CN100522777C

CN100522777C - Image forming device

Info

Publication number: CN100522777C
Application number: CNB2005100847288A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 大西贤一; 田中由美子
Original assignee: Kyocera Mita Corp
Current assignee: Kyocera Document Solutions Inc
Priority date: 2004-07-13
Filing date: 2005-07-13
Publication date: 2009-08-05
Anticipated expiration: 2025-07-13
Also published as: JP4267531B2; CN1721308A; JP2006027760A

Abstract

To provide an image forming device capable of effectively using a waiting time in which a tray is moving.This image forming device having a plurality of recording paper discharge trays to discharge recording paper to a desired tray by moving the trays and having a copying function comprises an image forming part 200 forming images on the recording paper, a job administration part 104 holding information on the tray discharging the recording paper to each job and determining whether the present job is a copied job or not, a lifting mechanism part 605 moving the tray discharging the recording paper to the recording paper discharge position of a device body, and a printing control part 106 counting the copies of the recording paper discharged to the tray in each job. When the present job is stored in the job administration part 104 to be a copied job, the lifting mechanism part 605 prohibits the movement of the tray until it is counted by the printing control part 106 that the recording paper of specified copies is discharged, and then the tray is moved to the recording paper discharge position.

Description

Image forming apparatus with a toner supply device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that includes a plurality of trays as a discharge location for recording paper and discharges the recording paper to a target tray by moving the trays.

Background

Conventionally, image forming apparatuses such as copiers, printers, and multifunction peripherals having both functions of these have a plurality of trays (trays) for discharging recording paper. These trays, can be divided into: the sheet feeding device includes a non-sorting tray serving as a tray for discharging recording sheets without sorting, and a plurality of sorting trays serving as trays for sorting and discharging recording sheets. In the case of a normal image forming job (such as a copy job and a print job), recording paper is discharged to a non-sorting tray, and in the case of designating an image forming job to be discharged to a sorting tray, recording paper is discharged to the designated sorting tray. Specifically, for example, in a print job, recording paper is discharged to a tray corresponding to a PC (personal computer) from which the output is received, a user name when the output is registered in the PC, or the like.

In the image forming apparatus having the trays as described above, there are a method of moving the position of each tray to position the target tray at the recording paper discharge position of the image forming apparatus main body and discharging the recording paper to the target tray, and a method of providing a recording paper conveyance path from the recording paper discharge position of the image forming apparatus main body to each tray and discharging the recording paper to the target tray without moving the tray. As the former type of recording paper discharge tray, there is a technique described in japanese patent laid-open No. 10-291724, for example.

However, in the image forming apparatus of the above-described tray moving system, since it takes time to move the target tray to the recording paper discharge position, the user may not want to move the tray.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can improve convenience of tray movement for a user when a discharge tray from which recording paper is discharged is replaced.

The image forming apparatus provided by the present invention includes an image forming mechanism for forming an image on a recording paper; a plurality of trays for receiving recording paper on which an image formed by the image forming mechanism is printed; a selection mechanism for selecting one of the plurality of trays to receive the recording paper; a moving mechanism for moving the tray selected by the selecting mechanism to a recording paper discharge position of the apparatus main body; a partial value or sheet value acquiring means for acquiring a partial value or sheet value of the recording paper discharged in the image forming operation before the recording paper is discharged; and a control unit configured to control the moving unit so that the selected tray is not moved when the part or sheet number value acquired by the part or sheet number value acquiring unit is equal to or lower than a preset part or sheet number value.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic side view showing a mechanical configuration of a multifunction peripheral of embodiment 1 of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the multifunction peripheral of embodiment 1.

Fig. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a job management table.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing tray up-and-down control when a copy job is performed by the multifunction peripheral of embodiment 1.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing tray up-and-down control when a copy job is performed by the multifunction peripheral of embodiment 1.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing tray up-and-down control when a copy job is performed by the multifunction peripheral of embodiment 1.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing embodiment 2 of tray up-and-down control when a copy job is performed by the multifunction peripheral of embodiment 1.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing embodiment 2 of tray up-and-down control when a copy job is performed by the multifunction peripheral of embodiment 1.

Fig. 9 is a block diagram mainly showing a functional configuration of the multifunction peripheral of embodiment 2.

Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing tray up-and-down control when a copy job is performed by the multifunction peripheral of embodiment 2.

Detailed Description

An image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a side view schematically showing an internal configuration of a multifunction peripheral as an example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The multifunction peripheral 1 has functions such as a copy function, a print function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. The multifunction device 1 includes a main body 2 having an image forming unit 200; an original document feeding mechanism 3 and an original document reading portion 4 which are provided at an upper portion of the main body portion 2 and also serve as an original document platen; a paper feeding section 5 provided at a lower portion of the main body section 2; a tray part 6 arranged at one side part of the main body part 2.

The document conveying mechanism 3 includes: the document placing portion 301, a carrying-in driving portion 302 provided with a conveying roller pair and the like, a conveying roller pair 303, a discharge roller pair 304, a paper discharge table 305, and a document detection switch 306 for detecting the presence or absence of a document automatically convey 1 document placed on the document placing portion 301 in contact with the contact glass 402, and after exposure scanning of the document, the document is discharged to the paper discharge table 305.

The document reading unit 4 is constituted by a scanner unit (not shown) for generating image data from an optically acquired document image, and includes a contact glass 401 and a contact glass 402 on the upper surface thereof. The document reading unit 4 reads image data obtained from a document placed on the contact glass 401 or a document conveyed in contact with the contact glass 402 by the document conveying mechanism 3, and outputs the image data to an image storage unit 12 (fig. 2) described later.

The paper feed unit 5 includes paper feed cassettes 501 and 502 for storing various kinds of paper in the size and longitudinal and transverse directions, and a manual paper feed unit 503. The paper feed section 5 includes: a conveyance path 504 for conveying paper from paper feed cassettes 501 and 502 to image forming unit 200; and a conveyance path 505 for conveying the paper from the manual paper feed unit 503 to the image forming unit 200. Each of the paper feed cassettes 501 and 502 and the manual paper feed unit 503 includes: pickup rollers 506, 507, 508 for taking out the stored paper (recording paper); and pairs of paper feed rollers 509, 510, 511 that feed the paper 1 sheet to the conveyance path.

The conveyance path 504 includes: conveying roller pairs 512 and 513 for conveying the paper; a resist roller pair 514 for waiting the paper conveyed to the front of the image forming unit 200 at a predetermined position. The conveyance path 505 merges with the conveyance path 504 on the upstream side of the resist roller pair 514.

The image forming unit 200 includes: a drum-shaped photosensitive body 201 rotatably supported, a charging section 202 disposed around the photosensitive body 201, a developing section 203, a cleaning section 204, a laser scanning mechanism 205, a copying roller 206, and a fixing roller pair 207. The charging section 202 uniformly charges the surface of the photoreceptor 201 to a predetermined potential. The laser scanning mechanism 205 irradiates laser light onto the surface of the photosensitive body 201 based on image data transmitted from the control unit 10 (fig. 2), and forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive body 201.

The developing unit 203 develops an image by adhering toner to the electrostatic latent image, the transfer roller 206 transfers the developed toner image to a sheet, and the fixing roller pair 207 fixes the toner image transferred to the sheet. The cleaning portion 204 cleans toner remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor 201 after copying the image.

Further, a paper discharge portion 208 is provided at an upper portion of the main body portion 2, and the paper conveyed from the fixing roller pair 207 is conveyed by a discharge roller pair 209 and discharged to the paper discharge portion 208. The discharge roller pair 210 discharges the sheet conveyed from the fixing roller pair 207 to the tray portion 6, and the discharge direction of the sheet can be switched between the discharge roller pair 209 side and the discharge roller pair 210 side by the discharge branch guide 211 driven in accordance with the control signal from the control portion 10.

When forming images on both sides of a recording sheet, the image forming section 200 forms an image on one side of the recording sheet, and the recording sheet is nipped by the pair of discharge rollers 209. In this state, the discharge roller pair 209 is reversed to reverse the recording paper (switch back), and the recording paper is conveyed to the paper conveyance path L and conveyed to the upstream area of the image forming unit 200 again, and after an image is formed on the other surface by the image forming unit 200, the recording paper is discharged to the paper discharge unit 208 or conveyed to the tray unit 6.

The tray part 6 includes: the sorting tray 622 including a plurality of trays, the non-sorting tray 623 including a single tray, and the elevating mechanism 605 discharge the recording paper conveyed from the pair of discharge rollers 210 of the main body 2 to an appropriate tray of the non-sorting tray 623 and the sorting tray 622. In this embodiment, the recording paper is discharged to the non-sorting tray 623 when the copy function is used, and the recording paper is discharged to any 1 of the sorting trays designated by the printing request party when the printer function is used. The designation of the sorting tray is determined by an information processing apparatus such as a PC (personal computer) or the like on which the printing is instructed, and/or a registered user name thereof, and is given to the multifunction printer 1 as one of data of the printing instruction transmitted from the information processing apparatus to the multifunction printer 1. The elevation mechanism 605 elevates the positions of the non-sorting tray 623 and the sorting tray 622 based on a control signal from the control unit 10 so that the tray instructed is positioned at the recording paper ejection opening of the main body (the position of the ejection roller pair 210). And the non-sorting tray 623 and the sorting tray 622 are integrally lifted and lowered.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram mainly showing a functional configuration of the multifunction device 1 of the present invention. Here, the functional configuration of the multifunction peripheral 1 will be described with particular limitation to the copy function and the print function. The multifunction device 1 includes: an operation section 11, a document reading section 4, an image storage section 12, a communication section 13, an image forming section 200, a tray section 6, and a control section 10. The operation unit 11 is used for an operator to input an instruction to the multifunction device 1, and is a point of the multifunction device 1 which contacts a user. The operation unit 11 mainly inputs the number of copying units and a copy start instruction in the present invention. Here, the number of copies means the number of copies to be made in several copies, and is input from a numeric keypad or the like provided in the operation unit. The copy start instruction is an instruction to start copying, and is input by pressing a start key provided in the operation unit.

The image storage section 12 stores image data read by the document reading section 4 and image data received by the communication section 13, and is configured by a RAM (random access memory) or the like. The communication unit 13 is connected to a communication line such as a network, and is used for communication between the multifunction device 1 and another information processing apparatus. In the present embodiment, the communication unit 13 is configured to receive a print request (a request for use of the printer function of the multifunction peripheral 1) from a PC (personal computer) or the like connected to the multifunction peripheral 1 via a network to the multifunction peripheral 1. When receiving image data as a print request, the communication unit 13 writes the image data in the image storage unit 12.

The control unit 10 is configured by a CPU (central processing unit), a ROM (read only memory) storing a program or the like executed by the CPU, a RAM (random access memory) for a work area or the like of the program executed by the CPU, and the like, in order to control the overall multifunction peripheral 1. The control unit 10 includes: a copy unit number storage unit 101, a copy control unit 102, a printer control unit 103, a job management unit 104, a print control unit 105, a tray lifting control unit 106, a recording paper discharge waiting time calculation unit 107, a tray movement time calculation unit 108, a tray movement reference number storage unit 109, a tray movement reference unit number storage unit 110, a tray movement reference time storage unit 111, a time zone definition storage unit 112, a time-of-day counting unit 113, a job counting unit 114, a job frequency calculation unit 115, a job frequency storage unit 116, and a tray movement reference frequency storage unit 117.

The number-of-copies storage unit 101 stores the number of copies input to the operation unit 11. When receiving the input of the number of copy sections, the operation section 11 writes the number of copy sections into the number-of-copy-sections storage section 101.

The copy control unit 102 controls a copy function in the multifunction peripheral 1. Upon receiving the input of the copy start instruction, the operation unit 11 transmits the copy start instruction to the copy control unit 102. When receiving the copy start instruction, the copy control section 102 instructs the document reading section 4 to read the document, and the document reading section 4 reads the document and writes the image data in the image storage section 12 when receiving the document reading instruction from the copy control section 102. After reading the document, the document reading unit 4 transmits an address (image data address) in the image storage unit 12 in which the image data of the read image is stored and the number of pages of the read image to the copy control unit 102. Upon receiving the image data address and the number of pages, the copy control section 102 reads the number of copy sections from the copy section number storage section 101, and transmits information on the occurrence of the copy job, the image data address, the number of pages, and the number of copy sections (the number of output sections) to the job management section 104 as copy job data. At substantially the same time, the copy control unit 102 sends an instruction to calculate the paper ejection waiting time, the number of pages, and the number of copying units to the paper ejection waiting time calculation unit 107. At substantially the same time, the copy control unit 102 sends an instruction to calculate the tray movement time to the tray movement time calculation unit 108.

The printer control unit 103 controls the printer function in the multifunction peripheral 1. The print control unit 103 receives print job data related to a print request received from a PC or the like connected to the communication line from the communication unit 13. The print job data includes at least an address (image data address) in the image storage unit 12 in which the image data of the print job is stored, the number of images, the number of output units, and the tray number of a sorting tray for discharging recording sheets. Upon receiving the print job data, the print control unit 103 transmits information indicating that the print job has occurred, the image data address, the number of pages, the number of output units, and the discharge tray number to the job management unit 104 as print job data. The number of the discharge tray is, for example, 1 to 4 in order from the upper side of the sorting tray 622.

The job management section 104 stores the job management table shown in fig. 3, and when receiving job data from the print control section 103 and the copy control section 102, writes the job data in the job management table as a new line. In the job type field 51 of the job management table, an identifier indicating whether the job of the line is a print job or a copy job is stored. The image data address 52 stores the head address of the image storage unit 12 storing the image data of the job of the line. The page number column 53 stores the total number of pages per image of the job on the line. The output unit number field 54 stores the number of output units (number of copy units) of the image of the job in the line. The total output page number column 55 stores the total number of sheets of recording paper ejected for the job in the row. The number of parts column 561 of the output information column 56 stores the number of parts for which the job of the line has been completed. The number-of-sheets column 562 in the output information column 56 stores the number of sheets already discharged out of the currently discharged sheets in the job of the line. That is, when "2" is entered in the partial number column 561 of the output information column 56 and "7" is entered in the number column 562 of the output information column 56, it indicates that 2 copies have been completely discharged and that the 3 rd copy has been discharged to the 7 th copy. The discharge tray number column 57 stores the number of a tray indicating the discharge of the recording paper for the operation in the row.

The job management section 104 updates the already output information 56 in the 1 st row of the job management table every time information for discharging 1 sheet of recording paper is received from the print control section 105. When receiving information that a print job has occurred, an image data address, the number of pages, the number of output units, and a discharge tray number from the print control unit 103, the job management unit 104 creates a new line for the next line (line 1 if there is no already entered line) of the lines entered in the job management table shown in fig. 3, and writes the data of the print job. Specifically, information indicating a print job is written in the job type field 51, a received image data address is written in the image data address field 52, a received number of pages is written in the number of pages field 53, a received number of output units is written in the number of output units field 54, a value obtained by multiplying the number of pages in the number of pages field 53 in the same line by the number of output units in the number of output units field 54 is written in the total number of output pages field 55, "0" is written as an initial value in each of the number of parts field 561 and the number of pages field 562 in the output information field 56, and a received number of discharge trays is written in the number of discharge trays field 57.

When receiving information that a copy job has occurred, the image data address, the number of pages, and the number of copy units from the copy control unit 102, the job management unit 104 creates the first row of the job management table shown in fig. 3 again, and writes the data of the copy job. Specifically, information indicating a copy job is written in the job type field 51, the received image data address is written in the image data address field 52, the received number of pages is written in the number of pages field 53, the received number of copied portions is written in the number of output portions field 54, a value obtained by multiplying the number of pages in the number of pages field 53 of the line by the number of copied portions in the number of output portions field 54 is written in the total number of output sheets field 55, and "0" is written as an initial value in each of the number of portions field 561 and the number of sheets field 562 of the output information field 56. In the case of a copy job, nothing is written in the discharge tray number field 57. When the discharge tray number column 57 is an empty column, the discharge tray number column indicates that the discharge tray 623 is to be discharged. When data of a copy job is written in the job management table, when the data is already written in the job management table (when the existing row is present), the written data of the copy job is written in the 1 st row, and the rows of the existing data are sequentially shifted backward.

Returning to fig. 2, the print control section 105 controls printing (forming an image on recording paper). The print control section 105 checks the job management table of the job management section 104, and when a job is described, sends an instruction to form an image on a recording paper and discharge the image to the image forming section 200. The image forming unit 200 receives the information, reads image data from the image storage unit 12, and forms an image. The print control section 105 transmits this information to the job management section 104 every 1 page of printing, and the job management section 104 receives this information and updates the number of parts 561 and the number of sheets 562 of the output information 56 of the job described in the first row of the job management table. The print control unit 105 determines whether the job is a print job or a copy job from the job management unit 104, and when the job is a print job, acquires the discharge tray number from the job management unit 104 and sends the number to the tray elevation control unit 106, thereby instructing the movement of the tray.

When receiving an instruction to calculate the recording paper discharge waiting time from the copy control unit 102, the recording paper discharge waiting time calculation unit 107 calculates the recording paper discharge waiting time, and transmits the calculated recording paper discharge waiting time to the tray elevation control unit 106. The recording paper discharge waiting time calculation unit 107 obtains the recording paper discharge waiting time corresponding to the above conditions (the number of output units and the number of pages) from a table indicating the relationship between the number of output units, the number of pages, and the like and the recording paper discharge waiting time, which is held in advance by the recording paper discharge waiting time calculation unit 107, based on the number of output units and the number of pages of printed images, for example. When the recording paper discharge waiting time can be obtained by a calculation formula, the recording paper discharge waiting time can be calculated by calculation. The multifunction peripheral 1 performs, for example, image processing for displaying an image in a beautiful manner, a function of combining two images (a function of combining images such that 2 pages of contents are displayed on 1 page), and the like during a period from when a document is read to when a recording sheet is discharged. Therefore, in general, as the number of pages increases, the recording paper discharge waiting time also increases.

When receiving the tray movement time calculation instruction from the copy control unit 102, the tray movement time calculation unit 108 calculates the time (tray movement time) taken to move the non-sorting tray to the recording paper ejection opening, and transmits the calculated tray movement time to the tray elevation control unit 106. The tray travel time calculation unit 108 obtains the tray travel time from a Table (Table) showing the relationship between the current position of the non-sorted tray and the tray travel time, which is held in advance by the tray travel time calculation unit 108, based on the position of the non-sorted tray before the movement.

The tray movement reference number storage unit 109 stores a predetermined reference value (upper limit value), for example, "10 sheets", of the total number of sheets of recording paper discharged when the recording paper is discharged without moving the sorting tray until the discharge of all the recording paper is completed in the copy job. The number of sheets may be set by the user using the operation unit 11.

The number-of-tray-movement-reference-portion storage unit 110 stores, as the number of tray movement 1-st reference portions, a predetermined reference value (upper limit value) of the number of all discharge portions of the recording paper, for example, "5 copies", when the recording paper is discharged without moving the sorting tray until the discharge of all the recording paper is completed in the copy job. When the discharge tray of the current job is the same as the discharge tray of the 2 following jobs, a predetermined reference value (lower limit value) of the number of all discharged portions of the recording paper, for example, "10 copies", when the recording paper is discharged without moving the sorting tray for the 1 following copy job is stored as the number of the 2 nd reference portions of tray movement. The number of these portions may be set by the user using the operation portion 11.

When the discharge tray of the current job is the same as the discharge tray of the 2 subsequent jobs, the tray movement reference time storage unit 111 stores a predetermined reference value (upper limit value) of the movement time of the non-sorting tray, for example, "5 seconds", as the tray movement reference time, as a reference for whether or not the non-sorting tray is not moved and recording paper is discharged for the 1 subsequent copy job. The number of these portions may be set by the user using the operation portion 11.

The time zone definition storage unit 112 stores a definition of a method of classifying a time zone (time zone) in which a (predefined) time zone (time zone) is obtained in which the frequency of occurrence of an image forming job (job occurrence frequency) occurring in the multifunction peripheral 1 is obtained. Such as the morning, afternoon, etc. of each day of the week (i.e., the morning, etc., of monday, for example). The definition may be defined by the user from the operation unit 11.

The time-of-day counting unit 113 counts the time of day (including the day of the week).

The job counting section 114 receives information on job occurrence from the copy control section 102 or the print control section 103, and counts the number of jobs in the time slot defined by the time slot definition storage section 112 (that is, the number of jobs occurring in the morning on monday, for example).

The job frequency calculation unit 115 calculates the job occurrence frequency in the time slot defined by the time slot definition storage unit 112. The job frequency calculation unit 115 divides the number of jobs in the time slot defined by the job counting unit 114 by the time (length) of the time slot, and calculates the number of jobs per unit time (for example, 1 hour) as the job occurrence frequency. In this regard, the work occurrence frequency may be calculated in consideration of the past work occurrence frequency (for example, taking the average value of the past work occurrence frequency and the work occurrence frequency calculated this time) in the same time zone stored in the work frequency storage unit 116 described later.

The work frequency storage unit 116 stores the work occurrence frequency calculated by the work frequency calculation unit 115.

The tray movement reference frequency storage unit 117 stores a reference value (tray movement reference frequency) for determining whether or not to move a necessary tray to the recording paper ejection opening based on the operation occurrence frequency. The tray movement reference frequency may be set by the user using the operation unit 11.

The tray elevation control unit 106 controls elevation of the tray in the tray unit 6. The tray elevation control unit 106 receives the discharge tray number of the job to be executed next from the job management unit 104, and controls the elevation mechanism unit 605 to always discharge the recording paper to the designated sorting tray for the print job. The tray elevation control unit 106 controls the movement of the tray in the copy job as follows. When the number of all the discharged parts of the recording paper in the copying operation is less than or equal to the number of the 1 st reference part of the tray movement, and when the number of all the discharged parts is less than or equal to the reference number of the tray movement, the tray is not moved until all the recording paper in the copying operation is completely discharged. However, if the tray is moved before the start of the discharge of the recording paper, the tray is not sorted and is moved to the recording paper discharge port. However, in spite of this, if the discharge tray for the job next to the copy job (the print job in which the copy job is not interrupted) is the same as the tray located at the recording paper discharge port before the start of the copy job, the tray is not moved. In this case, when the moving time of the tray for the copy job is within the tray moving reference time and when the number of all the discharge portions of the recording paper for the copy job is equal to or more than the number of the 2 nd reference tray moving portions, the non-sorting tray is moved toward the recording paper discharge port. In the case of multi-part discharge, the tray is moved when the tray is moved at the time interval between the discharge of each part. The tray elevation control unit 106 needs to move the tray to the recording paper ejection opening without sorting when the operation occurrence frequency of the current time zone stored in the operation frequency storage unit 116 is higher than the tray movement reference frequency stored in the tray movement reference frequency storage unit 117, and move the tray in the case of being low.

A tray elevation control unit 106 for executing the tray elevation operation for the copy job based on the position instruction of the non-sorting tray from the printing control unit 105; the recording paper discharge waiting time calculated by the recording paper discharge waiting time calculation unit 107; the tray moving time calculated by the tray moving time calculation unit 108; a reference number of tray movement stored in the reference number-of-tray-movement storage unit 109; the number of tray movement 1 reference parts and the number of tray movement 2 reference parts stored in the tray movement reference part number storage part 110; and the tray movement reference time stored in the movement reference time storage unit 111, and determines whether or not to move the non-sorting tray to the recording paper ejection opening. The details of this control will be described later with reference to the flowchart of fig. 4.

Fig. 4, 5, and 6 are flowcharts showing the flow of tray up-and-down control when a copy job is performed in the multifunction peripheral 1 according to the present embodiment. "1" is substituted for the initial value of the number "S" (S-th copy) of the copy to be printed. The processing from step S2 to step S4 is for calculating the job occurrence frequency defined in the time zone including the current time (present time). The calculation of the job occurrence frequency here (not the job processed in the flowchart) is a job for tray lifting control for a job received later. From step S5 to step S13, the process is performed to determine whether or not the tray is moved. When the tray is moved, the process proceeds to step S15 in step S14, and when the tray is not moved, the process proceeds to step S15 without passing through step S14. From step S15 to step S20, the process of controlling the movement of the tray during the discharge of the recording paper is performed.

In step S1, the operation unit 11 checks whether or not the information indicating that the start key of the operation unit 11 has been pressed is received (NO in step S1), and if so (YES in step S1), the operation unit 11 transmits the information indicating that the copy job has been received to the copy control unit 102. At this time, when receiving the information that the number of copy sections of the copy job has been input to the operation section 11, the operation section 11 writes the number of copy sections "Smax" in the number-of-copy sections storage section 101. Upon receiving the information that the copy job has been received, the copy control section 102 instructs the document reading section 4 to read the image of the copied document. The document reading section 4 receives the information, reads an image from the copied document, and writes image data of the read image in the image storage section 12. The document reading unit 4 transmits the address of the image data written in the image storage unit 12, the number of documents, and the like to the copy control unit 102. The copy control section 102 reads the number of copy sections from the copy section number storage section 101. The copy control section 102 transmits the image data storage address, the number of documents, the number of copy sections, and the like as data (job data) of the copy job to the job management section 104, and the job management section 104 adds the job data (copy job data) to the top (row 1) of the job management table and proceeds to step S2.

In step S2, since the copy control section 102 receives the job, the information is transmitted to the job counting section 114. Upon receiving this information, the job counting section 114 acquires the current time of day (current time) from the time of day counting section 113, checks the time zone definition storage section 112 to acquire the time zone definition including the current time, and increments the job counter (held by the job counting section 114) for the time zone. When the current time zone is entered and the first job is received, "1" is substituted into the job counter. The job counter 114 counts the occurrence of print jobs by using the same job counter. In step S3, the job counter 114 checks the time of day counter 113 and the time zone definition storage, and when it is checked that the time zone in which the job is counted has ended (YES in step S3), the routine proceeds to step S4. In step S4, the work counting unit 114 transmits the value of the work counter to the work frequency calculating unit 115. Upon receiving the value of the job counter, the job frequency calculation unit 115 checks the time slot definition storage unit 112 and the time-of-day counting unit 113 to obtain the time slot definition for the received counter value, and calculates the frequency of occurrence of the job in the time slot. In contrast, for example, the number of jobs per unit time may be calculated by dividing the value of the received job counter by the length of the time zone (for example, 5 hours). The work frequency calculation unit 115 writes the calculated work frequency to the work frequency storage unit 116 together with the time zone definition.

If the time zone for counting jobs has not ended in the branch of step S3 (NO in step S3) or if the process of step S4 has ended, the process proceeds to step S5. In step S5, the tray elevation control unit 106 checks the time zone definition storage unit 112 and the time of day counting unit 113, obtains the time zone definition including the current time, and reads the job occurrence frequency in the time zone from the job frequency storage unit 116. The tray elevation control unit 106 obtains the tray movement reference frequency from the tray movement reference frequency storage unit 117, and compares the tray movement reference frequency with the operation occurrence frequency. When the job occurrence frequency is lower than the tray movement reference frequency (NO in step S5), the process proceeds to step S6.

In step S6, the copy control unit 102 instructs the recording paper discharge waiting time calculation unit 107 to calculate the time required until the recording paper discharge in the copy job is started. Upon receiving the information, the recording paper discharge waiting time calculation unit 107 calculates the time until the discharge of the recording paper is started, and sends the result to the tray elevation control unit 106. The copy control unit 102 instructs the tray moving time calculation unit 108 to calculate the time required to move the tray 623 not to be sorted to the recording paper ejection opening. The tray travel time calculation unit 108 calculates the travel time of the tray and then sends the result to the tray elevation control unit 106. When the discharge waiting time is shorter than the tray moving time by comparing the two times (NO in step S6), the tray elevation control unit 106 proceeds to step S7.

In step S7, the tray elevation control unit 106 obtains the number of ejection units for the job from the job management unit 104, reads the tray movement 1 st reference unit number from the tray movement reference unit number storage unit 110, compares the two numbers, and proceeds to step S8 if the number of ejection units is greater than the tray movement 1 st reference unit number (NO in step S7). In step S8, the tray elevation control unit 106 obtains the number of discharge units and the total number of sheets of the job from the job management unit 104, calculates the total number of discharged sheets, reads the reference number of moved trays from the reference number-of-moved-trays storage unit 109, and compares the two numbers. If the total number of discharged sheets is greater than the reference number of sheets moved by the tray (NO in step S8) and if the tray movement time is equal to or less than the discharge waiting time in the branch of step S6 (YES in step S6), the routine proceeds to step S9.

In step S9, the tray lift controller 106 checks whether or not the next job is on standby (whether or not there are 2 or more rows in the job management table) by the job manager 104, and when it is on standby (YES in step S9), the process proceeds to step S10. In step S10, the tray lifting/lowering control unit 106 checks whether or not the print job in execution is interrupted in the current copy job (whether or not the number of output-completed sheets or the number of output-completed sections of the job in row 2 of the job management table is "0") by the job management unit 104, and if not interrupted (NO in step S10), the routine proceeds to step S11. In step S11, the tray elevation control unit 106 acquires the discharge tray number of the next job (discharge tray number in row 2 of the job management table) by the job management unit 104, checks whether the same number is the same as the discharge tray currently positioned at the recording paper ejection port, and if the same number is the same (YES in step S11), the routine advances to step S12.

In step S12, the tray elevation control unit 106 reads the tray movement reference time from the tray movement reference time storage unit 111, compares the tray movement reference time with the tray movement time calculated in step S6, and proceeds to step S13 when the tray movement time is equal to or less than the tray movement reference time (NO in step S12). In step S13, the tray elevation control unit 106 reads the tray movement number 2 from the tray movement reference portion number storage unit 110, and compares the number with the number of ejection portions obtained in step S7. When the number of the discharging parts is more than the number of the reference parts for tray movement (YES in step S13); when the job occurrence frequency is equal to or higher than the tray movement reference frequency in the branch of step S5 (YES in step S5); when the next job is not in standby in the branch of step S9 (NO in step S9); when the job is interrupted in the branch of step S10 (YES in step S10); when the tray currently set in the branch of step S11 is not the same as the tray of the next job (NO in step S11); and when the tray movement time is equal to or less than the tray movement reference time in the branch of step S12 (YES in step S12), the flow proceeds to step S14.

In step S14, the print control unit 105 instructs the tray elevation control unit 106 to move the tray. The tray elevation control unit 106 obtains the discharge tray number of the job from the job management unit 104, instructs the elevation mechanism unit 605 to move the tray of the tray number toward the recording paper ejection opening in a state where the tray is positioned at the recording paper ejection opening. When the number of the ejection parts is equal to or less than the number of the tray movement 1 st reference parts in the branch of step S7 (YES in step S7); when all the sheets are equal to or less than the reference number of the trays moved in the branch of the step S8 (YES in the step S8); when the number of the discharging parts is smaller than the number of the 2 nd reference parts for tray movement in the branch of step S13 (NO in step S13); and when the process of step S14 is completed, the flow proceeds to step S15.

In step S15, the print control unit 105 sends an instruction for 1 page to the image forming unit 200 to form an image for the job, and the image forming unit 200 forms an image on a recording sheet for 1 page and discharges the image from the recording sheet discharge opening. After printing 1 copy of the recording paper, the process proceeds to step S16. In step S16, the job management unit 104 increments the number of ejection units in the job management table. In step S17, the tray elevation control unit 106 checks whether or not the movement of the tray is completed, and if not completed (NO in step S17), the process proceeds to step S18. In step S18, the tray elevation control unit 106 compares the tray travel time obtained from the tray travel time calculation unit 108 with the time until the start of discharge of the next batch, and if the tray travel time is short (YES in step S18), the process proceeds to step S19. The time until the next discharge of one copy is started may be a time corresponding to a form of printing such as single-sided printing or double-sided printing stored in advance in the tray elevation control unit 106, or may be a discharge interval between pages, not a discharge interval between each part). In step S19, the tray elevation control unit 106 controls the tray not to be sorted to move to the recording paper ejection opening. When the movement of the tray is completed in the branch of step S17 (YES in step S17); and when the tray has moved for a long time in the branch of step S18 (NO in step S18); and when the process of step S19 is completed, the flow proceeds to step S20. In step S20, the print control unit 105 checks whether or not the number "S" of copies to be printed is equal to or less than the number "Smax" of copy units, and if "S" is equal to or less than "Smax" (YES in step S20), returns to step S15 to print the next copy. If "S" is larger than "Smax" (NO in step S20), the printing is ended.

In this way, according to the present embodiment, in the multi-function printer 1, when the number of portions of the recording paper discharged by the job is basically equal to or less than the preset portion number (the number of portions of the tray moved by the 1 st reference portion), the ejection of the recording paper is performed for the tray already positioned at the recording paper ejection port at the start of the job, and when the number of portions is larger than the preset portion number, the ejection of the recording paper is performed for the necessary tray. When all the sheet numbers of the recording sheets discharged in this operation are equal to or less than a preset sheet number (the same reference number for the trays), the recording sheets are discharged from the trays located at the recording sheet discharge port at the start of the operation. Thus, when a small number of sheets equal to or smaller than a preset numerical value is discharged, the tray can be prevented from moving, and a situation in which the moving time of the tray is too long relative to the total discharge time required for discharging the recording paper can be avoided. That is, when the number of discharging portions is small, it is possible to discharge the recording paper to the tray used in the related art without taking time to move the tray, and thus the time required until the completion of the discharge of the recording paper can be shortened.

Further, in the case where the desired tray can be moved to the recording paper ejection opening before the ejection of the recording paper is started, the ejection of the recording paper to the desired tray is performed without being limited to the above-described case, and therefore, when the time required for the desired tray to move to the recording paper ejection opening is sufficient, the recording paper can be ejected to the predetermined tray.

In addition, not limited to the above, if the tray instructed for the job to be put on standby after the job is the same as the tray already positioned at the recording paper ejection port at the start of the job, all the recording papers can be ejected from the tray. Even in this case, when the movement time of the tray for the job is within a predetermined time (tray movement reference time) and when the number of all the discharged portions of the recording paper for the job is equal to or more than the preset 2 nd portion number (tray movement 2 nd reference portion number), the recording paper can be discharged to the necessary tray. In the case of performing multi-part ejection, the tray is moved as long as there is time for movement in the interval of ejection of each part.

If the time zone in which the job is received is a time zone in which the job occurs frequently, the recording paper needs to be discharged to a necessary tray. This prevents recording paper of a plurality of jobs from being successively discharged to the same tray in a time zone in which printing is performed frequently.

Next, embodiment 2 of tray up-and-down control when a copy job is performed by the multifunction peripheral 1 will be described. In example 1, when the frequency of occurrence of the job in the time zone in which the job is received is equal to or higher than a predetermined frequency (reference frequency of tray movement), the recording paper must be discharged to a desired tray, whereas in this example, when the frequency of occurrence of the job is higher, smaller values are set for the number of reference portions of tray movement 1 and the reference number of tray movement.

In the present embodiment, the tray movement reference frequency storage unit 117 stores the tray movement 1 st reference frequency and the tray movement 2 nd reference frequency that is greater than the tray movement 1 st reference frequency. These 2 reference frequencies are used as references for changing the reference number of tray movement and the reference number of tray movement 1 according to the magnitude of the operation occurrence frequency.

The reference number of tray-movement-sheets storage unit 109 stores 3 types of the 1 st sheet number value, the 2 nd sheet number value smaller than the 1 st sheet number value, and the 3 rd sheet number value smaller than the 2 nd sheet number value as the reference number of tray-movement-sheets. The 1 st sheet number value corresponds to a case where the job occurrence frequency is lower than the 1 st reference frequency of tray movement, the 2 nd sheet number value corresponds to a case where the job occurrence frequency is equal to or higher than the 1 st reference frequency of tray movement and lower than the 2 nd reference frequency of tray movement, and the 3 rd sheet number value corresponds to a case where the job occurrence frequency is equal to or higher than the 2 nd reference frequency of tray movement. The tray movement reference part number storage unit 110 stores 3 types of the 1 st part number, the 2 nd part number smaller than the 1 st part number, and the 3 rd part number smaller than the 2 nd part number as the tray movement 1 st reference part number. The 1 st part number corresponds to a case where the operation occurrence frequency is lower than the 1 st reference frequency of tray movement, the 2 nd part number corresponds to a case where the operation occurrence frequency is equal to or higher than the 1 st reference frequency of tray movement and lower than the 2 nd reference frequency of tray movement, and the 3 rd part number corresponds to a case where the operation occurrence frequency is equal to or higher than the 2 nd reference frequency of tray movement.

Fig. 7, 8, and 6 (fig. 6 is common to embodiment 1) are flowcharts showing embodiment 2 of the up-and-down control of the tray when a copy job is performed in the multifunction peripheral 1. The same procedure as in example 1 was carried out for the procedure with the same number as in example 1. Hereinafter, only the processing different from example 1 will be described. From step S31 to step S39, the values of the number of tray movement 1 st reference portions and the number of tray movement reference sheets are set according to the frequency of occurrence of the job in the time zone in which the job has occurred.

In step S31, the tray elevation control unit 106 checks the time zone definition storage unit 112 and the time of day counting unit 113, obtains the time zone definition including the current time, and reads the job occurrence frequency in the time zone from the job frequency storage unit 116. The tray elevation control unit 106 obtains the tray movement 1 st reference frequency from the tray movement reference frequency storage unit 117, and compares the tray movement 1 st reference frequency with the operation occurrence frequency. When the job occurrence frequency is lower than the tray movement 1 st reference frequency (YES in step S31), the flow proceeds to step S32. In step S32, the tray elevation control unit 106 determines the tray movement reference number 1 to be used for the operation, using the 1 st part number of the 3 kinds of part numbers stored in the tray movement reference part number storage unit 110 as the tray movement reference part number 1. In step S33, the tray elevation control unit 106 determines the 1 st sheet number value among the 3 sheet number values stored in the tray movement reference sheet number storage unit 109 to be used in the job as the tray movement reference sheet number. When the job occurrence frequency is not less than the tray movement 1 st reference frequency (NO in step S31) in the branch of step S31, the process proceeds to step S34.

In step S34, the tray elevation control unit 106 obtains the tray movement 2 nd reference frequency from the tray movement reference frequency storage unit 117 and compares the tray movement 2 nd reference frequency with the job occurrence frequency. When the job occurrence frequency is lower than the tray movement 2 nd reference frequency (YES in step S34), the flow proceeds to step S35. In step S35, the tray elevation control unit 106 determines the 2 nd number of parts among the 3 kinds of number of parts stored in the tray movement reference part number storage unit 110 to be used for the operation as the tray movement 1 st reference part number. In step S36, the tray elevation control unit 106 determines the 2 nd sheet number value among the 3 kinds of sheet numbers stored in the tray movement reference sheet number storage unit 109 to be used for the job as the tray movement reference sheet number. When the job occurrence frequency is equal to or higher than the tray movement 2 nd reference frequency (NO in step S34) in the branch of step S34, the process proceeds to step S37.

In step S37, the tray elevation control unit 106 determines the 3 rd number of parts among the 3 kinds of number of parts stored in the tray movement reference part number storage unit 110 to be used for the operation as the tray movement 1 st reference part number. In step S38, the tray elevation control unit 106 determines the 3 rd number value among the 3 kinds of sheet values stored in the tray movement reference number storage unit 109 to be used in the job as the tray movement reference number. When the process of step S33 is completed, when the process of step S36 is completed, and when the process of step S38 is completed, the process proceeds to step S6.

In this way, according to the present embodiment, in the case where the number of portions of the recording paper discharged by the operation is basically equal to or less than the preset portion number (the number of portions of the tray moved by the 1 st reference portion) in the multi-function printer 1, the discharge of the recording paper is performed for the tray already positioned at the recording paper discharge port at the start of the operation, and the discharge of the recording paper is performed for the necessary tray when the number of portions of the recording paper is more than the preset portion number. However, when the sheet number value of all the recording sheets discharged in this operation is equal to or less than the preset sheet number value (the same reference number for the trays), the recording sheets are discharged from the trays located at the recording sheet discharge port at the start of this operation. However, if the desired tray can be moved to the recording paper ejection opening before the ejection of the recording paper is started, the ejection of the recording paper to the desired tray can be performed without being limited to the above. However, regardless of the general situation described above, if the tray instructed to perform the job waiting after the job is the same as the tray already positioned at the recording paper ejection port at the start of the job, all the recording papers are ejected from the tray. Even in this case, when the movement time of the tray for the job is within a predetermined time (tray movement reference time), and when the number of all the discharged portions of the recording paper for the job is equal to or more than the preset 2 nd portion number (tray movement 2 nd reference portion number), the recording paper is discharged to the necessary tray. In the case of performing multi-part ejection, the tray is moved when the tray is moved at the time interval between the ejections of the respective parts. When the frequency of occurrence of the job in the time zone in which the job is received is higher, the number of the 1 st reference parts of tray movement and the reference number of tray movement are set to smaller values, and when the frequency of occurrence of the job is higher, more sheets of recording paper for the job are discharged to a desired tray, and the tray is not moved for the job having a smaller number of parts or/and number of sheets.

The present invention is not limited to the cases of the above-described

embodiments

1 and 2, and can adopt the following forms. In the above embodiments, a multifunction peripheral having only a copy function and a print function has been described as an example, and particularly, a case of executing a copy job has been described as an example. In addition, the present embodiment can also be applied to a case where a facsimile function is added to the function of the multifunction peripheral or a case where the facsimile function is substituted for the printing function. In this regard, the facsimile function can be operated in the same manner as the printing function. In the above embodiments, the recording paper is discharged to the non-sorting tray in the case of the copy function, to the sorting tray in the case of the print function, and may be discharged to the non-sorting tray in the case where the tray is not specified in the print function, or may be discharged to the sorting tray in the case where the tray is specified in the copy function.

In the above embodiments, the present invention is applied to the movement of the tray for the copy job, but the present invention is not necessarily required to be the copy job, and may be another print job, facsimile job, or the like.

In the above embodiments, the tray for the standby job is not necessarily limited to the above-described method, in which the recording sheet for the currently started copy job is discharged to the tray when the tray instructed for the job to be on standby after the currently started copy job is the same as the tray already located at the recording sheet discharge port at the start of the copy job, and even in this case, when the moving time of the tray for the copy job is within a predetermined time (tray moving reference time) and when the total number of discharged portions of the recording sheet for the copy job is equal to or greater than the preset 2 nd partial value (tray moving 2 nd reference portion number), the control is performed so that the recording sheet is discharged to the tray not to be classified. For example, statistics on discharged trays are taken during standby operation, and if the discharge of recording paper to a specific tray frequently occurs, the discharge of recording paper may be fixed to the tray.

In the above embodiments, the tray is moved when the tray is moved at the time interval of the discharge of each unit, but this is not necessarily the time interval of the discharge of each unit, and may be the time interval of the discharge of each page. In the above embodiments, it is checked whether or not the tray is completely moved to the target position in the discharge time interval of each portion, and the tray is completely moved in the case of time, but for example, by checking whether or not the tray is moved only by 1 st among the discharge time intervals of each portion, the tray may be moved only by 1 st (or at least 1 st) in the case of time, and the tray may be moved by 1 st in each time interval to finally complete the movement to the target position. The tray may be moved by an amount that is movable in the time interval of discharging of each page or each unit (the tray is prevented from stopping at a position where recording paper cannot be discharged), and the tray may be moved little by little in each time interval to finally complete the movement to the target position.

Next, the mfp 100 according to embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described. The multifunction device 100 of embodiment 3 has the configuration shown in fig. 1. Fig. 9 is a block diagram mainly showing a functional configuration of the multifunction peripheral 100 according to embodiment 3. The same components as those of the multifunction peripheral 1 of embodiment 1 shown in fig. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

In the mfp 100, the control unit 10 includes: a number-of-copying-sections storage section 101, a number-of-tray-before-movement-ejection-section storage section 150, a print control section 103, a copy control section 102, a job management section 104, a print control section 105, a tray lifting/lowering control section 106, a recording-paper-ejection-waiting-time calculation section 107, a tray movement-time calculation section 108, and a tray movement reference number-of-sheets storage section 109.

The tray before-movement ejection part number storage unit 150 stores the number of tray before-movement ejection parts inputted to the operation unit 11. When receiving the input from the number of the pre-tray-movement ejection units, the operation unit 11 writes the number of the pre-tray-movement ejection units into the pre-tray-movement ejection unit number storage unit 150.

The print control section 105 performs print control similar to that of the multifunction peripheral 1 of example 1, but when the job currently being printed is a copy job, the print control section 105 of the multifunction peripheral 100 of example 2 reads the number of tray before-movement ejection sections from the tray before-movement ejection section number storage section 150, and performs control to transmit an instruction to move the tray to the tray elevation control section 106 after printing the recording paper sheets of the number of tray before-movement ejection sections for 1 image forming job.

The tray elevation control unit 106 performs the same tray elevation control as the mfp 1 of example 1, but the tray elevation control unit 106 of the mfp 100 of example 2 controls the elevation mechanism unit 605 so that the tray is not moved until the discharge of the recording sheets by the number of discharge units before the tray is moved is completed, and the tray not sorted is positioned at the recording sheet discharge port after the recording sheets by the number of discharge units before the tray is moved are discharged, for the copy job. However, the tray elevation control unit 106 performs the following control: when (1) the total number of discharged recording sheets of the copy job is equal to or less than the reference number of sheets to which the tray is moved, the tray is not moved until all of the recording sheets of the copy job are discharged. When the tray is moved before the recording paper is discharged, the tray is moved to the recording paper discharge port without sorting. In addition, (3) if the discharge tray of the job subsequent to the copy job is the same as the tray located at the recording paper discharge port before the start of the copy job in the print job in which the execution of the copy job is not interrupted, the tray is not moved.

In order to execute the tray lifting operation for the copy job, the tray lifting/lowering control section 106 determines whether or not to move the non-sorting tray to the recording paper ejection opening based on the position instruction of the non-sorting tray from the print control section 105, the recording paper ejection waiting time calculated by the recording paper ejection waiting time calculation section 107, the tray moving time calculated by the tray moving time calculation section 108, and the tray movement reference number stored in the tray movement reference number storage section 109. The details of this control will be described later using the flowchart of fig. 10.

Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of tray up-and-down control when a copy job is performed in the multifunction peripheral 100 according to embodiment 3. "1" is set as an initial value for the number of ejection portions "N" before tray movement, and "0" is set as an initial value for the number of already-ejected portions "S". In step S41, it is checked whether the operation unit 11 accepts the input of the number of the tray before-movement ejection units, and if it accepts (YES in step S41), the process proceeds to step S42. In step S42, the operation unit 11 writes the input value of the number of pre-tray-movement ejection units into the number of pre-tray-movement ejection units "N" in the pre-tray-movement ejection unit number storage unit 150. When the input of the number of ejection units before tray movement is not received in step S41 (NO in step S41), and when the process in step S42 ends, the process proceeds to step S43.

In step S43, the operation unit 11 checks whether or not the start key depression of the operation unit 11 is accepted (NO in step S43), and if the answer is accepted (YES in step S43), the operation unit 11 transmits information that the copy job is accepted to the copy control unit 102 as the acceptance of the copy job. At this time, when receiving the information input to the operation unit 11 regarding the number of copies of the copy job, the operation unit 11 writes the number of copies to the number of copies "Smax" in the number-of-copies storage unit 101. The copy control section 102 receives the information that the copy job has been received, and instructs the document reading section 4 to read the image of the copied document. Upon receiving the instruction, the document reading section 4 reads an image from the copied document and writes image data of the read image into the image storage section 12. The document reading unit 4 transmits the address of the image data and the number of pages of the image written in the image storage unit 12 to the copy control unit 102. The copy control section 102 transmits the data of the copy job (job data) to the job management section 104, and the job management section 104 adds the copy job to the top (line 1) of the job management table and proceeds to step S44.

In step S44, the copy control unit 102 instructs the recording paper discharge waiting time calculation unit 107 to calculate the time required for the recording paper discharge in the copy job to start. Upon receiving the instruction, the recording paper discharge waiting time calculation unit 107 calculates the time until the discharge of the recording paper is started, and sends the result to the tray elevation control unit 106. The copy control unit 102 instructs the tray movement time calculation unit 108 to calculate the time required to move the non-sorting tray 623 to the recording paper ejection opening. The tray travel time calculation unit 108 calculates the travel time of the tray and then sends the result to the tray elevation control unit 106. The tray elevation control unit 106 compares the two times, and when the discharge waiting time is equal to or shorter than the tray moving time (YES in step S44), the process proceeds to step S45.

In step S45, the print control unit 105 acquires job data of the job (in this case, the copy job) described in the top row of the job management table from the job management unit 104, and transmits an image formation instruction for the next job "S + 1" of the number of discharged units "S" 561 to the image forming unit 200 based on the acquired job data. Upon receiving the instruction, the image forming unit 200 forms the "S + 1" th part of the image data in the image storage unit on the recording paper and discharges the recording paper from the recording paper discharge port. In step S46, the print control unit 105 transmits the information to the job management unit 104 for 1 page per print, and the job management unit 104 updates the output information 56 based on the information. Here, since 1 part is output, the number 561 "S" of discharged portions is updated to "S + 1". In step S47, the print control unit 105 ends the process when the number 561 "S" of discharged units reaches the number 54 "Smax" of output units (NO in step S47).

In step S47, if the number of discharged sections "S" does not reach the number of copy sections "Smax" (YES in step S47), the process proceeds to step S48. In step S48, the print control unit 105 reads the number of pre-tray-movement ejection units "N" from the pre-tray-movement ejection unit number storage unit 150, reads the number of ejected units 561 "S" from the job management unit 104, compares the two numbers, and if the number of ejected units 561 "S" and the number of pre-tray-movement ejection units "N" are the same (YES in step S48), the print control unit 105 sends an instruction to the tray elevation control unit 106 to move the non-sorting tray to the recording paper ejection opening, and the process proceeds to step S49. In step S49, the tray elevation control unit 106 acquires all the discharged number of sheets 55 from the job management unit 104, reads the reference number of sheets moved from the tray movement reference number storage unit 109, and compares the two. If the total discharged number is larger than the reference number of trays moved in step S49 (NO in step S49), and if the discharge waiting time is longer than the tray moving time in the branch of step S44 (NO in step S44), the process proceeds to step S50.

In step S50, the tray lift controller 106 checks whether or not the next job is on standby (whether or not there are 2 or more rows in the job management table) by the job manager 104, and when it is on standby (YES in step S50), the process proceeds to step S51. In step S51, the tray lifting/lowering control unit 106 checks, by the job management unit 104, whether or not the print job in execution is interrupted in the current copy job (whether or not the number 561 of parts or the number 562 of output completion information 56 of the job in the 2 nd row of the job management table is "0"), and if not interrupted (NO in step S51), the routine proceeds to step S52. In step S52, the tray elevation control unit 106 obtains the discharge tray number of the next job (the discharge tray number 57 in row 2 of the job management table) by the job management unit 104, and checks whether or not the same number is found as the discharge tray currently located at the recording paper discharge port. When the tray currently set in step S52 is not the same as the tray for the next job (NO in step S52); when the next job is not in standby in the branch of step S50 (NO in step S50); when the copy job is in the middle of the interrupted execution of the print job in the branch of step S51 (YES in step S51), the flow proceeds to step S53. When the processing in step S53 is completed; in the branch of step S52, when the tray currently set is the same as the tray of the next job (YES in step S52); when the number 561 "S" of discharged parts is different from the number "N" of discharged parts before tray movement in the branch of step S48 (NO in step S48); when the total discharged number is equal to or less than the reference number of trays moved in the branch of step S49 (YES in step S49), the process returns to step S45.

In this way, according to the present embodiment, the discharge of the recording paper when the copy function is used in the multi-function peripheral 1 is basically performed for the tray located at the recording paper discharge port at the start of the copy operation until the predetermined number of sheets of recording paper are discharged, and the non-sorting tray is performed after the predetermined number of sheets of recording paper are discharged. Thus, the operation (for example, confirmation of image formation) that can be performed using the recording paper discharged in front is performed during the movement time of the tray, and the movement time of the tray can be effectively used.

Further, when the total number of recording sheets discharged by the copying operation is equal to or less than the predetermined number, since all of the recording sheets are discharged from the tray located at the recording sheet discharge port at the start of the copying operation, even when the predetermined number or more is discharged, the tray is not moved when a small number of recording sheets equal to or less than the predetermined number are discharged, and therefore, a situation in which the ratio of the moving time of the tray to the total discharging time of the recording sheets becomes long can be avoided, and convenience for the user can be improved.

Further, if the non-sorting tray can be moved to the recording paper ejection opening before the ejection of the recording paper is started, all the recording paper is ejected to the non-sorting tray, not limited to the above, and therefore, when the time required to move the tray to the recording paper ejection opening is sufficient, the recording paper can be ejected to a predetermined tray.

In addition, regardless of the general situation described above, if the recording paper discharge tray instructed by the job waiting for the copy job is the same as the tray already positioned at the recording paper discharge port at the start of the copy job, all the recording papers can be discharged from the tray. Therefore, the fact that the recording sheets discharged before the tray is moved can be performed (for example, confirmation of image formation) is performed during the tray moving time, and the tray moving time can be effectively used.

An image forming apparatus provided by the present invention includes: an image forming mechanism for forming an image on a recording sheet; a plurality of trays for receiving recording paper on which an image formed by the image forming mechanism is printed; a selection mechanism for selecting one of the plurality of trays to receive the recording paper; a moving mechanism for moving the tray selected by the selecting mechanism to a recording paper discharge position of the apparatus main body; a partial numerical value acquiring means for acquiring a partial numerical value of the recording paper discharged in the image forming operation before the recording paper is discharged; a control unit configured to control the moving unit so that the selected tray is not moved when the part value acquired by the part value acquiring unit is equal to or lower than a preset part value.

In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the control means may control the moving means not to move the selected tray when the portion value acquired by the portion value acquiring means is equal to or lower than the preset portion value in the image forming operation in which the execution of another image forming operation is suspended and the recording paper is discharged in preference to the other image forming operation.

In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the control means may control the moving means so that the selected tray is not moved even if the portion value acquired by the portion value acquiring means is higher than the preset portion value when the total number value acquired by the total number value acquiring means is equal to or lower than the preset number value.

Further, another image forming apparatus provided by the present invention includes an image forming mechanism for forming an image on a recording sheet; a plurality of trays for receiving recording paper on which an image formed by the image forming mechanism is printed; a selection mechanism for selecting one of the plurality of trays to receive the recording paper; a moving mechanism for moving the tray selected by the selecting mechanism to a recording paper discharge position of the apparatus main body; a total number value acquiring means for acquiring a total number value of the recording sheets discharged in the image forming operation before the recording sheets are discharged; and a control unit configured to control the moving unit so that the selected tray is not moved when the total sheet count value acquired by the total sheet count value acquiring unit is equal to or lower than a preset sheet count value.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention may further include a waiting time calculation means for calculating a waiting time until the start of discharge of the recording paper in the image forming operation; a movement time calculation unit for calculating a time required to move the selected tray to the recording paper discharge position; wherein the control means may control the moving means to move the selected tray to the recording paper discharge position even if the part numerical value is equal to or lower than a preset part numerical value or the total number of sheets is equal to or lower than a preset number of sheets when the moving time calculated by the moving time calculation means is shorter than the waiting time to start the discharge calculated by the waiting time calculation means.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention may further include a tray determination unit configured to determine which tray the recording sheet discharged by the standby job is to be used when there are an image forming job currently being executed, an image forming job to be executed next, and 1 or more standby jobs to be executed after the 2 jobs have ended; the control means may determine whether or not to move the tray for the next image forming job to be executed, taking into account the tray determined by the tray determination means.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the control means may control the moving means to move the tray by using a time slot when the selected tray is moved to the recording paper discharge position and the time slot is a time slot of a time interval for discharging the recording paper even when the tray is not moved by the control means.

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention may further include a frequency calculating unit configured to count the number of occurrences of image forming jobs in the image forming apparatus within a predetermined time period and calculate the frequency of occurrences of image forming jobs, wherein the control unit may control the moving unit to move the selected tray to the recording paper discharge position even if the part number value is equal to or lower than a predetermined part number value or the total number value is equal to or lower than a predetermined number value when the frequency of occurrences in the current time period calculated by the frequency calculating unit is equal to or higher than a predetermined frequency.

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention may further include frequency calculating means for counting the number of occurrences of an image forming job in the image forming apparatus within a preset time band and calculating the frequency of occurrence of the image forming job, wherein the control means may set the preset partial value based on the frequency of occurrence of the image forming job in the current time band calculated by the frequency calculating means.

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention may further include frequency calculating means for counting the number of occurrences of an image forming job in the image forming apparatus within a preset time band and calculating the frequency of occurrences of the image forming job, wherein the control means may set the preset sheet number value based on the frequency of occurrences of the image forming job in the current time band calculated by the frequency calculating means.

Further, the invention provides a 3 rd image forming apparatus comprising an image forming mechanism for forming an image on a recording sheet; a plurality of trays for receiving recording paper on which an image formed by the image forming mechanism is printed; a selection mechanism for selecting a tray for discharging recording paper; a moving mechanism for moving the tray selected by the selecting mechanism to a recording paper discharge position of the apparatus main body; a portion count mechanism for counting the number of portions of the recording paper discharged to the tray in each image forming operation and on which the image is formed by the image forming mechanism; and a control unit configured to control the moving unit so that the selected tray is not moved until at least 1 recording sheet is discharged before counting by the counting unit.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the control means may control the moving means not to move the selected tray until at least 1 recording sheet is discharged before the counting means counts up the number of times of the image forming job in which the execution of another image forming job is interrupted and the recording sheet is discharged in preference to the other image forming job.

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention may further include a number-of-sections setting unit that enables an operator to set the number of sections, wherein the control unit may control the moving unit so that the selected tray is not moved until the number of sections set by the number-of-sections setting unit is discharged before the number of sections is counted by the counting unit.

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention may further include a number-of-sheets acquiring unit configured to acquire the total number of sheets of recording paper discharged in an image forming operation before the recording paper is discharged, wherein the control unit may control the moving unit so that the selected tray is not moved regardless of whether at least 1 sheet of recording paper is discharged or not counted when the total number of sheets acquired by the number-of-sheets acquiring unit is equal to or less than a predetermined number.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention may further include a waiting time calculation means for calculating a waiting time until the start of discharge of the recording paper in the image forming operation; wherein the control means may control the moving means so that the selected tray is moved to the recording paper discharge position regardless of whether or not at least 1 part of the recording paper is discharged when the waiting time to start discharging calculated by the waiting time calculating means is longer than the moving time calculated by the moving time calculating means.

Further, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention may further include a determination unit configured to determine whether or not a tray for discharging recording paper in a currently executed job is the same as a tray for discharging recording paper in the standby job when there are an image forming job currently being executed, an image forming job to be executed next, and a standby job to be executed after the 2 jobs have ended, wherein the control unit may further control the moving unit so that the tray is not moved regardless of which tray for discharging recording paper in the next image forming job to be executed when the determination unit determines that the trays are the same.

In the present invention, when the number of all discharged portions of the recording paper acquired by the portion number acquiring means is equal to or less than the preset portion number, the target tray is not moved by the control means, and the recording paper can be discharged to the tray located at the recording paper discharge position at the recording paper discharge timing, and the image forming and discharging operation can be terminated. In the case of the conventional image forming apparatus, although the image forming and recording paper discharging operations can be completed in a short time when a small number of portions such as 1 portion are formed and the recording paper is discharged, the time required for moving the target tray to the recording paper discharging position is required, and as a result, the total time required from the start of image formation to the recording paper discharging may be increased. That is, it is possible to avoid a situation where the tray movement time becomes too long relative to the total time required from the start of image formation to the discharge of the recording paper, and it is possible to improve the convenience for the user.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus, characterized by comprising:

an image forming mechanism for forming an image on a recording sheet;

a plurality of trays for receiving recording paper on which an image formed by the image forming mechanism is printed;

a selection mechanism for selecting one of the plurality of trays to receive the recording paper;

a moving mechanism for moving the tray selected by the selecting mechanism to a recording paper discharge position of the apparatus main body;

a partial numerical value acquiring means for acquiring a partial numerical value of the recording paper discharged in the image forming operation before the recording paper is discharged;

a control unit configured to control the moving unit so that the selected tray is not moved when the part value acquired by the part value acquiring unit is equal to or lower than a preset part value.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means controls the moving means so as not to move the selected tray when the part value acquired by the part value acquiring means is equal to or lower than the preset part value in the image forming job in which the execution of another image forming job is suspended and recording paper is ejected in preference to the other image forming job.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a total sheet count value acquiring means for acquiring a total sheet count value of the recording sheets discharged in the image forming operation before the recording sheets are discharged,

the control means controls the moving means so that the selected tray is not moved even if the portion value acquired by the portion value acquiring means is higher than the preset portion value when the total sheet number value acquired by the total sheet number value acquiring means is equal to or lower than the preset sheet number value.

4. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a waiting time calculation means for calculating a waiting time until the start of discharge of the recording paper in the image forming operation;

a movement time calculation unit for calculating a time required to move the selected tray to the recording paper discharge position; wherein,

the control means controls the moving means to move the selected tray to the recording paper discharge position even if the portion value is equal to or lower than a preset portion value when the moving time calculated by the moving time calculation means is shorter than the waiting time to start the discharge calculated by the waiting time calculation means.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising frequency calculating means for counting the number of occurrences of image forming jobs of the image forming apparatus within a predetermined time period and calculating the frequency of occurrences of image forming jobs,

the control means controls the moving means to move the selected tray to the recording paper discharge position even if the portion value is equal to or lower than a preset portion value when the occurrence frequency of the current time zone calculated by the frequency calculation means is equal to or higher than a predetermined frequency.

6. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising frequency calculating means for counting the number of occurrences of image forming jobs in the image forming apparatus within a preset time band and calculating the frequency of occurrences of image forming jobs,

the control means sets the preset partial value based on the frequency of occurrence of the image forming job in the current time zone calculated by the frequency calculation means.

7. An image forming apparatus, characterized by comprising:

an image forming mechanism for forming an image on a recording sheet;

a total number value acquiring means for acquiring a total number value of the recording sheets discharged in the image forming operation before the recording sheets are discharged;

and a control unit configured to control the moving unit so that the selected tray is not moved when the total sheet count value acquired by the total sheet count value acquiring unit is equal to or lower than a preset sheet count value.

8. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 7, further comprising:

the control means controls the moving means to move the selected tray to the recording paper discharge position even if the total number of sheets is equal to or lower than a preset number of sheets when the moving time calculated by the moving time calculation means is shorter than the waiting time to start the discharge calculated by the waiting time calculation means.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising frequency calculating means for counting the number of occurrences of image forming jobs of the image forming apparatus within a predetermined time period and calculating the frequency of occurrences of image forming jobs,

the control means controls the moving means to move the selected tray to the recording paper discharge position even if the total number of sheets is equal to or lower than a preset number of sheets when the occurrence frequency of the current time zone calculated by the frequency calculating means is equal to or higher than a predetermined frequency.

10. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 7, further comprising: a tray determination unit configured to determine which tray the recording paper discharged by the standby job is to be used for when there are an image forming job currently being executed, an image forming job to be executed next, and 1 or more standby jobs to be executed after the 2 jobs have been completed; wherein,

the control means determines whether or not to move the tray for the next image forming job to be executed, taking into account the tray determined by the tray determination means.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 7, wherein the control means controls the moving means to move the tray by using a time slot when the selected tray is moved to the recording paper discharge position and the time slot is a time slot of a recording paper discharge time interval even if the tray is controlled not to move.

12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 or 7, further comprising frequency calculating means for counting the number of occurrences of image forming jobs in the image forming apparatus within a preset time band and calculating the frequency of occurrences of image forming jobs,

the control means sets the preset tension value based on the frequency of occurrence of the image forming job in the current time zone calculated by the frequency calculation means.