JP2018086799A - Image forming apparatus and control program of image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent deterioration of job efficiency, reduce burden of a user, and further effectively utilize each discharge tray, even when printed matter having abnormal quality is generated.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus includes first to third discharge trays. When abnormal quality is determined when a printing job to discharge to the first discharge tray is executed, printed matter having abnormal quality is discharged to the second discharge tray, and printed matter up to a prescribed number of sheets following the printed matter is discharged to the third discharge tray. Subsequently, a recovery sheet and printed matter having pages following the recovery sheet are discharged to the original first discharge tray.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a control program for the image forming apparatus.

  In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printer, or a multifunction machine, an image is formed on a sheet by an image forming unit based on image data of a print job to generate a printed matter.

  The quality of the printed matter fluctuates when the paper is not correctly conveyed, such as double feeding or skew feeding, or when the density, color, or the like of the image formed by the image forming unit changes due to environmental changes. There is an image forming apparatus that detects this quality in real time while a printed matter is being generated by a sensor that detects double feeding disposed in the apparatus and an optical sensor that reads an image on a sheet.

  In the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, an image forming apparatus is disclosed in which an ultrasonic sensor for detecting double feeding of paper is arranged in a conveyance path and double feeding is detected in real time. Further, in the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, when images are continuously formed on a sheet and are discharged to the first tray and a double feed is detected, the sheet on which the double feed is detected is detected as the first sheet. 3 is discharged to the second tray, and all the sheets following this sheet are switched to the second tray. Further, after the double feeding, the paper on which the image formed on the double fed paper is recovery-printed is discharged to the first tray.

  By doing so, image formation can be continued even if double feeding occurs, so that a reduction in job efficiency is prevented and a burden on the user is reduced.

JP 2007-120404 A

  However, when the multi-feed is detected in the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, since all of the subsequent sheets are discharged to the second tray, the loading amount of each tray may not be effectively used. is there. In particular, when the second and third trays are auxiliary trays and the stackable amount is small, there is a problem that the trays are filled up immediately.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and even when a printed matter with an abnormal quality occurs, the job efficiency is prevented from being lowered, the burden on the user is reduced, and each discharge tray is made effective. An object is to provide an image forming apparatus that can be utilized.

  The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following means.

(1) a paper transport unit that transports the paper fed from the paper feed tray along the transport path;
An image forming unit that forms an image on the conveyed paper based on the image data of the print job;
A discharge unit that has first to third discharge trays and discharges printed matter imaged on a sheet by the image forming unit;
A quality information acquisition unit having a sensor arranged in the conveyance path, and acquiring quality information of a printed matter from an output of the sensor;
A controller for comparing the quality information with a predetermined quality standard to determine a quality abnormality of the printed material conveyed to the discharge unit,
The control unit prints a plurality of copies of a print job in which the output destination of the printed material is the first discharge tray and is formed of a plurality of sheets on which images are formed in order of pages based on a plurality of page image data. When an abnormal print quality is determined while a print job is being performed, the abnormal print product is discharged to the second discharge tray, and a predetermined number of printed products following the abnormal print product Is discharged to the third discharge tray, and thereafter, the printed material that has been recovery-printed based on the page image data corresponding to the image formed on the printed matter having an abnormal quality, and the printed material of the subsequent pages are transferred to the first discharge tray. An image forming apparatus that controls to discharge the ink.

  (2) The image formation according to (1), wherein when the number of pages constituting the part of the print job is equal to or less than a threshold value, the printed matter up to the last page of the part is discharged to the third discharge tray. apparatus.

  (3) When the number of pages constituting the part of the print job exceeds the threshold, the printed matter output in a period until the recovery printing is ready is discharged to the third discharge tray. The image forming apparatus according to 2).

  (4) The control unit starts discharging the recovery-printed printed material and the printed material of the subsequent pages to the first discharge tray, and then returns to the third discharge tray based on a predetermined switching condition. The image forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the switching is determined.

  (5) The control unit performs the third output based on the remaining stackable sheet number obtained by subtracting the current stacking sheet number from the stackable sheet number of the first discharge tray and the remaining output sheet number of the print job being executed. The image forming apparatus according to (4), wherein switching to a discharge tray is determined.

(6) Further, a notification unit is provided,
The image forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein the control unit notifies the user of a usage state of the discharge tray by the notification unit.

(7) At least one of the first to third discharge trays is provided with an opening / closing door for a user to access the printed matter of the discharge tray, and a lock mechanism for locking the opening / closing door,
The control unit locks the open / close door by operating the lock mechanism when the discharge tray provided with the lock mechanism is in use, any one of (1) to (6) above The image forming apparatus according to one.

(8) Furthermore, a reception unit that receives an instruction from the user is provided,
After executing the print job and determining the quality abnormality of the printed matter, when receiving an instruction to interrupt the print job from the reception unit,
The control unit stops the operation of the paper transport unit after discharging the printed material up to the same page as the printed matter of the quality abnormality of the portion discharged to the first discharge tray to the first discharge tray. The image forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (7), wherein the print job is interrupted.

  (9) The selection of a stop page can be received together with the interruption instruction from the reception unit, and when the immediate stop is selected as the stop page, the control unit is transporting when the interruption instruction is received The image forming apparatus according to (8), wherein after the sheet is discharged to any one of the discharge trays, the operation of the sheet conveying unit is stopped to interrupt the print job.

(10) First to third discharge trays, a discharge unit that discharges printed matter imaged on paper by the image forming unit, and a sensor disposed in the conveyance path, and the printed matter from the output of the sensor A quality information acquisition unit that acquires the quality information of the image forming apparatus control program,
Execution of a print job for printing a plurality of copies of a plurality of sheets on which a discharge destination is the first discharge tray and forms an image in page order based on a plurality of page image data. Steps,
Acquiring quality information of the printed matter being conveyed by the quality information acquisition unit;
Determining the quality abnormality of the printed material conveyed to the discharge unit by comparing the quality information with a predetermined quality standard;
When determining the quality abnormality of the printed matter being conveyed, discharging the printed matter of the quality abnormality to the second discharge tray;
Discharging a predetermined number of printed material following the abnormal quality printed material to the third discharge tray;
Thereafter, discharging the printed material recovered based on the page image data corresponding to the image formed on the printed matter of abnormal quality, and discharging the printed material of the subsequent page to the first discharge tray;
A control program to execute.

  According to the present invention, when a quality abnormality is determined while executing a print job to be discharged to the first discharge tray, the printed matter having an abnormal quality is discharged to the second discharge tray. Subsequent prints up to a predetermined number of sheets are discharged to the third discharge tray, and the subsequent recovery paper and the prints of subsequent pages are discharged to the original first discharge tray. In this way, even when a printed matter with an abnormal quality occurs, it is possible to prevent the job efficiency from being lowered, reduce the burden on the user, and effectively use each discharge tray.

1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of an image forming apparatus including an image forming apparatus main body and a post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an entire image forming apparatus. 6 is a flowchart illustrating sheet discharge control according to the first embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the discharge state of printed matter in time series. It is a schematic diagram which shows the discharge state of printed matter in time series. It is a schematic diagram which shows the discharge state of printed matter in time series. It is a schematic diagram which shows the discharge state of printed matter in time series. It is a schematic diagram which shows the discharge state of printed matter in time series. 10 is a flowchart illustrating sheet discharge control according to the second embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the discharge state of printed matter. It is a schematic diagram which shows the discharge state of printed matter. It is a schematic diagram which shows the discharge state of printed matter. It is a flowchart which shows the paper discharge control which concerns on a 1st modification. It is an example of the operation screen displayed on the operation display part. 10 is a flowchart illustrating sheet discharge control according to a third modification. It is an example of the operation screen displayed on the operation display part. It is a schematic diagram which shows the discharge state of printed matter.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. In addition, the dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for convenience of explanation, and may be different from the actual ratios.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of an image forming apparatus 10 including an image forming apparatus main body 100 and a post-processing apparatus 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 10. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the entire image forming apparatus 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the image forming apparatus 10 includes an image forming apparatus main body 100 and a post-processing apparatus 200. The post-processing device 200 includes first to third post-processing devices 20A, 20B, and 20C. The post-processing device 20A performs post-processing such as a stapler process on the paper. The post-processing device 20B is a large-capacity discharge device that stores a plurality of printed materials. The post-processing device 20C is a large-capacity discharge device having the same configuration as the post-processing device 20B. The post-processing devices 20A, 20B, and 20C are connected in this order, and another post-processing device can be connected to the downstream side of the post-processing device 20C.

  The sheet S on which the image is formed by the image forming apparatus main body 100 is discharged to the discharge trays 261, 262, and 263 via the post-processing apparatus 200. Each configuration will be described below.

(Image forming apparatus main body 100)
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the image forming apparatus main body 100 includes a control unit 110, a storage unit 120, an image forming unit 130, a paper transport unit 140, an operation display unit 150, a paper detection unit 160, and a communication interface (I / F) 170, which are connected to each other via a signal line such as a bus for exchanging signals.

  The control unit 110 is a CPU, and controls the above-described units and performs various arithmetic processes according to a program.

  The storage unit 120 includes a ROM that stores various programs, quality standards, and other various data in advance, a RAM that temporarily stores programs and data as a work area, a hard disk that stores various programs and various data, and the like.

  The image forming unit 130 includes an intermediate transfer belt 131, a photosensitive drum 132, a developing unit 133, a writing unit 134, a transfer unit 135, and a fixing device 136, and performs each process of charging, exposure, development, transfer, and fixing. An image based on the print data of the print job is formed on the paper S using a known image forming process such as an electrophotographic process. Of these constituent elements, there are a plurality of photosensitive drums 132, developing sections 133, and writing sections 134 corresponding to the basic colors of Y, M, C, and K. In FIG. The reference numerals are assigned to the other colors, but the reference numerals are omitted for the other colors.

  The paper transport unit 140 includes a paper feed tray 141, transport paths 142a and 142b, a plurality of transport roller pairs including registration rollers 143, and a drive motor (not shown) that drives the transport roller pairs. The sheets S fed one by one from the sheet feed tray 141 are transported along the transport path 142a, the timing is adjusted by the registration rollers 143, and transported to the image forming unit 130 to form an image. In the case of forming images on both sides, the paper on which the image is formed on one side by the image forming unit 130 is conveyed along the conveyance path 142b for both sides, the front and back are reversed, and then again passes through the conveyance path 142a. Then, it is conveyed to the image forming unit 130 to form an image.

  The operation display unit 150 includes a touch panel, a numeric keypad, a start button, a stop button, and the like, and is used for displaying various information and inputting various instructions. In addition, the operation display unit 150 functions as a “notification unit” and a “reception unit”, and notifies the user of the state of the discharge tray through the operation screen as described later. Or accepting the selection of the page to be interrupted. The received various settings are stored in the storage unit 120.

  The paper detection unit 160 is disposed in the transport path 142a and detects the state of the paper to be transported. The paper detection unit 160 functions as a “quality information acquisition unit” and includes an ultrasonic sensor, a paper detection sensor, and a line sensor. The control unit 110 uses the outputs of these sensors as quality information and determines the quality of the printed matter. This quality determination method will be described later.

  The ultrasonic sensor includes a transmission unit and a reception unit, and these are arranged so as to straddle the conveyance path 142a. The ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmission unit passes through the paper and is received by the reception unit. The thickness of the sheet, that is, the presence or absence of double feeding conveyed in a state where two or more sheets are stacked is detected based on the degree of decrease in the signal amount received by the receiving unit.

  The paper detection sensor includes a pair of optical sensors that detect the passage of the paper. Each of the pair of optical sensors is disposed on both sides in the width direction (hereinafter simply referred to as “width direction”) orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction. Based on the time difference between the output signals of the pair of optical sensors, the difference in the time when the leading edge of the paper on both sides in the width direction has passed, that is, the skew during paper conveyance is detected.

  The line sensor is an image sensor in which photoelectric conversion elements such as a contact image sensor (CIS) and a charge coupled device (CCD) are arranged in a line or a plurality of lines in a line along the width direction, and reads a one-dimensional image. . The line sensor also has optical elements such as a light emitting element and a lens array arranged along the row of photoelectric conversion elements. The line sensor is arranged so as to detect one end of the sheet in the width direction, and detects a deviation in the width direction during sheet conveyance.

  The communication interface 170 is an interface for the image forming apparatus main body 100 to communicate with the post-processing apparatus 200 and an external device such as a PC. The communication interface 170 transmits and receives various setting values and various information necessary for operation timing control with the post-processing device 200. As the communication interface 170, a network interface based on a standard such as SATA, PCI, USB, Ethernet (registered trademark), IEEE 1394, or various local connection interfaces such as a wireless communication interface such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), IEEE 802.11, or the like is used. It is done.

(Post-processing device 200)
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the post-processing device 200 includes a control unit 210, a storage unit 220, an image reading unit 230, a paper transport unit 240, a post-processing unit 250, a discharge unit 260, a lock mechanism 270, and a communication interface. 280, and these are connected to each other via a signal line such as a bus for exchanging signals. The control unit 210 is communicably connected to the control unit 110 of the image forming apparatus main body 100 via the communication line 300, and controls the entire image forming apparatus 10 by cooperating with the control unit 110. Among these components, the control unit 210, the storage unit 220, and the communication interface 280 are the same as the corresponding components of the image forming apparatus main body 100, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  The image reading unit 230 is arranged in the conveyance path 242a and reads an image formed on the surface of the sheet S conveyed from the upstream conveyance path 142a to obtain image data. The control unit 110 uses the image data obtained by the image reading unit 230 as quality information, and performs quality determination of a printed matter, color adjustment, and image position adjustment.

  The image reading unit 230 includes a sensor array, an optical system, and an LED (Light Emitting Diode) light source, which are so-called scanners.

  The sensor array is a color line sensor in which a plurality of optical elements such as CCDs are arranged in a line along the width direction (main scanning direction), and can read the entire width range in the width direction of the paper S. The optical system is composed of a plurality of mirrors and lenses. The light from the LED light source irradiates the surface of the paper S passing through the reading position on the transport path 242a. The image at the reading position is guided by the optical system and formed on the sensor array.

  The paper transport unit 240 includes transport paths 242a to 242e, a plurality of transport roller pairs, and a drive motor (not shown) that drives these transport roller pairs. The sheet S conveyed from the conveyance path 142a of the upstream image forming apparatus main body 100 is conveyed to the downstream conveyance paths 242b, 242c, 242d, and 242e via the conveyance path 242a.

  The post-processing unit 250 performs post-processing such as bi-folding and stapling performed on a bundle of a plurality of sheets S on the conveyed sheet S (printed material).

  The discharge unit 260 includes first to third discharge trays 261, 262, and 263. The first discharge tray 261 places the printed material (paper S) conveyed via the conveyance paths 242a, 242c, and 242d.

  The first discharge tray 261 is provided inside the post-treatment device 20C, and is moved up and down by an elevating mechanism. When the first discharge tray 261 is used, the position is adjusted so that the uppermost height of the printed material placed on the first discharge tray 261 becomes a predetermined height (see FIG. 3). An opening / closing door 271 (see FIG. 1) is provided on the front side of the post-processing apparatus 20C. The user can access the printed material stacked on the first discharge tray 261 inside the post-processing apparatus 20C by manually opening the unlocked open / close door 271.

  The second discharge tray 262 is provided on the upper portion of the post-processing apparatus 20A and places the printed material conveyed via the conveyance path 242e.

  The third discharge tray 263 is provided inside the post-processing device 20B. As described above, the configuration of the post-processing device 20B is the same as that of the post-processing device 20C, and the third discharge tray 263 has the same configuration as the first discharge tray 261, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The lock mechanism 270 is provided in each of the post-processing devices 20B and 20C, and locks / unlocks the opening / closing door 271. As the lock mechanism, for example, a mechanism that locks the open / close door 271 using the driving force of an electromagnetic actuator or a servo motor can be employed. While the discharge tray is used, the door 271 cannot be opened by the lock mechanism. When not in use, the lock mechanism 270 is actuated and the open / close door 271 is unlocked by pressing an open / close button (not shown) provided in front of each of the post-processing devices 20B and 20C. Further, in response to each open / close button being pressed, the discharge tray descends to the lowest position.

(Paper discharge control according to the first embodiment)
Next, characteristic operations executed by the image forming apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment will be described. In the operation described below, the control unit 110 determines whether the printed matter on which the image is formed on the sheet S does not satisfy any of the quality standards based on the quality information acquired from the sheet detection unit 160 and the image reading unit 230. It is determined whether or not.

  The quality standards include those relating to the transport state of the paper S and the image state formed on the paper S. The quality standard regarding the conveyance state is, for example, skew, offset, and double feed. Examples of image quality standards include image density, color, and front and back image positions. The quality standards are predetermined and are stored in the storage unit 120. However, the quality standards may be set by the user through the operation display unit 150. For example, the user can set a deviation amount (mm) and a color (ΔE with respect to the target value). As described above, whether or not these quality standards are satisfied is determined based on the quality information obtained from the paper detection unit 160 serving as the quality information acquisition unit and the image reading unit 230.

  Hereinafter, the sheet discharge control will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5A to 5E. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating sheet discharge control according to the first embodiment executed by the control unit 110 in cooperation with the control unit 210. FIG. 5A to FIG. 5E are schematic diagrams showing the discharge state of the printed matter in time series.

  This paper discharge control is a process that is executed after a print job is received. This print job prints a plurality of copies of a plurality of sheets on which images are formed in page order based on a plurality of page image data. It is. And the discharge destination of the printed matter is set to the first discharge tray 261.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 110 first starts executing a print job for printing a plurality of copies (S101).

  Next, the control unit 110 feeds and conveys the paper S, forms an image, and generates a printed matter. Further, the conveyed printed matter is sensed by the sensors of the paper detection unit 160 and the image reading unit 230, and detection data and image data, that is, quality information is acquired (S102).

  Next, it is determined from the quality information obtained in step S102 whether or not the printed matter has a quality abnormality (S103). This determination may be made based on, for example, whether or not the double feed of the paper S is detected from the ultrasonic sensor of the paper detection unit 160 or whether or not the detected deviation amount (mm) exceeds the quality standard. it can. If no quality abnormality occurs in the print job being executed (S103: NO), the process proceeds to the next and the paper conveyance is continued (S104).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the quality abnormality has occurred (S103: YES), the process proceeds to discharge the printed matter in which the quality abnormality has occurred to the second discharge tray 262 (S105).

  FIG. 5A shows the state of step S105, for example, a state in which it is determined that the double feed quality is abnormal. In the example shown below, the number of printed materials constituting one copy is 10, and when a print job for outputting three copies of this is executed, the first printed copy of the fifth copy is considered to be abnormal in quality. The description will be made assuming that the determination has been made. In FIG. 5A, the m-th printed matter is represented as nm in the order of the n-th page (hereinafter the same). For example, 1-5 indicates the fifth printed matter of the first copy.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the remaining number of copies exceeds a predetermined threshold (S106). The predetermined threshold is, for example, 10 sheets. In the example shown in FIG. 5A, since the quality abnormality occurred on the fifth sheet, the remaining number of copies is 5 (= 10-5), which is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold (S106: NO).

  In this case, up to a predetermined number of printed materials are discharged to the third discharge tray. The “predetermined number of sheets” is, for example, “the last page of the set”. In this case, the printed material up to the first page of the first set is discharged to the third discharge tray 263 (S107). FIG. 5B shows the state of step S107, and shows a state in which the printed material 1-6 on the next page of the printed material with an abnormal quality to the printed material 1-10 on the last page of the section are discharged to the third discharge tray 263. Show. In the rightmost column of image data (not output) in FIG. 5B, image data that has not been output by the print job is indicated by a solid line, and image data that has been output immediately before is indicated by a broken line (hereinafter the same). ).

  Thereafter, the discharge destination is switched to the first discharge tray, and the printed matter (hereinafter also referred to as “recovery paper”) on which recovery printing has been performed is discharged (S110). FIG. 5C shows the state of step S110 (via S107).

  On the other hand, if the remaining number of copies exceeds a predetermined threshold (S106: YES), the process proceeds to step S108.

  In the following, only the shortest number of sheets (printed matter to be output during the shortest period) until the recovery printing can be executed (S108: NO) is discharged to the third discharge tray 263. For example, when preparation for recovery printing based on the page image data 1-5 corresponding to the image formed on the printed matter in which the quality abnormality has occurred is completed, recovery printing is started immediately. When the quality abnormality is determined, the printed matter that is already being conveyed to the paper conveyance path in the image forming apparatus 10 or the printed matter that is output during the period from the start of preparation for recovery printing to the completion thereof is the third one. Is discharged to the discharge tray 263 (S109).

  In step S110, after the recovery paper is discharged, the printed material based on the image data of the page following the page used for the recovery printing is discharged to the first discharge tray, and the process ends (S111, end). FIGS. 5D and 5E show the state of step S111, in which the printed materials 2-7 to 2-10, 2-1 to the printed materials 2-6 based on the image data of the page following the page used for recovery printing are illustrated. 2-5, 3-6 to 3-10 are output in this order, and the remaining prints 3-1 to 3-5 are output at the end, thereby completing the print job and ending.

(Effects of the first embodiment)
As described above, in the first embodiment, when a quality abnormality is determined when a print job to be discharged to the first discharge tray is being executed by the paper discharge control executed by the control unit 110. Discharges the printed matter of abnormal quality to the second discharge tray, discharges the printed matter up to a predetermined number of sheets following this printed matter, for example, up to the last page of the copy, to the third discharge tray, and then the recovery paper and the subsequent pages The printed matter is discharged to the original first discharge tray.

  As a result, even if a quality abnormality is determined during the execution of the print job, the print job is continued without interruption, so that it is possible to prevent a decrease in job efficiency.

  Furthermore, since the original first discharge tray set in the print job is switched after a predetermined number of sheets, the stacking capacity of the first discharge tray can be used effectively.

  In addition, since the printed matter with an abnormal quality is discharged to a discharge tray different from other printed matter, it can be easily distinguished from a normal printed matter. Further, by discharging the recovery paper and the printed material of the subsequent pages to the original first discharge tray, as shown in FIG. 5E, the bundle of printed materials in the third discharge tray 263 is discharged to the first discharge tray. By stacking on the bundle of printed products in the tray 261, printed products in the correct page order can be obtained. Thereby, since the user is not forced to rearrange the printed matter, it is possible to prevent the burden on the user from increasing.

  In the first embodiment, an example in which the printed matter up to the last page of the copy is discharged to the third discharge tray 263 as “predetermined number of sheets” (S107) is not limited to this, but recovery is performed as “predetermined number of sheets”. The number of sheets set in advance by user setting or the like may be applied within a range (for example, three or more) that can be printed sufficiently.

(Paper Ejection Control According to Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, when the quality abnormality is determined, a predetermined number of printed materials are discharged to the third discharge tray 263, and then the recovery paper and the subsequent printed materials are switched to the first discharge tray and discharged. did. In the second embodiment, after the first switching to the discharge tray, if a predetermined condition is further satisfied, the discharge destination is switched to the third discharge tray again. Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7A to 7C.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating sheet discharge control according to the second embodiment executed by the control unit 110 in cooperation with the control unit 210. FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C are schematic views showing the discharge state of the printed matter in the second embodiment.

  The flowchart shown in FIG. 6 is a process executed subsequent to the final step S111 of FIG. 4 or in parallel with the process of FIG. First, it is determined whether a predetermined switching condition for the discharge tray is satisfied (S201).

  Here, the “predetermined switching condition” is, for example, a case where the remaining stackable number of sheets on the first discharge tray is smaller than the remaining output sheet number of the print job being executed. In this case, if the number of remaining stackable sheets <the number of remaining output sheets, it is determined that the switching condition is satisfied. Alternatively, the stacking amount of the first discharge tray and the second discharge tray may be switched to be equal (difference equal to or less than the number of sheets constituting one copy) when the print job is completed.

  Note that the “number of remaining stackable sheets” can be calculated by subtracting the current number of stacked sheets from the number of stackable sheets (loading capacity). The current stack number can be derived from the height of a discharge tray that moves up and down according to the load amount as shown in FIG. 3, and can also be derived from the number of print jobs that have already been output. Is also possible.

  When it is determined that the switching condition is not satisfied (S201: NO), the control unit 110 continues output to the first discharge tray 261 (S202).

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the switching condition is satisfied (S202: YES), the printed matter up to the same page as the printed matter having an abnormal quality is discharged to one discharge tray (S203). FIG. 7A shows the state of step S203, and continues to the printed matter 2-5 of the page up to the same page (5 pages) as the printed matter of the quality abnormality of the currently output part (second part). The state where it is discharged to the first discharge tray 261 is shown.

  Next, the setting of the discharge destination is switched to the third discharge tray 263 (S204). Then, before outputting the printed matter of the next copy (third copy), it is determined whether there is an unoutput page in the portion where the quality abnormality has occurred (S205).

  If there is an unoutput page (S205: YES), the unoutput page is output to the third discharge tray 263 (S206). FIG. 7B shows the state of step S205 (YES). In FIG. 7B, after the three printed materials 1-6 to 1-8 are discharged to the third discharge tray in the process of FIG. 4 (S106 to S110), the page image data 1-9 and 1-10 are not output yet. The state is switched to the first discharge tray 261. In this case, after performing printing based on the unoutput page image data 1-9 and 1-10, the output of the next part (third copy) is continued and terminated (S207, end). FIG. 7C shows the state of step S207, and the printed materials 3-1 to 3-10 are discharged to the second discharge tray 262 following the printed materials 1-6 to 1-10.

(Effect of 2nd Embodiment)
As described above, in the second embodiment, when the recovery paper of the printed matter with abnormal quality and the printed matter of the subsequent pages are discharged to the original first discharge tray, the predetermined switching condition is used. Switching to the third discharge tray is performed. Thereby, in addition to the effect of 1st Embodiment, the stacking capacity of each discharge tray can be utilized effectively. Also, when switching to the third discharge tray, if there is a page that has not been output in the part where the quality abnormality has occurred, the page that has not been output is output before the next part is output. By doing so, it is possible to output the page in the correct order. As shown in FIG. 7C, a printed product in the correct page order can be easily obtained by stacking the printed product bundle in the third discharge tray 263 on the printed product bundle in the first discharge tray 261.

(First modification)
The first modified example notifies the user of the usage status of each discharge tray, and can be applied to the first and second embodiments described above. Hereinafter, the first modification will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating sheet discharge control according to a first modification executed by the control unit 110 in cooperation with the control unit 210.

  First, the control unit 110 acquires the output status of the post-processing device 20A (S301).

  Subsequently, the output status of the post-processing devices 20B and 20C is acquired (S302, S303).

  Thereafter, the output status of each of the discharge trays 261 to 263 is displayed based on the output status information acquired from steps S301 to S303 (S304). FIG. 9 is an example of the operation screen 151 displayed on the operation display unit 150. As described above, as in the first modification, the progress status of the print job can be known by notifying the user of the output status of each discharge tray.

  In addition, when the print job is completed, information on the printed matter of each discharge tray may be displayed on the operation display unit 150. For example, (1) the printed matter of abnormal quality is discharged to the second discharge tray, and (2) the printed bundle of the third discharge tray is correctly stacked on the printed bundle of the first discharge tray. Indicates that a printed matter in page order can be obtained.

(Second modification)
Depending on the execution status of the print job, the lock mechanism 270 of the discharge trays 261 and 263 may be operated to lock the open / close door 271. For example, during the execution of a print job, the open / close doors 271 of the post-processing apparatuses 20B and 20C are locked to restrict (prohibit) the user's access to the discharge trays 261 and 263. Note that the two locking mechanisms 270 may be more finely controlled based on the information of the post-processing devices 20B and 20C obtained in steps S303 and S303 in FIG. For example, in the case of performing paper discharge control as shown in FIG. 7A, the doors to both discharge trays are locked by the two lock mechanisms 270 until the printed matter 2-5 is discharged. Then, after discharging the printed matter 2-5, the lock mechanism 270 is operated to switch the open / close door 271 of the first discharge tray 261 to unlocking. The situation may be notified to the user through the operation display unit 150. Note that the open / close door 271 of the third discharge tray 263 may be unlocked until just before the printed matter 3-1 is discharged.

  As described above, in the second modified example, the access to the first and third discharge trays 261 and 263 is restricted by locking the opening / closing door 271 by the lock mechanism 270, thereby inadvertently contacting the printed matter by the user. Can be prevented.

(Third Modification)
In the third modification, when a print job with an abnormal quality occurs, the print job is interrupted when an instruction for interrupting the execution of the print job is received from the user.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating sheet discharge control according to a third modification executed by the control unit 110 in cooperation with the control unit 210. The process shown in FIG. 10 is a process executed after determining the quality abnormality of the printed matter (S103: YES).

  First, an operation screen for accepting an interruption instruction is displayed on the operation display unit 150 (S401). FIG. 11 is an example of the operation screen 152 displayed on the operation display unit 150. The user can input an interruption instruction by clicking the button B1 or the button B2 on the operation screen 152.

  If no interruption instruction has been received (S402: NO), the output thus far is continued (S403).

  On the other hand, an interruption instruction is accepted through the operation screen 152 (S402: YES), and if this instruction is an interruption instruction at the “separation position” (S404: YES), that is, the operation screen 152 in FIG. If button B1 has been clicked on, the process proceeds to S405. In step S <b> 405, the control unit 110 discharges to the first discharge tray 261 the printed material up to the same page as the printed matter having the same quality as the printed material discharged to the first discharge tray 261 when the interruption instruction is received. To do. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a discharge state of the printed matter related to the processing in step S405. This figure shows the situation when the button B1 is clicked while the printed material 2-3 is being output. In this case, the same printed material that is discharged to the first discharge tray 261 when the interruption instruction is received. The part is the second part. Then, since the same page as the quality-improper printed material 1-5 is the fifth page, the printed material 2-5 is discharged to the first discharge tray 261.

  Thereafter, the operations of the paper transport units 140 and 240 are stopped and the process ends (S406, end).

  On the other hand, if the instruction is not an interruption instruction at “separation position”, that is, if button B2 (“immediate stop”) in FIG. 11 is clicked, control unit 110 performs an immediate stop process. That is, if there is a sheet being conveyed, the sheet is discharged to one of the discharge trays (for example, the first discharge tray 261), and then the operation of the sheet conveying units 140 and 240 is stopped and the process ends (S407, end). .

  As described above, in the third modified example, it is possible to prevent the print job from being continued against the user's intention by stopping the discharge of the printed matter in accordance with the interruption instruction received by the user's operation. In addition, when an interruption instruction at the “separation position” is received, the printed matter up to the same page as the printed matter having an abnormal quality of the portion being discharged to the first discharge tray is discharged to the first discharge tray and then conveyed to the paper. The operation of the part is stopped. In this case, it is possible to easily obtain a printed matter in the correct page order by stacking the bundle of printed matter in the third discharge tray 263 on the bundle of printed matter in the first discharge tray 261.

(Other variations)
The configuration of the image forming system described above is not limited to the above-described configuration because the main configuration has been described in describing the features of the above-described embodiments and modifications. Further, the configuration of a general image forming system is not excluded. For example, in the image forming apparatus provided with four or more discharge trays by connecting another post-processing apparatus on the downstream side of FIG. 1, any one of the discharge trays in the first embodiment or the like in the first embodiment or the like is used. The third discharge tray may be used.

  For example, in the present embodiment, the quality information acquisition unit includes a paper detection unit 160 including an ultrasonic sensor, a paper detection sensor, and a line sensor, and an image reading unit 230 including a CCD sensor. It may be omitted.

  The control program for operating the image forming system may be provided by a computer-readable recording medium such as a USB memory, a flexible disk, or a CD-ROM, or may be provided online via a network such as the Internet. Good. In this case, the control program recorded on the computer-readable recording medium is usually transferred to and stored in a memory or storage. Further, this control program may be provided as, for example, a single application software, or may be incorporated in the software of each apparatus as one function of the image forming system.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 100 Image forming apparatus main body 110 Control part 120 Memory | storage part 130 Image forming part 131 Intermediate transfer belt 132 Photosensitive drum 133 Developing part 134 Writing part 135 Transfer part 136 Fixing apparatus 140 Paper conveyance part 141 Paper feed tray 142a, 142b Conveying path 143 Registration roller 150 Operation display unit 151, 152 Operation screen 160 Paper detecting unit 170 Communication interface 200, 20A, 20B, 20C Post-processing device 210 Control unit 220 Storage unit 230 Image reading unit 240 Paper conveying unit 242a, 242b, 242c, 242d, 242e Conveying path 250 Post-processing section 260 Discharge section 261 First discharge tray 262 Second discharge tray 263 Third discharge tray 270 Lock mechanism 271 Open / close door 280 Communication interface

Claims (10)

A paper transport unit for transporting paper fed from the paper feed tray along the transport path;
An image forming unit that forms an image on the conveyed paper based on the image data of the print job;
A discharge unit that has first to third discharge trays and discharges printed matter imaged on a sheet by the image forming unit;
A quality information acquisition unit having a sensor arranged in the conveyance path, and acquiring quality information of a printed matter from an output of the sensor;
A controller for comparing the quality information with a predetermined quality standard to determine a quality abnormality of the printed material conveyed to the discharge unit,
The control unit prints a plurality of copies of a print job in which the output destination of the printed material is the first discharge tray and is formed of a plurality of sheets on which images are formed in order of pages based on a plurality of page image data. When an abnormal print quality is determined while a print job is being performed, the abnormal print product is discharged to the second discharge tray, and a predetermined number of printed products following the abnormal print product Is discharged to the third discharge tray, and thereafter, the printed material that has been recovery-printed based on the page image data corresponding to the image formed on the printed matter having an abnormal quality, and the printed material of the subsequent pages are transferred to the first discharge tray. An image forming apparatus that controls to discharge the ink.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the number of pages constituting a portion of the print job is equal to or less than a threshold value, the printed material up to the last page of the portion is discharged to the third discharge tray.   The printed matter output in a period until the preparation for the recovery printing is ready is discharged to the third discharge tray when the number of pages constituting the print job exceeds the threshold. Image forming apparatus.   The control unit starts switching to the third discharge tray based on a predetermined switching condition after starting the recovery printed matter and the printed matter of the subsequent page to the first discharge tray. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is determined.   The controller controls the third discharge tray based on the remaining stackable number obtained by subtracting the current stack number from the stackable number of the first discharge tray and the remaining output number of the print job being executed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the switching is determined. Furthermore, a notification unit is provided,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit notifies the user of a usage state of the discharge tray by the notification unit. At least one of the first to third discharge trays is provided with an opening / closing door for a user to access the printed matter of the discharge tray, and a lock mechanism for locking the opening / closing door,
7. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein, when the discharge tray provided with the lock mechanism is in use, the control unit locks the open / close door by operating the lock mechanism. The image forming apparatus described in 1. Furthermore, it has a reception unit that accepts instructions from users,
After executing the print job and determining the quality abnormality of the printed matter, when receiving an instruction to interrupt the print job from the reception unit,
The control unit stops the operation of the paper transport unit after discharging the printed material up to the same page as the printed matter of the quality abnormality of the portion discharged to the first discharge tray to the first discharge tray. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print job is interrupted.   When the stop page can be selected together with the interruption instruction from the reception unit, and the immediate stop is selected as the stop page, the control unit removes the sheet being conveyed when the interruption instruction is received. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the print job is interrupted by stopping the operation of the sheet conveying unit after being discharged to any one of the discharge trays. It has first to third discharge trays, has a discharge unit for discharging printed matter imaged on a sheet by the image forming unit, and a sensor arranged in the conveyance path, and print quality information from the output of the sensor A control program for an image forming apparatus comprising a quality information acquisition unit for acquiring
Execution of a print job for printing a plurality of copies of a plurality of sheets on which a discharge destination is the first discharge tray and forms an image in page order based on a plurality of page image data. Steps,
Acquiring quality information of the printed matter being conveyed by the quality information acquisition unit;
Determining the quality abnormality of the printed material conveyed to the discharge unit by comparing the quality information with a predetermined quality standard;
When determining the quality abnormality of the printed matter being conveyed, discharging the printed matter of the quality abnormality to the second discharge tray;
Discharging a predetermined number of printed material following the abnormal quality printed material to the third discharge tray;
Thereafter, discharging the printed material recovered based on the page image data corresponding to the image formed on the printed matter of abnormal quality, and discharging the printed material of the subsequent page to the first discharge tray;
A control program to execute.