Medium supply system and image forming system

Abstract

To suppress a recording medium on which a fold has occurred being supplied to a processing device, compared to the case where the recording medium is supplied to the processing device as it is without confirming whether or not the fold has occurred on the recording medium.SOLUTION: A medium supply system includes: an imaging part for imaging a plurality of loaded recording media from an edge side of the recording medium; and at least one processor. The processor stops the supply of the recording medium in the case where it is determined that a fold has occurred on the recording medium by an image imaged by the imaging part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a media supply system and an image forming system. [Background technology]

[0002] The sheet feeder described in Patent Document 1 includes a placement section capable of placing a sheet stack formed by stacking a plurality of sheets vertically, an air blowing means for blowing air onto the sheet stack placed on the placement section to float at least the uppermost sheet, an adsorption / conveyance means provided above the placement section and for adsorbing the uppermost sheet floated by the air blowing means and conveying it in a predetermined conveyance direction, and a first slit light having a band-like component extending in the vertical direction, which intersects with at least a first edge of a first sheet of the plurality of floated sheets and a second edge of a second sheet below the first sheet. the first sheet and the second sheet; an imaging means for imaging the first slit light irradiated to the first sheet and the second sheet and having an imaging direction different from the emission direction of the first slit light from the first light source in a plane parallel to the first sheet and the second sheet; a calculation means for calculating the vertical distance between the first sheet and the second sheet based on the first slit light captured by the imaging means; and an air volume adjustment means for adjusting the air volume of the air blowing means based on the vertical distance between the first sheet and the second sheet calculated by the calculation means. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-24868 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] An object of the present disclosure is to prevent the supply of a recording medium that is folded, compared to a case in which a recording medium is supplied without checking whether or not the recording medium is folded. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A media supply system according to a first aspect of the present disclosure includes an imaging unit that captures images of a plurality of loaded recording media from the edge side of the recording media, and at least one processor, and is characterized in that the processor stops supplying the recording media when it determines that the recording media is bent based on an image captured by the imaging unit.

[0006] A medium supplying system according to a second aspect of the present disclosure is characterized in that, in the medium supplying system described in the first aspect, the imaging units are arranged at the tip portion of the recording medium and on both sides of the recording medium in the width direction.

[0007] A medium supply system according to a third aspect of the present disclosure is characterized in that, in the medium supply system described in the second aspect, it is provided with a moving unit that moves the imaging unit and the recording medium relatively in the supply direction of the recording medium from the leading end portion to the trailing end portion of the recording medium.

[0008] A media supply system according to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure is characterized in that, in the media supply system described in the third aspect, the moving unit is a transport unit that transports the topmost recording medium stacked in the supply direction toward a processing device that processes the recording media.

[0009] A media supply system according to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure is characterized in that, in the media supply system described in the first aspect, it further comprises a supply unit that supplies air to the edges of a plurality of stacked recording media to levitate the plurality of recording media, and the imaging unit images the plurality of recording media levitated by the supply unit.

[0010] A media supply system according to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure is characterized in that, in the media supply system described in the fifth aspect, the imaging unit is arranged at the tip portion of the recording medium, on both sides of the recording medium in the width direction, and is provided with a moving unit that moves the imaging unit and the recording medium relative to each other in the supply direction of the recording medium.

[0011] A media supply system according to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure is characterized in that, in the media supply system described in the sixth aspect, the moving unit is a transport unit that transports the topmost recording medium stacked in the recording medium supply direction toward a processing device that processes the recording media.

[0012] An image forming system according to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure is characterized in that it comprises a medium supply system as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, and an image forming unit as a processing device that forms an image on a recording medium supplied from the medium supply system. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the medium supply system of the first aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to prevent the supply of a recording medium that is bent, compared to a case in which the recording medium is supplied without checking whether or not the recording medium is bent.

[0014] According to the medium supply system of the second aspect of the present disclosure, the accuracy of determining whether or not a crease has occurred can be improved compared to when the imaging unit is positioned on only one side of the recording medium in the width direction.

[0015] According to the medium supply system according to the third aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to determine whether or not a fold has occurred in the trailing end portion of the recording medium.

[0016] According to the medium supplying system according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure, the number of parts can be reduced compared to a case in which a dedicated part is provided for relatively moving the imaging unit and the recording medium in the supply direction of the recording medium.

[0017] According to the media supply system of the fifth aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the accuracy of determining whether a recording medium sandwiched between other recording media from the top and bottom is folded, compared to when determining whether a recording medium is folded while stacked.

[0018] According to the medium supply system according to the sixth aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to determine whether or not a fold has occurred in the trailing end portions on both sides in the width direction of the recording medium.

[0019] According to the medium supplying system according to the seventh aspect of the present disclosure, the number of parts can be reduced compared to a case in which a dedicated part is provided for relatively moving the imaging unit and the recording medium in the supply direction of the recording medium.

[0020] According to the image forming system relating to the eighth aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to prevent an image from being formed on a recording medium that is folded, compared to a case where the image forming system is equipped with a medium supply system that supplies a recording medium without checking whether the recording medium is folded or not. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a medium feeding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] 13A and 13B are cross-sectional views illustrating a state in which air is being supplied from the edge of stacked sheet members in a medium supplying device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 5A and 5B are diagrams showing a hardware configuration and a functional configuration of a control unit provided in a medium supplying device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] 11 is a flow diagram showing a flow of control by a control unit provided in the medium supplying device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 6A to 6F are diagrams showing folding patterns stored in a control unit provided in a medium supplying device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] 1A and 1B are a perspective view and a side view showing a folded state of a sheet member determined in a medium feeding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8]1A and 1B are perspective views showing a folded state of a sheet member determined in a medium feeding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and a diagram showing a graph used to determine the fold. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] An example of a medium supplying device and an image forming device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 8. Note that, in the drawings, arrow H indicates the up-down direction (vertical direction) of the device, arrow W indicates the width direction (horizontal direction) of the device, and arrow D indicates the depth direction (horizontal direction) of the device.

[0023] (Overall configuration of image forming apparatus 100) 1, the image forming apparatus 100 includes an image forming unit 102 that forms an image on a sheet material P as an example of a recording medium, and a medium supplying device 10 that supplies the sheet material P to the image forming unit 102. Inside the image forming apparatus 100, a conveying means (not shown) that conveys the sheet material P to an image forming position of the image forming unit 102 is provided. The medium supplying device 10 may be configured to be attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus as an option or the like. The medium supplying device is an example of a medium conveying system, the image forming apparatus 100 is an example of an image forming system, and the image forming unit 102 is an example of a processing device.

[0024] (Overall configuration of medium supply device 10) 2, the medium supplying device 10 includes a stacking section 12 on which sheet materials P are stacked in the vertical direction, and a supplying section 14 that supplies air to the multiple sheet materials P stacked on the stacking section 12 to float and separate the sheet materials P. Furthermore, the medium supplying device 10 includes a conveying section 16 that sequentially conveys the sheet materials P that have been floated and separated by the supplying section 14 to the image forming section 102.

[0025] Furthermore, the medium supplying device 10 includes a camera 18 as an example of an imaging unit that images the sheet material P in a state where it is floated and separated by the air supplied by the supplying unit 14, and an illumination unit (not shown) that illuminates light onto the portion of the sheet material P imaged by the camera 18. Furthermore, the medium supplying device 10 includes a control unit 40 (see FIGS. 4(A) and (B)) that controls the operation of each unit.

[0026] [Loading section 12] 2, the loading section 12 includes a bottom plate 12a on which a plurality of sheet members P can be loaded, and a lifting device (not shown) that raises and lowers the bottom plate 12a in the vertical direction. The lifting device raises the bottom plate 12a so that the position of the uppermost sheet member P of the sheet members P loaded on the bottom plate 12a is at a predetermined height.

[0027] The stacking section 12 also includes a pair of side guides 12b that regulate the positions of both edges in the width direction (the direction of the arrow D in this example) of the sheet material P loaded on the bottom plate 12a. At least one of the side guides 12b is attached slidably in the device depth direction, which is the width direction of the sheet material P. As a result, the side guide 12b slides in the device depth direction in accordance with the size of the sheet material P to regulate the positions of both edges in the width direction of the sheet material P.

[0028] [Transport section 16] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the conveying section 16 is positioned above the uppermost sheet material P among the multiple sheet materials P stacked on the bottom plate 12a of the stacking section 12, and is equipped with an adsorption section 30 and a feed roll 26.

[0029] The suction unit 30 is disposed above the leading edge of the topmost sheet material P with a gap therebetween. The suction unit 30 adsorbs the levitated topmost sheet material P, and while adsorbed, moves to one side in the device width direction (the left side in the figure) to transport the sheet material P. Here, the leading edge of the sheet material P refers to a portion that includes at least a portion 10 from the leading edge when the length of the sheet material P in the supply direction is 100.

[0030] The feed roll 26 is arranged on one side of the adsorption section 30 in the device width direction, receives the sheet material P transported by the adsorption section 30, and transports the received sheet material P toward the image forming section 102 (see Figure 1).

[0031] [Supply section 14] As shown in FIG. 2, the supply unit 14 is disposed inside the side guide 12b on the front side in the depth direction of the device, and includes a duct 50 having a supply port 50a formed therein, and a blower 54 that supplies air into the inside of the duct 50.

[0032] [Camera 18] A pair of cameras 18 are provided, and are arranged on one side in the device width direction with respect to the side guide 12b arranged on the front side in the device depth direction, and on one side in the device width direction with respect to the side guide 12b arranged on the back side in the device depth direction, as shown in Fig. 2. In this way, the pair of cameras 18 are arranged so as to capture images of the upper portions of the stacked sheet materials P from both edge sides in the width direction of the sheet materials P.

[0033] (Main part configuration) Next, the supply unit 14 and the control unit 40 will be described. [Detailed configuration of supply unit 14] As shown in FIGS. 3(A) and 3(B), the supply unit 14 includes a duct 50 and a blower 54.

[0034] -Duct 50- As shown in Figures 3(A) and (B), the duct 50 extends in the vertical direction, and a supply port 50a is formed at the upper end portion of the duct 50 on the side facing the stacked sheet materials P.

[0035] The top plate of the duct 50 has a horizontal portion 50b extending in the depth direction of the device when viewed from the width direction of the device, and an inclined portion 50c inclined with respect to the horizontal direction. Specifically, the horizontal portion 50b is formed on the supply port 50a side, and the inclined portion 50c is formed on the opposite side to the supply port 50a. The inclined portion 50c is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction so that the supply port 50a side is upward relative to the opposite side to the supply port 50a.

[0036] -Blower 54- As shown in FIGS. 3(A) and 3(B), the blower 54 is disposed below the duct 50 and is adapted to supply air to the inside of the duct 50.

[0037] With this configuration, the air supplied by the blower 54 to the inside of the duct 50 rises inside the duct 50 and is supplied (blowed) through the supply port 50a to the edge side of the stacked sheet materials P, as shown in Fig. 3(B). Then, as the air is supplied between the sheet materials P in the upper part where the sheet materials P are stacked, the multiple sheet materials P are lifted up and separated.

[0038] [Control unit 40] -Hardware configuration of the control unit 40- 4A, the control unit 40 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 41, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 42, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 43, a storage 44, and a communication interface (I / F) 45. Each component is connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a bus 49. The CPU 41 is an example of a processor.

[0039] The CPU 41 is a central processing unit that executes various programs and controls each part. That is, the CPU 41 reads a program from the ROM 42 or the storage 44, and executes the program using the RAM 43 as a working area. The CPU 41 controls each component and performs various calculation processes according to the program stored in the ROM 42 or the storage 44.

[0040] In this embodiment, for example, the ROM 42 or the storage 44 stores a determination program for determining whether or not a crease has occurred in the stacked sheet material P from the image captured by the camera 18. A crease is an example of a shape defect.

[0041] The RAM 43 temporarily stores programs or data as a working area. The storage 44 is configured with a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), and stores various programs including an operating system, and various data.

[0042] The communication interface 45 is an interface for the control unit 40 to communicate with the camera 18, the conveying unit 16, the blower 54, the image forming unit 102, etc., and uses standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), FDDI, and Wi-Fi (registered trademark), for example.

[0043] When executing the above operating program, the control unit 40 realizes various functions using the above hardware resources. The functional configuration of the control unit 40 that realizes the various functions will be described below.

[0044] -Functional configuration of the control unit 40- As shown in Fig. 4(B), the control unit 40 has a receiving unit 46, a determining unit 47, and an operating unit 48. Each functional configuration is realized by the CPU 41 reading and executing a driving program stored in the ROM 42 or the storage 44. The control unit 40 will be described in detail together with its operation, which will be described later.

[0045] (Function of main components) Next, a determination process in which the control unit 40 of the medium supplying device 10 determines whether or not the sheet material P loaded on the medium supplying device 10 is folded will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG.

[0046] When multiple sheet materials P are loaded on the bottom plate 12a and the receiving unit 46 of the control unit 40 receives an instruction to supply the sheet materials P to the image forming unit 102, in step S100, the operating unit 48 operates the pair of cameras 18 to capture images of the leading ends of the loaded sheet materials P from one side and the other side of the width of the sheet materials P.

[0047] In step S200, the determination unit 47 determines whether or not a fold has occurred in the leading edge portion of the stacked sheet material P from the image captured by the camera 18. Specifically, the determination is made separately for a fold occurring in the leading edge portion of the topmost sheet material P (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the "upper sheet material P") and a fold occurring in the leading edge portion of a sheet material P (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the "middle sheet material P") sandwiched between the sheet materials P from the top and bottom directions.

[0048] First, as an example, pattern matching is used to determine whether or not a fold has occurred at the leading end of the upper sheet material P. Specifically, the ROM 42 stores in advance a plurality of triangular patterns (see Figs. 6(A) to (F)) that are fold shapes. On the other hand, as shown in Figs. 7(A) and (B), when a fold has occurred in the upper sheet material P, the folded portion is visually recognized as a triangle when viewed from the edge side of the upper sheet material P.

[0049] Then, the determination unit 47 evaluates the similarity between the shape recognized in the image captured by the camera 18 and the pre-stored triangular pattern. This evaluation is repeated for each triangular pattern. When the similarity is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the determination unit 47 determines that a fold has occurred in the leading end portion of the upper sheet material P. The similarity can be evaluated, for example, using a cross-correlation coefficient of pixel values.

[0050] In contrast, as an example, pixel values ​​of a captured image are used to determine whether or not a fold has occurred in the intermediate sheet member P. Specifically, when a fold has occurred in the intermediate sheet member P, a gap S1 is generated between the sheet members P overlapping in the vertical direction as shown in FIG.

[0051] The determination unit 47 then vertically scans the image captured by the camera 18, and determines that a gap S1 has occurred if it detects that the RGB pixel values ​​are below a predetermined threshold. In other words, the determination unit 47 determines that a fold has occurred at the leading end of the intermediate sheet member P. Fig. 8(B) shows a graph in which the vertical axis represents pixel values ​​and the horizontal axis represents image position. The portion S2 in Fig. 8(B) is the portion where the pixel values ​​are below the predetermined threshold and where the gap S1 has occurred.

[0052] If it is determined that a fold has occurred in the leading edge portion of the upper sheet material P or the leading edge portion of the intermediate sheet material P, the process proceeds to step S300; if it is determined that no fold has occurred in the leading edge portion of the sheet material P, the process proceeds to step S310.

[0053] In step S300, the operation unit 48 stops the camera 18, displays on a user interface (not shown) that a crease has occurred in the sheet material P, and ends the series of determination steps. In other words, the supply of the sheet material P is stopped, and displays on a user interface (not shown) that a crease has occurred in the sheet material P, and ends the series of determination steps.

[0054] On the other hand, if it is determined that no fold has occurred in the leading end portion of the sheet material P, the process proceeds to step S310, in which the operating unit 48 operates the blower 54 to supply air to the sheet material P from the edge side of the sheet material P, thereby lifting and separating the sheet material P.

[0055] In step S410, the determination unit 47 determines whether or not a fold has occurred at the leading end of the floating and separated sheet member P from the image captured by the camera 18. Since the sheet member P is separated and floating, the above-mentioned pattern matching is used to determine whether or not the intermediate sheet member P is folded. This allows the fold of the intermediate sheet member P to be determined with high accuracy.

[0056] Therefore, if it is determined that the leading edge of the sheet material P is bent, the process proceeds to step S300, and if it is determined that the leading edge of the sheet material P is not bent, the process proceeds to step S510.

[0057] In step S510, the operating unit 48 operates the conveying unit 16. Specifically, the operating unit 48 operates the adsorption unit 30 to adsorb the lifted upper sheet member P, and in the adsorbed state, moves to one side in the device width direction to convey the upper sheet member P. Furthermore, the operating unit 48 operates the delivery roll 26 to receive the upper sheet member P conveyed by the adsorption unit 30, and conveys the received upper sheet member P toward the image forming unit 102.

[0058] In step S610, as the upper sheet material P is transported, the rear end portion of the upper sheet material P is imaged by the camera 18, and the determination unit 47 determines whether or not a fold has occurred in the rear end portion of the upper sheet material P being transported from the image captured by the camera 18. The pattern matching described above is used to determine whether or not there is a fold in the rear end portion of the upper sheet material P. This also determines whether or not there is a fold in the rear end portion of the upper sheet material P. Here, the rear end portion of the sheet material P is a portion that includes at least a portion 10 from the rear end, when the length of the sheet material P in the supply direction is 100.

[0059] Therefore, if it is determined that a fold has occurred in the rear end portion of the upper sheet material P, the process proceeds to step S300, and if it is determined that no fold has occurred in the rear end portion of the sheet material P, the blower 54 continues to operate and the process proceeds to step S410 again, and the above-mentioned process is repeated until the series of jobs is completed.

[0060] (summary) As described above, in the medium supplying device 10, when a folded sheet material P is imaged by the camera 18, the control unit 40 stops the supply of the sheet material P. This suppresses the supply of the folded sheet material P to the image forming unit 102, compared to the case where the sheet material P is directly supplied to the image forming unit 102 without checking whether the sheet material P is folded or not.

[0061] Furthermore, in the medium supplying device 10, the cameras 18 are disposed at the leading end portion of the sheet material P and on both sides in the width direction of the sheet material P. This improves the accuracy of determining whether or not a fold has occurred, compared to a case in which the cameras 18 are disposed only on one side in the width direction of the sheet material P.

[0062] Further, the medium supplying device 10 is provided with a conveying section 16 that moves the camera 18 and the upper sheet material P relatively in the supply direction (conveying direction) of the upper sheet material P. This makes it possible to determine whether or not a fold has occurred in the rear end portion of the sheet material P.

[0063] In addition, in the medium supplying device 10, the conveying unit 16 conveys the upper sheet material P, so that the camera 18 and the upper sheet material P move relatively in the supply direction (conveying direction) of the upper sheet material P. This reduces the number of parts compared to the case where a dedicated part is provided for moving the camera 18 and the upper sheet material P relatively.

[0064] Furthermore, in the medium supply device 10, the camera 18 captures an image of a plurality of sheet members P floating by the air supplied from the supply unit 14. This allows the folds in the intermediate sheet members P to be determined with higher accuracy than when the folds in the intermediate sheet members P are determined by capturing an image of the sheet members P in a stacked state.

[0065] In the medium supplying device 10, the cameras 18 are disposed at the leading end of the sheet material P, on both sides in the width direction of the sheet material P, and the sheet material P and the cameras 18 are adapted to move relative to each other. This makes it possible to determine whether or not a fold has occurred in the trailing end portions on both sides in the width direction of the sheet material P.

[0066] In addition, in the image forming apparatus 100, forming an image on a folded sheet material P is suppressed compared to a case where the image forming apparatus 100 is equipped with a medium supplying device that supplies the sheet material P directly to the image forming section 102 without checking whether the sheet material P is folded or not.

[0067] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail with respect to a specific embodiment, it is clear to a person skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment, and various other embodiments are possible within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, in the embodiment, the cameras 18 are disposed at the leading end of the sheet member P and on both sides of the sheet member P in the width direction, but the cameras may be disposed on only one side of the sheet member P in the width direction. However, in this case, the effect of disposing the cameras 18 on both sides of the sheet member P in the width direction is not achieved.

[0068] In the above embodiment, the camera 18 and the sheet material P are moved relatively to each other by using the transport unit 16, but the camera 18 and the sheet material P may be moved relatively to each other by moving the camera. However, in this case, the effect of moving the camera 18 and the sheet material P relatively to each other by using the transport unit 16 is not achieved.

[0069] In the above embodiment, the supply unit 14 is provided to supply air to the sheet members P to levitate the sheet members P, but the supply unit 14 may not be provided. In this case, however, the effect of providing the supply unit is not achieved.

[0070] Although not specifically described in the above embodiment, the medium supplying device 10 and the image forming device 100 may be configured as a single device, or may be configured as multiple devices.

[0071] (((1))) an imaging unit that images the plurality of stacked recording media from an edge side of the recording media; at least one processor; When the processor determines that the recording medium is folded based on the image captured by the imaging unit, the processor stops supplying the recording medium. Media supply system.

[0072] (((2))) The imaging units are disposed at the leading end of the recording medium and on both sides of the recording medium in the width direction. The medium supply system according to (((1))).

[0073] (((3))) a moving unit that moves the imaging unit and the recording medium relatively in a feeding direction of the recording medium from a leading end portion to a trailing end portion of the recording medium; The medium supply system according to (((2))).

[0074] (((4))) the moving unit is a conveying unit that conveys the topmost recording medium stacked in the supply direction toward a processing device that processes the recording media; The medium supply system according to (((3))).

[0075] (((5))) a supply unit that supplies air to the recording media from an edge side of the stacked recording media to float the recording media, the imaging unit images the plurality of recording media levitated by the supply unit; A medium supply system according to any one of ((1))) to (((4))).

[0076] (((6))) The imaging units are disposed at the leading end of the recording medium and on both sides of the recording medium in a width direction, a moving unit that moves the imaging unit and the recording medium relatively in a supply direction of the recording medium, A medium supply system according to any one of ((1))) to (((5))).

[0077] (((7))) the moving unit is a conveying unit that conveys the topmost recording medium stacked in a recording medium supply direction toward a processing device that processes the recording media; A medium supply system as described in (((6))).

[0078] (((8))) A medium supply system according to any one of (((1))) to (((7))), an image forming unit as a processing device for forming an image on a recording medium supplied from the medium supply system; An image forming system comprising:

[0079] According to the medium supply system of (((1))), it is possible to prevent the supply of a recording medium that is bent, compared to a case in which the recording medium is supplied without checking whether or not the recording medium is bent.

[0080] According to the medium supply system of (((2))), the accuracy of determining whether or not a crease has occurred can be improved compared to a case in which the imaging unit is positioned only on one side of the recording medium in the width direction.

[0081] According to the medium supply system of (((3))), it is possible to determine whether or not a fold has occurred in the trailing end portion of the recording medium.

[0082] According to the medium supplying system of (((4))), the number of parts can be reduced compared to a case in which a dedicated part is provided for relatively moving the imaging unit and the recording medium in the supplying direction of the recording medium.

[0083] According to the medium supply system of (((5))), it is possible to improve the accuracy of determining whether a recording medium that is sandwiched between other recording media from above and below is folded, compared to when determining whether a recording medium is folded while it is stacked.

[0084] According to the medium supply system of (((6))), it is possible to determine whether or not a fold has occurred in the trailing end portions on both sides in the width direction of the recording medium.

[0085] According to the medium supply system of (((7))), the number of parts can be reduced compared to a case in which a dedicated part is provided for relatively moving the imaging unit and the recording medium in the supply direction of the recording medium.

[0086] According to the image forming system of (((8))), it is possible to prevent an image from being formed on a recording medium that is folded, compared to a case where a medium supply system is provided that supplies a recording medium without checking whether the recording medium is folded or not. [Explanation of symbols]

[0087] 10 Media supply device (an example of a media supply system) 14 Supply section 16 Transport section (an example of a moving section) 18 Camera (an example of an imaging unit) 41 CPU (an example of a processor) 100 Image forming apparatus (an example of an image forming system) 102 Image forming unit (an example of a processing device)

Claims

1. an imaging unit that images the plurality of stacked recording media from an edge side of the recording media; At least one processor; When the processor determines that the recording medium is folded based on the image captured by the imaging unit, the processor stops supplying the recording medium. Media supply system.

2. The imaging units are disposed at the leading end of the recording medium and on both sides of the recording medium in the width direction. The media supply system of claim 1 .

3. a moving unit that moves the imaging unit and the recording medium relatively in a feeding direction of the recording medium from a leading end portion to a trailing end portion of the recording medium; The media supply system of claim 2 .

4. the moving unit is a conveying unit that conveys the topmost recording medium stacked in the supply direction toward a processing device that processes the recording media; The media supply system of claim 3 .

5. a supply unit that supplies air to the recording media from an edge side of the stacked recording media to float the recording media, the imaging unit images the plurality of recording media levitated by the supply unit; The media supply system of claim 1 .

6. The imaging units are disposed at the leading end of the recording medium and on both sides of the recording medium in a width direction, a moving unit that moves the imaging unit and the recording medium relatively in a supply direction of the recording medium, The media supply system of claim 5 .

7. the moving unit is a conveying unit that conveys the topmost recording medium stacked in a recording medium supply direction toward a processing device that processes the recording media; The media supply system of claim 6 .

8. A medium supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 7; an image forming unit as a processing device for forming an image on a recording medium supplied from the medium supply system; An image forming system comprising:

Images