JP2007218962A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an image forming apparatus whose sorting method is made different between sorting copies and sorting jobs. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus 100 is equipped with: an image forming part 130 forming the images of a plurality of different jobs on recording paper P1 and also forming the images of a plurality of copies on the recording paper; a paper ejection part 150 ejecting the recording paper Ps on which the image has been formed; and a paper ejection tray 151 on which the recording paper ejected from the paper ejection part is stacked. The apparatus 100 is equipped with: a job sorting means 200 sorting the jobs by shift sorting that the position of the recording paper stacked on the paper ejection tray is shifted; and copies sorting means 200 and 190 sorting the copies by directional sorting that the direction of the recording paper stacked on the paper ejection tray is made to differ by every copy of the plurality of copies. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides a black and white or color copier using an image forming method such as an electrophotographic method, an electrostatic recording method, an ink jet method, an ionography method or a magnetic recording method, a printer, a facsimile, or a function combining these. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a digital multifunction peripheral.

  In recent years, an image forming apparatus has been digitized, and a digital multifunction peripheral having a plurality of functions such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile machine has been put into practical use with a single image forming apparatus. Further, such a digital multi-function peripheral can be shared by a plurality of personal computers by network connection.

  In the digital multi-functional peripheral as described above, recording paper on which images are formed by a plurality of different functions are all discharged onto the same paper discharge tray, and print output from a plurality of computers is also discharged onto the same paper discharge tray. Is done.

  For this reason, it is difficult to identify at a glance which recording paper is discharged from the paper discharge tray and loaded by which function and from which personal computer. It is necessary to perform a complicated operation of looking at the contents of the image formed on the recording paper, discriminating and sorting them.

  Therefore, in order to facilitate such sorting work, in the case of printer output, the recording paper is fed vertically, and in the case of facsimile output, the printing paper is fed horizontally and sorted, or the recording paper is used. A recording paper reversing device is provided that can reverse the front and back when ejecting. Paper output is performed with the image forming surface (front side) facing up for printer output, and paper is ejected with the image forming surface facing down for facsimile output. In the case of facsimile output, there is a doggy tail device as a left / right shift device that can change the discharge position of the recording paper in the left and right direction (width direction) when discharging the recording paper. In the case of right-aligned discharge and printout output, a shift sort method of discharging and sorting left-justified, or for each print output related to a group of image information generally referred to as one job Print the identification mark at different positions in the recording paper, the identification mark printing method or the like that facilitates the identification of each of the recording paper job has been proposed (e.g., see Patent Document 1).

In a large image forming apparatus, a plurality of paper discharge trays are provided to discharge paper discharged for different jobs to different paper discharge trays.
JP-A-8-83022

  However, when the copy function is used, a plurality of pages of a plurality of originals may be copied, and when the print function is used, a plurality of data on a plurality of recording paper pages may be printed.

  In the above-described conventional image forming apparatus, in the case of such a plurality of copies output, the above-described various sort methods are also used for sorting for each number of copies. Because it is left to the operator, there are too many sorting categories, or there are unsorted outputs. As a result, job sorting is not performed effectively, and sorting is performed by checking the operator's image contents. There was a problem that had to be done.

  In solving the above problems, sorting a job that is a print output related to a group of image information and another job (hereinafter referred to as “job sorting”), copying a plurality of copies of a multi-page document or a plurality of pages. We paid attention to the difference in the use of sorting for each number of copies (hereinafter referred to as “number of copies sorting”) in printing multiple copies of data.

  Multiple copies and multiple copies are usually made by the same operator and need to be classified for each number of copies. If the recording paper for each number of copies is scattered spatially, the recording paper is taken out and becomes troublesome.

  On the other hand, since jobs for print output related to a group of image information and other jobs usually have different operators for each job, it is better for each operator to sort jobs with different discharge positions for each job. The output recording paper can be easily identified and can be easily taken out from the paper discharge tray.

  As described above, it is preferable that the sorting method is different for the copy sorting and the job sorting. The present invention has been made on the basis of such knowledge, and an object thereof is to obtain an image forming apparatus in which the sorting method is different between the number of copies sorting and the job sorting.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, an image forming apparatus of the present invention forms an image of a plurality of different jobs on a recording sheet and forms an image of a plurality of copies on the recording sheet, In an image forming apparatus comprising a paper discharge unit for discharging the image-formed recording paper and a paper discharge tray for stacking the recording paper discharged from the paper discharge unit, the recording paper stacked on the paper discharge tray Job sorting means for performing job sorting by shift sorting that shifts the position; and copy number sorting means for sorting the number of copies by orientation sorting in which the orientation of the recording paper loaded on the paper discharge tray is different for each of a plurality of copies. It is characterized by providing.

  According to the present invention, since the sorting method can be different between job sorting and number of copies sorting, even when a plurality of operators use the image forming apparatus, the recording paper loaded on the paper discharge tray is Thus, an image forming apparatus that can easily identify and take out the recording paper that it needs is obtained.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, an image forming unit that forms images of a plurality of different jobs on a recording sheet and forms a plurality of copies on the recording sheet, and a paper discharge unit that discharges the recording sheets on which the images are formed. And a paper discharge tray for stacking the recording paper discharged from the paper discharge unit, and a job sorting means for performing job sorting by shift sorting that shifts the position of the recording paper stacked on the paper discharge tray And a copy number sorting means for sorting the number of copies by orientation sorting in which the direction of the recording paper loaded on the discharge tray is different for each of a plurality of copies. Job sorting is performed by shift sorting on the tray, and the number of copies is sorted by changing the orientation of the formed image.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the copy number sorting unit includes a control unit that controls the image forming unit to rotate the image formed on the recording paper by 180 ° for each of the units. In this image forming apparatus, an image formed on a recording sheet is rotated 180 ° between an odd-numbered portion and an even-numbered portion.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the copy sorting unit reverses the recording paper on which the image has been formed by the image forming unit and reversely discharges the recording paper from the paper discharge unit, and the reverse conveyance for each of the units. The first conveyance control for discharging the recording paper from the paper discharge unit without passing through the recording unit and the second conveyance control for discharging the recording paper from the paper discharge unit through the reverse conveyance unit alternately The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a control unit that switches the direction of the image forming surface on the paper discharge tray in the previous period to switch between the downward direction and the upward direction. The direction is switched between the downward direction and the upward direction between the odd-numbered part and the even-numbered part.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the reversing transport unit is a loop-shaped reversing transport unit that transports the recording paper that has reached the paper discharge unit to the paper discharge unit again with the rear end of the recording paper in front and reverses the front and back. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the recording paper that has reached the paper discharge portion is conveyed again to the paper discharge portion with the rear end portion of the recording paper in front and is turned upside down.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the job sorting means discharges the discharge position of the last page or the first page of the recording paper on which the image of each job is formed to the discharge tray from the discharge position of other pages. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that switches and controls a discharge speed of the paper discharge unit so as to shift and stack in a direction. The discharge position of the page or the first page to the discharge tray is shifted and stacked in the discharge direction from the discharge position of the other pages.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the job sorting unit shifts and sorts the image-formed recording paper discharged from the paper discharge unit left and right, and the image-formed recording paper of each job. A control unit that controls the left / right shift device so that the discharge position of the last page or the first page to the discharge tray is shifted to the left or right from the discharge position of other pages and stacked. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discharge position of the last page or the first page of the recording paper on which the image of each job is formed to the discharge tray is shifted to the left or right from the discharge position of other pages. And load it.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the job sorting unit shifts the recording paper on which the image of each job has been formed alternately to the upstream side and the downstream side in the paper discharge direction for each job. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that switches and controls a discharge speed of the paper unit, wherein the image-formed recording paper of each job is alternately upstream of the discharge direction for each job. Shift and load to the side and downstream side.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the job sorting unit shifts and sorts the image-formed recording paper discharged from the paper discharge unit left and right, and the image-formed recording paper of each job. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that controls the left / right shift device so as to shift and stack left and right for each job. Shift left and right for each job.

  The invention according to claim 9 is characterized in that the job sorting means shifts and sorts the image-formed recording paper discharged from the paper discharge unit left and right, and the image-formed recording paper of each job. The left and right shift device is controlled so that each job is shifted to the left and right, and the formed image on the recording paper is rotated 180 ° for each job in the odd job, and is recorded for each job in the even job. And a control unit that controls the image forming unit to rotate an image formed on paper by 180 °, and performs job sorting using both left and right shift and 180 ° image rotation. Item 2. The image forming apparatus according to Item 1, wherein the recording sheets on which the images of the respective jobs are formed are shifted to the left and right for each job, and are formed on the recording sheets for each job in the odd jobs. The image is rotated 180 °, to 180 ° rotation of the image formed on the recording paper for each job in the even job.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the discharge unit is configured so that the job sorting unit shifts and stacks the recording paper on which the image of each job is formed alternately on the upstream side and the downstream side in the paper discharge direction for each job. In addition to switching and controlling the paper discharge speed, the image formed on the recording paper is rotated 180 ° for each job in the odd job, and the image formed on the recording paper is rotated 180 ° for each job in the even job. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a control unit that controls the image forming unit, wherein job sorting is performed using both upstream / downstream shift and 180 ° image rotation. The recording paper on which the image of each job is formed is shifted and stacked upstream and downstream for each job, and the formed image on the recording paper is rotated 180 ° for each job in the odd job, each The image formed on the recording paper for each job is rotated 180 °.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, the job sorting unit shifts and sorts the image-formed recording paper discharged from the paper discharge unit left and right, and the recording paper on which the image is formed by the image forming unit. A reverse conveying unit that reverses the paper and ejects it from the paper discharge unit, and controls the left and right shift device so that the recording paper on which the image of each job is formed is shifted to the left and right for each job. First conveyance control for discharging the recording paper from the paper discharge unit without passing through the reverse conveyance unit for each job in the job, and discharging the recording paper from the paper discharge unit via the reverse conveyance unit Switching between the second conveyance control, the first conveyance control for discharging the recording paper from the paper discharge unit without passing through the reverse conveyance unit for each job in the even-numbered job, and the reverse conveyance unit Record from the paper discharge unit 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a control unit that switches between the second conveyance control for discharging the image and performing job sorting using both left and right shift and front and back image rotation. Yes, job sorting is performed using both left and right shift and front and back image rotation.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the job sorting unit reverses the recording paper on which the image is formed by the image forming unit and reverses the recording sheet, and discharges the recording paper from the paper discharge unit. The discharge speed of the paper discharge unit is switched and controlled so that the recording paper is alternately shifted to the upstream side and the downstream side in the paper discharge direction for each job, and the reverse conveyance is performed for each job in odd jobs. Switching between the first transport control for discharging the recording paper from the paper discharge unit without passing through the recording unit and the second transport control for discharging the recording paper from the paper discharge unit through the reversing transport unit. First conveyance control for discharging the recording paper from the paper discharge unit without passing through the reverse conveyance unit for each job in the job, and discharging the recording paper from the paper discharge unit via the reverse conveyance unit A control section for switching between the second conveyance control; The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein job sorting is performed by using both upstream / downstream shift and front / back image rotation, and job sorting is performed by upstream / downstream shift and front / back image rotation. The invention according to claim 13 further includes a sheet feeding unit that accommodates a recording sheet having an appearance different from that of the normal recording sheet in addition to the normal recording sheet, and the job sorting unit includes a plurality of job sorting units. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when forming an image of a specific job among the jobs, the sheet feeding unit is controlled to feed recording sheets of different colors from the sheet feeding unit to the image forming unit. The image forming apparatus according to any one of -12, which changes the appearance of a recording sheet for a specific job.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the thirteenth aspect, the recording paper having a different appearance is a corner cut paper, and forms an image of a specific job on the corner cut paper.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, when the job sorting unit forms an image of a specific job among a plurality of jobs, the job sorting unit forms a light background image on the entire image forming surface of the specific job. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming unit is controlled to form an image by combining the image of the specific job on the background image. Then, an image is formed by synthesizing a light background image with the image of the job over the entire image forming surface of the specific job.

  According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, when the job sorting unit forms an image of a specific job among a plurality of jobs, an image of an identification mark is formed on a part of the image forming surface of the specific job. 13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming unit is controlled to form an identification mark on a recording sheet of a specific job.

  According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming unit that forms images of a plurality of different jobs on a recording sheet and forms a plurality of copies on the recording sheet, and a paper discharge unit that discharges the image-formed recording sheets. A shift that shifts the position of a recording sheet of a specific job among a plurality of jobs stacked on the discharge tray in an image forming apparatus including a recording tray that stacks recording sheets discharged from the discharge section Specific job sorting means for performing specific job sorting by sorting, and copy number sorting means for performing copy number sorting by orientation sorting in which the direction of the recording paper stacked on the paper discharge tray is different for each of a plurality of copies. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that it sorts specific jobs by shift sorting on a paper discharge tray and sorts copies by changing the orientation of the formed image.

  According to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, an image forming unit that forms images of a plurality of different jobs on a recording sheet and forms a plurality of copies on the recording sheet, and a paper discharge unit that discharges the recording sheets on which the images are formed. A shift that shifts the position of a recording sheet of a specific job among a plurality of jobs stacked on the discharge tray in an image forming apparatus including a recording tray that stacks recording sheets discharged from the discharge section The specific job sorting means for sorting specific jobs by sorting, and the image forming unit is controlled to rotate the formed image on the recording paper by 180 ° for each job between the specific jobs and jobs other than the specific jobs. An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit configured to sort specific jobs by shift sorting on a discharge tray, and stacked on top and bottom of the same position. The orientation of the formed image of the job between performing job separator by rotating 180 °.

  According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus further includes a reversal conveying unit that reverses the image-formed recording sheet and ejects the recording sheet from the sheet discharge unit, and the control unit includes the specific job or a job other than the specific job. Is a plurality of copies, the first conveyance control for discharging the recording paper from the paper discharge unit without passing through the reverse conveyance unit and the recording from the paper discharge unit via the reverse conveyance unit for each unit. 19. The image forming apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the second conveyance control for discharging the paper is alternately switched, and the number of copies is sorted by rotating the front and back images.

  According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, an image forming unit that forms images of a plurality of different jobs on a recording sheet and forms a plurality of copies of images on the recording sheet, and a paper discharge unit that discharges the recording sheets on which the images are formed. A shift that shifts the position of a recording sheet of a specific job among a plurality of jobs stacked on the discharge tray in an image forming apparatus including a recording tray that stacks recording sheets discharged from the discharge section Specific job sorting means for performing specific job sorting by sorting, a reverse conveyance unit that reverses the image-formed recording sheet and ejects it from the paper discharge unit, and jobs between the specific jobs and jobs other than the specific jobs Then, for each job, the first transport control for discharging the recording paper from the paper discharge unit without passing through the reverse transport unit, and the recording paper from the paper discharge unit through the reverse transport unit. And a second control unit that alternately switches the second conveyance control to switch the orientation of the image forming surface on the paper discharge tray between downward and upward. Job sorting between jobs stacked on the front and back is performed by rotating the front and back images.

  According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, when the specific job or a job other than the specific job includes a plurality of copies, the control unit rotates the image formed on the recording paper by 180 ° for each copy. 21. The image forming apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the number of copies is controlled by rotating the image by 180 [deg.].

  The invention according to claim 22 is the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 20, wherein the specific job is a facsimile output, and the facsimile output is a job other than the output. Sorted.

  According to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention, an image forming unit that forms images of a plurality of different jobs on a recording sheet and forms a plurality of copies of images on the recording sheet, and a paper discharge unit that discharges the recording sheets on which the images are formed. An image forming apparatus comprising: a paper discharge tray on which recording paper discharged from the paper discharge unit is stacked; and a shift sort unit that shifts a position of the recording paper stacked on the paper discharge tray. The means is an image forming apparatus characterized in that only job sorting is performed, and the shift sorting means does not perform copy number sorting.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same or equivalent thing, and the description is not repeated.
(Embodiment 1)
The image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment is a multi-function digital multi-function peripheral having a copy function for copying a paper document or a book document, a print function for printing out electronic data transmitted from a personal computer, etc., and a facsimile function. It is. The present invention can also be applied to a single-function image forming apparatus (printer) shared by a plurality of personal computers.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of the image forming apparatus according to Embodiments 1 to 6, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the entire configuration of the image forming apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a document of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the paper feed tray is folded and stored, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state of the image-formed recording paper of Embodiment 1 stacked on the paper discharge tray of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state of the recording paper of the first embodiment on which a plurality of pages are formed as a plurality of copies, and FIG. 6 is a recording paper of the first embodiment on which facsimile reception data is formed as an image. It is a perspective view which shows the state of.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a receiving unit 110, a reading unit 120, an image forming unit 130, an automatic document feeding unit 140, a paper discharge unit 150, a first paper feeding unit 170, and a first paper feeding unit 170. 2 sheet feeding units 180, a loop-shaped reversing conveyance unit 190, and the like.

  The receiving unit 110 receives and acquires image information from an external device such as a personal computer or a storage medium (memory card) via a dedicated cable or a LAN (including a wireless LAN). In addition, image information by facsimile is received and acquired through a public line.

  Although not shown, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a LAN port to which a LAN cable is connected, a modular jack to which a public line is connected, a card slot to which a memory card or the like is attached, and these are connected to the receiving unit 110. Has been.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the reading unit 120 is disposed above the image forming unit 130. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the reading unit 120 is installed on a document placing table (contact glass) 121 on which a sheet document S or a book document to be copied manually by an operator is placed, and a document placing table 121. A document cover 122 that covers the document, an image sensor (CIS) 123 that reads and acquires image information of the copied document, and the like are provided. The document cover 122 also serves as a document discharge tray of the automatic document feeder 140 described later.

  The image forming unit 130 is disposed at a substantially central portion of the image forming apparatus 100. The image forming apparatus 100 is a color image forming apparatus capable of forming a full color image with toners of four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. The image forming unit 130 includes four sets of photoconductors 131Y, 131M, 131C, and 131K. , A charger 132Y and the like, a developing device 133Y and the like, an exposure device 134, an intermediate transfer belt 135, a transfer roller 136, a recording paper transport guide 194, a fixing device 137, and the like. The image forming unit 130 forms a predetermined number of recording sheets based on a group of image information acquired by the receiving unit 110 and the reading unit 120, and sends the images to a paper discharge unit 150 (described later) in the order of image formation.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic document feeder 140 is disposed above the reading unit 120 and includes a document feeding tray 141, a document conveying unit 142, and the like. The document feed tray 141 stacks a plurality of pages of sheet documents S to be automatically fed. A plurality of pages of the sheet document S stacked (set) on the document feed tray 141 are separated one by one by the document transport unit 142 and fed to the reading unit 120, and a group of image information of a plurality of pages is captured by the image sensor 123. Is read. The sheet document S for which image information has been read is discharged and stacked on a document cover 122 that also serves as a document discharge tray.

  The paper discharge unit 150 is fed forward from the image forming unit 130 by discharging the image-formed recording paper Ps sent from the image forming unit 130 to the paper discharge tray 151 by reverse rotation. A paper discharge roller 152 for returning the image-formed recording paper Ps to a loop-shaped reversal conveyance unit 190 described later, a recording paper discharge guide plate 195, and the like are provided. The recording paper Ps on which the image has been formed by the image forming unit 130 is finally disposed between the document feed tray 141 and the document cover 122 serving as the document discharge tray by the discharge roller 152 of the discharge unit 150. The paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 151 and stacked from bottom to top in the order of paper discharge. The image forming apparatus 100 may include a plurality of paper discharge trays 151.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 100 makes it easy to take out the image-formed recording paper Ps when image information is not read, such as when printing from a personal computer. The document feed tray 141 can be folded.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the first paper feeding unit 170 that feeds (feeds) the recording paper to the image forming unit 130 is a recording paper P1 as a recording medium such as a copy paper or an OHP sheet (this specification and patent). In the claims, “recording paper” includes a recording medium other than paper such as an OHP sheet.) The first paper cassette 171 containing the recording paper and the recording paper contained in the first paper feed cassette 171. A first paper feed roller 172 that separates and feeds P1 one by one, a paper feed guide plate 191, a recording paper transport guide 193, a registration roller 192 that feeds the recording paper to the image forming unit 130 at a predetermined timing, and the like. I have.

  Similar to the first paper feed unit 170, the second paper feed unit 180 includes a second paper feed cassette 181 in which the recording paper P2 is accommodated, a second paper feed roller 182 and the like.

  In the first embodiment, the recording paper P1 accommodated in the first paper feed cassette and the recording paper P2 accommodated in the second paper feed cassette use recording papers having different appearances. Specifically, the recording paper P1 is white plain paper, and the recording paper P2 is light blue plain paper. The color of the recording paper P2 may be other colors.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the loop-shaped reverse conveyance unit 190 has the recording paper Ps on which the recording paper on which the image is formed by the image forming unit 130 reaches the paper discharge unit 150 and is returned by the reverse rotation of the paper discharge roller 152. Are returned to the paper feed guide plate 191 on the upstream side of the image forming unit 130 in the order returned with the rear end of the recording paper being the front (front), and merged with the first recording paper feed unit 170. A reverse conveyance roller 196 that reverses the recording paper Ps from the front to the back, a reverse conveyance guide 197, and the like are provided.

  The image-formed recording paper Ps returned to the paper feed guide plate 191 with the rear end in front is conveyed by the transfer roller 136, the fixing device 137, and the paper discharge roller 152 of the image forming unit 130, and reverses the front and back. Are discharged and stacked on the discharge tray 151.

  In an image forming apparatus that does not perform double-sided printing, the reverse conveyance unit 190 may join the rear end portion to the downstream side of the image forming unit 130, that is, the downstream side of the fixing device 137. By doing so, it is possible to shorten and simplify the path of the reversing conveyance unit to reduce the catch of the recording paper.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a storage unit 210 that stores image information of a plurality of jobs separately for each page, and includes a reading unit 120, a receiving unit 110, a storage unit 210, and a recording sheet. By controlling the paper feeding units 170, 180, the image forming unit 130, the paper discharge unit 150, the reverse conveying unit 190, and the like, the image information of each job over a predetermined number of recording papers is read from the storage unit 210, and a plurality of recording papers P1 are recorded. , A control unit 200 including a microcomputer that forms an image on P2 and discharges and stacks the images on a discharge tray 151 is provided.

  In FIG. 2, the control unit 200 having the storage unit 210 is installed in the vicinity of the operation unit 102, but the control unit 200 may be installed on a printed board integrated with the receiving unit 110. A printer driver installed in a computer (personal computer) connected to the image forming apparatus 100 may be used as the control unit 200.

  The storage unit 210 stores the image information of each job of the plurality of jobs acquired by the reading unit 120 and the reception unit 110 separately for each page, and the control unit 200 receives the page information from the storage unit 210 in reverse order or in reverse order. Read in page order and output to image forming unit 130. The operation unit 102 sets reading conditions and the number of output copies of the reading unit 120 and inputs them to the control unit 200 (storage unit 210).

  Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment will be described. The image forming apparatus 100 has three functions: a copy function, a facsimile function, and a printer function that prints print data that is image information from an external input device such as a personal computer.

  In the first embodiment, image formation of the following five jobs is performed in order under the control of the above-described units by the control unit 200.

    Job 1: One page of print data is printed from a personal computer.

    Job 2: Four copies of two pages of print data are printed from a personal computer.

    Job 3: One copy of print data of 3 pages is printed from a personal computer.

    Job 4: Two pages of facsimile reception data are output.

    Job 5: A copy of a 3-page copy is output.

  In job 1, one copy of print data of two pages is printed from a personal computer. Print data from a personal computer (not shown) is transmitted to the receiving unit 110 via a LAN cable. In the image forming unit 130, the print data received by the receiving unit 110 and temporarily stored in the storage unit 210 are fed from the first paper feeding unit 170 by a known electrophotographic image forming process under the control of the control unit 200. Printing on the recording paper P1.

  First, the print data of the first page of job 1 is read from the storage unit 210 and divided into image data for each color corresponding to four colors of toner, and first, the surface of the photoreceptor 131Y that forms a yellow image Is uniformly charged to about −700 V by the charger 132Y. Thereafter, the surface of the photoreceptor 131Y is irradiated with laser light from an exposure device 134, which is a laser optical unit, to form an electrostatic latent image corresponding to yellow image data.

  The surface potential of the photoreceptor 131Y irradiated with the laser beam by the exposure device 134 is about −100V. Thereafter, the negatively charged yellow toner in the developing device 133Y is developed only on the portion irradiated with the laser beam, and a visible image is formed on the photoreceptor 131Y.

  Next, the yellow toner developed on the photoreceptor 131Y is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 135 to which a positive potential is applied. Subsequent to the yellow image formation, magenta, cyan, and black color images are formed around the photoreceptors 131M, 131C, and 131K, and the respective color toners are sequentially superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 135.

  After the four color toners superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 135 are transferred by the transfer roller 136 from the first paper feed cassette 171 to the recording paper P1 fed by the first paper feed roller 172 and the registration roller 192, The fixing device 137 applies heat and pressure of about 170 ° C. to melt and fix the recording paper P1 to form a full color image. Thereafter, the recording paper Ps on which the image has been formed is conveyed by the paper discharge roller 152, and is discharged and stacked on the paper discharge tray 151 with the image forming surface facing downward, as shown in FIG.

  Subsequently, the print data of the second page of job 1 is read from the storage unit 210, and similarly, an image is formed on the recording paper P1 of the second page, and is discharged on the first page with the image forming surface facing downward as well. However, since the second page of job 1 is the last page of job 1, in the first embodiment, the first page of job 1 is on the paper discharge tray 151 as shown in FIG. Job sort by shifting and sorting to different positions.

  That is, when the second page, which is the last page of job 1, is discharged, the control unit 200 as the job sorting unit rotates the discharge roller 152 at a higher speed than usual to switch the discharge speed, and the image has been formed. The recording sheet Ps is ejected to the downstream side in the transport direction (paper discharge direction), and shift sorting is performed in which the recording paper Ps is shifted from the discharge position of the first page and stacked.

  Next, job 2 for printing four copies of print data for two pages from a personal computer will be described. The print data from the personal computer is divided into pages and temporarily stored in the memory 210. Similarly to the case of job 1, the print data is divided into four color image data to form an image for each color. After transferring and fixing to the recording paper P1 fed from the paper, the paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 151. However, when outputting a plurality of copies of a plurality of pages of print data as in job 2, the image-formed recording is performed. In order to reduce the burden of the operator's sorting work after taking out the paper Ps from the paper discharge tray 151, a plurality of sortings are performed by changing the orientation of the image of the recording paper Ps on which each image has been formed.

  In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 200 as a copy sorting unit performs normal image formation and paper discharge on the first two pages, and the second page on the second page. Then, the entire image is rotated 180 ° around the perpendicular of the recording paper to form an image, and the orientation is sorted and discharged to the same position as the first copy. The third part, like the first part, performs normal image formation and paper discharge, and the fourth part, like the second part, rotates the image data by 180 ° to form images, sort the directions, and discharge the paper. .

  In this way, the even-numbered image is rotated by 180 ° around the perpendicular of the recording paper, and the orientation of the odd-numbered recording paper is made different from that of the odd-numbered recording paper. It is easy to sort by the number of copies after the finished recording paper Ps is taken out, and the burden of sorting work is reduced.

  Also, since the second page of the fourth part is the last page of job 2, as with the second page of job 1, the paper discharge roller 152 is rotated at a high speed to jump out of the other recording paper. The job is sorted by performing a shift sort to be discharged.

  Subsequently, when one copy of the three pages of print data for job 3 is printed, the print data for three pages is formed on the recording paper P1 fed from the first paper feed unit 170, as in job 1. Then, only the third page, which is the last page of job 3, is ejected from the other recording paper and ejected to perform job sorting.

  In job 4, the facsimile reception data is printed on two pages. Unlike the case of printer output or copying from a personal computer where recording paper is output by the operator's conscious operation, the facsimile reception output is external to the public. Since the image forming apparatus 100 automatically outputs the data sent from the line, it is easily overlooked by the operator of the office where the image forming apparatus 100 is located and is often left as it is.

  In the first embodiment, in order to easily identify an output sheet of facsimile reception data as a specific job, a recording sheet having an appearance different from that of copying or printer output is used. Specifically, the recording paper P2 accommodated in the second paper feed cassette 181 of the second paper feed unit 180 shown in FIG. 2 is set as a blue light-colored plain paper, and the second by the control unit 200 serving as job sorting means. Under the control of the paper feeding unit 180, the recording paper P2 is sent out to the image forming unit 130 by the second paper feeding roller 182 only when an image of the facsimile reception data is formed.

  The recording paper P <b> 2 is formed on the paper discharge tray 151 by the paper discharge roller 152 after the image is formed by the facsimile reception data, similarly to the jobs 1 to 3. At this time, only the second page of the facsimile reception data which is the last page of job 4 is ejected and discharged.

  In general, the facsimile reception data is output as a monochrome single-color image using only the black photosensitive member 131K and the black developing device 133K. Therefore, when the recording paper P2 for outputting the facsimile reception data is not set in the second paper feed cassette 181 due to out of paper or the like, it is placed in the first paper feed cassette 171 for use in other output. An image is formed using the set recording paper P1. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the image forming unit 130 is controlled by the control unit 200 as a job sorting unit, and a cyan background and a light background image are combined with facsimile reception data on the entire image forming surface. Form.

  Even when the light blue recording paper P2 is out of paper, the operator can easily recognize that it is the output of facsimile reception data by making the entire surface of the image-formed recording paper Ps cyan. For the facsimile output without setting the condition that the recording paper P2 is out of paper, the image formation may always be performed by combining the light color background image with the facsimile reception data.

  When one copy of a 3-page copy original is copied in job 5 following job 4, a 3-page sheet original S is set on the original feed tray 141 with the copy surface facing upward, as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the copy button of the operation unit 102 provided in front of the upper part of the image forming apparatus 100 is pressed, and the sheet document S is sequentially sent to the reading unit 120 by the document conveying unit 142 of the automatic document feeder 140, and the sheet document S. Are temporarily stored in the memory 210.

  Thereafter, as in job 1, three pages of copies are sequentially formed and discharged onto the discharge tray 151 and stacked. At this time, like the other jobs, only the third page, which is the last page, is popped out and discharged and stacked.

  Accordingly, when the five jobs are finally finished, all the image-formed recording sheets Ps are sorted according to the last page of each job that is jumped out and stacked as shown in FIG. Thus, the operator can easily identify the recording paper Ps that he / she needs when taking out the recording paper Ps on which the image has been formed.

  Since only the recording paper Ps of the last page of each job is shift-sorted at a position different from other recording papers Ps, for example, even if the recording paper Ps of page 3 of job 3 is taken out by the operator, the job 2 and job 4 can be easily identified.

  Further, since the recording paper Ps of job 2 is stacked in a state where the image data is rotated 180 ° around the perpendicular of the recording paper for each copy, the separation for each copy when the recording paper Ps is taken out is separated. It is easy to identify and the burden of the number sorting work is reduced.

  In addition, the recording paper Ps on which the facsimile reception data is formed is facsimile reception to any operator because the recording paper Ps itself is light blue and the last page is popped out and stacked. Is easily recognized, so that it can be quickly taken out and distributed to a destination without overlooking it.

  Further, even when the light blue recording paper P2 for outputting the facsimile reception data is not set in the second paper feed cassette due to running out of paper, the cyan and light background image is formed on the entire image forming surface. Can be easily recognized as facsimile reception.

  In the first embodiment, the cyan light background image is combined and printed on the entire image forming surface. However, the identification mark indicating the facsimile reception data may be combined and printed only on a part of the recording paper P1. Good. Even when an identification mark (for example, “FAX” character) is combined and printed only on a part of the recording paper P1, the job is sorted by changing the discharge position of the last page of each job. It can be easily identified.

  In the first embodiment, the job sorting is performed by popping out the recording paper of the last page of each job and performing shift sorting to a position different from the recording paper of the other pages. Job sorting may be performed by shifting and sorting the recording sheets at different positions from the recording sheets of other pages.

In addition, as a job sorting means for performing job sorting, a doggy tail device (left / right shift device) that can change the horizontal position (width direction position) of the recording paper Ps when the recording paper Ps is discharged onto the discharge tray 151. (Not shown) is provided in the paper discharge unit 150, and under the control of the control unit 200, the discharge position of the last page or the first page of the recording paper on which the image of each job is formed is discharged to another paper discharge tray 151. You may make it load and shift to the left or the right from a position.
Further, job sorting may be performed by alternately shifting and stacking all the recording sheets on which images of each job are formed, on the upstream side and the downstream side in the paper discharge direction for each job.

The image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment may not include the reverse conveyance unit 190.
(Embodiment 2)
Next, an image forming apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing a state of the recording paper of the second embodiment in which a plurality of pages are formed as a plurality of copies. In the second embodiment, when the two-page print data in job 2 of the first embodiment is output to a four-printer printer, the control unit 200 as a copy sorting unit controls the reverse conveyance unit 200 to switch, This is done by switching the orientation of the image forming surface between downward and upward and sorting the orientation.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the second page of the first part of job 2 is discharged and stacked on the discharge tray 151 with the image-formed side facing down, as in the first embodiment (first page). 1 conveyance control).

  Next, when printing the second page of the second part, the second page of the print data is first formed on the recording paper. When the image-formed recording paper Ps is conveyed by the paper discharge roller 152 and the trailing end of the recording paper Ps passes through the conveyance path junction 198 downstream of the fixing device 137, the paper discharge roller 152 is immediately rotated in the reverse direction to perform recording. The paper Ps is fed to the reverse conveying roller 196 with the rear end of the paper Ps as the head.

  The reverse conveying roller 196 and the reverse conveying guide 197 convey the recording paper Ps from the upper part to the lower part of the reverse conveying unit 190 to reverse the image forming surface, and again pass through the registration roller 192, the transfer roller 136, and the fixing device 137. Then, the sheet is discharged and stacked on the discharge tray 151 by the discharge roller 152 with the image forming surface facing upward.

  Subsequently, image formation of the first page of the print data is performed, and in the same manner as described above, the image forming surface is directed upward and discharged and stacked on the discharge tray 151 (second transport control). The output of the third part is ejected and stacked with the image forming surface facing downward as in the first part (first conveyance control), and the output of the fourth part is the same as in the second part. Discharge / stack with the forming surface facing upward (second transport control).

The image-formed recording paper Ps of job 2 ejected and stacked as described above is changed to the image forming surface by switching the first and second conveyance control of the reverse conveyance unit 190 by the control unit 200 as the number sorting unit. Are stacked alternately downward and upward for each number of copies, so that the division of each copy in job 2 can be easily identified, and the workload of sorting the number of copies is reduced.
(Embodiment 3)
Next, an image forming apparatus 100 according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state of the image-formed recording paper of Embodiment 3 stacked on a paper discharge tray of the image forming apparatus, and FIG. 9 is an embodiment in which facsimile reception data is image-formed. FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a state of a recording paper of form 3.

  The third embodiment is a left-right shift device that can change the left-right position (width-direction position) of the recording paper Ps when discharging the recording paper Ps onto the paper discharge tray 151 as job sorting means for performing job sorting. The doggytail device (not shown) is provided in the paper discharge unit 150, and shift sort is performed to switch between right-justified paper discharge and left-justified paper discharge for each job under the control of the control unit 200.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the odd-numbered jobs (jobs 1, 3, 5,...) And the image-formed recording paper Ps are all shifted to the left and discharged, and even-numbered jobs (jobs 2, 4, 6,. ..) Job sorting is performed by shifting all the image-formed recording sheets Ps to the right and discharging them.

  Also in the third embodiment, the number of copies is sorted according to the first embodiment in which the orientation of the formed image is rotated 180 ° for each copy in order to sort the number of copies when printing two pages of print data for job 2 in job 2. By adopting this method, or by adopting the number sorting method of the second embodiment in which the orientation of the image forming surface is alternately stacked downward and upward for each part, the operator can easily identify the division of each part even in the case of multiple output be able to.

  Further, as the recording paper P2 for outputting the facsimile reception data, as shown in FIG. 8, a corner cut paper in which a corner portion of the recording paper is partially cut is used.

  At this time, if the recording paper P2 for outputting the facsimile reception data is not set in the second paper feeding cassette 181 due to out of paper or the like, the recording paper set in the first paper feeding cassette 171 is used. P1 is fed to form an image. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, an image is formed by synthesizing “FAX” marks as identification marks indicating facsimile reception data at the corners of the image forming surface with the facsimile reception data.

  Also in the third embodiment, since the recording paper Ps for each job to be discharged is sorted to the left and right of the paper discharge tray 151 by the left / right shift device (doggy tail device), the operator can easily obtain the required recording paper Ps. Can be identified.

Further, by using the corner cut paper as the recording paper Ps for outputting the facsimile reception data, the operator can easily identify the facsimile reception. Further, when the corner cut sheet for outputting facsimile reception data is out of paper, an image is formed with the “FAX” mark, so that it is possible to easily identify that the reception is facsimile.
(Embodiment 4)
Next, an image forming apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state of the image-formed recording paper of Embodiment 4 stacked on the paper discharge tray of the image forming apparatus, and FIG. 11 is an embodiment of the image-formed recording paper. 4 is a plan view showing the orientation of the image of FIG. 4, and FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the orientation of the image of the recording paper according to Embodiment 4 of the job for outputting a plurality of copies of the recording paper of a plurality of pages.

  In the fourth embodiment, as job sorting means for performing job sorting, as in the third embodiment, when the recording paper Ps is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 151, the horizontal position of the recording paper Ps can be changed. A left / right shift device is provided in the paper discharge unit 150, and the control unit 200 controls the shift sort to switch between right-justified paper discharge and left-justified paper discharge for each job.

  In addition, the recording paper of the same job is discharged to the same position on the paper discharge tray 151, and is rotated 180 ° from the image orientation in the front-rear direction of the recording paper of the immediately previous job discharged to the same position of right alignment or left alignment. The image is ejected in the correct direction. Further, the number of copies of the same job is classified by stacking the orientation of the image forming surface alternately downward and upward for each copy.

  In the fourth embodiment, under the control of the control unit 200, image formation of the following five jobs is performed in order.

    Job 1: One page of print data is printed from a personal computer.

    Job 2: Three pages of facsimile reception data are output.

    Job 3: One copy of four pages of print data is printed from a personal computer.

    Job 4: One page of print data is printed from a personal computer.

    Job 5: Two copies of a two-page copy original are output.

  In job 1, the recording paper Ps on which the image has been formed is discharged and stacked on the discharge tray 151 with the image forming surface facing downward (that is, face down). At this time, as shown in FIG. 10, the two-page image-formed recording paper Ps related to job 1 is all discharged and stacked on the left side of the paper discharge tray 151 by a left / right shift device (not shown).

  Next, in job 2, the three pages of recording paper Ps on which the facsimile reception data is formed are discharged face down to the right side of the paper discharge tray 151 and stacked. The recording paper for job 1 and the recording paper for job 2 are sorted by shifting the stacking position of the recording paper Ps for each job on the paper discharge tray 151 in the left-right direction.

  Next, in job 3, the 4-page recording paper Ps is similarly discharged face-down to the left side of the discharge tray 151. At this time, as shown in FIG. Is discharged in a direction different from the front-rear direction of the image of the recording paper Ps of job 1 immediately before being discharged. Specifically, in job 3, the entire formed image is rotated by 180 ° about the vertical axis of the recording paper, and the image is formed in the front-rear direction opposite to that of job 1.

  Subsequently, in job 4, two pages of recording paper Ps are similarly discharged face down to the right side of the paper discharge tray 151. At this time, as shown in FIG. The image is discharged in a direction different from the front-rear direction of the image immediately before being discharged, that is, the image of the recording paper Ps of job 2. Specifically, in job 4, the entire formed image is rotated by 180 ° about the vertical axis of the recording paper, and the image is formed in the front-rear direction opposite to that of job 2.

  Subsequently, in job 5, a total of four pages of recording paper Ps are similarly discharged face-down to the left side of the discharge tray 151. At this time, as shown in FIG. The image is output with the recording paper Ps of job 3 immediately before being discharged in the reverse direction of the image.

  In job 5, since two copies of a two-page copy original are output, as shown in FIG. 12, the second page of the first copy is output face down with the image forming surface facing downward. The second page of the set is output with the image forming surface facing upward, so that the vertical direction of the first and second image forming surfaces is different, and the respective pages are classified.

  Also in the fourth embodiment, since the image-formed recording paper Ps of each job is sorted at different positions in the left-right direction on the paper discharge tray 151, the operator easily identifies the required recording paper Ps. (In the fourth embodiment, job sorting is performed by alternately stacking the recording paper Ps on which images have been formed for each job on the upstream side and the downstream side in the paper discharge direction for each job. You may do it.)

  Furthermore, the recording paper Ps of one job, for example, job 3 is taken out from the paper discharge tray 151 by the operator, and the recording paper of job 2 and the recording paper of job 4 stacked at the same position on the paper discharge tray 151 are combined. Even when they overlap, the recording paper of job 2 and the recording paper of job 4 are different by rotating the image in the front-rear direction by 180 °, so that the separation can be easily identified.

  Further, since the number of copies of job 5 is sorted in the vertical direction different from the front-back direction of the image for distinguishing between job 2 and job 4 such as face-down and face-up, the number of copies can be easily sorted. In addition, job sorting and number-of-copies sorting are not confused, and the burden of operator sorting work can be greatly reduced.

In the fourth embodiment, the formed image is rotated by 180 ° around the vertical axis of the recording paper in order to sort the jobs stacked at the same position in the left-right direction (upstream / downstream direction) on the discharge tray 151. In order to sort the copies, the image forming surfaces were alternately stacked upwards and downwards for each copy, but for job sorting, the image forming surfaces were alternately stacked upwards and downwards, so The formed image may be rotated 180 °.
(Embodiment 5)
Next, an image forming apparatus 100 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a state of the image-formed recording paper of Embodiment 5 stacked on a paper discharge tray of the image forming apparatus, and FIG. 14 is an embodiment of the image-formed recording paper. FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing the orientation of the recording paper image according to the fifth embodiment of the job for outputting a plurality of copies of a plurality of pages of recording paper.

  In the fifth embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, when the recording paper is discharged, the rotational speed of the paper discharge roller 152 is increased to cause the image-formed recording paper Ps to jump out downstream in the transport direction. The shift sort is adopted.

  In the fifth embodiment, only the recording paper Ps related to the facsimile reception data output, which is a specific job set in advance, is discharged to a downstream position different from the recording paper Ps related to other jobs, and is discharged. Job sorting is performed by discharging the recording paper of the job to be discharged later in the same direction on the paper tray 151 in a different direction from the recording paper of the job discharged immediately before.

  Furthermore, when one job has a plurality of pages and a plurality of copies, the number of copies is sorted by conversion in the vertical direction of the recording paper surface, which is different from the 180 ° conversion in the front-back direction of the recording paper Ps used for job sorting.

  In the fifth embodiment, under the control of the control unit 200, image formation of the following six jobs is performed in order.

    Job 1: One page of print data is printed from a personal computer.

    Job 2: Three pages of facsimile reception data are output.

    Job 3: One copy of print data for two pages is printed from a personal computer.

    Job 4: Two copies of print data for two pages are printed from a personal computer.

    Job 5: One page of facsimile reception data is output.

    Job 6: One copy of a two-page copy original is output.

  The recording sheets Ps for each job are discharged and stacked on the discharge tray 151 with the image forming surface facing downward (that is, face down), except for the case where there are a plurality of pages and a plurality of copies.

  As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the output from the personal computer for page 2 of job 1 is directed toward the upstream side in the transport direction on the discharge tray 151 with the leading portion of the formed image facing downstream in the transport direction (front-rear direction). Eject and load.

  Next, the facsimile reception data output for page 3 of job 2 is directed to the discharge tray 151 by directing the head of the formed image downstream in the transport direction and increasing the rotation speed of the discharge roller 152 by a specific job sorting unit. Are discharged and stacked on the downstream side in the conveyance direction (a left / right shift device as a specific job sorting unit may be provided and shift-sorted to the right or left).

  The output of the second page of the job 3 from the personal computer is discharged to the upstream side in the transport direction on the discharge tray 151 as in the case of the job 1. However, as shown in FIG. The image data is rotated by 180 ° to form an image so as to be in the front-rear direction different from the direction of the head of the formed image of job 1 and output.

  Since the next job 4 is also output from the personal computer, the image-formed recording paper Ps is discharged to the upstream side in the transport direction on the discharge tray 151, but is also discharged to the same position on the discharge tray 151. The image data is further rotated by 180 ° so as to be different from the front and rear direction of the immediately preceding job, that is, the image of job 3, and an image is formed and output. At this time, the front-rear image direction of job 4 and the direction of job 1 are the same.

  The job 4 is a job for outputting two copies of data of two pages. In the case of a job for outputting a plurality of pages and a plurality of copies in this way, as shown in FIG. The second part is discharged with the image forming surface facing upward (that is, face-up).

  The next job 5 is an output of facsimile reception data, and is discharged to the downstream side in the transport direction on the paper discharge tray 151 as in the case of job 2. At this time, the image data is rotated by 180 ° to form an image so as to be different from the front-rear image direction of the job immediately before being discharged to the same position on the discharge tray 151, that is, the job 2, and output.

  Finally, the copy output of job 6 is discharged to the upstream side in the transport direction on the discharge tray 151 as shown in FIG. At this time, the image data is further rotated by 180 ° to form an image so as to be different from the front-rear image direction of the previous job discharged to the same position on the discharge tray 151, that is, the job 4, and is output. .

  In this manner, only the output of facsimile reception data, which is a specific job set in advance, is performed so that the recording paper Ps is discharged to the downstream (left or right) position on the paper discharge tray different from other jobs. Is immediately recognized, and it is avoided to leave it on the paper discharge tray 151 for a long time.

  Further, the output other than the facsimile reception data discharged to the same position on the paper discharge tray 151, that is, the output of job 1, job 3, job 4, and job 5, are alternately rotated by 180 ° in the front-rear image direction. Since it is formed, job sorting becomes easy.

  Further, since the number of copies of the job 4 having a plurality of pages and a number of copies is sorted according to the vertical paper orientation different from the front-back image orientation for sorting the jobs, that is, face down and face up, the number of copies can be easily sorted. In addition, job sorting and number of copies sorting are not confused, and the burden of operator sorting work can be greatly reduced.

  In the fifth embodiment, the image data is rotated 180 ° to change the image direction in the front-rear direction for sorting the jobs to be discharged to the same position on the discharge tray 151, and the copy is sorted in the vertical direction for each copy. Although the orientation of the recording paper surface is changed, the orientation of the recording paper surface may be changed in the vertical direction as job sorting, and the image orientation may be changed in the front-rear direction as sorting of copies.

In the fifth embodiment, both job sorting for rotating the image data by 180 ° and a plurality of divisions for alternately changing the paper direction in the vertical direction are provided, but only one of the functions is provided. May be.
(Embodiment 6)
Next, an image forming apparatus 100 according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing the state of the image-formed recording paper of Embodiment 6 stacked on the paper discharge tray of the image forming apparatus, and FIG. 17 outputs a plurality of pages of recording paper of a plurality of pages. It is a perspective view which shows the direction of the image of the recording paper which concerns on Embodiment 6 of a job.

  In the fifth embodiment, as the shift sorting means, as in the third embodiment, a left / right shift device capable of changing the left / right (width direction) position on the discharge tray 151 when the recording paper Ps is discharged is recorded. A shift sort that is provided in the paper discharge unit 150 and switches between right-justified discharge and left-justified discharge for each job is employed. Similarly to the first embodiment, only the last page of each job is discharged to the left and right positions different from the discharge positions of other pages on the discharge tray 151.

  In the sixth embodiment, under the control of the control unit 200, image formation of the following five jobs is performed in order.

    Job 1: One page of print data is printed from a personal computer.

    Job 2: Four copies of two pages of print data are printed from a personal computer.

    Job 3: One copy of print data of 3 pages is printed from a personal computer.

    Job 4: Two pages of facsimile reception data are output.

    Job 5: A copy of a 3-page copy is output.

  The recording sheets Ps for each job are discharged and stacked on the discharge tray 151 with the image forming surface facing downward (that is, face down), except for the case where there are a plurality of pages and a plurality of copies.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the first page of job 1 is discharged to the right side on the discharge tray 151, and the second page, which is the final page, is discharged to the left side on the discharge tray 151. May be).

  Next, in job 2, as shown in FIG. 17, the first page and the second page are output one by four in order, with the image forming surface facing downward, and only the eighth page, which is the last page of job 2, is output. The paper is discharged to the left on the paper discharge tray 151 (the right and left may be reversed).

  Similarly, in the jobs 3, 4, and 5, only the last page of each job is discharged to the left side on the discharge tray 151 (the right and left may be reversed). Further, only the first page of each job may be shifted and sorted to the left and right.

  Further, instead of shifting and sorting only the last page or the first page of each job to the left and right, it may be shifted to the left and right for each job. Shift sorting may be alternately performed on the upstream side and the downstream side in the paper discharge direction for each job.

  In the sixth embodiment, shift sorting is applied only to job sorting and not to copy sorting. Compared to the conventional device in which shift sorting is applied to both job sorting and copy sorting and the two sortings may be confused, confusion can be avoided by applying shift sorting only to job sorting. .

  The image forming apparatus 100 according to the sixth embodiment does not have a function for sorting the number of copies by converting the orientation of the image, as compared with the first to fifth embodiments. The device can be made inexpensive. If the user has a low output frequency of a plurality of copies, the sorting operation can be reduced by a so-called electronic sort function that outputs one copy at a time in page order.

  In the above description of the first to sixth embodiments, the case of single-sided printing has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to the case of double-sided printing in which different images are printed on both sides of a recording sheet. it can.

  In the first to sixth embodiments, job sorting is performed for all functions of the copy function, the print function, and the facsimile function. However, in the case of copying, in view of the fact that the operator always operates near the apparatus. In the case of copying, instead of performing shift sorting for job sorting, only image orientation conversion for rotating image data by 180 ° for each copy may be performed for copy sorting.

  In the image forming apparatuses 100 according to the first to sixth embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, the intermediate transfer belt 135 transfers an image to the left side of FIG. 2 of the recording paper P1 fed from the paper feeding unit 170. The image forming surface is discharged from the paper discharge unit 150 downward, but the structure of the image forming apparatus is different from that shown in FIG. 2, and the intermediate transfer belt 135 is fed from the paper supply unit 170. The image forming apparatus may be an upward paper discharge that transfers an image to the right side of FIG. 2 of the printed recording paper P1 and discharges the paper from the paper discharge unit 150 with the image forming surface facing upward.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention allows the operator to easily identify and take out the recording paper that he / she needs, and also identifies the classification of each unit when outputting a plurality of pages of print data. It is easy to do and can greatly reduce the burden of recording paper sorting work, so multiple operators can copy image data from each personal computer through a digital multifunction machine with multiple functions such as copying, facsimile, and printer, and network connection. It is useful as an image forming apparatus such as a network printer for outputting.

1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. A longitudinal sectional view showing the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus The perspective view which shows the state which folded and accommodated the document feed tray of the image forming apparatus 1 is a perspective view showing a state of an image-formed recording sheet according to Embodiment 1 stacked on a sheet discharge tray of an image forming apparatus. The perspective view which shows the state of the recording paper of Embodiment 1 in which multiple copies image formation was carried out on several pages The perspective view which shows the state of the recording paper of Embodiment 1 in which the facsimile reception data was image-formed Schematic perspective view showing the state of the recording paper of the second embodiment on which a plurality of pages are formed as a plurality of copies. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state of recording sheets on which image formation has been performed according to Embodiment 3 stacked on a paper discharge tray of the image forming apparatus. The top view which shows the state of the recording paper of Embodiment 3 in which the facsimile reception data was image-formed FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state of an image-formed recording sheet of Embodiment 4 stacked on a paper discharge tray of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the orientation of an image of a recording paper according to a fourth embodiment on which an image is formed. The perspective view which shows the direction of the image of the recording paper based on Embodiment 4 of the job which outputs several copies of the recording paper of several pages FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state of an image-formed recording sheet of Embodiment 5 stacked on a paper discharge tray of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the orientation of an image according to the fifth embodiment of recording paper on which an image is formed The perspective view which shows the direction of the image of the recording paper based on Embodiment 5 of the job which outputs several copies of the recording paper of several pages FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state of an image-formed recording sheet of Embodiment 6 stacked on a paper discharge tray of the image forming apparatus. The perspective view which shows the direction of the image of the recording paper based on Embodiment 6 of the job which outputs several copies of the recording paper of several pages

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Image forming apparatus 110 Receiving part 120 Reading part 130 Image forming part 131Y, 131M, 131C, 131K Photoconductor 132 Charging device 133 Developing apparatus 134 Exposure apparatus 135 Intermediate transfer belt 136 Transfer roller 137 Fixing apparatus 140 Automatic document feeder 141 Original Paper feed tray 150 Paper discharge unit 151 Paper discharge tray 152 Paper discharge roller 170 First paper feed unit 180 Second paper feed unit 190 Reverse conveyance unit (number sorting means, job sorting means)
192 Registration Roller 196 Reverse Conveyance Roller 200 Control Unit (Job Sorting Unit, Number Sorting Unit)
210 Storage section S Sheet document P1, P2 Recording paper (recording medium)
Ps Image-recorded recording paper

Claims (23)

An image forming unit that forms images of a plurality of different jobs on recording paper and forms a plurality of copies of images on the recording paper, a paper discharge unit that discharges these image-formed recording papers, and a paper discharged from the paper discharge unit In an image forming apparatus comprising a paper discharge tray on which recording paper is stacked,
Job sorting means for performing job sorting by shift sorting for shifting the position of the recording paper loaded on the discharge tray;
Copy number sorting means for performing copy number sort by direction sorting that makes the direction of the recording paper loaded on the discharge tray different for each of a plurality of copies;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the copy number sorting unit includes a control unit that controls the image forming unit to rotate the image formed on the recording paper by 180 ° for each of the units. The copy sorting means is
A reversing conveyance unit for reversing the recording paper image-formed by the image forming unit and discharging the recording paper from the paper discharge unit;
First conveyance control for discharging the recording paper from the paper discharge unit without passing through the reverse conveyance unit for each of the units, and a first conveyance control for discharging the recording paper from the paper discharge unit through the reverse conveyance unit. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a control unit that alternately switches between the two conveyance controls, wherein the direction of the image forming surface on the first-stage discharge tray is switched between a downward direction and an upward direction. The reversing conveyance unit is a loop-shaped reversing conveyance unit that conveys the recording paper that has reached the paper discharge unit to the paper discharge unit again with the rear end of the recording paper forward and reverses the recording sheet. Item 4. The image forming apparatus according to Item 3. The job sorting means shifts the discharge position of the last page or the first page of the recording paper on which the image of each job is formed to the discharge tray in the discharge direction from the discharge position of other pages and stacks them. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit configured to switch and control a discharge speed of the paper discharge unit. The job sorting means is
A left-right shift device that shift-sorts left and right image-formed recording paper discharged from the paper discharge unit;
The left / right shift device is controlled so that the discharge position of the last or first page of the recording sheet on which the image of each job is formed is shifted to the left or right from the discharge position of the other pages and stacked. A control unit,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: The job sorting means switches and controls the discharge speed of the paper discharge unit so that the recording paper on which the image of each job is formed is alternately shifted and stacked on the upstream side and the downstream side in the paper discharge direction for each job. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit configured to perform the control. The job sorting means is
A left-right shift device that shift-sorts left and right image-formed recording paper discharged from the paper discharge unit;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that controls the left / right shift device so that the recording paper on which the image of each job is formed is shifted left and right for each job and stacked. The job sorting means is
A left-right shift device that shift-sorts left and right image-formed recording paper discharged from the paper discharge unit;
The left and right shift device is controlled so that the recording paper on which the image of each job is formed is shifted left and right for each job and the formed image on the recording paper is rotated by 180 ° for each job in the odd job A control unit that controls the image forming unit to rotate the image formed on the recording paper by 180 ° for each job in the even-numbered job;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein job sorting is performed using both left-right shift and 180 ° image rotation. The job sorting means switches and controls the discharge speed of the paper discharge unit so that the recording paper on which the image of each job is formed is alternately shifted and stacked on the upstream side and the downstream side in the paper discharge direction for each job. In addition, the image forming unit is controlled so that the image formed on the recording paper is rotated 180 ° for each job in the odd job, and the image formed on the recording paper is rotated 180 ° for each job in the even job. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit, wherein job sorting is performed using both upstream / downstream shift and 180 ° image rotation. The job sorting means is
A left-right shift device that shift-sorts left and right image-formed recording paper discharged from the paper discharge unit;
A reversing conveyance unit for reversing the recording paper image-formed by the image forming unit and discharging the recording paper from the paper discharge unit;
The left and right shift device is controlled so that the recording paper on which the image of each job is formed is shifted to the left and right for each job, and is discharged without passing through the reversing conveyance unit for each job in the odd job. Switching between the first conveyance control for discharging recording paper from the paper section and the second conveyance control for discharging recording paper from the paper discharge section via the reverse conveyance section for each job in the even-numbered job First transport control for discharging recording paper from the paper discharge unit without passing through the reverse transport unit, and second transport control for discharging recording paper from the paper discharge unit through the reverse transport unit A control unit for switching,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein job sorting is performed using both left and right shift and front and back image rotation. The job sorting means is
A reversing conveyance unit for reversing the recording paper image-formed by the image forming unit and discharging the recording paper from the paper discharge unit;
The discharge speed of the paper discharge unit is switched and controlled so that the recording paper on which the image of each job is formed is alternately shifted to the upstream side and the downstream side in the paper discharge direction for each job, and within the odd job A first transport control for discharging the recording paper from the paper discharge unit without passing through the reverse transport unit for each job, and a second for discharging the recording paper from the paper discharge unit through the reverse transport unit. The first conveyance control for discharging the recording sheet from the paper discharge unit without passing through the reverse conveyance unit for each job in the even-numbered jobs, and the discharge through the reverse conveyance unit. A control section for switching between the second transport control for discharging the recording paper from the paper section;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein job sorting is performed using both upstream / downstream shift and front / back image rotation. In addition to the normal recording paper, it further comprises a paper feeding unit that accommodates a recording paper having a different appearance from the normal recording paper,
The job sorting unit controls the paper feeding unit to feed recording paper having a different appearance from the paper feeding unit to the image forming unit when performing image formation of a specific job among a plurality of jobs. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the recording paper having a different appearance is a corner cut paper. The job sorting means, when performing image formation of a specific job among a plurality of jobs, forms a light background image on the entire image forming surface of the specific job, and the specific image is formed on the background image. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming unit is controlled to form an image by combining the images of the jobs. The job sorting unit controls the image forming unit to form an identification mark on a part of the image forming surface of the specific job when forming an image of the specific job among a plurality of jobs. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. An image forming unit that forms images of a plurality of different jobs on recording paper and forms a plurality of copies of images on the recording paper, a paper discharge unit that discharges these image-formed recording papers, and a paper discharged from the paper discharge unit In an image forming apparatus comprising a paper discharge tray on which recording paper is stacked,
Specific job sorting means for performing specific job sorting by shift sorting for shifting the position of the recording paper of a specific job among a plurality of jobs stacked on the paper discharge tray;
Copy number sorting means for performing copy number sort by direction sorting that makes the direction of the recording paper loaded on the discharge tray different for each of a plurality of copies;
An image forming apparatus comprising: An image forming unit that forms images of a plurality of different jobs on recording paper and forms a plurality of copies of images on the recording paper, a paper discharge unit that discharges these image-formed recording papers, and a paper discharged from the paper discharge unit In an image forming apparatus comprising a paper discharge tray on which recording paper is stacked,
Specific job sorting means for performing specific job sorting by shift sorting for shifting the position of the recording paper of a specific job among a plurality of jobs stacked on the paper discharge tray;
A control unit that controls the image forming unit to rotate the image formed on the recording sheet by 180 ° for each job between the specific jobs and jobs other than the specific job;
An image forming apparatus comprising: A reversing conveyance unit for reversing the image-formed recording paper from the front and back and ejecting the recording paper from the paper ejection unit;
When the specific job or a job other than the specific job consists of a plurality of copies, the control unit first discharges the recording paper from the paper discharge unit without passing through the reverse conveyance unit for each unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the image forming apparatus alternately switches between the second conveyance control for discharging the recording sheet from the sheet discharge unit via the reverse conveyance unit. An image forming unit that forms images of a plurality of different jobs on recording paper and forms a plurality of copies of images on the recording paper, a paper discharge unit that discharges these image-formed recording papers, and a paper discharged from the paper discharge unit In an image forming apparatus comprising a paper discharge tray on which recording paper is stacked,
Specific job sorting means for performing specific job sorting by shift sorting for shifting the position of the recording paper of a specific job among a plurality of jobs stacked on the paper discharge tray;
The reversal conveyance unit that reverses the image-formed recording sheet from the front and back and ejects the paper from the paper discharge unit, and the specific jobs and jobs other than the specific job pass through the reverse conveyance unit for each job. A control unit that alternately switches between a first conveyance control that discharges recording paper from the paper discharge unit without discharging and a second conveyance control that discharges recording paper from the paper discharge unit via the reverse conveyance unit And switching the orientation of the image forming surface on the paper discharge tray between downward and upward. The control unit controls the image forming unit to rotate an image formed on a recording sheet by 180 ° for each copy when the specific job or a job other than the specific job includes a plurality of copies. The image forming apparatus according to claim 20. 21. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the specific job is a facsimile output. An image forming unit that forms images of a plurality of different jobs on recording paper and forms a plurality of copies of images on the recording paper, a paper discharge unit that discharges these image-formed recording papers, and a paper discharged from the paper discharge unit In an image forming apparatus comprising a paper discharge tray on which recording paper is stacked,
An image forming apparatus, comprising: a shift sort unit that shifts a position of a recording sheet loaded on the paper discharge tray, wherein the shift sort unit is a unit that performs only job sorting.

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