JP2006240237A - Image recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prepare a printed matter of contents without the necessity to prepare a bulk of inventory and making those who ask for contents wait before the printed matter is provided. <P>SOLUTION: A image recording apparatus 1 holds the contents which should be printed output beforehand in an image data holding means 144 such as HDD or the like and the printed matter p of the contents is discharged beforehand on a tray 51. The tray 51 is provided with an actuator 145 which detects the residual quantity of the print matter p. In a control part 142, when the printed matter p in the tray 51 is taken out and the actuator 145 operates, the contents data are taken out from the contents data holding means 144 and are printed on a recording material, and the tray 51 is supplemented with the printed matter p. Since the contents data are conserved as the printing execution data in the contents data holding means 144, the print matter p can be immediately filled up for the inside of the tray 51. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus, and more specifically, to record an image on a recording material or the like using image data of content prepared in advance, and to provide the obtained printed matter as a service to a person Relates to the device.

Content providing services that provide various types of content information as printed materials are being implemented in various situations.
For example, when a general person wants to obtain specific content information, there are many cases in which printed content information is desired. For example, there are times when it is desired to obtain printed materials such as newspapers and trading information even if they are paid. In such a case, a person who wants to acquire specific content purchases content printed at a store or the like according to the content. In a store or the like, usually, a considerable amount of printed matter is prepared in consideration of the sales amount of the content, etc., and displayed and sold in the store.

  In addition, from the standpoint of stores and facilities, there is a case in which a printed matter prepared in advance by a store or facility is desired to be distributed free of charge upon customer request as part of customer service. For example, in a business hotel, a map around the hotel, information on nearby restaurants, or TV program information may be printed as content, and the printed matter may be prepared around the hotel counter. As a result, the customer of the hotel can freely take back the printed matter and use it, and the hotel can also improve the service environment for the customer.

  As described above, when contents desired by a general person are prepared as printed matter, a considerable amount of inventory must be prepared in order to display and sell these contents at a store or the like. Even when a printed matter of content is provided to a customer at a facility such as a business hotel, the printed matter is prepared to some extent in view of consumption by the customer.

However, in such a system, the difference between the predicted amount and the actual consumption amount is likely to occur, and when discarding a waste printed matter, it is not friendly to the environment.
In order to cope with such a problem, the idea of print output of content by on-demand printing using a printer is born. By printing out the content desired by the person on demand, it is sufficient to perform the necessary print output by the amount desired by the person, and a reasonable content providing service can be implemented in terms of cost and environment.

As an on-demand print technology, for example, there is a confidential print described in Patent Document 1. In confidential printing, when image data is sent from a PC to a printer for printing, the fact that it is confidential printing and the password for the printing are transferred from the PC to the printer, and then the print data is further transferred to the printer. These are stored in the memory. Then, the user recognizes the password on the display screen of the PC, goes to the printer and inputs the password, so that the printer starts print output. Depending on the memory environment on the printer side, the print data may be held on the PC side, and when a password is input to the printer, the print data may be transferred from the PC to the printer for printing.
JP-A-5-143253

  When the content providing service as described above is executed by on-demand printing, normally, when a user inputs a print instruction to a PC or the like in which content data to be printed is stored, the printer is controlled by the PC. The content is printed out. Here, the processing time of the image forming process is required in which the PC transfers the image data to the printer in response to the print instruction, and the printer develops the image data, converts it into print execution data, and prints it out. . During the processing time of this imaging process, the user must wait in front of the printer, so the user feels stressed or even willing to print content even if it is relatively short There may be situations where it becomes impossible to do so. In this case, it can be said that this is especially true when the number of pages of content is large and printing takes time.

  Such a problem is not solved by performing confidential printing described in Patent Document 1. That is, in confidential printing, when a plurality of users use a printer together, print output can be executed on demand. At this time, each user's personal print can be managed rationally. It is not possible to shorten the time until the above, and it does not solve the problem of the content providing service as described above.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and when providing a printed matter of content, it is not necessary to prepare a large amount of inventory, and the printed matter of content can be saved without waiting for a person who desires the content. An object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus which can be manufactured.

  In order to solve the above problems, the first technical means is an image recording apparatus that records an image on a recording material based on image data. The image recording apparatus takes out a recording material on which a specific image is recorded from the outside. A recording material holding unit that holds the recording material in a form that can be recorded, and a recording material remaining amount detection unit that detects the remaining amount of the recording material held in the recording material holding unit. Based on the detection result by the detection means, when the recording material held in the recording material holding means is less than a predetermined amount, a recording material on which a specific image is recorded is replenished to the recording material holding means. It is characterized by.

  According to a second technical means, in the first technical means, the image recording apparatus identifies a new recording material when the recording material held in the recording material holding means is less than a predetermined amount. By recording this image, the recording material held by the recording material holding means is replenished.

  According to a third technical means, in the first or second technical means, the image recording apparatus includes a recording material accumulating unit that temporarily accumulates the recording material on which the image is formed before the recording material is retained by the recording material retaining unit. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the recording material on which an image is formed is replenished from the recording material accumulating means to the recording material holding means based on the detection result of the recording material remaining amount detecting means.

  According to a fourth technical means, in the third technical means, the image recording apparatus includes a remaining storage amount detection unit that detects a remaining amount of the recording material on which an image to be stored in the recording material storage unit is formed. The apparatus records a specific image on a new recording material when the recording material accumulated in the recording material accumulation device becomes less than a predetermined amount based on the detection result by the accumulated remaining amount detection device. Thus, the recording material on which the specific image is recorded is supplemented to the recording material accumulating means.

  According to a fifth technical means, in the first or second technical means, the image recording apparatus includes a plurality of recording material holding means, and the recording material remaining amount detecting means is provided in each of the plurality of recording material holding means. When replenishing the recording material to the recording material holding unit based on the detection result of the recording material remaining amount detecting unit, the image forming apparatus applies to each of the recording material holding units for each of the recording material holding units. It is characterized in that the recording material on which the same image is formed is replenished.

  A sixth technical means is any one of the first to fifth technical means, wherein the image recording apparatus holds the recording material type and / or the recording material holding means held by the recording material holding means. The amount of the recording material to be changed is changed according to the time condition.

  According to a seventh technical means, in the sixth technical means, the time condition is a time zone of a day and / or a day of the week, and the kind of recorded image on the recording material held by the recording material holding means and / or Alternatively, the amount of the recording material held by the recording material holding means is changed according to a predetermined time zone and / or day of the week.

  According to an eighth technical means, in the fifth technical means, the image recording apparatus further comprises a recording material accumulating means for temporarily accumulating the recording material on which the image is formed before the recording material is retained by the recording material retaining means. A plurality of storage means are provided corresponding to the plurality of recording material holding means, and the image forming apparatus forms an image from the recording material storage means to the recording material holding means based on the detection result of the remaining recording material detection means. The recording material is replenished.

  According to a ninth technical means, in the eighth technical means, the image recording apparatus further comprises a storage remaining amount detecting means for detecting a remaining amount of the recording material on which an image to be stored in the recording material storage means is formed. The image recording apparatus has a plurality corresponding to the storage means, and when the recording material stored in the recording material storage means is less than a predetermined amount based on the detection result by the storage remaining amount detection means, By recording a specific image on a new recording material, the recording material on which the specific image is recorded is supplemented to the recording material accumulating means.

  According to a tenth technical means, in the eighth or ninth technical means, the type of the recording image on the recording material held by the recording material storage means and / or the recording material held by the recording material storage means in the image recording device. The quantity is changed according to the time condition.

  According to an eleventh technical means, in the tenth technical means, the time condition is a time of day and / or a day of the week, and the type and / or type of recording image on the recording material held in the recording material storage means The amount of the recording material held in the recording material accumulating means is changed according to a predetermined time zone and / or day of the week.

  A twelfth technical means is a recording material storage tray for storing the discharged recording material after the recording material holding means performs image recording on the recording material in any one of the first to eleventh technical means. It is characterized by being.

  A thirteenth technical means is the image processing apparatus according to any one of the first to twelfth technical means, wherein the image recording apparatus has image data holding means for holding in advance image data to be recorded on the recording material. An image is recorded on a new recording material using the image data held in the image data holding means and is held in the recording material holding means or the recording material storage means.

  According to the present invention, when providing a printed matter of content, it is possible to produce a printed matter of content without having to prepare a large amount of stock and without waiting for a person who desires the content. A recording apparatus can be provided.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an image recording apparatus applicable to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a main part of the image recording apparatus shown in FIG. The image recording apparatus 1 is configured as a digital multifunction machine having a facsimile function, a scanner function, a printer function, a copy function, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image recording apparatus 1 has a printer 2 as a core, a scanner apparatus 3, an automatic document conveying apparatus 4, a sheet post-processing apparatus 5, a multi-stage sheet feeding unit 6, and a relay conveying unit 8 connected thereto. Has been extended. The scanner device 3 is disposed above the printer 2 and the sheet post-processing device 5 by being supported on the system rack 7 together with the automatic document feeder 4 disposed on the scanner device 3.
In the following, the outline of each device will be described.

(Printer 2)
The printer 2 records and outputs the image data from the externally connected device when an image processing apparatus such as a personal computer is connected, as well as the recording output of the image read by the scanner device 3.
In the printer 2, an electrophotographic process unit 20 centering on a drum-shaped photoconductor 200 is arranged on the substantially central right side of the apparatus main body. As shown in FIG. 2, a charging roller 201 that uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive member 200 and a light image on the uniformly charged photosensitive member 200 are scanned around the photosensitive member 200 to form an electrostatic latent image. An optical scanning unit 22 for writing, a developing unit 202 for developing an electrostatic latent image written by the optical scanning unit 22 with a developer, and a transfer unit for transferring an image stored and reproduced on the photosensitive member 200 onto a sheet. 203, a cleaning unit 204 that enables the developer remaining on the photoconductor 200 to be removed and a new image to be recorded on the photoconductor 200, and a static elimination lamp unit that removes the charge on the surface of the photoconductor 200 ( Etc.) are sequentially arranged.

  The optical scanning unit 22 includes a semiconductor laser light source (not shown), a rotary polygon mirror 220 that reflects laser light from the semiconductor laser light source, and a laser beam reflected by the rotary polygon mirror 220 that scans the photosensitive member 200 at a constant speed. A functioning fθ lens 223 and folding mirrors 224 and 225 are built in. The semiconductor laser light source emits a laser beam in accordance with image data read by a scanner device 3 (to be described later) and stored in an image memory, or image data transferred from an external device such as a personal computer or a facsimile terminal. An electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image data is formed on 200.

  Below the printer 2 main body, a paper supply unit 21 is disposed inside the printer 2 main body. The paper supply unit 21 includes a paper storage tray 210 that stores paper and a separation supply unit 211 that separates and supplies the paper stored in the paper storage tray 210 one by one. The sheets separately supplied one by one from the sheet supply unit 21 are sequentially supplied between the photoconductor 200 and the transfer unit 203 of the electrophotographic process unit 20, and the recorded and reproduced image is transferred onto the photoconductor 200. . The paper supply to the paper supply unit 21 is performed by pulling out the paper storage tray 210 to the front side of the printer 2 main body.

On the lower surface of the printer 2 main body, paper fed from a multi-stage paper feeding unit 6 or the like prepared as a peripheral device is received and sequentially supplied between the photosensitive member 200 and the transfer unit 203 of the electrophotographic process unit 20. A paper receiving opening 27 is provided.
A fixing device 23 is disposed above the electrophotographic process unit 20, and sequentially receives the paper on which the image has been transferred, heats and fixes the developer transferred onto the paper, and loads the paper out of the fixing device 23. Send it out. The sheet on which the image is recorded is transferred from the discharge roller 28 of the printer 2 to the relay conveyance unit 8 on the upper surface of the printer 2 body.

  The upper and lower spaces of the optical scanning unit 22 include a process control unit (PCU) substrate that controls the electrophotographic process, a printer control unit 24 that accommodates an interface substrate that receives image data from outside the apparatus, and an image received from the interface substrate. An image control unit 25 having an image control unit (ICU) substrate for performing predetermined image processing on the data and causing the optical scanning unit 22 to scan and record as an image, and power to these various substrates and units A power supply unit 26 for supplying power is disposed.

(Multi-stage paper feed unit 6)
The multi-stage paper feeding unit 6 is an external paper feeding device, and separates the paper stored in the paper storage tray 610 one by one by the separating and feeding means 611 and is provided on the upper surface of the unit. The paper is supplied toward a paper discharge port 62 communicating with the paper receiving port 27. In this example, the sheet supply unit 61 is stacked in three stages. During operation, the paper supply unit 61 that stores a desired paper is selectively operated.
The paper supply to the paper supply unit 61 is performed by pulling out the paper storage tray 610 to the front side of the unit main body.

Further, the multi-stage paper feeding unit 6 is configured to place the printer 2 and the post-processing device 5 on the upper part thereof. However, the multi-stage paper feeding unit 6 can be moved and fixed between the system racks 7 in this state. The moving roller 63 and the fixed part 64 are provided at the lower part. At the time of movement, the fixing portion 64 is rotated and raised to separate the fixing portion 64 from the floor surface, and at the time of fixing, the fixing portion 64 is rotated and lowered to bring the fixing portion 64 into contact with the floor surface, so The paper feed unit 6 is fixed.
In this description, the apparatus is described as a device in which three paper supply units 61 are stacked. However, there are various types such as a multi-stage paper feeding unit including at least one paper supply unit 61 or more.

(Sheet post-processing apparatus 5)
The sheet post-processing device 5 performs post-processing on the paper by guiding the paper on which the image discharged from the relay conveyance unit 8 and the printer 2 is recorded at the upper portion of the device with a carry-in roller.
As post-processing, there are stapling processing, sorting processing, and the like. The apparatus illustrated here has a configuration including three discharge trays 51, and discharges paper by gates 52 and 53 as necessary. For example, the upper discharge tray 51a is used for discharging paper in the copy mode, the middle discharge tray 51b is used for discharging paper in the print mode, and the lower tray 51a is used for discharging the paper in the print mode. For example, the discharge tray 51c can be used for discharging paper in the facsimile printing mode, and can be discharged according to usage.

(Scanner device 3)
The scanner 3 automatically supplies a sheet document by the automatic document transport device 4 and sequentially exposes and scans one by one to read a document image, and a book document or the automatic document transport device 4. Therefore, a manual reading mode for reading a document image by manually setting a sheet document that cannot be automatically supplied is provided. Then, the image of the document set on the transparent document placing table 30 is exposed and scanned by the first scanning unit 31 and the second scanning unit 32 that move along the document placing table 30 with a predetermined speed relationship with each other. The original image is converted into an electrical signal and output by being guided by an optical component such as a mirror or an imaging lens 33 and forming an image on the photoelectric conversion element 34. Details of the scanner device 3 will be described later.

(Automatic document feeder 4)
The automatic document conveying device 4 includes a document conveying means 41 that conveys a document placed on the document setting tray 40 toward the document placing table 30 and discharges the scanned document onto a document discharge tray 42. Yes. In addition, the front side of the apparatus is opened so that a sheet document that cannot be automatically supplied can be placed on the document placement table 30 and scanned so that it can be scanned. It is configured.

(Relay transport unit 8)
The relay conveyance unit 8 is mounted on an upper portion of a paper discharge tray 29 provided at the top of the printer 2, and a sheet post-processing device 5 positioned on the downstream side of the printer 2 is used for recording a sheet on which an image discharged from the printer 2 is recorded. It is the conveyance unit for introducing toward.
Further, in the middle of the sheet conveyance path 84 of the relay conveyance unit 8, another sheet conveyance path 83 for guiding the sheet to the discharge tray 9 formed by the upper surface 82 of the unit and the upper surface 54 of the sheet post-processing device 5. However, it is branched. The two discharge destinations can be changed by switching the gate 81 arranged at the branch portion of the transport path.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of a system configuration including the image recording apparatus according to the present invention and its connected devices. The image recording apparatus 1 in FIG. 3 shows the image recording apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 by functional blocks.

  The image recording apparatus 1 normally allows an image control unit (ICU) 101 that reads an original image as a control unit required for image processing, and allows various operation inputs to the image recording apparatus 1 and displays various types of information. An operator control unit (OCU) 102 and a process control unit (PCU) 103 for printing image data read by the ICU 101 and image data input via a network or a telephone line network to form an image. . These control units are configured such that components for realizing the respective functions are unitized in consideration of the maintenance characteristics, and are detachable from the image recording apparatus main body.

  The image recording apparatus 1 includes a control unit 104 that performs calculation and controls each unit of the apparatus. The control unit 104 is connected to a memory 107 such as a RAM that stores temporary information accompanying the calculation or a ROM that stores a control program for controlling the image recording apparatus 1.

  The ICU 101 is connected to the control unit 104, and the ICU 101 functions as an image reading unit that reads an image recorded on a recording sheet and generates image data. Normally, the ICU 101 is provided with a CCD for capturing a document image as image data and a document detection sensor (none of which is shown) for detecting the presence or absence of a document.

  The process unit (PCU) 103 is connected to the control unit 104, and the PCU 103 functions as an image forming unit that forms image data on a recording sheet. The PCU 103 is provided with a memory that temporarily stores image data and a printing unit (LSU) (none of which is shown) that forms an image from the image data stored in the memory and records the image on recording paper. The image recording apparatus 1 can form an image with the printing unit after temporarily storing the image data generated by the ICU 101 in the memory of the PCU 103. In this way, the image recording apparatus 1 functions as a copying machine.

  In FIG. 3, a FAX modem 105 that performs facsimile communication is connected to the control unit 104, and the FAX modem 105 is connected to the public line network N2. The image recording apparatus 1 can transmit the image data generated by the ICU 101 to another facsimile apparatus 120 via facsimile communication via the public line network N2 connected to the FAX modem 105. Further, the image recording apparatus 1 can receive the image data transmitted from the facsimile apparatus 120 via the public network N2 by the FAX modem 105 and form an image by the PCU 103 from the received image data. In this way, the image recording apparatus 1 functions as a facsimile machine.

  The control unit 104 is connected to a communication unit (transmission / reception means) 106 for the image recording apparatus 1 to transmit / receive information to / from the outside. The communication unit 106 can be connected to a communication network N1 such as an in-house LAN, and one or a plurality of personal computers (PCs) 121 can be connected to the communication network N1. In a normal state in which the image recording apparatus 1 is operating alone, the communication unit 106 is connected to the communication network N1 and exchanges information with each PC 121 via the communication network N1. For example, the communication network N1 can extend not only to the inside of the room 130 in which the image recording apparatus 1 is installed, but also to the outside thereof. Here, for example, a business PC provided at the front of a hotel or a customer operation PC installed in each room of the hotel can be assumed to be connected to the communication network N1.

  The image recording apparatus 1 can transmit the image data generated by the ICU 101 from the communication unit 106 to the PC 121. In this way, the image recording apparatus 1 functions as a scanner apparatus. The image recording apparatus 1 can receive the image data transmitted from the PC 121 by the communication unit 106 and form an image by the PCU 103 from the received image data. In this way, the image recording apparatus 1 functions as a printer apparatus.

  The network N1 can be further connected to a wide area communication network (not shown) such as the Internet. The communication unit 106 can receive image data with an Internet facsimile machine or an external PC connected to the wide area communication network by a method such as sending image data attached to an e-mail. In this way, the image recording apparatus 1 functions as an Internet facsimile machine.

  The control unit 101 is connected to the OCU 102 that receives an operation from the user. The OCU 102 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal panel for displaying information necessary for the operation, and an input unit (not shown) such as a touch panel or a numeric keypad for inputting information such as a control command by a user operation. Have. Further, a hard disk (HD) 108 is connected to the control unit 101. The hard disk 108 stores image data related to image processing such as image data generated by the ICU 101.

  Further, the image recording apparatus 1 can be connected to a billing apparatus (coin vendor machine) 110 for collecting a fee for a print providing service executed by the image recording apparatus 1. The billing apparatus 110 includes a CPU 111 that controls each part of the apparatus, a display unit 112 that displays various information such as a billing message, an operation panel 113 that includes a refund button for refunding inserted coins and bills, and the like. A memory 114 for arithmetic processing, a ROM 115 for recording a control program of the apparatus, and a money insertion slot 116 for inserting coins and bills are provided. The money insertion slot 116 may be configured to include a card reader for reading the inserted card information, or may be capable of performing both money insertion and card settlement.

  The billing device 110 is connected when a service for providing paid content is performed using the image recording device 1 described above, and money is inserted into the billing device 110 or the billing amount is settled by a card. As a result, the payment information is transferred to the control unit 104 of the image recording apparatus 1, and the image recording apparatus 1 can provide a printed matter of the content to the user based on the payment information. A specific configuration example for providing these contents will be described later.

  Further, as a form of billing, not only the billing device 110 by the above-mentioned money input or card settlement, but also settlement by holding a mobile phone storing electronic money information, biometrics authentication such as fingerprint, barcode authentication, etc. Various known charging techniques can be applied, such as performing an account settlement by specifying an individual.

  In the embodiment of the image recording apparatus according to the present invention, content data to be provided to a person is prepared in advance in the image recording apparatus, and the content data is held in the state of print execution data. The content data is content to be provided by a content providing service using the image recording apparatus.

A recording material remaining amount detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of the printed matter is provided in a tray for discharging the printed matter of the content printed in the image recording apparatus.
The recording material remaining amount detecting means can be realized by a remaining amount detecting sensor for detecting the remaining amount of printed matter in the tray. As this remaining amount detection sensor, an infrared sensor or an actuator that is displaced according to the amount of printed matter can be applied. Further, the present invention is not limited to this, and means capable of detecting the remaining amount of printed matter can be applied as appropriate.

  In this case, only the presence / absence of the printed matter in the tray may be detected by the remaining amount sensor, and it is possible to detect that the printed matter has decreased from a predetermined height position of the stacked printed matter. May be. In the case of height detection, the detection position in the height direction can be appropriately set according to the number of prints per content.

In order to implement the content providing service, the image recording apparatus is installed in a place where people can freely access it. For example, it can be installed in a place where services can be provided, such as the above-mentioned hotel lobby, convenience store, movie theater or theater lobby, or station platform.
Here, the image recording apparatus prints out a predetermined number (a predetermined number of copies) of printed matter data prepared in advance in a tray. The printed matter of the content prepared in the tray can be picked up and acquired by a person. The content can be confirmed by a person who wants to obtain the content using the image recording apparatus, and the person who wants the content appropriately obtains a printed matter of the content from the tray of the image recording apparatus.

  The number of output contents (number of copies) in the tray depends on the conditions such as the content and purpose of the content provided by the content providing service, the installation location of the image recording device, the frequency of consumption of printed materials, whether it is paid content or free content Can be determined. For example, when the image recording apparatus is installed in the hotel lobby as described above, the printed matter whose content is surrounding map information or TV program information is several to tens of copies in view of the experiential consumption. Output in the tray in units of. In addition, for example, for paid contents such as newspapers, printouts are partially printed on a tray so that printed matter exceeding the collected amount cannot be taken out. Further, the output amount of the tray of the printed matter and the content data may be changed as appropriate according to the time of day or the day of the week. The content optimization based on these time zones and days of the week will be specifically described later.

  In the content providing service, the printed matter of the content may be paid or free as described above, and in the case of free, it is permitted to take out the printed matter from the tray of the image recording device. Can attach a billing device as described above and collect the price of the content using the billing device. In this case, a device such as a protective cover for a printed material that is linked to the collection of the value from the charging device may be attached in order to prevent free extraction of paid content. The protective cover can be made of a transparent material so that the contents of the printed matter can be confirmed from the outside. When the billing amount is collected from the billing device, the protection of the printed matter by the protective cover is canceled or automatically When the protective cover is opened and closed, the printed matter is permitted to be taken out. Alternatively, an index indicating the contents of the printed matter and a thumbnail of the content image are displayed on the display unit of the image recording apparatus so that the content can be selected from the display screen. The protection may be canceled or the protective cover may be automatically opened and closed.

  In the above-described form, when the printed matter on the tray is taken out, the remaining amount detection sensor installed on the tray detects the remaining amount of the printed matter in the tray. The threshold for detecting the remaining amount is determined according to the content content, amount, consumption frequency, etc. as described above. However, in the case of paid content, the printed matter is output to the tray one by one. It is preferable to set so that it is detected that the remaining amount is exhausted when is taken out.

  When the remaining amount detection sensor detects that the printed matter in the tray is less than the predetermined value, the image recording apparatus immediately prints the content data held in the tray and stores the content in the tray. Refill the print. At this time, as described above, the image recording apparatus holds the content data in the state of the print execution data obtained by developing the print data, and immediately outputs the content data according to the detection result of the remaining amount detection sensor. can do.

  According to the above configuration, since the printed matter of the content data is prepared in the tray of the image recording apparatus, the user can acquire the printed matter from the tray at any time. When the printed matter held in the tray runs out, or when it is less than the predetermined amount, the image recording apparatus immediately prints out the content data. It is possible to immediately print out a printed matter without requiring processing time for generating print execution data by performing conversion processing such as rasterizing by transferring the image data, and providing high convenience to the user. . In addition, the service provider does not need to prepare excessively printed materials, and can appropriately output the content data appropriately according to the amount of consumption.

A configuration example of an image recording apparatus capable of providing the content providing service as described above will be described below. The following image recording apparatuses basically have the functions shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, and can provide a content providing service using the printed matter by holding the content data and printing it out on a tray. it can.
Each of the following configuration examples is a modification regarding the number of trays that output printed matter of content and the presence or absence of a buffer (recording material storage unit) that temporarily stores the printed matter in the previous stage of the tray. 1 shows an embodiment of the image recording apparatus.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention. The image recording apparatus 1 includes image data holding means 144 for holding content image data in advance. The image data holding unit 144 is realized by, for example, the HDD 108 shown in FIG. Then, content data is input to the image recording apparatus 1 from the connected PC 121, and the content data is held in the image data holding unit 144. The content data held in the image data holding unit 144 is the print execution data obtained by developing the print data input from the PC 121 as described above.

  The content data is input from the PC 121 or the like connected to the outside as described above. In addition to this, the image data read by the ICU 101 (FIG. 3) included in the image recording apparatus or the communication data is connected. Image data input from a facsimile machine, image data acquired from a server via a network such as the Internet, data acquired from a recording medium such as a memory card, etc. are appropriately held in the image data holding means 144 as content data. Also good.

  The operation unit 141 receives various operation inputs from the user and corresponds to the OCU 102 in FIG. Here, a display unit that displays various types of information is provided on the operation unit 141. The control unit 142 corresponds to the control unit 104 in FIG. 4 and controls each unit of the image recording apparatus. The control unit 142 controls the print engine 143 according to the print instruction input to the operation unit 141, and the print engine 143 reads the content data from the image data holding unit 144 and prints it on a recording material such as paper. Output. The print engine 143 corresponds to the PCU 103 in FIG.

  The printed matter (printed recording material) p of content data printed out by the print engine 143 is discharged and held in a tray (discharge tray) 51 provided in the image recording apparatus. At this time, the amount of the printed matter p of the content data to be held in the tray 51 is the content content and purpose, the installation location of the image recording device, the consumption frequency of the printed matter, whether it is paid content or free content, as described above. It is determined in advance according to the conditions.

For example, an actuator 145 for detecting the remaining amount as described above is disposed as a recording material remaining amount detection sensor in a portion where the printed matter p in the tray 51 is stacked. In this case, when the printed matter p is taken out from the tray 51, the actuator is displaced and transmits the signal to the control unit 142, and the control unit 142 determines that the printed matter p in the tray 51 is exhausted. be able to.
As described above, the recording material remaining amount detection sensor determines the stacking height of the printed material p using an infrared sensor or the like, and can determine that the printed material p has decreased from a predetermined amount by the control unit 142. You may do it. In this case, the control unit 142 calculates the thickness of the printed material p per part from the number of pages of content data to be printed by the print engine 143, and determines the number of copies of the printed material p remaining in the tray 51. be able to.

  As described above, a predetermined amount of content data printed matter p is held in the tray 51 of the image recording apparatus 1 and can be taken out by the user. When the user takes out the printed matter p of the content data from the tray 51, the remaining amount detection actuator 145 operates. At this time, when the control unit 142 determines that the printed matter p in the tray 51 is less than a predetermined amount based on the detection signal of the actuator 145, the control unit 142 controls the print engine 143 to print the print engine. The content data is read out from the image data holding unit 144 by 143, printed on a recording material such as paper, and output, the printed matter p is replenished to the tray 51, and the printed matter p in the tray 51 has a predetermined amount. To be.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the image recording apparatus according to the present invention. The image recording apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 5 has a configuration provided with a plurality (four in this case) of trays for holding printed matter data in the configuration shown in FIG. Each of the trays 51a to 51d can hold printed materials p having different contents. That is, the image data holding unit 144 can hold the type of content data corresponding to the number of trays. And the control part 142 distributes the printed matter p of each content data to each tray 51a-51d, and makes it output. The distribution of the printed matter p to each of the trays 51a to 51d is executed by the control unit 142 controlling the transport mechanism 146.

  Each tray 51a to 51d is provided with an actuator 145 for detecting the remaining amount. When the printed matter p is taken out from the trays 51a to 51d and any one of the actuators 145 is operated to replenish the printed matter p in the tray, the control unit 142 controls the print engine 143. Then, the image data of the content corresponding to the tray is read from the image data holding unit 144 and printed out, and the printed matter p is replenished to the corresponding tray.

  FIG. 6 is a view showing still another embodiment of the image recording apparatus according to the present invention. The image recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment temporarily accumulates the printed matter p at a stage before discharging the printed matter p to the trays 51a to 51d when the printed matter is replenished to the trays 51a to 51d. A buffer device 150 is provided. This buffer device 150 corresponds to the recording material storage means of the present invention for temporarily holding a printed material as a recording material.

  The buffer device 150 has buffer trays 152a to 152d for holding printed matter p for replenishing the trays 51a to 51d according to the number of trays 51a to 51d, and prints printed by the print engine 143. A conveyance mechanism 153 that distributes and conveys the articles p to the buffer trays 152a to 152d and a control unit 151 that controls each part of the buffer device 150 are provided. The buffer trays 152a to 152d are provided with a buffer tray actuator 154 for detecting the remaining amount of the printed matter p in the trays. Similarly to the actuator 145 provided in the tray 51 (51a to 51d), the buffer tray actuator 154 detects the height of the printed material in the stacking direction using an infrared sensor or the like, and determines whether or not replenishment is necessary. You may comprise. The buffer trays 152a to 152d correspond to the recording material storage unit of the present invention, and the buffer tray actuator 154 corresponds to the storage remaining amount detection unit of the present invention.

  In the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5 described above, the printed matter p needs to be replenished to the tray when the printed matter p in the tray 51 (51a to 51d) runs out, or when it is less than a predetermined amount. At this point, the print engine 143 reads the image data of the content from the image data holding unit 144 and prints it on a recording material to create a printed matter p. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, a predetermined amount of printed matter p is always held on the buffer trays 152a to 152d provided in the buffer device 150, and the remaining amount detection actuator provided on the trays 51a to 51d. When it is necessary to replenish the printed matter p in any of the trays 51a to 51d by operating the 145, the printed matter p is configured to be replenished from the buffer trays 152a to 152d of the buffer device 150.

  When the control unit 142 determines that the printed matter p in the buffer trays 152a to 152d is less than a predetermined amount based on the detection signal of the buffer tray actuator 154 provided on the buffer tray, the control unit 142 143 controls the print engine 143 to cause the print engine 143 to read out the corresponding content data from the image data holding means 144, print it on a recording material such as paper, and output it, and print the printed matter p to the corresponding buffer. The trays 152a to 152d are replenished so that the printed matter p in the buffer trays 152a to 152d becomes a predetermined amount.

The amount of printed matter to be held in the buffer trays 152a to 152d of the buffer device 150 depends on conditions such as the content content and purpose, the installation location of the image recording device and the consumption frequency of the printed matter, whether it is paid content or free content, etc. To decide in advance.
As in the present embodiment, it is necessary to replenish the printed matter p on the trays 51a to 51d by providing a buffer device 150 and holding a predetermined amount of printed matter p on the buffer trays 152a to 152d. Even if it occurs, the printed matter p can be replenished immediately from the buffer trays 152a to 152d, and the printed matter p on the trays 51a to 51d can be more quickly applied than the configuration of the embodiment shown in FIGS. Replenishment can be executed and convenience for the user can be improved.
6 shows the buffer device 150 corresponding to the plurality of trays 51a to 51d. However, when the number of the trays 51 is one as shown in FIG. 4, the buffer tray corresponds to that. It is clear that it will be one.

  The buffer device 150 can also be configured to serve as the sheet post-processing device described above. As described above, the sheet post-processing apparatus guides the paper on which the image discharged from the relay conveyance unit 8 shown in FIG. 1 is recorded by the carry-in roller, and performs post-processing such as stapling and sorting on the paper. Is to be applied. The post-processed printed matter p is appropriately distributed and conveyed to the corresponding buffer trays 152a to 152d by operating the gate of the conveyance mechanism 153.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a procedure for replenishing a printed material to the tray, and shows a replenishing process of the printed material in a configuration that does not include the buffer device as shown in FIGS.
Here, it is first determined whether or not the amount of recorded matter (printed matter) held in the tray has reached a predetermined amount (step S1). This determination is performed by the control unit of the image recording apparatus using the remaining amount detection sensor provided on the tray. If the recorded matter in the tray has reached the predetermined amount, the process is terminated. If the predetermined amount has not been reached, the recording material and toner preparation status, the print process setting conditions, and the like are further confirmed. Whether print recording is possible is determined (step S2).

  If recording is impossible in step S2, the fact is displayed on the display unit of the image recording apparatus. In this case, according to the cause, the owner or the administrator of the image recording apparatus performs maintenance so that the print recording can be performed.

If recording is possible in step S2, the job for replenishing the tray with the printed material is started. If there are a plurality of trays, the job set corresponding to the tray to be refilled is started (step S3). When the job is executed, the print engine reads the corresponding image data from the image data storage means, prints it on a recording material, and replenishes the corresponding tray with the obtained printed matter (recorded matter).
Then, it is determined whether or not the capacity (holding amount) of the printed matter has reached a predetermined level in the replenished tray (step S4), and if it reaches the predetermined level, the process is terminated.

  If the image recording apparatus has the buffer device 150 as shown in FIG. 6, the remaining amount of the printed matter on the buffer tray of the buffer device is determined in step S1 of the above flowchart, and the remaining amount is determined as follows. When the value is smaller than the predetermined value, the image data corresponding to the buffer tray is printed out, and the printed matter is replenished to the buffer tray. In this case, the replenishment of the printed material from the buffer tray to the final tray may be performed by detecting the remaining amount of the printed material in the final tray and simply sending the printed material from the buffer tray according to the detection result. There is no need to perform print processing according to the print job.

  In the above example, the job for executing the printing process is held by a table determined for each tray as shown in FIG. The control unit of the image recording apparatus prints out the content data corresponding to each tray by executing the job set corresponding to each tray according to the detection result of the remaining amount of printed matter in each tray, Prints can be refilled into the tray.

Furthermore, in the image recording apparatus according to the present invention, in each of the above-described embodiments, the content of the printed matter to be held on the tray and the amount of the content prepared according to time conditions such as the time of day and the day of the week. Can be configured to change.
For example, in a place where an image recording apparatus is installed, there are times when the flow of people is dense or rough during the day. For example, in a station platform, the flow of people is dense during morning and evening commuting hours, and the amount of content such as newspapers taken out is considered to be large compared to other times. Or when installing an image recording device at the front desk of a business hotel, the consumption of content may increase during the evening hours when many overnight guests check in or during the morning hours when check-outs are performed. It is done.

  In order to flexibly cope with such a change in the consumption amount of content according to the time zone, the amount of the printed matter held on the discharge tray of the printed matter of the image recording apparatus can be changed according to the time zone. In other words, during a time period when the amount of printed material consumption is expected to increase, a large amount of printed material is prepared in the tray, so that it is possible to cope with a situation where many people want printed materials. . Such a correspondence between the time zone and the preparation amount of the printed material may be obtained by holding a dedicated table and changing the preparation amount of the printed material for each time zone according to the table.

  In the case of the configuration including the buffer device as shown in FIG. 6, the holding amount of the printed matter held on the buffer tray of the buffer device is changed according to the time zone of the day. In this case, the amount of the printed matter held in the final tray is not the final tray from which the person takes out the printed matter, but the amount of the printed matter in the preceding buffer tray is changed according to the time zone. Can always be constant. Keeping the final tray holding amount constant can prevent one person from taking away an unnecessarily large number of printed materials at a time, and is particularly effective when providing paid content, for example.

  Also, the content held in the tray may be changed according to the time of day. For example, at a station platform, morning newspapers are prepared as content in the morning hours, and evening newspapers are prepared as content in the evening hours to prepare content optimized for people's needs. can do. In this case as well, a dedicated table that defines the relationship between the time zone and the content details is held, and the content details can be changed for each time zone according to the table. In this case, it is necessary to hold in advance all the contents that can be changed.

  In addition, when a plurality of trays are provided and different contents are held as printed matter for each tray, the uppermost content is most easily noticed by humans and is attracted by people. Therefore, in many cases, it is preferable to arrange the content that the service provider wants to provide most in the uppermost tray. Even in such a case, the positions of the contents of the plurality of trays may be changed for each time zone. For example, morning paper content may be arranged in the morning on the uppermost tray, evening paper may be arranged in the evening, and the morning paper may be changed to the lower tray in the evening. In such a case as well, a dedicated table that defines the relationship between the content placed on the tray and the time zone may be provided.

  The change of the tray position according to the time zone as described above can be similarly applied to the configuration including the buffer device. That is, the same effect as described above can be obtained by changing the contents of the printed matter to be output to the buffer tray provided for a plurality of trays for each time zone.

  In addition, the above-described change of the contents of the printed matter, change of the prepared quantity of the printed matter, change of the position of the output tray, and the like are not limited to the configuration that is set according to the time period of the day. You may make it set according to the day of the week. For example, depending on where the image recording apparatus is installed, the flow of people changes between weekends and weekdays, and the age group of people also changes. By determining the optimum content and the preparation quantity corresponding to these, the content providing service can be executed flexibly and effectively.

  In addition, when the frequency of printing content is predicted and the amount of preparation is changed as in each of the above examples, the power saving mode condition of the image recording apparatus is set to change according to the frequency of printing, etc. Also good. The image recording apparatus has a normal power saving mode, and when printing is not performed for a predetermined time, the image recording apparatus shifts to a power saving state and shifts the setting conditions of each process to the power saving side. At this time, for example, in a time zone where the consumption of printed matter is low, the degree of power saving is increased or the timing for shifting to the power saving mode is advanced compared to other time zones where the consumption is large. Set up. Thus, the image recording apparatus can be operated more rationally by controlling the power saving state in accordance with the flow of people.

  Information that serves as an index of human flow as described above is input to the image recording apparatus by the owner or administrator of the image recording apparatus, so that the image recording apparatus retains the information serving as the index, and the time zone Set the content and preparation amount according to the day of the week. That is, the information of various tables set according to the time zone and the day of the week can be input by the owner or administrator of the image recording apparatus and set in the image recording apparatus.

  Information in such a table may be updated at any time by a learning function. In other words, the type of content to be printed and its print amount are totaled according to the time zone, day of the week, etc., and the settings such as content type, amount, tray position etc. set in the table according to the total result are changed as needed You may set to do. For example, when the preparation amount of the printed matter of the content set according to the time zone tends to be insufficient, the control unit of the image recording apparatus changes the setting value of the table so as to compensate for the insufficient amount, and the preparation amount To be enough. Alternatively, depending on the time zone, if more content in the lower level is taken out than the content set in the uppermost level tray, the setting of the content tray in that time zone can be changed to be optimized. By optimizing the content by such a learning function, it is possible to provide a more rational service.

  Further, when implementing the content providing service according to each of the above embodiments, in order to promote the content provided by the image recording apparatus, for example, the content digest is made to the mobile terminal (such as a mobile phone) of the registered user of the service. Or the beginning part may be sent by e-mail. A person who wants the content after confirming the e-mail can get a printed matter of the content by visiting the place where the image recording apparatus is installed. At this time, if the target content is paid content, the target content can be taken out by holding the mobile phone over a predetermined location of the image recording apparatus using the mobile phone that received the email. By making electronic money information and authentication information for account settlement read from the mobile phone to the image recording apparatus so that the billing amount can be settled, the convenience for the user can be further improved.

In addition, the above-described image recording apparatus can be used in combination with a conventional business-use image recording apparatus in conjunction with the implementation of the content providing service.
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a business PC and a plurality of other customer-use PCs are connected to the image recording apparatus 1 via the communication network N1. Here, the business PC is used for business management of a hotel or a store, for example. In this case, when printing out various business data using the function of the image recording device, if it is confused with the content prepared for the content providing service, the business printed material and the printed materials of other customers will be listed. If the three parties take it away, or if a third party peeks at the printed contents, problems will occur in terms of service management and business information management.

  When such a content providing service and other business are used together, it is preferable to distinguish a plurality of set trays into a content providing service dedicated tray and another business tray. That is, when printing out from the image recording apparatus for other business purposes, the printed matter is always output to a predetermined (for example, lowermost) tray.

In addition, when a plurality of users including business users as described above use the image recording apparatus, processing called confidential printing or hold printing can be applied.
In confidential printing and hold printing, when image data to be printed is input to the image recording apparatus, the image recording apparatus temporarily stores the image data in a buffer without printing it out, and the user stores something in the image recording apparatus. When a predetermined operation is performed, only print data corresponding to the operation is printed out.

  For example, in the above confidential printing, when image data is sent from the PC to the image recording apparatus and printing is performed, the fact that the printing is confidential printing and the password of the printing are transferred from the PC to the image recording apparatus, and then the printing is further performed. Data is transferred to the image recording apparatus and stored in the memory of the image recording apparatus. Then, the user recognizes the password on the display screen of the PC, goes to the image recording apparatus and inputs the password, and the image recording apparatus starts print output. Depending on the memory environment on the image recording apparatus side, the print data may be stored on the PC side, and when a password is input to the image recording apparatus, the print data is transferred from the PC to the image recording apparatus and printed out. It may be.

  In the hold printing described above, the image recording apparatus stores the input image data in the memory without immediately printing it out, and displays the index of the stored image data on the display panel. Then, when the user selects specific image data from the display index, the selected image data is printed out. In hold printing, image data is sorted without using a password as in confidential printing.

  By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to reasonably and safely execute normal business use or use of the image recording function by a plurality of other users together with the implementation of the content providing service as described above.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the image recording apparatus applicable to this invention. It is a block diagram of the principal part of the image recording apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the system configuration example containing the image recording device concerning this invention, and its connection apparatus. It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of the image recording apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows other embodiment of the image recording device by this invention. It is a figure which shows other embodiment of the image recording device by this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating an example of the replenishment process procedure of the printed matter to a tray. It is a figure which shows an example of the table for performing the printing process according to a tray.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image recording apparatus, 2 ... Printer, 3 ... Scanner apparatus, 4 ... Automatic document conveying apparatus, 5 ... Sheet post-processing apparatus, 6 ... Multi-stage paper feeding unit, 7 ... System rack, 8 ... Relay conveyance unit, 9 ... Ejection Tray, 20 ... Electrophotographic process unit, 21 ... Paper supply unit, 22 ... Optical scanning unit, 23 ... Fixing device, 24 ... Printer control unit, 25 ... Image control unit, 26 ... Power supply unit, 27 ... Paper receiving port, 28 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Discharge roller, 29 ... Paper discharge tray, 30 ... Document placing table, 31 ... 1st scanning unit, 32 ... 2nd scanning unit, 33 ... Imaging lens, 34 ... Photoelectric conversion element, 40 ... Document setting tray, 41 ... Document conveying means, 42 ... Document discharge tray, 51 ... Discharge tray, 51a, 51b, 51c ... Discharge tray, 52, 53 ... Gate, 54 ... Top surface, 61 ... Paper supply unit, 62 ... Paper discharge port, 63 ... Moving rollers, 64 ... fixed part, 81 ... gate, 82 ... upper surface, 83 ... paper conveying path, 84 ... paper conveying path, 101 ... ICU, 102 ... OCU, 103 ... PCU, 104 ... control unit, 105 ... FAX modem, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 106 ... Communication part, 107 ... Memory, 108 ... Hard disk, 110 ... Billing device, 111 ... CPU, 112 ... Display part, 113 ... Operation panel, 114 ... Memory, 115 ... ROM, 116 ... Money slot, 120 ... Facsimile device 121 ... PC, 130 ... room, 141 ... operation unit, 142 ... control unit, 143 ... print engine, 144 ... image data holding means, 145 ... actuator, 146 ... conveying mechanism, 150 ... buffer device, 151 ... control unit, 152a ... Buffer tray, 153 ... Conveying mechanism, 154 ... Buffer tray actuator, 200 ... Light body 201 ... Charging roller 202 ... Developing unit 203 ... Transfer unit 204 ... Cleaning unit 210 ... Paper storage tray 211 ... Separating and supplying means 220 ... Rotating polygon mirror 223 ... f [theta] lens 224,225 ... Mirror, 610 ... Paper storage tray, 611 ... Separation feeding means.

Claims (13)

  In an image recording apparatus that records an image on a recording material based on image data, the image recording apparatus includes a recording material holding unit that holds a recording material on which a specific image is recorded in a form that can be taken out from the outside, and Recording material remaining amount detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of recording material held in the recording material holding means, and the image recording apparatus performs the recording based on a detection result by the recording material remaining amount detecting means. An image recording apparatus, wherein the recording material holding means is replenished with the recording material on which the specific image is recorded when the recording material held by the material holding means is less than a predetermined amount.   2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the recording material held by the recording material holding means is less than a predetermined amount, the specific recording medium is specified for a new recording material. An image recording apparatus characterized by replenishing the recording material to be held by the recording material holding means by recording the image.   3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image recording apparatus includes a recording material storage unit that temporarily stores a recording material on which an image is formed before the recording material is held by the recording material holding unit. The image forming apparatus replenishes a recording material on which an image is formed from the recording material accumulating unit to the recording material holding unit based on a detection result of the recording material remaining amount detecting unit.   4. The image recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image recording apparatus includes a remaining storage amount detection unit that detects a remaining amount of a recording material on which an image to be stored in the recording material storage unit is formed. When the recording material accumulated in the recording material accumulating means becomes less than a predetermined amount based on the detection result by the accumulated remaining amount detecting means, the apparatus determines the specific recording for a new recording material. An image recording apparatus, wherein an image is recorded to supplement the recording material storage means with a recording material on which the specific image is recorded.   The image recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the image recording apparatus includes a plurality of the recording material holding means, and the recording material remaining amount detecting means is provided in each of the plurality of recording material holding means, When the image forming apparatus replenishes the recording material holding unit with the recording material holding unit based on the detection result of the recording material remaining amount detection unit, the image forming apparatus records the recording material on each of the plurality of recording material holding units. An image recording apparatus, wherein a recording material on which the same image is formed is replenished for each material holding means.   6. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image recording apparatus holds the type of recorded image on the recording material held by the recording material holding unit and / or the recording material holding unit. An image recording apparatus, wherein the amount of recording material is changed according to a time condition.   7. The image recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the time condition is a time zone of a day and / or a day of the week, and the type of the recorded image on the recording material held by the recording material holding means and / or the recording. An image recording apparatus, wherein the amount of recording material held by the material holding means is changed according to the predetermined time zone and / or day of the week.   6. The image recording apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising recording material storage means for temporarily storing the recording material on which an image is formed before the recording material is held by the recording material holding means. A plurality of storage means are provided corresponding to the plurality of recording material holding means, and the image forming apparatus is configured to change the recording material storage means to the recording material holding means based on a detection result of the recording material remaining amount detection means. An image recording apparatus characterized by replenishing a recording material on which an image is formed.   9. The image recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image recording apparatus includes: a plurality of recording materials, the remaining storage amount detecting unit that detects the remaining amount of the recording material on which the image stored in the recording material storage unit is formed. The image recording apparatus has a plurality of recording materials corresponding to the storage means, and the recording material stored in the recording material storage means is less than a predetermined amount based on the detection result by the remaining storage amount detection means. In this case, the recording material is recorded on the new recording material, thereby replenishing the recording material storage means with the recording material on which the specific image is recorded.   10. The image recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image recording apparatus is a type of a recorded image on a recording material held by the recording material storage unit and / or an amount of a recording material held by the recording material storage unit. Is changed according to the time condition.   11. The image recording apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the time condition is a time of day and / or a day of the week, and the type of recorded image on the recording material to be held in the recording material storage unit and / or the recording material. An image recording apparatus, wherein the amount of recording material held in the storage means is changed according to the predetermined time zone and / or day of the week.   12. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording material holding unit is a recording material storage tray for storing the recording material discharged after image recording is performed on the recording material. An image recording apparatus.   The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the image recording apparatus includes image data holding means for previously holding image data to be recorded on the recording material, and the image recording apparatus includes An image recording apparatus characterized in that an image is recorded on a new recording material using the image data held in the image data holding means and held in the recording material holding means or the recording material storage means.

Images