US 6,168,327 AGranted

Image forming device

AssigneeBrother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorToru Tsuzuki

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Abstract

A printer including a print engine capable of printing images onto both the front surface and the backside surface of each recording paper. The printer operates as described below while counting, with the copy counter, the number of printed copies. The odd-numbered copy is printed on the front surfaces of the papers form the first page to the last page in this order and is discharged facing downwardly. The even-numbered copy is printed on the backside surfaces of the papers from the last page to the first page in this order an discharged facing upwardly. Accordingly, in the printed matter finally stacked on the discharge tray, the printed sheets are stacked so that the surfaces, on which images are printed, are alternated in the respective copies. In each copy, printed sheets are arranged properly from the first page to the last page in order.

Claims25

Dependent claims

An image forming device, comprising:

an image data storage memory storing image data;
an image forming/discharging section capable of performing an image forming/discharging operation to form images, based on a set of image data stored in the image data storage memory, onto one or more image recording medium, and to discharge the image-formed one or more image recording medium selectively in either one of a face-down discharging condition and a face-up discharging condition, thereby producing a document stack in the corresponding one of the face-down discharging condition and the face-up discharging condition;
a discharge tray capable of holding the produced document stack;
an indication unit that indicates a discharging condition of a document stack to be produced during a present image forming/discharging operation;
an image forming/discharging control unit that controls, when the indication unit indicates the face-down discharging condition for the present image forming/discharging operation, the image forming/discharging section to successively form one or more page's worth of image onto one or more image recording medium with a set of image data in an order from a first page to a last page and discharge the image-formed one or more image recording medium in the face-down discharging condition to thereby produce one document stack in the face-down discharging condition, and that controls, when the indication unit indicates the face-up discharging condition for the present image forming/discharging operation, the image forming/discharging section to successively form one or more page's worth of image onto one or more image recording medium with the set of image data in a reversed order from a last page to a first page and discharge the image-formed one or more image recording medium in the face-up discharging condition to thereby produce one document stack in the face-up discharging condition;
and
an automatic switching unit that automatically selectively switches the discharging condition indicated by the indication unit from the present discharging condition into the other discharging condition after the image forming/discharging section completes performing the present image forming/discharging operation and before the image forming/discharging section starts performing the next image forming/discharging operation.

4 more elements

An image forming device, comprising

an image data storage memory storing image data;
an image forming/discharging section capable of successively producing one or more copy document stack by forming images, based on each set of image data stored in the image data storage memory, while selectively switching an orientation of the image between a first orientation and a second orientation, and capable of discharging each of the produced one or more copy document stack selectively in either one of a face-down condition and a face-up condition;
a discharge tray holding the discharged one or more copy document stack;
a discharging condition indication unit that indicates whether one or more copy document stack to be produced based on a single set of image data is to be discharged in the face-down condition or the face-up condition during a present image forming/discharging operation;
an orientation indication unit that indicates whether the images are to be formed in the first orientation or the second orientation during the present image forming/discharging operation;
an image forming/discharging control unit that controls the image forming/discharing section to perform the present image forming/discharging operation to produce the one or more copy document stack, based on the image data, by forming the images in the indicated one of the first orientation or the second orientation and to discharge the produced one or more copy document stack in the indicated one of the face-down condition or the face-up condition;
a first switching unit that performs at least one of a first switching operation to switch the indicated content of the discharging condition indication unit and a second switching operation to switch the indicated content of the orientation indication unit every time the image forming/discharging section completes producing each of the one or more copy document stack during the present image forming/discharging operation;
a second switching unit that performs at least one of the first switching operation and the second switching operation when the image forming/discharging section completes producing all of the one or more copy document stack,
whereby when the image storage memory stores a plurality of sets of image data in succession, the image forming/discharging control unit controls the image forming/discharging section to form a plurality of groups of different copy document stacks based on the plurality of sets of image data, while the second switching unit performs, for the respective copy document stack groups, at least one of the first switching operation for switching the discharging condition between the face-down condition and the face-up condition and the second switching operation for switching an orientation of the image to be formed on the image recording medium between the first orientation and the second orientation, the image forming/discharging control unit controlling the image forming/discharging section to form a plurality of copies onto image recording medium based on each of at least one set of the plurality of sets of image data, thereby producing a plurality of copy document stacks, while the first switching unit performs, for the respective copy document stacks, at least one of the first switching operation and the second switching operation.

6 more elements

An image forming device, comprising:

a discharging state indication unit that indicates a discharging state in either one of a plurality of discharging states;
an image forming section capable of forming an image onto a sheet;
a sheet transfer section capable of transferring the image-formed sheet to discharge the image-formed sheet in either one of the plurality of discharging states;
a controller that controls the image forming section and the sheet transfer section, during a present image forming/discharging operation, to form an image-formed sheet and discharge the image-formed sheet in the discharging state indicated by the discharging state indication unit;
and
a changing unit that automatically changes the discharging state of the image-formed sheet indicated by the discharging state indication unit after the image forming section and the sheet transfer section complete performing the present image forming/discharging operation using a set of image data that is supplied from an external device and before the image forming section and the sheet transfer section start performing the next image forming/discharging operation using at least one of:
the same set of image data, a different set of image data, and a different set of image data that is supplied from a different external device.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/207,266Filed 9 Dec 1998
Priority: JP 9-34009310 Dec 1997
Granted: 2 Jan 2001
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification10 codes

G03G 15/6552
Apparatus which relate to the handling of copy material: means for discharging uncollated sheet copy material, e.g. discharging rollers, exit trays
B41J 3/60
Typewriters or selective printing or marking mechanisms characterised by the purpose for which they are constructed: for printing on both faces of…
B65H 39/10
Associating, collating, or gathering articles or webs: associating articles from a single source, to form, e.g. a writing-pad
B65H 2301/133
Relative to size or orientation of the material: face-up or face-down handling mode