JPS61231569A - Copying method for automatic both-surface copying machine equipped with original circulatory feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the frequency of switching to reverse-surface copying operation to only one and to facilitate control over the both-surface copying operation by carrying out top-surface copying operation for all originals corresponding to add pages and then copying originals corresponding to even pages to reverse surfaces. CONSTITUTION:A both-surface copy conveyance path 34 is formed between an intermediate tray 22 and a switch-back conveyance path 33, and an inverted form conveyance path 35 is constituted between the intermediate tray 22 and the PS roller 21 in a copying machine body 2. An intermediate tray guide 23 and a form feeding belt 24 for the intermediate tray part are arranged at the intermediate tray 22. Consequently, originals are circulated twice by an original circulatory feeder to perform the top-surface copying operation in the 1st circulation for all originals corresponding to odd pages and also stack copying forms in the intermediate tray 22; and the originals are fed from the intermediate tray 22 in the 2nd circulation to form images of one-surface originals on both surfaces of the copying forms.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to a copying method in which images of a plurality of single-sided originals are formed on both sides of copy paper using an automatic double-sided copying machine equipped with a circulating original feeding device.

<Summary of the Invention> The copying method according to the present invention circulates a document twice in a document circulation feeder, performs a surface copying operation on the document corresponding to the odd numbered pages during the first circulation, and performs a surface copying operation on the document corresponding to the even numbered pages during the second circulation. (Prior art and its drawbacks) Recently, a large number of automatic duplex copying machines that form images on both sides of copy paper have been commercialized. The above-mentioned automatic double-sided copying machine has a switchback conveyance means and an intermediate storage section inside the device, and the single-sided copy sheet whose front side has been copied is guided to the switchback conveyance means, and after the conveyance direction is reversed, it is stored in the intermediate storage section. Temporarily stored in the department. Thereafter, when the original is changed, the single-sided copy sheet is again conveyed to the copy processing section so that its back side faces the photoreceptor, and images are formed on both sides of the copy sheet. In addition, there are devices equipped with a document feeder that feeds and ejects documents to and from the document table in order to simplify the task of changing documents during automatic duplex copying, and duplex copying of multiple consecutive pages of documents. Copying machines equipped with a sorter in the paper discharge section have also been commercialized in order to simplify the bookkeeping process. The document feeder described above transports multiple sheets of originals placed on the document tray to the document tray, starting from the lowest one, and outputs the document on the document tray to the top of the originals placed on the document tray. A document circulation feeding device is common.

Conventionally, when copying the image of a single-sided original onto both sides of paper using an automatic duplex copying machine equipped with the above-mentioned document circulation feeder and sorter, the front side of one original is continuously copied for a set number of sheets. A single-sided copy sheet with an image copied on the front side is stored in an intermediate tray, which is an intermediate storage section. Next, the original corresponding to the back side of the previous original is guided onto the original table, and the single-sided copied paper stored in the intermediate tray is again conveyed to the copying process section, where images are formed on both sides of the paper.

As described above, copy sheets with images formed on both sides are discharged from a paper discharge section of a copying machine and stored in respective bins of a sorter. However, in the conventional copying method described above, copying operations are performed continuously on both sides of a single sheet of copy paper, so when duplexing a multi-page original, front side copying and back side copying are performed alternately, and each copying machine Controlling the device becomes complicated. That is, in order to guide the paper that has completed the copying process to the switchback transport means during front-side copying, and to guide the paper to the sorter when the back-side copying operation has been completed, the operation control of the paper transport path switching means and the configuration of the paper transport path are performed. Switching the control of the rotating direction of the conveyor belt and conveyor roller is complicated, and repeating the above-mentioned operation changes increases the frequency of wear and failure of the internal devices of the copying machine, reducing reliability. Ta.

<Object of the Invention> In view of the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, the object of the present invention is to reduce the frequency of wear and failure of the internal devices of a copying machine when duplexing a plurality of single-sided originals, thereby improving the reliability of the copying machine. It is an object of the present invention to provide a copying method that can improve performance and facilitate control regarding double-sided copying work.

<Configuration and Effects of the Invention> The copying method of the automatic duplex copying machine equipped with the document circulation feeding device of the present invention is such that during the first circulation of a plurality of single-sided originals placed on the document tray of the document circulation feeding device, A front-side copying operation is performed on all of the originals corresponding to the odd-numbered pages, all the copy sheets related to this front-side copying operation are stored in the intermediate tray, and during the second circulation of the originals, the originals corresponding to the even-numbered pages are transferred to the intermediate tray. It is characterized by performing a back side copying operation of copying onto the back side of the stored paper.

With the above configuration, according to the present invention, the number of times the front-side copying operation is switched to the back-side copying operation is only once regardless of the increase or decrease in the number of originals to be copied. It is possible to prevent wear and an increase in the frequency of failures, thereby improving the reliability of the copying machine.

<Example> (a) Structural explanation No. 21! 1 is a front view schematically showing the structure of an automatic double-sided copying machine equipped with a document circulation feeding device in which a copying method according to an embodiment of the present invention is used; FIG.

A document circulation feeding device 1 is disposed above a document table 11 on the top surface of a copying machine main body 2 placed on a cabinet 3. A sorter 15 is attached to the left side of the copying machine body 2 and the cabinet 3. A photosensitive drum 19 is disposed inside the copying machine main body 2 and constitutes a copying process section. A paper cassette 20 is installed on the right side of the copying machine main body 2, and the paper cassette 20 and the photosensitive drum 1 are connected to each other.
A PS roller 21 is disposed between the roller 9 and the roller 9. On the left side of the photosensitive drum 19 are a paper transport bell) 12 and a fixing roller 1.
3 and a paper discharge roller 14 are disposed to constitute a paper conveyance path 31 within the copying machine.

Inside the document circulation feeding device 1, a document feed belt 5, a document feed roller 6, document ejection rollers 7a, 7b, and a document switching claw 8 are arranged. A document tray 4 is installed between a document feed belt 5 and a document feed roller 6. Originals 9 are placed on the original tray 4, and are fed in order from the lowest one. A document transport belt 10 is disposed above the document table 11 on the top surface of the copying machine main body 2, and the document is fed via the document feed conveyance path 36 by the document feed belt 5 and the document feed roller 6. The original document 9 is conveyed to a predetermined position on the document table 11.

When feeding the original 9 from the original tray 4, the original switching claw 8 is positioned in the state shown in the figure, and the original feeding conveyance path 36 is opened. When collecting the original on the original table, the original switching claw 8 swings downward to open the original collecting and conveying path 37. The conveyance belt 10 is rotatable in both forward and reverse directions, and feeds the paper onto the document table and discharges the paper above the document placed on the document tray 4.

Inside the sorter 15 attached to the left side of the copying machine body 2 and the cabinet 3, a sorter paper conveyance belt 18 is disposed so as to be rotatable in both forward and reverse directions. Bins 16 are stacked in multiple stages on the left side of the sorter 15, and the copied sheets discharged by the paper discharge roller 14 inside the copying machine main body 2 are transferred to the bins 16 via the paper conveyance path 32 in the sorter.
will be stored in. During double-sided copying, the paper switching claw 25 closes the sorter paper transport path 32 during the front side copying operation, and opens the switchback transport path 33 formed on the cabinet side of the sorter paper transport belt 18. There is. Therefore, the single-sided copied paper discharged from the copying machine main body 2 is conveyed into the switchback conveyance path 33. A switchback roller 17 that is rotatable in both forward and reverse directions is disposed in the switchback conveyance path 33 . Due to the rotation of the switchback roller 17, the single-sided copy sheet transported into the switch bank transport path 33 has its transport direction reversed.

An intermediate tray 22 is arranged inside the cabinet 3. This intermediate tray 22 and the switchback conveyance path 33
A double-sided copy conveyance path 34 is configured between the intermediate tray 22 and the PS roller 21 in the copying machine main body 2, and a reversal paper conveyance path 35 is configured between the intermediate tray 22 and the PS roller 21 in the copying machine main body 2. Intermediate tray 2
2, an intermediate tray guide 23 and an intermediate tray paper feed belt 24 are disposed.

(b) Structure and operation of document circulation feeder FIG. It is installed between the paper belt 5 and the document feed roller 6. Above the document feed roller 6, document discharge rollers 7a and 7b are arranged. The documents placed on the document tray 4 are sequentially fed by a document feed belt 5 and a document feed roller 6 starting from the lowest document.

Further, the paper conveyed from the document table in the discharge direction is discharged above the document placed on the document tray 4 by document discharge rollers 7a and 7b. There is an opening 4 on the side of the document tray 4.
4 is formed, and a partition member 42 fixed to a belt 43 moves within this opening 44. The belt 43 is urged in the direction of the arrow by a drive device (not shown), and the partition member 42 rotates around the outer periphery of the belt.

A shutter 41 is provided above the opening 44 .

This shutter 41 restricts exposure of the partition member 42 when placing the document on the document tray 4. After the original is placed on the original tray 4, the shutter 41 opens the opening 44, and the rotation of the belt 43 moves the partition member 42 in the direction of arrow A. The rotational force of the belt 43 is extremely small, so that the partition member 42 stops moving when it comes into contact with the upper surface of the document placed on the document tray 4. When the copying operation is started, the placed originals are conveyed onto the original table in order starting from the lowest one, and the originals after the copying operation are discharged above the partition member 42. As the copying process progresses, the number of documents located below the partition member 42 decreases, and after the final document is fed toward the document table 11, the partition member 42
moves along the outer peripheral surface of the belt 43 that does not face the original tray 4 and is exposed to the original tray 4 again. By detecting the partition member 42 in a part of the outer peripheral portion of the belt 43 that does not face the document tray 4, it is possible to know the number of times the document placed on the document tray 4 is circulated.

(C) Description of Operation (1) Front Copying Operation FIGS. 1A to 1C are flowcharts showing the operation of the copying method of the present invention.

After the power is turned on, in step nl (hereinafter step ni will be simply referred to as ni), the copying magnification, set sheet count, number of original sheets N, etc. are input. Next, when the print switch is turned on at n2, the process proceeds to n3, where it is determined whether or not the number of original sheets N is an even number. If the number N of originals is an even number at n3, the process advances to n4 and the original number counter C is cleared.

The original sheet number counter C counts the number of fed original sheets. Next, at n5, the lowermost document placed on the document tray 4 of the document circulation feeder l is fed to the document table 11. At this time, the contents of counter C are set to 1.
to add. At n6, it is determined whether the content of the counter C is an even number or not. If it is an even number, that is, if the original is an odd page, feeding of paper from a paper feeding section such as a paper cassette is started at n7, and at n8 Perform the copy operation. The sheet on which the copying operation has been completed is transported to the intermediate tray 22 at n9, and the process proceeds to n10. If the content of the counter C is an odd number at n6, that is, if the document is an even page, the process directly proceeds to nlo.

At nlO, the original on the original table 11 is discharged from the original recovery conveyance path 37 of the original circulating feeder 1 above the original placed on the original tray 4. After this, the contents of counter C and the number of originals N are compared at nil, and if they are equal, n
Proceed to step 12. If the two are not equal, return to n5 and set n
Performs operations from 5 to nil.

(2) Reverse side copying operation When the above operation for the number of originals is completed, that is, when the content of the counter C and the number of originals N become equal at n11, the process advances to n31 to check whether the number of originals N is an even number again. If it is an even number, the contents of the counter C are set to O again at n12. Next, at n13, the original is fed and the contents of the counter C are incremented by one. After this, at n14, counter C
Determine whether the content of is an odd number. If the content of the counter C is an odd number in n14, that is, if the document is an even page, the single-sided copied paper stored in the intermediate tray 22 is transported to the copying process section via the reversing paper transport path 35 in n15. . Next, the copying operation is started at n16, and the paper is transferred to the bin 16 of the sorter 15 at the end of the copying operation tJkn17.
Discharge it and proceed to n18. At this time, a portion of the double-sided copied paper is guided to the switchback conveyance path 33, the front and back sides of the paper are reversed, and the paper is discharged to the sorter. Counter C at n14
If the content of the document is not an odd number, that is, if the document has an odd number of pages, the process directly proceeds to n18. At n18, the original placed on the original platen 11 is discharged onto the original tray 4 via the original collection conveyance path 37. Next, in n19, it is determined whether the contents of the counter C are equal to the number N of originals, and if the two are not equal, the process returns to n13. n13 to n for the number of original pages
After completing the operation of step 19, that is, when the content of the counter C and the number of original sheets N become equal at n19, the operation ends.

If the number N of originals is an odd number at n3, the process skips to n21. At n21, a document is fed from the document circulation feeding device 1 to the document table 11. Next, at n22, copy paper is fed from the paper feed section, and at n23, a copying operation is performed.

After the copying operation is completed, the sheet on which single-sided copying has been completed is discharged to the bin 16 of the sorter 15 at n24, and the original on the document table 11 is discharged onto the document tray 4 at n25. After this, the process skips to n4 and performs the above-described operation.

Further, if the number of original sheets N is an odd number in n31, n32. At step n33, a document is fed from the document circulation feeding device l, and the document is discharged onto the document tray 4 without performing a copying operation. After this, the process returns to n12 and the above-described operation is performed.

(3) Specific example of operation i When the number of originals is even
This will be specifically explained using (D). As shown in FIG. 4(A), when four originals 51 to 54 are placed on the original tray 4 of the original circulating feeder 1 in page order with the first page at the top, in n3. It is determined that the number of original sheets N is an even number, and the process proceeds to n4. At n5, the fourth page of the original 54 is fed to the original platen 11, and the content of the counter C is set to 1. At this time, at n6, it is determined that the contents of the counter C is an odd number, and the process skips to nlO.

Therefore, the fourth page of the document 5 fed to the document table 11
4 is discharged onto the original tray 4 without performing a copying operation.

At nil, the content of the counter C is 1 and the number of originals N is 4, so the process returns to n5, and as shown in FIG. 4(B), the third page of the original is fed to the original platen 11, and the counter The contents of C are added by 1 to 2. Therefore, at n6, the content of counter C is judged to be an even number, and n
Proceed to 7. At n7, copy paper is fed from the paper feed force sensor 20, and at n8, a set number of copies of the third page of the original 53 are copied. After this, in n9, the single-sided copy paper 63 on which the third page has been copied is transferred to the intermediate tray 2 via the switch bank conveyance path 33 and the double-sided copy conveyance path 34.
2. Next, the third page of the original 53 is ejected to the original tray 4 at nlo. At this time, the content of counter C is 2
Therefore, it returns from nil to n5. Above n5 to n11
By repeating the above operations, a copying operation is performed for the first page original 51 and the third page original 53 placed on the original tray 4, and the copy sheets 61 and 63 on which the images of the originals are formed are shown in FIG. As shown in (C), it is stored in the intermediate tray 22.

When the copying operation of the first page of the original 51 is completed and the original is ejected to the original tray 4, the content of the counter C is 4, which is equal to the number of originals N, and the process proceeds to n12. At this time, as shown in the figure, the original is placed on the original tray 4 with the first page at the top, as before the start of the copying operation. .

At n31, since the number of original sheets N is 4, the process advances to n12 and the contents of the counter C are set to 0. Figure 4 (D
), the fourth page of the document is conveyed to the document table 11, and the counter A value is set to 1. At this time, in n14, it is determined that the content of the counter C is an odd number, and the process proceeds to n15. n
At step 15, the paper 63 on which the third page original 53 stored in the intermediate tray has been copied is fed to the copying process section, and at n6, the fourth page original 54 is printed on the back side of the paper 63 on which the third page original 53 has been copied on the front side. The copy paper 63 on which images have been copied on both sides is discharged to a sorter, and after being turned upside down in the switch bank conveyance path 33, it is stored in a bin 16. After the fourth page of the original 54 is discharged onto the original tray 4 at n18, it is determined at n19 that the counter C and the number of originals N are not equal, and the process returns to n13. When the third page of original 53 is fed to the document table 11 at n13 and the content of counter C is set to 2, it is determined that the content of counter C is an even number at n14, and the process skips to n18. Therefore, the third page of the original 53 is ejected to the original tray 4 without being copied. By repeating the operations n13 to n19 above, the first
Copy paper 61 with page original fg+ 51 copied on the front side
The second page of the original 52 is copied on the back side of the page, and the first page of the original 51 is ejected to the original tray 4 without being copied. Therefore, when the content of the counter C becomes equal to the number of originals N at n19, As shown in FIG. 4E, originals 51 to 54 are placed on the original tray 4, and sheets 61 to 63 with double-sided copies are stored in the bin 16, completing the double-sided copying operation.

ii Odd number of originals If five originals 51 to 55 are placed on the original tray 4 with the first page at the top as shown in FIG. It is determined that the number N of sheets is an odd number, and the process proceeds to n21. At n21, the fifth and final page of the original 55 is fed to the document table 11 as shown in FIG. 5(B), and at n22, copy paper is fed from the paper cassette 20.

After this, the copying operation is performed at n23, and the fifth page of the original 5 is copied.
The copy paper 65 on which 5 has been copied remains in the bin 16 of the sorter.
After being ejected to the document tray 4, the fifth page of the document 55 is ejected to the document tray 4.
is released. Next, the process skips to n4, and at n5, the fourth page of the original 54 is fed to the original tray 11, and the counter C is set to 1. After that, the operations from n5 to nil are repeated in the same manner as when an even number of originals are placed, and the single-sided copied sheets 63 and 61 on which the third page original 53 and the first page original 51 are copied are placed in the middle. Tray 22
is stored in the state shown in FIG. 5(C), and the process proceeds to n31. In n31, it is determined that the number of original sheets N is an odd number, and n
32. At n32, the fifth page of the original 55, which is the final page, is fed to the original platen 11 and immediately ejected to the original tray 4 without performing a copying operation. After this, the process skips to n12 and the operations from n13 to n19 are repeated. Through the above operation, the fourth page of the original 54 is placed on the back side of the one-sided copy sheet 63 on which the third page of the original 53 has been copied.
is copied, and the second page of the original 52 is copied on the back side of the single-sided copied sheet 61 on which the first page of the original 51 has been copied on the front side, and the operation ends in the state shown in FIG. 5(D).

(d) Effects of the Embodiment As described above, according to the present invention, the document circulation feeder circulates the document twice, and during the first circulation, the surface copying operation is performed on all the documents corresponding to odd-numbered pages. At the same time, by storing this copy paper in an intermediate tray and feeding the original document from the intermediate tray during the second circulation, images of a single-sided original can be formed on both sides of the copy paper. Also, when duplexing an odd number of single-sided originals, by performing a special operation only when feeding the last page of the original, the back side of the copy paper with the last page of the original copied on the front side can be made plain. , and other copy papers, odd-numbered pages can be copied on the front side and even-numbered pages can be copied on the back side.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1(A) to (C) are flowcharts showing a copying method of an automatic double-sided copying machine equipped with an original circulation feeding device which is an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. Figure 3 is a front sectional view showing the schematic structure of an automatic double-sided copying machine equipped with the same copying method; (A)-(B) and Fig. 5(A)-(D)
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the operating state of the same copying method. 1-original circulation feeding device, 4-original tray, 11-original table, 22-intermediate tray.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A document in which multiple originals placed on the document tray are conveyed to the document tray starting from the lowest one, and the document on the document tray is ejected onto the top of the documents placed in the document tray. Copying that forms images of a single-sided original on both sides of copy paper using an automatic double-sided copying machine equipped with a circulating feed device and in which the conveyance direction of the single-sided copied paper is reversed and the paper is guided to an intermediate tray and transported again to the copying process section. In this method, during the first cycle of multiple single-sided originals placed on a document tray, a front-side copying operation is performed on all originals corresponding to odd-numbered pages, and all of the copy sheets related to this front-side copying operation are transferred to an intermediate page. Automatic double-sided copying equipped with a document circulation feeding device, which performs a backside copying operation in which originals are stored in a tray and, during the second circulation of the originals, originals corresponding to even-numbered pages are copied onto the back side of the sheets stored in an intermediate tray. Machine copy method.