JPS6250816B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine.

Conventionally, when a jam problem such as a paper jam occurs in a copying machine, the operation of the copying machine and its attached equipment such as a sorter is stopped.
To ensure safe handling of paper jams, the power to the device was shut off, and after the paper jam was cleared, a reset button was pressed to restart the copying operation.

However, if the reset button is pressed without opening the side panel of the copier, for example, if the reset button is left pressed for some reason with the side panel of the copier closed, a paper jam may occur. Even if the paper is jammed, the paper jam condition will be reset immediately, which may cause damage to the device.

The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks, namely, an image forming means for forming an image on a recording material, a means for inputting data related to image formation, and a program for storing the image forming means for controlling the image forming means. a microcomputer having a program memory and a data memory for storing the input data; means for detecting a jam of the recording material in the image forming means; and when the jam is detected by the detecting means, the image forming means; means for suspending the operation of the device and maintaining the suspended state; a reset switch for releasing the suspended state; a door that allows access to the inside of the device when opened; and a door that operates in response to opening or closing of the door. and a door switch, which detects that the door switch changes from closed to open during interruption due to jam detection, further detects that the reset switch is turned on, and detects that the door switch changes from closed to open. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus having a control means for canceling the suspended holding state when a detection signal indicating that the reset switch is turned on is detected as a precondition.

As a result, when a problem such as a paper jam occurs, it is possible to press the reset button without opening the side panel of the copying machine, causing the copying operation to restart before the paper jam has been cleared and causing the machine to malfunction. Inconveniences can be prevented and the safety of the device can be improved.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a copying apparatus according to the present invention.

The surface of the drum 11 is made of a three-layer photoreceptor using a CdS photoconductor, is rotatably supported on a shaft 12, and starts rotating in the direction of an arrow 13 in response to a copy command.

When the drum 11 rotates to the normal position, the document placed on the document table glass 14 is illuminated by an illumination lamp 16 that is integrated with the first scanning mirror 15, and the reflected light is used for the first scanning. Mirror 15 and second
It is scanned by a scanning mirror 17. First scanning mirror 1
5 and the second scanning mirror 17 move at a speed ratio of 1:1/2, so that the original is scanned while the optical path length in front of the lens 18 is always kept constant.

The above reflective light layer includes a lens 18 and a third mirror 19.
After passing through the fourth mirror 20, the exposure section 21
Then, an image is formed on the drum 11.

After the drum 11 is charged (for example, +) by a primary charger 22, an image irradiated by an illumination lamp 16 is slit-exposed in the exposure section 21.

At the same time, AC or primary charge removal with a polarity opposite to that of the primary charge (for example, -) is performed by a charge remover 23, and then a high-contrast electrostatic latent image is formed on the drum 11 by full-surface exposure using a full-face exposure lamp 24.
The electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 11 is then transferred to a developing device 25.
The image is visualized as a toner image.

The transfer paper 27-1 or 27-2 in the cassette 26-1 or 26-2 is transferred to the paper feed roller 28.
-1 or 28-2, the rough timing is taken by the first register roller 29-1 or 29-2, and the second register roller 30
The photosensitive drum 11 is sent out in the direction of the photosensitive drum 11 with accurate timing.

Next, while the transfer paper 27 passes between the transfer charger 31 and the drum 11, the toner image on the drum 11 is transferred onto the transfer paper.

After the transfer is completed, the transfer paper is guided to the conveyor belt 32 and further to a pair of fixing rollers 33-1, 33-2, where it is fixed by pressure and heat, and then discharged onto the tray 34.

After the transfer, the surface of the drum 11 is cleaned by a cleaning device 35 composed of an elastic blade, and the process proceeds to the next cycle.

Here, if the transfer paper is skewed or twisted after being fed from the cassette, the rollers 29-1 and 29-1
The transfer paper may not get stuck in each of the conveyance rollers 9-2, 30, 36, etc., and may become jammed near these rollers. In particular, if it gets caught in the fixing roller 4 and is not discharged, there is a risk of fire.

Therefore, in order to detect paper jams in the image transfer material, a paper detection micro switch is installed near the exit of the conveyance path.
SW4 and SW5 are provided, and a jam is determined by detecting whether or not the detector is operating at a predetermined time, and if paper is not detected, a warning is displayed as a jam. This check signal at a predetermined time is a timing signal programmed in advance in the process sequence control circuit.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the copying machine shown in FIG. 1, and jam processing will be explained below.

In the figure, 201 is an opening/closing door for removing jammed paper near the fixing device, 202 is an opening/closing door for removing jammed paper near each conveyance roller, 2
03 is a copy command operation panel, 204 and 205 are indicators that display the location to be processed in the event of a jam;
SW1 is the AC current input switch to the copying machine, SW
2, SW3 is each opening/closing door 201, opening/closing door 202
It is a door switch that turns off when the door is opened and turns on when it is closed.
206 is a display device that displays the number of copies input using the number key 208, and 207 is a display device that displays the number of copies that have been made. The rest is the same as in FIG.

Now, when there is a jam near the rollers 29, 30, and 36 and the switch SW5 does not detect paper at a predetermined timing, a non-detection signal is input to the control circuit and a jam signal is output. This output lights up the display 204 to indicate that the door 202 should be opened to clear the jam. In the case of a jam near the fixing device, a jam signal is similarly output when the switch SW4 does not detect paper at a second predetermined timing. This output lights up the display 205 to indicate that the door 201 should be opened to remove the jammed paper.

When door 201 or 202 is opened, the switch is activated.
When SW2 or SW3 is turned off, power to AC loads such as the drive motor of the conveyance roller, the fixing heater, and the high voltage transformer is cut off.

However, when a jam signal occurs, the DC power supply to the control circuit is switched to a line independent of the door switch and main switch systems. Therefore, the control circuit remains in an operating state even during the jamming process to remove paper, stores the electronically stored set number of sheets and number of copies without canceling, and continues to display the respective values on the displays 206 and 207. do. Moreover, during and after the jamming process, the doors 201, 20
The display 207 subtracts the number of jammed sheets from the number of copies after closing both of 2 and displays the result.

Therefore, continuous copying operations can be performed smoothly.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a control circuit for the above. 4
0 is a plug that receives commercial voltage, and one line from the plug 40 is connected to the C terminal of a micro switch 42 and the NO terminal of a relay 50, which operate in conjunction with door switches SW2 and SW3. Plug 4
The other line of 0 is also the door switch SW2,
Micro switch 44 that operates in conjunction with SW3
is connected to the C terminal of the low voltage transformer 51. And the NC terminal of micro switch 42 is breaker 4
3 to the C terminal of the B contact of the main switch SW1. Micro switch 41 operates in conjunction with micro switches 42 and 44, its C terminal is connected to ground, and its NC terminal is connected to main switch SW.
The control circuit 5 is connected to the C terminal of the A contact of No. 1.
8 is connected. Main switch SW1 b
The NO terminal of the contact is connected to loads such as the main motor 46 and high voltage transformer 47 that drive the copying machine, and the relay 50.
It is connected to the primary side of the low voltage transformer 51 via a contact point. One terminal of the secondary coil of the low voltage transformer 51 is connected to the control circuit DC through the breaker 52.
The other end is connected to the power supply 54, and the other end is connected to the breaker 5 as well.
3 to a DC load power supply 55.

Here, the motor 46 rotates the photosensitive drum 11, the conveyance roller, and the fixing roller, and moves the optical systems 15 and 17, and the high voltage transformer 47 operates the conductors 22, 23, and 31. Other loads include an image exposure lamp 16 and a full-surface exposure lamp 2.
There are 4. Control signals for the triaxes 48 and 62 for switching the main motor, heater, and transformer are applied at predetermined timing from a control circuit 58. The DC power supplies 54 and 55 are well-known stabilized power supplies that rectify and stabilize alternating current. As shown in FIG. 4, the control circuit is a well-known central program control circuit that outputs output in the direction of the arrow in response to input signals in the direction of the arrow and in response to internal program data. The jam counter 56 is a well-known mechanical counter that counts the number of jammed sheets each time the paper is jammed.The jam solenoid 57 connects the reset switch 59 to the NO terminal when the paper jams. The reset switch 59 is then locked to the NO side. In this state, even if the power is turned on after jamming and the copy button is turned on, the copying process will not start. Processing is enabled by manually switching the switch 59 to the NC side.

A timer 60 maintains the DC power supply to the control circuit 58 for 5 minutes after a jam, and cuts off the DC power supply after 5 minutes have elapsed.

The relay 50 switches its contact to the NO side when a jam is detected, thereby switching the power line to the transformer 51.

A brief explanation of the control circuit in Figure 4 is as follows:
ROM is a program memory in which flow steps as shown in Fig. 5 are preprogrammed in binary code.
RAM is a data memory that stores program memory data and input signal data such as the number of copies.
INPUT is an input port that gates in an input signal, OUTPUT is an output port that latches an output signal, ACC is an accumulator that temporarily stores data from the input port and data to the output port.
Decoder that decodes the ROM code, ROM,
It has an ALU function that calculates and logically determines data from RAM and input/output ports. Terminals 1 to 4 of the A port of the input port INPUT are connected to the signal CPB which becomes 1 when the copy button is on, the signal JRES which becomes 1 when the jam reset switch 59 is reset to the NC side, and the signal JRES which becomes 1 when the main switch or door switch is turned off. Signal OFS to be 1, 5
A signal TIM that becomes 1 when the minute timer goes up is input. Switch SW is installed on B port terminals 1 and 2.
4. When SW5 is on, a signal of 1 is input.

A jam detection signal JAM that operates a jam solenoid 57, a timer 60, a jam counter 56,
The signal JAMC for operating the jam relay 50 is sent from terminals 1 to 4 of the E port, the signal DMT for turning on the motor 46, the signal FIX for turning on the heater 61, and the signal for turning on the high voltage transformer.
HVT and a signal PF for turning on the transfer paper feed start roller 28 are output.

In this control circuit 58, the input signal is taken into the ACC according to the program steps of the ROM, and when it is determined whether it is 1 or 0 and the branching point of the operation is determined, the process advances to the next step and latches a predetermined output port to achieve the purpose. This is to turn on the load.

Input ports 1 to 4 are number keys 20 on the operation panel.
Data K1 to K4 obtained by converting the signal from 7 to 4-bit binary coded decimal data are input. Output ports 1 to 4 are well-known 7-segment number indicators 206 and 2.
The one that outputs the same 4-bit data as the above code to display the number on 07, SJ1 of F port,
SJ2 is for jam display regarding SW4 and SW5, respectively. Further, input port B 3 inputs a timing signal which becomes 1 by a switch operated by a cam provided on the drum. 4 inputs a signal from a switch activated by a cam provided in the optical system.

The operation from turning on the power switch SW1 will be explained with reference to FIG.

Motor 4 is turned on by turning on main switch SW1.
6. Power can be supplied to the AC circuits of the heater 61, high voltage transformer 47, and low voltage transformer 51.

The control circuit 58 is powered on by the output of the low voltage transformer 51, and the control circuit performs step 1 of the preparation cycle. In this cycle, all circuits are first reset, key entries are made, and a number display routine is performed.

That is, data from the key is taken into the input port, stored at address a in the RAM, and its contents are displayed on the display 206 via the output port.

The program then proceeds to a routine that detects that the copy button is turned on. If the CPB is determined to be 1 in step 2, the process proceeds to step 3, which is a copy cycle execution step.

That is, first latch the E port and output the motor signal.
DMT and heater signal FIX are output to turn on each triax 48 and 62 to energize the motor and heater high voltage transformer. When the drum rotates to a specified level, the cam switch operates to input the signal CS, which outputs the paper feed signal PF,
It outputs an image exposure lamp on signal and an optical system forward clutch signal to start paper feeding and exposure scanning. The clutch is used to convert the rotational force of the motor into forward force. When the exposure is completed and the optical system reaches the reversal position, a reversal signal BS1 is output and the circuit 58 receives it, turns off the lamp and clutch, turns on the reverse clutch, and moves the optical system backward.

As the drum continues to rotate, a copy image is formed on the transfer paper through the development and transfer area, and the transfer paper is transported outside the machine. Thereafter, reading from the B port is enabled at each time when the paper is passing through the switches SW4 and SW5. Then proceed to step 4 and SW4,5
When it is determined that paper is being detected, the process advances to step 5. The reading of the B port is performed by a routine programmed with a timer to check the paper after a predetermined time has elapsed from the reversed position.

If paper is detected, the process proceeds to step 5, where the remaining process operations such as turning off the high voltage transformer by input from the drum cam are performed again, and the process proceeds to step 6. Since the jam flag is 0, it is determined and the process proceeds to step 7, where it is determined whether or not the number of copies is equal to the set number of sheets. If they are equal, copying is terminated, the main motor is turned off, and the process returns to step 1.

The jam flag here is at address J in the RAM where 1 was stored when a jam was detected.

When it is determined in step 4 that no paper is detected, that is, a jam is detected, in step 8 the output port D is latched, a jam signal I, a jam counter, and a jam relay J are output, and a jam flag is set. This turns on the jam solenoid 57 and switches the reset switch 59 to the NO side. Also relay 5
0 and connect the primary side of the low voltage transformer to the plug line. Also, the counter 56 is incremented by 1.

Then, the process proceeds to step 9, where the number of sheets lost due to jams is subtracted from the number of sheets copied so far when a large number of sheets are continuously copied. Note that the continuous copying proceeds from step 7 to step 3. The number of copies is determined by incrementing the RAM b number each time the transfer paper feed signal is output in step 3.
1 and is memorized. The subtracted number is also b
The address will be stored again.

In step 5, the remaining copying cycles are performed as described above and the process proceeds to step 6. The jam flag is determined to be 1 and the process proceeds to step 10.

In this step, a routine is performed to determine whether the main switch or door switch is turned off. That is, the opening of the door is detected as a condition for removing the jammed paper and pressing the reset switch. Since it is still on, execute the jam display routine I in step 11, output SJ1 or SJ2 from the F port,
As described above, the door for removing the paper is indicated depending on the location of the jam. Also, the set number of copies and the subtracted number of copies are displayed. Door 201 or 202
When the door is opened, the door switch is turned off and the process exits to step 10. At this time, the AC circuit power is cut off, but the DC power is maintained as described above. Therefore, there is no chance of getting your hands caught in the conveyance system during jam processing or getting an electric shock, and the number of sheets being processed can be displayed continuously. Note that the display routines for displaying the number of set sheets and the number of copied sheets are inserted in steps 1, 3, 5, and 11, and are not specially illustrated.

At step 12, reset switch 59 is set to NC.
Determine whether it has been returned to the side. After removing the paper and returning the reset switch, step 13
Proceed to and determine whether the main switch and door switch are turned on. After the reset switch,
When the door is closed and the main switch is turned on, the process exits this step and proceeds to step 14. Here, the previously set jam flag is reset, and the output latches of the jam signal I and the jam relay signal J are released. Therefore, the relay 50 returns to normal and closes the DC power supply path.
Switched to AC circuit. Also jam solenoid 5
Reset 7.

Step 15 is for determining whether the number of sheets matches, similar to step 7, and if there is a match, the process returns to step 1. If continuous copying is in progress, the process advances to step 16 and waits for the copy button to be turned on. During this time, the display routine of step 17 is executed to display the copying machine and set number of sheets subtracted after the paper jam. When the copy button is turned on, the process goes to step 3 again and copies the remaining number of sheets.

The jam counter 56 is used to store the cumulative number of paper jams, and is used as data for calculating fees and examining the reliability of the apparatus by service personnel. The following describes the steps for turning off the control DC power supply if no paper jam is cleared for 5 minutes after the door is opened after a jam occurs.

Do not close both doors in step 13.
If you do not turn on the main switch, proceed to step 18.
Then, the pulse signal TM is output and the timer 60 starts the timer operation. As long as there is no time-up, the process proceeds to the display routine of step 11 and continues to display the number of sheets being jammed.

If the reset switch is not turned on and all door switches are not turned on, jam relay signal J will occur after 5 minutes.
The latch is stopped, relay 50 is turned off, and the low voltage truss is cut off. This makes it possible to stop the continuous supply of excess power when the paper jam is being cleared and left unused for a while.

Note that the present invention can also be applied to a copying machine with a movable document table and a recording device that prints out computer output.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a copying apparatus applicable to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an example of a control circuit in the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a partial circuit diagram of FIG. 3. , FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the control steps in FIG. 3. In FIGS. 2 and 3, SW1 is a main switch, SW2 and SW3 are door switches, 50 is a power switching relay, and 60 is a timer.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An image forming means for forming an image on a recording material, a means for inputting data related to image formation, a program memory storing a program for controlling the image forming means, and a program memory for storing the input data. a microcomputer having a data memory for storing data; a means for detecting a jam of the recording material in the image forming means; and a means for interrupting the operation of the image forming means when a jam is detected by the detecting means; a means for holding the state, a reset switch for canceling the suspended state, a door that allows access to the inside of the device when opened, and a door switch that operates in response to opening or closing of the door; During the interruption by 1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a control means for canceling the suspended holding state when a detection signal indicating that the image forming apparatus is turned on is detected.