JP2004206012A - Image recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image recording apparatus which can output a series of recording materials bound in a plurality of sheets in a complete state from recording paper of different types contained in different paper feeding parts. <P>SOLUTION: A control part 230 controlling a recording action so that each page of an image data consisting of a plurality of pages inputted as a series of jobs is recorded to recording paper which is stored to respectively different paper feeding parts and a managing part 270 managing the information regarding the recording paper stored in the paper feeding parts are provided. The recording action is controlled by the control part 230 based on the information regarding the recording paper outputted from the managing part 270. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus that reproduces and outputs a series of recorded materials, such as a slip and a copy thereof, on a page basis on different types of recording media stored in different paper feed trays.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a series of printed matter including a plurality of pages such as a slip is created, an image of each page is continuously formed on a recording sheet fed from a sheet feeding unit such as one sheet cassette or a sheet tray. That was how he created recorded material. Therefore, when a series of images are sequentially recorded on recording paper of different paper quality for each page, the user superimposes the recording papers in a desired order and feeds these recording papers to a paper feed unit for manual feed. Had to be set.
[0003]
Therefore, when a large number of print jobs of a plurality of sheets are processed as described above, it is necessary for the user to set the recording paper in the paper feeding unit in consideration of the correspondence between the recording paper and the image. There was a problem that the setting took a lot of trouble. Further, since recording papers of different paper qualities are fed one on top of another, a paper feed failure in the image recording apparatus may occur.
[0004]
Further, when a user mistakenly sets a plurality of recording papers of the same paper quality in the paper feeding unit, a problem occurs that a desired image is not recorded on a desired recording paper. Therefore, when a large number of print jobs are continuously processed, the correspondence between the recording paper and the recorded image is shifted, and a series of recorded matters may not be created as desired.
[0005]
Therefore, in order to complete a series of printed sheets of a plurality of sheets composed of a plurality of different types of recording sheets, the recording sheets are classified and set in advance in a plurality of paper feed trays, and when recording an image, the recording sheets are used. There has been proposed a printing apparatus in which an image is sequentially recorded on each recording sheet by switching a sheet feed tray to be supplied, and these are output as a series of recorded materials (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0006]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-11-105367 (FIG. 2, paragraphs “0018” to “0024”)
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the printing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, since the size of the recording paper set in each paper feed tray is not confirmed, the size of a series of recorded materials of plural sheets cannot be unified. There is. In other words, in the printing apparatus, when creating a series of recorded materials, the recording paper is fed from the designated paper feed tray, and at this time, the size of the recording paper stored in the paper feed tray is Not confirmed.
[0008]
Therefore, when the printing apparatus is requested to create a series of recorded materials, if the sizes of the recording papers stored in the respective paper feed trays are different, a series of recordings including recording papers having different sizes is performed. It may form an object.
[0009]
Also, when the recording paper is fed from a plurality of paper feed trays and the recording paper cannot be supplied due to paper exhaustion or the like, a print job of a series of recorded sheets of a plurality of sheets is interrupted in the middle, This causes a page to be missing in the recorded matter, making it impossible to provide a perfect recorded matter.
[0010]
Further, as described above, if a series of recorded matters is obtained in an incomplete state, the user must output a missing page later, and at that time, a recording sheet on which the already output pages are recorded May be lost. In addition, when a series of print jobs of a recorded material is performed again, pages that have already been output are printed again, and resources such as recording paper are wasted.
[0011]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides an image recording apparatus that can output a series of recorded materials of plural sheets in a complete state from different types of recording paper stored in different paper feeding units. With the goal.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the present invention, means for solving the above-described problem are configured as follows.
[0013]
(1) An image provided with a control unit that controls a recording operation so that each page of image data composed of a plurality of pages input as a series of jobs is recorded on recording paper accommodated in different paper supply units. In the recording device,
A management unit that manages information about the recording paper housed in the paper feeding unit, wherein the control unit controls the recording operation based on the information about the recording paper output from the management unit. It is characterized by doing.
[0014]
In this configuration, when performing printing processing of image data composed of a plurality of pages, such as a slip, a recording operation is performed based on information regarding recording sheets housed in a sheet feeding unit. For this reason, it is possible to control not to perform the recording operation when the recording paper accommodated in the paper feeding unit is defective or when the recording paper that is not suitable for the printing process is accommodated.
[0015]
Accordingly, even when the image data of each page is recorded on different types of recording papers housed in different paper feed units, a plurality of recording papers on which the image data is recorded (hereinafter, a series of recorded materials). ) Can be prevented, and a series of recorded matters can be made easy to handle.
[0016]
(2) The information relating to the recording paper is information relating to the size of the recording paper, and the control unit executes the recording operation when the sizes of the recording papers accommodated in the different paper supply units are the same. Is controlled so that
[0017]
In this configuration, the recording operation is performed only when the sizes of the recording sheets stored in the respective sheet feeding units are all the same. Therefore, in a series of obtained recordings, all pages are recorded on recording paper of the same size.
[0018]
Therefore, even when the image data of each page is recorded on the recording paper stored in the different paper feeding units, the size of the recording paper of the obtained series of recorded materials can be unified. Thereby, a series of recorded matters can be made easy to handle, and convenience for the user is improved.
[0019]
(3) The information on the recording paper is information on a storage state of the recording paper in the paper feeding unit,
The control unit controls the recording operation to be prohibited when no recording paper is stored in the paper supply unit.
[0020]
In this configuration, the recording operation is not performed when there is a sheet feeding unit that does not store the recording sheet. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a complete series of recorded matters in which the image data of all pages is recorded on the recording paper without causing missing pages.
[0021]
Thus, even when the image data of each page is recorded on the recording paper accommodated in the different paper feeding units, a series of recorded matters without any defect can be reliably provided to the user. .
[0022]
(4) A first mounting portion for mounting the recording paper so that the image recording surface on which the image data is recorded is exposed, and a second mounting portion for mounting the recording paper so that the image recording surface is not exposed. And a mounting part,
The control unit is configured to perform recording from the different paper feed units when the recording paper is placed on the first placement unit and when the recording paper is placed on the second placement unit. The sheet feeding order is switched.
[0023]
In this configuration, with the image recording surface facing up, the first placement unit for placing the discharged recording paper face-up so that the image recording surface is exposed, and the image recording surface facing down. A second mounting portion for mounting the discharged recording paper face-down so that the image recording surface is not exposed. The order of feeding the recording paper from each paper feed unit is switched between when the recording paper is placed on the first placement unit and when the recording paper is placed on the second placement unit.
[0024]
Therefore, when the recording paper on which the image data is recorded is placed on the placing section, a series of recorded matters can be superimposed in a page order and placed face up or face down. Thereby, a series of recorded matters can be obtained in a page order in a preferable state by a user's selection, so that convenience is improved.
[0025]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0026]
FIG. 2 shows a main configuration of the digital multifunction peripheral (image recording apparatus) 1. The digital multifunction peripheral 1 includes an image reading unit 110, an operation unit 112, an image forming unit 210, a device control unit 230, a communication unit 240, A hard disk 250 and a management unit 270 are provided. The digital multifunction peripheral 1 is connected to personal computers (PC) (1) and (2) via a network such as a LAN.
[0027]
The image reading unit 110 includes, for example, a CCD reading device 116 and functions as image data input means for inputting image data. The operation unit 112 includes an input unit 112a including various input keys and a display unit 112b including display means such as an LCD, and inputs operation and conditions of the apparatus and displays conditions.
[0028]
The image forming unit 210 has a volatile memory 260 and a printing unit 227 such as an LSU (laser scanning unit), and functions as an image data output unit that outputs image data stored in the image data storage unit. The detailed configuration of the image forming unit 210 will be described later.
[0029]
The device control unit (control unit of the present invention) 230 monitors the operation of each unit constituting the digital multi-function peripheral 1 and controls the entire apparatus so as to perform an accurate operation as the multi-function peripheral. The communication unit 240 controls communication with client machines such as personal computers installed on a network.
[0030]
The hard disk (HD) 250 functions as an image data storage unit that stores image data input from each input unit (input path: each mode mounted as a digital multifunction peripheral, for example, a scanner, a facsimile, a network, etc.). The image data storage means can be configured, for example, as a storage device having a magnetic storage medium.
[0031]
The management unit 270 manages information necessary for controlling each unit of the apparatus in the device control unit 230. As will be described later, the device control unit 230 records information based on information about recording paper output from the management unit 270. Control behavior.
[0032]
When the digital multifunction peripheral 1 is used as a copying machine, image data of a document read by the image reading unit 110 is output from the image forming unit 210 as a copy.
[0033]
The image reading unit 110 includes a CCD 116 as described later, and can electronically read an image of a document set at a reading position. Then, the read image data of the document is completed as an output image on the volatile memory 260, and is temporarily stored in the hard disk 250. When there are a plurality of originals, the reading and storing operations are repeated.
[0034]
Thereafter, based on the processing mode instructed from the operation unit 112, the image data stored in the hard disk 250 is sequentially read out at appropriate timing and sent to the volatile memory 260. Then, the image data is transferred from the memory 260 to the printing unit 227 at the timing of writing to the image forming unit 210.
[0035]
Also, when printing a plurality of read image data, the image data is similarly stored in the hard disk 250 as an output image in units of pages, and sent from the hard disk 250 to the volatile memory 260 in accordance with the output mode. The data is repeatedly transferred to the printing unit 227 in accordance with the timing of writing to the image forming unit 210.
[0036]
Next, when the digital multi-function peripheral 1 is used as a printer, the image data received by the communication unit 240 is output from the image forming unit 210 via the memory 260 or the like.
[0037]
The communication unit 240 is connected to a network via a communication cable or the like, and receives image data from a device such as a personal computer connected to the network.
[0038]
The image data received by the communication unit 240 is sent to the memory 260 page by page as image data to be output, and is temporarily stored in the hard disk 250. Then, the image data is sent from the hard disk 250 to the volatile memory 260 again, and is transferred to the printing unit 227 in the same manner as when used as a copying machine.
[0039]
When the digital multifunction peripheral 1 is used as a network scanner, image data of a document read by the image reading unit 110 can be transmitted from the communication unit 240 to any personal computer via a network. Here also, the image of the document is electronically read by the CCD 116 provided in the image reading unit 110.
[0040]
The read image data of the document is completed as an output image on the volatile memory 260, and is temporarily stored in the hard disk 250. Then, the data is sent again from the hard disk 250 to the volatile memory 260, and is transmitted from the communication unit 240 to the target destination after establishing communication with the destination specified via the operation unit 112.
[0041]
Further, the communication unit 240 is connected to a telephone line other than the network, and the same operation is performed when the digital multi-function peripheral 1 is used as a facsimile apparatus, and transmission and reception of an original image with an external communication apparatus are performed. Is possible.
[0042]
Although the digital multifunction peripheral provided with the hard disk 250 as a storage device for temporarily storing image data is described here, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can be similarly applied to a case where a non-volatile memory capable of holding the data, a memory with a backup function, another storage device (medium) using a magnetic storage medium, or the like is provided.
[0043]
Each component of the digital multifunction peripheral 1 is controlled by the device control unit 230, monitors operation instructions from the input unit 112a such as a tablet and a key group provided in the operation unit 112, and controls the display unit 112b. Information to be notified to the user, such as information on the state of the digital multi-function peripheral, is accurately displayed. Further, the management unit 270 manages information on each component managed by the device control unit 230, and the device control unit 230 controls the operation of the entire digital multifunction peripheral based on the information.
[0044]
Next, the configurations of the image reading unit 110 and the image forming unit 210 provided in the digital MFP 1 will be described with reference to FIG. First, an original platen 111 and an operation panel are provided on the upper surface of the digital multifunction peripheral 1, and an automatic document feeder supported on the upper surface of the platen 111 so as to be openable and closable with respect to the platen 111. Is installed. Further, an image reading unit 110 and an image forming unit 210 are provided inside the digital multifunction peripheral 1.
[0045]
The image reading unit 110 will be described. In order to read an image of a document set with a document image face down at a predetermined position on the document table 111, the image reading unit 110 is positioned below the document table 111 along the lower surface of the document table 111. Document scanning bodies 113 and 114 that reciprocate in parallel are arranged.
[0046]
The original scanning bodies 113 and 114 are composed of an exposure lamp for exposing the original image surface and a first mirror for deflecting the reflected light image from the original in a predetermined direction. A first scanning unit 113 that reciprocates in parallel at a predetermined scanning speed, and a second scanning unit 113 that further deflects a reflected light image from a document deflected by a first mirror of the first scanning unit 113 in a predetermined direction. It comprises a first scanning unit 113 and a second scanning unit 114 which reciprocates in parallel with a constant speed relationship, which is composed of a third mirror.
[0047]
Then, an optical lens 115 for reducing the reflected light image from the document deflected by the third mirror of the second scanning unit to form an optical image, and an optical image formed by the optical image reduced by the optical lens 115 are formed. A photoelectric conversion element 116 is provided which sequentially converts the images and outputs a reflected light image from the document as an electric signal. The document image information converted into an electric signal by the photoelectric conversion element 116 is transferred to the image processing unit 210 and subjected to predetermined processing as image data.
[0048]
Next, the image forming unit 210 provided on the lower side of the digital multi-function peripheral 1 will be described. A paper feeding mechanism 211 is provided below the image forming unit 210 and a paper feeding tray (the present invention). The recording sheets stacked and stored in the sheet feeding units 211a and 211b are separated one by one and supplied toward an image station described later. On the right side of the digital MFP 1, a manual feed tray (paper feed unit of the present invention) 211c is provided, and the recording paper set on the manual feed tray 211c is also separated one by one by an attraction roller 211d, and is separated from the image station side. Is supplied towards.
[0049]
Then, the recording paper separated and supplied one by one from the paper feed trays 211a and 211b or the manual feed tray 211c is conveyed to a registration roller pair 212 disposed in front of the image forming unit 210, and the timing with the image forming unit 210 is adjusted. It is resupplied and transported.
[0050]
An image (toner image) reproduced in an image station described later is transferred onto a recording sheet by a transfer device. Downstream of the image station, there is a transport belt mechanism 213 that extends substantially in parallel, and is configured to transport the recording paper onto which the toner image has been transferred.
[0051]
Further, a fixing device 217 for fixing the toner image transferred and formed on the recording paper to the recording paper is disposed downstream of the transport belt mechanism 213, and the fixing device 217 has passed between the fixing roller nips of the fixing device 217. The recording paper is fixed with the toner image, and is discharged by a discharge roller 219 through a conveyance direction switching gate 218 onto a discharge tray (a first mounting portion of the present invention) 220 a attached to the outside of the digital multi-function peripheral 1. Is done.
[0052]
At this time, when the recording paper is directly discharged to the discharge tray 220a, the recording paper is sequentially stacked with the image recording surface on which the image is recorded facing upward (face-up discharge). The switching gate 218 selectively discharges the fixed recording paper to the outside of the digital multi-function peripheral 1 or resupplies the recording paper to the image forming unit 210 again, and selectively switches the recording paper conveyance path. .
[0053]
Therefore, the transport direction is switched by the switching gate 218, and after turning over the recording paper through the switchback transport path 221, the other discharge tray provided below the discharge tray 220a (the second discharge tray of the present invention). May be discharged onto the mounting portion 220b. At this time, the recording sheets are sequentially stacked with the image recording surface facing down (face-down discharge).
[0054]
When an image is recorded on both sides of a recording sheet, the transport direction is switched again toward the image forming unit 210 by the switching gate 218. Thereafter, the image is reversed by the switchback conveyance path 221 and supplied again to the image forming unit 210 to record an image. Thereafter, the sheet is discharged to the discharge tray 220a.
[0055]
The image station includes a photoreceptor drum 222 that is driven to rotate. Around the photoreceptor drum 222, a charger 223 that uniformly charges the photoreceptor drum, and a static roller formed on the photoreceptor drum 222. A developing device 224 for developing the electrostatic latent image, a transfer discharger 225 for transferring the developed toner image to a transfer material, and a cleaning unit 226 for removing toner remaining on the photosensitive drum are rotated by the rotation of the photosensitive drum 222. They are arranged sequentially along the direction.
[0056]
Above each photosensitive drum 222, a semiconductor laser device that emits dot light modulated in accordance with image data, a deflecting device for deflecting light from the semiconductor laser device in the main scanning direction, and a deflecting device A laser beam scanner unit 227 including an fθ lens or the like for forming an image of the laser beam deflected by the laser beam on the surface of the photoconductor is provided. Pixel signals for the original image are input to the laser beam scanner 227. As a result, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the document image information is formed on the photosensitive member 222 of the recording unit, and the document image information is reproduced as a toner image in the recording unit.
[0057]
At the image station, a toner image is formed by the above-described configuration, and when the transfer of the image to the recording paper is completed, the image is guided to the fixing device 217 as described above. Then, the recording paper on which the toner image is finally fixed is discharged onto the discharge tray 220a or the discharge tray 220b via the discharge roller 219.
[0058]
Next, a description will be given of a case where the digital multifunction peripheral 1 having the above configuration performs a printing process based on data transferred from an external device such as a PC (1) connected via a network.
[0059]
When the PC (1) instructs the digital multifunction device 1 to perform a printing process, a printing process instruction screen 11 is displayed on the display unit 10 of the PC (1) as shown in FIG. Various print conditions are displayed on the print processing instruction screen 11 in order to set print conditions for executing the print processing. That is, in the present embodiment, the name of the processing apparatus (printer in the figure) that executes the printing process, the print range, the number of prints, and printing of a printed matter of a plurality of sheets (of the same recorded content) such as a slip (carbon print) (Printing in mode) is displayed. Although not shown, it is also possible to set whether to discharge the recorded matter by face-up discharge or face-down discharge.
[0060]
The user sets various printing conditions based on the display of the print processing instruction screen 11. For example, when executing the printing process of the three-sheet slip shown in FIG. 3B, check the box 12 next to the display of the carbon print in the printing process instruction screen 11 shown in FIG. Insert
[0061]
Thereby, as shown in FIG. 4, a tray display 13 for selecting a paper feed tray containing recording paper for printing each page of the slip is displayed. The tray display 13 is displayed according to the number of pages of the slip for which the printing process is performed. Here, since the number of pages of the slip is three, a display for selecting a paper feed tray is provided for each of the first to third sheets.
[0062]
Then, the user selects, for each page, a paper feed tray storing desired print paper. That is, the tray 1 is selected to record the first slip, the tray 2 is selected to record the second slip, and the manual feed tray is selected to record the third slip. The trays 1 and 2 and the manual feed tray correspond to the paper feed trays 211a to 211b and the manual feed tray 211c shown in FIG. Further, as described above, the designation of the printer 15, the setting of the print range ("all" and "page setting") 16, and the setting of the number of prints 16 can also be performed on the screen.
[0063]
As described above, the user sets various printing conditions of the slip on the print processing instruction screen 11 shown in FIG. 4 and clicks the “OK” button 14 in the figure. As a result, data (hereinafter, transfer data) related to the print processing of the slip is transferred from the PC (1) to the digital MFP 1 via the network.
[0064]
The transfer data transferred from the PC (1) includes, as shown in FIG. 3A, instruction information relating to print processing and page information for each page. The instruction information includes print mode such as carbon print, recording paper size, number of prints, information on the selected paper feed tray, face-up discharge / face-down discharge, etc. on the print processing instruction screen 11 shown in FIG. And information on various printing conditions set by the user.
[0065]
The page information is image data of each page recorded on a recording sheet by a printing process. 3A shows three pages of image data as the page information of the transfer data shown in FIG. 3A, and the amount of this page information changes according to the number of pages to be printed.
[0066]
For example, when the transfer data is a three-sheet slip shown in FIG. 3B, as shown in FIG. 3A, the instruction information indicates that the print mode is carbon print, Information about the size, the paper feed tray selected for each page, and the like is included. Further, three pages of image data are included as page information.
[0067]
The transfer data relating to the slip is received by the communication unit 240 and temporarily stored in the hard disk 250 as described with reference to FIG. 2, and thereafter, the printing process is performed by the image forming unit 210 according to the flowchart shown in FIG. Is
[0068]
That is, when carbon print is selected as the print mode on the print processing instruction screen 11 shown in FIG. 4, first, in step s1, the communication unit 240 of the digital multi-function peripheral 1 (FIG. 2) The transfer data shown in a) is received. In step s2, the received transfer data is stored in the hard disk 250, and the process proceeds to step s3.
[0069]
In step s3, the device control unit 230 shown in FIG. 2 is stored in the selected paper feed tray included in the transfer data instruction information based on the paper feed tray information managed by the management unit 240. Check the recording paper size. The confirmation of the recording paper size is performed because the printing process of the slip of a plurality of pages is usually performed using recording papers of the same size. That is, it is performed to print each page of the slip on recording paper of the same size. Therefore, if it is determined in step s3 that the sizes of the recording sheets stored in the selected paper feed trays are all the same, the process proceeds to step s6.
[0070]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step s3 that the sizes of the recording sheets stored in the selected paper feed trays are different, the process proceeds to step s4, and the display unit 10 of the PC (1) (FIG. 4). Then, a confirmation message is displayed (not shown). In step s5, the user confirms this confirmation message, and determines whether or not the paper feed tray has been changed on the print processing instruction screen 11 shown in FIG. If the paper feed tray is changed in step s5, the flow returns to step s3 to perform the above operation. On the other hand, if the paper feed tray is not changed in step s5, the process waits until the paper feed tray is changed.
[0071]
If it is determined in step s3 that the size of the recording paper is appropriate, it is determined in step s6 whether or not the recording paper is stored in each of the selected paper feed trays. If it is determined in step s6 that the recording paper is stored in all the selected paper feed trays, the process proceeds to step s8. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is at least one paper feed tray containing no recording paper, the process proceeds to step s7, where the display unit 10 of the PC (1) (FIG. 4) or the display unit of the digital multi-function peripheral 1 is displayed. A confirmation message is displayed on 112b (FIG. 2), and the process returns to step s6.
[0072]
In step s8, it is determined whether or not face-up ejection is selected based on the instruction information of the transfer data. If it is determined in step s8 that face-up discharge has been selected, the process proceeds to step s9. When the face-up discharge is selected, by sequentially printing from the last page of the voucher and discharging it onto the paper discharge tray 220a (see FIG. 1), the vouchers can be obtained in a state of being overlapped in the page order.
[0073]
Therefore, in step s9, first, the image data of the Nth page, which is the last page, is read, and in step s10, the image data of the Nth page is recorded on the recording paper accommodated in the designated paper feed tray. . In step s11, 1 is subtracted from N and (N-1) is replaced with N 'in order to perform printing processing of the page immediately before the Nth page. In step s12, it is determined whether or not N 'is greater than 0. If N'≤0, it means that all the page information included in the transfer data has been printed, and the printing process is terminated. On the other hand, if N ′ ≦ 0 is not satisfied in step s12, the process proceeds to step s13, where N ′ is replaced with N, and the operation after step s9 is repeated again.
[0074]
On the other hand, if face-up ejection is not selected in step s8, that is, if face-down ejection is selected, the process proceeds to step s14. In the case of face-down discharge, by sequentially printing from the first page of the slip and discharging it onto the discharge tray 220b (see FIG. 1), the slips can be obtained in a state of being overlapped in the page order.
[0075]
Therefore, in step s14, the first page is replaced with page N, and in step s15, the image data of page N is read. In step s16, the image data of the Nth page read in step s15 is recorded on the recording paper stored in the designated paper feed tray. In step s17, 1 is added to N and (N + 1) is replaced with N 'in order to perform the printing process of the page after the Nth page.
[0076]
In step s18, it is determined whether or not the N 'page corresponds to the last page included in the transfer data. If it is determined that the N' page is the last page, printing of all the page information included in the transfer data is completed. Therefore, the printing process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in step s18 that the page is not the last page, the process proceeds to step s19, where N 'is replaced with N, and the operations in and after step s15 are repeated.
[0077]
As described above, in the digital multi-function peripheral 1 of the present embodiment, when a printing process of a multi-sheet spelled record such as a slip is requested, the recording stored in the selected paper feed tray is performed. The paper size and the storage status of the recording paper are checked. By checking the size of the recording paper, the size of the recording paper for each page of the output slip can be unified.
[0078]
This makes it easy for the user to arrange the slips. Further, by confirming the storage state of the recording paper, it is possible to surely provide the user with a complete slip without missing pages.
[0079]
Further, the order of paper feeding from the paper feed tray is switched according to the discharge state of the output slip, that is, face-up discharge / face-down discharge, to change the order of the print processing of the slip. As a result, the slips can be obtained in a state of being overlapped in the page order, so that the user who has received the output slips will not be confused.
[0080]
The present invention is not limited to the image recording apparatus having the configuration shown in FIG. 1, and each page of image data composed of a plurality of pages input as a series of jobs is stored in different paper feeding units. The present invention can be applied to any image recording apparatus including a control unit that controls a recording operation so as to record on a recording sheet, regardless of its configuration or format.
[0081]
【The invention's effect】
As is clear from the above description, the present invention has the following effects.
[0082]
(1) Since the recording operation is controlled based on the information about the recording paper output from the management unit, when printing a plurality of pages of image data such as a slip, the data is stored in the paper supply unit. The recording operation is performed based on the information regarding the recording paper that is being used.
[0083]
For this reason, it is possible to control not to perform the recording operation when the recording paper accommodated in the paper feeding unit is defective or when the recording paper that is not suitable for the printing process is accommodated.
[0084]
Accordingly, even when the image data of each page is recorded on different types of recording papers housed in different paper feed units, a plurality of recording papers on which the image data is recorded (hereinafter, a series of recorded materials). ) Can be prevented, and a series of recorded matters can be made easy to handle.
[0085]
(2) The recording operation is performed only when the sizes of the recording sheets housed in the respective paper feeding units are all the same size. Will be recorded.
[0086]
Therefore, even when the image data of each page is recorded on the recording paper stored in the different paper feeding units, the size of the recording paper of the obtained series of recorded materials can be unified. Thereby, a series of recorded matters can be made easy to handle, and convenience for the user is improved.
[0087]
(3) If there is a paper feed unit that does not contain recording paper, the recording operation is not performed, so that complete image data of all pages is recorded on the recording paper without causing missing pages. A series of records can be obtained.
[0088]
Thus, even when the image data of each page is recorded on the recording paper accommodated in the different paper feeding units, a series of recorded matters without any defect can be reliably provided to the user. .
[0089]
(4) a first mounting portion for mounting the recording paper discharged face-up so that the image recording surface is exposed with the image recording surface facing upward, and the image recording surface with the image recording surface facing downward A second placing portion for placing the recording paper discharged face down so that the surface is not exposed, wherein the recording paper is placed on the first placing portion; and a second placing portion. The order of feeding the recording sheets from each sheet feeding unit is switched between when the sheets are placed on the sheet feeding unit, so that a series of printed matters are superimposed in accordance with the order of the pages, and the user selects a preferable state (face-up). Or face-down), a series of recorded matters can be obtained in the order of pages, so that convenience is improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration explanatory diagram of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a main configuration of the image recording apparatus.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the same three-sheet slip.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a display unit of an externally connected device connected to the image recording apparatus.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a printing process of the image recording apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
1-Image recording device
211a, 211b, 211c—paper feeding unit
220a-first mounting portion
220b-second mounting part
230-control unit
270-Administrator

Claims (4)

An image recording apparatus including a control unit that controls a recording operation so as to record each page of image data composed of a plurality of pages input as a series of jobs on recording sheets housed in different sheet feeding units. ,
A management unit that manages information on the recording paper accommodated in the paper supply unit,
The image recording apparatus, wherein the control unit controls the recording operation based on information regarding the recording sheet output from the management unit. The information on the recording paper is information on the size of the recording paper,
2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls to execute the recording operation when the sizes of the recording sheets stored in the different sheet feeding units are the same. The information on the recording paper is information on a storage state of the recording paper in the paper feeding unit,
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls to prohibit the recording operation when recording paper is not stored in the paper feeding unit. A first placing portion for placing a recording sheet so that an image recording surface on which the image data is recorded is exposed, and a second placing portion for placing a recording sheet so that the image recording surface is not exposed With
The control unit is configured to perform recording from the different paper feed units when the recording paper is placed on the first placement unit and when the recording paper is placed on the second placement unit. 4. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the order of feeding paper is switched.

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