JP2010143714A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device capable of shortening a copy completing time by avoiding paper replenishment, and capable of eliminating labor for replenishing paper by an operator. <P>SOLUTION: This image forming device includes a carrying part for carrying paper loaded on a paper tray 310, an image forming part and a loading plate 321 to the image forming part, a paper number calculating part for calculating the total number of the paper loaded on the loading plate 321, a paper replenishing part 330 positioned in the paper tray 310 and capable of loading the replenishing paper on the loading plate, and a paper replenishing part controlling part for controlling the operation for loading the replenishing paper on the loading plate by the paper replenishing part 330 when the number of the paper loaded on the loading plate calculated by the paper number calculating part is the predetermined number or less. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a medium, and more particularly to a paper replenishment structure in a paper feed tray.

The image forming apparatus according to the prior art discloses a technique for calculating the total number of sheets in the sheet feeding tray by detecting the time of raising / lowering of the table on which the sheets are loaded or the distance of the raising / lowering. According to Patent Literature, when the calculated total number of sheets in the paper feed tray is smaller than the number of copies input by the operator, a warning is given that there is not enough sheets, and the copying operation is prohibited. Is disclosed.
JP-A-8-227252

However, according to the technique described in Patent Document 1, even if a warning is given that there is not enough paper or the copying operation is prohibited, the number of sheets in the paper feed tray is insufficient. It was necessary to replenish paper.
Therefore, there is a problem that it takes time for the operator to replenish paper and complete all copying. In addition, the operator is forced to replenish paper, and there is a problem that it takes labor to replenish paper.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can shorten the time for completion of copying by avoiding paper replenishment, and can save labor for an operator to replenish paper. To do.

  In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is configured to load a medium tray on which a medium is stacked and accommodated, an image forming unit that forms an image on the medium, and a stack stacked on the stacking board. A transport unit that transports media to the image forming unit, a media number calculation unit that calculates the total number of media stacked on the stacking plate, and a replenishment medium that can be stacked on the stacking plate, located in the media tray The medium replenishment unit and the medium replenishment unit controls the operation of loading the replenishment medium on the stacking plate when the number of media loaded on the loading plate calculated by the medium number calculating unit is equal to or less than a predetermined number. And a medium replenishment unit control unit.

According to this, when the medium replenishment unit capable of loading the replenishment medium on the loading plate for loading the medium is provided, and the number of media loaded on the loading plate calculated by the medium number calculation unit is equal to or less than the predetermined number Then, the control unit moves the medium replenishing unit to load the medium on the stacking plate.
Therefore, since a predetermined number or more of media are loaded on the loading plate and it is not necessary to replenish the medium, it is possible to shorten the time and save labor for replenishing the medium.

  An image forming apparatus according to a second aspect includes an input unit for inputting an image forming number desired by an operator, and the predetermined number is an image forming number corresponding to the number input to the input unit. It is characterized by being.

According to this, when the number of media loaded on the loading plate calculated by the number-of-medium calculation unit is equal to or less than the number of image formations input by the operator, the control unit moves the medium replenishing unit to move the loading plate. Load media on top.
Therefore, since more media than the number of image formations input by the operator are loaded on the stacking plate and there is no need to replenish the media, it is possible to shorten the time and save the labor of media replenishment. It becomes possible.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus includes a notifying unit that notifies the completion of the operation of the medium replenishing unit stacking the replenishing medium on the stacking plate.

  According to this, it is possible to notify the operator that the image forming apparatus is available.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus includes a notifying unit that prompts the medium replenishing unit to replenish a medium when the number of media loaded on the stacking plate calculated by the medium number calculating unit is equal to or less than a predetermined number. It is characterized by that.

  According to this, since the shortage has occurred in the medium of the medium replenishment unit when the medium replenishment unit replenishes the medium when the number is less than the predetermined number, the medium replenishment unit is provided with a notification unit that prompts the medium replenishment. It is possible to notify the operator that there is a shortage in the medium of the medium replenishing section and to prompt the medium to be replenished.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus including a notification unit that notifies the number of media stacked on the stacking plate calculated by the medium number calculation unit.

  According to this, it is possible to notify the operator of the image forming apparatus of the number of printable sheets.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that can shorten the time for completion of copying by avoiding paper replenishment, and can save labor for an operator to replenish paper.

  Next, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall view showing the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus in the embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a paper tray in the embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 3B is a side view of the replenishment stacking plate and the replenishment stacking plate driving unit viewed from the side, and FIG. 3C is a replenishment guide. FIG. 4 is a side view of the plate and the supplementary guide plate driving unit viewed from the side, FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a control unit in the embodiment, and FIG. 5 shows a printing process of the image forming apparatus in the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a process of calculating the total number of sheets stacked on the stacking plate in the embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a control process of the sheet supplementing unit in the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a replenishment process of the paper replenishing unit in the embodiment.

(Image forming apparatus 1)
The image forming apparatus 1 is an apparatus that forms an image on a medium such as paper. The image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment conveys a sheet to the image forming unit 100 that forms an image on the sheet and the image forming unit 100. A transport unit 200 that stores paper, a paper storage unit 300 that stores paper, a sensor unit 400 that determines the operating status of each mechanism, and a control unit 500 (see FIG. 4) that controls the operation of the image forming unit 100 described above. Consists of. In the present embodiment, the medium on which an image is formed will be described below as a sheet.

(Image forming unit 100)
As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming unit 100 includes image forming units 110 a to 110 d and a fixing unit 120.
Although not shown, the image forming units 110a to 110d include a photosensitive drum, a charging body that charges the photosensitive drum, an exposure unit that irradiates a laser based on information to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum, The image forming apparatus includes a developing unit that causes toner to adhere to the electrostatic latent image to be visualized as a toner image, and a transfer member that transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum onto a sheet. The image forming units 110a to 110d are different in color from black, cyan, magenta, and yellow, respectively.
The fixing unit 120 is a member that applies predetermined heat and pressure to the paper in order to fix the toner image transferred onto the paper.
The operations of the image forming units 110a to 110d and the fixing unit 120 constituting the image forming unit 100 are controlled by an image forming control unit 560 described later.

(Conveying unit 200)
As shown in FIG. 1, the transport unit 200 includes a pickup roller 210, a separation roller 220, a registration roller 230, a transport belt 240, and a discharge roller 250.
Further, the pickup roller 210, the separation roller 220, the registration roller 230, the conveyance belt 240, and the discharge roller 250 described above are rotated by a driving unit (not shown) so as to convey the sheet in the arrow direction shown in FIG. Move. The operation of the drive unit (not shown) is controlled by a conveyance control unit 570 described later.

(Paper storage unit 300)
As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet storage unit 300 includes a plurality of sheet trays 310a to 310d, and the plurality of sheet trays 310a to 310d store sheets of different sizes. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the paper trays 310 a to 310 d can be detached from the image forming apparatus 1 by being pulled out in the arrow A direction. The paper trays 310 a to 310 d include a case member 315 and a paper feed unit 320, and the paper trays 310 a and 310 b include a paper supplement unit 330.

(Paper Feeder 320)
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A, the paper feeding unit 320 includes a stacking plate 321 on which sheets to be fed are stacked, a guide plate 322 standing on the stacking plate 321, and one end of the stacking plate 321. A lift-up plate 323 (see FIG. 3A) that lifts and lowers the side and a lift motor 324 (see FIG. 3A) that drives the lift-up plate 323 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the stacking plate 321 is made of a plate-like member, and sheets are stacked on the upper surface side thereof. Further, the stacking plate 321 is pivotally supported on the inner peripheral bottom surface side of the case member 315 so as to be rotatable.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the lift-up plate 323 is a substantially L-shaped member in a side view, and one end side is fixed to the rotation shaft of the lifting motor 324. Further, the other end side of the lift-up plate 323 comes into contact with the lower surface of the stacking plate 321, and comes into contact with the lowering sensor 411 when the lift-up plate 323 is lowered by the rotation of the lifting motor 324.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the elevating motor 324 is a servo motor housed in the case member 315. The elevating motor 324 moves up and down the other end side of the lift-up plate 323 by rotating a rotating shaft. Let Further, a pulse corresponding to the rotation of the rotation shaft is detected from the lifting motor 324, and the number of pulses is transmitted to a total paper number calculation unit 525 described later.

(Paper replenisher 330)
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A, the sheet replenishment unit 330 includes a replenishment stacking plate 331 on which replenishment sheets are stacked, a replenishment stacking plate driving unit 332 that moves the replenishment stacking plate 331, It consists of a replenishment guide plate 333 positioned on the side surface of the paper loaded on the replenishment stacking plate 331 and a replenishment guide plate driving unit 334 that moves the replenishment guide plate 333. FIG. 3B is a side view of the replenishment loading plate 331 and the replenishment loading plate driving unit 332 that are broken along the line BB in FIG. 2, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view of a replenishment guide plate 333 and a replenishment guide plate driving unit 334 that are broken along line BB in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3B, the replenishment stacking plate 331 is a plate member in which a notch 341 is formed on the stacking plate 321 side. Further, as shown in FIG. 3A, the replenishment stacking plate 331 is positioned on the upper side of the stacking plate 321.
As shown in FIG. 3B, the replenishment stack driving unit 332 includes a first rotating shaft 335 that is rotated by a driving motor (not shown), and a first belt that is in close contact with the outer periphery of the first rotating shaft 335. 336 and a U-shaped member 337 fixed on the first belt 336.
With this configuration, when the first rotation shaft 335 rotates, the first belt 336 also rotates. Then, the replenishment stacking plate 331 can be moved along with the movement of the U-shaped member 337 on the first belt 336. The direction in which the replenishment stacking plate 331 moves toward the stacking plate 321 is referred to as a positive direction.

The replenishment guide plate 333 is a substantially plate-like member, and is fixed to an L-shaped member 338 described later.
The supplementary guide plate drive unit 334 includes a second rotation shaft 339 that is rotated by a drive motor (not shown), a second belt 340 that is moved by the second rotation shaft 339, and an L-shape that is fixed to the belt. A member 338. Further, when the L-shaped member 338 passes through the notch 341 formed in the replenishment stacking plate 331 and the second rotating shaft 339 is rotated by the configuration, the second belt 340 is also rotated. Then, along with the movement of the L-shaped member 338 on the second belt 340, the replenishment guide plate 333 can also move. The direction in which the replenishment guide plate 333 moves toward the stacking plate 321 is referred to as a positive direction.
The operations of the first rotation shaft 335 and the second rotation shaft 339 are controlled by the supplementary paper control unit 590.

(Sensor unit 400)
The sensor unit 400 includes an upper limit sensor 410, a paper thickness sensor 420, a transport sensor 430, a tray insertion sensor, a paper sensor, and a replenishing paper sensor (not shown) shown in FIG.
The upper limit sensor 410 is a sensor for determining whether or not the sheet on the stacking plate 321 has come into contact with the pickup roller 210 as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the paper thickness sensor 420 is a sensor for detecting the thickness of each conveyed sheet.
As shown in FIG. 1, the transport sensor 430 is a sensor for detecting whether or not a sheet is transported from the sheet trays 310a to 310d.
The tray insertion sensor is a sensor for determining whether or not each of the paper trays 310a to 310d is inserted into the image forming apparatus 1. A replenishment sheet sensor (not shown) is a sensor for determining whether or not a replenishment sheet is stacked on the replenishment stacking plate 331.
The arrival position sensor is a sensor for determining whether or not the replenishing loading plate 331 has reached the position on the loading plate 321.
The replenishment sheet return sensor is a sensor for determining whether or not the moving replenishment stacking plate 331 has returned to a predetermined position.

(Control unit 500)
The control unit 500 is a part that controls the entire apparatus, and includes a main control unit and a sub control unit.
The main control unit includes a controller unit 510 that manages and controls rotation of the driving device in the image forming apparatus 1, a total sheet thickness calculation unit 520 that measures the total sheet thickness on the stacking plate 321, and a total number of sheets. The determination unit 530 determines whether or not the number is less than a predetermined number, and the input number determination unit 540 that determines the number of input prints. The controller unit 510 and the like constituting the main control unit are composed of a CPU, a ROM, a RAM and the like.

The controller unit 510 is connected to the sensors, receives signals from the sensors, and transmits control signals to an image formation control unit 560 and the like which will be described later.
The total sheet thickness calculation unit 520 calculates the total number of sheets stacked on the stacking plate 321. Specifically, the difference between the maximum number of pulses when there is no sheet recorded in the storage unit 550 and the number of pulses transmitted from the lifting motor 324 is obtained, and the thickness (total sheet thickness) based on the difference pulse number is obtained. ) Is calculated.
The total paper number calculation unit 525 receives the total paper thickness calculated by the total paper thickness calculation unit 520 and the signal of the paper thickness sensor 420, and calculates the total number of sheets stacked on the stacking plate 321. Specifically, the total number of sheets is calculated by dividing the total sheet thickness by the thickness per sheet detected by the sheet thickness sensor 420.
The determination unit 530 determines whether the total number of sheets calculated by the total sheet thickness calculation unit 520 is equal to or less than a predetermined number. According to the present embodiment, the predetermined number is the number transmitted from the input number determination unit 540 described later, that is, the number requested by the operator to print.
The input number determination unit 540 determines the number of prints requested to be input by the input unit 620 described later.
The stacking determination unit 545 determines whether or not the replenishment sheet is loaded on the stacking plate 321 and is less than the limit that can be stacked on the stacking plate 321.
The storage unit 550 stores the calculated total number of sheets, sheet thickness, and the like.

The slave control unit receives the signal from the main control unit and controls the operation of each mechanism. The image forming control unit 560, the conveyance control unit 570, the tray control unit 580, and the replenishment sheet control unit 590 Is provided.
The image formation control unit 560 receives the signal from the controller unit 510 and controls the image forming unit 100, and the conveyance control unit 570 receives the signal from the controller unit 510 and picks up the roller 210 that configures the conveyance unit 200. The tray control unit 580 controls the rotation of the elevating motor 324, and the replenishment paper control unit 590 controls the replenishment stacking plate driving unit 332 and the replenishment guide plate driving unit 334.

In addition, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a display unit 610 and an input unit 620 as shown in FIG.
The display unit 610 displays “paper is present”, “paper is not present”, and “replenished paper is not present” based on a signal from the controller unit 510. The input unit 620 receives an input of the number of prints by the operator and transfers the signal to the input number determination unit 540.

(how to use)
Next, a method of using the image forming apparatus 1 of the present invention will be described.
First, when the power supply (not shown) in the image forming apparatus 1 is turned “ON”, the controller unit 510 receives a signal from the tray insertion sensor and determines whether or not the paper trays 310a to 310d are inserted (S101).
Next, when it is determined that the paper trays 310 a to 310 d are inserted (Yes), the controller unit 510 sends a signal to the tray control unit 580 to drive the lifting motor 324 to raise one side of the stacking plate 321. (S103).

Although the details of the process of raising the stacking plate 321 in S103 will be described later, in the process of S103, the total sheet thickness calculation unit 520 measures the thickness of the total sheet stacked on the stacking plate 321 to thereby determine the stacking plate. It is determined whether or not there is a sheet on 321 (S105). Then, if there is a sheet, the total sheet thickness is measured, and the total sheet thickness calculation unit 520 transmits the information to the controller unit 510.
When the controller 510 receives the information indicating the presence of paper (Yes), it instructs the display 610 to display “paper present” (S107). On the other hand, when the information indicating no paper is received (No), the display unit 610 is instructed to display “no paper” (S108).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that any of the paper trays 310a to 310d is not inserted (Yes), the controller unit 510 stores the data of the total number of papers corresponding to the tray that is not inserted and stored in the storage unit 550. In addition to instructing to erase (S104), the display unit 610 is instructed to display “no paper” (S108), and the process enters S101 for checking the insertion state of the paper trays 310a to 310d.

After S107, when the controller unit 510 determines that a print request has been made by the operator operating the input unit 620 (S109), the controller unit 510 causes the input number determination unit 540 to calculate the total number of sheets. Instruct.
Next, the controller unit 510 searches whether or not the storage unit 550 has data obtained by measuring the thickness of each sheet on the stacking plate 321 (S111).

If it is determined that there is no data, the controller unit 510 instructs the transport control unit 570 to feed one sheet of paper by the transport unit 200. In response to this, the conveyance control unit 570 drives the pickup roller 210 and the like. Then, the paper thickness sensor 420 measures the thickness of the conveyed paper (S113), and transmits information on the thickness to the total paper number calculation unit 525. In addition, the paper thickness sensor 420 also transmits information on the paper thickness to the storage unit 550, and the storage unit 550 stores the thickness.
Next, the total sheet number calculation unit 525 divides the total sheet thickness calculated by the total sheet number calculation unit 525 by the thickness per sheet detected by the sheet thickness sensor 420 in the process of S103, thereby calculating the total sheet number. The number is calculated (S115).

Next, the determination unit 530 determines whether or not the number of requested prints transmitted from the input number determination unit 540 is greater than the total number of sheets calculated by the total number of sheets calculation unit 525 (S117). .
If it is determined that the total number of sheets is larger than the requested number (No), the determination unit 530 transmits the information to the controller unit 510, and the controller unit 510 and the image formation control unit 560 and the conveyance control. The unit 570 and the tray control unit 580 are instructed to perform a predetermined operation, and the image forming unit 100 starts printing (S121).
On the other hand, when it is determined that the total number of sheets is smaller than the requested number (Yes), the determination unit 530 transmits the information to the controller unit 510, and the controller unit 510 supplies the sheets to the replenishment sheet control unit 590. An instruction is given to replenish (S119). Details of the process of replenishing paper will be described later.
The controller unit 510 receives a signal indicating that the sheet has been conveyed from the conveyance sensor 430, and subtracts the signal from the total number of sheets stored in the storage unit 550 to update the total number of sheets (S123). ,finish.

(Detection method of total paper thickness)
Next, the process of raising the stacking plate 321 in S103 will be described with reference to FIG.
The controller unit 510 instructs the tray control unit 580 to drive the lifting motor 324 to raise the stacking plate 321 (S201).
Here, when the signal from the upper limit sensor 410 is transmitted to the controller unit 510, the controller unit 510 instructs the tray control unit 580 to stop the rotation of the elevating motor 324. Further, the number of pulses corresponding to the number of rotations in the lifting motor 324 is measured (S203), and the tray control unit 580 is instructed to be transmitted to the total paper thickness calculation unit 520.

Next, the total sheet thickness calculation unit 520 determines whether or not sheets are stacked on the raised stacking plate 321. Specifically, if there is a difference between the number of pulses measured from the lifting motor 324 when there is no sheet stored in the storage unit 550 in advance and the number of pulses measured from the lifting motor 324 due to the current increase, the sheet It is determined that there is (S205).
If it is determined that there is a sheet (Yes), the total sheet thickness calculation unit 520 obtains the total sheet thickness based on the difference (S207), and transmits the total sheet thickness and information indicating that there is a sheet to the controller unit 510 ( S209), the process ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S205 that there is no paper (No), the total paper thickness calculation unit 520 instructs the replenishment paper control unit 590 to replenish paper via the controller unit 510.
In step S210, it is determined whether there is a sheet on the stacking plate 321 through steps S201, S203, and S205 described above (S210).
However, when it is determined that there is still no paper on the stacking plate 321 such as when there is no paper in the paper replenishing unit 330 (No), the paper thickness calculation unit transmits information indicating that there is no paper to the controller unit 510 (S212). ).

(Replenishment method)
Next, the process of replenishing paper will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, the controller unit 510, which has been instructed to replenish paper, receives a signal from a replenishment paper sensor (not shown) and checks whether or not there is replenishment paper on the replenishment stacking plate 331 (S301). If there is no replenishment sheet on the replenishment stacking plate 331, the controller unit 510 instructs the display unit 610 to display “no replenishment sheet” (S310), and ends the sheet replenishment.
When the controller unit 510 can confirm that there is a replenishment sheet on the replenishment stacking plate 331 (Yes), the controller unit 510 is below the limit that the predetermined number of replenishment sheets on the replenishment stacking plate 331 can be replenished on the stacking plate 321. It is determined by the stack determination unit 545 whether or not there is (S303). If the limit that can be replenished on the stacking plate 321 is exceeded, the paper replenishment is terminated.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 8A, the sheet feeding unit 320 and the sheet supplementing unit 330 are in a state in which the stacking plate 321 is raised by the 323, but the stack determination unit 545 determines that stacking is possible. The controller unit 510 instructs the tray control unit 580 to perform the operation of lowering the stacking plate 321 (S305). Next, an instruction is given to tilt the guide plate 322 (S305), and the state shown in FIG.

  Next, the controller unit 510 instructs the replenishment sheet control unit 590 to rotate the replenishment stacking plate drive unit 332 and the replenishment guide plate drive unit 334 in the forward direction (S307). The replenishment guide plate 333 is moved to the 320 side. As a result, the replenishment stacking plate 331 is positioned on the stacking plate 321 as shown in FIG.

The controller unit 510 moves the replenishment sheet plate, receives a signal from the arrival position sensor, instructs the replenishment sheet control unit 590 to stop the replenishment guide plate drive unit 334, and moves the replenishment stacking plate drive unit 332 in the reverse direction. Is instructed to rotate (S309).
As a result, as shown in FIG. 8D, the replenishment paper stacked on the replenishment paper plate comes into contact with the replenishment guide plate 333 and falls from the replenishment stacking plate 331 onto the stacking plate 321. Sheets are replenished on the stacking plate 321.

  In response to the signal that the replenishment paper arrival plate has returned to the predetermined position from the replenishment paper return sensor, the controller unit 510 stops the replenishment stacking plate drive unit 332 and returns the replenishment guide plate drive unit 334 to the original. Instructed to return to the position (S311).

  Next, the controller unit 510 receives a signal that the vertical plate return sensor has returned to the predetermined position, and instructs to stop the movement of the replenishment guide plate 333 as shown in FIG. Also, the tray control unit 580 is instructed to rotate (return) the guide plate 322 and raise the stacking plate 321 (S315).

  Then, the controller 510 receives a signal from the ascending sensor that the paper loaded on the stacking plate 321 is in contact with the pick-up roller, and the tray control unit 580 stops the lifting of the stacking plate 321. (S317) and the process ends.

  The image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment has been described above. However, according to the image forming apparatus 1 of the present invention, the stacking plate 321 on which the sheets to be fed to the image forming unit 100 are stacked has a predetermined number of sheets or more. There is no need to replenish paper. Further, it is possible to reduce the labor for the operator to replenish paper.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, and may include a notification unit that notifies the above-described image forming apparatus 1 that the operation of stacking on the stacking plate 321 has been completed.
Alternatively, when the number of sheets stacked on the stacking plate 321 calculated by the total sheet number calculation unit 525 is equal to or less than a predetermined number, the notifying unit that prompts the sheet replenishment unit 330 to replenish the sheet or the total sheet number calculation unit 525 You may provide the alerting | reporting part which alert | reports the number of sheets of the paper loaded on the calculated stacking board 321. FIG.

1 is an overall view showing the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus in an embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the paper tray in embodiment. FIG. 6 is a side view of a sheet feeding unit and a sheet supplementing unit viewed from the side. It is a block diagram which shows the control part in embodiment. It is a figure which shows the printing process of the image forming apparatus in embodiment. It is a figure which shows the process in which the total number of sheets loaded on the loading board in embodiment is calculated. It is a figure which shows the control process of the paper supplement part in embodiment. It is a figure which shows the replenishment process of the paper replenishment part in embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 100 Image forming part 110a-110d Image forming unit 120 Fixing unit 200 Conveying part 210 Pickup roller 220 Separating roller 230 Registration roller 240 Conveying belt 250 Discharge roller 300 Paper storage part 310a Paper tray 315 Case member 320 Paper feeding part 321 Loading plate 322 Guide plate 323 Lift up plate 324 Lifting motor 330 Paper replenishing unit 331 Replenishing loading plate 332 Replenishing loading plate driving unit 333 Replenishing guide plate 334 Replenishing guide plate driving unit 335 First rotating shaft 336 First belt 337 U-shaped member 338 L-shaped member 339 Second rotation shaft 340 Second belt 400 Sensor unit 410 Upper limit sensor 411 Lowering sensor 420 Paper thickness sensor 430 Conveyance sensor 500 Control unit 510 Controller Section 520 Total sheet thickness calculation section 525 Total sheet number calculation section 530 Determination section 540 Input number determination section 545 Stack determination section 550 Storage section 560 Image formation control section 570 Transport control section 580 Tray control section 590 Replenishment sheet control section 610 Display section 620 Input section

Claims (5)

A media tray for loading and storing media on a loading plate;
An image forming unit that forms an image on the medium;
A transport unit that transports the medium stacked on the stacking plate to an image forming unit;
A medium number calculation unit for calculating the total number of media loaded on the loading plate;
A medium replenishment unit located in the medium tray and capable of loading a replenishment medium on the stacking plate;
A medium replenishment unit control unit that controls the operation of the medium replenishment unit loading a replenishment medium on the stacking plate when the number of media loaded on the loading plate calculated by the medium number calculation unit is equal to or less than a predetermined number An image forming apparatus comprising: An input unit for inputting the number of image formations desired by the operator is provided.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined number is an image forming number corresponding to the number input to the input unit.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notifying unit that notifies that the operation of loading the replenishing medium onto the stacking plate is completed by the medium replenishing unit.   2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notifying unit that prompts the medium replenishing unit to replenish a medium when the number of media loaded on the stacking plate calculated by the medium number calculating unit is equal to or less than a predetermined number. The image forming apparatus according to 2.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notifying unit that notifies the number of media stacked on the stacking plate calculated by the medium number calculating unit.

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