JPS63160939A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prohibit any image forming action when it is so judged that a proper paper cassette is not used, as well as to obviate such trouble as making an image worse and so on, by reading information showing a paper characteristic to be displayed to the paper feed cassette, and judging whether the image forming action should be prohibited or not. CONSTITUTION:Various kinds of information on paper are printed by a bar code 12 and displayed on one side 11 of a front end, namely, an insertion part 10 of a cassette body 3. And, this information is read out, and whether image forming action of a unit body should be prohibited or not. Therefore, on the basis of this information, when so judging that it is a paper feed cassette 1 with the built-in paper suited to image formation conditions, the image forming action is performed as usual, forming an image. On the other hand, when it is so judged that a proper paper feed cassette 1 is not used, any image forming action is prohibited, so that such trouble as making the image whose and so on is obviable.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine that feeds paper using a paper feed cassette that also serves as a storage case.

(Prior Art) Many types of paper are used in image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, which differ from each other in size, paper thickness, amount of talc, paper quality, and the like.

Currently, images are formed to suit the paper size, but images are not formed by setting image forming conditions to suit paper characteristics such as paper thickness, amount of talc, and paper quality. Not yet.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) For this reason, conventional devices often use paper that has characteristics that are inappropriate for the image forming conditions of the device itself, resulting in poor images, jams, etc. There was a problem that problems occurred.

In addition, when the image quality is poor or a problem occurs, even though the cause is on the paper side, they are unaware of it and waste efforts to find the cause on the device itself. There were times when I was at a disadvantage.

Furthermore, if inferior paper was used, paper dust could cause the main unit of the device to malfunction.As a solution to this problem, the characteristics of each sheet of paper can be detected and used to detect unsuitable paper. If so, it may be possible to configure the image forming operation to be prohibited, but the means for detecting paper characteristics would be complicated and expensive, and it would be difficult to detect accurate information, making it impractical for practical use. That is almost impossible.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention focuses on the fact that paper having uniform paper characteristics is contained in a paper feed cassette that also serves as a storage case.
This solves the above problems.

That is, the image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a paper feed cassette that also serves as a storage case that houses paper having predetermined characteristics and displays information indicating the characteristics of the paper at a predetermined position on its outer surface, and means for reading the information. and means for determining whether or not to inhibit the image forming operation based on the information read by the means.

(Function) According to the present invention, information indicating paper characteristics displayed at a predetermined position on the outer surface of the paper feed center is read (if no display is displayed,
You can read the information that it is not displayed. ), it can be determined based on this information whether or not the image forming operation of the apparatus main body should be prohibited.

In other words, if it is determined based on the information that the paper feed cassette contains paper that is suitable for the image forming conditions of the main body of the apparatus, the image forming operation can be performed as usual. , If it is determined from the above information that the above paper feed cassette is not used,
By prohibiting the image forming operation, inconveniences such as deterioration of the image can be prevented.

(Embodiment) In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the present invention is applied to a copying machine.

This copying machine consists of a paper feed cassette 1 that also serves as a storage case and an apparatus main body 2.
is removably inserted into the

1 to 3 show the paper feed cassette 1. As shown in FIG. FIG. 3 shows the paper feed cassette 1 before use, and the inside of the cassette main body 3 is protected against moisture by a storage lid 4. A predetermined number of papers 5 are contained in the cassette body 3,
Further, a paper feed roller opening 6 is provided at the front of the upper surface of the cassette main body 3, and a push-up roller phase-opening lower portion is provided at the front of the lower surface of the cassette main body 3. A push-up plate 8 is disposed above the push-up roller phase opening lower. Further, a paper feed slit 9 is provided at the upper end of the front surface of the cassette main body 3, and the paper 5 is fed one by one from this.

The cassette main body 3 is formed in the shape of a closed box, and has a structure that prevents the user from replenishing additional paper 5. Further, the storage lid 4 seals both the openings 6.7 and the paper feed slit 9, so that the interior of the paper feed force set 1 is kept moisture-proof.

Various information about the paper 5 is printed and displayed in the form of a bar code 12 on one side 11 of the front end of the cassette body 3, that is, the insertion section 10. That is, the barcode 12 displays the characteristics of the paper 5 such as its size, paper thickness, talc amount, paper quality, etc., and also displays the initial number of sheets of paper 5 accommodated. Also, above the barcode 12 on the side surface 11 is a black band (
A dummy bar) 13a is printed, and a black band (remaining amount display bar) 13 indicating the number of sheets used is written in the blank area behind it. and the barcode 12
, the dummy bar 13a and the black band 13 are also protected by the storage lid 4 when the cassette is not in use.

The paper feed cassette l that also serves as a storage case can be configured in various ways. For example, Utsukai Showa 61-5633
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 5, it is possible to use a cassette body in which a spring for biasing the push-up plate upward is built into the cassette body.

The paper feed force separator a shown in FIG. 4 is of a type having a built-in push-up spring 15, and is provided with a seal plate 14 in place of the storage lid 4. This seal plate 14 closes the paper feed roller opening 6a and the paper feed slit 9a, thereby preventing moisture inside the cassette main body 3a. When using the cassette, the seal plate 14 is pulled out so that the paper 5 is fed through the paper feed slit 9a. Although not shown, a bar code similar to that of the paper feed cassette 1 shown in FIGS. , a dummy par is displayed.

The paper feed cassette 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is used by being removably inserted into an apparatus main body 2, as shown in FIG. At this time, the storage lid 4 has been removed, the paper feed roller 16 has entered the cassette body 3 through the paper feed roller opening 6, and is in pressure contact with the upper surface of the paper 5. The lifting roller enters the inside of the cassette main body 3 through the phase-opening lower and comes into elastic contact with the lower surface of the push-up plate 8, thereby pushing up the push-up plate 8.

Then, due to the rotation of the paper feed roller 16, the paper 5
are supplied to the apparatus main body 2 one by one.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 5, and 6, a code reading means 22 for reading the bar code 12 is provided in the cassette insertion portion 21 of the main body 2 of the apparatus. In this example, L
The code reading means 22 is composed of a light projector 28 made of an ED and a light receiving sensor 29 that detects the light emitted from the light projector 28 and reflected by the bar code 12.

The code reading means 22 is configured to be movable in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 6 so that all information on the barcode 12 can be scanned. That is, the code reading means 22 is controlled by a motor control circuit 24 and is constructed by attaching a light projector 28 and a light receiving sensor 29 to a moving body 26 driven by a stepping motor 25.

The code reading means 22 scans by itself, and as shown in FIG. It is also possible to use the movement of the barcode 12 when it is inserted to read all the information on the barcode 12.

A black belt reading means 23 (FIG. 2) having a structure similar to that of the code reading means 22 is disposed near the top of the code reading means 22. The black belt reading means 23 is connected to a black belt writing means 30, which will be described later, and detects the length of the black belt 13 by scanning.

The black belt 13 is written on one side 11 of the insertion section 10 of the paper feed cassette 1 according to the number of sheets of paper used,
Its length is proportional to the number of sheets of paper used. As a means for writing this black band 13, a thermal transfer method is used, as shown in FIG. The black band writing means 30 has a print head 32 with an ink ribbon 31, which is driven by a stepping motor 34 controlled by a motor control circuit 33 to move in the direction of the arrow. The black belt reading means 23 reads the rear end position of the black belt 13, and based on this black belt rear end detection signal, the print head 3 moves to the rear end position.
2 moves, and then the print head 32 additionally writes a black band 13 of a length corresponding to the number of sheets of paper used.

The black belt writing means 30 is an example of a means for writing information corresponding to the number of sheets of paper used on the outer surface of the paper feed cassette 1, but other writing means such as a dot method or an exposure method may also be used. It is also possible to display the information using a display means other than a black band. Note that the first writing of the black belt 13 is performed by detecting the rear end of the dummy bar 13a and continuing therefrom.

The basic structure of the main body 2 of the copying machine is the paper feed cassette 1.
This is a general method for copying an image of a document onto paper 5 supplied from a paper 5, and its explanation will be omitted.

FIG. 9 shows a configuration diagram of a microcomputer that controls the main body 2 of the apparatus. A barcode signal from the code reading means 22 and a black belt trailing edge detection signal from the black belt reading means 23 are input to a microprocessor unit (hereinafter referred to as MPU) 40 . In addition to this, signals from the empty sensor 43, signals from switches and keys 41 of the operation section, etc.
Signals from other sensors 42 are also input.

On the other hand, the MPU 40 outputs signals for controlling the black belt writing means 30 and the black belt reading means 23, and outputs an empty notice signal to the empty notice display section 44. Further, a signal indicating the number of remaining sheets of paper, etc. is output to the other display section 45. Furthermore, signals for controlling the paper conveying section 46, the optical system section 47, the image forming section 48, the developing and fixing section 49, etc. are outputted, and an empty operation prohibition signal, which will be described later, is outputted.

The device main body 2 is controlled according to the program stored in the memory of the MPU 40.

FIG. 1θ is a flowchart showing the main program. The program starts when the power is turned on, and in step #l, the MPU 40 and the device main body 2 are initialized. Next, in step #2, the output load and input load connected around the MPU 40 are controlled.

Thereafter, copying operation processing (step #3), paper information input processing (step #4), and black band printing processing (step #5)
, remaining paper number determination processing (step #6), cassette unusable processing (step #7), and cassette unusable detection processing (step #8) are sequentially executed. These will be explained in detail later.

In step #9, processes other than those described above, such as toner replenishment and display on the operation unit, are performed. Then step #lO
Then, it is determined whether or not the internal timer of the MPt 140 (reset and started in step #2) has finished counting, and this determination is repeated until the count is finished, and after the count is finished, the process returns to step #2. As a result, the time required for one operation of this main routine is set to a substantially constant time. This main routine is then executed repeatedly.

The copying operation process in step #3 is executed according to the subroutine shown in FIG. Since printing has not started when the power is turned on, this is determined in step #31, and the process returns to the main routine without performing any substantial processing. A detailed explanation will be given later.

FIG. 11 shows a subroutine for paper information input processing in step #4. This subroutine is for the apparatus main body 2 to read the information displayed as the barcode 12, and to prohibit the use of paper feed cassettes outside the scheduled range based on this information.

In step #41, the information on the barcode 12 is sequentially read by scanning by the code reading means 22. Then, in step #42, the information is analyzed,
The paper characteristics (size, paper thickness, talc amount, paper quality, etc.) of the paper 5 in the paper feed cassette 1 are determined, and the initial number of sheets accommodated is determined. Further, this analyzed information is stored in memory. Based on the information stored in this way, the copying operation process of step #3 (FIGS. 10 and 16) is performed. That is, based on the paper characteristics, copying (image formation) is performed by appropriately setting conditions such as image forming range, charging, transfer, developing bias, exposure, and fixing temperature.

As a result of analyzing the information, if the information is outside the planned range, or if the barcode 12 is not displayed on the paper feed cassette 1 and no information can be read, step #43 It is determined that there is an error in the information, and the process proceeds to step #44, where the copying operation (image forming operation) is prohibited. That is, when it is determined that an unscheduled paper feed cassette 1 is being used, its use is prohibited. On the other hand, if it is determined in step #43 that there is no error in the information, the process returns to the main routine.

FIG. 12 shows a subroutine for black band printing processing in step #5. This subroutine is for additionally writing a black band 13 on one side 11 of the insertion section 10 of the paper feed cassette 1 according to the number of sheets of paper used.

When one sheet of paper 5 has been copied, it is determined in step #51 whether or not a copy end signal has been received. If the copy end signal has been received, the process advances to step #52. In this step #52, the end of the black belt 13 is detected by the black belt reading means 23. Based on this detection result, the black band writing means 30 moves to the end position, additionally writes a black band with a width corresponding to one sheet of paper (step #53), and returns to the main routine. Note that even when using a new paper cassette 1, a black band (dummy bar) 13a for setting the initial position is printed on the paper cassette 1, so detecting this end will prevent the above work from being hindered. It is carried out without any problems. If the copy end signal is not received in step #51, the process directly returns to the main routine.

FIG. 13 shows a subroutine for determining the number of remaining paper sheets in step #6. This subroutine detects the length of the black belt 13 written by the black belt writing means 30, determines the number of remaining sheets of paper based on this, and displays this externally or displays a paper empty notice. It is for.

In step #61, the black belt reading means 23 is scanned to detect the rear end position of the black belt 13. Based on this, in step #62, the number of sheets of paper to be used corresponding to the effective length of the black belt 13 is calculated, and the number of sheets of paper remaining is calculated by comparing it with the initial number of sheets already stored in the memory. calculate. Next, in step #63, it is determined whether the number of remaining sheets of paper is equal to or less than a predetermined number of sheets. If it is determined that the number of sheets is less than the predetermined number, in step #64, a preview display signal is output to the empty notice display section 44 to display a paper empty notice. After that, the process moves to step #65. On the other hand, if it is determined in step #63 that the number of sheets is greater than the predetermined number, the process jumps to step #65.

In step #65, a display signal indicating the number of remaining sheets of paper is output to the display unit 45 to display the number of remaining sheets of paper. Then return to the main routine.

FIG. 14 shows the subroutine of the cassette unusable process in step #7. This subroutine is for writing a prohibition mark in order to prohibit the reuse of the empty paper cassette l.

In step #71, it is determined whether the paper is empty based on the signal from the paper empty sensor 43, and if the paper is not empty, the process returns to the main routine. On the other hand, if it is determined in step #71 that the paper is empty, in the next step #72, the end of the black belt 13 that has already been written is detected by the black belt reading means 23.

Based on this, in step #73, the black belt writing means 30 writes a wide black belt (unusable mark).
is additionally written from the end.

When the black band 13 of a predetermined length or more is written on the outer surface of the paper feed cassette 1 in this way, the paper feed cassette 1 cannot be reused, as will be explained in step #8. Then return to the main routine.

FIG. 15 shows the subroutine of the cassette unusable detection process in step #8. This subroutine is for detecting and determining whether or not a black band 13 of a predetermined length or more has been written, as described above, and prohibiting the reuse of the paper feed cassette 1 that is empty of paper.

In step #81, the black belt 1 is read by the black belt reading means 23.
3 is detected, and then in step #82 it is determined whether the length is equal to or greater than a predetermined length. If it is determined that the length is shorter than the predetermined length, the process returns to the main routine, and if it is determined that the length is greater than or equal to the predetermined length, the process proceeds to step #83. In this step #83, a prohibition signal for prohibiting a copying operation (image forming operation) is sent to the paper conveying section 46 and the image forming section 4.
8, etc., and outputs the display signal to the display section 45. As a result, the use of the empty paper cassette 1 is prohibited, and a message to that effect is displayed. Then return to the main routine.

The copy operation process in step #3 is executed according to the subroutine shown in FIG. 16 as described above, and the barcode 12
Based on the information read from the printer, image forming conditions are set to suit the paper characteristics such as paper size, paper thickness, talc amount, paper quality, etc., and copies are made.

In step #31, when a signal to start printing is received from the switch or key 41 of the operation unit, etc., and it is determined that printing is to start, based on the information, step #32
Copying operation control is performed in . That is, the paper conveyance section 4
6. Control signals are outputted to the optical system section 47, image forming section 48, developing and fixing section 49, etc. so that these sections operate under image forming conditions suitable for the paper characteristics, and are also operated. Thereby, conditions such as image forming range, charging, transfer, developing bias, exposure, fixing temperature, etc. are appropriately set, and copying is performed. Then return to the main routine.

The present invention can be configured in various ways other than those shown in the above embodiments. For example, in the above embodiment, information indicating the characteristics of the paper 5 in the paper feed cassette 1 is displayed using the barcode 12, but this information may also be displayed using something recorded using magnetism, light, etc. It is possible.

Further, in the above embodiment, the barcode 12 is displayed on the side surface 11 of the insertion portion of the paper feed cassette main body 3, but it can be displayed at a suitable location on the outer surface of the paper feed cassette 1.

Further, in the above embodiment, the code reading means 22 is used as a means for reading the information, but a reading means depending on the display mode of the information can be used.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, in the microcomputer-controlled paper information input process (step #4), it is determined whether the information indicating the paper characteristics is within the scheduled range, and if it is outside the scheduled range, the image forming operation is prohibited. However, the determination means and the control content based on the determination are not limited to those described above.

(Effects of the Invention) Since the image forming apparatus of the present invention has the above-described configuration and operation, it reads information indicating paper characteristics displayed at a predetermined position on the outer surface of the paper feed cassette, and forms an image on the main body of the apparatus based on this information. It can be determined whether the operation should be prohibited. Therefore, if it is determined based on the information that an appropriate paper feed cassette is not being used, the image forming operation is prohibited, and inconveniences such as poor images can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the paper feed cassette with the storage lid removed, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the paper feed cassette inserted into the main body of the apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the paper feed cassette in an unused state, FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the paper feed cassette, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the principle of the code reading means, and FIG. A plan view thereof, FIG. 7 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the code reading means, FIG.
The figure is a plan view showing the black belt writing means, FIG. 9 is a block diagram of microcomputer control, and FIGS. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 respectively. It is a flowchart of a control means. l-・- Paper cassette 2 that also serves as a storage case
Device body

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A paper feed cassette that also serves as a storage case containing paper with predetermined characteristics and displaying information indicating the characteristics of the paper at a predetermined position on its outer surface; a means for reading the information; and a means for reading the information. 1. An image forming apparatus comprising: means for determining whether or not to prohibit an image forming operation based on information obtained from the image forming apparatus.