JPH028158A - Forming device for picture image - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To effectively utilize the space of an intermediate tray by changing the regulation amt. of the number of sheets capable of storing in the intermediate tray based on the size of the sheet in the picture image forming device equipped with the intermediate tray. CONSTITUTION:The ten keyboard inputting the number of picture image forming sheets, the sheet size detecting means S8, S9 detecting the sheet size and the full load changing means changing the regulation amt. of the number of sheets capable of storing in an intermediate tray 34 based on a sheet size information fed from these sheet size detection means S8, S9 are equipped with on a picture image forming device 1. So the size of a sheet S is detected by the sheet size detecting means S8, S9 and the full load changing means changes the regulation of the number of sheets capable of storing in the intermediate tray 34 based on the sheet size information fed from these sheet size detecting means S8, S9. The sheet S formed with picture image is then stored in the intermediate tray 34 by sliding each specified distance at its tip.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a laser beam printer. The present invention relates to a forming device.

(B) Prior Art Conventionally, image forming apparatuses equipped with a box-shaped intermediate tray have been known, and in this apparatus, the number of sheets that can be loaded on the intermediate tray is constant regardless of the sheet size. but,
Image forming apparatuses equipped with the box-shaped intermediate tray require separation means for separating sheets one by one to be re-fed from the intermediate tray, which has been an obstacle to cost reduction.

To solve this problem, an image forming apparatus has been proposed in which the leading edge of the sheet is shifted by a predetermined distance and stored in an intermediate tray, thereby omitting the separating means.

(C) Problem to be Solved by the Invention By the way, in the above-mentioned image forming apparatus in which the leading edge of the sheet is shifted by a predetermined distance and stored in the intermediate tray, the maximum number of sheets that can be loaded is determined according to the maximum size sheet, and the Since the number of sheets is set to be smaller than the number that can actually be stacked, the space in the intermediate tray cannot be used effectively.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus in which the number of sheets that can be stacked on an intermediate tray is changed depending on the sheet size, thereby solving the above-mentioned problems.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances. For example, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a sheet with an image formed thereon is In an image forming apparatus (1) comprising an intermediate tray (34) for storing sheets with the leading ends of (S) shifted by a predetermined distance and regulating the number of sheets that can be stored in the intermediate tray (34), the number of sheets to be formed is an input means (63) for inputting the size of the sheet (S), a sheet size detection means (S8.S9) for detecting the size of the sheet (S), and a sheet size information from the sheet size detection means (S8.S9). The apparatus is characterized by comprising a loading amount changing means (86) for changing the regulation amount of the number of sheets that can be stored in the tray (34).

(E) Effect Based on the above-mentioned configuration, the size of the sheet (S) is detected by the sheet size detection means (38, S9), and the full load amount is changed based on the sheet size information from the sheet size detection means (S8, S9). Means (86) or intermediate tray (34)
Change the limit on the number of sheets that can be stored in the and,
The sheet (S) on which the image has been formed is stored in the intermediate tray (34) with its leading edge shifted by a predetermined distance.

(F) Examples Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 2, the copying machine 1 has a main body 3 containing a copying section 2, and the main body 3 has a platen 5, a platen 5,
It is equipped with a light source 6, mirrors 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, a lens 13, and two cassettes 15, 16 for storing sheets S. At the top of the cassette 15 is a paper feed roller 17.
A paper feed roller 19 is disposed above the cassette 16. Further, on the upper left side of the main body 3, there is a home position sensor S1 that detects the home position of the optical system such as the light source 6 and mirrors 7, 8, 9, etc. Compatible image tip sensor S
2, and a sensor S3 for detecting the maximum movement position of the optical system is provided on the upper right side. Furthermore,
Near the cassettes 15 and 16, there are sheet presence/absence sensors 34. S5, cassette 15.16
The lid sensor 36. detects the position of the lid (not shown) by moving up and down the middle plate (not shown). S7, and cassette 1
5.16 Sheet size sensor S8 detects the size of the sheets stored in the cassette according to the type of cassette. S9 is installed. A pair of conveying rollers 20 and a pair of conveying rollers 21 are disposed downstream of the paper feeding roller 17 and a pair of conveying rollers 20 and 21, respectively.
On the downstream side, there is a sheet sensor S10 that detects the sheet S, and a sheet edge sensor 515 that detects the sheet edge (see Fig. 4).
and a pair of registration rollers 22 are provided. Furthermore, the copying section 2 is arranged downstream of the roller pair 22, and the conveying device 23 and the heater 2 are arranged downstream of the copying section 2.
A fixing device 25 having a built-in fixing device 5a is provided. and,
A paper ejection sensor S11, a conveyance roller 24, a flapper 26, and a paper ejection roller 27 are arranged downstream of the fixing device 25, and a paper ejection tray 29 is provided downstream of the paper ejection roller 27. . Further, a re-conveyance path 30 is provided branching off from the flapper 26, and the re-conveyance path 30 includes:
A pair of transport rollers 31, a sheet sensor S12, a pair of reversing rollers 32, a sheet sensor 313, a pair of refeed rollers 33, and an intermediate tray 34 are provided. Note that the reversing roller 32
is driven by a stepping motor (not shown), and can transport the sheet S in both upstream and downstream directions. Then, the sheet S can be held by placing the stepping motor in a halt state while being energized. Furthermore, a laser unit 35 is disposed within the fuselage main body 3, and the unit 35 has the following functions:
It is composed of a laser emitting section 36, a polygon mirror 37, a polygon motor 39, and a mirror 40.

Note that the reference numeral 41 in the figure is a shutter that blocks light projected onto the copying section 2. Further, the copying section 2 is equipped with a cylindrical photosensitive drum 42, and around the drum 42, an erase lamp 43, a secondary charger 45, a color developer 46, a developer 47, a transfer charger 49, a separation charger, etc. A container 50 and a cleaner 51 are provided. Further, on the upper part of the main body 3, there is a pressure bonding plate 52 for pressure-bonding the original onto the platen 5.
is supported so as to be openable and closable, and a coordinate position input device (hereinafter referred to as editor) 53 for inputting the coordinate position of the document is disposed on the upper surface of the pressure bonding plate 52. In addition, 54 in the figure
The color developer pressure solenoid is designated by a, and the black developer release solenoid is designated by 54b.

On the other hand, copy I! 11 is equipped with an operation section 55, and the operation section 55 has a power switch 5 on the right end, as shown in FIG.
6, and on the left side there is a reset/stop key 57 and a start key 59. Behind the start key 59, there is a color developer selection switch key 6o and a date writing mode. A date instruction key 61 for instructing and a number instruction key 62 for instructing number writing are arranged, and a numeric keypad 63 is arranged to the left of the start key 59. Further, on the back side of the numeric keypad 63, there is a copy number display 65 that displays the number of copies input using the numeric keypad 63, a sheet out display 66 that displays an out-of-sheet alarm, and a jam alarm display that notifies you of the occurrence of a jam. A selection key 68 for selecting the cassette 15 or 16 and a cassette display 69 for displaying the cassette size are arranged on the left side of the numeric keypad 63. Furthermore, the selection key 68
On the left side, there are a copy density adjustment key 7o, a same size key 71,
A zoom key 72 for instructing the copy magnification to a predetermined magnification in 1% increments, and a standard magnification key 73 for instructing a standard reduction or expansion magnification are arranged, and on the back side of the standard magnification key 73 is a magnification key that displays the copy magnification. A display 75 is arranged. Various instruction keys are arranged on the left side of the zoom key 72, 76 is an instruction key for instructing to erase the border of the copy sheet, 77 is an instruction key for instructing to bind one end of the sheet, and 79 is an instruction key for instructing to remove the border of the copy sheet. An instruction key for instructing photo mode, 80 a multiple key for selecting multiplex mode, 81 a page continuous copy key for instructing one-page continuous copying, 82 a double-sided copy key for selecting double-sided copy mode, and 83 an operation mode for the sorter 85. This is an instruction key for instructing (sort mode or group mode).

On the other hand, copying machine 1 has 1. As shown in FIG.
The control unit 86 includes a microcomputer,
It is composed of ROM, RAM, timer, etc. The input section of the control section 86 includes each sensor S1.・・・
- and an editor 53 are connected, and the output section includes a laser unit 35, a shutter 41, a buzzer 87, and an AC
A of the lamp 6, heater 25a, etc. via the driver 89
C load, each charged electricity 45°4 through the high voltage generator HVT
9.50 and loads such as solenoids, clutches, fans, etc. 9
0 is connected, and the human output section is further connected to an operation section 55,
A main motor 93 , an optical motor 95 , and a stepping motor 96 are connected via a sorter 85 , an original conveyance device 91 , and a motor control section 92 .

Further, a pinion gear 97 is fixed to the output shaft of the stepping motor 96, as shown in FIG. It meshes with. Further, the lower roller 22a and the upper roller 22b are configured to be able to move together in the axial direction, and are moved within a predetermined range in the directions of arrows A and B by rotation of the stepping motor 96.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

When the power switch 56 is turned on, the control section 86 turns on the heater 25a of the fixing device 25 and the black developer release solenoid 54b, as shown in FIG. And fuser 2
When the temperature of the main motor 93 reaches 190 DEG C., the main motor 93 is rotated, and the black imager pressurizing solenoid 54b is turned off one second later (FIG. 5). As a result, the black developing device 8
- It first retreats to the release position, and then returns to a position closer to the photosensitive drum 42. Then, when the photosensitive drum 42 rotates once, the control section 86 stops the main motor 93. Note that when the control unit 86 or the main motor 93 is rotated, the control unit 86 detects the position of the middle plate of the cassette 15° 16 by a sensor (not shown), and if the middle plate is down, the middle plate raising clutch ( (not shown), turn on the cassette 15.
16 middle plates are raised at the same timing. and,
0.1 seconds after the middle plate detection sensor turns ON (output is 1), the control unit 86 turns off the middle plate lifting clutch. At this time, the control unit 86 detects the presence or absence of the sheet S using the sheet presence/absence sensors S4 and 85, and the middle plate detection sensor is turned on.
At this point, the presence or absence of the sheet S is determined, and only when it is determined that there is no sheet S, the no-sheet display 66 is turned on (
(See FIG. 6) Then, when the start key 59 is pressed, as shown in FIG. After raising the middle plate in the same manner as described above, the clutch (not shown) of the paper feed roller 17 or 19 is turned ON/OFF.
The sheet S is fed from the cassette 15 or 16, and after a predetermined period of time after the sheet sensor S10 detects the sheet S,
The clutch is turned off when the sheet S contacts the pair of registration rollers 22 and forms a loop (see FIG. 8).
. In the case of color copying, the developer pressurizes the black developer release solenoid 54b as shown in FIG.
ONL/, the black developer 47 is separated from the photosensitive drum 42, and then the color developer pressure solenoid 54a is ONL,
Then, the color developing device 46 is set on the photosensitive drum 42. Then, by turning on the main motor 93, the primary band electricity 45
The control unit 86 detects, using a sensor (not shown), that the photosensitive drum 42, which is uniformly charged, has rotated approximately one revolution.
The rough pro is turned on, the optical motor 95 is turned on, and the optical system such as the lamp 6, mirror 7, etc. is advanced to expose and scan the original on the platen 5, and the image tip sensor S2 detects the image edge. After a predetermined time (tl) from
Turn on. Then, the control section 86 controls the roller pair 22.
Similar to or prior to the ON operation, the paper feed clutch is turned ON for a predetermined period of time, and the paper feed roller 17 or 19 is rotated again to feed the sheet S later (see Figure 8), depending on the sheet size. The pair of registration rollers 22 is rotated for the same amount of time. At this time, the sheet S held between the pair of registration rollers 22 is subjected to a lateral registration operation, which will be described later, and is projected onto the photosensitive drum 42 by an optical system and is projected onto the developing device 46 or 42.
It is conveyed in synchronization with the image visualized by 7. Incidentally, when the optical system scans the document, the laser unit 35 can erase any part of the image and write simple characters such as date, date, etc. Then, the sheet S conveyed by the registration roller pair 22 in synchronization with the image on the photosensitive drum 42 is transferred to the photosensitive drum 42 by a transfer charger 49.
The upper image is transferred and separated from the photosensitive drum 42 by a separation charger 50. At this time, lamp 6, mirror 7...
When the optical system such as * is detected by the sensor S3, the optical system is reversed and returned to the home position. Then, the sheet S onto which the image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 25 by the conveying device 23, and the image is fixed by the fixing device 25. Further, the sheet S is conveyed to a flapper 26 by a conveyance roller 24, guided by the flapper 26 to a pair of paper discharge rollers 27, and then guided by the pair of rollers 27 to a paper discharge tray 2.
It is discharged to 9.

Here, the horizontal registration work will be explained in detail.

When the start key is pressed, the control unit 86 sends a pulse to the stepping motor 96 in a direction in which the pair of registration rollers 22 moves in six directions (see FIG. 4) for a distance greater than the distance that the pair of rollers 22 can move. Then, the rotation of the stepping motor 96 is transmitted to the rack 99 via the pinion gear 97, and the registration roller pair 22 moves in six directions due to the movement of the rack 99, and comes into contact with a stopper (not shown) at the point of maximum movement. . As a result, the stepping motor 96 steps out of synchronization, and then the control unit 86 outputs to the stepping motor 96 a pulse corresponding to half of the pre-calculated distance by which the pair of registration rollers 22 can move in the direction B at the maximum. . Then, the registration roller pair 22
is an intermediate position (home position) that can be moved in direction B
This completes the initialization (first
(See figure 0).

If the sheet S fed from the cassette 15 or 16 by the paper feed roller 17 or 19 and held between the pair of registration rollers 22 has already been detected by the sheet end sensor S15, the control unit 86 controls the stepping motor 96 In other words, the registration roller pair 22 rotates in the direction of arrow B (see FIG. 4). Then, after the sheet edge sensor S15 detects the edge of the sheet S, the control unit 86 further controls the stepping motor 96 for a predetermined distance (ρ
1) After rotating for a certain amount, it stops and completes the setting (see FIG. 10 and FIG. 11(a)). In addition, at this time,
The sheet S is transported by a pair of registration rollers 22 and a pair of transport rollers 2.
Since a loop is formed with 0 or 21, movement of the leading edge of the sheet S in the lateral direction is permitted. After the sheet S is conveyed by the pair of registration rollers 22, the stepping motor 96 rotates normally, that is, the pair of registration rollers 22
The same number of pulses as required for setting are outputted in the direction in which the pair of registration rollers 22 moves in six directions, thereby returning the pair of registration rollers 22 to the home position.

Further, if the sheet S held between the pair of registration rollers 22 is not detected by the sheet end sensor 315, the control unit 86
The stepping motor 96 is rotated in the normal direction to move the registration roller pair 22 in six directions, and when the sheet edge sensor S15 detects the sheet S, the stepping motor 96 is rotated in the reverse direction so that the sheet edge sensor S15 no longer detects the sheet S. After that, move the registration roller pair 22 by a predetermined distance of 1 m1 (ρ1).
direction (see FIG. 11(b)). This results in
The sheet S is laterally registered. After conveying the sheet S, the pair of registration rollers 22 is returned to the home position in the same manner as described above.

On the other hand, the case of performing multiple or double-sided copying will be explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the start key is pressed, the control unit 86 determines whether the original is a standard size (F1), and if it is determined that it is not a standard size, sets the number of copies to 1 (F2), and sets the number of copies to 1 (F2).
4 in single mode (F3). In the single mode, as shown in FIG. 13, a sheet S on which an image has been copied is conveyed to the re-conveying path 30 by the same operation as described above, and the sheet S is held between a pair of conveying rollers 31 and transferred to a pair of reversing rollers. 32 and comes into contact with the pair of rollers 32 to form a loop. As a result, the skew of the sheet S is corrected. Then, after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the sheet sensor S12 detects the leading edge of the sheet S, the pair of reversing rollers 32 and the pair of refeeding rollers 33 are driven to convey the sheet S to the pair of registration rollers 22. Then, a predetermined time after the sheet sensor SIO detects the leading edge of the sheet S, the reversing roller pair 32 and the refeeding roller pair 33 are stopped, and the sheet S forms a loop to correct the skew. Ru. Further, when the operator replaces the document and presses the start key 59 (F4), the control unit 86 drives the reversing roller pair 32, the paper refeeding roller pair 33, and the registration roller pair 22, so that the After horizontally registering the adjacent sheets S, they are synchronously conveyed toward the copying section 2 for second copying. Then, by the same operation as described above, the sheet S is copied a second time, the image is fixed in the fixing device 25, and the sheet S is ejected to the paper ejection tray 29. If it is determined that there is a
If the number of copies is determined to be one or not (F6), if it is determined that the number of copies is not one, the selected cassette 15 or 1 is determined based on the signal from the sheet size sensor S8 or S9.
6 (F7), and if it is determined that it is A3, the control unit 86 determines whether the number of copies is a predetermined number (N,), that is, A3.
It is difficult to judge whether the maximum loading capacity corresponding to 3 sizes is exceeded or not. F8
), if it is determined that the number of copies is greater than the maximum loading capacity, the number of copies is set to a predetermined number (N, ) (F9). after that,
The control unit 10 operates the intermediate tray 34 in multiple modes, and when the sheet S that has been copied for the first time is conveyed to the re-conveyance path 30 in the same manner as described above, the sheet S is transferred to the conveyance roller pair 3.
1 and abuts against the pair of reversing rollers 32 to form a loop. Furthermore, the sheet S has its leading end connected to a sheet sensor S.
12, and after a predetermined time after the sensor 512 detects the leading edge of the sheet S, the reversing roller pair 32
rotates forward by a predetermined amount, that is, in a direction in which the sheet S is conveyed toward the pair of refeed rollers 33. Thereafter, the reversing roller pair 32 is reversed, and for example, the sheet S is conveyed 70 mm and then returned 60 mm, and the sheet S stops with the leading end protruding from the reversing roller pair 32 by 10 mm (Figs. 14 and 15 (a). )reference). Through a similar operation, the reversing roller pair 32 holds a plurality of sheets S with their leading edges shifted by 10m+++ while overlapping each other (see FIG. 15(b)) (FIO), and then performs the same operation as F4 described above. When the start key 59 is pressed, the control section 86 rotates the pair of reversing rollers 32 and the pair of refeeding rollers 33, and conveys the sheet S held between the pair of reversing rollers 32.

Furthermore, the reversing roller pair 32 is stopped when the rear end of the lowest sheet S among these sheets S... passes the reversing roller pair 32 (see FIGS. 15(e) and 16).
. As a result, only the lowest sheet S is re-fed by the re-feed roller pair 33 to the registration roller pair 22, and the sheet S is copied a second time by the same operation as described above and is ejected to the paper ejection tray 29. Ru. Furthermore, when refeeding the second and subsequent sheets, the pair of reversing rollers 32 may be rotated by 10 mm as shown in FIG. 17. Note that if it is determined that the number of copies is one at F6, the operations from F3 onwards are performed. Furthermore, if it is determined that the sheet size is not A3 at F7, the control unit 86 determines whether the sheet size is 84 or not, and if it is determined that the sheet size is B4, the number of copies is set to the maximum number corresponding to the 84 size. It is difficult to judge whether the load capacity is greater than (N2) or not (F12), the maximum load corresponding to B4 size! (N2) or more, the number of copies will be changed to the maximum loading capacity (N2) corresponding to the 84 size.
2) should be set to F13), and the above F1. Perform operations after O. Furthermore, if the sheet size is determined not to be 84 in F11, the control unit 86 determines whether the sheet size is A4 or not. If the number of copies is determined to be greater than or equal to the maximum loading capacity (N3) for A4 size (F15), set the number of copies to the maximum loading capacity (N, ) corresponding to A4 size. F16), and the operations after the FIO described above are performed. Furthermore, if it is determined that the sheet size is not A4 at F14, the control unit 86 determines whether the sheet size is 85 (F17), and if it is determined that it is B5, the number of copies is set to the maximum number corresponding to the 85 size. If it is determined that the number of copies is greater than or equal to the maximum loading capacity (N4) corresponding to B5 size (F18), the number of copies is set to the maximum loading capacity (N4) corresponding to 85 size.
4), F19), and the operations after FIO described above are performed. Note that the relationship is N□×N, <N, <N4. Furthermore, if it is determined in F17 that the sheet size is not 85, the control unit 86 performs the same operation as described above to determine whether the number of copies is greater than or equal to the maximum loading capacity corresponding to the sheet size (F20), and the maximum loading capacity. If it is determined that the number of copies is above, the number of copies is set to the maximum stacking amount corresponding to the sheet size (F21), and the operations after FIO described above are performed.

Note that the maximum loading amount that can be loaded on the intermediate tray 34 is the first
It is regulated by the distance by which the leading edge of the sheet S is shifted. For example, when A4 size sheets (length in the feeding direction: 210 mm) S are shifted by 10 mm, the pair of reversing rollers 32 can sandwich a maximum of 20 sheets S. Second, the maximum loading amount is regulated by the spacing between each pair of rollers 31, 32, 33, etc.

That is, the distance between each pair of rollers 31, 32, 33, etc. is such that at least the minimum size sheet can be held between the two roller pairs, for example, the length in the feeding direction of a B5 size sheet is 182 m.
Since the interval is shorter than m, the pair of reversing rollers 32
When conveying the sheets S... held by the re-feeding roller pair 33 toward the re-feeding roller pair 33, the number of sheets in which the first sheet S held by the reversing roller pair 32 does not come into contact with the re-feeding roller pair 33 is A4. It's about 17 pieces in size.

On the other hand, the sheet size is regulated by the size of the intermediate tray 34. For example, when storing an A3 size sheet S (length in the feeding direction 420mo+) in the intermediate tray 34, the sheet S is stored with its leading edge protruding 10m+a from the pair of reversing rollers 32, so that the intermediate tray 34 has at least four
Requires a length of 10mm. If the intermediate tray 34 is shorter than 410 mm, there will be a problem that the rear end of the sheet S will come into contact with a device inside the machine.

In the above-described embodiment, after the sheet end sensor 915 no longer detects the sheet S, the stepper motor 9 moves the pair of registration rollers 22 a predetermined distance Ω.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the stepping motor 96 may be stopped immediately after the sensor S15 no longer detects the sheet S.

Further, in the above embodiment, the sheet end sensor 315 detects the sheet S, and after the sensor S15 no longer detects the sheet S, the stepper motor 96 is moved after the registration roller pair 22 is moved a predetermined distance ρ. Although the stepping motor 96 is stopped, the present invention is not limited to this, and the stepping motor 96 may be stopped after the sheet end sensor S15 detects the sheet S.

Note that since the curl of the sheet S differs between double-sided copying and multiple copying, the amount of loops formed by contacting the reversing roller pair 32 may be changed between double-sided copying and multiple copying.

Further, in the above embodiment, the loop amount of the sheet S fed from the cassette 15 or 16 and the loop amount of the sheet S re-fed from the intermediate tray 34 are the same. However, the loop amount may be changed. In this way, it is possible to absorb the difference in the amount of sheet curl between double-sided copying and multiple copying.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the paper refeeding roller pair 33 is configured to rotate only in one direction, but is not limited to this, and may be configured to rotate in both directions. In this way, a large number of sheets can be stacked and stored by the pair of rollers 33 and the pair of reversing rollers 32. By the way, the amount of loops formed by contacting the pair of registration rollers 22 is slightly different between the single mode and the multiple mode. This is because the slippage of the sheets on the re-feeding roller pair 33 differs depending on the number of sheets held between the re-feeding roller pair 33. Therefore, the loop amount may be changed between single mode and multiple mode.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the leading ends of the plurality of sheets S are stacked and stored in the intermediate tray 34 with an offset of 10 mm, but the present invention is not limited to the length by which the leading ends are shifted to 10 mm.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, when refeeding the sheet, the reversing roller pair 32 is rotated by the pulse amount to convey the sheet S by 10 mm; however, the sheet sensor S13 is not limited to this.
The pair of reversing rollers 32 may be rotated for a predetermined period of time after the tip of the roller is detected.

(g) As described in detail, according to the present invention, the regulation amount of the number of sheets that can be stored in the intermediate tray is changed based on the sheet size, so when using small size sheets, Furthermore, by increasing the limit on the number of sheets that can be stored in the intermediate tray, the space in the intermediate tray can be used effectively, thereby improving the total copy speed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing control means according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front sectional view showing an image forming apparatus equipped with the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an operating section thereof. Moreover, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the moving device according to the present invention. Furthermore, Figures 5 to 11 (a), (b)
The foregoing are timing charts showing the operation of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present invention. Further, FIGS. 13 and 14 are timing charts showing the operation of the present invention. Furthermore, Fig. 15(a), (
b) and (c) are schematic diagrams showing the operation of the present invention. 16 and 17 are timing charts showing the operation of the present invention.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Image formation that includes an intermediate tray in which the leading edge of a sheet on which an image has been formed is shifted and stored by a predetermined distance in a sheet conveyance path, and that the number of sheets that can be stored in the intermediate tray is regulated. In the apparatus, a sheet size detecting means for detecting the size of a sheet; a loading amount changing means for changing a regulation amount of the number of sheets that can be stored in the intermediate tray based on sheet size information from the sheet size detecting means; An image forming apparatus comprising: