JPH09314941A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus which is improved in operability of an operator at the time of taking out a discharged sheet without changing hardware. A large-volume sheet discharge unit having a doggie tail function of sorting discharged sheets to the left and right. During continuous printing on a large number of sheets, the control program of the engine drive unit 322 counts the number of discharged sheets. When the number of ejected sheets during continuous printing exceeds a preset value n (n is a natural number) preset in the control program of the engine drive unit 322,
Regardless of the designation of the position of the doggie tail 332 by the controller 321, the position of the doggie tail 332 is alternately switched to the left and right for each set number m (m is a natural number) to perform the paper discharge operation. This control program is included in the engine drive unit 322. Printed papers are sorted and stacked on the paper discharge tray, and the operator can easily take out the print-completed papers.

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, for example, an image forming apparatus having improved operability of recording paper in a laser beam printer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in general, an image forming apparatus, in the case of an apparatus having a large number of paper discharge ports when a print command is exchanged between a controller unit and an engine drive unit, the paper discharge port is designated for each print paper. Is performed by the controller unit, and the engine drive unit operates accordingly. The transfer of this print command is generally called a video I / F.
Further, the designation of the paper discharge port includes the designation of the position of the doggie tail. That is, the engine drive unit generally continues to discharge paper to the specified paper discharge port including the position specification of the doggie tail until the paper discharge port specified by the controller unit becomes full.

Here, a relatively small scale printer device is
When used in a one-to-one connection with a host computer, the number of continuous prints per time or per person is not so large. In such a case, there is no particular inconvenience.

However, as a tendency in recent years, along with the remarkable spread of computers in the workplace and the networking, the use of high-speed printers connected to a network and shared by a large number of people is also increasing in the printer apparatus. In this case, since the operator is not always near the printer device and a large number of people use it, the total number of printed sheets becomes large. In addition, a large number of printouts are set at the time of returning home after work, and the printing paper output next morning is picked up.

In response to such a large amount of printing paper output, an LCOT with a doggytail function is prepared, and in this case, the corresponding discharge capacity is as large as 1000 to 2000 sheets.

As described above, in the prior art, the designation of the discharge port is performed only by the controller section. Therefore, even in the apparatus equipped with the LCOT with the doggytail function, the position of the doggytail is designated by the controller unit for each print sheet, and the engine drive unit discharges the sheet to the designated position of the doggytail.

[0007] As the original usage of the doggytail,
It is to perform the journalizing of the paper discharge for each JOB. Therefore, the controller unit does not give an instruction to the engine drive unit to switch the position of the doggie tail on the way even if the number of continuous sheets is large during the execution of one JOB.

As a result, when a large amount of JOBs exceeding 500 sheets are generated, a large amount of printing papers are piled up in the discharge port of the LCOT without being sorted. It is difficult to hold it when taking it out, and it is necessary to remove a large amount of printing paper all at once by holding it, or forcibly insert a finger between the discharged printing papers and remove it several times. Such work has poor operability and may damage the printing paper.

Further, it is not a good idea to have the host computer or the controller automatically switch the discharge position of the doggie tail every fixed number of discharged sheets within one JOB when a large amount of sheets are discharged. because,
It is necessary to change the printer driver software in the host computer and the video I / F in the controller section. Further, both of them are general ones, and it is difficult to deal with each model of the printer device.

[0010]

However, in the case of the above-mentioned conventional example, when the continuous printing of a large number of sheets occurs within one JOB, the software of the engine drive section counts the number of discharged sheets, and the set number of sheets n (once When the amount of discharged paper that can be easily taken out by the action of) is exceeded, the position of the doggytail of LCOT is automatically switched, and the J
Until the OB ends, the position of the doggytail is alternately switched to the left and right for each set number m. By this,
When the operator takes out the discharged sheets, the discharged sheets are sorted into right and left units in units of a number that is easy to hold.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which improves the operability of an operator at the time of ejecting a discharged sheet without changing hardware.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, the image forming apparatus of the present invention provides a dot signal to be printed and a print command to an engine drive section in response to an image code and a print command sent from a host device. An image forming apparatus having a controller unit for generating, an engine drive unit for performing a printing operation in accordance with a dot signal and a print command sent from the controller unit, and a large-volume sheet discharge unit having a doggytail function for distributing discharged sheets to the left and right. Yes, the number of discharged sheets is counted by the control program of the engine drive unit during continuous printing on a large number of sheets, and the number of discharged sheets during continuous printing is set to a preset value n (preset in the control program of the engine drive unit). If n exceeds a natural number), the controller will specify the doggytail position. , The set number m (m is a natural number) is characterized by a control program for performing discharging operation is switched to the right and left alternately position Dogiteru per engine drive unit is provided.

Further, the storage location of the set value n is set in a non-volatile memory on the engine drive unit, and the set value n is stored.
It is preferable that the user can set the numerical value of.

Further, it is preferable that the storage place of the set value m is set in a non-volatile memory on the engine drive section so that the user can set the numerical value of the set value m.

The set numerical value of the set value n or m may include "0" designating cancellation of the function.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG.
~ Referring to Fig. 6, there is shown one embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

First, a sheet discharge port and a sheet flow of a general laser printer will be mainly described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Reference numeral 10 in FIG. 1 is a laser printer main body. Reference numeral 11 in FIG. 1 denotes a large-volume sheet discharge unit (hereinafter, also referred to as LCOT).

In the laser printer to which the present embodiment is applied, the printing paper fed from the paper feed cassette 1 or 2 has an image formed on the paper surface when passing through the image forming section 3, and the main body first paper ejection The sheet is ejected to the mouth (4), the main body second ejection port (5), or the LCOT ejection tray 6.
The discharge tray 6 descends in the direction of the arrow according to the discharge amount,
As a result, it has the capacity to receive a large amount of paper (generally about 2000 sheets). Here, the designation of each discharge port is performed by the controller unit described later.

2A and 2B show the LCO.
It is the conceptual diagram which looked at T11 from the top. That is, 2 in FIG.
Reference numeral 1 is a main body of the LCOT, and 22 in FIG. 2 is a discharge tray of the LCOT. Here, when the LCOT 11 has a doggytail function, the LCOT body 21
Has a function of moving the position of the paper discharge tray 22, and sorts the paper discharge by moving the position of the paper discharge tray 22 alternately with FIG. 2 (A) and FIG. 2 (B).

In this case, the designation of the position of the paper discharge tray 22 is also performed by the controller unit described later, similarly to the designation of each paper discharge port described above. The original usage of this doggytail function is to sort the discharged paper into JOB units, so that the discharge tray 2 can be used during continuous discharge in one JOB.
The controller unit does not give an instruction to switch the position of 2.

Next, the connection structure of the present embodiment and the flow of the paper discharge control command will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 31 in FIG. 3 is a host computer. Reference numeral 32 in FIG. 3 is a laser printer device.

321 constituting the laser printer device 32
Is a controller unit (hereinafter, also referred to as a controller board). Reference numeral 322 is an engine drive unit (hereinafter, also referred to as an engine board). Reference numeral 323 is a first paper discharge port of the apparatus body. Reference numeral 324 is a second sheet discharge port of the apparatus body.
Reference numeral 325 is a connector for electrically connecting the main body drive unit 331 of the optional LCOT and the engine board 322. Reference numeral 326 is a connector for electrically connecting the optional LCOT doggytail function unit 332 and the engine board 322.

33 (inside the broken line) is an optional LCOT
It is. Reference numeral 331 is a main body drive unit of the optional LCOT. 332 is an optional LCOT doggytail function unit.

When the apparatus performs a printing operation, printing operation information (a) sent from the host computer 31.
The controller board 3 inside the laser printer device 32
21 receives. The controller board 321 generates a print command from the received print operation information (a) according to the specifications of the laser printer device 32, and outputs the print command to the video I.
It is sent to the engine board 322 via / F (b).

The engine board 322 is a video I / F.
The paper discharge operation is performed to the paper discharge outlet specified by the print command received via (b). Here, when the first sheet discharge port 323 of the apparatus body is designated, the engine board 322
Confirms through the information line (e) whether the discharge port is full, and if there is no problem in the discharge operation, discharges it to the first discharge port 323 of the apparatus main body through the information line (e). Start paper motion control. Here, when the second sheet discharge port 324 of the apparatus main body is designated, the engine board 322 confirms the full state of the sheet discharge port via the information line (d), and there is no problem in the sheet discharge operation. Information line (d)
The sheet discharge operation control is started for the second sheet discharge port 324 of the apparatus main body via.

Here, when the tray position A of the LCOT 33 is designated, the engine board 322 detects the position and fullness of the connection detection sheet discharge tray of the unit via the information line (g) and the information line (h). To confirm. If there is no problem in the paper feeding operation, the doggytail function unit 33 is connected via the information line (h) as necessary.
2 is controlled to move the paper discharge tray to the tray position A, and the body drive unit 331 of the LCOT of the paper discharge tray of the LCOT 33 is controlled to start the paper discharge operation for the tray position A.

Here, when the tray position B of the LCOT 33 is designated, the engine board 322 determines the position of the unit connection detection discharge tray and the full state of the unit through the information line (g) and the information line (h). To confirm. If there is no problem in the paper feeding operation, the doggytail function unit 33 is connected via the information line (h) as necessary.
2 is controlled to move the discharge tray to the tray position B, and the main body drive unit 331 of the LCOT of the discharge tray of the LCOT 33 is controlled to start the discharge operation to the tray position B.

Next, a configuration example of a signal system of the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. Reference numeral 41 in FIG. 4 denotes an engine board, which corresponds to 322 in FIG. 4 in FIG.
Reference numeral 2 denotes a first paper discharge port of the printer apparatus main body, which is denoted by 32 in FIG.
Equivalent to 3. Reference numeral 43 in FIG. 4 denotes a second sheet discharge port of the printer body, which corresponds to 324 in FIG. 44 in FIG. 4 is L
It is a drive unit of the COT body and corresponds to 331 in FIG.
Reference numeral 45 in FIG. 4 denotes a doggytail function unit of LCOT, which corresponds to 332 in FIG.

In FIG. 4, 411 is the engine board 3.
22 is a CPU, and basically controls the operation of the apparatus main body. A ROM 412 stores a program for the CPU 411 to operate. LCOT described later
A program for automatic tray position switching control is also resident here. 413 is a RAM, C
It serves as a working area for the PU 411 to operate.

A video I / F 414 is connected to the controller board 321 here. 415 is E
The content is rewritable by the CPU 411, which is a non-volatile memory such as an EPROM, and the content is retained even when the power of the device is turned off. 416 is a G.I. A,
Reception of information from each sheet discharge port and control of operation are performed via this. 417 is a CPU bus, and the CPU 41
1, ROM 412, RAM 413, video I / F 41
4, EEPROM 415 is connected by this, CPU
411 can access each of these elements.

Reference numeral 421 represents a sensor for detecting the fullness of the first sheet discharge port of the apparatus body. The CPU 411 sends the information of the sensor 421 to G. By reading through A416 via the CPU bus 417, it is possible to know whether or not the first paper discharge port of the apparatus main body is full. Reference numeral 422 is a solenoid for switching the paper discharge path to the first paper discharge port of the apparatus body. CPU4
11 is a G.11 via the CPU bus 417. The operation of the switching solenoid is controlled through A416. Reference numeral 423 is a paper ejection drive unit of the first paper ejection port of the apparatus body. CPU411
G.I. The operation of the main drive unit is controlled through A416.

Reference numeral 431 is a sensor for detecting the fullness of the second sheet discharge port of the entire apparatus. The CPU 411 sends the information of this sensor to the G. A
By reading through the CPU bus 417 through 416, it is possible to know whether or not the second sheet discharge port of the apparatus main body is full. Reference numeral 432 is a solenoid for switching the paper discharge path to the second paper discharge port of the apparatus body. CPU 411 is C
G.P. The operation of the switching solenoid is controlled through A416. Reference numeral 433 is a paper ejection drive unit of the second paper ejection port of the apparatus body. CPU411 is CP
G.V. via U-bus 417. The operation of the main drive unit is controlled through A416.

Reference numeral 441 is an LCOT connection detection sensor. The CPU 411 sends the information of the sensor 441 to the G. A4
By reading through 16 through the CPU bus 417, it is possible to know whether or not the LCOT is connected. Reference numeral 442 is an LCOT full detection sensor. CP
The U411 sends the information of this sensor to G. C through A416
It can be read through the PU bus 417 to know whether the LCOT discharge tray is full.

Reference numeral 443 is a solenoid for switching the paper discharge path to LCOT. The CPU 411 is the CPU bus 4
Via G.17. The operation of the switching solenoid is controlled through A416. Reference numeral 433 is an LCOT paper ejection drive unit. The CPU 411 is a G.G. The operation of the main drive unit is controlled through A416.

Reference numeral 451 is a detection sensor for the discharge tray position A of the LCOT. The CPU 411 is the sensor 45.
Information of G.1. It is read through A416 via the CPU bus 417, and it is known whether or not the discharge tray position of LCOT is in A. Reference numeral 452 is a detection sensor for the discharge tray position B of LCOT. The CPU 411 uses the G. It is read through A416 via the CPU bus 417, and it is determined whether the discharge tray position of LCOT is at B or not. Reference numeral 453 is an LCOT paper ejection drive unit. The CPU 411 is a G.G. A
The operation control of the main drive unit is performed through 416.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of the program embodiment of the present case, and this processing step is performed by the engine board 32.
2 is stored in the ROM 412. First, before starting the printing operation, the engine drive unit receives a printing command from the controller unit (S11). This command includes designation of the discharge port and designation of the discharge tray position when LCOT is designated.

Here, when the paper discharge port of the apparatus main body is designated (S12 or S13), the operation thereafter is the same as the conventional one. First, it is checked whether the discharge port of the designated apparatus body is full (S15). The case of NO will be described later. Next, the paper discharge path is switched to the designated main body paper discharge port (S16). After performing the print operation and the paper discharge operation, the process returns to step S11 to wait for the print command of the next page (S
17).

Next, when LCOT is designated (S1
4) will be described. When LCOT is specified for the paper discharge port, first, the automatic switching mode flag (described later) is set to 0.
Check if. The case where it is not 0 in step S21 (when it is already in the automatic switching mode) will be described later.

When the automatic switching mode flag is 0 in step S21 (when the automatic switching mode is not yet operating), it is first checked whether or not the LCOT unit is connected to the main unit (S2).
2). If step S22 is NO, it will be described later. If the unit was connected, check to see if the LCOT output tray is full. In the case of NO in step S23, it will be described later. If the discharge tray is not full, it is checked whether the position of the discharge tray is currently in position A (S24).

When the current position of the discharge tray is A, it is checked whether the position designated by the controller is A (S2).
5). If the designated position is A, then A
If not, the position of the discharge tray is moved to B (S26).

If the current position of the paper discharge tray is not A in step S24, it is checked whether the current position of the paper discharge tray is the current position B. In the case of NO in step S27, it will be described later. When the current position of the paper discharge tray is B, it is checked whether the position designated by the controller is B (S28).

If the designated position is B, the position of the discharge tray is moved to A if it is not B (S29). YES in step S25, S2
The sheet discharge tray is located at the position designated by the controller unit through either YES of S6, S28, or S29. Therefore, the paper discharge path is switched so that the paper discharge port becomes LCIT next (S30). Printing and paper discharge operations are performed (S31). If not, the automatic switching flag is cleared to 0. In the flow of explanation so far,
Since the flag is originally 0, it is meaningless processing, but after that, it becomes meaningful processing (S36).

The value of the number of discharged sheets counter C for LCOT is cleared to 0 (S37). If the job is not continuous in step S32, one JOB is completed (by going through steps S36 and S38), and the process returns to step S11 and waits for a print command for the next page. What passes this process is
This is the case where 1 JOB is the printing of only one sheet or the last one of the continuous printing.

In step S32, if the numbers are continuous, the value of the discharged sheet number counter C is incremented by 1.
Since the counter C is always cleared to C = 0 in the previous processing of the last sheet of JOB (S37), the initial value is 0 (S33).

Next, it is checked whether the automatic switching mode flag is 0. Since the flag is always cleared to 0 in the previous processing of the last paper of JOB (S36), the initial value is 0 (S34).

Here, when the automatic switching mode flag is 0 (when the automatic switching mode is not yet operating), it is checked whether the value of the discharged sheet number counter exceeds the set value n. The set value n is the set value of the number of ejected sheets until the mode in which the engine drive unit automatically switches the sheet ejection tray position when ejecting continuously (many sheets) for 1 JOB with respect to LCOT. is there. That is, 1 JOB is continuously LCO
When the sheet is discharged to T, the sheet is discharged to the sheet discharge position designated by the controller unit up to the set number n, and when it exceeds the set number, the sheet discharge tray position is set to the automatic switching mode. Here, the set value n is preset in the ROM 412 as a fixed value, or is set in the EEPROM 415 and can be set by the user (S38).

In step S38, if the value of the discharged sheet number counter C has not reached the set value n, the process returns to step S11 and the printing process is continued by the print command of the next page. Since the print request for the next page is already known in step S32, the actual process is that C> n in step S38 or the continuous print of 1JOB is completed before step S38 and step S38 is performed.
Until the process branches to the NO side at 32, S38 → S11
→ S14 → S21 to S30 → S31 → S32 → S33 →
The loop of S34 → S38 is repeated.

If C> n, the sheet discharge tray automatic switching flag is set to 1. That is, the subsequent processing is the one in which the automatic paper ejection tray switching mode is entered (S39). The value of the paper discharge counter C is cleared to 0 (S40). The output tray position of LCOT is currently A
If so, move to B, and if present, move to A (S4
1).

Next, returning to step S11, the print processing is continued by the print command for the next page. Here, since the paper discharge tray automatic switching flag has already been set to 1 (S39), the process for the subsequent pages branches to the NO side in step S21, and the flow proceeds from S21 to S30. Therefore, the processing of S22 to S29 is skipped, and the designation of the paper discharge tray position by the controller is ignored.
Further, since the paper discharge tray automatic switching flag has already been set to 1 (S39), also in step S34,
The process branches to the NO side and reaches step S35.

It is checked whether or not the value of the discharged sheet number counter C exceeds the set value m. The counter C is
In step S40 prior to this processing, the initial value is 0 because it is always cleared to C = 0. Here, the set value m is the number of output tray position switching after the output tray automatic switching mode is entered, and here, the set value m
Is preset in the ROM 412 as a fixed value, or is present in the EEPROM 415 and can be set by the user (S35).

Since the print request for the next page is already known in step S32, the value of C is m.
If not reached, S35 → S11 → S14 → S
21 → S30 → S31 → S32 → S33 → S34 → S3
5 is looped to repeat the print discharge operation, and
The count is increased to C> m, and the branch of S35 is changed to YES, or the same loop is repeated until the continuous printing of 1JOB is completed before that and the branch of S32 is changed to the NO side.

If the branch is changed to YES in step S35, the value of C is cleared to 0 (S40), the position of the discharge tray is moved (S41), and S35 →
S11 → S14 → S21 → S30 → S31 → S32 → S
The loop of 33 → S34 → S35 is repeated until the continuous printing of 1JOB is completed and the branch of S32 is changed to the NO side.

As a result, the printed sheets discharged to the sheet discharge tray are stacked as shown in FIG. That is, the discharged sheet bundle 61 in FIG. 6 is the number set by the set value n, and each discharged sheet bundle 62 in FIG. 6 is the number set by the set value m. In this way, by sorting and stacking the printed paper on the discharge tray, it becomes easy for the operator to take out the printed paper.

Finally, steps S15, S22, S2
3, NO branch in S27 is all due to the abnormal state of the device. Therefore, the fact is transmitted to the controller unit as an abnormal status, and the next instruction from the controller unit is awaited (S42).

In the above embodiment, by holding the value of the set number n in the non-volatile memory of the engine drive section, the user can arbitrarily set the value, including the cancellation of the function, and the power supply of the apparatus. Even if you turn off, the setting is retained. Further, by holding the value of the set number m in the non-volatile memory of the engine drive unit, the user can arbitrarily set the value including the cancellation of the function, and the setting can be made even when the apparatus is turned off. Is retained.

[0056]

As is clear from the above description, the image forming apparatus of the present invention counts the number of discharged sheets by the control program of the engine drive unit during continuous printing on a large number of sheets, and When the number of discharged sheets exceeds the preset value n (n is a natural number) preset in the control program of the engine drive unit, the set number m (m is a natural number) regardless of the position of the doggie tail specified by the controller unit. The engine drive unit is equipped with a control program for switching the position of the doggie tail between the left and right alternately for each sheet discharge operation.

Therefore, for a printer user who prints a large number of sheets equipped with the LCOT with a doggytail function,
When a large amount of paper is discharged per job, it is possible to sort the discharged paper in units of the number of sheets that the operator can easily hold when taking out the discharged paper. In addition, this function can be realized by adding software for the engine drive unit without adding special parts. It is possible to improve the function of the device and improve the usability for the user without increasing the cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an embodiment in which an image forming apparatus of the present invention is applied to a laser printer.

FIG. 2 is a top view showing the positional relationship between the large-volume sheet discharge unit and the sheet discharge tray of FIG. 1 in (A) and (B).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical connection configuration example of the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the signal system of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation example.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a state of stacking on a discharge tray.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2 Paper feed cassette 3 Image forming unit 4, 5, 42, 43, 323, 324 Paper ejection port 6 Paper ejection tray 10, 32 Laser printer device 11 Large volume paper ejection unit (LCOT) 21 LCOT main body 22 LCOT ejection Paper tray 31 Host computer 41,322 Engine drive unit (engine board) 44,331 Main body drive unit 45,332 Doggytail function unit 321 Controller unit (Controller board) 325,326 Connector

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location G03G 15/00 530 G03G 15/00 530

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A controller unit for generating a dot signal for printing and a print command for an engine drive unit in response to an image code and a print command sent from a host device, and a dot signal and a print command sent from the controller unit. In an image forming apparatus that has an engine drive section that performs printing operation according to the above and a large-volume sheet discharge unit that has a doggytail function that sorts the discharged sheets to the left and right, the control program of the engine drive section discharges the sheets during continuous printing on multiple sheets. The number of sheets is counted, and when the number of discharged sheets during the continuous printing exceeds a preset value n (n is a natural number) preset in the control program of the engine drive unit, the position of the doggie tail by the controller unit Regardless of the designation, the doggie tail po- sition is set for each set number m (m is a natural number). A control program for performing discharging operation is switched to the right and left alternately Deployment, image forming apparatus, wherein the engine drive unit is provided. 2. The image according to claim 1, wherein a storage location of the set value n is set in a non-volatile memory on the engine drive unit, and a user can set a numerical value of the set value n. Forming equipment. 3. The image according to claim 1, wherein a storage location of the set value m is set in a non-volatile memory on the engine drive unit, and a user can set a numerical value of the set value m. Forming equipment. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the set numerical value of the set value n or m includes “0” designating cancellation of a function.