JPS604957A - Copying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To grasp of which size a mounted form is and eliminate an operator's error regarding the recognition of the selected form size by detecting and displaying the size of the mounted form, and also detecting and displaying the remaining quantity of forms of each size. CONSTITUTION:Four cut parts 3-6 are provided to one flank 2 of a paper feed cassette 1 for the detection of form size, and the cut parts 3-6 contact four switches provided at the side of a copying machine body corresponding to the cut parts 3-6 when the paper feed casette 1 is loaded; one of those four cut parts 3-6 is filled up according to the size of the cassette, and then the information control part of the copying machine body reads the size of forms in the paper feed cassette 1 in a binary code. The remaining quantity of the forms is detected by detecting the angle of rotation of a bottom plate pressing-up member 8 which presses up a cassette bottom plate 7 in the paper feed cassette 1 with predetermined constant pressure.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Technical fields> The present invention relates to a copying machine.

<Prior art> The paper size commonly used in copying machines is A8.
．． A4. A5. B4. It is B5. And it takes a lot of effort to replace these as necessary each time you copy, so recently I have been using two types at the same time.

Improved devices have been developed that can accommodate a plurality of paper sizes, such as three types.

By the way, conventional copying machines are A3. A4. A5. B4゜B
By displaying paper sizes such as 5 in a fixed position and lighting dots near each paper size display, you can display the paper size currently being selected by lighting only the dot of the selected paper size. I was doing it. However, in that case, for example, it would be difficult to place a "
When "83" is displayed, the operator may be under the illusion that A3 has been selected, regardless of whether it is correct or not.

Furthermore, although conventional copying machines display the sizes of multiple sheets of paper loaded, they do not display how much paper is left in each size, for example, B5 and A.
There was a case where I had paper size 4 loaded at the same time, and the paper ran out as soon as I finished copying B5 and switched to A4.

<Object of the Invention> In view of the above matters, the present invention improves the size display means for displaying the size of the loaded paper, and also provides a new alternative display means for detecting and displaying the remaining amount of paper of each size. The purpose is to provide a copying machine in addition to the above.

<Example> The configuration of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The copying machine according to the embodiment of the present invention can accommodate paper of three different sizes.

The paper size is shown in FIG. 1(a).

As shown in (b), a liquid crystal display, which is an element capable of displaying different types of data within one block, is used.

The block is divided into three parts, with the uppermost divided block displaying the paper size selected and in use, and the lower two divided blocks displaying other paper sizes installed. Same figure (
A) shows the state in which A4 size paper is used, and the same figure (b)
) indicates that A3 size is used.

Then, on the right side of each paper size, the remaining amount of each paper size is displayed in five stages. That is, a bar graph display using five LEDs (light emitting diodes) is configured on the right half of the three divided blocks, and the amount of paper of the corresponding left size is displayed in stages, that is, when the block is full, the bar graph display is displayed using five LEDs (light emitting diodes). A bar graph is displayed, and as it gradually decreases, the number of bar graphs displayed decreases, and in the end, all of the bar graphs disappear.

Next, the specific configurations of the size detecting means for displaying the size of the loaded paper and the remaining amount detecting means for displaying the remaining amount of paper of each size will be described.

To detect the paper size, as shown in FIG. When the paper feed force cera) I is installed, it comes into contact with four switches provided on the main body of the duplexer corresponding to the notches 3, 4, 5, and 6, and this switch is adjusted depending on the size of the cassette. 4 notches 3,
4, 5.6 is filled in, and the information control section of the main body of the copying machine reads the paper size of the paper feed cassette 1 using binary code.

The remaining amount of paper is detected by checking the paper cassette 1 as shown in Figure 3.
The rotation angle of the bottom plate push-up member 8 that pushes up the cassette bottom plate 7 held inside by a predetermined constant pressure (the bottom plate push-up member 8 has a mechanism in which one end is fixed and the other end moves up and down,
Refers to the angle of vertical movement of the other end. ) is achieved by detecting the

In other words, the weight applied to the cassette bottom plate 7 changes depending on the amount of paper P loaded on the cassette bottom plate 7. As the amount of paper P decreases, the tip of the bottom plate push-up member 8 lifts up and the rotation angle increases. 0 when first setting paper
It gradually becomes larger than °. In the figure, 9 is a cassette claw.

As shown in FIG. 4, the rotation angle of the bottom plate push-up member 8 is detected by a reflective type, in which a reflection plate 8a is attached to the tip side of the bottom plate push-up member 8, and the reflection plate 8a is disposed opposite to the reflection plate 8a. This is done by the photosensor 10. This reflective photosensor 10 is located at 5 angular positions that divide the rotation angle of the tip of the bottom plate push-up member 8 from the lowest value (oo) to the highest value into 5 parts.
There are one.

As is clear from FIG. 5, the detection circuit detects reflected light from any one of the photosensors 10a, IOb, ]Oc, IOd, and IOe.
The output voltages of [a, Job, ]Oc, IOd, IOe are compared with the reference voltage by a comparator, and when the training voltages match, the output is output and the output is sent to the five display segments (this is the five display segments mentioned above) through the NOT gate. This corresponds to a bar graph using LEDs. Therefore, if reflected light is detected, the display is turned off, and conversely, if reflected light is not detected, the display is turned on. If there is no paper at all, the display will disappear entirely.

This photo sensor and LED bar graph shows the photo sensor 10a at the lowest rotation angle (when the paper is full).
and make it correspond to the topmost one (Ll in FIG. 6) of the five LED bar graphs. Other 7 otosensors 10b, IOc, ]Od.

10e are also arranged in the order of decreasing rotation angle, respectively, and are arranged in the order of L2 + L3 + L from the top of the LED bar graph.
41 L 5. In Figure 6, the paper size is
Although I used "A4" paper, the same applies to other paper sizes.

In addition, as a detection means, various applications such as detecting the rotation angle of the bottom plate push-up member 8 with a potentiometer, or detecting the position by linking the bottom plate push-up member 8 and a slide volume to convert the rotation angle into an electrical resistance value are possible. is possible.

Note that the present invention can be applied to information devices such as facsimile machines and printers as long as the devices are capable of carrying out copying operations by loading sheets of multiple sizes.

<Effects> As described above, according to the present invention, in a copying machine that makes copies on paper of multiple sizes, it is possible to know which size of paper is loaded, and at the same time, the selected size is always displayed on the display. Since the paper size is displayed in a specific area of the display area, there is no need for the operator to make a mistake in recognizing the selected paper size.Furthermore, since the amount of remaining paper for each size is also known, there is no need to run out of paper at the same time as selecting the paper size. The paper can be replenished efficiently, and the ease of use is greatly improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1(a) and 1(b) are display form diagrams of the size display means characterizing the copying machine of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of a cassette illustrating the paper size detection means for displaying the size, FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a remaining amount detecting means for displaying the remaining amount of paper that characterizes the copying machine of the present invention, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the detection structure of the remaining amount detecting means, and FIG. The detection circuit diagram, FIG. 6, is an explanatory diagram of the correspondence between the remaining amount detection means and the remaining paper amount display. l... Paper feed cassette, 3, 4, 5.6... Notch,
7 - Cassette bottom plate, 8 - Bottom plate push-up member, 8a...
・Reflector, 10; LOa, job, toc, IOd,
10e...Reflective photo sensor, P/Paper. Agent Patent Attorney Aihiko Fuku (and 2 others) No. ” (Q
) (b) Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] I. A copying machine that copies onto paper of multiple sizes,
A copying machine characterized by comprising a size display means for detecting and displaying the size of loaded paper, and a remaining amount display means for detecting and displaying the remaining amount of paper of each size. 2. The copying machine according to claim 1, wherein the size display means is means for displaying the size of the selected sheet of paper to distinguish it from the sizes of other sheets of paper. 3. A patent claim characterized in that the size display means is means for displaying a plurality of sizes in one size display block, and the selected paper size is always displayed in a divided area within the block. A copying machine according to item 1 of the scope.