JPH0619616B2 - Copier equipped with finisher - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD When the number of originals of the present invention exceeds a limit for set binding, the finisher is configured to prohibit the operation of the set binding mechanism and perform a copy operation regardless of a set binding command. The present invention relates to a copier equipped with.

[Prior art]

As a copying machine equipped with a conventional finisher, for example,
The originals are continuously supplied to the platen, the copy paper is supplied in accordance with the originals to perform the copy, and the discharged copy papers are sequentially supplied to the edit tray of the Finisher, and the set of copies is stapled.
There is a device that can perform set binding, which is performed in step r).

When binding a copy, set the staple mode from the console, set the data required for copying, and press the start button to start copying, and the original will be supplied to the platen from the automatic document feeder at regular time intervals. Then, copying is performed on copy sheets that are sequentially fed in accordance with this. The ejected copy sheets are sent to the finisher, and after the copy sheets of the number of originals are supplied to the editing tray, the stapler is operated to perform set binding. As described above, since the set binding is automatically performed after the copy paper is discharged, it is possible to save labor.

However, in a copying machine equipped with a conventional finisher, there is a limit to the number of copies that can be set and bound for copying, and when the number of originals exceeding this limit is set in the automatic document feeder, Since the copy is controlled not to start even if the start button is pressed, the operator resets the copy conditions according to the instructions ("Reduce the number of documents", "Change mode", etc.) displayed on the display etc. I had to do it. For this reason, an operator unfamiliar with the machine may find it bothersome and difficult to operate.

[Object and Structure of Invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and when the number of originals exceeding the copy binding limit number is set in the circulating automatic document feeder, the above-mentioned annoyance and difficulty of operation are felt. To prevent this, when the number of originals exceeds the limit, the copying machine is provided with a finisher that prohibits the operation of the set binding mechanism to execute copy processing, and also outputs a predetermined message when necessary. It is in.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, a copying machine equipped with the finisher according to the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. A copying machine main body 1 and a finisher 10 installed on the copy paper discharge side of the main body.
(In addition, the finisher 10 is an option and may be integrally incorporated inside the main body). In the copying machine main body 1, originals stacked in page order with the original surface facing up are set, and when the start button is pressed, the originals are sequentially automatically supplied to the platen 2 based on the original supply signal, and after scanning. A circulating automatic document feeder 3 having a function of returning the document to the document tray side again, a scanning mechanism 4 for optically scanning the document surface of the document sent to the platen 2, and the content scanned by the mechanism on the surface. The photoconductor drum 5 to be exposed, the developing device 6 for developing the latent image by the exposure of the drum 5 with toner, the paper feed cassette 7 containing the required size paper, and the developing surface of the drum 5 arrives at the transfer position. A transfer mechanism 8a for ejecting and transferring the paper from the paper feed cassette 7 at the same timing, a transfer device 9 for adhering toner on the drum surface to the paper conveyed by the mechanism 8a, and a transfer device 8a More composed and transport mechanism 8b for conveying to the finisher 10.

A circulating automatic document feeder is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 56-173.
It is a well-known device as shown in JP-A-59-59 and JP-A-54-33038. The circulating automatic document feeder 3 of the present invention includes a document tray 31, a document feed belt 32,
The document feed path 33, the platen belt 34, and the document return path 35 are provided.

In such a circulation type automatic document feeder 3, the documents stacked on the document tray 31 are set upward, and the lowermost one page of the documents stacked by the document sending belt 32 is fed to the document feeding passage 33. It is sent out, inverted, and placed between the platen 2 and the platen belt 34. The copied document is returned to the document tray 1 through the document return passage 35.

To know the number of originals, for example, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 56-1
The means shown in Japanese Patent No. 7359 can be used.

On the other hand, the finisher 10 includes a transport roller 11 that transports the paper from a discharge roller of the main body, a selector 12 that selectively distributes the paper supplied from the transport roller 11 to either a discharge tray or an edit tray, and a selector 1.
When the sheet 2 is in the lower position, a sheet sensor 13 that detects passage of the sheet, a conveyance roller 14 that naturally drops the sheet that has passed through the sheet sensor 13 as it passes through the conveyance end portion, and a sheet that drops through the roller 14. And an editing tray 15 for sequentially receiving the sheets, and a game 16 provided at the lower end of the tray 15 for holding the sheets in the tray until the set binding is completed.
A stapler 17 that sets and binds a predetermined portion of a bundle of sheets supplied to the editing tray 15, a conveying roller 18 that conveys the sheet discharged by a natural drop from the tray 15 when the gate 16 is opened, and a conveyer A guide mechanism 19 that guides the paper (or copy set) delivered from the roller 11 directly or from the conveyance roller 18, a discharge tray 20 that receives and places the paper discharged from the guide mechanism 19, and a paper size. , Number of sheets setting, reduction ratio setting,
The console 21 is provided with a button for setting the mode and the like, and an indicator for displaying the operating state, the number of copies, etc., and controls the finisher 10 based on the information and data from the sensor and the console 21. The control unit 22 that outputs a control command for controlling the copying machine main body 1, drives each drive system in the copying machine main body 1 based on the control command output from the control unit 22, and transports each inside the finisher 10. Motor 2 for driving the roller
4, offset mechanism 25, selector 12, gate 16
And a drive unit 23 that drives the stapler 17, and an offset mechanism 25 that moves the discharge tray 20 in the left-right direction each time the copy set is discharged from the guide mechanism 19.

The control unit 22 inputs information and data from the various sensors, the paper sensor 13 and the console 21, and performs a copying process and a set binding process with an input interface 22b that outputs a digitized signal to the bus 22a at a predetermined timing. ROM 22c that stores the program for
A CPU 22d that executes various kinds of processing according to the program of the ROM 22c; a RAM 22e that temporarily stores the processing result of the CPU 22d and data from the outside;
The control command generated as a processing result by the d
3 and an output interface 22f for outputting at a predetermined timing and format.

In the above-described configuration, when performing copy binding for setting, the number of originals that are equal to or less than the limit number and that are stacked in page order are set on the original tray of the circulating automatic original feeder 3, and the sheets are fed from the console 21. Cassette selection, number of copies, reduction ratio, mode selection (copy only,
Whether to perform set binding, etc.) and the number of copies, etc. are set. When the start button is pressed after confirming that the above settings have been made without any problems, the circulating automatic document feeder 3 automatically feeds the document of the last page to the platen 2 and puts it at a predetermined position on the platen. Set. Here, the scanning mechanism 4 is driven to start scanning, the photosensitive drum 5 rotates, and the surface is continuously exposed to form a latent image, and the developing device 6 performs toner development. One sheet of paper is ejected from the paper feed cassette 7 at the timing when the developing surface reaches the transfer position, is conveyed to the transfer position by the conveyance mechanism 8a, and a visible image on the drum surface is transferred onto the paper by the transfer device 9. Transcribed. After the transfer, the sheet is fixed and then sent to the finisher 10 by the transport mechanism 8b. The above-described processing is executed every time a document is fed from the circulating automatic document feeder 3.
The scanned document is sent back to the document tray side. The copy paper from the main body 1 is sent to the subsequent stage by the carrying roller 11, but when the staple mode is selected by the console 21, it is sent to the carrying roller 14 side because the selector 12 is located at the lower side. Further, when the staple mode is off, the selector 12 is located on the upper side, the paper from the transport roller 11 is sent to the guide mechanism 19, and the transport roller provided at the output part of the mechanism 19 transfers it to the discharge tray 20. The paper drops naturally and is stored in order.

The sheet sent to the transport roller 14 is sequentially sent to the editing tray 15 from the leading end of the sheet, the tail end is paid out, and the sheet slides down on the tray 15 to form the gate 16
It is placed with its tail end locked. The paper sensor 13 detects that the number of originals has passed, and the control unit 2
2 outputs a command to operate the stapler 17 to the drive unit 23. When the plunger of the stapler 17 is driven by the drive unit 23 and the set binding is normally performed, the control unit 22 outputs a command to open the gate 16 to the drive unit 23 and the motor 24 that drives the guide mechanism 19. Is driven. By this control, gate 16
Rotates clockwise, and the copy set that has been set and bound is sent from the editing tray 15 to the guide mechanism 19. It should be noted that the discharge tray 20 is moved to the offset mechanism 2 prior to the delivery of one copy from the guide mechanism 19.
5 moves left or right by a certain distance. And
The discharge tray 20 moves to the original position (or the opposite direction) before the next number of copy sheets are paid out. The determination as to whether or not a part of the number of sheets has been discharged can be made based on the presence / absence of opening / closing of the gate 16 and counting up of the number of sheets set counter. When copy binding is performed by such an offset operation, the copy set is discharged to the discharge tray 20 as shown in FIG. When set binding is not performed, the sheet is discharged to the discharge tray 20 via the transport roller 11 and the guide mechanism 19,
As described above, the output tray 20
Is offset, so that copy sets are collated as shown in FIG.

The above is the case where the number of originals within the limit number is set in the circulating automatic document feeder 3. However, when the number of originals exceeding the limit number is set, the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 is executed. To be done.

In other words, if it is determined that the number of originals exceeds the set number of copy bindings, the set binding mode of the selected copy is released and `` Collation is possible, but set binding is because the number of originals exceeds the limit. A message such as "Can't" is displayed on the console 21, and the copy set collating process of FIG. 3 is executed by the above-mentioned method.

The sheet sent to the transport roller 14 is sequentially sent to the editing tray 15 from the leading end of the sheet, the tail end is paid out, and slides down on the tray 15 and is placed on the gate 16 with the tail end locked. To be done. When the paper sensor 13 detects that the number of originals has passed, the control unit 22
Gate 16 without operating stapler 17
The motor 24 for driving the guide mechanism 19 is driven while outputting a command to open the drive mechanism 23. By this control, the gate 16 rotates in the clockwise direction, and the copy set that is not set and bound is sent out from the editing tray 15 to the guide mechanism 19.

As described above, in the processing of the present invention, even when the number of originals exceeds the limit number in the set binding mode for copying, copy start is not prohibited unlike in the conventional case, and it is a minimum requirement of the operator. The copying process can be executed to simplify the copying work of the operator.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the copying machine equipped with the finisher of the present invention, even when the number of originals exceeding the limit of the set binding of copies is set in the circulating automatic document feeder, the copying is performed by switching to another mode. Since it is possible to start the process, it is possible to facilitate the copying work of the operator and reduce the troublesomeness of the copying work.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an illustration of offset ejection processing for copy set binding, and FIG. 3 is offset ejection processing for copy set collation. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of the processing of the present invention. Explanation of reference numerals 1 ... Copying machine main body, 2 ... Platen, 3 ... Circulating automatic document feeder, 4 ... Scanning mechanism, 5 ... Photosensitive drum,
6 ... Developing device, 7 ... Paper feeding cassette, 8a, 8b ... Conveying mechanism, 9 ... Transfer device, 10 ... Finisher, 1
1, 14, 18 ... Conveying rollers, 12 ... Selector,
13 ... Paper sensor, 15 ... Editing tray, 16 ... Gate, 17 ... Stapler, 19 ... Guide mechanism, 2
0 ... Ejection tray, 21 ... Console, 22 ... Control section, 23 ... Drive section, 24 ... Motor, 25 ... Offset mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A copying machine equipped with a main body of a copying machine having a circulation type automatic document feeder and a finisher having a stapler for binding copy sheets on the basis of a set binding instruction, and a stapler mode for performing set binding of copy sheets is selected. The step of comparing the number of documents set in the circulating automatic document feeder with the limit number of sheets of the stapler, and when the set binding is commanded and the number of documents is larger than the limit number, the contents displayed on the console are collated. A copying machine equipped with a finisher, which is provided with a control unit for performing a copying operation through a step of changing to a display indicating that setting binding is not possible but a step of prohibiting set binding operation.