JPS644919B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic paper loading method in a printer that uses electrophotography or the like and has a relatively long paper feeding distance.

Conventionally, when loading paper in non-impact printers that have a transfer section, a fixing section, and a stacker, paper has to be loaded entirely by hand in order to accurately align the paper folds with the printer's scale marked for each paper length. Ta. Loading by hand takes a long time to load, and in addition to the paper path required to feed the paper, it is also necessary to fold the leading 2 to 3 pages of the paper in the stacker in advance, which may result in pages that cannot be printed. It had the disadvantage of creating a large number of .

Prior to a detailed description of automatic loading, a paper feeding system of a typical non-impact printer will be explained with reference to FIG.

As shown in bold lines in FIG. 1, the continuous slip paper passes through the upper and lower tractors 4 of the paper guide 9, passes between the photosensitive drum 1 and the upper and lower tractors 7 and 8, passes through the upper tractor 5, and then passes through the buffer arm 10. passing over the top, sliding over the suction part 11 and the brake heater 12,
between the heat roller 13 and the backup roller 14, and between the scuff roller 16 and the scuff idler 1.
5, between the plastic plate 18 and plastic idler 17, passes through the gap between the swing fins 19, and is folded onto the stacker table 21. Here, the upper and lower tractors 4 and 5 and the heat roller 13 are driven so as to directly regulate the speed and position of the paper, and the scuff roller 16 and plastic roller 18 apply driving force to the paper, but together with a pair of idlers, they are simply driven to control the speed and position of the paper. It has the effect of pulling. Tractors 4 and 5 usually move at a constant speed (for example, 35 inches/sec) during printing, but
The rotation of the heat roller 13 is controlled while monitoring the passing time of the feed hole by a feed hole monitoring sensor in the suction section 11, and the heat roller 13 rotates while correcting the feed amount due to an error in the heat roll diameter. The buffer arm 10 is for absorbing the tension and loosening of the paper due to minute differences in the feed amount from time to time between the tractors 4, 5 and the heat roller 13.

The photosensitive drum 1 rotates at the same exact circumferential speed as the paper speed (for example, 35 inches/sec), and the photosensitive conductor deposited on the surface is charged to several hundred volts by the charger 2, which is determined by computer output. When the modulated laser beam L is irradiated, the charged potential of that portion decreases and a latent image is created. When this latent image passes through the developing device 3, toner adheres only to the latent image portion, and this toner is carried to the retractor portions 7 and 8 and transferred onto the continuous paper 23 by the electrostatic voltage of the transfer corotron 6. paper 2
The toner forming the visible image on 3 is preheated by a preheater 12 as the paper is fed, and then heated by a heat roller 13.
The image is fixed under pressure and heat between the back-up roller 14 and the back-up roller 14.

The above explanation is about the process during continuous printing, but in order to print at a specified position on a page of paper, the following preparations are required before starting paper feeding. .

(1) The fold of the paper must be at a certain point near the transfer position.

(2) The other folds of the paper should be at the points where the heat roller 13 and the back up roller 14 are in contact.

(3) The first 1 to 3 pages of the continuous paper are already in the stacker and the swing fin 19 is in a standby position so that it can move in the direction of folding the paper.

In order to particularly satisfy (1) and (2) above, the distance along the paper conveyance path from the retractors 7 and 8 to the contact points of the heat roller 13 and back-up roller 14 must be an integer of the length of one page of paper. Must be double.

An object of the present invention is to simply load paper manually onto a tractor in a transfer section, and to transport and transport other paper.
The purpose is to automatically perform positioning in a fixing device, paper start edge processing in a stacker, etc., to save paper loading time, and to minimize the number of pure white pages required for preparation before printing.

The present invention enables a fixing device to be moved in the paper feeding direction in a normal non-impact printer that performs heat and pressure fixing in order to perform a series of automatic loading operations from manually loading paper to a tractor to pre-print preparation. A feed roller device that helps transport the paper at the inlet of the fuser is installed so that it operates only when paper is loaded and is retracted during printing, and the paper feed amount is controlled by a signal (bit string) indicating the paper length. It is.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 2, the buffer arm 10 has the function of stretching the paper upward from the bottom surface of the paper in the normal feeding state, but when the paper is automatically loaded, when the starting edge of the paper passes through the buffer arm, it may get in the way of the paper path. The structure is such that it is temporarily locked and hidden behind the paper slider 32 to prevent this from happening. When paper loading is completed, this lock is released and the buffer arm operates in the same way as when loading the paper manually.

The paper slider 32 is a metal plate with a smooth surface located in front of the upper tractor 5, and must maintain an inclination so that the leading edge of the paper can slide smoothly when the paper is fed by the tractor. An alignment mark 33 should be marked on this portion to determine the position of the leading edge of the paper at the start of automatic loading.

The suction section 11, the preheater 12, the heat roll 13, the backup roller 14, the scuff idler 15, and the scuff roller 16 are housed in a fixing stand 43 consisting of one frame, and the feed idler 41, feed roller 42, and feed guide 4
4 is added, and this fixing table is mounted so as to be movable in the direction of the tractor or the direction of the puller (left and right on the paper surface of Fig. 2) by the driving force of a motor, etc., and is moved to the position specified by the position sensor. Constructed so that it can be moved. The feed idler 41 is configured to create and close a gap (10 to 20 mm) between it and the feed roller 42 using a cam mechanism or a tension mechanism using a solenoid.

The back up roller 14 is also configured to create a gap (10 to 20 mm) with the heat roller 13 and close it.

The feed roller is driven by a drive motor, stopped, or controlled by an external signal.

It is desirable that the back up roller is also driven with a gap formed between it and the heat roller.

An electromagnetic valve 45 is inserted between the suction section 11 and the blower 21, and the valve is also turned on and off by an external signal.

Automatic paper loading is performed in the following sequence.

(1) Manually set the paper on the tractor. This method is the same as setting paper on a normal line printer. The tractor presses the switch or, if equipped with a manual knob, turns the knob to align the leading edge of the paper with the alignment mark 33.
All subsequent paper control in the printer is performed using this position as the starting point.

(2) In order to deal with unexpected accidents, etc., in the case of automation, a method that allows switching to manual operation is often taken. In order to designate the control circuit to perform automatic loading from now on, for example, a switch named "LOAD" is pressed. By pressing this switch, the solenoid 35 is energized and the hook 36 is activated.
is pulled toward the solenoid against the return spring 37.

(3) When the buffer arm is pushed down by hand, the hook 36 is caught on a notch that is a part of the buffer arm, and the buffer arm is locked in a position hidden behind the paper slider.

(4) The entire fixing table 43 moves toward the tractor and stops at a position where the gap (l shown in FIG. 2) between the paper slider 32 and the feed guide 44 becomes 5 to 10 mm. If the tip of the paper slider is set at least 3 to 5 mm higher than the tip of the feed guide, the gap l for feeding the tip of normal continuous slip paper will be 5 to 10 mm.
Even if there is a problem, it will be executed smoothly.

(5) Feed idler 41 is feed roller 42
However, after the advancement of the fixing table is completed (process 4), it is closed by the action of a cam or a tensile force using a solenoid or the like. At the same time as closing, the feed roller 42 begins to rotate. The feed idler idles due to the rotation of the feed roller.

Backup roller 14 is heat roller 13
The backup propeller starts rotating by the idling motor 46 while it remains open.

The scuff roller 16 also starts rotating. Therefore, the scaf idler 15 idles. The plastic puller 18 is also driven, and the plastic idler 17 also idles.

(6) When the above preparations are completed, the tractor starts feeding the paper. The leading edge of the paper is alignment mark 33
It starts from the paper slider 32, jumps over the gap l, reaches the feed guide 44, enters between the rotating feed roller 42 and feed idler 41, is urged by the rollers, crosses the suction section 11, and reaches the preheater. 12, passes between the heat roller 13 and back up roller 14, and enters between the scuff roller 16 and scuff idler 15, where the paper is also biased and slides on the stacker guide 47.
Get between Pura 18 and Pura Idra 17,
It is energized again and enters between the swing fins 19 and finally reaches the stacker.

Now, the leading edge of the paper departs from alignment mark 33,
After the paper enters the stacker, the amount by which the paper is fed until the crease of the number of pages counting from the leading edge comes directly under the heat roll 13 can be uniquely determined by geometric calculation of the paper conveyance path.
Although this value differs depending on the page length of the paper, it can be realized according to each paper length by storing the value in a read-only memory and comparing the paper feed amount of the tractor using a counter or a comparator. The buffer arm does not operate during loading, and the paper is pulled at a constant tension by the feed roller, scuff roller, and puller.
The fold of the paper can be brought directly below the heat roller 13 almost accurately within the expansion/contraction error caused by the temperature and humidity of the paper.

(7) The electromagnetic valve 45 opens the valve, the paper is sucked by negative pressure at the suction section, and the paper is moved to the fixing table (more precisely, the suction section) by the frictional force caused by the suction.
Fixed.

(8) Rotation of the feed roller 42 is stopped.

(9) The solenoid 35 is de-energized and the return spring 3
7, the hook 36 releases the lock of the buffer arm, and the buffer arm applies tension to the paper between the tractor and the suction section due to the action of the spring.

(10) The tractor continues to feed the paper and stops when the fold of the paper reaches the transfer position. The feed amount at this time varies depending on the page length of the paper, as in the feed amount in Section 6, but it is an amount that can be uniquely determined, and as before, it can be accurately controlled by the ROM and counter or comparator. be.

(11) At the same time as the tractor is fed in item 10, the fixing table 43
moves toward the plastic side and stops at a position determined by the page length of the paper being used.

(12) The behavior of the swing fin inside the stacker is to push the starting edge of the paper to the right side inside the stacker, and then control the paper to fold according to the amount of paper feed by the tractor.

(13) The idling motor 46 is stopped.

The series of automatic loading operations is now complete, and it is possible to immediately start printing by issuing a command to start printing.

The above operation is shown in a time chart in Fig. 3 to make it easier to understand.

The operation of the tractor to feed the paper is the control of the feed amount normally used in line printers, and the rotational stop of each roller is based on the on/off operation of ordinary amplifiers or relays, etc., and the operation sequence of each drive unit is extremely short. This can be realized using a normal sequence circuit. Position control of the cam and fixing table can be easily realized using a commonly used optical sensor or a combination of a micro switch and a cam.

4 and 5 are shown as examples of specific circuits for realizing this sequence. 101 is a "LOAD" switch attached to the operation panel, and when pressed, flip-flop (hereinafter referred to as F, F) 1
03 is set and the 1 output terminal becomes "1".
(Explanation will be made assuming that there is already paper on the tractor). At this time, the buffer arm lock solenoid 35 is energized via F, F104, and amplifier 105. Then, when the buffer arm 10 is pushed by hand, the hook 36 locks the buffer arm 10. At this time, a cam provided on a portion of the buffer arm 10 turns on a buffer arm switch 107 (not shown). LOAD switch 101
When the outputs of FF103, which remembers that the button was pressed, and FF108, which stores buffer arm switch 107 ON, are both "1", FF109 is turned on, and the amplifier 110 rotates the fuser motor 111, and the fuser table 43 is turned on. Carry it to the tractor side.

The encoder or cam 112 rotates in conjunction with the shaft of the motor 111, and the fixing table 43 is at a fixed position (second
The FF 9, which senses that the gap l in the figure has reached the position where it is reduced, is turned off and the rotation of the fixing machine motor 111 is stopped. Rotation stops (FF109 turns off)
Since the FF 114 is set and the feed roller closing solenoid 115 is energized, the feed idler 41 comes into contact with the feed roller 42. When the feed idler 41 closes
The FFs 116, 117, and 118 are set, and the motor 12 is powered by the amplifiers 119, 120, and 121.
2, 123, and 124 are driven to rotate the feed roller 42, scuff roller 16, and plastic roller 18, respectively (although not shown, the back-up roller is also rotated along with the feed roller).

And the output of FF118 also sets FF131, OR gate 132, FF133, amplifier 13
4, the tractor feed motor 135 is driven.
As described above, the tractors 4 and 5 are required to feed the leading edge of the paper 23 into the stacker 22 and to feed the paper until the fold line is directly below the heat roller 13.
For this purpose, it is assumed that the paper length is first specified by the switch 138, and the ROM 139 stores a bit indicating a fixed paper feed amount depending on each paper length.
The bit is transferred to 2. Tractor feed motor 13
The encoder 136 directly connected to the axis of
2 and compare it with the number of bits indicating the previous paper feed amount. When the specified feed amount is reached, the comparator 142 outputs an output, thereby causing the FF
133 to stop the motor 135.

The output of the comparator 142 sets the FF 125 and energizes the coil of the electromagnetic valve 127 to start suction at the suction section by the amplifier 126. Also, the output of the same 142 resets the FF 116 and stops the rotation of the feed roller motor 22.
The "0" side output of FF116 resets FF104 and cuts off the current of solenoid 35, and hook 36 is returned by the force of return spring 37, and buffer arm 1
The 0 lock is removed.

FF104 is reset and its “0” output
The FF 144 is set and the fixing table motor 146 is operated by the amplifier 145, and at the same time the FF 133 is set again and the tractor motor 135 is operated. Fixing table motor 146, tractor motor 135
The operation of is specified by switch 138.
The position is controlled by the contents of the ROM. The tractor motor 135 inputs the contents of the ROM 150 into a comparator 153 and compares it with the number of pulses from an encoder 136 directly connected to the motor shaft.When the output of the comparator 53 reaches the target amount, the FF 33 is reset and the tractor motor 135 is stopped. Similarly, the movement of the fixing table motor transfers the contents of the ROM 154 to a comparator 156, compares it with the output pulse of an encoder 158 interlocking with the motor 146, resets the FF 144 that reaches the target amount, and stops the motor 146.

Next, modified embodiments of the present invention will be described.

(1) Although it has been explained that there is only one alignment mark at the beginning of the paper for any page length, the same control is possible even if it is set at a different position for each page length.

(2) Although we have given an example in which the fixing table is movable, in printers where the paper length is limited or there is no need to place the crease directly under the heat roll, the tractor control sequence in the first half can be omitted.

(3) A "LOAD" switch has been introduced as an automatic/manual switching means, but automatic loading can be performed under other logical conditions, such as when it is detected that there is paper on the tractor and there is no paper on the plastic or buffer arm. Of course it is possible to start.

(4) The sequence was started by pressing down on the buffer arm, but this is also the case if another manual switch is used as a signal to start loading.

(5) The same sequence configuration is possible even if the number of stages of rollers used in the present invention is increased or decreased.

(6) It is a normal means to provide a time monitoring and paper presence/absence detection mechanism for each step to monitor the complete execution of the sequence, and the explanation has only described the final means necessary for loading.

(7) Although an amplifier is used to drive the motor in the specific circuit, the same effect can be obtained even if a relay is used instead of the amplifier to drive the AC motor.

(8) Although it has been expressed that separate motors are used for the forward and backward directions as the fixing table motor, it is clear that it can be made into one by using a reversible motor.

(9) Motors that operate at the same timing as the sequence can share a drive amplifier or drive relay, and it is clear that one motor can rotate two or more rollers.

It takes 3 to 4 sheets per time to load paper into a large non-impact printer that requires traditional manual operation.
I needed a minute. Automatic loading according to the present invention can reduce loading time to 1 to 2 minutes. Furthermore, since the operator can leave loading during the automatic loading period to perform other tasks, such as preparing the next sheet, machines with faster printing speeds have better performance and can reduce the operator's actual working time. .

Further, the number of blank pages required for loading can be set to the minimum number determined mechanically, and paper waste can be kept to a minimum.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional manual loading non-impact printer. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a non-impact printer using the automatic loading method according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a time chart showing the operation sequence of each part in the present invention. 4 and 5 are control circuit diagrams for realizing the operation sequence shown in FIG. 3.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 The electronic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum is developed with toner, the continuous paper is transported by a tractor installed on the front side of the transfer section in the paper transport path, the toner image is transferred at the transfer section, and the paper is moved in the paper transport direction. In a non-impact printer that performs post-processing such as folding the paper in a stacker after fixing it under heat and pressure using a heat roller installed on a fixing table, the paper is loaded into a tractor and the leading edge of the paper is transferred by driving the tractor. The paper is fed into the stacker via the fixing table, and when the fold line of the paper reaches just below the heat roller of the fixing table, the tractor is stopped and the paper is fixed on the fixing table, and the tractor is driven again to remove the paper. When the paper fold reaches the transfer section, the tractor is stopped, and then the fixing table is moved away from the transfer section, and the paper transport path from the transfer section to the heat roller is set to be an integral multiple of the paper page length. An automatic paper loading method characterized by the following.