JP2002010005A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device which can reduce the load imposed upon a CPU when a facsimile function is used, can make double-face recording possible by inverting image data on the second face when the double- face recording is performed by using the high-speed CPU of a personal computer or formatter, and can increase the double-face recording speed. SOLUTION: This image forming device having multiple functions including a copying function, a facsimile function, and a printing function is provided with a mode selecting means which selects one mode out of a one-face image forming mode and a double-face image forming mode and a printing control means which prints received facsimile documents in the one-face image forming mode even when the double-face image forming mode is selected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus which separates and feeds one sheet material from a plurality of sheet materials set in a document reading apparatus to an image forming section, and copies the image to the fed sheet material. The present invention relates to a forming apparatus.

[0002] The above-mentioned sheet material is used in office equipment such as copying machines, printers, printing machines, facsimile machines and other various equipment using sheet materials, for example, transfer paper, photosensitive paper, thermal paper, electrostatic paper, etc. Recording paper, printing paper, manuscript,
Sheets (cut sheets) such as cards and envelopes. The material is not limited to paper.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a printing operation when a document is received and a printing operation as a printer in a conventional image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic apparatus.

First, it is determined whether or not the received data is a plurality of data,
The determination is made by the PU (S20). If there are a plurality of received documents, the process proceeds to step S21. If there is no plurality of received documents, the process proceeds to step S30.

It is determined whether or not the image forming mode is set to the double-sided printing mode by a user setting (S).
21) If the mode is set to the double-sided printing mode, the process proceeds to step S22. If the mode is not set to the double-sided printing mode, the process proceeds to step S30.

In S22, a double-sided recording mode is set,
Image information for one page is stored in the RAM (S23).
Then, the recording motor is driven, a signal for feeding the recording paper is transmitted from the CPU to the recording unit, and the recording paper is conveyed from the sheet material feeding unit. The transported recording paper is controlled by the image processing unit of the recording unit so that the leading edge of the recording paper coincides with the image.

[0007] The image information stored in the RAM unit of the CPU is transmitted to the image processing unit of the recording unit, and based on the signal,
By controlling ON / OFF of the laser, an image of a dot pattern is formed on the photosensitive drum (S2).
4). The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum is converted into a visible image by toner in an image processing unit of a recording unit. The visible image formed on the photosensitive drum is transferred to a recording sheet, and the image that is merely placed on the recording sheet is subjected to heat and pressure by a fixing unit to be a permanent image. Thereafter, in response to a signal from the CPU, the sheet material having the image information recorded on the front surface is conveyed to the double-sided conveyance unit (S25).

Then, the image information of the next page is stored in the RAM (S26), and the subsequent printing operation is as described above. However, the difference from the first page is that the recording paper is switched back by the double-sided conveyance unit and then the recording paper is reversed, so that the leading edge of the document is reversed on the first and second surfaces. . That is, since the front end of the second surface is the rear end of the first surface, if the image information is printed as it is, the image data is reversed on the front and back. For this reason, in step S27,
After inverting the image data stored in the RAM, the image information is transmitted to the image processing unit of the recording unit, and the on / off of the laser is controlled based on this signal, so that the inverted image data is exposed. Formed on the drum (S2
8).

Thereafter, heat and pressure are applied by the fixing unit, and the sheet material that has been made a permanent image is discharged to a sheet discharge unit. Then, it is determined whether there is a next page (S
29) If there is a next page, the process proceeds to step S23, where the image information is stored again in the RAM. If there is no next page, printing is terminated.

If it is determined in S21 that the print mode is the one-sided print mode, the print mode is set to the one-sided print mode (S30).
When the single-sided printing mode is set in steps S20 and S21, as described above, the image information is stored in the RAM (S31), the image information is transmitted to the image processing unit of the printing unit, and based on the signal, By controlling the ON / OFF of the laser, image data is formed on the photosensitive drum (S32).

Thereafter, the sheet material which has been subjected to heat and pressure by the fixing unit and which has been made a permanent image is discharged to a sheet discharge unit, and it is determined whether or not there is a next page (S33).
If there is a next page, the process proceeds to step S31, where the image information is stored again in the RAM. If there is no next page, printing is terminated.

[0012]

When performing double-sided printing with the above-described conventional image forming apparatus, in order to unify the direction of the front side and the back side of the image data, the image data stored in the RAM is inverted. Image information must be transmitted to the image processing unit of the recording unit.

For this reason, when two or more received originals are used for double-sided printing, an excessive load is applied to the CPU, and there is a problem that the printing speed becomes extremely slow.

Further, not only the printing speed is reduced, but also a function for reserving a transmission original during reception cannot be used.
Since printing takes a long time, there is a problem that the next original cannot be easily received.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, measures to speed up the CPU and increase the capacity of the RAM can be considered.
In this case, since the unit cost of the CPU and the RAM is high, there remains a problem that the cost of the apparatus increases.

According to the present invention, the load on the CPU can be reduced when using the FAX function.
High-speed CPU of personal computer or high-speed CPU of formatter
The object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of inverting the image data of the second side at the time of double-sided printing, enabling double-sided printing, and improving the speed of double-sided printing. is there.

[0017]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a copy function,
In an image forming apparatus having a composite function including a facsimile function and a print function, an image reading means for reading a document on which image information is described, a single-sided image forming mode for forming an image on only one side of a sheet material, An image forming unit that can be operated in both a double-sided image forming mode for forming an image on the front and back surfaces of the sheet material, and one of the single-sided image forming mode and the double-sided image forming mode is selected. The image forming apparatus includes a mode selection unit that performs printing and a print control unit that prints a fax-received original in a single-sided image forming mode even when the double-sided image forming mode is selected.

[0018]

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a facsimile apparatus FS1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the facsimile machine FS1.

First, the outline of the facsimile apparatus FS1 will be described.

In the facsimile apparatus FS1, an apparatus main body 101, an original mounting table 102 on which a plurality of originals S can be stacked, an image reading section 103 for reading image information of the original S, and a recording apparatus main body including a laser beam printer. 104, an operation unit 105 including a display unit, input keys, etc., a document transport unit 106, and a document pressing unit 107
, Contact image sensor 108, and document discharge tray 1
09, a laser scanner 110, and an image forming unit 111
, A cassette sheet feeding unit 112, an upper sheet discharging unit 113 configured to stack a plurality of sheets P on the upper cover of the apparatus main body 101, a cartridge cover 114, and an ADF (auto document feeder). )
Cover 115, outer document guide 116, document holding plate 1
17, an inner document guide 118, a laser scanner 110
Section 119 between the printer and the recording apparatus main body 104, a control section 120 of the facsimile apparatus, a sheet transport section 121, a front cover 122, a paper discharge cover 123, a registration transport section 124, and can also serve as a front cover. Na M
P (multi-paper) paper supply unit 125 and double-sided conveyance unit 15
0.

The image reading unit 103 includes the document table 1
The original S loaded on the original 02 is separated one by one by a separation roller 106b pressed against a separation pad 106a, and an outer document guide 116 and an inner document guide are separated by a conveyance roller 106d pressed against a conveyance roller 106c pressed by a pressing spring. And a portion of the U.S. Further, the sheet is conveyed to the close contact type image sensor 108 by a sheet feeding roller 106f or the like pressed against a sheet feeding roller 106e pressed by a pressing spring.
07, the original S is pressed against the close contact image sensor 108 by the elastic force that deforms the original pressing plate 117,
After reading the image information of the document S while keeping the document in close contact, the document discharge tray 1 is pressed by the discharge roller 106h pressed against the discharge roller 106a pressed by the pressing spring.
09 is discharged. During this time, the original S
Guided by an outer document guide 116 and an inner document guide 118.

The original mounting table 102 is provided with a slider 102a slidable in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the original S (the width direction of the original S), and the originals mounted on the original mounting table 102 by the slider 102a. Both sides of S can be aligned. When the document S is a long document, by opening the extension document tray 102b, it is possible to prevent the rear end of the document S from protruding from the document table 102 and hanging down.

The contact type image sensor 108 irradiates the image information surface of the document S with light from an LED array as a light source, and forms an image of the reflected light reflected from the image information surface on a sensor element by a selfoc lens (trademark). , For reading image information.

The cassette paper feeding unit 112 is provided in the main body 101.
It is arranged at the bottom of the. The sheet material P stacked on the sheet feeding cassette 112a has an intermediate plate
f, and is urged upward by the f.
b, and are separated one by one by a separation pad 112c (friction piece separation method) and transported. The leading end of the separated sheet material P is detected by the registration sensor 124b after a predetermined time. If the registration sensor 124b does not detect the leading end of the sheet material P within a predetermined time from the start of sheet feeding, it is determined that a jam has occurred, and a display is made on the operation unit 105.

If the registration sensor 124b detects the leading end of the sheet material P within a predetermined time after the start of sheet feeding, the separated sheet material P is supplied to the sheet feeding roller 112b.
, And is guided by the pressure nip N of the registration roller pair 124a.

When the leading end of the sheet material P reaches the press-contact nip portion N of the resist roller pair 124a, the registration roller pair 124a is controlled to be in a rotation stopped state, and the leading end of the sheet material P is in the rotation stopped state. One to one
24a abuts against the pressure contact nip N and is received,
After that, the sheet material is fed by the sheet feeding roller 112b, so that a certain amount of bending loop is formed on the sheet material P, and the reaction force of the bending loop causes the leading edge of the sheet material P to become a nip line of the press-contact nip portion N. The skewing of the sheet material P is corrected by parallelizing the sheet material.

Next, at a predetermined control timing,
The registration roller pair 124a is driven, the sheet material P is conveyed, and the registration conveyance guide 124c in which the registration roller pair 124a and the registration sensor 124b are arranged.
And a sheet conveying U-turn guide 124d formed by a part of a main body frame forming a skeleton of the apparatus main body 101, and an MP guide 125g arranged on the apparatus main body 101 to be inverted.

Further, the sheet material P being fed continues to be transported even after reaching the pre-transfer roller pair 124e, and the leading end position is detected by the TOP sensor 124f, and the photosensitive drum 1
After the sheet is fed and the image output timing is adjusted so that the leading end of the toner image formed on the sheet 11a and the leading end of the sheet material P coincide with each other, the transfer charger 111f and the photosensitive drum 111a
Conveyed between.

The side edge of the sheet material P is regulated by a sheet regulating plate 112d movably mounted in accordance with the sheet size, so that skewing and non-feeding do not occur. The image is recorded on the lower surface side of the sheet material P stacked on the sheet cassette 112a.

The presence or absence of the sheet material P is detected by the cassette sensor 112h. The number of sheets that can be stacked in the cassette 112a is about 250, and is configured to be pulled out toward the front of the apparatus main body 101 (front loading method). The sheet sizes that can be stacked are A3, A4, A5, B4, B5,
There are seven types: letter and legal.

Further, the facsimile apparatus has an apparatus main body 1
The MP (multi-paper) sheet feeding unit 125 can be arranged by removing the front cover 122 arranged on the front surface of the image forming apparatus 01. MP (multi-paper) feeding unit 12
Reference numeral 5 denotes an openable and closable MP tray 125f, and recording paper of a size that cannot be stacked on the MP tray 125f
By pulling out the extension tray 125e, the rear end of the recording paper is prevented from protruding and hanging down.

The MP middle plate 125c is a MP middle plate spring 125.
h, the sheet material P can be stacked on the middle MP plate 125c because the middle plate 125c is pushed down in a standby state by a cam (not shown).

The MP from the control unit 120 of the facsimile machine
When a signal for starting sheet feeding is transmitted, the illustrated cam rotates, and the sheet material P stacked by releasing the pressing of the middle MP plate 125c is released into a semicircular MP sheet feeding roller 125a.
, And are separated one by one by the MP separation pad 125b (friction piece separation method) and transported. The separated sheet material P continues to be pressed and conveyed by the MP sheet feeding roller 125a and the MP separation pad 125b, and is transferred to the pre-transfer roller pair 124e.

Within a predetermined time from the start of sheet feeding, T
If the OP sensor 124f does not detect the leading end of the sheet material P, it is determined that a jam has occurred, and a display is made on the operation unit 105.

Further, the sheet material P being fed is continued to be conveyed even after reaching the pre-transfer roller pair 124e, and the leading end position is detected by the TOP sensor 124f.
After the sheet is fed and the image output timing is adjusted so that the leading end of the toner image formed on the sheet 11a and the leading end of the sheet material P coincide with each other, the transfer charger 111f and the photosensitive drum 111a
Conveyed between.

Since the MP sheet feeder 125 does not have a registration mechanism, the side edge of the sheet material P is regulated by the sheet regulating plate 125i movably mounted in accordance with the sheet size, so that skewing and non-feeding do not occur. . The image is recorded on the upper surface side of the sheet material P stacked on the MP tray 125f.

The presence or absence of the sheet material P is determined by the MP sensor 1
25d. The number of sheets that can be stacked in the MP sheet feeding unit 125 is about 100 sheets.
Business cards can also be added.

Further, the cassette sheet feeding section 112 and a second-stage cassette sheet feeding section having a configuration similar to that of the cassette sheet feeding section 112 (not shown) can be separated and connected as options, respectively. Can be varied from about 250 sheets to about 600 sheets.

The recording apparatus main body 104 performs the laser scanner 11 based on the two image signals output from the control section 120.
The laser beam oscillator 110a emits a modulation signal, and the polygon mirror 110b irradiates the photosensitive drum 111a of the image forming unit 111 with scanning light by using the modulated beam, and the image information is written on the surface of the photosensitive drum 111a. The image forming unit 111
The image information is transferred to the sheet material P fed to the printer.

The photosensitive drum 111a is connected to the primary charger 11
1b, developing roller 111c, and cleaning blade 11
1d together with the recording cartridge 111e, and is configured to be detachable from the apparatus main body 101. Then, the surface of the photosensitive drum 111a is uniformly charged by the primary charger 111b, and the scanning light is turned on the surface from the polygon mirror 110b, and the mirror 110c
When the laser beam is reflected and radiated, the latent image is formed, and the latent image is visualized by toner supplied from the developing roller 111c.

Photosensitive drum 111a of image forming section 111
A transfer charger 111f is disposed in a peripheral portion of the sheet conveying path, and a sheet conveying path downstream of the photosensitive drum 111a is provided.
A heat fixing device 111g is provided.

After the toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 111a is transferred by the transfer charger 111f, the sheet material P is transported along the recording sheet transport unit 121. The sheet conveyance guide 121a has conveyance belts 121b and 121c in a V-shape at the center thereof.
The sheet conveyance from the downstream of 1a to the heat fixing device 111g is assisted, and the sheet material P shorter than the conveyance path length between the photosensitive drum 111a and the heat fixing device 111g can be conveyed without disturbing the toner image.

The sheet material P conveyed along the recording sheet conveying section 121 is fixed with a toner image by the heat fixing device 111g. If the sheet material P is not conveyed to the double-sided conveying section 150, small-size paper can be conveyed. The sheet is conveyed to the disposed sheet discharge intermediate roller 111j.

The sheet material P conveyed to the discharge intermediate roller 111j is switched by a signal from the control unit 120 by a discharge flapper 126 disposed thereafter, and is disposed above the apparatus main body 101. The sheet is selectively discharged to an upper sheet discharging unit 113 and a rear sheet discharging tray 128 arranged at the rear of the apparatus main body 101.

As described above, the sheet material P discharged to the upper sheet discharge unit 113 is stacked with the image information on the lower surface, and the sheet material P discharged to the rear sheet discharge tray 128 is the image information. Is configured so as to be stacked with the top facing.

A cartridge cover 114 is provided on the apparatus main body 101 so as to be openable and closable.
By opening 4, the recording cartridge 111e can be pulled out of the apparatus main body 101 and replaced. The cartridge cover 114 is provided with an interlock mechanism, and whether the cartridge cover 114 is open or the recording cartridge 111e is
Is not set, the recording apparatus main body 104 does not operate. Also, the recording cartridge 1
11e is provided with a drum exposure prevention shutter 111i.
The recording cartridge 111e is linked with the setting of the recording cartridge 111e in the apparatus main body 101, and the cartridge cover 11
4 to open the apparatus main body 101 of the recording cartridge 111e.
When the recording cartridge 111e is taken out of the apparatus main body 101, the shutter 111i is closed to prevent unnecessary exposure of the photosensitive drum 111a.

When a jam occurs during recording, the sheet material P staying inside can be taken out by opening any one of the cartridge cover 114, the front cover 122, and the paper discharge cover 123.

The partition 119 is a duct for separating the laser scanner 110 and the main body 104 of the recording apparatus.
This prevents the laser scanner 110 from being adversely affected by the heat generated from the recording apparatus main body 104 and prevents water vapor evaporated from the sheet material P from condensing and dripping onto the sheet material P.

The double-sided conveying section 150 switches the flapper 151 based on an image signal output from the control section 120 by using the thermal fixing device 111g disposed at the rear portion of the apparatus main body 101. The sheet material P can be conveyed to the double-sided conveying section 150. The flapper 151 is switched, and the sheet material P conveyed to the double-sided conveyance unit 150 is subjected to heat and pressure by the heat fixing device 111g by the curling roller pair 152, and the curl of the curled sheet material P is corrected. Is transported to the switchback roller 153 which is the next transport means.
Sheet material P conveyed to switchback roller 153
Is a cover 1 disposed on the upper portion of the sheet cassette 112a.
The sheet is once conveyed to 12 g and stored in the lower part of the apparatus main body 101.

Thereafter, when the rear end of the sheet material P is conveyed to the vicinity of the switchback roller 153, the rear end of the sheet material P is detected by a sensor (not shown), and the sheet material P is moved out of the switchback roller 153. Then, the transportation is temporarily stopped. Then, the switchback roller 153 rotates in the reverse direction, and is conveyed to the re-feeding unit 154 arranged below the rear part of the duplex conveying unit 150.

The sheet material P conveyed to the re-feed unit 154
After the skew is corrected by a plurality of rollers arranged in the sheet re-feeding unit 154, the sheet P reaches the sheet re-feeding roller 155, and the sheet material P passes through the inside of the sheet feeding cassette 112a and passes through the apparatus main body 101. Transported again.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control system 300 in the facsimile apparatus using the LBP according to the present invention.

The control system 300 includes a CPU 301 for controlling the entire facsimile machine, an MPU 311, and an MPU 31.
1 for storing a control program and the like, a RAM 313 used as a work area for various data processing and a temporary storage unit for image information, and an image processing unit 314 for performing image scaling, resolution conversion, and the like. ing.

The CPU 301 is provided with a calendar, a clock function, and the like having a well-known configuration. In the RAM 313, an area for storing important system setting information such as one-touch key destination information and software switch information is provided.
Battery backup protects against accidents such as a power failure. The control system of the facsimile apparatus has a configuration in which the CPU 301 and the following elements 302 to 310 are connected through an interface.

The operation unit 302 includes various key switches such as a ten-key 315, a function key 316, a one-touch key 317, a start key 318a, and a stomp key 318b. The display unit 303 includes an LCD 319 for displaying various messages, various LEDs 320a for displaying a transmission mode and the like, a tally lamp 320b for notifying a distant operator of a communication state and occurrence of a failure, and the like.

The reading unit 304 includes a driving unit 3 such as a reading motor.
21, a reading sensor 322 for reading an image, and an image processing unit 32 for shading or binarizing the read image
3 and various sensors 324 that perform document detection and the like.

The recording unit 305 includes a driving unit 3 such as a recording motor.
25, a recording unit 326 for controlling a laser scanner or an electrophotographic process, an image processing unit 327 for smoothing an image to be recorded, and various sensors 328 for detecting recording paper and the like.

The communication control unit 306 for performing outgoing calls, incoming calls, encoding of image data, and the like has a connection unit 329 composed of MODEM, NCU, and the like.
A communication network 307 and a handset 308 are connected.

The CPU external interface 309 is
An interface for directly transmitting and receiving data from the U301. For example, by connecting to a computer outside the apparatus through a line such as RS232C, SCSI, or LAN, the apparatus is used as a scanner printer or the like of the external computer. The HDD 310 is used as a large-capacity nonvolatile memory for storing image information and the like.

The CPU 330 is connected to the external interface 30
MPU 331, MPU 331 is a CPU that controls the recording apparatus main body 104 when the apparatus main body is used as a printer by an external computer connected via
A ROM 332 for storing a control program of the PU 331 or a character font, and a RAM 3 used as a work area for various data processing and a temporary storage for image information
33, and an image processing unit 3 that performs scaling of the image, resolution conversion, and the like.
34.

Next, the basic operation of the LBP will be described conceptually.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing the basic operation of the LBP.

The LBP includes a semiconductor laser 400 that blinks a laser beam on image data to be recorded, a polygon motor 401, a polygon mirror 402 rotated by the polygon motor 401, and an optical system 403 that performs image formation, tilt correction, and the like. , A photodetector 404, a folding mirror 405, a photosensitive drum 406, a developing device 407, a recording paper 408, a conveyance guide 409, and a fixing device 410.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

First, the laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser 400 is deflected by being reflected by the polygon mirror 402 and is irradiated onto the photosensitive drum 406 via the optical system 403 and the return mirror 405 (main scanning). .

At this time, the head is located by the photodetector 404 and the irradiation position is determined. This main scan is 1
During the end of the line, the photosensitive drum 406 rotates by one line (sub-scan). The image formed on the photosensitive drum 406 as described above is developed by the developing device 407 and is transferred onto the recording paper P (408). further,
The sheet is conveyed along a conveyance guide 409, is fixed by a fixing device 410, and is discharged.

The photosensitive drum 406 and the developing device 40
7. The components of the sub-scanning system such as the fixing device 410 are synchronously driven by a recording motor, gears, belts and the like (not shown).

Next, control during image formation will be described in detail.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart at the time of recording in the above embodiment.

First, when a print signal is transmitted to the CPU 301, it is determined whether the print signal is from the external interface 309 or the communication control unit 306, that is, whether or not a fax is received. Is determined (S1). If the CPU 301 determines that the received signal is a print signal from the external interface 309, the process proceeds to step S2, and it is determined whether the number of received originals is plural. If the CPU 301 determines that the print signal is from the communication control unit 306, the process proceeds to step S12.

If there are a plurality of received originals and the process proceeds to step S3, it is determined whether or not the image forming mode is the double-sided printing mode by the user setting. If the image forming mode is the double-sided printing mode, the process proceeds to step S4. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S12.

When the process proceeds to step S4, the apparatus is set to the double-sided recording mode, and the image information for one page is stored in the RAM 31.
3 (S5), the recording motor is driven, a signal for feeding the recording paper from the formatter CPU 330 is transmitted to the recording unit 305, and the sheet material P is transmitted from the sheet material feeding unit 112. Conveyed. The transported sheet material P is controlled by the image processing unit 327 of the recording unit 305 so that the leading edge of the sheet material P matches the image.

The RAM 333 of the formatter CPU 330
The image information stored in the section is transmitted to the image processing section 327 of the recording section 305, and the laser is turned on based on the signal.
By controlling / OFF, an image of a dot pattern is formed on the photosensitive drum 111a (S6). The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 111a is
In the image processing unit 327 of 05, a visible image is formed by the toner. The visible image formed on the photosensitive drum 111a is
The image transferred to the sheet material P and merely placed on the sheet material P is conveyed to the fixing unit 111g by the conveying unit 121 so as not to give a shock to the sheet material P, and is fixed to the fixing unit 11g.
Heat and pressure are applied by 1 g to make a permanent image.

After printing the first side, the process proceeds to step S7,
In FIG. 2, the sheet material P on which image information is recorded is conveyed to the double-sided conveyance unit 150 by the signal from the formatter CPU 330 by the flapper 151 rotated counterclockwise in FIG.

Then, the process proceeds to a step S 8, where the image information of the next page is stored in the RAM 333. However, the difference from the first page is that the sheet material P is switched back in the double-sided conveyance unit and then turned over.
The point where the leading end of the sheet material P is reversed between the first and second surfaces. That is, since the front end of the second surface is the rear end of the first surface, if the image information is printed as it is, the image data is reversed on the front and back. For this reason, in step 8, the RAM 33
3 is stored in a formatter CPU
The image is inverted by an image processing unit 334 in 330.

In parallel with the operation of accumulating the image information of the next page in the RAM 333, the sheet material P conveyed to the double-sided conveyance unit 150 is subjected to heat and pressure by the curling roller pair 152 by the fixing unit 111g. The curl of the curled sheet material P is corrected, and the sheet material P is conveyed to both switchback rollers 153 as the next-stage conveying means. The sheet material P conveyed to the switchback roller 153 is
Cover 112 disposed above paper cassette 112a
g, and is once stored in the lower part of the apparatus main body 101.

Thereafter, when the rear end of the sheet material P is conveyed to the vicinity of the switchback roller 153, a sensor (not shown) detects the rear end of the sheet material P, and before the sheet material P exits the switchback roller 153. , The transport stops once.
Then, in response to a signal from the formatter CPU 330, the switchback roller 153 rotates in the reverse direction (rotates in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 2) and is conveyed to the re-feeding unit 154 disposed below the rear part of the two-sided conveying unit 150.

The sheet material P conveyed to the re-feed unit 154
After the skew is corrected by a plurality of rollers disposed in the sheet re-feeding unit 154, the sheet P reaches the sheet re-feeding roller 155, and the sheet material P passes through the inside of the sheet feeding cassette 112a and is moved to the apparatus main body 101. Transported again.

The sheet material P that has reached the re-feed roller 155
Is transported again to the registration roller pair 124a through the inside of the paper feed cassette 112a. Registration roller pair 12
The sheet material P whose skew has been corrected by the sheet feeder 4a is transferred to a registration conveyance guide 124c where a registration roller 124a and a registration sensor 124b are arranged, and to the apparatus main body 101.
The sheet conveying U-turn guide 124d, which is composed of a part of the main body frame forming the skeleton, and the MP guide 124g disposed on the apparatus main body 101, are reversed.

Here, the RA of the formatter CPU 330
The image information accumulated in the M333 unit and inverted is transmitted to the image processing unit 327 of the recording unit 305, and by controlling ON / OFF of the laser based on this signal,
An image of the dot pattern is formed on the photosensitive drum 111a (S10).

The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 111a is turned into a visible image by the toner in the image processing unit 327 of the recording unit 305. In the visible image formed on the photosensitive drum 111a, the top position of the sheet material P is detected by the TOP sensor 124f so that the leading end of the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 111a and the leading end of the sheet material P coincide. After the image output timing is adjusted, the inverted image information on the second side is transferred, and the image only on the sheet material P is fixed by the fixing unit so that the conveying unit 121 does not apply a shock to the sheet material P. The fixing unit 111g applies heat and pressure to form a permanent image.

After that, the discharge rollers 111 are arranged by a discharge intermediate roller 111j arranged so as to be able to convey the small size paper.
h and is discharged to the sheet discharge unit 113.

Next, it is determined whether or not there is a next page (S11). If there is a next page, the flow advances to step S5 to store the image information in the RAM 333 again. Will be terminated.

If the printing mode is the single-sided printing mode (S3), the apparatus is set to the single-sided printing mode (S12).
It is controlled by the formatter CPU 330. Also,
When the single-sided printing mode is set in steps S1, S2, and S3, in step S12, a signal is transmitted by the CPU 301 that controls the main unit, and the image information is stored in the RAM 313 as described above. After that, the image information is transmitted to the image processing unit of the recording unit, and the ON / OFF of the laser is controlled based on the signal, whereby the image data is formed on the photosensitive drum (S1).
4).

Thereafter, heat and pressure are applied by the fixing unit, and the sheet material P which has been converted into a permanent image is discharged to a sheet discharge unit.

Next, it is determined whether or not there is a next page (S15). If there is a next page, the image information is stored in the RAM.
313 is stored again (S13). If there is no next page, printing is terminated.

According to the above embodiment, even when the apparatus main body is designated to the duplex image forming mode, the duplex image forming is not performed when the FAX function is used.
The load on the CPU when the FAX function is used can be reduced, the FAX function can be used smoothly, and when the printer function is used, the high-speed CPU of the personal computer or the high-speed CPU of the formatter can be used to perform double-sided recording. The image data on the second side can be inverted to record both sides, and the speed of double-sided recording can be improved.

According to the above embodiment, the CPU of the image forming apparatus is not a high-speed CPU but a low-cost, low-speed CPU.
The use of the PU reduces the cost of the image forming apparatus.

In the above embodiment, the external interface 30
9, the formatter CPU 330
In the above embodiment, the image data may be inverted by a personal computer connected to the external interface 309.

That is, according to the above-described embodiment, an image reading apparatus that has a composite function such as a copy function, a facsimile function, and a printer function and reads an original on which image information is written, and the image information is written on only one side of a sheet material The image forming apparatus has an image forming apparatus that can be operated in both a single-sided image forming mode for forming an image and a double-sided image forming mode for forming an image also on the back side of the sheet material. The image forming mode can be selected, and even when the image forming apparatus is selected for the two-sided image forming mode,
The FAX reception original is printed in the single-sided image forming mode.

An image reading apparatus having a composite function such as a copy function, a facsimile function, and a printer function for reading an original on which image information is described, and a single-sided image forming apparatus for forming an image on one side of a sheet material. It has an image forming apparatus that can be operated in both a mode and a double-sided image forming mode in which an image is also formed on the back side of the sheet material, and one of a single-sided image forming mode and a double-sided image forming mode can be selected. The printing is performed in the duplex image forming mode only when the printer function is used.

Therefore, according to the above embodiment, the facsimile
When using the function, the load on the CPU can be reduced, the facsimile function can be used smoothly, and when using the printer function, the high-speed CPU of the personal computer or the high-speed CPU of the formatter can be used. By inverting the image data of the surface, double-sided recording can be performed, and the speed of double-sided recording can be improved.

The CPU of the image forming apparatus is a high-speed CPU.
Instead, the use of a low-cost, low-speed CPU reduces the cost of the image forming apparatus.

[0095]

According to the present invention, when the FAX function is used,
The load on the CPU can be reduced, and when the printer function is used, the image data on the second side during double-sided recording can be inverted by using a high-speed CPU of a personal computer or a high-speed CPU of a formatter, thereby enabling double-sided recording. Also, there is an effect that the speed of double-sided recording can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart at the time of recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a facsimile apparatus FS according to an embodiment of the present invention.
1 is a sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the facsimile machine FS1.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control system 300 in the facsimile apparatus using the LBP according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing a basic operation of the LBP.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of printing when a document is received and an operation of printing as a printer in a conventional image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 FS1: facsimile machine, P: sheet material, 101: apparatus main body, 112a: paper feed cassette, 150: double-sided conveying section, 301: CPU, 305: recording section, 313, 333: RAM, 327, 334: image processing section.

Continued on front page F-term (reference) 2C061 AP07 AR03 HH03 HJ02 HJ06 HK04 HN02 HN15 2C062 RA06 2H027 DA32 FA13 FD08 ZA07 5C062 AA05 AB17 AB32 AB42 AB46 AC11 AC22 AC71 AE15 5C072 AA03 BA03 EA05 WA01

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus having a composite function including a copy function, a facsimile function, and a print function, an image reading means for reading an original on which image information is described; and forming an image on only one side of a sheet material Image forming means operable in both a single-sided image forming mode to perform an image forming mode and a double-sided image forming mode to form an image on the front and back surfaces of the sheet material; the single-sided image forming mode and the double-sided image forming mode A mode selecting means for selecting one of the modes; and a print control means for printing a FAX received original in the single-sided image forming mode even when the double-sided image forming mode is selected. Forming equipment. 2. An image forming apparatus having a composite function including a copy function, a facsimile function, and a print function, comprising: an image reading device for reading a document on which image information is described; and forming an image on only one side of a sheet material. An image forming apparatus that can be operated in both a single-sided image forming mode and a double-sided image forming mode in which an image is also formed on the back side of the sheet material; among the single-sided image forming mode and the double-sided image forming mode An image forming apparatus comprising: a mode selecting means for selecting one of the following modes; and a printing control means for performing printing in the double-sided image forming mode only when the printer function is used.