JP7192586B2 - Image forming system and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming system and an image forming apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a large number of sheets ejected from an image forming apparatus are accumulated in a large-capacity stacker (hereinafter abbreviated as "stacker"). The stacker is provided with a paper discharge tray for storing paper, and the paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray, and a large number of stacked papers are accumulated. The output tray is formed with grooves and unevenness of the metal part according to the shape of the equipment that carries out the paper from the stacker. For this reason, if the paper discharged from the image forming apparatus to the stacker is left for a long time, the weight of the paper stack accumulated in the paper discharge tray is applied to the lowermost paper. As a result, the sheet on which an image is formed (referred to as a "printed matter") is damaged by leaving traces of grooves on the sheet in contact with the discharge tray, wrinkling, or the like.

For example, when a large amount of printing is performed at a printing shop, the print job is left running during hours such as nighttime when the user is absent. In addition, depending on the work procedure, the printed matter may be left in the stacker while the printed matter is waiting for the next process. Therefore, in order to buffer the impact of the output tray on the printed materials at the bottom of the stack of sheets, the user manually places a buffer plate or the like on the output tray before the image forming apparatus outputs the printed materials to the stacker. I was working on setting it up.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200000 describes that "When a sheet is not detected by a detection mechanism when a sheet bundle is discharged from a processing tray to a discharge tray, one sheet is discharged onto the discharge tray. After that, a bundle of sheet paper is ejected from the processing tray."

JP 2007-169047 A

However, unless the user is placed near the stacker, the user cannot set the buffer plate or the like on the discharge tray. Further, in the method relying on manual labor, the user is likely to forget the work or set a plate or the like of an inappropriate size on the discharge tray. If an improperly sized plate or the like is placed in the output tray, the sheets at the bottom of the stack will be marked along the edge of the plate.

The technique disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-200000 is intended to maintain the alignment of the sheets on the discharge tray. For this reason, if the stack of sheets ejected using the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200000 is stored in the output tray for a long time, it is highly likely that the printed matter under the stack of sheets will be damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to protect printed matter stored in a stacker.

In order to achieve at least one of the above objects, an image forming system reflecting one aspect of the present invention includes an image forming apparatus, an output storage unit for storing sheets ejected from the image forming apparatus, and an ejection unit. and a stacker having a transport unit for transporting the paper to the paper storage unit. The image forming apparatus forms an image on a sheet of paper specified in a job to form a printed material, and before the job is executed, the image forming apparatus transports the printed material to an output storage unit on which the printed material has not yet been ejected. A buffer paper ejection control unit that controls the ejection of buffer paper by the unit, and after the buffer paper transported by the transport unit is stored in the ejection storage unit, the job is executed, and the printed matter generated by the image forming unit and a job execution unit configured to transport the printed sheet by the transport unit and store the printed sheet in the discharged sheet storing unit.
The image forming system described above is one aspect of the present invention, and an image forming apparatus reflecting one aspect of the present invention is configured in the same manner as the image forming system described above.

According to the present invention, since the buffer paper is discharged to the discharged paper storage section before the job is executed, the printed materials can be protected even if the printed materials are accumulated in the discharged paper storage section for a long period of time. In addition, since the buffer paper is automatically discharged, the user does not have to take the time and effort to set the buffer paper in the discharged paper storage section.
Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the following description of the embodiments.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of a computer according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 3 is a table configuration diagram of cushioning sheet discharge information according to an embodiment of the present invention; 4 is a configuration diagram of a table of paper feed tray specification information according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a table configuration diagram of cushioning paper setting information according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a paper ejection setting screen for cushioning paper according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a paper feed tray selection setting screen according to an embodiment of the present invention; 6 is a flow chart showing an example of a cushioning sheet ejection determination process according to an embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of processing in which a paper feed tray selection unit automatically selects a paper feed tray in step S7. FIG. 11 is a table configuration diagram of cushioning sheet discharge information according to a modification of the present invention;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present specification and drawings, constituent elements having substantially the same function or configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, thereby omitting redundant description.

[One embodiment]
<Configuration of Image Forming System>
First, a configuration example of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that FIG. 1 describes the elements considered necessary for explaining the present invention or related elements, and the image forming system of the present invention is not limited to the example shown in FIG.
An image forming system 1 according to this embodiment includes a sheet feeding device 2 , an image forming device 3 and a stacker 4 .

The paper feed device 2 includes a plurality of paper feed trays 2a (an example of a paper feed storage unit) in which sheets Sh to be fed to the image forming unit 20 of the image forming apparatus 3 are stored for different paper types. A large amount of sheets Sh of different types and sizes are accommodated in each sheet feeding tray 2a. However, the paper Sh of the same paper type and size may be stored in each paper feed tray 2a. In this embodiment, the paper Sh fed to the image forming section 20 is accommodated in the paper feed tray 2 a of the paper feeder 2 . The sheet Sh is an example of the recording material, and the image forming apparatus 3 can form an image on a resin sheet, which is an example of the recording material.

The paper Sh set in the paper feed tray 2a is fed to the image forming apparatus 3 at a predetermined timing. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that both the paper Sh on which an image is formed and the paper Sh discharged as buffer paper are accommodated in the paper feed tray 2a of the paper feeder 2. It may be accommodated in the paper feed tray 14 of the forming apparatus 3 .

The image forming apparatus 3 is an example of an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet Sh by an electrophotographic method that forms an image using static electricity. The paper Sh on which the image is formed is discharged to the stacker 4 as printed matter. The image forming apparatus 3 forms a color image on a sheet in a tandem format in which toner images of four colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C) and black (K) are superimposed. A PC (Personal Computer) operated by a user, a print controller, and the like are connected to the image forming apparatus 3 via a LAN (Local Area Network) (not shown). A job is input from the PC or the print controller to the image forming apparatus 3 via the LAN. The image forming apparatus 3 performs various processing such as image forming processing according to the input job.

The stacker 4 stores the sheets Sh ejected from the image forming apparatus 3 in the ejection trays 43 and 45 (an example of the ejection storage unit). The paper Sh discharged to the stacker 4 is either the paper Sh on which an image is formed by the image forming apparatus 3 or the paper Sh discharged as buffer paper fed from the paper feed tray 2a. In the following description, the sheet Sh on which an image has been formed by the image forming apparatus 3 will be referred to as "printed material". Also, the paper Sh that buffers the influence of the grooves formed in the paper discharge tray 43 on the printed matter stored in the paper discharge tray 43 is called "buffer paper". The buffer sheets are a plurality of sheets Sh stored at the bottom of the paper discharge tray 43 before the printed materials are discharged to the paper discharge tray 43 for the purpose of preventing damage to the printed materials. The buffer paper may be of the same size and type as the paper Sh, which is the printed matter, or may be of a different size and different paper type. As for the buffer paper, one or a plurality of sheets Sh may be discharged to the paper discharge tray 43 depending on the type of paper, as will be described later. An image may also be formed on the sheet Sh used as a buffer sheet.

Here, an internal configuration example of the image forming apparatus 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 as well.
The image forming apparatus 3 includes an image input section 11 having an automatic document feeder (ADF) 12 and an operation display section 13 . The image forming apparatus 3 also includes a printer section 10 having a paper feed tray 14 and an image forming section 20 .

The image input unit 11 optically reads an image from a document on the platen of the ADF 12 and A/D-converts the read image to generate image data. The image input unit 11 can also read an image from a document on the platen glass.

The operation display unit 13 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal panel and an operation unit such as a touch sensor. The display unit and the operation unit are integrally formed as a touch panel, for example. The operation display unit 13 generates an operation signal representing the content of the operation input by the user to the operation unit, and supplies the operation signal to the control unit 30 (see FIG. 2 described later). Based on the display signal supplied from the control unit 30, the operation display unit 13 displays the content of the user's operation, setting information, and the like on the display unit. It should be noted that it is also possible to configure the operation unit with a mouse, tablet, or the like, and to configure it separately from the display unit.

The paper feed tray 14 (an example of a paper feed storage unit) is a container that stores paper Sh on which image formation is performed in the image forming unit 20 . The paper feed trays 14 accommodate paper sheets of different paper types, basis weights, and the like. In this embodiment, an example in which two paper feed trays 14 are provided is given, but the number of paper feed trays 14 may be one, or three or more. Further, the paper feed tray 14 has the same configuration as the paper feed tray 2a for feeding the paper Sh.

The image forming apparatus 3 is provided with a transport path 15 that transports the sheet Sh fed from one of the sheet feeding trays 2 a and 14 to the stacker 4 via the image forming section 20 . The transport path 15 is provided with a plurality of transport rollers for transporting the paper Sh.

On the downstream side of the fixing section 26 , the transport path 15 is extended and connected to the transport path 40 of the stacker 4 . Further, the transport path 15 branches downstream of the fixing section 26 . One end of the branched transport path 15 is connected to a reverse transport path 16 that merges with the transport path 15 on the upstream side of the printer section 10 . The reversing transport path 16 is provided with a reversing section 17 for reversing the sheet Sh. The sheet Sh reversed by the reversing section 17 is returned to the upstream side of the transport path 15 through the reverse transport path 16 . Also, the sheet Sh reversed by switching the path may be discharged to the stacker 4 after being returned to the transport path 15 on the downstream side of the fixing section 26 .

The image forming section 20 forms an image on the paper Sh specified in the job to generate a printed matter. For example, the image forming section 20 includes four image forming units 21Y, 21M, 21C, and 21K for forming toner images of Y, M, C, and K colors. to form an image. When the sheet Sh is used as a buffer sheet, no image is normally formed on the sheet Sh. However, in some cases, the image forming unit 20 forms an image on the sheet Sh to serve as a mark for indicating to the user that the sheet is a buffer sheet.

The image forming units 21Y, 21M, 21C and 21K respectively include a charging section, an exposure section (none of which is shown), photosensitive drums 22Y, 22M, 22C and 22K as image carriers, and developing sections 23Y, 23M and 23C. , 23K.

The developing units 23Y, 23M, 23C, and 23K irradiate the surfaces (outer peripheral portions) of the photoreceptor drums 22Y, 22M, 22C, and 22K with light according to the image, thereby developing the respective photoreceptor drums 22Y, 22M, and 22C. , 22K to form an electrostatic latent image. The developing units 23Y, 23M, 23C, and 23K form toner images on the photosensitive drums 22Y, 22M, 22C, and 22K by attaching toner to the electrostatic latent images.

The image forming section 20 also includes an intermediate transfer belt 24 , a secondary transfer section 25 , a fixing section 26 and an environment sensor 27 . The intermediate transfer belt 24 is a belt to which the images formed on the photosensitive drums 22Y, 22M, 22C and 22K are primarily transferred. The secondary transfer unit 25 is a roller that secondarily transfers the toner image of each color that has been primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 24 onto the paper Sh transported along the transport path 15 .

The fixing section 26 is arranged downstream of the secondary transfer section 25 in the sheet conveying direction, and performs a fixing process on the sheet Sh supplied from the image forming section 20 and having the color toner image formed thereon. The fixing unit 26 heats and presses the conveyed paper Sh to fix the image transferred by the image forming unit 20 on the surface side of the paper Sh. The paper Sh on which the image has been fixed by the fixing section 26 is conveyed to the stacker 4 by the conveying path 15, or is reversed by the reversing section 17 through the reversing conveying path 16. returned to The printer unit 10 forms an image on the back surface of the sheet Sh whose front and back sides are reversed. After that, the sheet Sh subjected to the fixing process by the fixing section 26 is conveyed to the stacker 4 .

The environment sensor 27 detects temperature and/or humidity inside the image forming apparatus 3 as information on the environment inside the image forming apparatus 3 . The temperature and humidity detected by the environment sensor 27 are output to the control section 30 (see FIG. 2 described later) of the image forming apparatus 3 . Here, the image forming apparatus 3 may include at least one of a temperature sensor that detects only temperature and a humidity sensor that detects only humidity as the environment sensor 27 . The environment sensor 27 may be provided inside the stacker 4 to detect the temperature and humidity inside the stacker 4 and output the detected temperature and humidity to the controller 30 .

Next, a configuration example of the stacker 4 will be described.
The stacker 4 accumulates sheets Sh ejected from the image forming apparatus 3 . The stacker 4 includes transport paths 40 , 42 , 44 , a switching unit 41 , paper discharge trays 43 , 45 , and a remaining paper sensor 46 .

The transport path 40 is connected to two transport paths 42 and 44 via a switching section 41 . The switching unit 41 switches the conveying direction of the sheet Sh so that the sheet Sh is conveyed to one of the conveying paths 42 and 44 . A discharge tray 43 is connected to the transport path 42 , and a discharge tray 45 is connected to the transport path 44 . The transport path 42 is transported from the image forming apparatus 3 , and when the paper Sh, which is a printed material on which an image is formed, is transported to the transport path 40 , the paper Sh is discharged to the paper discharge tray 43 . Therefore, in the present embodiment, the transport paths 40 and 42 of the stacker 4 are used as an example of the transport section. On the other hand, the transport path 44 discharges the paper Sh on which an image is formed by a job different from the job of the paper Sh discharged to the paper discharge tray 43 to the paper discharge tray 45 . If the stacker 4 has only one discharge tray 43, the switching unit 41 is unnecessary.

The discharge tray 43 is lowered according to the number or weight of the accumulated sheets Sh. Therefore, as the amount of discharged sheets Sh increases, the discharge tray 43 gradually moving downward can accommodate more sheets Sh. When a predetermined number of sheets Sh or more are accumulated in the paper discharge tray 43, the operation of the image forming apparatus 3 is stopped, and the discharge of the paper Sh to the paper discharge tray 43 is also stopped. After that, the user opens a front panel (not shown) provided on the stacker 4 and carries out the sheet Sh taken out from the discharge tray 43 .

In the present embodiment, a large amount of sheets Sh on which images have been formed by the image forming apparatus 3 are mainly discharged to the discharge tray 43 and stacked. The paper discharge tray 43 is formed with affected portions such as grooves and unevenness of metal portions that affect the printed matter stored in the paper discharge tray 43 . The affected portion formed on the paper discharge tray 43 makes it easier for the user to take out the printed materials from the stacker 4 even if the paper discharge tray 43 contains many printed materials.

A remaining paper sensor 46 is provided near the discharge tray 43 . The remaining paper sensor 46 is used to detect the presence or absence of paper Sh (printed matter or buffer paper) discharged to the paper discharge tray 43 . Information about the presence or absence of the paper Sh detected by the remaining paper sensor 46 is transmitted to the control unit 30 (see FIG. 2 described later) of the image forming apparatus 3 . The remaining paper sensor 46 may be an optical sensor capable of detecting the presence or absence of the paper Sh from changes in the intensity of reflected light emitted toward the paper discharge tray 43, or may detect the presence of the paper Sh discharged to the paper discharge tray 43. A weight sensor capable of detecting weight may be used.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration example of the image forming apparatus 3. As shown in FIG.
The control unit 30 that controls the internal operations of the image forming apparatus 3 includes a job reception unit 31, a paper presence/absence determination unit 32, a buffer paper discharge determination unit 33, a paper feed tray selection unit 34, a buffer paper discharge control unit 35, A mark formation instruction unit 36 and a job execution unit 37 are provided.

A job receiving unit 31 receives a job from a PC or a printer controller (not shown). The job received by job receiving portion 31 is, for example, temporarily stored in storage portion 38 and read out by job executing portion 37 to be executed.

The paper presence/absence determination section 32 determines whether there is printed matter or buffer paper stored in the paper discharge tray 43 . For example, the paper presence/absence determining unit 32 can determine whether or not the paper Sh, that is, printed matter or buffer paper is stacked on the paper discharge tray 43, based on information input from the remaining paper sensor 46. . The determination result as to whether or not the sheets Sh are loaded is output to the cushioning sheet ejection determining section 33 .

The cushioning paper ejection determination unit 33 determines whether or not to eject the buffering paper at the start of the job based on the determination result of the paper presence/absence determination unit 32 and the cushioning paper ejection information 38b of the storage unit 38. . For example, if the paper presence/absence determination unit 32 determines that neither the printed material nor the buffer paper is loaded on the paper discharge tray 43, and the buffer paper discharge information 38b indicates that the buffer paper is discharged, If the function to do so is enabled, it is determined whether to permit the ejection of buffer paper. In this case, the buffer paper is discharged to the discharge tray 43 before the job is executed. It is desirable that the buffer paper is ejected, for example, between different jobs or after the paper accumulated in the paper ejection tray 43 is taken out. In this embodiment, as an example of the buffer paper, the paper Sh stored in the paper feed tray 2a is used, but a thin plate made of resin or the like may be fed from the paper feed tray 2a.

On the other hand, if the buffer paper ejection function is disabled in the buffer paper ejection information 38b, the buffer paper ejection determination unit 33 determines whether or not the paper Sh is stacked on the paper ejection tray 43. Therefore, it is determined that the buffer paper cannot be discharged. Further, even if the paper presence/absence determination unit 32 determines that the printed material or the buffer paper has already been discharged to the paper discharge tray 43, the buffer paper discharge determination unit 33 determines that the buffer paper discharge is unnecessary. do. The judgment result of whether or not to discharge the buffer paper made by the buffer paper discharge determination unit 33 is output to the paper feed tray selection unit 34 .

The paper feed tray selection unit 34 selects a paper feed for discharging the buffer paper based on the paper feed tray designation information 38c of the storage unit 38 when the buffer paper discharge determination unit 33 determines to discharge the buffer paper. Select tray 2a. As described above, when it is determined that the paper Sh of the same size and type as the paper Sh used as the printed matter is to be discharged as the buffer paper, the paper feed tray selection unit 34 selects the paper Sh on which the image of the printed matter is formed. are stored in the paper feed tray 2a. On the other hand, when buffer paper of a different size or paper type from the paper Sh that is the printed material is to be discharged, the paper feed tray selection unit 34 selects the paper feed tray 2a that accommodates the paper Sh on which the image of the printed material is to be formed. A different paper feed tray 2a is selected.

It should be noted that the paper feed tray 2a selected by the paper feed tray selection unit 34 may not have paper Sh that can be discharged as buffer paper. In this case, the paper feed tray selection unit 34 acquires information such as an idle rotation of a pickup roller (not shown) provided in the paper feed tray 2a, and the paper Sh that can be fed to the selected paper feed tray 2a is found. determine that there is none. Then, the paper feed tray selection unit 34 again selects another paper feed tray 2a that stores sheets Sh that can be discharged as buffer sheets. Details of the process of selecting the paper feed tray 2a by the paper feed tray selection unit 34 will be described later with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS.

Before the job is executed by the job execution unit 37, the buffer paper discharge control unit 35 performs control to discharge the buffer paper through the transport path 42 to the paper discharge tray 43 on which the printed matter has not been discharged. . Here, the buffer paper ejection control unit 35 controls ejection of the buffer paper when the paper presence/absence determination unit 32 determines that neither the paper Sh nor the buffer paper is stored in the paper ejection tray 43. I do. Further, when the buffer paper discharge determination unit 33 determines that the buffer paper discharge is permitted, the buffer paper discharge control unit 35 supplies the buffer paper from the paper feed tray 2a selected by the paper feed tray selection unit 34. Control is performed so that the sheet Sh to be printed is discharged as a buffer sheet. When the buffer paper discharge controller 35 performs control to discharge the paper Sh from the paper feed tray 2a as buffer paper, a pick-up roller (not shown) provided on the paper feed tray 2a is driven and selected. The paper Sh is fed from the paper feed tray 2a. After that, the buffer paper ejection control unit 35 can determine that the buffer paper has been ejected to the paper ejection tray 43 by receiving the information that the paper Sh is present from the remaining paper sensor 46 .

The mark formation instructing unit 36 instructs the buffer sheet discharge control unit 35 to form a mark image on the sheet Sh discharged as the buffer sheet to indicate to the user that the sheet Sh is the buffer sheet. to the image forming section 20 and the job executing section 37 . As the mark formed on the cushioning paper, it is assumed that the edge of the cushioning paper is filled with a predetermined color. The position where the cushioning paper is painted may be, for example, the side in the direction in which the cushioning paper ejected to the paper ejection tray 43 is taken out (the front panel side of the stacker 4), but it may also be on the side in another direction. When the edges of the cushioning paper are filled with a predetermined color in this way and the paper is ejected to the paper output tray 43, even if many printed materials are piled up on the cushioning paper, the user can determine where the cushioning paper is located. , and can accurately determine how many buffer sheets have been ejected.

The job execution unit 37 executes the rasterized job read out from the job storage area 38a of the storage unit 38 after the buffer paper transported by the transport path 42 is stored in the paper discharge tray 43, and the image forming unit 20 is operated. Then, the job executing section 37 conveys the printed material generated by the image forming section 20 through the conveying path 42 and stores it in the discharge tray 43 . If the image forming apparatus 3 is not connected to a printer controller, the job executing section 37 can also rasterize a job read from the job storage area 38a.

Further, when the mark formation instructing unit 36 issues an instruction to form a mark on the cushioning paper, the job execution unit 37 adjusts the job execution order so that the image forming unit 20 forms the mark on the cushioning paper before executing the job. to change As a result, after the buffer sheet on which the mark is formed is discharged to the discharge tray 43 of the stacker 4, the sheet Sh on which the image forming section 20 forms an image by the job execution section 37 executing the job is discharged. The paper is discharged to the paper tray 43 . If no instruction to form a mark on the buffer sheet is input, the job executing section 37 instructs the image forming section 20 to discharge the sheet Sh to the sheet discharge tray 43 without forming an image on the sheet Sh to be used as the buffer sheet. control to

The storage unit 38 is provided with a job storage area 38a. The storage unit 38 also stores buffer paper ejection information 38b, paper feed tray designation information 38c, and buffer paper setting information 38d.

The job received by job receiving portion 31 is stored in job storage area 38a, and read and executed by job executing portion 37 as appropriate. A plurality of different jobs are stored in the job storage area 38a. Therefore, job execution unit 37 can continuously execute a plurality of jobs read from job storage area 38a.

The cushioning paper ejection information 38b is information regarding whether or not the cushioning paper can be ejected, which is set in advance by the user through the operation display unit 13 . The cushioning paper ejection information 38b is set to enable or disable the function of the buffering paper ejection control unit 35 ejecting the buffering paper according to the paper type of the paper Sh designated by the job. For example, the paper Sh, which is a paper type such as thick paper, is less likely to be marked by the affected portion of the paper discharge tray 43, and the buffer paper may be omitted. Therefore, the function of discharging the buffer paper is disabled. On the other hand, the paper Sh, which is a paper type other than thick paper, tends to leave marks and requires cushioning paper, so the function of discharging the cushioning paper is enabled. Therefore, the cushioning paper discharge determination unit 33 can refer to the buffering paper discharge information 38b to determine whether or not the buffering paper can be discharged.

The paper feed tray designation information 38c is information about the paper feed tray 2a preset by the user through the operation display section 13. FIG. The paper feed tray selection unit 34 refers to the paper feed tray designation information 38c and selects the paper feed tray 2a in which the paper Sh to be ejected as buffer paper is accommodated.

The buffer paper setting information 38d is information related to paper ejection settings for the buffer paper previously set by the user through the operation display unit 13. FIG. The cushioning sheet ejection control unit 35 refers to the cushioning sheet setting information 38d and determines the number of cushioning sheets to be ejected according to the paper type and weight of the sheet Sh. The number of output buffer sheets is one or more.

Next, the hardware configuration of the computer 5 forming the image forming apparatus 3 will be described.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the computer 5. As shown in FIG.

The computer 5 is hardware used as a so-called computer. The computer 5 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 51 , a ROM (Read Only Memory) 52 , and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 53 which are connected to a bus 54 . Further, the computer 5 has a display device 55 , an input device 56 , a non-volatile storage 57 and a network interface 58 .

The CPU 51 reads the program code of the software that implements each function according to the present embodiment from the ROM 52, loads it into the RAM 53, and executes it. Variables, parameters, etc. generated during the arithmetic processing of the CPU 51 are temporarily written in the RAM 53, and these variables, parameters, etc. are read by the CPU 51 as appropriate. Each functional unit included in the control unit 30 of FIG. 2 is implemented by the CPU 51 executing a program.

The display device 55 is, for example, a liquid crystal display monitor, and displays the results of processing performed by the computer 5 to the user. For example, a keyboard, a mouse, or the like is used as the input device 56, and the user can perform predetermined operation inputs and instructions. In this embodiment, a touch panel display in which the display device 55 and the input device 56 are combined is used as the operation display section 13 .

As the non-volatile storage 57, for example, HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), flexible disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, non-volatile memory, etc. are used. be done. The nonvolatile storage 57 stores an OS (Operating System), various parameters, and programs for making the computer 5 function. The ROM 52 and the non-volatile storage 57 permanently record programs and data necessary for the operation of the CPU 51, and are computer-readable non-transitory recording media storing programs executed by the computer 5. used as an example of

For the network interface 58, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Card) or the like is used, and various data can be transmitted and received between devices via a LAN (Local Area Network), a dedicated line, or the like connected to the terminal of the NIC. It is possible.

<Table configuration example of buffer paper ejection information>
FIG. 4 is a table configuration diagram of the buffer paper discharge information 38b.
The buffer paper ejection information 38b enables or disables the function of ejecting the buffer paper according to the paper type of the paper Sh specified in the job executed by the job execution unit 37 (hereinafter referred to as "this job"). is a table in which is set in advance. The cushioning paper ejection information 38b is composed of fields for the paper type of this job and the ejection of buffering paper.

The paper type field of this job stores the paper type of the paper Sh designated for this job. In this embodiment, for example, one of thick paper, plain paper, and fine paper is specified.
The buffer paper discharge field stores whether the setting for discharging the buffer paper is enabled or disabled. For example, since the paper Sh whose paper type is thick paper is less likely to be damaged, the ejection of the buffer paper is disabled. If it is set to invalid, the buffer paper will not be ejected. On the other hand, since the paper Sh of the paper type of plain paper or high-quality paper is easily damaged, the ejection of buffer paper is set to be effective. When set to valid, the buffer paper is ejected.

<Table configuration example of paper tray specification information>
FIG. 5 is a table configuration diagram of the paper feed tray designation information 38c.
The paper feed tray designation information 38c is a table in which the information of the paper feed tray 2a in which the paper Sh that can be discharged as buffer paper is accommodated is set so as to be identifiable according to the paper type of the paper Sh designated for this job. is. The paper feed tray designation information 38c is composed of fields for paper feed tray, paper type, size, and selection designation.

In the paper feed tray field, identifiers for identifying the paper feed trays 2a in which the sheets Sh are accommodated are stored as, for example, "A", "B", and "C".
The paper type field stores the paper type of the paper Sh stored in each paper feed tray 2a for each paper feed tray 2a. Paper types include, for example, plain paper and high-quality paper.

The size field stores the size of the paper Sh stored in each paper feed tray 2a. Examples of the size of the sheet Sh include A4 and B4.
The selection designation field stores information indicating whether or not the user selects whether or not to discharge the sheets Sh stored in the paper feed tray 2a as buffer sheets. For example, for the paper feed trays 2a of "A" and "B", the selection designation is stored as "presence". The paper feed tray 2a of "C" is not specified for selection. It should be noted that specification for the selection specification field is not essential. In some cases, selection designation is not made for all paper feed trays 2a.

<Table configuration example of buffer paper setting information>
FIG. 6 is a table configuration diagram of the buffer paper setting information 38d.
The buffer sheet setting information 38d is a table in which the number of discharged sheets Sh used as buffer sheets is set according to the sheet type and weight of the sheet Sh. The buffer sheet setting information 38d is composed of fields of paper type, weight, and the number of output buffer sheets.

The paper type field stores the paper type of the paper Sh that can be used as buffer paper. Paper types include, for example, plain paper and high-quality paper.
The weight field stores the weight [g/m ² ] for each paper type.
The number of discharged buffer sheets field stores the number of discharged sheets that can be discharged as buffer sheets for each paper type and weight of the sheets Sh. Normally, high-quality paper is better or harder than plain paper. Therefore, the number of sheets to be discharged as buffer sheets is set to be the same for high-quality paper and plain paper, or set smaller for high-quality paper than for plain paper.

<Paper output setting screen for buffer paper>
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of the paper ejection setting screen W1 for buffer paper. The buffer sheet ejection setting screen W1 is a screen for the user to set in advance the number of sheets of plain paper or high-quality paper to be ejected as buffer sheets.

The user can set the number of sheets to be discharged as buffer sheets in the storage section 38 through the buffer sheet discharge setting screen W1 by operating the operation display section 13 (an example of the sheet discharge number setting section). is. Here, the user can operate the operation display unit 13 to set the number of discharged sheets in the storage unit 38 according to the paper type and weight of the paper Sh. Then, the buffer sheet ejection control unit 35 performs control to eject the set number of sheets Sh as buffer sheets.

Here, the paper ejection setting screen W1 for buffer paper includes a setting switching button W1a and an ejection number setting area W1b.
The setting switching button W1a is composed of a radio button that can switch between "batch setting" and "individual setting". "Batch setting" is a button for the user to set a preset number of sheets Sh to be discharged as buffer sheets regardless of the paper type and weight. "Individual setting" is a button for the user to set the number of sheets according to the paper type and weight of the paper Sh. For example, when the "individual setting" radio button is selected, the user can set the number of ejected sheets in the ejected sheet number setting area W1b.

The ejected sheet number setting area W1b is an area for the user to individually set the ejected sheet number according to the paper type and weight of the sheets Sh used as buffer sheets. For example, the paper Sh whose paper type is plain paper or high-quality paper is used as the cushioning paper. As shown in FIG. 6, the user can manually set the number of ejected sheets Sh to be used as buffer sheets by varying them according to the sheet type and weight. The number of discharged sheets for each paper type and weight set in the discharged sheet number setting area W1b is stored in the buffer sheet setting information 38d shown in FIG.

Note that the buffer paper discharge setting screen W1 may include a setting item for setting the total paper thickness of the buffer paper discharged to the paper discharge tray 43 to be equal to or greater than a specified value. For example, if the total paper thickness is set to be 5 mm or more, the cushioning paper ejection control unit 35 outputs cushioning paper according to the paper type of the paper Sh so that the total thickness of the stacked cushioning paper is 5 mm or more. may be determined automatically. As a result, a plurality of sheets Sh can be used as buffer sheets regardless of the paper type of the sheets Sh.

Further, when the humidity in the image forming apparatus 3 and the stacker 4 increases, the cushioning paper tends to wrinkle, and the wrinkles may affect the printed matter as a new affected part. For this reason, the buffer paper ejection control unit 35 automatically increases the number of ejected buffer papers in accordance with the increase in the humidity inside the image forming apparatus 3 detected by the environment sensor 27, and ejects the buffer papers. Control is also possible.

<Paper tray selection setting screen>
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of the paper feed tray selection setting screen W2. The paper feed tray selection setting screen W2 is a screen for setting the paper feed tray 2a containing the paper Sh selected as the buffer paper.

The paper feed tray selection setting screen W2 includes a setting switching button W2a.
The setting switching button W2a is composed of a radio button that allows the user to switch between settings of "same tray", "arbitrary", and "automatic selection".

When "same tray" is selected, the paper Sh fed from the paper feed tray 2a containing the paper Sh on which the original image is formed is discharged as buffer paper. That is, the paper Sh having the same paper type and weight as the paper Sh on which the document image is formed is discharged as the buffer paper.

When "arbitrary" is selected, the paper feed tray selection unit 34 selects a paper feed tray 2a arbitrarily selected in advance from a plurality of paper feed trays 2a by the user. Then, the buffer paper discharge controller 35 performs control to discharge the paper Sh fed from the paper feed tray 2a selected by the paper feed tray selector 34 as a buffer paper. In this case, the paper Sh having a paper type or weight different from the paper Sh on which the original image is formed may be discharged as the buffer paper.

Further, the paper feed tray selection unit 34 selects another paper feed tray 2a when the paper Sh is not stored in the selected paper feed tray 2a. Then, the buffer paper discharge control unit 35 performs control to discharge the paper Sh fed from the separate paper feed tray 2a as a buffer paper.

When "automatic selection" is selected, the paper Sh fed from the paper feed tray 2a automatically selected by the paper feed tray selection unit 34 is ejected as buffer paper. The paper feed tray selection unit 34 selects the paper feed tray 2a that accommodates the paper Sh that can be used as buffer paper according to the paper type and weight of the paper Sh on which an image is to be formed.

It should be noted that it is necessary to prevent a large number of printed materials stacked on the discharge tray 43 from collapsing. Therefore, the paper feed tray selection unit 34 selects a plurality of paper feed trays 2a for storing paper Sh having a size (length in the main scanning direction and sub-scanning direction) or larger than the size of the paper Sh designated for the job. It can be selected from tray 2a. Then, the buffer paper discharge control section 35 performs control to discharge the paper Sh fed from the selected paper feed tray 2a as a buffer paper.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing an example of a process for judging whether or not buffer sheets have been discharged. As a premise of this processing, it is assumed that the job received by the job receiving section 31 is stored in the job storage area 38 a of the storage section 38 . The following processing is performed before the job execution unit 37 starts executing the job.

First, the paper presence/absence determination unit 32 acquires information on the presence/absence of the paper Sh input from the remaining paper sensor 46, and determines whether the paper Sh has been discharged to the paper discharge tray 43 (S1). In step S<b>1 , the paper presence/absence determination unit 32 may determine whether or not a specified number of sheets Sh to be discharged has been discharged to the discharge tray 43 .

If the paper Sh has already been discharged to the paper discharge tray 43 (YES in S1), the following process of discharging the buffer paper is unnecessary, and the process proceeds to step S9. On the other hand, if the paper Sh has not been discharged to the paper discharge tray 43 (NO in S1), the buffer paper discharge determination unit 33 refers to the buffer paper discharge information 38b shown in FIG. It is determined whether or not the paper ejection setting is valid (S2). If the buffer sheet ejection setting is not valid (NO in S2), that is, if it is invalid, the following process of ejecting the buffer sheet is unnecessary, and the process proceeds to step S9.

On the other hand, if the paper ejection setting for the buffer paper is valid (YES in S2), the paper feed tray selection unit 34 designates the paper feed tray 2a for storing the paper Sh used as the buffer paper in this job to be executed. It is determined whether it is the same as the paper feed tray 2a that stores the paper Sh to be fed (S3).

If it is determined that the paper feed tray 2a is the same (YES in S3), the buffer paper ejection control unit 35 selects the paper feed tray for storing the paper Sh specified in this job, which is selected by the paper feed tray selection unit 34. Control is performed so that the paper Sh fed from 2a is discharged as buffer paper (S4). After that, the process moves to step S8.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the paper feed tray 2a is not the same (NO in S3), the paper feed tray selection unit 34 selects the paper feed tray containing the paper Sh to be used as the buffer paper in the paper feed tray selection setting screen W2. It is determined whether there is a selection specification for selecting the paper tray 2a (S5). If the selection of the paper feed tray 2a is specified (YES in S5), the cushioning paper ejection control section 35 ejects the paper Sh fed from the selected paper feeding tray 2a as the cushioning paper (S6). .

On the other hand, if there is no selection designation of the paper feed tray 2a (NO in S5), the paper feed tray selection unit 34 refers to the paper feed tray designation information 38c, The paper feed tray 2a in which the paper Sh is stored is automatically selected. Then, the buffer paper discharge control section 35 discharges the paper Sh fed from the paper feed tray 2a which has automatically selected the paper feed tray 2a as a buffer paper (S7).

Here, the processing of step S7 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing an example of the process of automatically selecting the paper feed tray 2a by the paper feed tray selector 34 in step S7.

First, the paper feed tray selection unit 34 selects an arbitrary paper feed tray 2a (S11). Next, the paper feed tray selection unit 34 determines whether the paper Sh fed from the selected paper feed tray 2a can be discharged as buffer paper (S12). If the paper Sh can be discharged as buffer paper (YES in S12), the paper feed tray selection unit 34 determines that the paper Sh stored in the selected paper feed tray 2a is the size of the paper Sh specified in this job. It is determined whether the size is larger than or equal to (S13).

If the paper Sh to be stored in the selected paper feed tray 2a is larger than the size of the paper Sh specified in this job (YES in S13), the buffer paper discharge control unit 35 selects the paper feed tray. The paper feed tray 2a selected by the unit 34 is determined, and the paper Sh fed from this paper feed tray 2a is discharged as buffer paper (S14). Then, this process is terminated, and the process proceeds to step S8 in FIG.

On the other hand, if the paper Sh cannot be discharged as buffer paper in step S12 (NO in S12), or if it is smaller than the size of the paper Sh specified in this job in step S13 (NO in S13), the paper feed tray The selection unit 34 determines whether there is a next paper feed tray 2a (S15). For example, if the size of the paper Sh specified in this job is B4, the size of the paper Sh that can be discharged as buffer paper is preferably B4 or larger. However, since the size of the sheet Sh accommodated in the sheet supply tray 2a having the identifier "A" in the sheet supply tray designation information 38c shown in FIG. 5 is A4, the sheet Sh cannot be discharged as a buffer sheet. . In this case, the paper feed tray selection unit 34 continues to determine the paper Sh to be stored from the paper feed tray 2a with the identifier "A" to the paper feed tray 2a with the identifier "B". If there is a next paper feed tray 2a (YES in S15), the paper feed tray selection unit 34 returns to step S12 and continues the subsequent processes.

In step S15, if the paper feed tray selection unit 34 determines that there is no next paper feed tray 2a (NO in S15), it selects the paper feed tray 2a containing the paper Sh specified in this job. For example, in the paper feed tray designation information 38c shown in FIG. 5, the paper feed tray 2a in which the B4 size sheets Sh are accommodated has the identifier "B". Therefore, the buffer paper ejection control unit 35 ejects the paper Sh fed from the paper feed tray 2a (identifier is "B") containing the paper Sh designated by this job as a buffer paper (S16). ). Then, this process is terminated, and the process proceeds to step S8 in FIG.

Returning to step S8 in FIG. 9, the description of the process is continued.
After any one of steps S4, S6, and S7, the cushioning sheet ejection control unit 35 determines whether or not the set number of sheets of cushioning sheets have been ejected (S8). The number of discharged buffer sheets is stored in the storage unit 38 as a value obtained by counting the number of discharged sheets Sh fed as buffer sheets from the paper feed tray 2a by the buffer sheet discharge control unit 35 . Then, the buffer sheet ejection control unit 35 compares the number of ejected sheets Sh fed as buffer sheets stored in the storage unit 38 with the number of ejected sheets of the buffer sheet setting information 38d shown in FIG. . When the cushioning sheet ejection control unit 35 determines that the set number of sheets of cushioning sheets has not been ejected (NO in S8), the control unit 30 returns to step S3 and repeats the process.

Either a YES determination in step S1 or a NO determination in step S2, or after the cushioning paper ejection control unit 35 determines in step S8 that the set number of ejected cushioning papers has been ejected (S8 YES), the job executing section 37 executes this job and starts the printing operation (S9). After that, when this job ends, this process ends.

In the image forming system 1 according to the embodiment described above, when printed matter is not stacked on the paper ejection tray 43 of the stacker 4, a plurality of buffer sheets are ejected before the printed matter is ejected. Here, an appropriate number of ejected buffer sheets are ejected according to the paper type and weight of the sheets Sh accommodated in the paper feed tray 2a. For this reason, the printed matter is laminated on the cushioning paper. Even if a large number of accumulated printed materials are left for a long period of time, the buffer paper is deformed so that the affected portions formed on the discharge tray 43 do not affect the printed materials. Therefore, the printed matter stored in the paper discharge tray 43 can be protected.

In addition, the user can change the settings of the information 38a to 38d stored in the storage unit 38. FIG. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately set a value according to the paper type and weight of the paper Sh. In addition, the user can also change the paper discharge setting of the cushioning paper. For this reason, the paper Sh fed only from the specific paper feed tray 2a may be discharged as buffer paper, or the paper Sh fed from the automatically selected paper feed tray 2a may be discharged as buffer paper. may

Also, a mark is formed on the edge of the ejected cushioning paper. Therefore, even if the size of the printed matter and the buffer paper discharged to the paper discharge tray 43 are the same, the user can correctly distinguish between the printed matter and the buffer paper.

When the humidity inside the stacker 4 increases, the paper Sh discharged to the paper discharge tray 43 tends to wrinkle. Therefore, the number of sheets Sh discharged as buffer sheets can be increased or decreased according to the humidity inside the stacker 4 . For example, if the humidity inside the stacker 4 is equal to or higher than the specified humidity, the number of buffer sheets can be increased, and if the humidity is lower than the specified humidity, the number of sheets Sh can be maintained or reduced.

Further, when the buffer paper stored in the discharge tray 43 is stored in a position that does not overlap the affected parts, the affected parts do not affect the printed matter stored in the paper discharge tray 43 . Also, if the size of the paper Sh ejected as the buffer paper is smaller than the size of the printed matter, or depending on the direction in which the buffer paper is ejected, the position of the affected part may be different from that of the paper ejected onto the paper ejection tray 43. It is not directly under the cushioning paper, and the affected part does not affect the cushioning paper and printed matter. If the influence of the affected part is small in this way, the first printed material designated as the job to be executed by the job executing section 37 and first accommodated in the discharge tray 43 is less likely to be damaged. Therefore, when the affected portion does not affect the printed matter stored in the paper discharge tray 43, the buffer paper discharge control section 35 stops the control of discharging the buffer paper. In other words, the printed material is discharged to the discharge tray 43 without discharging the buffer paper. Note that the cushioning sheet ejection control section 35 may perform control to display a message on the operation display section 13 prompting the user to reset the cushioning sheet when the control of ejecting the cushioning sheet is stopped.

Also, as a result of checking the paper Sh on which the image is formed, taken out from the paper discharge tray 43 by the user, it is determined that the quality of the paper Sh is defective even though the buffer paper has been discharged. You may input through the operation display part 13 that the defect occurred. In this case, the setting is changed so that the number of output buffer sheets in the buffer sheet setting information 38d is automatically increased. Since a large amount of buffer paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 43 when the subsequent jobs are executed, the quality of the paper Sh on which the image is formed is not caused.

In addition, depending on the paper type and weight, the printed matter discharged to the discharge tray 43 may be difficult to wrinkle or mark even without buffer paper. Therefore, when the job execution unit 37 executes a job, it may be possible to enable or disable the discharge of the buffer paper depending on the paper type of the printed material first fed from the paper feed tray 2a.

<Modified example of buffer paper setting information>
As shown in FIG. 4, in the buffer paper ejection information 38b, in addition to setting whether the buffer paper ejection function is enabled or disabled, the effect of paper feeding and the number of ejected buffer papers are also set. may be
FIG. 11 is a table configuration diagram of the buffer paper ejection information 38b1.
Buffer paper ejection information 38b1 is obtained by adding fields of influence of paper feeding and number of ejected buffer papers to each field of buffer paper ejection information 38b shown in FIG.

The paper feed effect field stores the paper feed effect according to the paper type of the paper Sh designated for this job. The effect of paper feeding is an index that indicates the degree of influence such as marks on the sheets Sh at the bottom of the stack of sheets when the sheets Sh ejected as printed matter are stacked on the sheet ejection tray 43 . , "small", "medium", and "large". For example, if the paper type of the paper Sh is thick paper, the ejection of the cushioning paper is set to be invalid, so there is no effect of paper feeding. On the other hand, if the paper type of the paper Sh of this job is plain paper or high-quality paper, the influence of paper feeding is one of "small", "medium", and "large".

The number of discharged buffer sheets field stores the number of discharged buffer sheets corresponding to the effect of paper feeding. If the ejection of buffer sheets is valid, the number of ejected buffer sheets is set to increase in the order of "low", "medium", and "large" effects of paper feeding. If the influence of paper feeding is "small", even if the number of buffer sheets is small, the influence on printed materials stacked on the buffer sheets is small. Therefore, when the effect of paper feeding is "small", the number of output buffer sheets is set to be small. On the other hand, if the influence of paper feeding is "large", if the number of buffer sheets is small, the prints stacked on the buffer sheets are likely to leave marks, and the influence on the sheets Sh is large. Therefore, when the effect of paper feeding is "large", the number of output buffer sheets is set to be large. If the effect of paper feed is "medium", the number of output buffer sheets is the same as the number of output sheets set when the effect of paper feed is "small" and the effect of paper feed is "large". A value approximately in the middle of the number of ejected sheets set in the case is set.
Note that if the ejection of buffer sheets is disabled, the number of ejected sheets is set to zero.

By referring to the buffer paper discharge information 38b1, the buffer paper discharge control unit 35 can discharge the buffer paper in the number of discharged paper sheets according to the influence of paper feeding. The user can appropriately set and change various values in the paper feed effect field and the buffer paper ejection number field of the buffer paper ejection information 38b1.

When the image forming apparatus 3 is used alone, the paper Sh is fed from the paper feed tray 14, and the printed matter on which the image is formed by the image forming section 20 is transferred to the paper discharge tray attached to the image forming apparatus 3. It is sufficient to perform control to discharge the paper to the In this case, only the transport path 15 of the image forming apparatus 3 is used as an example of a transport unit, and one or more buffer sheets Sh are ejected to the ejection tray.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and of course, various other applications and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention described in the claims.
For example, the above-described embodiments are detailed and specific descriptions of the configurations of devices and systems in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. Moreover, it is also possible to add, delete, or replace a part of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration.
Further, the control lines and information lines indicate those considered necessary for explanation, and not all control lines and information lines are necessarily indicated on the product. In practice, it may be considered that almost all configurations are interconnected.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 image forming system 2 paper feeding device 2a paper feeding tray 3 image forming device 4 stacker 13 operation display unit 20 image forming unit 30 control unit 31 job receiving unit 32 Paper presence/absence determination unit 33 Buffer paper ejection determination unit 34 Paper feed tray selection unit 35 Buffer paper ejection control unit 36 Mark formation instruction unit 37 Job execution unit 38 Memory Section 43: Output tray

Claims (15)

An image forming apparatus, and a stacker having a discharged paper storage unit for storing paper discharged from the image forming device and a transport unit for transporting the paper to the discharged paper storage unit,
The image forming apparatus is
an image forming unit that forms an image on the sheet of paper specified in the job to generate a printed matter;
a buffer paper ejection control unit for controlling, before the job is executed, the buffer paper to be ejected by the conveying unit to the paper ejection storage unit to which the printed matter has not been ejected;
After the buffer paper transported by the transport unit is stored in the discharged paper storage unit, the job is executed, and the printed material generated by the image forming unit is transported by the transport unit, and the printed material is transported by the discharged paper storage unit. an image forming system comprising: a job execution unit to be stored in an image forming system; an influencing part that affects the printed material stored in the discharged paper storage unit is formed in the discharged paper storage unit;
2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the buffer paper is one or a plurality of papers that buffer the influence of the affected portion on the printed matter stored in the discharged paper storage unit. further comprising a paper presence/absence determining unit for determining whether or not the printed matter or the buffer paper stored in the discharged paper storage unit is present;
The buffer paper ejection control unit controls to eject the buffer paper when the paper presence/absence determination unit determines that neither the paper nor the buffer paper is stored in the paper ejection storage unit. The image forming system of claim 2, wherein: a storage unit in which enabling or disabling of a function of the buffer paper ejection control unit to eject the buffer paper is set;
a buffer paper ejection determination unit that determines whether to permit ejection of the buffer paper when the function of ejecting the buffer paper is set to be valid;
4. The buffer sheet ejection control section controls ejection of the buffer sheet when the buffer sheet ejection determination section determines that ejection of the buffer sheet is permitted. The described imaging system. a plurality of paper feed storage units for storing different types of paper to be fed to the image forming unit;
a paper feed storage unit selection unit that selects the paper feed storage unit arbitrarily selected in advance from the plurality of paper feed storage units;
5. The buffer paper discharge control unit performs control to discharge the paper fed from the paper feed storage unit selected by the paper feed storage unit selection unit as the buffer paper. 11. The image forming system according to claim 1. The paper feed storage unit selection unit selects another paper feed storage unit when the paper is not stored in the selected paper feed storage unit,
6. The image forming system according to claim 5, wherein the buffer paper discharge control unit performs control to discharge the paper fed from the other paper feed storage unit as the buffer paper. The paper supply storage unit selection unit selects the paper supply storage unit that stores the paper having a size equal to or larger than the size of the paper specified for the job from the plurality of paper supply storage units,
6. The image forming system according to claim 5, wherein the buffer paper discharge control unit performs control to discharge the paper fed from the selected paper feed storage unit as the buffer paper. further comprising a discharge sheet number setting unit for setting the number of discharge sheets to be discharged as the buffer sheet in the storage unit,
5. The image forming system according to claim 4, wherein the cushioning paper ejection control section performs control to eject the set number of ejected sheets of paper as the buffering paper. 9. The image forming system according to claim 8, wherein the ejected sheet number setting unit sets the ejected sheet number in the storage unit according to the paper type and weight of the sheet. Furthermore, it has a humidity detection unit that detects humidity,
9. The buffer paper ejection control unit according to claim 8, wherein the cushion paper ejection control unit performs control to eject the buffer paper of the number of ejected paper sheets automatically increased according to the increase in the humidity detected by the humidity detection unit. image forming system. 10. The buffer paper ejection control unit suspends the control of ejecting the buffer paper when the affected portion does not affect the printed matter stored in the ejection storage unit. 1. The image forming system according to claim 1. 11. When the buffer paper stored in the discharged paper storage part is stored in a position not overlapping the affected part, the affected part does not affect the printed material stored in the discharged paper storage part. The image forming system described in . The buffer paper discharge control unit stops the control of discharging the buffer paper when the influence of the discharged paper storage unit on the leading paper specified in the job executed by the job execution unit is small. Item 10. The image forming system according to any one of items 5 to 9. 10. The image forming system according to any one of claims 5 to 9, further comprising a mark formation instructing unit that instructs the image forming unit to form a mark image on the buffer sheet. a transport unit that transports the paper;
a discharged paper storage unit for storing the paper discharged by the transport unit;
an image forming unit that forms an image on the sheet of paper specified in the job to generate a printed matter;
a plurality of paper feed storage units for storing the paper to be fed to the image forming unit;
a buffer paper ejection control unit for controlling, before the job is executed, the buffer paper to be ejected by the conveying unit to the paper ejection storage unit to which the printed matter has not been ejected;
After the buffer paper transported by the transport unit is stored in the discharged paper storage unit, the job is executed, and the printed material generated by the image forming unit is transported by the transport unit, and the printed material is transported by the discharged paper storage unit. an image forming apparatus comprising: a job execution unit to be stored in the image forming apparatus.

Images