JP2008304617A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus which can suitably eject sample ejection paper for each job. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus ejects the sample ejection paper based on inputted instruction information by making possible input of the instruction information regarding an ejecting action of the sample ejection paper for each job through an inputting part 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  In recent years, image forming apparatuses capable of performing image forming processing at a high speed on a plurality of sheets have become widespread. When an image is formed on a plurality of sheets by using such an image forming apparatus, the sheets on which the images are formed are stacked one after another on a paper discharge tray. For the sheets to be stacked, it is necessary to check the image quality at a predetermined timing. This is because the quality of image formation can be confirmed by checking the image quality, which leads to prevention of a large amount of printing waste paper. Prevention of printing waste paper is important in terms of cost reduction.

Several image forming apparatuses that discharge sample discharge for image quality confirmation during job execution have been disclosed so far. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus that discharges a sample paper discharge at a timing instructed in advance without the user arbitrarily operating the discharge of the sample paper discharge. Patent Documents 2 and 3 disclose an image forming apparatus in which a paper discharge tray that is discharged by executing a job is different from a paper discharge tray that discharges sample paper discharge.
In the case of an image forming apparatus having such a sample discharge function, even if a job to be executed forms an image on, for example, about 5000 to 10000 sheets, sample discharge is performed at regular intervals. It is possible to secure a sufficient time for discharging and checking the image quality.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-19779 JP 2005-153374 A JP 2004-284323 A

  However, in the sample paper discharge functions described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, when a plurality of jobs are continuously executed, it is not possible to set the sample paper discharge for each job. In other words, the setting regarding the sample discharge that is possible in Patent Documents 1 to 3 is that the sample discharge is only discharged for each discharged sheet even when a plurality of jobs are mixed.

  In such an image forming apparatus, for example, when a plurality of jobs in which a job that requires high image quality confirmation and a job that does not need to be mixed are executed in succession, a large amount of sample discharge is discharged in a job that has low necessity. It may be the case. This not only makes it impossible to effectively use sample discharge, but also increases costs due to an increase in unnecessary sample discharge. Further, when the users who instruct each job are different, it is desirable to discharge the sample paper discharge at the timing and number of sheets intended by each user, and there is a market demand for such an image forming apparatus.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of appropriately discharging a sample paper discharge for each job.

According to the invention of claim 1,
A paper discharge tray that continuously executes a plurality of jobs and discharges the sample discharged at a timing instructed in advance during the execution of the plurality of jobs or at an arbitrarily instructed timing. In an image forming apparatus for discharging to another paper discharge tray different from
An input unit for setting instruction information regarding the discharge operation of the sample discharge in units of jobs;
A control unit configured to set instruction information input via the input unit in association with each job, and to control the discharge operation of the sample discharge in units of jobs based on the set instruction information;
An image forming apparatus is provided.

According to the invention of claim 2, in the invention of claim 1,
The instruction information input via the input unit includes information for instructing whether or not to discharge the sample paper discharge and information about the timing for discharging the sample paper discharge.
When discharging the sample discharge based on the instruction information, the control unit determines the discharge timing of the sample discharge before discharging each job before executing each job. After reaching a predesignated page, if each job has one or more paper discharge groups, either after each paper discharge group is discharged or after each job is executed An image forming apparatus for determining and discharging the sample discharge at the determined timing is provided.

According to the invention of claim 3, in the invention of claim 1 or 2,
The instruction information input through the input unit further includes information for instructing whether to temporarily stop the job after discharging the sample paper discharge during the execution of the job,
When the instruction information including the information to be paused is input via the input unit, the control unit is provided with an image forming apparatus that pauses the job being executed after discharging the sample paper discharge. The

According to the invention described in claim 4, in the invention described in any one of claims 1-3,
When the control unit discharges the sample discharge based on the instruction information input via the input unit, the image invalidates the discharge instruction of the sample discharge arbitrarily instructed during execution of the job A forming apparatus is provided.

According to the present invention, it is possible to input instruction information regarding the discharge operation of the sample discharge for each job, and it is possible to discharge the sample discharge based on the input instruction information. Since instruction information can be input for each job, even when a plurality of jobs are continuously formed, a sample discharge according to the contents of each job can be discharged.
Accordingly, it is possible to appropriately maintain the quality of image formation for each job, and it is possible to prevent unnecessary sample discharge. In addition, cost reduction can be achieved.

  Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of an optimal embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, an image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
The image forming apparatus 100 includes an automatic document feeder 10, a reading device 20, and a printer device 30 as main components.

The automatic document feeder 10 conveys the sheets G stacked on the loading tray 11 one by one to the reading portion of the reading device 20. When the paper G is a double-sided paper, the automatic document feeder 10 reverses the front and back of the paper G after one side reading of the paper G and transports the paper G to the reading device 20 again.
Each component included in the automatic document feeder 10 includes a first paper feed roller 12 that sequentially conveys the sheets G stacked on the loading tray 11 from the top, and a contact glass 21 that is a reading portion of the sheet G. A contact roller 13 for allowing G to pass in close contact, a guide roller 14 for guiding the paper G transported by the first paper feed roller 12 along the contact roller 13, and transport of the paper G passing through the contact glass 21 There are a switching claw 15 for switching the direction, a reversing roller 16 for reversing the front and back of the paper G, and a paper discharge tray 17 for discharging the paper G that has been read.

The reading device 20 reads an image from the paper G conveyed by the automatic document conveying device 10, generates image data representing the image, and outputs the image data to the control unit 101 (see FIG. 2).
Each component included in the reading device 20 includes an exposure scanning unit 25 including a light source 23 and a mirror 24, a line image sensor 26 that receives reflected light from the paper G and photoelectrically converts the light amount signal into an electrical signal. The condenser lens 27 that condenses the reflected light from the paper G onto the line image sensor 26, and various mirrors 28 that form an optical path for guiding the reflected light from the mirror 24 of the exposure scanning unit 25 to the line image sensor 26. There is a platen sensor (not shown) for detecting the paper G on the platen glass 22.

The printer device 30 forms an image on the paper G by an electrophotographic process based on the job.
The main components included in the printer device 30 include a laser unit 31 that outputs laser light that is turned ON / OFF according to image data of an input job, a photoreceptor 32 that forms an electrostatic latent image on its surface, and its There are a charging device 33, a developing device 34, a transfer device 35, a separation device 36, and a cleaning device 37 disposed around.

  As other components, a paper feed unit 40 including a plurality of paper feed trays 41, a transport unit 50 that transports sheets stored in the paper feed tray 41 one by one by the second paper feed roller 42, and downstream of the transport unit 50. A normal conveyance path 60a and a reverse conveyance path 60b for discharging the sheet that has passed through the fixing device 58 located outside the apparatus, a conveyance path switching claw 61 for switching the sheet conveyance path, and for discharging the sheet by inverting the front and back surfaces of the sheet. There are a reversing roller 62, a paper discharge sensor 63 for detecting paper discharged from the apparatus (paper discharge), a paper discharge unit 64, and the like.

Next, the stacker apparatus 200 will be described with reference to FIG.
The stacker apparatus 200 includes a main stacking unit 210 and a sub stacking unit 211 as main mechanical components. In the present embodiment, the main stacking unit 210 is used as a paper discharge tray for stacking paper discharged as a result of job execution, and the sub stacking unit 211 is used as a paper discharge tray for stacking sample paper discharge.

The main stacking unit 210 is a paper discharge tray that is housed in the stacker device 200 and that can be loaded with a large amount of paper by being provided with a vertically movable unit 213. The elevator 213 is positioned at the top when no sheets are stacked, and descends as the sheets are stacked. The user can take out the paper stacked on the elevating unit 213 by opening a door (not shown) of the stacker device 200.

  The sub stacking unit 211 is a paper discharge tray that is located on the upper surface of the stacker device 200 and is exposed to the outside. The user can visually confirm the sheets stacked on the sub stacking unit 211 from the outside.

  As other components, a paper inlet 221 into which the paper discharged from the image forming apparatus 100 is carried in, a main loading path 231 for transporting the paper from the carrying inlet 221 to the main stacking unit 210, and a paper branched from the main loading path 231. A carry-out path 232 for conveying to the carry-out port 222, a sub-load path 233 for branching from the carry-out path 232 and conveying paper to the sub-loading unit 211, and switching of the paper from the main stack path 231 to the carry-out path 232 are performed. There are a main switching claw 241, a sub switching claw 242 for switching the paper from the carry-out path 232 to the sub stacking path 233, and the like.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the image forming apparatus 100 and the stacker apparatus 200.
The image forming apparatus 100 includes a main body unit 1, a scanner unit 2, a printer unit 3, a communication unit 4, and an input unit 5 as main components.

  The main unit 1 includes a control unit 101, a storage unit 102, a DRAM control IC 103, an image memory 104, a reading processing unit 105, a compression IC 106, a decompression IC 107, a writing processing unit 108, and a counter unit 109.

  The control unit 101 reads out a system program stored in the storage unit 102, develops it in a RAM (not shown) in a central processing unit (CPU), and centrally controls the operation of each unit of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the developed program. Further, the control unit 101 switches the copy mode, the printer mode, and the scanner mode based on the operation signal of the input unit 5 and the image data input via the communication unit 4, and switches to each mode stored in the storage unit 102. A corresponding processing program is read out, and an image forming process is executed.

  The storage unit 102 includes an HD (Hard Disk), a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, and the like, and includes a system program corresponding to the image forming apparatus 100 and various processing programs that can be executed on the system program. The storage unit 102 stores setting information necessary for executing various processing programs, and stores post-execution data and the like.

  The DRAM control IC 103 controls reading of data into the image memory 104 and reading of data from the image memory 104. The DRAM control IC 103 is connected to the DRAM control IC 402 in the communication unit 4 via a PCI bus, and controls data input / output between the communication unit 4 and the main body unit 1.

  The image memory 104 is configured by a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), and includes a compression memory 104a and a page memory 104b. The compression memory 104 a temporarily stores data such as image data compressed by the compression IC 106 under the control of the DRAM control IC 103. The page memory 104 b temporarily stores image data output from the communication unit 4 under the control of the DRAM control IC 103, and temporarily stores decompressed image data to be output to the communication unit 4.

  The reading processing unit 105 converts the analog electrical signal read by the scanner unit 2 into digital data that can be processed in the main body unit 1 and outputs the digital data to the compression IC 106.

The compression IC 106 compresses the image data output from the communication unit 4 and the image data output from the reading processing unit 105.
The decompression IC 107 decompresses the compressed data output from the DRAM control IC 103.

  The writing processing unit 108 inputs image data that has been subjected to image processing such as enlargement, reduction, rotation, and position change in accordance with the instruction data output from the input unit 5 or the communication unit 4 from the decompression IC 107 and calibrates as necessary. After processing and the like, the data is output to the printer unit 3.

  The counter unit 109 functions as a paper feed counter that counts the paper feed pages when the paper is fed and a paper discharge counter that counts the discharged paper pages when the paper is ejected. The counter unit 109 outputs the counted pages to the control unit 101.

The scanner unit 2 includes a scanner control unit 201, a CCD 202, and the like.
The scanner control unit 201 receives a control signal from the control unit 101 and drives and controls the CCD 202.

  A CCD (Charge Coupled Device) 202 reads a paper image by imaging and photoelectrically converting reflected light of light scanned from a light source (not shown) onto the paper, and outputs the read image data to the reading processing unit 105. Here, the image data includes not only image data such as graphics and photographs but also text data such as characters and symbols.

The printer unit 3 includes a printer control unit 301 and a printing unit 302.
The printer control unit 301 receives a control signal from the control unit 101 and drives and controls the LD based on the image data from the writing processing unit 108 to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum. The print unit 302 includes an LD (Laser Diode), a photosensitive drum, a paper feed unit, a paper discharge unit, and the like. The printing unit 302 develops the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum with toner, transfers and fixes the toner image onto a sheet conveyed from the sheet feeding unit, and then discharges it from the sheet discharging unit.

The communication unit 4 includes a communication control unit 401, a DRAM control IC 402, an image memory 403, an I / F 404, and the like.
The communication control unit 401 controls the operation of each unit of the communication unit 4 and transmits / receives data to / from the information terminal device I connected to the network N.

  The image memory 403 temporarily stores image data received from the information terminal apparatus I via the network N, image data output from the main body unit 1 through the PCI bus, and the like under the control of the DRAM control IC 402.

  The I / F 404 is an interface for the image forming apparatus 100 to connect to the information terminal apparatus I via the network N. The I / F 404 and the information terminal apparatus I connected to the network N according to an instruction from the communication control unit 401 Send and receive.

The input unit 5 includes an input control unit 501, an LCD 502 provided with a touch panel, and the like.
The input control unit 501 receives a display signal from the control unit 101 and performs display control on the LCD 502. In addition, an operation signal input from the touch panel on the LCD 502 is output to the control unit 101.

  An LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 502 displays various operation buttons, an image status display, an operation status of each function, and the like on a screen in accordance with an instruction of a display signal input from the input control unit 501. The display screen of the LCD 502 is covered with a transparent sheet panel, and is configured by a touch panel that outputs position information input by touching with a finger or a dedicated stylus pen to the input control unit 501 as input information.

The stacker apparatus 200 includes a stacker control unit 251, a transport unit 252, a switching unit 253, an operation unit 254, a detection unit 255, and a counter unit 256 as main components.

  The stacker control unit 251 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like (not shown). Based on a control signal from the control unit 101, the stacker control unit 251 performs operations of the transport unit 252, the switching unit 253, the operation unit 254, the detection unit 255, and the counter unit 256. Take overall control.

The transport unit 252 includes a drive motor and a sensor for transporting paper in the main stacking path 231, the unloading path 232, and the sub stacking path 233.
The switching unit 253 includes a driving unit that displaces the main switching claw 241 and the sub switching claw 242 and uses a solenoid or a motor as a driving source.

  The operation unit 254 includes an input unit and a display unit (not shown). These are used for a switch operation for lowering the elevating unit 213 to the lowermost part in order to take out a sheet from the main stacking unit 210, and a switch operation for lowering the elevating unit 213 when a paper jam occurs. . Also, when a paper jam occurs, the occurrence status is displayed.

The detection unit 255 includes various sensors such as a door sensor, a sheet upper limit sensor, a stage lower limit sensor, a stage upper limit sensor, and a paper discharge sensor.
The counter unit 256 functions as a paper discharge counter that counts the number of paper discharged normally to the stacker device 200.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3 to FIG. 5, an example of a screen that transits until instruction information related to the sample discharge operation is input will be described.
FIG. 3 shows an example of the copy basic screen A displayed on the LCD 502.
On the copy basic screen A, setting areas such as a document setting area A1, an image quality setting area A2, a magnification setting area A3, a single / double-side setting area A4, an application setting area A5, and an output setting area A6 are displayed. Among these, when the “output setting area A6” is designated by the user's operation, the screen is switched to the output setting screen B as shown in FIG. The user's operation is performed by pressing various setting buttons displayed on the copy basic screen A from the screen.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the output setting screen B.
The output setting screen B is a screen for setting the discharge mode. The output setting screen B displays setting areas set for the double-side binding direction setting area B1, the paper discharge surface setting area B2, the paper discharge order setting area B3, and the post-processing setting area B4. When a “sample discharge B41” button in the post-processing setting area B4 is designated by a user operation, the screen is switched to a sample discharge setting screen C as shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the sample discharge setting screen C.
On the sample discharge setting screen C, a discharge timing setting area C1, a designated number setting area C2, a pause setting area C3, and a paper feed tray setting area C4 are displayed. The setting items in each setting area are displayed in a pull-down format. Information set in each of these setting areas is temporarily stored in the storage unit 102 as instruction information for sample discharge. Based on this instruction information, the control unit 101 discharges the sample paper discharge.

  In the discharge timing setting area C1, it is possible to set “automatic sample discharge setting OFF” so that sample discharge is not discharged at a preset timing. Also, the discharge timing can be set in advance. In this case, the user can set the timing for discharging the sample discharge (hereinafter referred to as “sample discharge timing”). There are mainly four sample discharge timings. The four sample discharge timings are (1) before job execution, (2) after reaching the specified number of sheets, (3) after discharge of the discharge group, and (4) after job execution. The discharge images discharged at the sample discharge timings (1) to (4) will be described later with reference to FIGS.

The designated number setting area C2 is an area for further designating a page when (2) after reaching the designated number is designated as the sample discharge timing described above. For example, a number from 1 to 9999 can be input in the designated number setting area C2. After the discharge of the job is discharged for the entered number of pages, the sample discharge is discharged.
Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9, a discharge image diagram according to the four sample discharge timings described above will be described.

FIG. 6 shows a discharge image when (1) “Before job execution” is set as the sample discharge timing.
T1 indicates an input image input to the image forming apparatus 100. A number in each input image indicates a page, and an alphabet indicates a job type. According to T1, two jobs of job (i) and job (ii) are input as input images. In job (i), 5 pages of 1A to 5A are set as one discharge group, and two copies (discharge group (i) and discharge group (ii)) are discharged. In job (ii), 5 pages 1B to 5B are discharged as one discharge group.

  T2 shows the discharge and sample discharge of the job discharged by executing the job of T1. The numbers and alphabets in each paper discharge indicate the type of page and job as in T1. T2 indicates that the sample paper discharge on which the internal image is formed is discharged to the sub stacking unit 211 before the job (i) is executed. Further, it is shown that the sample paper discharge is similarly performed after execution of job (i) and before execution of job (ii).

FIG. 7 shows a discharge image when (2) “after reaching the designated number” is set as the sample discharge timing.
T3 indicates that two jobs, job (i) and job (ii), are input as in T1 of FIG.
T4 shows the discharge and sample discharge of the job discharged by executing the job of T3. At T4, the sample discharge timing is set to “after reaching the designated number” in the discharge timing setting area C1. In addition, the designated number of sheets in the designated number of sheets setting area C2 is set to “4 pages”. Note that the designated number can be set by specifying a page in the designated number setting area C2 in FIG. As shown in T4, after discharging the job for four pages in each of the job (i) and the job (ii), the sample discharge is discharged. Further, the number of discharged sheets of the job discharged from the last discharge of the sample in job (i) until the first discharge of the sample in job (ii) is 6 pages. As described above, even when the sample discharge timing is “after reaching the designated number”, the number of discharged sheets is counted for each job, and it can be set to discharge the sample discharged sheets.

FIG. 8 shows a discharge image when (3) “after discharge of paper discharge group” is set as the sample discharge timing.
T5 indicates that two jobs, job (i) and job (ii), are input as in T1 of FIG.
T6 indicates the discharge of the job and the sample discharge that are discharged by executing the job of T5. At T6, the sample discharge timing is set to “after discharge of the paper discharge group”. As shown in T6, in the job (i), the sample paper discharge is discharged after the paper discharge group (i) and the paper discharge group (ii) are discharged. Similarly, in the job (ii), the sample paper discharge is discharged after the discharge of the job (ii) is discharged.

FIG. 9 shows a discharge image when (4) “after job execution” is set as the sample discharge timing.
T7 indicates that two jobs, job (i) and job (ii), are input, as in T1 of FIG.
T8 shows the discharge and sample discharge of the job discharged by executing the job of T7. T4 indicates that the sample paper discharge formed with the internal image is discharged to the sub stacking unit 211 after the job (i) is executed. It also indicates that the sample paper is discharged after the execution of job (ii).

  Returning to FIG. 5, in the temporary stop setting area C3, it is possible to set whether or not to temporarily stop the image forming process after discharging the sample paper discharge. When the setting for temporarily stopping is made, a pop-up window as shown in FIG.

Here, FIG. 10 shows an example of the temporary stop screen D displayed after the sample paper discharge is discharged.
On the temporary stop screen D, a pop-up window is displayed, and a message such as “Do you want to resume printing” is displayed. On the pop-up window, an OK button D1, a process adjustment button D2, and a job stop button D3 are displayed.
When the OK button D1 is designated by the user, the job that has not been executed is resumed. If the job cancel button D3 is designated, the job is canceled.
When the process adjustment button D2 is designated by the user, an image quality adjustment setting screen E is displayed as shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the image quality adjustment setting screen E.
On the image quality adjustment setting screen E, the transfer current value can be set. The transfer current value can be adjusted at each of the front surface, back surface, leading edge, center, and trailing edge of the sheet. By adjusting the transfer current value, it is possible to adjust the amount of toner attracted to the paper, thereby making it possible to adjust the density. For example, when the user confirms the discharged sample paper discharge and determines that the density is low, the user can adjust the density to increase by increasing the transfer current value.

Returning to FIG. 5, the paper feed tray setting area C4 is an area for selecting a paper to be used as a sample paper discharge. Of the plurality of paper feed trays 41, for example, when A4 paper is stored in the paper feed tray 41a and A3 paper is stored in the paper feed tray 41b, the user selects the paper feed tray 41a to use as a sample paper discharge. The paper size can be set to A4. A plurality of paper feed trays 41 can be individually selected, and “the same paper feed tray as the job” can be selected. In this case, the paper used for job image formation is used as the sample paper discharge.
In the sample discharge setting screen C, after setting the above-described sample discharge, the sample discharge is discharged together with the discharge of the job by pressing the OK button C5.

FIG. 12 shows a job execution screen F displayed during job execution.
On the job execution screen F, a job display area F1, a paper tray display area F2, a manual sample output button F3, and the like are displayed.

The job display area F1 displays the contents and progress of each job. Note that all or any of the information set on the sample paper discharge setting screen C may be displayed in the job display area F1.
In the paper tray display area F2, the size and type of each paper stored in the paper feed tray 41 are displayed.
The manual sample output button F3 is a button for arbitrarily discharging a sample discharge by a user operation during execution of a job. If the setting for discharging the sample paper discharge is made in the paper discharge timing setting area C1 of FIG. 5, the sample paper discharge instruction by the manual sample output button F3 may be invalidated. As a result, it is possible to prevent unnecessary sample discharge.

FIG. 13 shows an outline of the operation of the image forming apparatus 100 in the present embodiment. Each process described below is executed in cooperation with the control unit 101 and various programs stored in the storage unit 102.
Further, as a premise of the processing, the control unit 101 has already executed initialization processing performed when the image forming apparatus 100 is turned on, paper jam check before starting the job, and the like, and the image forming apparatus 100 is in a standby state. It shall be.

While the image forming apparatus 100 is on standby, the user can input settings for job image data such as paper size setting and number of copies setting via the input unit 5. Each setting input at this time includes setting of instruction information for sample discharge. Specifically, the setting of the instruction information is a setting as to whether or not to discharge the sample paper discharge, and a setting regarding the discharge mode of the sample paper discharge when the sample paper discharge is discharged. These settings are as described with reference to FIGS. When a plurality of jobs are continuously formed, the instruction information can be set for each job.

The control unit 101 receives information of each setting input via the input unit 5 by a user input operation, and temporarily stores the information in the storage unit 102 (step S1).

After receiving the setting information, the control unit 101 waits until there is a job start instruction (step S2; NO). When the job start instruction is received, the control unit 101 proceeds to the next process (step S2; YES).
In the subsequent processing, the control unit 101 operates based on the setting information stored in the storage unit 102 in step S1. The information of each setting includes instruction information about sample discharge.

  The control unit 101 performs a process of feeding the paper G to be subjected to the image forming process from the paper feed tray 41 (step S3).

FIG. 14 shows a paper feed process for feeding a sample discharge paper.
The control unit 101 receives a job start instruction and acquires a job (step S31). At this time, the control unit 101 acquires instruction information regarding the sample paper discharge set for each job.

  The control unit 101 determines whether or not the automatic sample discharge setting is made based on the acquired instruction information about the sample discharge, that is, whether or not the setting for discharging the sample discharge is made in advance (step S32). Whether or not the automatic sample discharge setting is set is determined by whether or not “automatic sample discharge setting OFF” is designated by the user in the discharge timing setting area C1 of FIG.

  If it is determined that the automatic sample discharge setting has not been made (step S32; NO), the control unit 101 further determines whether or not there is a manual sample discharge instruction (step S33). Whether or not there is a manual sample discharge instruction is determined by whether or not the manual sample output button F3 is pressed by the user during execution of the job (see FIG. 12).

If the control unit 101 determines that there is no manual sample discharge instruction (step S33; NO), it generates paper feed information for the job (step S34). The job paper feed information includes information such as the size and type of paper used for job image formation, such as A4-sized glossy paper, and information necessary for normal paper feed processing.
When it is determined that there is a manual sample discharge instruction (step S33; YES), the control unit 101 generates sheet supply information for supplying a sample discharge sheet. This case will be described later in step S39.

After generating the paper feed information for the job, the control unit 101 instructs the counter unit 109 to increment the paper feed counter by +1 (step S35).
Thereafter, the control unit 101 issues a paper feed request to each unit of the image forming apparatus 100 based on the generated paper feed information (step S36), and ends the paper feed process.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the automatic sample discharge setting has been made (step S32; YES), the control unit 101 performs an automatic sample discharge execution determination process (step S37).
In the automatic sample discharge execution determination process, the control unit 101 determines the timing for feeding the sample discharge paper. Then, paper feed information including the timing information is generated.

FIG. 15 describes the automatic sample discharge execution determination process.
The control unit 101 determines whether the sample discharge timing is set to “before job execution” (step S371).

If the control unit 101 determines that the sample discharge timing is set to “before job execution” (step S371; YES), the control unit 101 generates paper feed information including information that sets the sample discharge timing to “before job execution”. (Step S372).
On the other hand, if it is determined that the sample discharge timing is not set to “before job execution” (step S371; NO), the control unit 101 proceeds to the next process, and the sample discharge timing is “after the specified number of sheets has been reached”. It is determined whether it is set to (step S373).

If the control unit 101 determines that the sample discharge timing is set to “after reaching the specified number” (step S373; YES), the control unit 101 supplies paper feed information including information that sets the sample discharge timing to “after reaching the specified number”. Generate (step S374).
On the other hand, when it is determined that the sample discharge timing is not set to “after reaching the designated number” (step S373; NO), the control unit 101 proceeds to the next process, and the sample discharge timing is set to “discharge group discharge”. It is determined whether or not “after” is set (step S375).

When the control unit 101 determines that the sample discharge timing is set to “after discharge of the paper discharge group” (step S375; YES), the control unit 101 feeds information including information indicating that the sample discharge timing is “after discharge of the paper discharge group”. Information is generated (step S376).
On the other hand, when it is determined that the sample discharge timing is not set to “after discharging the discharge group” (step S375; NO), the control unit 101 proceeds to the next processing, and the sample discharge timing is set to “after job execution”. "Is set or not (step S377).

When the control unit 101 determines that the sample discharge timing is set to “after job execution” (step S377; YES), the control unit 101 generates paper feed information including information that sets the sample discharge timing to “after job execution”. (Step S378).
On the other hand, if it is determined that the sample discharge timing is not set to “after job execution” (step S377; NO), paper feed information including information indicating that the sample discharge timing is “none” is generated (step S379). ), The automatic sample discharge execution determination process is terminated.

  Returning to FIG. 14, the control unit 101 determines whether it is time to feed the sample discharge paper based on the sample discharge timing information included in the paper feed information in step S <b> 37 (step S <b> 38).

When the control unit 101 determines that it is not the sample discharge timing (step S38; NO), the control unit 101 determines the paper feed information generated in step S37 as the normal paper feed information (step S34). Thereafter, the control unit 101 issues a paper feed request based on the paper feed information of the determined job.
On the other hand, when it is determined that it is the sample discharge timing (step S38; YES), the paper feed information generated in step S37 is determined as the paper feed information for the sample discharge (step S39).

After determining the paper feed information for sample discharge, the control unit 101 instructs the counter unit 109 to clear the paper feed counter (step S40).
Thereafter, the control unit 101 issues a paper feed request to each unit of the image forming apparatus 100 based on the paper feed information of the sample paper discharge (step S36), and the paper feed process is terminated.

  Returning to FIG. 13, the control unit 101 executes an image forming process on the fed paper (including the sample paper discharge) (step S4). An image of the job is formed on the paper fed based on the paper feed information of the job, and an internal image is formed on the paper fed based on the paper feed information of the sample discharge (sample discharge). Image formation. Note that image data stored in advance in the storage unit 102 may be used as the internal image.

  The control unit 101 performs a discharge process for discharging the paper on which the image forming process has been performed (step S5). It should be noted that the discharge destination of the job discharge and the sample discharge may be different discharge trays. For example, it is assumed that the job is discharged to the main stacking unit 210 and the sample discharge is discharged to the sub stacking unit 211. As a result, the user can secure a sufficient time for checking the image quality of the sample paper discharged to the sub stacking unit 211 even during execution of the job.

FIG. 16 shows a discharge process for discharging the sample paper discharge.
The control unit 101 determines whether or not the paper to be discharged is a sample paper discharge (step S51).
When the control unit 101 determines that the paper discharge is not a sample paper discharge (step S51; NO), the control unit 101 executes a normal discharge process with the discharge destination as the main stacking unit 210 (step S52), and ends the discharge process.
On the other hand, when the control unit 101 determines that the paper discharge is a sample paper discharge (step S51; YES), the control unit 101 determines whether to temporarily stop the job after discharging the paper discharge (step S53).

When the control unit 101 determines that the job is not paused (step S53; NO), that is, when the setting in the pause setting area C3 is OFF, the sample discharge destination of the sample discharge is the sub stacking unit 211. The paper discharge process is executed (step S54), and the discharge process is terminated.
On the other hand, when it is determined that the job is to be paused (step S53; YES), that is, when the setting in the pause setting area C3 is ON, the control unit 101 executes a process for pausing the job and displays it on the LCD 502. The temporary stop screen D is displayed (step S55).

  When a job start instruction is input via the input unit 5 (step S56; YES), the control unit 101 ends the discharge process. If no job start instruction is input, the process proceeds to step S57 (step S56; NO).

When a job stop instruction is input via the input unit 5 (step S57; YES), the control unit 101 deletes the job stored in the storage unit 102 (step S58) and ends the discharge process.
If no job cancel instruction is input, the process proceeds to step S59 (step S57; NO).

When an instruction for process adjustment is input via the input unit 5 (step S59; YES), the control unit 101 displays the image quality adjustment setting screen E on the LCD 502. When image quality adjustment is instructed via the input unit 5 by a user operation, the control unit 101 performs the instructed image quality adjustment (step S60). When the image quality adjustment is completed, the control unit 101 moves the process to step S56. When the start of the job is instructed via the input unit 5 (step S56; YES), the discharge process is terminated.
It should be noted that the order of determination regarding steps S56, S57, and S59 described above is not limited to this, and the determination order may be interchanged. For example, it is possible to first determine whether or not there is a process adjustment instruction in step S59 and then determine whether or not there is a job start instruction in step S56.

Returning to FIG. 13, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the processing of steps S <b> 3 to S <b> 5 has been executed for all the images of the job, and if there is an image for which processing has not been executed, A paper feed process is performed (step S6; NO).
When it is determined that the processing of steps S3 to S5 has been executed for all the images of the job (step S6; YES), the counter unit 109 is instructed to clear the paper feed counter (step S7). This process ends.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to input instruction information for sample discharge for each job even when a plurality of jobs are continuously executed. Thereby, it is possible to discharge the sample discharge according to the characteristics of the job. For example, when the images of job (i) and job (ii) are continuously formed, it may be considered that job (i) requires low image quality confirmation and job (ii) is high. In such a case, it can be set so that the sample discharge is not discharged for job (i) and the sample discharge is discharged for job (ii). When the sample is discharged, the user can arbitrarily set the sample discharge timing, the number of discharged sheets, and the like. As a result, it is possible to prevent unnecessary sample discharge and to reduce costs.

  The instruction information to be input includes information for instructing whether or not to discharge the sample paper discharge. When instructing the discharge of the sample discharge, the instruction information includes information about the sample discharge timing. The sample discharge timing includes before the job execution, after reaching the specified number of sheets, after discharge of the discharged paper group, and after the execution of the job.

  The instruction information to be input includes information about whether or not to temporarily stop the job that was being executed after discharging the sample paper discharge during the execution of the job. When the sample paper discharge is ejected according to the instruction information including the information to be paused, the job being executed is paused. Thereby, the user can select whether or not to execute the job as it is after confirming the sample discharge. If the image formation quality is not maintained, the user can adjust the image quality. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a large amount of printing waste paper from being generated and to reduce costs.

  Further, if the sample discharge is to be discharged based on the instruction information input in advance, the sample discharge instruction from the user is invalidated. That is, even if the manual sample output button F3 is pressed by the user, the sample discharge is not discharged. Thereby, it is possible to prevent unnecessary sample discharge from being discharged due to a user's operation error or the like, and it is possible to reduce costs.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus. 2 is a functional block diagram of the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a copy basic screen. It is a figure which shows an example of an output setting screen. It is a figure which shows an example of a sample discharge setting screen. This is a discharge image in which the sample discharge timing is set before the job execution. It is a discharge image when the sample discharge timing is after reaching the specified number. It is a discharge image in which the sample discharge timing is after discharge of the paper discharge group. It is a discharge image in which the sample discharge timing is after the job execution. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen at the time of a pause. It is a figure which shows an example of an image quality adjustment setting screen. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen during a job execution. It is a flowchart shown about operation | movement outline | summary. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a paper feed process. It is a flowchart shown about automatic sample discharge | emission execution judgment processing. It is a flowchart shown about discharge processing.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Image forming apparatus 101 Control part 10 Automatic document feeder 20 Reading apparatus 30 Printer apparatus 1 Main body part 2 Scanner part 3 Printing part 4 Communication part 5 Operation part 200 Stacker apparatus 210 Main stacking part 211 Sub stacking part

Claims (4)

A paper discharge tray that continuously executes a plurality of jobs and discharges the sample discharged at a timing instructed in advance during the execution of the plurality of jobs or at an arbitrarily instructed timing. In an image forming apparatus for discharging to another paper discharge tray different from
An input unit for setting instruction information regarding the discharge operation of the sample discharge in units of jobs;
A control unit configured to set instruction information input via the input unit in association with each job, and to control the discharge operation of the sample discharge in units of jobs based on the set instruction information;
An image forming apparatus. The instruction information input via the input unit includes information for instructing whether or not to discharge the sample paper discharge and information about the timing for discharging the sample paper discharge.
When discharging the sample discharge based on the instruction information, the control unit determines the discharge timing of the sample discharge before discharging each job before executing each job. After reaching a predesignated page, if each job has one or more paper discharge groups, either after each paper discharge group is discharged or after each job is executed The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus determines and discharges the sample discharge at the determined timing. The instruction information input through the input unit further includes information for instructing whether to temporarily stop the job after discharging the sample paper discharge during the execution of the job,
3. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein when the instruction information including information to be paused is input via the input unit, the control unit pauses the job being executed after discharging the sample paper discharge. The image forming apparatus described.   The control unit invalidates an instruction to discharge the sample discharge arbitrarily instructed during execution of the job when discharging the sample discharge based on instruction information input via the input unit. Item 4. The image forming apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 3.

Images