JPH0695463A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] The test copy (printing) required to obtain a high-quality copy (printed) product can be performed while minimizing the waste of consumables (toner and paper), and also a simple test copy. An image forming apparatus capable of designating a range is provided. In an image forming apparatus having a printing unit and a plurality of paper feeding units for storing sheets of different sizes, a storage unit for checking and adjusting a printing condition before printing with a desired sheet size Set the size of the smallest paper to 1
A control unit 100 is provided which has a trial copy mode in which only the number of sheets is printed, and when the trial copy mode is selected, control is performed to stop the counting operation of the print number counter.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a color copying machine or a color printer, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus having a trial copy function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A user's awareness of print quality is increasing. At the same time, image forming apparatuses (printing apparatuses) such as copying machines have been improved in image quality and functionality.
However, it has not been possible to reliably print with the print quality desired by the operator.

An example of a copying machine and a color printer will be described.

(1) Most copying machines are equipped with an automatic density adjusting mechanism. However, even if this function is used, it may be affected by the environment in which the copier is placed (temperature and humidity), the status of the supply inside the copier (fatigue of the photoconductor), and the manuscript (newspaper) with a colored background. , The copy density may be too dark or too light. In such a case, it is necessary to first make a copy, look at the copy, and adjust the density manually to make a copy.

Particularly when a large number of copies are made, it is necessary to readjust the copy and readjust the copy if it does not meet the desired conditions, which is a great waste.

(2) Some copiers are provided with a zoom function and a function of finely adjusting the expansion / contraction of equal-sized copies. When it is desired that the 100 mm line on the original be exactly 100 mm on the copy, one copy is made and the length is measured. If the length does not match, adjust the magnification and
You will need to copy it again.

(3) In a color copying machine, the colors of the original and the copy are not the same. Also, when a color printer is used to print out a product created by a computer graphic or the like, a color shift occurs between the color on the display and the color of the printout.
It is necessary to see the copy (printed matter), adjust the color tone, and make another copy (printout).

Not only when making a large number of copies, but in any case, when a high quality copy is desired, once the copy is taken and if it does not meet the desired conditions, the operator refers to the copy and manually It is necessary to readjust the conditions in. For this reason, there is a proposal to perform a trial copy once when a large number of copies are made (for example, JP-A-60-221770 and JP-A-61-92949).

[0009]

However, if the paper size for the trial copy is the same as the paper size for a large number of copies, the user wastes paper and toner consumables.

Particularly in color copying, the toner consumption per sheet is incomparably larger than in black and white copying, and high-quality paper is often used as the paper quality. Therefore, consuming the same toner and paper as in the normal copy during the trial copy is a great waste for the user.

Further, when making a test copy, which part of the document should be tested copied depends on the document. Although the range can be specified by using an editor or a marker, the editing operation is very troublesome and is not preferred by the user. In order to specify the range with a marker, the marker area must be directly written on the document, so that it is necessary to prepare a document for trial copying. Therefore, the designation of the trial copy range by the marker promotes wasteful consumption of toner and paper.

The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and the test copy (printing) necessary for obtaining a high-quality copy (printing) is wasted of consumables (toner or paper) as much as possible. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of suppressing the above and easily specifying a trial copy range.

[0013]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The above object is to provide a printing unit,
In an image forming apparatus equipped with a plurality of paper feed units for storing paper of different sizes, in order to check and adjust the printing status before printing with a desired paper size, the smallest paper A first copy is provided which has a trial copy mode in which only one sheet is once printed on a sheet of a size, and when the trial copy mode is selected, control means for controlling the counting operation of the print sheet number counter is provided. Achieved by means.

Another object of the present invention is to confirm and adjust the printing condition before printing with a desired paper size in an image forming apparatus equipped with a printing unit and a plurality of paper feeding units for accommodating papers of different sizes. In order to achieve this, there is a trial copy mode in which printing is performed only once on the strip-shaped special size paper, and this strip-shaped special size paper storage unit and its paper feed mechanism are integrated. This is achieved by a second means which is provided with a sensor for detecting the position of this module and a drive means for moving the module to the left and right, and which moves the module in accordance with the test print position.

Further, the above-mentioned object is to confirm and adjust the printing condition before printing with a desired paper size in an image forming apparatus having a printing unit and a plurality of paper feeding units for accommodating papers of different sizes. In order to do this, there is a trial copy mode that prints only one sheet on special size paper in the storage paper,
This is achieved by a third means provided with a paper feed section for storing the special size papers in parallel, a memory means for storing the type of the special size papers, a display means for displaying, and a selecting means for selecting. .

[0016]

According to the first means, when performing high-quality copying as well as large-volume copying such as high-precision copying and color copying, trial copying is performed with a paper size smaller than the desired paper size. As a result, waste of consumables such as paper and toner can be reduced. Further, since the copy counter does not operate during the trial copy, the user does not have to pay the maintenance fee for the trial copy.

In the second means, the test copy position is set to a plurality of vertical strips of the image, and the accommodating position of the strip-shaped special size paper for the test copy and the paper feeding mechanism are moved according to the positions. Therefore, the trial copy position can be selected easily and without waste.

In the third means, the special size papers for trial copying are stored in parallel in the cassette, so that a large amount of special size papers can be efficiently stored at one time and the special size papers can be replenished. You can omit it. In addition, in a device that stores multiple special size papers for trial copy,
Memory, display, and selection of special size paper types are now possible, so it is possible to easily perform trial copying of various types of copy paper such as high-quality paper, recycled paper, and OHP using the same type of paper. Become.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the copying machine according to the embodiment.

In the figure, 1 is a copying machine main body, 2 is an operating unit, 3 is a paper feeding unit, and 4 is a paper discharging unit. The paper feeding unit 3 is a space-saving front loading type, and can accommodate papers of a plurality of sizes at once. As for paper size,
Standard papers such as A3, A4, B4 and B5 are generally used. The present invention provides such a device with a mode called trial copy.

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram, and FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the trial copy mode control.

In FIG. 1, 100 is a CPU, 101 is a density setting unit, 102 is a number setting unit, 103 is a size setting unit, 104 is a magnification setting unit, and 105 is a trial copy setting unit, which inputs data to the CPU 100. It is becoming like this. Reference numeral 106 is a paper feed system, 107 is an image forming system, 108 is a paper discharge system, and 109 is a memory, and signals are exchanged with the CPU 100.

The control contents will be described with reference to FIG.

When the operator wants to copy a document, the initial conditions are first set in the copying machine (S1) and stored in the memory (S2). If the test copy condition is set and the copy start key is pressed (S3, S4), the paper size is reduced (Y in S5, S6) and the number of sheets is set to 1 (S7). Then, a trial copy is performed (S8), and after the completion, the mode is erased from the memory (S9). For example,
When it is desired to copy A4, B5 paper is used for the trial copy.

Here, if there is no paper of a size smaller than the set condition (N at S5), a trial copy is performed in which the set number of sheets is the same as the set condition and only one is set. The operator looks at the image of the test copy output in this way, and if it is not the desired image, changes the setting conditions such as the density (S10 to S13) and presses the copy start key again (S3). At this time, if the conditions such as the number of sheets and the paper size are not changed, the copying is performed under the first condition, and if the conditions are changed, the copying is performed under the changed condition. If it is not in the trial copy mode (N in S4), the copy operation is performed as it is (S4).
14).

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a copying machine according to another embodiment,
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a special size cassette and a normal cassette.

In the figure, 5 is a cassette for special size,
6 is special size paper, 7 is a fence guide, 8 is A3 paper, and 9 is an A3 cassette.

The size and shape of the trial copy paper may be other than the standard size as long as it is smaller than the set copy paper. That is, the special size cassette 5 is used when the trial copy mode is executed.

By placing the special size paper 6 for the trial copy near the paper feed cassette of the standard paper for copying, the copy paper (for example, A3 paper 8) and the environment in which the special size paper 6 is placed are the same. It can be anything. Therefore, when the copy paper is absorbing moisture, if the special size paper 6 is also absorbing moisture, the situation will change, which is very useful as a trial copy depending on the copy situation.

When a trial copy button on the operation unit 2 is pressed, special size paper 6 is fed from the cassette 5 to perform a trial copy.

The special size paper 6 in this example is an A4 paper 1
This is a strip-shaped special size paper with a size obtained by horizontally dividing 1 (FIG. 6). This size is smaller than the minimum size B5 of standard paper that is often used in copying machines, and it is easy for users to make.
Moreover, it is suitable as a trial copy sheet because it has a size enough to evaluate the image quality.

As described above, since copying is performed on a narrow width paper (special size paper strip) at the time of trial copying, the portion other than the paper passing width is erased on the photoconductor at the time of image formation. Therefore, the toner is not wasted. If the size of the special size paper 6 is smaller than that of the copy paper, the special size paper 6 may have the same width direction and a short length direction.

Generally, a copying machine has a sensor at the rear end of the fixing unit. This sensor detects the passage of paper and sends data to a copy counter, where it counts how many copies the copier has made. As a method of detecting paper passage,
A reflective optical sensor that directly detects the passage of paper, or a combination of a lever and an optical sensor, the paper touches one end of the lever, and the opposite end of the lever crosses the optical sensor to detect the passage of paper. There are things.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the fixing unit, FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the state of the paper passage detection mechanism in the fixing unit when no sheet is passing, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the same when passing.

In the figure, 20 is a fixing unit, 21 is a static elimination brush, 22 is a discharge guide, 23 is a knob, 24 is a lever constituting a discharge sensor, 25 is an optical sensor,
Reference numeral 26 is a sheet.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the control contents when the paper discharge sensor is on and off.

After the copying operation (S21), when the paper discharge sensor is on (Y in S22), if the paper is not the special size paper (N in S23), the counting operation of the counter is performed (S24). If the paper discharge sensor is not turned on even though the copy operation is being performed (N in S22), a paper jam indication is displayed (S25).

By doing so, even when the width of the special size paper for trial copy is wider than the width of the minimum copy size paper, it is possible to prevent the copy counter from moving even if the special size paper for trial copy is copied. Further, even if the special size paper jams on the way, it can be detected.

The smallest copy size paper of the popular type copier is A6.
It is often (postcard size). Trial copy paper is A
In the case of a strip-shaped special size paper obtained by horizontally dividing 4 into four, this width is narrower than the width of A6. As described above, when the width of the special size paper for trial copy is narrower than the width of the minimum copy size paper of the copying machine, the conveying member is provided at the advancing position of the special size paper (FIG. 12).

FIG. 4A shows an example of the transport roller 31 provided on the shaft 30 as the transport member. Transport roller 31 to this place
By providing the special size paper, the special size paper can be reliably transported. FIGS. 9B and 9C show an example in which the conveying member is a separating claw, and FIG. 9B shows a photosensitive member 32 provided with a separating claw 33.
Further, (c) shows a fixing roller 34 provided with a separating claw 35. The separating claw prevents the paper from being wound around the roller, and is considered to be closely related to the paper transportation, and is treated as a paper transportation member.

It should be noted that the place where the special size paper advances may not be the paper feed center but may be the place where the paper conveying member is present (FIG. 1).
3). By doing so, it is possible to reliably transport the special size paper without increasing the number of paper transport members.

In a copying machine in which special size paper for trial copy can be used, a plurality of special size papers are arranged in parallel (two places) in a frame (cassette) for storing the special size papers.
Here is an example of what is stored in.

FIG. 14 shows a case in which two strip-shaped special size papers 6 are arranged in parallel in a cassette, and a paper feeding and separating mechanism is arranged in each. Reference numeral 40 denotes a paper feed / separation mechanism including a pick-up roller 41, a feed roller 42, and a reverse roller 43, and two sets are provided corresponding to two rows of special size papers 6.

By doing so, it is possible to efficiently store and feed a large number of special size sheets for trial copying at one time. Of course, at this time, it goes without saying that a paper conveying member is provided at each traveling position of the special size paper.

Another example is shown in FIG. A paper holding frame 50 is provided in the cassette 5, and the special size paper 6 is accommodated in the paper holding frame 50 in parallel. In addition, a motor 51 capable of normal rotation and reverse rotation is fixed in the cassette 5. Pulley 52 on its output shaft
Are fitted. There is a pulley 53 that functions as an idler at a position facing the motor 51. A belt 54 is stretched between the pulleys 53, and the paper holding frame 50 is attached to the belt 54.
Is fixed. By rotating the motor 51 forward and backward,
The paper holding frame 50 slides on the guide rail 55 and moves left and right.

Therefore, the special size paper 6 in the paper holding frame 50 can be moved to the place where the paper feeding and separating mechanism is provided. By doing so, the paper feeding and separating mechanism can be integrated. At the same time, the special size paper 6 is also moved to one place, and the number of paper conveying members can be reduced.

Although the example in which the special size paper 6 is stored in two rows in parallel has been described, it may be stored in three or more rows.

In the case where special size paper for trial copy can be stored in a plurality of places, the type of paper and the storing place can be stored in a memory. In the test copy mode, when there are a plurality of paper types for the test copy stored in the copying machine, the operator is made to select which paper is used for the test copy, and then the test copy is performed. By doing this, recycled paper, fine paper, OH
It is possible to perform a trial copy on various types of copy sheets such as P sheets with the same type of sheets.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart of selection control of a plurality of special size papers in the trial copy mode.

Input the trial copy paper type (S3
1), store in the memory (S32), input copy setting conditions (S33), and store in the same memory (S3)
4). When the copy start key is turned on (S35) and the test copy mode is selected (Y in S36), it is determined whether or not there are a plurality of special size paper types (S37). ), If the paper type is selected (S39), the number of copies is changed to one (S40), the copy operation is performed (S41), and then the mode is erased from the memory (S42), and the setting condition is set. If there is a change (S4
3), change (S44) and store in memory (S4)
5) Change the initial condition (S46). If it is not the trial copy mode (N in S46), the copy operation is executed (S47).

Special size paper for trial copy has A4 vertically 2
It shall be divided. At this time, the trial copy area is not the entire trial copy sheet but a part thereof (FIG. 17). The part where the trial copy is performed is predetermined, and erase is applied to the part that is not copied. When the toner consumption is large, such as in color copying, the toner consumption can be suppressed.

When such a special size paper is used, the image quality in the lateral direction of the image can be confirmed by a trial copy unlike the strip-shaped special size paper. In addition, if you specify the area you want to make a trial copy with the editor,
The operator can confirm the part to be confirmed by the trial copy.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a module of a strip-shaped special size paper and its paper feeding mechanism, and FIG. 19 is a configuration diagram showing an arrangement of position detecting sensors of the module.

The strip-shaped special size paper for trial copy and its paper feeding mechanism are provided in the frame 59 as one module 58. A motor 56 for driving the paper feeding mechanism is also provided in the module 58. In the frame 59, the module 5
There are a motor 56 and a belt for moving 8 to the left and right, and a sensor 57 for detecting the position of a module 58.

The operator can select the test copy position in the form of a vertical strip of the document. Note that in this example, the strip-shaped special size paper has a size obtained by horizontally dividing A4 into four equal parts, and the test copy position can be made at four positions if A4 is horizontal (FIGS. 20 and 21). FIG. 22 shows a flow chart when a test copy is made at the location (2) in FIG. 20 in such a copying machine.

The operator presses the trial copy key (S
51) and further select the location (2). Module 58
Is detected (S53), and if the position is the location of (2) (both of the sensors 57-2 are on), paper feeding is performed from there and trial copying is performed (S62). Module 5
If the position of 8 is other than (2) (Y in S54N and S55)
Or N), the module 58 is moved to that position by the motor 56 (S56, S57, S58 or S5).
9, S60, S61), paper is fed from there, and a trial copy is performed (S62).

Although not shown in the flow chart, at the time of trial copying, erase is applied to portions other than the trial copying position so that wasteful toner is not consumed.

If a strip-shaped special size paper of this size is used, if the original is A3, eight trial copy positions can be selected (FIG. 23). (5) ~
When the positions up to (8) are selected, the trial copy of that portion can be performed by controlling the resist timing.

Further, it is assumed that the conveying member is a conveying roller provided on a plurality of shafts between the sheet feeding mechanism and the registration rollers. At this time, the positions of the transport rollers on all the axes do not have to be the passage positions of the strip-shaped special size paper. The simplest case is given as an example.

FIG. 24 is a front view showing the structure of the conveying member between the paper feed mechanism and the registration rollers, and FIG. 25 is a side view of the same.

The number of shafts 30 of the transport roller 31 is set to 2,
The two shafts 30 are alternately arranged with conveying rollers 31-1 and 3
It is assumed that 1-2 is attached. Strip-shaped special size paper 6
The length L ₀ , the paper feed / separation mechanism 40 and the lower transport roller 31
-2, L ₁ is the distance between the lower conveying roller 31-2 and the registration roller 70, L ₂ is the distance between the sheet feeding / separating mechanism 40 and the upper conveying roller 31-1, L ₁ ′, The distance between the upper transport roller 31-1 and the registration roller 70 is L ₂ ′. If this relationship is the following equation, it can be considered that the paper transport member is located at the paper transport position.

L ₀ > L ₁ and L ₀ > L ₂ L ₀ > L ₁ ′ and L ₀ > L ₂ ′ By doing so, the number of transport rollers 31 can be reduced.

Although the black-and-white copying machine has been described above as an example, it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to an electrophotographic apparatus such as a color copying machine or a printer (black-and-white or color) or another printing apparatus.

[0065]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the paper size is smaller than the paper size desired to be copied, not only in mass copying but also in high quality copying such as high precision copying and color copying. Since the trial copy is performed in step 1, the waste of consumable items such as paper and toner can be reduced. Further, since the copy counter does not operate during the trial copy, the user does not have to pay the maintenance fee for the trial copy.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the test copy position is set to a plurality of vertical strips of the image, and the storage position and the paper feeding mechanism of the strip special size paper for the test copy are moved according to the positions. Since this is done, the trial copy position can be selected easily and without waste.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the special size papers for trial copying are stored in parallel in the cassette, so that a large amount of special size papers can be efficiently stored at one time and the special size papers can be supplied. You can save the trouble of. Further, in a device for storing a plurality of special size papers for trial copy, the memory, display and selection of the type of special size papers can be performed, so that various copy papers such as high quality papers, recycled papers and OHP papers can be selected. , It is possible to easily make a trial copy with the same type of paper.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of trial copy mode control.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a copying machine according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a cassette for special size paper and a normal cassette.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between strip-shaped special size paper and A4 standard paper.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a fixing unit.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state of a paper passage detection mechanism in the fixing unit when no paper is passed.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a state of a paper passage detection mechanism in the fixing unit during paper passage.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the installation position of the paper ejection sensor.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the control contents when the discharge sensor is turned on and off.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram showing various transport members when the width of special size paper is narrower than the width of minimum copy size paper.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which the conveyance position of special size paper is shifted.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing an example of a cassette for storing a plurality of sets of special size paper in parallel.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing another example of a cassette for storing a plurality of sets of special size paper in parallel.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of selection control of a plurality of special size papers in the trial copy mode.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which a part of special size paper obtained by vertically dividing A4 is used as a trial copy area.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a strip special size paper and a module of the paper feeding mechanism.

FIG. 19 is a configuration diagram illustrating an arrangement of strip-shaped special size paper and a module position detection sensor of the paper feeding mechanism.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing trial copy points of special size paper.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between a trial copy portion of special size paper and an optical sensor.

FIG. 22 is a control flow chart in the case where a trial copy is made at a designated portion of special size paper.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing copy positions on special size paper when the original is A3 size.

FIG. 24 is a front view showing the configuration of a transport member between the paper feed mechanism and the registration rollers.

FIG. 25 is a side view showing a configuration of a transport member between the paper feed mechanism and the registration rollers.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Copier main body 3 Paper feeding section 5 Special size paper cassette 6 Special size paper 100 Control means

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus comprising a printing section and a plurality of sheet feeding sections for accommodating sheets of different sizes, for checking and adjusting the printing status before printing with a desired paper size. , Has a trial copy mode in which only one sheet is printed once on the smallest paper size in the stored sheets, and when this trial copy mode is selected, control to stop the counting operation of the print number counter is performed. An image forming apparatus comprising a control means for performing the operation. 2. An image forming apparatus comprising a printing section and a plurality of sheet feeding sections for accommodating sheets of different sizes, for confirming and adjusting the printing condition before printing with a desired sheet size. This module has a trial copy mode in which printing is performed only once on strip-shaped special size paper in the storage paper, and this strip-shaped special size paper storage unit and its paper feed mechanism are integrated. A sensor that detects the position of
A drive means for moving the module left and right is provided,
An image forming apparatus characterized in that a module is moved according to a test print position. 3. An image forming apparatus comprising a printing section and a plurality of sheet feeding sections for accommodating sheets of different sizes, for confirming and adjusting the printing condition before printing with a desired sheet size. , Has a trial copy mode for printing only one sheet of special size paper in the storage paper, and stores the paper feed section for storing the special size paper in parallel and the type of the special size paper. An image forming apparatus comprising: a memory unit, a display unit for displaying, and a selecting unit for selecting.