JP2021120316A - Image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

To prevent erroneous discrimination of a recording material placed on a paper feed tray.SOLUTION: This device comprises: a paper feed tray 83 on which a recording material P is placed; a side regulation plate 82 for regulating a position of an end part of the recording material P placed on the paper feed tray 83; a recording material width sensor 101 which detects the position of the end part of the recording material P in a state of being regulated by the side regulation plate 82 and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the position of the end part; a nonvolatile memory 107 for storing a table 1 having recording material information associating type information of the recording material, width information of the recording material and information of a region where the recording material is used; and a CPU 106 for discriminating the type of the recording material P placed on the paper feed tray 83 based on the width of the recording material P calculated based on the detection signal output from the recording material width sensor 101, the table stored in the nonvolatile memory 107, and the regional information of operation of an image formation device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording material.

Recording materials of various sizes are used in an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording material. As a technique related to the recording material type detecting device mounted on the image forming apparatus and detecting the size of the recording material, for example, as in Patent Document 1, the image forming condition is changed based on the paper width information detected by the paper type detecting apparatus. Also, a method of notifying the user of the paper information has been devised.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a laser beam printer 1, which is an aspect of an image forming apparatus of a conventional example. In the laser beam printer 1 shown in FIG. 1, a paper feeding unit 80 in which a recording material P, which is a recording medium, is housed is arranged at the bottom. A recording material width detection unit 100 that detects a width that is orthogonal to the transport direction of the recording material P (the direction from right to left in the drawing) is provided in the upper part of the paper feed unit 80 in the drawing. .. 2 and 3 are perspective views showing the recording material width detection unit 100 and the side regulation plates 82 (82L, 82R). The side regulation plate 82 (82R, 82L) is movable in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The recording material P is placed between the side regulation plates 82 (82R, 82L), and the recording material P is sandwiched between the side regulation plate 82R and the side regulation plate 82L to regulate the position of the recording material P in the width direction. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the recording material width sensor 101. The recording material width sensor 101 is a rotary variable resistor, and a resistor (not shown) is arranged inside the sensor main body 101b, and the resistance value changes according to the angle of the protrusion shaft portion 101a. The protrusion shaft portion 101a is configured to interlock with the side regulation plates 82 (82R, 82L) via the sensor gear 103 and the sensor rack 104 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the angle of the protrusion shaft portion 101a, the output voltage of the recording material width sensor 101, and the recording material width. The horizontal axis indicates the angle of the protrusion shaft portion 101a, and the vertical axis represents the output voltage. The value obtained by converting the output voltage into the recording material width is shown. As the rotation angle of the protrusion shaft portion 101a increases, the output voltage also increases in proportion to the angle. For example, when the angle of the protrusion shaft portion 101a is 30 °, the minimum recording material width (for example, the width of index card 3x5 inch paper (76.2 mm)), and when the angle is 330 °, the maximum recording material width (for example, LETTER paper). Width (215.9 mm)). FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a connection between the recording material width sensor 101 and the CPU 106. The output voltage of the recording material width sensor 101 is input to the AD conversion port of the CPU 106, and the CPU 106 converts the output voltage value [V] into the recording material width [mm] using a predetermined conversion formula. In this way, the CPU 106 can detect the width of the recording material set between the side regulation plates 82 (82R, 82L), and determines the type of the recording material from the calculated width [mm] of the recording material. do.

FIG. 7 is a table in which the type of recording material, the width of the recording material, and the threshold value for separating adjacent recording materials are stored in advance in the ROM or the like of the CPU 106. The cutting threshold is an intermediate value of the width of adjacent recording materials. For example, the cutting threshold of LETTER paper (width 215.9 mm) and A4 paper (width 210.0 mm) is 213.0 mm (≈ (215.9 mm + 210.0 mm)). It is calculated as ÷ 2). For example, it is assumed that the recording material width calculated by the CPU 106 is 116.0 mm. In this case, 116.0 mm is 109.5 mm or more for the C6 paper and A6 paper separation threshold value and 120.5 mm or less for the index card 5x8 inch paper and C6 paper separation threshold value in the table shown in FIG. Therefore, the CPU 106 determines that the type of recording material is C6 paper. A detailed description of FIGS. 1 to 7 will be described later.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-130271

However, the above-mentioned method for determining the type of recording material has the following problems. The recording material width calculated by the CPU 106 generally includes an error of about several millimeters. Factors of error include the dimensional accuracy and assembly play of each mechanical component included in the recording material width detection unit 100, the non-linearity of the linearity of the output voltage with respect to the rotation angle of the resistor of the recording material width sensor 101, and the AD of the CPU 106. Conversion error etc. are included.

As an example, consider a case where the recording material width calculated by the CPU 106 has an error in the range of −3.0 mm to +3.0 mm with respect to the true recording material width. FIG. 8 is a table in which the difference between the adjacent paper type and the adjacent paper type is added to the table of the recording material type and the recording material width shown in FIG. For example, the difference between the LETTER paper (width 215.9 mm) and the adjacent recording material A4 paper (width 210.0 mm) is 5.9 mm (= 215.9 mm-210.0 mm). The difference between the A6 paper (width 105.0 mm) and the adjacent recording material index card 4x6 inch paper (width 101.6 mm) is 3.4 mm (= 105.0 mm-101.6 mm). At this time, the error of the recording material width calculated by the CPU 106 is -3 mm to +3 mm, so the length of the error range is 6.0 mm. The width difference between the LETTER paper and the A4 paper is 5.9 mm, and the width difference between the A6 paper and the index card 4x6 inch paper is 3.4 mm. In the table shown in FIG. 8, when the difference in the widths of the adjacent recording materials becomes shorter than the length of the error range of the recording material width of 6.0 mm calculated by the CPU 106, the CPU 106 uses the recording material as shown in FIG. There is a possibility of misidentifying the type of. The details of FIGS. 8 and 9 will be described later.

The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to prevent erroneous determination of a recording material placed on a paper feed tray.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention includes the following configurations.

(1) An image forming apparatus including a control means for controlling image formation on a recording material, which regulates the positions of a loading portion on which the recording material is loaded and an end portion of the recording material loaded on the loading portion. A detection means that detects the position of the regulation unit in a state where the position of the end portion of the recording material is regulated by the regulation unit and outputs a detection signal according to the position of the regulation unit, and a recording material. Calculated based on the storage means for storing the table having the recording material information in which the type information, the width information of the recording material, and the area information in which the recording material is used are associated with each other, and the detection signal output from the detection means. The type of the recording material loaded on the loading unit is determined based on the width of the recording material, the table stored in the storage means, and the area information in which the image forming apparatus operates. An image forming apparatus including a control means.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent erroneous determination of the recording material placed on the paper feed tray.

A cross-sectional view showing the configurations of the laser beam printers of Examples 1 to 3 and the conventional example. The figure explaining the recording material width detection unit and the side regulation plate of Examples 1 to 3 and the conventional example. The figure explaining the recording material width detection unit and the side regulation plate of Examples 1 to 3 and the conventional example. The figure which shows the structure of the recording material width sensor of Examples 1 to 3 and the conventional example. The figure explaining the operation of the recording material width sensor of Examples 1 to 3 and the conventional example. The figure explaining the system configuration which detects the recording material width of the conventional example A table that corresponds to the name and width of the recording material of the conventional example for comparison A table that corresponds to the name and width of the recording material of the conventional example for comparison Graph showing the name and width of the recording material of the conventional example for comparison The figure explaining the system configuration which detects the recording material width of Examples 1 and 3 The figure explaining the system configuration which detects the recording material width of Examples 1 and 3 The figure explaining the system configuration which detects the recording material width of Examples 1 and 3 A table in which the name and width of the recording material of Example 1 correspond to each other. The figure explaining the system configuration which detects the recording material width of Example 2. A table in which the name and width of the recording material of Example 3 correspond to each other.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[Configuration of image forming apparatus]
First, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configurations of a laser beam printer 1 (hereinafter referred to as a printer 1) which is one aspect of the image forming apparatus of Examples 1 to 3 and the conventional example described later. In the printer 1 shown in FIG. 1, a paper feeding unit 80 in which a recording material P, which is a recording medium, is housed is arranged at the bottom. In the upper left portion of the drawing of the paper feed unit 80, the tip position of the recording material P conveyed from the paper feed unit 80 is aligned, and the registration roller 51 that conveys the recording material P to the transfer roller 91 and registration. Opposing rollers 52 are arranged. Hereinafter, the registration roller 51 is referred to as a registration roller 51, and the registration facing roller 52 is referred to as a registration facing roller 52.

In the upper part of the drawing of the paper feed unit 80, a recording material width detection unit 100 that detects a width orthogonal to the transport direction of the recording material P (the direction from right to left in the drawing), and a photosensitive drum 11 A laser scanner unit 30 that forms an electrostatic latent image is arranged therein. A scanner frame 31 is arranged on the left side of the drawing of the laser scanner unit 30, and the laser scanner unit 30 is fixed to the scanner frame 31. The process cartridge 10 is arranged in the left direction of the scanner frame 31 in the drawing. The process cartridge 10 is exposed by a light beam emitted from the laser scanner unit 30 according to image information to develop a photosensitive drum 11 on which an electrostatic latent image is formed and an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 11. It has a developing device (not shown) that forms a toner image. A transfer roller 91 for transferring the toner image on the photosensitive drum 11 to the recording material P is provided at a position facing the process cartridge 10 in the left direction in the drawing of the process cartridge 10. Further, a fixing unit 20 for fixing the toner image transferred to the recording material P to the recording material P is arranged in the upper part of the drawings of the process cartridge 10 and the transfer roller 91. An discharge roller pair 61 for discharging the recording material P conveyed from the fixing unit 20 to the discharge tray 65 is provided in the upper right portion of the drawing of the fixing unit 20. Further, a control unit (not shown) that controls image formation on the recording material P is equipped with CPU 106 (see FIG. 6), which is a control means, and collectively controls the image formation operation of the printer 1. There is.

[Image formation operation]
First, the user sets the recording material P in the paper feed tray 83, which is a loading unit on which the recording material P of FIG. 1 is loaded, in order to form an image on the recording material P. At this time, the user moves (slides) the side regulation plates 82 (82R, 82L), which is a regulation unit that regulates the size of the width orthogonal to the transport direction of the recording material P, to a position corresponding to the width of the recording material P. Let me. After that, when print data composed of print commands, image information, etc. is input to the CPU 106 of the control unit from an external host computer (not shown) or the like, the printing operation on the recording material P is started. Under the control of the CPU 106, the recording material P is first fed from the paper feed tray 83 by the feeding roller 81, and is conveyed to the registration roller 51 and the registration facing roller 52. Further, the CPU 106 controls the laser scanner unit 30 based on the image information in parallel with the transport control of the recording material P to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 11 and controls the developing device. A toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 11. Then, the CPU 106 rotates the registration roller 51 and the registration facing roller 52 in accordance with the timing when the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 11 moves to the transfer roller 91, and conveys the recording material P to the transfer roller 91. .. As a result, the recording material P is conveyed to the nip portion formed by the contact between the photosensitive drum 11 and the transfer roller 91, and the toner image on the photosensitive drum 11 is transferred to the recording material P at the nip portion. The toner image transferred to the recording material P is melt-fixed on the recording material P by being heated and pressurized by a fixing unit 20 composed of a fixing roller or the like. Then, the recording material P after the toner image is fixed is discharged to the discharge tray 65 by the discharge roller pair 61, and the image forming operation is completed.

As described above, in the printer 1 equipped with the recording material width detecting unit 100, when a printing command is input from the host computer or the like, an image is imaged based on the width information of the recording material P detected by the recording material width detecting unit 100. Set the formation conditions and perform the printing operation. The image formation conditions referred to here include secondary processing conditions for an image such as the width of the image and the enlargement / reduction ratio of the image, as well as the process speed of image formation in the electrophotographic printer 1. The output voltage value of the high-voltage power supply, the adjustment temperature of the fixing device, etc. are wide-ranging. Further, it is also common to notify the user by displaying the recording material information on the display panel of the operation unit (not shown) based on the width information of the recording material P detected by the recording material width detection unit 100. It is done.

[Structure of recording material width detection unit]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the relationship between the configuration of the recording material width detection unit 100 and the side regulation plates 82 (82L, 82R). FIG. 2 shows the recording material width detection unit 100 and the side regulation plates 82 (82L, 82R) viewed from above on the upstream side of the recording material P of the paper feed tray 83 in the transport direction (recording material transport direction in the drawing). It is a perspective view at the time. As shown in FIG. 2, the printed circuit board 105 to which the recording material width sensor 101 (hereinafter, referred to as the width sensor 101) for detecting the width of the recording material P housed in the paper feed tray 83 is attached to the size detection holder 102. It is attached. A sensor gear 103 that rotates according to the movement of the side regulation plate 82 (82R) is provided so as to come into contact with the width sensor 101. The sensor gear 103 has a rotation shaft 103a, and the rotation shaft 103a is fitted into a hole (see FIG. 4) provided in the protrusion shaft portion 101a of the width sensor 101, and can be rotated by the size detection holder 102. It is attached.

The side regulation plate 82 has a pair of left and right sides of 82R (right side) and 82L (left side), and 82R (first regulation member) and 82L (second regulation member) are placed on the paper feed tray 83, respectively. The positions of one end and the other end of the widthwise end of the recording material P are regulated. Further, the side regulation plate 82R and the sensor rack 104R, and the side regulation plate 82L and the sensor rack 104L are connected. As a result, the sensor racks 104L and 104R are configured to be movable in synchronization with the slide operation of the side regulation plates 82L and 82R, respectively. A pinion 108 is provided between the sensor racks 104L and 104R, and the teeth of the gears of the pinion 108 are meshed with the teeth provided on the sensor racks 104L and 104R. Therefore, when one of the side regulation plates 82 (for example, 82R) is slid, the sensor rack 104 (for example, 104R) moves, and by rotating the pinion 108, the other sensor rack 104 (for example, 104L) also slides symmetrically. It is configured to do. With such a configuration, by sliding one of the side regulating plates 82, the width direction of the recording material P placed on the paper feed tray 83 can be regulated at the same time on the left and right.

Further, the sensor rack 104R is provided with teeth on the pinion 108 side and the sensor gear 103 side, and is meshed (engaged) with the teeth of the pinion 108 and the teeth of the sensor gear 103, respectively. Therefore, when the sensor rack 104R moves in synchronization with the slide operation of the side regulation plate 82R, the sensor gear 103 also rotates in conjunction with the movement of the sensor rack 104R.

[Operation of recording material width detection unit]
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the recording material width detection unit 100 when the recording material P is set in the paper feed tray 83. The width sensor 101 is installed in parallel on the upper surface of the recording material P placed between the side regulation plate 82L and the side regulation plate 82R. In FIG. 3, the user moves the side regulation plate 82R in the direction of arrow A in the drawing or the side regulation plate 82L in the direction of arrow B in the drawing in order to set the recording material P in the paper feed tray 83. Then, when the user sets the recording material P in the paper feed tray 83, the side regulating plate 82R is set in the direction of arrow B in the drawing, or the side regulating plate 82L is set in the direction of arrow A in the drawing, and the width side of the recording material P is set. Move to a position where it abuts on the edge of.

In FIG. 3, when the side regulation plate 82R is slid (moved) in the direction of arrow A, the sensor rack 104R connected to and integrated with the side regulation plate 82R is also linked to the movement of the side regulation plate 82R by arrow A. Move in the direction. Then, as the sensor rack 104R moves in the direction of the arrow A, the pinion 108 with the teeth meshing with the sensor rack 104 rotates, and the sensor rack 104L with the teeth meshing with the pinion 108 slides. As a result, the side regulation plate 82L slides in the B direction, which is a direction symmetrical to the slide direction (operation direction) of the side regulation plate 82R. Then, as the sensor rack 104R moves in the direction of arrow A, the tooth-to-tooth sensor gear 103 provided on the sensor rack 104R rotates in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing. As a result, the protruding shaft portion 101a (see FIG. 4) of the width sensor 101 to which the rotating shaft 103a of the sensor gear 103 is fitted also rotates in the counterclockwise direction. Then, the width sensor 101 converts the resistance value of the variable resistor of the sensor main body 101b according to the angle of the protrusion shaft portion 101a into a voltage and outputs it to the CPU 106 (see FIG. 6) of the control unit (not shown).

[Structure of recording material width detection unit]
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the width sensor 101 and the printed circuit board 105 on which the width sensor 101 is mounted in the recording material width detection unit 100 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the width sensor 101, which is a detection means, is composed of a protrusion shaft portion 101a and a sensor main body 101b. The protrusion shaft portion 101a is provided with a hole portion in the center, and is rotatably attached to the sensor main body 101b. On the other hand, the sensor body 101b is a rotary variable resistor, and is fixed to the printed circuit board 105 in a state of being electrically connected. The sensor body 101b has a resistor (not shown) inside, and the resistance value changes according to the rotation angle of the protrusion shaft portion 101a. The protrusion shaft portion 101a is configured to interlock with the side regulation plates 82 (82R, 82L) via the sensor gear 103 and the sensor rack 104 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The width sensor 101 converts the resistance value of the variable resistor of the sensor main body 101b into a voltage which is a detection signal and outputs it to the CPU 106 (see FIG. 6) of the control unit.

[Operation of width sensor]
FIG. 5A is a graph illustrating the relationship between the angle of the protrusion shaft portion 101a of the width sensor 101 and the width of the recording material P. In FIG. 5A, the horizontal axis represents the angle (unit: °) of the protrusion shaft portion 101a, and the vertical axis corresponds to the output voltage (unit: V (volt)) of the width sensor 101 and the output voltage. The recording material width (name and width of the recording material P) is shown. From FIG. 5A, it can be seen that as the angle of the protrusion shaft portion 101a increases, the resistance value of the variable resistor also increases, and the output voltage of the width sensor 101 also increases in proportion to this. In this embodiment, when the angle of the protrusion shaft portion 101a is 30 °, the width of the recording material P is 3x5 inch paper (76.2 mm), and when the angle is 330 °, the width of the recording material P is LETTER paper (215). The output voltage is set so as to be 0.9 mm). By linearly changing the angle of the protrusion shaft portion 101a in this way, the width of the recording material P can also be detected linearly.

5 (b) to 5 (d) are views showing the state of the protrusion shaft portion 101a of the width sensor 101 when the angles of the protrusion shaft portion 101a are 30 °, 180 °, and 330 °, respectively. For example, assuming that the recording material P shown in FIG. 3 is an index card 3x5 inch paper, the state of the protrusion shaft portion 101a of the width sensor 101 is the position shown in FIG. 5B. In FIG. 3, when the side regulation plate 82R is adjusted to the width of the recording material P, the angle of the protrusion shaft portion 101a becomes 30 °, and when converted to the recording material width, the width of the index card 3x5 inch paper which is the minimum recording material width ( 76.2 mm). When the side restricting plate 82R is slid in the direction of arrow A (rightward) from the state of FIG. 3, the angle of the protrusion shaft portion 101a increases according to the amount of sliding, and FIGS. 5 (b) to 5 (d). ). For example, at the position where the angle of the protrusion shaft portion 101a is 330 ° shown in FIG. 5 (d), the maximum recording material width (for example, the width of LETTER paper (215.9 mm)) is set. In this way, the voltage output from the width sensor 101 corresponding to the angle of the protrusion shaft portion 101a also increases, and the width of the recording material P detected by the CPU 106 also increases.

In FIG. 5A, the output voltage is not displayed in the section where the angle of the protrusion shaft portion 101a is 0 ° to 20 ° and the section where the angle is 340 ° to 360 °. This is because the width sensor 101 is out of the use area due to its electrical characteristics. FIG. 5E is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a variable resistor inside the width sensor 101. The width sensor 101 has a resistor that is a resistor inside, and a rotating electrode that rotates according to the angle of the protruding shaft portion 101a of the width sensor 101 to which the rotating shaft 103a of the sensor gear 103 is fitted. .. Then, the width sensor 101 outputs a voltage of 0 V (GND) when the angle of the rotating electrode is 20 °, and outputs a voltage of 3.3 V when the angle of the rotating electrode is 340 °. In the width sensor 101, the actual use angle of the rotating electrode is an angle in a section of 30 ° to 330 ° (= 360 ° −30 °). Further, in the width sensor 101, the use limit angles in terms of electrical characteristics are 20 ° and 340 ° (= 360 ° -20 °), and when the angle of the rotating electrode is less than 20 ° and more than 340 °. Does not output voltage.

Therefore, in FIG. 5A, the minimum width of the recording material P that can be detected by the width sensor 101 is set to 30 °, and a mechanical margin of 10 ° is provided with respect to an angle of 20 ° outside the use area due to the electrical characteristics of the width sensor 101. It is provided. Similarly, for the maximum width of the recording material P, the maximum width of the recording material P that can be detected by the width sensor 101 is set to 330 °, and a mechanical margin of 10 ° is set with respect to an angle of 340 ° outside the use area due to the electrical characteristics of the width sensor 101. Is provided.

[System configuration to detect the width of recording material]
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration for detecting the width of the recording material P placed on the paper feed tray 83 of the printer 1 of this embodiment. In FIG. 6, the CPU 106 of the control unit has a ROM (not shown) and a RAM (not shown), which are storage devices, and uses the RAM as a work area based on various control programs stored in the ROM to perform a printer. The image forming operation of 1 is collectively controlled. Further, in FIG. 6, the CPU 106 has three terminals, an AVref terminal, an AD terminal, and an AVss terminal. A DC voltage of 3.3 V (volt), which is the maximum value of the output voltage from the width sensor 101, is input to the AVref terminal, and is connected to the ground (GND), which is the minimum value of 0 V of the output voltage, to the AVss terminal. ing. Further, an output voltage corresponding to the angle of the protrusion shaft portion 101a of the width sensor 101 is input from the width sensor 101 of the recording material width detection unit 100 to the AD terminal. The CPU 106 converts the output voltage (analog voltage) of the width sensor 101 input to the AD terminal, which is an AD conversion input port, into a digital value corresponding to the output voltage. The CPU 106 converts the digital value [V] converted using a predetermined conversion formula into the recording material width [mm]. In this way, the CPU 106 can detect the width of the recording material set between the side regulation plates 82 (82R, 82L).

The CPU 106 determines the type of recording material from the calculated recording material width [mm]. FIG. 7 is a table in which the types of recording materials and the width [mm] of the recording materials are arranged in the order of the width, and the threshold values for separating from the adjacent recording materials are summarized. The CPU 106 stores this table in the ROM in advance. ing. In the table of FIG. 7, in the left column (“recording material name”), the names of the recording materials (recording material type information) arranged in descending order of width are described, and in the center column (“horizontal width”). , The width of the recording material listed in the left column is listed. The name of the recording material is a name corresponding to the size of the recording material. The right column (“dividing threshold”) is divided into a left column and a right column. In the left column, from the top, the threshold for separating the first recording material (LETTER) and the second recording material (A4), and the separation between the third recording material (B5) and the fourth recording material (A5). The threshold value, ... Is described. On the other hand, in the right column, from the top, the threshold for separating the second recording material (A4) and the third recording material (B5), the fourth recording material (A5) and the fifth recording material (index card 5x8 inch). ) And the threshold value, ... Are described.

The separation threshold value indicates an intermediate value of the widths of two adjacent recording materials. For example, the width of the LETTER paper is 215.9 mm, and the width of the A4 paper is 210.0 mm. The separation threshold value of the LETTER paper and the A4 paper is obtained as an intermediate value of the width of the LETTER paper and the A4 paper, and is 213.0 mm (≈ (215.9 mm + 210.0 mm) ÷ 2). The separation threshold of other recording materials can be obtained in the same manner. Then, for example, when the recording material width calculated by the CPU 106 is 116.0 mm, 116.0 mm is equal to or more than the C6 paper and A6 paper separation threshold value (109.5 mm), and the index card 5x8 inch paper and C6 paper separation threshold value ( 120.5 mm) or less. As a result, the CPU 106 determines that the type of recording material is C6 paper.

[Task]
The recording material width [mm] calculated by the CPU 106 generally includes an error of about several mm. Factors of error include the dimensional accuracy and assembly play of each mechanical component included in the recording material width detection unit 100, the non-linearity of the linearity of the output voltage with respect to the rotation angle of the resistor of the width sensor 101, and the AD conversion error of the CPU 106. Can be mentioned. As an example, consider a case where the width of the recording material calculated by the CPU 106 has an error in the range of −3.0 mm to +3.0 mm with respect to the width of the true recording material.

FIG. 8 is a table in which the difference in width from the adjacent recording material is added to the table composed of the type of recording material, the width of the recording material, and the cutting threshold value shown in FIG. The added right column ("Difference from adjacent paper type") is divided into a left column and a right column. The left column shows the difference in width between the first recording material (LETTER) and the second recording material (A4) from the top, and the width between the third recording material (B5) and the fourth recording material (A5). Difference, ... is described. On the other hand, in the right column, the difference in width between the second recording material (A4) and the third recording material (B5) from the top, the fourth recording material (A5) and the fifth recording material (index card 5x8 inch). ) And the difference in width, ... are described. For example, the difference between the LETTER paper (width 215.9 mm) and the adjacent recording material A4 paper (width 210.0 mm) is 5.9 mm (= 215.9 mm-210.0 mm). The difference between the A4 paper (width 210.0 mm) and the adjacent recording material B5 paper (width 182.0 mm) is 28.0 mm (= 210.0 mm-182.0 mm). Further, the difference between the A6 paper (width 105.0 mm) and the adjacent recording material index card 4x6 inch paper (width 101.6 mm) is 3.4 mm (= 105.0 mm-101.6 mm). As described above, since the width of the recording material calculated by the CPU 106 has an error in the range of −3.0 mm to +3.0 mm, the length of the error range is 6.0 mm. In the right column of FIG. 8 (“Difference from adjacent paper type”), in the column painted in gray, the difference in the width of the adjacent recording material is the length of the error range of the recording material calculated by the CPU 106. The case where it is smaller than 0 mm is shown.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the width of the recording material shown in FIG. 8, where the vertical axis indicates the recording material and the horizontal axis indicates the width of each recording material. In FIG. 9, the difference in width between adjacent recording materials is smaller than the length of the error range of the recording materials calculated by the CPU 106, which is 6.0 mm (± 3 mm). The detection area of is painted in gray. The true width of the LETTER paper is 215.9 mm, but considering the error range of 6.0 mm of the recording material calculated by the CPU 106 (proportionally), the detection range is 212.9 mm to 218.9 mm. Similarly, the true width of A4 paper is 210.0 mm, but the detection range is 207.0 mm to 213.0 mm in consideration of the error range of 6.0 mm of the recording material calculated by the CPU 106. Further, although the true width of A6 paper is 105.0 mm, the detection range is 102.0 mm to 108.0 mm in consideration of the error range of 6.0 mm of the recording material calculated by the CPU 106. Similarly, the index card 4x6 inch paper has a true width of 101.6 mm, but the detection range is 98.6 mm to 104.6 mm in consideration of the error range of 6.0 mm of the recording material calculated by the CPU 106. As shown in FIG. 8, the width difference between the LETTER paper and the A4 paper is 5.9 mm, and the width difference between the A6 paper and the index card 4x6 inch paper is 3.4 mm. As shown in FIG. 9, if the width difference between adjacent recording materials is shorter than the length of the error range of 6.0 mm, the detection areas of the two recording materials overlap, and the CPU 106 may erroneously determine the type of recording material. Occurs.

Taking the discrimination between A6 paper and the index card 4x6 inch paper as an example, erroneous discrimination of the type of recording material of the CPU 106 will be described. It is assumed that A6 paper (true recording material width 105.0 mm) is placed on the paper feed tray 83 and set between the side regulation plates 82 (82R, 82L). When the error of the recording material width detection unit 100 is -3 mm, the CPU 106 calculates the width of the recording material as 102.0 mm (= 105.0 mm-3 mm). Since the calculated value of 102.0 mm is smaller than the separation threshold value of 103.3 mm for A6 paper and index card 4x6 inch paper, the CPU 106 erroneously determines the recording material set in the paper feed tray 83 as index card 4x6 inch paper.

On the other hand, it is assumed that the index card 4x6 inch paper (true recording material width 101.6 mm) is placed on the paper feed tray 83 and set between the side regulation plates 82 (82R, 82L). When the error of the recording material width detection unit 100 is +3 mm, the CPU 106 calculates the recording material width as 101.6 mm + 3 mm = 104.6 mm. Since the calculated value of 104.6 mm is larger than the separation threshold value of 103.3 mm for A6 paper and index card 4x6 inch paper, the CPU 106 erroneously determines the recording material set in the paper feed tray 83 as A6 paper. As described above, the CPU 106 has a problem that the type of the recording material set in the paper feed tray 83 is erroneously determined due to the error of the recording material width calculated by the CPU 106.

It is known that the types of recording materials used in the world are characterized by the types of recording materials frequently used depending on the country or region. For example, in North America such as the United States, Mexico, and Canada, inch size paper such as LETTER paper (8.5x11inch), index card 5x8inch, 4x6inch, 3x5inch, and photo card 3.5x5inch are widely used. On the other hand, in Europe, so-called A-row, B-row, and C-row papers such as A4, B5, A5, C6, and A6 are widely used. From the above circumstances, it is possible to identify the type of recording material to be used with a certain probability based on the information of the country or region in which the image forming apparatus operates.

In the first embodiment, information on a country or region in which the image forming apparatus operates is stored, and based on the information on the recording material used in the country or region and the width (width) of the recording material detected by the width sensor 101. An example of determining the type of recording material will be described. The configuration of the image forming apparatus (printer 1), the recording material width detection unit 100, the side regulation plate 82, and the width sensor 101 in this embodiment is the same as the above-described configuration, and the same reference numerals are used for the same configuration. By description, the description here will be omitted.

[System configuration to detect the width of recording material]
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration for detecting the width of the recording material P placed on the paper feed tray 83 of the printer 1 of this embodiment. In FIG. 10, the non-volatile memory 107 is connected to the CPU 106 in the system configuration described in FIG. Information on the country or region in which the printer 1 operates is stored in advance in the non-volatile memory 107, and the CPU 106 appropriately stores information on the country or region from the non-volatile memory 107 when determining the type of recording material. It is read out and the recording material P placed on the paper feed tray 83 is discriminated. Further, FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration in which the non-volatile memory 107 is included in the CPU 106, and the non-volatile memory 107 externally attached in FIG. 10 may be provided inside the CPU. In FIG. 11, as in FIG. 10, the non-volatile memory 107 stores information on the country or region in which the printer 1 operates in advance. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a configuration in which the control panel 109 is connected to the CPU 106 in the system configuration described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 12, the CPU 106 stores the country or region information input from the control panel 109 in a RAM (not shown) inside the CPU, and determines the recording material P placed on the paper feed tray 83. When doing so, reading may be performed as appropriate. Since the configurations of the CPU 106 and the width sensor 101 have been described above, the description thereof will be omitted here.

[Discrimination of recording material]
An output voltage corresponding to the angle of the protrusion shaft portion 101a of the width sensor 101 is input from the width sensor 101 to the AD terminal, which is the AD conversion port of the CPU 106 shown in FIGS. 10 to 12. The CPU 106 converts the output voltage [V] of the width sensor 101 input to the AD terminal into a digital value, and converts it into a recording material width [mm] using a predetermined conversion formula. In this way, the CPU 106 can determine the width of the recording material P set between the side regulation plates 82 (82R, 82L) of the paper feed tray 83.

Next, the CPU 106 determines the type of recording material placed on the paper feed tray 83 based on the obtained recording material width [mm]. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a table used by the CPU 106 when discriminating recording materials. In FIG. 13, the table 1 is a table in which the name and width of the recording material are associated with the regional information (North America, Europe) in which the recording material is mainly used, and the ROM (not shown) of the CPU 106 is previously displayed. It is stored in the non-volatile memory 107. Table 1 shows that LETTER, index card 5x8inch, 4x6inch, 3x5inch, and photo card 3.5x5inch are recording materials often used in North America. On the other hand, Table 1 shows that the A4, B5, A5, C6, and A6 size recording materials are widely used recording materials in Europe.

Next, the CPU 106 reads information on the country or region in which the printer 1 operates from the non-volatile memory 107 or the like, and based on the read information, from Table 1 shown in FIG. Extract the information and create a new table. For example, the CPU 106 creates the table 2 which is the area table shown in FIG. 13 when the read area information is North America, and the area table shown in FIG. 13 when the read area information is Europe. Create a table 3.

Table 2 shown in FIG. 13 is a table corresponding to the case where the region in which the printer 1 operates is the North American region, and includes the recording material name, width, region, separation threshold for separating adjacent recording materials and recording materials, and adjacent recording. It is composed of the difference from the adjacent paper type, which indicates the difference in width from the material. Table 2 is a table composed of recording materials mainly used in North America. Therefore, the table 2 is composed of the LETTER, the index card 5x8inch, 4x6inch, the photo card 3.5x5inch, and the index card 3x5inch in order from the recording material listed in the table 1 in descending width. The separation threshold is divided into a left column and a right column, and an intermediate value of the width of adjacent recording materials is shown. The left column shows the median 171.5 mm (≈ (215.9 mm + 127.0 mm) / 2) of the width of the LETTER (215.9 mm) and the index card 5x8 inch (127.0 mm) in order from the top. The next value shows an intermediate value of 95.3 mm (≈ (101.6 mm + 88.9 mm) / 2) in width between the index card 4x6 inch (101.6 mm) and the photo card 3.5 x 5 inch (88.9 mm). Similarly, the right column shows the median width of 114.3 mm (= (127.0 mm + 101.6 mm) / 2) between the index card 5x8 inch (127.0 mm) and the index card 4 x 6 inch (101.6 mm) in order from the top. ing. The next value shows an intermediate value of 82.6 mm (≈ (88.9 mm + 76.2 mm) / 2) in width between the photo card 3.5 x 5 inch (88.9 mm) and the index card 3 x 5 inch (76.2 mm).

Further, the difference from the adjacent paper type is divided into a left column and a right column, and the difference in the width of the adjacent recording material is shown. The left column shows the width difference of 88.9 mm (= 215.9 mm-127.0 mm) between the LETTER (215.9 mm) and the index card 5x8 inch (127.0 mm) in order from the top. The next value shows a width difference of 12.7 mm (= 101.6 mm-88.9 mm) between the index card 4x6 inch (101.6 mm) and the photo card 3.5 x 5 inch (88.9 mm). Similarly, the right column shows the difference in width between the index card 5x8 inch (127.0 mm) and the index card 4x6 inch (101.6 mm) in order from the top, 25.4 mm (= 127.0 mm-101.6 mm). The next value shows a width difference of 12.7 mm (= 88.9 mm-76.2 mm) between the photo card 3.5x5 inch (88.9 mm) and the index card 3 x 5 inch (76.2 mm).

On the other hand, Table 3 is a table composed of recording materials mainly used in Europe. Therefore, the table 3 is composed of A4, B5, A5, C6, and A6 size recording materials in order from the one having the largest width among the recording materials listed in the table 1. The separation threshold is divided into a left column and a right column, and an intermediate value of the width of adjacent recording materials is shown. The left column shows the median width of 196.0 mm (= (210.0 mm + 182.0 mm) / 2) of the width of A4 paper (210.0 mm) and B5 paper (182.0 mm) in this order from the top. The next value shows an intermediate value of 131.0 mm (= (148.0 mm + 114.0 mm) / 2) in the width of A5 paper (148.0 mm) and C6 paper (114.0 mm). Similarly, the right column shows the median width of 165.0 mm (= (182.0 mm + 148.0 mm) / 2) of the width of B5 paper (182.0 mm) and A5 paper (148.0 mm) in order from the top. .. The next value shows an intermediate value of 109.5 mm (= (114.0 mm + 105.0 mm) / 2) in the width between C6 paper (114.0 mm) and A6 paper (105.0 mm).

Further, the difference from the adjacent paper type is divided into a left column and a right column, and the difference in the width of the adjacent recording material is shown. The left column shows the difference in width between A4 paper (210.0 mm) and B5 paper (182.0 mm) in order from the top, 28.0 mm (= 210.0 mm-182.0 mm). The next value shows a difference in width between A5 paper (148.0 mm) and C6 paper (114.0 mm) of 34.0 mm (= 148.0 mm-114.0 mm). Similarly, the right column shows the difference in width between the B5 paper (182.0 mm) and the A5 paper (148.0 mm) in order from the top, 34.0 mm (= 182.0 mm-148.0 mm). The next value shows a difference in width between C6 paper (114.0 mm) and A6 paper (105.0 mm) of 9.0 mm (= 114.0 mm-105.0 mm).

The CPU 106 was detected by the width sensor 101 and the values shown in the separation thresholds of the table 2 when the area where the printer 1 operates is the North American area and the separation threshold value of the table 3 when the area where the printer 1 operates is the European area. The type of recording material is determined based on the width of the recording material. In Table 2 (North America) shown in FIG. 13, the minimum difference between adjacent paper types is 12.7 mm, and in Table 3 (Europe), the minimum difference between adjacent paper types is 9.0 mm. As described above, assuming that the error range of the recording material width calculated by the CPU 106 is 6.0 mm, which is -3 mm to +3 mm, the adjacent paper types in Table 2 (North America) and Table 3 (Europe) shown in FIG. The difference is larger than the above-mentioned error range length (predetermined value) of 6.0 mm. Therefore, the CPU 106 does not erroneously determine the type of recording material. The recording materials of the tables 2 and 3 are arranged in the order of the recording material having the widest width of the recording material to the recording material having the smallest width. good.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent erroneous determination of the recording material placed on the paper feed tray.

As mentioned above, the types of recording materials used in the world are characterized by the types of recording materials that are frequently used depending on the country or region. For example, inch size paper is often used in North America, while in Europe. , So-called A-row, B-row, and C-row papers are often used. In addition, the voltage value of the commercial power supply is 110 to 127V in North America such as the United States, Mexico, and Canada, and 220 to 240V in Europe, and it is known that the voltage value of the commercial power supply differs from the country or region. Has been done. From the above, the type of recording material used can be specified with a certain probability from the voltage value of the commercial power supply supplied to the image forming apparatus.

In the second embodiment, the voltage value of the commercial power supply supplied to the image forming apparatus is detected, and the information of the recording material used in the country or region determined (estimated) based on the detected voltage value and the width sensor are used. An example of determining the type of recording material based on the detected recording material width will be described. The configuration of the image forming apparatus (printer 1), the recording material width detection unit 100, the side regulation plate 82, and the width sensor 101 in this embodiment is the same as the above-described configuration, and the same reference numerals are used for the same configuration. By description, the description here will be omitted.

[System configuration to detect the width of recording material]
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration for detecting the width of the recording material P placed on the paper feed tray 83 of the printer 1 of this embodiment. In FIG. 14, the system configuration described with reference to FIG. 6 is such that the commercial power supply voltage detection unit 110 for detecting the voltage value of the commercial power supply is connected to the CPU 106. The circuit configuration for detecting the voltage input to the printer 1 from the commercial power supply is not limited as long as it has a general detection circuit. The CPU 106 acquires the voltage value detected by the commercial power supply voltage detection unit 110, and determines the area (North America area, Europe area) in which the printer 1 operates based on the acquired voltage value.

[Discrimination of recording material]
An output voltage corresponding to the angle of the protrusion shaft portion 101a of the width sensor 101 is input from the width sensor 101 to the AD terminal, which is the AD conversion port of the CPU 106 shown in FIG. The CPU 106 converts the output voltage [V] of the width sensor 101 input to the AD terminal into a digital value, and converts it into a recording material width [mm] using a predetermined conversion formula. In this way, the CPU 106 can determine the width of the recording material set between the side regulation plates 82 (82R, 82L) of the paper feed tray 83.

The CPU 106 determines the type of recording material placed on the paper feed tray 83 based on the obtained recording material width [mm]. The CPU 106 acquires the voltage value of the commercial power supply detected by the commercial power supply voltage detection unit 110, and determines the country or region in which the printer 1 operates based on the acquired voltage value. Then, the CPU 106 creates a new table by extracting the information of the recording material often used in the corresponding area from the table 1 shown in FIG. 13 described above based on the determined area information. For example, when the voltage value of the commercial power supply detected by the commercial power supply voltage detection unit 110 is less than 150 V, the CPU 106 determines that the region where the printer 1 operates is the North American region, and Table 2 (North American region) shown in FIG. To create. On the other hand, when the voltage value of the commercial power supply detected by the commercial power supply voltage detection unit 110 is 150 V or more, the CPU 106 determines that the region where the printer 1 operates is the European region, and Table 3 (European region) shown in FIG. To create. Then, the CPU 106 is detected by the width sensor 101 and the value shown in the separation threshold of the table 2 when the area where the printer 1 operates is the North American area and the separation threshold value of the table 3 when the area where the printer 1 operates is the European area. The type of recording material is determined based on the width of the recording material.

In the case of this embodiment, as in the case of the first embodiment described above, based on the commercial power supply voltage, the recording material is recorded by using the table 2 shown in FIG. 13 in the case of the North American region and the table 3 in the case of the European region. Determine the type of. The minimum value of the difference between adjacent paper types in Table 2 (North America) shown in FIG. 13 is 12.7 mm, and the minimum value of the difference between adjacent paper types in Table 3 (Europe) is 9.0 mm. As described above, assuming that the error range of the recording material width calculated by the CPU 106 is 6.0 mm, which is -3 mm to +3 mm, the adjacent paper types in Table 2 (North America) and Table 3 (Europe) shown in FIG. The difference is greater than the length of the error range of 6.0 mm described above. Therefore, the CPU 106 does not erroneously determine the type of recording material.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent erroneous determination of the recording material placed on the paper feed tray.

In Examples 1 and 2, a table composed of recording materials often used in countries and regions in which the image forming apparatus operates is created, information on the recording material width detected by the width sensor 101, and the created table. The method of discriminating the recording material for selecting the corresponding recording material based on the above was described. In the third embodiment, an embodiment in which erroneous discrimination of the recording material is prevented by switching the separation threshold value of the recording material constituting the table according to the country or region in which the image forming apparatus is operated will be described. The configuration of the image forming apparatus (printer 1), the recording material width detection unit 100, the side regulation plate 82, and the width sensor 101 in this embodiment is the same as the above-described configuration, and the same reference numerals are used for the same configuration. By description, the description here will be omitted. Further, in this embodiment, the CPU 106 shall acquire information on the country or region in which the printer 1 is driven in the same manner as in the first and second embodiments.

[Discrimination of recording material]
Table 4 in FIG. 15 is a table in which regional information is added to the table shown in FIG. 8 described above, and includes recording material name, width, regional information (region), separation threshold for separating adjacent recording materials and recording materials, and adjacent. It is composed of the difference from the adjacent paper type, which indicates the difference in width from the recording material to be used. In the table 4, the recording material painted in gray indicates a recording material in which the difference in width between adjacent recording materials is smaller than the length of the error range of the recording material calculated by the CPU 106, which is 6.0 mm. Specifically, there are LETTER paper and A4 paper having a width difference of 5.9 mm between adjacent recording materials, and A6 paper and index card 4x6 inch paper having a width difference of 3.4 mm between adjacent recording materials. The error range of the recording material width calculated by the CPU 106 is 6.0 mm, which is -3 mm to +3 mm. Then, in the case of LETTER paper and A4 paper (recording material width difference 5.9 mm) and A6 paper and index card 4x6 inch paper (recording material width difference 3.4 mm), the difference from the adjacent paper type is less than 6.0 mm. , The CPU 106 may erroneously determine the type of recording material.

Therefore, the present embodiment is characterized in that the division threshold value of the combination of recording materials that may be erroneously determined is switched based on the area information in which the printer 1 operates. For example, in Table 4, the threshold for separating LETTER paper (width 215.9 mm) and A4 paper (width 210.0 mm), which may cause erroneous discrimination, is 213.0 mm. When the area where the printer 1 operates is the North American area, the CPU 106 converts the table 4 into the table 5 (North American area). In Table 5, the threshold for separating LETTER paper (width 215.9 mm) and A4 paper (width 210.0 mm), which may cause erroneous discrimination, is set from 213.0 mm to 212, which is less used in North America and is closer to A4 paper width. It has been lowered to 0.9 mm. When the error of the recording material width calculated by the CPU 106 is -3 mm to +3 mm, the recording material width of the LETTER paper (width 215.9 mm) is calculated in the range of 212.9 mm to 218.9 mm. Therefore, by lowering the threshold for separating LETTER paper (width 215.9 mm) and A4 paper (width 210.0 mm) to 212.9 mm, which is closer to the A4 paper width, which is rarely used in North America, the LETTER paper is erroneously identified as A4 paper. It can be prevented from doing so.

Similarly, in Table 5, the threshold for separating A6 paper (width 105.0 mm) and index card 4x6 inch paper (width 101.6 mm) is raised from 103.3 mm to 104.6 mm, which is closer to the A6 paper width. When the error of the recording material width calculated by the CPU 106 is -3 mm to +3 mm, the recording material width of the index card 4x6 inch paper (width 101.6 mm) is calculated in the range of 98.6 mm to 104.6 mm. Become. Therefore, the threshold for separating A6 paper (width 105.0 mm) and index card 4x6 inch paper (width 101.6 mm) has been raised to 104.6 mm, which is closer to the width of A6 paper, which is rarely used in the North American region. This makes it possible to prevent the index card 4x6 inch paper from being erroneously discriminated as A6 paper.

On the other hand, when the region where the printer 1 operates is the European region, the CPU 106 converts the table 4 into the table 6 (European region). In Table 6, the thresholds for separating A6 paper (width 105.0 mm) and index card 4x6 inch paper (width 101.6 mm), which may cause erroneous discrimination, are switched as follows. That is, in Table 6, the threshold for separating A6 paper and index card 4x6 inch paper is lowered from 103.3 mm to 102.0 mm, which is closer to the width of index card 4x6 inch paper, which is rarely used in Europe. When the error of the recording material width calculated by the CPU 106 is -3 mm to +3 mm, the recording material width is calculated in the range of 102.0 mm to 108.0 mm for A6 paper (width 105.0 mm). Therefore, the threshold for separating A6 paper (width 105.0 mm) and index card 4x6 inch paper (width 101.6 mm) has been lowered to 102.0 mm, which is closer to index card 4x6 inch paper, which is rarely used in Europe. This makes it possible to prevent the A6 paper from being erroneously discriminated as the index card 4x6 inch paper. When the error of the recording material width calculated by the CPU 106 is -3 mm to +3 mm, the recording material width is calculated in the range of 207.0 mm to 213.0 mm for A4 paper (width 210.0 mm). Become. However, in Table 4, the threshold for separating LETTER paper (width 215.9 mm) and A4 paper (width 210.0 mm), which may cause erroneous discrimination, is 213.0 mm, and A4 paper is mistaken for LETTER paper. There is nothing to separate. Therefore, in Table 6, the threshold for separating LETTER paper (width 215.9 mm) and A4 paper (width 210.0 mm) is 213.0 mm.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent erroneous determination of the recording material placed on the paper feed tray.

[Other Examples]
In the above-described embodiment, the recording material width detection unit 100 is provided in the printer 1, and the recording material placed on the paper feed tray 83 is sandwiched between the side regulation plates 82 (82L, 82R) to increase the width of the recording material. The configuration for detecting and determining the type of recording material was described. For example, when the printer 1 is provided with a reading device (not shown) for reading the original and has the following configuration, the paper width of the original can be detected as in the above-described embodiment. It will be possible. That is, the recording material width detection unit 100 described above may be provided in the document tray portion of the scanning device, and the size of the document may be determined by detecting the width of the document placed on the scanning device.

82 Side regulation plate 83 Paper feed tray 101 Recording material width sensor 106 CPU
107 Non-volatile memory

Claims (14)

An image forming apparatus including a control means for controlling image formation on a recording material.
The loading section where the recording material is loaded and
A regulation unit that regulates the position of the end of the recording material loaded on the loading unit, and a regulation unit.
A detection means that detects the position of the regulation unit in a state where the position of the end portion of the recording material is regulated by the regulation unit and outputs a detection signal according to the position of the regulation unit.
A storage means for storing a table having recording material information in which type information of recording material, width information of recording material, and area information in which recording material is used are associated with each other.
The loading is based on the width of the recording material calculated based on the detection signal output from the detection means, the table stored in the storage means, and the area information in which the image forming apparatus operates. The control means for determining the type of the recording material loaded on the unit, and
An image forming apparatus comprising. Based on the area information in which the image forming apparatus operates, the control means extracts the recording material information of the recording material used in the area in which the image forming apparatus operates from the table, and the width information of the recording material. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an area table in which the recording material information is rearranged is created according to the above. The control means determines the type of the recording material loaded on the loading unit based on the cutting threshold value for separating the adjacent recording materials in the area table and the calculated width of the recording material. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the separation threshold value is an intermediate value of the widths of adjacent recording materials in the area table. The recording material information in the table is arranged according to the width information of the recording material.
The control means switches the separation threshold value for separating adjacent recording materials in the table based on the area information in which the image forming apparatus operates, and the division threshold value of the table to which the separation threshold value is switched is calculated. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the type of the recording material loaded on the loading portion is determined based on the width of the recording material. When the difference in the width information of the adjacent recording materials is smaller than the predetermined value, the control means probates the predetermined value to the width information of the recording materials used in the area where the image forming apparatus operates. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the separation threshold value is switched based on the width information obtained by adding or subtracting the added value. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the separation threshold value is an intermediate value of the widths of the recording materials adjacent to each other in the table. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the predetermined value is an error range when the control means calculates the width of the recording material based on the detection signal. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the area information in which the image forming apparatus operates is stored in advance in the storage means. The control means is provided with an operation unit for inputting information.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the area information in which the image forming apparatus operates is input from the operation unit. A detection means for detecting a power supply voltage supplied to the image forming apparatus is provided.
The control means according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the control means identifies area information in which the image forming apparatus operates based on the power supply voltage detected by the detection means. Image forming device. The restricting portion moves in a direction symmetrical to the operation direction of the first restricting member and the first restricting member that regulates the position of one end in the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the recording material, and moves in the width direction of the recording material. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising a second regulating member that regulates the position of the other end of the device. The image forming apparatus includes a rack that moves integrally with the first regulating member.
The detection means includes a gear for meshing with the rack to detect the paper width, and a rotary variable resistor in which a shaft portion is connected to the gear and the resistance value changes according to the rotation angle of the shaft portion. Have,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 12, wherein a voltage corresponding to a resistance value of the variable resistor is output as the detection signal. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the control means calculates the width of the recording material loaded on the loading unit by the voltage and a conversion formula using the voltage.

Images