JPH0413155A - Image forming device - 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] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides an image forming apparatus that has a backup function that saves the settings of various conditions associated with image formation, past copy mode history, etc. even after the power is turned off. It is related to.

[Conventional technology]

In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, such as a copying machine, a document is read by an optical scanning system, this read image is exposed to light on a photoreceptor at the same or reduced magnification, and the latent image resulting from the exposure is developed with toner by a developing device. , transfers the toner image onto the fed paper at the same time,
It is configured to obtain an image similar to the original image by heating and pressurizing the transferred paper for fixing.

By the way, in modern copying machines that use digital processing, various settings of the copying machine in the program mode and the history of past copying modes are stored in non-volatile memory (RAM) that can be upgraded with a battery bank, and the main power is turned off. It is configured so that its memory state can be maintained even when

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, with the above-mentioned conventional technology, when the backup battery reaches the end of its service life, the backed up content disappears when the battery is replaced or the control board (equipped with a battery and non-volatile memory) is replaced. I was unable to use it in the same condition as before replacing it. For this reason, there is an inconvenience that the memory contents before the exchange must be set again for the memory after the exchange.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to enable the memory contents before replacement to be transferred to the replaced memory even if the battery or control board is replaced.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a main image forming apparatus with a function of setting various conditions for copying processing or backing up data such as a history of past copying processing modes in memory. A memory unit connected to the control unit side via a parallel or serial transmission means and comprising a battery and a non-volatile memory backed up by the battery, and a memory on the main rats unit side depending on the read mode or write mode. and a control means for transmitting data between the memories on the memory unit side.

[Effect]

In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the write mode or the read mode is automatically set in the main control section according to the connection of the memory unit, and in the read mode, the memory on the memory unit side is transferred to the memory on the main control section side. Data is transferred to , and in write mode, data is transferred in the reverse flow. Therefore, usability can be improved without performing troublesome manual data resetting.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the control system of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing details of the mechanism section of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a plan view showing details of the mechanism board. It is a diagram.

First, the mechanical section shown in FIG. 2 will be explained.

A contact glass 201 on which a document is placed is set on the upper surface of the casing 200, and an optical scanning system is arranged below the contact glass 201. The optical scanning system includes an illumination lamp 202 that illuminates the document reading surface, a first mirror 203 that reflects light from the document surface in the horizontal direction, a second mirror 204 that reflects the light from the first mirror 203 downward, This second mirror 20
A third mirror 205 that reflects the light from 4 in the horizontal direction;
A fourth mirror 206 that reflects the light from the third mirror 205 downward, a fifth mirror 207 that reflects the light from the fourth mirror 206 in the horizontal direction, and a fifth mirror 207
a sixth mirror 228 that guides light from the mirror to the exposure position;
It consists of a zoom lens 20B that is disposed in the optical path between the mirror 205 and the fourth mirror 206 and focuses the optical image on the exposure position. Among these, the lighting lamp 202 and the first
Some members including the mirror 203 are configured to be able to reciprocate in the sub-scanning direction (left-right direction in the figure).

Furthermore, the zoom lens 208 is configured so that its focal length can be changed according to the reduction ratio.

A photoreceptor drum 210 that is exposed to light from a sixth mirror 228 is rotatably disposed below one end of the optical scanning system, and a charging charger 211 that uniformly charges the surface of the photoreceptor is provided before the exposure position. is placed close to the drum surface.

After the exposure position, a color developing unit 212 and a black developing unit 213 are sequentially arranged in close proximity to the drum surface. The color development unit 212 performs development in one color other than black, and the black development unit 213 performs development with black toner corresponding to a monochrome original.

A transfer charging medium 214 for transferring the toner image onto the fed paper (plain paper) is provided at the rear stage of the black developing unit 213 (below the photosensitive drum 210), and a transfer charging medium 214 adjacent to the transfer charging medium 214 is provided to transfer the toner image onto the fed paper (plain paper). A separation charger 215 is provided for separating the transferred paper from the surface of the photoreceptor drum 210. Furthermore, the photosensitive drum 210
On the other hand, a cleaning unit 216 is provided downstream of the separation charger 215 to remove toner remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor drum.

At the bottom of the black developing unit 213, paper feed cassettes 217 and 218 are provided so that paper of different sizes (for example, B4, A4.85, etc.) can be automatically fed according to specifications.
．． Three units of 219 are installed. A paper feed roller 220 is disposed at the paper feed port of each cassette, and rotates only when feeding paper for a designated paper feed cassette.

Further, a conveyor belt 221 for conveying the transferred paper is horizontally disposed adjacent to the separation charger 215, and a fixing unit 222 is disposed on the exit side of the conveyor belt 221. This fixing unit 222 includes a heating roller and a pressure roller, and fixes the toner image on the nipped paper onto the paper.

A conveyance path 223 is provided on the output side of the fixing unit 222 for guiding the recording paper (paper on which the image has been fixed) out of the apparatus, and a switching mold 224 is rotatably disposed at the end of the conveyance path 223. has been done. The switching type 224 is used to send recording paper to either a paper output tray (not shown) or a path for double-sided copying. Adjacent to the switching mold 224, a reversing switching mold 225 is disposed in the double-sided copy path for reversing the recording paper after recording on one side, and a reversing switching mold 225 is provided at the bottom of the reversing mold 225 for reversing the recording paper when it is reversed. A reversing roller 226 is provided.

A conveyance path for conveying the reversed recording paper to the transfer section is provided between the reversal switching type 225 and the transfer position, and a jogger unit 227 is disposed on the way to adjust the conveyance timing. There is.

Next, an outline of the copying process of the copying machine with the above configuration will be explained.

The photoreceptor drum 210 rotates in the clockwise direction shown in the figure, and is uniformly charged to a predetermined high potential by a charging process 211 in advance. When the charged surface of the photoreceptor drum 210 is irradiated with light corresponding to document reading by an optical scanning system, the surface potential changes depending on the intensity of the light. Since the light emitted by the optical scanning system corresponds to the original image, a potential distribution corresponding to the original image, that is, an electrostatic latent image, is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor drum 210.

When the portion of the photoreceptor drum 210 on which the electrostatic latent image is formed passes in front of the color development unit 212 or the black development unit 213, toner is attracted to the photoreceptor drum 210 according to the potential distribution, and the electrostatic A toner image (visible image) corresponding to the latent image is formed on the drum surface.

At the same time that the visible image on the photoreceptor drum 210 reaches the transfer unit, paper of a specified size is fed from one of the paper feed cassettes 217 to 219, and the transfer charger 214 transfers the paper to the photoreceptor drum 210. The visual image is attracted to the surface of the transfer paper. The transferred recording paper is separated from the drum surface from the leading edge by the separation charger 215, and
conveyor belt) 221, and this conveyor belt 221
The images are sent to the fixing unit 222 and sequentially fixed. This causes the toner image to stick to the paper surface,
Even if the surface is rubbed, the image will not peel off.

Here, when the copy mode is the single-sided copy mode, the recording paper that has been fixed is transferred to the paper output tray (or
(external device such as a sorter).

On the other hand, in the double-sided copy mode, upon completion of copying the first side, the recording paper is introduced into the reversing path via the switching mold 224 and the reversing switching mold 225. After this, reverse roller 226
The jogger unit 2 is sent back through the transport path.
27, where it waits in preparation for copying the back side. During this time, an electrostatic latent image on the back surface is formed on the photoreceptor drum 210.
When the recording paper that has been formed on one side reaches the transfer unit after the development is completed, the recording paper with one side completed is conveyed from the jogger unit 227 to the transfer unit, and transfer to the back side is performed. Thereafter, a fixing process is performed, and the recording paper on which both sides have been copied is discharged from the apparatus via the switching die 224.

Next, the operation board shown in FIG. 3 will be explained.

This operation board is disposed at an easy-to-operate position on the upper front side of the main body of the copying machine, and includes a number of keys, a display, etc., which will be described below. Here, only the main ones will be explained.

Namely, a program key 301 for storing and recalling a program, a program indicator light 302 for indicating when a program is in use, an interrupt key 303 for setting/cancelling interrupt copying, an interrupt indicator 304 for indicating the interrupt copy status, and a set during copying. When checking the number of sheets and changing the size/
Number confirmation key 305 used during programming, numeric keypad 306 used when setting the number of copies, changing dimensions, setting a program, double-sided key 307 for double-sided copying, double-sided display 308 for displaying double-sided copy status, copying Dimension magnification key 309 used when selecting magnification by dimension;
A size change key 310 used to select the copy magnification in 1% increments, an original size selection key 311 used to determine the copy magnification from the original size and paper size, a reduction key 312 used for reduced copying, and a reduced key 312 used for enlarged copying. Enlarge key 313, 1x key 314 used to return to 1x copy, paper selection key 3 used to select paper size
15, a shading adjustment key 316 used to adjust the shading of the copied image, an automatic density key 317 used to turn on and off the automatic density adjustment function, a start key 318 for starting the copying operation, and the like.

In uniform size mode, the copy magnification is automatically set according to the size of the original and paper. In automatic paper selection mode, a paper feed system is automatically selected according to the document size and copy magnification.

To set the dimension scaling mode, press the dimension scaling key 310, specify the original dimensions using the numeric keys 306, press the number confirmation key 305, press the dimension scaling key 310 again, and then press the numeric keys 306. After specifying the dimensions in step 306, the number confirmation key 305 can be pressed. With this operation, the copy magnification is automatically set based on the calculation of the original and copy dimensions.

Next, the control system shown in FIG. 1 will be explained.

The control system consists of three control units each using a microcomputer (operation control unit 101, optical control unit 102, and main control unit 103), each of which is connected to each other by a serial communication line 104 for data exchange. It is being done. The operation control unit 101 includes an operation board 105 shown in FIG. 3, a heater control unit 106 that controls energization of the heater of the fixing unit 222, and a lamp control unit that controls turning on/off the illumination light 202 of the optical scanning system. 107
are connected to each other.

The optical control unit 102 is connected to a scanner motor 108 that serves as a drive source for the movable part of the optical scanning system, and a lens/mirror control unit 101 that controls a stepping motor for moving the lens/mirror.

The main control section 103 includes a solenoid control unit that drives the switching pawl 224, etc. 110. ! A relay control unit 111 that controls the relay used to switch the air [1 path], a sensor unit 112 that includes sensors that detect concentration, etc., a high-voltage power supply unit 113 that supplies high voltage during each charge, and a drive source for each part. A motor control unit 114 that controls motors, and a memory unit 115 that stores settings for various conditions necessary for copying and history such as past copying modes and provides battery backup are connected to each. .

Figure 4 shows the main control unit 103 and memory unit 115.
FIG.

The main control unit 103 is mainly composed of a one-chip microcomputer 401 equipped with a port PAO1FAI, a reception data terminal RxD, a transmission data terminal TxD, and a bus (address bus and data bus) terminal. It operates using the oscillation frequency of the oscillator 402 as a clock.

A RAM (Random Access Memory) 404 is connected to the bus terminal via a path line 403 for storing various settings of the copying machine or a history of past copying modes. A backup battery 405 is connected to. Furthermore, pull-up resistors 406 and 407 are connected to each of the boats PAOlPAI.

Furthermore, in order to connect with the memory unit 115,
It is equipped with multiple output terminals (power supply Vcc, write, read, operation transmission, operation reception, and ground GND).

On the other hand, the memory unit 115 is mainly composed of a microcomputer 410 having the same configuration as the microcomputer 401, is connected to a RAM 413 via a pass line 412, and stores exactly the same contents as the RAM 404. In order to continue saving this memory content regardless of whether the power switch is turned off, the battery 414 is
Connected to AM413.

Buffer/drivers 415 and 416 are connected to the RxD and TxD terminals of the microcomputer 410, and pull-up resistors 417 and 418 are connected between each of the ports PAO and PAI and the power supply. Also, boat P
A switch 419 is provided to selectively connect AO1PAI to ground. Furthermore, main control section 1
It is equipped with 6 people and output terminals that match the purpose and number of the person and output terminal of the 03 example.

Next, the operation of the configuration shown in FIG. 4 will be explained with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing main program processing.

First, after the power is turned on, the program is started by a reset. Immediately after the start, the microcomputer 401.
Initial settings of various mode registers, peripheral controllers, counters, flags, etc. inside each of the 410 are performed (
Step 501), and then it is determined whether the state of the boat PAO1PAI is in read mode or write mode (Step 502).

This mode setting is automatically set when the battery 405, 414 or memory unit 115 is replaced. That is, when the memory unit 115 is installed, the switch 419 is switched to the write side to enter the write mode, and the contents of the RAM 404 are written to the RAM 413.

Conversely, when the memory unit 115 is removed, the switch 419 is switched to the read side, the boats FAI of the two microcomputers are both grounded and put into the read mode, and the contents of the RAM 413 are transferred to the RAM 404.

Here, if it is determined in step 502 that the mode is neither read mode nor write mode, data communication between the microcomputer 401 and microcomputer 410 is not performed, and normal copy mode m (step 503) is performed.
and copy sequence system? 11 (step 504) is repeated.

If the read mode or the write mode is determined in step 502, it is determined whether the mode is the write mode (step 505). In the case of read mode, the read mode is displayed (step 506), transmission interrupts are enabled (step 507), and data transmission is started (step 508). Determining data transmission completion (step 5)
09) When the process is completed, the end display is displayed on the display (not shown).
Step 510).

On the other hand, if the writing mode is determined in step 505, the writing mode is displayed (step 511), reception is permitted (step 512), and if reception is determined to be completed (step 513), the completion is displayed. (Step 510).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the serial interrupt routine. This routine is executed after data transmission if transmission interrupts are enabled, and after data reception is completed if reception interrupts are enabled.

First, it is determined whether it is in write mode or read mode (step 601). If neither is the case, communication is performed with the normal operation control section (step 602).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 601 that the mode is either write mode or read mode, it is determined whether or not it is write mode (step 60
3). If the write mode is determined, the data is received in units of bytes (each byte because it is serial communication) (step 604), stored in memory (step 605), and the reception counter is incremented. (Step 606), when the count advances and it is determined that all bytes have been received (Step 607),
A reception end flag is set (step 608).

In addition, if the read mode is determined in step 603, the data is transmitted in units of 1 byte (step 609).
, increments a transmission counter for each transmission (step 610). Then, when all bytes have been received (
Step 611), and a transmission end flag is set (Step 612).

As described above, according to the present invention, when replacing the battery or replacing the board, the contents of the RAM 404 are temporarily stored in the RAM 413, which is an external memory, and after the replacement, the contents are read from the RAM 413 in the write mode, and then stored in the RAM 413.
By writing in 404, it is possible to immediately start the operation based on the contents before the exchange without resetting.

In this case, conventional communication lines between control boards can be shared. That is, the microcomputer 401
The RxD and TxD lines may be configured to be switched between the copy control unit and the microcomputer 410 side by a switch means (not shown).

FIG. 7 shows the main control section 103 and memory unit l15.
FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing details of another embodiment of the invention.

In FIG. 7, the same reference numerals are used for the same parts as in FIG. 4, so redundant explanation will be omitted below.

In this embodiment, the microcomputer 401
The feature is that data communication between the microcomputer 410 and the microcomputer 410 was carried out serially via serial ports (RxD and TxD), but is now carried out in parallel via a pass line 701. In this case, the pass line 403 and pass line 701 are connected to the dual port RA
M (hereinafter referred to as DPRAM) 702.

Further, in the main control unit 103, a pass line 403 is connected to a pass line in the operation unit via the DPRAM 703 even for an operation unit (not shown). The mode setting is
This is performed by switching the switch 419 as in the previous embodiment.

When either PAO or PAI is "L level", the microcomputer 401 does not communicate with the operation section, but communicates with the memory unit 115 side.

Next, the operation of the configuration shown in FIG. 7 will be explained with reference to the flowchart of the main routine processing shown in FIG.

First, after turning on the power, the program is started by performing a reset. Immediately after the start, initial settings of various mode registers, peripheral controllers, counters, flags, etc. inside each of the microcomputers 401 and 410 are performed (step 801), and then the baud) PA
It is determined whether the state of OlPAI is in read mode or write mode (step 802).

If it is determined in step 802 that the mode is neither the read mode nor the write mode, data communication between the microcomputer 401 and the microcomputer 410 is not performed, and normal copy mode control (step 803) and copy sequence system? 1ll (step 804) are executed sequentially. Then, the DPRAM 703 communicates with the operation control section and the optical control section (steps 805 and 806).

On the other hand, if read mode or write mode is determined in step 802, first, it is determined whether or not it is write mode (step 807). If the read mode is determined, it is displayed that it is in the read mode (step 808), and all data in the RAM 413 is simultaneously transmitted to the DPRAM 702 (step 809). When it is determined that data transmission has ended (step 810), the end is displayed (step 811).

Further, when the write mode is determined in step 807, a display indicating that the write mode is in progress is made (step 812L). All contents of the DPRAM 702 transferred in step 809 are written to the RAM 413 (step 813).
). When data writing is completed (step 814)
, step 811 indicates the end.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above, according to the present invention, there is provided a function capable of setting connection states for copying processing or backing up data such as history of past copying processing modes in memory. In the image forming apparatus, a memory unit is connected to the main control unit side via a parallel or serial transmission means and includes a battery and a nonvolatile memory backed up by the battery, and the Since a control means for transmitting data between the memory on the main control section side and the memory on the memory unit side is provided, manual resetting of data is not necessary, and usability can be improved.

Further, since the communication line used for other control units can be shared, the configuration can be made at low cost, and it is also possible to perform abnormality diagnosis of memory contents using a similar configuration.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the control system of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing details of the mechanical section of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a plan view showing details of the operation board. , FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing details of the main control section and memory unit, FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing main program processing of the embodiment of FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a serial interrupt routine of the embodiment of FIG. 4. A flowchart showing
FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing details of another embodiment of the main control section and memory unit, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the main routine in the configuration of FIG. 7. Explanation of symbols 101--Operation control section 102-Optical control section 103-
m-main control section 115--memory unit 210-
Photosensitive drum 401--Microcomputer 403-Pass line 404.413...RAM40
5.--Battery 410--Microcomputer 412.701...Pass line 414--Battery 419--Switch 702
．． 703-・DPRAM PAO5P A 1- Port RxD...Reception data terminal TxD--Transmission data terminal.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an image forming apparatus having a function of setting various conditions for copying processing or backing up data such as a history of past copying processing modes in memory, a memory unit connected via a serial transmission means and comprising a battery and a non-volatile memory backed up by the battery; An image forming apparatus comprising: a control means for transmitting data to and from a memory.