JP2000238365A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: An image forming apparatus capable of performing OHP sheet interleaf printing with good operability and reducing stagnation of a print job. SOLUTION: Print data is received from a host device,
The process starts when a request for printing on an OHP sheet is included in the print data (Y in step S1). First, it is determined whether or not plain paper serving as OHP sheet interleaving paper is stored in any of the paper feed trays (step S2). When such plain paper serving as an OHP sheet interleaf is stored in one of the paper feed trays (Y in step S2), interleaf printing is executed (step S3). That is, the OHP sheet is ejected from the paper feed tray in which the OHP sheet requested to be printed is stored and printed. In addition, plain paper serving as an interleaf is discharged from a paper feed tray, and blank paper is printed in a print mode most suitable for plain paper and then discharged.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional image forming apparatus, detection of a paper type to be printed and interleaving operation frequently used for a specific paper type such as an OHP sheet are not linked. Therefore, according to the printing conditions specified by the operator, if the printing is an OHP sheet, the interleaving operation is selected, and the paper tray for supplying the paper to be interleaved is selected for printing.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, it is complicated to perform OHP sheet interleaving printing.
There is also a problem that print jobs are accumulated while waiting for processing by an operator.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of performing OHP sheet interleaving printing with good operability and reducing stagnation of a print job.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of performing OHP sheet interleaving printing with better operability and reducing misprints.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer engine for performing electrophotographic printing on a recording medium, and a plurality of supply engines accommodating the recording medium to be supplied to the printer engine. A paper tray, a first sensor for detecting the type of the recording medium supplied from each of the paper feed trays to the printer engine, and the type of the paper to be printed is an OHP sheet based on the detection of the first sensor. In some cases, each time a single sheet of the OHP sheet is printed, the first sensor detects a sheet other than the OHP sheet. An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that supplies paper.

Therefore, the type of paper to be printed is OH
When the sheet is a P-sheet, the OH is output every time the OHP sheet is printed even if the operator does not need to specify the printing conditions.
Since paper other than the P sheet is supplied as an OHP sheet interleaf sheet, OHP sheet interleaf printing can be performed with good operability.
The stagnation of the print job can be reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the control unit discharges the OHP sheet after the printing is performed face up or face down. Supply of the slip sheet to the printer engine in accordance with the difference in
This is performed before or after the printing on the HP sheet.

Therefore, the interleaving printing of the OHP sheet can be performed without being affected by the difference in the paper discharging method, so that the operability is further improved and the misprint can be reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the control means detects that a sheet other than the OHP sheet serving as the interleaving sheet is detected by the first sensor. If not, the operator is notified to that effect by predetermined notifying means and the printing is
The printing is stopped every time one HP sheet is printed, and then the printing that has been stopped is restarted after a predetermined operation is performed by a predetermined operation unit.

Therefore, when the interleaving paper has run out, it is possible to notify the operator to that effect and to resume printing after the operator replenishes the interleaving paper. Further, operability is good and misprinting can be reduced.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the control means detects a sheet other than the OHP sheet serving as the interleaving sheet by the first sensor. If not, the operator is notified to that effect by predetermined notifying means and the printing is
The printing is stopped every time one HP sheet is printed.
Waiting for the sensor to detect the OHP sheet, restarts the suspended printing.

Therefore, when the interleaving paper has run out, the operator is notified of this fact and printing is resumed after the operator replenishes the interleaving paper, so that operability is further improved. And misprints can be reduced.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the size of the recording medium supplied from each of the paper feed trays to the printer engine is detected. A second sensor, wherein the control unit detects a sheet of the same size as the OHP sheet for performing the printing by detecting the second sensor for the sheet other than the OHP sheet to be fed as the slip sheet; Supplied from the paper feed tray.

[0015] Therefore, OHP sheet
Since paper of the same size as the HP sheet is supplied, operability is further improved and misprinting can be reduced.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus of the fifth aspect, the control means does not have a sheet having the same size as the OHP sheet for performing the printing by detecting a second sensor. At this time, paper is supplied from the paper feed tray that has detected a sheet larger than the size and having the closest size.

Accordingly, when there is no sheet of the same size as the OHP sheet, a sheet larger than the OHP sheet and having the closest size is supplied as the OHP sheet interleaving sheet, so that the operability is further improved, and misprinting is prevented. Can be reduced.

[0018]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 1 roughly includes a main body 2, a controller 3, and the like.

The main body 2 includes a printer engine 11 which includes a photoreceptor, an exposure device, a developing device and the like, and forms an electrophotographic image, and paper feed trays 12 and 13 for storing plain paper or OHP sheets as recording media. , 14, 15 and the paper feed trays 12, 13, 14, 15, from the printer engine 11
And a supply device 16 for supplying a recording medium to the printer. Each of the paper feed trays 12 and 13 is provided with a sensor (a first sensor) (not shown) for detecting whether the type of the recording medium stored therein is an OHP sheet or a sheet other than the OHP sheet. In addition, each paper tray 12, 1
Each of the paper feed trays 3, 13, 14, and 15 is provided with a sensor (not shown) for determining whether or not the print medium is stored in each of the paper feed trays 12, 13, 14, and 15. ing. This sensor detects whether a recording medium of a specific size is stored in each of the paper feed trays 12, 13, 14, and 15.
It functions as a second sensor for detecting the type of the recording medium stored in the storage units 13, 14, and 15.

The controller 3 has a CPU 21 for centrally controlling each part of the image forming apparatus 1 and an IC card 22 and an N card.
VRAM 23, program ROM 24, font ROM
25, RAM 26, engine I / F 27, panel I / F
28, a host I / F 29, and a host I / F 30 are connected by a bus.

The IC card 22 is for supplying font data and programs from outside. NVRA
M23 is a non-volatile RAM that stores the contents of the mode instruction from the panel device 4 and the like. Program ROM 2
Reference numeral 4 stores various control programs and the like. The font ROM 25 stores font pattern data and the like. RAM 26 is a work memory of CPU 21;
It is used as an input buffer for input data, a page buffer for image data, a memory for download fonts, and the like. The engine I / F 27 provides commands, statuses, and commands between the printer engine 11 and the controller 3.
Communication of image data is performed. The panel I / F 28 performs command and status communication between the panel device 4 and the controller 3. Host I / F29, Host I / F3
0 communicates between the host device 5, the host device 6, and the controller 3, respectively.

Panel device 4 serving as notification means and operation means
Displays various messages, and displays the image forming apparatus 1
Enables various operations. Host device 5, Host device 6
Is a higher-level device of the image forming apparatus 1.

The operation of the above-described image forming apparatus 1 will be described below.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the image forming apparatus 1. The process shown in FIG. 2 realizes the function of the control means, and the CPU 21 executes the program R
A predetermined program stored in the OM 24 is stored in the RAM 2
6 can be executed. First, CPU
21 is the host I / O from the host device 5 or 6
If the print data is received via the F29 or the host I / F 30 and the print data includes a request for printing on an OHP sheet, the processing in FIG. 2 starts (Y in step S1).

First, it is determined whether or not plain paper serving as an OHP sheet interleaf is stored in the paper feed tray 12, 13, 14 or 15 (step S2). As the plain paper serving as the interleaf of the OHP sheet, a sheet of the same size as that of the OHP sheet for which printing is requested is usually selected. If there is no sheet of the same size, a sheet larger in size and closest to the OHP sheet is selected.

When such plain paper serving as OHP sheet interleaving is stored in the paper feed tray 12, 13, 14, or 15 (Y in step S2), interleaving printing is executed (step S3). . That is, the print request OH
Paper feed trays 12, 13, 14 in which P sheets are stored
Alternatively, the OHP sheet is discharged from 15 and printed by the printer engine 11. At this time, printing is performed by selecting a printing mode that enables optimal printing on the OHP sheet, that is, a developing bias, a transfer bias, a transport bias, and a fixing temperature that allow optimal printing on the OHP sheet. Also,
Plain paper serving as a slip sheet is discharged from the paper feed trays 12, 13, 14, or 15, and blank paper is printed by the printer engine 11 in a print mode optimal for plain paper, and then discharged. The blank paper printing of the interleaving plain paper is performed before printing on the OHP sheet according to the difference in the paper discharging method of whether the discharged OHP sheet is discharged face up or face down. Or later.

If the plain paper serving as the interleaving sheet of the OHP sheet is not stored in any of the paper feed trays 12, 13, 14, 15 in step S2 (N in step S2),
Printing is stopped (step S4), and a message to the effect that there is no plain paper serving as an OHP sheet interleaf is displayed on the panel device 4 to notify the operator (step S5). Then, when the operator replenishes the plain paper serving as the interleaf of the OHP sheet and performs a predetermined operation on the panel device 4 (Step S).
6), interleaf printing in step S3 is performed.

In step S6, the fact that replenishment of plain paper serving as OHP sheet interleaving is performed without operating the panel device 4 indicates that the paper feed trays 12, 13, 1 have been supplied.
The detection may be performed by a sensor (not shown) provided in each of the sensors 4 and 15 and the process may proceed to step S3.

[0029]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the type of paper on which printing is performed is an OHP sheet, the OHP sheet is printed every time an OHP sheet is printed without the need for the operator to specify printing conditions. Since paper other than the sheet is supplied as the OHP sheet interleaf, the OHP sheet interleaf printing can be performed with good operability, and the stagnation of the print job can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the interleaving printing of the OHP sheet can be performed without being affected by the difference in the sheet discharging method, so that the operability is further improved. Misprints can also be reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, when a sheet serving as an interleaving sheet is out, the operator is notified of the fact that the interleaving sheet has run out, and the operator determines that the interleaving sheet has been cut. Since it is possible to restart printing after waiting for replenishment of new paper, operability is further improved and misprinting can be reduced.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, when the interleaving paper is out, the operator is notified of the fact that the interleaving paper has run out, and the operator determines that the interleaving paper has been cut. Since printing is resumed after replenishing new paper, operability is further improved and erroneous printing can be reduced.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a sheet of the same size as the OHP sheet is supplied as the interleaving sheet of the OHP sheet. Good performance, and can reduce misprints.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fifth aspect, when there is no sheet of the same size as the OHP sheet, the sheet larger than the OHP sheet and having the closest size is set to the OHP sheet. Since the sheet is supplied as a slip sheet, the operability is further improved and misprints can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating electrical connection of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the image forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 4 Notification means and operation means 11 Printer engine 12 Paper feed tray 13 Paper feed tray 14 Paper feed tray 15 Paper feed tray

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A printer engine for performing electrophotographic printing on a recording medium, a plurality of paper trays accommodating the recording medium to be supplied to the printer engine, and a printer engine from each paper tray. A first sensor for detecting the type of the recording medium to be supplied to the printer; and, when the type of the paper to be printed is an OHP sheet based on the detection by the first sensor,
Control means for supplying paper other than the OHP sheet to the printer engine from the paper supply tray, in which the first sensor detects paper other than the OHP sheet, as the OHP sheet interleaving sheet each time printing is performed. Image forming apparatus provided. 2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the OH after the printing.
The supply of the slip sheet to the printer engine is performed before or after the printing on the OHP sheet, depending on the difference in the discharge method of whether the discharge of the P sheet is performed face up or face down. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus performs the operation. 3. The control means according to claim 2, wherein
When a sheet other than the HP sheet is not detected by the first sensor, the operator is notified of the fact by a predetermined notifying unit, and the printing is stopped every time one OHP sheet is printed. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing that has been stopped is restarted after a predetermined operation is performed by the operation unit. 4. 4. The control means according to claim 1, wherein
When a sheet other than the HP sheet is not detected by the first sensor, the operator is notified to that effect by a predetermined notifying unit, and the printing is stopped for each printing of the OHP sheet. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing that has been stopped is restarted after the first sensor detects the OHP sheet. 4. 5. A printing apparatus comprising: a second sensor for detecting a size of the recording medium to be supplied to the printer engine from each of the paper feeding trays; 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a sheet of the same size as the OHP sheet on which the printing is performed is detected from the sheet feed tray and detected by the second sensor. 6. When there is no sheet of the same size as the OHP sheet to be printed based on the detection of the second sensor, the control means detects the sheet larger than the sheet and having the closest size. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the image is supplied from a paper tray.