Photocopier

• US 5,333,057 A
• Filed: 08/31/1993
• Issued: 07/26/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Niikawa, Masahito, Morikawa, Takeshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Reinhart, Mark J.
• Application Number:
  US08/114,457
• Time in Patent Office: 329 Days
• Field of Search: 346/108, 346/107 R, 346/160, 346/1.1, 346/76 L, 358/296, 358/300, 358/302, 358/298
• US Class Current: 358/296
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32443 with asynchronous operation of the image input and output devices connected to the memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32486 Storage for making a plurality of copies or reproductions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32561 using a programmed control device, e.g. a microprocessor
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32593 Using a plurality of controllers, e.g. for controlling different interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32609 Fault detection or counter-measures, e.g. original mis-positioned, shortage of paper
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32635 of reproducing apparatus or receiver, e.g. out of paper
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32673 Adjusting or controlling an operating mode, e.g. from paper reception to memory reception H04N1/32678 takes precedence; inhibiting an operation H04N1/00925
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0081 Image reader H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0082 Image hardcopy reproducer H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3288 Storage of two or more complete document pages or image frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3295 Deletion of stored data; Preventing such deletion
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3298 Checking or indicating the storage space

Abstract

The present invention discloses a photocopier with an electronic sorting function which can change over to an appropriate control at an occurrence of a memory-full by using a control device to avoid the interference of copying operation as well as minimizing the time required. More precisely, the control unit forcibly changes the number of copies to 1 when the memory-full occurs, thence reads out the data per page for printing out them once and clears them. Thus, the memory restores a free area and the data of the following page are successively written thereinto. By repeating the above readout-clear-writing procedure, the data of all the documents are safely stored in the memory and read out for the printing successively. As a result, a complete set of the documents is copied, albeit one. On the other hand, the control unit cancels the electronic sorting mode, and hence the readout sequence set in advance when the memory-full occurs, and reads out the data from the memory in the same sequence as the documents were read for as many times as the desired number of copies to clear them subsequently and releases it from the memory-full. By cancelling the preset readout sequence, not only the data in the memory can be efficiently utilized, but also as many copies as desired can be made without any inteference during the copying operation.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus for reading an image on at least one document to form an image on a recording medium, comprising:

image reading means for reading the images on the documents to obtain image data;

storing means for storing a plurality of said image data;

judging means for judging whether said storing means is in a memory-full condition where it has stored the image data to its full;

first control means for controlling readout of said plurality of said image data stored in said storing means;

second control means for controlling readout of said plurality of said image data stored in said storing means in a different way from said first control means;

selecting means for selecting one of said first and said second control means in accordance with a judging result of said judging means; and

image forming means for forming the images corresponding to the image data read out by the selected control means on the recording medium.

2. An image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein said first control means is designed to control in such a way that the plurality of the image data are read out in a certain readout sequence.

3. An image forming apparatus of claim 2, wherein said second control means is designed to control in such a way that the plurality of the image data are read out in a sequence by which the documents were read.

4. An image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein said first control means is designed to control in such a way that the plurality of the image data are read out for a certain number of times.

5. An image forming apparatus of claim 4, wherein said second control means is designed to control in such a way that said certain number of times is changed to 1 to read out the plurality of the image data stored in said storing means.

6. An image forming apparatus for reading an image on at least one document to form an image on a recording medium, comprising:

image reading means for reading the images on the documents to obtain image data;

storing means for storing a plurality of said image data;

judging means for judging whether said storing means is in a memory-full condition where it has stored the image data to its full;

control means for controlling readout of said plurality of said image data stored in said storing means;

control changing means for changing control on the readout by said control means in accordance with a judging result of said judging means; and

image forming means for forming the image corresponding to the image data read out under a control of said control means on the recording medium.

7. An image forming apparatus of claim 6, wherein said control means is designed to control in such a way that the plurality of the image data are read out in a certain readout sequence.

8. An image forming apparatus of claim 7, wherein said control changing means is designed to change said certain readout sequence into a sequence by which the documents were read.

9. An image forming apparatus of claim 6, wherein said control means is designed to control in such a way that the plurality of the image data are read out for a certain number of times.

10. An image forming apparatus of claim 9, wherein said control changing means is designed to change said certain number of times to 1.

11. An image forming apparatus for reading an image on at least one document to form an image on a recording medium, comprising:

image reading means for reading the images on the documents to obtain image data;

storing means for storing a plurality of said image data;

judging means for judging whether said storing means is in a memory-full condition where it has stored the image data to its full;

control means for controlling readout of said plurality of said image data stored in said storing means in accordance with a certain readout sequence and for a certain number of times;

control changing means for changing at least one of said certain readout sequence and said certain number of times when said judging means judges that said storing means is in the memory-full condition; and

image forming means for forming the image corresponding to the image data read out under a control of said control means on the recording medium.