JPH0851529A - Digital copier - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To provide a digital copying machine capable of speeding up the collection of originals and improving workability by reading the originals without waiting for the temperature of the fixing unit to rise. [Arrangement] An original reading unit 4 for reading an original, an image memory controller 17 for storing and outputting the image data of the original read by the original reading unit 4 in a storage medium, and output data from the image memory controller 17. In the digital copying machine including the image writing unit 6, while the image writing controller 16 is preparing for the operation, the image data read by the document reading unit 4 is accumulated in the storage medium, and the image writing unit 6 completes the operation preparation. The data is output to the image writing unit 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital copying machine capable of accumulating image data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An original reading section for reading an original, an image memory controller for storing and outputting image data of the original read by the original reading section in a storage medium, and output data from the image memory controller are inputted and inputted. Digital copier provided with an image writing controller for writing on the photoconductor in accordance with the level of the generated image signal, a system controller for controlling the whole, and a sequence controller for controlling each sequence in the machine according to a command from the system controller Has been widely proposed.

[0003]

In such a digital copying machine, the following problems are generally pointed out. (1) The waiting time for the temperature of the fixing unit to rise, such as when the power is turned on or when the preheat mode is released, delays the collection of the original document and deteriorates the workability of the copying machine. (2) The waiting time until the temperature of the fixing unit rises, such as when the power is turned on or when the preheat mode is released, and the waiting time when the image data is dropped into the memory, deteriorates the productivity and workability of the copying machine. . (3) Using an automatic document feeder (ADF) or the like, while continuously copying a plurality of documents, some cause (transfer paper jam,
If the operation of the entire copying machine is stopped due to paper end, toner end, door open, etc.), it takes a long time to collect the original. (4) While reading an image in a mode (electronic sort, reduction continuous shooting, overlapping composition, etc.) that requires reading multiple originals in advance and storing them in memory, the entire copying machine is affected by some cause (door open, etc.). If the operation is stopped, productivity will deteriorate. In addition, the collection of originals is delayed and the workability deteriorates.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-63276 discloses that in a facsimile, the rise time of the fixing means is set shorter than the time of the pre-transmission procedure, the image information transmission and the image forming process, and the fixing means is set from the time of calling. Drive or
A technique has been disclosed in which image information until the fixing unit reaches a predetermined temperature is stored in a memory to reduce power consumption by eliminating the need to supply power to the fixing unit during reception standby. A technique for solving the above has not been proposed so far.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a digital copying machine capable of speeding up the collection of originals and improving workability by reading the originals without waiting for the temperature of the fixing section to rise. is there.

A second object of the present invention is to use the waiting time until the temperature of the fixing unit rises in the mode in which it takes a long time to read the image data, and to drop the image data in the memory, thereby wasting the waiting time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital copying machine capable of shortening the printing time and improving the productivity.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a digital copying machine capable of avoiding a decrease in workability without delaying the collection of documents even if the copying operation is stopped for some reason. .

A fourth object of the present invention is to reduce the workability without delaying the recovery of the original even if the image writing section becomes inoperable for some reason in the mode where it takes a long time to read the image data. It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital copying machine which can avoid the above-mentioned problems and can prevent a decrease in productivity.

[0009]

The first object is to read a document, a document reading unit, an image memory controller for storing and outputting the image data of the document read by the document reading unit in a storage medium, and this image. In a digital copying machine provided with an image writing unit for outputting output data from a memory controller, the image data read by the document reading unit is stored in a storage medium during the operation preparation of the image writing controller, and the image is recorded. This is achieved by the first means for outputting the image data to the image writing unit when the writing unit is ready for operation.

The second purpose is to read a document, a document reading unit, an image memory controller for storing and outputting the image data of the document read by the document reading unit in a storage medium, and output data from the image memory controller. In a digital copying machine equipped with an image writing unit that outputs the image, a mode such as electronic sorting, reduction continuous copying, and superimposing synthesis in which a plurality of originals must be read in advance and the image data must be temporarily stored in a storage medium is selected. In this case, the second means for accumulating the image data read during the operation preparation by the image writing unit in the storage medium and outputting the image data to the image writing unit when the operation preparation for the image writing unit is completed. To be achieved.

A third object is to read a document, a document reading unit, an image memory controller for storing and outputting the image data of the document read by the document reading unit in a storage medium, and output data from the image memory controller. In a digital copying machine equipped with an image writing unit for outputting, when the operation of the image writing unit is stopped for some reason during continuous copying of a plurality of originals using an automatic document feeder, Continue reading,
This is accomplished by the third means for outputting the image data to the image writing unit as soon as the image data is accumulated in the storage medium and the image writing unit becomes operable.

A fourth object is to read a document, a document reading unit, an image memory controller for storing and outputting the image data of the document read by the document reading unit in a storage medium, and output data from the image memory controller. In a digital copying machine equipped with an image writing unit that outputs the image, a plurality of originals are read in advance and the image data is temporarily stored in a storage medium. If the image writing unit becomes inoperable for some reason during reading, image data is output to the image writing unit as soon as the image data is stored in a storage medium and the image writing unit becomes operable. It is achieved by the fourth means.

[0013]

In the first means, the original is read without waiting for the temperature of the fixing unit to rise, so that the original can be collected quickly and the workability can be improved.

In the second means, in a mode in which it takes a long time to read image data, the waiting time until the temperature of the fixing unit rises is used to drop the image data in the memory, thereby reducing the unnecessary waiting time. It is possible to improve productivity.

In the third means, even if the copying operation is stopped for some reason, it is possible to avoid lowering the workability without delaying the collection of the original document.

In the fourth means, in a mode in which it takes a long time to read image data, even if the image writing section becomes inoperable due to some reason, the recovery of the original is not delayed and the deterioration of workability is avoided. In addition, the productivity can be prevented from lowering.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a digital copying machine according to the embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the digital copying machine according to the embodiment.

In FIG. 1, an automatic document feeder (ADF) 2 is placed on the upper part of the main body 1 of the apparatus, and the main body 1 of the apparatus has a large number of paper feed stages 3a, 3b and 3c. It is placed on the capacity paper feed tray 3. Device body 1
In addition to the document reading unit 4, the operation unit 5, the image writing unit (image writing controller) 6, and around the photoconductor 7.
A developing device 8, a transfer device 9, a cleaning device 10 and the like are provided, and a fixing unit 11 is arranged on the downstream side.

Next, a control block of the digital copying machine according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, the system controller 12 includes processing units (LSI,
It is a controller that controls parameters of digital copiers by sending and receiving parameters and commands to and from gate arrays and expansion boards. In addition, the sequence controller 13
Is a controller that executes feeding / discharging of transfer paper, timing adjustment of electrophotographic process, and in-machine monitoring (abnormality detection such as door open and jam detection, paper end detection and the like) according to commands from the system controller 12. This controller controls the fixing temperature.
The document reading unit 4 illuminates a document placed on a document table and performs optical signal / electrical signal conversion in which reflected light (document image) from the document is imaged on a light receiving surface of an image sensor such as a CCD. It is a unit. The image processing unit 14 is an A / D that converts the image signal optically / electrically converted by the document reading unit 4 into multivalued or binary digital image data.
A conversion circuit, a shading correction circuit that corrects image distortion caused by uneven sensitivity of the exposure lamp and sensitivity variations of the image sensor, an MTF correction circuit that corrects image blurring and deterioration caused by passing through the imaging system, and a main scanning direction It is composed of a main-scanning scaling circuit for scaling the image.

According to a command from the system controller 12, the image bus selector 15 changes the data path of the image signal by (1) image processing unit 14 → image writing controller 16 (2) image processing unit 14 → image memory controller 17 ( 3) A selector that can be switched from the image memory controller 17 to the image writing controller 16, and (1) and (2) can operate simultaneously.

The image writing controller 16 is a controller capable of performing the same operation as the laser printer operation, determines the light emission amount of the LD (laser diode) according to the level of the input image signal, and exposes this laser light. It is an electric / light conversion controller that irradiates the body 7.

The image memory controller 17 can store the image data of the read document in a storage medium (memory) such as a RAM in accordance with a command from the system controller 12, and the stored image data can be read as an image. Image can be output as is
The controller is also capable of rotating 180 degrees and 270 degrees for output. This image controller 17
It has compression / decompression functions such as MH, MR, MMR,
The image data can be compressed / decompressed according to the processing contents designated by the operator to improve the memory usage efficiency. Further, the memory has a page memory (bitmap memory for one transfer sheet) area for exchanging image data with the image bus selector 15 and a compressed data storage area. However, if the compression / expansion processing speed is sufficiently higher than the write speed of the write controller 16, the page memory area may not be provided.

Next, various modes using the memory function will be described. (1) Electronic sort function This function is a function that sorts a specified number of copies even in a copying machine that is not equipped with a dedicated mechanical sorter. A
A plurality of originals set by the DF 2 or manually by an operator are sequentially read and stored in the memory unit by using the compression function. After scanning all originals,
The image is expanded one by one, and the specified number of copies is written and output as an image via the image bus selector 15.

(2) Reduced continuous shooting function This function is to reduce and output the designated number of originals on one sheet of transfer paper. ADF2 or multiple sheets of originals set by an operator are calculated as a reduction ratio for inserting a specified number of sheets into a transfer sheet, and the readings are sequentially read at the reduction ratio and sequentially arranged in a page memory area in a memory unit. Yes (for example, 4 on A4 transfer paper
In the case of continuously reducing one A4 document in a reduced size, it is sequentially read at a reduction ratio of 50% and sequentially arranged in four divided areas in the A4 page memory). After reading the designated number of originals, the image data in the page memory is written and output via the image bus selector 15.

(3) Overlay Compositing This function is to output a plurality of documents by superimposing them on one sheet. A plurality of originals set by the ADF 2 or manually by the operator are sequentially read by the designated number of sheets to be superposed, and images are superposed on the page memory in the memory unit. After reading the specified number of overlapping originals, the image data in the page memory is written and output via the image bus selector 15.

Next, the operation of the digital copying machine according to the embodiment will be described. In a normal copy operation, when the power is turned on, the document reading unit 4 first adjusts the reference position for moving the light source for illuminating the document. As a specific operation, there is usually a sensor for determining the reference position, and the light source is moved to the position of the sensor. This behavior is usually
The process is completed in a few seconds, and the document reading unit 4 is ready at this point. At the same time, the sequence controller 12 monitors the fixing temperature and turns on and heats the fixing heater to a target temperature (usually about 180 ° C.). This operation takes several minutes when the temperature is raised from normal room temperature. When the target temperature is reached, preparation for image writing is completed. After the fixing temperature reaches the target temperature, it is controlled by turning on / off the heater so that it always becomes this temperature. In the present invention, even when the preparation of the image writing controller 16 is not completed, the reading can be performed when the preparation of the document reading unit 4 is completed,
The reading of the original can be started. For example, when the operator sets the document on the ADF 2 or the like and starts it when the document becomes readable, the document is sequentially read, and the image data is read from the document reading unit 4 through the image processing unit 14 and the image bus selector 15 to obtain an image. It is input to the memory controller 17.

The data input to the image memory controller 17 is compressed and stored in the memory. When the reading operation is completed before the preparation of the image writing controller 16 is completed, the original document is released and the operator can collect the original document. After that, when the preparation of the image writing controller 16 is completed (fixing temperature reaches the target), the image compressed by the image memory controller 17 is expanded, the image is written through the image bus selector 15, and the transfer paper is sequentially transferred. The toner is transferred to, fixed on, and output.

When the number of originals to be read is large, the preparation of the image writing controller 16 may be completed before the reading is completed. In this case, the reading operation is temporarily suspended when the preparation of the image writing controller 16 is completed, and the image is written through the image bus selector 15 while the image data in the image memory controller 17 is being expanded, and the transfer paper is sequentially transferred. The toner is transferred to, fixed on, and output.

When all the image data taken in the image memory controller 17 is output, reading is started again, writing is also performed at the same time, and the images are sequentially output. When the reading is temporarily stopped, there is no problem when the ADF 2 is used, but when the operator puts the originals one by one, the opening of the originals becomes slow. Therefore, it is possible to set to start the output after reading all the originals.

In the preheat mode, the display of the operating section 5 which is usually operated by the operator is turned off, and the control temperature for fixing is controlled from several degrees to several tens of degrees lower than the target temperature to control power consumption. Mode. The operation to enter / exit this mode is usually performed by pressing a key for preheating in / out on the operation unit 5, and pressing this key.
It is also possible to set an operation for automatically entering the preheat mode if the key is not operated for a certain period of time. When this preheat mode is released, it takes several seconds to several minutes for the fixing temperature to reach the target temperature. In the present invention, document reading can be started at the same time when the preheating mode is released. The operation after the start of reading is the same as described above.

When a factor that must stop the copying operation occurs (transfer paper jam, paper end, toner end, door open, etc.), the image writing controller 16 is stopped but the original reading unit 4 is usable. The above factors are canceled (removal of jammed paper, replenishment of paper,
The original can be read until the preparation of the image writing controller 16 is completed after the toner bottle is replaced and the door is closed.

For example, when using ADF2,
The image data obtained by continuously reading the document is accumulated in the image memory controller 17 even while the above factors are released. The relationship between the timing when the preparation of the image writing controller 16 ends, the timing when the document reading ends, and the output operation are the same as described above.

In the above-described embodiment, the document reading unit 4 for reading the document and the image memory controller 17 for storing and outputting the image data of the document read by the document reading unit 4 in the storage medium. In the digital copying machine including the image writing unit 6 for outputting the output data from the image memory controller 17, the image data read by the document reading unit 4 during the operation preparation of the image writing controller 16 is stored in the storage medium. Since the image data is output to the image writing unit 6 when the image writing unit 6 is ready to operate, the original is read without waiting for the temperature of the fixing unit to rise.
It is possible to speed up the collection of documents and improve workability.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a mode such as electronic sorting, reduction continuous shooting, and superimposing synthesis, in which it is necessary to read a plurality of originals in advance and temporarily store the image data in the storage medium, is selected. In this case, since the image writing unit 6 accumulates the image data read during the operation preparation in the storage medium and outputs the image data to the image writing unit 6 when the operation preparation of the image writing unit 6 is completed, the image data can be read. In the time-consuming mode, the waiting time until the temperature of the fixing unit rises is used to drop the image data in the memory, so that the unnecessary waiting time can be shortened and the productivity can be improved.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, when the operation of the image writing unit 6 is stopped for some reason during continuous copying of a plurality of originals by using an automatic original feeding device or the like, the originals are read. The image data is output to the image writing unit 6 as soon as the image writing unit 6 becomes operable after the image data is accumulated in the storage medium while continuing, and the original document is collected even if the copying operation is stopped for some reason. It is possible to avoid lowering the workability without delaying.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a plurality of originals are read in advance, and the originals are read in a mode such as electronic sorting, reduction continuous shooting, and superimposing synthesis in which the image data of the originals need to be temporarily stored in a storage medium. In addition, when the image writing unit 6 becomes inoperable for some reason, the image data is output to the image writing unit 6 as soon as the image data is accumulated in the storage medium and the image writing unit 6 becomes operable. In the mode in which it takes a long time to read the image data, even if the image writing unit 6 becomes inoperable for some reason, the original collection is not delayed,
It is possible to avoid a decrease in workability and prevent a decrease in productivity.

[0037]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the original is read without waiting for the temperature of the fixing unit to rise, so that the original can be collected quickly and the workability can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in a mode in which it takes a long time to read the image data, the waiting time until the temperature of the fixing unit rises is used to drop the image data in the memory, so that a wasteful waiting time is achieved. Time can be shortened and productivity can be improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, even if the copying operation is stopped for some reason, it is possible to avoid lowering the workability without delaying the collection of the original document.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the mode in which it takes a long time to read the image data, even if the image writing unit becomes inoperable for some reason, the original recovery is not delayed and the workability is improved. It is possible to avoid a decrease in productivity and prevent a decrease in productivity.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the digital copying machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Device Main Body 2 Automatic Document Feeding Device 3 Large Capacity Paper Feed Tray 4 Original Reading Section 5 Operation Section 6 Image Writing Section 7 Photosensitive Member 8 Developing Device 9 Transfer Device 10 Cleaning Device 11 Fixing Unit 12 System Controller 13 Sequence Controller 14 Image Processing Unit 15 image bus selector 16 image writing controller 17 image memory controller

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An original reading unit for reading an original, an image memory controller for storing and outputting image data of the original read by the original reading unit in a storage medium, and an image writing for outputting output data from the image memory controller. In a digital copying machine including an image writing controller, the image data read by the document reading unit is accumulated in a storage medium while the image writing controller is preparing to operate, and the image data is stored when the image writing unit is ready to operate. A digital copying machine which outputs to the image writing unit. 2. An original reading unit for reading an original, an image memory controller for storing and outputting image data of the original read by the original reading unit in a storage medium, and an image writing for outputting output data from the image memory controller. In a digital copying machine equipped with a copy section, when a mode such as electronic sorting, reduction continuous shooting, and superimposing synthesis is selected in which a plurality of originals must be read in advance and the image data of the originals must be temporarily stored in a storage medium, A digital copying machine, wherein the image writing unit stores image data read during operation preparation in a storage medium and outputs the image data to the image writing unit when the operation preparation of the image writing unit is completed. 3. An original reading unit for reading an original, an image memory controller for storing and outputting image data of the original read by the original reading unit in a storage medium, and an image writing unit for outputting output data from the image memory controller. In a digital copying machine equipped with a copy unit, when the operation of the image writing unit is stopped for some reason during continuous copying of a plurality of documents using an automatic document feeder, the document reading is continued, A digital copying machine, wherein image data is output to the image writing unit as soon as the image writing unit becomes operable by accumulating image data in the storage medium. 4. A document reading unit for reading a document, an image memory controller for storing and outputting image data of the document read by the document reading unit in a storage medium, and an image writing unit for outputting output data from the image memory controller. In a digital copying machine equipped with a copy section, some originals are read in advance and the image data must be temporarily stored in a storage medium. If the image writing unit becomes inoperable due to a cause,
A digital copying machine, wherein image data is output to the image writing unit as soon as the image writing unit becomes operable by accumulating image data in the storage medium.