the conventional copying apparatus as described above, since the original feeding speed is constant, when the portion to be copied is dispersed in the leading portion, the central portion, the rear end portion, etc. of the long original, There is a problem in that it takes time for the document to move to the target copy portion in the document feeder, and the copy process is prolonged. Further, since the portion to be copied, that is, the copy is performed on the same sheet regardless of the size of the designated area, the unnecessary portion is also copied, and there is a problem that the toner is wasted and it is not economical. Furthermore, because the scanner is fixed and the original is scanned, if there are multiple required image areas in the same original, unnecessary copies will be made, and vice versa. When there are a plurality of unnecessary image areas (portions that should not be copied due to confidentiality etc.), there is a problem that a desired image area must be divided and copied.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and is economical and high-speed copying when a long original or a specific area of the original is designated and copied. It is an object of the present invention to provide a copier that can be used.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the first means of the document moving / reading / copying apparatus of the present invention is a drive means for varying the document moving speed and the document moving speed is switched at an arbitrary timing. It is characterized by having a possible speed switching means. The second means of the present invention is characterized in that, in addition to the above-mentioned first means, the contents of image processing are changed in conjunction with the driving speed. A third means of the present invention is characterized in that, in addition to the above-mentioned first means, a storage means for storing the speed switching timing and the speed is provided, and the speed can be switched a plurality of times for the same document.

The fourth means of the present invention is characterized in that, in addition to the above-mentioned third means, speed switching is performed at the timing at which the second and subsequent originals are stored. A fifth means of the present invention comprises, in addition to the above-mentioned first or third means, an original length measuring means for measuring an original length and a paper feeding means for feeding a paper corresponding to the original, and speed switching. It is characterized in that a sheet length correction means for correcting the sheet length to be supplied according to the timing and speed is provided. A sixth means of the present invention is characterized in that, in addition to the above-mentioned first means, a plurality of speed varying drive means and a speed difference absorbing mechanism for absorbing a speed difference are provided between the drive means. The seventh means of the present invention is, in addition to the above-mentioned third or sixth means, a driving means for changing the speed in association with the speed switching means, and a driving for changing the speed in association with the contents of the storage means after a lapse of a certain time. And means.

[0007]

With the first means described above, the document conveying speed for conveying the document to the desired document portion and the document conveying speed for conveying the document for copying can be switched, so that the object is speedy. The copy process can be performed at high speed by conveying the original document to the original document portion at a high speed and by conveying the original document portion for copying at the target original document portion. By the second means, it is possible to distinguish the image necessary portion and the image unnecessary portion according to the driving speed,
Therefore, it is possible to restrict copying of unnecessary original parts and suppress consumption of toner and the like. By the third means, in the case of a long original, the speed of the same original can be switched a plurality of times, so that copying can be performed more efficiently.

By the fourth means, when copying a specific area of a plurality of originals having the same format, the setting can be made only once, and the work efficiency of copying can be improved. The fifth means makes it possible to change the paper length to be supplied according to the size of the original to be copied or the designated copy area, so that the optimum size of paper can be set automatically. it can. By the sixth means, the original can be copied at a desired timing while the original is being conveyed at a high speed, and the speed of the copying process can be increased. By the seventh means, when a document is conveyed by a plurality of roller pairs, all the rollers can be driven at high speed and the document can be conveyed at an appropriate copy timing, so that the speed of the copying process can be further improved. It becomes possible.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A copying apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a copying machine according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an operating section of the copying machine, where 1 is a document table, 2, 5,
7, 10, 20, and 23 are first to sixth rollers 3, 3,
4, 6, 8, and 21 are first to fifth sensors, 9 and 1, respectively.
2 is the first and second outlets, 11 is a discharge switching claw, 13 is a fluorescent lamp, 14 is a developing unit, 15 is a charging charger, 1
6 is a cleaning unit and separation claw, 17 is a fixing unit, 18 is a photosensitive drum, 19 is a transfer / separation charger, 22 is a cutter unit, 24 is roll paper, 25
Is the manuscript entrance. A case will be described in which two sheets are copied from one long original in the copying apparatus configured as described above.

First, 10 provided in the operation unit 31 of FIG.
Use key 33 to set the number of repeats. That is, when the number of repeats is 2, it is confirmed that 2 is displayed on the repeat number display portion 34 by pressing 2 on the 10 key. An initial value of 1 is displayed on the copy number display section 35, which is reset to "0" when a document is inserted, and is added to the copy number display section 35 for each copy and displayed. In the normal operation of the copying apparatus, when a long original is inserted from the original table 1 with the image surface facing upward, the second roller 5 is driven at a constant speed when the second sensor 4 detects the front end of the original. The second roller 5 is driven by a driving force transmitted from a motor (not shown) through a second roller clutch (not shown) and a second roller high speed clutch. The second roller 5 is driven at normal speed when the second roller clutch is turned on, and is driven at high speed when the second roller high speed clutch is turned on.

When the leading edge of the document is nipped by the second roller 5 and the third sensor 6 is turned on, the paper feed is started. That is,
The sixth roller 23 holding the roll paper 24 is driven to feed the roll paper to the photosensitive drum 18 side through the cutter unit 22, and the leading edge of the paper is driven in conjunction with the sixth roller 23. After being sandwiched by the fifth roller 20 that is being held, the paper fed from the roll paper when detected by the fifth sensor 21 is the fifth roller 20 and the sixth roller 23.
It is held in a state of being sandwiched between them. Further, the third sensor 6 supplies the paper feed trigger signal as described above and also functions as a means for measuring the length of the document.

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart for measuring the length of an original. This flow chart is executed at regular intervals, and the length of the original is managed by time. First, the third sensor 6 is ON
Then (step A), the document length measurement flag is set (step B), and when the second sensor 4 is turned on (step C), the time corresponding to the distance from the second sensor 4 is substituted as the document length. Is added by 2 after a predetermined time until the second sensor 4 is turned off (step D). The document length is measured by such a sequence. Further, when the leading edge of the document passes through the third sensor 6, the third roller 7 capable of forward and reverse rotation starts to rotate at normal speed. Here, the third roller 7 is transmitted from a motor (not shown) via a third roller clutch (not shown) and a third roller high speed clutch. Similar to the above-described second roller, the third roller is driven at a constant speed when the third roller clutch is turned on, and is driven at a high speed when the third roller high speed clutch is turned on.
Further, the driving of the fourth roller 10 is interlocked with the third roller 7.

After the leading edge of the original is nipped by the third roller 7,
When passing through the fourth sensor 8, an image-related operation, that is,
Fluorescent lamp 13, developing unit 14, charging charger 1
5, control of the cleaning unit and separation claw 16, the photoconductor drum 18, the transfer / separation charger 19, etc. is started. Further, the sheet feeding operation is started again at the timing when the leading edge of the sheet coincides with the image on the photosensitive drum 18. Although the operations related to image formation are omitted here, in particular, in order to simplify the description of the image erasing method, the fluorescent lamp 13 is turned on at a duty of 100% at each arbitrary timing (all the fluorescent lamps are turned on), and charging is performed. It is assumed that the image is erased when the charger 15 and the transfer / separation charger 19 are turned off. When the leading edge of the document reaches the fourth roller 10, the ON / OFF of the second sensor 4 is checked,
If it is OFF, it is determined that it is not a long original, and if it is ON, it is a long original. The time when the leading edge of the original reaches the fourth roller 10 is managed by the time from the fourth sensor ON.

First, the case where the original is not a long original will be described. After determining that the original is not a long original, the paper discharge switching nail 11
When the FF is performed, the first roller 2 starts to be driven, and the measurement of the document length is completed at the time when the document rear end passes through the second sensor 4, and the sheet according to the measured document length is fed. The sixth roller 23 stops driving and the cutter unit 22 cuts the paper. The image on the photosensitive drum is transferred onto a sheet when passing through the transfer / separation charger 19, and the image is fixed in the fixing unit 17 and discharged. Next, after the leading edge of the document passes through the first roller 2, the first sensor 3, and the second roller 5 again, and then the third sensor 6 is turned on, the second sheet of paper is fed.

By repeating the above-mentioned operation, the sheets are sequentially supplied. Also, the document feeding operation is repeated except for the measurement of the document length, and the leading edge of the document is at the fourth position at the time of the final repeat.
The discharge switching claw 11 is turned on when the roller 10 is reached
Then, the document is discharged from the second outlet 12. Next, the case of a long original will be described. The leading edge of the document is the fourth roller 10
When reaching the front side, the second sensor 4 is turned on, so the sheet discharge switching claw 11 is turned on and the sheet is discharged from the second outlet 12. Then, after the trailing edge of the original has passed an exposure point (not shown), the third roller 7 and the fourth roller 10 start reversing after a certain blank time, and the original starts to switch back, so that the trailing edge of the original becomes the first edge. It is discharged from the outlet 9.
When switching back, high speed drive is used. When the document starts switching back, the document front end (rear end in backward movement) passes the fourth sensor 8, and the fourth sensor 8 is turned off, the third roller 7 stops driving and the second sheet is fed. After the leading edge of the sheet has passed the fifth sensor 21, the sheet stops and stands by. After that, when the sheet is in the standby state, the document is restarted, but the subsequent operation is the same as when the document is not a long document.

Next, the operation of the copying apparatus according to the present invention will be described in more detail. In the copying apparatus that performs the above-described operation, the document is inserted into the document entrance portion. At this time, the operator keeps pressing the speed switching key 32 of the operation unit 31 for the unnecessary portion of the image while looking at the document screen, and the control unit of the CPU (not shown) determines that it is the image unnecessary portion. That is, when the speed switching key 32 is not pressed, it is determined that it is an image required portion, and when it is pressed, it is determined that it is an image unnecessary portion.

4 and 5 show flow charts for storing the speed switching timing. In addition, this flowchart is
Only the document conveyance speed changing unit and the storage unit for the timing are described. First, when the second sensor is ON and the speed switching key is pressed, the pressing flag is set to 1, the second roller clutch is turned off, and the second high speed roller clutch is turned on (steps 1 to 6). As a result, the transport speed of the second roller 6 is changed. However, the conveyance speed of the third roller 7 does not interlock. The timing memory is
It is executed if the storage flag is set in the flow of FIG. 3 described above when the speed is changed by the speed changing unit (step 7).

Thereafter, it is judged whether or not the document length is equal to or larger than the variable A (step 8). The initial value of the variable A is as follows. Second sensor 4 to third sensor 6
Is a constant 1 for the time it takes for the original to move at the normal transport speed
And an arbitrary margin time is α, the initial value of the variable A is represented by A = constant 1 + margin time α. Therefore, when the document length measured in the flow of FIG. 3 is less than the variable A, the speed switching key 32
Regardless of the timing of pressing, it is determined that the current speed switching key is in the current state from the leading edge of the document, and is stored as a two-dimensional array. At that time, the counter 1 is set to 0 (step 9) and the two-dimensional array is stored (step 10).

Here, the contents stored in the two-dimensional array are as follows: a [0] {counter] = speed switching key state 1, high speed conveyance 0, normal conveyance a [1] {counter] = from the leading edge of the document (However, counter 1 = speed switching timing storage counter, counter 2 = speed switching timing execution counter). When the document length is equal to or more than the variable A, the counter 1 is incremented (step 11) and the speed switching timing is stored. When the counter 1 = 1 and the initial value is high speed conveyance, the variable A and the document length are corrected (steps 12 to 1).
8).

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of the time management for executing the timing stored in FIG. 3, and this flow chart is executed at the same time intervals as the document length measurement of FIGS. 4 and 5. When the leading edge of the document passes the fourth sensor 8, the measurement of the exposure time is started. Here, the exposure time is the time from the exposure point to the leading edge of the document with the exposure point (not shown) as 0, and is a negative time before passing through the exposure point. The exposure time is added by 2 after a fixed time until the original length (time) or more (steps 101 to 104). Third roller 7
Is always driven when the exposure time is less than 0. Therefore, after the leading edge of the document passes the third sensor 7, the second roller 5
Is driven at a high speed, the first outlet 9 also has a function of absorbing the slack generated in the document due to the speed difference. If there is no part to absorb the slack, the second
The roller 5 and the third roller 7 are driven at the same speed, and the copying operation is started after the timing up to the trailing edge of the document is stored in advance, that is, after the document is prescanned.
Copying time becomes long.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart for actually performing image processing at the timing stored in the flow shown in FIG. After the leading edge of the document passes the exposure point, the timing stored in the flow shown in FIG. 3 is compared with the exposure time. If they match, the high speed drive or the normal speed drive is switched, and the counter 2 is incremented (step 201). And 202). By executing the process only when the condition of counter 1 ≧ counter 2 is satisfied, the image process is not executed at the time of the first copy even if the previous data is stored in the array (steps 203 to 209). ). Therefore, by erasing the image in association with the high-speed driving, the unnecessary image is not transferred to the copy, the finish is clean and the toner can be saved.

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart for processing the stored timing at the time of repeat. This flow is executed only once after the trailing edge of the first document passes the exposure point. When the speed change key 32 is pressed from the leading edge to the trailing edge of the document, it is determined that the document is invalid even if repeat is input, and the document is discharged as it is (step 301). Further, when the final drive speed is switched at high speed, it is determined that the subsequent images are invalid, and the original length at the time of switching to high speed is corrected as the paper length to save paper ( Step 302
Through 305).

As another method of correcting the paper length, in the case of high speed driving from the front end of the original, that is, when a [0] [0] = 1, the time until the corrected paper length is switched to the normal speed driving. To correct. That is, paper length = paper length−a [0]
[1], so that the initial value substituting part of the exposure time shown in FIG. 6 also ignores the high-speed driving part at the leading edge of the document, the exposure time =
By correcting the constant 2-a [0] [0], it is possible to save the paper corresponding to the unnecessary image at the leading end of the document. Further, when the document is inserted, the driving of the third roller 7 is stopped after the leading edge of the document has passed the fourth sensor 8 and the sheet length is corrected after the trailing edge of the document has passed the third sensor 6, that is, after the speed switching timing is stored. To feed the paper, and after the paper is on standby, the third
It is also possible to obtain a corrected copy of the sheet from the first sheet by operating the roller 7 again.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the document moving speed is variable, the unnecessary image portion can be fast-forwarded and skipped, the working time can be shortened, and the utilization can be saved. . Further, the toner can be saved by erasing the image during fast-forwarding, and the blank portion can be used for other purposes. If you want to extract the part of the manuscript further,
Since it can be stored multiple times, you can make a copy at one time, work time can be shortened, or the stored contents will be executed automatically at the time of repeat, so you do not have to make the same input one by one The image area can be obtained. Further, since there is a mechanism that absorbs the speed difference, it is not necessary to read the original document to the end once, the processing time is improved, and the operation can be performed even when the speed of the area designating portion and the speed of the image forming portion are different. Therefore, it is possible to specify the area while viewing the image of the document. That is, even in the case of a long original, the original other than the desired image is conveyed at high speed, and the desired original part is switched to the normal speed to improve the efficiency of the copying operation. Therefore, the toner consumption can be reduced and an economical copying apparatus can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a copying apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an operation unit of a copying apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow of measuring a document length.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flow of storing speed switching timing.

5 is a continuation of the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flow of time management for executing stored timing.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flow of actually performing image processing at a stored timing.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a flow of processing a stored timing at the time of repeat.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... manuscript table, 2 ... first roller, 3 ...
.... First sensor, 4 ... second sensor, 5 ... second roller, 6 ... third sensor, 7 ... third roller, 8 ... fourth sensor, 9 ... Exit 1
10 ... Fourth roller, 11 ... Discharge switching claw,
12 ... second outlet, 13 ... fluorescent lamp,
14 ... Developing unit, 15 ... Charging charger, 16 ... Cleaning unit and separation claw, 17
... Fusing unit, 18 ... Photoreceptor drum,
19 ... Transfer / separation charger, 20 ... Fifth roller, 21 ... Fifth sensor, 22 ... Cutter unit, 24 ... Roll paper, 25 ... Original document entrance

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A copying apparatus, comprising: a document moving / reading / copying apparatus; and a driving unit having a variable document moving speed and a speed switching unit capable of switching the document moving speed at an arbitrary timing. 2. The copying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing content is changed in association with the driving speed. 3. A copying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a storage unit for storing the speed switching timing and the speed so that the speed of the same document can be switched plural times. 4. The copying apparatus according to claim 3, wherein speed switching is performed at the timing at which the second and subsequent originals are stored. 5. An original length measuring means for measuring an original length, and a paper feeding means for feeding a paper corresponding to the original,
4. The copying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a sheet length correction unit that corrects the sheet length to be supplied according to the speed switching timing and the speed. 6. The copying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of speed-variable driving means and a speed difference absorbing mechanism for absorbing the speed difference between the driving means. 7. The driving means for changing the speed in association with the speed switching means, and the driving means for changing the speed in synchronization with the contents of the storage means after a lapse of a certain time. The described copying machine.