JPH0325779B2 - - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a counter control device for an electronic copying machine, etc., and more particularly to a counter control device for a copying machine having a continuous copying function using automatic paper feeding and a manual copying function using manual paper feeding. It is something.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Generally, electronic copying machines and the like are configured such that by presetting a desired number of copies on a counter or the like, the desired number of copies can be obtained from the same original through continuous copying operations. At this time, for example, the contents of the counter are displayed using a numerical display device using a light emitting diode or the like, and the number of copies is displayed by subtracting one for each copying operation. The methods of displaying or counting the number of sheets include countdown type,
Count-up type or preset number display and number of sheets count section are installed separately, countdown,
Many devices have been proposed or provided, including those for use in conjunction with count-up counters.

On the other hand, electronic copying machines, etc. are equipped with a manual paper feeding function in addition to an automatic paper feeding function from a cassette, etc. for double-sided copying or copying of special paper, etc. is made possible. Switching between automatic paper feeding and manual paper feeding can be achieved by, for example, installing a swingable manual paper feeding tray in the paper feeding section of a copying machine, and by tilting it down, manual paper feeding becomes possible and the copying sequence is controlled. A device whose mode can be switched from automatic paper feeding to manual paper feeding, or a separate paper feed tray for manual feeding that can be replaced with a cassette for automatic paper feeding. There are devices that have signal generating means such as magnets and protrusions on the base.

However, in conventional copying machines, as mentioned above, during continuous copying using automatic paper feeding, the number of copies was counted using a counter, and this displayed the number of copies or remaining copies, etc., but when copying by hand The user had to check the number of sheets each time, which was extremely troublesome. For this reason, it has been considered to provide a dedicated counter for manual paper feeding, but in this case, the counter for automatic paper feeding and the counter for manual paper feeding are provided independently, and the display parts are also completely different. This method requires a special provision, which increases the cost, and this poses a problem with display space, etc., making it difficult to apply to small-sized copying machines. Therefore, it is possible to count the number of copies when performing manual copying by using a display device that displays the number of copies during continuous copying, but in this case, for example, when continuous copying is interrupted and manual copying is performed, etc. In this case, the display on the display device changes, causing the inconvenience of having to reset the remaining number of copies when the automatic copying state is restored.

Purpose The present invention has been made with attention to the above points, and the number of copies is automatically displayed without the need for a special counter or display device even when copying by manual paper feeding, and the number of copies can be confirmed by the user. It is an object of the present invention to provide a counter control device that eliminates the troublesomeness of the work and does not adversely affect the continuous copying function of automatic copying.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, the configuration and operation of the copying machine 100 will be outlined using FIG. 1.

A charging charger 2, a developing device 3, a transfer charger 4, a cleaner 5, etc. are sequentially provided around the photosensitive drum 1, which is rotatably supported approximately at the center of the main body. Manuscript (not shown)
is illuminated by an exposure lamp 7, and this illumination light image is guided via the first mirror 8, lens 9, and second mirror 10 onto the photoconductor drum 1, which rotates while moving the document table 6, and the photoconductor An electrostatic latent image is formed on the drum 1, and a developing device 3 converts this into a visible toner image. On the other hand, the copy sheets P held in a stack in the paper feed section 20
is conveyed in synchronization with the image on the photosensitive drum 1, the toner image is transferred by the transfer charger 4, separated from the drum by the separation electric charger 11, and then transferred to the fixing device 14 by the belt 13. The sheet is fed, the image is fixed, and the sheet is discharged onto the tray 15.
After the transfer, the toner and charge remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 are removed by a cleaner 5 and an eraser lamp 12, and the photosensitive drum 1 is prepared for the next copying process.

In the above copying machine, the copy paper P is placed in the cassette C.
The paper sheets are stacked and held inside the paper, are pushed up by an appropriate mechanism and pressed against the paper feed roller 23, and are fed by rotating the paper feed roller 23 in response to an appropriate paper feed signal. The fed copy paper P is temporarily stopped by the timing roller 21, and the timing roller 21 is driven in synchronization with the image on the photoreceptor drum 1 by an appropriate synchronization signal, and is transported in four directions of the transfer charger. be done.

When manually feeding paper, attach a paper feed tray C' for manual paper feed in place of the cassette C, and turn the read switch S using the magnet M provided on the paper feed tray C'.
By activating , the control device of the copying machine, which will be described later, is set to manual copying mode. Note that switching to the manual feed copying mode may be achieved by providing a door for manual feed in the paper feed section 20 so that it can be opened and closed, thereby manually feeding paper, or by using a paper feed tray C'. Even in such a case, a protrusion may be provided in place of the magnet M, and a predetermined micro switch may be operated by this protrusion.

FIG. 2 shows an outline of the configuration of the control device 200 and the like of the copying machine 100.

The control device 200 consists of an electronic circuit using, for example, a microcomputer, and basically includes an input/output control device (I/O), a central control unit (CPU), a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), etc. have as. From the copying machine main body 100, manual feed mode switching signals and operation status signals of various devices are input to the control device 200 via (I/O), and in response, the control device 200 inputs the above-mentioned paper feed Including timing signals, timing roller drive signals, etc.
Operation control signals for various devices are output.

When the copy mode is not the manual copy mode, when continuously copying a large number of copies, a predetermined number of copies is numerically set by key operations on the keyboard 201, and this is output to the display drive circuit 202 via the control device 200, The setting input is displayed on the display device 203.
At this time, the input numerical value is set in the (RAM) count area in the control device 200.
When the copying operation of the copying machine 100 is started in this state, copy paper P is automatically fed from the cassette C, and a count signal is output from the copying machine 100 for each copying operation, and in response to this, the control device The value of the counter 205 set in the random access memory (RAM) of 200 is decremented by 1, and the contents of the count area 205 of this (RAM) are output to the display drive circuit 202 and displayed on the display device 203.
The numerical value displayed in is subtracted by “1”.
Such a counting operation is performed according to a program stored in (ROM). Then, when the copying operation is repeated and the numerical value in the count area 205 of the RAM reaches "0", the start of the next copying operation is prevented and the copying of a predetermined number of sheets is completed. Note that when the numerical value in the count area 205 reaches "0", in order to prohibit the next copying operation, a predetermined flag is changed from "1" to "0" by the program, and the value in the count area 205 is changed from "1" to "0". Then, the contents of the display device 203 are set to return to the initially set number of copies or to display "1".

The control of the continuous copying operation described above and the control when switching to the manual copying mode will be explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In addition, in FIG. 2, E is a power supply circuit for the control device 200;
04 indicates a display section other than the display device 203 that displays the number of copies, and the display device 203 is a known 7-segment numerical display device with a two-digit display.

In step 3 of FIG. 3, when the user does not perform an operation such as setting the number of sheets, a preliminary setting operation for setting the standard mode is performed, such as automatically displaying "1" on the display device 203. In this step, it is determined whether the copy mode is manual feed mode or not. If it is the manual feed mode, it is checked in steps whether or not a switching operation has been performed so that manual paper feed can be performed. The judgment of this manual feed switching is as follows.
It is determined whether a manual feed signal has been input to the control device 200 by the magnet M of the paper feed table C', the reed switch S, etc. described above.

When the step confirms that the mode has been switched to manual feed mode, the step stores the contents of the counter 205 in the automatic paper feed mode (NORMAL mode) in a predetermined area of (RAM), and also stores the contents of the counter 205 in the automatic paper feed mode (NORMAL mode). The manual feed counter 206 and the display drive circuit 202 are associated with each other, and "0" is displayed on the display device 203. That is, for example, when a manual feed switching operation is performed during continuous copying of a large number of copies in the NORMAL mode, the remaining number of copies is stored and "0" is displayed on the same display device 203.

In the next step, it is determined whether a clear key (not shown) has been pressed. When the clear key is pressed, the content of the counter 206 is cleared and the display is set to "0" in manual feed mode.

In step , when a copying operation is executed in the manual feed mode, the content of the counter 206 is set to "1" in response to a counter signal from the copying machine 100.
Count up one by one. The step is a step for outputting the contents of the counter 206.

The above steps show the control operation for displaying the number of sheets in manual feed mode.According to this, when switching to manual feed mode,
The contents of the counter 205 in the NORMAL mode are stored, and "0" is displayed on the same display device 203, and each time a manual copying operation is performed, the number is counted up by "1" and the number is displayed. Even when making manual copies, the user can save time and effort by counting the number of copies.

In the case of copying in the NORMAL mode, the process skips from step to step, in which the stored contents of the counter 205 are restored and the counter 205 is associated with the display drive circuit 202. In step 2, a count process is performed for each copying operation in this copying mode, that is, the content of the counter 205 is decremented by "1" in response to a count signal outputted for each copying operation. In this step, processing such as setting key inputs on the keyboard 201 operated by the user in the count area 205 of (RAM) in the NORMAL copy mode is executed. This step is a step for outputting the numerical contents of the count area 205 (RAM) to the display device 203. The step is a step for executing processes other than displaying the number of sheets, such as displaying copy density adjustment, copy paper size, copy magnification, etc. In this step, it is determined whether or not the copying machine copying operation has been completed. This may be done, for example, by using a signal output when scanning of the document table 6 is completed for each copying operation, or by using a timer for sequence control set in the control device 200.

When it is determined that the copying operation has ended, a timer (TA) is set in step. This timer, for example, is set numerically in the above-mentioned (RAM), and is set every routine (for example, 10m) by the program.
This is a digital timer that is set to count up by 1 in seconds), and is set by the program to output a time-up signal when this count value matches the numerical data set above. be done.

In this step, after setting the timer (T-A), it is determined whether or not the copying machine 100 is performing a new manual copying operation. If the copying machine 100 has started a new copying operation, the timer (T-A) is set. Substantially cancels the function of A). If the copying machine is left unattended after the manual copying operation is completed and the timer (TA) time-up is determined in step,
Set the counter contents to "0" in step.
Specifically, if no operation is performed for about 60 seconds after one manual copy is completed, the manual feed counter 206 is reset to "0".

In the above-mentioned control, the count signal may be the document table 6 of the copying machine 100 or the scan movement end signal of the moving optical system in a moving optical system type copying machine, or may be generated by using other appropriate sequence control. It is also possible to use a signal for returning the document table to its normal position.

Further, the counters 205 and 206 set in the above (RAM) may be set in any way using an appropriate device in the microcomputer, and the counters 205 and 206 may be set in a common area of the (RAM). You can also.

Effects As explained above, the present invention has an automatic copying function that continuously performs a copying operation according to the number of copies preset on the numerical display section, and an automatic copying function that performs a copying operation every time copy paper is fed by manual feeding. In a copying machine having a manual copying function, a first display control means displays on a numerical display a numerical value subtracted from a copy number preset on a numerical display for each copying operation performed in an automatic copying state. a second display control means for adding the number of manual copies for each copying operation performed in the state of manual copying and displaying the number of manual copies on a numerical display; a storage means for storing the numerical value displayed on the numerical display section; and a second display control means for restoring the numerical value stored in the storage means to the numerical display section when the manual copying state is canceled; Since the counter control device is equipped with a control means for changing the display form of the numerical display unit from the display form according to the first display control means to the display form according to the first display control means, during automatic copying, the number of copies is subtracted from the preset number of copies each time the remaining copies are made. By using a numerical display device that displays the number of copies to be made during manual copying, the number of manual copies is displayed by adding up for each copy, without installing a separate numerical display device for manual copying. At the same time, numerical values suitable for automatic copying and manual copying can be displayed. In addition, even if you perform manual copying in the middle of automatic copying, when manual copying is canceled, the state automatically returns to the state in which automatic copying was initially performed, so the remaining automatic copying will be performed again. This has the effect that there is no need to preset the number of sheets.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a specific example of a copying machine;
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the control device, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing control of the display. 100...copying machine, 200...control device, P...
... Copy paper, 202 ... Display drive circuit, 203 ...
...Display device, 205, 206...Counter (count area).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An automatic copying function that continuously performs a copying operation according to the number of copies preset on a numerical display unit, and a manual feeder that performs a copying operation every time copy paper is fed by manual feeding. a first display control means for displaying on the numerical display a numerical value subtracted from a preset copy value on the numerical display for each copying operation performed in an automatic copying state; a second display control means that adds up the number of manual copies for each copying operation performed in a copying state and displays the number of manual copies on a numerical display; a storage means for storing the numerical values displayed on the storage means; and when the state of manual copying is canceled, the numerical values stored in the storage means are restored to the numerical display section, and the display form is controlled by the second display control means. A counter control device comprising: control means for changing the display form of the numerical display section from the display form to the display form by the first display control means.