A composite machine for original part recycling and its control method and device

Abstract

The present invention provides a compound machine for recycling originals, wherein a hinge is provided at the left end of a manuscript glass to connect to a front cover of the compound machine, and a pushing device is provided on the manuscript glass to move the original on the manuscript glass out of the manuscript glass; a recycling box is provided at the lower part of the compound machine, and a recycling plate is provided on the recycling box. In a non-recycling state, the recycling plate serves as a box cover of the recycling box; in a recycling operation state, the recycling plate pops out from the side of the compound machine and forms a certain angle with the compound machine to receive the original moved out of the manuscript glass by the pushing device and guide the original into the recycling box; after the recycling is completed, the recycling plate returns to its original position to cover the recycling box.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a compound machine for recycling originals, and more particularly to a compound machine for recycling originals, a control method and a control device thereof, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Art

[0002] Multifunction printers (MFPs) provide users with services such as scanning, copying, printing, and faxing. Typically, users place scanned documents, IDs, or photos on the MFP's platen glass to perform the corresponding operations. However, it's common for users to forget to remove the originals placed on the MFP's platen glass after completing the corresponding service task, resulting in loss, damage, and information leakage.

[0003] Existing technologies offer numerous preventative solutions to prevent users from forgetting their original documents. These include pop-up reminders or countdowns on the MFP's UI, audible alarms, and emails to authorized personnel. Hardware solutions also utilize electromagnetic technology between the MFP cover and the document glass panel to lock the cover, preventing document loss.

[0004] When a user ignores the MFP's reminder or forgets to remove the original document after handling the reminder alarm, the original document may still be damaged, lost, or leaked due to the uncertainty of the number of people served by the MFP. Therefore, the technical solution of using an alarm to remind the user to prevent forgetting the original document has limitations. The method of locking the cover with hardware to prevent hardware loss will hinder the user's subsequent use of the MFP, which is inefficient and undesirable. There are also automatic document delivery devices to prevent users from forgetting the original document. After completing the MFP task, the original document is automatically delivered to prevent the user from forgetting it. However, since it delivers the original document rather than recovering it, it still cannot prevent the loss of the original document, and cannot fundamentally protect the security of the user's documents and prevent information leakage.

[0005] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, there is an urgent need in this field for a multifunction machine for original recycling, which is suitable for automatically recycling originals when users forget originals on the document glass, thereby fundamentally protecting user document security and preventing document information leakage. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The following is a brief summary of one or more aspects to provide a basic understanding of these aspects. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of all conceivable aspects and is neither intended to identify key or critical elements of all aspects nor to define the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that will be provided later.

[0007] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, the present invention provides a multifunction machine for recycling originals and a control method and device thereof, which is suitable for automatically recycling originals when the user forgets the originals on the manuscript glass, thereby fundamentally protecting the user's document security and preventing document information leakage.

[0008] The compound machine for recycling originals provided by the present invention is provided with a hinge at the left end of the manuscript glass for connecting to the front cover of the compound machine, and a pushing device is provided on the manuscript glass for moving the original on the manuscript glass out of the manuscript glass; a recycling box is provided at the lower part of the compound machine, and a recycling plate is provided on the recycling box. When in a non-recycling state, the recycling plate serves as the box cover of the recycling box. In a recycling operation state, the recycling plate pops out from the side of the compound machine and forms a certain angle with the compound machine to receive the original moved out of the manuscript glass by the pushing device and guide the original into the recycling box. After the recycling is completed, the recycling plate returns to its original position to cover the recycling box.

[0009] In one embodiment, preferably, the pushing device is a conveyor belt made of a flexible, transparent and smooth material, and the conveyor belt wraps around the platen glass.

[0010] In one embodiment, preferably, rollers are provided on the outer side of the conveyor belt below the four corners of the platen glass to control the operation of the conveyor belt.

[0011] In one embodiment, preferably, one or two protrusions are provided on the conveyor belt. In the non-recycling state, the protrusions are located on the left and right sides of the platen glass, which does not affect the scanning work of the multifunction machine. In the recycling operation state, the protrusions play a role in pushing the original as the conveyor belt runs.

[0012] In one embodiment, optionally, the pushing device includes a cross bar and a cleaning material that does not cause wear to the platen glass, the cleaning material includes cloth or cleaning cotton, and the pushing device is arranged at the leftmost end of the platen glass. When working, the original is pushed out of the platen glass from left to right along the platen glass.

[0013] In one embodiment, preferably, a guide is provided along the right edge of the platen glass. The cross-section of the guide is trapezoidal and the surface is smooth. It is used to prevent the original from being stuck when the original is recycled due to the frame of the platen glass being higher than the platen glass, and ensure that the original is smoothly pushed out of the platen glass.

[0014] In one embodiment, preferably, the recovery plate is a smooth flat plate with multiple bends from left to right. When in the recovery operation state, the leftmost section of the recovery plate is a slope with the left side lower and the right side higher, so as to ensure that the originals moved out of the manuscript glass by the pushing device are smoothly introduced into the recovery box.

[0015] In one embodiment, preferably, a sensor is provided in the recycling box for detecting whether an original document enters the recycling box.

[0016] Another aspect of the present invention provides a control method for a multifunction machine, which includes a recovery plate for recovering originals on a platen glass, a recovery box equipped with a sensor, an original conveying device, and a guide member provided at the right edge of the platen glass. The control method includes: after the user task is completed, a reminder is displayed on the UI interface to remind the user to take away the original, and a countdown is started, with the preset countdown time being T; in response to no front cover switch event occurring within the T time period, recovery is started, and the starting of recovery includes popping out the recovery plate, starting the original conveying device, and conveying the original out of the platen glass through the guide member, and dropping it into the recovery plate and the recovery box.

[0017] In one embodiment, preferably, the control method also includes: in response to a front cover switch event occurring within a T time period, the multifunction device performs a scan to determine whether there is an original left on the platen glass; in response to an original left on the platen glass, the multifunction device maintains the current recycling preparation state until T time, and starts recycling; in response to there being no original on the platen glass, the UI interface returns to the main menu, and the multifunction device returns to the standby state.

[0018] In one embodiment, preferably, the control method also includes: in response to a front cover opening event occurring within a T time period but no front cover closing event occurring, the multifunction device closes the front cover and performs a scan to determine whether there is an original left on the platen glass; in response to an original left on the platen glass, the multifunction device starts recycling; in response to no original on the platen glass, the UI interface returns to the main menu and the multifunction device returns to the standby state.

[0019] In one embodiment, preferably, determining whether a front cover switch event occurs or whether a front cover open event occurs but a front cover closed event does not occur is based on whether the multifunction device receives a front cover switch event signal, where the front cover switch signal includes a front cover open signal and a front cover closed signal.

[0020] In one embodiment, preferably, the original conveying device is a transparent conveyor belt surrounding the manuscript glass, and starting recycling further includes: the UI interface displays that the multifunction machine is recycling, prompting the user that the operation cannot be performed; the front cover of the multifunction machine automatically rises to a certain angle, and a recycling plate pops out from the side of the multifunction machine to start recycling; the roller is started to control the transparent conveyor belt to operate around the manuscript glass, so as to move the original out of the manuscript glass and make it fall onto the recycling plate and finally be introduced into the recycling box; the sensor in the recycling box detects whether any original enters the recycling box and records the detection result; after the transparent conveyor belt has operated around the manuscript glass for two weeks, the roller controls the conveyor belt to stop operating, and the recycling plate returns to its original position to cover the recycling box.

[0021] In one embodiment, preferably, after the recycling is started and completed, the multifunction printer performs a scan to determine whether there are originals left on the platen glass, and ends the recycling based on the scan judgment result combined with the sensor detection result; after the recycling is completed, an email is sent to the administrator, and the administrator opens the recycling box through permission verification, organizes the recycling box according to the email, and keeps the originals for users to retrieve.

[0022] In one embodiment, preferably, recycling is terminated based on the scanning judgment result combined with the sensor detection result, including: in response to there being no original on the platen glass and the sensor detecting that an original has entered the recycling bin, recycling is successful, the front cover falls, the UI interface returns to the main menu, the multifunction machine returns to the standby state, and recycling ends with a normal result; in response to there being no original on the platen glass and the sensor not detecting that an original has entered the recycling bin, recycling is abnormal but does not affect the subsequent use of the multifunction machine, the front cover falls, the UI interface returns to the main menu, the multifunction machine returns to the standby state, and recycling ends with an abnormal result; in response to there being originals on the platen glass and the sensor not detecting that an original has entered the recycling bin, recycling fails, the front cover falls, the multifunction machine issues an alarm, the UI interface displays a system error, and recycling ends with an abnormal result.

[0023] The present invention also provides a control device for a multifunction machine, comprising: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute any one of the above control methods.

[0024] The present invention also provides a computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program implements the steps of any one of the above control methods when executed by a processor. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The above features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood after reading the detailed description of the embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the following drawings. In the drawings, the components are not necessarily drawn to scale, and components with similar related properties or characteristics may have the same or similar reference numerals.

[0026] Figure 1A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a multifunction machine in a non-recycling state according to an embodiment of one aspect of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 1B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a multifunction machine in a recycling state according to an embodiment of one aspect of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 is a top view of the device structure of the multifunction machine in a recovery state according to an embodiment of one aspect of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3Ais a schematic structural diagram of a front cover opening device of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of one aspect of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 3B is a top view of a structure of a front cover opening device of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of one aspect of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 4 is a flow chart of a method for controlling a multifunction machine according to another aspect of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 5 is a flow chart of a method for controlling a multifunction device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 6 is a flow chart of a method for controlling a multifunction machine according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 7 is a flow chart of a method for starting recycling when the original conveying device is a transparent conveyor belt according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 8 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method for ending recycling based on a scanning judgment result combined with a sensor detection result according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 9 is a flow chart of a MFP recycling algorithm according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 10 is a flowchart of an algorithm for executing a recycling operation on a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0038] Figure 11 It is a structural schematic diagram of a control device for recycling originals in a multifunction machine according to another aspect of the present invention.

[0039] For the sake of clarity, a brief description of the reference numerals is given below:

[0040] 1 front cover

[0041] 2 Original

[0042] 3 conveyor belts

[0043] 4 Platen glass

[0044] 5 scroll wheels

[0045] 6 Recycling Board

[0046] 7 Recycling Bins

[0047] 8 guides

[0048] 9 Bumps on the conveyor belt

[0049] 10 Sensors

[0050] 11 hinge parts

[0051] 110 Control device for recycling original parts in a compound machine

[0052] 111 Memory

[0053] 112 processors DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0054] The following specific embodiments illustrate the embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in this specification. Although the description of the present invention will be introduced in conjunction with the preferred embodiment, this does not mean that the features of this invention are limited to this embodiment. On the contrary, the purpose of introducing the invention in conjunction with the embodiment is to cover other options or modifications that may be extended based on the claims of the present invention. In order to provide a deep understanding of the present invention, the following description will include many specific details. The present invention can also be implemented without using these details. In addition, in order to avoid confusion or blurring the focus of the present invention, some specific details will be omitted in the description.

[0055] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" should be understood broadly. For example, they may refer to fixed, detachable, or integral connections; mechanical or electrical connections; direct or indirect connections through an intermediary; and internal communication between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of these terms in the present invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0056] Furthermore, the terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "top," "bottom," "horizontal," and "vertical" used in the following description should be understood to refer to the orientations depicted in that section and the accompanying drawings. These relative terms are used solely for convenience of description and do not necessarily imply that the devices described herein must be manufactured or operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0057] It will be understood that although the terms "first," "second," "third," etc. may be used herein to describe various components, regions, layers, and / or portions, these components, regions, layers, and / or portions should not be limited by these terms, and these terms are merely used to distinguish different components, regions, layers, and / or portions. Thus, a first component, region, layer, and / or portion discussed below may be referred to as a second component, region, layer, and / or portion without departing from some embodiments of the present invention.

[0058] Multifunction printers provide users with services such as scanning, copying, printing, and faxing. Usually, users place scanned documents, ID cards, or photo originals on the platen glass to perform corresponding operations. However, it often happens that after completing the corresponding task, users forget to remove the originals on the platen glass, resulting in damage or loss of the originals, leading to information leakage and posing a threat to document security.

[0059] In view of the above-mentioned defects in the prior art, the present invention provides a compound machine for recycling original documents, which can automatically start the recycling work of the original documents after completing the task, fundamentally ensuring the security of documents and avoiding information leakage.

[0060] Figure 1A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a multifunction machine in a non-recycling state according to an embodiment of one aspect of the present invention. Figure 1B FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a multifunction peripheral in a recycling state according to an embodiment of an aspect of the present invention. Figure 3A FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a front cover opening device of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3B FIG. 1 is a top view of a front cover opening device structure of a multifunction device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0061] Please refer to Figure 1A 、 Figure 1B The compound machine provided by the present invention is provided with a front cover 1 at the top. Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B The front cover 1 is connected to the leftmost end of the top of the compound machine through a hinge 11. In one embodiment, the opening and closing of the hinge 11 can be controlled manually or automatically by a program.

[0062] Figure 2 FIG2 is a top view of the device structure of a multifunction peripheral in a retracted state according to an embodiment of an aspect of the present invention.

[0063] Please refer to Figure 1A 、 Figure 1B as well as Figure 2, a platen glass 4 is provided under the front cover 1, and a pushing device is provided on the platen glass 4 for pushing the original 2 on the platen glass from left to right out of the platen glass. In one embodiment, the pushing device is composed of a crossbar and a cleaning material that does not cause wear to the platen glass, such as a cleaning cloth or cleaning cotton. In the non-recycling mode, the crossbar is placed at the leftmost end of the platen glass 4. When the original 2 is recycled, the crossbar and the cleaning material push the original 2 out of the platen glass 4 from left to right and then the original 2 is recycled. In another embodiment, Figure 1A 、 Figure 1B and Figure 2 As shown, the pushing device is a conveyor belt 3 that loops around the platen glass 4. Made of a flexible, transparent, and smooth material, the belt 3 requires no additional space for operation. In non-recovery mode, due to its transparent nature, adhesion to the surface of the platen glass 4 does not affect the clarity of scanning and copying performed by the MFP. In recovery mode, the flexible, transparent conveyor belt 3 moves the original 2 from left to right off the platen glass 4, facilitating subsequent document recovery. Rollers 5 are located on the outside of the conveyor belt 3, at the four corners of the platen glass 4, to control its operation.

[0064] Please refer to Figure 1A 、 Figure 1B The enlarged view on the right shows one or two protrusions 9 on the conveyor belt 3. Due to weight or material, some original documents cannot follow the movement of the conveyor belt. Consequently, they are pushed by the protrusions 9 as they reach the edge of the document, minimizing the possibility of document push failure. In non-recycling mode, the protrusions 9 are located on the left and right ends of the document glass 4, thus not interfering with the MFP's scanning and copying operations. In recycling mode, the protrusions 9 move with the movement of the conveyor belt 3, pushing the document 2 smoothly off the document glass.

[0065] In addition, a guide 8 is provided at the right edge of the platen glass 4. Please refer to the Figure 1A 、 Figure 1B and Figure 2 Guide 8 has a trapezoidal cross-section and a smooth surface, resulting in low friction. When the original 2 reaches the right edge of the platen glass 4 as the conveyor belt 3 rotates, guide 8 allows the original 2 to slide smoothly along its oblique edge to the top, and then along its other oblique edge to smoothly move out of the MFP plane where the platen glass 4 is located. This prevents the original 2 from becoming stuck during the original recovery process due to the frame of the platen glass 4 being higher than the platen glass 4. Guide 8 further ensures that the original 2 can be smoothly pushed out of the platen glass 4.

[0066] Please continue to refer to Figure 1A 、 Figure 1BBelow the platen glass 4 and other components, the MFP is also equipped with a collection box 7, which is equipped with a collection plate 6. In the non-collection mode, the collection plate 6 serves as a lid for the collection box 7. In the original document collection mode, the collection plate 6 pops out from the side of the MFP, at a certain angle to the MFP, to catch the original document 2 removed from the platen glass 4 by the pushing mechanism and guide it into the collection box 7. After collection is complete, the collection plate 6 returns to its original position to cover the collection box 7.

[0067] Please refer to Figure 1B The enlarged partial view on the lower right shows that in one embodiment, the recovery plate 6 is a smooth flat plate with multiple curved sections from left to right. When in the recovery state, it pops out from the side of the multifunction device. The leftmost section is a slope that is lower on the left and higher on the right, thereby ensuring that the originals pushed out of the manuscript glass 4 by the pushing device and sliding into the recovery plate 6 can be smoothly slid into the recovery box.

[0068] A sensor 10 is also provided in the recycling box 7 for detecting whether an original document has entered the recycling box 7 .

[0069] Figure 4 It is a flowchart of a method for controlling a multifunction machine according to another aspect of the present invention.

[0070] Another aspect of the present invention provides a method for controlling a multifunction device. As shown in FIG4 , the control method 400 includes:

[0071] Step 401: After the user task is completed, the UI displays a reminder to remind the user to take the original document away, and displays a countdown to start. The preset countdown time is T.

[0072] Step 402: In response to no front cover opening and closing event occurring within the T time period, recycling is initiated, which includes ejecting a recycling plate, activating an original conveying device, and conveying the original to the document output glass via a guide, and dropping the original into the recycling plate and recycling box.

[0073] Determining whether a front cover opening and closing event has occurred is based on whether the MFP receives a front cover opening and closing event signal, which includes a front cover opening signal and a front cover closing signal. A front cover opening and closing event in this context refers to a complete front cover opening and closing event, i.e., receiving both a front cover opening signal and a front cover closing signal. When the MFP's front cover 1 is opened, the MFP receives a front cover opening signal. When the MFP's front cover 1 is opened and then closed, the MFP receives a front cover closing signal. The MFP then determines whether a front cover opening and closing event has occurred based on the corresponding signals received. The timing mechanism can be a variable timing mechanism that can be set to an arbitrary time T through a program.

[0074] If no front cover opening or closing events occur within the T time period, indicating that no user has removed the original within the T event period, the recycling process can be initiated. The recycling process begins with the recycling plate ejecting from the side of the MFP, the original transport mechanism activating, and the original being pushed through the guide onto the document glass, causing it to fall onto the open recycling plate and then slide into the recycling bin.

[0075] Figure 5 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a method for controlling a multifunction peripheral according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0076] like Figure 5 As shown, in one embodiment, the multifunction machine control method 500 further includes:

[0077] Step 501: In response to a front cover opening and closing event occurring within a time period T, the multifunction device performs a scan to determine whether an original remains on the platen glass.

[0078] Step 502: In response to the original remaining on the platen glass, the multifunction device maintains the current recycling preparation state until time T, and then starts recycling;

[0079] Step 503: In response to there being no original on the platen glass, the UI interface returns to the main menu and the multifunction device returns to the standby state.

[0080] Step 501 corresponds to the situation where, despite the front cover opening and closing event occurring within time T, the user still forgot the original document was on the platen glass 4, or only removed part of the original document, or the user who opened the front cover is not the original document owner and therefore did not remove the document, etc. In short, if there is still an original document left on the platen glass 4, the MFP will remain in the recovery standby state and wait until time T has passed to initiate recovery. No other operations can be performed during this waiting period. However, further testing is required to confirm whether there is still an original document left on the platen glass, and different actions will be taken based on different test results. This specifically includes two situations and corresponding measures in steps 502 and 503.

[0081] Figure 6 FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method for controlling a multifunction device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0082] exist Figure 6 In the illustrated embodiment, the multifunction machine control method 600 further includes:

[0083] Step 601: In response to a front cover opening event occurring but no front cover closing event occurring within a time period T, the multifunction device closes the front cover and performs a scan to determine whether an original remains on the platen glass.

[0084] Step 602: In response to an original remaining on the platen glass, the multifunction device starts recycling;

[0085] Step 603: In response to there being no original on the platen glass, the UI returns to the main menu and the multifunction device returns to the standby state.

[0086] Step 601 corresponds to the situation where a front cover opening event occurs within time T, but a front cover closing event does not occur until time T. That is, the front cover is opened within time T but remains open until time T. A possible situation is that the user opened the front cover to remove the original from the document glass 4. However, whether or not the original was removed requires another detection and the corresponding operation is performed based on the detection result. The corresponding operations in steps 602 and 603 are then performed based on the scanned judgment result.

[0087] Figure 7 The figure is a flow chart of a method for starting recycling when the original conveying device is a transparent conveyor belt according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0088] like Figure 7 As shown, when the original conveying device is a transparent conveyor belt, starting the recycling further includes:

[0089] Step 701: The UI shows that the MFP is being recycled, prompting the user that no operation is allowed;

[0090] Step 702: The front cover of the MFP automatically rises to a certain angle, and the recovery plate pops out from the side of the MFP to start the recovery.

[0091] In one embodiment, during the recycling operation, the front cover 1 of the multifunction device is automatically opened to a certain angle by the program-controlled hinge 11, lifting the front cover 1. The recycling plate 6 is a smooth cover plate with multiple bends. When in the non-recycling state, it serves as the lid of the recycling box 7. In the recycling state, it slowly pops out from the side of the multifunction device, forming an angle with the multifunction device, and is used to catch the recycled originals. The leftmost end of the recycling plate 6 is a sloped surface with a higher left side and a lower right side, which facilitates the sliding of the originals into the recycling box 7.

[0092] Step 703: The roller is activated to control the transparent conveyor belt to run around the platen glass, so as to move the original document out of the platen glass and drop it onto the recycling plate and finally lead it into the recycling box.

[0093] The conveyor belt is made of a flexible, transparent material, eliminating the need for additional space around the platen glass. Furthermore, its transparent material allows it to adhere to the surface of the platen glass without affecting the clarity of scanning and copying operations. If, due to weight or material, some originals are unable to move with the conveyor belt during operation, protrusions 9, which run to the edge of the original, push the original off the platen glass. A smooth guide is also provided at the right edge of the platen glass. Its smooth surface provides low friction, allowing the original to slide smoothly over it and out of the plane of the platen glass. This prevents the original from becoming stuck due to the edge of the platen glass being higher than the platen glass during the push process, further improving the success rate of original recovery.

[0094] Step 704: The sensor in the recycling box detects whether an original document has entered the recycling box and records the detection result.

[0095] The detection result detected by the sensor can be displayed on the UI interface of the multifunction device. In one embodiment, the sensor can not only detect whether an original document has fallen into the recycling bin, but also detect and display the number of original documents that have fallen into the recycling bin on the UI interface;

[0096] Step 705: After the transparent conveyor belt runs around the platen glass for two weeks, the roller controls the conveyor belt to stop running, and the recycling plate returns to its original position to cover the recycling box.

[0097] Simply running the conveyor belt does not guarantee that the originals on the platen glass will be transported off the platen. Only after the conveyor belt has fully traveled a considerable distance can temporary malfunctions caused by stuck or trapped originals be eliminated and all originals on the platen glass be ensured to be pushed off the platen glass surface. In this embodiment, the conveyor belt is set to cycle for two weeks. In actual practice, the stopping distance of the conveyor belt can be adjusted based on factors such as the weight and material of the documents commonly used in the MFP or the surface smoothness of the conveyor belt. After two cycles, the rollers stop, and the conveyor belt stops, at which point the return plate returns to its original position to cover the return bin.

[0098] The control method of the multifunction machine provided by the present invention requires that after the recycling is started and completed, the multifunction machine needs to perform a scan to determine whether there are originals left on the document glass, and end the recycling in combination with the detection results of the sensor; after the recycling is completed, an email is sent to the administrator, and the administrator opens the recycling box through authority verification, organizes the recycling box according to the email, and keeps the originals for users to retrieve.

[0099] Figure 8 FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method for ending recycling based on a scanning judgment result combined with a sensor detection result according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0100] like Figure 8As shown, after the recycling action, another scan is performed to determine whether there is an original left on the platen glass. The method for ending the recycling based on the scanning result and the detection result of the sensor includes:

[0101] Step 801: In response to the absence of an original on the platen glass and the sensor detecting that an original has entered the recycling bin, recycling is successful, the front cover falls, the UI returns to the main menu, the MFP returns to the standby state, and recycling ends normally.

[0102] Step 802: In response to the absence of an original on the platen glass and the sensor not detecting an original entering the recycling bin, the recycling is abnormal but does not affect subsequent use of the multifunction device. The front cover falls, the UI returns to the main menu, and the multifunction device returns to the standby state. The recycling ends with abnormal result 1.

[0103] Step 803: In response to the original still being on the platen glass and the sensor not detecting any original entering the recycling bin, recycling fails, the front cover falls, the multifunction device sounds an alarm, the UI interface displays a system error, and recycling ends with abnormal result two.

[0104] When the abnormal result is the second time, the MFP activates the emergency response mechanism, the front cover is closed, the system sends an alert email to the administrator, and the UI prompts "An error has occurred and needs to be handled by the administrator." The MFP device needs to be authenticated by the administrator and the problem needs to be resolved before it returns to standby mode.

[0105] Figure 10 is a flowchart of a multifunction machine operation algorithm according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 11 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of an algorithm for executing a recycling operation on a multifunction peripheral according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0106] Figure 9 、 Figure 10 The embodiment shown in the further clearly logically demonstrates the above process method.

[0107] Although the above methods are illustrated and described as a series of acts for simplicity of explanation, it is to be understood and appreciated that these methods are not limited by the order of the acts, as some acts may occur in a different order and / or concurrently with other acts from those illustrated and described herein or not illustrated and described herein but understandable to those skilled in the art according to one or more embodiments.

[0108] Figure 11 It is a structural schematic diagram of a control device for recycling originals in a multifunction machine according to another aspect of the present invention.

[0109] Another aspect of the present invention further provides a control device for recycling original parts of a multifunction printer. As shown in FIG11 , the control device 110 for recycling original parts of a multifunction printer includes a memory 111 and a processor 112 .

[0110] Another aspect of the present invention provides an embodiment of a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium provided in this embodiment stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a processor, it can implement any of the steps of the control method for recycling MFP components.

[0111] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information, signals, and data may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips cited throughout the foregoing description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0112] Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmic steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are generally described above in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. A skilled person may implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

[0113] The various illustrative logic modules and circuits described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or executed using a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0114] The steps of the methods or algorithms described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read and write information from / to the storage medium. In an alternative embodiment, the storage medium may be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In an alternative embodiment, the processor and storage medium may reside in the user terminal as discrete components.

[0115] In one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software as a computer program product, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one location to another. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Any connection is also properly referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0116] The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A compound machine for recycling originals, wherein a hinge is provided at the left end of a manuscript glass to be connected to a front cover of the compound machine, and a pushing device is provided on the manuscript glass to move the original on the manuscript glass out of the manuscript glass, and the pushing device is a conveyor belt made of a flexible, transparent and smooth material, and the conveyor belt wraps around the manuscript glass; a recycling box is provided at the lower part of the compound machine, and a recycling plate is provided on the recycling box. When in a non-recycling state, the recycling plate serves as a box cover of the recycling box. When in a recycling operation state, the recycling plate pops up from the side of the compound machine and forms a certain angle with the compound machine to catch the original moved out of the manuscript glass by the pushing device and guide the original into the recycling box. After recycling is completed, the recycling plate returns to its original position to cover the recycling box.

2. The multifunction device according to claim 1, wherein: Below the four corners of the platen glass, rollers are provided on the outer side of the conveyor belt to control the operation of the conveyor belt.

3. The multifunction device according to claim 1, wherein: The conveyor belt is provided with one or two protrusions. In the non-recycling state, the protrusions are located on the left and right sides of the platen glass and do not affect the scanning work of the multifunction machine. In the recycling operation state, the protrusions play a role in pushing the original as the conveyor belt runs.

4. The multifunction device according to claim 1, wherein: The pushing device includes a cross bar and a cleaning material that will not cause wear to the platen glass. The cleaning material includes a cloth or cleaning cotton. The pushing device is arranged at the leftmost end of the platen glass. When working, it pushes the original out of the platen glass from left to right along the platen glass.

5. The multifunction device according to claim 1, wherein: A guide is provided along the right edge of the platen glass. The cross-section of the guide is trapezoidal and the surface is smooth. It is used to prevent the original from being stuck when recycling the original due to the frame of the platen glass being higher than the platen glass, and ensure that the original is smoothly pushed out of the platen glass.

6. The multifunction device according to claim 1, wherein: The recovery plate is a smooth flat plate with multiple bends from left to right. In the recovery operation state, the leftmost section of the recovery plate is a slope with the left side lower and the right side higher, so as to ensure that the originals moved out of the manuscript glass by the pushing device are smoothly introduced into the recovery box.

7. The multifunction device according to claim 1, wherein: A sensor is provided in the recycling box for detecting whether an original document enters the recycling box.

8. A control method for a multifunction printer, the multifunction printer comprising a recovery plate for recovering originals on a platen glass, a recovery box equipped with a sensor, an original conveying device, and a guide member provided at the right edge of the platen glass, the control method comprising: After the user task is completed, the UI interface displays a reminder to remind the user to take the original document and starts a countdown, with the preset countdown time being T; In response to no front cover switch event occurring within a T time period, recycling is initiated, wherein the initiation of recycling includes popping out the recycling plate, activating the original conveying device, and conveying the original out of the manuscript glass through the guide, and dropping the original into the recycling plate and the recycling box, wherein the original conveying device is a flexible transparent conveyor belt surrounding the manuscript glass.

9. The control method according to claim 8, wherein: The control method further includes: In response to the front cover opening and closing event occurring within a T period, the multifunction device performs a scan to determine whether an original remains on the platen glass; In response to an original remaining on the platen glass, the multifunction device maintains a current recycling preparation state until time T, and then starts recycling; In response to there being no original on the platen glass, the UI interface returns to the main menu and the multifunction device returns to the standby state.

10. The control method according to claim 8, wherein: The control method further includes: In response to a front cover opening event occurring but no front cover closing event occurring within a T time period, the multifunction device closes the front cover and performs a scan to determine whether an original remains on the platen glass; In response to an original remaining on the platen glass, the multifunction machine starts recycling; In response to there being no original on the platen glass, the UI interface returns to the main menu and the multifunction device returns to the standby state.

11. The control method according to any one of claims 8, 9 or 10, characterized in that: The determination of whether a front cover opening and closing event occurs or whether a front cover opening event occurs but a front cover closing event does not occur is based on whether the multifunction device receives a front cover opening and closing event signal, wherein the front cover opening and closing signal includes a front cover opening signal and a front cover closing signal.

12. The control method according to any one of claims 8, 9 or 10, characterized in that: The initiating recovery further comprises: The UI interface displays that the multifunction device is being recycled, prompting the user that the operation cannot be performed; The front cover of the compound machine automatically rises to a certain angle, and the recycling plate pops out from the side of the compound machine to start recycling; The roller is activated to control the transparent conveyor belt to run around the platen glass, so as to move the original document out of the platen glass and drop it onto the recycling plate and finally lead it into the recycling box; The sensor in the recycling box detects whether an original document enters the recycling box and records the detection result; After the transparent conveyor belt has run around the platen glass for two weeks, the roller controls the conveyor belt to stop running, and the recovery plate returns to its original position to cover the recovery box.

13. The control method according to claim 8, wherein: After the recycling is started, the multifunction device performs a scan to determine whether there is an original left on the platen glass, and ends the recycling according to the scanning determination result combined with the detection result of the sensor; After the recycling is completed, an email is sent to the administrator, and the administrator opens the recycling box after authority verification, organizes the recycling box according to the email, and keeps the originals for users to retrieve.

14. The control method according to claim 13, wherein: The step of ending the recycling according to the scanning judgment result and the detection result of the sensor includes: In response to the absence of an original on the platen glass and the sensor detecting that an original has entered the recycling box, recycling is successful, the front cover falls, the UI interface returns to the main menu, the multifunction device returns to the standby state, and recycling ends normally; In response to the absence of an original on the platen glass and the sensor not detecting an original entering the recycling box, the recycling is abnormal but does not affect subsequent use of the multifunction device, the front cover falls, the UI interface returns to the main menu, the multifunction device returns to the standby state, and the recycling ends with an abnormal result; In response to the original still being on the platen glass and the sensor not detecting any original entering the recycling box, recycling fails, the front cover falls, the multifunction device issues an alarm, the UI interface displays a system error, and recycling ends with an abnormal result.

15. A control device for a multifunction machine, comprising: Memory; as well as A processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute the control method according to any one of claims 8 to 14.

16. A computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the control method according to any one of claims 8 to 14 are implemented.

Images