Image forming apparatus provided with output tray and control method thereof
AssigneeKonica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.
InventorTatsuya Eguchi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In an image forming apparatus, a sheet is discharged onto an output tray. The image forming apparatus includes a ranging sensor which measures a distance to an object from a position located away by a predetermined distance from a bottom surface of the output tray in a sheet loading direction on a line in parallel with the bottom surface of the output tray and orthogonal to a direction in which the sheet is discharged. In the image forming apparatus, discharge of the sheet onto the output tray is stopped when the distance to the object measured by the ranging sensor is lower than a specific distance.
Claims8
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- an output tray on which a sheet is placed;
- a discharge unit which discharges the sheet onto said output tray;
- a ranging unit which includes a light projecting element and a detecting element, emits light from said light projecting element from a position located away by a predetermined distance from a bottom surface of said output tray in a sheet loading direction on a line in parallel with the bottom surface of said output tray and intersecting a direction orthogonal to a direction in which said discharge unit discharges the sheet, and measures a distance to an object based on a detection position on said detecting element which detects light reflected by the object;
- a size obtaining unit which obtains a size of the sheet discharged onto said output tray;
- a light path changing unit which changes a light path emitted by said light projecting element according to the sheet size obtained by said size obtaining unit;
- and
- a control unit which stops sheet discharge performed by said discharge unit when the distance measured by said ranging unit is lower than a specific distance.
A method of controlling an image forming apparatus including a discharge unit which includes a light projecting element and a detecting element and discharges a sheet onto an output tray, the method comprising the steps of:
- emitting light from said light projecting element from a position located away by a predetermined distance from a bottom surface of said output tray in a sheet loading direction on a line in parallel with the bottom surface of said output tray and intersecting a direction orthogonal to a direction in which said discharge unit discharges the sheet, and measuring a distance to an object based on a detection position on said detecting element which detects light reflected by the object;
- obtaining a size of the sheet discharged onto said output tray;
- changing a light path emitted by said light projecting element according to said obtained sheet size;
- determining whether or not said distance measured in the distance measuring step is lower than a specific distance;
- and
- stopping discharge of the sheet to said output tray performed by said discharge unit when the distance measured in the distance measuring step is determined to be lower than said specific distance.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.