JP7067230B2 - Discriminating device and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a discrimination device and an image forming device.

Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as a digital copying machine or a laser printer transfers a toner image to the surface of a recording medium typified by printing paper, and fixes the transferred toner image on the recording medium by heating and pressurizing. As a result, an image is formed on the recording medium. Therefore, when high-quality image formation is required, the fixing conditions specified by the heating amount and pressure at the time of fixing are individually set according to the recording medium. For the image quality in the recording medium, for example, it is preferable that the fixing conditions are set according to the smoothness of the recording medium. Specifically, it is known that the surface of the storage medium has minute uneven portions, but the concave portions have a lower toner fixing rate than the convex portions. Since the smoothness of the recording medium varies depending on the paper type of the recording medium, it is preferable to set the fixing conditions according to the paper type of the recording medium.

In addition, with the progress of image forming devices and the diversification of expression methods in recent years, there are more than hundreds of types of recording media for printing paper alone, and each type has different specifications such as basis weight and thickness. There are a wide variety of paper types as recording media. Therefore, in order to realize high-quality image formation, it is preferable to set the fixing conditions in consideration of these paper types. Therefore, an optical method has been proposed that improves the accuracy of discriminating the paper type of the recording medium while being low in cost (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-125237

However, in the prior art as described in Patent Document 1, since the paper type of the recording medium is specified based on the amount of diffused light irradiated to the recording medium using the optical system, the recording medium is determined by the position of the recording medium. If the amount of diffused light radiated to the optics is different, the paper type of the specified recording medium will change. Therefore, depending on the recording medium, the paper type of the recording medium may not be correctly determined. That is, if the recording media are diversified, there is a possibility that the discrimination accuracy of the recording medium cannot be improved while suppressing the cost.

The present disclosure has been made in view of such a situation, and is intended to improve the accuracy of discriminating the paper type of the recording medium while suppressing the cost even if the recording medium is diversified. ..

The discriminating device according to the first aspect of the present disclosure includes a support member that swingably supports the recording medium behind the surface of the recording medium, and a reference position in the normal direction of the surface of the recording medium. A first housing provided with a flat surface, an urging member for urging the support member to the first flat surface so that the surface of the recording medium is located at the reference position, and the first. An optical detection unit that is housed in the housing and detects the amount of diffused light that irradiates and reflects the surface of the recording medium, and the recording medium that is housed in the first housing and supported by the support member. It is detected by the optical detection unit according to the position in the normal direction of the surface of the surface of the recording medium and the position of the recording medium detected by the vertical position detection unit in the normal direction. A discriminating unit for discriminating the paper type of the recording medium based on the amount of light is provided , and the discriminating unit has an allowable range of deviation from the reference position of the position of the surface of the recording medium in the normal direction. If it is inside, the paper type of the recording medium is determined .

Further, in the discriminating device which is the first aspect of the present disclosure, a horizontal position detecting unit for detecting the horizontal position of the recording medium is further provided, and the discriminating unit is the discriminating unit detected by the horizontal position detecting unit. When the horizontal position of the recording medium is at the position where the optical detection unit starts detecting the amount of light, it is preferable to determine the paper type of the recording medium.

Further, in the discrimination device which is the first aspect of the present disclosure, when the optical detection unit does not detect the light amount, a notification unit for notifying that an error state or prompting re-detection of the light amount is provided. It is preferable to further prepare.

Further, in the discrimination device which is the first aspect of the present disclosure, it is preferable that a plurality of the vertical position detection units are arranged around the optical detection unit.

Further, in the discrimination device which is the first aspect of the present disclosure, a second plane facing the first plane is provided, and a second housing for accommodating the support member and the first plane. It is preferable that the second housing is partially recessed toward the second plane, further comprising a holding member for holding the second plane and the second plane at regular intervals. ..

Further, in the discrimination device which is the first aspect of the present disclosure, the back surface side vertical position detection which faces the vertical position detection unit and detects the position in the normal direction of the back surface of the recording medium supported by the support member. The discriminating unit further comprises a unit, and the discriminating unit includes a position in the normal direction of the front surface of the recording medium detected by the vertical position detecting unit, and a back surface of the recording medium detected by the back surface side vertical position detecting unit. It is preferable to determine the thickness of the recording medium based on the position in the normal direction.

Further, the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect of the present disclosure includes a support member that swingably supports the recording medium on the back side of the surface of the recording medium, and a reference position in the normal direction of the surface of the recording medium. A first housing provided with a first plane including the above, and an urging member for urging the support member to the first plane so that the surface of the recording medium is located at the reference position. An optical detection unit housed in the first housing and detecting the amount of diffused light reflected by irradiating the surface of the recording medium, and housed in the first housing and supported by the support member. An image forming apparatus connected to a discrimination device including a vertical position detecting unit that detects a position of the surface of the recording medium in the normal direction, and the recording medium detected by the vertical position detecting unit. A discriminating unit that discriminates the paper type of the recording medium based on the amount of light detected by the optical detection unit according to the position of the surface in the normal direction, and a paper type of the recording medium determined by the discriminating unit. An image forming unit for forming an image on the recording medium is provided , and the discriminating unit has an allowable range of deviation of the position of the surface of the recording medium in the normal direction from the reference position. In the case of, the paper type of the recording medium is determined .

Therefore, as in the case of the discriminating device described above, even if the recording medium P is diversified, it is possible to improve the discriminating accuracy of the paper type of the recording medium P while suppressing the cost.

Further, in the image forming apparatus which is the second aspect of the present disclosure, the discriminating device further includes a horizontal position detecting unit for detecting the horizontal position of the recording medium, and the discriminating unit further comprises the horizontal position detecting unit. When the horizontal position of the recording medium detected by the unit is at the detection start position of the light amount by the optical detection unit, it is preferable to determine the paper type of the recording medium.

Further, in the image forming apparatus which is the second aspect of the present disclosure, when the optical amount is not detected by the optical detection unit, a notification unit for notifying that an error state is present or that the re-detection of the light amount is urged. It is preferable to further provide.

Further, in the image forming apparatus which is the second aspect of the present disclosure, the discriminating device faces the vertical position detecting unit and detects the position in the normal direction of the back surface of the recording medium supported by the supporting member. The back surface side vertical position detecting unit is further provided, and the discriminating unit is detected by the position in the normal direction of the surface of the recording medium detected by the vertical position detecting unit and the back surface side vertical position detecting unit. It is preferable to determine the thickness of the recording medium based on the position of the back surface of the recording medium in the normal direction.

Further, in the image forming apparatus which is the second aspect of the present disclosure, it is preferable to further include a communication unit capable of communicating with the discrimination apparatus.

According to the first and second aspects of the present disclosure, even if the recording medium is diversified, the accuracy of discriminating the paper type of the recording medium P can be improved while suppressing the cost.

It is a figure which shows the schematic configuration example of the discriminant apparatus 1 which concerns on Embodiment 1 to which this disclosure is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure example of the discrimination apparatus 1 which concerns on Embodiment 1 to which this disclosure is applied. It is a figure which shows an example which determines whether or not to execute the determination of the paper type of the recording medium P which concerns on Embodiment 1 to which this disclosure is applied, according to the detection result of the vertical position detection unit 12. It is a figure which shows an example which took the bird's-eye view of the optical detection unit 11, the vertical position detection unit 12, and the horizontal position detection unit 13 according to the first embodiment to which the present disclosure is applied. It is a figure which shows an example of the shape of the recording medium P which is erroneously detected by the vertical position detection part 12 which concerns on Embodiment 1 to which this disclosure is applied. It is a figure which shows an example which the vertical position detection part 12_1 to 12_3 are arranged around the optical detection part 11 which concerns on Embodiment 1 to which this disclosure is applied. It is a figure which shows an example of the recessed part 51 which assists in making the surface of the recording medium P which concerns on Embodiment 1 to which this disclosure is applied come into contact with an optical detection part 11. It is a figure which shows the structural example which erroneously detects the thickness of the recording medium P which concerns on Embodiment 1 to which this disclosure is applied. It is a figure which shows the structural example which detects the thickness of the recording medium P which concerns on Embodiment 1 to which this disclosure is applied. It is a figure which shows the configuration example which detects the horizontal position which concerns on Embodiment 1 to which this disclosure is applied at a plurality of places. It is a flowchart explaining the control example of the discrimination apparatus 1 which concerns on Embodiment 1 to which this disclosure is applied. It is a figure which shows the schematic structure example of the image forming apparatus 200 which concerns on Embodiment 2 to which this disclosure is applied.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration example of the discrimination device 1 according to the first embodiment to which the present disclosure is applied. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration example of the discrimination device 1 according to the first embodiment to which the present disclosure is applied. The discrimination device 1 includes an optical detection unit 11, a support member 21, a vertical position detection unit 12, and a discrimination unit 32. The optical detection unit 11 detects the amount of diffused light radiated to the recording medium P. The optical detection unit 11 is composed of, for example, a photodiode and an LED. The LED irradiates the recording medium P with diffused light. The photodiode detects the amount of diffused light radiated to the recording medium P by the LED. The support member 21 supports the recording medium P at the reference position X in the normal direction on the surface of the recording medium P. The vertical position detection unit 12 is composed of, for example, a photo interrupter, an actuator, and an encoder. Since the actuator moves according to the degree of contact of the recording medium P, the movement of the actuator is detected by the photo interrupter, and the detection result of the photo interrupter is pulse-converted by the encoder to calculate the amount of movement of the actuator from the initial state. Will be done. Therefore, the vertical position detection unit 12 can detect the position of the surface of the recording medium P in the normal direction. That is, the vertical position detection unit 12 detects the position of the surface of the recording medium P supported by the support member 21 in the normal direction. The determination unit 32 determines the paper type of the recording medium P based on the amount of light detected by the optical detection unit 11 according to the position in the normal direction of the surface of the recording medium P detected by the vertical position detection unit 12. .. The details of the discrimination unit 32 will be described later.

The discrimination device 1 further includes a first housing 3, a second housing 4, and a holding member 5. The first housing 3 accommodates the optical detection unit 11 and the vertical position detection unit 12. The first housing 3 is provided with a first flat surface 6. The first plane 6 includes the reference position X. The second housing 4 accommodates the support member 21. The second housing 4 is provided with a second flat surface 7. The second plane 7 faces the first plane 6. The holding member 5 holds the first plane 6 and the second plane 7 at regular intervals. Therefore, the discriminating device 1 discriminates the paper type of the recording medium P when the recording medium P is inserted between the first plane 6 and the second plane 7. The discriminating device 1 further includes an urging member 22. The urging member 22 urges the support member 21 to the reference position X. Specifically, the support member 21 is swingable in the normal direction of the surface of the recording medium P according to the thickness of the recording medium P while being urged by the urging member 22. The urging member 22 is composed of an elastic member, and the urging force is adjusted so that even the recording medium P having the weakest rigidity does not buckle. The urging member 22 is housed in the second housing 4. The discrimination device 1 further includes a horizontal position detection unit 13. The horizontal position detection unit 13 is composed of, for example, a reflective photo sensor. Therefore, when the recording medium P is inserted into the discrimination device 1, the horizontal position of the recording medium P can be detected by the horizontal position detection unit 13. The horizontal position detection unit 13 is housed in the first housing 3. The discrimination device 1 further includes a control unit 31 and a notification unit 33. The control unit 31 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, memory, and an I / O interface, and functions as a hardware processor. The notification unit 33 is composed of, for example, an LED lamp or the like, and can perform various notifications by lighting control, blinking control, color control, or the like of the LED lamp. For example, when the optical detection unit 11 does not detect the amount of light, the notification unit 33 notifies that an error state is present or that the amount of light is urged to be re-detected. The power switch 9 is provided in the first housing 3.

Next, the function of the discrimination unit 32 will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 12. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of determining whether or not to execute the determination of the paper type of the recording medium P according to the first embodiment to which the present disclosure is applied according to the detection result of the vertical position detection unit 12. When the position in the normal direction of the surface of the recording medium P detected by the vertical position detection unit 12 is within the allowable range, the determination unit 32 determines the paper type of the recording medium P. For example, in the example of FIG. 3A, the amount of light can be detected correctly, but in the example of FIG. 3B, the amount of light cannot be detected correctly.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a bird's-eye view of the optical detection unit 11, the vertical position detection unit 12, and the horizontal position detection unit 13 according to the first embodiment to which the present disclosure is applied. In one example of FIG. 4, the optical detection unit 11 and the vertical position detection unit 12 are arranged adjacent to each other. However, the vertical position detection unit 12 may erroneously detect. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the shape of the recording medium P erroneously detected by the vertical position detection unit 12 according to the first embodiment to which the present disclosure is applied. In one example of FIG. 5, the vertical position detection unit 12 detects that the position of the surface of the recording medium P in the normal direction is within the allowable range. Actually, since the recording medium P is separated from the optical detection unit 11, the amount of light is not accurately detected. Therefore, when such a state is assumed, a plurality of vertical position detection units 12 are arranged around the optical detection unit 11. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example in which vertical position detection units 12_1 to 12_3 are arranged around the optical detection unit 11 according to the first embodiment to which the present disclosure is applied. With such an arrangement configuration, the detection results of the vertical position detection units 12_1 to 12_3 can be taken into consideration, so that erroneous detection of the position of the surface of the recording medium P in the normal direction can be avoided. When any one of the vertical position detection units 12_1 to 12_3 is not particularly distinguished, it is referred to as a vertical position detection unit 12.

Depending on the rigidity of the recording medium P, it is assumed that the recording medium P is separated from the optical detection unit 11 even if the recording medium P is inserted into the discrimination device 1. When such a state is assumed, the holding member 5 is configured to be partially recessed toward the second flat surface 7. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a recessed portion 51 that assists the surface of the recording medium P according to the first embodiment to which the present disclosure is applied in contact with the optical detection unit 11. As shown in FIG. 7, since the holding member 5 is provided with the recessed portion 51, even if the recording medium P has high rigidity, the recording medium P is normal due to the recessed portion 51 on the surface of the recording medium P. It is pushed up in the direction, that is, in the + Z axis direction.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration example in which the thickness of the recording medium P according to the first embodiment to which the present disclosure is applied is erroneously detected. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration example for detecting the thickness of the recording medium P according to the first embodiment to which the present disclosure is applied. In one example of FIG. 8, the back surface side vertical position detection unit 12_L does not face the vertical position detection unit 12_U. Therefore, there is a possibility that the thickness error of the recording medium P for the allowable range permitted by the optical detection unit 11 is added. When such a state is assumed, the back surface side vertical position detection unit 12_L faces the vertical position detection unit 12_U and is normal to the back surface of the recording medium P supported by the support member 21 as shown in FIG. The configuration is such that the position in the direction is detected. On the premise of such a configuration, the discriminating unit 32 uses the normal direction of the front surface of the recording medium P detected by the vertical position detection unit 12_U and the back surface of the recording medium P detected by the back surface side vertical position detection unit 12_L. The thickness of the recording medium P is obtained based on the normal direction.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration example for detecting horizontal positions at a plurality of locations according to the first embodiment to which the present disclosure is applied. In one example of FIG. 10, a horizontal position detecting unit 13_1 and a horizontal position detecting unit 13_2 are provided. When the horizontal position detection unit 13_1 and the horizontal position detection unit 13_2 are not distinguished, it is referred to as a horizontal position detection unit 13. For example, the light intensity may be detected a plurality of times triggered by the start of detection of each horizontal position detection unit 13. Further, after the horizontal position detection unit 13_1 detects the first horizontal position of the recording medium P, the amount of light is repeatedly detected by the timer value, and the horizontal position detection unit 13_1 detects the second horizontal position of the recording medium P. The amount of light may be continuously detected until. In this way, by detecting the amount of light at a plurality of times and at a plurality of locations, it is possible to obtain the average value of the detection result of the amount of light, etc., so that it is possible to suppress the variation in the amount of light in the recording medium P, and as a result, the detection. The error can be suppressed. That is, when the horizontal position of the recording medium P detected by the horizontal position detection unit 13 is at the position where the optical detection unit 11 starts detecting the amount of light, the discrimination unit 32 determines the paper type of the recording medium P.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a control example of the discrimination device 1 according to the first embodiment to which the present disclosure is applied. In step S11, the control unit 31 determines whether or not the power is turned on. When the control unit 31 determines that the power has been turned on (step S11; Y), the control unit 31 shifts to the process of step S12. When the control unit 31 determines that the power is not turned on (step S11; N), the control unit 31 continues the process of step S11. In step S12, the control unit 31 executes initialization. For example, various data stored in the RAM are initialized. In step S13, the control unit 31 determines whether or not the first horizontal position has been detected. When the control unit 31 determines that the first horizontal position has been detected (step S13; Y), the control unit 31 shifts to the process of step S14. When the control unit 31 determines that the first horizontal position is not detected (step S13; N), the control unit 31 continues the process of step S13. In step S14, the control unit 31 determines whether or not the vertical position is within the allowable range. When the control unit 31 determines that the vertical position is within the allowable range (step S14; Y), the control unit 31 shifts to the process of step S15. When the control unit 31 determines that the vertical position is not within the allowable range (step S14; N), the control unit 31 continues the process of step S14. In step S15, the control unit 31 causes the optical detection unit 11 to perform detection. That is, the control unit 31 causes the optical detection unit 11 to detect the amount of light. In step S16, the control unit 31 determines whether or not the second horizontal position has been detected. When the control unit 31 determines that the second horizontal position has been detected (step S16; Y), the control unit 31 shifts to the process of step S17. When the control unit 31 determines that the second horizontal position is not detected (step S16; N), the control unit 31 returns to the process of step S14. In step S17, the control unit 31 causes the notification unit 33 to perform notification, and ends the process.

From the above description, according to the present embodiment, it is premised that the support member 21 supports the recording medium P at the reference position X, and the vertical position detection unit 12 detects the position of the surface of the recording medium P in the normal direction. As a result, the paper type of the recording medium P is determined based on the amount of light detected by the optical detection unit 11 according to the position in the normal direction of the surface of the recording medium P detected by the vertical position detection unit 12. Since the optical detection unit 11 is composed of an optical system, it is possible to discriminate the paper type of the recording medium P with a simple configuration, which can be realized non-destructively and at low cost. Further, if the support member 21 supports the recording medium P at the reference position X, the deviation of the recording medium P from the reference position X can be suppressed, so that the variation in the detection result of the amount of light detected by the optical detection unit 11 can be suppressed. Can be done. Further, since the paper type of the recording medium P is determined based on the amount of light detected by the optical detection unit 11 according to the position of the surface of the recording medium P in the normal direction, the amount of light detected by the optical detection unit 11 is determined. It is possible to exclude the case where the detection result is erroneously detected. Therefore, even if the recording medium P is diversified, the accuracy of discriminating the paper type of the recording medium P can be improved while suppressing the cost. Since it is compatible with various recording media P, it is possible to widen the dynamic range of the corresponding rigidity.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the support member 21 can swing in the normal direction of the surface of the recording medium P according to the thickness of the recording medium P while being urged by the urging member 22. .. Therefore, even if the recording medium P is about to move away from the reference position X due to the thickness of the recording medium P, the support member 21 is urged by the urging member 22, so that the recording medium P is always held at the reference position X. can do. Therefore, even if the recording medium P is diversified, it is possible to suppress variations in the detection result of the amount of light detected by the optical detection unit 11, so that the paper type discrimination accuracy of the recording medium P can be particularly significantly improved. ..

Further, according to the present embodiment, when the position of the surface of the recording medium P detected by the vertical position detection unit 12 in the normal direction is within the allowable range, the paper type of the recording medium P is determined. In the conventional configuration, the amount of light detected by the optical detection unit 11 is detected without considering the position of the surface of the recording medium P in the normal direction. That is, the prior art detects the amount of diffused light radiated to the recording medium P on the premise that the recording medium P is at the reference position X even if the recording medium P is actually away from the reference position X. Therefore, there is a possibility that the amount of diffused light irradiated to the recording medium P is different from the expected amount of light. If the amount of diffused light applied to the recording medium P is different from the expected amount of light, the accuracy of discriminating the paper type of the recording medium P is also affected. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the exact position of the surface of the recording medium P in the normal direction is known, it is possible to know whether or not the position of the recording medium P in the normal direction is within the allowable range. Therefore, if the position of the recording medium P in the normal direction is out of the permissible range, the processing that does not adopt the detection result of the amount of light detected by the optical detection unit 11 can be performed, and as a result, it is detected by the optical detection unit 11. Only those with a small variation can be used as the detection result of the amount of light. Therefore, it is possible to improve the detection accuracy of the detection result of the amount of light detected by the optical detection unit 11.

Further, according to the present embodiment, when the horizontal position of the recording medium P detected by the horizontal position detection unit 13 is at the light amount detection start position by the optical detection unit 11, the paper type of the recording medium P is determined. Will be done. Therefore, when the recording medium P is not at the position where the optical detection unit 11 starts detecting the amount of light, the optical detection unit 11 is not required to detect the amount of light, and even if the optical detection unit 11 detects the amount of light, the optical amount is optical. Since the detection result of the detection unit 11 is not used for determining the paper type of the recording medium P, it is possible to exclude the detection result of the amount of light detected by the optical detection unit 11 when the detection error becomes large. Therefore, the detection error of the amount of light detected by the optical detection unit 11 can be suppressed particularly remarkably.

Further, according to the present embodiment, when the optical amount of light is not detected by the optical detection unit 11, it is notified that an error state is present or that the amount of light is urged to be re-detected. Therefore, it is possible to urge the user to take action until the paper type of the recording medium P is correctly determined. Therefore, since the user can confirm the deformation of the recording medium P and the like, the user reinserts the recording medium P into the discriminating device 1, so that the optical detection unit 11 can reliably detect the amount of light and the recording medium. It is possible to correctly determine the paper type of P.

Further, according to the present embodiment, since a plurality of vertical position detection units 12 are arranged around the optical detection unit 11, it is possible to reliably detect the case where the shape of the recording medium P is outside the detection range of the optical detection unit 11. can. Therefore, the possibility of erroneous detection of the optical detection unit 11 can be suppressed as much as possible. For example, when there is only one vertical position detection unit 12, even if the position in the normal direction of the surface of the recording medium P detected by the vertical position detection unit 12 is within the detection range of the optical detection unit 11. There is a possibility that the position of the surface of the recording medium P at a position facing the optical detection unit 11 in the normal direction is at a distance corresponding to outside the detection range of the optical detection unit 11. That is, there is a possibility that the recording medium P exists at a position farther from the position in the height direction that the optical detection unit 11 can actually detect. Further, when there are two vertical position detection units 12, the optical detection unit detects the position of the surface of the recording medium P in the normal direction at two locations as compared with the case where there is one vertical position detection unit 12. It is possible to suppress the false detection of 11. When there are three vertical position detection units 12, three vertical position detection units 12 are arranged around the optical detection unit 11. Therefore, the vertical position detection unit 12 should be arranged so as to surround the optical detection unit 11. Is possible. Therefore, the possibility of erroneous detection of the optical detection unit 11 can be suppressed as much as possible.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the holding member 5 is partially recessed toward the second flat surface 7. If the rigidity of the recording medium P is low, the recording medium P is supported at the reference position X by the support member 21. If the recording medium P has high rigidity, it may be in a floating state from the reference position X. Therefore, if a part of the holding member 5 is recessed toward the second plane 7, the recording medium P is recessed when inserted between the first plane 6 and the second plane 7. Since a part is inserted in the present place, the other part is pushed up to the side of the first plane 6 by its own rigidity. As a result, the recording medium P can be aligned with the reference position X.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the position in the normal direction of the front surface of the recording medium P detected by the vertical position detection unit 12_U and the normal line of the back surface of the recording medium P detected by the back surface side vertical position detection unit 12_L. The thickness of the recording medium P is determined based on the position in the direction. The back surface side vertical position detection unit 12_L is arranged at a position facing the vertical position detection unit 12_U. Therefore, when the recording medium P is located between the vertical position detection unit 12_U and the back surface side vertical position detection unit 12_L, the position in the normal direction of the front surface of the recording medium P and the position in the normal direction of the back surface are simultaneously detected. It is possible. On the other hand, when the recording medium P is not between the vertical position detection unit 12_U and the back surface side vertical position detection unit 12_L, the initial values of the vertical position detection unit 12_U and the back surface side vertical position detection unit 12_L are obtained. be able to. Therefore, the thickness of the recording medium P can be detected with high accuracy.

Embodiment 2.
In the second embodiment, the same reference numerals are used for the same configurations or functions as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted. In the second embodiment, an example in which the discriminating device 1 according to the first embodiment is connected to another device and used will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration example of the image forming apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment to which the present disclosure is applied. The image forming apparatus 200 is an apparatus for forming a color image of an intermediate transfer method using an electrophotographic process technique. The image forming apparatus 200 is a vertical tandem in which photosensitive drums corresponding to the four colors of YMCK are arranged in series in the traveling direction of the intermediate transfer belt, that is, in the vertical direction, and the toner images of each color are sequentially transferred to the intermediate transfer belt in one procedure. The method is adopted. That is, the image forming apparatus 200 primary transfers the Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K (black) color toner images formed on the photosensitive drum to the intermediate transfer belt, and the intermediate transfer belt. After superimposing the toner images of the four colors above, the image is formed by secondary transfer to the recording medium P.

The image forming apparatus 200 includes an image reading unit 210, an operation display unit 220, an image processing unit 230, an image forming unit 240, a paper transport unit 250, a fixing unit 260, and a control unit 301. The image reading unit 210 includes an automatic document feeding device 211, a document image scanning device 212, and the like. The automatic document feeding device 211 is referred to as an ADF (Auto Document Feeder). The automatic document feeding device 211 transports the documents placed on the document tray by the transport mechanism and feeds them to the document image scanning device 212. The automatic document feeding device 211 can continuously read images of a large number of documents placed on the document tray. When the automatic document feeding device 211 continuously reads images of a large number of documents, the automatic document feeding device 211 can read both sides of each document by the paper reversing mechanism. The document image scanning device 212 optically scans the document conveyed on the contact glass from the automatic document feeding device 211 or the document placed on the contact glass. The document image scanning device 212 reads the document image formed on the document by forming an image of the reflected light from the document by optical scanning on the light receiving surface of the CCD sensor. The image reading unit 210 generates input image data of the original image based on the reading result by the original image scanning device 212. The input image data is supplied to the image processing unit 230, and the image processing unit 230 executes preset image processing. The operation display unit 220 is realized by, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD: Liquid Crystal Display) with a touch panel, and functions as a display unit 221 and an operation unit 222. The display unit 221 displays various operation screens, image states, operation statuses of each function, and the like according to the display control signals input from the control unit 301. The operation unit 222 includes various operation keys such as a numeric keypad and a start key. The operation unit 222 generates an operation signal by receiving various input operations by the user. The operation signal is output to the control unit 301. The control unit 301 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, memory, and an I / O interface, and functions as a hardware processor.

The image processing unit 230 includes a circuit that performs digital image processing according to initial settings or user settings on the input image data. For example, under the control of the control unit 301, the image processing unit 230 performs gradation correction on the input image data based on the gradation correction table in which the gradation correction data is set. In addition to the gradation correction, the image processing unit 230 performs various correction processing such as color correction and shading correction, compression processing, and the like on the input image data. The image forming unit 240 performs various processes based on the input image data obtained by such various digital image processes. The image forming unit 240 forms an image with the colored toners of the Y component, the M component, the C component, and the K component based on the input image data. The image forming unit 240 includes a photosensitive drum, a charging device, an exposure device, a developing device, and an intermediate transfer device. The surface of the photosensitive drum is uniformly charged by the corona discharge of the charging device. When the exposure apparatus irradiates the photosensitive drum with a laser beam corresponding to the image of each color component, an electrostatic latent image of each color component is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum. When the developing device supplies the toner of each color component to the surface of the photosensitive drum, the electrostatic latent image is visualized and the toner image is formed. The toner image is transferred to the recording medium P by the intermediate transfer device. The fixing unit 260 fixes the toner image on the recording medium P by heating and pressurizing the toner image transferred to the recording medium P. The paper transport unit 250 includes a paper feed unit 251, a paper discharge unit 252, a transport path unit 253, and the like. The paper feed unit 251 is accommodated for each type preset based on the basis weight, size, and the like of the recording medium P. The transport path section 253 transports the recording medium P housed in the paper feed section 251 or the recording medium P on which an image is formed on either the front or the back. The paper ejection unit 252 ejects the recording medium P on which the image is formed to the outside of the machine.

The image forming apparatus 200 further includes a communication unit 302. The communication unit 302 is capable of communicating with the discrimination device 1 and functions as a communication interface between the image forming device 200 and the discrimination device 1. Further, the control unit 301 can realize the function of the determination unit 32 by the CPU executing the program. That is, the control unit 301 configures the function of the discrimination unit 32 by executing various preset programs. In this case, instead of the discrimination unit 32 provided in the discrimination device 1, the function of the discrimination unit 32 dynamically realized by the control unit 301 by executing the program may be used. Specifically, the function of the discrimination unit 32 realized by the control unit 301 is to discriminate the paper type of the recording medium P based on the amount of light detected by the optical detection unit 11. Therefore, the image forming unit 240 forms an image on the recording medium P according to the paper type of the recording medium P determined by the function of the discrimination unit 32. Therefore, the control unit 301 can discriminate the paper type of the discriminated recording medium P and change the transfer and fixing conditions from the appropriate paper feed and transport conditions. That is, appropriate image formation conditions can be set from the measured physical property values of the recording medium P. In other words, the image forming unit 240 determines the development conditions, the transfer conditions, and the fixing conditions based on the determined paper type, and forms an image on the recording medium P according to the determination result. Therefore, even if the recording medium P is diversified, an image can be formed on the recording medium P according to various optimum conditions. Therefore, a high quality image can be formed on the recording medium P. Since the image forming apparatus 200 can communicate with the discrimination device 1 by being connected to the discrimination device 1 by, for example, the communication cable 401, it is also possible to notify the display unit 221 of the content notified by the notification unit 33. Is. Since the display unit 221 is composed of a GUI, it is possible to urge the user to respond by displaying a message or the like, for example.

From the above description, according to the present embodiment, since the communication unit 302 can communicate with the discrimination device 1, the image forming apparatus 200 side executes the discrimination of the paper type of the recording medium P based on various detection results in the discrimination device 1. can do. Since the image forming apparatus 200 has a larger memory capacity than the determining apparatus 1, the amount of data held in various tables required for determining the paper type of the recording medium P can be increased. Further, a hardware processor having a processing speed faster than that of the discriminating device 1 is mounted. Therefore, it is possible to process a wider variety of paper types of the recording medium P at high speed, and to execute a series of processes from the determination of the recording medium P to the image forming process according to the recording medium P.

Although the discriminating device 1 to which the present disclosure is applied has been described above based on the embodiment, the present disclosure is not limited to this, and changes may be made without departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

For example, in the present embodiment, an example of detecting the amount of light by the optical detection unit 11 has been described, but the present invention is not particularly limited to this. For example, the surface of the recording medium P may be image-determined by a two-dimensional sensor. In this case, even if the depth of field of the two-dimensional sensor is narrow, the position in the normal direction of the surface of the recording medium P, that is, the position in the normal direction of the surface of the recording medium P is within the allowable range. In this case, since the paper type of the recording medium P is determined, erroneous detection can be avoided by not using the erroneous detection result.

Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which the notification unit 33 is composed of an LED lamp has been described, but the present invention is not particularly limited thereto. For example, it may be composed of a 7-segment display.

1 Discrimination device, 3 1st housing, 4 2nd housing, 5 holding member, 51 recess 6 1st plane, 7 2nd plane, 9 power switch, 11 optical detector 12, 12_1 to 12_3 , 12_U Vertical position detector,
12_L Back side vertical position detection unit 13,13_1,13_2 Horizontal position detection unit, 21 Support member 22 Bouncer member, 31 Control unit, 32 Discrimination unit, 33 Notification unit 200 Image forming device, 210 Image reader, 211 Automatic document feeding Feeding device 212 Original image scanning device, 220 Operation display unit, 221 Display unit, 222 Operation unit 230 Image processing unit, 240 Image forming unit, 250 Paper transport unit, 251 Feed feed unit 252 Paper discharge unit, 253 Transport route unit, 260 Fixing unit 301 Control unit, 302 Communication unit, 401 Communication cable P Recording medium, X Reference position

Claims (11)

A support member that swingably supports the recording medium on the back side of the surface of the recording medium, and
A first housing provided with a first plane including a reference position in the normal direction of the surface of the recording medium, and a first housing .
An urging member that urges the support member to the first plane so that the surface of the recording medium is located at the reference position.
An optical detection unit housed in the first housing and detecting the amount of diffused light reflected by irradiating the surface of the recording medium.
A vertical position detection unit that is housed in the first housing and is supported by the support member to detect the position of the surface of the recording medium in the normal direction.
A discriminator that determines the paper type of the recording medium based on the amount of light detected by the optical detection unit according to the position in the normal direction of the surface of the recording medium detected by the vertical position detection unit. ,
Equipped with
The discriminating unit determines the paper type of the recording medium when the amount of deviation of the position of the surface of the recording medium in the normal direction from the reference position is within an allowable range .
Discriminating device. A horizontal position detection unit that detects the horizontal position of the recording medium,
Further prepare
The discrimination unit is
When the horizontal position of the recording medium detected by the horizontal position detection unit is at the detection start position of the light amount by the optical detection unit, the paper type of the recording medium is determined.
The discrimination device according to claim 1 . When the optical amount is not detected by the optical detection unit, a notification unit that notifies that an error state is present or that the re-detection of the light amount is urged.
Further prepare,
The discriminating device according to claim 1 or 2 . The vertical position detector is
A plurality of optical detectors are arranged around the optical detector.
The discriminating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . A second plane facing the first plane is provided, and a second housing for accommodating the support member is provided.
A holding member that holds the first plane and the second plane at regular intervals, and
Further prepare
The second housing is
A part is recessed on the side of the second plane,
The discriminating device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . A back-side vertical position detection unit that faces the vertical position detection unit and detects the position of the back surface of the recording medium supported by the support member in the normal direction.
Further prepare
The discrimination unit is
Based on the position in the normal direction of the front surface of the recording medium detected by the vertical position detection unit and the position in the normal direction of the back surface of the recording medium detected by the back surface side vertical position detection unit. Finding the thickness of the recording medium,
The discriminating device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 . A support member that swingably supports the recording medium on the back side of the surface of the recording medium,
A first housing provided with a first plane including a reference position in the normal direction of the surface of the recording medium, and a first housing .
An urging member that urges the support member to the first plane so that the surface of the recording medium is located at the reference position.
An optical detection unit housed in the first housing and detecting the amount of diffused light reflected by irradiating the surface of the recording medium.
An image forming apparatus connected to a discrimination device including a vertical position detecting unit housed in the first housing and detecting a position in the normal direction of the surface of the recording medium supported by the supporting member. There,
A discriminator that determines the paper type of the recording medium based on the amount of light detected by the optical detection unit according to the position in the normal direction of the surface of the recording medium detected by the vertical position detection unit. ,
An image forming unit that forms an image on the recording medium according to the paper type of the recording medium determined by the discriminating unit, and an image forming unit.
Equipped with
The discriminating unit determines the paper type of the recording medium when the amount of deviation of the position of the surface of the recording medium in the normal direction from the reference position is within an allowable range .
Image forming device. The discrimination device is
A horizontal position detection unit that detects the horizontal position of the recording medium,
Further prepare
The discrimination unit is
When the horizontal position of the recording medium detected by the horizontal position detection unit is at the detection start position of the light amount by the optical detection unit, the paper type of the recording medium is determined.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 7 . When the optical amount is not detected by the optical detection unit, a notification unit that notifies that an error state is present or that the re-detection of the light amount is urged.
Further prepare,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 7 . The discrimination device is
A back-side vertical position detection unit that faces the vertical position detection unit and detects the position of the back surface of the recording medium supported by the support member in the normal direction.
Further prepare
The discrimination unit is
Based on the position in the normal direction of the front surface of the recording medium detected by the vertical position detection unit and the position in the normal direction of the back surface of the recording medium detected by the back surface side vertical position detection unit. Finding the thickness of the recording medium,
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 9 . A communication unit capable of communicating with the discrimination device,
Further prepare,
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 10 .

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