JPH10198098A - Roll paper feeding device of image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the futile consumption of a recording paper and to efficiently execute an image forming operation at a low cost by cutting a residual recording paper pulled out of a roll body with an absolute minimum length for carrying, to execute ejection processing, when an instruction to stop is issued during the image forming operation. SOLUTION: The feeding of an original has a jam state or a copying stop button is depressed by an operator, so that when the instruction to stop is outputted to the roll paper feeding control part, of a CPU and a copying operation becomes a stopped state in the process, the recording paper from the roll body 20 is processed with a control program in a ROM. In other words, when the quantity of the recording paper pulled out of the roll body 20 is of a conveyable length, that is, the projection quantity of the residual recording paper from a cutter 24 is >=150nm for instance, the residual recording paper is immediately cut. Then, the cut recording paper is ejected toward a paper ejecting tray 13.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an electrophotographic copying machine,
The present invention relates to a roll paper supply device for an image forming apparatus such as an electrostatic recording apparatus in which roll paper is used as recording paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, in various image forming apparatuses such as an electrophotographic copying machine, an original is placed in a fixed or moving state on an original glass table, and an illumination lamp or the like constituting image reading means is attached to the original. The original image is read by moving the image relative to the image, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image is formed on the image carrier, developed, and the obtained toner image is transferred onto recording paper to form an image. I'm trying to do it.

Some of such image forming apparatuses use a roll made of a long recording paper wound in a cylindrical shape as the recording paper. From this roll,
The recording paper is pulled out in synchronization with the image forming process, and the recording paper is conveyed to a transfer unit by a roll paper conveyance mechanism, and is discharged after the transfer. The recording paper pulled out from the roll body is cut into a predetermined length by cutting means such as a cutter. That is, the operation of the roll paper transport mechanism and the cutting unit is controlled at a predetermined timing by the roll paper supply control unit, whereby the recording paper pulled out from the roll body is cut into a required size and used. It is supposed to be.

Further, when the document feeding is jammed in the middle of the image forming process or when the operator presses the stop key or the like, the image forming process is stopped in the middle.
Under the operation control of the roll paper supply control unit, the recording paper is pulled out from the roll body and cut off until the recording paper reaches the required size. Then, the recording paper cut to the requested size is discharged and processed in the same manner as when a normal cut paper is used.

[0005]

However, in the conventional apparatus, as described above, the recording paper is required even though the image forming process is stopped halfway and the image is not formed. The recording paper is further pulled out from the roll body until the paper size reaches a predetermined size, which wastes the recording paper and reduces the image forming efficiency.

Therefore, the present invention solves such a problem, and when a stop request is issued in the middle of an image forming process, the remaining recording paper pulled out from the roll body can be discharged without waste. It is an object of the present invention to provide a roll paper supply device for an image forming apparatus.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a roll paper supply device of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises a roll body formed by winding a long recording paper into a cylindrical shape, and an image forming process. A roll paper transport mechanism that pulls out the recording paper from the roll body and transports the recording paper to the transfer unit in synchronization with the cutting unit, a cutting unit that cuts the recording paper pulled out from the roll body to a predetermined length, A roll paper supply control unit for operating a cutting unit at a predetermined timing to supply recording paper from the roll body; and a roll paper supply device of an image forming apparatus, comprising: When the process is stopped, if the withdrawal amount of the recording paper from the roll body is a length that can be transported, the recording paper is immediately cut by the cutting means, and the cut recording paper is removed. Discharge If the amount of recording paper pulled out from the roll body is not long enough to be conveyed, the recording paper is cut out after drawing the recording paper to the minimum length necessary for conveyance, and the recording after the cutting is performed. It has means for discharging paper.

In such an apparatus, when a stop command is issued in the middle of the image forming process, the residual recording paper pulled out from the roll body is cut into a minimum length necessary for conveyance and discharged. Therefore, the processing of the residual recording paper is performed efficiently without waste.

In this case, when the image forming step is stopped after the roll paper supply control section cuts the recording paper pulled out from the roll body as in the second aspect of the present invention, If there is a means for immediately discharging the cut recording paper, the discharge processing of the remaining recording paper can be performed efficiently without waste.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the leading end of the recording paper pulled out from the roll in the transport direction is located upstream of the cutting means in the transport direction, the roll paper supply control unit may control the recording. While stopping the paper transport as it is,
If the leading end of the recording paper pulled out from the roll body in the transport direction is within a predetermined range from the cutting unit toward the downstream in the transport direction, move the leading end of the recording paper in the transport direction upstream of the cutting unit in the transport direction. If there is a means for stopping conveyance of the recording paper after returning, the discharge processing of the residual recording paper is simplified,
More preferred.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, when the recording paper pulled out from the roll body is jammed, the roll paper supply control section causes the cutting means to immediately cut the recording paper. , The roll unit can be easily pulled out in addition to the above-described operation.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Prior to this, an outline of an image forming apparatus will be described using an electrophotographic copying machine as an example.

In the electrophotographic copying machine shown in FIG. 1, a document glass table 2 as a document table is provided on an upper surface of an apparatus main body 1 and a document glass table 2 is provided immediately below the document glass table 2. And a scanner (scanning optical device) 3 constituting an image reading means. This scanner 3
Has an illumination lamp 3a for irradiating scanning light to a document (not shown) on the document glass table 2, and a reflecting mirror 3b for guiding light reflected from the document onto a photosensitive drum 4 described later. And a projection lens 3c.

An original supply device 5 is provided on the original glass table 2 so as to cover the original glass table 2 so as to be openable and closable. The original supply device 5 includes the illumination lamp 3
a is stopped at a predetermined position, and a document feeder (hereinafter, referred to as DF) 5a for scanning is performed while the document is being conveyed while the document is being conveyed. And an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as AF) 5b for reading while moving the.

A photosensitive drum 4 as an image carrier is provided below the scanner 3 so as to be driven to rotate clockwise in the drawing. This photosensitive drum 4
A charger 6 uniformly charges the photosensitive drum 4 and supplies toner to an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 4 by exposing the scanning light from the scanner 3 to light. A developing device 7 for developing an image, a transfer charger 8 disposed in the middle of the paper transport path to transfer the toner image on the photosensitive drum 4 to the recording paper side, and a separation device for separating the recording paper after the transfer A charger 9, a cleaning device 10 for removing toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 4 after transfer, and the like are sequentially arranged along the rotation driving direction of the photosensitive drum 4.

Further, the toner image on the recording paper is thermally fixed to the exit side end of the belt-shaped paper transport path 11 extending from the transfer charger 8 and the separation charger 9 toward the exit of the apparatus main body. And a discharge tray 13 is mounted at an outlet of the fixing device 12. Further, immediately below the belt-shaped paper transport path 11, a paper feed cassette 14 for storing cut recording paper for each size is provided in four stages.

A paper feed roller 15 is disposed above the outlet on the right side in the drawing of each of the paper feed cassettes 14.
From the transfer path 16 toward the transfer portion of the photosensitive drum 4
Extend respectively. Each of these transport paths 16 merges into a single transport path 17, and a registration roller 18 that feeds recording paper to the transfer section in the vicinity of the transfer section in the merged transport path 17 in synchronization with the image forming process. Is provided.

A roll unit having a roll of recording paper 20 is provided on a side (right side in the figure) of each of the paper feed cassettes 14 so as to be drawn out to the right in the figure. As shown in FIG. 2, the roll body 20 provided in this roll unit is formed by winding a long recording paper into a cylindrical shape, and is drawn from the roll body 20. A transport path 21 for transporting the recording paper is
It is connected so as to be connected to the above-described convey path 17 toward the registration roller 18.

In the middle of the transport path 21, a paper feed roller 22 and a transport roller 23 constituting a roll paper transport mechanism are arranged on the upstream and downstream sides in the transport direction, respectively.
The roll body 2 is driven by the rotational driving force of each of these rollers.
The recording paper is pulled out from 0 in synchronization with the copying operation, and is conveyed toward the transfer unit side.

The paper feed roller 22 and the transport roller 2
3, a cutter 2 serving as cutting means for cutting the recording paper drawn from the roll body 20 into a predetermined length.
4 are provided. The cutter 24 has a rotary blade that moves so as to cross in the paper width direction, and the rotary blade is configured to be operated at a predetermined timing according to a command from a roll paper supply control unit described later. . Note that the recording paper that has passed through the cutter 24 is guided so as to be sent to the transport roller 23 so as to draw a loop R.

Further, a paper presence / absence sensor 25 for detecting the presence / absence of recording paper on the roll body 20 is disposed upstream of the paper feed roller 22 in the transport direction.
A paper feed sensor 27 that reads a leading end position of the recording paper and generates a trigger signal for measuring the conveyance amount of the recording paper is disposed downstream of the paper feed roller 22 in the conveyance direction.
That is, the transport amount of the recording paper pulled out from the roll body 20 is configured to be read based on the transport amount by the paper feed roller 22 after the paper feed sensor 27 detects the leading end of the recording paper. . The registration roller 1
A registration sensor 26 for detecting the paper conveyance state with respect to the registration roller 18 is disposed on the upstream side (the right side in the drawing) of the conveyance direction of the registration roller 8.
Paper detection signals from 26 and 27 are output to the roll paper supply control device 30.

Next, the roll paper supply control device 30 will be described. The roll paper supply control device 30 controls the DF
When the roll body 20 is designated as the recording paper, for example, when performing the flow reading (sheet through) using the sheet 5a, the function is performed when the roll body 20 is designated at a predetermined timing with the start of the copying operation. It has a function of cutting out the recording paper to a designated size by pulling out the recording paper and operating the cutter 24, and sending it to the registration roller 18 side. Further, the roll paper supply control device 30 has a function of performing a recording paper discharge processing operation described later when the copy operation is stopped halfway.

The roll paper supply control device 30 has a structure as shown in FIG. 3, and is provided with a roll paper supply control unit 31a provided in a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as CPU) 31. The input unit includes a paper sensor 25 disposed near the outlet of the roll body 20 and a paper sensor 2.
7, a paper detection signal from a registration sensor 26 disposed near the entrance of the registration roller 18 is applied, and a ROM 32 storing a control program and the like for defining a recording paper conveyance and cutting procedure described later is stored. And a read / read signal from the RAM 33 in which various data are stored.

The output section of the roll paper supply control section 31a of the CPU 31 has a driver 34 for a drive motor of the paper feed roller 22 and the transport roller 23 constituting the roll paper transport mechanism, and a drive of the registration roller 18. A motor driver 35 and a driving motor driver 36 of the cutter 24 are connected to each other, and a driving signal is output to each of the driving drivers 34, 35, 36 at a predetermined timing. I have.

When the document feed is jammed or when the copy stop button is pressed by the operator, a stop command is output to the roll paper supply control unit 31a of the CPU 31, and the copy operation is interrupted. In the case of the stop state, the recording paper from the roll body 20 is processed by the control program in the ROM 32, for example, as shown in FIG.

That is, when the copying operation is stopped halfway, first, the paper presence / absence sensor 25 is checked to confirm that the recording paper is present on the roll body 20 (Yes in step 1). If the leading end of the recording paper pulled out from the roll body 20 in the transport direction has not reached the registration sensor 26 (No in step 2), the cutter 24 is still in operation.
If the recording paper conveyance operation is not performed and the cutter 24 is located on the front side (upstream side in the conveyance direction) (No in Step 3), the conveyance operation of the recording paper is stopped as it is (Step 4).

On the other hand, the leading end of the recording paper pulled out from the roll body 20 in the transport direction passes through the cutter 24 (Yes in step 3), but protrudes from the cutter 24 toward the downstream side in the transport direction. However, if it is within about 20 mm as an example within the predetermined range in the present invention (No in step 5), the remaining recording paper is pulled back (step 6), and the leading end of the residual recording paper in the transport direction is moved. When the sheet feeding sensor 27 is turned off by the unit being pulled back to the front side (upstream side in the transport direction) of the cutter 24 (Yes in Step 7), the transport operation is stopped (Step 8). This is because, if the copying operation is stopped while the remaining recording paper jumps out of the cutter 24, the recording paper will be deformed if the recording paper is stopped for a long time in the transport path.

Further, when the leading end of the recording paper pulled out from the roll body 20 in the transport direction has not reached the registration sensor 26 (No in step 2) and has passed the cutter 24 by 20 mm or more. (Yes in Step 5), the control operation differs as follows depending on whether or not the amount of protrusion from the cutter 24 is a length that can be conveyed.

That is, if the amount of the remaining recording paper protruding from the cutter 24 is longer than the roller interval in the subsequent transport path, the remaining recording paper may be immediately cut into the rollers even if it is immediately cut. However, if the sheet is cut to a length shorter than the distance between the rollers, the sheet is inserted between the rollers and cannot be conveyed.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, since the distance between the registration roller 18 and the transport roller 23 is the longest distance between the rollers in the transport path, the length of 150 mm or more, which is a little longer than the roller interval, is required. In some cases, the processing is performed on the assumption that the transfer can be performed on the subsequent transfer path. That is, the roll body 2 according to the present invention
In the present embodiment, as an example of a case where the withdrawal amount of the recording paper from 0 is a transportable length, the cutter 24
Is set to 150 mm or more, and the amount of remaining recording paper protruding from the cutter 24 is set to 150 mm or more (Yes in step 7).
s), the remaining recording paper is cut immediately (step 9). Then, the cut recording paper is placed in the paper discharge tray 1.
3 (step 10), and the process is completed.

On the other hand, an example in which the amount of the recording paper protruding from the cutter 24 is less than 150 mm, that is, the amount of the recording paper pulled out from the roll body 20 according to the present invention is not a transportable length. If the amount is (No in step 7), the recording paper is further fed out by an amount insufficient for 150 mm because the subsequent conveyance on the conveyance path is impossible (step 11). When the amount of protrusion from the cutter 24 reaches 150 mm (Yes in step 7), the recording paper is cut immediately (step 9), and the cut recording paper is placed in the discharge tray 1 (step 9).
Then, the paper is discharged toward the printer 3 (step 10). If the recording paper runs out of the roll body 20 during the discharging operation, the operation is stopped, and then a message indicating that there is no paper is displayed (step 12).

When the leading end of the recording paper pulled out from the roll body 20 in the transport direction has already reached the registration sensor 26 (Yes in step 2), substantially the same discharge processing is performed. In this case, if a size smaller than the A3 size is specified, the cutter 2
4 has been completed, and if the cutting has been completed (Yes in step 13), the remaining recording paper is immediately discharged (step 14). On the other hand, if the size has not been cut (N in step 13)
o) After the remaining recording paper is cut (step 1)
5) The cut recording paper is discharged toward the discharge tray 13 (step 16).

The above-described roll paper supply control device 30
Has a function of immediately cutting the remaining recording paper when the recording paper pulled out from the roll body 20 is in a jam state, and the roll unit having the roll body 20 by cutting the remaining recording paper. Can be easily pulled out of the apparatus main body 1. In particular, when the leading end of the recording sheet reaches the registration sensor 26, the condition is effective because the leading end portion of the recording sheet is sandwiched between the registration rollers 18. Further, since the jammed paper has been cut, it is easy to remove the jammed paper. After the jammed paper is processed, since the leading end of the recording paper is at the paper feed sensor 27, image formation can be resumed immediately.

As described above, in the roll paper supply apparatus according to the present embodiment, when a stop command is issued during the copy operation, the residual recording paper pulled out from the roll body 20 is reduced by the minimum length necessary for conveyance. As a result, the recording sheet is discharged and the useless feeding operation of the recording paper is eliminated, so that the recording paper is not wasted and the copying operation is efficiently performed.

Although the invention made by the inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiment, the invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. Needless to say. For example, the present invention includes a copier, a facsimile,
The present invention can be similarly applied to various image forming apparatuses such as a printer.

[0038]

As described above, the roll paper supply device of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention conveys the residual recording paper pulled out from the roll when a stop command is issued during the image forming operation. By cutting the paper into a minimum length and discharging it, the unnecessary feeding operation of the recording paper is eliminated and the waste of the recording paper is eliminated, so that the image forming operation can be performed efficiently and inexpensively. And the reliability of the image forming apparatus can be improved.

In this case, according to the second, third, fourth, and fifth aspects of the present invention, the above-described effects can be further enhanced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a copying machine as an example of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing an enlarged structure example of a roll unit used in the copying machine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a roll paper supply control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a residual recording paper discharge processing operation performed by the roll paper supply control device shown in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 18 registration roller 20 roll body 22 paper feed roller (roll paper transport mechanism) 23 transport roller (roll paper transport mechanism) 24 cutter (cutting means) 25 paper presence sensor 26 registration sensor 31 central processing unit (CPU)

Claims (5)

[Claims] A roll body formed by winding a long recording paper into a cylindrical shape; a roll paper transport mechanism for pulling out the recording paper from the roll body in synchronization with an image forming step and transporting the recording paper to a transfer unit; Cutting means for cutting the recording paper drawn from the body to a predetermined length; and roll paper supply control for operating the roll paper transport mechanism and the cutting means at a predetermined timing to supply the recording paper from the roll body. And a roll paper supply device of the image forming apparatus, comprising: a roll paper supply control unit that can convey the amount of recording paper pulled out from the roll body when the image forming process is stopped. If the length is equal to the length, the recording paper is immediately cut by the cutting means and the cut recording paper is discharged. Roll paper supply apparatus for an image forming apparatus, comprising: means for cutting out recording paper after drawing out the recording paper to a minimum length necessary for conveyance, and discharging the cut recording paper. . 2. The roll paper supply control unit according to claim 1,
When the image forming step is stopped after cutting the recording paper pulled out from the roll body, the image forming apparatus has a means for immediately discharging the cut recording paper. Roll paper supply device. 3. The roll paper supply control unit according to claim 1,
If the leading end of the recording paper pulled out of the roll body in the transport direction is upstream of the cutting means in the transport direction, the transport of the recording paper is stopped as it is, and the leading end of the recording paper pulled out of the roll body in the transport direction is stopped. If the recording paper is within a predetermined range from the cutting means toward the downstream side in the transport direction, there is a means for stopping the transport of the recording paper after returning the leading end of the recording paper in the transport direction to the upstream side in the transport direction of the cutting means. A roll paper supply device for an image forming apparatus. 4. A roll paper supply apparatus for an image forming apparatus, wherein the stopped state of the image forming step according to claim 1 is a jam state of document feeding or an output state of a stop command by an operator. 5. The roll paper supply control unit according to claim 1,
A roll paper feeding device for an image forming apparatus, comprising: means for immediately cutting the recording paper by a cutting means when the recording paper pulled out from the roll body is jammed.