JP2014214014A - Image output device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform maintenance work to a manual type movable transport guide timely.SOLUTION: The image output device for transporting a sheet from a sheet base is configured to: detect a position of a transport guide which is attached movably to the sheet base in a transport width direction at a first time point and a second time point which is after the first time point respectively, and determines quality of immobility of the transport guide on the basis of a guide movement amount which is difference of the detected positions in two time points. When the quality of the immobility is determined as bad, the determination result is reported to a predetermined notification destination.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image output apparatus having a mechanism for conveying a sheet such as printing paper or a read original. The image output apparatus includes an image forming apparatus that prints an image, an image reading apparatus that reads an original image, a facsimile apparatus, and a multifunction peripheral that has the functions of these apparatuses.

  An apparatus for performing printing such as a printer, a copying machine, and an MFP (Multi-functional Peripheral) is provided with a sheet table called a manual feed tray. The manual tray is used when printing images on paper that does not fit in a paper cassette that can hold a large amount of paper, or when printing images on paper that is not frequently used, such as color paper or cardboard. The A plurality of sheets (for example, a maximum of 100 sheets) can be stacked on the manual feed tray. In multi-printing using a plurality of sheets, sheets are automatically fed one by one from the manual feed tray to the transport path and sent to the printing position, as in the case of sheet feeding from the sheet cassette.

  Since paper of various sizes is placed on such a manual feed tray, a pair of transport guides that can move along the width direction of the paper transport path is attached. In general, the movement of the pair of conveyance guides is performed manually. When the user pushes and moves one conveyance guide by hand, the other conveyance guide moves in the opposite direction. That is, the pair of conveyance guides move in conjunction so as to approach the center in the width direction or to move away from the center. When the user releases his / her hand, the conveyance guide remains at the position where the user has been placed due to the frictional force with the contact surface.

When printing using the manual feed tray, the user roughly positions and places the paper on the manual feed tray, and then moves the pair of conveyance guides so as to sandwich the paper from both sides in the width direction.
The positions of both ends of the sheet are regulated by the movement of the conveyance guide, and the sheet is positioned at the center in the width direction of the conveyance path on the manual feed tray. Thereafter, the sheet is sent out from the manual feed tray while the positions of both ends are regulated by the conveyance guide.

  The distance between the pair of transport guides whose positions are adjusted in accordance with the paper placed on the manual feed tray is substantially equal to the dimension in the width direction of the paper. There is a technique for detecting the size of the paper by applying this. Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus that detects a position within a moving range of a conveyance guide using a slide volume. If the distance between the reference position and the position of the conveyance guide is detected, the distance between the conveyance guides can be obtained by calculation. In Patent Document 1, the paper size is detected in order to stop paper feeding when the paper size on the manual feed tray is different from the size designated by the user on the operation panel.

JP 2012-046277 A

  There is a change with time in the conveyance guide of the manual feed tray so that it moves freely during conveyance of the paper. That is, the immobility (difficulty of movement) staying at the position arranged by the user tends to decrease. A cause of the decrease in immobility is wear of the sliding surface that generates a frictional force (fixing force).

  When the pair of conveyance guides move during paper feeding and the distance between them increases, skewing in which both edges of the paper are inclined with respect to the conveyance direction is likely to occur. Skewing deteriorates print quality and causes jamming. Therefore, it is necessary to replace parts or perform other maintenance work in a timely manner and restore the state in which the conveyance guide has appropriate immobility and mobility.

  However, the temporal change state of the conveyance guide of the manual feed tray varies depending on the number of times of movement of the conveyance guide and how it is handled when the user moves. Unlike parts that are not operated by the user, such as a transport roller, the life of the transport guide cannot be determined by the cumulative number of printed sheets.

  In view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to perform maintenance work on a manual movable conveyance guide in a timely manner.

  An apparatus that achieves the above object is an image output device having a sheet table on which a conveyance guide that is movable in the width direction of a sheet conveyance path is assembled, and the position of the conveyance guide in the width direction on the sheet table. A determination unit that determines whether the immobility of the conveyance guide is good or defective based on a guide movement amount that is a change amount, and the determination result is notified when the determination unit determines that the immobility is defective. A notification unit.

  According to the present invention, since the immobility defect of the manual movable conveyance guide is notified, it becomes possible to perform maintenance work on the movable conveyance guide when it becomes necessary.

1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of an MFP as an example of an image output apparatus. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an MFP. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a mechanism related to sheet conveyance of an MFP. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a manual feed tray. It is a figure which shows typically an example of a structure of the conveyance guide of a manual feed tray. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of movement of a conveyance guide that occurs due to conveyance of a sheet. 3 is a diagram illustrating a first example of a functional configuration of a main part of the MFP. FIG. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the threshold value in connection with the determination by a determination part, and a determination result. 10 is a flowchart of a paper designation input acceptance process. 6 is a flowchart of a first example of processing for maintenance of a manual feed tray. It is a flowchart of the 1st example of the quality determination subroutine of a conveyance guide. It is a figure which shows the 1st example of the setting of two guide positions used as the object of difference calculation. 6 is a diagram illustrating a second example of a functional configuration of a main part of the MFP. FIG. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the threshold value in connection with the determination by a preliminary determination part, and a determination result. 10 is a flowchart of a second example of processing for maintenance of a manual feed tray. It is a flowchart of the 2nd example of the quality determination subroutine of a conveyance guide. It is a figure which shows an example of the change of the guide position in continuous conveyance mode. It is a figure which shows the 2nd example of the setting of two guide positions used as the object of difference calculation. It is a figure which shows the example of averaging of two guide positions made into the object of difference calculation. It is a figure which shows the 3rd example of the setting of the two guide positions used as the object of difference calculation. 12 is a flowchart of a third example of processing for maintenance of a manual feed tray. It is a flowchart of the 3rd example of the quality determination subroutine of a conveyance guide. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the quality determination based on the log | history of guide movement amount. It is a figure which shows the example of the recording content of the memory for recording of guide movement amount. It is a figure which shows the 3rd example of a function structure of the principal part of MFP. 10 is a flowchart of a fourth example of processing for maintenance of a manual feed tray. It is a flowchart of a determination instruction waiting process. It is a flowchart of the 4th example of the quality determination subroutine of a conveyance guide.

  An MFP is an example of an apparatus that performs an image output operation with sheet conveyance. An MFP is a composite information device that can be used as a copier, printer, network scanner, facsimile machine, document server, and the like.

  The MFP 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is an in-body discharge type having a discharge space 10 between the printer unit 1B and the image scanner 14. An ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 13 is overlaid on the image scanner 14, and an operation panel 12 is attached to the front surface of the image scanner 14. The ADF 13 has a document sheet table 310. The printer unit 1B includes a front drawer type paper stacker 17, and a rotating manual feed tray 35 is attached to a side surface of the housing of the printer unit 1B.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the MFP 1 has a printer controller 15. The printer controller 15 controls the printer engine 16 in cooperation with the main controller 11 that performs overall control of the MFP 1. The printer controller 15 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 210 as a computer that executes a control program, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 220 that is a work area for executing the program, and a nonvolatile memory that stores various data necessary for control. A memory 230 is included.

  A print job is given to the MFP 1 by a direct operation by the operation panel 12 or by communication with an external device by the communication interface 18. For the print job, a job (copy) for printing an image read from an original sheet by the image scanner 14, a job for printing a document received from an external device or read from the storage 20, and facsimile data received by the modem 19 are printed. There is a job to do. When a print job is given, the printer engine 16 prints a monochrome or color image on one or both sides of the paper.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the printer engine 16 of the MFP 1 has four imaging stations 21, 22, 23, and 24, and includes yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). Four color toner images can be formed in parallel. In each of the imaging stations 21, 22, 23, and 24, devices necessary for forming a toner image such as a cylindrical photoconductor, a charging charger, a developing device, and a cleaner are arranged.

  In color printing, a total of four toner images formed by the imaging stations 21, 22, 23, and 24 are primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 25 in order, and are superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 25. In monochrome printing, a black toner image formed by the imaging station 24 is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 25. The toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 25 is secondarily transferred from the sheet stacker 17 or the manual feed tray 35 to a sheet (not shown in FIG. 3) conveyed along a conveyance path 48 indicated by a one-dot chain line in the drawing. The After the secondary transfer, the paper is sent out to the paper discharge tray 36 through the fixing device 28. However, in the case of double-sided printing, the paper in the single-sided printing state that has passed through the fixing device 28 is returned to the secondary transfer position by the front / back reversing path 49 and is discharged after double-sided printing.

  The paper stacker 17 includes a plurality of paper cassettes 31, 32, 33, and 34 that can accommodate several hundred sheets or more, respectively. In general, the paper stacker 17 is used to supply a standard size paper that is frequently used, such as a standard document size (for example, A4 size). The size of the paper that can be accommodated in each of the plurality of paper cassettes 31, 32, 33, 34 is variable. The user can load four types of paper having different sizes into the four paper cassettes 31, 32, 33, and 34, or can load the same size of paper into two or more of the four.

  On the other hand, the manual feed tray 35 is used when printing on paper of a size that cannot be stored in the paper stacker 17 or printing on paper that is relatively infrequently used, such as color paper or cardboard. The manual feed tray 35 has a pair of movable conveyance guides, which will be described later, in order to position sheets of various sizes, whether regular or irregular, in the width direction of the conveyance path 48 (direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction M1). Is attached (in FIG. 3, one conveyance guide 51 is drawn). A sheet (not shown) placed on the manual feed tray 35 is fed by the manual feed roller 45 toward the registration roller 47 in front of the secondary transfer position.

  The document sheet table 310 of the ADF 13 has a pair of conveyance guides for positioning documents of various sizes (one conveyance guide 312 is shown in FIG. 3). The position of the transport guide of the ADF 13 is manually adjusted by the user in the same manner as the transport guide of the manual feed tray.

  The MFP 1 having the above configuration is equipped with a function for determining whether or not the conveyance guide has deteriorated for maintenance of the manual feed tray 35. When the MFP 1 determines that the conveyance guide is in a deteriorated state in which it can easily move more than necessary, the MFP 1 notifies the determination result. The notification includes a form displayed on the operation panel 12 and a form where a report is transmitted to a service center or an administrator through network communication.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the manual feed tray 35 includes a guide support portion 35A, a main tray 35B, and a sub-tray 35C. 35 A of guide support parts are located in the front side of the conveyance direction M1, and support a pair of conveyance guides 51 and 52 so that a movement is possible. The main tray 35B is cantilevered by the housing of the printer unit 1B, and when the paper is placed, the main tray 35B is in an open state in which the paper placement surface is the upper surface as illustrated. The sub-tray 35C is used when feeding a long sheet that protrudes from the main tray 35B. When the sub-tray 35C is not used, the sub-tray 35C is folded and stored in the recess of the main tray 35B. The main tray 35B and the sub-tray 35C are provided with size detection sensors 61, 62, 63, and 64 that detect the presence / absence of paper at each of a plurality of locations on the placement surface.

  FIG. 5 schematically shows an example of the configuration of the conveyance guides 51 and 52 of the manual feed tray 35. FIG. 5A shows a structure when the mounting surface is viewed from above, and FIG. 5B shows a structure when viewed from the rear in the transport direction.

  The conveyance guides 51 and 52 are resin structures in which alignment plate portions 512 and 522 along the conveyance direction M1 and racks 514 and 524 along the width direction M2 are integrated. As shown in FIG. 5B, the alignment plate portions 512 and 522 stand upright with respect to the sheet placement surface S35, and align the edge positions of the stacked sheets at once. Plate-like portions 513 and 523 that limit the stacking thickness of the sheets protrude from the upper ends of the alignment plate portions 512 and 522 toward the center in the width direction M2. The racks 514 and 524 are arranged so as to sandwich the pinion 53 from both sides in the diameter direction and mesh with the pinion 53. The rotation shaft of the pinion 53 is fixed.

  The alignment plates 512 and 522 are in contact with both edges of the sheet so as to sandwich the sheet, whereby the sheet is positioned at the center in the width direction M2 in the conveyance path. The distance between the alignment plate portion 512 and the alignment plate portion 522 is the conveyance guide width W.

  When the user sandwiches and moves one of the transport guides 51 and 52, the other transport guide moves in the opposite direction. When one approaches the center of the width direction M2, the other approaches, and when one moves away from the center, the other moves away. That is, the conveyance guide width W is narrowed or widened. The maximum value of the variable conveyance guide width W is the maximum sheet width determined by the specifications of the MFP 1.

  When the user removes his / her hand from the transport guides 51 and 52, the transport guides 51 and 52 remain at the positions where they are arranged. At this time, the free movement is restrained by a frictional force (fixing force) between the conveyance guides 51 and 52 and the resinous support and the pinion 53 molded so as to slide them. There is no locking mechanism that reliably blocks the conveyance guides 51 and 52.

  A slide volume is assembled as a sensor 60 for detecting the position of the conveyance guides 51 and 52 on the guide support portion 35A of the manual feed tray 35. The slider of the slide volume is fixed to a belt 56 wound around a pinion 53 and a pulley at a predetermined position, and the resistance value between the output terminals of the slide volume changes according to the rotation angle of the pinion 53. In other words, the output of the sensor 60 represents the distance between the reference position in the width direction M2 and an arbitrary position arranged by the user.

  Since the conveyance guides 51 and 52 are interlocked, detection of the position of one conveyance guide corresponds to detection of the position of the pair of conveyance guides 51 and 52. The positions of the conveyance guides 51 and 52 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as guide positions) are positions in the width direction M2 of the end surfaces in contact with the paper in the alignment plate portions 512 and 522 that determine the conveyance guide width.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of movement of the conveyance guide caused by conveyance of the sheet. 6A shows a state before the feeding of the paper P from the manual feed tray 35 is started, and FIG. 6B shows a state where almost half of the paper P has finished passing through the conveyance guides 51 and 52. Show. FIG. 6C shows a state where the trailing edge of the paper P is passing through the conveyance guides 51 and 52.

  In FIG. 6, skew of the paper P occurs, and the skew (inclination angle) increases as the conveyance proceeds. If the frictional force (fixed force) that suppresses the movement of the conveyance guides 51 and 52 is sufficiently large, the conveyance guides 51 and 52 stay at the positions L1 and R1 before the start of feeding, thereby suppressing skew.

  However, when the fixing force is reduced and the conveyance guides 51 and 52 are easy to move, the conveyance guides 51 and 52 are moved by being pushed by the skewed paper P. In FIG. 6C, the conveyance guides 51 and 52 are moved to positions L2 and R2, and the conveyance guide width W2 is larger than the conveyance guide width W1 before the start of paper feeding.

  The MFP 1 determines whether or not the conveyance guides 51 and 52 are immovable based on whether or not the conveyance guides 51 and 52 are moved due to the conveyance of the sheet or the amount of movement. Hereinafter, the configuration and operation related to this determination will be described in detail.

[First example of operation]
FIG. 7 shows a first example of the functional configuration of the main part of the MFP. The MFP 1 includes a mechanism control unit 101, a detection unit 102, a calculation unit 103, a counting unit 104, a determination unit 105, a notification unit 106, and a notification unit 107. These elements are functional elements realized by the CPU 210 of the printer controller 15 executing a control program.

  The mechanism control unit 101 controls the printer engine 16. In a print job using the manual feed tray 35, the paper feed roller 45 is driven at an appropriate timing according to the progress of toner image formation and primary transfer, and the paper is conveyed to the secondary transfer position. In the case of multi-printing, a plurality of sheets are sequentially fed one by one at predetermined intervals.

  Each time the sheet is conveyed from the manual feed tray 35, the detection unit 102 determines the positions of the conveyance guides 51 and 52 at the first time point and the second time point after the first time point based on the output signal of the sensor 60. (Guide position) is detected. At that time, the output signal of the sensor 60 is input to the AD conversion port of the CPU 210 and digitized.

  In the first example, the first time point is a time point before paper feed is started, and the second time point is the position of the transport guides 51 and 52 in the transport direction M1 for the number of sheets designated in the print job. It is the time of passing. That is, in a single print job that uses only one sheet, there is one first time point and one second time point. In a multi-print job that automatically conveys a plurality of sheets continuously, the first time point is one. Therefore, the number at the second time point is equal to the number of sheets to be used. In any case, the second time point is the time when the time required for transporting a predetermined distance corresponding to the transport speed and the length of one sheet has elapsed from the drive start time of the paper feed roller 45 notified from the mechanism control unit 101. Is done.

  In addition, the detection unit 102 specifies information about the width of the paper placed on the manual feed tray 35 when the main controller 11 determines whether or not the user specifies the paper size before paper feeding is started. To the main controller 11 as follows.

  The calculation unit 103 calculates the difference between the guide positions at the first time point and the second time point detected by the detection unit 102 as the guide movement amount dD. In the continuous conveyance mode (multi-print mode) in which a plurality of sheets are automatically conveyed continuously from the manual feed tray 35, the counting unit 104 counts the number of sheets that have passed through the detection positions (the positions of the conveyance guides 51 and 52 in the conveyance direction) (Number of sheets) n is counted.

  The determination unit 105 determines whether the conveyance guides 51 and 52 are immovable based on the guide movement amount dD calculated by the calculation unit 103 at each second time point and the number n of sheets fed counted by the counting unit 104. To do. For the determination, the threshold values dD1, dD2, and dD3 and the sheet number threshold value n1 stored in the nonvolatile memory 230 are referred to. The relationship between these threshold values and determination results is shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 8, the guide movement amount dD (guide position difference) is a positive (+) value when the conveyance guide width W is expanded within the period from the first time point to the second time point. On the other hand, when the guide movement amount dD is a negative (−) value, the conveyance guide width W is narrowed. This is likely to occur when the conveyance guide width W increases.

  When the guide movement amount dD is a value within a range from 0 to the positive threshold value dD2, it is determined that the immobility of the conveyance guides 51 and 52 is good. That is, it is regarded as a state in which it is difficult to loosen with an appropriate fixing force. When the guide movement amount dD is a value in the range from the negative difference threshold value dD1 to 0, it is determined that the immobility is good. That is, even if the skew occurs, the conveyance guide width W is not narrowed by the skew, so that it is considered that the guide movement amount dD becomes a negative value due to the error of the output signal of the sensor 60 or the noise.

  When the guide movement amount dD is larger than the positive difference threshold dD3 or smaller than the negative difference threshold dD1, it is determined that there has been an erroneous operation. It is impossible to increase the conveyance guide width W by, for example, 1 cm or more in view of the skew allowed in the specifications. Therefore, when the guide movement amount dD is extremely large, it is considered that the user has mistakenly moved the conveyance guides 51 and 52 during paper feeding. Similarly, when the conveyance guide width W is so narrow that it cannot be regarded as an influence of an error or noise, it is considered that the user has mistakenly moved the conveyance guides 51 and 52.

  Unlike these cases, when the guide movement amount dD is a value within the range from the positive threshold value dD2 to the threshold value dD3 which is smaller than the threshold value dD3, it is determined that the immobility is poor. That is, since the fixing force of the conveyance guides 51 and 52 is reduced, it is considered that the conveyance guides 51 and 52 have been moved by the pressing force or vibration from the skewed sheet.

  However, it is a general phenomenon that the conveyance guide width W gradually increases when a pressing force due to skew is repeatedly applied. In view of this, even if the guide movement amount dD exceeds the threshold value dD2 at a stage after the sheet feeding number n reaches the sheet number threshold value n1 (for example, 20) or more, it is not determined that the immobility is defective. That is, when the guide movement amount dD is a value within the range from the threshold value dD2 to the threshold value dD3, it is determined that the immobility is good, and when the guide movement amount dD exceeds the threshold value dD3, it is determined that an erroneous operation has occurred.

  Returning to FIG. 7, when the determination result by the determination unit 105 is a failure determination that “immobility is defective”, the notification unit 106 requests the main controller 11 to notify the determination result. In response to the request, the main controller 11 causes the operation panel 12 to display a message urging execution of maintenance work for the manual feed tray 35. When a mode for notifying the service center of whether maintenance is necessary is set, the service center is notified of a decrease in the fixing force of the transport guides 51 and 52.

  The notification unit 107 performs display for notifying the user that the transport guides 51 and 52 have moved when the determination result by the determination unit 105 is an erroneous operation determination that “there is an erroneous operation”. 11 is requested. In response to the request, the main controller 11 causes the operation panel 12 to display a message urging correction of the positions of the conveyance guides 51 and 52.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the paper designation input receiving process. This routine is executed by the main controller 11 when the user performs an operation for calling a paper designation screen on the operation panel 12.

  The main controller 11 accepts an input operation for selecting any of the paper cassettes 31, 32, 33, 34 and the manual feed tray 35, and designating the paper size and paper type (S01). When manual feed using the manual feed tray 35 is designated (YES in S02), the main controller 11 cooperates with the detection unit 102 of the printer controller 15 to check the presence or absence of paper in the manual feed tray 35 and to place it. The guide positions L1 and L2 conveyance guide width W are acquired as the size information of the paper that has been set (S03, S04). Instead of the guide positions L1, L2, the conveyance guide width W may be acquired.

  If the conveyance guide width W does not match the dimension in the width direction M2 of the paper size designated by the user, that is, if the difference between the two dimensions exceeds the allowable upper limit (NO in S05), the main controller 11 informs the user of the size mismatch. An error display process is performed (S06). In this case, the user changes the designation of the paper size so as to fit the paper placed on the manual feed tray 35, or conversely replaces the paper so as to fit the designated size, or cancels the job input. When a designation end operation for switching the display from the paper designation screen to another screen is performed (YES in S07), the execution of the routine is terminated. The designated end operation includes a start operation for starting execution of the job.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a first example of processing for maintenance of the manual feed tray. Processing for maintenance of the manual feed tray is executed by the CPU 210 of the printer controller 15 when the manual feed tray 35 is designated as the paper supply source in the print job.

  The detection unit 102 checks whether the paper type and size of the paper designated by the user is not a special paper type or size that easily causes skewing (S10). Paper that is difficult to bend, such as cardboard and OHP film, and long paper that is elongated in the conveyance direction are generally less frequently used, but are less frequently used than the standard-size copy paper that is frequently used. , 52 can be easily expanded. For this reason, in this embodiment, when evaluating the temporal change of the transport guides 51 and 52, the special paper is excluded from the detection target of the change in the guide position due to the transport. If the check result in step S10 is NO, the flow exits from this routine.

  The detection unit 102 waits for the mechanism control unit 101 to start feeding N sheets (N is an integer of 1 or more) designated by the print job (S11). Paper feeding is started when, for example, a start button is pressed on the operation panel 12. When the feeding of the first sheet is started, the guide position detected when, for example, the user designates the paper size before the start is set as the “first time position” (S12). The guide position detected immediately before the start of paper feeding may be set as the position at the first time point. In parallel with this, the counting unit 104 clears a paper feed counter that counts the number n of paper fed (S13). n is set to 0.

  When the trailing edge of the sheet being conveyed on the manual feed tray 35 passes through the conveyance guides 51 and 52 (YES in S14), the detection unit 102 detects the guide position again (S15), and the detected guide position is set to “second It is set to “position at time” (S16). The counting unit 104 advances the count of the paper feed counter by one (S17). n is updated to (n + 1).

  Then, a pass / fail judgment subroutine for the conveyance guide that performs the determination based on the position at the first time point and the position at the second time point is executed (S18). Until the feeding of N sheets designated by the print job is completed (NO in S19), the processing from step S14 to step S18 is repeated.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a first example of a conveyance guide quality determination subroutine.

  The calculation unit 103 calculates a guide movement amount dD that is a difference between the position of the first time point and the position of the second time point (S181). The determination unit 105 determines which of the areas divided by a plurality of threshold values corresponds to the combination of the calculated guide movement amount dD and the counted current number n of sheets fed (S182). ).

  If the determination result is an erroneous operation determination that the guide position has changed due to an erroneous operation by the user (YES in S183), the notification unit 107 cooperates with the main controller 11 to display a message notifying the user of the occurrence of an erroneous operation on the operation panel. 12 is displayed (S184).

  If the determination result is a failure determination that the guide position has changed due to a decrease in the fixing force of the conveyance guides 51 and 52 (YES in S185), the notification unit 106 cooperates with the main controller 11 to convey the conveyance guides 51 and 52. 52 is informed that it is in a defective state for maintenance (S186). The notification destination is predetermined as a user, an administrator, a service center, or a combination thereof.

  FIG. 12 shows a first example of setting two guide positions to be subjected to difference calculation. In the RAM 22, the counted number of fed sheets n is associated with the detected guide positions R 1 and R 2. As described above, since the pair of transport guides 51 and 52 are interlocked, if the guide positions R1 and R2 for one transport guide 52 are detected, the guide positions L1 and L2 and the transport guide width W1 for the other transport guide 51 are detected. This means that W2 is detected together.

  The guide position R1 when the number of fed sheets n is 0 is the first time position, and the guide position R2 when the number of fed sheets n is 1 or more is the second position. Each time the number n of sheets fed increases, the guide position R2 is set to the second time point, and the difference between the first time point position (R1) and the newly set second time point position (R2) is the guide movement amount. Calculated as dD.

[Second example of operation]
FIG. 13 shows a second example of the functional configuration of the main part of the MFP. In FIG. 13, elements corresponding to the example of FIG. Here, the function of each element will be described focusing on the elements specific to the second example.

  The MFP 1b includes a mechanism control unit 101, a detection unit 102, a calculation unit 103, a counting unit 104, a preliminary determination unit 201, a number counting unit 202, a determination unit 205, a notification unit 106, and a notification unit 107. These elements are functional elements realized by the CPU 210 of the printer controller 15 executing a control program.

  The detection unit 102 detects the guide positions R1 and R2 at each of the first time point and the second time point after the first time point based on the output signal of the sensor 60 each time the sheet is conveyed from the manual feed tray 35. To do. In the second example, the first time point is a time point before paper feeding is started, and the second time point is a time point when the sheet passes the detection position that is the position of the transport guides 51 and 52 in the transport direction M1. . In a multi-print job that automatically conveys a plurality of sheets in succession, for the second and subsequent sheets, the first point in time is the second point in time of the sheet that was transported immediately before.

  Whenever the guide movement amount dD is calculated by the calculation unit 103 in the continuous conveyance mode set in the case of a multi-print job, the preliminary determination unit 201 calculates a value within the abnormality determination range for the calculated guide movement amount dD. It is determined whether or not it is a counting target. If the calculated guide movement amount dD has a value within the erroneous operation determination range, the preliminary determination unit 201 determines that movement has occurred due to an erroneous operation. The determination result (erroneous operation determination) is notified to the user by the notification unit 107.

  The number counting unit 202 counts the number of times the preliminary determination unit 201 determines that the guide movement amount dD is to be counted, that is, the number of guide movement amounts having a value within the abnormality setting range. The determination unit 203 determines that the immobility of the conveyance guides 51 and 52 is poor when the number of times counted by the number counting unit 202 is equal to the number threshold M. The determination result (defect determination) is notified by the notification unit 106 as in the above-described example.

  FIG. 14 shows the relationship between the threshold value related to the determination by the preliminary determination unit and the determination result.

  When the guide movement amount dD is a value in the range from 0 to the positive threshold value dD22, it is determined that the immobility of the conveyance guides 51 and 52 is good. When the guide movement amount dD is a value in the range from the negative threshold value dD21 to 0, it is determined that the immobility is good. When the guide movement amount dD exceeds a threshold value dD23 that is larger than the threshold value dD22, it is determined that an erroneous operation has occurred.

  When the guide movement amount dD is a value within the range from the threshold value dD22 to the threshold value dD23 (error operation threshold value), it is determined that the guide movement amount dD is abnormal. That is, when one sheet passes, the guide position change is not so large that it can be regarded as an erroneous operation, but it cannot be said that it is insignificant. There is a suspicion of decline. However, it is considered that the guide position is changed relatively large accidentally for some reason. Therefore, in order to determine whether or not the same relatively large change often occurs, it is determined that the state is abnormal (abnormal) suspected of being defective.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a second example of processing for maintenance of the manual feed tray.

  If the paper type and size of the paper designated by the user are special paper types and sizes that are likely to cause skew (NO in S20), the flow exits from this routine.

  The detection unit 102 waits for the mechanism control unit 101 to start feeding N sheets (N is an integer equal to or greater than 1) specified by the print job (S21), and when the first sheet feeding is started. The guide position detected before the start is set to “position at the first time point” (S22). The counting unit 104 clears the paper feed counter (S23), and the number counting unit 202 clears the abnormality counter (S24). That is, the number n of sheets fed is set to 0, and the number m of abnormality determinations by the preliminary determination unit 201 is set to 0.

  When the trailing edge of the sheet being conveyed on the manual feed tray 35 passes through the conveyance guides 51 and 52 (YES in S25), the detection unit 102 detects the guide position again (S26), and detects the detected guide position as “second It is set to “time position” (S27). The counting unit 104 advances the count of the paper feed counter by one (S28). n is updated to (n + 1).

  Subsequently, a pass / fail judgment subroutine for the conveyance guide is performed to make a determination based on the position at the first time point and the position at the second time point (S29). Then, in preparation for the next determination, the current second time position is set as the first time position instead of the current first time position (S30). Until the feeding of N sheets designated by the print job is completed (NO in S31), the processing from step S25 to step S30 is repeated.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart of a second example of the conveyance guide quality determination subroutine.

  The calculation unit 103 calculates a guide movement amount dD that is a difference between the position of the first time point and the position of the second time point (S291). The preliminary determination unit 201 determines which of the ranges divided by a plurality of threshold values as shown in FIG. 14 is a combination of the calculated guide movement amount dD and the current sheet count n counted ( S292).

  If the determination result is an erroneous operation determination (YES in S293), the notification unit 107 displays a message notifying the user of the occurrence of an erroneous operation on the operation panel 12 in cooperation with the main controller 11 (S294).

  If the determination result is an abnormal determination that there is a suspicion that the guide position has changed due to a decrease in the fixing force of the conveyance guides 51 and 52 (YES in S295), the number counting unit 202 increments the abnormality counter by one. (S296). The number m of abnormality determination is updated to (m + 1).

  The determination unit 203 compares the number m of abnormality determinations with the number threshold M (S297). If the count m and the count threshold M match (YES in S297), the determination unit 203 determines that the immobility of the transport guides 51 and 52 is poor. In response to the failure determination by the determination unit 203, the notification unit 106 cooperates with the main controller 11 to notify that the conveyance guides 51 and 52 are in a defective state to be maintained (S298).

  FIG. 17 shows an example of a change in guide position in the continuous conveyance mode, and FIG. 18 shows a second example of setting two guide positions to be subjected to difference calculation. The difference between the guide positions is calculated every time a plurality of sheets are fed one by one. In the example of FIG. 17, the difference (guide movement amount dD) is large between n = 5 and n = 6. Therefore, when n = 6, the preliminary determination unit 201 determines that the guide position is abnormal. When the difference between the nth and the previous (n−1) th is small, it is not determined that there is an abnormality.

  As shown in FIG. 18, the guide position (R1) when the number n of sheets fed is 0 is the position at the first time point. The guide position (R2) when the number of fed sheets n is 1 or more is first set to the position of the second time point, and after the calculation of the difference from the position of the first time point is finished, it is set to the position of the first time point.

[Third example of operation]
This third example is realized by a CPU 210 having the same functional configuration as the example of FIG. The feature of the third example is that the position of the first time point and the position of the second time point to be subjected to difference calculation are set to positions obtained by averaging k guide positions (k is an integer of 2 or more). By averaging, the influence of noise in the output signal of the sensor 60 can be reduced.

  FIG. 19 shows an example of averaging two guide positions that are targets of difference calculation, and FIG. 20 shows a third example of setting two guide positions that are targets of difference calculation. In the example, the number k of guide positions to be averaged is “3”.

  As shown in FIG. 19, when three guide positions are obtained by detecting the guide position during the conveyance of the second sheet, the average value of these is calculated (strictly speaking, the average value of the sensor output values). Is done. Thereafter, every time the next sheet is conveyed and a new guide position is detected, an average value of the three guide positions excluding the oldest guide position is calculated.

  The calculation of the difference is performed on average values where the averaged guide positions do not overlap. That is, in FIG. 19, for example, the difference between the average value of number # 1 based on the guide position where n is 0 to 2 and the average value of number # 4 based on the guide position where n is 3 to 5 is calculated. . In the next calculation, the difference between the average value of number # 2 based on the guide position where n is 1 to 3 and the average value of number # 5 based on the guide position where n is 4 to 6 is calculated.

  As shown in FIG. 20, the RAM 220 temporarily stores at least the guide positions necessary for calculating the difference in association with the counted number n of sheets fed. When k is 3, if six or more guide positions are stored, the difference between the average values can be calculated. The latest guide position may be stored instead of the oldest one guide position when the average value is calculated.

  FIG. 21 is a flowchart of a third example of processing for maintenance of the manual feed tray. Of the flow of the third example, the processing from step S20 to step S28 is the same as the flow of the second example of FIG.

  In FIG. 21, in the conveyance guide quality determination subroutine of step 29 b following step S 28, the position of the first time point that is the average value of the k guide positions and the second time point that is also the average value of the k guide positions. A determination based on the position is made. Then, the process from step S25 to step S29b is repeated until the feeding of N sheets designated by the print job is completed (NO in S30b).

  FIG. 22 is a flowchart of a third example of the conveyance guide quality determination subroutine.

  Until the number n of sheets fed counted by the counting unit 104 reaches (2k-1) (NO in S300), the flow immediately exits the subroutine. When the number of samples for averaging the guide positions is k, the difference between the average values can be calculated when the 2 kth detected guide position is temporarily stored in the RAM 220. Since one guide position is stored as the position of the first time point before the start of paper feeding when n is 0, n when (2k) guide positions are stored is (2k−1).

  After the difference can be calculated, the calculation unit 103 calculates the difference between the average values of the k sets of guide positions that do not overlap as described above as the guide movement amount dD (S301 to S305). Specifically, an average value of k guide positions from (n + 1−2k + 1) th to (n + 1−k) th in the storage order in the RAM 220 is calculated and set as the position of the first time point. The average value of the k guide positions from the (n + 1−k + 1) th to the (n + 1) th is calculated and set as the position at the second time point. Then, the difference between the position at the first time point and the position at the second time point is calculated as the guide movement amount dD.

  Based on the calculated guide movement amount dD, the preliminary determination unit 201 and the determination unit 203 determine the states of the conveyance guides 51 and 52 (S306). If the determination result is an erroneous operation determination, display by the notification unit 107 is performed in the erroneous operation notification process in step S307. If the determination result is a failure determination, notification by the notification unit 106 is performed in the failure notification process in step S308.

[Fourth example of operation]
In the first example, the second example, and the third example described above, the quality of the conveyance guides 51 and 52 is determined based on the amount of change in the guide position during execution of one print job. In the fourth example, the quality of the conveyance guides 51 and 52 is determined based on the history of guide positions over a period in which a plurality of print jobs using the same size paper is performed.

  FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an outline of pass / fail judgment based on the history of the guide movement amount.

  The manual feed tray 35 is often used in print jobs that use only one sheet or several sheets. Also, the size of the paper used in one print job and the next print job may be different. If the paper size is different between the previous print job and the current print job, the user adjusts the guide position of the manual feed tray 35 to match the size of the paper used in the current print job. Based on these facts, in the fourth example, the amount of guide movement when paper of the same size is fed (which may be data that specifies this) is recorded, and whether or not large changes in the guide position frequently occur. Is used to determine whether or not the fixing force of the conveyance guides 51 and 52 has decreased.

  The black circles in FIG. 23 indicate the transition of the guide movement amount dD. If the guide movement amount dD is equal to or less than the threshold value dD30, the immobility of the conveyance guides 51 and 52 is determined as “good”. When the guide movement amount dD exceeds the threshold value dD30, it is determined that the guide movement amount dD is “abnormal”. When the number of times that the guide movement amount dD is determined to be abnormal is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the immobility of the transport guides 51 and 52 is determined to be “bad”.

  FIG. 24 shows an example of the recorded contents of the guide movement amount recording memory. In the example, as data for specifying the guide movement amount dD, a reference position determined by the size of the paper to be used and a guide position R2 (output value of the sensor 60) when the paper being conveyed passes through the conveyance guide are recorded. Recorded in the memory 231. Further, the date of detection of the guide position R2 is also stored as reference information for analysis of changes over time.

  The reference position is determined by the paper size designated by the user to select one of a plurality of standard sizes when a print job using the manual feed tray 35 is input. As shown in the flow of FIG. 9, when the user performs a designation input related to the print job, confirmation is performed to check whether the size of the paper placed on the manual feed tray 35 matches the paper size designated by the user. Processing is performed. In other words, paper feeding from the manual feed tray 35 is started with the guide position adjusted to the reference position calculated from the size of the paper size designated by the user in the width direction M2. The reference position is recorded as the guide position R1 at the start of paper feeding. In FIG. 24, the guide position R2 and the detection date are recorded in association with the reference position 1 and the reference position 2 corresponding to the two types of sheets having different sizes.

  In the confirmation process, even if there is a deviation within a predetermined range between the dimension calculated from the detected guide position R1 and the dimension in the width direction M2 of the size specified by the user, it is determined that the two match. Therefore, even if the paper size used in the previous print job and the current print job is the same, if the guide position is adjusted by the user between the previous print job and the current print job, Deviation within a predetermined range may occur in the guide position. As described above, the reference position calculated based on the size specified by the user is set as the guide position R1 at the start of paper feeding, thereby comparing the guide movement amount dD for a plurality of print jobs using the same size paper. be able to. However, for each paper size to be used, a set of the actually detected guide position R1 before the start of feeding and the guide position R2 when the paper passes through the conveyance guide may be recorded.

  25 shows a third example of the functional configuration of the main part of the MFP. In FIG. 25, elements corresponding to the example of FIG. 13 are given the same reference numerals. Here, the function of each element will be described focusing on the elements specific to the third example.

  The MFP 1 d includes a mechanism control unit 101, a detection unit 102, a recording unit 400, a calculation unit 401, a preliminary determination unit 402, a number counting unit 403, a determination unit 404, and a notification unit 106. These elements are functional elements realized by the CPU 210 of the printer controller 15 executing a control program.

  Each time the sheet is conveyed from the manual feed tray 35, the detection unit 102 is based on the output signal of the sensor 60, and the guide position at the time when the sheet passes the detection position that is the position of the conveyance guides 51 and 52 in the conveyance direction M1. R2 is detected. In a multi-print job, detection is performed as many times as the number of sheets to be used.

  The recording unit 400 stores the detected guide position in the recording memory 231 each time the detection unit 102 detects the guide position R2. At this time, the guide position is associated with the reference position corresponding to the paper size indicated by the paper designation information from the memory controller 11. The recording memory 231 is a part of the memory area of the nonvolatile memory 230.

  The calculation unit 401 calculates, for each guide position recorded by the recording unit 400, a guide movement amount dD that is a difference from the corresponding reference position. The calculation is started by an instruction from the main controller 11. For example, the main controller 11 instructs the calculation unit 401 to execute calculation when the cumulative number of printed sheets exceeds a set value. Upon receiving the instruction, the calculation unit 401 takes in the guide position R2 stored in the recording memory 231 via the recording unit 400. At this time, the recording unit 400 deletes the guide position transferred to the calculation unit 401 from the recording memory 231 or changes the data attribute so that the guide position is not transferred to the calculation unit 401 from the next time onward. When erasing, the recording memory 231 may be transferred to another memory.

  The preliminary determination unit 402 determines whether or not the calculated guide movement amount dD exceeds the threshold value dD30 every time the calculation unit 401 calculates the guide movement amount dD. When the guide movement amount dD exceeds the threshold value dD30, that is, when the guide movement amount dD is a count target of the number counting unit 403, the determination result (abnormality determination) is transmitted to the number counting unit 403. The number of times m that the abnormality determination is output is counted by the number counting unit 403.

  The determination unit 404 compares the number m counted by the number counting unit 403 with the number threshold M. When the number of times m becomes equal to the number of times threshold M, the determination unit 404 determines that the immobility of the transport guides 51 and 52 is poor. The determination result (defect determination) is transmitted by the notification unit 106 to a predetermined notification destination such as a user or a service center.

  As a modification of the functional configuration in FIG. 25, there is a configuration in which the guide movement amount dD calculated by the calculation unit 401 is stored. In this modification, the guide position R2 detected by the detection unit 102 is sent to the calculation unit 401, and the guide movement amount dD calculated by the calculation unit 401 is stored in the recording memory 231 by the recording unit 400. A determination instruction is given from the main controller 11 to the preliminary determination unit 402, and the preliminary determination unit 402 that receives the instruction takes in the guide movement amount dD from the recording memory 231 via the recording unit 400.

  FIG. 26 is a flowchart of a fourth example of processing for maintenance of the manual feed tray.

  If the paper type and size of the paper designated by the user is a special paper type and size that is likely to cause skew (NO in S40), the flow exits from this routine.

  The recording unit 400 acquires a reference position corresponding to the paper size designated by the user from the main controller 11 or the detection unit 102 (S41). The detection unit 102 waits for the paper feed to be started by the mechanism control unit 101 (S42), and when the trailing edge of the paper being conveyed on the manual feed tray 35 passes through the conveyance guides 51 and 52 (YES in S43). The guide position is detected (S44). Then, the recording unit 400 stores the detected guide position in the recording memory 231 in association with the reference position (S45). Until the feeding of the number of sheets designated by the print job is completed (NO in S46), the processing from step S43 to step S45 is repeated.

  FIG. 27 is a flowchart of the determination instruction waiting process. The calculation unit 401 checks whether there is an instruction from the main controller 11 (S47). When a predetermined instruction is given to the calculation unit 401, a transfer guide pass / fail judgment subroutine is executed to make a judgment based on the reference position as the position of the first time point and the guide position detected as the position of the second time point ( S48).

  FIG. 28 is a flowchart of a fourth example of the conveyance guide quality determination subroutine.

  The calculation unit 401 calculates a guide movement amount dD that is a difference from the reference position for each of the recorded guide positions (S480), and the preliminary determination unit 402 determines whether each guide movement amount dD is abnormal (S481). ). The number counting unit 403 counts the number m of abnormality determinations (S482, S483), and the determination unit 404 compares the number m of accumulated abnormality occurrences up to the present with the threshold value M (S484). When the number of times m is equal to or greater than the threshold value M, the notification unit 106 that has received the failure determination by the determination unit 404 notifies the failure of the transport guides 51 and 52.

  In the above embodiment, the mechanism configuration of the MFP is not limited to an example. The sensor 60 for detecting the guide position of the transport guides 51 and 52 may be a rotary volume or another type of sensor including an optical sensor.

  The loading type manual feed tray 35 that positions the sheet in the center in the width direction M2 in conjunction with the pair of conveyance guides 51 and 52 is illustrated, but the conveyance guide fixed to one end in the width direction M2 and the movable conveyance guide. It may be a manual feed tray of a side-by-side arrangement type.

  In addition, the hardware configuration and functional configuration of the image output apparatus can be changed as appropriate within the scope of the gist of the present invention. The sheet positioned by the conveyance guide is not limited to printing paper, but may be a scanning document. As with the conveyance guides 51 and 52 of the manual feed tray 35, the change in the guide position of the conveyance guide 312 in the document sheet table 310 of the ADF 13 can be detected to determine whether the immobility is good or bad. The threshold value used for determination may be switched according to the paper type and size of the paper.

  The image output apparatus to which the present invention is applied includes an image forming apparatus that prints an image, an image reading apparatus that outputs image data corresponding to a document image, and a facsimile apparatus that reads and transmits an image from a document.

1, 1b, 1d MFP (image output device)
P Paper (sheet)
48 Conveyance path M1 Conveyance direction M2 Width direction 35 Manual feed tray (sheet base)
51, 52 Transport guide 60 Sensors L1, R1, L2, R2 Guide position 102 Detection unit 103, 401 Calculation unit dD Guide movement amount 105, 404 Determination unit 106 Notification unit 104 Counting unit n Number of sheets fed n1 Number of sheets threshold dD22 Difference threshold ( (First threshold)
dD23 Difference threshold (second threshold, erroneous operation threshold)
201, 402 Preliminary determination unit 202 Counting unit 203 Determination unit m Number of times M Number of times threshold 107 Notification unit 12 Operation panel (operation input unit)
231 Recording memory 400 Recording unit

Claims (12)

An image output apparatus having a sheet table on which a conveyance guide movable in the width direction of a sheet conveyance path is assembled,
A determination unit that determines whether the immobility of the conveyance guide is good or bad based on a guide movement amount that is a change amount of the position of the conveyance guide in the width direction on the sheet table;
An image output device comprising: a notification unit that notifies the determination result when the determination unit determines that the immobility is poor. A sensor that outputs a signal corresponding to a guide position that is a position in the width direction of the transport guide;
A detection unit that detects the guide position at each of a first time point and a second time point after the first time point based on the signal of the sensor each time the sheet is conveyed from the sheet table;
A calculation unit that calculates a difference in the guide position between the first time point and the second time point detected by the detection unit as the guide movement amount. The determination unit includes the guide calculated by the calculation unit. The image output apparatus according to claim 1, wherein whether the immobility of the conveyance guide is good or bad is determined based on a movement amount. In a continuous conveyance mode in which a plurality of sheets are automatically conveyed continuously from the sheet table, the counter includes a counting unit that counts the number of sheets that have passed the detection position that is the position of the conveyance guide in the conveyance direction;
In the continuous conveyance mode, the first time point is a time point before the first sheet passes the detection position, and the second time point is a time point when a plurality of the sheets have passed the detection position. Yes,
The image output device according to claim 2, wherein the determination unit does not determine that the immobility of the transport guide is defective regardless of the guide movement amount when the number of sheets counted by the counting unit is equal to or greater than a sheet number threshold. . In the continuous conveyance mode in which the plurality of sheets are automatically conveyed continuously from the sheet table, the first time point is a time point before starting the conveyance of the plurality of sheets, and the second time point is the plurality of the plurality of sheets. Each time the sheet passes the detection position,
The detection unit detects the guide position at the first time point and the second time point when each of the plurality of sheets is conveyed,
The calculation unit calculates the guide movement amount every time the guide position is detected by the detection unit,
The image output apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the determination unit determines whether the immobility of the conveyance guide is good or defective every time the guide movement amount is calculated by the calculation unit. In the continuous transport mode, each time the guide movement amount is calculated by the calculation unit, the calculated guide movement amount is not less than a first threshold value and does not exceed a second threshold value that is greater than the first threshold value. A preliminary determination unit for determining whether or not
A number counting unit that counts the number of times that the preliminary determination unit determines that the guide movement amount is to be counted, and
The image output apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the determination unit determines that the immobility of the conveyance guide is poor when the number of times counted by the number counting unit becomes equal to a number threshold. 5. The image according to claim 3, further comprising: a notification unit that notifies the user that the conveyance guide has moved when the guide movement amount calculated by the calculation unit is greater than or equal to an erroneous operation threshold in the continuous conveyance mode. Output device. The image according to claim 5, further comprising: a notification unit that notifies the user that the conveyance guide has moved when the guide movement amount calculated by the calculation unit is greater than or equal to the second threshold value in the continuous conveyance mode. Output device. An operation input unit that accepts designation of the thickness of the sheet by the user,
The image output apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the detection unit does not detect the position of the conveyance guide when the thickness of the sheet specified by the user is larger than a set value. An image output apparatus having a sheet table on which a conveyance guide movable in the width direction of a sheet conveyance path is assembled,
Each time a plurality of sheets having the same length in the width direction are conveyed from the sheet table one by one, a guide movement amount that is a change amount of the position in the width direction of the conveyance guide on the sheet table is recorded. Recording unit to be stored in,
A determination unit that determines whether the immobility of the transport guide is good or bad based on the guide movement amount stored in the recording memory;
An image output device comprising: a notification unit that notifies the determination result when the determination unit determines that the immobility is poor. An image output apparatus having a sheet table on which a conveyance guide movable in the width direction of a sheet conveyance path is assembled,
A sensor that outputs a signal corresponding to a guide position that is a position in the width direction of the conveyance guide in the sheet table;
Each time a plurality of sheets having the same length in the width direction are conveyed one by one from the sheet table, the sheet passes the detection position that is the position of the conveyance guide in the conveyance direction based on the signal of the sensor. A detection unit for detecting the guide position at the time of
Each time the guide position is detected by the detection unit, the detected guide position, or a guide movement amount that is a difference between the guide position and a reference position corresponding to the length in the width direction of the sheet, A recording unit to be stored in the recording memory in association with the reference position;
When the guide position is stored in the recording memory, based on the guide movement amount determined by the guide position, when the guide movement amount is stored in the recording memory, the guide movement is performed. A determination unit that determines whether the immobility of the conveyance guide is good or bad based on the amount;
An image output device comprising: a notification unit that notifies the determination result when the determination unit determines that the immobility is poor. A preliminary determination unit that determines whether the guide movement amount is a count target exceeding a threshold;
A number counting unit that counts the number of times that the preliminary determination unit determines that the guide movement amount is the counting target, and
The image output apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the determination unit determines that the immobility of the conveyance guide is poor when the number of times counted by the number counting unit is equal to or greater than a number threshold. An operation input unit that accepts designation of the thickness of the sheet by the user,
The image output device according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the detection unit does not detect the guide position when the thickness of the sheet specified by the user is larger than a set value.

Images