JPH0911559A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To smoothly automatically discharge a sheet in a recorder formed in combination with a plurality of units by simultaneously controlling the automatic discharge of the sheet incorrectly retained in each unit for forming a recorder by a system controller. SOLUTION: A sheet feed conveying roller 215 for conveying the feed sheet sends a sheet until a predetermined loop is formed by a registration roller 217, and a sheet sensor 216 monitors the formation of the loop. The registration roller is rotated immediately before the transfer from a photosensitive drum 218 is started, and the sheet is discharged from a printer via a fixing roller 219 and a fixed sheet discharge roller 220. The discharge of the sheet is monitored by a sensor 221 disposed at the lowermost stream of the sheet conveying passage of the printer. An optional output unit 203 detects the sheet discharged from the printer 202 by an inlet sensor 222, the sheet is fetched by a conveying roller 223, and the sheet is discharged to any of designated discharged sheet pins 224.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus including a recording apparatus main body, a sheet input apparatus, a sheet output apparatus, or both apparatuses, and a system controller for controlling each apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the recording apparatus as described above,
Even if residual paper in the machine was confirmed in each of the devices constituting the recording device, it was not automatically ejected. Alternatively, when each apparatus constituting the recording apparatus recognizes the residual paper inside the apparatus, the automatic sheet discharge operation is performed regardless of the other apparatuses constituting the recording apparatus.

[0003]

However, in the recording apparatus as described above, the user has to remove the sheet by himself when the sheet remains illegally in the recording apparatus having a complicated structure.

Further, when each device performs the automatic paper discharge operation regardless of the other devices, a device existing downstream of the device performing the automatic paper discharge does not carry the paper, so that the paper jam occurs. Alternatively, in the worst case, the device may be damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to enable automatic paper discharge in a recording apparatus constituted by a combination of a plurality of apparatuses.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, in the present invention, a recording device main body, a paper input device or a paper output device or both devices, and a system controller for controlling each device are used. In the recording device to be configured, each device constituting the recording device has means for notifying the system controller of the automatic paper discharge operation, and means for carrying the paper in response to the paper transportation instruction from the system controller. By providing a control means for causing a device downstream of the device in the paper to carry the paper, it is possible to perform the automatic paper discharge operation in the entire recording device.

Further, each device constituting the recording device has a means for notifying a system controller of a sheet remaining or a position of a sheet in the machine, and a means for carrying a sheet in response to a sheet carrying instruction from the system controller. The controller has a control unit that causes the apparatus in which the sheet remains and the apparatus downstream thereof to carry the sheet, so that the entire system (recording apparatus) can perform the automatic sheet discharge operation.

Alternatively, each device constituting the recording device has means for informing the system controller of the position of the paper inside the machine, and means for carrying the paper in response to a paper carrying instruction from the system controller, and the system controller responds to the paper remaining position. By providing each device with a means for controlling the timing for carrying the paper, it is possible to perform a smoother and less wasteful automatic paper discharging operation.

Further, when each device constituting the recording device has means for notifying the system controller that paper cannot be conveyed, and when the system controller cannot convey the paper to a device downstream of the device in which the paper remains, By having a control means for stopping the automatic paper discharge operation, the automatic paper discharge is prevented.

[0010]

【Example】

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the arrangement of a recording apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In FIG. 2, 201 is an optional input device, which is a lower deck 204 and an upper deck 2.
05. Reference numerals 208 and 209 denote rollers for feeding sheets from their respective decks. 210 is a conveyance roller that feeds the paper fed from the deck into the printer 202, and the paper exit sensor 211 is provided downstream of the conveyance roller 210.
Is arranged.

Reference numeral 206 is a lower deck installed in the printer, and 207 is an upper deck. It has rollers 212 and 213 for feeding, respectively. Reference numeral 214 denotes a paper feed sensor in the printer, which is an optional input device 20.
The paper fed from No. 1 or the paper fed from the lower deck 206 or the upper deck 207 is detected. 215 is
It is a paper feed and transport roller that further transports the fed paper,
The sheet is fed until a predetermined loop is created by the registration roller 217. Reference numeral 216 is a paper sensor (hereinafter abbreviated as pre-registration sensor) for creating the loop. Immediately before the transfer from the photosensitive drum 218 is started, the registration roller rotates, and the paper is ejected from the printer via the fixing roller 219 and the fixing paper ejection roller 220. 221
Is a sensor located at the most downstream side of the paper transport path of the printer, and monitors the discharge of the paper.

Reference numeral 203 denotes an optional output device, which detects a sheet discharged from the printer 202 by an entrance sensor 222, takes in the sheet by a conveyance roller 223, and discharges the sheet to one of designated discharge bins 224.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an electric circuit of the recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 denotes a microcomputer (hereinafter abbreviated as CPU 301) mounted on a video controller that manages the recording device,
A microcomputer 302 (hereinafter abbreviated as CPU 302) that processes image data and commands that are sent from a host and controls an option input device, and a microcomputer 303 (hereinafter C
PU303) and a microcomputer 304 (hereinafter abbreviated as CPU304) that controls an optional output device.
It controls each device while performing serial communication with.

Reference numeral 305 denotes a sensor input circuit, which outputs a detection signal from the exit sensor 211 of the option input device to the CPU.
Input in 302. 306 is a drive circuit of a motor 316 that rotates the carry roller 210 of the option input device, and is controlled by a drive signal output from the CPU 302. The CPU 302 feeds and conveys a sheet from a desired deck according to a sheet feed instruction and a conveyance instruction sent from the CPU 301.

Reference numerals 307, 308, and 309 denote input circuits of a paper feed sensor 214, a pre-registration sensor 216, and a fixed paper ejection sensor 221, which are located on the conveyance path in the printer, and input detection signals to the CPU 303. Reference numeral 310 denotes a drive circuit for a main motor 320 that drives all rollers and photosensitive drums in the printer, and is controlled by a drive signal output from the CPU 302. Reference numeral 311 denotes a drive circuit of the clutch 321 that transmits the rotation of the main motor 320 to the paper feed / conveyance roller 215, and is controlled by a drive signal output from the CPU 303. 312 is
It is a drive circuit for the clutch 322 that transmits the rotation of the main motor 320 to the registration rollers 217.
It is controlled by the drive signal output from 3. CPU
303 conveys the paper to the optional output device in response to the conveyance instruction sent from the CPU 301.

Reference numeral 313 denotes a sensor input circuit, which outputs a detection signal from the entrance sensor 222 of the optional output device to the CPU.
Enter in 304. Reference numeral 314 is a drive circuit of a motor 324 that rotates the transport roller 223 of the optional output device, and is controlled by a drive signal output from the CPU 304. The CPU 304 conveys the sheet from the printer engine according to the conveyance instruction sent from the CPU 301.

FIG. 1 is a CPU according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
It is a flow chart which shows control of 301. The CPU 301, which has completed the initial setting of the system, obtains the status of each device by serial communication during the warm-up of each device. At 101, it is determined whether or not the option input device 201 has entered the automatic paper discharge (paper feed) operation, and if it is during the automatic paper discharge operation, at 104, the option input device 201 is input.
It is determined whether the printer engine 202, which is the downstream side of the conveyance of, can carry. If not transportable, 10
At 9, an emergency stop command is output to all the devices. 1
If the printer engine is in a transportable state in 04, 1
At 05, it is determined whether the optional output device 203 can be transported. If it cannot be conveyed, an emergency stop command is output to all devices at 109. In 105, if the optional output device 203 can be transported, 106
Then, a paper conveyance command is output to the printer engine 202. When it is determined in 102 that the printer engine has started the automatic paper discharge operation, it is determined in 107 whether the optional output device 203 can carry. If it cannot be conveyed, an emergency stop command is output to all devices at 109. If the optional output device 203 can be conveyed at 107, the optional output device 20 is sent at 108.
A paper conveyance command is output to 3. If it is determined in 103 that the option output device 203 is automatically ejecting paper, or if another device is automatically ejecting paper, the operations from 101 to 103 are repeated until the operation ends.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 4 shows C of Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
It is a flowchart which shows control of PU301. In the first embodiment, each device performs the automatic paper discharge operation based on its own judgment, but in the second embodiment, the automatic paper discharge operation is not performed automatically, and the CPU 3 does not automatically discharge the paper.
For 01, the automatic paper ejection request status is output from each device by serial communication.

Similar to the first embodiment, in the warm-up stage of each device, when it is judged in 401 that the automatic paper discharge request is issued from the option input device 201, in 404,
It is determined whether the printer engine 202 can carry the paper. If the printer engine 202 cannot carry the paper, the process ends in 410 when the non-carriage status is input from the printer engine 202, and an error process is performed in 413. The untransportable status is a status sent when a jam or a failure occurs. The error process is a process of notifying the display panel or the host computer that the paper remains in the machine. In 410, if the untransportable status is not sent, the printer engine 202 waits until it becomes transportable. 405, 411 when transportable at 404
Similarly, it is determined whether the optional output device 203 can also be transported. If the optional output device 203 can be transported, the optional input device 2
A paper transport command is output to 01.

In step 402, it is determined whether an automatic paper discharge request has been sent from the printer engine 202. If there is a request, it is determined whether or not the optional output device can be conveyed by 407 and 412 similarly to 405 and 411, and if it is possible, a sheet conveyance command is output to the printer engine 202 at 408. At 403, it is determined whether the automatic paper output request is received from the option output device 203. If an automatic paper discharge request is received, a paper conveyance command is output to the option output device 203 at 409.

In the second embodiment, the CPU 301 outputs the paper conveyance command after determining whether or not the paper can be conveyed by each of the devices, so that it is easy to synchronize the devices and the automatic ejection of a device as in the first embodiment is performed. There are no cases where the paper operation start timing is too early and the automatic paper ejection is abandoned.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 5 shows C of Embodiment 3 of the present invention.
It is a flowchart which shows control of PU301. In the second embodiment, the automatic sheet discharge request status from each device is received from the CPU 301, the state of each device is monitored, and the paper conveyance command is output. In the third embodiment, the CPU 301 determines the necessity of automatic paper ejection based on the information of the sensor installed in the paper conveyance path instead of the automatic paper ejection request status from each device, and outputs the paper conveyance command. .

At 501, the process waits until all the controlled devices can be transported. If not transportable, at 522,
Determine if a non-transportable error status has been sent. If an error status is sent,
The error processing of 523 is performed and the control ends. The error processing is the same as in the second embodiment.

At 502, it is determined whether or not the exit sensor 211 on the paper conveyance path of the option input device 201 detects a paper, and if there is no paper, at 503, a paper conveyance stop command is issued to the option input device 201. And output
At 504, a flag that is a paper ejection notice from the option input device 201 is reset. If it is determined that there is paper in 502, a paper conveyance command is output to the option input device 201 in 515, and the printer engine 20 is output in 516.
A conveyance command is output to 2 and a flag indicating a paper ejection notice is set in 517. In 505, the printer engine 2
No. 02 fixing paper discharge sensor 22 on the most downstream side of the paper transport path
It is determined whether or not 1 detects a sheet, and if there is no sheet, the flag, which is a notice of sheet discharge from the printer engine 202, is reset at 506. If it is determined in 505 that there is paper, a paper conveyance command is output to the optional output device 203 in 518, and a paper ejection advance flag from the printer engine is set in 519. At 507 and 508, it is determined whether the pre-registration sensor 216 and the paper feed sensor 214 on the paper conveyance path in the printer engine 202 detect the paper. If neither paper is detected, at 509, the option It is determined whether or not there is a paper ejection notice from the input device, and if there is no notice, a paper conveyance stop command is output to the printer engine 202. 507, 508
If it is determined that there is paper, a paper conveyance command is output to the printer engine 202 at 520.

At 511, it is determined whether the entrance sensor 222 installed on the conveyance path of the output device 203 detects a sheet. If it is determined that no sheet is present, then at 512, a notice of sheet ejection from the printer engine 202 is given. Judge whether
If there is no notice, at 513, the optional output device 20
A paper conveyance stop command is output to 3. If it is determined in 511 that there is paper, in 521, the optional output device 203
Outputs a paper transport command to.

At 514, it is determined whether a paper conveyance stop command has been output to all the devices, that is, whether there is no need for automatic paper ejection or whether automatic paper ejection has been completed. The processing from 513 to 513 is repeated.

As described above, in the third embodiment, the timing of the sheet conveyance to each device can be changed by the sensor information on the sheet conveyance path of the system, so that the motor drive for the unnecessary sheet conveyance need not be performed.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the recording apparatus constituted by a plurality of apparatuses, the system controller controls the system automatically so that the apparatus can be automatically operated according to the situation of the entire apparatus constituting the recording apparatus. The paper discharge operation can be performed, and the residual paper inside the machine can be reliably discharged to the outside of the machine without causing a paper jam between the respective machines or damaging the machines.

Further, it is possible to prevent the device from being damaged by forcibly feeding the paper when the device which needs to be operated for discharging the paper cannot carry the paper.

Furthermore, the operation timing of each device can be optimized according to the paper position in the device, energy can be saved, and noise can be suppressed low.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a control according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an electric circuit block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the control of the third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

201 Optional input device 202 Printer engine 203 Optional output device 211 Exit sensor 214 Paper feed sensor 216 Pre-registration sensor 221 Fixing paper ejection sensor 222 Entrance sensor 210 Conveying roller 215 Paper feeding conveying roller 217 Registration roller 218 Photosensitive drum 219 Fixing roller 220 Fixing ejection Paper roller 223 Conveying roller 301, 302, 303, 304 Microcomputer 305, 307, 308, 309, 313 Sensor input circuit 306, 310, 311, 312, 314 Drive circuit

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A recording device comprising a recording device main body, a paper input device, a paper output device or both devices, and a system controller for controlling the respective devices. A recording apparatus, wherein the system controller collectively controls automatic discharge of illegally remained sheets. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the apparatuses forming the recording apparatus includes a residual paper detection unit that detects the presence of illegally remaining paper in the machine.
When the residual paper in the machine is confirmed by the residual paper detection means, an automatic paper discharge means for automatically discharging the residual paper in the machine to the outside of the apparatus, a means for notifying the system controller of the automatic paper discharge, and the system controller The system controller has a forced conveying means for performing a sheet conveying operation according to an instruction from the system controller, and the system controller instructs the apparatus downstream of the automatic sheet discharging apparatus to perform the sheet conveying operation by the notified automatic sheet discharging information. Recording apparatus having a control means for discharging the ink. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the apparatuses constituting the recording apparatus has a residual paper detection unit for detecting the presence of illegally remaining paper in the machine, and the residual paper detection. When the residual paper in the machine is confirmed by the means, an automatic paper discharge means for automatically discharging the residual paper in the machine to the outside of the apparatus, a means for notifying the system controller of the automatic paper discharge, and an instruction from the system controller It has a forced transporting means for carrying out a sheet transporting operation, a means for notifying the system controller that it is in a state in which forced transporting is impossible, and an emergency stop means for stopping the transport of the sheet material in response to an instruction from the system controller , When the system controller is notified of the automatic paper ejection, if the device downstream of the automatic paper ejection device cannot forcibly convey the paper, an emergency stop is applied to the device during the automatic paper ejection. A recording apparatus having a control means for issuing an instruction and, if not, instructing a downstream apparatus to perform a sheet conveying operation and discharging the remaining sheet in the apparatus. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the apparatuses constituting the recording apparatus has a residual paper detection unit for detecting the presence of illegally remaining paper in the machine, and the residual paper detection. When the residual paper in the machine is confirmed by the means, it has means for notifying the system controller of the presence of the residual paper in the machine, and a forced conveyance means for carrying out a paper conveyance operation according to an instruction from the system controller, and the system controller, A recording apparatus having a control means for instructing a device in which a sheet remains, and a device on the downstream side thereof to perform a sheet conveying operation based on the notified sheet remaining information and discharging the remaining sheet in the apparatus. 5. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the apparatuses constituting the recording apparatus includes a residual paper detection unit for detecting the presence of illegally remaining paper in the machine, and the residual paper detection. When the residual paper in the machine is confirmed by the means, means for notifying the system controller of the presence of the residual paper in the machine, forcible conveyance means for performing the paper conveyance operation according to an instruction from the system controller, and forcible conveyance for the system controller The means for notifying that the sheet is in a possible state, and the system controller, the apparatus in which the sheet remains when the sheet is informed and the apparatus in which the sheet remains only when the apparatus on the downstream side can be forcibly conveyed. And a control device for instructing a device on the downstream side of the device to carry out a paper transport operation and discharging the residual paper in the machine. 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each apparatus constituting the recording apparatus conveys sheet position information in the apparatus to the system controller, and conveys the sheet according to an instruction from the system controller. The system controller has a forced transfer means for performing an operation,
A means for detecting the presence of illegal residual paper from the notified paper position information and the control status of each device, and when the presence of illegal residual paper is detected, the paper conveyance operation is performed for the device in which the paper remains and the device on the downstream side. A recording device having a control means for instructing and discharging the remaining paper inside the machine. 7. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the apparatuses constituting the recording apparatus conveys sheet position information in the apparatus to the system controller, and conveys the sheet according to an instruction from the system controller. The system controller has means for carrying out an operation, and means for notifying the system controller that the sheet cannot be forcibly carried. Means to detect the presence of the paper, and only when the device that is left with the paper and the device on the downstream side of the paper can be forcibly transported when the presence of the illegal residual paper is detected,
A recording apparatus having a control means for instructing a sheet conveying operation to a device that is remaining on the sheet and a device on the downstream side to eject the remaining sheet in the apparatus. 8. The recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the system controller has means for controlling a timing for instructing each apparatus to perform a sheet conveying operation according to a sheet remaining position. 9. The recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein each of the apparatuses constituting the recording apparatus notifies the system controller of information of sheet presence / absence detection means provided inside the apparatus as sheet position information. A recording device characterized by. 10. The recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein each of the apparatuses constituting the recording apparatus notifies the system controller of information of sheet presence / absence detection means provided inside the apparatus as sheet position information. A recording device characterized by.