JPH01214877A - Copying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To display a density level at the time of automatically adjusting of an image density and to eliminate the need of a display element by lighting a specified element out of segment display elements forming a numerical display part. CONSTITUTION:A display panel part 10 is disposed with a numerical display part 101 of three digits, a slide volume 120 to specify the image density and an AUTO display LED 130 to show an automatic exposing mode. The number of copied sheets, a copying magnification, and an exposure level at the time of automatically exposing are switched and displayed by the numerical display part 101. The exposure level is displayed by lighting the LEDs of vertical rods in the lower half of the seven segments in the form of a number 8; and if these vertical rods are regarded as 101a, 101b, 102a, 102b, 103a, and 103b, these LEDs correspond to the positions where the slide width of the slide volume 120 disposed under these LEDs is equally divided. In case of specifying the image density by the volume, automatic exposure can be displayed without providing a dedicated display part. Thus, the number of the components are reduced, so that a cost is reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a copying machine, and particularly relates to displaying image density of a copying machine.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, images are automatically adjusted so that the density of a copied image is appropriate.
A copying machine is provided which is adjustable in degrees. Additionally, there are copying machines that allow the image density to be freely selected manually.

By the way, after copying by automatically adjusting the image density, the user may want to make the image lighter or darker. In order to facilitate the manual specification of image density at this time, a proposal has been made to display the image density during automatic adjustment on an image density display LED, etc. exclusively for manual adjustment (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
9, No. 29263).

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, if a display element dedicated to displaying the image density specified in the manual is not provided,
It is not possible to determine the mlf when the station's A11 is adjusted.

The present invention has been devised in view of the above information, and is capable of checking the density of one image during automatic adjustment in a copying machine that does not have a display element specifically for displaying image density. It is something.

[Means for Solving the Problems] A copying machine according to the present invention includes a segment display element forming a numerical display section, an image density adjustment means for adjusting the density of a copied image, and an original density detection device for detecting the density of an original. means for specifying the output level of the image 'aa adjustment means; selection means for selecting either the A-toad adjustment mode or the manual mode; and the detection means for the document density detection means under the auto adjustment mode. Based on the results, the image llIr! The output level of the L adjustment means is automatically set to an appropriate level, and in manual mode 1. setting means for setting the output level of the image density adjustment means to a level specified by the ttJ finger window designation means; storage means for storing the output level of the image density adjustment means in the auto adjustment mode; Corresponding means for associating the output level of the means with a specific segment display element of the numerical display section; and manual ml! from the auto adjustment mode! ! The present invention is characterized by comprising display lighting means for lighting a segment display element corresponding to the output level of the image density adjustment means stored in the storage means when the mode is switched.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Schematic Configuration of Copying Machine) FIG. 1 schematically shows a copying machine 1 according to this embodiment. Approximately in the center of the main body of the copy 1N1, there is provided an image forming section centered on the photosensitive drum 2. Above the image forming section is an optical system 0, on the left side is a paper feed section P, and on the right side is an image forming section. A fixing device 10 is provided in each case.

In the image forming section, the photoreceptor drum 2 is rotatably supported, and around it are sequentially a charger 3, an inter-image eraser 4, a developing device 5a15b1, a transfer charger 6, a separation charger 7, a cleaner 8, and a main eraser. 9 is arranged.

The photoreceptor drum 2 has a photoreceptor layer provided on its surface, and this photoreceptor is uniformly charged by passing through the main eraser 9 and the charger 3, and receives image exposure from the optical system O.

The optical system O connects the original glass 32 from below to the original glass 32.
2 and a document presser 31 so that the document image of the document placed between the document presser 31 and the document presser 31 can be scanned. This optical system 0 includes a scanning unit 13 that integrates an exposure lamp 11 and a first movable mirror 12, second and third movable mirrors 15 and 16 held by a common holder 14, and a variable magnification lens 17. and a mirror 18. In this example,
By changing the amount of light from the exposure lamp 11 and the voltage level applied to the exposure lamp 11, the density of the copy image formed on the copy paper is controlled.

Further, a scanning unit 13 is located near the original glass 32.
A position lever 35 movable in the scanning direction is provided. A magnet 37 is attached to the lower part of the position lever 35. On the other hand, the scanning unit 13 is provided with a reed switch 39, which detects the position of the magnet 37 during scanning.

In this embodiment, when the simultaneous two-color mode is selected,
At the position of the magnet 37, the normal developing device 5a and the normal developing device 5b are switched to perform development, and a copied image is formed in two colors on one sheet of copy paper.

The scanning unit 13 detects the circumferential speed (■) of the photoreceptor drum 2.
The common holder 14 moves to the left at a speed of (V/m) (where m: copying magnification) with respect to (constant regardless of the same magnification or variable magnification). It is driven by a DC motor (not shown) so as to move in the opposite direction. Further, when changing the magnification, a stepping motor (not shown) moves the variable magnification lens 17 on the optical axis and moves and swings the mirror 18. As the optical system scans the original image, the photosensitive drum 2 receives image exposure and forms an electrostatic latent image. Further, the electrostatic latent image is processed by the developing device 5a.
, 5b, the toner is applied by the selected one of the generators. A magnet (not shown) is attached to each of these developing devices 5a15b for identifying the toner color of each developing device. On the other hand, when the developer is installed, reed switch groups 50a and 50b are disposed at positions facing the magnets, respectively, and the toner color is identified by turning on and off the reed switch groups. There is. In this embodiment, two reed switches are provided for one developing device, and by this combination, 22=4 colors can be identified. That is, black (0
0), red (01), green (10), and Fj (11) (toner color code signal), the color of toner contained in the developing device is determined.

On the other hand, the paper feed section P includes a first cassette paper feed section 20 and a second cassette paper feed section 21, an intermediate roller pair 23, a first
The paper feed roller 24, the second paper feed roller 25, and the timing roller pair 28 form a copy paper conveyance path.

The timing roller pair 28 sends out the copy paper fed from the paper feed section with its leading edge aligned with the toner image forming area formed on the photosensitive drum.

A toner image is transferred to the fed-out copy paper by a transfer charger 6, and the copy paper is peeled off from the surface of the photoreceptor drum 2 by a separation charger 7. After that, the conveyor belt 3
After the toner is melted and fixed in the fixing device 10, the toner is discharged to the discharge tray 31 outside the machine.

(Operation Panel) FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a part of the operation panel 50 of the copy 111. It is formed from a display panel section 100 and a key switch section 200. The display panel section 100 includes a numerical display section 101 for displaying a three-digit numerical value, a slide volume 120 for specifying image density,
AUTO display LED1 indicating automatic exposure mode
It is arranged from 30. The numerical display section 101 is formed by arranging figure-8-shaped seven-segment LEDs in three speeds so as to have a length corresponding to the length of the slide volume 120 during sliding. Further, an LED for displaying a decimal point is provided between the first digit and the second digit, and is lit when displaying the copy magnification.

This numerical display section 101 switches and displays the number of copies, copy magnification, and exposure/light level during automatic exposure.The exposure level during automatic exposure corresponds to the density of the copied image formed on the copy paper. ing. The exposure level during this automatic exposure is 8
It is displayed by lighting the LED of the vertical bar in the lower half of the 7 segments that form the character, and this vertical bar is 101a1 from the left.
101b.

102a, 102b, 1103a, and 103b, these LEDs correspond to equally divided positions in the slide of the slide volume 120 disposed below. So this 101a.

By controlling the lighting of the LEDs 101b, 102a1102b, and 103a1103b, it is possible to display which position on the slide volume 120 the exposure amount during automatic exposure corresponds to.

On the other hand, the slide volume 120 is used to manually specify the image density by sliding it left and right. Also, between the slide volume 120 and the numerical display section 101, there is a slide volume 120 for specifying the slide direction of the slide volume and the image density. Numbers and square symbols for shading are printed to make the shading correspond.

In the first digit of the numerical display section 101, on the left side of the horizontal bar LED 101e is 10
C0LOR (color), 1 in English to correspond to 1C
S[MUL (two-color simultaneous copy) to correspond to 01d
, 101e are printed on the display panel.

The switch unit 200 includes a print key 5W201 for starting printing from the right side, a clear/stop key 5W202 for clearing the set number of copies and stopping the copy operation in the middle of continuous copying, and a key for changing the number of copies or copy magnification. Up key 5W203, down key 5W204 for increasing or decreasing the number of copies, copy magnification key 5 for switching from copy number display to copy magnification display
W205, Color key 5W206 for selecting the color mode for forming a copy image, Exho key 8W207 for switching between automatic exposure mode and manual exposure specification mode
is installed. The color mode of the copied image selected by the color key 5W206 includes color mode, black mode, and simultaneous two-color mode, and depending on the selected color mode, either the main developer 5a1, the lower developer 5b, or Both developers are used together to develop the electrostatic latent image.

(Description of Density Adjustment of Copied Image) In this embodiment, mt7 of the copied image is controlled by changing the amount of light from the exposure lamp 11 and the voltage level applied to the exposure lamp 11. Note that the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the density of the image a may be changed by changing the charging level when the charger 3 charges the photosensitive drum 2.

FIG. 3 shows a control block diagram for adjusting copy image m. Third
As shown in the figure, the voltage applied to the exposure lamp 11 is controlled by an output signal from a CPU 400, which will be described later, via a lamp regulator 69. In automatic exposure mode, the third
The amount of light reflected from the original from the movable mirror 16 is determined by the variable magnification lens 17.
The output signal of the optical sensor 70 is detected by the optical sensor 7o arranged in the lateral direction (direction perpendicular to the optical axis), and the output signal of the optical sensor 70 is inputted to the CPU 400 as a document density detection signal.

Further, in the manual exposure designation mode, the voltage signal set by the slide volume 120 is input as the image density designation signal.

As will be described later, during automatic exposure, the CPU 400 outputs a control signal determined based on the document density detection signal to the lamp regulator 69, and during manual exposure, the CPU 400 outputs a control signal determined based on the image density designation signal to the lamp regulator 69. A corresponding control signal is output to the lamp regulator 69.

FIG. 4 shows the input/output configuration of a control circuit that controls the copying machine 1. As shown in FIG. This control circuit is mainly configured with the CPU 400. The CPU 400 includes a switch matrix 401 in which switches, etc. on the operation panel 50 are arranged vertically and horizontally.
, numerical display section 101 and A of the operation panel 100 of the copying machine
UTO display and lighting circuit such as ED130 is decoder 402
connected via.

Further, the digital signal input section 403a includes a main developer 5a,
The code signal of the toner color held by the lower developing unit 5b is input, and the analog signal input section 4.3b receives the document 1 density detection signal from the optical sensor 70 during automatic exposure, and the signal from the slide volume 120 during manual exposure. An image density designation signal is input.

Further, the signal output unit 404 outputs a υJail signal to the control circuit of the charger, transfer charger, etc. and the lamp regulation 69, and also selects which of the developing devices 5a and 5b to perform development. A selection signal for selecting whether to use it is output.

(1lIIJ Control of Copying Machine) FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the main routine of the CPU 400. As shown in FIG. 4, when the copying machine is powered on, initial settings of the CPU 400 are performed in step S1.

In step S2, an internal timer is set to set the time for one routine that performs the following processing.

In step $3, signals from switches, sensors, etc. arranged in each part of the main body (for example, on the operation panel 50) are input. In step S4, a light amount control routine for the exposure lamp 11 is executed.

In step S5, a key processing routine for processing the input key signal is executed. In step S6,
Executes display data processing routines.

Next, in step S7, it is determined whether or not the copying is possible based on the input data. If the copying is not possible due to jamming, trouble, etc., it is determined as rNOJ, and step S7
After proceeding to step S9 to perform abnormality processing, the process proceeds to step S10. If print key 5W201 is turned on, etc.
It is determined that it is rYEsJ, and the process advances to step S8, where a copy operation is executed. In step 810, output processing is performed, and in step 811, the state of the copying machine fil (JAM
・Trouble, etc.) is detected, and in step 812, a software timer used for control is counted.

Finally, in step 813, it is determined whether the internal timer set in step S2 has expired, and rNOJ
If so, wait until the process ends, and if rYEsj, return to step S2 again.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing details of the light amount control routine for the exposure lamp 11. Steps 8100-5
Reference numeral 112 indicates that data for setting the light ω of the exposure lamp is output when the exposure lamp 11 is turned on during copying.

That is, first, it is determined whether or not copying is in progress (step 5100). If copying is in progress, it is determined whether or not the exposure lamp is lit (step 5102); if the exposure lamp is lit, It is determined whether the mode is automatic exposure mode (step 5104).

In the case of self-help exposure mode, the original density detection data detected by the optical sensor 70 is compared with internal reference data,
The difference Δχ is calculated, this Δ is corrected by multiplying by α, and the result is used as the output data of the exposure amount command (step 8106.
8108). A voltage at a level corresponding to the output data of this exposure amount command is applied to the exposure lamp 11 via the Lambregil-Taro 9. Further, the above ΔXXα is averaged to obtain automatic exposure data (step 8110). On the other hand, if it is determined in step 5104 that the automatic exposure mode is not set, the document density designation data input from the slide volume 120 is converted into output data of an exposure amount command (step S112).

If it is determined in step 5100 that copying is not in progress, the output data is initialized on the condition that the print key 5W201 is turned on (steps 5114 and 3116).

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the key manual processing routine.

First, it is determined whether or not the mode is automatic exposure mode.

(Step 8150). Steps 8152 to $166 perform processing to switch between the automatic exposure data display mode and the copy magnification display mode each time the Exhoki-8W207 is input. That is, if it is the automatic exposure mode in step 5150, the automatic exposure mode is reset on the condition that the Exhoki-5W207 is on edge (step 51
52.5154).

Next, it is determined whether or not the Exhoki-8W207 is in the on state (Step 8156), the Exhoki-5W2
If 07 is on, the automatic exposure data display mode is set and the copy magnification display mode is reset (steps 8158 and 8160). In addition, EXHOKI-8
After the off-edge of W207 is detected, the automatic exposure data display mode may be set for a certain period of time, and the copy magnification display mode may be reset.

On the other hand, if the Exhoki-5W207 is in the off state, the automatic exposure data display mode is reset (step 81
62).

In step 8156, if the automatic exposure mode is not set, the automatic exposure mode is set when the Exhoki-8W207 is on-edge (step 8164.81).
66).

After that, reset the automatic exposure data display mode by pressing the copy magnification key 5W205, and step 51
Proceed to step 72.

In step 5172, copy magnification key 5W207
It is determined whether or not there is an off-edge, and if there is an off-edge, the copy magnification display mode is set.Step 517
4) Set a timer that defines the time to maintain this mode (step 8176). If there is no off-edge of the copy magnification key 5W207 in step 5172, the copy magnification display mode is reset when the timer set in step 8176 finishes counting (steps 8178 and 8180). Then step 8182
Proceed to and perform other key processing.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing details of the display data processing routine. First, it is determined whether the mode is automatic exposure mode (step 5200). If the mode is automatic exposure mode,
Turn on the AUTO display LED 130 (step 820
2>. If not in automatic exposure mode, ALJTO display LE
D130 is turned off (step 8204), and it is determined whether or not the automatic exposure data display mode is set (step 8206).

Steps 8208 to 8228 are performed in accordance with the value of the automatic exposure data (see step 5110).
Among the EDs, 101a and 101b.

102a, 102b1103a, 103b are turned on.
II ill 1' performs processing to display the exposure amount during automatic exposure.

That is, the above automatic exposure data is the slide volume 120.
If the value corresponds to the image printed between ``a degree relevel 1'' and the numerical value display section 101 or less, turn on the LED lola (step 8208.5210), rIJ~r1
．． If it is within the range of 5J, turn on the LED lol (
Step 5212.8214>. If it is within the range of N, 5J to "2", step 521 to turn on the LED 102a.
6.8218), if it is within the range of "2" to r2.5J,
LED102t) is turned on (step 5220.82
22), if it is within the range of r2.5J to "3", LED1
03a is turned on (steps 5224 and 8226). On the other hand, if it is "3" or more, the LED 103b is turned on (
Step 8224.8228). After that, the above LED1
01a1101b.

Among 102a, 102b, 103a and 1103b, those that are not lit are half lit.Step 5230>
All the LEDs of the remaining numerical display sections 101 are turned off (step 3232). In addition, the full lighting and half lighting of the LED described above is achieved by changing the voltage application level and changing the brightness of the LED by varying the duty ratio of the time during which voltage is applied during dynamic lighting. be.

After that, other display processing is performed (step 8242).

On the other hand, in step 8206, if it is not the automatic exposure data display mode, it is determined whether the mode is the copy magnification display mode (step 8234); if it is the copy magnification display mode, 1. Display the currently set copy magnification (
step 8236).

If it is not the copy magnification display mode, the number of copies set is displayed in the last two digits of the numerical display section 101 (step 8238), and the L of the first digit of the numerical display section 101 is displayed.
The color mode of the copied image is displayed by lighting up one of the EDlolcldles (step 8240), and the process proceeds to step 5242.

In the above embodiment, when EXHOKI-8W207 is pressed to cancel the automatic exposure mode, the LED lola 101b indicates what exposure amount was being used for automatic exposure while EXHOKI-8W207 was being pressed.
, 102a, 102b, 103a1103b are displayed. Therefore, when the image density is specified by volume, it is possible to display the automatic exposure amount by providing a dedicated display section especially for displaying the manual image density. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced and cost reduction can be promoted. In addition, the LEDlol of the numerical display section 101
a, 101b, 102a, 102b, 103a, 103
In b, the LEDs corresponding to the image density (7) L/bevel are fully lit, and the LEDs not corresponding are half lit.

That is, when displaying the image density level on the numerical display section 101, a display is performed in which full lighting and half lighting are mixed. Therefore, in the numerical display section 101,
It is clear at a glance that there is no numerical display, and the exposure level during automatic exposure is displayed.

Further, in the above embodiment, one numerical display section 101 switches and displays the image density display during automatic exposure, the copy magnification display, and the copy number display, and the color mode of the copied image is the copy number display. It is displayed using the first digit that is not used at the time.

Therefore, using the numerical display section 101, it is possible to display at least four pieces of information in an easy-to-understand manner and without confusion, which makes it possible to further reduce the number of parts required for display, especially for small-sized copies. Useful for machines.

Further, in the above embodiment, the LED lighting display format corresponding to the density of the copied image is made different between full lighting and half lighting. The difference in lighting display format is not limited to this, for example, the LED forming the numerical display section 101
The color of the emitted light changes depending on the voltage applied level.
D may also be used.

In this case, by changing the voltage level applied to the LED element in the same manner as described above, the display color can be made different, thereby making it possible to more clearly indicate the exposure level when the light is on.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the present invention displays the density level during automatic adjustment of image density by lighting up a specific element among the display elements from segment 1 forming the numerical display section. It is. Therefore, according to the present invention, the image density is displayed J
The image density level at the time of automatic adjustment can be displayed even when there is no dedicated display element for this purpose.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a part of the operation panel of the copying machine, and FIG. 3 is a control block for adjusting a copied image. It is a diagram. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the control circuit of the copying machine, and FIGS. 5, 6, 7, and 8 are flowcharts showing programs in the CPU 400. 101... Numerical display section 120... Slide volume

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) Specifying the output level of the segment display element forming the numerical display section, the image density adjusting means for adjusting the density of the copied image, the original density detecting means for detecting the density of the original, and the image density adjusting means. a specifying means; a selection means for selecting either the auto adjustment mode or the manual mode; and a selection means for automatically adjusting the output level of the image density adjusting means to an appropriate level based on the detection result of the document density detecting means under the automatic adjustment mode. setting means for setting the output level of the image density adjusting means to the level specified by the specifying means in manual mode; and a memory for storing the output level of the image density adjusting means in automatic adjustment mode. means for associating the output level of the image density adjusting means with a specific segment display element of the numerical display section; A copying machine comprising: display lighting means for lighting a segment display element corresponding to the stored output level of the image density adjustment means.