JP2013193805A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that in a conventional image forming apparatus having a plurality of trays on which recording media can be placed, when there is no recording media on a tray which feeds the recording media, because only a guide for replenishing recording media to the tray is provided, there is a case where replenishment of recording media is not efficient.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus has an image processing unit 110 which associates page attribute information, a non-volatile memory 150 which holds tray media information corresponding to recording media to be placed, a printing control unit 160 which selects a tray associated with the tray media information that matches the page attribute information and controls image formation on a recording medium sent from the tray based on image data, a detection sensor 12b, or the like which detects the recording medium of the tray, and an operating unit 140 which encourages replenishment of recording media, and when a control unit determines that replenishment of recording media to be placed on the selected tray is required, the operating unit 140 encourages replenishment of recording media to the selected tray and also encourages replenishment of recording media to other trays.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a plurality of trays on which recording media can be stacked.

  Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus having a plurality of trays in which recording papers that are recording media of the same specification are stored, if there is no printing paper in a tray that supplies recording paper for printing, the same specification as this tray is used. In some cases, the supply source is automatically switched to another tray on which recording paper is placed, and when all the paper is used up, the user is prompted to replenish the paper and the operation is stopped (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-89186 A (page 9, FIG. 6)

  However, in the conventional image forming apparatus, since the tray that prompts the replenishment of the recording medium is a tray that detects the shortage of the sheet, the replenishment of the recording medium may be inefficient.

An image forming apparatus having a plurality of trays on which recording media can be stacked,
An image processing unit that generates print data from image data and associates page attribute information for printing the print data, and a tray medium information holding unit that holds tray medium information corresponding to recording media stacked on each of the plurality of trays A control unit that selects a tray associated with the tray medium information that matches the page attribute information, and controls image formation based on the impression data on a recording medium sent from the tray; A detection unit that detects a recording medium to be performed, and a notification unit that prompts replenishment of the recording medium under a predetermined condition,
When the control unit determines that the recording medium loaded on the selected tray needs to be replenished based on the detection result of the detection unit, the notifying unit prompts replenishment of the selected tray, and what is the selected tray? It is characterized by prompting replenishment of recording media to different trays.

  According to the present invention, since the user is notified of the tray on which the recording medium can be replenished, the paper can be replenished efficiently.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining a main configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment that employs the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a main part of a signal transmission system of the printer 1 in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the contents of print page information in the first embodiment. In Embodiment 1, it is a principal part block diagram which shows schematically the structure of an operation panel. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a selection operation flow when the print control unit selects a paper feed tray in the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a selection operation flow when the print control unit selects a paper feed tray in the first embodiment. In Embodiment 1, it is a figure with which it uses for description at the time of printing 200 sheets by sort printing, The example of a tray structure at this time is shown. It is a schematic block diagram for demonstrating the principal part structure of the image forming apparatus of Embodiment 2 based on this invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a main part of a signal transmission system of a printer in Embodiment 2. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a selection operation flow when the print control unit selects a paper feed tray in the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a selection operation flow when the print control unit selects a paper feed tray in the second embodiment.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining a main configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment employing the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, a printer 1 as an image forming apparatus that is an electrophotographic printer includes a fourth tray cassette 15, a third tray cassette 14, a second tray cassette 13, and a first tray cassette arranged in order from the bottom. 12 and a printing unit 11. Each of the first to fourth tray cassettes 12 to 15 is formed with a path for transporting paper, and these first to fourth tray cassettes 12 to 15 are stacked and placed as shown in FIG. Thus, a common supply sheet conveyance path 16 is formed.

  Inside the first tray cassette 12, there is a first tray 12c on which a recording sheet 41 as a recording medium stacked and positioned below the inside is placed, and a first tray located at the leading end in the conveyance direction of the recording sheet 41 The first sheet feeding roller 12a that sequentially feeds the uppermost recording sheet 41 on 12c to the feeding sheet conveying path 16, and the recording sheet 41 that is positioned near the first sheet feeding roller 12a and is fed by the first sheet feeding roller 12a. The first paper detection sensor 12b as a remaining amount detection unit that detects and detects the presence or absence of the recording paper 41 on the first tray 12c, and the first tray cassette 12 are formed integrally with the first tray 12c. A first pulling member 12d is provided that allows the recording paper to be replenished to the first tray 12c by being held so that it can be pulled out.

  Similarly, in the second tray cassette 13, the second paper feed roller 13 a, the second paper detection sensor 13 b, the second tray 13 c, and the second drawer member 13 d are provided in the third tray cassette 14. A paper roller 14a, a third paper detection sensor 14b, a third tray 14c, and a third drawer member 14d are provided in the fourth tray cassette 15 in the fourth paper feed roller 15a, the fourth paper detection sensor 15b, and the fourth tray. 15c and the fourth drawer member 15d are arranged in the same configuration as the first tray cassette 12, respectively.

  The printing unit 11 is provided with an MP (Multipurpose) tray 20 on which the recording paper 41 is placed, and the uppermost recording paper 41 on the MP tray 20 is sequentially supplied to the leading end of the recording paper 41 in the transport direction. The MPT paper feed roller 21 to be fed into the paper transport path 16 and the recording paper 41 sent by the MPT paper feed roller 21 located in the vicinity of the MPT paper feed roller 21 are detected, whereby the presence or absence of the recording paper 41 on the MP tray 20 is detected. MPT paper detection sensors 22 for detecting the above are arranged. From the first to fourth tray cassettes 12 to 15 and the MP tray 20 arranged as described above, the recording paper 41 is selectively sent to the supply paper conveyance path 16.

  The conveyance roller 23 is arranged on the downstream side of the supply sheet conveyance path 16 in the sheet conveyance direction, and sends the recording sheet 41 sent in the arrow A direction along the supply sheet conveyance path 16 to the image forming unit 18. The feed sensor 24 is located upstream of the conveyance roller 23, detects the passing recording paper 41 and notifies the timing when the recording paper 41 reaches the conveyance roller 23, and the registration sensor 25 is located downstream of the conveyance roller 23. Then, the passing recording sheet 41 is detected to notify the timing when the trailing edge of the recording sheet 41 reaches the image forming unit 18.

  The tandem image forming unit 18 includes four toner image forming units 31K, 31Y, 31M, and 31C that are arranged in series in order from the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording paper 41 (if there is no particular need to distinguish the toners, And a transfer unit 26 that transfers the toner image formed by the toner image forming unit 31 to the upper surface of the sheet by Coulomb force.

  The toner image forming unit 31K is a black (K) toner image, the toner image forming unit 31Y is a yellow (Y) toner image, the toner image forming unit 31M is a magenta (M) toner image, and the toner image forming unit 31C. Respectively form cyan (C) toner images. In each toner image forming unit 31, the surface of the photosensitive drum 45 is charged by the charging roller 46, and the surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 45 is rotated by the LED head 32 whose light emission is controlled by the head control unit 270 (FIG. 2) described later. Are exposed in accordance with print data, which will be described later, to form an electrostatic latent image, and the electrostatic latent image is developed with toner by the developing roller 47, whereby the toner images of the respective colors are formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 45. It is formed.

  The transfer unit 26 is arranged to face the transfer belt 27 that transports the recording paper 41 transported from the transport roller 23 in the direction of arrow B, and the photosensitive drum 45 of each toner image forming unit 31 via the transfer belt 27. The four transfer rollers 28 are provided, and the toner images of the respective colors formed on the photosensitive drums 45 of the toner image forming portions 31 are sequentially superimposed and transferred onto the recording paper 41 by Coulomb force.

  In the fixing unit 33, the toner image transferred onto the recording paper 41 by the transfer unit 26 is fixed on the recording paper by the heat and pressure of the heating roller 33a and the pressure roller 33b. The fixing conveyance roller 34 is provided in the vicinity of the fixing unit 33 and conveys the fixed recording paper discharged from the fixing unit 33, and the discharge sensor 35 is disposed downstream of the fixing conveyance roller 34 and is disposed behind the recording paper 41. The timing at which the end is discharged from the fixing unit 33 is detected. The discharge roller 36 discharges the fixed recording sheet 41 conveyed via the discharge conveyance path 37 to the outside of the printing unit 11.

  FIG. 2 is a principal block diagram of the signal transmission system of the printer 1 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printer 1 is connected to a host computer 300 and includes an engine portion that performs printing and a controller portion that controls the printer engine based on image data received from a host device. The controller portion is connected to a host computer 300 such as a workstation or a personal computer. The host device 300 includes a printer driver 301 and transmits image data to the controller portion.

  The controller portion receives image data from the printer driver 301 and performs image processing to process image data into print data. The RAM 120 stores various data for printing, print control. Upon receiving a notification from the unit 160, a print data sending unit 130 for sending print data, which will be described later stored in the RAM 120, to the engine part as rasterized data, and controlling and controlling each unit in the apparatus, and an image developing unit to be described later A print control unit 160 that receives a print request from 113 and requests the engine unit to prepare for printing, an operation unit 140 described later, and a nonvolatile memory 150 are provided.

  The operation unit 140 serving as a notification unit includes an operation panel 141 that can display various states of the printer 1 by displaying the operating state of the printer 1 and a user's operation input, a panel control unit 142 that controls the operation panel, and the like. A database of character strings to be displayed on the operation panel 141 is created.

  The image processing unit 110 receives image data from the printer driver 301, edits and prints one page of data based on an interface 111 stored in a reception buffer 121 (to be described later) and image data stored in the reception buffer 121. Creates page information and stores it in an image editing unit 112 to be stored in a page buffer 122, which will be described later, and expands / decompresses print data from print page information stored in the page buffer 122, stores it in a raster buffer 123, which will be described later, and is necessary In response to this, the image development unit 113 that transmits a print request to the print control unit 160 is provided.

  The RAM 120 is a volatile memory, a reception buffer 121 that stores image data received by the interface 111, a page buffer 122 that stores print page information for one page edited by the image editing unit 112, and an image development unit. A raster buffer 123 for storing the print data expanded in step 113 is formed.

  The non-volatile memory 150 is a rewritable non-volatile memory such as a flash memory ROM or an EEPROM. When the setting of the printer 1 is changed from the operation panel 141, an area for holding the changed contents is secured. A parameter management unit 151 that manages the change contents and a print continuation job / ID unit 152 that holds print continuation job / ID information, which is information indicating that the job is a print continuation mode target job, are formed. The parameter management unit 151 also manages the medium information of the recording sheets placed on the first tray 12c to the fourth tray 15c.

  The print control unit 160 has a tray selection unit 161. The tray selection unit 161 acquires medium information regarding each tray from the parameter management unit 151, and acquires print continuation job / ID information from the print continuation job / ID unit 152. Then, as will be described later, it is determined whether or not the process to be executed is a print continuation job with reference to the print continuation job / ID information. If it is determined that the process is a print continuation job, the tray designation 54 ( When the tray of the print continuation tray information designated in FIG. 2) is selected as a paper feed tray and it is determined that the print continuation job is not a print continuation job, the tray having medium information that matches the medium designation information designated by the host computer 300 And a tray having matching medium information is selected as a paper feed tray. This tray selection operation will be described in detail later.

  On the other hand, the engine portion includes a state management unit 210, a clock control unit 220, a motor control unit 230, a paper presence / absence monitoring unit 240, a paper conveyance monitoring unit 250, a fixing device control unit 260, and a head control unit 270.

  The status management unit 210 manages the paper presence / absence monitoring unit 240, the paper conveyance monitoring unit 250, and the fixing device control unit 260 based on various communication signals sent from the controller unit, and the status of the printer 1 based on information obtained from each unit. Manage. The clock control unit 220 sends a clock to the head control unit 270 upon activation from the state management unit 210, and the motor control unit 230 includes five paper feed motors 231 to 235, a paper travel motor 236, and a fixing motor 237. Control.

  The first tray paper feed motor 231 drives the first paper feed roller 12a of the first tray cassette 12, the second tray paper feed motor 232 drives the second paper feed roller 13a of the second tray cassette 13, The third tray paper feed motor 233 drives the third paper feed roller 14a of the third tray cassette 14, the fourth tray paper feed motor 234 drives the fourth paper feed roller 15a of the fourth tray cassette 15, The MPT paper feed motor 235 drives the MTP paper feed roller 21 disposed corresponding to the MP tray 20, the paper travel motor 236 drives the transport roller 23, the fixing transport roller 34, and the discharge roller 36, and The fixing motor 237 drives the heating roller 33 a and the pressure roller 33 b of the fixing unit 33.

  The paper presence / absence monitoring unit 240 includes a first paper detection sensor 12b arranged in the first tray cassette 12, a second paper detection sensor 13b arranged in the second tray cassette 13, and a third paper arranged in the third tray cassette 14. The paper detection sensor 14b, the fourth paper detection sensor 15b arranged in the fourth tray cassette 15, and the MPT paper detection sensor 22 arranged corresponding to the MP tray 20 are monitored, and information on the presence / absence of paper in each tray is displayed. Notify the management unit 210.

The paper conveyance monitoring unit 250 monitors the conveyance state of the recording paper 41 by the feed sensor 24, the registration sensor 25, and the discharge sensor 35, and notifies the state management unit of information that the recording paper 41 passes through each part. The fixing device control unit 260 monitors the state of the temperature sensor 261 that detects the temperature of the heating roller 33a of the fixing unit 33, performs ON / OFF control of a heater (not shown) that heats the heating roller 33a, and performs heating roller 33a. To control the temperature. The head control unit 270 emits light from the LED head 32 based on the rasterized data received from the print data sending unit 130, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 45 as described above.
In the above configuration, the print control unit 160, the state management unit 210, the paper presence / absence monitoring unit 240, and the nonvolatile memory 150 correspond to the control unit.

  FIG. 3 illustrates the contents of the print page information in the present embodiment. The print page information generated by the image editing unit 112 is composed of page attribute information 50 and print data 60 as shown in FIG. The page attribute information 50 includes job ID information 51 arbitrarily assigned in units of jobs, resolution information 52 relating to print data of the corresponding page, duplex information 53, tray designation information 54 designated by the host computer 300, medium size information 55, From the medium type information 56, the medium thickness information 57, the print continuation flag 58 which is “ON” when the print continuation mode is selected, and the print data link pointer 59 indicating the address where the print data is actually stored. It is configured. Among these, medium size information 55, medium type information 56, and medium thickness information 57 are medium designation information.

  The medium size information 55 includes direction information as a medium size and a loading condition of the medium. Here, there is information indicating that the stacking is performed in the vertically long direction with respect to the medium transport direction (vertical), or the stacking is performed in the horizontally long direction with respect to the medium transport direction (horizontal). In addition to the vertical and horizontal directions of the medium conveyance, information for loading the back and front of the medium separately may be included.

  FIG. 4 is a main configuration diagram schematically showing the configuration of operation panel 141 in the present embodiment.

  The operation panel 141 includes an on-line lamp 71, an attention lamp 72, an LCD display unit 73, a back key 74, a menu + key 75, a menu-key 76, an enter key 77, an on-line key 78, and a cancel key 79. .

  As will be described later, the printer 1 waits for an instruction to request the user to continue printing in the tray selection process when the recording paper designated by the host computer 300 does not match the paper information of the designated tray. The state is displayed on the LCD display unit 73 of the operation panel 141. In such a case, when the panel control unit 142 detects that the user intending to continue printing presses the ON-LINE key 78 of the operation panel 141, the panel control unit 142 instructs the print control unit 160 to “continue printing. “Notice”. Upon receiving this notification, the print control unit 160 turns on the print continuation flag.

  Further, by operating the above-described plurality of keys, it is possible to select and set a tray on which desired recording paper is placed among the four tray cassettes 12 to 15 and the MP tray 20 shown in FIG. . For example, in the online state, the menu + key 75 is pressed to enter the printer setting mode (menu mode), and the menu + key 75, menu-key 76, enter key 77, and back key 74 are used to select “tray medium”. The setting screen is displayed on the LCD display unit 73, and then the setting can be confirmed and input by pressing the enter key 77 at the tray (setting value) to be set.

  The operation of the above configuration will be described below.

  First, a print control operation in the controller unit will be described. The print control unit 160 notified of the print request from the image development unit 113 monitors the state of the engine unit, and when the print conditions are satisfied, requests the engine unit to prepare for printing and request paper feed to the corresponding tray. . After that, the print control unit 160, which has recognized that the engine unit is ready, notifies the engine unit of a print request, takes out rasterized data line by line to the print data transmission unit 130, and outputs the clock of the engine unit. Data is transmitted to the head controller 270 in synchronization with the clock output from the controller 220.

  Next, a printing operation in the engine unit will be described. When the controller unit is requested by the controller unit to prepare for the printing process, the fixing unit control unit 260 monitors the temperature sensor 261 and heats the heating roller 33a until the heating roller 33a reaches an appropriate fixing temperature. The controller unit is notified that the preparation for printing has been completed.

  The state management unit 210 is designated from among the first tray paper feed motor 231 to the fourth tray paper feed motor 234 and the MPT paper feed motor 235 in order to feed paper from the paper feed tray designated by the controller unit. When the paper feed motor corresponding to the paper feed tray is driven to feed paper from the corresponding paper feed tray and the paper transport monitoring unit 250 notifies the feed sensor 24 that the recording paper has arrived, Notify the controller that the hopping preparation is complete. Thereafter, the state management unit 210 that has received a print request from the controller unit activates the paper travel motor 236 and conveys the fed recording paper to the toner image forming unit 31. As described above, the toner image forming unit 31 and the transfer unit 26 sequentially transfer the toner images of the respective colors on the recording paper 41. The rotating member such as the photosensitive drum 45 of the toner image forming unit 31 and the transfer roller 28 of the transfer unit 26 are driven by a drive motor (not shown).

  The paper presence / absence monitoring unit 240 constantly monitors the first paper detection sensor 12b to the fourth paper detection sensor 15b and the MTP paper detection sensor 22, and when the first tray 12c to the fourth tray 15c are pulled out or during printing. When there is no recording paper placed on each tray, the status management unit 210 is notified individually, and the status management unit 210 notifies the controller unit (print control unit 160) to that effect.

  FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are flowcharts showing the flow of the selection operation when the print control unit 160 selects the paper feed tray. The flow of the paper feed tray selection process will be described along these flowcharts. Note that the flowcharts of FIGS. 5 and 6 divide and show one flowchart in which the circled numbers 1 and 2 are connected to each other.

  Upon receiving a print request from the image development unit 113, the print control unit 160 refers to the print continuation flag 58 in the page attribute information 50 (FIG. 3) of the image data stored in the RAM 120, and the print continuation flag 58 is “ON”. In this case (step S101, Yes), in order to determine whether or not the job is a print continuation target job, the print continuation job ID information is read from the print continuation job / ID unit 152, and the job ID information 51 in the page attribute information 50 is read. (Step S102), if they match (Yes in step S102), it is determined that the job is a print continuation target job, and the tray for the print continuation tray information is designated as the selected tray information (step). S103).

  If they do not match in the determination in step S102 (No in step S102), it is determined that the job is not a print continuation target job, and the print continuation flag 58 is turned off (step S104). After the print continuation flag 58 is turned off in step S104, or when the print continuation flag 58 is off in the determination of step S101 (step S101, No), the print control unit 160 displays the tray in the page attribute information 50. The designation information 54 is read, and it is checked whether or not there is a tray designation (step S105). If there is a tray designation (step S105, Yes), the medium information of the tray designated here is read from the non-volatile memory 150, and it is determined whether or not it matches the medium information 55 to 57 in the page attribute information 50. (Step S106).

  If it is determined in step S106 that both pieces of information match (step S106, Yes), the designated tray is selected as a tray to be fed, and if both pieces of information do not match (step S106, No) ), Or when no tray designation is made in step S105 (No in step S105), the page attribute information 50 in all the trays (the MPT tray 20 and the first tray 12c to the fourth tray 15c) is included. Trays that match the medium information 55 to 57 are sequentially searched (step S107, step S108 (No)). If a matching tray is found (step S107, Yes), the tray is selected as a tray to be fed, On the other hand, if all trays do not match (step S108, Yes), the specified recording paper can be placed. Tray (e.g. MP tray) notifies the instruction to display the character string to the panel control unit 142 for requesting to set the proper recording paper (step S109).

  Here, in response to the notification displayed on the panel display unit 73 (FIG. 4), the user sets the designated recording paper on the tray that can be placed, and presses an on-line key 78 to execute printing. It shall be pressed.

  The print control unit 160 monitors the pressing of the on-line key 78 (No at Step S110), and when the pressing is confirmed (Yes at Step S110), sets the print continuation flag 58 to “On” (Step S111). In step S109, the tray information requested to set the recording paper is held as print continuation tray information (step S112), and the job / ID information 51 in the page attribute information 50 (FIG. 3). Is held in the print continuation job / ID unit 152 (step S113), and the process returns to step S101.

  When the tray to be fed is selected through the above processing, the print control unit 130 executes step S114 shown in FIG. That is, it is determined whether or not there is a recording sheet in the selected tray (step S114). If it is determined that there is a recording sheet (step S114, Yes), the engine portion is fed to feed the recording sheet from this tray. An instruction is given (step S118), and the process of selecting a paper feed tray is terminated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no recording paper in the selected tray (step S114, No), the page attribute information 50 is selected from all the trays (MPT tray 20, and first tray 12c to fourth tray 15c). The trays that match the medium information 55 to 57 in the medium and in which paper is present are sequentially searched (step S115 to step S117, No), and if a tray that meets the conditions is found (step S116, Yes), the tray is checked. The engine part is instructed to feed the recording paper (step S118). On the other hand, if all the trays do not match (step S117, Yes), the print continuation flag 58 in the page attribute information 50 is referred to (step S117). Step S119). The above search results are held in a non-illustrated area of the nonvolatile memory 150.

  Here, when the print continuation flag 58 in the page attribute information 50 is OFF (No in step S119), the corresponding recording sheet is set based on the medium information of the corresponding tray with the selected tray as the paper source. A request is made to the panel control unit 142 to display a text string for another tray having the same medium information as this tray so as to confirm the remaining amount of the recording sheet to the user ( Step S120). Thereafter, it is monitored that the user replenishes the paper (step S121, No), and if the paper replenishment is confirmed (step S121, Yes), the process returns to the determination of S114 to feed the medium from the corresponding tray. The part is instructed (step S118), and the paper feed tray selection process is terminated.

  If the print continuation flag 58 in the page attribute information 50 is ON in step S119 (step S119, Yes), the process returns to step S109 shown in FIG. 5, and the tray held in the print continuation tray information is used as the paper source. Based on the medium information 55 to 57 in the page attribute information, the panel control unit 142 is instructed to display a character string for requesting that an appropriate recording sheet be supplied to the tray (step S109). Thereafter, when the user presses the on-line key 78 (step S110), the processing from step S111 is repeated, and the engine portion is instructed to feed recording paper from the tray held in the print continuation tray information. (Step S118), the paper feed tray selection process is terminated.

  Here, in the present embodiment, a case will be described in which 200 sheets (40 copies of 5 sheets / copy) are printed by sort printing (printing for switching paper feeding in units of copies). A tray configuration example at this time is shown in FIG. 7, and the medium information and the number of fed sheets of each cassette are as follows. Note that the page attribute information given to the print data at this time is set as shown in FIG.

◎ First tray 12c (matches with tray specification in page attribute information)
-Paper size: A4 (landscape)
-Media type: Plain paper-Media weight: Thin paper-Number of paper sheets: 50-Second tray 13c (medium information matches first tray 12c)
-Paper size: A4 (vertical)
Media type: Plain paper Media weight: Thin paper Number of paper sheets: 80 ◎ Third tray 14c (medium information matches first tray 12c)
-Paper size: A4 (landscape)
・ Media type: Plain paper ・ Media weight: Thin paper ・ Number of paper sheets: 50 ◎ Fourth tray 15c (medium information does not match first tray 12c)
-Paper size: A4 (landscape)
・ Media type: Glossy paper ・ Media weight: *
-Number of sheets: 20 sheets

  The simple paper supply flow immediately after the start of printing is that five sheets (units) are alternately fed from the first tray 12c and the second tray 13c, but the number of sheets fed to the first tray 12c reaches 50 sheets. Then, the paper feed tray is switched to the third tray 14c having the same medium information and paper feed direction as the first tray 12c. Next, five sheets are alternately fed from the second tray 13c and the third tray 14c. When the number of sheets fed to the second tray reaches 80 sheets, paper remains on the third tray 14c, but sort printing is performed. Printing cannot be continued because printing cannot be continued. Thereafter, printing is resumed after paper replenishment and paper replenishment instructions are performed, and five sheets are alternately fed from the first tray 12c and the second tray 13c, and printing of a total of 200 sheets is completed. Complete.

  The process leading to this stop will be further described in comparison with the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

  Here, even if the medium information does not match, the print continuation flag is off because it is not required to forcibly execute printing. Therefore, “No” is determined in step S101, and in step S105, “Yes” is determined because the tray is designated as the first tray (FIG. 3), and step S106 is reached. Here, since the medium information registered as the attribute information of the print data matches the setting contents of the first tray 12c on the printer 1 side, “Yes” is determined and the process proceeds to step S114. In step S114, it is determined whether there is a recording sheet on the first tray 12c.

  Here, if it is determined that there is no sheet in the first tray 12c, the medium information 55 in the page attribute information 50 from the third to fourth trays that are not currently set as supply trays in steps S115 to S117. The trays that match -57 and that have paper are sequentially searched, and here, the third tray 14c with 50 sheets remaining is determined as the matching tray (Yes in step S116). Thereafter, paper is fed from the third tray instead of the first tray, and is continued until there is no more paper.

  On the other hand, the second tray 13c is also the same as the first tray 12c (here, the tray designation of the page attribute information in FIG. 3 is the second tray). The trays that match the medium information 55 to 57 in the page attribute information 50 and have more than a predetermined value are sequentially searched from the first and fourth trays that are not set as the supply tray in this case. It is determined that there is no correct tray (step S117, Yes). Accordingly, in this case, it is determined whether or not the print continuation / flag is “ON” in step S119, but “NO” is determined because the route to be turned off is passed.

  In the next step S120, the panel control unit 142 controls the operation panel 141 to display a sheet replenishment instruction on the first tray 12c and the second tray 13c where no sheet exists, and the third sheet in which sufficient sheets remain. The tray 14c is controlled to display a sheet confirmation instruction on the operation panel 141. When it is confirmed in the next step S121 that the printer has been stopped due to running out of paper and it is confirmed that paper has been supplied to the first tray to the third tray according to the display on the operation panel 141, the feeding from the second tray and the third tray is performed. Paper is instructed (step S117), printing by alternating paper feeding is resumed, and printing is completed after a total of 200 sheets are printed.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which another tray is searched when there is no paper in the designated tray has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the stage where the remaining amount of paper reaches a predetermined value. Thus, another tray may be searched. In this case, for example, the paper detection sensors (22, 12b to 15b) can detect a predetermined remaining paper amount, and this can be achieved by changing the determination condition in step S114 of FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the presence / absence of a sheet is set as one of the determination conditions as a search condition for other trays. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the determination condition may be that there is a predetermined amount or more. In this case, for example, the sheet detection sensors (22, 12b to 15b) can detect a predetermined remaining sheet amount, and can take various forms such as being possible by changing the determination condition in step S116 in FIG. is there.

  As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment, when a shortage of sheets in a predetermined tray occurs, the user is prompted to supply a sheet to all trays having the same medium setting as the tray. The effect of grasping the tray replenishment capacity and feeding paper can be obtained.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining a main configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment based on the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a main block diagram of the signal transmission system.

  The printer 1001 as the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment is mainly different from the printer 1 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in that the first to fourth tray cassettes 12 to 15 have tray lock sections 12e to 12e. 15e is provided. Therefore, parts common to the printer 1001 of the present embodiment and the printer 1 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, or the description is omitted by omitting the drawings, and different points are mainly described.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the first tray cassette 12 has a first lock portion 12e for locking the first drawer portion 12d, and the second tray cassette 13 has a second lock for locking the second drawer portion 13d. The lock portion 13e has a third lock portion 14e for locking the third tray cassette 14 to the third drawer portion 14d, and the fourth tray cassette 15 has a fourth lock portion for locking the fourth drawer portion 15d. 15e are additionally arranged. Each of the lock portions 12e to 15e prevents the corresponding drawer portion from being pulled out from each tray cassette, and includes a link member having an engaging claw that engages with the drawer portion and a solenoid that drives the link member. . In addition, about the structure of this engaging claw, a link member, and a solenoid, it is disclosed by Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2008-62612.

  The block diagram of the printer 1001 according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 9 is different from the block diagram (FIG. 2) of the printer 1 described in the first embodiment described above. The locking control program unit 1153 and the locking control unit 1162 are added in order to lock the drawer portion provided with the tray that should not be locked by the lock unit.

  As described above, the printer 1001 executes the non-volatile memory 1150 that secures the locking control program unit 1153 that holds the added locking control program and the locking control program for the printer 1 of the first embodiment. The printing control unit 1160 to which the locking control unit 1162 is added is provided, but the other configuration is the same as that of the printer 1 of the first embodiment. As will be described later, the lock control unit 1162 drives and controls the lock units 12d to 15d (FIG. 8) in accordance with the lock control program, and locks (locks) the corresponding drawer unit so that it cannot be pulled out from the corresponding tray cassette. Or release the lock.

  The operation of the above configuration will be described below. 10 and 11 are flowcharts showing the flow of the selection operation when the print control unit 1160 selects a paper feed tray. The flow of the paper feed tray selection process will be described along these flowcharts. Note that the flowcharts of FIGS. 10 and 11 divide and show one flowchart in which the circled numbers 1 and 2 are connected to each other.

  The feature of the paper feed tray selection process here is to lock the tray that should not be replenished with paper when the paper runs out, in contrast to the paper feed tray selection operation shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 in the first embodiment. This is the point that the operation of the lock control is added.

  Among the processing operations shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the print control unit 1160 receives a print request from the image development unit 113, and the print continuation flag 58 in the page attribute information 50 (FIG. 3) is “ON” or “OFF”. The flow from Step S1101 to Step S1115 to Step S1117 for sequentially searching for trays that match the medium information 55 to 57 in the page attribute information 50 and in which there is paper from all trays (Step S1101). Step S1117) is the same as the processing from Step S101 to Step S117 in FIG. 5 described in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted here.

  When the print control unit 1160 finds a tray that meets the selection conditions (Yes in step S1116), the print control unit 1160 instructs the engine unit to feed recording paper from this tray, similarly to step S118 in the flow of FIG. (Step S1118), it is determined whether there is a locked tray (Step S1119). When there is a tray locked here (step S1119, Yes), the lock control unit 1162 is instructed to release the lock, and the locked state of the drawer member by the corresponding lock unit is released (step S1120). When the tray selection process is finished and no drawer member is locked (No in step S1119), the tray selection process is finished as it is.

  On the other hand, if a tray that meets the selection conditions cannot be found (step S1117, Yes), the print control unit 1160 determines whether there is a tray having medium information different from the out-of-paper tray (step S1121). Here, if it is determined that there is (Yes in step S1121), the drawer member having a tray having medium information different from the out-of-paper tray is locked by the corresponding lock unit (step S1122), and the corresponding tray cassette is used. If it is determined that there is no (No in step S1121), the process proceeds to the next step as it is.

  Since the processing of the next step S1123 to step S1125 is the same as the processing content of step S119 to step S121 of the flow shown in FIG. 6 described in the above embodiment, the description thereof is omitted here.

  Therefore, according to the paper feed tray selection process according to the flow shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, when the paper supply is urged in step S1124, a tray having a setting different from the medium information of the print data, that is, the recording paper that needs to be supplied. The tray on which the recording paper having a different specification from that of the tray is locked cannot be pulled out from the tray cassette.

  As described above, according to the image processing apparatus of the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the image processing apparatus of the first embodiment can be obtained, and a drawer member provided with a tray that the user does not need to replenish accidentally. Therefore, the paper supply process can be carried out smoothly.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to an electrophotographic printer has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be used for an MFP (Multi Function Printer), a facsimile, a copying machine, and the like. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer, 8 Image formation part, 11 Printing part, 12 1st tray cassette, 12a 1st paper feed roller, 12b 1st paper detection sensor, 12c 1st tray, 12d 1st drawer | drawing-out part, 12e 1st lock part, 13 Second tray cassette, 13a Second paper feed roller, 13b Second paper detection sensor, 13c Second tray, 13d Second drawer, 13e Second lock part, 14 Third tray cassette, 14a Third paper feed roller, 14b 3rd paper detection sensor, 14c 3rd tray, 14d 3rd drawer part, 14e 3rd lock part, 15 4th tray cassette, 15a 4th paper feed roller, 15b 4th paper detection sensor, 15c 4th tray, 15d 1st 4 drawer part, 15e 4th lock part, 16 supply paper conveyance path, 18 image forming part, 20 MP tray, 21 M PT feeding roller, 22 MPT paper detection sensor, 23 transport roller, 24 feed sensor, 25 registration sensor, 26 transfer unit, 27 transfer belt, 28 transfer roller, 31 toner image forming unit, 32 LED head, 33 fixing unit, 33a Heating roller, 33b Pressure roller, 34 Fixing conveyance roller, 35 Ejection sensor, 36 Ejection roller, 37 Ejection conveyance path, 41 Recording paper, 45 Photosensitive drum, 46 Charging roller, 47 Development roller, 50 Page attribute information, 51 Job ID information, 52 resolution information, 53 Duplex presence / absence information, 54 tray designation information, 55 medium size information, 56 medium type information, 57 medium thickness information, 58 print continuation flag, 59 print data link pointer, 60 print data, 71 on- Line lamp, 72 Tension lamp, 73 LCD display section, 74 Back key, 75 Menu + key, 76 Menu key, 77 Enter key, 78 On-line key, 79 Cancel key, 110 Image processing section, 111 interface, 112 Image editing section, 113 Image development unit, 120 RAM, 121 reception buffer, 122 page buffer, 130 print data transmission unit, 140 operation unit, 141 operation panel, 142 panel control unit, 150 nonvolatile memory, 151 parameter management unit, 152 print continuation job ID , 160 print control unit, 161 tray selection unit, 210 status management unit, 220 clock control unit, 230 motor control unit, 231 first tray paper feed motor, 232 second tray paper feed motor, 233 third tray paper feed motor 234 4-tray paper feed motor, 235 MPT paper feed motor, 236 paper running motor, 237 fixing motor, 240 paper presence / absence monitoring unit, 250 paper conveyance monitoring unit, 260 fixing device control unit, 261 temperature sensor, 270 head control unit, 300 host Computer, 301 Printer driver, 1001 Printer, 1150 Non-volatile memory, 1153 Locking control program unit, 1160 Print control unit, 1162 Locking control unit.

Claims (5)

In an image forming apparatus having a plurality of trays on which recording media can be stacked,
An image processing unit that generates print data from the image data and associates page attribute information for printing the print data;
A tray medium information holding unit for holding tray medium information corresponding to recording media stacked on each of the plurality of trays;
A control unit that selects a tray associated with the tray medium information that matches the page attribute information, and controls image formation based on the impression data on a recording medium sent from the tray;
A detection unit for detecting a recording medium loaded on the tray;
A notification unit that prompts the user to replenish the recording medium under a predetermined condition,
When the control unit determines that the recording medium loaded on the selected tray needs to be replenished based on the detection result of the detection unit, the notifying unit prompts replenishment of the selected tray, and what is the selected tray? An image forming apparatus that prompts replenishment of recording media to different trays. The tray medium information and the page attribute information include information on stacking conditions of the recording medium together with the size information of the recording medium,
The plurality of trays have a first tray and a second tray, the first tray and the second tray are loaded with the same recording medium, and the first tray and the second tray are loaded with different recording media. Loading on condition,
2. The informing unit urges replenishment of the medium in the first tray corresponding to the page attribute information and prompts replenishment of the medium in the second tray having a different stacking condition from the page attribute information. The image forming apparatus described. The recording medium stacking condition has information indicating whether the recording medium is transported in the portrait or landscape direction,
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first tray and the second tray stack the same recording medium, and the first tray and the second tray stack the recording medium in different directions.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tray is provided in a drawer member that can be pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus. A lock member that locks the drawer member so that it cannot be pulled out from the image forming apparatus main body;
The control unit instructs the corresponding lock member to lock so that a drawer member having a tray on which a recording medium that does not match the recording medium information can be placed cannot be pulled out. 5. The image forming apparatus according to 4.

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