Image forming device

Abstract

To provide an image forming device that prevents information from being written erroneously to an RFID tag other than a target.SOLUTION: An image forming device of an embodiment has a paper discharge unit, a wireless tag communication unit, and a conductor. The paper discharge unit discharges sheets having wireless tags attached thereto. The wireless tag communication unit is capable of writing information to the wireless tags attached to the sheets. The conductor is provided in the paper discharge unit and obstructs communication between the wireless tag communication unit and the wireless tags.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD An embodiment of the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] There is an image forming apparatus that writes information to a wireless tag and forms an image on a sheet that has a wireless tag attached using RFID (Radio Frequency Identifier) ​​technology. The image forming apparatus writes information to the target tag by emitting radio waves from an antenna to the target tag as the target tag passes through the transport path.

[0003] Generally, when multiple sheets are placed on a sheet-receiving portion, such as a tray or paper feed cassette, the wireless tags overlap. The overlapping of overlapping wireless tags makes it difficult for the tags to receive radio waves. Therefore, an image forming device cannot communicate with overlapping wireless tags. On the other hand, the image forming device can communicate with non-overlapping wireless tags, such as those passing through a transport path. Taking advantage of this property, there is a technology that determines whether a tag is a target tag based on the strength of the radio signal transmitted from the wireless tag (RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication)) and writes information to the target tag. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-70940 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, for example, if there is only one sheet remaining in the tray, the wireless tags attached to that sheet do not overlap. Therefore, the image forming device receives radio waves not only from the wireless tag being transported but also from the wireless tag attached to the sheet remaining in the tray. In this case, it is difficult for the image forming device to distinguish between the wireless tag attached to the sheet being transported and the wireless tag attached to the sheet remaining in the tray. As a result, the image forming device may mistakenly write information to a wireless tag other than the target tag.

[0006] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that prevents information from being erroneously written to an unintended wireless tag. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The image forming apparatus of the embodiment has a paper discharge unit, a wireless tag communication unit, and a conductor. The paper discharge unit discharges sheets having wireless tags attached thereto. The wireless tag communication unit is capable of writing information to the wireless tags attached to the sheets. The conductor is provided in the paper discharge unit and blocks communication between the wireless tag communication unit and the wireless tags. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is an external view showing an example of the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment; [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a specific example of the internal configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 4A] Top view of the manual feed tray. [Figure 4B] Top view of the manual feed tray. [Figure 4C] View of the manual feed tray from the front in the Y direction toward the depth. [Figure 4D] View of the manual feed tray from the back side in the X direction toward the front. [Figure 5] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing examples of installation of conductors in a sheet storage unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which a conductor 300 is provided so as to cover the position where a wireless tag is attached. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing RSSI before a conductor is provided. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing RSSI after a conductor is provided. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The image forming apparatus according to the embodiment prevents information from being written to an unintended wireless tag by mistake. The image forming apparatus according to the embodiment will be described in detail below.

[0010] 1 is an external view showing an example of the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment. The image forming apparatus 100 is, for example, a multifunction peripheral. The image forming apparatus 100 includes a display 110, a control panel 120, a printer unit 130, a sheet storage unit 140, and an image reading unit 200. The printer unit 130 of the image forming apparatus 100 may be an electrophotographic device that fixes a toner image, or may be an inkjet device.

[0011] The image forming apparatus 100 forms an image on a sheet using a developer such as toner. The sheet is, for example, paper or label paper. The sheet may be a sheet with a wireless tag attached. The sheet may be any material on whose surface the image forming apparatus 100 can form an image. Note that a sheet with a wireless tag attached may be a sheet in which the wireless tag is attached to the surface of the sheet, or a sheet in which the wireless tag is embedded inside the sheet. The wireless tag in this embodiment is a wireless tag that uses RFID (Radio Frequency IDentifier) ​​technology, and is also called an RF tag.

[0012] The display 110 is an image display device such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, etc. The display 110 displays various information related to the image forming apparatus 100.

[0013] Control panel 120 has a plurality of buttons. Control panel 120 accepts operations from a user. Control panel 120 outputs a signal corresponding to the operation performed by the user to a control unit of image forming apparatus 100. Note that display 110 and control panel 120 may be configured as an integrated touch panel.

[0014] The printer unit 130 forms an image on a sheet based on image information generated by the image reading unit 200 or image information received via a communication path. The printer unit 130 forms an image by, for example, the following process: The printer unit 130 forms an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive drum based on the image information. The printer unit 130 forms a visible image by attaching a developer to the electrostatic latent image. An example of the developer is toner. The printer unit 130 transfers the visible image onto the sheet. The printer unit 130 fixes the visible image on the sheet by applying heat and pressure to the sheet. The sheet on which the image is formed may be a sheet stored in the sheet storage unit 140 or a manually fed sheet. The sheet on which the image is formed is discharged to the paper discharge unit 210.

[0015] The sheet storage unit 140 stores sheets used for image formation in the printer unit 130. In this embodiment, the sheet storage unit 140 is provided with four paper feed cassettes. The image reading unit 200 reads the image information of the object to be read as brightness of light. The image reading unit 200 records the read image information. The recorded image information may be transmitted to another information processing device via a network. The recorded image information may be formed on a sheet by the printer unit 130.

[0016] 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment. The image forming apparatus 100 includes a display 110, a control panel 120, a printer unit 130, a paper feed unit 205, a storage device 151, a memory 152, a processor 153, a wireless tag communication unit 154, an external interface 155, and an image reading unit 200. The display 110, the control panel 120, the printer unit 130, and the image reading unit 200 have been described above, so their description will be omitted. The paper feed unit 205 is a mechanism that feeds sheets placed in the sheet storage unit 140 and a manual feed tray (described later) to the printer unit 130. The storage device 151, the memory 152, the processor 153, the wireless tag communication unit 154, and the external interface 155 will be described below. The functional units are connected to each other via a system bus 160 to enable data communication.

[0017] The storage device 151 is, for example, a hard disk or a solid state drive (SSD) and stores various data. The various data include print jobs received from an external communication device and software programs for controlling the operation of each functional unit of the image forming apparatus 100. The print job may be a job related to double-sided printing or a job related to printing multiple sheets. The print job may also include image information related to the image to be printed on the sheet.

[0018] The memory 152 temporarily stores data used by each functional unit of the image forming apparatus 100. The memory 152 is, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory). The memory 152 may also store digital data generated by the image reading unit 200. The memory 152 may also temporarily store a print job being printed by the printer unit 130 and write information to be written to a wireless tag.

[0019] Processor 153 controls the operation of each functional unit of image forming apparatus 100. Processor 153 loads a software program stored in storage device 151 onto memory 152 and executes the software program to perform processing. Here, an example of specific processing by processor 153 will be described.

[0020] The processor 153 controls printing on sheets with wireless tags attached based on print jobs received via an external communication device or the control panel 120. When the processor 153 receives a print job for sheets with wireless tags attached, it acquires the writing information specified in the print job and the image information associated with the writing information from, for example, a writing information server (not shown). The image information associated with the writing information is information about the image to be formed on the sheet. Note that the image information does not necessarily have to be associated with the writing information. In this case, it is sufficient that the image information is included in the print job. The processor 153 controls the paper feed unit 205. The paper feed unit 205 feeds sheets with wireless tags attached.

[0021] The processor 153 controls the printer unit 130. The printer unit 130 forms an image indicated by the image information on a sheet. The sheet on which the image has been formed is discharged to the paper discharge unit 210. The processor 153 controls the wireless tag communication unit 154. The wireless tag communication unit 154 includes an arithmetic unit and a storage device. The wireless tag communication unit 154 writes information to a wireless tag attached to the sheet. The wireless tag communication unit 154 also reads information from the wireless tag attached to the sheet. The information read by the wireless tag communication unit 154 from the wireless tag includes, for example, identification information that uniquely identifies the wireless tag (for example, a UID: Unique Identifier).

[0022] The external interface 155 transmits and receives data to and from other devices. Here, the other devices are, for example, information processing devices such as personal computers, tablet computers, or smart devices. The external interface 155 operates as an input interface and receives data or instructions transmitted from other devices. The instructions transmitted from other devices are print jobs, etc. The data transmitted from other devices are writing information and image information associated with the writing information, etc. The external interface 155 also operates as an output interface and transmits data to other devices.

[0023] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of image forming apparatus 100. FIG. 3 also shows an example of a placement unit and an example of the arrangement of conductors in the internal configuration. FIG. 3 newly shows manual feed tray 220 and conductors 300-1, 300-2, and 300-3. When conductors 300-1, 300-2, and 300-3 are not distinguished from one another, they are referred to as conductor 300. In this embodiment, the sheet storage unit 140, manual feed tray 220, and paper discharge unit 210 are taken as examples of placement units. The sheet storage unit 140 and manual feed tray 220 are examples of placement units on which sheets are placed before an image is formed. The paper discharge unit 210 is an example of a placement unit on which sheets are placed after an image is formed.

[0024] The communication range of the wireless tag communication unit 154 covers the sheet storage unit 140, the manual feed tray 220, and the paper discharge unit 210. Therefore, in this embodiment, a conductor is provided in the sheet placement unit to inhibit communication between the wireless tag communication unit 154 and the wireless tag attached to the sheet placed on the sheet placement unit. Specifically, when a sheet is placed on the conductor, the impedance of the wireless tag attached to the sheet decreases, making communication difficult. The conductor 300 is made of a material that easily conducts electricity, such as aluminum. The conductor 300 shown in FIG. 3 is formed into a plate shape. FIG. 3 illustrates a side view of the plate-shaped conductor 300.

[0025] The conductor 300-1 is provided in the topmost paper feed cassette of the sheet storage unit 140. The conductor 300-1 blocks communication between the wireless tag attached to a sheet placed in the topmost paper feed cassette and the wireless tag communication unit 154. Even if only one sheet is placed in the topmost paper feed cassette, the conductor 300-1 blocks communication between the wireless tag attached to this sheet and the wireless tag communication unit 154. Note that, although the conductor is provided in the topmost paper feed cassette as an example, the conductor may also be provided in another paper feed cassette.

[0026] Electrical conductor 300-2 is provided on manual tray 220. Electrical conductor 300-2 blocks communication between a wireless tag attached to a sheet placed on manual tray 220 and wireless tag communication unit 154. Even if only one sheet is placed on manual tray 220, electrical conductor 300-2 blocks communication between the wireless tag attached to this sheet and wireless tag communication unit 154.

[0027] The conductor 300-3 is provided in the paper discharge section 210. The conductor 300-3 blocks communication between the wireless tag attached to a sheet placed on the paper discharge section 210 and the wireless tag communication section 154. Even if only one sheet is placed on the paper discharge section 210, the conductor 300-3 blocks communication between the wireless tag attached to this sheet and the wireless tag communication section 154. The sheet discharged to the paper discharge section 210 is discharged by the paper discharge rollers 156. The discharge position of the sheet may vary depending on the force of the discharge. For this reason, the conductor 300-3 is provided to cover the entire paper discharge section 210.

[0028] In FIG. 3 described above, the direction to the left is the Y direction, and the direction from the front to the back is the X direction.

[0029] 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D are diagrams showing examples of installation of conductor 300-2 on manual tray 220. FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing manual tray 220 viewed from above. FIG. 4C is a diagram showing manual tray 220 viewed from the front side toward the depth in the Y direction. FIG. 4D is a diagram showing manual tray 220 viewed from the depth side toward the front in the X direction.

[0030] As shown in Figures 4A and 4B, the size of conductor 300-2 is large enough to cover the entire maximum size sheet on which image forming apparatus 100 can form an image. This allows conductor 300-2 to block communication regardless of the sheet size. Note that conductor 300-2 shown in Figure 4B has a shape in which area 310 is cut out. This is to prevent contact between conductor 300-2 and a sheet feed roller that feeds sheets, if such a roller is provided in area 310.

[0031] As shown in FIGS. 4C and 4D, a recess for providing the conductor 300-2 is prepared in the manual feed tray 220, and the conductor 300-2 is provided so that the sheet placement surface is flat by fitting the conductor 300-2 into this recess.

[0032] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the placement of conductor 300-1 in sheet storage unit 140. The size of conductor 300-1 is large enough to cover the entire sheet of the largest size on which image forming apparatus 100 can form an image. This allows conductor 300-1 to disrupt communication regardless of the sheet size. Note that the sheet storage unit 140 and the paper feed cassette are provided with a metal plate for paper feeding. Conductor 300-2 may be provided to cover the area where the metal plate is not present.

[0033] As described above, the conductor 300 is large enough to cover the entire sheet, so it is always provided in a position that overlaps the wireless tag. However, the size of the conductor does not have to be large enough to cover the entire sheet of the largest sheet size. For example, there are users who only use A4-sized sheets and do not use A3-sized sheets. In this way, if it is predetermined that sheets smaller than the largest sheet size will be used and the position of the wireless tag on the sheet is unknown, a conductor of a size that covers the entire sheet of the sheet size to be used may be provided. In other words, a conductor of a size that matches the sheet size used by the user may be provided. In this way, there is no need to provide a conductor of an unnecessarily large size, and the cost of the conductor can be reduced.

[0034] If the position on the sheet where the wireless tag is to be attached is predetermined, the conductor 300 may be provided so as to cover the area where the wireless tag is to be attached, rather than the entire sheet.

[0035] 6 is a diagram showing an example in which a conductor 300 is provided so as to cover not the entire sheet but the position where a wireless tag is attached. For example, an area 330 is set as an area where a wireless tag is attached to the sheet. A conductor 300-1 may be provided so as to cover this area 330. Even in this case, the conductor 300-1 can block communication with the wireless tag communication unit 154.

[0036] Next, we will introduce the results of an experiment in which RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) was measured before and after the conductor 300 was installed. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the RSSI before the conductor 300 was installed. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the RSSI after the conductor 300 was installed. Both FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 show the RSSI when five sheets were placed in the sheet storage section 140, and the first through fourth sheets were transported one by one to form an image. Also, only one sheet was placed on the manual feed tray 220.

[0037] The vertical axis of the graphs in FIGS. 7 and 8 represents RSSI, and the horizontal axis represents time. As shown in FIG. 7, only signals from the RFIDs are received from the wireless tags attached to the first through third sheets. However, when the fourth sheet is conveyed, only the fifth sheet is placed in the sheet storage unit 140. As a result, the wireless tag communication unit 154 also receives radio waves from the wireless tag attached to the fifth sheet, making it impossible for the wireless tag communication unit 154 to distinguish between the fourth and fifth sheets. This can lead to the wireless tag communication unit 154 mistakenly writing write information to the wireless tag attached to the fifth sheet. Furthermore, because signals are received with a substantially constant radio wave intensity from sheets placed on the manual feed tray 220, it can also lead to the wireless tag communication unit 154 mistakenly writing write information to the wireless tag attached to a sheet placed on the manual feed tray 220.

[0038] In contrast to this, by providing the conductor 300, only reception signals from the RFIDs were received from the wireless tags attached to the first through fourth sheets, as shown in Fig. 8. Furthermore, no signals were received from the wireless tags attached to the fifth sheet and the sheets placed on the manual feed tray 220. Therefore, the wireless tag communication unit 154 does not become unable to distinguish between the sheets, and can prevent erroneous writing of information to wireless tags that are not the target.

[0039] In the above-described embodiment, the sheet storage unit 140, the manual feed tray 220, and the paper discharge unit 210 are listed as the placement units on which the conductor 300 is provided, but the conductor 300 may not be provided on any of these units.

[0040] Specifically, there are two configurations in which the conductor 300 is not provided in all the units. In the first configuration A, the conductor 300 is provided in the placement section on which sheets are placed before information is written to the wireless tag by the wireless tag communication section 154, but is not provided in the placement section on which sheets are placed after information has been written to the wireless tag by the wireless tag communication section 154. In this embodiment, the placement section on which sheets are placed before information is written to the wireless tag is the sheet storage section 140 or the manual feed tray 220. Moreover, the placement section on which sheets are placed after information has been written to the wireless tag is the paper discharge section 210.

[0041] The second configuration B is a configuration in which the conductor 300 is provided on a loading section on which a sheet having a wireless tag with unknown identification information that can uniquely identify the wireless tag by the wireless tag communication section 154 is placed, but is not provided on a loading section on which a sheet having a wireless tag with known identification information is placed.

[0042] When writing write information, the wireless tag communication unit 154 acquires identification information from the wireless tag. Therefore, the wireless tag communication unit 154 can realize configurations A and B by storing the identification information of the wireless tag to which it has written in its own storage device. In this case, the "placing unit on which sheets having unknown wireless tags are placed" in configuration B is the sheet storage unit 140 or the manual feed tray 220. Also, the "placing unit on which sheets having wireless tags with known identification information are placed" in configuration B is the paper discharge unit 210.

[0043] It is assumed that the wireless tag communication unit 154 receives signals from a wireless tag attached to a sheet being conveyed that has no write information written thereto, and from a wireless tag that has written information. In this case, the wireless tag communication unit 154 specifies and writes identification information that has not been stored, i.e., unknown identification information, rather than stored identification information (known identification information). This makes it possible to exclude wireless tags that have already been written, thereby preventing information from being erroneously written to wireless tags that are not the target.

[0044] As described above, the discharge positions of sheets discharged to the discharge unit 210 vary, but it is possible to discharge the sheets without variation by providing a positioning mechanism, for example. In this case, if two or more sheets are discharged, the wireless tags will overlap, making communication difficult. Therefore, when sheets are discharged without variation, the wireless tag communication unit 154 only needs to store the identification information of the wireless tag attached to the first sheet.

[0045] According to the embodiment described above, by providing a conductor on the mounting portion, communication with non-target wireless tags is inhibited, thereby preventing information from being erroneously written to non-target wireless tags.

[0046] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as within the scope of the invention described in the claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 100...image forming apparatus, 110...display, 120...control panel, 130...printer unit, 131...image forming unit, 132...fixing unit, 140...sheet storage unit, 205...paper feed unit, 151...storage device, 152...memory, 153...processor, 154...wireless tag communication unit, 155...external interface, 210...paper discharge unit, 220...manual feed tray, 300, 300-1, 300-2, 300-3...conductor

Claims

1. a paper discharge unit to which a sheet having a wireless tag is discharged; a wireless tag communication unit that can write information to the wireless tag provided on the sheet; a conductor provided in the paper discharge unit and blocking communication between the wireless tag communication unit and the wireless tag; An image forming apparatus comprising:

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the conductor is provided at a position overlapping the wireless tag.

Images