JPS62289864A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the same copy from being stapled, by constituting the titled device so that a staple mode is not executed, when a kind of an image which is brought to an image formation is one, even in case when the stable mode has been selected. CONSTITUTION:In accordance with depression of a copying key, an execution of a control procedure is started, and first of all, document is set to a recirculating document feeder RDF, and if there is an original, the original is fed by one sheet and stopped at an exposing position. In this case, unless a stable mode is set, a discharge mode to a classifying tray 515 is selected, and discharge paper is discharged to the tray 515. Subsequently, whether the number of document is one sheet or not is checked by a one-circulation sensor 307 of the device RDF, so as to become a classifying tray discharge mode only at the time of one sheet. Also, in case the number of documents is two sheets or more, the discharge paper is discharged to a staple tray 507. In this state, a copying operation is executed to the document, and thereafter, the processing of this mode is executed until the document is ended.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention 3. Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and particularly to an image forming apparatus having a stapling function.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, in this type of image forming apparatus, in addition to the normal sorting function, the paper has a stapling function in which a U-shaped wire peg called a staple is pushed into the paper to bind the paper. something is proposed.

This stapling function is convenient because it allows image recording and bookbinding (document binding) to be performed at the same time.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, with conventional devices of this type, when the stapling mode is selected, the recording process is performed regardless of the number of original sheets or the set number of sheets, and the staple binding is performed unconditionally. However, this method has the drawback of not being able to obtain the desired quality and resulting in a large number of miscopies, which is disadvantageous to the user.

〔the purpose〕

The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks and provides an image forming apparatus that switches control depending on whether stapling is necessary or not, regardless of the number of images or the set number of prints when a stapling mode is selected. The purpose is to

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the outline of an embodiment of the present invention.

a is a document feeding means for automatically feeding the documents stacked on the stacking table sequentially to a reading position; b is a means for counting the number of stacked document sheets; C is a means for stapling the copied sheets; d Reference numeral denotes a first paper discharge tray having a stapling means, e a second paper discharge tray without a stapling means, f a means for recording an image on a sheet, and g a means for controlling each of the above-mentioned means.

FIG. 2 shows the internal configuration of an embodiment of the image recording apparatus of the present invention. In this figure, ICl0 is a main body that has an image reading function and an image recording function, 300 is a circulation type document feeder (hereinafter referred to as RDF) that automatically feeds documents, and 400 is a paper folding device that folds sheets at predetermined positions. The device and the sorting device are finishers (post-processing devices) that have a function and a stapling function, and each of these 300 to 500 devices has a main body 10.
0 can be used in any combination.

A1 main body (100) In the main body 100, 101 is a document table glass on which a document is placed, 103 is an illumination lamp (exposure lamp) that illuminates the document, 105. 107. 109 are scanning reflecting mirrors (scanning mirrors) that change the optical path of reflected light from the original;
Reference numeral 111 is a lens having focusing and variable magnification functions, and reference numeral 113 is a fourth reflection mirror (scanning mirror) that changes the optical path. 115 is an optical system motor that drives the optical system; 117.
119 and 121 are sensors, respectively.

131 is a photosensitive drum, 133 is a main motor that drives the photosensitive drum 131, 135 is a high voltage unit, 137 is a blank exposure unit, 139 is a developing device, 141 is a transfer charger, 143 is a separation charger, and 145 is a cleaning device. be.

151 is the upper cassette, 153 is the lower cassette, 155
157 is a paper feed roller, and 159 is a registration roller. Further, 161 is a conveyor belt that conveys the recording paper on which an image has been recorded to the fixing side, 163 is a fixing device that fixes the conveyed recording paper by thermocompression bonding, and 167 is a sensor used for double-sided recording.

The surface of the photosensitive drum 131 described above is made of a seamless photoconductor using a photoconductor and an electric conductor. The motor 133 starts rotating in the direction of the arrow in the figure. Next, when the predetermined rotational control and potential control processing (preprocessing) of the drum 131 are completed, the original placed on the original platen glass 101 is illuminated by the illumination lamp 103 that is integrated with the first scanning mirror 105. The reflected light from the original is transmitted to the first scanning mirror 105 and the second scanning mirror 105.
Scanning mirror 107, third scanning mirror 109, lens 11
1 and a fourth scanning mirror 113 to form an image on the drum 131.

The drum 131 is corona charged by a high pressure unit 135. Thereafter, the illumination lamp 103 irradiates the image (original image) with slit exposure, and the fM drum 13
An electrostatic latent image is formed on 1.

Next, the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 131 is transferred to a developing device 139.
The toner image is developed by a developing roller 140 and visualized as a toner image, and the toner image is transferred onto a transfer paper by a transfer charger 141 as described later.

That is, the upper cassette 151 or the lower cassette 1
The transfer paper in 53 is fed into the main unit by paper feed rollers 155 or 157, and is sent toward the photosensitive drum 131 with accurate timing by registration rollers 159, so that the leading edge of the latent image and the leading edge of the transfer paper are aligned. Ru. Thereafter, the transfer paper passes between the transfer charger 141 and the drum 131, so that the toner image on the drum 131 is transferred onto the transfer paper.

After this transfer is completed, the transfer paper is separated from the drum 131 by a separation charger 143, guided to a fixing device 163 by a conveyor belt 161, fixed by pressure and heat, and then discharged to the outside of the main body 100 by a discharge roller 165. be done.

After the transfer, the drum 131 continues to rotate, and its surface is cleaned by a cleaning device 145 composed of a cleaning roller and an elastic blade.

B, RDF (circulating document feeder) (300) RDF
In 300, 301 is a stacking tray on which originals are set. Document size detection sensors 302 and 303 are provided at a predetermined interval in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of the document. The size of the document in the width direction depends on whether both sensors 302 and 303 are detecting the document, or only one sensor 303 (assuming that sensor 303 is located at the back of the paper) is detecting the document. This can be determined by checking whether there are any. Note that by increasing the number of sensors of this type, more accurate size can be determined. Further, the lengthwise size can be determined based on the time period during which the sensor 303 (or 302) detects the document.

In addition, in this RDF300, the original sent from the stacking tray 301 through the I6 sheet 8 stage 304 to the exposure surface is
@By feeding the sheet through the sheet bus 305, it can be loaded onto the loading tray 301 again. Further, 307 is a sensor that detects one circulation of the document.

The detailed operation of the RDF 300 is described in Japanese Patent Application No. 59-206619 filed by the present applicant, but since it is not directly related to the present invention, it will be omitted here.

C1 Paper Folding Device (400) The paper folding device 400 performs half-folding in which recorded transfer paper is folded approximately at its center position, and Z-folding in which it is folded into three with a roughly Z-shaped cross section at two predetermined positions. In this paper folding device 400, 401 is a flapper that guides the transfer paper downward during paper folding;
07 and 409 are folding rollers.

In the paper folding device 400, when Z-folding is specified using the Z-folding key described later, the flapper 401 is turned on, and the paper portion folded into 1/4 passes through the door 407 and hits the end of the bus 405, and the paper is further folded into 1/2. It is folded into the roller 40 again.
7, is guided to the finisher 500 through rollers 409. Furthermore, when half-folding is specified using the half-folding key (to be described later), the recorded paper is folded to 1/2 at the bus 403I, and then it is sent directly from the roller 409 to the finisher without going to the Rs 405. 500. On the other hand, when the fold key is not specified and the paper is not folded, the flapper 401 is turned off and the recorded paper is directly ejected to the finisher 500.

, D, Finisher (500) In the puff finisher 500 that sorts or staples recorded paper, 501 is the sorting bus 50.
507 is a staple tray for temporarily loading and storing recorded paper before being stapled; 509 is a stapler; A width baffle plate provided on the tray 507 for regulating the width, 511 a stapler (document binding machine) that staples a plurality of recorded papers whose widths are regulated by the width baffle plate 509, and 513 storing stapled recorded papers. The width baffle plate 509 is driven and controlled by a stepping motor (not shown). 515
The tray is used to sort recording paper that is not stapled.

Recorded paper ejected from the main body 100 or from the pedestal 200 is transferred to the paper folding device 400 according to the designation of the key.
Then, after half-folding or Z-folding, finisher 500
The oscillating type sorting is discharged to the tray 515 or to the staple tray 507, and the width of the recorded sheets discharged to the staple tray 507 is regulated by a width baffle plate 509 for each part of the specified number of sheets. The sheets are stapled with a stapler 511 and dropped onto a stacker tray 513.

That is, in the finisher 500, when the stapling mode is selected by the staple key described later, the paper ejection flapper 501 is turned on and the recorded paper is ejected to the staple tray 507 via the path 505, and when the specified number of sheets is reached, The width baffle plate 509 and the stapler 511 are turned on according to instructions from the main body 100, and the recorded sheets are stapled. Thereafter, the stapled paper is dropped onto the stacker tray 513.

By repeating this operation, a plurality of recorded documents that are collated and stapled are completed. A sensor 517 detects the presence or absence of staples, and for example, a reflective sensor is used.

Further, when stapling processing is not selected, the paper ejection flapper 501 is turned off, the sorting is switched to the side, and the recorded paper passes through the path 503 and is ejected to the sorting tray 515. At this time, according to an instruction from the main body 100, recorded sheets can be stacked in well-separated sheets, shifted by 30 mm to the left and right. FIG. 3 shows an example of the arrangement of the operation panel provided on the main body 100 described above. The operation panel has a key group 600 and a display group 700 as described below.

E, Group of keys (600) 602 is an all reset key, which is pressed to return to the standard mode.

604 is a copy start key (copy start key);
Press to start copying.

605 is a clear/stop key, which functions as a clear key during standby and as a stop key during copy recording. This clear key is set.

Press to cancel the set number of copies. Also, press the stop key to interrupt continuous copying. The copying operation stops after the copying at the time when the button is pressed is completed.

Numeric keys 606 are pressed to set the number of copies.

Copy density keys 608 and 609 are pressed when manually adjusting the copy density. 610 has AE primary key,
Press this button to automatically adjust the copy density according to the density of the original, or to cancel AE (automatic density adjustment) and switch the density adjustment to manual. A cassette selection key 611 is pressed to select the upper cassette 151 or the suspended cassette 153. Also, when a document is placed on the RDF300, this key 611 is used to access the AP
S (automatic paper cassette selection) can be selected. When APS is selected, a cassette of the same size as the original is automatically selected.

Reference numeral 612 is a same size key, which is pressed to make a same size (original size) copy. Reference numeral 613 denotes an auto-magnification key, which is pressed to automatically reduce or enlarge the original image according to the specified transfer paper size. Zoom keys 614 and 615 are pressed to specify any magnification between 64 and 142%. 616 and 617 are fixed size scaling keys, which are pressed when specifying reduction or enlargement of the fixed size.

625 is a staple key, which is pressed to staple the recorded sheets. 626 is the Z-fold key, A
Press when folding 3 or B4 size recorded paper into a Z-shaped cross section. 627 is a half-fold key, which is pressed to fold A3 or B4 size recorded paper in half.

628 is a sort key, and sorting is done by tray (sorter) 5.
When 15 is connected, it is lit in standard mode. At this time, press this key 628 to cancel the sort mode or not to enter the sort mode. 629 is a group key, which copies multiple copies from one original,
If the sorting tray 515 is connected, the sorting is stored in the tray 515 for every 1 bin.

F. Display group (700) In FIG. 8, numeral 701 is an LCD (liquid crystal) type message display, for example, one character consists of 5×7 dots and can display a 40-character message.

Further, 705 is a copy number display, which displays the number of copies or a self-diagnosis code. Reference numeral 706 denotes a used cassette display, which displays which one of the upper cassette 151 and the interrupted cassette 153 is selected.

708 is an AE display, and AE keys 6101. : Lights up when AE (automatic density adjustment) is selected. 71
0 is a ready/wait indicator, which is a two-color LED of green and orange, and the green light is lit when the machine is ready (when copying is possible), and the orange light is lit when it is wait (when copying is not possible).

G. Control Device (SOO) FIG. 4 shows an example of the circuit configuration of the control device 800 of the embodiment shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, 801 is a central processing unit (CPU) that performs arithmetic control for executing the present invention, and uses, for example, a microcomputer μC0M87AD manufactured by NEC (NEC Corporation).

803 is a control procedure (as shown in FIG. 6) according to the present invention.
The CPU 801 is a read-only memory (ROM) in which a control program (control program) is stored in advance, and the CPU 801 controls each component device connected via a bus according to the control procedure stored in the ROM. Reference numeral 805 denotes a random access memory (RAM) which is a main storage device used for storing input data and as a working storage area.

807 is an interface (Ilo) that outputs the CPU 801 control signal to a load such as the main motor 133; 809
inputs input signals from the image tip sensor 121, etc., and outputs the CPU 80.
1, an interface 811 is an interface for controlling input/output between the key group 600 and the display group 700. These interfaces 807° 809,
811 is, for example, NEC's input/output circuit port μPD82.
55 is used.

Note that the display group 700 is each display device shown in FIG. 3, and uses LEDs and LCDs. The key group 600 is each key shown in FIG. 8, and the CPU 801 can determine which key has been pressed using a known key matrix.

Further, the CPU 801 uses the RDF 300. Paper folding [400
° Connected to the finisher 500 via a pass line,
operating each device.

[Operation example]

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2 will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In response to the depression of the copy key 604, execution of the control procedure shown in FIG.
l) If there is a document, one document is fed and stopped at the exposure position (step 2). Then, it is determined whether the stapling mode is set (5step 3), and if it is not set, the output mode is selected for sorting to the tray 515, and the ejected paper is output to the sorting tray 515 (step 3).
ep4). Then, in 5step 3, when in the staple mode, the RDF circulation sensor 307 checks whether there is only one sheet of the next document, and only if it is one sheet, the step 5te described above
Sort p4 is set to tray discharge mode. Furthermore, the mode is a staple mode, and when there are two or more originals, a staple tray discharge mode is entered in which the discharged sheets are discharged to the staple tray 507 (step 5).

Then, a copying operation is performed on the above-mentioned original (step
6) From then on, the above-mentioned processes 5step2 to 5step6 are performed until the document is finished (until - cycle).

Incidentally, if the staple mode is set during the copying operation, stapling processing is performed. Further, if the sorting is in the mode, the sorting may be performed.

Although the above embodiment has been described using a copying machine, it can also be applied to a facsimile machine or a print section of an electronic file system.

〔effect〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, even if the staple mode is selected, if only one type of image is to be formed, the staple mode is not performed, so that identical copies are stapled. Such inconveniences can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a copying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation section of the copying machine, and FIG. A block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the control device, and FIG. 5 is a control flowchart of the control device.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) an image generating means capable of generating a plurality of different images; means for indicating the number of different images to be generated from the image generating means; and means for forming the generated image on a sheet; means for selecting a first mode of stapling the imaged sheet and a second mode of not stapling;
and means for controlling the selection means to switch from the first mode to the second mode when the output of the instruction means is a predetermined number while a mode is selected. . (2) In claim 1, the predetermined number is 1.
An image forming apparatus characterized by: (3) Claim 1 is characterized in that the first mode uses a discharge tray that has a means for stapling sheets, and the second mode uses a discharge tray that does not have a means for stapling sheets. image forming device.