Copying apparatus capable of automatically turning off at a predetermined time

A copying apparatus having a function for automatically turning off the power at a predetermined timing. The copying apparatus determines at the predetermined timing whether or not the apparatus is in an operation interrupt state in which a sheet remains inside the apparatus, so as to, if the apparatus is in the operation interrupt state, discharge the remaining sheet and then to turn off the power of the apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to a copying apparatus having a function to 
automatically turn off at a predetermined timing and a method to 
automatically turn off the power source of the copying apparatus at a 
predetermined timing. 
2. Description of the Related Art 
Eliminating wasteful electric power consumption when copies are not being 
taken, for instance, after working hours are over, by automatically 
turning off the power source of a copying apparatus at a desired timing, 
for example, when a presete time is reached has been proposed. For 
example, in the apparatus proposed in Japanese Published Patent 
Application Hei 6-30000, an automatic power source turn-off function that 
automatically turns off the power source of the copying apparatus when it 
has been detected that a preset time is reached as well as an automatic 
reset function that returns the settings of the copying apparatus to the 
initial settings when no operations have occurred in a predetermined time 
period for the operation portion of the copying apparatus have been 
disclosed. Another disclosure disclosed that if a timer that controls the 
operation of the automatic reset is counting when the time to turn off the 
power source by means of the automatic power source turn-off function is 
reached, the completion of the count will be waited for and the power 
source will turn off after the automatic reset is executed. 
However, the above-mentioned automatic power source turn-off function does 
not address convenience of use considerations when the power is turned 
back on after automatically turning off. Namely, it is possibly assumed 
that the timing to turn off the power source is reached and the power 
source automatically turns off when, due to some reason, the copy 
operation of the copying apparatus is interrupted, thereby an original 
document remains on the original document table or a paper remains in the 
intermediate tray that temporarily stores paper which has been copied on 
one side during double-side copying. In such a case, if the original 
document or paper remaining on the original document table, in the 
intermediate tray or the like are not removed when the power source is 
turned on again, the copy cannot start, and therefore operational 
characteristics of the apparatus becomes inconvenient. 
Further, in the apparatus stated in the above-mentioned Japanese Published 
Patent Application, if the automatic reset timer is counting at the power 
source turn off time, the completion of the automatic reset will be waited 
for and then the power source will turn off. However, when power 
conservation is considered, it is preferable to avoid extending the power 
source turn off time. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The object of the present invention is to provide a copying apparatus 
having an improved automatic power source turn off function and an 
improved method to automatically turn off the power source which 
eliminates the problems mentioned above. 
Another object of the present invention is to improve the convenience for 
use when the power source is turned on again after it automatically turned 
off in the copying apparatus having a function to automatically turn off 
the power source at a predetermined timing or a method to automatically 
turn off the power source of the copying apparatus at a predetermined 
timing. 
A further object of the present invention is to improve the power 
conservation efficiency in addition to improving the convenience for use 
when the power source is turned on again after it automatically turned off 
in the copying apparatus having a function to automatically turn off the 
power source at a predetermined timing or the method to automatically turn 
off the power source of the copying apparatus at a predetermined timing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now to the drawings, one preferred embodiment of the present 
invention will be described. 
FIG. 1 shows an outline of the overall construction of the copying 
apparatus related to the present invention. This copying apparatus is 
comprised by a copying apparatus main body 10, and an automatic document 
feeder (ADF) 30 that transports an original document onto an original 
document table 13 of said copying apparatus main body 10 and sends out the 
original document from the table 13. The above-mentioned copying apparatus 
main body 10 and ADF 30 are controlled to be related to each other. 
The copying apparatus main body 10 is an apparatus that forms an image 
utilizing an electrophotographic format and has an original document table 
13 onto which is set an original document. An original document table 
sensor SE5 that detects whether an original document has been set on the 
original document table 13 and a scanning optical system 15 that exposes 
and scans the original document set on the original document table are 
both arranged under the original document table 13. An image forming 
portion 11 is arranged under the scanning optical system 15. Here, a 
photoreceptor drum is arranged at the position where the light reflected 
from the exposed and scanned original document forms an image and around 
this drum well-known devices such as a charging device, a developing 
device and a transfer device are arranged in this order. A fixing device 
17 that thermally fixes a toner image transferred onto a paper by means of 
the transfer device is further provided on the downstream side of the 
paper feed direction. 
At the lower portion of the copying apparatus main body 10 an upper paper 
feeding tray 21 and a lower paper feeding tray 23 are provided with paper 
being supplied from either of the two trays. On the upper paper feeding 
tray 21 a sensor SE1 that detects a paper feed and a paper empty in this 
tray is provided and on the lower paper feeding tray 23 a sensor SE2 that 
detects a paper feed and a paper empty in this tray is provided. A paper 
feed path comprising a pair of feed rollers and a guide which feed paper 
supplied from each feeding tray to the image forming portion 11 is 
provided. Further, a intermediate tray 25 is provided between the upper 
paper feeding tray 21 and the image forming portion 11. This intermediate 
tray is an intermediate storage member used when an image has been formed 
on one side of the paper supplied from either paper feeding tray 21 or 23, 
therefore the paper is once again supplied to the image forming portion 11 
and an image is formed on the surface of that paper opposite to the first 
image to be formed, in other words, during double-sided copying. Another 
sensor SE3 that detects whether or not there is paper inside the 
intermediate tray 25 and if paper has been supplied from the intermediate 
tray 25 is provided close to the intermediate tray 25. A switching 
mechanism 19 that either delivers paper on which an image was formed to a 
delivery tray 40 or feeds the paper to the intermediate tray 25 in order 
to form an image again is provided on the downstream side of the paper 
feed direction of the fixing device 17. 
A counter opening 45 is provided on the side face of the copying apparatus 
main body 10 at the left side of the figure and a decrementing insertable 
and removable counter 47 is inserted into this opening. The counter 47 is 
a counter that controls a function to allow only a predetermined number of 
copies to be taken and to stop the copy operation if the accumulated 
number of copies exceeds this number. The predetermined allowable number 
of copies is set in the counter 47 and decreases by 1 each time a copy is 
taken in the copying apparatus 10. Then, when the counter 47 completes the 
count (counter value becomes 0), the copy operation is stopped. 
The ADF 30 has an original document tray 31 in which original documents are 
loaded, a sensor SE7 that detects whether or not an original document has 
been loaded into the original document tray 31, a feed unit 35 that 
separates and feeds original documents loaded in the original document 
tray 31 one sheet at a time to the original document table 13, an original 
document feed belt 37 that feeds and stops original documents which have 
been fed onto the original document table 13, a delivery unit 39 that 
delivers original documents in combination with the original document feed 
belt 37, and an original document delivery tray 33 onto which original 
documents are delivered. 
FIG. 2 shows an operation panel 50 that is provided on the top portion at 
the front of the copying apparatus of this embodiment. On this panel are 
provided a display monitor 51 that displays various messages, the number 
of copies set or the like, a print key 52 for the copy start command, and 
a ten-key unit 53 for inputting numeric values such as the number of 
copies. In addition, a copy mode key 54 that selects either a single-side 
copy mode or a double-side copy mode is provided. This copy mode key 54 is 
a toggle key and every time the key is pressed, the mode is switched 
between single-side copy mode and double-side copy mode. When the 
single-side copy mode is selected, only one side of the paper will be 
copied. Conversely, when the double-side copy mode is selected, both sides 
of the paper will be copied. In order to display which mode has been 
selected using the copy mode key 54, a single-side mode display element 
54a that shows the single-side copy mode is selected and a double-side 
mode display element 54b that shows the double-side copy mode is selected 
are provided. A paper feed opening selection key 56 that selects the paper 
feeding tray is further provided. In like manner to the copy mode key 54, 
pressing this key switches in turn between the upper paper feed opening 
selection that supplies paper from the upper paper feeding tray 21 and the 
lower paper feed opening selection that supplies paper from the lower 
paper feeding tray 23. In order to display which paper feeding tray has 
been selected using the paper feed opening selection key 56, an upper 
opening display element 56a that shows the upper paper feeding tray 21 is 
selected and a lower opening display element 56b that shows the lower 
paper feeding tray 23 is selected are provided. In addition, a display 
element 56c that shows the size of the paper stored in the selected paper 
feeding tray is provided. A turn off time setting key 57 for setting the 
time when the power source will automatically turn off and a stop key 58 
for stopping a series of copy operations are also provided. 
FIG. 3 shows the control system of the copying apparatus of this 
embodiment. The main part of the control system is a copying apparatus CPU 
61 that controls the entire copying apparatus. Connected to the CPU 61 are 
an operation panel IC 65 that governs the input from the operation panel 
50 and the display on the panel 50, an ADFCPU 64 that controls the ADF 30, 
a clock IC 63 that is backed up by its own power source and counts time 
and then outputs the time data, a non-volatile memory RAM 62 that is 
backed up by its own power source and stores the time set by means of the 
time setting key 57, etc., in addition to the various sensors and each 
drive mechanism provided on the copying apparatus main body. 
Next, the operation of the copying apparatus of this embodiment will be 
simply described. 
If we assume the settings are such that five copies will be taken in the 
double-side copy mode, by pressing the print key 52, the sensor SE7 will 
detect whether or not an original document has been loaded in the original 
document tray 31 of the ADF 30. If the sensor detects that an original 
document is loaded in the tray, the feed unit 35 is driven and the 
original documents which are separated into single sheets are fed onto the 
original document table 13 and set at a predetermined position. 
The original document that was set onto the original document table 13 is 
exposed and scanned by the scanning optical system 15. By means of this 
operation, the slit-shaped light reflected from the original document is 
formed into an image on the photoreceptor drum that was uniformly charged 
by the charging device at the image forming portion 11 and an 
electrostatic latent image corresponding to the light reflected from the 
original document is then formed on the photoreceptor drum. This 
electrostatic latent image becomes visible by means of toner when it 
reaches the position facing the developing device by the rotation of the 
photoreceptor drum and then the visible image (toner image) is transferred 
to the first side of the paper fed from the paper feeding tray selected by 
means of the operation panel 50. The transfer image on the paper is fed to 
the fixing device 17 and then fixed on the paper. Thereafter the paper 
that completed the copy on the first side is sent to the intermediate tray 
25. Continuing, next paper is supplied from the paper feeding tray and, in 
like manner to the above procedure, the copy on the first side is 
continuously carried out and five sheets of paper copied on these first 
sides are stored in the intermediate tray 25. 
When the copy operation of the first side of all five sheets of paper is 
complete, the original document feed belt 37 and the delivery unit 39 are 
driven, the original document on the original document table 13 is 
delivered to the original document delivery tray 33 and the next original 
document is fed to and set on the original document table 13 from the 
original document tray 31 by means of the feed unit 35. 
Then, in like manner to the procedure above, a toner image is formed on the 
photoreceptor and the paper to be supplied in order from the intermediate 
tray 25 that completed the copy on the first side undergoes copying on its 
second side. The paper that completed the copy on both sides is then 
delivered to the delivery tray 40. 
FIGS. 4 to 12 are flowcharts showing the sequence of the processes executed 
by the copying apparatus CPU 61. 
FIG. 4 s hows an outline of the overall composition of the processing of 
the copying apparatus CPU 61. When th e power source of the copying 
apparatus is turned on a nd the program starts, at first, in step S1 a 
subroutine executes to perform initial settings of the copying apparatus. 
As shown in FIG. 5, this initial setting subroutine sets the number of 
copies to 1, the paper feed opening to the upper paper feeding tray 21 and 
the copy mode to the single-side copy mode (S21, S22, S23) in addition to 
performing other settings including magnification to a predetermined state 
(S24) In step S2, the internal timer of the CPU 61 is set. 
Next, in step S3 a judgment is made on whether or not the copy operation is 
operating and, if it is not operating, the process proceeds to step S4 and 
S5 and the operation panel process routine and time setting process 
routine execute. The operation panel process routine and time setting 
process routine are described in detail later. 
On the other hand, in step S3, if the judgment determines copy operation is 
operating, the process proceeds to step S6 and a judgment is made on 
whether or not the stop key 58 has been turned on. 
When the stop key 58 has not been pressed, the process proceeds to step S7 
and a confirmation is made on whether or not there is paper in the 
selected paper feeding tray. When all the paper has not been used, namely, 
when there is paper in the paper feeding tray, the process proceeds to 
step S8 and a judgment is made on whether or not the counter 47 set in the 
counter opening 45 of the main body completed the count. When the counter 
did not complete the count, the process proceeds to step S10. If the 
judgement in either steps S6, S7 or S8 are YES, namely, when the stop key 
58 was pressed, when all the paper in the designated paper feeding tray 
has been used, or when the counter 47 has completed, a judgment is made 
that the copying apparatus is in a copy operation interrupt state in which 
a paper remains inside the copying apparatus and the process proceeds to 
step S9. Then, the copy interrupt flag is set to 1 and the process 
proceeds to step S10. 
From here, the copy operation control process is executed in step S10 and 
continuing into step S11 in which the automatic reset process is executed, 
thereafter the automatic power off process is executed in step S12. The 
routines of the copy operation control process, the automatic reset 
process, and the automatic power off process are described in detail 
later. Then, the completion of the internal timer is waited for in step 
S13 and one routine ends when the timer terminates. 
FIG. 6 shows the operation panel process routine. In step S31, if any of 
the keys on the operation panel 50 are "on edge" (change in state from an 
OFF state to an ON state), the operation flag is set to 1 in step S32 and 
in step S33 a judgment is made on whether or not the copy mode key 54 is 
ON. If the copy mode key 54 is ON, the process proceeds to step S34 and a 
judgment is made on whether or not the single-side copy mode is displayed. 
If the single-side copy mode is displayed, the double-side copy mode is 
displayed in step S35 and the display of the single-side copy mode is 
turned off in step S36 with this routine ending with the copy mode 
changing from the single-side copy mode to the double-side copy mode. In 
contrast, if the single-side copy mode is not displayed in step S34, 
namely, if the double-side copy mode is displayed, the single-side copy 
mode displays in step S37, the display of the double-side copy mode is 
turned off in step S38 and this routine ends with the copy mode changing 
from the double-side copy mode to the single-side copy mode. 
If NO in step S33, namely, if the copy mode key 54 has not been turned on, 
the process proceeds to step S39 and the setting process for other keys 
which have been turned on is executed. 
In step S31, even if none of the keys on the operation panel 50 are on 
edge, the process proceeds to step S40 and a judgment is made on whether 
or not the operation flag is set to 1. If the operation flag is 1, the 
operation flag is returned to 0 in step S41 and in step S42, the automatic 
reset timer sets ending this routine. In step S40, if the operation flag 
is not 1, the routine will end without any changes. 
FIG. 7 shows the time setting process routine that sets the time to 
automatically turn off the power source to be executed in step S5. In step 
S51, a judgment is made on whether or not the power source turn off time 
setting key 57 is on edge. If it is not on edge, the subsequent processes 
will be skipped and the process proceeds to step S58. If it is on edge, in 
step S52, the power source turn off time setting flag is judged and if 
this flag is 0, the setting of the time from this point will be carried 
out. Thereby, in step S53, the power source turn off time setting flag is 
set to 1 and in step S54, the seven segment LED display of the numeric 
display device 51 goes blank. Further, in step S52, when the judgment 
determines the power source turn off time setting flag is 1, the setting 
of the time will be determined to be already completed. Thereby, in step 
S55, the power source turn off time setting flag is set to 0 and in step 
S56, the time data displayed in the numeric display device 72 is stored in 
the memory of the RAM 62 (FIG. 3). Then, in step S57, the display monitor 
51 is returned to the display indicating the number of copies and displays 
1. Next, in step S58, a judgment is made on whether or not there is any 
input from the ten-key unit 53 (FIG. 2). If there is input from the 
ten-key unit 53, in step S59, the power source turn off time setting flag 
is judged and if that flag is not 0, the time data of the power source 
turn off input by the ten-key is displayed in the display monitor 51 in 
step S61. When the power source turn off time setting flag is 0, the data 
indicating the number of copies input by the ten-key is displayed and set 
in step S60. 
The flowcharts in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 show the copy operation control process 
which controls the copy operation of the copying apparatus executed in 
step In step S71, a judgment is made on whether or not the print key 52 is 
on edge. If it is on edge, in step S72, the drive flag of main motor M 
that drives the photoreceptor drum and other devices is set to 1 and main 
motor M is made to drive and then in step S73, a judgment is made from the 
output of the sensor SE7 on whether or not there is an original document 
in the original document tray 31. If there is an original document in the 
tray, the process proceeds to step S74 and the ADF 30 is driven sending 
the original document to the original document table 13, and then the 
process proceeds to step S75. If there is no original document, step S74 
is skipped and the process proceeds to step S75. 
In step S71, if the print key 52 is not on edge, the process proceeds to 
step S76 and a judgment is made on whether or not the interrupt flag is 0. 
If the flag is not 0, or in other words, the copy operation is 
interrupted, and therefore, the copy operation will not be executed and 
this routine will end. If the flag is 0, in step S77, a judgment is made 
on whether or not the main motor M is operating and if it is not operating 
(S77=YES), this routine will end. If the motor is operating (S77=NO), the 
process proceeds to step S78 and a judgment is made on whether or not the 
original document exchange flag is 1. If the flag is 1, the process 
proceeds to step S74 and the next original document is fed. If the flag is 
not 1, the process proceeds to step S75. 
In step S75, a judgment is made on whether or not the copy mode is the 
double-side copy mode. If the mode is the double-side copy mode, the 
process proceeds to step S98. If the mode is not the double-side copy 
mode, the process proceeds to step S80. In step S80, a judgment is made on 
whether the upper paper feeding tray 21 or the lower paper feeding tray 23 
is selected. If the upper paper feeding tray 21 is selected (S80=YES), in 
step S81, the upper paper feeding clutch is turned on along with the 
control timer T-A starting (paper feeding from the upper paper feeding 
tray 21) and if the lower paper feeding tray 23 is selected (S80=NO), in 
step S83, the lower paper feeding clutch is turned on along with the 
control timer T-A starting (paper feeding from the lower paper feeding 
tray 23). In step S84, when the end of the timer T-A is detected, the 
paper feeding clutch is turned off in step S85 and the counter 47 is 
increased. Next, in step S86, the feed clutch of the copying apparatus 
main body is turned on along with the timer T-B setting in step S87. In 
step S88, a judgment is made on whether or not the timer T-B completed its 
count and in step S89, the feed clutch of the main body is turned off. 
In step S91, the scanner 15, the photoreceptor drum of the image forming 
portion 11 and their peripheral devices are driven to carry out a 
well-known image forming operation with the toner image being transferred 
and fixed to the paper that was fed. In step S92, a judgment is made on 
whether or not the quantity of paper supplied matches the number of copies 
set by the ten-key unit 53. If there is no match (S92=NO), namely, if the 
predetermined number of copies is not reached, this routine ends. If the 
quantity of paper supplied reaches the quantity of copies set (S92=YES), 
in step S93, a judgment is made on whether or not there is an original 
document in the original document tray 31. If there is an original 
document in the original document tray 31, in step S94, the original 
document exchange flag is set to 1. If there is not an original document 
in the original document tray 31, in step S95, the main motor M is stopped 
and the original document exchange flag is set to 0 and, in step S96, the 
automatic reset timer that was set by the operation panel process routine 
is reset and this routine ends. 
In step S75, if the judgment determines the mode is the double-side copy 
mode (S75=YES), in step S98, a judgment is made on whether or not the 
paper feed opening is either the upper paper feeding tray 21 or the lower 
paper feeding tray 23 on the main body side. If paper feeding from either 
of the above-mentioned paper feeding trays is set (S98=YES), in step S99, 
the paper feeding process is carried out in like manner to steps S80 to 
S89 previously described. Continuing, in step S100, a judgment is made on 
whether or not the quantity of paper supplied matches the number of copies 
set by the ten-key unit 53. If there is no match, namely, if the desired 
number of copies is not reached (S100=NO), the process proceeds to step 
S91. If the quantity of paper supplied reaches the number of copies set 
(S100=YES), the process proceeds to step S101 and the paper feed opening 
is set to the intermediate tray 25. In step S102, a judgment is made from 
the output of the sensor SE3 on whether or not there is paper in the 
intermediate tray 25. If there is no paper (S102=NO), the process proceeds 
to step S91. If there is paper (S102=YES), the process proceeds to step 
S106. 
In step S98, when the judgment determines the setting is neither to the 
upper nor lower paper feeding trays (S98=NO), namely, when paper feeding 
from the intermediate tray 25 is set, in step S103, a judgment is made on 
whether or not the sensor SE3 is off edge or, in other words, if the paper 
in the intermediate tray 25 changed from an existent to a non-existent 
state. 
If the sensor is off edge (S103=YES), the process proceeds to step S104, 
the paper feed opening is set to the paper feeding tray and then the 
process proceeds to step S80. If the sensor is not off edge (S103=NO), the 
process proceeds to step S105 and a judgment is made on whether or not the 
sensor SE3 is on edge or, in other words, if the paper in the intermediate 
tray 25 changed from a non-existent to an existent state. If the sensor 
SE3 is not on edge (S105=NO), the process proceeds to step S80 and if the 
sensor SE3 is on edge (S105=YES), the process proceeds to step S106. 
In step S106, the clutch of a resupply roller that picks up paper from the 
intermediate tray 25 is turned on to supply paper and, in step S107, a 
timer T-C for controlling the resupply clutch is set. The completion of 
the above-mentioned timer T-C is waited for in step S108 and then in step 
S109, the resupply clutch is turned off along with the counter 47 
increasing and the process proceeding to step S91. 
FIG. 11 shows the automatic reset process routine that is executed in step 
S11. The automatic reset process is a process that automatically returns 
each setting of the copying apparatus to the initial setting state when 
either the operation panel of the copying apparatus has not been operated 
or copy operation of the copying apparatus based on the operation has not 
been executed during a predetermined time period. 
At first, in step S111, a judgment is made on whether or not the copy 
interrupt flag is ON. If the copy interrupt flag is ON (S111=NO), the 
process returns to the main routine without the subsequent processes 
executing. In other words, the automatic reset process is not executed 
when the copying apparatus is in a copy interrupt state. This occurs 
because it may be inconvenient to have initial copy conditions returned to 
an initial state after the operator releases the copy interrupt state. In 
step S111, if the copy interrupt flag is not ON (S111=YES), the process 
proceeds to step S112 and a judgment is made on whether or not the 
automatic reset timer has completed. If the timer has not completed 
(S112=NO), this routine ends. If the timer has completed (S112=YES), when 
an original document has been forgotten on the original document table 13 
in step S113, the original document is forcibly discharged and thereafter, 
in step S114, the settings of the copying apparatus are returned to the 
initial setting state. This routine for the initial settings is identical 
to the initial setting routine described above and shown in FIG. 5. 
FIG. 12 shows the automatic power source turn off process routine executed 
in step S12. The automatic power source turn off process is a process to 
automatically turn off the power source when a preset time is reached. If 
the copying apparatus is in a copy interrupt state at this moment, the 
sheets remaining inside the copying apparatus (including original 
documents on the original document table 13 and paper inside the 
intermediate tray 25) are forcibly discharged and then the power source 
turns off. 
At first, in step S116, when the current time counted by the clock IC 63 
and the power source turn off set time stored in the RAM 62 match (power 
source turn off time is reached) (S116=YES), in steps S117 and S118, the 
states of the operation flag and the main motor are checked and if the 
operation panel 50 is operating or the copying apparatus is copying 
(S117=NO or S118=YES), the completion of these is waited for and the 
process proceeds to step S119. 
In step S119, if the automatic reset timer is counting, the process 
proceeds to step S121 and the state of the copy interrupt flag is judged. 
Hereupon, if the copying apparatus is not in a copy interrupt state 
(S121=NO), the process returns to the main routine of FIG. 4 and the 
completion of the automatic reset process is waited for (S119). 
Thereafter, in step S126, the power source of the copying apparatus turns 
off and the process ends. 
In step S120 or step S121, when the copy interrupt flag is ON (S120=NO, 
S121=YES), namely, the copying apparatus is in a copy interrupt state, the 
process proceeds to step S122 and the inside of the intermediate tray 25 
and the top of the original document table 13 are checked for any 
remaining paper or original documents (S122, S124). If there is any 
remaining paper or original documents (S122=YES and/or S125=YES), in step 
S123 or step S125, a pick-up roller (not shown in figure) provided close 
to the intermediate tray 25 or the original document feed belt 37 are 
driven to forcibly discharge the paper or original document. Thereafter, 
in step S126, the power source of the copying apparatus turns off and this 
process ends. 
Specifically, when the copying apparatus of this embodiment is in the copy 
interrupt state at the set time for the automatic power source turn off, 
regardless of whether or not the automatic reset timer is currently 
counting, any paper or original documents remaining inside the 
intermediate tray 25 or on the original document table 13 are forcibly 
discharged and the power source is immediately turned off. In contrast to 
this, when the copying apparatus is not in the copy interrupt state at the 
set time for the automatic power source turn off, if the automatic reset 
timer is not currently counting, the power source will immediately turn 
off, and if the timer is currently counting, the completion of the 
automatic reset process will be waited for and the power source will then 
turn off. 
Although the present invention has been fully described in connection with 
the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying 
drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications are 
apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are 
to be understood as included within the scope of the present invention as 
defined by the appended claims unless they depart therefrom. 
For instance, in this embodiment, it is shown that the automatic power 
source turn off is a function in which a set time is input with the power 
source automatically turning off when the set time that was input is 
reached. However, in like manner to the automatic reset timer, after 
operating the operation panel 50 or after the copy operation of the 
copying apparatus completes, a timer is made to start and by either 
previously setting a fixed time longer than the automatic reset, for 
example, from 30 minutes to 2 hours, or inputting a desired time, the 
power source can be turned off at the moment either of these times 
elapsed.