JP6295986B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  In an image forming apparatus typified by a digital multifunction peripheral or the like, after an image of a document is read by an image reading unit, light is irradiated to the photoconductor provided in the image forming unit based on the read image, and the photoconductor An electrostatic latent image is formed thereon. Thereafter, a charged developer is supplied onto the formed electrostatic latent image to form a visible image, transferred to a sheet, fixed by a fixing device provided in the image forming apparatus, and discharged outside the apparatus.

  Here, techniques relating to an image forming apparatus that adjusts the time when an image is formed on a sheet are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-101419 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-137407 (Patent Document 2). Has been.

  Patent Document 1 includes a communication unit that receives print data related to a plurality of print pages from a host computer, a data analysis unit that converts print data into image data, and a processing time for converting the print data into image data for each print page. An image forming apparatus is disclosed that includes a maximum processing time calculation unit that measures and calculates a maximum processing time that is a maximum processing time, and a speed switching unit that switches a printing speed according to the maximum processing time.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a method for controlling a printer that performs printing by forming an unfixed image on a sheet and fixing the image by passing the sheet through a heating unit at a predetermined traveling speed. The printer control method detects the temperature of the heating unit before the start of printing, obtains the traveling speed of the paper according to the detected temperature, and reads the paper on which the unfixed image is formed at the heating section at the obtained traveling speed. It is characterized in that fixing is carried out by passing through.

JP 2012-101419 A JP 2000-137407 A

  The image forming apparatus includes consumables such as a photoconductor and a developing roller that are worn and consumed by rotation. From the viewpoint of cost reduction, it is desired to extend the life of consumables. In order to extend the life of the consumables constituting the image forming apparatus, it is preferable to suppress the image forming speed as much as possible in order to suppress wear of the photoconductor and the like.

  A user makes a request for image formation to the image forming apparatus from a computer connected to the image forming apparatus. Thereafter, the user goes to a place where the image forming apparatus is installed and acquires an output product. Some users take an output immediately after making a request for image formation, and others leave it for a long time.

  The image forming apparatus forms an image at a preset image forming speed and outputs an output product. The preset image forming speed is usually set to be the fastest, that is, the full speed according to the performance of the image forming apparatus.

  Here, for a user who leaves an output for a long time after a request for image formation, the user is left for a long time in spite of performing the image formation at the full speed. Such a situation is not preferable because the output is unnecessarily left for a long period of time despite the accelerated wear of the consumables. This tendency is particularly high in so-called high-speed machines. The techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above cannot cope with such a case.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of performing efficient image formation while extending the life.

In one aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a receiving unit, a user specifying unit, an acquisition time estimating unit, an image forming speed adjusting unit, a required time measuring unit, and a storage unit. And a keyword search unit . The image forming unit has a variable image forming speed and forms an image on a recording medium based on the image data. The accepting unit accepts a request for image formation by the image forming unit. The user specifying unit specifies a user who makes a request for image formation. The acquisition time estimation unit estimates for each user the time from when the request for image formation by the reception unit is received until the recording medium on which the image is formed by the image formation unit is acquired by the user. The image forming speed adjusting unit adjusts the speed of image formation by the image forming unit for each user specified by the user specifying unit according to the acquisition time estimated by the acquisition time estimating unit. The required time measuring unit measures the required time calculated from the time when the image forming request is received by the receiving unit and the time when the recording medium is removed. The storage unit stores data of the required time measured by the required time measuring unit. The keyword search unit searches for a keyword included in the image data. The acquisition time estimation unit estimates the acquisition time based on the required time data stored by the storage unit and the keyword searched by the keyword search unit.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the speed of image formation can be suppressed as necessary, and wear of consumables can be reduced. Therefore, such an image forming apparatus can perform more efficient image formation while extending the life.

1 is a diagram illustrating an external appearance of a digital multifunction peripheral when an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to the digital multifunction peripheral. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a digital multifunction peripheral when an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to the digital multifunction peripheral. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control part contained in a digital multifunctional device. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming unit included in a digital multifunction peripheral. It is a figure which shows the structure of the hard disk contained in a digital multifunctional device. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow when an image is formed using the digital multi-function peripheral according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process in the case of forming an image using the digital multifunctional device which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of a display. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control part contained in the digital multifunctional device which concerns on further another embodiment of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external appearance of a digital multi-function peripheral when an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to the digital multi-function peripheral. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the digital multifunction peripheral when the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied to the digital multifunction peripheral. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the control unit 12 included in the digital multifunction peripheral 11.

  1 to 3, the digital multifunction peripheral 11 includes a control unit 12, an operation unit 13, an image reading unit 14, an image forming unit 15, a paper setting unit 19, a post-processing device 33, A sorter 30, a hard disk 16 as a storage unit, a facsimile communication unit 17, and a network interface unit 18 for connecting to a network 25 are provided.

  The control unit 12 controls the entire digital multi-function peripheral 11. The operation unit 13 includes a display screen 21 that displays information transmitted from the digital multifunction peripheral 11 side and user input contents. The operation unit 13 inputs image forming conditions such as the number of copies to be printed and gradation, and power on / off. The image reading unit 14 includes an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 22 as a document transport device that transports a document set at the set position to the read position. The image reading unit 14 reads an image of a document set on the ADF 22 or a mounting table (not shown). The paper setting unit 19 includes a manual feed tray 31 for manually setting paper and a paper feed cassette group 32 that can store a plurality of different sizes of paper. The paper setting unit 19 sets paper to be supplied to the image forming unit 15. The image forming unit 15 includes an image forming unit 43 that forms a visible image from the electrostatic latent image. The image forming unit 15 forms an image on the conveyed paper based on the image read by the image reading unit 14 and the image data transmitted via the network 25. As the post-processing, the post-processing device 33 forms punch holes in the paper on which the image is formed, or combines a plurality of papers on which the image is formed and staples them. The paper on which the image is formed by the image forming unit 15 is post-processed by the post-processing device 33 and then discharged to the sorter 30. The sorter 30 is provided with a plurality of discharge trays, and the position of the discharge tray can be set for each user who requests image formation. The hard disk 16 stores transmitted image data, input image forming conditions, and the like. The facsimile communication unit 17 is connected to the public line 24 and performs facsimile transmission and facsimile reception.

  The digital multi-function peripheral 11 includes a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) for writing and reading image data, and the illustration and description thereof are omitted. In addition, arrows in FIG. 2 indicate the flow of data regarding control signals, control, and images. As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the paper feed cassette group 32 is composed of three paper feed cassettes 23a, 23b, and 23c.

  The digital multifunction device 11 operates as a copying machine by forming an image in the image forming unit 15 based on the image data of the document read by the image reading unit 14. Further, the digital multifunction peripheral 11 forms an image in the image forming unit 15 based on the image data transmitted from the computers 26a, 26b, and 26c connected to the network 25 through the network interface unit 18 and prints it on a sheet. It works as a printer. That is, the image forming unit 15 operates as a printing unit that prints the requested image. The digital multi-functional peripheral 11 forms an image in the image forming unit 15 via the DRAM based on the image data transmitted from the public line 24 through the facsimile communication unit 17 and is read by the image reading unit 14. By transmitting the image data of the original document to the public line 24 through the facsimile communication unit 17, the facsimile apparatus operates. The digital multifunction machine 11 has a plurality of functions such as a copying function, a printer function, and a facsimile function regarding image processing. Further, each function has functions that can be set in detail.

  An image forming system 27 including a digital multifunction peripheral 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a digital multifunction peripheral 11 having the above-described configuration and a plurality of computers 26 a and 26 b connected to the digital multifunction peripheral 11 via a network 25. 26c. In this embodiment, three computers 26a to 26c are shown. Each of the computers 26a to 26c is provided with displays 28a, 28b, 28c for displaying information, and a mouse (not shown) and a keyboard (not shown) for inputting data. Each of the computers 26 a to 26 c can print by making a print request to the digital multi-function peripheral 11 via the network 25. The digital multi-function peripheral 11 and the computers 26a to 26c may be connected by wire using a LAN (Local Area Network) cable or the like, or may be connected wirelessly. A configuration in which a digital multifunction peripheral or a server is connected may be used.

  Next, the configuration of the control unit 12 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the control unit 12. Referring to FIG. 3, the control unit 12 includes a receiving unit 35, a user specifying unit 36, an acquisition time estimation unit 37, an image formation speed adjustment unit 38, and a timer 39 that measures time. The receiving unit 35 receives a request for image formation by the image forming unit 15. The user specifying unit 36 specifies a user who has requested image formation. The acquisition time estimation unit 37 estimates, for each user, the time from when the image formation request is received by the reception unit 35 until the user acquires a sheet as a recording medium on which an image is formed by the image formation unit 15. . The image forming speed adjusting unit 38 adjusts the image forming speed of the image forming unit 15 for each user specified by the user specifying unit 36 according to the acquisition time estimated by the acquisition time estimating unit 37. These configurations will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the digital multifunction peripheral 11 includes a sheet presence / absence detection sensor 29 as a recording medium presence / absence detection unit that detects whether or not there is a sheet on the discharge tray of the sorter 30. The paper presence / absence detection sensor 28 is constituted by an optical sensor, for example. The paper discharged on the discharge tray is removed by the user who has requested image formation. The paper presence / absence detection sensor 29 detects that there is no paper when the paper is removed from the discharge tray. It is detected that there is a sheet from when the sheet is discharged onto the discharge tray until the sheet is removed.

  Next, the configuration of the image forming unit 15 provided in the digital multifunction peripheral 11 will be described in more detail. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of the image forming unit 15 provided in the digital multifunction peripheral 11. From the viewpoint of easy understanding, the members are not hatched in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the digital multifunction machine 11 cut along a plane extending in the vertical direction.

Referring to FIG. 4, the image forming unit 15 includes an image forming unit 43, an LSU (Laser Scanner Unit) 44, a transfer belt 45 as an intermediate transfer member, and four primary transfer rollers 46a, 46b, 46c, and 46d. Including a primary transfer unit 47, a secondary transfer roller 48, a driving roller 51 a that rotates the transfer belt 45 in one direction, a driven roller 51 b, a driven roller 51 c, and an untransferred remaining on the surface 52 of the transfer belt 45. And a cleaning unit 53 for removing, that is, cleaning the toner from the surface 52 of the transfer belt 45. About LSU44, it has shown with the dashed-dotted line. The digital multi-function peripheral 11 includes a so-called quad tandem image forming unit 15. Also shows the direction from the bottom to the top by an arrow D ₁ in FIG. 4.

  The image forming unit 43 includes four photosensitive members 41a, 41b, 41c, and 41d corresponding to four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, and four developing units 42a, 42b, 42c, and 42d.

  The digital multifunction machine 11 can perform monochrome printing using only the black developing unit 42d. The digital multi-function peripheral 11 can perform color printing using at least any two of a yellow developing unit 42a, a magenta developing unit 42b, and a cyan developing unit 42c.

The LSU 44 exposes the four photoconductors 41a to 41d based on the images read by the image reading unit 14, respectively. Direction LSU44 exposes is the direction indicated by the arrow _{D 1.} An electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoconductors 41a to 41d based on the exposed light of each color component. Each color toner is supplied from the developing units 42a to 42d to the electrostatic latent images formed on the photoreceptors 41a to 41d. By supplying the charged toner to the photoconductors 41a to 41d, visible images are formed on the photoconductors 41a to 41d. The visible image with toner formed on the photoconductors 41 a to 41 d in this way is primarily transferred to the transfer belt 45.

  The transfer belt 45 is endless. The transfer belt 45 rotates in one direction, and a visible image with toner formed on the photoreceptors 41a to 41d is primarily transferred by the developing units 42a to 42d.

  The driving roller 51a, the driven roller 51b, and the driven roller 51c are provided separately. The driving roller 51a serves as a driving source for rotating the transfer belt 45. Since the driven rollers 51 b and 51 c are in contact with the transfer belt 45, they rotate with the rotation of the transfer belt 45. The driving roller 51a, the driven roller 51b, and the driven roller 51c are respectively disposed on the inner side of the transfer belt 45. The driving roller 51a is disposed on the position side where the cleaning unit 53 is provided. The driven roller 51b is disposed on the position side where the secondary transfer roller 48 is provided. The driven roller 51c is disposed between the drive roller 51a and the driven roller 51b in the left-right direction. The driving roller 51a and the driven roller 51b are provided so as to be substantially at the same position in the vertical direction. The driven roller 51c is disposed slightly above the drive roller 51a and the driven roller 51b.

  The transfer belt 45 is attached so that the driving roller 51a, the driven roller 51b, and the driven roller 51c are in contact with the inner side, and the tension of the transfer belt 45 is maintained.

The transfer belt 45 is rotated in one direction by the driving roller 51a and the driven rollers 51b and 51c. Rotational direction of the transfer belt 45 is indicated by the arrow D ₂ in FIG. That is, the rotation direction of the transfer belt 45 is the direction from the right side to the left side in the lower region where the photoconductors 41a to 41d are provided. In the upper region where the driven roller 51c is provided, the direction is from the left to the right. In the rotation direction of the transfer belt 45, among the developing units 42a to 42d, the yellow developing unit 42a is disposed on the most upstream side, and the black developing unit 42d is disposed on the most downstream side. Note that the transfer belt 45 rotates from the upstream side toward the downstream side.

  The four primary transfer rollers 46 a to 46 d are arranged at positions facing the photoconductors 41 a to 41 d of the respective colors via the transfer belt 45. The primary transfer unit 47 primarily transfers a visible image of four color toners of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black formed on the photoreceptors 41 a to 41 d to the transfer belt 45. Specifically, by applying a bias to each of the primary transfer rollers 46a to 46d, the visible images of the toner formed on the photoreceptors 41a to 41d by the developing units 42a to 42d are transferred to the rotating transfer belt 45. Primary transfer is performed on the surface 52. At this time, the images of the respective colors are superimposed on the transfer belt 45, and a full-color image is formed on the transfer belt 45.

  The secondary transfer roller 48 secondarily transfers the visible image formed by the toner primarily transferred onto the transfer belt 45 to a sheet supplied from a recording medium, for example, one of the paper feed cassettes 23a to 23c. The secondary transfer roller 48 is provided at a position facing the driven roller 51b with the transfer belt 45 interposed therebetween.

  The image forming unit 15 has a variable image forming speed. Here, the image forming unit 15 having the variable image forming speed includes that the sheet conveying speed from the sheet setting unit 19 to the sorter 30 is also variable. That is, the image forming unit 15 can increase or decrease the speed of forming an image. When the image forming speed is high, the photoconductors 41a to 41d rotate faster than when the image forming speed is low. In addition, the sheet conveyance speed is increased. Usually, the image forming speed is set to be the fastest possible speed of the digital multifunction peripheral 11, that is, the image forming speed at full speed.

  Next, data stored in the hard disk 16 will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the contents of data stored in the hard disk 16. Referring to FIG. 5, the hard disk 16 stores data of required time for each user. Here, the required time is the time from when the image forming request is received by the receiving unit 35 until the user acquires the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming unit 15. This required time is calculated by measuring the time when the image forming request is received by the receiving unit 35 and the time when the paper is removed by the paper presence / absence detection sensor 29 by the timer 39.

  In the required time storage area 61 for each user assigned to the hard disk 16, data 62a related to the user X, data 62b related to the user Y, and data 62c related to the user Z are stored. The data 62a is data “user X” as the user name, “5 hours 30 minutes” as the time required for the previous image formation, and “6 hours 30 minutes” as the time required for the second image formation. is there. The data 62b is data “user Y” as the user name and “2 hours 10 minutes” as the time required for the previous image formation. As for the data 62b, there is no data of the required time at the time of the previous image formation. The data 62c is data “user Z” as the user name, “1 minute” as the time required for the previous image formation, and “5 minutes” as the time required for the previous image formation. Such data 62 a to 62 c are stored in the required time storage area 61 for each user of the hard disk 16 as image formation performed by the users X to Z on the digital multifunction peripheral 11 in the past.

  Next, a case where an image is formed using the digital multifunction machine 11 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when an image is formed using the digital multifunction peripheral 11. Here, a case where the user X logs in to the computer 26a and makes a request for image formation will be described.

  Referring to FIG. 6, the user makes a print request, that is, a request for image formation to the digital multi-function peripheral 11 via the computer 26a. Then, the control unit 12 receives a request for image formation (step S11 in FIG. 6, hereinafter, “step” is omitted). Then, the image forming unit 15 tries to form an image based on the image data transmitted from the computer 26a together with the image formation request.

  Here, the control unit 12 identifies a user before image formation (S12). In this case, since the user who has requested the image formation to the digital multifunction peripheral 11 logs in to the computer 26a and uses the computer 26a, this login ID is obtained from the computer 26a and the user is specified. In this embodiment, the user who has requested image formation is identified as user X.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the past required time data is stored (S13). In this case, if user X data 62a is stored in hard disk 16 (YES in S13), an average value of past required times is calculated (S14). Regarding the average value, since the time required for the previous time is “5 hours 30 minutes” and the time required for the second time is “6 hours 30 minutes” from the data 62a, “6 hours” is set as the average value. calculate.

  Thereafter, the image forming speed is adjusted so as to be the image forming speed corresponding to the calculated average value (S15). In this case, the set full-speed image forming speed is set to, for example, a half speed that is half the full speed.

  Then, an image is formed at the adjusted image formation speed (S16). Thereafter, post-processing is performed as necessary, and the paper is discharged to the sorter 30.

  According to such a digital multi-function peripheral 11, the time required from the time when an image formation request is made until the acquisition of the paper on which the image is formed is estimated for each user, and image formation is performed according to the estimated time required. Adjust the speed. This can reduce the possibility of leaving the output unnecessarily for a long time. Further, the speed of image formation can be suppressed as necessary, and wear of consumables can be reduced. Therefore, the digital multifunction peripheral 11 can perform more efficient image formation while extending the life.

  In this case, since the estimated required time is estimated by calculating a past average value, an image can be formed at a more appropriate image forming speed.

  Note that if the past required time data is not stored (NO in S13), the image is formed at the full-speed image formation speed from the viewpoint of reducing the waiting time of the output of the user who requested the image formation ( S17). For this user, the acquisition time is measured and stored as data in association with the user name. When the next image formation is requested, the required time is estimated based on the current acquisition time.

  In the above embodiment, the average time is calculated to estimate the required time. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the image forming speed may be adjusted based on the previous required time. Good.

  In the above-described embodiment, the user may set the image forming speed when the user wants to immediately obtain the paper on which the image is formed. That is, the digital multi-function peripheral 11 includes an image forming speed setting unit that sets the speed of image formation by the image forming unit 15, and the image forming speed adjusting unit 38 is set to the required time estimated by the acquisition time estimating unit 37. Regardless, the image forming speed may be adjusted so that an image is formed at the image forming speed set by the image forming speed setting unit.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in this case. Referring to FIG. 7, a request for image formation is accepted as in FIG. 6 (S21). Then, the user is specified (S22). At this time, the digital multi-function peripheral 11 displays a screen for setting the image forming speed on the display 28a of the computer 26a.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the display screen of the display 28a in this case. Referring to FIG. 8, on display screen 66 of display 28a, an inquiry 67a “Do you want to set the speed of image formation?” And “Yes” are written, and click to set the speed of image formation. A selection key 68a to be transferred, a selection key 68b which is described as “No” and cancels the setting of the image forming speed when clicked, a notation 67b of “Please set the image forming speed.” ”And a selection key 69a for setting the image forming speed to the highest speed, a selection key 69b for writing“ 3/4 speed ”for setting the image forming speed to ¾ speed, and“ half ” A selection key 69c that is labeled “speed” and sets the image forming speed to half the total speed, and a selection key 69d that starts “Wizard” and sets the wizard that sets the image forming speed to other speeds. But It is.

  Here, since the user wants to immediately obtain the paper on which the image is formed, the image forming speed is set to “full speed” (YES in S23). In this case, the selection key 68a and the selection key 69a are clicked. In FIG. 8, the clicked state is indicated by hatching.

  Then, the digital multi-function peripheral 11 forms an image at the set image forming speed although the data of the past required time is stored (S24). In this case, image formation is performed at full speed. Therefore, the user X can immediately obtain the paper on which the image is formed. When the image forming speed is not set (NO in S23), S25 to S29 correspond to S13 to S17.

  Further, in the above embodiment, a configuration including a keyword search unit that searches for a keyword included in the image data serving as a basis for forming an image, and the image formation time estimation unit includes the keyword searched by the keyword search unit. Based on this, it may be configured to estimate the required time.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control unit 12 included in the digital multi-function peripheral according to still another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 9, the control unit 12 includes a keyword search unit 40 that searches for a keyword included in image data that is a basis for forming an image.

  By doing so, an image can be formed at a more appropriate time. In this case, for example, when image formation is performed for image data including a keyword, if the required time tends to be short, the image formation speed is set to full speed when forming an image for image data including the keyword. To. By doing so, an image can be formed at a more appropriate speed.

  Further, for example, when a keyword “˜daily report” exists as a keyword in the image data, the keyword search unit 40 searches for it. If the keyword “˜daily report” exists, an image is formed around the end of the day, that is, from 16:00 to 17:00 in the evening. Note that “in the image data” includes the file name. That is, when the keyword included in the file name is included, the acquisition time corresponding to the keyword is estimated, and the image forming speed is adjusted based on the estimated acquisition time.

  Also, the acquisition time estimation unit 37 estimates that the acquisition time will be longer if the time required for the previous user is long, and estimates that the acquisition time will be reduced if the time required for the previous user is short. You may do it.

  In the above embodiment, the login ID is used to specify the user. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the user name may be specified by the IP address of each of the computers 26a to 26c. In this case, user name information corresponding to the IP address may be obtained from the outside via the network 25, or information stored in advance in the hard disk 16 as data may be used.

  In the above embodiment, the required time data is stored in the hard disk 16. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the digital multi-function peripheral 11 acquires the required time data via the network 25. It may be configured.

  It should be understood that the embodiments and examples disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not restrictive in any respect. The scope of the present invention is defined by the scope of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the scope of the claims.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention is particularly effectively used when efficient image formation is required while extending the life.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Digital multifunction device, 12 Control part, 13 Operation part, 14 Image reading part, 15 Image formation part, 16 Hard disk, 17 Facsimile communication part, 18 Network interface part, 19 Paper setting part, 21 Display screen, 22 ADF, 23a, 23b, 23c Paper feed cassette, 24 Public line, 25 Network, 26a, 26b, 26c Computer, 27 Image forming system, 28a, 28b, 28c Display, 29 Paper presence / absence detection sensor, 30 Sorter, 31 Manual feed tray, 32 Paper feed cassette Group, 33 post-processing device, 35 receiving unit, 36 user specifying unit, 37 acquisition time estimating unit, 38 image forming speed adjusting unit, 39 timer, 40 keyword searching unit, 41a, 41b, 41c, 41d photoconductor, 42a, 42 b, 42c, 42d Developing unit, 43 Image forming unit, 44 LSU, 45 Transfer belt, 46a, 46b, 46c, 46d Primary transfer roller, 47 Primary transfer unit, 48 Secondary transfer roller, 51a Drive roller, 51b, 51c Followed Roller, 52 surface, 53 cleaning unit, 61 required time storage area, 62a, 62b, 62c data, 66 display screen, 67a inquiry, 67b message, 68a, 68b, 69a, 69b, 69c, 69d selection key.

Claims (4)

An image forming unit for forming an image on a recording medium based on image data, wherein the image forming speed is variable;
A receiving unit that receives a request for image formation by the image forming unit;
A user specifying unit for specifying a user who makes the image formation request;
An acquisition time estimation unit that estimates, for each user, a time from when a request for image formation by the reception unit is received until the recording medium on which an image is formed by the image formation unit is acquired by the user;
For each of the users specified by the user specifying unit, an image forming speed adjusting unit that adjusts an image forming speed by the image forming unit according to the acquisition time estimated by the acquisition time estimating unit ;
A required time measuring unit for measuring a required time calculated from a time when an image formation request is received by the receiving unit and a time when the recording medium is removed;
A storage unit for storing data of the required time measured by the required time measuring unit;
A keyword search unit for searching for a keyword contained in the image data,
The acquisition time estimation unit estimates the acquisition time based on the required time data stored by the storage unit and the keyword searched by the keyword search unit . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the acquisition time estimation unit estimates the acquisition time based on an average value of the required time in the past of the user. The acquisition time estimation unit estimates that the acquisition time becomes long if the required time of the user one time before is long, and shortens the acquisition time if the required time of the user one time before is short. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image forming apparatus is estimated to be An image forming speed setting unit for setting a speed of the image forming by the image forming unit;
The image forming speed adjustment unit, regardless of the required time estimated by the acquisition time estimating unit is adjusted so as to form an image at a speed of the image forming set by the image forming speed setting unit, according to claim The image forming apparatus according to any one of 1 to 3 .

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