Patent Grant
7577372
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image forming apparatuses that can print characters and figures on various kinds of paper such as a printer and a copying machine and a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, in this type of image forming apparatuses, printing on various kinds of paper having different thicknesses and the like is possible. However, a difference in a paper type affects transferability, fixability, and the like in printing. Therefore, for example, in an image forming apparatus of an electrophotographic system, improvement in an image quality is realized by, for example, changing a quantity of toner for transferring an image to paper, transfer conditions, and fixing conditions according to paper thickness.
Conventionally, an operator visually checks and manually designates paper type information such as thickness. However, for example, because this work is extremely complicated, it is proposed to automatically detect a paper type using a transmission optical sensor or the like.
For example, in JP-A-2004-277057, paper feeding mechanism that feeds paper piece by piece is provided for each paper feeding cassette that stacks and holds paper and, on an outgoing side of the paper feeding mechanism, a paper type sensor that detects type (thickness, etc.) of paper fed by this paper feeding mechanism is provided. In preparation for printing to be performed later, a leading end of one piece of paper at the top is fed from the paper feeding cassette by a predetermined quantity by the paper feeding mechanism at timing prior to an original paper feeding command and a type of the paper is detected by the paper type sensor.
In this way, it is possible to acquire paper type information at the timing prior to the original paper feeding command. This makes it possible to perform, for an image forming process of an image forming unit, proper setting using the detected paper type information before the paper feeding command for printing is received.
In this type of image forming apparatuses, in general, plural paper feeding cassettes as paper supplying sources are provided. Pieces of paper of types different from one another are often provided in the plural paper feeding cassettes, respectively, to make it possible to select a desired paper type from these paper feeding cassettes and perform printing. In this case, pieces of paper fed from the respective paper feeding cassettes by paper feeding mechanisms are separately joined to a common paper conveying path leading to the image forming unit, and sent to the image forming unit and printed, respectively.
A case in which the conventional technique described above is applied to such image forming apparatuses will be examined. For example, it is assumed that paper is stored in a paper feeding cassette and the paper feeding cassette is set in an image forming apparatus main body. In this case, to detect a paper type in advance in preparation for printing after this, as described above, a leading end of one piece of paper is fed from the paper feeding cassette by a predetermined quantity by the paper feeding mechanism and a type of the paper is detected by the paper type sensor. Thereafter, if an original paper feeding command for the paper, the type of which is detected, is continuously issued, no problem occurs because it is possible to send the paper fed halfway to the image forming unit as it is. However, if an original paper feeding command for paper stored in another paper feeding cassette is issued, it is likely that the paper, the type of which is detected, hinders feeding and conveyance of the paper according to the original paper feeding command.
In short, in the image forming apparatus having the plural paper feeding cassettes, it is not definitely decided to which one of the paper feeding cassettes (paper types) an original paper feeding command is given. The paper feeding cassette is changed according to a print request. Therefore, as described above, it often occurs that, after a paper type of a paper feeding cassette set anew is detected, an original paper feeding command is given to another paper feeding cassette.
In this case, since the paper, the type of which is detected, stays in a state in which the leading end thereof is fed by the predetermined quantity, it is likely that the paper hinders movement of paper fed from another paper feeding cassette to a common conveying path. To prevent the paper from hindering the movement of another piece of paper, it is necessary to provide the paper type sensor in an extremely narrow portion near the paper feeding mechanism and arrange and set the paper type sensor such that the leading end of the paper in the type detected state does not project over the conveying path of another piece of paper. Therefore, the paper type sensor is subjected to restriction in terms of arrangement. Even if the paper type sensor is arranged in this way, when a quantity of paper feeding by the paper feeding mechanism is unstable, the leading end may project to the common conveying path and interfere with the movement of another piece of paper. When double feeding occurs, remaining paper may project to the common conveying path.
To surely prevent such interference, paper once fed to the sensor portion only has to be returned into the paper feeding cassette after the detection by the sensor.
However, to return the paper partially fed from the paper feeding cassette into the paper feeding cassette after the paper type detection, a complicated mechanism is required, which causes a failure. It is not preferable to return the paper once fed because a burden on the paper is heavy and a jam is caused.
Providing the paper type sensor near the paper feeding mechanism leads to misdetection of a paper type as well. The paper feeding mechanism takes out uppermost paper of paper stacked and held in the paper feeding cassette with a pickup roller and separates and feeds the paper piece by piece with a paper feeding roller arranged on a front side of the paper and a separation roller arranged on a rear side of the paper. However, when a separating action is not sufficient, two pieces of paper may be delivered together right behind the paper feeding roller and the separation roller. Even if the two pieces of paper are delivered together, in most cases, only one piece of paper is delivered to the conveying path by an action of the separation roller. However, when the paper type sensor is provided near the separation and paper feeding mechanisms, the paper type sensor detects these two pieces of paper. Thus, for example, in the case of a sensor that detects paper thickness, misdetection is caused.
It is an object of the invention to provide an image forming apparatus that can perform printing under optimum conditions according to a paper type and without deteriorating performance because the image forming apparatus incorporates paper type detection in an image processing algorithm and controls the paper type detection to detect a paper type in the middle of paper feeding and conveyance, set an image process according to a result of the detection, and start this image forming process.
According to an aspect of the invention, an image forming apparatus includes: a paper feeding mechanism that feeds paper piece by piece; a paper conveying path that conveys paper fed by this paper feeding mechanism to a paper discharging unit; an image forming unit that is arranged between the paper feeding mechanism and the paper discharging unit on this paper conveying path and executes an image forming process for forming an image based on image data and printing the image on the paper being conveyed by the paper conveying path; a sensor that is arranged on an upstream side with respect to the image forming unit on the paper conveying path and detects a type of paper conveyed by this paper conveying path; a condition setting unit that sets conditions for an image forming process of the image forming unit in accordance with a detection result of this sensor; an image-forming-process control unit that starts the image forming process of the image forming unit awaiting the detection result of the sensor when the paper fed to the paper conveying path by the paper feeding mechanism is paper not detected by the sensor and starts the image forming process without awaiting paper type detection when the paper fed to the paper conveying path is detected by the sensor; and a paper-conveying-path control unit that causes the paper conveying path to convey paper conveyed by the paper conveying path to the image forming unit, in which the image forming process is started, in synchronization with a printing operation of the image forming unit.
According to another aspect of the invention, a control method of an image forming apparatus includes: a step of feeding paper piece by piece to a paper conveying path that conveys fed paper to a paper discharging unit; a step of detecting a type of the paper fed to the paper conveying path with a sensor; a step of setting, in accordance with a detection result of the sensor, image forming process conditions for an image forming unit that executes an image forming process for forming an image based on image data and printing the image on paper being conveyed by the paper conveying path; a step of starting the image forming process of the image forming unit awaiting a detection result by the sensor when the paper fed to the paper conveying path by the paper feeding mechanism is paper, a paper type of which is not detected by the sensor, and starting the image forming process without awaiting the paper type detection when the paper fed to the paper conveying path is paper, a type of which is detected by the sensor; and a step of conveying the paper conveyed by the paper conveying path to the image forming unit, in which the image forming process is started, in synchronization with a printing operation of the image forming unit.
Embodiments of the invention will be hereinafter explained in detail with the accompanying drawings as examples.
A scan unit (203 in
Reference numeral 220 denotes an image forming unit, which is constituted by a print engine (213 in
The photoconductive drums 21, 22, 23, and 24 are arrayed substantially in the horizontal direction at fixed intervals. The transfer belt 25 of an endless shape is provided above these photoconductive drums 21, 22, 23, and 24. The transfer belt 25 is laid over the drive roller 26, guide rollers 27, 28, and 29, and a driven roller 30. The transfer belt 25 is subjected to power from the drive roller 26 and rotates to travel in a counterclockwise direction. The guide roller 27 is provided to move up and down freely. The guide roller 27 is subjected to rotation of a cam 31 and moved to the transfer belt 25 side to displace the transfer belt 25 to the photoconductive drums 21, 22, 23, and 24 side.
Primary transfer rollers 41, 42, 43, and 44 are provided to be movable up and down in positions opposed to the photoconductive drums 21, 22, 23, and 24 across the transfer belt 25. The primary transfer rollers 41, 42, 43, and 44 are moved (lowered) to the transfer belt 25 side to bring the transfer belt 25 into contact with the photoconductive drums 21, 22, 23, and 24 and transfer visible images on the photoconductive drums 21, 22, 23, and 24 to the transfer belt 25.
Although not shown in the figure, a cleaner, a charge removing lamp, a charging unit, and a developing unit are displayed one after another around the photoconductive drum 21 (and the other photoconductive drums 22, 23, and 24 as well) The cleaner has a cleaning blade, which comes into contact with the surface of the photoconductive drum 21, and scrapes off a developing material remaining on the surface of the photoconductive drum 21 with the cleaning blade. The charge removing lamp removes electric charges remaining on the surface of the photoconductive drum 21. The charging unit applies a high voltage to the photoconductive drum 21 to charge the surface of the photoconductive drum 21 with electrostatic charges. The laser beam B1 emitted from the exposing unit 11 is irradiated on the surface of the photoconductive drum 21 subjected to the charging. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoconductive drum 21 by this irradiation. The developing unit supplies a developing material (a toner) of the yellow color to the surface of the photoconductive drum 21 to visualize the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductive drum 21.
Plural paper feeding cassettes 50 as paper supplying sources are provided below the exposing unit 11. A large number of pieces of paper P of types different from one another are stored in these paper feeding cassettes 50 in a stacked state. Paper feeding mechanisms 221 that feed the paper in the paper feeding cassettes 50 piece by piece from the top are provided in exit portions (on the right side in the figure) of these paper feeding cassettes 50, respectively. The paper P is taken out piece by piece from any one of the paper feeding cassettes 50 by this paper feeding mechanism 221. This paper feeding mechanism 221 for taking out paper is constituted by a pickup roller 51, a paper feeding roller 52a, and a separation roller 52b. The paper feeding mechanism 221 separates the paper P taken out from the paper feeding cassette 50 and feeds the paper to a paper conveying path 53 piece by piece.
The paper conveying path 53 extends to a paper discharge port 54 above through the driven roller 30 of the image forming unit 220. The paper discharge port 54 faces a paper discharging unit 55 leading to an outer peripheral surface of the main body 1. Conveying rollers 56 are provided near the paper feeding mechanisms 221, respectively, on a start end side of the paper conveying path 53. When paper is fed to this paper conveying path 53 by anyone of the paper feeding mechanisms 221, the paper conveying path 53 conveys the paper fed to the paper discharging unit 55.
A secondary transfer roller 57 is provided, across the transfer belt 25, in a position opposed to the driven roller 30 in a midway portion of the paper conveying path 53. Registration rollers 58 are provided in a position before the driven roller 30 and the secondary transfer roller 57 in a conveying direction. The registration rollers 58 deliver the paper P into a space between the transfer belt 25 and the secondary transfer roller 57 at timing synchronizing with a transfer operation by the transfer belt 25 and the secondary transfer roller 57. The secondary transfer roller 57 transfers, while nipping the paper P delivered from the registration rollers 58 between the secondary transfer roller 57 and the transfer belt 25 on the driven roller 30, a visible image transferred on the transfer belt 25 to the paper P and prints the visible image on the paper P. In other words, the registration rollers 58 convey the paper P to the image forming unit 220 having the transfer belt 25 and the secondary transfer roller 57 in synchronization with a printing operation of the image forming unit 220.
A heat roller 59 for heat fixing and a press-contact roller 60 in contact with this heat roller 59 are provided in a position of the paper conveying path 53 further on a downstream side than the secondary transfer roller 57. The image transferred to the paper P is fixed by the heat roller 59 and the press-contact roller 60. A paper discharging roller 61 is provided at an end of the paper conveying path 53.
Reference numeral 222 denotes an automatic duplex unit (hereinafter referred to as ADU). The ADU 222 has a paper conveying path 62 that is divided from a downstream side with respect to the image forming unit 220 on the paper conveying path 53 (the end of the conveying path 53) and joins with an upstream side with respect to the image forming unit 220 on the paper conveying path 53 (an upstream side position of the registration rollers 58). This paper conveying path 62 reverses the front and the back of the paper P for duplex printing. The paper conveying path 62 is provided with the conveying rollers 63, 64, and 65 and, in operation, switches back paper conveyed from the image forming unit 220 to the paper discharging unit 55 and joins the paper to the upstream side of the image forming unit 220. In this way, the paper P returned to the upstream side of the image forming unit 220 by the paper conveying path 62 joins with the paper conveying path 53. The paper P is delivered to the image forming unit 220 by the registration rollers 58 in synchronization with a printing operation of the image forming unit 220. Therefore, the visible image on the transfer belt 25 is transferred to the rear surface of the paper P and printed.
The paper conveying path 53 that conveys the paper fed by the paper feeding mechanism 221 to the paper discharging unit 55 is set as a main paper conveying path and the paper conveying path 62 for reversing the front and the back of the paper is set as a sub paper conveying path. This sub paper conveying path 62 comes into the operation state described above when the duplex printing is designated by a not-shown control panel or the like provided in the apparatus main body 1.
Reference numeral 223 denotes a paper type sensor, which is arranged on the upstream side with respect to the image forming unit 220 on the main paper conveying path 53 (a position further on the upstream side than the registration rollers 58) and detects a type of paper conveyed by the paper conveying path 53.
In an example in
A cleaner 36 is provided across the transfer belt 25 in a position opposed to the driver roller 26 of the image forming unit 220. This cleaner 36 has a cleaning blade 36a, which comes into contact with the transfer belt 25, and scrapes off a developing material remaining on the transfer belt 25 with the cleaning blade 36a. Hooks 71, 72, 73, and 74 are provided near the primary transfer rollers 41, 42, 43, and 44. These hooks 71, 72, 73, and 74 can engage with shafts of the primary transfer rollers 41, 42, 43, and 44 and lift the shafts while rotating and move the primary transfer rollers 41, 42, 43, and 44 in an upward direction in the figure. It is possible to set a full color mode, a fully separated mode, and a monochrome mode according to which ones (one) of the primary transfer rollers 41, 42, 43, and 44 are lifted.
A control circuit for the apparatus main body 1 will be explained using
The scan unit 203 is connected to the scan controller 202. As described above, the scan unit 203 is constituted by the carriage 4, the exposure lamp 5, the reflecting mirrors 6, 7, and 8, the lens block for magnification 9, the CCD 10, and the like and optically scans an image of an original placed on the original stand 2.
The print controller 210 is connected to the paper type sensor 223 and is connected to a ROM 211 for control program storage, a RAM 212 for data storage, the print engine 213, the process unit 214, and a conveying unit 215, respectively. As described above, the print engine 213 is constituted by the exposing unit 11 and the like. As described above, the process unit 214 is constituted by the photoconductive drums 21, 22, 23, and 24, the transfer belt 25, the drive roller 26, the transfer-roller driving unit, and the like. The conveying unit 215 is constituted by conveying mechanisms for the paper P, driving circuits for the conveying mechanisms, and the like in the paper conveying paths 53 and 62.
As shown in
The condition setting unit 210a optimally sets conditions for the image forming unit 220 (the process unit 214 in
The process control unit for image formation 210b controls start timing of the image forming process in the image forming unit 220. The process control unit for image formation 210b controls start timing of the image forming process according to whether a type of paper fed from the paper feeding cassette 50 to the paper conveying path 53 by the paper feeding mechanism 221 is detected by the paper type sensor 223. When a paper type is not detected yet, the process control unit for image formation 210b starts the image forming process awaiting a detection result by the paper type sensor 223. On the other hand, when a paper type is already detected (for example, when remaining pieces of paper are fed from the same cassette), the process control unit for image formation 210b can start the image forming process without awaiting paper type detection.
The paper-conveying-path control unit 210c has a function of controlling, when the paper P is fed to the paper conveying path 53 by the paper feeding mechanism 221, the paper conveying path 53 to convey this paper to the paper discharging unit 55 and controlling the registration rollers 58 to convey paper, which is conveyed by the paper conveying path 53, to the image forming unit 220, in which the image forming process is started, in synchronization with a printing operation of the image forming unit 220.
In the constitution described above, for example, when one of the paper feeding cassettes 50 stores one new paper type and is set in the apparatus main body 1, the paper type of the paper P stored in this paper feeding cassette 50 is not detected by the paper type sensor 223 yet. In this state, when a paper feeding command is issued to perform printing on the paper in the paper feeding cassette 50, in which this undetected paper type is stored, the paper feeding mechanism 221 corresponding to this paper feeding cassette 50 feeds the paper P in the paper feeding cassette 50 to the paper conveying path 53 piece by piece.
The paper-conveying-path control unit 210c causes the conveying roller 56 to rotate and convey the paper P fed to the paper discharging unit 55. In the middle of this conveyance, a paper type of the paper P is detected by the paper type sensor 223. After passing through the paper type sensor 223, the paper P being conveyed temporarily stops in the portion of the registration rollers 58 located upstream of the image forming unit 220.
In this state, the condition setting unit 210a optimally sets, in accordance with a detection result of the paper type sensor 223, conditions for an image forming process of the image forming unit 220 (the process unit 214 in
Since a paper type of the paper fed to the paper conveying path 53 is not detected yet as described above, the process control unit 210b starts the image forming process awaiting a detection result by the paper type sensor 223. After this, the paper-conveying-path control unit 210c controls the registration rollers 58 to deliver the paper P temporarily stopped before the registration roller 58 to the image forming unit 220, in which the image forming process is started, in synchronization with a printing operation. Therefore, the image forming unit 220 transfers the image formed on the basis of the image data to the paper P delivered thereto by the registration rollers 58 and prints the image. The image transferred is heated and fixed by the heat roller 59 for heat fixing and the press-contact roller 60. After the fixing, the paper printed is discharged from the paper discharge port 54 to the paper discharging unit 55 by the paper discharging roller 61.
A case in which a paper feeding command is issued for paper stored in the same paper feeding cassette 50 as the paper, the paper type of which is detected as described above, will be explained. In this case, since the paper fed this time is fed from the same paper feeding cassette 50 as the paper, the paper type of which is already detected by the paper type sensor 223, the process control unit 210b determines that the paper is paper of the same type. Therefore, it is possible to start the image forming process without awaiting paper type detection. The process control unit 210b starts the image forming process at a point when the paper is fed to the paper conveying path 53 without awaiting a detecting operation by the paper type sensor 223. In this case, the paper-conveying-path control unit 210c controls the registration roller 58 to deliver the paper to the image forming unit 220 in synchronization with a printing operation of the image forming unit 220. At this point, since the image forming process is already started, the paper is immediately delivered to the image forming unit 220 without being kept waiting a long time before the registration rollers 58. Printing based on the image data is promptly performed.
As described above, in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the invention, a paper type of paper, a paper type of which is not detected yet, is detected by the paper type sensor 223 provided in the middle of the paper feeding and conveying process. This paper type detection is incorporated in an image forming algorithm and image formation start timing is associated with this paper type detection. Consequently, unlike in the past, it is unnecessary to perform partial paper feeding for paper type detection prior to an original paper feeding command. Therefore, an operation for returning paper once delivered to a sensor section to a paper storing unit to prevent the paper from blocking a course of paper conveyed from another paper feeding stage is not required for a paper feeding operation for the purpose of paper type detection. Since it is also unnecessary to arrange a sensor near the paper feeding mechanism, one sensor only has to be provided in common to respective paper feeding sources on a paper conveying path. Therefore, a structure is simplified and a stable operation is obtained.
As shown in
With such a constitution, the paper type sensors 223 are necessary by a number equivalent to the number of paper feeding sources. However, since it is possible to detect a paper type of fed paper at an initial stage of paper feeding and conveyance, it is possible to bring forward start timing of the image forming process and obtain high performance.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20050078973 | Suzuki | Apr 2005 | A1 |
| 20060045547 | Aiyama | Mar 2006 | A1 |
| 20080225318 | Murakami | Sep 2008 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2004-277057 | Oct 2004 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20080226314 A1 | Sep 2008 | US |
