JP2020173377A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] When setting paper that has already been printed on one side and printing on the opposite side that has already been printed, a jam occurs due to a printing error, and after the jammed paper is removed, reprinting of the jammed amount automatically starts. As a result, the order of the front and back pages is inconsistent, causing a problem in that the printing order is shifted. In addition, when manual duplex printing is performed on thick preprinted paper or irregular-sized paper that cannot pass through the duplex conveyance path, the printing order is shifted when restarting printing when a jam occurs, resulting in wasted special and expensive paper. The problem was that it became. [Solution] When an abnormality such as a jam occurs during the duplex printing process in which paper that has already been printed on one side in manual duplex mode is set and the opposite side is printed, a message is sent to the user and the printing is continued. By skipping printing on paper that has become jammed, it is possible to prevent misalignment of printing on the front and back sides of double-sided printing. [Selection diagram] Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

In the conventional image forming apparatus, when the manual double-sided mode is set, the transport path is switched on the manual feed tray mounted above and the image is ejected upward on the image surface. Then, the output tray is set as it is in the lower paper feed port, and the paper is fed and printed again. This enables double-sided printing. It has been proposed to provide an information display device, a control method thereof, and an image forming device that can prevent erroneous printing due to a mistake in the paper setting of the user by being able to reset and print the paper while leaving the printed surface as it is (). See Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-13938

However, in the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, when a single-sided printed paper is set and the printed facing side is printed, after a jam occurs due to a printing abnormality, the jam paper is removed. Reprinting of jam paper will start automatically. As a result, the order of the front and back pages is different, and the printing order is deviated, which is a problem.

In addition, although it has an automatic double-sided printing mechanism, manual double-sided printing is performed on thick preprinted paper or irregular-sized paper that cannot pass through the double-sided transport path, and the printing order is set for restart printing when a jam occurs. It was out of alignment. As a result, there has been a problem that special and expensive paper is wasted.

In order to solve the above problems, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is
An image forming device that outputs an image on paper.
Jam detection means to detect that paper transportation has been delayed,
An information display means for notifying the user of jam information when a jam is detected by the jam detection means.
The first printing method, which prints multiple sheets on one side,
A second printing method in which the opposite side of a plurality of single-sided printed sheets is printed by the first printing method, and the like.
If you have
When one side is printed by the first printing method and then printing is interrupted by a jam while printing the opposite side corresponding to the first printing method by the second printing method.
The information display means displays the procedure information for printing by the first printing method and restarting the print job on the corresponding surface.
You can choose to restart or end the print job that was interrupted by the jam.
Moreover, it is characterized in that the printing of the jam paper is skipped when the printing is restarted.

In the conventional image forming apparatus, the second side of the printing side is printed on both sides of the manual on the paper once printed on one side. However, a jam occurs while printing the second side of the printed surface on both sides of the manual, and if the jam factor is released, the failed print page is printed again. Therefore, the order of the front and back pages was out of order.

According to the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, when an abnormality such as a jam occurs during printing on the second side of the printing side of both sides of the manual, the user is notified as a message. Moreover, when continuous printing is performed, printing of jammed paper is skipped. This makes it possible to prevent the front and back printing of double-sided printing from shifting.

Sectional drawing of the image forming apparatus in Example 1. The control block diagram in the first embodiment Diagram of print order in Example 1 Diagram of operation screen in Example 1 Diagram of message screen in Example 1 Overall flowchart of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment Flow chart of jam processing in Example 1 Flowchart of printing process in Example 1

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Explanation of cross-sectional view and block diagram>
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a control block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. The basic operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

First, the image forming apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 drives the direction of the transport flapper 140 for drawing into the paper discharge transport path 184 to the paper discharge transport path 184 side in advance before feeding paper.

Next, the paper 50 placed in the paper feed cassette 100 is started to be fed by the cassette pickup roller 102.

The paper fed from the paper feed cassette 100 for printing the front surface is sent to the print transport path 182 by the transport roller pair 110.

The image forming apparatus 1 is provided with a manual feed feed port 105 for printing paper having a size different from that of the paper 50 set in the paper feed cassette 100 and a paper type. When the user specifies the paper feed port to the manual paper feed port 105, the manual paper 51 placed in the manual paper feed port 105 causes the manual paper 51 placed in the manual paper feed port 105 to be set to the manual feed pickup roller 101. It is possible to start paper feeding.
The manual paper 51 fed from the manual paper feed port 105 is fed to the print transfer path 182 by the transfer roller pair 114.

The paper fed from the paper feed cassette 100 or the manual paper feed port 105 is conveyed to the print transport path 182, and whether or not the paper feed operation is normally performed is monitored by using the register sensor 130.

On the other hand, the CPU 201 of the image forming apparatus 1 starts the image forming operation in time for the paper to arrive on the drum 120 which is the image forming unit 204.

The CPU 201 detects the position of the paper conveyed by the transfer roller pair 111 by monitoring the output of the registration sensor 130. Then, in consideration of the timing when the paper tip reaches the registration sensor 130, the paper transport is controlled so that the paper tip and the tip of the toner image on the drum 120 coincide with each other between the drums 120. For example, when the paper arrives early with respect to the toner image, the paper is stopped by the transfer roller pair 111 for a predetermined time, and then the transfer is restarted.

The paper that has reached the drum 120 and the toner image formed on the drum 120 as described above are transferred to the paper.

The transferred paper is conveyed to the fixing roller 123 and the fixing pressure roller 124, heated by the fixing heater 160 inside the fixing roller 123, and the toner image on the paper is heated and fixed on the paper.

After that, the CPU 201 monitors the paper leading edge and the paper trailing edge of the paper with the fixing paper ejection sensor 131 during the paper transport, and checks that there is no jam or retention of the paper.

The paper that has passed through the fixed paper discharge sensor 131 is transported to the paper discharge transport path 184 by the transport flapper 140 switched to the paper discharge transport side. Further, the paper passes through the transport roller pair 116 and is discharged to the FD output tray 106.

In the case of double-sided printing, the direction of the transport flapper 140 is driven toward the double-sided reversing transport path 183 in order to draw the paper into the double-sided reversing transport path 183 before feeding, and the paper is conveyed to the double-sided reversal transport path 183. To do so.

Next, after feeding the paper, in the process of printing in the same manner as the single-sided printing process described above, after passing through the fixing roller 123 and the fixing pressure roller 124, the double-sided reverse transfer is carried out while being monitored by the fixing paper ejection sensor 131. Pull into road 183. The rear end of the paper drawn into the double-sided reversing transport path 183 is temporarily stopped before passing through the transport roller pair 115, and then the paper is reverse-conveyed.

Next, the paper is drawn into the double-sided transport path 181 and the paper is transported by the transport rollers pairs 112 and 113. The paper conveyed to the double-sided transfer path 181 is temporarily stopped on the double-sided standby position sensor 133 in preparation for backside printing.

After the paper is drawn into the double-sided transport path 181, the transport flapper 140 is driven so as to be transported to the paper discharge transport path 184 side.

Next, when the back surfaces of both sides are ready to be printed, the temporarily stopped paper is conveyed, passed through the transfer roller pair 114, and guided to the printing transfer path 182, in the same manner as the printing on the front surface described above. , The back side of the paper is printed, and the paper is discharged to the FD output tray 106. This makes it possible to print on both sides of the paper.

Further, the registration sensor 130, the fixed paper discharge sensor 131, and the double-sided standby position sensor 133 on the transport path can detect the transport status and retention of the paper.

Further, the image forming apparatus 1 has a door (not shown) for removing jam, and a sensor (not shown) for detecting the door open state is connected to the sensor unit 207 via the I / O 206.

The explanation of FIG. 2 will be continued.

The image forming apparatus 1 holds a CPU 201 that controls the operation of the image forming apparatus.

It also holds the ROM 202 in which the control program by the CPU 201 is described. Further, the RAM 203 holds both a volatile memory that temporarily holds the program conditions and a memory that is backed up by a battery and holds a value even when the main power supply is turned off.

It also holds an operation unit 190 that also displays information and inputs data necessary for user operation.

It holds the I / O 206 for driving the transport motor 208, which is the drive source of each transport roller that transports paper, and the transport flapper 140, which switches the transport path.

Further, the CPU 201 grasps the paper transport status and the jam state by the registration sensor 130, the fixing paper discharge sensor 131, and the double-sided standby position sensor 133 connected to the sensor unit 207 via the I / O 206.

Further, it is composed of an image forming unit 204 that forms an image on the drum 120 by the CPU 201, and an external I / F 205 for the CPU 201 to communicate with a PC such as an external host.

The above basic image forming operation is an example, and the present invention is not limited to the above configuration.

<Explanation of double-sided printing with user assistance>
In the image forming apparatus 1 having an automatic double-sided mechanism like the present image forming apparatus 1, it is possible to perform double-sided printing using the automatic double-sided mechanism on ordinary paper. However, double-sided printing cannot be automatically performed on paper that does not pass through the double-sided transport path 181 such as thick paper and small-sized paper, which are restricted by the automatic double-sided mechanism.

However, it is possible to obtain the output result of double-sided printing by printing one side at a time with the assistance of the user. Further, even an inexpensive image forming apparatus that does not have a double-sided printing mechanism can perform double-sided printing by printing one side at a time.

The printing method on both sides of the manual will be described. Details of imposition for manual printing are shown in FIG.

In the automatic double-sided printing with the image forming apparatus 1 having the automatic double-sided mechanism, first, the first even-numbered side and the second page are printed as shown in FIG. 3A. The first sheet after printing is guided to the double-sided transfer path 181 via the double-sided inverted transfer path 183, then the first page on the odd-numbered side of the first sheet is printed and the paper is discharged to the FD output tray 106.

In addition, the next sheet is fed, the fourth page on the even side of the second sheet is printed, guided to the double-sided transfer path 181 via the double-sided inverted transfer path 183, and then the third page on the odd side of the second sheet is printed. The paper is ejected to the FD output tray 106.

This is printed over N / 2nd sheet, N pages on even-numbered sides and N-1 pages on odd-numbered sides, and double-sided printing is completed.

When manual double-sided printing is performed in order to obtain the same output result as the automatic double-sided printing, printing is performed as follows.

In manual double-sided printing, in the case of the FD output tray 106, first, the first even-sided N-page is printed and the FD output tray 106 is output as shown in FIG. 3B. .. After finishing single-sided printing of the first even-sided N-page, feed the next sheet, print the second even-sided N-page, and print the last even-sided second page. After finishing the above, the paper is ejected to the FD output tray 106.

The above printing is performed over N / 2 sheets, and single-sided printing on even-numbered sides is completed.

In order to reprint the even-numbered pages discharged from the FD output tray 106 on the printed paper, place the paper in the manual feed slot 105 with the blank side facing down and paying attention to the vertical orientation of the printing surface. ..

Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, the first page of the odd-numbered side of the first sheet is printed and the paper is discharged to the FD output tray 106. After finishing the single-sided printing of the first page on the odd side of the first sheet, the next sheet is fed, the third page on the odd side of the second sheet is printed, and the paper is discharged to the FD output tray 106.

The above printing is performed on N / 2 sheets, and single-sided printing on odd-numbered sides is completed.

As a result, double-sided printing is performed by printing one side at a time, and both sides of the manual are completed.

To generate print data according to the above print order, use a host PC (not shown) to generate print data including the print order from application software, or use the driver of the image forming device to generate print data including the print order. May be done.

<Explanation of manual double-sided printing in Example 1>
FIG. 4 is a print setting screen of the image forming apparatus 1 showing an embodiment of the present invention.

A basic setting method of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

In the print processing operation of the printer according to the first embodiment, the setting is performed on the print setting screen displayed on the display screen 509 of the operation unit 190 of the image forming apparatus 1 before printing is performed.

First, the user makes print settings on the print setting screen ((a) and (b) of FIG. 4) of the image forming apparatus 1. A paper type such as thick paper that cannot be printed on both sides of the image forming apparatus 1 is specified in the content of the printing setting 1 (510) of FIG. 4A of the image forming apparatus 1 (512), and the printing method is one side (512). 501) is specified. The print method setting (501) is a button setting, and when the setting is turned on, it becomes a black circle, and when the setting is turned off, it becomes a white circle, which can be visually confirmed. In the paper size setting (502), A4 size and other paper sizes supported by the printer can be specified, and the paper is specified by pulling down. To confirm the setting on this screen, press the OK button (504). Further, when canceling the setting, the setting screen 1 can be canceled by pressing the cancel button (503).

Further, in the content of the print setting 2 (511) of FIG. 4 (b) of the image forming apparatus 1, the setting to print on the back side of both sides of the manual is turned ON (505) to enable the back side printing at the time of both sides of the manual. Is possible. When limiting the pages to be printed, it is possible to specify printing of the currently displayed page or printing of all pages (506). At this time, printing designation (507) for odd-numbered or even-numbered pages and printing designation (508) for reverse order are possible. To confirm the setting on this screen, press the OK button (504). Further, when canceling the setting, it is possible to cancel by pressing the cancel button (503) on the setting screen 2.

The above print settings are stored in the RAM 203, and are referred to where the operation is switched depending on the settings.

A detailed explanation using a flowchart will be given later, but a method of roughly setting both sides of the manual will be described below.

First, both sides of the manual are set for printing N pages, for example, 10 pages of even-numbered sides as shown in FIG. 3B.

In the printing of the first embodiment, in order to obtain the result of double-sided printing with the setting of A4 thick paper which cannot be automatically double-sided, the print setting 1 (510) is set to one side (501) and A4 (501) on the print setting 1 screen of the image forming apparatus 1. 502), thick paper (512) is specified.

After that, in print setting 2 (511), the setting (505) for printing on the back side of the printed paper on the screen is turned off, and all (506) are turned on on the page to be printed. Also, since it is the first printing on both sides of the manual, only even-numbered pages (507) are selected, and the print designation (508) is turned on in reverse order.

With this setting, printing for 10 even-numbered pages on one side is performed.

Next, the odd-numbered pages on both sides of the manual are printed.

The 10 pages of the paper bundle with even pages printed on the FD output tray 106 described above are printed again, so pay attention to the vertical orientation of the printed surface with the blank page facing down and manually insert the paper. Place at 105.

The print setting 1 (510) is the same as that of the first single-sided printing, and the single-sided (501), A4 (502), and thick paper (503) are specified.

After that, in print setting 2 (511), the setting (505) for printing on the back side of the printed paper is turned on on the screen, and all (506) are specified on the page to be printed. Further, since the back side of both sides of the manual is printed, only odd-numbered pages (507) are selected, and the print designation (508) is turned off in the reverse order.

With this setting, 10 pages of odd-numbered sides on one side are printed.

As a result, double-sided printing of 10 pages is completed on both sides of the manual.

Next, the details of the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The front side and the back side are printed using the same flowchart.

First, when the image forming apparatus 1 is started, the CPU 201 executes the initialization process in S901 of FIG.

In the initialization process of S901, processing for starting the power supply of the image forming apparatus 1, initialization of the memory, and operation check of each sensor and the transfer motor are performed.

After completing the initialization process of S901, the CPU 201 moves the process to S902.

The CPU 201 executes the print standby loop process in S902 and S903.

When it is determined in S902 that the CPU 201 is receiving the next print data from a host PC (not shown) connected to the outside, the process proceeds to the process of S904. Further, in S902, when the CPU 201 has not received the print data, the CPU 201 moves the process to S903.

In S903, the CPU 201 determines that the power button has been pressed, performs a predetermined power OFF process, and ends the operation of the image forming apparatus 1. If the CPU 201 determines in S903 that the power button is not pressed, the process moves to S902.

In S904, the CPU 201 executes the printing process of FIG. 8 described later. In the print process, the print result such as normal printing or jam is temporarily stored in the RAM 203 and passed to the next process.

In S905, the CPU 201 reads the result of the print process of S904 from the temporarily stored RAM 203 and confirms the result of the print process. When the CPU 201 determines that a jam has occurred in the printing process of S904, the process is branched to S906. If the CPU 201 determines that normal printing is performed in the print process, the process is moved to S915.

In S906, when the CPU 201 determines that a jam has occurred in the printing process of S904 described later, the operation of the transfer motor and the fixing heater is urgently stopped at that time.

In S908, the jam processing of FIG. 7, which will be described later, is performed.

In S909, the CPU 201 confirms the designation of "print on the back side of the printed paper" (505) in the setting of the print setting 2 of FIG. 4 (b) stored in the RAM 203. When the CPU 201 determines that it is ON, the process proceeds to S910, and when it is determined that the CPU 201 is OFF, the process branches to S915.

In S910, a screen ((c) in FIG. 5) prompting the user to select whether to continue the manual double-sided printing process is displayed and the process proceeds.

In S911, when the user selects the print continuation button (521) from the confirmation screen ((c) of FIG. 5) for continuing the manual double-sided printing process in S910, the process is transferred to S914. If the user selects the print stop button (522), the process proceeds to S912.

In S914, when the emergency stop is performed in S906, the CPU 201 grasps the number of jam-retained papers from the paper fed and the paper discharged. For pages that are printed on the number of sheets of paper that have stopped in the cabin, continuous printing is started without reprinting, so the host PC is requested to print the pages to be restarted.

When the process proceeds to S912, the host PC is instructed to stop printing, and job printing is stopped. When the CPU 201 finishes the processing of S912 and S915, the processing is moved to S902, and the print standby loop processing is executed by the above-mentioned S902 and S903. As a result, the image forming apparatus 1 enters the print standby state and waits for the reception of print data from the host PC.

<Explanation of jam processing operation>
Next, the operation of the jam processing, which is called the processing in S908 of FIG. 6, will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, the CPU 201 moves the process from S908 of FIG. 6 to S1001 of FIG.

In S1001, a jam processing request screen ((a) in FIG. 5) is displayed in order to make the user recognize that a jam has occurred.

Next, the user opens a door (not shown) of the image forming apparatus 1 in order to recognize that the jam is occurring and release the jam processing. In S1002, the CPU 201 detects that the user has opened the door with a sensor (not shown).

If the CPU 201 cannot determine the door open state in S1002, the CPU 201 waits in S1002 until it determines the door open state. When the CPU 201 determines that the user has opened the door in S1002, the process proceeds to S1003.

In S1003, the CPU 201 identifies the jam position by the registration sensor 130, the fixed paper discharge sensor 131, and the double-sided standby position sensor 133 installed in the transport path, and displays the content prompting the user to remove the paper that is the cause of the jam ( (B) of FIG. 5 is performed.

Next, in S1004, the user recognizes the position of the jam by pressing the OK button on the screen. The CPU 201 waits in S1004 until the user presses the OK button, and when it determines that the OK button has been pressed, proceeds to the process in S1005.

In S1005, the CPU 201 erases the jam display and proceeds to the process in S1006.

In S1006, the CPU 201 detects that the door is closed by a sensor (not shown). If it cannot be determined in S1006 that the door has been closed, the CPU 201 waits in S1006 until the user closes the door. When the CPU 201 determines that the door has been closed in S1006, the process proceeds to S1007.

In S1007, the CPU 201 detects that there is no accumulated paper in the transport path of the image forming apparatus 1 by the registration sensor 130, the fixed paper discharge sensor 131, and the double-sided standby position sensor 133. When the CPU 201 determines in S1007 that there is stagnant paper, the process is moved to S1001 and the user is requested to remove the jam paper again. When the CPU 201 determines that there is no accumulated paper, the jam processing is terminated and the processing is moved to S909 in FIG.

<Explanation of printing process operation>
Next, the operation of the printing process, which is called the process in S904 of FIG. 6, will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, the CPU 201 moves the process from S904 in FIG. 6 to S1101 in FIG.

In S1101, the CPU 201 instructs the transfer motor 208 to rotate, and when the rotation of the transfer motor 208 stabilizes, the process proceeds to S1102.

In S1102, the CPU 201 starts heating the fixing heater 160 and prepares to fix the toner on the paper. Further, when the CPU 201 determines that the fixing heater 160 has reached the specified temperature, the CPU 201 shifts the process to S1103.

In S1103, the CPU 201 conveys the paper from the paper feed cassette 100 to the transfer roller pair 111 at the printable position, further transfers the paper when the printing preparation is completed, and the CPU 201 shifts the processing to S1105.

In the process of S1105, the printing process for one sheet on one side is performed. The CPU 201 transfers the print data received from the external host connected to the external I / F 205 to the image forming unit 204. The image forming unit 204 develops the transferred print data on the drum 120, and when the paper passes through the drum, the image is transferred to the paper. Further, when the image passes through the next fixing roller 123, the image is fixed on the paper. When the printing of one sheet is completed in the process of S1105, the CPU 201 moves the process to S1106.

In S1106, the CPU 201 moves the process to S1107 when it determines that the one-sheet printing process has not timed out or a printing abnormality has occurred and printing has been performed normally. Further, in S1106, when the CPU 201 determines that the single-sheet printing process could not be printed due to a timeout, the process is moved to S1108.

In S1107, the CPU 201 temporarily stores the normal result in the RAM 203 and then moves to the process.

In S1108, the CPU 201 temporarily stores the jam result generated in the print process in the RAM 203, and then moves to the process.

After finishing printing one sheet, the CPU 201 returns to S905 in FIG.

By the above processing, when an abnormality such as a jam occurs in the double-sided printing process in which the single-sided printed paper in the manual double-sided mode is set and the opposite side is printed, the user is notified as a message. Moreover, when continuous printing is performed, printing of jammed paper is skipped. As a result, it is possible to prevent the front and back printing of double-sided printing from shifting.

In addition, manual double-sided printing is performed on thick preprinted paper or irregular-sized paper that cannot be passed through the double-sided transport path, and the printing order is maintained in the restart printing when a jam occurs, which is special and expensive. It is possible to prevent the paper from being wasted.

Further, in the image forming apparatus 1 that does not have the automatic double-sided mechanism, it is possible to prevent the front and back printing of the double-sided printing from being misaligned when a printing abnormality occurs on the back side of both sides of the manual.

1 image forming device, 50 paper, 51 manual paper, 100 paper cassette,
101 Manual Pickup Roller, 102 Cassette Pickup Roller,
105 Manual Feed Port, 106 FD Paper Ejection Tray, 110 Conveyor Roller Pairs,
111 Conveying Roller Pairs, 112 Conveying Roller Pairs, 113 Conveying Roller Pairs,
114 Conveying Roller Pairs, 115 Conveying Roller Pairs, 116 Conveying Roller Pairs,
120 drum, 123 fixing roller, 124 fixing pressure roller,
130 cash register sensor, 131 fixed paper discharge sensor, 133 double-sided standby position sensor,
140 transport flapper, 160 fixing heater, 181 double-sided transport path,
182 print transport path, 183 double-sided reverse transport path, 184 paper output transport path,
190 Operation unit

Claims (1)

An image forming device that outputs an image on paper.
Jam detection means to detect that paper transportation has been delayed,
An information display means for notifying the user of jam information when a jam is detected by the jam detection means.
The first printing method, which prints multiple sheets on one side,
A second printing method in which the opposite side of a plurality of single-sided printed sheets is printed by the first printing method, and the like.
If you have
When one side is printed by the first printing method and then printing is interrupted by a jam while printing the opposite side corresponding to the first printing method by the second printing method.
The information display means displays the procedure information for printing by the first printing method and restarting the print job on the corresponding surface.
You can choose to restart or end the print job that was interrupted by the jam.
Moreover, an image forming apparatus characterized in that printing of jam paper is skipped when printing is resumed.