JPH0558191B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and in particular to an image forming apparatus that can reset the cumulative number of sheets accumulated for each copy in order to notify the periodic inspection time. It is related to.

[Prior art]

In general, in image forming apparatuses, and in particular electrophotographic copying apparatuses, as the number of copies increases, various components wear out or deteriorate. When the number of sheets reaches the number of sheets, it is necessary to perform a periodic inspection and replace any components that may be worn out or deteriorated by the time of the next periodic inspection. For this reason, when a certain number of copies has been reached, a message is displayed on the display section to notify the operator.

However, if the inspection is performed before the regular periodic inspection, carrying out the regular periodic inspection at the same time will result in a lag between actual use and smooth operation. This has the disadvantage that it may become impossible to secure sufficient copying work, and it is also very difficult to change the cumulative number of copies if inspection is carried out before the regular inspection. This has the disadvantage that it is a complicated work.

[Purpose of the invention]

This invention eliminates the drawbacks of the conventional method as described above, and when an inspection is performed before a regular regular inspection, the number of copies required for a regular regular inspection is accumulated from that point onwards. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which can perform the above operations with simple operations and always know the periodic inspection timing that matches actual use.

[Structure of the invention]

The present invention provides an image forming apparatus capable of copying a document at a desired magnification, including a memory section that stores the cumulative value of the number of copies made at a plurality of predetermined addresses, and a predetermined two. By turning on the power while pressing a set of numeric keys, the setting mode for changing the memory contents of the storage section can be set. mode selection means for selecting a setting mode for setting the storage contents of the storage section to an initial state when the power is turned on; address selection means for sequentially selecting, from the highest digit, a plurality of addresses of the storage section provided for each digit of the cumulative value using a magnification setting key; and a magnification for displaying the address of the storage section selected by the address selection means. a display section, a digit number display section that displays a numerical value for each digit of the cumulative value stored at the address of the storage section selected by the address selection means, and the cumulative value selected by the address selection means. an input means for changing and storing the stored content at a predetermined address of the storage section storing the numeric value into a numerical value input using a numeric keypad by pressing a copy start button;
When a setting mode for setting the storage contents of the storage section to an initial state is selected, a predetermined numerical value is selected using the magnification setting key, and the selected predetermined numerical value is displayed on the magnification display section. and a reset means for setting the cumulative value of the number of copies stored in the storage section to an initial value by pressing the copy start button in the state.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Embodiments of the invention shown in the drawings will be described below.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic layout of an electrophotographic copying device, which is a type of image forming device.
A document glass stand 2 is placed on the top surface, and
A platen cover 3 is provided on the upper surface of the original glass table 2, the upper surface of which can be opened and covered.

An exposure lamp 4 is provided inside the upper part of the main body 1 to irradiate light onto the lower surface of the document glass table 2, and the light reflected from the document irradiated by the exposure lamp 4 is transmitted to an exposure section 6 via a group of reflectors 5. , and a lens group 7 that is movable in the horizontal direction (in the direction of the arrow), and a drum-shaped photoreceptor drum 8 that is an image carrier is rotatably provided in the center. A charging device 9 is provided near the top of the drum 8 to face it, and an exposure section 6 is provided in front of the charging device 9 in the rotational direction of the photosensitive drum 8.
A developing device 10, a transfer device 11, a separating device 12, a static eliminator 13, and a cleaning device 14 are arranged close to and facing the photoreceptor drum 8, respectively.

Two upper and lower cassette cases 15 and 16 are removably provided at the lower part of the interior of the main body 1, and when each cassette case 15 and 16 is inserted, the top of the stacked paper stacks is inserted into the main body 1. Paper feed rollers 17 that come into contact with the upper surface of the upper sheet are respectively provided, and between the vicinity of the paper feed roller 17 and the vicinity of the transfer device 11, the paper in the selected one of the cassette cases 15 and 16 is provided. A paper feed path 18 is provided for conveying the paper to the transfer device 11.

A portion of the guide plate constituting the paper feed path 18 is cut out, and a pair of upper and lower registration rollers 19 are disposed in this cutout portion.

A fixing device 20 is provided on the other side of the lower part of the interior of the main body 1.
A paper conveyance path 21 is provided between this fixing device 20 and a separation device 12 provided near the photosensitive drum 8, and a paper conveyance path 21 is provided on the opposite side of the conveyance path 21 of the fixing device. A paper discharge section 22 is provided,
A paper discharge tray 23 is provided outside.

The control system of the electrophotographic copying machine as described above is the second
As shown in the figure, 30 is a control board (CB) consisting of a control unit (microcomputer), an input circuit, and an output circuit, and 31 is an automatic paper selection function unit, which is provided on the bottom surface of the platen cover. 32 is an APS sensor board that outputs an analog voltage proportional to the yellow band and white to the control board; 32 is an EE sensor board for setting the density of the copied image;
33 is an MS sensor for enlarging and reducing;
34 is a memory board consisting of non-volatile memory, which stores the PM count number, PM setting number, color count number, APS reference value, bias shift value, etc. when the power is turned off; 35 is a matrix circuit for inputting each setting key. an operation unit (OB) that outputs output to the control board 30 via the control board 30 and lights up the display element in response to a signal from the control board 30; 36 is a temperature detection board; 37 is an AC driver board; 38
is AC load, 39 is DC load, 40 is optical motor,
41 is an optical motor control board (M2/CB) that controls ON/OFF, rotation direction, and rotation angle of the optical drive system based on signals from the control board 30, and 42 is a DC power supply unit.

When obtaining a copied image using the electrophotographic copying apparatus configured as described above, first,
After placing the original on the original glass stand 2, the original is covered with the platen cover 3 and the operation panel 50 is operated.

This operation panel 50 is configured as shown in FIG.
2.

Further, 53 is an MR button for switching between reduction and enlargement modes, and in the initial state when the power is turned on, it is set to the same magnification of 1:1, and
If you press it once, you can change the top part, that is, convert A4 size to B4.
If you press the button again, you will enter the AMS mode, which will reduce the size of the document to the size of the paper in the selected paper cassette, which will be described later.If you press the button again, the document will be reduced to the first level. mode, when pressed next, it becomes the second reduction mode, and when pressed again, the initial magnification is set. When each mode is set, the corresponding LED 55 lights up. ,
Furthermore, in the AMS mode, "auto" 54 lights up.

Therefore, just by pressing the MR button 53, you can enlarge → auto → reduce the first level → reduce the second level →
The desired magnification can be selected by switching between the same magnification and the same magnification.

In addition, 56 is a zoom button which is a magnification setting key, and by pressing the enlarge button or reduce button of this zoom button 56,
The magnification can be changed in 0.01x increments within the range of 1.55x, and the contents when pressing the MR button 53 in the enlargement/reduction mode and when pressing the zoom button 56, that is, the magnification, are in the vicinity of the zoom button 56. It is displayed on a magnification display LED 57, which is a magnification display section located at .

Reference numeral 60 denotes a paper cassette selection section, and this paper cassette selection section 60 has a paper size selection button 61. Each time this paper size selection button 61 is pressed, the paper cassette selection mode, lower cassette selection mode, and APS mode are selected. (automatic paper selection mode).

Note that the APS mode mentioned above refers to
This mode automatically reads the size of the original placed on top of the original and selects copy paper that matches the original size after copying. When copying at different magnifications, the selected copy paper is different even if the original size is the same.

When one of the upper cassette selection mode, lower cassette selection mode, or APS mode is selected, the LED 6 corresponding to that mode
2 is now lit, and the paper size
The LED 63 displays the selected paper size.

65 is a density selection section for changing the density of the copied image by changing the bias of the developing device 10; when the power is turned on, the manual mode is selected, so press one of the density selection buttons 66. It is possible to select 7 levels of density, and the LED 67 corresponding to the selected density level
lights up, and by pressing the EE button (automatic density selection button) 68, the mode switches from manual mode to automatic density selection mode, and the EE button 6 is pressed.
8 LED lights up.

In addition, 59 is a copy start button, 70 is a status display section, and this status display section 70 is a power supply,
Various operations such as paper jam, paper replenishment, toner replenishment, periodic inspection, and thick paper fixing are displayed by blinking the LED 71.

When performing a copying operation by operating the operation unit 50 configured as described above, each copying condition is first set. First, by operating the numeric keypad 51 and pressing the required number of numeric keys, The set number of copies is displayed on the number display LED 52, and the magnification of the copy image with respect to the original is determined by operating the magnification selection section 58, but as described above, in the initial state when the power is turned on, Since the same size is selected, if you want to obtain a copy image of the same size,
There is no need to operate the MR button 53; for example,
If you select "Auto", MR button 53
If you press twice, the AMS
When the auto mode is selected, the auto LED 54 lights up to notify you that this mode has been selected.

The above AMS mode automatically reads the size (glass) of the original placed on the original glass table 2 and determines the selected copy paper size (size).
This mode selects the magnification ratio of the image size that matches the selected size, and if there is no copy paper corresponding to the selected size in the cassette case, the LED for the corresponding copy paper size is lit.

The flowchart for selecting the magnification is shown in FIG. 4. In the initial state, the equal magnification flag is selected, so by pressing the MR button 53, it is determined whether the equal magnification flag is selected. , since the 1x flag is selected, the selection is switched from the 1x flag to the enlarged flag and the enlarged copy mode routine is started.
Therefore, if the MR button 53 is pressed again, the AMS mode flag is selected and the AMS mode routine is started.

Therefore, the other modes, ie, the first-stage reduction mode and the second-stage reduction mode, are also selected by similar operations and their respective routines are started.

When the AMS mode is selected, a copy image is obtained according to the flowchart shown in Figure 5. In other words, the size of the paper in the paper cassette is selected before selecting the AMS mode. When the AMS mode is selected, the size of the original is detected, the reduction or enlargement ratio, that is, the scaling ratio, is automatically set, and by pressing the copy start button 59, a copy that matches the paper size is made. Images are now available.

Note that in order for this AMS mode to operate, it is a condition that the APS mode (automatic paper selection mode), which will be described later, is not selected.

Furthermore, when a mode other than the AMS mode is selected in the magnification selection section 58, all paper sizes including the APS mode can be selected in the paper cassette selection section 60, and the APS mode is selected when the power is turned on. At the same time, pressing the paper size selection button 61 switches from APS mode to upper cassette selection, and further pressing the paper size selection button selects the lower cassette from the upper cassette.
Also, when each selection is made, the corresponding
LED62 lights up and the paper size LED
63 also lights up.

A flowchart for selecting this paper feed cassette is shown in FIG. 7. When the paper size selection button 61 is pressed after the power is turned on, the APS flag is selected, so the upper cassette is selected and the paper feeding routine for the upper cassette is started. is started, and when the button is pressed twice, the lower cassette paper feeding routine is started.

A flowchart when the APS mode is selected is shown in FIG. 6, and the APS mode is a mode in which the paper size is automatically selected based on the original and the magnification selected by the magnification selection section 58. ,
If paper corresponding to the selected paper size is not loaded in either the upper or lower cassette, the LED for the corresponding paper size will blink to notify the operator of the required paper size.

In addition, the numeric keypad 51 has a double function, and if you press each key individually, the number written on the top of each key is entered as the set number of copies, and that number is displayed on the number of copies display LED 52. If you press one of the keys whose functions are written below while pressing the P key, the contents written below each key will be performed.

In other words, pressing the "P" key and the "9" key will fix the cardboard. This is used when setting the fusing temperature for thick paper. As the fusing temperature increases, the LED on the display indicating that the cardboard is being fixed will be displayed. lights up.

Also, if you press the "P" key and the "8" key,
It can be used when copying another document during continuous copying, and an interrupt copy is set when the copy at the time of pressing is finished. Also, pressing the "P" key and the "7" key causes an image shift. , used when forming a binding margin, and shifts the leading edge of the image approximately 10 mm backwards.

Also, if you press the "P" key and the "5" key,
The PM counter number, that is, a certain number for performing periodic inspection, is displayed by lighting on the sheet number display LED 52, and the setting value of this can be changed in the direction described later.

Furthermore, various functions can be performed by pressing the other key "P", and the operation is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

Setting and changing the value of the PM counter is performed as follows.

First, turn on the power while holding down the "2" and "5" keys to enter the PM cycle (maintenance cycle) setting mode, and the LED 5 for displaying the magnification
7 displays "P", "0" and "0", so by pressing the zoom button 56 the display changes to "P" and "2".
Set it to "7".

At this time, if the PM counter has already been set to the value 32000, then the
Since "3" and "0" are displayed on LED52, PM
You can see that the cycle unit in 10,000 is set to "3", and if you enter "2" using the numeric keypad 51, "3" and "2" will appear on the LED 52 for displaying the number of sheets.
is displayed, and then when the copy start button 59 is pressed, the display changes to "2" and "2", thereby indicating that the setting of the unit of 10,000 to "2" has been completed.

Then, when the magnification display LED 57 is set to "P", "2", or "8" using the zoom button 56,
Now you can input in thousands, and for displaying the number of sheets.
Since "2" and "0" are displayed on the LED 52, for example, if you press "5" on the numeric keypad, the display will become "2" and "5", and if you press the copy start button 59, the display will be "5". ” and “5”, meaning that the PM cycle previously set to 32,000 has been changed to 25,000, and these operations will be as shown in the flowchart shown in FIG.

Therefore, when this operation is completed and the number of copies reached between 24,000 and 24,999 by performing normal copying operations, the periodic inspection indicator on the display section 70 lights up, and when the number of copies reaches 25,000 or more, the display blinks. Therefore, the necessity of periodic inspection can be notified by this, and this flowchart is shown in FIG. 10.

In addition, when changing the setting of the total copy number counter, turn on the power while holding down "2" and "5" on the numeric keypad as in the case above, and then use the zoom button 56 to change the magnification display.
If you set the LED 57 to "P", "3", "2", you can change the numerical value in 100,000 units in the same way as above, and "P", "3", "3"
"P""3""4" means thousands, "P""3"
It is possible to set a unit of 100 for "5", a unit of 10 for "P", "3", and "6", and a unit of 1 for "P", "3", and "7".

Furthermore, the total copy value of the PM counter can be reset with a single operation.

That is, if you turn on the power while holding down ``4'' and ``7'' on the numeric keypad 51, the counter reset mode will be activated, and after setting the display to ``P'', ``9'', and ``0'' using the zoom button 56, When the copy start button 59 is pressed, the counter value becomes 0, and the flowchart in this case is shown in FIG.

By changing the value of the total copy counter in this way, if the inspection is performed before the regular regular inspection, etc., the periodic inspection will be performed when the set value of the PM counter is reached depending on the number of copies from that point onwards. is displayed, so that the usage status is always maintained properly.

〔Effect of the invention〕

By configuring this invention as described above,
If the inspection is performed before the regular periodic inspection necessary to ensure smooth copying operations, the number of copies required for periodic inspection will accumulate from that point on, so periodic inspection that matches actual use will be necessary. By being able to know the timing, smooth copying work can be ensured. Moreover, changing the periodic inspection timing can be done with a very simple operation. In other words, when changing the cumulative value of the number of copies, after entering the setting mode for changing the cumulative value, while looking at the address of the storage section displayed on the magnification display section, and also while checking the number of copies to be input on the number display section. The cumulative value can be changed reliably and quickly. Furthermore, when initializing the cumulative value, it can be easily done by input means after entering the setting mode where the cumulative value is the initial value, and the cumulative value can be easily changed and initialized. It has excellent effects.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a general schematic diagram of an electrophotographic copying apparatus, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the entire control system of the one shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display section. Figure 4 is a flowchart showing magnification selection, Figure 5 is a flowchart in AMS mode,
Figure 6 is a flowchart in APS mode, Figure 7
Figure 8 is a flowchart showing paper feed cassette selection, Figure 8 is a flowchart showing the double function function of the numeric keypad, Figure 9 is a flowchart when storing PM counter settings in the memory board, Figure 10. 11 is a flowchart showing a comparison between the set value of the PM counter and the number of copies, and FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the reset of the PM counter. 1...Main body, 2...Original glass stand, 3...Platen cover, 4...Exposure lamp, 5...Reflector group, 6...Exposure section, 7...Lens group, 8...Photoconductor drum, 9...Charging device, 10...Developing device,
11... Transfer device, 12... Separation device, 13...
Static eliminator, 14... Cleaning device, 15, 1
6...Cassette case, 17...Paper feed roller, 1
8... Paper feed path, 19... Registration roller, 20...
... Fixing device, 21 ... Conveyance path, 22 ... Paper discharge section,
23... Paper output tray, 30... Control board, 31...
...Automatic paper selection function unit, 32...EE sensor board, 33...MS sensor, 34...Memory board, 35...Operation unit, 36...Temperature detection board, 3
7...AC driver board, 38...AC load, 3
9...DC load, 40...Optical motor, 41...
Optical motor control board, 42...DC power supply unit,
50...Operation panel, 51...Numeric keypad, 52...
...Number of sheets display LED, 53...MR button, 54...
Auto, 55, 62, 67...LED, 56...
Zoom button, 57...Magnification display LED, 59...
...Copy start button, 60...Paper cassette selection section, 61...Paper size selection button, 63...
Paper size LED, 65... Density selection section, 66...
Density selection button, 68...EE button, 70...
Status display section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus capable of copying a document at a desired magnification, comprising: a memory unit that stores, digit by digit, a cumulative value of the number of copies made at a plurality of predetermined addresses; By turning on the power while pressing a set of numeric keys with two keys, the setting mode for changing the memory contents of the storage section can be set. mode selection means for selecting a setting mode for setting the storage contents of the storage section to an initial state by turning on the power while pressing; and when a setting mode for changing the storage contents of the storage section is selected; an address selection means for sequentially selecting from a plurality of addresses of the storage section provided for each digit of the cumulative value from the highest digit using a magnification setting key; a magnification display section for displaying; a number display section for displaying a numerical value for each digit of the cumulative value stored at the address of the storage section selected by the address selection means; The storage contents at a predetermined address of the storage unit that stores cumulative values,
When a setting mode is selected, an input means for changing and storing a numerical value entered using a numeric keypad by pressing a copy start button, and a setting mode for setting the stored contents of the storage unit to an initial state, the magnification setting key is selected. By selecting a predetermined value with and pressing the copy start button while the selected predetermined value is displayed on the magnification display section, the cumulative number of copies stored in the storage section can be displayed. An image forming apparatus comprising: a reset means for setting a value to an initial value.