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US4772921A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Copying machine having an auto-document feeder

Assignee: Minolta Co Ltd
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Filing: 1987-09-10
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Granted: 1988-09-20
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Expires: 2007-09-10
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Abstract

Abstract A copying machine having an auto-document feeder (ADF) together with a plurality of paper feeding means is disclosed. Control means is provided in the copying machine for operating the ADF even when the copying machine is in a waiting state. If the print button is operated in the waiting state, said control means makes the ADF operate to set a document on a document tray beforehand.

Inventors

  • 👤 Masazumi Ito

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-29 10:02
CPC Classifications
G; G03; G03G; G03G15/00; G03G15/50; G03G15/5095; G03G15/60; G03G2215/00; G03G2215/00172; G03G2215/00177; G03G2215/00181; G03G2215/00185

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim 286 words
A copying machine comprising: a glass platen, auto-document feed means for feeding a document so as to set it at a predetermined position on said glass platen, document size detection means, a plurality of paper feeding means, paper size detection means for detecting individual paper sizes of copying papers contained in respective paper feeding means, means for designating a magnification for copying, means for calculating the most suitable paper size based on the detected document size and the designated copying magnification, first designation means for designating one of said plural paper feeding means in which copying papers having the most suitable size calculated are contained, means for copying a document image on a copying paper being fed by said designated paper feeding means at the designated magnification, said copying means including means for fixing said document image on said paper thermally, means for controlling said copying means so as to prohibit copying operation thereof until the temperature of the fixing means has been raised up to a predetermined temperature and to cancel said prohibited state of said copying means thereafter, entry means for commanding start of copying operation, first control means for starting operation of said auto-document feed means when said command is entered by said entry means during said prohibited state, means for warning that any copying paper of the calculated size is contained in neither of said plural paper feeding means at least during the prohibited state, second designation means for designating one of said plural paper feeding means if copying papers of the calculated size are replenished therein during said prohibited state, and second control means for operating the designated paper feeding means and the copying means after said prohibited state is canceled.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 286 words
A copying machine comprising: a glass platen, auto-document feed means for feeding a document so as to set it at a predetermined position on said glass platen, document size detection means, a plurality of paper feeding means, paper size detection means for detecting individual paper sizes of copying papers contained in respective paper feeding means, means for designating a magnification for copying, means for calculating the most suitable paper size based on the detected document size and the designated copying magnification, first designation means for designating one of said plural paper feeding means in which copying papers having the most suitable size calculated are contained, means for copying a document image on a copying paper being fed by said designated paper feeding means at the designated magnification, said copying means including means for fixing said document image on said paper thermally, means for controlling said copying means so as to prohibit copying operation thereof until the temperature of the fixing means has been raised up to a predetermined temperature and to cancel said prohibited state of said copying means thereafter, entry means for commanding start of copying operation, first control means for starting operation of said auto-document feed means when said command is entered by said entry means during said prohibited state, means for warning that any copying paper of the calculated size is contained in neither of said plural paper feeding means at least during the prohibited state, second designation means for designating one of said plural paper feeding means if copying papers of the calculated size are replenished therein during said prohibited state, and second control means for operating the designated paper feeding means and the copying means after said prohibited state is canceled.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 21 words
A copying mahcine according to claim 1 in which said document size detection means is arranged in said auto-document feed means.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 22 words
A copying machine according to claim 2, in which said document size detection means detects the document size upon feeding each document.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 16 words
A copying machine according to claim 1, further comprises means for displaying the paper size calculated.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 33 words
A copying machine according to claim 4, in which said warning means is comprised of means for changing display mode of said display means from the usual mode to another one upon warning.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 30 words
A copying machine according to claim 5, in which said warning means stops warning when copying papers of the calculated size are replenished during the prohibited state of copying operation.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 257 words
A copying machine comprising: a glass platen, auto-document feed means for feeding a document so as to set it at a predetermined position on said glass platen, document size detection means, a plurality of paper feeding means, paper size detection means for detecting individual paper sizes of copying papers contained in respective paper feeding means, means for designating one of said plural paper feeding means in which copying papers having a suitable size for the detected document size are contained, means for copying a document image on a copying paper being fed by said designated paper feeding means, said copying means including means for fixing said document image on said paper thermally, means for controlling said copying means so as to prohibit copying operation thereof until the temperature of the fixing means has been raised up to a predetermined temperature and to cancel said prohibited state of said copying means thereafter, entry means for commanding start of copying operation, first control means for starting operation of said auto-document feed means when said command is entered by said entry means during said prohibited state, means for warning that any copying paper of the suitable size is contained in neither of said plural paper feeding means at least during the prohibited state, second designation means for designating one of said plural paper feeding means if copying papers of the suitable size are replenished therein during said prohibited state, and second control means for operating the designated paper feeding means and the copying means after said prohibited state is canceled.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 257 words
A copying machine comprising: a glass platen, auto-document feed means for feeding a document so as to set it at a predetermined position on said glass platen, document size detection means, a plurality of paper feeding means, paper size detection means for detecting individual paper sizes of copying papers contained in respective paper feeding means, means for designating one of said plural paper feeding means in which copying papers having a suitable size for the detected document size are contained, means for copying a document image on a copying paper being fed by said designated paper feeding means, said copying means including means for fixing said document image on said paper thermally, means for controlling said copying means so as to prohibit copying operation thereof until the temperature of the fixing means has been raised up to a predetermined temperature and to cancel said prohibited state of said copying means thereafter, entry means for commanding start of copying operation, first control means for starting operation of said auto-document feed means when said command is entered by said entry means during said prohibited state, means for warning that any copying paper of the suitable size is contained in neither of said plural paper feeding means at least during the prohibited state, second designation means for designating one of said plural paper feeding means if copying papers of the suitable size are replenished therein during said prohibited state, and second control means for operating the designated paper feeding means and the copying means after said prohibited state is canceled.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 273 words
A copying machine comprising: a glass platen, auto-document feed means for feeding a document so as to set it at a predetermined position on said glass platen, document size detection means, a plurality of paper feeding means, paper size detection means for detecting individual paper sizes of copying papers contained in respective paper feeding means, magnification designation means for designating a magnification for copying, means for calculating the most suitable paper size based on the detected document size and the designated copying magnification, first designation means for designating one of said plural paper feeding means in which copying papers having the most suitable size calculated are contained, means for copying a document image on a copying paper being fed by said designated paper feeding means at the designated magnification, means for controlling said copying means so as to prohibit copying operation thereof until said copying means has been brought into a state ready for copying operation and to cancel said prohibited state of said copying means thereafter, entry means for commanding start of copying operation, first control means for starting operation of said auto-document feed means when said command is entered by said entry means during said prohibited state, means for warning that any copying paper of the calculated size is contained in neither of said plural paper feeding means at least during the prohibited state, second designation means for designating one of said plural paper feeding means if copying papers of the calculated size are replenished therein during said prohibited state, and second control means for operating the designated paper feeding means and the copying means after said prohibited state is canceled.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 273 words
A copying machine comprising: a glass platen, auto-document feed means for feeding a document so as to set it at a predetermined position on said glass platen, document size detection means, a plurality of paper feeding means, paper size detection means for detecting individual paper sizes of copying papers contained in respective paper feeding means, magnification designation means for designating a magnification for copying, means for calculating the most suitable paper size based on the detected document size and the designated copying magnification, first designation means for designating one of said plural paper feeding means in which copying papers having the most suitable size calculated are contained, means for copying a document image on a copying paper being fed by said designated paper feeding means at the designated magnification, means for controlling said copying means so as to prohibit copying operation thereof until said copying means has been brought into a state ready for copying operation and to cancel said prohibited state of said copying means thereafter, entry means for commanding start of copying operation, first control means for starting operation of said auto-document feed means when said command is entered by said entry means during said prohibited state, means for warning that any copying paper of the calculated size is contained in neither of said plural paper feeding means at least during the prohibited state, second designation means for designating one of said plural paper feeding means if copying papers of the calculated size are replenished therein during said prohibited state, and second control means for operating the designated paper feeding means and the copying means after said prohibited state is canceled.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 244 words
A copying machine comprising: a glass platen, auto-document feed means for feeding a document so as to set it at a predetermined position on said glass platen, document size detection means, a plurality of paper feeding means, paper size detection means for detecting individual paper sizes of copying papers contained in respective paper feeding means, first designation means for designating one of said plural paper feeding means in which copying papers having a suitable size for the detected document size are contained, means for copying a document image on a copying paper being fed by said designated paper feeding means, means for controlling said copying means so as to prohibit copying operation thereof until said copying means has been brought into a state ready for copying operation and to cancel said prohibited state of said copying means thereafter, entry means for commanding start of copying operation, first control means for starting operation of said auto-document feed means when said command is entered by said entry means during said prohibited state, means for warning that any copying paper of the calculated size is contained in neither of said plural paper feeding means at least during the prohibited state, second designation means for designating one of said plural paper feeding means if copying papers of the calculated size are replenished therein during said prohibited state, and second control means for operating the designated paper feeding means and the copying means after said prohibited state is canceled.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 244 words
A copying machine comprising: a glass platen, auto-document feed means for feeding a document so as to set it at a predetermined position on said glass platen, document size detection means, a plurality of paper feeding means, paper size detection means for detecting individual paper sizes of copying papers contained in respective paper feeding means, first designation means for designating one of said plural paper feeding means in which copying papers having a suitable size for the detected document size are contained, means for copying a document image on a copying paper being fed by said designated paper feeding means, means for controlling said copying means so as to prohibit copying operation thereof until said copying means has been brought into a state ready for copying operation and to cancel said prohibited state of said copying means thereafter, entry means for commanding start of copying operation, first control means for starting operation of said auto-document feed means when said command is entered by said entry means during said prohibited state, means for warning that any copying paper of the calculated size is contained in neither of said plural paper feeding means at least during the prohibited state, second designation means for designating one of said plural paper feeding means if copying papers of the calculated size are replenished therein during said prohibited state, and second control means for operating the designated paper feeding means and the copying means after said prohibited state is canceled.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 314 words
A copying machine comprising: a glass platen, auto-document feed means for feeding a document so as to set it at a predetermined position on said glass platen, document size detection means, a plurality of paper feeding means, paper size detection means for detecting individual paper sizes of copying papers contained in respective paper feeding means, means for designating one paper feed means to be used preferentially among plural paper feed means, means for calculating the most suitable paper size based on the detected document size and the designated copying magnification, first selection means for selecting the paper feed means designated by said designation means if copying papers of the calculated size are contained herein, second selection means for selecting one paper feed means, if copying papers of the calculated size are contained herein, among other paper feed means except for the paper feed means designated by said designation means if copying papers of the calculated size are not contained therein, means for copying a document image on a copying paper being fed by said paper feeding means at the designated magnification, said copying means including means for fixing said document image on said paper thermally, means for controlling said copying means so as to prohibit copying operation thereof until the temperature of the fixing means has been raised up to a predetermined temperature and to cancel said prohibited state of said copying means thereafter, entry means for commanding start of copying operation, first control means for starting operation of said auto-document feed means, said calculation means and, said first and second when said command is entered by said entry means during said prohibited state, and second control means for operating the paper feeding means selected by either of said first and second selection means after a document has been set at the predetermined position on the glass platen and said prohibited state is canceled.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim 314 words
A copying machine comprising: a glass platen, auto-document feed means for feeding a document so as to set it at a predetermined position on said glass platen, document size detection means, a plurality of paper feeding means, paper size detection means for detecting individual paper sizes of copying papers contained in respective paper feeding means, means for designating one paper feed means to be used preferentially among plural paper feed means, means for calculating the most suitable paper size based on the detected document size and the designated copying magnification, first selection means for selecting the paper feed means designated by said designation means if copying papers of the calculated size are contained herein, second selection means for selecting one paper feed means, if copying papers of the calculated size are contained herein, among other paper feed means except for the paper feed means designated by said designation means if copying papers of the calculated size are not contained therein, means for copying a document image on a copying paper being fed by said paper feeding means at the designated magnification, said copying means including means for fixing said document image on said paper thermally, means for controlling said copying means so as to prohibit copying operation thereof until the temperature of the fixing means has been raised up to a predetermined temperature and to cancel said prohibited state of said copying means thereafter, entry means for commanding start of copying operation, first control means for starting operation of said auto-document feed means, said calculation means and, said first and second when said command is entered by said entry means during said prohibited state, and second control means for operating the paper feeding means selected by either of said first and second selection means after a document has been set at the predetermined position on the glass platen and said prohibited state is canceled.

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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1991-09-20 1992-03-21 1992-09-20 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1995-09-20 1996-03-21 1996-09-20 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1999-09-20 2000-03-21 2000-09-20 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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