JP6627721B2 - Image forming apparatus and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus having a plurality of discharge trays each of which has a limited number of sheets to be stacked, and a program executed by the image forming apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art There is known an image forming apparatus having a plurality of discharge trays each of which has a limited number of sheets to be stacked (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP-A-2006-40202 JP 2011-112929 A

  In an image forming apparatus having a plurality of paper discharge trays, it is desirable to appropriately select a paper discharge tray as a paper discharge destination in a print job.

  In view of the circumstances described above, an object of the present disclosure is to appropriately select a discharge tray to be a discharge destination in a print job in an image forming apparatus having a plurality of discharge trays.

An image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes:
A plurality of output trays, each of which has a limit on the number of sheets that can be loaded,
A sheet number calculator for calculating the number of sheets discharged in the print job;
Detecting, among the plurality of paper ejection trays, one or more paper ejection trays whose stacking-limited number is greater than or equal to the number of paper ejections;
Detecting one or more paper output trays having an effective paper sensor among the one or more paper output trays whose stacking limit number is equal to or more than the paper output number;
And a tray selector for selecting, as the discharge destination in the print job, a discharge tray having the largest stacking limit number among one or more discharge trays having the valid paper sensor.

  According to the present embodiment, a discharge tray whose stacking limit number is smaller than the discharge sheet number cannot load all the sheets discharged in the print job, and is therefore excluded from the discharge destination candidates in the print job. Further, if the paper discharge tray does not have a valid paper sensor, it is not possible to determine whether or not paper is loaded on the paper discharge tray, and thus there is a possibility that paper is loaded on the paper discharge tray. If a large number of sheets are stacked on the sheet discharge tray, there is a possibility that not all sheets discharged in the print job may be stacked, and therefore, the sheets are excluded from the discharge destination candidates in the print job. Therefore, the tray selection unit can select, as the discharge destination in the print job, a discharge tray that has a high possibility of stacking all the sheets discharged in the print job.

The tray selector further includes:
Detecting one or more paper output trays on which no paper is placed among the one or more paper output trays having the valid paper sensor;
Among the one or more paper discharge trays on which the paper is not placed, the paper discharge tray with the maximum number of sheets to be stacked is selected as the paper discharge destination in the print job.

  According to this embodiment, even when paper is loaded on the paper output tray, it is not possible to determine how many papers are loaded on the paper output tray. Could have been. If a large number of sheets are stacked on the sheet discharge tray, there is a possibility that not all sheets discharged in the print job may be stacked, and therefore, the sheets are excluded from the discharge destination candidates in the print job. Therefore, the tray selection unit can select, as the discharge destination in the print job, a discharge tray that has a high possibility of stacking all the sheets discharged in the print job.

The tray selector further includes:
When the stacking limit number does not detect a discharge tray equal to or larger than the discharge number, does not detect a discharge tray having the valid sheet sensor, or does not detect a discharge tray on which the sheets are not placed,
The one or more of the detected output trays, or, if no output tray is detected, among the output trays, the output tray having the largest number of sheets to be stacked is set to the print job. Is selected as the paper discharge destination.

  According to the present embodiment, although the output tray may not be able to stack all the sheets ejected in the print job, or may not be able to stack the sheets, the user may remove the sheets from the output tray during the print job. The number of removals can be minimized.

The image forming apparatus
A tray full detection unit that detects that the number of sheets stacked on each of the plurality of discharge trays has reached the respective stack limit number,
When the tray full detection unit detects that the number of sheets discharged to the discharge tray of the sheet discharge destination has reached the stack limit number during execution of the print job,
The number-of-sheets calculating unit calculates the number of remaining sheets to be discharged in the print job being executed,
The tray selection unit again selects a discharge tray as a discharge destination in the print job based on the remaining number of discharged sheets.

  According to this embodiment, even if the output tray is full, the continuation of the print job is output to another output tray, so that the user does not need to remove the paper from the output tray during the print job. .

When the tray full detection unit detects that the number of sheets discharged to the discharge tray of the sheet discharge destination has reached the stack limit number during execution of the print job,
The tray full detection unit notifies the user that the number of sheets discharged to the discharge tray of the discharge destination has reached the stack limit number, and thereafter,
The number-of-sheets calculating unit calculates the number of remaining sheets to be discharged in the print job being executed,
The tray selection unit again selects a discharge tray as a discharge destination in the print job based on the remaining number of discharged sheets.

  According to the present embodiment, if the user is notified of the tray full and the user removes the paper discharged to the paper discharge tray, the print job is continuously discharged to the same paper discharge tray.

The program according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes:
A computer of the image forming apparatus having a plurality of paper output trays in each of which the paper stacking limit is set,
A sheet number calculator for calculating the number of sheets discharged in the print job;
Detecting, among the plurality of paper ejection trays, one or more paper ejection trays whose stacking-limited number is greater than or equal to the number of paper ejections;
Detecting one or more paper output trays having an effective paper sensor among the one or more paper output trays whose stacking limit number is equal to or more than the paper output number;
Among the one or more paper discharge trays having the valid paper sensor, the paper discharge tray having the maximum number of sheets to be stacked is made to function as a tray selection unit that selects the paper discharge destination in the print job.

  According to the present disclosure, in an image forming apparatus having a plurality of discharge trays, a discharge tray to be a discharge destination in a print job can be appropriately selected.

  Note that the effects described here are not necessarily limited, and may be any of the effects described in the present disclosure.

1 illustrates a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 2 shows a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus. 4 shows an operation flow of the image forming apparatus.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

1. Hardware Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus FIG. 1 shows a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

  The image forming apparatus 10 is typically an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral), and is hereinafter simply referred to as the MFP 10.

  The MFP 10 includes a control unit 11. The control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a dedicated hardware circuit, and the like, and controls the overall operation of the MFP 10. A computer program that causes MFP 10 to function as each functional unit (described later) is stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium such as a ROM.

  The control unit 11 is connected to the image reading unit 12, the image processing unit 14, the image memory 15, the image forming unit 16, the operation unit 17, the storage unit 18, the network communication unit 13, and the like. The control unit 11 controls the operation of each of the connected units and transmits / receives signals or data to / from each unit.

  The control unit 11 operates in accordance with a job execution instruction input from the user through the operation unit 17 or a personal computer (not shown) connected to a network, etc., for operation of each function such as a scanner function, a print function, and a copy function function. It controls the driving and processing of the mechanism required to execute the control.

  The image reading section 12 reads an image from a document.

  The image processing unit 14 performs image processing on the image data of the image read by the image reading unit 12 as necessary. For example, the image processing unit 14 performs image processing such as shading correction to improve the quality of the image read by the image reading unit 12 after the image is formed.

  The image memory 15 has an area for temporarily storing original document data obtained by reading by the image reading unit 12 and temporarily storing data to be printed by the image forming unit 16.

  The image forming unit 16 forms an image of the image data and the like read by the image reading unit 12. The paper on which the image forming unit 16 has formed (printed) the image is discharged to one of a plurality of (four in the present embodiment) discharge trays 19a, 19b, 19c, and 19d.

  The operation unit 17 includes a touch panel unit and an operation key unit that receive instructions from a user regarding various operations and processes that can be executed by the MFP 10. The touch panel unit includes a display unit 17a such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) provided with a touch panel.

  The network communication unit 13 is an interface for connecting to a network.

  The storage unit 18 is a large-capacity storage device, such as a hard disk drive (HDD), that stores a document image or the like read by the image reading unit 12.

2. Functional Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus FIG. 2 shows a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus.

  The MFP 10 loads an information processing program stored in a ROM, which is an example of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, into a RAM and executes the information processing program. 103, a job execution unit 104, and a tray full detection unit 105.

  The job receiving unit 101 receives a print job.

  The number calculation unit 102 calculates the number of sheets discharged in the print job received by the job reception unit 101.

  The tray selection unit 103 selects a discharge tray as a discharge destination in a print job from the plurality of discharge trays 19a, 19b, 19c, and 19d.

  The job executing unit 104 forms an image on a sheet based on print data of a print job received by the job receiving unit 101, and discharges the sheet on which the image is formed to a discharge tray selected by the tray selecting unit 103.

  The tray full detection unit 105 detects that the number of sheets stacked on each of the paper discharge trays 19a, 19b, 19c, and 19d has reached the respective limit number.

3. Operation Flow of Image Forming Apparatus FIG. 3 shows an operation flow of the image forming apparatus.

  As a prerequisite, the plurality of discharge trays 19a, 19b, 19c, and 19d are each set to a limited number of sheets to be stacked. Some of the plurality of paper discharge trays 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d have an effective paper sensor (not shown) and some do not. The “paper sensor” is typically a physical sensor that detects the presence of paper in the paper output tray. “Having a valid paper sensor” means that the paper sensor has a paper sensor and that the paper sensor is in a normal (not faulty) state. On the other hand, “having no valid paper sensor” means that the paper sensor is not provided, or even if the paper sensor is provided, the paper sensor is in an abnormal (failed) state. For example, when the detection value of the paper sensor is an abnormal value, it can be determined that the paper sensor has failed. In the present embodiment, the maximum number of sheets that can be stacked on each of the plurality of discharge trays 19a, 19b, 19c, and 19d and whether or not there is an effective sheet sensor are as follows.

Discharge tray 19a... 250 sheets, having an effective paper sensor.
Discharge tray 19b: 500 sheets, having an effective sheet sensor.
Discharge tray 19c... 1000 sheets, having an effective paper sensor.
Discharge tray 19d: 1000 sheets, no effective paper sensor.

  The job receiving unit 101 receives a print job (Step S101). In the present embodiment, a “print job” refers to a job for forming an image on a sheet, such as a job for printing a scanned document on a sheet and a job for printing print data acquired from an external device on a sheet.

  The number calculation unit 102 calculates the number of sheets discharged in the print job received by the job reception unit 101 (step S102). The number calculation unit 102 calculates the number of sheets to be discharged based on the number of documents in the print data, the duplex setting, the N-Up setting, the number of print copies, and the like. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the number of sheets discharged in a print job is 300 sheets. The number calculation unit 102 notifies the tray selection unit 103 of the calculated number of discharged sheets (300 sheets).

  The tray selection unit 103 receives a notification of the number of discharged sheets (300 sheets) from the number calculation unit 102. The tray selection unit 103 selects a discharge tray as a discharge destination in this print job from the plurality of discharge trays 19a, 19b, 19c, and 19d as described below.

  First, the tray selecting unit 103 detects all of the plurality of discharge trays 19a, 19b, 19c, and 19d whose stacking-limited number is equal to or greater than the number of discharged sheets (300) (step S103). . In this embodiment, the tray selection unit 103 detects the discharge tray 19b (500 sheets), the discharge tray 19c (1000 sheets), and the discharge tray 19d (1000 sheets) (Step S103, YES).

  On the other hand, if the tray selection unit 103 does not detect a discharge tray whose stacking limit number is equal to or greater than the discharge number (300) (step S103, NO), the tray selection unit 103 selects one of the discharge trays 19a, 19b, 19c, and 19d. The discharge tray 19c or 19d having the maximum stacking number is selected as the discharge destination in the print job (step S107).

  Secondly, the tray selection unit 103 selects the valid paper sensor among all the paper output trays 19b, 19c, and 19d whose detected stacking-restricted number is equal to or more than the number of discharged sheets (300) (step S103, YES). Is detected (step S104). In the present embodiment, the tray selection unit 103 detects the discharge trays 19b and 19c (Step S104, YES).

  On the other hand, when the tray selection unit 103 does not detect a discharge tray having an effective sheet sensor (step S104, NO), all the discharge trays 19b, 19c, 19d detected so far (step S103, YES). Among them, the paper discharge tray 19c or 19d with the maximum number of stacks is selected as the paper discharge destination in the print job (step S107).

  Third, the tray selection unit 103 selects all of the detected output trays 19b and 19c (step S104, YES) having an effective paper sensor on which no paper is placed. It is detected (step S105). The tray selection unit 103 may detect all the output trays on which no sheets are placed, based on whether or not a detection signal has been obtained from the sheet sensor of each of the output trays 19b and 19c. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the tray selection unit 103 acquires a detection signal from the paper sensor of the paper ejection tray 19b and does not acquire a detection signal from the paper sensor of the paper ejection tray 19c. In this case, the tray selection unit 103 determines that the paper is loaded on the paper discharge tray 19b, and determines that the paper is not loaded on the paper discharge tray 19c. Therefore, the tray selection unit 103 detects the discharge tray 19c on which no paper is placed (Step S105, YES).

  The tray selection unit 103 finally determines, among all the output trays 19c on which the sheets are not loaded and which has been detected (YES in Step S105), the output tray with the maximum number of sheets to be stacked, in the print job. It is selected as a paper discharge destination (step S106). In this embodiment, since there is only one paper discharge tray (paper discharge tray 19c) on which no paper is placed, the paper discharge tray 19c is selected as a paper discharge destination in a print job.

  On the other hand, if the tray selection unit 103 does not detect a paper discharge tray on which no paper is placed (step S105, NO), the tray selection unit 103 checks all the paper discharge trays 19b, 19c detected so far (step S104, YES). Among them, the paper discharge tray 19c with the maximum stacking number is selected as the paper discharge destination in the print job (step S107).

  The tray selection unit 103 notifies the job execution unit 104 of the discharge tray (in this embodiment, the discharge tray 19c) selected as the discharge destination in the print job (step S106 or S107).

  The job execution unit 104 receives a notification from the tray selection unit 103 of the discharge tray 19c selected as the discharge destination in the print job. The job executing unit 104 acquires the print data of the print job received by the job receiving unit 101 and starts the print job (Step S108). Specifically, the job executing unit 104 forms an image on a sheet based on the print data acquired from the job receiving unit 101, and discharges the sheet on which the image is formed to the discharge tray 19c.

  By the way, the tray full detecting unit 105 detects that the number of sheets discharged to the sheet discharge tray 19c of the sheet discharge destination has reached the stack limit number (the sheet discharge tray 19c is full) during the execution of the print job (the sheet discharge tray 19c becomes full). Step S109, YES). Then, the sheet number calculation unit 102 calculates the number of remaining sheets to be discharged in the print job being executed (step S102). Based on the remaining number of discharged sheets calculated by the sheet number calculating section 102, the tray selecting section 103 selects again the discharge tray of the discharge destination in the print job from all the discharge trays 19a, 19b, 19c, and 19d. Select (Steps S103 to S107). The selection of the discharge tray again depends on the remaining number of discharged sheets and whether or not the sheets have been removed from the discharge tray 19c in which the number of discharged sheets has reached the stack limit number (full). Therefore, a different paper discharge tray is selected.

  When the tray full detection unit 105 detects that the number of sheets discharged to the discharge tray 19c of the discharge destination has reached the stack limit number (tray full), it notifies the user by displaying it on the display unit 17a. Is also good. By the notification, the user can remove the paper discharged to the paper discharge tray 19c. When the tray full is notified, the processing of steps S102 to S107 may be executed thereafter.

4. Modified Example The MFP 10 does not need to include the tray full detection unit 105, and thus may omit the processing in step S109.

  Finally, the tray selection unit 103 selects, as the discharge destination in the print job, the discharge tray having the maximum number of sheets to be stacked among the one or more discharge trays on which no paper is placed (step S105, YES). Selected (step S106). Alternatively, the tray selection unit 103 may select any one of the one or more paper discharge trays on which no paper is placed (step S105, YES). This is because the discharge of all print jobs can be stacked on any of the discharge trays.

5. Conclusion Typically, the number of sheets that can be stacked on an MFP discharge tray is determined based on physical restrictions. When a larger number of sheets than the stack limit number are stacked on the discharge tray (tray full), newly discharged sheets are jammed in the discharge port (jam). When a tray full occurs, the MFP interrupts the print job. For example, if the user selects a paper discharge tray with a small number of sheets to be stacked despite the large number of paper discharges of the print job, the tray becomes full in the middle of the print job and the print job is interrupted. As a result, the completion of the print job being executed is delayed, and further, the completion of the subsequent print job is delayed. In order to avoid the tray full, the user needs to select the discharge tray in consideration of the limit of the number of sheets to be stacked on the discharge tray, but this is not user-friendly. Further, if the output tray selected by the user is inappropriate in view of the limit of the number of sheets to be stacked, the print job is canceled in the middle, or another output tray is selected after a tray full occurs in the middle of the print job. , Etc., must be performed again by the user.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, first, the tray selecting unit 103 detects one or more discharge trays whose stacking-limited number is equal to or greater than the number of discharged sheets, among the plurality of discharge trays (step S103). A discharge tray having a smaller number of sheets to be stacked than the number of discharged sheets cannot be loaded with all the sheets discharged in the print job, and is therefore excluded from the discharge destination candidates in the print job. However, if the tray selection unit 103 does not detect a discharge tray whose stacking limit number is equal to or larger than the discharge number (step S103, NO), the tray selection unit 103 selects the discharge tray having the maximum stacking limit number among all the discharge trays. It is selected as the paper discharge destination in the print job (step S107). Thus, although the paper discharge tray cannot load all the paper discharged in the print job, the number of times the user removes the paper from the paper discharge tray during the print job can be minimized.

  Second, the tray selection unit 103 detects one or more discharge trays having an effective paper sensor among one or more discharge trays (step S103, YES) in which the stacking limit number is equal to or greater than the discharge number (step S103). Step S104). If the paper discharge tray does not have a valid paper sensor, it is not possible to determine whether or not paper is loaded on the paper discharge tray, and thus there is a possibility that paper is loaded on the paper discharge tray. If a large number of sheets are stacked on the sheet discharge tray, there is a possibility that not all sheets discharged in the print job may be stacked, and therefore, the sheets are excluded from the discharge destination candidates in the print job. However, when a paper discharge tray having an effective paper sensor is not detected (step S104, NO), the tray selection unit 103 selects one or more paper discharge trays (step S103, YES) in which the number of stacked sheets is equal to or larger than the number of paper discharges. Among them, the paper discharge tray with the maximum stacking number is selected as the paper discharge destination in the print job (step S107). As a result, if a large amount of paper is loaded on the paper output tray, the user may not be able to load all the paper ejected in the print job. Can be minimized.

  Third, the tray selection unit 103 detects one or more discharge trays on which no paper is placed, from among one or more discharge trays having an effective paper sensor (step S104, YES) (step S105). ). Even if paper is loaded on the output tray, it is not possible to determine how many sheets are loaded on the output tray, so there is a possibility that a large amount of paper is loaded on the output tray. is there. If a large number of sheets are stacked on the sheet discharge tray, there is a possibility that not all sheets discharged in the print job may be stacked, and therefore, the sheets are excluded from the discharge destination candidates in the print job. However, when a paper discharge tray on which no paper is placed is not detected (step S105, NO), the tray selection unit 103 selects one or more paper discharge trays having a valid paper sensor (step S104, YES). The paper discharge tray with the maximum stacking number is selected as the paper discharge destination in the print job (step S107). As a result, if a large amount of paper is loaded on the paper output tray, the user may not be able to load all the paper ejected in the print job. Can be minimized.

  The tray selection unit 103 finally selects the one (or any one) of the one or more discharge trays on which sheets are not loaded (step S105, YES) with the maximum number of sheets to be loaded. Is selected as the discharge destination in the print job (step S106). As described above, the tray selecting unit 103 selects the paper output tray in which the stacking limit number is larger than the number of discharged papers (step S103, YES) and no paper is loaded (step S105, YES). Since all sheets to be ejected can be stacked, the user does not need to remove sheets from the sheet ejection tray in the middle of a print job, which is user-friendly.

  If the discharge tray becomes full during the execution of the print job (step S109, YES), the tray selection unit 103 returns to the state of all the discharge trays based on the remaining number of discharged sheets (step S102). , The discharge tray of the discharge destination in the print job is selected (steps S103 to S107). As a result, even if the output tray is full, the continuation of the print job is output to another output tray, so that the user does not need to remove the paper from the output tray in the middle of the print job, which is user-friendly. It is. Also, if the user is notified of the tray full and the user removes the paper discharged to the paper discharge tray, the print job is continuously discharged to the same paper discharge tray, which is user-friendly.

  As described above, the tray selection unit 103 sets the appropriate discharge tray to the discharge destination based on the number of sheets discharged in the print job, the number of sheets to be stacked on each of the plurality of discharge trays, and the state of the sheet sensor. Automatically select as. Therefore, the user is user-friendly without having to select the paper discharge tray in consideration of the number of paper discharges in the print job and the state of the plural paper discharge trays.

  When the MFP detects that the number of sheets on the discharge tray has reached the maximum number of sheets, the MFP stops printing and notifies the user of the fact. As a method of detecting that the number of sheets to be loaded has been reached, there are mainly a method of using a physical sensor and a method of counting the number of discharged sheets by software processing. In the method of counting the number of discharged sheets by software processing, calculation processing for counting the number of discharged sheets is required, and it takes time.

  On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, an appropriate discharge tray is discharged based on the number of sheets discharged in a print job, the limited number of sheets stacked on each of the plurality of discharge trays, and the state of the paper sensor. Since the selection is made first, calculation processing by software is unnecessary. Therefore, the calculation processing time is not required, so that the discharge tray can be selected in a short time, and a low-spec MFP without a function of counting the number of discharged sheets by software processing can be realized.

  Although the embodiments of the present technology and the respective modified examples have been described above, the present technology is not limited to only the above-described embodiments, and it is needless to say that various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present technology. It is.

10 MFP (image forming apparatus)
19a, 19b, 19c, 19d: paper discharge tray 101: job receiving unit 102: number of sheets calculating unit 103: tray selecting unit 104: job executing unit 105: tray full detecting unit

Claims (4)

A plurality of output trays, each of which has a limit on the number of sheets that can be loaded,
A sheet number calculator for calculating the number of sheets discharged in the print job;
Detecting, among the plurality of paper ejection trays, one or more paper ejection trays whose stacking-limited number is greater than or equal to the number of paper ejections;
When the one or more discharge trays whose stacking limit number is equal to or greater than the discharge number are detected , sheets exist in the discharge tray among the one or more discharge trays whose stacking limit number is equal to or greater than the discharge number. Detecting one or more output trays having physical sensors that are capable of detecting that
When detecting one or more output trays having the physical sensor in the non-failed state , the paper is placed in the one or more output trays having the physical sensor in the non-failed state. One or more output trays that are not
When one or more paper output trays on which the paper is not loaded are detected, among the one or more paper output trays on which the paper is not loaded, the paper output tray with the maximum number of sheets to be loaded is set to the print job. Selected as the paper output destination in
In the case where the output tray having the physical sensor in the non-failed state is not detected, or the output tray on which the sheet is not placed is not detected, among the detected one or more output trays, Or, when the stacking limit number does not detect a discharge tray whose number is equal to or greater than the discharge number, the discharge tray having the maximum stacking limit number out of all the plurality of discharge trays is set as the discharge tray in the print job. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a tray selection unit that selects a paper end . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
A tray full detection unit configured to detect that the number of sheets stacked on each of the plurality of discharge trays has reached the stack limit number,
When the tray full detection unit detects that the number of sheets discharged to the discharge tray of the sheet discharge destination has reached the stack limit number during execution of the print job,
The number-of-sheets calculating unit calculates the number of remaining sheets to be discharged in the print job being executed,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the tray selection unit selects again a discharge tray of a discharge destination in the print job based on the remaining number of discharged sheets. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
When the tray full detection unit detects that the number of sheets discharged to the discharge tray of the sheet discharge destination has reached the stack limit number during execution of the print job,
The tray full detection unit notifies the user that the number of sheets discharged to the discharge tray of the discharge destination has reached the stack limit number, and thereafter,
The number-of-sheets calculating unit calculates the number of remaining sheets to be discharged in the print job being executed,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the tray selection unit selects again a discharge tray of a discharge destination in the print job based on the remaining number of discharged sheets. A computer of the image forming apparatus having a plurality of paper output trays in each of which the paper stacking limit is set,
A sheet number calculator for calculating the number of sheets discharged in the print job;
Detecting, among the plurality of paper ejection trays, one or more paper ejection trays whose stacking-limited number is greater than or equal to the number of paper ejections;
When the one or more discharge trays whose stacking limit number is equal to or greater than the discharge number are detected , sheets exist in the discharge tray among the one or more discharge trays whose stacking limit number is equal to or greater than the discharge number. Detecting one or more output trays having physical sensors that are capable of detecting that
When detecting one or more output trays having the physical sensor in the non-failed state , the paper is placed in the one or more output trays having the physical sensor in the non-failed state. One or more output trays that are not
When one or more paper output trays on which the paper is not loaded are detected, among the one or more paper output trays on which the paper is not loaded, the paper output tray with the maximum number of sheets to be loaded is set to the print job. Selected as the paper output destination in
In the case where the output tray having the physical sensor in the non-failed state is not detected, or the output tray on which the sheet is not placed is not detected, among the detected one or more output trays, Or, when the stacking limit number does not detect a discharge tray whose number is equal to or greater than the discharge number, the discharge tray having the maximum stacking limit number out of all the plurality of discharge trays is set as the discharge tray in the print job. A program that functions as a tray selector for selecting the paper destination .

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