JP2010008839A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus suppressing error in a loading state of a sheet which is loaded on a manual insertion tray. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus 100 includes the manual insertion tray 82, a liquid crystal display section 83, rotary encoders 84C, 85B and a control section 30. The liquid crystal display section 83 displays an operation guiding picture on a paper loading surface of the manual insertion tray 82. The rotary encoders 84C and 85B detect a loaded region which is the region where the paper is loaded on the paper loading surface. A control section 30 acquires a non-loading region which is a region on which the paper is not loaded in the display region in the liquid crystal display section 83 based on a detection result by the rotary encoders 84C, 85B and then displays the operation guiding picture in the non-loading region. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet placed on a manual feed tray, and in particular, the second surface by placing a sheet on which an image is formed on the first side on a manual feed tray during duplex printing. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for forming an image.

  Some image forming apparatuses include a manual feed tray that can easily set sheets in addition to a paper feed cassette that stores a plurality of sheets to be supplied to an image forming unit. The manual feed tray has an advantage that the sheet can be easily set, but has a disadvantage that the loading state including the size and direction of the sheet is easily mistaken. In particular, at the time of duplex printing, a sheet on which an image is formed on the first side is set on the manual feed tray, and the sheet is supplied from the manual feed tray to the image forming unit, thereby forming an image on the second side. In the image forming apparatus, the state of the sheet placed on the manual feed tray is very important.

Some conventional image forming apparatuses display a sheet placement direction on an operation panel (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-286885 A

  In the conventional image forming apparatus, it is necessary to check the correspondence between the display on the operation panel and the manual feed tray while viewing the display on the operation panel, and place the sheet on the manual feed tray. Since the operation panel and the manual feed tray are generally separated from each other and it is difficult to see the display on the operation panel and the manual feed tray without shifting the line of sight, an error in the sheet placement state is likely to occur. When an image is formed on a sheet in a state where the actual placement state and the proper placement state of the sheet are different, problems such as an error in the image direction with respect to the sheet and a lack of a part of the image may occur. Image quality is degraded.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of suppressing an error in the placement state of a sheet placed on a manual feed tray.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a processing unit, an acquisition unit, a control unit, a manual feed tray, a display unit, and a placement area detection unit. The processing unit performs a process including an image forming process based on the image data on the sheet. The acquisition unit acquires processing conditions and image data in the processing unit. The control unit creates an operation guidance image based on the processing conditions acquired by the acquisition unit. The manual feed tray has a sheet placement surface on which a sheet on which an image is to be formed is placed. The display unit displays the operation guidance image in a predetermined display area on the sheet placement surface. The placement area detection unit detects a placement area that is an area on which a sheet is placed on the sheet placement surface. The control unit acquires a non-placing region that is a region where no sheet is placed among the display regions based on the detection result of the placing region detection unit, and displays an operation guidance image in the non-placing region.

  In this configuration, since the operation guide image is displayed on the manual feed tray, it is possible to place a sheet on the manual feed tray while viewing the operation guide image without shifting the line of sight. In addition, since the operation guidance image is displayed particularly in the non-loading area of the manual feed tray, the operation guidance image is not blocked by the sheet, and the visibility of the operation guidance image can be improved.

  In the above configuration, the operation guidance image preferably includes a preview image representing a sheet on which an image based on image data is formed. At the stage where the sheet is placed on the manual feed tray, a preview image representing the sheet on which the image is formed is displayed in the non-placement area of the manual feed tray, so that the size of the sheet after the image formation and the image based on the image data The relationship such as direction can be visually confirmed. Therefore, it is possible to further suppress an error in the placement state of the sheet placed on the manual feed tray.

  The operation guidance image preferably includes a preview image representing a sheet that has been subjected to post-processing based on processing conditions after an image based on image data is formed. At the stage where the sheet is placed on the manual feed tray, a preview image representing the post-processed sheet is displayed in the non-placement area of the manual feed tray, so the sheet, the position where post-processing is performed, and the image data It is possible to visually confirm the relationship between the sizes and directions of the images based on each other. Therefore, it is possible to further suppress an error in the placement state of the sheet placed on the manual feed tray.

  Further, the control unit compares the detection result of the placement region detection unit with the proper placement state of the sheet based on the processing conditions, and determines that the placement state of the sheet is appropriate when the placement state of the sheet is determined to be appropriate. If the operation guide image including the fact that the sheet is placed is determined to be appropriate and it is determined that the sheet placement state is not appropriate, the operation guide image including the fact that the sheet placement state is not appropriate may be created. it can. The result of comparing the actual placement status of the sheets placed on the manual feed tray with the proper placement status based on the processing conditions is displayed in the non-loading area of the manual feed tray, so the current placement status is appropriate. It is possible to easily recognize whether it is or not, and it is not possible to miss an error in the mounting state.

  In addition, a length guide member that defines the position of the upstream end portion in the conveyance direction of the sheet placed on the manual feed tray, and a width guide member that defines the position of the end portion in the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction. The placement area detection unit may be configured to detect the placement area based on the position of the guide member. The sheet placement region can be accurately detected by the guide member that defines the end of the sheet.

  Further, the control unit compares the detection result of the placement region detection unit with the proper placement state of the sheet based on the processing conditions, and determines that the position of either the length guide member or the width guide member is not appropriate. In this case, it can be configured to display that the position of the guide member which is not appropriate should be corrected. When it is determined that the actual placement state of only one guide member is different from the proper placement state, there is a high possibility that there is a gap between the one guide member and the end portion of the sheet. For this reason, it is possible to correct the position of the guide member by displaying that the position of the guide member such as abutting the guide member against the sheet should be corrected, and thereby the sheet placement region can be accurately detected.

  Further, the display unit can be a liquid crystal display device provided on the sheet placement surface. Since the operation guide image is displayed on the liquid crystal display device, the visibility of the operation guide image can be further improved.

  Furthermore, the placement area detection unit can be an area sensor including a plurality of optical sensors arranged along the sheet placement surface inside the liquid crystal display device. When the sheet is placed on the liquid crystal display device, the placement area of the sheet can be reliably detected by the area sensor.

  Further, the display unit can be a projector that projects an operation guidance image onto the sheet placement surface from above. Further, the manual feed tray is formed of a translucent resin member, and the display unit can be a projector that projects an operation guide image onto the manual feed tray from below. Since the sheet does not come into contact with the display unit, the display unit can be prevented from being soiled by the sheet. In addition, since the projector can be mounted on a portion other than the manual feed tray, the weight of the manual feed tray can be reduced.

  According to this invention, it is possible to suppress an error in the placement state of the sheet placed on the manual feed tray.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus 100. FIG. 1 illustrates a state where the automatic document reading unit 120 is removed. In FIG. 2, the sectional notation of the cut surface is omitted. 1 and 2 show a state in which the width guides 84A and 84B and the length guide 85A are removed.

  The image forming apparatus 100 includes an image reading unit 90, an image forming unit 110, an automatic document reading unit 120, a control unit 30, and an operation panel (operation unit) 140. The image forming apparatus 100 performs multicolor or single color printing processing (image forming processing) on the paper (sheet) P according to the image data.

  The image reading unit 90 is arranged on the upper part of the image forming unit 110 and has a document placing table 92 on which a document is placed. The image reading unit 90 is made of transparent glass. The automatic document reading unit 120 is disposed above the image reading unit 90, and automatically conveys the document on the document placing table 92. The image reading unit 90 acquires an image data by reading an image of a document placed on the document placement table 92 or a document automatically conveyed on the document placement table 92 by the automatic document reading unit 120.

  The image forming unit 110 includes an exposure unit 1, a developing device 2, a photosensitive drum 3, a cleaner unit 4, a charger 5, an intermediate transfer belt unit 6, a fixing unit 7, paper feed cassettes 81 </ b> A and 81 </ b> B, a manual feed tray 82, paper discharge. A tray 91 and a post-processing unit 50 are provided. The image forming unit 110 performs a printing process on the paper P. The image forming unit 110 corresponds to a processing unit of the present invention.

  The image forming unit 110 includes four image forming stations corresponding to color images of the respective hues of black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). Each of the image forming stations includes a developing device 2, a photosensitive drum 3, a charger 5, and a cleaner unit 4. In each image forming station, four types of toner images corresponding to each hue are formed.

  The charger 5 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 3 to a predetermined potential. As the charger 5, for example, a charger-type charger is used.

  As the exposure unit 1, for example, a laser scanning unit (LSU) including a laser emitting unit and a reflection mirror is used. The exposure unit 1 exposes the charged photosensitive drum 3 according to the image data, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image data on the surface of the photosensitive drum 3.

  The developing device 2 visualizes the electrostatic latent images formed on the respective surfaces of the photosensitive drum 3 with toner of a hue corresponding to each image forming station, and forms a toner image.

  The intermediate transfer belt unit 6 is disposed above the photosensitive drum 3 and includes an intermediate transfer belt 61, an intermediate transfer belt driving roller 62, an intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63, an intermediate transfer roller 64, and an intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 65. is doing. Four intermediate transfer rollers 64 are provided and arranged corresponding to each of the four image forming stations.

  The paper feed cassettes 81 </ b> A and 81 </ b> B contain a plurality of papers P on which images are to be formed, and are disposed at the bottom of the image forming unit 110. The paper feed cassette 81A and the paper feed cassette 81B contain different sizes of paper P. The manual feed tray 82 is provided on the side surface of the image forming unit 110 so as to protrude sideways. A sheet on which an image is to be formed is placed on the manual feed tray 82. On the manual feed tray 82, it is possible to easily place the irregularly shaped paper P.

  The paper discharge tray 91 is disposed at the top of the image forming unit 110. The paper P that has been printed is discharged to the paper discharge tray 91.

  The image forming unit 110 has a paper transport path L from each of the paper feed cassettes 81 </ b> A and 81 </ b> B and the manual feed tray 82 to the paper discharge tray 91. The paper transport path L transports the paper P placed on the paper feed cassettes 81A and 81B or the manual feed tray 82 to the paper discharge tray 91 via a predetermined secondary transfer position. Along the paper conveyance path L, pickup rollers 11A, 11B, and 11C, a plurality of conveyance roller pairs 12A, a registration roller pair 13, a secondary transfer roller 10, a fixing unit 7, and a post-processing unit 50 are arranged.

  The pickup rollers 11A and 11B are provided in the vicinity of the downstream end of the paper feed cassettes 81A and 81B in the paper transport direction, pick up the paper P stored in the paper feed cassettes 81A and 81B one by one, and the paper transport path Move to L. The pickup roller 11 </ b> C is provided near the downstream end of the manual feed tray 82 in the paper transport direction, picks up the paper P one by one from the manual feed tray 82, and feeds it to the paper transport path L. The paper P is transported by the transport roller pair 12A.

  The registration roller pair 13 performs registration adjustment by bending the paper P between the pair of conveyance rollers 12A adjacent on the upstream side. The registration roller pair 13 transfers the sheet P between the intermediate transfer belt drive roller 62 and the secondary transfer roller 10 at the timing when the leading edge of the toner image on the photosensitive drum 3 and the leading edge of the sheet P are aligned. Transport to position.

  The intermediate transfer belt driving roller 62 and the secondary transfer roller 10 nip and convey the paper P to transfer the toner image carried on the intermediate transfer belt 61 onto the paper P.

  The fixing unit 7 is disposed above the secondary transfer roller 10 and has a roller pair including a heat roller 71 and a pressure roller 72, and heats and presses the sheet P on which the toner image is transferred to form a sheet. Fix the toner image.

  The fixing unit 7 includes a cleaning unit 40 that removes residual toner attached to the outer peripheral surface of the heat roller 71.

  The post-processing unit 50 includes a pair of conveying rollers 12B, and performs post-processing such as punching and stapling on the paper P that has passed through the fixing unit 7. The paper P that has passed through the post-processing unit 50 is conveyed to the paper discharge tray 91.

  The operation panel 140 receives an operation for setting processing conditions for the paper P. The processing condition that has been set is output to the control unit 30. The control unit 30 comprehensively controls the image forming apparatus 100 based on the input processing conditions.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration around the paper transport path L from the manual feed tray 82 to the transport roller pair 12A. In FIG. 3, the detailed configuration of the manual feed tray 82 is not shown. FIG. 4A is a front view of the manual feed tray 82. FIG. 4B is a plan view of the manual feed tray 82.

  The manual feed tray 82 includes a tray main body 82A, width guides (width guide members) 84A and 84B, a rotary encoder 84C, a paper detection sensor 84D, a length guide (length guide member) 85A, a rotary encoder 85B, and a liquid crystal display (liquid crystal display). Display device) 83. The width guides 84A and 84B and the length guide 85A constitute a guide member. The rotary encoder 84C and the rotary encoder 85B constitute a placement area detector of the present invention. The liquid crystal display unit 83 corresponds to the display unit of the present invention.

  The width guides 84A and 84B have a sheet abutting portion and an arm portion, and have an L shape. The width guides 84A and 84B are disposed in a direction in which the paper abutting portion is parallel to the paper conveyance direction and the arm portions are close to each other, and are freely displaceable in the width direction perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction. It is supported. The respective paper abutting portions of the width guides 84A and 84B are applied to both ends in the width direction of the paper P and define the positions of the both ends in the width direction of the paper P. As a result, the paper P is set on the manual feed tray 82 at the center in the width direction regardless of the size. For this reason, the pickup roller 11 </ b> C disposed at the center in the width direction can smoothly feed the paper P along the paper transport path L regardless of the size of the paper P.

  The mutually opposing surfaces of the respective arm portions of the width guides 84A and 84B are formed in a gear shape. The rotary encoder 84C is disposed at the center in the width direction of the sheet conveyance path L and is disposed so as to be sandwiched between the arm portions of the width guides 84A and 84B. The outer peripheral surface of the rotary encoder 84C is formed in a gear shape, and meshes with the gears of the respective arm portions of the width guides 84A and 84B. Thereby, when either one of the width guides 84A and 84B is displaced in the width direction by the user, the other is displaced by the same distance in the opposite direction along the width direction.

  The amount of rotation of the rotary encoder 84C is output to the control unit 30. The control unit 30 detects the positions of the width guides 84A and 84B based on the rotation amount of the rotary encoder 84C, thereby detecting the width dimension of the paper P placed on the manual feed tray 82.

  The length guide 85A has a sheet abutting portion and an arm portion, and has an L shape. The length guide 85A is arranged in a direction in which the sheet abutting portion is parallel to the width direction. The sheet abutting portion of the length guide 85A is abutted against the upstream end of the sheet P in the sheet conveying direction, and defines the position of the upstream end of the sheet P in the sheet conveying direction. One side surface of the arm portion is formed in a gear shape.

  The sheet abutting portion extends in the sheet conveying direction along the side edge of the manual feed tray 82 from the support end of the manual feed tray 82, that is, from the pickup roller 11C side to the open end side. The arm portion bends at right angles to the paper abutting portion on the open end side, reaches the other side end of the manual feed tray 82 across the upper surface of the liquid crystal display portion 83, and is freely displaceable along the paper transport direction. It is supported by 82A.

  The rotary encoder 85 </ b> B is disposed on one side end in the width direction and in the vicinity of the support end of the manual feed tray 82. The outer peripheral surface of the rotary encoder 85B has a gear shape. The rotary encoder 85B meshes with the gear of the arm portion of the length guide 85A.

  The amount of rotation of the rotary encoder 85B is output to the control unit 30. The control unit 30 detects the position of the sheet abutting portion of the length guide 85A based on the rotation amount of the rotary encoder 85B, and thereby detects the length of the sheet P placed on the manual feed tray 82.

  The sheet detection sensor 84D is disposed in the vicinity of the pickup roller 11C. When the paper P is placed on the manual feed tray 82, the leading end extending below the paper detection sensor 84 </ b> D is urged by the paper P to swing in the paper transport direction. It is detected that the paper P is placed on the manual feed tray 82 by swinging the front end of the paper detection sensor 84D. The sheet detection sensor 84D outputs to the control unit 30 that the sheet P has been placed on the manual feed tray 82.

  The liquid crystal display unit 83 is disposed in almost the entire area of the sheet placement surface of the manual feed tray 82. The liquid crystal display unit 83 has a size larger than the maximum size paper that can be placed on the manual feed tray 82. The liquid crystal display unit 83 displays an operation guidance image based on the display data output from the control unit 30.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image forming apparatus 100. The control unit 30 has a storage unit 30A. The storage unit 30A stores image data input from the image reading unit 90 or the personal computer PC via the image data input unit 150. As the image data input unit 150, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Card) is used. The image reading unit 90 and the image data input unit 150 are image data input units.

  The operation panel 140 includes, for example, a liquid crystal touch panel, and accepts an operation for setting processing conditions for paper. When acquiring image data from the image data input unit 150, the control unit 30 can also acquire processing conditions from the image data input unit 150 together with the image data. The image reading unit 90, the image data input unit 150, and the operation panel 140 correspond to the acquisition unit of the present invention.

  Based on the processing conditions set and operated from the operation panel 140 or the processing conditions acquired from the image data input unit 150, the control unit 30 is based on the automatic document reading unit 120, the image forming unit 110, the image reading unit 90, and the operation panel 140. And the operation of the liquid crystal display unit 83 of the manual feed tray 82 is controlled.

  The control unit 30 detects that the paper P is placed on the manual feed tray 82 by the paper detection sensor 84D. Further, the control unit 30 detects the positions of the length guide 85A and the width guides 84A and 84B based on the rotation amounts of the rotary encoder 84C and the rotary encoder 85B, so that the sheet placed on the manual feed tray 82 is detected. Of the display area of the liquid crystal display unit 83, the size and the placement area which is the area where the paper is placed are detected. Further, the control unit 30 detects a non-mounting region that is a region where a sheet is not loaded in the display region of the liquid crystal display unit 83 based on the placing region.

  When the paper feed cassette 81A or the paper feed cassette 81B is selected as the paper supply source, the control unit 30 displays operation guidance information on the operation panel 140. When the manual feed tray 82 is selected as the paper supply source, the control unit 30 displays an operation guide image on the liquid crystal display unit 83.

  The operation guidance information and the operation guidance image include information for guiding the user so that the size, direction, position, and the like of the paper on which the image is to be formed are appropriate. The operation guidance information is mainly composed of characters, symbols, or simple figures, whereas the operation guidance image is a preview image representing the paper on which the image data is printed, the paper size, direction, position, etc. It is an image or the like including information to be guided as intended.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the control unit 30.

  When the image data is input from the image reading unit 90 or the image data input unit 150 (S1) and the processing condition is input from the operation panel 140 or the image data input unit 150 (S2), the control unit 30 is based on the processing condition. Then, it is determined whether or not the manual feed tray 82 is selected as the paper supply source (S3).

  When the paper feed cassette 81A or the paper feed cassette 81B is selected as the paper supply source instead of the manual feed tray 82, the control unit 30 displays operation guidance information on the operation panel 140 (S4).

  When the manual feed tray 82 is selected as the paper supply source and no paper is placed on the manual feed tray 82, the control unit 30 determines the size of the paper to be placed on the manual feed tray 82 based on the processing conditions. The direction and position are specified, and the area in which the paper is to be placed is set as the placement area in the display area. When the manual feed tray 82 is selected as the supply source of the paper P and the paper P is not placed on the manual feed tray 82, the control unit 30 displays an operation guidance image as shown in FIG. The preview image PV representing the paper P on which the image data is printed is displayed in the placement area with the actual size of the paper P (S6).

  The control unit 30 creates the preview image PV based on the image data of the document read by the image reading unit 90 or the image data input from the personal computer PC. When the image data includes a plurality of pages, for example, an image based on the image data of the first page is displayed as the preview image PV.

  Since the operation guide image is displayed on the manual feed tray 82, the user can place a sheet on the manual feed tray 82 while looking at the operation guide image without moving his / her line of sight. For this reason, errors in the placement state of the paper P to be placed on the manual feed tray 82 including the size, direction, and position are suppressed. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7B, the user can easily place the paper P of an appropriate size in an appropriate direction and position.

  When the paper P is placed on the manual feed tray 82, the control unit 30 detects that the paper P is placed by the paper detection sensor 84D. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the width guides 84A and 84B are abutted against both ends of the paper P in the width direction by the user, and the length guide 85A is abutted against the upstream end of the paper P in the paper conveyance direction. Hit.

  The control unit 30 detects the positions of the width guides 84A and 84B and the length guide 85A based on the rotation amounts of the rotary encoders 84C and 85B, so that the width dimension and length of the paper P placed on the manual feed tray 82 are detected. And the actual placement area of the paper P is specified. The controller 30 can acquire the actual placement state (first placement state) including the size and direction of the paper P by specifying the placement region. In addition, the control unit 30 identifies a portion other than the placement region in the display area of the liquid crystal display unit 83 as a non-placement region (S7).

  When the sheet is placed on the manual feed tray 82, the control unit 30 displays the operation guide image 160 in the non-placement area as shown in FIG. 9 (S8).

  As an example, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the control unit 30 displays a preview image representing a sheet P that has been subjected to post-processing based on processing conditions after an image based on image data is formed, as an operation guidance image 160. . Examples of post-processing include stapling processing and punch punching processing.

  Further, as another example, the control unit 30 is configured based on the proper placement state (second placement state) of the paper P based on the processing conditions and the first placement state actually detected, as shown in FIGS. 12 can also be displayed as the operation guide image 160.

  That is, when the control unit 30 determines that the direction in which the paper P is placed is wrong, as shown in FIG. Is displayed along with the image to which As an image for which attention is directed to the loaded state of the paper P, for example, as shown in FIG. As information indicating that the direction of the paper P should be corrected, for example, a message “The paper is set in the wrong direction. Information indicating that the direction of the paper P should be corrected is displayed in, for example, a balloon image. By displaying information indicating that the direction of the paper P is to be corrected together with an image that pays attention to the placement state of the paper P, an error in the placement state of the paper P can be guided in an easy-to-understand manner.

  Further, when the direction of the paper P is correct, the control unit 30 displays information indicating that the direction of the paper P is appropriate together with an image for directing attention to the loaded state of the paper P, as shown in FIG. You can also As information indicating that the direction of the paper P is appropriate, for example, a message “The paper is set in the correct direction” can be cited.

  Further, the control unit 30 compares the first placement state and the second placement state, and the first placement state and the second placement state for either one of the length guide 85A or the width guides 84A and 84B. If it is determined that the guide positions are different, as shown in FIG. 12, information indicating that the position of the guide should be corrected can be displayed by abutting the different guide against the sheet. At this time, the control unit 30 displays an image that pays attention to the loaded state of the paper P. For example, a message “Please set the paper so that the paper guide hits both ends of the paper” as information indicating that the position of the guide in which the first placement state and the second placement state are different should be corrected. Is mentioned.

  As the operation guide image 160, after a preview image as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed for a predetermined time, an image including a message as shown in FIGS. 10 to 12 can be displayed.

  Since the operation guide image 160 is displayed in the non-loading area of the manual feed tray 82, the operation guide image 160 is not blocked by the paper P, and the visibility of the operation guide image 160 is improved.

  Accordingly, when the paper P is placed on the manual feed tray 82 in order to form an image on the second surface of the paper P on which the image is formed on the first surface during duplex printing, an error in the placement state of the paper P is detected. Can be suppressed.

  When there is a print processing start instruction by a setting operation from the operation panel 140 or an input from the image data input unit 150 (S9), the control unit 30 drives the pickup roller 11C as shown in FIG. Paper is fed and printing processing is executed (S10).

  The liquid crystal display unit 83 can also be configured with a touch panel type liquid crystal display device. In this configuration, as shown in FIG. 14, the control unit 30 allows the user to touch the corners LP and RP at the upstream end of the paper P in the paper conveyance direction, thereby changing the size, direction, and position of the paper P. The 1st mounting state including can be acquired. In this configuration, the touch panel type liquid crystal display device corresponds to the placement region detection unit of the present invention.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an area sensor built-in type liquid crystal display unit 170 that can be used as a placement region detection unit. An area sensor built-in type liquid crystal display unit 170 can be used as the placement region detection unit. The area sensor built-in type liquid crystal display unit 170 includes a backlight 171, a liquid crystal layer 172, a plurality of minute optical sensors 173, and a light shielding layer 174.

  A liquid crystal layer 172 is disposed on the backlight 171, and a plurality of optical sensors 173 are equally disposed vertically and horizontally along the paper placement surface between the backlight 171 and the liquid crystal layer 172. In addition, a light shielding layer 174 is disposed between the backlight 171 and each of the optical sensors 173. The light shielding layer 174 prevents the light from the backlight 171 from directly entering the optical sensor 173.

  When the paper P is placed on the liquid crystal layer 172, the light emitted from the backlight 171 is reflected by the paper P and enters the optical sensor 173. For the portion where the paper P is not placed, the light emitted from the backlight 171 is not reflected by the paper P, and therefore does not enter the optical sensor 173. Therefore, the place where the light is incident on the optical sensor 173 is detected as the place where the paper P is placed, and the placement area of the paper P is acquired.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the control unit 30 when the non-mounting area is specified by the area sensor built-in type liquid crystal display unit 170. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of edge enhancement data acquired based on image data acquired by the liquid crystal display unit 170 with a built-in area sensor.

  When the optical sensor 173 detects the reflected light from the paper P (S11), the control unit 30 acquires image data by the optical sensor 173 on the entire surface of the area sensor built-in type liquid crystal display unit 170, and space for this image data. By performing filter (differential filter) processing, edge enhancement data as shown in FIG. 17 is acquired (S12).

  The control unit 30 specifies the closed region 181 surrounded by the edge portion 182 from the edge enhancement data (S13). Note that the control unit 30 can specify the closed region 181 even when there are a plurality of closed regions 181. The control unit 30 determines the size of each closed region 181 (S14). The control unit 30 determines the size of the closed region 181 based on a difference value between the maximum coordinate (Xmax, Ymax) and the minimum coordinate (Xmin, Ymin) of the closed region 181. When the difference value is equal to or greater than the treatment threshold (for example, business card size), the control unit 30 determines that the closed region is a paper loading region, and A6, B6, A5, B5, A4, B4, And a predetermined size such as A3 is determined.

  The control unit 30 identifies an area other than the placement area as a non-placement area among the display areas of the area sensor built-in type liquid crystal display section 170 (S15).

  As shown in FIG. 18, the image forming apparatus 100 can include a projector 191 instead of the liquid crystal display unit 83. The projector 191 is disposed on the side surface of the image forming unit 110 and above the manual feed tray 82, and projects an operation guide image on the paper placement surface of the manual feed tray 82 from above.

  The image forming apparatus 100 can also include a projector 192 instead of the liquid crystal display unit 83 as shown in FIG. The manual feed tray 82 is formed of a translucent resin member. The projector 192 is disposed on the side surface of the image forming unit 110 and below the manual feed tray 82. The projector 192 projects an operation guidance image on the manual feed tray 82 from below.

  By providing the projector 191 or the projector 192 in place of the liquid crystal display unit 83, the paper does not come into contact with the projectors 191 and 192, so that the projectors 191 and 192 can be prevented from being soiled by the paper. Further, since the projectors 191 and 192 can be mounted on portions other than the manual feed tray 82, the weight of the manual feed tray 82 can be reduced.

  The above description of the embodiment is to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above embodiments but by the claims. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration around a sheet conveyance path from a manual feed tray to a conveyance roller pair. (A) is a front view of a manual feed tray, and (B) is a plan view of the manual feed tray. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of a control part. (A) is a diagram showing a manual feed tray in which a preview image is displayed in the placement area, and (B) is a diagram showing a manual feed tray on which paper is placed. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a manual feed tray in a state where a width guide and a length guide are abutted against a sheet. It is a figure which shows an example of the manual feed tray in which the operation guidance image was displayed on the non-loading area. It is a figure which shows an example of the manual feed tray in which the operation guidance image was displayed on the non-loading area. It is a figure which shows an example of the manual feed tray in which the operation guidance image was displayed on the non-loading area. It is a figure which shows an example of the manual feed tray in which the operation guidance image was displayed on the non-loading area. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a manual feed tray that is being fed. It is a figure which shows the structure using the liquid crystal display device of a touchscreen system as a liquid crystal display part. It is a figure which shows the area sensor built-in type liquid crystal display part which can be used as a mounting area | region detection part. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the control part in the case of specifying a non-mounting area | region by a liquid crystal display part with a built-in area sensor. It is a figure which shows an example of the edge emphasis data acquired based on the image data acquired with the area sensor built-in type liquid crystal display part. It is a figure which shows the image forming apparatus provided with the projector instead of the liquid crystal display part. It is a figure which shows the image forming apparatus provided with the projector instead of the liquid crystal display part.

Explanation of symbols

30 Control unit 82 Manual feed tray 83 Liquid crystal display unit (display unit)
84A, 84B Width guide (width guide member)
85A Length guide (length guide member)
84C, 85B rotary encoder (placement area detector)
90 Image reading unit 140 Operation panel (operation unit)
150 Image Data Input Unit 160 Operation Guide Image 170 Area Sensor Built-in Type Liquid Crystal Display Unit (Mounting Area Detection Unit)
191, 192 Projector

Claims (10)

A processing unit that performs processing including image forming processing based on image data on a sheet;
An acquisition unit for acquiring processing conditions and image data in the processing unit;
A control unit that creates an operation guidance image based on the processing conditions acquired by the acquisition unit;
A manual feed tray having a sheet placement surface on which a sheet on which an image is to be formed is placed;
A display unit for displaying the operation guidance image in a predetermined display area of the sheet placement surface;
A placement region detection unit that detects a placement region that is a region on which the sheet is placed on the sheet placement surface;
The control unit acquires a non-placing region that is a region where a sheet is not placed among the display regions based on a detection result of the placement region detecting unit, and the operation guide image is displayed in the non-placing region. An image forming apparatus for displaying.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation guide image includes a preview image representing a sheet on which an image based on image data is formed.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation guide image includes a preview image representing a sheet that has been subjected to post-processing based on processing conditions after an image based on image data is formed.   The control unit compares the detection result of the placement area detection unit with an appropriate placement state of the sheet based on the processing conditions, and determines that the placement state of the sheet is appropriate when the placement state of the sheet is appropriate. 4. An operation guide image including that the sheet is proper is created, and if it is determined that the sheet is not properly placed, an operation guide image including that the sheet is not properly placed is created. The image forming apparatus according to any one of the above. A guide having a length guide member that defines a position of an upstream end portion in the conveyance direction of a sheet placed on the manual feed tray, and a width guide member that defines a position of an end portion in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction. Further comprising a member,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the placement area detection unit detects the placement area based on a position of the guide member.   The control unit compares the detection result of the placement area detection unit with a proper placement state of the sheet based on the processing condition, and the position of either the length guide member or the width guide member is not appropriate. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein if it is determined that the position of the guide member that is not appropriate is to be corrected, the image forming apparatus displays.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit is a liquid crystal display device provided on the sheet placement surface.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the placement area detection unit is an area sensor including a plurality of optical sensors arranged along the sheet placement surface inside the liquid crystal display device.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit is a projector that projects an operation guide image onto the sheet placement surface from above. The manual feed tray is formed of a translucent resin member,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit is a projector that projects an operation guide image onto the manual feed tray from below.

Images