JP2005014361A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sustain printing without causing print stop due to deficiency of residual quantity of sheets by urging a user to supplement sheets positively from an image forming apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: A sheet feed control section 512 compares the residual quantity of sheets detected by a residual quantity of sheets detecting section 521 with calculation results from a number of sheets calculating section 511, releases an appropriate sheet feed cassette 52 depending on the comparison results and designates supplement of print sheets to the sheet feed cassette 52. Designation of supplement of print sheets from the sheet feed control section 512 urges a user to supplement sheets positively from an image forming apparatus or the sheet feed cassette 52, e.g. to draw out the sheet feed cassette 52 automatically from the printer body 51 by unlocking a lock mechanism 522, for example. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile machine.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Usually, when there are a plurality of paper feed cassettes possessed by the image forming apparatus, when a paper feed cassette runs out of paper, it automatically switches to a paper feed cassette containing the same paper and the printing operation is continued. When the same sheet is not stored, or when there are not a plurality of sheet cassettes, a notification is given by a panel or LED (Light Emitting Diode), and the user is prompted to replenish the sheet.
[0003]
On the other hand, in order to avoid copying interruption for reserved copying, if the remaining number of sheets is insufficient for a certain job, the image forming apparatus that skips the job and prints another job. It has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-62766
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, according to the above-described conventional technology, when the remaining amount of paper is insufficient for the reserved copy, the system skips the job and prints another job. When printing a job, it is necessary to replenish paper, which causes a print stop. Accordingly, although it is possible to delay the start of the work of paper replenishment that requires manual labor, if a job skipped due to insufficient paper remaining is urgent, it is not desirable to be skipped due to insufficient paper remaining .
In addition, it is not easy for the user to know which paper cassette is stored and the paper needs to be replenished, and there are other paper cassettes that can replenish paper. However, the current situation is that the notification has not been made.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and by prompting the user to replenish paper from the image forming apparatus, it is possible to continue printing without causing printing to stop due to insufficient paper remaining. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problem, the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 feeds paper from one or more paper feed cassettes in which printing paper is stored, and prints image information on the fed printing paper. In the image forming apparatus, the remaining paper amount detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of printing paper stored in the paper feed cassette, the paper number calculating means for calculating the number of printing papers necessary for printing, and the remaining paper amount The remaining amount of printing paper detected by the amount detecting means is compared with the result calculated by the paper number calculating means, and the paper feeding by the paper cassette is controlled according to the comparison result, or appropriate paper feeding is performed. It is characterized by having a paper feed control means for releasing the cassette and instructing the replenishment of the printing paper to the paper feed cassette.
[0008]
According to this configuration, the user can release the appropriate paper feed cassette and instruct the replenishment of the print paper to the paper feed cassette according to the comparison result between the remaining amount of print paper and the required number of paper sheets. In response to this, the image forming apparatus actively encourages paper replenishment, and printing can be continued without causing printing to stop due to insufficient paper remaining.
[0009]
Further, in the image forming apparatus according to claim 2, when the paper remaining amount detecting unit detects that the remaining amount of paper in a certain paper feed cassette is exhausted, When it is detected that there is an appropriate print sheet in the paper feed cassette and it is necessary to continue printing, the paper feed from the corresponding paper feed cassette is controlled to continue printing.
According to this configuration, when there is no remaining paper in the paper cassette in use, the paper in this paper cassette can be used smoothly if there is appropriate printing paper in another paper cassette. It is possible to continue printing.
[0010]
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the paper feed control unit prints paper of the same size in another paper feed cassette while printing is performed by paper feed from the certain paper feed cassette. , And for the paper feed cassette, the total remaining amount of paper based on the comparison result between the total remaining amount of paper detected by the remaining paper amount detecting means and the required number of prints calculated by the paper number calculating means. In addition to controlling the paper feeding from the appropriate paper cassette, if there is a shortage of paper, replenish printing paper even if there is a remaining amount of paper in the relevant paper cassette. Is required, the paper cassette is released to instruct the replenishment of printing paper to the paper cassette.
According to this configuration, even when the remaining amount of paper in the plurality of paper feeding cassettes is not sufficient, it is possible to actively encourage the replenishment of the paper, and the printing is stopped due to the shortage of the remaining paper. Thus, printing can be continued.
[0011]
The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the paper feed control unit prints the same size of print paper in the other paper feed cassette while printing is performed by paper feed from the paper feed cassette. Is not stored, or the corresponding paper cassette cannot be replenished with further printing paper, and the paper remaining detected by the paper remaining amount detecting means is detected for the paper cassette. If a shortage of the total remaining amount of paper is confirmed based on the comparison result between the total amount and the required number of prints calculated by the paper number calculation means, the paper cassette that has been measured in advance is released and the It is characterized by instructing replenishment of insufficient printing paper to the paper feed cassette.
According to this configuration, a shortage of paper can be replenished by storing frequently used printing paper in a paper cassette that contains paper that is less frequently used. Printing can be continued without inviting.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a client server system in which the image forming apparatus of the present invention is employed. In FIG. 1, for example, a printer 5 is illustrated as an image forming apparatus. It is assumed that the printer 5 includes a plurality of stages of paper feed cassettes that store printing papers having different sizes. These paper feed cassettes are independent from each other, and the paper feed operation of other paper feed cassettes is not hindered by the replenishment of paper.
A plurality of client PCs 1, 2, 3, and 4 exist on the network 6, and the client PCs 1 to 4 and the printer 5 can exchange information by bidirectional communication.
[0013]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. The image forming apparatus shown here is specifically the printer 5 of FIG. 1 and includes a printer main body 51 and a paper feed cassette 52.
The printer main body 51 includes a paper number calculation unit 511, a paper feed control unit 512, and a status information output unit 513. The paper feed cassette 52 includes a remaining paper amount detection unit 521 and a lock mechanism 522. In each case, only the blocks related to the present invention are extracted and shown.
[0014]
The remaining paper amount detection unit 521 has a function of detecting the remaining amount of printing paper stored in the paper feed cassette 52. In this sheet remaining amount detection function, for example, the approximate thickness of the remaining sheets is measured by a sensor or the like provided in the sheet feeding cassette 52, and the remaining number of sheets is estimated. The sheet number calculation unit 511 has a function of calculating the number of print sheets necessary for printing. In this sheet number calculation function, the number of sheets is calculated from the number of pages calculated by the CPU when the application is executed.
[0015]
The paper feed control unit 512 compares the remaining amount of printing paper detected by the paper remaining amount detection unit 521 with the result calculated by the paper number calculation unit 511, and supplies the paper by the paper feed cassette 52 according to the comparison result. It has a function of controlling paper or releasing an appropriate paper feed cassette 52 and instructing replenishment of printing paper to the paper feed cassette 52. Here, the instruction for replenishing the printing paper by the paper feed control unit 512 is that the paper feed set 52 is automatically pulled out from the printer main body 51 by releasing the lock mechanism 522 or the like. This is done by strongly urging the user to replenish paper. It should be noted that the paper feed set 52 is pulled out by an amount that allows the paper feed cassettes that need to be replenished to be recognized at a glance, so that the paper feed set 52 is not pulled out more than necessary. Further, the LED or the like (not shown) provided in the paper feeding cassette 52 may be used together with lighting or blinking, a panel display, or the like.
[0016]
The status information output unit 513 has a function of notifying the user of the status of the printer including the out of paper using an LED or the like. The lock mechanism 522 has a function of pulling out (unlocking) or returning (locking) the paper feed cassette 52 using a solenoid. The paper cassettes 52 prepared in a plurality of stages are locked in the housing during normal operation, and are unlocked and automatically pulled out when the paper runs out.
[0017]
FIG. 3 shows schematic specifications of the paper feed cassettes mounted in the paper feed stages # 1 to # 4. In other words, here, the paper feed cassettes 52 are prepared in four stages in the vertical direction, and the sizes and types of printing papers that can be stored in the paper feed cassettes 52 mounted in the respective paper feed stages (# 1 to # 4). The maximum load amount and the current remaining amount of paper (current remaining amount of paper) are as shown in the table.
[0018]
First, when a print job generated by the client PC 1 is sent to the printer 5, the printer main body 51 executes print processing based on the print job.
For example, if a print job requires 200 sheets of B5 paper, here, the paper feed cassette 52 containing B5 paper is in the paper feed stage # 3, and the remaining amount of current paper is 150 sheets. Since it is the load capacity, 150 sheets currently stored are assigned to the received print job, and when the remaining amount of paper stored in the paper cassette 52 mounted in the paper feed stage # 3 runs out, the paper is fed. The control unit 512 pulls out the paper feed cassette of the paper feed stage # 3.
[0019]
On the other hand, when the print job requires 400 sheets of A4 paper, according to the specification shown in FIG. 3, the paper feed cassette 52 containing the A4 paper is mounted in the paper feed stages # 1 and # 2. Currently 150 sheets remain in each sheet cassette 52, that is, the total remaining amount of sheets is 300 sheets. Since both are the maximum loading capacity in the paper feed cassette 52, printing for the print job is performed from the paper feed stage # 1, and when the remaining amount of paper in the paper feed cassette 52 of the paper feed stage # 1 runs out. Then, paper is fed from the paper feed cassette 52 in the next paper feed stage # 2.
Accordingly, at this time, the paper feed control unit 52 pulls out the paper feed cassette 52 of the paper feed stage # 1 in addition to the above-described switching of the paper feed stage and feeding from the switched paper feed cassette 52.
[0020]
Further, after the paper cassette 52 of the paper feed stage # 1 is pulled out and the user replenishes the paper, the remaining paper amount detection unit 521 detects the number of the replenished paper and detects the previous print job (A4 paper 400). Since the remaining 100 print sheets are necessary to continuously execute (sheet), when the replenished print sheets are less than 100 sheets, the paper feed control unit 512 instructs to replenish paper, that is, Then, the drawer of the paper feed cassette 52 in the paper feed stage # 1 is continued.
If the paper cassette 52 in the paper feed stage # 2 is out of paper before the user has not replenished 100 sheets or more, the printing paper replenished in the paper feed cassette 52 in the paper feed stage # 1 is not printed. Even if there are less than 100 sheets, the paper feed control unit 512 returns the paper feed cassette 52 of the paper feed stage # 1 to start paper feeding, and replenishes paper using the paper feed cassette 52 of the paper feed stage # 2. Prompt.
[0021]
Further, the paper feed control unit 512 feeds paper from an appropriate paper feed cassette 52 while feeding paper to other relevant paper feed cassettes 52 while feeding paper. When it is confirmed by the remaining paper amount detection unit 521 that the remaining amount of paper in the cassette 52 has disappeared, the paper supply cassette 52 that has run out of paper is urged to replenish printing paper at the same time as described above, and paper replenishment is being promoted. One of the paper feeding cassettes 52 can be returned to continue printing.
[0022]
The above operation is shown in a flowchart in FIG. That is, first, a remaining amount check in the sheet feeding cassette 52 (which is referred to as cassette A) is performed by the sheet remaining amount detecting unit 521 (S41), and the sheet feeding control unit 512 takes in the check result and needs it. When it is confirmed that there is no remaining amount of paper to be used, the paper feed cassette 52 is pulled out and replenishment of printing paper is urged (S48).
On the other hand, if it is confirmed that there is a remaining amount of paper, it is further checked whether or not there is a paper feed cassette that stores printing paper of the same size (S42). In S42; Yes, the total paper remaining amount is calculated by the paper feed control unit 512 (S43). Then, the total remaining amount of paper is compared with the required number of sheets calculated by the sheet number calculating unit 511 (S44). If it is confirmed that there is a total remaining amount of sheets (S44; Yes), printing is performed. Will continue.
[0023]
If the required number of sheets is not reached, the paper feed control unit 512 checks the remaining amount of paper in the paper feed cassette 52 (cassette A) under paper feed control (S45) and confirms that there is a remaining amount of paper. If it is determined (S45; No), control is performed to pull out the paper feed cassette 52 (cassette B), and paper replenishment is urged (S47). And after paper replenishment, the process after S43 is repeated.
On the other hand, if it is confirmed that there is no remaining sheet (S45; Yes), the paper cassette 52 (cassette A) is pulled out to prompt the paper replenishment and the paper cassette 52 (cassette B) pulled out in the above step S47. ) Is returned (S46), and printing is continued.
[0024]
Incidentally, as described above, it is necessary to replenish printing paper in order to end a print job in which printing paper is insufficient, and in order to perform replenishment, a paper feed cassette 52 on which no paper is stacked is necessary. Therefore, in order to efficiently use the paper feed cassette 52 or a multipurpose tray (not shown), the paper feed control unit 512 searches for a paper feed cassette 52 or a multipurpose tray that is not used.
According to the specifications shown in the table of FIG. 3, since the paper feed stage # 4 and the multipurpose tray are not used, the paper feed cassette 52 of the paper feed stage # 4 is pulled out to prompt paper replenishment, or In the case of a multi-purpose tray, it is avoided that the printing is stopped during printing by prompting paper replenishment via the status information output unit 513 using a panel or the like.
[0025]
Here, the paper cassettes 52 and multipurpose trays that are not used simply are selected and used. However, on the printer main body 51 side, the paper feed cassettes # 1 to # 4 are sequentially installed. The usage frequency of each paper cassette 52 is managed, the paper cassette 52 with low usage frequency is pulled out, and the paper cassette 52 is replenished with, for example, printing paper of different paper sizes necessary for execution of the print job. It may be configured to encourage.
[0026]
The above operation is shown in a flowchart in FIG. In FIG. 5, the operations shown in S51 to S54 and S58 are the same as the operations in S41 to S44 and S48 shown in FIG. 4, respectively, so the description here is omitted to avoid duplication.
In the process of S55, the paper feed controller 512 checks whether or not an unused paper feed cassette 52 or multipurpose tray is mounted on the printer 5. When none of these is mounted (S55; No), printing is continued, and when either one is mounted (S55; Yes), the paper number calculation unit 511 calculates the necessary number of prints ( S56). Then, the calculated number of sheets is output to the panel via the status information output unit 513 (S57), and the corresponding paper feed cassette 52 or multipurpose tray is pulled out by the paper feed control unit 512 to prompt the user to replenish the printing paper. (S59).
[0027]
As described above, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus capable of continuing printing without inviting the user to actively replenish paper from the image forming apparatus, thereby causing no printing stop due to insufficient paper remaining. To do.
Note that, according to the embodiment of the present invention, only the case where the printing paper is stored in the paper feeding cassette is shown, but the present invention is not limited to the paper feeding cassette, and the same applies to a tray or the like that can store the printing paper. It can be applied to.
[0028]
The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a copying machine, a facsimile machine and the like in addition to the printer described above. Furthermore, it is assumed to include an apparatus having a plurality of functions of the image forming apparatus. For example, a printer having a copying function, a facsimile apparatus having a copying function, an apparatus having a copying function, a printer function, and a facsimile function are also included in the image forming apparatus of the present invention.
[0029]
The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes design changes and the like within a scope not departing from the gist of the present invention.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, an appropriate paper feeding operation and a positive paper replenishment instruction to the user based on the remaining amount of paper and the number of sheets necessary for a print job are performed. Printing stop due to running out of paper can be prevented, and the user can visually recognize the paper feed cassette that has run out of paper.
In addition, it is possible to effectively use unused or infrequently used paper feed cassettes mounted in the image forming apparatus, or provide a user with an efficient paper feed environment including a multipurpose tray. .
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a client server system in which the present invention is adopted.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a table showing specifications of a paper feed cassette used in the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of another embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1-4 ... Client PC, 5 ... Printer (image forming apparatus), 6 ... Network, 51 ... Printer main body, 52 ... Paper feed cassette, 511 ... Paper number calculation part, 512 ... Paper feed control part, 513 ... Status information output , 521 ... Remaining paper amount detection unit, 522 ... Lock mechanism

Claims (4)

In an image forming apparatus that feeds paper from one or more paper cassettes that store printing paper and prints image information on the fed printing paper.
Paper remaining amount detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of printing paper stored in the paper cassette;
Paper number calculation means for calculating the number of printing papers required for printing;
The remaining amount of printing paper detected by the remaining paper amount detecting means is compared with the result calculated by the paper number calculating means, and the paper feeding by the paper cassette is controlled according to the comparison result, or appropriate A paper feed control means for releasing a proper paper feed cassette and instructing replenishment of print paper to the paper feed cassette;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The paper feed control means
When it is detected by the paper remaining amount detection means that there is no paper remaining in a certain paper cassette, it is necessary to detect that there is appropriate printing paper in another paper cassette and continue printing. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein printing is continued by controlling paper feeding from a corresponding paper feeding cassette when there is a paper. The paper feed control means
While printing is being performed by feeding from the certain paper cassette, print paper of the same size is stored in another paper cassette, and the paper remaining cassette is detected by the paper remaining amount detecting means. When the shortage of the total remaining amount of paper is confirmed by the comparison result between the total remaining amount of paper and the required number of prints calculated by the paper number calculating means,
In addition to controlling paper feeding from the appropriate paper feeding cassette, if there is a remaining amount of paper in the corresponding paper feeding cassette other than that paper feeding cassette, it is necessary to replenish printing paper. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paper cassette is released to instruct replenishment of the printing paper to the paper feed cassette. The paper feed control means
While printing is being performed by feeding from the paper cassette, the other paper cassette does not contain the same size printing paper, or additional printing paper is loaded into the corresponding paper cassette. The result of comparison between the total remaining amount of paper detected by the remaining paper amount detection means and the required number of prints calculated by the paper number calculation means for the paper feed cassette when replenishment cannot be performed If the shortage of total paper is confirmed by
4. The paper feeding cassette that has been measured in advance and that is used infrequently is released, and an instruction for replenishing the shortage of printing paper to the paper feeding cassette is given. Image forming apparatus.

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