JP2000007174A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide an image forming apparatus excellent in work efficiency. For example, when a second paper feed tray 55 feeds paper among a plurality of paper feed trays 37, 55, and 57 that can be attached to and detached from a main body 1, a CPU 7 reads the second paper feed tray 55.
Then, the LLEDs 49 and 71 of the first paper feed tray 37 located above the second paper feed tray 55 are turned on to notify the user that paper is being fed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and a laser printer, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus which performs predetermined control in accordance with the state of conveyance of a sheet feeding tray for feeding sheets.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-10366, a plurality of paper feed trays are provided detachably provided on a main body, and each paper feed tray extends to the main body. 2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus having a conveyance path for a series of sheets is known.

[0003]

However, in the above-described image forming apparatus, when a specific paper feed tray is performing a paper feed operation, a paper feed tray above the specific paper feed tray is detached. Cannot be fed. Further, if a user removes a paper feed tray above the specific paper feed tray while a specific paper feed tray is feeding paper, the paper conveyance path is cut off and a jam occurs. . As described above, there is a problem that the work efficiency of the image forming apparatus is not sufficient because the paper cannot be fed or a jam occurs.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus having excellent work efficiency.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of paper feed trays having a series of paper transport paths to a main body and the presence / absence of paper transport in each paper feed tray are detected. The image forming apparatus includes a detection unit, a control unit that performs control in accordance with information from each detection unit, and a display unit that displays the presence or absence of conveyance based on a signal from the control unit. When the paper is fed from a specific paper tray among these paper trays, the detecting means detects whether or not a specific paper tray is conveyed, and the control means includes The display means of the paper tray and all the paper feed trays located above the specific paper feed tray indicate that the paper is being conveyed.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when a specific paper feed tray among a plurality of paper feed trays feeds paper, the control means controls the specific paper feed tray and the specific paper feed tray. Since it is displayed on each display means of all the paper feed trays positioned above that the paper is being conveyed, it is possible to easily determine which paper feed tray is being conveyed. The display can be performed by, for example, turning on an LED. Further, since the paper feed tray being transported can be easily determined, it is possible to prevent the user from opening the paper feed tray being transported while the paper is being transported,
There is no interruption of the paper transport path. As a result, the sheet feeding operation is not interrupted, and the work efficiency is improved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there are provided a plurality of paper feed trays having a series of paper transport paths leading to the main body, detecting means for detecting whether or not paper is transported in each paper feed tray, and detecting means. An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that performs control in accordance with information from the display unit; and a display unit that displays the presence or absence of conveyance based on a signal from the control unit.Each paper feed tray includes the display unit, When paper is fed from a specific paper tray among these paper trays, the detection unit detects whether or not the specific paper tray is conveyed, and the control unit detects a position below the specific paper tray. It is characterized in that the not-yet-conveyed state is displayed on the display means of all the paper feed trays.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when a specific paper feed tray among the plurality of paper feed trays feeds paper, the control means controls all the paper feeds located below the specific paper feed tray. Since the not-yet-conveyed state is displayed on each display means of the paper tray, it is possible to easily determine which sheet-supply tray is not-yet-conveyed. The display can be performed by, for example, turning off the LED. Further, since the unconveyed paper tray can be easily determined, the user can open the unconveyed paper tray and carry out work such as replenishing paper while the paper is being conveyed, so that the work efficiency is further improved.

The invention described in claim 3 is the first or second invention.
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit is provided in each of the plurality of paper feed trays, and when any of the detection units detects a paper jam, the paper supply corresponding to the detection unit is performed. The paper jam is displayed on the display means of the tray.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when a paper jam is detected, the display means of the paper feed tray displays the fact by, for example, blinking of an LED, and the paper jam is displayed in any paper feed tray. Can be easily determined. Thereby, maintenance can be performed promptly, and work efficiency is further improved.

Note that the jam detection is performed, for example, after the detecting means of a specific paper feed tray (hereinafter, referred to as an n-th paper feed tray) detects a sheet, and then detects the (n + 1) -th paper tray above the n-th paper feed tray. If the sheet feed tray detecting means does not detect a sheet after a certain period of time, it detects that the n-th sheet feed tray is jammed.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a laser printer 17 (see FIG. 2) as an image forming apparatus. As shown, the laser printer 17 is connected to the host computer 1 for transmitting and receiving data.
6 and the laser printer main body 1. The laser printer main body 1 includes a controller 2 for performing image processing, an engine 3 for performing image formation, an engine board 4 for controlling the engine 3, and an operation panel 5 for a user to input.

The engine 3 includes a writing unit 12 including an LD and a polygon motor, and a sequence device group 13 for controlling an engine sequence of a fixing system, an image system, and a drive system.
And sensors 14 for checking the paper path and the sequence state (this includes all sensors described later).

The engine board 4 controls the entire engine 3 according to a memory (ROM) 9 in which a control program for the engine 3 is stored, a program in the memory 9, a mode instruction from the operation panel 5, and a command from the controller 2. A central processing unit (CPU) 7 as control means;
A work memory of the CPU 7 and an input buffer (RAM) 8 for input data; a non-volatile memory (EEPROM) 10 for storing an error history of the engine 3 and contents of a mode instruction from the operation panel 5; DIP switch (DIP-SW) 11 for setting mode
And Further, the laser printer main body 2 has an input / output interface (I / O) 15 between the host computer 15 and the controller 2.

FIG. 2 schematically shows the internal structure of the laser printer 17. The laser printer 17 includes the laser printer main body 1 and a multi-stage paper feed unit 19. As shown in the figure, a laser printer main body 1 irradiates a document stacked on a contact glass with light and reads a reflected light (image information) of the document. A laser based on the image information read by the reading unit is provided. A laser optical system 21 having a writing unit for outputting a beam and a mirror for guiding the laser beam in a predetermined direction is provided.

A photoreceptor unit 23 is disposed near the laser optical system 21. The photoreceptor unit 23 includes a photoreceptor drum 25 and a developing device 27. The photosensitive drum 25 is irradiated with a laser beam from the laser optical system 21, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to image information is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 25. The developing device 27 supplies a toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 25, and forms a toner image on the photosensitive drum 25 by visualizing the electrostatic latent image.

A transfer charger 29 is disposed at a position facing the photosensitive drum 25.
Transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 25 to a sheet.
Above the photosensitive drum 25, a fixing device 3 for fixing the toner image transferred to the sheet by the transfer charger 29.
1 is arranged.

On the side of the fixing device 31, a discharge roller group 33 for discharging the sheet fed from the fixing device 31 to the outside of the apparatus main body is arranged. Above the discharge roller group 33,
A paper discharge sensor 35 for detecting the discharge of the paper is provided, and by this paper discharge sensor 35, the end of the paper feeding can be determined.

On the lower side of the laser printer main body 1,
A detachable first paper tray 37 is provided. The first paper tray 37 includes a first paper stacking unit 39, a first tray set sensor 41, a first transport roller 43, and a first registration roller. A group 45, a registration sensor 47, and a first LED (light emitting element) 49 as a display unit.

The first sheet stacking section 39 is where sheets are stacked, and the sheet pulled out from the first sheet stacking section 39 is transported by the first transport rollers 43 to the first registration roller group 4.
5 is conveyed. The first registration roller group 45 includes:
The sheet fed by the first transport roller 43 is sent out to the photosensitive unit 23.

The first tray set sensor 41 is located between the first sheet stacking section 39 and the first transport roller 43, and detects whether or not the first sheet tray 37 is attached or detached.

The registration sensor 47 is provided between the nips of the registration roller group 45, and detects a sheet fed to the first registration roller group 45.

The first LED 49 is provided on a side surface of the first paper feed tray 37, and emits light (lights up) when the first paper feed tray 37 is performing a paper feeding operation, and is feeding paper. Show that. When the first LED 49 detects a paper jam (when the registration sensor 47 is ON), the registration sensor 4 detects the occurrence of a paper jam.
It is made to blink in conjunction with 7. Also,
If the registration sensor 47 does not detect the jammed paper when the jam occurs (the registration sensor is OFF),
It can be turned off.

As a method of detecting a jam, for example, if the registration sensor 47 detects a sheet, and if the sheet is still detected after a certain period of time, the sheet is detected as a jam sheet ( The registration sensor 47 is ON). Further, if a sheet is interposed for a certain period of time between the first transport sensor 69 and the registration sensor 47 described later,
There is also a method of detecting that this paper is jammed paper, and either of the above two methods may be applied.

A manual paper feed tray 51 is arranged above the first LED 49, and the paper stacked on the manual paper feed tray 51 is sent to the main body by a pickup roller 53.

In addition to the first paper feed tray 37 described above, a multi-stage paper feed section 19 is attached to the laser printer main body 1 as shown by an arrow in the drawing. The multi-stage paper feed unit 19 includes a second paper feed tray 55 and a third paper feed tray 57.

The second paper feed tray 55 is provided with the second paper stacking section 5.
9, a first paper feed stage set sensor 61, a second tray set sensor 63, a second transport roller 65, a second registration roller 67, a first vertical transport sensor 69, a second LED 7
1 and a first lock 73.

The paper fed from the second paper stacking section 59 is sent to the laser printer main body 1 via the second transport roller 65 and the second registration roller 67.

The first paper feed stage set sensor 61 is a sensor that is disposed above the second paper stacking section 59 and detects the first paper tray 37 above the second paper tray 55. CP
U7 determines whether the lowermost sheet feed tray is in response to a signal from this sensor 61 or a second sheet feed stage set sensor 77 described later.
It recognizes that it is the second paper feed tray.

The second tray set sensor 63 is a sensor for detecting the state of attachment / detachment of the second paper feed tray 55, and the first vertical transport sensor 69 is a sensor for detecting paper fed to the second registration roller 67. .

The second LED 71 is disposed on one side surface of the second paper feed tray 55. When the second paper feed tray 55 is performing a paper feeding operation, it emits light to indicate that paper is being fed. indicate. The second LED 71 is connected to the first LE described above.
Like D49, it is turned on and off in conjunction with the first vertical conveyance sensor 69.

The first lock 73 is provided on the upper surface of the second paper feed tray 55.
Move 3 up and down. That is, the first lock 73 locks the second paper feed tray 55 and the first paper feed tray 37 so that they cannot be separated or can be separated.

Similarly to the above-described second paper feed tray 55, the third paper feed tray 57 includes a third paper stacking unit 75, a second paper feed stage set sensor 77, and a third tray set sensor 79.
, A third transport roller 81 and a third registration roller 83
, A second vertical transport sensor 84, a third LED 85, and a second lock 87. This third paper tray 57
For the description of the configuration of the second paper feed tray 55
Since these members are the same as those described above, their description is omitted. In addition, each tray 5
Reference numerals 5 and 57 denote a series of transport paths leading to the laser printer main body 1, and a dashed line in FIG.

Next, various controls performed by the CPU 7 according to the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. The various controls include a first control that is performed during normal sheet passing and a second control that is performed when a jam occurs. The description of these controls will be made on the assumption that the first paper feed tray 37 arranged in the main body is the first tier, an arbitrary paper feed tray is the n tier, and the last tier is the N th tier.

First, the first control will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step S1, it is determined whether or not the n-th stage is a paper feed tray for feeding paper. If the n-th stage is not a paper feed tray, the process proceeds to step S3. Also, n
If the stage is a paper feed tray, the process proceeds to step S2, and in step S2, L of the first through n-th paper feed trays
The control is ended by lighting the ED.

In step S3, it is determined whether or not the (n + 1) th stage is a paper feed tray. If the (n + 1) th stage is not a paper feed tray, the flow advances to step S5. If the (n + 1) -th stage is a paper feed tray, the process proceeds to step S4.
The control is ended by lighting the ED.

In step S5, it is determined whether or not the (n + 2) -th stage is a paper feed tray. If the (n + 2) -th stage is not a paper feed tray, the process proceeds to the next step, and the same control is repeated thereafter. move on. If the (n + 2) -th paper feed tray is a paper feed tray, the process proceeds to step S6.
The control is ended by lighting D.

In step Sn, it is determined whether or not the Nth stage is a paper feed stage. If the Nth stage is not a paper feed tray, the control is terminated. If the Nth stage is a paper feed tray, Proceeds to step Sn + 1.

In step Sn + 1, the LEDs of the first to Nth paper feed trays are turned on, and the control is terminated.

In the first embodiment, if the second paper feed tray 55 is the n-th paper feed tray, step S1
, It is determined that the second paper feed tray 55 is the n-th paper feed tray, and the process proceeds to step S2. In step S2, the first sheet tray 37 and the second sheet tray 5
Turn on the LEDs 49 and 71 of the fifth and (first to n-th stages)
The control ends.

As described above, when the second paper feed tray 55 feeds paper, the CPU 7 sets the LEs of the second paper feed tray 55 and the first paper feed tray 37 located above the second paper feed tray.
By lighting D49 and D71, the user can easily determine which paper feed tray is being conveyed. In addition, since it can be easily determined that the second paper feed tray 55 is being conveyed, the user can feed the paper feed tray 3 while the paper is being conveyed.
7, 55 is prevented from being opened. Further, since the paper feed trays 37 and 55 during paper feeding are prevented from being opened, it is possible to prevent the paper feeding path from being blocked. In addition, since the paper feeding operation is not interrupted, the work efficiency is improved.

Although the above-described control is a control in a normal paper passing state, a jam may occur in the laser printer 17. In this case, when one of the transport sensors detects the jammed paper, the LED corresponding to each transport sensor that is detecting the jammed paper blinks. For example, when the first vertical conveyance sensor 69 of the second paper feed tray 55 detects a jammed paper (ON state), the second LED 71 blinks.

The second control performed by the CPU 7 in this case will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step S21, it is determined whether or not a jam has occurred.
Proceed to step S23. If no jam has occurred, the process proceeds to step S22, and in step S22, the normal sheet passing is performed, and the control ends.

In step S23, it is determined whether or not the registration sensor 47 has detected (ON) the jammed paper. If not, the flow advances to step S25. If the registration has been detected, the process proceeds to step S24, where the LED 49 of the first paper feed tray (first tray) 37 in which the registration sensor 47 is disposed is set.
Blinks, and the control ends.

In step S25, it is determined whether or not the n-th stage conveyance sensor has detected a jammed sheet. If not, the process proceeds to step S27. If it is detected, the process proceeds to step S26, in which the LED of the n-th paper tray is blinked, and the control is terminated.

In step S27, it is determined whether or not the conveyance sensor of the (n + 1) th stage has detected the jammed paper. If not, the process proceeds to the next step, and the same control is repeated thereafter to repeat step Sn. Proceed to. If it has been detected, the process proceeds to step S28, in which the LED of the (n + 1) th paper tray is blinked and the control is terminated.

In step Sn, it is determined whether or not the conveyance sensor of the Nth stage has detected a jammed paper. If not, the flow proceeds to step Sn + 2. Further, when the detection is performed, the process proceeds to Step Sn + 1, and the process proceeds to Step Sn + 1.
At +1 the LED of the N-th paper feed tray is blinked, and the process proceeds to Step Sn + 2.

In step Sn + 2, the LEDs other than the blinking LED are turned off, and the control is terminated.

In the first embodiment, assuming that the first vertical transport sensor 69 is the n-th transport sensor, the first transport sensor 69 detects jammed paper in step S25 through steps S21 and S23. (O
N), and in step S26, the second LE
The control is ended by blinking D71.

As described above, when the first vertical conveyance sensor 69 detects jammed paper, the LED 71 of the second paper feed tray 55
Blinks, it is possible to easily determine that jammed paper is present in the second paper feed tray 55. This makes it easier to remove jammed paper from the second paper feed tray 55, further improving work efficiency.

Next, the second embodiment will be described sequentially.
The same parts as those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In the second embodiment, each LED 49,
71 and 85 are different from the first embodiment only in that they are always lit, instead of being lit during paper feeding as in the first embodiment.

The control performed by the CPU 7 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step S11, it is determined whether or not the n-th stage is a paper feed tray. If the n-th stage is not a paper feed tray, the flow advances to step S13. If the n-th stage is a paper feed tray, the process proceeds to step S12, and the process proceeds to step S12.
In 12, the LEs of the feed trays from the (n + 1) th stage to the Nth stage
D is turned off, and the control is terminated.

In step S13, it is determined whether or not the (n + 1) th stage is a paper feed tray. If the (n + 1) th stage is not a paper feed tray, the flow advances to step S15. Also, n + 1
If the stage is the paper feed tray, the process proceeds to step S14, and in step S14, the LEDs of the n + 2 to N-th paper feed trays are turned off, and the control ends.

In step S15, it is determined whether or not the (n + 2) -th stage is a paper feed tray. If the (n + 2) -th stage is not a paper feed tray, the process proceeds to the next step, and the same control is repeated thereafter. move on. If the (n + 2) -th stage is the paper feed tray, the process proceeds to step S16, in which the LEDs of the (n + 3) -th to (N) -th paper feed trays are turned off, and the control is terminated.

In step S1n, it is determined whether or not the N-th stage is a paper feed tray. If the N-th stage is not a paper feed tray, the control is terminated, and if the N-th stage is a paper feed tray. Proceeds to step Sn + 1.

In step Sn + 1, the control is terminated while keeping the LEDs of all the paper feed trays lit (while maintaining the initial state).

In the second embodiment, assuming that the second paper feed tray 55 is the n-th paper feed tray, step S1
In step 1, it is determined that the second paper feed tray 55 is the n-th paper feed tray, and the process proceeds to step S12. In step S12, the LED 85 of the third paper tray 57
Is turned off, and the control is terminated.

As described above, when the second paper feed tray 55 feeds paper, the CPU 7 turns off the LED 85 of the third paper feed tray 57 located below the second paper feed tray 55. Whether the tray is being conveyed can be easily determined. In addition, since the paper feed tray that is not being conveyed can be easily determined, the user can open the third paper feed tray 57 that is not being conveyed and perform work such as replenishing paper while the paper is being conveyed, so that the work efficiency is further improved. .

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Although the present invention has been applied to a laser printer, the present invention is not limited to a laser printer.

The display means may be a character display using a liquid crystal or the like.

[0064]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the control means supplies the specified paper feed tray and all the paper feed trays located above the specific paper feed tray to the display means of the paper feed tray. Since it is displayed, it is easy to determine which paper feed tray is being conveyed. Further, it is possible to prevent the user from opening the paper feed tray being transported while the paper is being transported, so that the paper transport path is not blocked, and the work efficiency is improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the control means includes:
Since the not-yet-conveyed state is displayed on each display means of all the paper trays located below this specific paper tray, it is possible to easily determine which paper tray is not yet conveyed, and The efficiency is further improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when a paper jam is detected, the display means of the paper feed tray displays the fact so that it is easy to determine which paper feed tray has the jammed paper. Work efficiency can be further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a laser printer main body to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a laser printer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation control of an LED by a CPU.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating operation control of an LED by a CPU.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an LED operation control by a CPU.

[Explanation of symbols]

 7 CPU (control means) 17 laser printer (image forming apparatus) 37 first paper feed tray (paper feed tray) 47 registration sensor (detection means) 49 first LED (display means) 55 second paper feed tray (paper feed tray) ) 57 Third paper feed tray (paper feed tray) 69 First vertical conveyance sensor (detection means) 71 Second LED (display means) 84 Second vertical conveyance sensor (detection means) 85 Third LED (display means)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G03G 21/00 386 G03G 21/00 386 F-term (Reference) 2C061 BB15 CQ22 CQ34 2H027 DA32 DC03 ED17 GA23 GB05 2H072 AA12 AA24 AB28 BA12 3F048 AA02 AA05 AB01 BA05 BA14 BB04 BB08 BC07 CA09 3F343 FA02 FB02 FB04 FC30 HA14 HA33 HA36 HB03 HC03 HC11 JA01 KA04 KA16 MA03 MA15 MA54 MB03 MB09 MC23 MC28

Claims (3)

[Claims] A plurality of paper feed trays having a series of paper transport paths leading to a main body; a detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of paper transport in each paper feed tray; An image forming apparatus comprising: control means for performing control; and display means for displaying the presence or absence of conveyance based on a signal from the control means, wherein each paper feed tray includes the display means. When feeding paper from a specific paper tray,
The detection unit detects the presence or absence of conveyance of a specific paper tray, and the control unit displays a specific paper tray and display units of all the paper trays located above the specific paper tray. An image forming apparatus for displaying that the sheet is being conveyed. A plurality of paper feed trays each having a series of paper transport paths leading to the main body; a detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of paper transport in each paper feed tray; and control according to information from the detecting means. And a display unit for displaying the presence or absence of conveyance based on a signal from the control unit. Each of the paper feed trays includes the display unit. When feeding paper from a specific paper tray,
The detection unit detects the presence or absence of conveyance of a specific sheet tray, and the control unit indicates that the sheet is not conveyed on display units of all sheet trays located below the specific sheet tray. An image forming apparatus comprising: 3. The paper feed tray according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit is provided on each of the plurality of paper feed trays, and when any of the detection units detects a paper jam, 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays a paper jam.