JPH01100567A - Copy machine transport control method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a method for controlling the conveyance of a copying machine, which determines whether or not copy paper is within the conveyance path while the copy paper is being conveyed. It is something.

(Prior art) As shown in FIG. 16, the outline of the copy paper conveyance path on copy paper is as follows. sensor 41
．． 42 and 43 are arranged, and a paper ejection sensor 5 is arranged on the paper ejection roller 3 side.

Arrangement interval of paper detection sensors 41, 42, 43, etc. Q11Q2. Q3. Q4 is Ωp +n s > Ω1 in relation to the paper length uPz and the paper interval Q3. Ω21 f131 Q.

Otherwise, false detection will occur. Furthermore, since the paper length Q and the paper spacing Q vary depending on the paper size, they are usually determined by the minimum paper size that a copying machine can handle.

The outline of the operation is as follows: Copy paper 1 is fed to a conveyance path by paper feed roller 2 which is controlled ON-OFF by a clutch or the like. The copy paper 1 is ejected from the beginning when the paper detection sensors 41, 42, 43 and the ejection sensor 5 are turned ON-OFF.

This operation timing chart is shown in FIG. 17, which shows the case where two sheets of copy paper 1 are fed. As shown in the figure, the paper feed roller 2, each paper detection sensor 41, 42, 4
There are flags 61 to 64 indicating that a copy sheet is present between each of the copying machine 3 and the paper discharge sensor 5, and these flags are stored in the RAM of the control circuit (microcomputer) of the copying machine.

As the copy paper is discharged, flags 61 to 64 are sequentially set and then reset. Therefore, whether or not there is copy paper in the conveyance path can be determined if any one of these flags is set or if one of the sensors is turned on. If so, the control circuit determines that copy paper is present. Further, when all the flags are reset or all the sensors are turned off, it is determined that there is no copy paper in the conveyance path (when the shaded area disappears).

The presence or absence of copy paper was determined in this way, but when setting the arrangement distances Q1 to Q4 between each sensor, it is necessary to consider the length i of copy paper and the distance a between the sheets.
When the conveyance path of copy paper is long, the number of sensors increases, and therefore the number of flags in the control circuit also increases.When determining whether copy paper is present or not, the control circuit must detect all the states of each flag and each sensor. There was a complication that it could not be determined unless it was done.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, it is undesirable to require a large number of sensors and determination items to determine whether there is copy paper on the conveyance path or not, as it delays the control operation.

Also, the fact that there is no more copy paper in the transport path means the end of the copying operation, and at the same time, there are other related processing operations such as stopping the transport drive motor, stopping each charger, and so it is possible to determine the end of the copying operation with certainty. Must be quick. This also results in unnecessary power consumption and is not economical.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to be able to reliably and quickly determine the presence or absence of copy paper in a conveying path by a simple means.

(Structure and operation) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a copying machine that feeds copy paper, transports it, and discharges the copy paper. If the content of the counter is O when the counter is counted down, it is determined that there is no copy paper in the conveyance path, and if it is other than 0, it is determined that there is copy paper in the conveyance path.

According to the present invention, the counter of the control circuit is counted up and down by the paper feeding and paper ejection detection sensors provided on the paper feeding side and the paper discharging side, and the value in the conveyance path is calculated from the value when the counter is counted down. Since the presence or absence of copy paper is determined and the control operation within the copying machine is performed, the detection operation for determination can be performed easily and reliably.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a control mechanism in which the present invention is implemented, and the control circuit 7 is composed of a microcomputer CPU, which includes a RAM for storing data, a ROM for storing programs, and an input board. IN and output boat OU
Consists of T. As inputs to the control circuit 7, signals from paper discharge sensors 51 and 52, which will be described later, a pulse signal from the pulse generator 8, and a signal from the paper feed sensor 4 are input. Also,
As an output, a clutch for controlling the rotation of the transport drive motor 9, the paper feed roller 2, and the paper discharge roller 3, etc. are connected.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention and is a diagram showing the arrangement of sensors on the conveyance path. As shown in the figure, a paper feed sensor 4 is arranged between the paper feed roller 2 and the first feed roller 10, and a paper ejection sensor 51 is arranged after the last feed roller 10, that is, on the paper exit side. be. This paper feed sensor is for detecting paper feed failure, and is unrelated to the conventional paper detection sensors 41, 42, 43, which detect whether there is paper in the conveyance path (Fig. 16) and make a decision using the control circuit. It is.

For ease of understanding, Figure 3 shows the operation timing chart of Figure 2 when two sheets of copy paper are fed.
The same applies to the case of n sheets. The paper feed roller 2 is the control circuit 7
(Fig. 1) When the clutch is turned on at a predetermined timing based on the signal from the control circuit, that is, the counter arranged in the RAM of the microcomputer
1”.

When two sheets are fed, the counter is incremented by "+1" and the counter value becomes "2". Then, the paper is transported by the feed roller 10 on the transport path, and when the first sheet is ejected, the paper ejection sensor 51 is turned on and off.
When turning off, the value of the counter is -1". Therefore, the value of the counter becomes 111" when the first sheet passes.
When the second card passes, it becomes "O". When this counter reaches "0", the control circuit determines that there is no copy paper on the conveyance path, and ejection is completed. Also, it is true as long as the counter value does not become "0".

The control circuit 7 controls the end of copying as the state becomes O.

In this embodiment, sensors are provided on the paper feed side and paper ejection side, and the presence or absence of copy paper in the conveyance path is determined from the value of the counter in the control circuit. It is simple because it does not require a large number of paper detection sensors.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which a post-processing machine (II) such as a sorter and a finisher (a machine containing mechanisms for stapling and paper folding) is connected after the copying machine (I). FIG. In such a case, the conveyance path becomes long, so the copying machine (1
) and a paper discharge sensor 52 is added to detect the paper discharge status of the post-processing machine (U).

The paper discharge sensor 51 in this case is not used.

Similar to FIG. 3, FIG. 5 shows the operation timing chart of FIG. 4 when two sheets of copy paper are fed.
Instead of 1, the paper ejection sensor 52 counts down the value of the counter in the control circuit to detect the completion of ejection.

Note that the count-up operation during paper feeding is the same as that shown in FIG. 3, so a description thereof will be omitted.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to determine whether there is paper in the conveyance path or not, regardless of the length of the conveyance path.

Next, the operation flow of counting up and counting down the counter described in FIGS. 3 and 5 in the control circuit 7 will be explained.

Figure 6 shows the case of counting up the value of the counter, t
An example of t + I II is shown, and when the paper feed roller 2 is turned on at a certain predetermined paper feed timing, the counter is simultaneously incremented by "+1". Then, the paper feed roller is turned off at the OFF timing. This timing is controlled by rotating a pulse generator 8 (for example, a disk with slits carved in it) installed on the rotating shaft of the conveyance drive motor 9 as shown in FIG. The timing is calculated by counting the synchronized pulse signals (converted to signals).

Note that the drive belt 11 rotates the paper feed roller 2. It goes without saying that the counter is incremented at any time according to the ON/OFF timing according to this operation flowchart for each number of sheets fed.

Figure 7 shows the case where the counter value is counted down, 1
11+1, and later determine whether the conveyance path is short (for example, in the case of only the copying machine (1) in Figure 2) or long (for example, in the case of the copying machine (I) and the child processing machine (■) in Figure 4). Determination is made based on the connection signal of the processor, etc. As a result, the fall of the discharge sensor 51 or 52 (when OFF) is detected and the value of the counter is set to -1''.

The falling edge detection operation of the paper discharge sensor 51 (or 52) will be explained with reference to FIGS. 8 to 11. First, when the conveyance drive motor 9 (Fig. 8) is turned ON (Fig. 9) by turning on the copy start key, the pulse generator (8
A pulse signal 12 (FIG. 9) from FIG. The conveyance drive motor 11 is turned on and the drive belt 12 (Fig. 8)
The paper feed roller 2 is turned on at timing nIPLS (Fig. 9), and the paper feed roller 2 is turned off at a predetermined timing.
(Fig. 9), and one sheet is fed. Then, the conveyed copy paper passes through the paper discharge sensor 51 (FIG. 9) ONL and this O
Even if there is chattering at the moment when the paper feed clutch is turned on, it is possible to ignore the chattering when the paper ejection sensor rises because it is detected whether or not the paper ejection sensor 51 is ON at a predetermined timing n2PLS from the paper feed clutch ON. That is, n2PLS
If the paper discharge sensor 5] is ON at the timing of , the trailing edge detection flag 13 (FIG. 9) is set. Then, the copy paper is further ejected and passes the position of the paper ejection sensor 51.
At the time of FF, the fall detection flag is reset.

Even if there is chattering at this time, since the first OFF is detected and the fall detection flag is reset, subsequent variations can be ignored. Furthermore, the conveyance drive motor 9 is turned off by the reset.

In FIG. 10, it is determined whether the pulse signal 13 is n2PLS or not, and if Yes, a falling detection flag is set (+1
) is an operation flowchart. Although the n2PLS standard is counted from the ON of the paper feed roller 2 in FIG. 9, it may be counted from another location, for example, from the ON of the paper feed sensor 4.

In FIG. 11, it is detected whether the paper discharge sensor 51 is turned off, and if Yes, the fall detection flag 13 is set to "1".
If it is Yes, it indicates that it has changed from ON to OFF, so the falling detection flag is reset and the counter is set to "-1". Therefore, even if there is chattering, paper ejection can be reliably detected by performing the process at the first OFF.

Next, the operation of checking the paper feeding status will be explained with reference to FIGS. 12 to 15.

FIG. 12 shows a timing chart when the paper feed sensor 4 detects when the paper feed roller 2 is ONL but the paper is not fed. That is, it is checked whether the paper feed roller 2 is ONL and after a predetermined timing has passed, the paper feed sensor 4 is ONL. This tl is performed by current pulses using a timer or counter.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for determining whether or not the t1 timing has come. If YES, it is determined whether the paper feed sensor 4 is ON; if NO, a paper non-feed flag in the control circuit is set. , handles subsequent control processing.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart for setting the counter to 1'-1'' from the paper misfeed flag set in FIG. For the count value incremented by 1 when roller 2 is ON',
Since the amount of paper fed in that year is incremented by "-1", it is possible to prevent the counter from slipping.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart for stopping the conveyance drive motor 9 if any abnormality occurs in the copying machine during the copying operation. This causes the motor to stop and the counter value to become 110'' when an abnormality occurs, thereby preventing the counter from going out of order in the next copying operation.

Although the above explanation has been given regarding the case where copy paper is fed one by one, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a copying machine equipped with an automatic document feed mechanism.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, the present invention counts up the counter of the control circuit based on the signals from the paper feed and paper ejection detection sensors provided on the paper feed side and the paper ejection side.

Count down, detect the value at countdown, and
If it is I OII, there is no copy paper in the conveyance path, and II
When it is other than OI+, it is determined that there is copy paper.

Therefore, the number of sensors is much smaller than in the past, and the sensor installed on the paper feed side is only used to detect poor paper feeding, rather than the conventional sensor that detects the presence or absence of paper in the conveyance path. The purpose of use is different. In addition, since the presence or absence of paper in the conveyance path is determined from the counter value, the determination process (program) is simple and easy, and it is not compatible with the paper presence/absence detection sensor installed in the conveyance path as in the past. It requires fewer flags compared to providing a large number of flags.

Moreover, even if there is chattering when the paper ejection sensor is turned on or off, the paper ejection can be reliably detected, so reliability is high.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a control mechanism to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a sensor layout diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is an operation timing chart of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a diagram of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an operation timing chart of FIG. 4, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are flowcharts of the counter count-up and count-down operations shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. Fig. 8 is an example diagram of the transport drive motor and pulse generator, Fig. 9 is an operation timing chart of the transport drive motor, pulse signal, paper feed roller, paper ejection sensor, and fall detection flag, and Figs. 10 and 11. The figure is the operation flowchart of Figure 9, Figure 12 is the operation timing chart of the paper feed roller and paper feed sensor, and Figures 13 to 15 are the paper failure when the copy paper from the paper feed roller is not fed. FIG. 16 is an operational flowchart of flag and counter processing, FIG. 16 is a layout diagram of a paper detection sensor in a conventional copy paper conveyance path, and FIG. 17 is an operation timing chart of FIG. 16. 1... Copy paper, 2... Paper feed roller, 3... Paper ejection roller, 4... Paper feed sensor, 41.42°43...
Paper detection sensor, 5, 51, 52... paper ejection sensor,
61.62.63.64... Flag, 7... Control circuit, 8... Pulse generator, 9... Conveyance drive motor, 10... Feed roller. 11... Drive belt, 12... Pulse signal, 13.
... Fall detection flag, (I) ... Copy machine, (I
I) ... Post-processing machine.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In a copying machine that feeds copy paper, transports it, and discharges the copy paper, a counter is provided that counts up by paper feeding means and counts down by discharge detection means,
A transport control method for a copying machine, characterized in that if the content of the counter at the time of the countdown is 0, it is determined that there is no copy paper in the transport path, and if it is other than 0, it is determined that there is copy paper in the transport path. (2) The method for controlling the conveyance of a copying machine as set forth in claim (1), further comprising a means for detecting a paper misfeed, and a counter is set to 0 when a paper is not fed. (3) Claim (1) characterized in that the counter is set to 0 when the conveyance drive motor is turned off.
A method for controlling the conveyance of a copying machine as described in Section 1. (4) The passage of paper through the discharge detection means is detected using a predetermined timing signal, and if the paper is passing, a detection flag is set, and the discharge detection means does not detect the passage of paper, and the detection flag is set. 2. The method of controlling conveyance of a copying machine according to claim 1, wherein the counter is incremented by "-1" depending on the condition.