JP2003140506A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the stop time of an image forming device and to maintain high productivity by preventing trouble on the carrying of paper and development for paper and easily and rapidly specifying the cause of failure in terms of the carrying of the paper and development processing for the paper. SOLUTION: The characteristic of the paper 54 is previously formed as a non-visible image 68 on the surface of the paper. A reading unit 20 capable of reading the image 68 is provided on a paper supply tray 12, and the setting of a machine parameter and a carrying system are made to correspond to the paper according to the read information by the unit 20. By providing a 1st non-visible image forming unit 42 and a 2nd non-visible image forming unit 58, information on the development processing and the paper supply tray is formed as the image 68. When the failure is caused in output, the image 68 is read, and the cause of the failure is rapidly specified. Since the information is formed as the image 68, it does not influence image formation and the image obtained by the image formation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention conveys sheets of paper one by one from a paper feed tray containing sheets of paper, forms an image on a photoconductor in an image forming section, and transfers the image to the sheet of paper. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that discharges a sheet to a discharge tray.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the paper stored in the paper feed tray is one
2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus has been proposed which conveys images one by one and transfers the images formed on a photoconductor to a sheet to form an image.

In this type of apparatus, a photosensitive belt is supported by a driving roller and a plurality of rollers. The photoconductor belt goes around a predetermined loop by the driving force of the driving roller. An image forming unit that forms an image on the photosensitive belt is provided along the loop of the photosensitive belt. In the image forming unit, the light beam modulated based on the image data is applied to the photoconductor belt, toner is attached thereto, and an image is formed on the photoconductor belt.

Further, the paper is stored in the paper feed tray. Sheets are taken out one by one from the paper feed tray and are conveyed in the image forming apparatus by a plurality of conveying rollers. A paper position detection sensor is provided on the paper conveyance path, and the position of the paper in the apparatus is grasped.

A transfer portion is provided on the paper conveyance path. At the transfer portion, the loop of the photosensitive belt is brought close to the paper conveyance path. The conveyed sheet is brought into close contact with the photosensitive belt, the image on the photosensitive belt is transferred to the sheet side, and is fixed by the fixing device.

When images are formed on both sides of the sheet, the sheet is conveyed to the reversing device. In the reversing device, the front and back are reversed so that the image can be formed on the surface on which the image is not formed. The sheet of which the front and back sides are reversed is conveyed again into the apparatus, and an image is formed on the surface of the sheet on which the image is not formed. The front and back of the paper on which images are formed on both sides is reversed by the front and back reversing unit in the direction in which the first image formation was completed.

The sheet on which the image is formed is discharged to the sheet discharge tray.

[0008]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional image forming apparatus, when a sheet having a specific weight, size, shape, etc. is used, wrinkles, creases, etc. are generated on the sheet, and the sheet detection sensor is erroneously detected. Due to such reasons, the conveyance becomes defective. Therefore, when using such a sheet, it is necessary to change the setting on the image forming apparatus side manually or by user input to the control panel.

[0009] Further, there are papers such as special papers whose surface is coated with glue, which have a fixed expiration date from the manufacturing date. In many cases, the expiration date of the paper cannot be determined only by looking at the paper, and there are cases where trouble occurs when the paper that has expired is used.

Further, for a paper or the like in which a developing area or the like is formed in advance, the setting direction in the paper feed tray is determined, and if the setting direction is wrong, the image will not fit in the developing area. At present, the setting direction of the paper depends on the attention of the user, so that the image is developed on the paper and the problematic output continues until the user checks it.

In recent years, the image forming apparatus is capable of a large amount of development processing at one time and outputs a large amount. For this reason,
It took a while until the defective output was found after the development process. As time passes from the time of development processing, it becomes more difficult to identify the cause of the problem,
The down time of the image forming apparatus for troubleshooting is long and the productivity is low.

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention prevents troubles related to paper conveyance and development, and easily and quickly identifies the cause of troubles related to paper conveyance and development processing, thereby forming an image forming apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to obtain an image forming apparatus capable of shortening the down time and maintaining high productivity.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, the sheets are conveyed one by one from a sheet feeding tray in which the sheets are accommodated, and an image is formed on a photoconductor by an image forming unit. An image forming apparatus for transferring an image onto the paper and discharging the paper to a paper discharge tray, including machine parameter setting means for setting optimum machine parameters for the applied paper,
A reading unit capable of reading an invisible image that can be a visible image under a specific wavelength light formed on the surface of the paper, and machine parameter setting by the machine parameter setting unit based on the read information from the reading unit. And a control means.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the machine parameter setting means is provided, and it is possible to set the optimum machine parameter for the applied paper. Machine parameters such as paper conveyance and development processing differ depending on the water content, weight, size, and paper surface resistance of the paper. Optimal machine parameters can be set depending on the paper, troubles such as conveyance and development processing can be prevented, and high productivity can be maintained.

Further, a reading means capable of reading an invisible image which can be a visible image under the light of a specific wavelength is provided, and the invisible image formed on the surface of the paper can be read. For example, when the features of the sheet are formed as an invisible image on the surface of the sheet, the features of the sheet are read by the reading unit.
The read information from the reading unit instructs the control unit to set the optimum machine parameter for the sheet applied to the machine parameter setting unit. Eliminates the need for user input of paper information to the control panel.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the control means is configured so that the shape of the sheet is irregular and irregular according to the information read from the reading means. It is characterized by changing to a transport system capable of handling the above-mentioned paper.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, even if the shape of the applied paper is a non-standard irregular paper, it is controlled so as to change to a transport system.
Since the transport system is adapted to irregular paper, transport errors are reduced, the down time of the image forming apparatus is reduced, and high productivity can be maintained.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the sheets are conveyed one by one from a sheet feeding tray in which the sheets are accommodated, an image is formed on a photoconductor by an image forming unit, and the image is transferred to the sheet. An image forming apparatus for discharging the sheet to a sheet discharge tray, and a reading unit capable of reading information on the sheet formed as an invisible image that can be a visible image under light of a specific wavelength on the surface of the sheet, A sheet conformity determining unit that determines whether the sheet conforms to the sheet condition specified by the image forming instruction based on the read information from the reading unit, and the sheet conforms to the sheet condition based on the determination result of the sheet conformity determining unit. And a notifying means for notifying that it is not compliant with the above.

According to the third aspect of the invention, there is provided the reading means capable of reading the invisible image which can be a visible image under the light of the specific wavelength, and reads the invisible image formed on the surface of the paper. be able to. For example, when the features of the sheet are formed as an invisible image on the surface of the sheet, the features of the sheet are read by the reading unit. A paper conformity determination unit is provided to determine whether the applied paper conforms to the paper condition specified by the image forming instruction. If the paper is determined to be non-conforming, the informing unit informs that the paper is non-conforming. Paper is checked by the paper conformity determination means,
In the case of non-conformity, the result is notified, and the notification informs that the paper is non-conforming before the development processing. The paper can be adapted to the paper conditions before the development processing, wasteful image formation is not required, and high productivity is maintained.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the invention, the sheet conformity determining means is the type of the sheet,
The feature is that the set direction and the expiration date are determined.

According to the invention of claim 4, the paper conformity determination is performed with respect to the paper type, the setting direction, and the expiration date.
By determining the type of paper, the image can be reliably formed on the paper of the color and material as instructed. By determining the sheet setting direction, it is possible to prevent troubles such as the upside-down of the image when forming an image in a preprinted area. By determining the expiration date, it is possible to use only those whose expiration date meets the conditions. It is possible to prevent an unnoticeable trouble from being formed because an image is formed on a sheet whose expiration date has expired.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, there is provided an invisible image forming means for forming information on the sheet during development processing as the invisible image. Is characterized by.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the invisible image forming means is provided, and the temperature and humidity during the developing process, the machine name,
Information such as processing date and time can be formed as an invisible image. The information of the invisible image is read when there is a trouble in output after the image is formed, and the cause of the trouble can be easily and quickly specified. Equipment downtime is reduced and high productivity is maintained.

[0024]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (First Embodiment) FIG.
The image forming apparatus 10 according to the first exemplary embodiment is shown.

The image forming apparatus 10 includes an image forming section 62,
And a transport unit 64.

In the image forming section 62, a photosensitive belt 56 is wound around the driving roller 35 and a plurality of rollers 36. When the driving roller 35 is driven, the photosensitive belt 56
Goes around a predetermined loop in the counterclockwise direction in FIG.

An image forming unit 38 is provided opposite to the photosensitive belt 56. Image forming unit 38
Has a function of forming and developing an electrostatic image on the photosensitive belt 56. That is, the image forming unit 38
Exposes the photosensitive belt 56 with a light beam modulated based on image data to form a latent image, and then attaches toner to the latent image for development.

The transport section 64 has a plurality of sheet feed trays 12A and 12B in which sheets 54 are stored in the vicinity of the image forming section 62.
(Hereinafter, the paper feed trays are collectively referred to as the paper feed tray 12). The paper feed trays 12A and 12B are arranged so as to have a relative vertical relationship.

A plurality of transport rollers 30 are provided in the transport section 64 to form a transport path for transporting the paper 54.

From the paper feed tray 12, the paper 54 is taken out from the uppermost layer by the feed belt 28 wound around the two feed rollers 29, and the paper feed tray 12A,
12B is conveyed along the conveyance path formed around 12B and faces the photosensitive belt 56 of the image forming section 62. A paper detection unit 65 is provided on the upstream side of the position facing the photoconductor belt 56 and on the transport path below the paper feed tray 12B. Paper detector 65
In, the presence or absence of the paper 54 is detected, and the position of the paper 54 can be grasped.

An area where the conveying path and the photosensitive belt 56 are opposed to each other is a transfer section 33. In the transferring section 33, the driving roller 35 and the conveying roller 30 bring the sheet 54 and the photosensitive belt 56 into close contact with each other. In addition, the transfer discharger 34 is connected to the paper 54.
The transfer discharger 34 is provided so as to face the
Toner is adsorbed on the paper 54, and the image on the photoconductor belt 12 is transferred onto the paper.

A pair of fixing rollers 40 is provided downstream of the transfer section 33. The fixing roller 40 sandwiches the sheet 54 on which the image is transferred, and fixes the image on the sheet 54.

A reversing section 43 is provided above the paper feed tray 12A. In the reversing unit 43, when images are formed on both sides, the reversing rollers 45 reverse the front and back sides of the sheet 54 that has passed through the fixing roller 40 and has an image formed on one side.
It has a function of joining the sheet 54 immediately after the sheet 54 is taken out from the sheet feeding trays 12A and 12B.

The sheet 54 having the image formed on both sides thereof or the sheet 54 having the image formed on only one side thereof, which has been inverted by the inversion section 43, does not pass through the inversion section 43 and is viewed from the right side surface of the basic unit 10 in FIG. It is designed to be ejected.

Here, in the present embodiment, on the right side of FIG. 1 of the basic unit 10, as a separate unit, two sheet feeding / discharging devices 80, 81 are arranged via a front / back reversing device 78. The front / back reversing unit 48 is formed in the front / back reversing device 78 by the transport roller 30. The front / back reversing unit 48 adjusts the paper ejection direction when images are formed on both sides.

The first sheet feeding / discharging device 80 and the second sheet feeding / discharging device 81 are provided with sheet feeding trays 12C and 12D having the same structure as the sheet feeding trays 12A and 12B, respectively. Since the first sheet feeding / discharging device 80 and the second sheet feeding / discharging device 81 have the same configuration, the same reference numerals are given and the first sheet feeding / discharging device 80 will be described.

The first paper feeding / discharging device 80 includes the paper feeding tray 12
C and a paper discharge tray 50 provided on the upper part of the paper feed tray 12C. The paper feed tray 12C is used for the image forming apparatus 10.
A sheet of paper 54 that is conveyed to is stored. The accommodated paper 54 is carried out from the paper feed tray 12C according to an image forming instruction, and is conveyed to the image forming apparatus 10 by the conveying roller 30 to form an image.

On the paper discharge tray 50, the sheets of paper 54 on which images have been formed by the image forming apparatus 10 and which have been conveyed from the front / back reversing apparatus 78 are sequentially stacked. Upstream of the discharge tray 50,
A branching unit 31 is provided, and a transport path for a sheet stacked on the sheet discharge tray 50 and a sheet passing through the first sheet feeding / discharging device 80 is branched.

A transport device 76 is provided downstream of the second paper feeding / discharging device 81 and adjacent to the second paper feeding / discharging device 81. The transport device 76 is a device that transports the sheet 54 to a device that performs the work of the next process when the work of the next process is instructed.

A plurality of unnecessary paper trays 46 are provided in the vicinity of the conveyance path of the paper 54. In the unnecessary paper tray 46, the paper 54 or the like having a trouble at the timing of the completion of image formation, the middle of conveyance, or the like is discharged.

As shown in FIG. 2, an invisible image 68 which can be a visible image under a specific wavelength light is previously formed on the paper 54 stacked on the paper feed tray 12 (in FIG. 2,
Displayed as a visible image). In the invisible image 68, the information on the paper 54 is formed by characters (see FIG. 2A) and barcodes (see FIG. 2B). As the information of the paper, for example,
Examples include paper weight, paper shape, paper setting direction, paper expiration date, water content, base paper type, paper fiber direction, size, presence of special treatment, manufacturing date, paper surface resistance value, and the like.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the reading unit 20 is provided on the upper surface side of the paper feed tray 12 (upper side of FIG. 3). The reading unit 20 includes a light source (not shown) that emits light of a specific wavelength, and
The paper 54 stacked on the paper is irradiated with light of a specific wavelength. Also,
The reading unit 20 includes a sensor unit (not shown), and when irradiated with light of a specific wavelength, the invisible image 68 formed at a predetermined position on the paper 54 becomes a visible image and can be read. The reading unit 20 is connected to the control unit 60,
The read information read by the sensor unit is sent to the control unit 60.

The control unit 60 controls the entire image forming apparatus 10. The paper conformity determination unit 74 is connected. The paper conformity determination unit 74 compares the paper condition specified by the image forming instruction with the information read by the sensor unit of the reading unit 20 of the paper 54 that is actually applied. The paper conformity determination is performed on the paper type, the setting direction, the expiration date, and the like.

A display 70 is connected to the control unit 60, and when the paper conformity judging unit 74 judges that the paper 54 does not meet the specified paper condition, it means that the paper 54 is unconforming. Is notified.

A machine parameter setting unit 72 is connected to the control unit 60. Machine parameter setting section 7
In accordance with an instruction from the control unit 60, 2 sets optimum machine parameters for the paper 54 and sends it to the control system 73 for image formation.

Further, a paper detection unit 65 is connected to the control unit 60, and the control unit 60 changes the setting of the paper detection unit 65 when the shape of the paper 54 is irregular and nonstandard. , A transport system capable of handling the paper 54.

As shown in FIG. 4, the sheet detecting section 65 has a function of detecting the presence or absence of the sheet 54 when the sheet 54 is conveyed in the direction of arrow A. A sheet position detection sensor 66 that detects the sheet 54 is provided on the conveyance path of the sheet 54 so as to face the sheet 54. A detection guide 67 that supports the entire sheet 54 is provided between the conveyance path of the sheet 54 and the sheet position detection sensor 66, and the detection guide 67 is provided with a detection slit 69. The sheet position detection sensor 66 is linearly movable along the detection slit 69 in the range of arrow B in FIG. 4 (direction orthogonal to arrow A in FIG. 4). The sheet position detection sensor 66 is moved to an appropriate position for detecting the sheet 54 by the driving force of a drive system (not shown) based on the shape information of the sheet 54 from the control unit 60.

Here, as the paper requiring the movement of the paper position detecting sensor 66, that is, the irregular nonstandard paper, for example, a paper having a cutout portion (chamfered portion) 82 as shown in FIG. 5 (A)), punch hole 84
Paper with a gap (see FIG. 5B), protruding portion (heading portion) 8
There is a sheet with 6 (see FIG. 5C) and the like.

On the paper 54 shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, information based on the reason why it can be irregular is recorded in advance as a bar code-shaped invisible image 68.

This invisible image 68 is the reading unit 2
By being read by 0, the type of the sheet 54 is determined, and the sheet position detection sensor 66 can be moved to an appropriate position in advance.

As shown in FIG. 6, for example, the notch 82
In the case of a certain sheet, if the sheet position detection sensor 66 is at the position C, the chipped portion 82 of the sheet 54 will be detected. The position of the paper sheet 54 will be erroneously grasped by the amount of the missing portion 82. Therefore, based on the information of the paper 54 read by the sensor unit of the reading unit 20, the paper position detection sensor 66
Is moved to a position D where the chipped portion 82 is not detected.

In the case of a sheet having punched holes 84, as shown in FIG. 7, the punched holes 84 are detected no matter where the sheet position detecting sensor 66 is moved. When the sheet position detection sensor 66 detects the punch hole 84, the sheet 5
4 is not detected, and the position of the sheet 54 cannot be accurately grasped. In such a case, the punch hole 84 is included in the information detected by the sheet position detection sensor 66 based on the information of the sheet 54 read by the sensor unit of the reading unit 20.
The correction is made to invalidate the information of (3) so that the position of the paper 54 can be accurately grasped.

Further, in the case of the paper having the protruding portion 86, as shown in FIG.
When it is at the position C for detecting the protrusion of No. 4, the sheet position is detected by being displaced by the amount of protrusion of the sheet 54. Therefore, based on the information of the paper 54 read by the sensor unit of the reading unit 20, the paper position detection sensor 66 is moved to the position D where the protruding portion 86 of the paper 54 is not detected.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below.

Paper 54 is set in the paper feed tray 12,
When the image formation is instructed, the image formation routine shown in FIG. 9 is started.

First, in step 100, the invisible image 68 formed on the applied paper 54 is read by the sensor unit of the reading unit 20. The information on the paper 54 is grasped by the information on the invisible image 68.

Next, step 102 is executed. In step 102, the paper conformity determining unit 74 causes the reading unit 20 to
The information of the sheet 54 read by the sensor unit of No. 2 is compared with the sheet condition specified by the image forming instruction. If it is determined that the sheet 54 meets the sheet conditions, the process proceeds to step 106. If it is determined that the paper 54 does not meet the paper conditions, such as the type or setting direction of the paper 54 is different from the paper conditions, or the expiration date of the paper 54 has expired, step 104 is executed.

In step 104, the fact that the paper is unsuitable is notified to the display 70, and the image forming routine ends. In this case, when the sheet 54 is changed and an instruction to restart the interrupted image forming instruction is given, the image forming routine is newly started.

In step 106, it is judged from the read information of the sensor section of the reading unit 20 whether the paper 54 accommodated in the paper feed tray 12 can be handled by the normal machine parameters. If it is determined that the normal machine parameters can be used, step 110 is executed. When it is determined that it is not appropriate to convey the sheet 54 in the normal setting, step 108 is executed.

In step 108, the machine parameter setting unit 72 sets the optimum machine parameters for the paper 54 to be applied, and sends them to the control system for image formation to execute step 110.

In step 110, the paper 54 is read based on the information of the paper 54 read by the sensor section of the reading unit 20.
It is determined whether the shape of is a nonstandard irregular paper. When it is determined that the shape of the paper 52 conforms to the standard, step 114 is executed. Step 110
If it is determined that the paper is irregular and irregular, the process proceeds to step 112.

In step 112, the sheet position detecting sensor 6 is detected based on the information of the sheet 54 from the reading unit 20.
6 is moved to the optimum position for accurately detecting the position of the sheet 54, and step 114 is executed.

At step 114, an image forming process is performed. The image forming unit 38 is provided on the photoconductor belt 56.
The light beam modulated based on the image data is scanned and exposed to form an electrostatic image and is developed with toner.

The paper 54 is taken out of the paper feed tray 12, and the image formed on the photoconductor belt 56 is transferred to the transfer unit 33.
Is conveyed to the transfer unit 33 at the timing of reaching, and the photosensitive belt 56 and the sheet 54 are brought into close contact with each other. Transfer discharger 34
The toner is attracted to the paper 54 by the photoconductor belt 56.
The upper image is transferred to the sheet 54 side.

The sheet 54 on which the image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing roller 40, and the image is fixed on the sheet 54.

When image formation is instructed on both sides, the reverse side 43 inverts the front and back sides, and then the image is formed on the back side.

The sheet 54 on which the image is formed is discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus 10. Passing through the front / back reversing device 78,
The sheet is conveyed to the discharge tray 50 or the next process. When the sheet 54 is ejected and the image formation is completed, this routine ends.

By controlling the optimum machine parameters and transport system according to the applied paper 54,
It is possible to prevent troubles related to the conveyance and development processing of the sheet 54. Therefore, high productivity can be maintained.

In the present embodiment, the sheet position detection sensor 66 is moved when the irregular and irregular sheet is conveyed. However, as shown in FIG. It may be arranged and used selectively. (Second Embodiment) The second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the second embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description of the configuration will be omitted.

In this second embodiment, FIG.
In addition to the configuration of the first embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The first invisible image forming unit 42 is provided between the two. The first invisible image forming unit 42 forms characters, a barcode, or the like as the invisible image 68 on the sheet 54 on which the image formation-instructed image is formed.

The content of the invisible image 68 is information at the time of the development processing, which serves as a reference for identifying the cause of the trouble relating to the development processing. The information at the time of this development processing includes the name of the machine that performed the development, the serial number, the date and time of development, the temperature and humidity, and the paper 54.
The location of the paper feed tray 12 in which was stored, the location of the paper discharge tray 50 that discharged the output, the JOB information, and the like.
Not limited to this, necessary information may be set to form the invisible image 68.

When the image is formed on the sheet 54, the first invisible image forming unit 42 forms the invisible image 68 with the information during the developing process. When images are formed on both sides of the paper 54, an invisible image 6 is formed every time an image is formed on one side.
8 is formed.

When a trouble relating to the developing process occurs in the discharged output, the cause of the trouble can be identified easily and quickly by reading the information of the developing process formed as the invisible image 68 during the developing process. . Image forming apparatus 1
Since the downtime of 0 can be shortened, high productivity can be maintained.

The first invisible image forming unit 42 may be provided in the image forming unit 38. In this case, the image forming unit 38 forms the visible image and the invisible image 68 at the same time. (Third Embodiment) The third embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the third embodiment, the same components as those in the second embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description of the configuration will be omitted.

In this third embodiment, FIG.
In addition to the configuration of the second embodiment, a second invisible image forming unit 58 is further provided inside the paper feed tray 12, as shown in FIG.

The second invisible image forming unit 58 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.
4 and the side wall 13 of the paper feed tray 12. The second invisible image forming unit 58 includes the paper feed tray 12
The invisible image 68 can be formed on the end portion of each sheet 54 by being movable between the sheet 54 stacked on the sheet and the side wall 13 of the sheet feeding tray 12.

As the invisible image 68, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, the same invisible image 68 is formed on all the sheets 54 in the paper feed tray 12A. Each paper feed tray 12A, 1
By forming different invisible images 68 in 2B, 12C, and 12D, it is possible to easily determine from which paper feed tray 12 the discharged paper 54 was taken out.

When a trouble occurs, the cause of the trouble can be quickly identified by referring to the information of the paper feed tray 12, and the stop time of the image forming apparatus 10 can be shortened. Therefore, high productivity can be maintained.

The formation of the invisible image 68 by the second invisible image forming unit 58 may be automatically performed when the paper 54 is set in the paper feed tray 12 or when instructed. May be

As described above, the features of the sheet 54 and the like are previously formed as an invisible image 68 on the sheet surface. The reading unit 20 capable of reading the invisible image 68 is provided on the paper feed tray 12, and the reading information of the reading unit 20 makes the setting of the machine parameter and the transport system correspond to the sheet. In addition, the first invisible image forming unit 4
A second and a second invisible image forming unit 58 are provided to form an invisible image 68 at the time of the developing process and the information of the paper feed tray. If there is a defect in the output, the invisible image 68 is read, and the cause of the defect is quickly identified. Each piece of information is an invisible image 68 and does not affect the image formation and the image obtained by the image formation.

In each of the embodiments, the fact that the paper 54 is incompatible is notified to the display 70, but it may be notified by a buzzer, a lamp or the like, or a combination thereof.

In each of the embodiments, the invisible image is formed in advance on all the sheets 54, but different types of sheets 54 are used.
If there is no risk of mixing in, the invisible image may be formed only on the sheets stacked on the top of the sheet feeding tray 12. In this case, when the paper 54 is set in the paper feed tray 12, the machine parameter settings for each paper feed tray 12 may be determined and stored, and the stored settings may be applied.

The reading of the invisible image 68 formed by the first invisible image forming unit and the second invisible image forming unit may be performed by providing the image forming apparatus 10 with a reading section. Further, the invisible image 68 may be read by a reader separate from the image forming apparatus 10.

[0084]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent troubles related to the transportation and management of the paper and to easily identify the cause of the trouble related to the transportation of the paper and the development processing on the paper. It has an excellent effect that the down time of the apparatus can be shortened and an image forming apparatus capable of maintaining high productivity can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of formation of an invisible image formed on a sheet in advance according to the first embodiment of the present invention,
(A) is a diagram in which a sheet having characters formed as an invisible image is irradiated with light having a specific wavelength, and (B) is a diagram in which a sheet having a barcode formed as an invisible image is irradiated with light having a specific wavelength. .

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a paper feed tray according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a paper detection unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of nonstandard irregular paper according to the first embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) is a paper having a notch (chamfer) and (B) is Paper having a punched hole shape, and (C) is a paper having a protruding portion (heading portion).

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between a sheet position detection sensor according to the first embodiment of the present invention and a sheet having a shape with a cutout.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between a sheet position detection sensor according to the first embodiment of the present invention and a sheet having a punched hole.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between a sheet position detection sensor according to the first embodiment of the present invention and a sheet having a shape with a protrusion.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an image forming routine according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a sheet position detection sensor according to another embodiment of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a paper feed tray according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing an example of forming an invisible image by the first invisible image forming unit according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Image Forming Apparatus 12 Paper Feed Tray 20 Reading Unit (Reading Unit) 42 First Invisible Image Forming Unit (Invisible Image Forming Unit) 58 Second Invisible Image Forming Unit (Invisible Image Forming Unit) 50 Paper Ejection Tray 54 Paper 56 Photoreceptor Belt (Photoreceptor) 60 Control Unit (Control Means) 62 Image Forming Unit 70 Display (Notification Means) 72 Machine Parameter Setting Unit (Machine Parameter Setting Means) 74 Paper Matching Discrimination Unit (Paper Compatibility Discriminating Means)

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yasuhiro Ikuta             Fujize, 3-7-1, Fuchu, Iwatsuki City, Saitama Prefecture             Rocks Co., Ltd. Iwatsuki Office F-term (reference) 2C061 AP01 AQ06 HJ01 HJ02 HK07                       HN09 HN15                 2H027 DC00 DC01 DC02 DC20 DE02                       DE07 DE10 ED16 EE07 GA23                       GA30 GB07                 2H072 AA12 AA22 AB04 BA03 BB01                       CA01 FB01

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A paper is conveyed one by one from a paper feed tray containing paper, an image is formed on a photoconductor in an image forming unit, the image is transferred to the paper, and the paper is discharged to a paper discharge tray. An image forming apparatus, which is a machine parameter setting unit that sets optimum machine parameters for a sheet to be applied, and an invisible image that can form a visible image under a specific wavelength light formed on the surface of the sheet. An image forming apparatus comprising: a reading unit that can read an image; and a control unit that sets machine parameters by the machine parameter setting unit based on read information from the reading unit. 2. The control means, when the shape of the paper is irregular paper which is out of the standard according to the read information from the reading means, changes to a transport system capable of handling the paper. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The paper is conveyed one by one from a paper feed tray containing the paper, an image is formed on a photoconductor in an image forming unit, the image is transferred to the paper, and the paper is ejected to a paper ejection tray. An image forming apparatus that reads information of a sheet formed as an invisible image that can be a visible image under a specific wavelength light on the surface of the sheet, and read information from the reading unit. According to the paper conformity determining means for determining whether the paper conforms to the paper condition specified by the image forming instruction, and if the paper is not conforming to the paper condition based on the discrimination result of the paper conformity determining means, An image forming apparatus having: a notifying unit for notifying that there is. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the paper conformity determining unit determines a type, a setting direction, and an expiration date of the paper. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an invisible image forming unit that forms information on the sheet during development processing as the invisible image.