JPS6265851A - Control method for paper feeding apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To draw out the paper stacking section easily to the outside thus to supply papers by retracting the unit for feeding the paper from the paper stacking section to a predetermined position upon running out of paper from plural paper stacking sections arranged in a paper feeding apparatus. CONSTITUTION:A paper feed apparatus 200 will also serve as a truck for a copy machine body 100 and provided with plural paper stacking sections 26-31. The majority of the paper stacking sections 26-30 will move to the right and left but only partial paper stacking section 31 is fixed. A paper feed unit 23 is moved up and down by a drive motor 32 through a drive wire 25 thus to feed the uppermost paper in specific paper stacking section 26-31 sheet by sheet onto a carrying belt 24. Upon running out of paper from respective paper stacking section 26-31, the paper feed unit 23 is retracted to a predetermined position in order not to hinder drawing out of respective paper stacking section 26-30 to the outside of the paper feed apparatus 200.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Technical Field) The present invention relates to a plurality of paper stacking units (trays) arranged in a vertical direction.
The present invention relates to a method of controlling a paper feeding device in which a paper feeding unit (paper feeding unit) is provided in front of the paper feeding unit, and the paper feeding unit is positioned and moved up and down to start feeding paper, and particularly relates to a control method when there is no paper. .

(Prior art) This type of paper feeding device detects that there is no paper during the paper feeding operation, and if the paper feeding unit is in the paper feeding position when trying to replenish paper, the tray cannot be pulled out of the device. However, there was a problem in that the paper feeding unit had to be manually evacuated, the tray had to be pulled out of the device, and the paper had to be replenished.

Furthermore, after replenishing paper, in order to restart the replenishment operation, it is necessary to reselect the tray to which the paper was replenished.

(Purpose) The present invention was made based on this background,
In a paper feeding device that has multiple paper stacking sections and a paper feeding unit that moves to the paper feeding position, the paper feeding unit has a paper detection sensor that detects paper failure during paper feeding operation. The purpose is to improve operability so that paper can be replenished without manually moving the paper binding unit.

(Structure) Therefore, the present invention is characterized in that when the paper detection sensor detects that there is no paper, the paper feed unit retreats to a position where it does not prevent the paper stacking section from being pulled out of the device. be.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained based on illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a copying machine and a paper feeding device according to the present invention. The paper feeding device 200 is configured to also serve as a trolley for the copying machine main body 100. The operation of the copying machine main body 100 will be explained.

The image of the original placed on the contact glass 1 is shown on the mirror 2.
.about.7 and a lens 8 to form an image on a photoreceptor drum 9. The photosensitive drum 9 is uniformly charged in advance by a charging agent O, and when the original image is exposed, a latent image corresponding to the original is formed. Thereafter, unnecessary charges are removed by the erase device 11, and the developed document image is transferred by the transfer charger 13 onto a sheet of paper fed at a proper timing by the developing device y112. After the transfer, the photosensitive drum 9 is cleaned of excess toner on its surface by the cleaning device 15, and is ready for the next copying operation.

Next, the operation of paper will be explained. Paper feed cassette 16.
The transfer paper stacked on 17 is fed toward registration rollers 20 by paper feed rollers 18 or 19 according to the user's selection. The paper that has hit the registration roller 20 and is temporarily stopped is sent out from the registration roller 20 at the timing when the leading edge matches the original image on the photoreceptor drum 9, and the original image on the photoreceptor drum 9 is transferred by the transfer charger 13, and then transferred to the separation charger. The fixing device 22 is separated from the photoreceptor drum 9 by the conveyor belt 21
After the toner image is fixed on the paper, it is discharged outside the machine.

The paper feeding device 200 has six paper stacking sections 26 to 31 inside. Of these, the paper stacking units 26 to 30 are configured to be movable in the left-right direction (in FIG. 1), and only the stacking unit 31 is fixed. Paper stacking section 26-3
0 is normally retracted to a position that does not interfere with the vertical movement of the paper feed unit 23, and only the paper stacking section selected by the user is configured to move horizontally to a position where paper can be fed. This horizontal movement mechanism may be configured such that a cam or the like is used to push the rear part of the paper stacking section, or the vertical movement of the paper feed unit 23 may be used to pull out the paper stack by the paper feed unit 23. Further, the paper stacking section 31 is always in a position where paper can be fed.

The paper feed unit 23 is fixed to a drive wire 25 and can be moved up and down by a drive motor 32, moves to a paper stacking section selected by the user, and transfers the uppermost paper sheet one by one onto the conveyor belt 24. The lfl transport belt 24 is driven by a drive motor 33 and transports the paper sent out from the paper delivery unit 23 upward, and from the upper opening 34 of the paper feeder 200 toward the copying machine main body 100. and send it out.

In the case of a wooden wL device, the conveyance path of the conveyor belt 24 is longer than when using the paper feed cassette 16 or 17 of the main body copying density, so there is no possibility that two or more sheets of paper are on the conveyor belt during the copying operation. There are cases.

Therefore, the conveyor belt 24 is not stopped during the copying operation to prevent sheets from shifting due to repeated driving and stopping. Further, in order to always keep the timing of document scanning and the timing of paper arrival at the registration rollers 20 constant, the timing of paper feeding by the paper feeding unit 23 is changed depending on the position of the paper feeding unit 23.

In other words, when the paper fed from the paper feeder [200] hits the registration rollers 20 of the main body copying machine 100 and slackens appropriately, the registration rollers 20 align the leading edge of the document image on the photosensitive drum 9 with the leading edge of the paper. Start driving.

In addition, each paper 8I loading section (26 to 31) is shown in FIG.
It has a structure that can be pulled out toward the front, and replenishment of paper is performed by pulling out the paper 1ffa section toward the front.A tray set sensor (26a to 31a) is installed corresponding to each paper stacking section.
is provided, so that it can be detected whether each paper stacking section is securely set.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the overall control circuit according to the present invention. In the figure, 35 is a circuit breaker, 36 is a noise filter, and 37 is a heater for preventing dew condensation in each part of the machine, which is energized only when the main switch is turned off.

38 is a safety switch that turns off the AC load when the door is opened, 39 is a relay that turns off the AC load when an abnormality such as a jam occurs, 40 is the original 1g exposure lamp, and 41 is when the lamp is turned on abnormally. A relay for turning off the power relay 39, 42 a fixing heater, 43 a temperature fuse for blowing off the power relay when the temperature of the fixing heater '14 rises, 44 a thermistor for controlling the temperature of the fixing heater, 4
5 is a 24V power supply for high voltage power supply (■, ), -pli 2dVt source for DC load (■A), and 5Via for control, sensor, and switch! X (VC), 24V power supply for motor (VM
), and 46 is a machine state detection sensor and switches arranged at various parts of the machine, including a jam detection sensor, a paper size sensor, a toner end sensor, etc.

47 is a load such as a clutch, a solenoid, an erase lamp, etc., and includes a paper feed clutch, a register clutch, etc. 48 is a high voltage power supply that generates high voltage for the main charger, transfer charger, and separate charger. Reference numeral 49 denotes a main control unit that performs sequence control of the entire machine and process condition control, and 50 represents an operation unit control unit that performs key input and display control of the operation unit, and at the same time controls the exposure lamp and fixing heater. 51 is a driving circuit for an exposure lamp and a fixing heater; 52 is a control unit for a guidance display; 53 is a liquid crystal display device for displaying various messages; 54 is a nonvolatile RAM backed up by a battery and storing various process conditions; 55 is a motor control unit that controls the main motor, scanner motor servo control, and lens motor (pulse motor); 56 is a duplex unit; and ADF.
This is an option control unit that controls optional devices such as an automatic document feeder (Auto Document Feeder), RDF (Recycle Document Feeder) sorter, and paper feeder.

In addition, various other units shown in the blocks are connected and arranged as shown in the figure.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the main control circuit of the copying machine main body according to the present invention. Centered around CPU60.

It is composed of ROM 61, 62, RAM 63, and 110 parts, and the 110 part is a driver 64 that drives loads such as the motor, charger, clutch, solenoid, etc. of the copying machine body, and sensors installed in various parts of the copying machine body. An input circuit 65 for inputting signals, a serial interface circuit 66 for reading the manual keys of the operating section and a display control section, and a serial interface circuit for servo control of the optical system drive motor of the copying machine main body. 67, an option board interface 68 for controlling peripheral devices such as RDF, ADF, sorter, duplex unit, paper feeder, etc., and a nonvolatile RAM interface for storing data such as image forming conditions and operation modes There are 69.

FIG. 4 is an embodiment of the circuit diagram of the option board.

It has two serial interfaces 70 for controlling the ADF (RDF) and sorter, and two parallel interfaces 71 for controlling the duplex unit and paper feeder. ~0) and control signals to control each optional device.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a control circuit 80 for a paper feeding device according to the present invention. ROM8B and 11 centered on CPU81
The 110th part is a parallel interface 8 that transfers signals to and from the option board.
2, an input circuit 84 for manually inputting signals from sensors 83 provided in various parts of the paper feeding device, a motor, a clutch,
a driver 86 for driving a load such as a solenoid;
There is an interface 87 with a DC servo motor control circuit that drives the transfer paper transport mechanism of the paper feeder.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a motor control circuit according to an embodiment of the control method of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, the microcomputer 90 includes a PWM control counter and a ROM, and the j
The one-turn command signal 91 (motor ON10FF signal) and the speed command signal 92 are read through the interface circuit 93, the number of revolutions of the motor 95 is measured by the encoder 94, and the speed command No. 43 92 is calculated and the motor voltage (
current) is PWM controlled.

The output of the encoder 94 is obtained as a two-phase pulse train,
This encoder output is increased in resolution 96 and counter 97
to obtain the motor speed.

At the same time, the direction of rotation is also detected (98).

The motor driver 9 calculates the motor speed data obtained here and the speed command signal 92 from the main body copying machine.
By adjusting the duty ratio of the pulse signal that adds 9, constant rotation that always matches the speed command signal can be obtained.

Here, if the speed command signal 92 is an 8-bit binary signal, the motor can achieve 64 different speeds, and the speed command signal corresponding to the paper feeding speed of the copier to which it is installed can be applied to the paper feeding device. By sending the signal to the motor control circuit 55, it is possible to provide the same paper feeding device to copying machines with different speeds.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the paper feeding unit.

In the paper feed unit 23, a pickup roller 101 is attached to a bracket 104 that is swingably attached to a shaft 103 of a feed roller 102, and rotates together with the feed roller 102. A height detection section 105 is provided on the bracket 104, and a height detection sensor 106 detects the height of the pickup roller 101. A paper detection filler 107 is also swingably attached to the shaft 108, and the paper detection sensor 109 is blocked by a blocking portion 110 of the filler 107, thereby determining the presence or absence of paper.

Also, an upper limit shielding plate 1 is provided on the upper part of the paper feeding unit 23.
11 is attached, and by blocking the upper limit detection sensor 112 attached to the main body of the paper feeder 200,
The upper limit position of the paper feed unit 23 is detected.

Next, the height of the paper feed unit 23 and the operation for detecting the presence or absence of paper will be explained.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the paper feeding unit 23. In response to a tray selection signal, the paper feed unit 23 descends and moves to the selected tray. When descending to the tray 26, the paper detection filler 107 first comes into contact with the paper P on the tray 26, and as the unit 23 moves downward, it rotates clockwise around the shaft 108, and the shielding part 110 contacts the paper detection sensor 108. Rotate clockwise around , shielding part 1
10 blocks the paper detection sensor 109 and detects the presence of paper. Next, the pickup roller 101 comes into contact with the paper surface, and as the unit 23 descends, it rotates around the shaft 103 of the feed roller 102 provided on the bracket 113, and the height detection section 105 of the bracket 104 detects the height detection sensor 10.
6, thereby stopping the paper feed unit 23 from descending.

Also, the paper feed unit 23 has a size detection sensor 1.
14 is attached. The size detection sensor 114 is a reflective sensor having a plurality of sets of a light emitting section and a light receiving section, and detects the size of the transfer paper using a reflecting plate corresponding to the size of the transfer paper provided in each tray section.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the relationship between the size detection sensor 114 and the reflecting plate 115 provided on each tray section.

The reflective plate 115 is painted into black and white parts corresponding to the paper size, and the size detection sensor detects this black and white pattern to determine the paper size.

FIG. 10 shows an outline of the operation panel 120 of the main body copying machine. Referring to FIG. 10, the operation panel 120 includes copy paper size indicator lights 121 and 122, paper feed cassette selection keys 123 and 124, and paper feed position display. lights 125 and 1
26, Out of paper display 139, Numeric keypad (0-9) 127,
Clear stop key 128, print key/copy possible/
Impossible indicator light 129, number of copies/set number indicator 13
01 Copy 1 Density display 131, Dark key (key to increase density) 132, Light key (key to reduce density)
It is equipped with 133 etc.

In the present invention, when a paper feeding device is attached, a panel 134 for the paper feeding device can be attached side by side with the operation panel 120. The operation panel 134 includes a copy paper size indicator 135 that displays the size of the transfer paper stored in each tray of the paper feeder, and a tray selection key 13.
6. Paper feed position indicator light 137 that displays the selected tray
, a remaining amount indicator light 138 is provided to display the remaining amount of transfer paper in each tray and the amount of paper remaining. In this embodiment, the operation panel 120 of the main body copying machine is not provided with a remaining amount indicator light (because the operator can easily check the remaining amount of transfer paper), but it can of course be provided. When the paper feed cassette of the selected main copying machine or the tray of the paper feed device is out of paper, a paper out indicator 138 is turned on. Copy paper size indicator light 1
35 indicates each size on one display by using a dot display such as an LED or liquid crystal, and also displays the paper end. 4-Paper feeding unit drive motor 32 of the paper feeding device in the invention uses a pulse motor, and the position of the paper feed unit 23 is determined by counting the number of driving pulses of the pulse motor with reference to the ON position of the upper limit detection sensor 112 for detecting the upper limit position of the paper feed unit 23. can be known accurately.

The operation of the paper drawer unit will be explained with reference to FIG.

(a) is a flowchart showing the control of the unit when the power is turned on, and when the upper limit detection sensor 112 is not turned on, the unit is raised, and when the upper limit detection sensor 112 is turned on, the unit is stopped. At this time, the drive pulse counter of the pulse motor is reset to "0". (b
) is a flowchart showing the operation of the tray drawer SQL when selecting a tray, and when any of the tray selection keys 1 to 6 on the operation panel 134 is pressed, the paper feeding unit 23 does not rise to the top of the selected tray. However, if you select a tray that is lower than the currently selected tray, the unit will not rise), the drawer SQL corresponding to the selected tray will turn on and the toilet will be pulled out to the paper feeding position, and then the unit will lower. do.

Only when Tray 6 on the display (Tray 31 in Figure 1) is selected, the tray is always in the paper feed position.
There is no pullout SQL, and after turning off the SQL of the other trays and evacuating the other trays, the unit begins to descend.

(C) is a flowchart of the unit raising subroutine.

When a tray located above the currently selected tray is selected, the pulse motor is driven in the direction of raising the unit, and at this time the drive pulse counter of the pulse motor is decremented (-1).

When the unit rises to the specified position, stop the pulse motor. Of course, there is no need to raise the unit when the currently selected tray is selected or when a lower tray is selected.

(d) is a flowchart of the unit lowering subroutine. The pulse motor is driven in the direction of lowering the unit, and the drive pulse counter of the pulse motor is incremented (+1).

Normally, when there is paper, when the unit descends, the paper detection sensor turns on first, and then the unit's height detection sensor turns on, so this time difference is used to slow down the unit and bring it to a smooth stop. The aim is to improve the accuracy of the stopping position.

This stop control method, which always provides constant deceleration, is particularly effective when the stop position of the unit differs depending on the selected tray and the amount of paper on the tray, as in this method.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a routine for detecting the remaining amount of transfer paper in the tray.

The remaining amount of transfer paper is detected based on the value of the drive pulse counter of the pulse motor when the paper feed unit 23 stops on the selected tray. The value of the pulse counter becomes smaller as the paper feed unit is in a higher position, and becomes larger as the unit is lowered. In other words, the larger the remaining amount of transfer paper, the smaller the value of the pulse counter, and as the remaining amount of transfer paper decreases, the value of the pulse counter increases.

In FIG. 12, N1 to N6 are pulse counter values when trays 1 to 6 are out of paper, and are values that serve as a reference for detecting the remaining amount. First, according to the selected tray, N1
-N6 in the A register of the CPU. Compare the value of the 0th order pulse counter with the contents of the A register, determine the remaining amount of transfer paper, and store the remaining amount of paper corresponding to the selected tray on the operation panel 134. Controls the lighting of the amount indicator light.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the out-of-paper check routine during paper feeding operation. If the selected tray runs out of paper, the out-of-paper indicator on the operation panel 120 is lit, and the paper end flag (PENDI to PEND) is turned on.
6).

By memorizing the out-of-paper status of each tray using the paper end flag, when a tray with no paper is selected, the out-of-paper status can be determined at the same time as the tray is selected, without the paper feeding unit moving to the selected tray. The out-of-paper display can be turned on immediately to prevent the user from wasting time waiting.

Also, if the paper runs out during paper feeding, turn off the tray drawer SOL, raise the paper feed unit, and stop when it is raised to a position that does not prevent the tray from being pulled out to the front for paper replenishment. let

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of the paper supply check routine. Paper end flag (PEND1~PEND6
) is pulled out to the front side of the machine and then set again in its original position when the tray set sensor detects that the paper has been replenished and sets the paper end flag. Reset, turn on the tray drawer SQL, pull out the tray to the paper feeding position, and lower the paper feeding unit to set it at the paper feeding position.

(Effects) The present invention is as described above, and according to the paper feed control method according to the present invention, the tray is automatically evacuated upon detection of no paper, and is automatically reset after replenishing one paper. Therefore, operability can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a copying machine and paper feeding device according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the overall control circuit, Fig. 3 is a main control circuit diagram of the copying machine main body, and Fig. 4 is a block diagram of the main control circuit of the copying machine. The same shows the circuit diagram of the option board, and the second figure shows the control circuit diagram of the paper feeder.
6 is a motor control circuit diagram according to an embodiment of the control method, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the paper feeding unit, and FIG.
The figure is the same, a sectional view of the paper feeding unit, and Figure 9 is the same,
10 is a perspective view of the size detection sensor; FIG. 10 is a plan view of the operation panel of the copying machine; FIGS. 11(a) to (d) are operation flowcharts of the paper drawer unit; 1211ff
1 is a flowchart of a routine for detecting remaining ffi of transfer paper in the tray, FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a routine for checking no paper during paper feeding operation, and FIG. 14 is a flowchart 1 of a routine for checking paper replenishment. Figure 1 Figure 6, 55

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a paper feeding device that supplies paper to the main device by being attached to the main device, the paper feeding device has a plurality of paper stacking sections arranged in the vertical direction, and a paper feeding device for feeding paper from the paper stacking sections. A paper feed unit installed in front of the paper stack, a pulse motor that moves the paper feed unit up and down, a paper detection sensor installed in the paper feed unit, and a tray that detects when the paper stack is pulled out of the device. A method for controlling a paper feeding device comprising a sensor, the paper feeding unit retracting to a position where it does not prevent the paper stacking section from being pulled out of the device when the paper detection sensor detects that there is no paper. . (2) Claim (1) characterized in that when a tray sensor determines that the paper stacking section has been replenished with paper, the paper feeding unit that had been evacuated is set to the paper feeding position. How to control paper feed device.