Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7190916?ie=ISO-8859-1&dq=U.S.+patent+number+7,325,728
Timestamp: 2014-03-10 10:42:32
Document Index: 495853374

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 201', 'art 203', 'art 201', 'art 202', 'art 201', 'art 202', 'art 201', 'art 203', 'art 203', 'art 201', 'art 201', 'art 203', 'art 203', 'art 203']

Patent US7190916 - Image forming apparatus - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsAn engine control part determines a print operation start timing, wherein a transferring material discharging interval designated by a transferring material discharging interval notifying means for notifying a controller part of the transferring material discharging interval till the transferring material...http://www.google.com/patents/US7190916?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7190916 - Image forming apparatusAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7190916 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 10/790,739Publication dateMar 13, 2007Filing dateMar 3, 2004Priority dateMar 5, 2003Fee statusPaidAlso published asUS20040247336Publication number10790739, 790739, US 7190916 B2, US 7190916B2, US-B2-7190916, US7190916 B2, US7190916B2InventorsRyuichi YoshizawaOriginal AssigneeCanon Kabushiki KaishaExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (7), Referenced by (4), Classifications (7), Legal Events (3) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetImage forming apparatusUS 7190916 B2Abstract An engine control part determines a print operation start timing, wherein a transferring material discharging interval designated by a transferring material discharging interval notifying means for notifying a controller part of the transferring material discharging interval till the transferring material can be received when a transferring material discharging schedule operation means makes a schedule of a transferring material discharging operation for a transferring material discharging option control part, is set as a transferring material discharging interval from the transferring material discharged by a transferring material discharging option last time. A futile downtime is eliminated by virtue of processing of an discharging option such as changeover of discharging bins, stapling, bookbinding, etc. even in a case where an interval between transferring materials is expanded wider than normal.
The discharging option 26 serves to sort out the transferring materials 2 by use of the first discharging bin 32, the second discharging bin 33 and third discharging bin 34 and to thus stack the materials 3 up. The discharging bins 32�34 are moved up and down by the bin ascending/descending motor 35, thereby sorting out the transferring materials 2 into the respective bins 32�34. The flapper 31 serves to change over the surface and the undersurface of the transferring material 2 fed to the discharging option 26 on the basis of an instruction given from the controller part. If a face-up designation is given from the controller part, the transferring material 2 is led to the rollers 27 and fed directly to the discharging port. Further, if a face-down designation is given from the controller part, the transferring material 2 is led by the flapper 31 to the rollers 28 and the rollers 29, and is conveyed till a trailing end of the transferring material 2 passes the rollers 28. Thereafter, the rollers 29 rotate reversely, and the transferring material 2 is fed in, with its trailing end headed, towards the rollers 30 and thus conveyed to the discharging port.
The controller part 201 alternately transmits, to the engine control part 203, the scheduled print command from the transferring material cassette 1 (referred to as �C� in FIGS. 1, 2, 9, 11 and 12) to the duplex unit (referred to as �U� in FIGS. 1, 2, 9, 11 and 12) and the scheduled print command from the duplex unit to the discharging option (referred to as �O� in FIGS. 1, 2, 9, 11 and 12) 26 (S911, S912, S913, S914, S915, S916). Then, the controller part 201 transmits to the discharging option control part 202, a scheduled discharging command 1 in S901, a scheduled discharging command 2 in S903 and a scheduled discharging command 3 in S905, respectively. The controller part 201, after transmitting the scheduled discharging command 1 in S901, the scheduled discharging command 2 in S903 and the scheduled discharging command 3 in S905, acquires from the discharging option control part 202 a discharging interval at which a next transferring material becomes receivable since a transferring material with the discharging option 26 scheduled has been received (S902, S904). Thereafter, the controller part 201 sends the print start command of the first sheet to the engine control part 203 (S917).
While on the other hand, in the case of receiving neither the scheduled print command nor the print start command of the next page till the normal print start timing (during a period of S1006�S1007), the engine control part 203 starts the post-rotation sequence, and finishes the print operation.
Concerning the third sheet, i.e., �a transferring material corresponding to a scheduled print 6 in S116�, discharged to the discharging option 26, however, the print of the third sheet can not be started during a period, i.e., �a period of a discharging interval 2 (A)�, for which the discharging option 26 can receive the third sheet with an end of stapling of the second sheet, i.e., �a transferring material corresponding to a scheduled print 4 in S1114�.
Accordingly, the controller part 201 is required to transmit the print start command of the third sheet of �transferring material corresponding to the scheduled print 6 in S1116� so that a print interval between the second sheet of �transferring material corresponding to the scheduled print 4 in S1114� and the third sheet of �transferring material corresponding to the scheduled print 6 in S1116� is longer than a discharging interval A in S1104 that has been acquired when making a schedule of the second sheet of �transferring material corresponding to the scheduled print 4 in S1114 which has been discharged to the discharging option 26 last time� with respect to the discharging option 26.
The controller part 201 transmits to the engine control part 203 the print start command of the third sheet of �transferring material corresponding to the scheduled print 6 in S1216� after an elapse of the sheet discharging interval A in S1230 since the print start timing (S1204) of the second sheet of �transferring material corresponding to the scheduled print 4 in S1214�.
If a timing (S1207) at which the discharging interval A in S1230 elapses since the print start timing of the second sheet of �transferring material corresponding to the scheduled print 4 in S1214� is posterior to the normal print timing (S1206) of the third sheet of �transferring material corresponding to the scheduled print 6 in S1216�, the engine control part 203 temporarily executes the post-rotation sequence at a point of time of S1206.
Thereafter, the engine control part 203 starts the initial rotation sequence after waiting for receiving the print start command in S1216, of the third sheet of �transferring material corresponding to the scheduled print 6 in S1216�.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention, which was devised to obviate the problems inherent in the prior arts described above, to provide an image forming apparatus capable of eliminating a futile downtime without any interruption of consecutive printing by virtue of processing of an discharging option such as changeover of discharging bins, stapling, bookbinding, etc. even in a case where an interval between recording materials is expanded wider than normal.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram of a communication sequence of a controller part in a printer defined as an image forming apparatus in a first embodiment of the present invention;
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 5A and 5B.
First Embodiment To begin with, a first embodiment of the present invention will be discussed with reference to FIGS. 1 through 3.
Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be explained on the basis of FIG. 4.
Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be explained on the basis of FIG. 5.
Other Embodiments A system or an apparatus is supplied with a storage medium stored with program codes of software for actualizing the functions in the embodiments discussed above, and a computer (or a CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or the apparatus reads and executes the program codes stored on the storage medium, whereby the present invention is, as a matter of course, attained.
Further, the storage medium for supplying the program codes may be what can be stored with the program codes, such as a RAM, a NV-RAM, a floppy� disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optic disk, a MO, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a CD-RW, a DVD (DVD-ROM, a DVD-R, a DVD-RW, etc.), a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, other types of ROMs, etc., or can involve the use of downloading, etc. via a network.
Patent CitationsCited PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS6122464 *Jun 26, 1998Sep 19, 2000Canon Kabushiki KaishaController for controlling image formation apparatusUS6266151Sep 28, 1999Jul 24, 2001Canon Kabushiki KaishaImage forming apparatus for image formation on sheetUS6301452Feb 15, 2000Oct 9, 2001Canon Kabushiki KaishaImage forming apparatusUS6347203 *Jan 10, 2000Feb 12, 2002Canon Kabushiki KaishaImage forming apparatus and job control apparatus for sheet discharge processing unitUS6393232 *Jul 28, 2000May 21, 2002Canon Kabushiki KaishaImage forming apparatus capable of selecting discharge means according to material selectionUS6738587 *Nov 25, 2002May 18, 2004Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.Systems and methods for print recommendation and controlJP2001088370A Title not available* Cited by examinerReferenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS7401914 *Jun 7, 2005Jul 22, 2008Canon Kabushiki KaishaPrinting apparatus and method for controlling printing apparatusUS7595912May 8, 2006Sep 29, 2009Canon Kabusihiki KaishaImage forming system and methodUS7916318May 8, 2006Mar 29, 2011Canon Kabushiki KaishaImage forming system and image forming methodUS8531695Jan 27, 2011Sep 10, 2013Canon Kabushiki KaishaImage forming system and image forming method with operation continuation determination* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification399/82, 399/77International ClassificationG03G21/14, G03G21/00, B41J29/38Cooperative ClassificationG03G21/14European ClassificationG03G21/14Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionAug 11, 2010FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Mar 2, 2010CCCertificate of correctionAug 2, 2004ASAssignmentOwner name: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA, JAPANFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:YOSHIZAWA, RYUICHI;REEL/FRAME:015639/0926Effective date: 20040517RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google