JPH10186959A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device capable of stacking sheets of paper outputted so as not to cause jamming in a paper stacking part, when originals different in size are copied and some of them are folded. SOLUTION: The image forming device is constituted of a copying machine 10 capable of fetching/storing copied original images and executing changes in the directions of the images, variable power processing and a change in output order, based on the stored image data and a finisher 1 which is connected to the copying machine 10 and provided with a paper folding means 2 for folding the outputted papers. When the originals different in the size are copied and some of them are folded, the folded original images are outputted altogether after nonfolded original images are outputted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus provided with a finisher for folding sheets copied by a copying machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an image forming apparatus is an apparatus that automatically folds and copies sheets printed or printed on a copying machine, a printer, or the like, binds them with staples, or stores them in a dedicated cover and binds them. Some finishers are connected. Such a finisher can fold the output sheet into two or three, or staple the ends by stapling. The copying machine is provided with an automatic document feeder (ADF), which can automatically send and copy a plurality of copy source documents.

[0003] Such a finisher or ADF
, Especially high-performance copiers, can mix documents of different sizes and automatically select and output a sheet of the same size as the size of the original document.

[0004]

However, in a copying machine having the finisher and the ADF, when a document having a different size is copied, only a large sheet is folded into three and folded into a small sheet. When the size of the state is the same, for example, when A4 and A3 are mixed and copied, and the A3 paper is folded in three, the output paper is a paper on which the output paper is stacked. The sheet may be caught on the tray in the stacking section and cause a paper jam. In addition, there is also a problem in that, when a plurality of sheets are stacked and the sheets are aligned for stapling, the alignment of the sheet positions cannot be performed properly.

[0005] These problems occur because the output order of the sheet that is not folded in the sheet stacking section and the sheet that has been folded are different. For example, as shown in FIG.
In the state where the folded sheet is first on the sheet stacking unit 11b and the next sheet without sheet folding is discharged, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4 (b), the bulging of the folded sheet causes a shift of the sheet without sheet folding that comes later. Normally, the paper stacking unit 11b
As shown in (2), the output paper is aligned along this inclination, but when the folded paper is below, the inclination angle is larger than the bulge of the folded part. As a result, the sheet that has been folded is ejected by the force of the conveyance output by the sheet discharge roller pair 643, and is not aligned.

Further, the paper to be folded is passed through the folding means in the finisher and folded, so that it takes more time to output the paper than the unfolded paper. For this reason, there is a problem in that a sheet that has not been folded after being folded is in an output wait state, and the time until all copying is completed is delayed.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to copy originals of different sizes and, when some of them are folded, to accumulate the output sheets so as not to cause a paper jam in the sheet accumulation section. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of performing the above.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image reading means for reading a document image, and a document size for detecting the size of the document read by the image reading means. Detecting means; image data storing means for storing the image read by the image reading means as image data; image size scaling processing based on the image data stored by the image data storing means; Data processing means for performing the change processing of the image data and the processing for changing the output order, output means for outputting the image data processed by the image data processing means on paper, and paper folding for folding the paper output from the output means Means for determining whether or not a plurality of originals of different sizes are mixed based on the original size detected by the original size detecting means; and If it is determined that the columns are mixed, and if it is set in advance to fold a part of the mixed original, the output of the original image that is folded is output as the original image that is not folded. Controlling the image data processing means to output the data collectively after the output of the image data. An image forming apparatus comprising: control means for controlling the image data processing means so as to change the size of a document image so that the size of an output sheet can be unified and output.

[0009]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
An embodiment of the present invention will be described.

First Embodiment Hereinafter, the structure and basic operation of a copying machine equipped with a finisher as an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described. The copying operation at the time will be described.

<Structure of Copying Machine> FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the entire structure of a copying machine to which a finisher is attached, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system.

The copying machine 10 is a so-called digital copying machine, and is roughly divided into a scanning system 810 for reading a document to be copied, an image signal processing unit 820 for processing read image data, and a reading system. Optical system 860 and image forming system 870 for outputting image data on paper
And is constituted by. An ADF 850 is provided on the top of the copying machine 10 for transporting the original to be copied and turning over the original as necessary. Operation panel O for instructing the operation mode of processing and the number of copies
P is provided.

As will be described later, a finisher equipped with a binding means, a paper folding means, a punch means and a staple means is attached to the copying machine.

A control system for controlling the operation of the entire copying machine (including the ADF and the finisher) includes a copying machine CPU 91 for controlling the copying machine 10 as shown in FIG.
0, an ADF CPU 950 for controlling the ADF, and a finisher CPU 980 for controlling the finisher. Each CPU has ROMs 911, 951, 981 storing necessary programs,
RAMs 912, 952, and 9 used for various processes
82 are provided.

The copier CPU 910 includes an operation panel O
P and the image signal processing unit 820 are connected, and the operation of each unit of the copying machine is performed according to an instruction from the copying machine CPU 910. Further, a CCD sensor 822 is connected to the image signal processing unit 820 via an A / D converter 821.
An imaging laser light source 862 via a D / A converter 831
Is connected. Further, the image signal processing unit 820 includes
An image memory 825 for storing the read image data is provided.

The functions of each part of the copying machine 10 will be described below.
The operation will be described in detail. First, the document set on the document tray 815 of the ADF 850 is the ADF CP.
In accordance with the instruction of U950, the document is conveyed one by one to a predetermined position on a document table (platen glass) 818, and the scanning system 8
After the document is read by the scanner 10, the document is discharged to a discharge tray on the ADF 850. The document is transported by driving the respective document transport rollers 851, 852, 853, 854 of the ADF and the transport belt 855.

When the original is transported, the ADF 850
The document size is detected one by one according to the on / off time of the sensor SE51 installed in the inside. Sensor SE5
The signal from 1 is transmitted to the copying machine CPU 910 via the ADF CPU 950.

In the scanning system 10, a scanner 819 is driven by a scan motor (not shown), and the platen glass 8
18, the exposure lamp 811 attached to the scanner 819 irradiates the original placed on the platen glass 818 with light, and the reflected light is received by the CCD 816 as a photoelectric conversion element. Scan and read an image. In the scanning system 10, the copying machine CPU 910 adjusts the above-described document conveyance and the drive timing of the scanner 819 for scanning the conveyed document.

The signal photoelectrically converted by the CCD 816 of the scanning system 810 is converted into a digital signal by an A / D converter 821 so that it can be handled as digital data, and is input to an image signal processing unit 820. The image signal processing unit 820 performs image quality correction such as shading correction, MTF correction, and gamma correction. The image data whose image quality has been corrected is stored in the image memory 825 as code data. Then, based on the stored image data, image editing such as enlargement / reduction and rotation of the image is performed based on an instruction from the copying machine CPU 910 as described later.

The image memory 825 is divided into a plurality of memory areas, stores code data as compressed image data, and enables simultaneous control of writing and reading. The stored code data is managed by the management table MT. The management of the image data will be described later in the mixed-load operation process.

For image enlargement / reduction and image rotation, the copying machine CPU 910 reads the code data stored in the image memory 825 via the image signal processing unit 820, and refers to an output instruction table as described later. This is executed at the time of print output.

The image signal processing section 820 corrects the image quality,
In addition, image data that has been subjected to necessary image processing and editing,
Based on the output instruction table described later, the copy CP
The data is extracted from the image signal processing unit 820 according to the instruction of U910, converted into analog data by the D / A converter 831, and drives the semiconductor laser 862 in the optical system 860. The laser beam is used to develop and transfer the image forming system 870. System 87
1 to form an image on paper and print it out.

The optical system 60 includes a semiconductor laser 86
2. The image forming system 870 includes a polygon mirror 865 that deflects a laser beam, and a reflection mirror 867.
80 and a fixing system 873 for fixing an image. The development transfer system 871 includes a photosensitive drum 871a, a charging charger 871b, a developing device 871c that stores a developer and supplies toner to the photosensitive drum, and a transfer charger (not shown) that transfers a toner image on the photosensitive drum to a sheet. (Shown), a separation charger (not shown) for separating the paper and the photosensitive drum, and a cleaning plate (not shown) for removing unnecessary toner.

The transport system 880 is composed of cassettes 881 and 882 storing paper, a paper guide 883, a timing roller 884, and the like. Further, the size of the sheets stored in the sheet cassettes 881 and 882 is determined in advance for each sheet cassette, and the sheet size is determined for each cassette. In the illustrated case, there are two paper cassettes,
There may be more paper cassettes.

The fixing system 873 is composed of a fixing roller 874 for transporting the sheet while thermocompressing it, a discharge roller 875, and a discharge sensor (not shown) for detecting discharge of the sheet.

The printed paper is sent to the paper output unit 10
b to a finisher 1 described later.

As shown in FIG. 3, for example, an operation panel OP provided in the copying machine 10 has a print key op1 for instructing the start of copying and a numeric key o for inputting the number of copies.
p2, a liquid crystal display touch panel op3 for displaying a message and performing various settings, a fold select key op4 for instructing how to fold the paper and its display lamps op4a and b, and a process select key o for performing staple and punch instructions.
p5, their display lamps op5a and b5, and a bind instruction key op6 for bind bookbinding.

The operation panel OP is controlled by a copy machine CP.
CPU 910 for the copying machine
Determines the input from each operation key, executes each process,
And display the processing status and various messages on the LCD panel
Output on p3. For example, when originals of different sizes are mixed on a copy source original, the original is displayed on a liquid crystal display panel op.
3 and a setting screen for asking the user whether or not to change the order of the pages as described later.

The basic functions and operations of the copying machine 10 have been described above.

<< Schematic Configuration of Finisher >> As shown in FIG. 1, the finisher 1 generally includes a non-sort tray 11a and a sheet stacking unit for stacking and aligning the sheets P discharged from the sheet discharging unit 10b of the copying machine 10. 11b; and a sheet folding means 2 for folding the sheet P discharged from the sheet discharging unit 10b into two or a Z-shape (hereinafter referred to as a Z-fold) as necessary.
Installed downstream from the paper stacking unit 11b in the paper transport direction,
A stapling unit 3 for performing stapling processing on the stacked and aligned sheets P; a sorting unit 4 for receiving and storing the sheet bundle after the stapling processing; a sheet bundle or the stapling processing after the stapling processing; The binding unit 5 includes a binding unit 5 for attaching a cover to a sheet bundle that has not been punched, and a punching unit 7 that is provided in the sheet transport path and punches a sheet as needed. The paper discharged from the copying machine 10 is transported by the paper transport unit 6 to each unit in the finisher.

<Sheet Conveying Unit> First, as shown in FIG. 1, the sheet conveying unit 6 receives a sheet P from the sheet discharging unit 10b of the copying machine 10 and conveys the sheet P downward. Switchback transport path 62 for reversing front and back and front and back
And a transport path 63 for transporting the paper P to the non-sort tray 11a;
1b, a transport path 65 that branches off from a substantially start end of the transport path 63 and transports the sheet P to the binding unit 5 or the sorting unit 4, and sorts the sheet bundle from the sheet stacking unit 11b. The paper P is transported on each of the transport paths on the basis of the center.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the transport path 61 has pairs of transport rollers 611, 612, and 613. The switchback transport path 62 includes a transport roller 621 that can rotate forward and reverse, a driven roller 622 that rotates in contact with the transport roller 621, and the transport path 63, the transport path 64, or the transport path 65
It has a pair of conveying rollers 623 and 624 for conveying in the direction, and a sensor SE1 for detecting a sheet.

The sheet P conveyed downward in the conveying path 61 is first introduced into the switchback conveying path 62. For example, when the sheet is folded, the rear end of the sheet P is detected by the sensor SE1. When a predetermined time elapses, that is, when the rear end of the sheet enters the conveyance path 62, the conveyance roller 6
21, the paper is fed to the transport path 62 of the paper folding means 2, is folded by the paper folding means 2, passes through the transport path 29, and is transported by the transport path 63.
Is transported upward toward.

The transport path 63 includes a transport roller pair 63
1, 632, 633, 634 and a discharge roller pair 635 are provided. If there is an instruction to form a punch hole at the leading end or the trailing end of the sheet P, punching is performed by the punching means 7.

The transport path 64 includes a switching claw 641 for switching the transport destination of the paper P, and a transport roller pair 642.
And a discharge roller pair 643 for discharging the paper P to the non-sort tray 11a or the paper stacking unit 11b.

The transport path 65 includes a switching claw 651 for switching the transport destination of the paper P, and a transport roller pair 652.
Is provided, and is guided directly to the binding means 5 or the sorting unit 4 without being sent to the paper stacking unit.

The switching pawls 641 and 651 are rotated by solenoids (not shown), and the sheet P conveyed from the switchback conveying path 62 is guided to either the conveying path 63 or 65 by the switching pawl 651. Will be.

The sheets P stacked and aligned in the sheet stacking section 11b are subjected to stapling as required, and then guided to the sorting section 4 through a transport path 66 which is a relatively thick path. The transport path 66 is provided with transport roller pairs 661, 662, and 663 that can be separated from each other, and a discharge roller 664 at the tip.

<Sort Unit> As shown in FIG. 4, the sort unit 4 has a sort tray 41 and a drive mechanism 42 for moving the tray 41 up and down. This sort tray 41
The sheet P is fed one by one through the transport path 65 at the time of large-volume copying, or is sent from the sheet stacking unit 11b to the staple unit 3, and the stapled sheet bundle is sent through the transport path 66. The sheet P or sheet bundle conveyed from the conveyance path 65 or the conveyance path 66 is guided by the switching claw 665 to the tray 41 or the binding unit.

The sheets P stored and stacked on the tray 41
Each time is detected by the sensor SE2, the tray 41 is lowered by a certain amount by the driving mechanism. Sensor SE
If it is detected by 3 that the tray 41 has been lowered to the lower limit, the tray 41 is full at this time, and the subsequent copy operation is interrupted. The structure of the drive mechanism 42 for lowering the tray 41 by a fixed amount is well known, and the description is omitted.

<< Paper Folding Means >> As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the paper folding means 2 is provided directly below the paper transporting section 6.
It has a function of folding the image-formed paper P in two at the center in the transport direction and a function of folding the paper P in a Z-fold.

The central role of the paper folding means 2 is three forward / reverse paper folding rollers 21, 22, 23.
And a backup roller 24, and the sheet P is provided with a plurality of sheet transport paths 25 around these rollers 21 to 24.
.. 29 are exchanged.

An outline of folding of paper will be described. Paper folding means 2
Has two paper folding modes that can be selected by operating the operation panel OP of the copying machine body 10.

Z-Fold Mode This mode folds the paper P in a Z-shape. The paper P sent from the paper discharge unit 10b through the transport paths 61 and 62 is switched as shown in FIG. Back roller pair 62
While being transported in the direction of the first transport path 25 by passing through the switching member 251 by the transport by 1, the transport is temporarily stopped by the stopped paper folding roller 22 and the backup roller 24.
When the folding roller 22 is driven, the sheet is conveyed until it comes into contact with a stopper 252 set at a predetermined position. When the sheet abuts on the stopper 252, the sheet P
Forms a loop in the vicinity of the folding rollers 21 and 22, and this loop is formed by the folding rollers 21 and 22.
And the first fold is performed.

The sheet P on which the first folding has been completed is transferred to the copier 1
By the Z-folding instruction signal from 0, the switching operation of the switching member 271 causes the sheet to be transported to the second transport path 27 and transported until it comes into contact with the stopper 272. This stopper 27
2 is stopped by the folding rollers 21 and 2
A loop is formed near the nip of No. 3 and this loop is engaged with the nip of the folding rollers 21 and 23 to perform the second folding. When the second folding is completed, the Z-folded sheet P
Is transported to the third transport path 28 and further transported to the switchback transport path 29, where the switchback roller pair 291 is transported toward the transport path 63.

This mode is a mode in which the sheet P is folded in two at the center. In this mode, the first folding is performed through a process similar to that in the Z-fold mode, except that the position of the first stopper 252 is different from that in the first folding operation in the Z-fold mode. The sheet P on which the first folding has been completed is
Since the switching member 271 provided at the entrance of the conveyance path 27 is not rotated so as to guide the sheet P to the second conveyance path 27, the sheet P is directly conveyed toward the nip of the folding rollers 21 and 23. That is, if the paper P is immediately caught in the nip of the paper folding rollers 21 and 23 immediately after passing through the paper folding rollers 21 and 22, the paper P is transported to the third transport path 28 as it is,
The sheet is transported to the switchback transport path 29, where it is transported by the switchback roller pair 291 similarly to the Z-folding.
3 is conveyed. Therefore, the folded sheet of the folded sheet is conveyed with the folded side at the bottom in the figure and the end of the sheet at the top.

<< Stapling Means >> The stapling means 3
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, after the paper P discharged from the transport path 64 is aligned in the paper stacking unit 11b, stapling is performed at a predetermined position of the paper bundle.
It has a staple driving portion 31 for discharging staples, and a staple receiving portion 32 for receiving and bending the staples thus discharged.

The sheet stacking section 11b aligns the leading end of the sheet P discharged onto the tray 12 (the rear end when viewed from the direction of discharge to the tray 12) by receiving the leading end stopper 12a, and the side aligning plate 13 The paper P reciprocates in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction, and aligns the paper P in the lateral direction. Therefore,
In the case of stapling, the fold of the sheet is located on the side of the leading end stopper 12a. Then, the first chuck means 14a
And the second chucking means 14b alternately grip the sides of the sheet P to prevent the sheet P from floating, and the first chucking means 14a grips the sheet bundle and sends it out to the stapling means 3. ing.

The staple driving section 31 staples the staples of the staple cartridge 311 through a cam link mechanism 316 driven by a motor M1 to form a staple cutting member and a staple bending member 312.
Is operated, and the staples are cut and separated one by one toward the needle receiving portion 32 side to project. Further, the needle receiving portion 32 bends the staple in a U-shape,
A staple receiving member 321 for binding the sheet bundle is provided. However, these are well known and will not be described in detail (for example, see Japanese Patent Application No. 8-66143).

The stapling position of the staples in a direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction h is determined by the stepping motor M2 with the staple driving portion 31 slidably mounted on the two guide shafts 313 and 314. The spiral shaft 315 provided in the orthogonal direction can be moved by forward / reverse rotation, and the needle receiver 32 is also slidably mounted on the two guide shafts 322, 323, and is driven by a stepping motor M3. 324
Is performed by moving in the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction h in accordance with the forward / reverse rotation of.

The position where the staples are driven in the paper transport direction is determined by the movement of the chuck means 14a. Therefore, the stapling process can be performed at any of the leading end and the trailing end of the stacked sheets according to the feeding amount of the first chuck means 14a. In the case of the bag binding, the folded end of the sheet (the leading end when viewed from the discharge direction to the tray 12) is pushed out until it comes to the position of the staple contact portion 31.

After the stapling process, the sheet is sandwiched by the pair of conveying rollers 661 which can be separated from each other, and is conveyed by the conveying path 66.

<< Binding Unit >> The binding unit 5 bundles sheets after copying and glues them using a commercially available cover. As shown in FIG. 4, the binding means 5 includes a cover accommodating portion 51 for accommodating a plurality of commercially available binding covers, and a cover transporting portion 52 for taking out and transporting one cover C from the cover accommodating portion 51. A sheet insertion unit 53 for holding the cover C conveyed by the cover conveyance unit 52 in a sheet receiving state; and a sheet bundle discharged from the paper discharge unit 10b and conveyed in the conveyance path 67 into the cover C. A sheet transporting section 54 to be inserted, a heating section 55 for performing a heating process on the cover C in which the sheet P is inserted by the sheet inserting section 53, and a discharging section 56 for discharging and storing the bound cover C outside the binding device. It is composed of As a result, the sheet bundle aligned in the sheet stacking unit 11b is left as it is or after the stapling process is performed,
After the sheets are sent to the binding means 5 via the paper folding means 67 and then bound by the paper folding means, they are sent one by one to the binding means 5 one by one via the transport path 65 to bind the plurality of sheets. Is done.

The cover accommodating portion 51 has a space for accommodating the cover C, an opening / closing door 511, a cover holding member 514,
It is housed in a V-shape with the cover opened by the housing lower guides 512 and 513 (the state shown in FIG. 4).

The cover transport section 52 is provided with the cover C
A pickup roller 521 that comes into contact with the back cover and conveys the front end of the cover C;
1, a roller pressing member 522 that presses the cover 1 against the cover C, a pair of sub-rollers 523 that conveys only one cover C, and a front sub-member 5 disposed upstream of the pair of sub rollers 523.
24, a cover detecting unit 525 disposed downstream of the pair of sabaki rollers 523, a pair of cover transport rollers 526 disposed downstream of the pair of sabaki rollers 523,
1 and cover transport guides 527 and 528 configured to join the sheet insertion unit 53.

The paper insertion section 53 includes guide plates 531, 532, 533, and 53 forming an inverted triangular paper insertion space.
4, a cover registration roller pair 535 disposed below the paper insertion space, a leading end stopper 536 disposed above the paper insertion space in the cover transport direction, and a paper registration space disposed above the cover registration roller pair 535. And the horizontal alignment member 537.

The tip of the cover C transported from the cover transport section 52 is directed upward along the guide plate 512,
It comes into contact with the tip stopper 536, but the cover C
Is transported and the back of the cover is bent downward.
31 and 532, the cover registration roller pair 53
5 regulates the lower end.

The passage of the back of the cover is detected by the cover detecting means 538 provided above the pair of cover resist rollers 535, and the cover is brought into contact with the pair of cover resist rollers 535 for a certain period of time. Thereafter, at least the upper roller of the pair of cover transport rollers 526 is retracted outside the cover transport path.

With the retreat of the cover transport roller 526, the front cover of the cover C engages with the concave portion 527a of the cover transport guide 527 by its stiffness.
As a result, the rear end position of the cover C is regulated, and the back portion is set in the paper insertion portion 53 in a V-shape placed on the cover registration roller pair 535.

After the cover is set on the paper insertion portion 53, the horizontal alignment member 537 is moved in a direction orthogonal to the direction of transport of the cover, and the end face of the cover is aligned with the alignment reference plate provided to face the horizontal alignment member 537. (Not shown) and the position is regulated.

The paper transport section 54 feeds the transport roller pair 541 for transporting the sheet bundle to the paper insertion section 53 to the transport path 67 extended to above the registration roller pair 535 and the paper P in the transport path 67. The sheet bundle conveyed by the conveying roller pair 541 is dropped by its own weight into the cover C, which is open upward in the sheet insertion section 53. Due to this weight drop, the end of the sheet to be bonded is prepared.

The heating section 55 surrounds a heating plate 551 for heating the back of the cover C conveyed from the paper insertion section 53, a heater 552 disposed below the heating plate 551, and a lower periphery of the heater 552. The heat of the heater 52 is transferred to the heating plate 55
A reflecting plate 553 formed so as to be concentrated on the same; a heater supporting plate 554 for integrally holding the heating plate 551, the heater 552, and the reflecting plate 553;
And a temperature detecting means 556.

When the sheet bundle is inserted into the cover C in the sheet insertion section 53, the pair of cover transport rollers 526 presses the end of the cover C, and then the pair of cover registration rollers 5
At least one of 35 retreats out of the paper insertion space. Then, the cover resist roller pair 535 is rotated forward and simultaneously the cover transport roller pair 523 is rotated, and the cover C is rotated.
Then, the sheet bundle is sent to the heating section 55 below the sheet insertion section 53, and the drive of the pair of cover transport rollers 526 and the pair of cover resist rollers 535 is stopped.
26 and at the same time, cover resist roller pair 535
Presses the cover C and the sheet bundle. By this operation, the end of the sheet bundle in the cover C is further adjusted.

After the alignment operation, the cover resist roller pair 535 heats the cover back on the heating plate 551 at an appropriate temperature for a certain time in a state where the cover C and the sheet bundle are pressed against each other, so that the adhesive fixed to the cover back is adhered. The agent is melted and the cover C and the sheet bundle are bonded. Thereafter, the time when the cover C and the sheet bundle are securely bonded is measured, and the cover registration roller pair 535 is rotated forward and discharged.

The discharge section 56 includes a discharge guide 561, a closing plate 562, and a discharge tray 563, and the cover C conveyed from the heating section 55 slides down the surface of the inclined discharge guide 561 by its own weight. Are stored in a discharge tray 563.

The above is the configuration of the finisher.

<< Operation at Mixed Loading >> The copying operation when originals of different sizes are loaded together will be described below.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of copying at the time of mixed loading. First, the first page is transported from the document set on the ADF 850, and an image is read and input (S1). At this time, the size of the read original is also detected. The input image data is stored in the image memory 8.
25 (S2). Then, a management table MT for managing the arrangement of the image data in the memory is created (S3). At this time, each document size is also stored.

The read image data is stored by being divided into regions for each page. For example, as shown in FIG. 8A, the code data of the image is stored in a plurality of divided regions in the image memory 825. Is done. And this image memory 8
The image data stored in each area in 25 is managed by a management table MT. The management table MT is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the number indicating the area in the image memory 825, the document number assigned in the input order, the number of the linked area, and additional information are required for the compression / decompression processing such as the compression method and data length. Various information and the detected original size are stored. In FIG. 8B, the front link indicates the forward link and whether the area is the first area when one input document is stored over two or more areas. , “00” indicate the first area, and the others indicate the previous area number. Similarly, the back link indicates the backward link and whether or not the area is the last area.
"F" indicates the last area and the area number after the other area is connected. In this case, since the original image data of one A4 size can be accommodated in one area, the preceding connection is all "00".
All the post-connections become “FF.” In the case of A3 size, two areas are used.

The operation of S1 to S3 is described as ADF8
The process is executed for all the originals set to 50 (S
4).

Next, the document size is read out of the document management table MT, and it is confirmed whether or not a plurality of document sizes are in the mixed mode in which the document sizes are different (S5). If the sizes are different, processing in the mixed loading mode (S10) is executed.

If not mixed, the output is normal,
An output instruction table described later is created (S6). Then, in accordance with the instructions in the created output instruction table, the paper is printed out (S7). The output sheets are subjected to various processes such as sheet folding and punching according to an instruction from the operation panel OP which is performed in advance, and are stacked in the sheet stacking unit 11b (post-processing, S8). Then, it is confirmed whether or not all the paper outputs have been completed (S9), and the copying operation ends.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the mixed mode processing. First, after it is determined in step S5 that the sheets are mixed, it is confirmed whether or not the output page order may be changed (S11). This is because, by applying the present invention, the paper without folding is output first,
If the page order is changed in order to output the folded sheet later, it is checked whether the page order may be changed. For this confirmation, a setting screen for confirmation may be displayed on the liquid crystal display touch panel op3 on the operation panel OP to urge the user to confirm, or the mixed mode may be automatically set in advance by automatic setting or the like. In such a case, the page change may be set to be permitted. If the page change is not preferable, the setting may be made such that the page change is not permitted at the start of copying.

If it is determined in step S11 that the page order can be changed, a sheet without folding is output first, and
An instruction is issued to output the folded sheet later (S12). As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, the output instruction table created in step S6 has the area 0 so that the image data of the A4 size document is output first.
05 is output following 1, 02, and subsequently, areas 03, 04 having A3 size image data to be folded are arranged so as to be output. In the illustrated case, four sheets of image data are shown. Of course, even when the number of sheets to be mixed is larger, the A4 size image data is output first, and then the A3 size image data to be folded is output. An output instruction table is created.

The sheet output in accordance with this instruction is then folded for A3 size paper. In the sheet stacking section 11b, as shown in FIG. Then, a folded sheet is output from above. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 11B, the folded sheets are output after a plurality of sheets and are accumulated along the inclination of the sheet accumulating section 11b by the weight of the folded sheet, and the conventional (FIG. 14), the position of the sheet output by the sheet stacking unit 11b does not change due to the thickness of the folded sheet. In addition, since sheets with folded sheets are output later, sheets without folded sheets do not have to wait for output.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S11 that the page order cannot be changed, it is next determined whether or not the image of the large document may be reduced (S1).
3). Here, if the image data can be reduced, the image data of the large-size document is reduced, and further, the output image is rotated by 90 °. As shown in FIG. 12, the output instruction table created in step S6 in accordance with this instruction does not change the order of the areas in which the output order is determined. Written.

As a result, all of the output sheets become A4 size, and the sheet position does not shift in the sheet stacking section 11b.

If it is determined in step S13 that reduction is impossible, the process directly returns to step S7, and an output instruction table is created so that a normal copying operation can be performed even in the mixed mode. You.
That is, an A4 size document is output as A4 size, and an A3 size document is output as A3 size, and no paper folding is performed. As shown in FIG. 13, the output instruction table at this time is prepared such that the output order is not changed or additional information is not written so that the image data is output in the same state as when the image data was input. .
The setting for determining whether or not reduction can be performed is set in advance from the operation panel OP when copying is started.

As described above, in the present embodiment,
When originals of different sizes are mixed and copied, large-sized originals are folded or reduced as appropriate to unify the size of the completed bundle of papers, resulting in a good-looking paper bundle. In this case, paper with folds is output together after unfolded paper, preventing misalignment and paper jam of the output paper in the paper stacking unit and improving productivity. I do.

[0080]

According to the present invention described above, when originals of different sizes are mixed and printed on paper, and when a large-sized original is folded, the paper to be folded is folded. If the paper is not folded, it is output together. If the paper is not folded, the original image is scaled so that the paper size is unified. In the sheet stacking section for stacking sheets, it is possible to prevent the output sheet from shifting or being jammed. Also, in the case of folding a sheet, since the sheets to be folded are output collectively later, there is no need to wait for the output of the sheet without folding without passing through the folding means.
Productivity is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a copying machine and a finisher to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining a control system of the copying machine and the finisher.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an operation panel provided in the copying machine.

FIG. 4 is a drawing showing a configuration of the finisher.

FIG. 5 is a drawing showing a configuration of a paper folding means provided in the finisher.

FIG. 6 is a drawing showing a configuration of stapling means provided in the finisher.

FIG. 7 is a main flowchart showing a procedure of a copying operation in the copying machine.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for describing management of image data.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a mixed loading mode processing routine shown in the main flowchart.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an output instruction table.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state of a sheet output by the finisher.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another example of the output instruction table.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing still another example of the output instruction table.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing a state of a conventional output sheet.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Finisher, 2 ... Paper folding means, 5 ... Binding means, 10 ... Copy machine, 51 ... Cover accommodation part, 52 ... Cover conveyance part, 54 ... Paper conveyance part, 55 ... Heating part, 820 ... Image signal processing part, 825: Image memory, 910: CPU for copying machine, 980: CPU for finisher.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Image reading means for reading a document image, document size detecting means for detecting the size of the document read by the image reading means, and image data for storing the image read by the image reading means as image data Storage means; image data processing means for performing image size changing processing, image direction changing processing, and output order changing processing based on the image data stored by the image data storing means; Output means for outputting the image data processed by the processing means on a sheet, sheet folding means for folding the sheet output from the output means, and a plurality of documents of different sizes from the document size detected by the document size detection means And a mixed loading determining means for determining whether or not the mixed originals are loaded. And controlling the image data processing means to output the original image to be folded in a batch after the output of the original image to not be folded when the set is set to be folded in advance. When the paper size is set in advance so as not to be folded, the size of the document image is adjusted so that the size of all output sheets can be unified to the minimum size detected by the document size detection means. An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the image data processing unit so as to change the magnification.