Image forming apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9354580-B2
Application number	US-201514685323-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 13, 2015
Priority date	Apr 16, 2014
Publication date	May 31, 2016
Grant date	May 31, 2016

Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus main body including an opening, an image forming unit, a storage portion, a moving unit, and a control unit. The control unit switches between a first state and a second state, the first state being a state where the moving unit is prohibited from moving and exposing a first sheet when information about a second user different from a first user who has instructed to print a first sheet is received, and the second state being a state where the moving unit is permitted to move and expose the first sheet if information about the second user is received.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
an apparatus main body formed with an opening;
an image forming unit configured to form an image on a sheet;
a plurality of storage portions each configured to store the sheet on which the image is formed inside the apparatus main body;
a moving unit configured to move the sheet stored in a storage portion included in the plurality of storage portions and expose the sheet outside of the apparatus main body via the opening; and
a control unit configured to permit the moving unit to move and expose a first sheet stored in the storage portion if the control unit receives information about a first user who has instructed to print the first sheet,
wherein the control unit is configured to,
in a case where the control unit is not instructed to print more sheets than the number of sheets that can be stored in the plurality of storage portions, prohibit the moving unit from moving and exposing the first sheet if the control unit receives information about a second user different from the first user, and
in a case where the control unit is instructed to print more sheets than the number of sheets that can be stored in the plurality of storage portions, permit the moving unit to move and expose the first sheet if the control unit receives the information about the second user.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to,
in a case where the control unit is instructed to print more sheets than the number of sheets that can be stored in the plurality of storage portions and a time period during which the first sheet has been stored in the storage portion has not exceeded a predetermined time period, prohibit the moving unit from moving and exposing the first sheet if the control unit receives the information about the second user, and
in a case where the control unit is instructed to print more sheets than a number of sheets that can be stored in the plurality of storage portions and the time period during which the first sheet has been stored in the storage portion has exceeded the predetermined time period, permit the moving unit to move and expose the first sheet if the control unit receives the information about the second user.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising a detection unit configured to detect that the sheet has been stored in the storage portion,
wherein the time period during which the first sheet has been stored in the storage portion is counted from a time at which the detection unit detects the first sheet.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the time period during which the first sheet has been stored in the storage portion is counted from a time at which the image forming unit starts an image forming operation on the first sheet.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising a changing unit configured to be able to change the predetermined time period.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1
wherein, in a case where each of the plurality of storage portions stores a sheet, the number of sheets that can be stored in the plurality of storage portions is zero.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, in a case where at least one storage portion among the plurality of storage portions does not store a sheet, the number of sheets that can be stored in the plurality of storage portions is the number of sheets that can be stored in the at least one storage portion in which a sheet is not stored.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to, in a case where the control unit is instructed to print more sheets than the number of sheets that can be stored in the plurality of storage portions and the control unit receives information for prohibiting the moving unit from moving and exposing the first sheet based on information about a user other than the first user, prohibit the moving unit from moving and exposing the first sheet if the control unit receives the information about the second user.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a notification unit configured to provide notification to the first user, the notification being that the control unit is switched to a state where the control unit permits the moving unit to move and expose the first sheet if the control unit receives the information about the second user.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the moving unit moves the sheet stored in the storage portion and stops the sheet in an exposure state where a part of the sheet is exposed from the opening to an outside of the apparatus main body.

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Takahashi Genki
• Fukatsu Masayoshi
• Tsuji Hiroharu
• Suzuki Yohei

Classifications

• G03G15/6552 Primary

  Means for discharging uncollated sheet copy material, e.g. discharging rollers, exit trays · CPC title

• G03G2215/00421

  Discharging tray, e.g. devices stabilising the quality of the copy medium, postfixing-treatment, inverting, sorting · CPC title

• G03G15/6529

  Transporting (G03G15/6555 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G03G15/5091

  for user-identification or authorisation · CPC title

• G03G2215/00586

  duplex mode · CPC title