JPH0778653B2 - Copier with optional information function - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a copying machine to which an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as ADF) can be optionally mounted.

(B) Conventional Technology In recent years, copying machines have various functions in order to improve the operability of the user. For example, the ADF is a device that simply stacks and sets a plurality of documents on a document tray, and sequentially sends the documents to a predetermined position on a document table for continuous copying. Using the ADF saves the trouble of exchanging the manuscript and is very convenient. Peripheral devices such as ADF are usually optional parts and can be installed in the copier if necessary.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the conventional copying machine, the user is left to choose the mounting of peripheral equipment such as ADF, and when the user feels the necessity when purchasing or using the copying machine. It was purchased and installed on. However, such a sensory need is not so reliable, and when a single copier is used by a large number of people, the usage method varies depending on the person. There was a problem of lack of function.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a copying machine having an option information function, which determines the necessity of the ADF from the actual copying situation and solves the above problem.

(D) Means for Solving the Problem The present invention relates to a copying machine in which a document feeding device can be optionally mounted, a memory for storing a copy history such as a copy document size and the number of copies, and a copy history within a predetermined time A means for determining the frequency of continuous document exchange, a means for determining whether or not the automatic document feeder is necessary from the frequency of document exchange, and a means for notifying the fact when the necessity of the automatic document feeder is determined are provided. It is characterized by that.

(E) Operation In the present invention, the frequency of continuous document replacement is obtained from the history of copying processing actually performed within the predetermined period, the necessity of the ADF is determined, and the user is notified of the necessity. Therefore, the user only needs to determine whether or not the ADF is attached based on the notification, and no sensational error occurs during selection.

It should be noted that the "means for obtaining the frequency of continuous document replacement" can be, for example, continuous copying when the copying of the same transfer paper size and the same number of copies continues or when the copying interval is short.

(F) Example First, the outline of the example will be described.

When the print switch is operated during operation of the copying machine, at least the date, the size of the transfer paper to be copied, the number of copies input from the ten-key pad, and the open / closed state of the original cover at that time are stored as a copy history. AD
The necessity of mounting F is judged from the copy history accumulated so far. In addition, in the example, AD from the past four weeks of copy history
Determine the need for F.

The past copy history is traced back in sequence, and the copy at the time of the trace and the copy before that are the same transfer paper size, the same number of copies (2 or more), and the original cover at the time of copying is closed. If it is in the state, it is determined that the two copies are continuous document exchanges (continuous copies) that can be processed by the ADF. In most cases, it is a book copy when the original cover is open, and ADF cannot be used for the book, so continuous copy is not accepted. Then, the total number of copy originals (= number of print switch operations) A, the number of copy originals B by continuous copying, and the number C of continuous copy events are obtained, and the continuous copy rate D = B / A, The average number of originals E = B / C. Then, the necessity of ADF is judged from the values of D and E.
For example, if the E value is large even if the D value is small, it is judged that ADF is necessary, or if the E value is small even if the D value is large, AD
It is determined that F does not have to be attached.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a table of the example of the judgment criteria.
In this example, the continuous copy rate D'is determined by the following equation, and the decimal points and below are rounded off.

D ′ = (B × 10) / A The table data F is obtained based on this D ′, this F value is compared with the average number E of originals, and when E ≧ F, ADF
Is determined to be necessary.

Next, a specific device configuration and processing procedure will be described.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the copying machine of the embodiment. CPU2 is RO
In accordance with the program stored in M1, the data from each input unit of 5-9 is taken in via I / O3 and stored in RAM4,
Based on the information stored in the RAM4, the on / off control of the copy process control load 10 of the copying machine is performed via the I / O3.
In addition, a clock area is provided in RAM4 to keep track of the current time. As the operation according to the present invention, when the operation and the print switch of the display unit 5 are operated, the date in the clock area, the document size detected by the transfer paper size detection unit 6, and the original cover state detection unit 7 are detected. The open / closed state of the original cover (including the ADF mounted state), the operation, the number of copies input from the display unit 5, etc. are stored in the copy history storage area M of the RAM 4 as a copy history.
When the option information key of the operation / display unit 5 is operated, the necessity of the ADF is determined based on the copy history stored in the copy history storage area M, and if it is determined that the ADF is necessary, the determination is made. A message is displayed on the display section of the display section 5 for the purpose.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the copy history storage area M. When the print switch is operated, the copy history such as date, transfer paper size, and number of copies is written to a new address.

This copy history storage area M is specifically shown in FIG.
As shown in (D), date data, transfer paper size data, etc. are dispersed and stored in 8 kbit × 8 bit × 4 memory areas. That is, in order to store the date, transfer paper size, etc., as shown in FIGS. 5 (A) to (G), an area of 4 bits for indicating the month, 5 bits for indicating the day, etc. is required. 8k to store all of these copy histories
It uses 4 bit x 8 bit memories. The copy history is written in this memory area as described above. When the storage area goes round, the oldest data is rewritten in order.

Next, the processing procedure of the option information will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

If the print switch is operated while the copier is operating
The copy history at that time is stored in the address indicated by the data pointer of CPU2 (n1 → n2). The data pointer is incremented after the copy history is stored and prepared for the next copy processing (n3). In this way, the copy history is stored in new addresses one after another.

When the option information key on the operation / display unit 5 is operated, the mounting state of the ADF is determined (n11 → n1).
2). If the ADF is installed, proceed to information processing for other peripheral devices such as paper cassettes and sorters.
If F is not installed, the ADF information process is entered. The data pointer is saved on the stack in preparation for the start of the next copying process, then this is decremented by 1 to extract the date at that time, and the date 29 days (4 weeks) before is obtained (n13 → n14 → n15). . The following is the process of checking the copy history up to four weeks ago. At n16, the area for storing the total number A of copy originals, the number B of copy originals by continuous copying, the number C of continuous copy events, the continuous copy flag, and the temporary storage memory are reset. The temporary storage memory stores the transfer paper size and the number of copies made one time before the copy history of the data pointer.

First, after adding A at n17, the copy history of the data pointer is loaded into the register of the CPU, the open / closed state of the original cover is discriminated, the size of the transfer paper before and the number of copies (stored in the temporary storage memory). It is compared with the numerical value that is shown) to determine continuous copying (n18 → n19 → n2
0). If it is a continuous copy, the processing of n21 to n25 is performed. That is, at the start of a continuous copy event, after adding to B and C, a flag indicating that the continuous copy event is in progress is set (n21 → n22 → n23 → 24). If the flag is already set in the middle of a continuous copy event, simply add to B to proceed to the next step (n21 → n25). When the processing related to continuous copying is completed, the copy history of the data pointer is written in the temporary storage memory for the next processing, and then the data pointer is decremented (n26 → n27).

On the other hand, when the original cover is in the open state, it is not a continuous copy, so only the temporary storage memory is cleared and the flag is reset, and the data pointer is decremented to proceed to the next (n19 → n28 → n27). Moreover, even if the transfer paper size and the number of copies in the register and the temporary storage memory do not match, it is not a continuous copy, so just reset the flag and store the data in the temporary storage memory, decrement the data pointer and proceed to the next step. (N20 → n29 → n26 → n2
7).

If the date of this data pointer has reached the date obtained in n15, the process proceeds to n30 to enter the process for obtaining the necessity of the ADF, but if not, the copy history of the data pointer is stored in the temporary storage memory. The continuity of copying is sought in comparison with the previous copying history.

As described above, if A, B, and C for four weeks are obtained, D ′ and E are calculated from the numerical values, and the F value corresponding to the D ′ value is obtained from the table shown in FIG. 2 (n31 → n32 → n3
3). Then, the E value and the F value are compared, and if it is determined that the ADF should be provided, the fact is operated and displayed on the display unit 5 (n34 → n35 → n36). The user may determine whether or not to wear the ADF based on this display. On the other hand, the CPU restores the data pointer saved in the stack so that the copy history can be written during the next copying process.

Note that other methods may be used to determine whether the ADF is a usable continuous copy, for example, if the time interval between the current copy and the previous copy is within a certain amount, the continuous copy may be determined. . Also, the retroactive period of the past copy history when seeking the necessity of the ADF is not limited to four weeks.

(G) Effect of the Invention According to the present invention, the necessity of the ADF is judged based on the actual copy history, so that the user can make an accurate judgment about the ADF mounting.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 (A) to (C) are flowcharts showing the processing procedure of the main part relating to the ADF information, FIG. 2 is a reference table for determining the necessity, and FIG. 3 is the structure of the copy history storage memory. FIGS. 4 (A) to 4 (D) are diagrams showing the specific memory, and FIGS. 5 (A) to 5 (G).
Shows a storage state of each copy history, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a copying machine.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a copying machine to which an original feeding device is optionally mounted, a memory for storing copy history such as copy original size and number of copies, and a frequency of continuous original exchange within a predetermined period are obtained from the copy history. Optional information, including means, means for determining whether or not the automatic document feeder is necessary based on the frequency of document exchange, and means for notifying the necessity when determining the necessity of the automatic document feeder. Copier with functions.