JPH0462565A - Image forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the overflow of a sheet housing part by counting the number of sheets from a paper feeding part, and stopping a paper feeding action when the number of the sheets is the housing enabling number of the sheets of the sheet housing part or above. CONSTITUTION:When a copying sheet is supplied from the paper feeding part 13, the reception of the sheet to a main body part 10 is detected by the paper feeding sensor 14 of the entrance of the copying machine main body part 10 The sheet is copied by an image forming part 16, then, ejected from an ejecting part 17, and enters a sorter 12. For preventing the housing enabling number of the copying sheets or above from being fed to the sorter 12, first, the sensor 14 is turned on when the paper feeding sensor 14 detects the sheet, in a step #10. Then, a counter variable I is increased by one, in a step #12. Thereafter, the housing enabling number of the sheets NT in the sorter 12 is calculated in a step #14. After the NT is calculated, it is checked whether the value of the present counter I exceeds the housing enabling number of the sheets NT or not, in a step #16. When I>=NT is obtained, a paper feeding action stop commanding signal is sent in a step #18, and the paper feeding is stopped.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention described above relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer.

[According] 口λ Modification - When a sorter is connected to a copying machine and copy paper is fed from the copying machine to the sorter, the sorter counts the number of papers coming in using a sheet sensor installed at the entrance. , the copy paper is sorted into each bin, or when the number of sheets put in exceeds the number of sheets that can be stored in the sorter, the receiver sends a signal to the copying machine to request that the copying operation be stopped. Alternatively, in a device where a copying machine and a sorter are linked, it is determined whether the number of copies exceeds the sorter's storable number at the time the number of copies is input, and when copying exceeds the sorter's storable number. The copying machine issues an alarm and temporarily stops the copying operation.
No. 9).

With the latter device, the copying machine can handle the number of copies entered in advance (if it exceeds that number), but the copying machine does not automatically handle the number of copies. When the document feeder (ADF) is installed and a large number of documents are set, the copier does not know how many documents will be copied, and the number of copies exceeds the number that can be stored in the sorter. There are cases where the waste is discharged to a sorter. Furthermore, even if the counting is performed at the entrance of the sorter as in the former case, if the copying machine is a high-speed type, the information inside the copying machine has already been counted when the sorter issues a signal requesting the copying machine to stop copying. The problem arises that there are several sheets of paper (such as those that are being developed, or that are being fixed) that are fed further into the sorter and overflow.

The present invention solves these problems and provides a copying machine (generally, a sheet storage section, including a simple tray) in which sheets exceeding the number of sheets that can be stored in the sorter (generally, a sheet storage section, including a simple tray) are not fed into the storage section. image forming apparatus).

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus that receives a sheet from a paper feed section to an image forming section, forms an image on the sheet in the image forming section, and then discharges the sheet to a sheet storage section. , a sheet sensor disposed between a paper feed section and an image forming section, a calculation means for calculating the number of sheets that can be stored in a sheet storage section, and a calculation means for calculating the number of sheets detected by the sheet sensor. The image forming apparatus is characterized by comprising a control means for stopping the sheet feeding operation of the sheet feeding section to the image forming section when the number of sheets exceeds the storable number.

Neck Hole - Monthly First, the calculation means calculates the number of sheets that can be stored in the sheet storage section. When the image forming section operates in various modes (for example, when the image forming section is a copying machine and has sort mode, non-sort mode, group mode, etc.), the number of sheets that can be stored differs depending on each mode. However, you can also consider this. Next, when the image forming apparatus enters the operating state, an image forming sheet is supplied from the paper feeding section to the image forming section, but when the sheet passes from the paper feeding section to the image forming section, the sheet sensor detects the sheet. The control means counts the detected number of sheets, and when the number reaches the calculated number of stored sheets, issues a supply stop command to the paper feeding section. As a result, the paper feeding section stops supplying sheets to the image forming section.

Example 1 - FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a copying machine with a sorter (storage device) embodying the present invention. This copier has a sorter 12
In addition, an automatic document feeder (ADF) 11 is also installed. Although only one sorter 12 is connected in FIG. 3, it is also possible to connect a plurality of sorters in series.

When a copying operation is performed, copy paper is supplied from the paper feed section 13 to the main body section 10 of the copying machine. Insertion of paper is detected. The received paper is discharged from the discharge port 17 after an image of the original is copied in the image forming section 16 . The discharged sheets immediately enter the sorter 12 and are appropriately sorted and stored in each bin. There are two types of bins: the topmost bin is used as a non-sort bin 18 and is used to store paper when no sorting is performed, and the many bins below are used as sort bins 19.
Mainly used for separate storage.

Inside the copying machine main body 10, as shown in FIG.
The following overflow prevention process is performed in response to detection signals from devices including the PU 20, RAM 22, ROM 24, etc., and the drive unit 15 of the paper feed unit 13 is controlled based on the result.

The overflow prevention process performed by the control device will be explained with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 2 and 1.

FIG. 2 shows the main process for preventing more copy sheets from being fed into the sorter 12 than the number that can be stored in the sorter 12. In this routine, first, in step #10, it is checked whether the paper feed sensor 14 has detected paper. When the paper is supplied from the paper feed section 13 to the main body section 10, the sensor 14 is turned on, and the process proceeds to the next step #12. In step #12, the counter variable ■
Increase by 1. Note that the variable is reset to 0 at the start of a series of copying operations (at the time the copy start button on the main body 10 is pressed). After that, in step #14, the subroutine shown in FIG. 1 is executed, and the sorter 1
Calculate the number of sheets NT that can be stored in 2. Here, N
The method for calculating T will be explained in detail with reference to FIG.

When entering this subroutine, first in step #20 it is checked whether or not a sorter is attached to the main body 10 of the copying machine. When the sorter is not installed, all copied sheets are placed on the output tray (not shown) provided at the output port 17, so the number of sheets that can be stored NT is equal to the number of sheets that can be stored on that tray Ntray ( For example, 500 sheets)
(Step #36).

If the sorter is attached, it is checked in step #22 whether the storage mode is the non-sort mode. If it is copied in non-sort mode,
Next, in step #24, the preset number (
It is checked whether the number of copies) Npre is less than or equal to the number of copies Nn5b (for example, 250 copies) that can be stored in one non-sort bin 18. If N pre≦N nsb, non-sort mode copying is performed using the non-sort bin 18, so the number of sheets that can be stored NT in this case is Nn
5bXS (where S is the number of sorters 12 connected to the main body 10) (step #26).

In the non-sort mode, if the preset number Npre exceeds the number Nn5b of sheets that can be stored in one non-sort bin 18, non-sort mode copying using the sort bin 19 is performed. In this case, the number of sheets that can be stored NT is
The number of sheets that can be stored in one sorting bin 19 is Nb (for example, 70
The number of sorting bins 19 (when multiple sorters are connected, the total number of all bins) is multiplied by B (
Step #28).

If it is determined in step #22 that the mode is not non-sort mode, then in step #30 it is determined whether or not the mode is in sort mode. If the mode is the sort mode, the number of sheets that can be stored NT is the number obtained by multiplying the number of sheets that can be stored in one bin Nb by the preset number (II copy number Npre) (step #32).

Finally, if it is determined in step #30 that the mode is not the sort mode, it means that the mode is group mode copying, so the number of storable sheets NT is equal to the preset number N p
Set re as the number B multiplied by the total number of bins (Step #34
).

As described above, the maximum number of sheets NT that can be stored in the sorter 12 (all of them when a plurality of sorters are connected) is calculated for each mode, and the subroutine of FIG. 1 is completed.

After calculating NT, the process returns to the main routine shown in Figure 2 of cylinder 2, and in step #16, it is determined that the current counter value (the number of sheets fed from the paper feed section 13 to the main body section 10) exceeds the calculated storable number of sheets NT. Check to see if there is one.

If (2) does not exceed NT, this routine ends and the copy operation continues. However, ■≧
When it becomes NT (usually when I=NT), a paper feeding operation stop command signal is sent to the paper feeding drive section 15 in step #18, and paper feeding to the main body section 10 is stopped. Ru.

As described above, in this embodiment, the maximum number of sheets that can be stored in the sorter 12 is managed, so even if a large number of copies of originals are fed in one after another using the ADF 11,
Overflow at the sorter 12 can be reliably prevented. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the copying operation is stopped by counting the number of sheets at the entrance from the paper feed section 13 to the main body 10, so even though it is a high-speed copying machine, there are always several sheets of paper inside the main body. Even if the type of items exist in a work-in-progress state, they are prevented from being sent to the sorter and overflowing or causing a jam.

In the above embodiment, the number of sheets NT that can be stored in the sorter is calculated each time sheets are supplied to the main body 10, but this is of course calculated only once at the start of copying and stored in the RAM 2.
You can also store it in 2.

As explained above, in the present invention, the number of sheets is counted at the time when the sheets pass from the paper feed section to the image forming section.

Then, when the number of sheets exceeds the number of sheets that can be stored in the sheet storage section, the feeding operation of the paper feeding section is stopped.
Even if there are sheets inside the image forming section (between the image forming section and the sheet storage section), the sheet storage section will not overflow because they have already been counted.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a subroutine for calculating the number of sheets that can be stored in a sorter, out of a flowchart of processing for preventing overflow of a sorter performed in an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart of its main routine. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a copying machine with a sorter according to an embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram of its control device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In an image forming apparatus that receives a sheet from a paper feeding section to an image forming section, forms an image on the sheet in the image forming section, and then discharges it to a sheet storage section, the paper feeding section and the image forming section are connected to each other. a sheet sensor disposed between the sheet sensor, a calculation means for calculating the number of sheets that can be stored in the sheet storage section, and a calculation means that calculates the number of sheets that can be stored in the sheet storage section; An image forming apparatus comprising: a control means for stopping a sheet supply operation of a paper section to an image forming section.