JP2021183423A - Image formation system and image formation method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image formation device and an image formation method capable of avoiding wasting a normal printed sheet when the normal printed sheet is present in the sheets output after a spoilage sheet occurs.SOLUTION: There is provided an image formation device 1 in which when an image on a sheet is an abnormal image, the sheet is detected as a spoilage sheet on the basis of a result of the reading by image reading sensors 101 and 102, and when a spoilage sheet is detected, reprinting is executed from a printing job for the spoilage sheet. In the case where a normal image sheet is included in the sheets output from the detection of the spoilage sheet to the reprinting, the normal image sheet is utilized as a normal printed sheet, and its wasting is avoided.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming method, and more particularly to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus and an image forming method.

An electrophotographic image in which a toner image formed on a photoconductor is transferred to paper, which is an example of a recording medium, and the toner image is fixed on the paper by heating and pressurizing the paper on which the toner image is transferred in a high-temperature fixing portion. Forming devices are widespread. The electrophotographic image forming apparatus is applied to a copying machine, a printer device, a facsimile machine, a printing machine, a multifunction device, and the like.

In this type of image forming apparatus, the fixing portion may become dirty with toner over time, or the toner may adhere to the fixing portion due to jam of paper. When the paper passes through the fixing portion under such a state, the toner in the fixing portion adheres to the paper and becomes dirty. Then, the paper to which the toner adheres and becomes dirty is treated as so-called spoiled paper (damaged paper). Further, in front and back printing, the image formation position may shift or the image density may change over time. Depending on the degree of such misalignment or change in image density, the printed image may be defective and the print quality may be deteriorated. The paper output at this time is also treated as spoiled paper.

There is a technique described in Patent Document 1 as a technique for dealing with the occurrence of defects (the occurrence of spoiled paper) in a printed image. Patent Document 1 states, "If a defect is determined, the print job being started at that time is continued, and the printing operation is stopped after the print job is completed. After the defect is determined, the print job is finished. The printed image is also inspected for the print job that was in the middle of the process. If no defect is determined after the initial defect determination, it is not due to an abnormality in the image forming apparatus but an accidental one. Can be determined. "

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-271297

By the way, when the spoiled paper occurs, the print job is stopped, the user is asked to remove the spoiled paper, and the printing is restarted from the spoiled paper printing job by restarting (recovery operation). At this time, in the case of continuous printing in which a plurality of printing jobs are continuously printed, printing is also performed on a plurality of sheets of the spoiled paper consecutively between the time when the spoiled paper is generated and the time when the job is stopped. These multiple sheets of paper will also be output to the output tray together with the spoiled paper.

Then, at the time of the recovery operation of resuming printing from the job in which the spoiled paper is generated, the recovery operation is also performed on a plurality of sheets of paper that are continuous with the paper on which the recovery operation is performed. As a result, during the recovery operation, the same image as the plurality of sheets of paper output during the period from the occurrence of the spoiled paper to the stop of the job is printed and output. At this time, if the plurality of sheets continuously output on the spoiled paper are normal printed matter between the generation of the spoiled paper and the stop of the job, the paper for the plurality of sheets is wasted.

Therefore, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus and an image forming method capable of not wasting the printed matter when a normal printed matter is present in the paper output after the spoiled paper is generated. The purpose is.

In order to achieve the above object, the image forming apparatus of the present invention is used.
An image reading sensor that reads the image of the paper after image formation,
Based on the reading result by the image reading sensor, when the image of the paper is an abnormal image, the spoiled paper detection unit that detects the paper as spoiled paper and
When the spoiled paper detector detects spoiled paper, a control unit that controls reprinting from the spoiled paper print job, and
It is an image forming apparatus provided with. Then, in this image forming apparatus,
The control unit controls to utilize the normal image paper as normal printed matter when the output paper contains the normal image paper between the detection of the spoiled paper and the reprinting. It is characterized by that.

Further, the image forming method of the present invention is:
An image reading sensor that reads the image of the paper after image formation,
Based on the reading result by the image reading sensor, when the image of the paper is an abnormal image, the spoiled paper detection unit that detects the paper as spoiled paper and
Equipped with
In an image forming apparatus that reprints from a print job of spoiled paper when the spoiled paper detector detects spoiled paper.
When the paper of the normal image is included in the paper output between the detection of the spoiled paper and the reprinting, the paper of the normal image is used as the normal printed matter.

In the image forming apparatus or image forming method having the above configuration, when the normal image paper (normal printed matter) is included in the paper output between the detection of the spoiled paper and the reprinting, the normal image is displayed. Do not discard the paper, use it as normal printed matter, and avoid wasting the paper of the normal image that is output after the spoiled paper is generated.

According to the present invention, when a normal printed matter is present in the paper output after the spoiled paper is generated, the printed matter can be prevented from being wasted.

It is a system block diagram which shows the outline of the structure of the image formation system to which this invention is applied. It is an overall block diagram which shows an example of the hardware structure of each part of the image forming apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the structure of the control system of an image forming apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of the processing operation of the stop pattern which concerns on the conventional example at the time of the spoiled paper detection. It is explanatory drawing of the processing operation of the continuation pattern which concerns on the conventional example at the time of the spoiled paper detection. It is explanatory drawing of an example of the processing operation of the stop pattern which concerns on Example 1 at the time of the spoiled paper detection. It is explanatory drawing of an example of the processing operation of the stop pattern which concerns on Example 2 at the time of the spoiled paper detection. It is explanatory drawing of an example of the processing operation of the stop pattern which concerns on Example 3 at the time of the spoiled paper detection. It is explanatory drawing of an example of the processing operation of the continuation pattern which concerns on Example 4 at the time of the spoiled paper detection. It is explanatory drawing of an example of the processing operation of the stop pattern which concerns on Example 5 at the time of the spoiled paper detection. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of control of the image formation method which concerns on Example 6.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as “embodiments”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to embodiments. In the following description and each figure, the same reference numerals are used for the same elements or elements having the same function, and duplicate explanations will be omitted.

<Image formation system to which the present invention is applied>
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an outline of the configuration of an image forming system to which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming system 100 according to this application example has a configuration including an image forming device 1, a paper feeding device 2, an image reading device 3, a post-processing device 4, and an external device 5. It has become. The image forming apparatus 1 is an example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, and details of its configuration and the like will be described later.

The paper feeding device 2 is provided outside the image forming apparatus 1 separately from the paper storage unit 20 built in the image forming apparatus 1, and supplies various types of recording media (for example, paper) to the image forming apparatus 1. It is a large-capacity paper feed device.

The image reading device 3 is a device that reads an image on a recording medium after image formation by the image forming device 1. The image reading device 3 reads the image of the first surface of the recording medium from, for example, the lower surface side of the recording medium, and the image of the second surface of the recording medium, for example, from the upper surface side of the recording medium. It includes a second image reading sensor 102. The first image reading sensor 101 and the second image reading sensor 102 include, for example, image sensors such as a CCD type and a CMOS type in which photosensitive portions (pixels) are arranged in a straight line over at least the maximum width of the recording medium. An in-line sensor consisting of the above can be used.

In this example, the first image reading sensor 101 and the second image reading sensor 102 of the image reading device 3 are provided outside the image forming device 1, but are provided inside the image forming device 1. Is also possible. Further, here, the case where the image forming apparatus 1 is printed on both sides is illustrated, but in the case of single-sided printing, the image forming apparatus 1 is configured to include either the first image reading sensor 101 or the second image reading sensor 102.

The post-processing device 4 is a device that performs post-processing such as staple processing on a recording medium output from the image forming device 1 via the image reading device 3. On the upper surface side of the post-processing device 4, a PI tray unit (paper insertion tray unit) 6 which is a paper feed tray unit dedicated to the insertion page is provided. A predetermined paper is set in the PI tray unit 6 by the user. The predetermined paper set in the PI tray unit 6 by the user is appropriately fed to the paper transport path in the post-processing device 4 during continuous printing under the control of the control unit 90 (see FIG. 3) described later. , Is output to the output tray unit 28.

The external device 5 is composed of, for example, a personal computer (PC), and supplies image data to the image forming device 1. Here, the personal computer is exemplified as the external device 5, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, various other devices such as a facsimile machine can be applied.

[Overall configuration of image forming device]
Subsequently, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of each part of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a case where it is applied to a copying machine will be described as an example.

The image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment employs an electrophotographic method that forms an image using static electricity, and has four colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). It is a tandem type color image forming apparatus that superimposes the toners of.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a document transporting unit 10, a paper storage unit 20, an image reading unit 30, an image forming unit 40, an intermediate transfer belt 50, and a secondary. It is configured to include a transfer unit 60, a fixing unit 70, and a control board 80.

The image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is further configured to include a first image reading sensor 101 and a second image reading sensor 102 shown in FIG. Regarding the first image reading sensor 101 and the second image reading sensor 102, the configuration provided in the image reading device 3 is illustrated in FIG. 1, but here, it is regarded as one of the constituent elements of the image forming device 1. ..

The document transport section 10 includes a document paper feed tray 11 for setting a document, a plurality of rollers 12, a transport drum 13, a transport guide 14, a document ejection roller 15, and a document eject tray 16. The original G set on the original paper feed tray 11 is conveyed one by one to the reading position of the image reading unit 30 by the plurality of rollers 12 and the conveying drum 13. The transport guide 14 and the document ejection roller 15 eject the document G conveyed by the plurality of rollers 12 and the transfer drum 13 to the document ejection tray 16.

The image reading unit 30 reads the image of the document G transported by the document transport unit 10 or the document placed on the platen 31, and generates image data. Specifically, the image of the document G is illuminated by the lamp L. The reflected light from the document G based on the irradiation light from the lamp L is guided in the order of the first mirror unit 32, the second mirror unit 33, and the lens unit 34, and forms an image on the light receiving surface of the image pickup element 35. The image pickup device 35 photoelectrically converts the incident light and outputs a predetermined image signal. The image signal output from the image pickup device 35 is generated as image data by A / D conversion.

The image reading unit 30 is provided with an image processing unit 36. The image processing unit 36 performs well-known image processing such as shading correction, dither processing, and compression on the image data generated by the A / D conversion in the image reading unit 30, and the control unit 90 mounted on the control board 80. It is stored in the RAM 903 (see FIG. 3). The image data is not limited to the data output from the image reading unit 30, and may be data received from an external device such as a personal computer or another image forming device connected to the image forming device 1.

A plurality of paper storage units 20 are arranged at the lower part of the main body of the apparatus, and a plurality of paper storage units 20 are provided according to the size and type of the paper S, which is an example of a recording medium. This paper S is fed by the paper feed unit 21 and sent to the transfer unit 23, and is conveyed by the transfer unit 23 to the secondary transfer unit 60 which is the transfer position. Further, a manual difference portion 22 is provided in the vicinity of the paper storage portion 20. From the manual feed unit 22, special paper such as a paper having a size not stored in the paper storage unit 20, a tag paper having a tag, and an OHP sheet, which is set by the user, is sent to the transfer position.

An image forming unit 40 and an intermediate transfer belt 50 are arranged between the image reading unit 30 and the paper storage unit 20. The image forming unit 40 has four image forming units 40Y, 40M, 40C, and 40K in order to form toner images of each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). ..

The image forming unit 40Y forms a yellow toner image, and the image forming unit 40M forms a magenta toner image. Further, the image forming unit 40C forms a cyan toner image, and the image forming unit 40K forms a black toner image. These four image forming units 40Y, 40M, 40C, and 40K each have the same configuration. Therefore, here, the image forming unit 40Y that forms the yellow toner image will be described.

The image forming unit 40Y includes a drum-shaped photoconductor (photoreceptor tram) 41, a charging unit 42 arranged around the photoconductor 41, an exposure unit 43, a developing unit 44, and a first cleaning device 45. have. The photoconductor 41 rotates under the drive of a drive motor (not shown). The charging unit 42 uniformly charges the surface of the photoconductor 41 by applying a charge to the photoconductor 41. The exposure unit 43 forms an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 41 by exposing the surface of the photoconductor 41 based on the image data read from the document G or the image data transmitted from the external device. do.

The developing unit 44 develops an electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor 41 by using a two-component developer composed of a toner and a carrier. Toner is a particle that forms an image. The carrier has a function of giving an appropriate charge to the toner by frictional charging in mixing with the toner in the developing unit 44, a function of transporting the toner to the developing region facing the photoconductor 41, and an electrostatic charge on the photoconductor 41. It has the function of forming a developing electric charge so that the toner can be developed faithfully to the latent image. The developing unit 44 attaches yellow toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor 41. As a result, a yellow toner image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor 41.

The developing unit 44 of the image forming unit 40M adheres magenta toner to the photoconductor 41 of the image forming unit 40M. The developing unit 44 of the image forming unit 40C attaches cyan toner to the photoconductor 41 of the image forming unit 40C. The developing unit 44 of the image forming unit 40K attaches black toner to the photoconductor 41 of the image forming unit 40K.

The first cleaning device 45 cleans the surface of the photoconductor 41 after transferring the toner adhering to the photoconductor 41 to the intermediate transfer belt 50, specifically, the toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 41. Removes residues (adhesions) such as (residual toner).

The toner adhering to the photoconductor 41 is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 50. The intermediate transfer belt 50 is formed in an endless shape and is hung on a plurality of rollers. The intermediate transfer belt 50 rotates clockwise in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the photoconductor 41 under the drive of a drive motor (not shown). A primary transfer unit 51 is provided at a position of the intermediate transfer belt 50 facing the photoconductor 41 of each image forming unit 40Y, 40M, 40C, 40K.

The primary transfer unit 51 transfers the toner adhering to the photoconductor 41 to the intermediate transfer belt 50 by applying a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner to the intermediate transfer belt 50. Then, as the intermediate transfer belt 50 rotates, the toner images formed by the four image forming units 40Y, 40M, 40C, and 40K are sequentially transferred to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 50. As a result, a color image is formed by overlapping the yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toner images on the intermediate transfer belt 50.

A second cleaning device 53 is provided so as to face the intermediate transfer belt 50. The second cleaning device 53 cleans the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 50 after transferring the toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 50 to the paper S, specifically, remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 50. Removes residuals (adhesions) such as existing toner (residual toner).

The secondary transfer unit 60 is arranged in the vicinity of the intermediate transfer belt 50 and on the downstream side of the transfer unit 23 in the paper transfer direction. The secondary transfer unit 60 is formed by a transfer roller pair consisting of a transfer upper roller 61 on which an intermediate transfer belt 50 is stretched and a transfer lower roller 62 pressed toward the transfer upper roller 61 side with the intermediate transfer belt 50 interposed therebetween. The paper S sent by the transport unit 23 is brought into contact with the intermediate transfer belt 50, and the toner image formed on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 50 is transferred to the paper S.

A fixing section 70 is provided on the ejection side of the paper S in the secondary transfer section 60. The fixing unit 70 pressurizes and heats the paper S to fix the transferred toner image on the paper S. The fixing portion 70 is composed of, for example, a pair of fixing members, a fixing upper roller 71 and a fixing lower roller 72. The fixing upper roller 71 and the fixing lower roller 72 are arranged in a state of being in pressure contact with each other, and a fixing nip portion is formed as a pressure contact portion between the fixing upper roller 71 and the fixing lower roller 72.

A heating portion is provided inside the roller 71 for fixing. The roller portion of the roller 71 is heated by the radiant heat from the heating portion. Then, the heat of the roller portion of the roller 71 is transferred to the paper S for fixing, so that the toner image on the paper S is fixed.

The paper S is conveyed so that the surface (fixing target surface) on which the toner image is transferred by the secondary transfer unit 60 faces the roller 71 on fixing, and passes through the fixing nip portion. Therefore, the paper S passing through the fixing nip portion is pressurized by the fixing upper roller 71 and the fixing lower roller 72, and is heated by the heat of the roller portion of the fixing upper roller 71.

A switching gate 24 is arranged downstream of the fixing portion 70 in the transport direction of the paper S. The switching gate 24 switches the transport path of the paper S that has passed through the fixing portion 70. That is, the switching gate 24 advances the paper S straight when performing face-up paper ejection in forming an image on one side of the paper S. As a result, the paper S is output by the pair of paper ejection rollers 25. Further, the switching gate 24 guides the paper S downward when performing face-down paper ejection in forming an image on one side of the paper S and when forming an image on both sides of the paper S.

When performing face-down paper ejection, the paper S is guided downward by the switching gate 24, and then the front and back sides of the paper S are reversed and conveyed upward by the paper reversing transport unit 26. As a result, the paper S whose front and back sides are reversed is output by the pair of paper ejection rollers 25. When forming an image on both sides of the paper S, the paper S is guided downward by the switching gate 24, and then the front and back sides of the paper S are reversed by the paper reversing transport unit 26. Then, the paper S whose front and back sides are reversed is sent to the transfer position again by the re-feeding path 27.

[Structure of control system of image forming apparatus]
Next, the configuration of the control system of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the control system of the image forming apparatus 1.

As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a control unit 90. The control unit 90 is configured on the control board 80 shown in FIG.

The control unit 90 has, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 901, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 902 for storing a program or the like executed by the CPU 901, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) used as a work area of the CPU 901. It has 903 and. As the ROM 902, for example, a programmable ROM that can be electrically erased can be used.

The control unit 90 includes an image reading unit 30, an image processing unit 36, an image forming unit 40, a fixing unit 70, a PI tray unit 6, an operation display unit 91, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 92, a communication unit 93, and a first image reading unit. It is connected to the sensor 101 and the second image reading sensor 102 via the system bus 94, and controls the entire image forming apparatus 1.

Specifically, in the image forming apparatus 1, the following operations and processes are performed under the control of the control unit 90. That is, the image reading unit 30 reads the image of the document placed on the document G or the document table 31 and generates image data. The image data generated by the image reading unit 30 and the image data transmitted from the external device connected to the image forming device 1 are sent to the image processing unit 36. The image processing unit 36 performs image processing such as shading correction, image density adjustment, and image compression on the received image data, if necessary.

The image forming unit 40 forms a toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 50 based on the image data generated by the image reading unit 30 or the image data transmitted from the external device. This toner image is transferred by the secondary transfer unit 60 to the paper S fed by the paper feed unit 21. The fixing unit 70 pressurizes and heats the paper S to fix the toner image on the paper S. The PI tray unit 6 feeds the predetermined paper set by the user into the paper transport path in the post-processing device 4.

The operation display unit 91 includes, for example, a touch panel in which a panel type display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display device and a position input device such as a touch pad are combined. The operation display unit 91 displays an instruction menu for the user, information on the acquired image data, and the like. Further, the operation display unit 91 is provided with a plurality of keys, and has a role as an input unit for receiving various instructions, characters, numbers, and other data input by the user's key operation.

The HDD 92 is an internal storage device that stores the image data of the original image obtained by reading by the image reading unit 30 and stores the output image data and the like. The communication unit 93 receives job information transmitted through the communication line L from the client PC 5, which is an example of the external device, and sends the received job information to the control unit 90 via the system bus 94. The job information includes image data of the image to be formed and information such as the type and number of sheets of paper used associated with the image data.

The first image reading sensor 101 reads the image of the first surface of the paper S after printing (after image formation) supplied through the fixing unit 70, for example, from the lower surface side of the paper S. The second image reading sensor 102 reads the image of the second side of the paper S from, for example, the upper surface side of the paper S.

[About spoiled paper (damaged paper)]
In the image forming apparatus 1 having the above configuration, the fixing portion 70 may become dirty with toner over time, or the toner may adhere to the fixing portion 70 due to jam of the paper S, and the paper S passing through the fixing portion 70 may be formed. , The dirt caused by the adhesion of toner causes the paper to be spoiled. Further, in front and back printing, even when the image formation position shifts or the image density changes with time, the output paper S becomes a spoiled paper depending on the degree.

The generation of the spoiled paper can be detected based on the reading results of the first image reading sensor 101 and the second image reading sensor 102 under the control of the control unit 90. That is, based on the reading results of the first image reading sensor 101 and the second image reading sensor 102, the control unit 90 causes an abnormality in the image on the printed surface of the paper S due to stains due to adhesion of toner, misalignment of the image forming position, and the like. In the case of an image, it has a function as a spoiled paper detection unit that detects the paper as spoiled paper.

Specifically, the control unit 90 compares, for example, the image data read by the first image reading sensor 101 and the second image reading sensor 102 with the image data of the original image stored in the HDD 92. By comparing the image data, whether the printed image is a normal image or an abnormal image (defective image), more specifically, whether the printed surface is not contaminated due to adhesion of toner, or an image in front and back printing. It is possible to detect an abnormality (deficiency) in a printed image, such as whether the formation position is displaced or the image density is not changed over time.

Then, when the printed image is an abnormal image and the paper is detected as a spoiled paper, the control unit 90 controls to perform reprinting from the print job of the spoiled paper. Further, the control unit 90 controls to utilize the normal image paper as a printed matter when the normal image paper is included in the output paper between the detection of the spoiled paper and the reprinting. conduct. The details will be described later.

In the image forming apparatus 1, when the spoiled paper is generated under the control of the control unit 90, for example, the print job is stopped, the user is asked to remove the spoiled paper, and the spoiled paper is restarted by restarting. A recovery operation for printing is performed. At this time, in the case of continuous printing in which a plurality of printing jobs are continuously printed, printing is also performed on a plurality of sheets of the spoiled paper continuously between the time when the spoiled paper occurs and the time when the job is stopped (reprinting). Is performed, and these multiple sheets of paper are also output to the output tray together with the spoiled paper.

As the processing operation at the time of spoiled paper detection, as described above, a stop pattern for stopping the print job and a partition paper that serves as a mark for the spoiled paper after the spoiled paper is detected are inserted, and printing is continued from the spoiled paper printing job. There is a continuation pattern. A conventional example of the processing operation of these patterns will be specifically described below.

(Stop pattern)
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a stop pattern processing operation according to a conventional example when a spoiled paper is detected. In the stop pattern, for example, when a spoiled paper is detected on the second sheet of paper P2, the print job is stopped after a certain period of time from the detection timing. At this time, from the detection timing of the spoiled paper P2 to the stop of the job, printing is performed on a plurality of sheets consecutive to the spoiled paper P2, in this example, three sheets P3 to P5, and then ejected. It is output to the paper tray unit 28.

When the print job is stopped, for example, by displaying a message to the effect that the spoiled paper has been detected on the operation display unit 91, the user receives this message and ejects the spoiled paper P2 and the sheets P3 to P5 consecutive to the spoiled paper P2. Remove from the tray portion 28. After that, the recovery operation is performed from the print job of the spoiled paper by restarting. In the recovery operation, reprinting is also performed on the papers P3 to P5 that are continuous with the paper P2 to be reprinted.

That is, the same printed matter as the papers P3 to P5 output to the output tray 28 when the spoiled paper P2 is detected by the recovery operation by restarting overlaps as the continuous papers P3 to P5 on the reprinted paper P2. Will be output. As a result, when the papers P3 to P5 output to the output tray 28 when the spoiled paper P2 is detected are normal printed matter, these papers P3 to P5 are wasted. In other words, three sheets of paper P3 to P5 are wasted.

(Continued pattern)
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a continuous pattern processing operation according to a conventional example when a spoiled paper is detected. In the continuation pattern, for example, when a spoiled paper is detected on the second sheet of paper P2, a recovery operation is performed from the spoiled paper print job after a certain period of time from the detection timing. At this time, for example, a partition paper Q having a size larger than that of the paper P2 or the like is inserted before the paper P2 on which the recovery operation is performed. The partition paper Q is housed in, for example, one of a plurality of paper storage units 20 in the image forming apparatus main body or one of a plurality of paper feed trays in the paper feed device 2.

The partition paper Q is discharged as a mark of the spoiled paper prior to the paper P2 in which the printing job of the spoiled paper is reprinted after the number of sheets removed from the paper ejection tray 28 is printed by the image forming unit 40. It is output to the tray unit 28. After inserting the partition paper Q, a recovery operation of reprinting from the print job of the spoiled paper is performed. At this time, printing is also performed on the papers P3 to P5 that are continuous with the paper P2 on which the recovery operation is performed. Then, after the continuous printing job of continuously printing a plurality of printing jobs is completed, the user can print the specified number of sheets (4 sheets in this example) of the sheets P2 to P5 printed on the partition paper Q in the output tray section. It will be removed from 28.

In the continuous pattern processing operation according to the above-mentioned conventional example, the same printed matter as the papers P3 to P5 output to the paper ejection tray 28 when the spoiled paper P2 is detected by the recovery operation after the partition paper Q is inserted is produced. It will be output in duplicate as papers P3 to P5 that are continuous with the paper P2 after reprinting. Therefore, as in the case of the stop pattern, when the sheets P3 to P5 output to the output tray 28 when the spoiled paper P2 is detected are normal printed matter, the sheets for three sheets of the sheets P3 to P5 are used. Will be wasted.

Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, in the paper output after the spoiled paper is generated, that is, in the paper output between the generation of the spoiled paper and the stop of the job (or the start of the recovery operation). In addition, when a normal printed matter (paper for a normal image) exists, a recovery operation for not wasting the printed matter is realized. More specifically, in the recovery operation according to the present embodiment, only the print job of the spoiled paper is reprinted, and the print job of the normal printed matter is not reprinted.

A specific example for realizing the recovery operation according to the present embodiment will be described below. The recovery operation in each embodiment is executed under the control of the control unit 90 (see FIG. 3).

[Example 1]
The first embodiment is an example of a stop pattern in the case where the paper continuous with the spoiled paper (successor to the spoiled paper) is a paper having a normal image (hereinafter, may be referred to as “normal paper”). FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the processing operation of the stop pattern according to the first embodiment when the spoiled paper is detected. Here, as an example, a case where the spoiled paper is detected on the second sheet P2 and the three sheets P3 to P5 consecutive to the spoiled paper are normal papers is taken as an example. Even after the spoiled paper is detected, the normal paper (normal image paper) or the spoiled paper (abnormal image paper) is identified by reading the images of the papers P3 to P5.

The number of sheets of paper output after the detection of the spoiled paper (or the fixed time / number of pages from the spoiled paper detection to the reprint (recovery operation)) is the detection timing of the spoiled paper and the paper storage unit in the image forming apparatus main body. It is determined by the distance of the paper feed path from 20 or the paper feed device 2 (both see FIG. 1) to the image forming position. The same applies to the following examples.

In the first embodiment, when the second sheet P2 is detected as a spoiled sheet, the three sheets P3 to P5 are output as normal sheets from the detection timing, and then the print job is stopped. When the print job is stopped, for example, the message "Please remove the papers P2 to P5 from the output tray." Is displayed on the operation display unit 91. Upon receiving this message, the user removes the spoiled paper P2 and the papers P3 to P5 consecutive to the spoiled paper P2 from the paper ejection tray portion 28.

After that, it is restarted by pressing the start button by the user, the print job of the spoiled paper is reprinted, the paper is output to the output tray unit 28 as the paper P2, and then the print job is stopped again. Then, for example, the message "Please set the removed papers P3 to P5 in the output tray" is displayed on the operation display unit 91. Upon receiving this message, the user sets the papers P3 to P5 excluding the spoiled paper P2 among the previously removed papers P2 to P5 in the paper ejection tray portion 28, and restarts by pressing the start button. After that, continuous printing is performed from the paper P6 as usual.

According to the stop pattern processing operation according to the first embodiment described above, the same printed matter as the papers P3 to P5 output to the output tray 28 when the spoiled paper P2 is detected continues on the paper P2 after the recovery operation. The papers P3 to P5 to be printed are not duplicated and output. Therefore, since the normal papers P3 to P5 can be used (reused) as normal printed matter without discarding them, wasteful consumption of three sheets of P3 to P5 can be eliminated.

[Example 2]
The second embodiment is an example of a stop pattern in which the spoiled paper and the normal paper are mixed in the paper continuous with the spoiled paper. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the processing operation of the stop pattern according to the second embodiment when the spoiled paper is detected. Here, as an example, the spoiled paper is detected by the second sheet P2, and the third sheet P3 is the normal paper and the fourth sheet P4 in the three sheets P3 to P5 that are continuous with the spoiled paper. Is an example of a case where the spoiled paper and the fifth sheet P5 are normal papers.

In the second embodiment, the paper P2 is detected as a spoiled paper, the paper P3 is output as a normal paper, the paper P4 is output as a spoiled paper, and the paper P5 is output as a normal paper, and then the print job is stopped. At this time, for example, the message "Please remove the papers P2 to P5 from the paper ejection tray" is displayed on the display operation unit 91. Upon receiving this message, the user removes the spoiled paper P2 and the papers P3 to P5 consecutive to the spoiled paper P2 from the paper ejection tray portion 28.

Next, the user presses the start button to restart, reprints the print job of the spoiled paper, outputs it as paper P2 to the output tray unit 28, and then stops the print job again. At this time, for example, the message "Please set the removed paper P3 in the output tray." Is displayed on the operation display unit 91. Upon receiving this message, the user sets the paper P3, which is normal paper, out of the previously removed papers P2 to P5 in the output tray portion 28, and restarts by pressing the start button.

Next, the paper is output to the output tray 28 as paper P4 by reprinting by restarting, and then the print job is stopped again. At this time, for example, the message "Please set the removed paper P5 in the output tray." Is displayed on the operation display unit 91. Upon receiving this message, the user sets the paper P5, which is the normal paper removed earlier, in the paper ejection tray portion 28, and restarts by pressing the start button. After that, continuous printing is performed from the paper P6 as usual.

According to the stop pattern processing operation according to the second embodiment described above, by repeating reprinting and setting of normal paper by the user, the paper P1 is placed in the output tray portion 28, and then each paper P2 to 2 after the spoiled paper is detected. P5 is output in order as normal paper. Moreover, the same printed matter as the normal papers P3 and P5 output to the output tray 28 when the spoiled paper P2 is detected is not duplicately output by the recovery operation. Therefore, since the normal papers P3 and P5 can be used (reused) as normal printed matter without discarding them, wasteful consumption of two sheets of P3 and P5 can be eliminated.

[Example 3]
Similar to the second embodiment, the third embodiment is an example of a stop pattern in which the spoiled paper and the normal paper are mixed in the paper continuous with the spoiled paper. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the processing operation of the stop pattern according to the third embodiment when the spoiled paper is detected. Here, too, the second sheet P2 is detected as a spoiled paper, and in the three sheets P3 to P5 that are continuous with the spoiled paper, the third sheet P3 is a normal paper and the fourth sheet P4 is a spoiled paper. The case where the fifth sheet P5 is normal paper is taken as an example.

In the third embodiment, after the paper P2 is detected as a spoiled paper, the paper P3 is output as a normal paper, the paper P4 is output as a spoiled paper, and the paper P5 is output as a normal paper, and the printing job is stopped. At this time, for example, the message "Remove the papers P2 to P5 from the output tray and set the papers P3 and P5 in the PI tray" is displayed on the operation display unit 91. Upon receiving this message, the user removes the spoiled paper P2 and the papers P3 to P5 continuous thereto from the paper ejection tray portion 28, and among them, the papers P3 and P5 which are normal papers are set in the PI tray portion 6 and then. , Restart by pressing the start button.

After that, the paper P2 is output by reprinting, then the paper P3 which is normal paper is output by feeding from the PI tray unit 6, then the paper P4 is output by reprinting, and then the paper P4 is output from the PI tray unit 6. Paper P5, which is normal paper, is output by feeding paper, and thereafter, continuous printing is performed from paper P6 as usual. These series of processing operations are executed under the control of the control unit 90.

According to the stop pattern processing operation according to the third embodiment described above, by repeating reprinting and feeding from the PI tray unit 6, each paper after the spoiled paper is detected in the output tray unit 28 following the paper P1. P2 to P5 are output in order as normal paper. Moreover, the same printed matter as the normal papers P3 and P5 output to the output tray 28 when the spoiled paper P2 is detected is not duplicately output by the recovery operation. Therefore, since the normal papers P3 and P5 can be used (reused) as normal printed matter without discarding them, wasteful consumption of two sheets of P3 and P5 can be eliminated.

[Example 4]
The fourth embodiment is an example of a continuation pattern when the paper continuous with the spoiled paper is normal paper. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the processing operation of the continuation pattern according to the fourth embodiment at the time of detecting the spoiled paper. Here, as in the case of the first embodiment, the case where the spoiled paper is detected by the second sheet P2 and the three sheets P3 to P5 continuous with the spoiled paper are normal papers (normal image papers) is an example. Listed in.

In the fourth embodiment, when the second sheet of paper P2 is detected as a spoiled paper, reprinting (recovery operation) is performed from the print job of the spoiled paper after a certain period of time from the detection. At this time, a partition paper Q having a size larger than that of the paper P2 or the like is inserted before the paper P2 to be reprinted (that is, behind the normal paper P5) as a mark of the spoiled paper. The partition paper Q is a content for notifying the user of the paper to be removed from the paper ejection tray 28 (spoiled paper P2) and the pages of the paper to be inserted (normal papers P3 to P5), for example, "paper P2 is ejected. Remove it from the tray and insert the papers P3 to P5 after the subsequent paper P2. ”Is printed.

After inserting the partition paper Q, the paper P2 is output by reprinting, and thereafter, continuous printing is performed from the paper P6 as usual. After the end of continuous printing, the user identifies the position of the spoiled paper P2 by the partition paper Q, removes the spoiled paper P2 according to the message printed on the partition paper Q, and removes the spoiled paper P2 from the spoiled paper P2. The normal papers P3 to P5 up to this point are inserted after the reprinted paper P2.

According to the processing operation of the continuation pattern according to the fourth embodiment described above, when the spoiled paper is generated, the partition paper Q is inserted at the time of the recovery operation, the position of the spoiled paper is clarified, and the insertion point of the normal paper is inserted. Is notified to the user by a message, and only the print job of the spoiled paper is reprinted, so that only the spoiled paper can be removed. That is, the same printed matter as the papers P3 to P5 output to the output tray 28 when the spoiled paper P2 is detected may be duplicated and output as the continuous papers P3 to P5 on the paper P2 after the recovery operation. No. Therefore, since the normal papers P3 to P5 can be used (reused) as normal printed matter without discarding them, wasteful consumption of three sheets of P3 to P5 can be eliminated.

In this embodiment, the partition paper Q inserted as a mark of the spoiled paper is printed with the paper to be removed from the output tray 28 and the content notifying the page of the paper to be inserted. For example, an image of the paper to be removed. It is also possible to print.

[Example 5]
The fifth embodiment is a stop pattern when the paper continuous with the spoiled paper is normal paper, and is an example of displaying thumbnails of the paper to be removed. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the processing operation of the stop pattern according to the fifth embodiment when the spoiled paper is detected.

In the fifth embodiment, when the spoiled paper is detected on the second sheet P2, the print job is stopped after the three sheets P3 to P5 are output as normal paper from the detection timing. When the print job is stopped, for example, it is removed from the output tray section 28 with the message "Please remove papers P2 to P5 from the output tray. Press the start button to reprint the following image." The thumbnail image of the paper P2 is displayed on the operation display unit 91.

For the display of the thumbnail image of the paper P2, the image data read by the first image reading sensor 101 and the second image reading sensor 102 may be used, or the image data before printing stored in the HDD 92 may be used. good.

Upon receiving the display of the operation display unit 91, the user removes the spoiled paper P2 and the papers P3 to P5 continuous thereto from the paper ejection tray unit 28. After that, it is restarted by pressing the start button by the user, the printing job of the spoiled paper is reprinted, the paper is output to the output tray unit 28 as the paper P2, and then the printing job is stopped again.

Then, for example, the thumbnail image of the paper P6 is displayed on the operation display unit 91 together with the message "Please set the papers P3 to P5 in the output tray. Press the start button to print from the following image." Upon receiving this display, the user sets the papers P3 to P5 excluding the spoiled paper P2 among the previously removed papers P2 to P5 in the paper ejection tray portion 28, and restarts by pressing the start button. After that, continuous printing is performed from the paper P6 as usual.

According to the stop pattern processing operation according to the fifth embodiment described above, the same operations and effects as those in the first embodiment can be obtained. That is, the same printed matter as the papers P3 to P5 output to the output tray 28 when the spoiled paper P2 is detected may be duplicated and output as the continuous papers P3 to P5 on the paper P2 after the recovery operation. No. Therefore, since the normal papers P3 to P5 can be used (reused) as normal printed matter without discarding them, wasteful consumption of three sheets of P3 to P5 can be eliminated.

Further, according to the stop pattern processing operation according to the fifth embodiment, the thumbnail image of the spoiled paper P2 to be removed from the paper ejection tray 28 is displayed on the operation display unit 91 together with the message, so that the user can use the paper ejection tray unit. Since the paper to be removed can be visually recognized from 28, it is possible to prevent erroneous operation by the user.

[Example 6]
The sixth embodiment is an example of an image forming method for realizing the processing operation according to the first to fifth embodiments in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of control of the image forming method according to the sixth embodiment. A series of processes according to this flowchart is executed under the control of the control unit 90 (more specifically, the CPU 901).

When the printing operation is started, the control unit 90 first determines whether or not the spoiled paper is detected (step S11), and if the spoiled paper is detected (YES in S11), the continuation pattern is set. It is determined whether or not there is (step S12). If the continuation pattern is set (YES in S12), the control unit 90 acquires the number of sheets (pages) N to be output between the detection of the spoiled paper and the reprinting (step S13). Next, the partition paper Q printed with the number N of the sheets as the number of removed sheets N is inserted as a mark of the spoiled paper (step S14), and reprinting is started from the printing job of the spoiled paper (step S15).

After the start of reprinting, the control unit 90 determines whether or not the continuous printing job for printing a plurality of print jobs in succession has been completed (step S16), and if not (NO in S16), the step. Returning to S11, if it is completed (YES in S16), a series of processes for image formation (printing) is completed.

If the spoiled paper is not detected in step S11 (NO in S11), the control unit 90 continues the printing operation (step S17), proceeds to step S16, and whether or not the continuous printing job is completed. To judge.

In step S12, if the continuation pattern is not set (NO in S12), the stop pattern is set, so that the control unit 90 displays thumbnail images of the paper to be removed from the output tray unit 28 and the paper to be reprinted. (Step S18), and then stop the print job (step S19).

Next, the control unit 90 returns the printed page to M page (step S20), then waits for the user to press the start button (step S21), and when the start button is pressed (YES in S21), the normal paper is printed. It is determined whether or not to reuse (whether or not to utilize normal paper as normal printed matter) (step S22). If the normal paper is reused (YES in S22), the control unit 90 reprints the printing job of the spoiled paper (step S23).

Next, the control unit 90 determines whether or not the recovery operation associated with the spoiled paper detection is completed, that is, whether or not the printing of the M page returned in step S20 is completed (step S24), and the recovery operation is completed. If so (YES in S24), the process proceeds to step S16, and it is determined whether or not the continuous printing job has been completed.

If the recovery operation is not completed (NO in S24), the control unit 90 determines whether the next page is normal paper (step S25), and if it is normal paper (YES in S25), the PI tray unit 6 If the paper is more fed (step S26) and the paper is not normal (NO in S25), the next page is printed (step S27). After the processing of step S26 and step S27, the process proceeds to step S16, and it is determined whether or not the continuous printing job is completed.

In the determination process of step S22, if normal paper is not reused (NO in S22), the control unit 90 prints the next page (step S28), and then proceeds to step S16 to perform continuous printing. Determine if the job has finished.

[Modification example]
Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. That is, various changes or improvements can be made to the above embodiment without departing from the gist of the present invention, and the modified or improved embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the copying machine is taken as an example as the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this application example. That is, the present invention can be applied not only to copiers but also to printers, facsimile machines, printing machines, multifunction devices, and other electrophotographic image forming devices in general.

1 ... Image forming device, 2 ... Paper feeding device, 3 ... Image reading device, 4 ... Post-processing device, 5 ... External device, 6 ... PI tray section, 10 ... Document transfer section, 20 ... Paper storage section, 30 ... Image Reading unit, 40 ... Image forming unit, 50 ... Intermediate transfer belt, 60 ... Secondary transfer unit, 70 ... Fixing unit, 90 ... Control unit, 91 ... Operation display unit, 100 ... Image forming system, 101 ... First image reading Sensor, 102 ... Second image reading sensor

The present invention relates to an image forming system and an image forming method, and more particularly to an electrophotographic image forming system and an image forming method.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming system and an image forming method that enable execution of a pattern for stopping a print job after a spoiled paper is generated.

In order to achieve the above object, the image forming system of the present invention is used.
An image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium based on a print job,
An image reading sensor that reads the image on the recording medium after image formation,
An abnormal image was detected when the image on the recording medium was detected as an abnormal image based on the reading result by the image reading sensor during the execution of the print job that outputs all the recording media to the same output tray. A control unit capable of stopping the detection of an abnormal image for the subsequent recording medium of the recording medium before the end of the print job and displaying the image detected as an abnormal image on the display device.
It is an image forming system including.

Further, the image forming method of the present invention is:
In an image forming system including an image reading sensor that reads an image of a recording medium after image formation,
Based on the reading result by the image reading sensor, it is detected that the image on the recording medium is an abnormal image, and the image is detected as an abnormal image.
When an abnormal image is detected during the execution of a print job that outputs all recording media to the same output tray, the print job detects whether the recording medium following the recording medium in which the abnormal image was detected is an abnormal image. It is characterized in that it stops before the end of the operation and controls to display the image detected as an abnormal image on the display device.

According to the present invention, it is possible to execute a pattern for stopping a print job when spoiled paper is generated.

Claims (5)

An image reading sensor that reads the image of the paper after image formation,
Based on the reading result by the image reading sensor, a spoiled paper detection unit that detects the paper as a spoiled paper when the image of the paper is an abnormal image, and
When the spoiled paper detection unit detects the spoiled paper, a control unit that controls to perform reprinting from the print job of the spoiled paper, and a control unit.
It is an image forming apparatus equipped with
The control unit is for utilizing the normal image paper as a normal printed matter when the normal image paper is included in the paper output between the detection of the spoiled paper and the reprinting. An image forming apparatus characterized by performing control. When the control unit stops the print job due to the detection of the spoiled paper, when the reprinting is performed, the control unit reprints the spoiled paper printing job and stops the printing job for the normal image paper. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a message is displayed to the user to insert the printed paper. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit displays an image of a paper to be inserted together with the message. The control unit continues the printing job even after the detection of the spoiled paper, inserts the partition paper that serves as a mark of the spoiled paper, reprints only the printing job of the spoiled paper, and prints the job on the partition paper. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paper to be removed after completion and the page of the paper to be inserted are printed and output. An image reading sensor that reads the image of the paper after image formation,
Based on the reading result by the image reading sensor, a spoiled paper detection unit that detects the paper as a spoiled paper when the image of the paper is an abnormal image, and
Equipped with
In an image forming apparatus that reprints from a print job of the spoiled paper when the spoiled paper detection unit detects the spoiled paper.
Image formation characterized by utilizing the normal image paper as a normal printed matter when the normal image paper is included in the paper output between the detection of the spoiled paper and the reprinting. Method.

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