JPH07281573A - Printer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform a printing output processing of the desired image on the recording paper in the short time as well as in the proper way at the time of such as the rising time of a printer device. CONSTITUTION:The printer device provided with the printer part 2 equipped with the fixing unit 26 for fixing by heating the transferred image transferred to the recording paper K by the photoreceptor 20, and the recording paper transporting means 60, 61, 63a, 63b,... for transporting the recording paper K set in the specified position to the printer part 2, is furnished with control means 4 and 5 for controlling the recording paper transporting means so as to make the recording paper transportation to the printer part 2 begin when the temp. of the fixing unit 26 reaches the specified set temp. t1 being set at the temp. lower than the fixing temp. t3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrophotographic recording type printer device incorporated in a facsimile machine or used by being connected to a computer, a word processor or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, in an electrophotographic recording type printer of this type, it is necessary to heat and fix a transfer image, which is toner-transferred onto a recording sheet by a photosensitive member such as a photosensitive drum, by a fixing device. Therefore, in the conventional printer device, at the time of startup such as power-on of the printer device, the recording paper set in the paper feed cassette or the like is not fed out and transferred at the same time as the startup of the printer device. The transfer was kept waiting for a certain period of time. Then, when the temperature of the fixing device subsequently rises to the optimum fixing temperature (for example, 180 ° C.) for fixing the transferred image, the recording paper is started to be transferred for the first time at that time.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, since the recording paper transfer is started after the fixing device reaches a predetermined fixing temperature, the image is actually transferred to the recording paper after the power is turned on. It takes a total of both the time for the fixing device to reach the fixing temperature and the time for the recording paper to be fed from the paper feed cassette and transferred to the position of the fixing device before it is printed out. Becomes Therefore, conventionally, there is a problem in that the print-out process of a desired image cannot be performed quickly when the printer device is started up.

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above points, and it is possible to appropriately and appropriately print out a desired image on a recording paper in a short time at the time of startup of a printer. Its purpose is.

[0005]

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer device according to the present invention, which is proposed to achieve the above object, wherein a transfer image transferred onto a recording sheet by a photoconductor is heated and fixed. A printer device, comprising: a printer unit having a fixing device; and a recording paper transfer means for transferring a recording paper set at a predetermined position to the printer unit, wherein the temperature of the fixing device is set to a temperature lower than the fixing temperature. Further, there is provided a control means for controlling the recording paper transfer means so as to start the transfer of the recording paper to the printer section when the predetermined set temperature is reached.

As the control means of the printer device according to the present invention of the above-mentioned claim 1, as described in claim 2, the temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the fixing device and the temperature detection means are preset. It can be configured by a CPU that issues an operation command to the recording paper transporting unit when a predetermined set temperature lower than the fixing temperature is detected.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer device which comprises a printer section having a fixing device for heating and fixing a transfer image transferred onto a recording sheet by a photoconductor, and the recording sheet set at a predetermined position. A printer device having a recording paper transfer means for transferring the recording paper to the printer section, wherein when the printer power is on and the fixing device is at a predetermined standby temperature set in advance, the recording paper is transferred when the temperature of the fixing device starts rising. A control means is provided for controlling the recording paper transfer means to start the recording paper.

[0008]

In the printer apparatus according to the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, the temperature of the fixing device is gradually increased when the temperature of the fixing device is gradually increased when the printer device is started up. However, when the temperature reaches a predetermined set temperature lower than the fixing temperature, the transfer of the recording paper to the printer unit is started at that time. That is, the transfer of the recording paper is started before the fixing device reaches the fixing temperature. Therefore, the image printout process can be performed more quickly than when the transfer of the recording paper is started after the temperature of the fixing device reaches the fixing temperature.

The set temperature for starting the transfer of the recording paper is set at a predetermined position rather than the time required for the temperature of the fixing device to reach the fixing temperature from the set temperature for starting the transfer of the recording paper. It is set so that it takes longer to transfer the recording paper to the fixing unit of the printer unit. With this setting, even if the recording paper starts to be transferred before the fixing device reaches the fixing temperature, the fixing device already reaches the fixing temperature when the recording paper is transferred to the fixing device. The transfer image transferred onto the can be properly fixed.

In the printer device according to the second aspect of the present invention, the control of the transfer start timing of the recording paper as described above is set in advance while the temperature of the fixing device is being monitored by the temperature detecting means. When the predetermined temperature thus set is detected by the temperature detecting means, the CPU issues an operation command to the recording paper transfer means at that time to execute the operation.

In the printer device according to the third aspect of the present invention, when the desired image is printed out in the standby state of the fixing device when the printer power is turned on, the temperature of the fixing device is changed. The transfer of the recording paper is started at the time when the ascent is started. That is, even in this case, the transfer of the recording paper can be started before the fixing device reaches the fixing temperature, and the time required for the image printout process can be shortened and speeded up accordingly. As the standby temperature of the fixing device, the time required for the fixing device to rise from the standby temperature to the fixing temperature is required for the recording paper set at a predetermined position to be transferred to the fixing device of the printer section. It is set so that it will be shorter than the time. According to this setting, the fixing device has already reached the fixing temperature when the recording paper is transferred to the fixing device, and the transfer image can be appropriately fixed as in the case of claim 1.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a main configuration of a printer device P according to the present invention. This printer device P is provided with an electrophotographic recording type printer unit 2 including a photosensitive drum 20 as a photosensitive member, a fixing device 26, etc. in a housing (or panel) 1 made of synthetic resin, and a paper feed cassette 3 The cut sheet type recording paper K (which may be plain paper) accommodated therein is configured to be sequentially transferred and supplied to the printer unit 2 one by one. Also, the recording paper K
And the operation of each unit such as the printer unit 2 are controlled by the CPU 4.

Of the above, the photosensitive drum 2 of the printer unit 2
A charger 21 for providing the photosensitive drum 20 with photosensitivity and a CPU 4 on the surface of the photosensitive drum 20 around or near 0.
The exposure unit 22 for creating an electrostatic latent image according to the image data transferred from the image forming apparatus, the developing unit 23 having a mag roller 23a for developing the electrostatic latent image with toner, and the recording paper K are developed. A transfer device 24 for transferring an image, a cleaner 25 for repeatedly using the photosensitive drum 20, and the like are provided.

The fixing device 26 is composed of a heating roller 26A containing a heating element 26a (heater) such as a halogen lamp, and a rubber roller 26B facing the heating roller 26A.
The fixing device 26 is provided with a thermistor 5 for detecting the temperature of the heating roller 26A so as to be in contact with or close to the fixing device 26, and the thermistor 5 inputs data relating to the temperature of the heating roller 26A to the CPU 4. Is configured.

As means for transferring the recording paper K, there are provided a feeding roller 60 for feeding the recording paper K contained in the paper feed cassette 3 one by one, and other rollers 61 and 62. A plurality of guide plates 63a, 63b, 63c for guiding the recording paper K between the rollers.
・ Is provided. As a result, the recording paper K in the paper feed cassette 3 is fed out in the direction of the arrow a, then passes through the positions of the transfer device 24 and the fixing device 26 of the printer unit 2, and then passes through the roller 62 (paper ejection roller). After that, it is discharged to the outside of the housing 1 as shown by an arrow b. However, this recording paper K
A sheet feeding sensor C or the like is provided during the transfer of the recording sheet K, and the recording sheet K is temporarily stopped at this position so that the rotation of the photosensitive drum 20 and the recording sheet K can be aligned or aligned in timing. Has been done.

Further, a paper feed clutch 64 for connecting and disconnecting the driving force transmission is provided between the feeding roller 60 and the drive motor M, and the intermittent operation of the paper feed clutch 64 is C.
It is configured to be controlled by PU4.

The CPU 4 is provided with a storage unit 7 and an operation unit 8 connected thereto. The storage unit 7 includes a ROM 7a and a RAM 7b that function as a system memory, and an image memory 7
It is equipped with c and the like. If the printer device P is incorporated in a facsimile device,
The CPU 4 is configured to perform various data transmissions with the main CPU of the facsimile machine, and image data to be printed out on the recording paper K is stored in the main CPU.
It will be received from the side.

When the CPU 4 performs print output processing,
It is configured to perform the following control. That is, the CPU 4 starts the supply of the drive current to the heating element 26a of the fixing device 26 when the power of the printer P is turned on. Then, after that, the temperature of the fixing device 26 detected by the thermistor 5 is a preset temperature t set in advance.
When it reaches 1, the paper feed clutch 64 is turned on at that time point, and the driving rotation of the feeding roller 60 is started.

Here, the set temperature t1 is set to the transfer device 2
The temperature is lower than a predetermined fixing temperature t3 (for example, 180 ° C.) necessary for fixing the transfer image transferred to the recording paper K in step 4, and is specifically set as follows. That is, it is assumed that the recording paper transfer time required for the recording paper K in the paper feed cassette 3 to be transferred to the position of the fixing device 26 after being supplied by the supply roller 60 is Ta, and the fixing device 26 has the above set temperature. Assuming the time Tb required for the temperature to rise from t1 to the fixing temperature t3, Ta ≧ Tb is set.

Specifically, the recording paper transfer time Ta is, for example, 10 seconds, and the fixing device 26 has a fixing temperature t3 (= 180 ° C.) within 10 seconds from a temperature of 120 ° C., for example.
If the temperature reaches 1, the set temperature t1 should be set to 120 ° C. This set temperature t1 is Ta
It is preferable to set the temperature as low as possible among the values satisfying the expression ≧ Tb so that the transfer of the recording paper K is started even when the fixing device 26 is at a relatively low temperature. The set temperature t1 may be arbitrarily set and input by operating the setting switch of the operation unit 8, or the storage unit 7 may be used.
The data may be stored in advance, or any of them may be stored.

In the printer apparatus P having the above-described structure, when the printer apparatus P is first turned off and then turned on, the fixing device 26 is also turned on as shown in FIG. Going up. Then, when the temperature of the fixing device 26 reaches a predetermined set temperature t1, at that time, the CPU 4 controls the sheet feeding clutch 64 of the feeding roller 60 to the on state, and as shown in FIG. Start the transfer of K.

Then, the recording paper K is then fed for a predetermined time Ta.
The temperature reaches the position of the fixing device 26 at the time point when the time elapses (the time point indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 2B), but the temperature of the fixing device 26 has already risen to the fixing temperature t3 at this time. Therefore, even if the transfer of the recording paper K is started before the fixing device 26 reaches the fixing temperature t3, the toner transfer image on the recording paper K can be properly fixed. Then, within the rise time required for the fixing device 26 to rise from the room temperature state to the fixing temperature t3, the print output of the image of the first page can be almost finished. As a result, the image printout process can be started early, and the time required from the power-on to the completion of image printout can be shortened.

In the above description, the operation control when the printer apparatus P is turned on from the power-off state has been described. However, the operation of the printer apparatus P in the standby state with the power turned on is described. The control is performed as follows. That is, for example, the standby temperature t2 is about 150 ° C. so that the standby temperature t2 of the fixing device 26 has a relationship of (fixing temperature t3> standby temperature t2> set temperature t1) during standby of the printer P. Control to be maintained at. Further, when the CPU 4 receives a command to the effect of a print command from the main CPU while the printer device P is on standby, control is performed to raise the temperature of the fixing device 26. Then, when the temperature rise of the fixing device 26 is confirmed by the input signal from the thermistor 5, the CPU 4 turns on the paper feed clutch 64 at that time and controls to start the rotation drive of the feeding roller 60. It is configured.

According to this structure, when the image printout operation is performed from the standby state of the printer device P, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), the fixing device 26 rises in temperature from the standby temperature t2 to the fixing temperature t3, and the rising time Tc is such that the standby temperature t2 is higher than the set temperature t1 shown in FIG. As a result, Tc <Tb (≦ Ta). On the other hand, when the temperature rise of the fixing device 26 is started, the transfer of the recording paper K is started at the timing when the temperature rise is started, as shown in FIG. The recording paper K reaches the position of the fixing device 26 when a predetermined time Ta has passed since the transfer was started, but at this time, the fixing device 26 has already reached the fixing temperature t3. There is. Therefore, even in this case, the fixing process of the toner transfer image can be appropriately performed, and the printout process of the image on the recording sheet K is started before the fixing device 26 reaches the fixing temperature t3, and thus the image is still generated. The print output process can be executed quickly.

In the above embodiment, the case where the standby temperature t2 of the fixing device 26 is set to be higher than the set temperature t1 for starting the transfer of the recording paper has been described, but the present invention according to claim 3 is never used. It is not limited to this.

Further, in the above embodiment, the temperature of the fixing device 26 is detected by the thermistor 5, but the temperature detecting means according to the present invention is not limited to this, and other kinds of temperature sensors may be used. .

In addition, it goes without saying that the printer according to the present invention is not limited to the type incorporated in a facsimile machine, but can be applied as a type of printer connected to a computer terminal or the like. Furthermore, the specific value such as the fixing temperature is not limited.

[0028]

As can be understood from the above description, according to the printer device of the present invention as defined in claims 1 to 3, the print output process of the desired image is started at the time of startup of the printer device. In this case, unlike the conventional case, the transfer of the recording paper is started before the fixing device reaches the predetermined fixing temperature and the image can be printed out on the recording paper early, so that the time required for the printing process can be shortened. That is a special effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a configuration of a main part of a printer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2A is an explanatory diagram showing a temperature change of a fixing device when the power of the printer device is turned on, and FIG. 2B is an explanatory diagram showing a timing of recording paper transfer corresponding thereto.

FIG. 3A is an explanatory diagram showing a temperature change of the fixing device after the printer apparatus is in a standby state, and FIG. 3B is an explanatory diagram showing a timing of recording paper transfer corresponding thereto.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Printer Section 3 Paper Cassette 4 CPU 5 Thermistor (Temperature Detection Unit) 7 Storage Section 8 Operating Section 20 Photosensitive Drum (Photosensitive Body) 21 Charging Device 22 Exposure Unit 23 Developing Machine 24 Transfer Device 26 Fixing Device 26a Heating Element 60 Feeding Roller 63a to 63g Guide plate 64 Paper feed clutch K Recording paper M Drive motor C Paper feed sensor P Printer device

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Office reference number FI Technical display location G03G 15/20 109 H04N 1/29 Z

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A printer section having a fixing device for heating and fixing a transfer image transferred onto a recording sheet by a photoconductor, and a recording sheet transfer means for transferring the recording sheet set at a predetermined position to the printer section. A control for controlling the recording paper transfer means to start the transfer of the recording paper to the printer unit when the temperature of the fixing device reaches a predetermined set temperature lower than the fixing temperature in the printer device. A printer device having means. 2. The control means according to claim 1, wherein the control means detects a temperature of the fixing device and a predetermined set temperature lower than a preset fixing temperature by the temperature detecting means. A printer device including a CPU for issuing an operation command to the recording paper transfer means. 3. A printer section having a fixing device for heating and fixing a transfer image transferred onto a recording sheet by a photoconductor, and a recording sheet transfer means for transferring the recording sheet set at a predetermined position to the printer section. In the printer device, when the printer power is on and the fixing device is at a predetermined standby temperature set in advance, control means for controlling the recording paper transfer means to start the recording paper transfer when the temperature rise of the fixing device starts. A printer device equipped with.