JPS6251565A - Copying machine with collate function - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance the operating effectiveness and the rate of service by dividing the set number of copies into smaller numbers, each of which is equal to or less than the total number of pins, repeating a unit operation of copying for such divisions and thereby eliminating iterative computation and entry of the number of copies. CONSTITUTION:In case where the total number of pins 53 installed in a sorter 46 is, for ex., 15 and the total number of copies is set to 40, '3' is registered in a counter C while '10' is stored in a memory M, and the value of the number of copies 1 after turning on the print switch is set equal to the total number of pins 53 '15', and if a sheet sensor 55 is off, the copying operation is performed. Because '2' is registered in the counter C after the mentioned process of operation, the value of the number of copies I is set equal o the total number of bins 53 '15', and the sheets exhausted number the foregoing process are taken out of the bins 53, and if said sensor 55 is off, the same copying process as in the first will be performed. The stored number '10' in the memory is used as the value of the number of copies I, and 10 copies are produced after taking out the exhausted sheets in the foregoing process, and the off condition of sensor 55 should finish the operation when sheets are removed from the p ins 53 till tenth stage, wherein the original will circulate three rounds.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to a copying machine having a document circulation feeding device on a document table, a sorter attached to a wandering paper section, and having a collating function.

<Summary of the Invention> The copying machine having the collation processing function according to the present invention effectively utilizes the collation processing function even when the number of copies set and input is greater than the total number of bins arranged in the sorter. Therefore, the manually set number of copies is divided into the total number of bins or a number less than that, and the copying operation for the divided number of copies is repeated.

<Prior Art and Its Disadvantages> When a plurality of copies of a document with consecutive pages are made in multiple copies, the sheets must be collated in page order after the copying operation is completed. In order to simplify this collation work, a sorter with multiple bins arranged in multiple stages is installed near the paper output port of the copying machine, and each bin stores one sheet of paper with copies of each page of the original. A large number of copying machines have been commercialized.

However, in the conventional apparatus, the number of copies that can be set and input is within the total number of bins provided in the sorter. Therefore, when the number of copies exceeding the total number of bins is required, the operator must perform the copying operation multiple times with the number of copies less than the total number of bins to satisfy the required number of copies. Therefore, the operator must calculate the number of repetitions from the required number of copies and the total number of bins. In addition, each time a repeated copying operation is started, a set number of copies must be input, which makes the operation complicated, and the copying operation takes a long time.

<Object of the Invention> In view of the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, the object of the present invention is to enable the input of the number of copies even when the number of copies required exceeds the total number of bins provided in the sorter, thereby eliminating the need to calculate the number of repetitions and multiple copies. It is an object of the present invention to provide a copying machine having a collation processing function that can omit inputting the number of copies, improve workability and operating efficiency, and shorten working time.

<Structure and Effects of the Invention> The copying machine having the collation processing function of the present invention has a fixed order of placing the originals on the original tray of the original circulation feeding device, and can feed the originals multiple times in succession. This was done with a focus on certain things, including a copy number comparison means that compares the number of copies inputted and the total number of bins arranged in the sorter, and a copy number comparison means that compares the number of copies inputted with the total number of bins arranged in the sorter. a number calculation means attached to each bin, which automatically sets the total number of bins or a number less than the total number of copies as the number of copies and calculates the minimum necessary number of repetitions of the copying operation for the number of copies; and paper detection means for detecting whether or not paper has been removed, and when one copying operation is completed, all of the paper detection means attached to the bin corresponding to the set number of copies will detect whether or not paper has been removed. It is characterized in that the next copying operation is performed after detecting that a copy has been made.

With the above configuration, according to the present invention, when the total number of copies set and input exceeds the total number of bins, the number of copies is divided into the total number of bins or a number smaller than the total number of bins, and the copying operation is performed according to the number of copies that can be processed. By performing this multiple times, it is possible to perform the copying operation for the total number of copies set and input. Since the number of repetitions of the copying operation is calculated by the number calculation means, there is no need for the operator to calculate it. In addition, by providing a paper detection means in each bin, it is possible to start the copying operation only when the paper is removed from the bin being used. This prevents multiple copies of paper from being mixed into one bin. Collaborative work can be performed easily and reliably.

<Embodiment> FIG. 2 is a schematic front structural diagram of a copying machine having a collation processing function, which is an embodiment of the present invention.

A document circulating feed device 15 is mounted above a document table 7 configured on the top surface of the copying machine main body 1.

Inside the document circulation feeding device 15, a document conveying belt 3 facing the upper surface of the document table 7 is provided so as to be rotatable in both forward and reverse directions. A document feed belt 4 is located near the document tray 2.
, a double-feed prevention roller 5, and a conveyance switching guide 6, respectively. The originals are sequentially fed by the original feed belt 4 or the like, starting from the lowest one, and are transported to a predetermined position on the original table 7 by the original transport belt 3. Furthermore, when the document is ejected, the conveyance roller switching guide 6 moves to open the document ejection port 12, and the document on the document table 7 is transferred back to the document tray 2 by the rotation of the document conveyance heald 3 in the opposite direction and the operation of the document ejection roller 8. The document is ejected above the document placed above.

When a document is placed on the document tray 2, the partition plate 9 comes into contact with the upper surface of the document located at the top.

The partition plate 9 maintains contact with the uppermost original during the copying operation, moves to the retracted position when the uppermost original is fed to the original platen 7, and then moves to the retracted position after the original is ejected. Touch the top surface again. By this operation of the partition plate 9, the number of circulation of the originals placed on the original tray 2 is detected.

Inside the copying machine main body 1, a light source 2 is located below the document table 7.
1. Mirrors 22 to 25 and a lens 26 are installed to constitute an optical system. During the copying process, the light source 21 or the like scans the original on the original platen 7, and the reflected light passes through the lens 26 and is distributed onto the surface of the photosensitive drum 27 provided below.

The photosensitive drum 27 has a charger 28 on its outer periphery;
Developing device 29, transfer charger 30, peeling charger 3
1, the cleaner 32, the static elimination charger 33, and the static elimination lamp 34 constitute a copying process section. A manual paper feed tray 35 and paper cassettes 36 and 37 are installed on the right side inside the copying machine main body 1, and paper feed rollers 38 to 37 are installed.
40 constitutes a paper feeding section. Further, on the left side of the copying machine main body 1, there is constructed a discharge section in which a paper discharge roller 45 is provided. There is a PS roller 4 between the paper feed section and the ejection section.
1. A paper conveyance belt 43 and a fixing roller 44 are installed to constitute a paper conveyance path 13 that passes through a copying process section.

A sorter 46 is mounted on the left side of the copying machine main body 1 near the paper discharge section. This sorter 46 has a plurality of bins 53 arranged in multiple stages, and has a main paper conveyance belt 48 and a sub-sheet conveyance belt 50 rotatably installed inside.During 9 collation work, the paper passes between both belts and is guided by the storage guide. 51, the pieces of paper are stored in the respective bins 53. A paper detection sensor 55 consisting of a light emitting element and a light receiving element is attached to each bin 53, and detects the presence or absence of paper in each bin 53.

FIGS. 1A and 1B) are flowcharts showing the operation of the copying machine having the above-mentioned collation processing function.

When the power is turned on and warming-up is completed, data related to the copying operation such as paper size and number of copies are input and the copy mode is set in steps nl (hereinafter step nt is simply referred to as ni) and n2. At this time, the content of a counter C, which will be described later, is set to O.

Next, the total number of copies set and input in n3 is stored in the memory M. At n4, determine whether the content of memory M is 1 or not, and if the content of M is 1, proceed to nlo.nlo
When the print switch is turned on at step nll, it is determined whether the contents of counter C are 0 or not. ni
If the content of counter C is 0 at l, n12
Then, the value of the number of copies I is set as the content of the memory M. Based on the value of the number of copies ■, at n20, the copying operation for ■ sheets is performed for all originals placed on the document tray 2. After this, if the content of the counter C is 0 at n21, the operation ends.

At n4, if the input total number of copies is not 1, the process proceeds to n5, where it is determined whether the set mode is collation mode or not. If the collation mode is not in n5, the process advances to n1O and waits for the print switch to be operated. The above operation is a normal copying operation that is not in the collation mode, and copies the set number of copies of all documents placed on the document tray 2 and discharges them to one place.

If it is in collation mode at n5, proceed to n6,
Set the contents of counter C to 1 and proceed to n7. This counter C counts the repetition of the copying operation. At n7, the contents of memory M and the total number of bins B are compared. This n7 corresponds to the sheet number comparison means of your invention. If the contents of the memory M are equal to or less than the total number of bins B at n7, the process advances to nlo and waits for the print switch operation.

If the content of the memory M is larger than the total number of bins B at n7, the number obtained by subtracting the total number of bins B from the content of the memory M is stored in the memory M again. Next, the contents of counter C are incremented by 1 and the process returns to n7. n7→n 13-+ n 9→n
By repeating the operation in step 7, it is calculated how many times the copying operation should be repeated with the total number of bins B as the number of copies I in order to satisfy the total number of copies set and input. This operation corresponds to the number calculating means of the present invention. n 7-+ n
3-+n 9-+ The operation of n7 is repeated one or more times, and when the contents of the memory M become less than or equal to the total number of bins B at n7, the process advances to nlo and waits for the print switch to be operated.

When the print switch is turned on in nlO, the process advances to n11. If nil and the content of the counter C is not O, that is, if the input total number of copies is not 1 and the collation mode is set and n6 is passed, the process advances to n13. n1
3, it is determined whether the contents of the counter C are 1 or not. If the contents of the counter C are 1, the contents of the counter C are decremented by 1 in n14, and the process proceeds to n17. Gono n13-n
14-"n The operation 17 is performed when the input total number of copies is less than or equal to the total number B of bins.

If the content of counter C is not 1 at n13, that is,
If n9 has been passed once or more, the process proceeds to n16 and n17. At n16, the contents of counter C are counted by 1:$i, and n
l? Now, set the number of copies I to the total number of bins B and proceed to n1B.

At n18, it is determined whether or not the paper detection sensor 55 attached to the first row of the set number of copies in the bin 53 is detecting paper. If the paper detection sensor 55 detects paper, the process advances to n19, where a display prompting to take out the paper is displayed. If no paper is detected, the process advances to n20, and a copying operation is performed according to the set number of copies I.

If the content of counter C is not 0 at n21, that is, the total number of copies inputted is greater than the total number of bins B,
If it passes through n9 more than once, it returns to nil. This n
The operation 21→nil is performed after the copying operation that sets the total number of bins B to the number of copies ■ is completed, and all of the bins 53 contain sheets. Depending on the contents of the counter C, the process goes from nil to n18 through the operations n13→n14→n15 or the operations n16→n17. bottle 53
When the paper stored in is removed and all of the paper detection sensors 55 are turned off at n18, the process advances to 020 and a copying operation is performed.

The above operation will be explained using specific numbers.

If the total number of bins arranged in the sorter is 15, and 40 sheets are set and input as the total number of copies in nl, then n
4-n5→n6, and by the operations n7 to n9, the contents of the counter C are stored as 3 and the contents of the memory M as 10, and the process proceeds to nlO. Since the content of the counter C is 3, after the print switch is operated, the sequence proceeds from n1l to n13 to n16, and at n17, the value of the number of copies is set to 15, the total number of bins. If the paper detection sensor 55 is off at n18, a copying operation is performed at n20. After the above operation is completed, the content of counter C is 2.
Therefore, return from n21 to nil and n 11-n 1
Proceed to 3-n 16. At n17, the value of the number of copies I is set to 15, which is the total number of bins, and the paper ejected in the previous copying operation is taken out from the bin, and at n18, the paper detection sensor 55
If n2 is off, the same copying operation as the first time will be performed.
It is done with 0.

At this time, the value of counter C is 1, so n21
Returns to nil and proceeds as n13→n14→n15. n
In step 15, the number of copies stored in the memory M, 10, is used as the value of the number of copies I, and after the paper ejected in the previous copying operation is taken out, a copying operation of 10 sheets is performed in n20. At n18, the off state of the paper detection sensor 55 attached to the bins 53 up to the 10th stage is checked, and if the paper is removed from at least the bins 53 up to the 10th stage, the process advances to n20. At this point, since the content of the counter C is 0 at n21, the operation ends.

As above, if the number of copies entered is 40, the total number of bins is 15. 6 The copying operation is performed twice, and the remainder is obtained by subtracting the total number of bins twice from the number of copies entered. The copying operation in which the number of copies is 10, which is the number of
This is done intermittently. Since all the originals placed on the original tray 2 are fed once to the original table for each copying operation, the originals are circulated three times in this case.

As described above, according to this embodiment, if the input number of copies exceeds the total number of bins, the total number of bins is subtracted from the input number of copies by the operations n7 to n9, and the number of subtractions is increased by 1. The copying operation is repeated intermittently for the number of times in which . Each copying operation is started on the condition that at least the paper from the bin 53 to be used next time is collected and the document detection sensor 55 is turned off at n1B. Therefore, a plurality of sheets of paper are not stored in one bin, and collation work can be performed reliably. Furthermore, since the last copying operation is started when the sheets related to the previous copying operation are collected from the number of bins corresponding to the number of copies of the copying operation, the copying operation time can be shortened.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIGS. 1A and 1B are flowcharts showing the operation of a copying machine having a collating function, which is an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the front structure of the copying machine. 2-original tray, 7-original table, 15-original circulation feeder, 46-sorter, 53-bin,
55-Paper detection sensor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A document circulation feeding device that sequentially feeds the documents placed on the document tray to the document tray starting from the lowest one, and discharges the documents on the document tray to the top of the document tray. In a copying machine that has a collation processing function and is equipped with a plurality of bins and a sorter that collates the ejected sheets, the number of copies entered in the setting and the total number of bins disposed on the sorter a copy number comparing means for comparing the number of copies; and a copy number comparing means that automatically sets the total number of bins or a number less than the total number of bins as the number of copies when the number of copies exceeds the total number of bins, and copies the number of copies. It is equipped with a number calculation means for calculating the minimum necessary number of repetitions of the operation, and a paper detection means attached to each bin to detect whether or not paper has been removed. , a copying machine having a collation processing function, which performs the next copying operation after all of the paper detection means attached to the number of bins corresponding to the set number of copies detect that paper has been removed. .