Printing apparatus, method, storage medium storing program, and program product

Abstract

The invention discloses a printing apparatus, a method, a storage medium storing a program, and a program product. The printing apparatus includes: a plurality of sheet accommodating units; and a notification unit configured to, in a case where a sheet is supplied from a first sheet accommodating unit included in the plurality of sheet accommodating units during printing, notify a message that prompts that a user operation is not performed on a second sheet accommodating unit different from the first sheet accommodating unit. In a case where a user operates the second sheet accommodating unit, a path through which the second sheet accommodating unit passes overlaps at least a part of a transport path of the sheet supplied from the first sheet accommodating unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a printing apparatus including a sheet accommodating unit, a method in the printing apparatus, a storage medium storing a program, and a program product. Background Art

[0002] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-276315 1 describes a display unit that provides information about a paper jam to a user, a user that performs a paper jam release process when a paper jam occurs, and a control that prohibits operation by locking the device when a paper jam occurs.

[0003] In the case of a printing apparatus not including a locking mechanism, if another feed cassette is opened and closed during printing by feeding paper from a specific feed cassette, a paper jam may occur. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-276315 1 does not mention preventing a paper jam in a printing apparatus not including a locking mechanism. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention provides a printing apparatus, a method in the printing apparatus, a storage medium storing a program, and a program product, the printing apparatus preventing an event that hinders printing from being caused by an operation being executed on a sheet housing unit.

[0005] In its first aspect, the present invention provides a printing device, which includes: a plurality of sheet storage units; and a notification unit, which is configured to, during printing, when sheets are supplied from a first sheet storage unit included in the plurality of sheet storage units, notify a message prompting not to perform a user operation on a second sheet storage unit that is different from the first sheet storage unit, wherein, when the user operates the second sheet storage unit, a path passed by the second sheet storage unit overlaps with at least a portion of a conveying path of sheets supplied from the first sheet storage unit.

[0006] In its second aspect, the present invention provides a method performed in a printing device including multiple sheet storage units, the method comprising: during printing, when sheets are supplied from a first sheet storage unit included in the multiple sheet storage units, a message is notified prompting not to perform a user operation on a second sheet storage unit different from the first sheet storage unit, wherein, when the user operates the second sheet storage unit, a path passed by the second sheet storage unit overlaps with at least a portion of a conveying path of the sheets supplied from the first sheet storage unit.

[0007] In its third aspect, the present invention provides a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the programs including instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of an information processing device, cause the information processing device to perform a method comprising: during printing, when sheets are supplied from a first sheet storage unit included in a plurality of sheet storage units, a message is notified prompting not to perform a user operation on a second sheet storage unit that is different from the first sheet storage unit, wherein, when the user operates the second sheet storage unit, a path passed by the second sheet storage unit overlaps with at least a portion of a conveying path of the sheets supplied from the first sheet storage unit.

[0008] In its fourth aspect, the present invention provides a program product storing one or more programs including instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of an information processing device, cause the information processing device to perform a method comprising: during printing, when sheets are supplied from a first sheet storage unit included in a plurality of sheet storage units, a message is notified prompting a user operation not to be performed on a second sheet storage unit different from the first sheet storage unit, wherein, when the user operates the second sheet storage unit, a path passed by the second sheet storage unit overlaps with at least a portion of a conveying path of the sheets supplied from the first sheet storage unit.

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent an event that printing is blocked due to an ongoing operation on the sheet accommodation unit.

[0010] Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a printing apparatus.

[0012] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of a printing apparatus.

[0013] Figure 3A and Figure 3B is a diagram for explaining front conveyance and paper jam occurrence.

[0014] Figure 4 This is a flowchart for explaining processing to be executed in the printing apparatus.

[0015] Figure 5 It is a figure which shows the message screen. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention. A plurality of features are described in the embodiments, but the invention requiring all of these features is not limited, and a plurality of such features may be appropriately combined. In addition, in the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same or similar configurations, and redundant descriptions thereof are omitted.

[0017] [First embodiment]

[0018] Figure 1 : is a diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of an inkjet printing device 1 (hereinafter referred to as the printing device 1) used in the present embodiment. The printing device 1 is a device including a printing unit, but may also be in the form of a multi-function peripheral device including a scanner unit. In addition, as described below, the printing device 1 is configured to include four feed boxes having a vertical positional relationship with each other, but four feed boxes are not required; there may be one, five, or more feed boxes. The left side in the figure is the front of the printing device 1, and the user can pull out each feed box to the left side in the figure, that is, the user side.

[0019] Such a configuration is adopted that the feed cassette 2 is the uppermost feed cassette, the feed cassette 3 is below the feed cassette 2, the feed cassette 4 is further below, and the feed cassette 5 is the lowermost. Each of the feed cassettes 2 to 5 is configured so that a housing portion for housing a print medium such as a sheet can be slid and pulled out from the housing of the printing device 1. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the feed cassette 2 is described as a representative example of the feed cassettes 2 to 5.

[0020] Inside the printing device 1, a feed roller 6 and a conveying roller 12 are configured to convey a sheet through a conveying path from supplying a sheet from the feed cassette 2 to discharging a sheet, and the feed roller 6 is used when picking up a sheet stacked in the feed cassette 2. The print head 10 is a printing unit that performs printing on a sheet by discharging ink droplets from a nozzle row corresponding to a color that can be printed by the printing device 1. The print head 10 may be a so-called serial print head that can reciprocate in a direction orthogonal to a sheet conveying direction, or may be a so-called line print head that is configured to span in a sheet width direction.

[0021] For example, when the feed cassette 2 is selected and printing is started while the sheet is contained in the feed cassette 2, the sheet is picked up by the feed roller 6 installed in the feed cassette 2 and fed to the conveying path. The sheet S fed to the conveying path is conveyed through the conveying path, and printing based on the print data is performed by the print head 10. In the case of single-sided printing, the sheet S on which printing has been performed is conveyed through the discharge path 8 and is discharged in a state where the printed surface faces downward (face down). Meanwhile, in the case of double-sided printing, the sheet S on which printing has been performed is conveyed through the double-sided path via the reversing path 7, and printing based on the print data is performed again on the back side by the print head 10. Then, the sheet is conveyed through the discharge path 8 and discharged.

[0022] Regarding the printing device 1, in addition to the feed boxes 2 to 5, a tray capable of supplying sheets to the conveying path may be configured. For example, a print medium of a type desired by a user may be set on the manual feed tray 9, and the print medium may be supplied to the conveying path. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the position of the manual feed tray 9 is configured so that the user can set the print medium on the manual feed tray 9 by manually feeding from the front side of the printing device 1. However, the manual feed tray 9 is not limited to this form, and for example, its position may be configured so that the user can set the print medium on the manual feed tray 9 by manually feeding from the rear side (the side opposite to the front side) of the printing device 1. The operation panel 11 is configured to be able to accept the input / output operation of the printing device 1 by the user. The user can instruct an operation such as copying or scanning or set a print mode through the operation panel 11. In addition, the operation panel 11 operates as a display unit for displaying each piece of information of the printing device 1. The operation panel 11 may include physical keys, or may be configured as a touch panel.

[0023] The printing apparatus 1 in this embodiment is a front conveyance type printing apparatus, and a sheet conveyance operation will be described later.

[0024] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the printing apparatus 1. The control configuration is configured to include a printing engine unit 200 mainly for controlling a printing operation, a scanner engine unit 300 for controlling a scanner operation, and a controller unit 100 for controlling the entire printing apparatus 1. The printing controller 202 controls various mechanisms of the printing engine unit 200 according to an instruction of a main controller 101 of the controller unit 100. Various mechanisms of the scanner engine unit 300 are controlled by the main controller 101 of the controller unit 100. The control configuration will be described in detail below.

[0025] In the controller unit 100, a main controller 101 configured to include a CPU controls the entire printing apparatus 1 according to a computer program and various parameters stored in a ROM 107, while using a RAM 106 as a work area. For example, when a print job is input from an external host apparatus 400 such as a PC via a network via a host I / F 102 or a wireless I / F 103, an image processing unit 108 performs predetermined image processing on the received image data according to an instruction of the main controller 101. The main controller 101 transmits the image data on which the image processing has been performed to the print engine unit 200 via the print engine I / F 105.

[0026] The printing device 1 can obtain image data from the host device 400 via wireless communication or wired communication, or can obtain image data from an external storage device (USB memory, etc.) connected to the printing device 1. The communication method used for wireless communication and wired communication is not particularly limited. For example, as a communication method for wireless communication, Wi-Fi can be used. or Furthermore, a universal serial bus (USB) or the like may be employed as a communication method for wired communication. Furthermore, when a read command is input from the host device 400 , the main controller 101 transmits the read command to the scanner engine unit 300 via the scanner engine I / F 109 .

[0027] The operation panel 104 is a mechanism for accepting input / output from the user to the printing apparatus 1, and corresponds to Figure 1 As input / output operations from the user, for example, there are operation instructions such as copying or scanning via the operation panel 104 and setting of various printing modes including color printing, monochrome printing, etc. The operation panel 104 can display various user interface screens.

[0028] In the print engine unit 200, the print controller 202 configured to include a CPU uses the RAM 204 as a work area to control various mechanisms of the print engine unit 200 according to the program and various parameters stored in the ROM 203. Upon receiving various commands and image data via the controller I / F 201, the print controller 202 temporarily stores them in the RAM 204. The print controller 202 controls the image processing controller 205 to convert the stored image data into print data so that the print head 10 can perform a printing operation. When the print data is generated by the conversion, the print controller 202 causes the print head 10 to perform a printing operation via the print head I / F 206. At this time, the print controller 202 drives the conveying roller 12 and the feed roller 6 via the conveying control unit 207 to convey the printing medium S. According to the instruction of the print controller 202, the printing operation of the print head 10 is performed in conjunction with the conveying operation of the printing medium S, and the printing process is performed.

[0029] The carriage control unit 208 changes the direction and position of the print head 10 according to the operating state of the printing apparatus 1 (such as the maintenance state or the printing state, etc.). The ink supply control unit 209 controls the ink supply unit (not shown) so that the pressure of the ink supplied to the print head 10 is within an appropriate range. The maintenance control unit 210 controls the operation of the cap unit (not shown) and the wiping unit (not shown) when performing the maintenance operation of the print head 10.

[0030] In the scanner engine unit 300, the main controller 101 uses the RAM 106 as a work area to control the hardware resources of the scanner controller 302 according to the program and various parameters stored in the ROM 107. Thereby, various mechanisms provided in the scanner engine unit 300 are controlled. For example, the main controller 101 controls the hardware resources within the scanner controller 302 via the controller I / F 301. Therefore, the original document placed by the user on the automatic document feeder (ADF) is transported by the transport control unit 304 and read by the sensor 305. Then, the scanner controller 302 stores the image data generated by reading the original document in the RAM 303. By converting the image data obtained as described above into print data, the print controller 202 can cause the print head 10 to perform a printing operation based on the image data read by the scanner controller 302. The printing device 1 is not limited to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The configuration shown in FIG. 1 may appropriately include functional blocks that can be executed by a device serving as the printing apparatus 1 .

[0031] Figure 3A and Figure 3B1 is a diagram for explaining a conveying operation of a sheet picked up in a feed cassette of the printing apparatus 1. In the printing apparatus 1, front conveying type sheet conveying is performed. In the front conveying type sheet conveying, a sheet picked up in the feed cassette is conveyed to the print head 10 through the pull-out side (i.e., the front side of the printing apparatus 1).

[0032] Figure 3A The state in which the feed cassettes 2 to 5 are arranged in the printing device 1 is shown. The feed cassette 2 can slide in the direction of the arrow by the user's pulling out operation of the handle 601. That is, in other words, the front of the printing device 1 is the surface of the printing device 1 on which the handle 601 is arranged, and is the surface located in the direction in which the feed cassette 2 is pulled out. The feed cassette 3 can slide in the direction of the arrow by the user's pulling out operation of the handle 602. The feed cassette 4 can slide in the direction of the arrow by the user's pulling out operation of the handle 603. The feed cassette 5 can slide in the direction of the arrow by the user's pulling out operation of the handle 604. In addition, in the printing device 1 of the present embodiment, each feed cassette is not provided with a locking mechanism for prohibiting the feed cassette from being pulled out, so the feed cassette can be pulled out even when printing is being performed on a sheet used as a print medium. A configuration in which a locking mechanism is provided for each feed cassette can be adopted. However, even in such a configuration, in a state in which each feed cassette is not locked by the locking mechanism, the feed cassette can be pulled out even when printing is being performed on a sheet used as a print medium. Printing here includes a conveying operation of conveying a sheet picked up from a feed cassette to the print head 10 .

[0033] Figure 3A 1 shows a state in which a sheet picked up in the feed cassette 5 is conveyed to the print head 10 by the conveying roller 12. In each feed cassette, a space is provided near the inner wall of the feed cassette on the front side of the printing device 1. For example, Figure 3A , in the feed cassette 2, a space 605 is provided near the inner wall of the feed cassette on the front side of the printing device 1. In the feed cassette 3, a space 606 is provided near the inner wall of the feed cassette on the front side of the printing device 1. In the feed cassette 4, a space 607 is provided near the inner wall of the feed cassette on the front side of the printing device 1. In the feed cassette 5, a space 608 is provided near the inner wall of the feed cassette on the front side of the printing device 1. The sheets picked up in the respective feed cassettes are pushed upward through the above-mentioned spaces by the conveying force of the feed roller 6, and are conveyed to the print head 10. Figure 3A 1 shows a state in which a sheet picked up in the feed cassette 5 is pushed upward through spaces 605 to 607 to the conveying roller 12 by the conveying force of the feed roller 6 and then conveyed to the print head 10. Figure 3A As shown in the example of , the spaces 605 to 607 form a portion 609 of the sheet conveying path as indicated by hatching.

[0034] Figure 3B5 is a diagram for explaining a paper jam that occurs when a user pulls out the feed cassette during feeding. Figure 3A As shown, the sheet S is conveyed through the portion 609 of the conveying path. Here, it is assumed that, for example, when the sheet picked up from the feed cassette 5 passes through the spaces 605 to 607, the user performs an operation to pull out the feed cassette 3. In this case, as shown in FIG. Figure 3B As shown, a portion 609 of the conveying path is cut off, a sheet S jam occurs, and printing is hindered. That is, the path which is the moving path of the upper feed cassette and is the path through which the upper feed cassette passes when the user pulls out the upper feed cassette overlaps at least a portion of the conveying path of the sheet fed from the lower feed cassette.

[0035] In order to prevent this, it is conceivable to provide a physical locking mechanism to prevent the user from pulling out the feed box during printing. However, a configuration for controlling the locking mechanism is required. In addition, it is conceivable to set a conveying path on the rear surface of the printing device 1 instead of the front conveying type sheet conveying. However, in this case, the advantage of the front conveying type sheet conveying (i.e., the conveying path to the print head 10 can be shortened) is lost.

[0036] In this embodiment, when there is a possibility of an event such as a paper jam that hinders printing, a message screen is displayed to prompt the user not to pull out a feed box different from the feed box for picking up paper. Thus, paper jams etc. that occur due to the user's unintentional operation of pulling out the feed box can be prevented.

[0037] Figure 4 1 is a flowchart for explaining the notification process performed in the printing apparatus 1 to prevent the user from pulling out the feed cassette during printing. For example, the main controller 101 reads out a program stored in the ROM 107 to the RAM 106 and executes the program. Figure 4 For example, when the operation panel 104 accepts a user instruction for executing copying, printing, etc., it starts Figure 4 processing.

[0038] When the printing operation is started, in step S101, the main controller 101 identifies which sheet accommodation unit is to be used in printing. Here, the sheet accommodation unit includes feed cassettes 2 to 5 and a manual feed tray 9. For example, the main controller 101 obtains information of a sheet accommodation unit designated by a user on the operation panel 104. Alternatively, the main controller 101 obtains information of a sheet accommodation unit set in a job. In addition, for example, a feed cassette storing sheets matching a sheet size selected by a user may be identified as a sheet accommodation unit to be used in printing.

[0039] In step S102, the main controller 101 determines the sheet accommodating unit identified in step S101. Then, the processing is switched according to the determination result. If the identified sheet accommodating unit is the first-level (uppermost) box, that is, the feed box 2 or the manual feed tray 9, the processing proceeds to step S103. In step S103, the main controller 101 feeds the sheet from the identified sheet accommodating unit and performs printing without performing a control for preventing the user from performing an operation on at least one sheet accommodating unit other than the identified sheet accommodating unit. This is because even if the user pulls out another feed box other than the feed box 2 or the manual feed tray 9, it will not affect the sheet conveyance from the feed box 2 or the manual feed tray 9. As described above, in the present embodiment, when the feed box 2 or the manual feed tray 9 is identified in step S102, the display control of the operation panel 104 such as steps S104 to S106 described below is not performed.

[0040] If the identified sheet storage unit is a second-level cassette, that is, feed cassette 3, the process proceeds to step S104. When feeding paper from feed cassette 3, if feed cassette 2 located at the upper level thereof is pulled out, part 609 of the conveying path will be cut off, and a paper jam or the like will occur. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in step S104, main controller 101 performs a first control to prevent the user from performing an operation on at least one sheet storage unit other than the identified sheet storage unit. Specifically, main controller 101 displays a message on operation panel 104 as shown in FIG. Figure 5 The message screen shown is displayed to prevent the user from pulling out the feed cassette 2. After step S104, in step S103, the main controller 101 feeds sheets from the identified sheet accommodation unit and executes printing.

[0041] Figure 55 is a diagram showing an example of a screen (message screen) displaying a message prompting the user not to pull out the feed box. In other words, the message prompting the user not to pull out the feed box is a message prompting the user not to open the feed box. As shown in message 501, a message prompting not to pull out the feed box and a message indicating that an event such as a paper jam may occur that hinders printing are displayed. Message 501 can be continuously displayed during printing, or can be displayed as a pop-up window for a predetermined time, and after the predetermined time has passed, the display can be terminated. In addition, when the user touches the operation panel 104, the display of the screen can be terminated. In addition, as will be described later, in the present embodiment, the message screen is displayed in steps S104, S105 and S106, but the message screen displayed in each step can be different. Specifically, for example, the identification information of the feed box that may cause a paper jam if operated by the user can be identified and displayed in message 501. Specifically, the identification information of the feed box 2 is, for example, information indicating the name and position of the feed box 2. For example, in the case of step S104, the feed box that may cause a paper jam if operated by the user is the feed box 2. Therefore, the message 501 to be displayed in step S104 is expressed using the identification information of the feed cassette 2. In addition, the message 501 may include the identification information of the sheet storage unit identified in step S101. That is, the control for preventing the user from performing an operation on at least one sheet storage unit other than the identified sheet storage unit may include a control for preventing the user from performing an operation on the identified sheet storage unit. In addition, Figure 5 The screen may include a message indicating that an operation can be performed on a sheet storage unit other than the feed cassette that may cause a paper jam if operated by the user. For example, in the case of step S104, the sheet storage units other than the feed cassette that may cause a paper jam if operated by the user are the feed cassette 4, the feed cassette 5, and the manual feed tray 9.

[0042] If the identified sheet storage unit is the third-level cassette, that is, the feed cassette 4, the process proceeds to step S105. When feeding paper from the feed cassette 4, if the feed cassette 2 or the feed cassette 3 located at the upper level thereof is pulled out, a portion 609 of the conveying path will be cut off, and a paper jam or the like will occur. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in step S105, the main controller 101 performs a second control to prevent the user from performing an operation on at least one sheet storage unit other than the identified sheet storage unit. Specifically, the main controller 101 displays on the operation panel 104 a display as described above. Figure 5The message screen shown is displayed to prevent the user from pulling out the feed cassette 2 and the feed cassette 3. In the case of step S105, the feed cassettes that may cause a paper jam if operated by the user are the feed cassette 2 and the feed cassette 3. Therefore, the message 501 to be displayed in step S105 is represented using the identification information of the feed cassette 2 and the identification information of the feed cassette 3. Furthermore, in the case of step S105, the sheet accommodation units other than the feed cassette that may cause a paper jam if operated by the user are the feed cassette 5 and the manual feed tray 9. Therefore, when a message indicating that an operation can be performed on a sheet accommodation unit other than the feed cassette that may cause a paper jam if operated by the user is included in the message screen, the identification information of the feed cassette 5 and the identification information of the manual feed tray 9 are used to represent the message. After step S105, in step S103, the main controller 101 feeds sheets from the identified sheet accommodation unit and performs printing.

[0043] If the identified sheet storage unit is the fourth-level cassette, that is, the feed cassette 5, the process proceeds to step S106. When feeding paper from the feed cassette 5, if the feed cassette 2, 3, or 4 located at a higher level is pulled out, a portion 609 of the conveying path will be cut off, and a paper jam or the like will occur. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in step S106, the main controller 101 performs a third control to prevent the user from performing an operation on at least one sheet storage unit other than the identified sheet storage unit. Specifically, the main controller 101 displays on the operation panel 104 a message as described above. Figure 5 The message screen shown is displayed to prevent the user from pulling out the feed cassettes 2, 3, and 4. In the case of step S106, the feed cassettes that may cause a paper jam if operated by the user are the feed cassette 2, the feed cassette 3, and the feed cassette 4. Therefore, the message 501 displayed in step S106 is represented using the identification information of the feed cassette 2 and the identification information of the feed cassette 3 and the identification information of the feed cassette 4. Furthermore, in the case of step S106, the sheet accommodation unit other than the feed cassette that may cause a paper jam if operated by the user is the manual feed tray 9. Therefore, when the message screen includes a message indicating that an operation can be performed on a feed cassette other than the feed cassette that may cause a paper jam if operated by the user, the message is represented using the identification information of the manual feed tray 9. After step S106, in step S103, the main controller 101 feeds sheets from the identified sheet accommodation unit and performs printing.

[0044] As described above, according to the present embodiment, when an event such as a paper jam that hinders printing may occur, a message screen is displayed to prompt the user not to pull out a cassette different from the feed cassette that picks up sheets. Thus, it is possible to prevent a paper jam or the like from occurring due to an operation (user operation) in which the user unintentionally pulls out the feed cassette. In addition, in the present embodiment, an example has been described in which information about a cassette different from the feed cassette that picks up sheets is displayed, but information about the feed cassette that picks up sheets may also be displayed.

[0045] In the present embodiment, the printing device 1 is described as a printing device that performs printing by an inkjet printing method. However, the printing device 1 may be a printing device that adopts another printing method such as an electrophotographic method. In addition, Figure 4 The processing is described as being used to display Figure 5 However, the present invention is not limited to display control, and may be executed for notifying the user using another form. Figure 5 For example, Figure 5 Notification of the displayed content can be performed using sound or by displaying a distinguishing LED light.

[0046] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, as control for preventing the user from performing an operation on at least one sheet accommodation unit other than the sheet accommodation unit identified in step S101, different control is performed according to the type of the sheet accommodation unit identified in step S101. That is, according to the type of the sheet accommodation unit identified in step S101, control is performed whether to perform the first control, the second control, or the third control. However, the present invention is not limited to this form, and control for preventing the user from performing an operation on at least one sheet accommodation unit other than the sheet accommodation unit identified in step S101 does not need to be different according to the type of the sheet accommodation unit identified in step S101. That is, for example, the same message screen may be displayed in steps S104, S105, and S106. In this case, the message screen does not need to include a message indicating that an operation can be performed on a feed cassette other than the feed cassette that may cause a paper jam if operated by the user. Furthermore, the message 501 does not need to include identification information of the feed cassette that may cause a paper jam if operated by the user. That is, the message 501 may simply be a message for preventing the user from performing an operation on the feed cassette.

[0047] Other embodiments

[0048] The embodiments of the present invention may also be implemented by providing software (program) for performing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and a computer or a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessing unit (MPU) of the system or device reads and executes the program.

[0049] While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments.The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

Claims

1. A printing device, comprising: a plurality of sheet material receiving units; as well as a notification unit configured to, in printing, in a case where sheets are supplied from a first sheet storage unit included in the plurality of sheet storage units, notify a message prompting not to perform a user operation on a second sheet storage unit different from the first sheet storage unit, Here, when the user operates the second sheet storage unit, a path through which the second sheet storage unit passes overlaps at least a portion of a conveyance path of the sheet supplied from the first sheet storage unit.

2. The printing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a determining unit configured to determine whether the first sheet storage unit is a predetermined sheet storage unit among the plurality of sheet storage units, Here, in a case where the determination unit determines that the first sheet storage unit is not the predetermined sheet storage unit, the notification unit issues a notification of the message.

3. The printing device according to claim 2, in, In a case where the determination unit determines that the first sheet storage unit is the predetermined sheet storage unit, notification by the notification unit is not performed.

4. The printing device according to claim 2, wherein: The plurality of sheet accommodating units are in a vertical positional relationship with each other, and The predetermined sheet storage unit includes a sheet storage unit located uppermost among the plurality of sheet storage units.

5. The printing device according to claim 4, wherein: The predetermined sheet accommodation unit includes a manual feed tray.

6. The printing device according to claim 4, further comprising: A printing unit, which is arranged above the plurality of sheet accommodation units, is configured to perform printing on the sheets conveyed from the conveying path.

7. The printing device according to claim 4, wherein: The second sheet storage unit is located above the first sheet storage unit.

8. The printing device according to claim 7, wherein: If there are a plurality of second sheet storage units, the notification unit issues a message notification prompting not to perform a user operation on the plurality of second sheet storage units.

9. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein: The user operation is an operation for pulling out the sheet accommodation unit from the casing of the printing apparatus.

10. The printing device according to claim 9, wherein: The conveying path is a space provided near the inner wall of the sheet accommodation unit.

11. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein: The notification unit displays a screen indicating the message on the display unit.

12. The printing device according to claim 11, wherein: The notification unit displays the screen while printing is being executed.

13. The printing device according to claim 11, wherein: The notification unit ends display of the screen after a predetermined time has passed.

14. The printing device according to claim 11, wherein: When accepting an instruction from the user, the notification unit ends display of the screen.

15. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein: The notification unit issues a notification of a message indicating that a user operation being performed will result in an event that hinders a printing operation.

16. The printing device according to claim 15, wherein: The event in question is a paper jam.

17. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein: The printing apparatus does not include a lock mechanism for prohibiting user operation.

18. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein: The printing device is a printing device that performs printing using an inkjet printing method.

19. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein: The second sheet storage unit is a sheet storage unit that forms, together with the first sheet storage unit, a conveying path of the sheets supplied from the first sheet storage unit.

20. A method performed in a printing device including a plurality of sheet accommodating units, the method comprising: in printing, in a case where sheets are supplied from a first sheet storage unit included in the plurality of sheet storage units, notifying a message prompting not to perform a user operation on a second sheet storage unit different from the first sheet storage unit, Here, when the user operates the second sheet storage unit, a path through which the second sheet storage unit passes overlaps at least a portion of a conveyance path of the sheet supplied from the first sheet storage unit.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the programs comprising instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of an information processing device, cause the information processing device to perform a method comprising: In printing, when sheets are supplied from a first sheet storage unit included in a plurality of sheet storage units, a message prompting not to perform a user operation on a second sheet storage unit different from the first sheet storage unit is notified, Here, when the user operates the second sheet storage unit, a path through which the second sheet storage unit passes overlaps at least a portion of a conveyance path of the sheet supplied from the first sheet storage unit.

22. A program product storing one or more programs, the programs comprising instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of an information processing device, cause the information processing device to perform a method, the method comprising: In printing, when sheets are supplied from a first sheet storage unit included in a plurality of sheet storage units, a message prompting not to perform a user operation on a second sheet storage unit different from the first sheet storage unit is notified, Here, when the user operates the second sheet storage unit, a path through which the second sheet storage unit passes overlaps at least a portion of a conveyance path of the sheet supplied from the first sheet storage unit.

Images