Image formation apparatus

Abstract

To notify a user of a proper / wrong arrangement of a sheet-like medium at a predetermined position in a feed tray in an image formation apparatus having a feed tray that is capable of storing both a roll body in which a sheet-like medium is wound in a roll shape and sheet-like media in a multi-layered state.SOLUTION: A printer 100 includes: a feed tray 11 having a first storage part 11a capable of storing a roll body R in which roll paper P1 is wound in a roll shape, and a second storage part 11b capable of storing cut paper sheets P2 in a multi-layered state; a feed roller 2; a head 5; a plurality of detectors; a notification part 30; and a control part 10. Further, the control part 10 makes the notification part 30 execute a notification operation, on the basis of detection results of the plurality of detectors.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a feed tray that can accommodate both a roll of sheet media and a stack of sheet media. [Background technology]

[0002] Image forming devices are known that can accommodate both rolls of sheet-like paper and cut paper. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a facsimile (image forming device) that has a paper feed cassette (feed tray) that has a loading section for the roll and a loading section for the cut paper. The paper stored in the feed tray is fed by a roller (feed roller). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 02-264556 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In an image forming apparatus such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is a possibility that the feeding operation by the feeding roller may start even if the paper to be used for printing is not stored in the feeding tray.

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide an image forming device having a feed tray that can accommodate both a roll of sheet media wound into a roll and multiple stacks of sheet media, and that can notify the user whether the sheet media is properly positioned in a predetermined position in the feed tray. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The image forming device of the present invention comprises a housing, a feed tray that can be inserted into and removed from the housing and has a first storage section that can store a roll of sheet-like medium wound in a roll shape, and a second storage section that can store multiple stacks of sheet-like medium, a feed roller that feeds the sheet-like medium from the feed tray toward a transport path, an image forming section that forms an image on the sheet-like medium in the transport path, one or more detection sections that can detect whether sheet-like medium is placed at a predetermined position in the feed tray, an alarm section that can perform an alarm operation to alert a user, and a control section, wherein the control section causes the alarm section to perform the alarm operation based on the detection results of the one or more detection sections. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, whether or not a sheet medium is placed in a predetermined position on a feed tray is detected, and a notification operation based on the detection result is performed for the user. Therefore, in an image forming apparatus having a feed tray that can accommodate both a roll of sheet medium and a stack of sheet medium, the user can determine whether or not the sheet medium is properly placed in the predetermined position on the feed tray. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the printer when cut paper is stored. [Figure 3] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing the roll paper detection unit when no roll is stored, and FIG. 10B is a diagram showing when a roll is stored. [Figure 4] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing the cut sheet detection unit when no cut sheet is stored, and FIG. 10B is a diagram showing when a cut sheet is stored. [Figure 5]10A and 10B are diagrams showing the paper presence / absence detection unit, in which (a) shows a state where no paper is set, and (b) shows a state where paper is properly set. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure executed in the printer according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] 10 is the second half of a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure executed in the printer according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart illustrating the first half of an example of a processing procedure executed in a printer according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is the second half of a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure executed in a printer according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] (First embodiment) A printer 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention (one example of an image forming apparatus of the present invention) will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 5. The up-down, left-right, and front-rear directions shown in Figure 1 are the up-down, left-right, and front-rear directions of the printer 100.

[0010] (Overall configuration of the printer 100) As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 100 includes a housing 100a, a feed tray 11, a feed roller 2, a pair of transport rollers 3a, a pair of discharge rollers 3b, a cutter mechanism 4, a head 5 (an example of an image forming unit of the present invention), a discharge tray 6, a guide 7, a pair of intermediate rollers 9, a control unit 10, and an alarm unit 30. The feed tray 11 can be inserted into and removed from the lower part of the housing 100a. The insertion and removal of the feed tray 11 into and from the housing 100a is detected by a sensor (not shown). The discharge tray 6 forms a side wall on the front side of the upper part of the housing 100a and can be opened and closed relative to the housing 100a.

[0011] The feed tray 11 can be inserted into and removed from the housing 100a. The feed tray 11 has a first storage section 11a that can store a roll R of long paper P1 (hereinafter referred to as roll paper P1) wound into a roll, and a second storage section 11b that can store a stack of cut sheets P2 (see FIG. 2), which are shorter than the roll paper P1. Note that the roll paper P1 and cut sheets P2 in this embodiment correspond to an example of the sheet medium of the present invention. A rear end wall section 18 that extends upward is formed at the rear end of the feed tray 11. The rear end wall section 18 is a member that prevents the cut sheets P2 stored in the second storage section 11b from falling out when the feed tray 11 is inserted into or removed from the housing 100a.

[0012] The first storage section 11a has a cylindrical core member Rc, two rollers 14 and 15, and a roll cover 16. The roll R is a long sheet of paper P1 wound in a roll shape around the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical core member Rc. The roll R is positioned so that its axial direction (perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. 1) along its rotation axis Rx (the central axis of the core member Rc) is parallel to the left-right direction. The axial direction of the rotation axis Rx also corresponds to the width direction of the rolled paper P1 and cut paper P2.

[0013] The two rollers 14, 15 extend longitudinally in the left-right direction and are slightly longer than the width of the roll R. The roller 15 is disposed behind the roller 14. The rotation axes of the rollers 14, 15 are parallel to the rotation axis Rx. These two rollers 14, 15 support the roll R from below while in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the lower portion of the roll R.

[0014] When the roll paper P1 is unwound from the roll R, the two rollers 14, 15 rotate in response to the counterclockwise rotation of the roll R (solid arrow in Figure 1). The roll paper P1 unwound from the roll R stored in the first storage section 11a passes through a path below the bottom surface 17 (described below) of the second storage section 11b and is fed to a position directly below the feed roller 2 or downstream of the feed roller 2 in the conveyance direction. The feed roller 2 feeds the roll paper P1 toward the conveyance path, and passes through the intermediate roller pair 9, the conveyance roller pair 3a, the head 5, and the discharge roller pair 3b, before being sent to the discharge tray 6. The conveyance path of the roll paper P1 is defined by the feed roller 2, the intermediate roller pair 9, the conveyance roller pair 3a, and the discharge roller pair 3b.

[0015] The roll cover 16 is a member that covers the roll R stored in the first storage section 11a. The roll cover 16 extends in the left-right direction and is formed to be longer than the width of the rollers 14, 15. The roll cover 16 is also arranged so that it can come into close proximity with the outer peripheral surface of the largest size roll R that can be stored in the first storage section 11a. As a result, even if the roll R loosens and the outer diameter of the roll R attempts to increase, the outer peripheral surface of the roll R comes into contact with the inner surface of the roll cover 16, making it possible to prevent the outer diameter from increasing.

[0016] The second storage section 11b is located behind the first storage section 11a and has a bottom surface 17 that supports the cut sheet P2 from below. The bottom surface 17 extends long in the left-right direction and is formed to be slightly longer than the width of the cut sheet P2. The cut sheet P2 stored in the second storage section 11b is fed toward the conveyance path by the feed roller 2, and is sent to the paper output tray 6 via the intermediate roller pair 9, the conveyance roller pair 3a, the head 5, and the paper output roller pair 3b. The conveyance path of the cut sheet P2 is defined by the feed roller 2, the intermediate roller pair 9, the conveyance roller pair 3a, and the paper output roller pair 3b.

[0017] Additionally, a notch is formed in the rear end portion of the bottom surface 17 of second storage section 11b, in the center in the left-right direction. When printing on roll paper P1, as described above, roll paper P1 is unwound from the roll body R and fed to the feed roller 2 through a path below the bottom surface 17 of second storage section 11b. Then, when no cut paper P2 is stored in second storage section 11b, roll paper P1 comes into contact with the feed roller 2 from the notched portion of bottom surface 17, and is fed toward the conveyance path.

[0018] Note that when printing on roll paper P1, printer 100 of this embodiment is configured so that if cut paper P2 is stored in second storage section 11b, roll paper P1 cannot be fed by feed roller 2. This is because printer 100 of this embodiment is configured so that roll paper P1 and cut paper P2 are fed by a single feed roller 2, and cut paper P2 is stacked on top of roll paper P1 that has been unwound from the roll R. Therefore, in this embodiment, when printing on roll paper P1, cut paper P2 must be removed from second storage section 11b. Also, when printing on cut paper P2, if roll paper P1 is positioned downstream in the transport direction of roll paper P1 and cut paper P2 from the feed position where roll paper P1 and cut paper P2 can be fed by feed roller 2, there is a risk that roll paper P1 will interfere with the feeding of cut paper P2. For this reason, when printing on cut paper P2, it is desirable that the roll R is not housed in the first storage section 11a, that the roll paper P1 is not unwound from the roll R housed in the first storage section 11a, or that even if the roll paper P1 has been unwound from the roll R housed in the first storage section 11a, the roll paper P1 be positioned upstream in the transport direction from the feeding position. Also, in this embodiment, when the feed tray 11 is inserted into the housing 100a, at least a part of the first storage section 11a and all of the second storage section 11b are housed inside the housing 100a.

[0019] The feed roller 2 is located behind the first storage section 11a, near the rear end of the second storage section 11b. The feed roller 2 is rotated by the drive of the feed motor to feed the roll paper P1 and the cut paper P2 from the feed tray 11 to the transport path. As described above, the transport path for both the roll paper P1 and the cut paper P2 are defined by the feed roller 2, the pair of intermediate rollers 9, the pair of transport rollers 3a, and the pair of discharge rollers 3b. Therefore, the feed roller 2 feeds the roll paper P1 and the cut paper P2 along the common transport path.

[0020] The printer 100 according to this embodiment also includes a swing arm 20a that rotatably supports the feed roller 2 and a swing shaft 20b that rotatably supports the swing arm 20a on the housing 100a. The rotation axis of the swing shaft 20b is parallel to the left-right direction. The swing shaft 20b may support the swing arm 20a directly or indirectly on the housing 100a. When transporting roll paper P1, as shown in FIG. 1, the swing arm 20a swings around the swing shaft 20b, causing the feed roller 2 to come into contact with the roll paper P1 unwound from the roll R housed in the first paper storage section 11a. When transporting cut paper P2, as shown in FIG. 2, the swing arm 20a swings around the swing shaft 20b, causing the feed roller 2 to come into contact with the cut paper P2 housed in a stack in the second paper storage section 11b. This allows the feed roller 2 to feed the roll paper P1 and the cut paper P2 to the transport path.

[0021] The cutter mechanism 4 is located downstream of the feed roller 2 in the transport direction (hereinafter simply referred to as the "transport direction") along the transport path of the roll paper P1 and cut paper P2, and upstream of the head 5, which will be described later, in the transport direction. The cutter mechanism 4 includes, for example, two rotary blades, a cutter 4a, and a cutting motor (not shown), which drives the cutter 4a back and forth in the axial direction. The roll paper P1, which is unwound from the roll R and transported along the transport path, is cut widthwise by the cutter 4a when the cutting motor is driven under the control of the control unit 10. This forms a trailing edge on the roll paper P1 that is sent to the paper output tray 6.

[0022] The guide 7 is located behind the feed roller 2 and upstream of the cutter mechanism 4 in the conveying direction. The guide 7 is intended to guide the roll paper P1 and cut paper P2 fed by the feed roller 2 to the cutter mechanism 4. As shown in FIG. 1, the guide 7 is inclined so that it is positioned higher as it moves from front to rear in the front-to-rear direction. The guide 7 extends long in the left-to-right direction and is formed to be slightly longer than the width of the roll paper P1 and cut paper P2. The surface of the guide 7 is formed with a fine uneven pattern that repeats in the conveying direction. This separates short sheets of paper such as cut paper P2, preventing double feeding.

[0023] The intermediate roller pair 9 is located downstream of the cutter mechanism 4 in the transport direction and upstream of the head 5 in the transport direction. The intermediate roller pair 9 transports the roll paper P1 and the cut paper P2 to the transport roller pair 3a. The intermediate roller pair 9 is composed of a drive roller that rotates by the drive of an intermediate motor (not shown) and a driven roller that rotates along with the drive roller. An intermediate registration sensor 31 (an example of a transport detection unit of the present invention) is located near the intermediate roller pair 9, upstream of the intermediate roller pair 9 in the transport direction and downstream of the cutter mechanism 4 in the transport direction. The intermediate registration sensor 31 is a sensor that can detect the roll paper P1 or the cut paper P2 in the transport path. More specifically, the intermediate registration sensor 31 is a sensor that detects whether the roll paper P1 or the cut paper P2 transported along the transport path has reached the intermediate roller pair 9.

[0024] The conveying roller pair 3a is composed of a drive roller that is rotated by the drive of a conveying motor (not shown) and a driven roller that rotates along with the drive roller. The paper discharge roller pair 3b is composed of a drive roller that is rotated by the drive of a paper discharge motor (not shown) and a driven roller that rotates along with the drive roller. The conveying motor and paper discharge motor (not shown) are driven under the control of the control unit 10, and the conveying roller pair 3a and paper discharge roller pair 3b rotate while sandwiching the rolled paper P1 (or cut paper P2), thereby conveying the rolled paper P1 (or cut paper P2).

[0025] The head 5 forms images on the roll paper P1 and the cut paper P2 and is located downstream of the pair of transport rollers 3a in the transport direction and upstream of the pair of discharge rollers 3b in the transport direction. The head 5 includes multiple nozzles (not shown) formed on its underside and a driver IC. When the driver IC is driven under the control of the control unit 10, ink is ejected from the nozzles. When the roll paper P1 (or the cut paper P2) transported by the pair of transport rollers 3a passes a position facing the underside of the head 5, ink is ejected from the nozzles of the head 5, forming an image on the roll paper P1 and the cut paper P2. The head 5 may be either a line type, in which ink is ejected from the nozzles while remaining fixed in position, or a serial type, in which ink is ejected from the nozzles while moving in the axial direction of the rotation axis Rx. The roll paper P1 (or the cut paper P2) on which the image has been formed by the head 5 is received in the paper ejection tray 6, which is open relative to the housing 100a.

[0026] In this embodiment, the horizontal component of the transport direction of roll paper P1 and cut paper P2 fed by the feed roller 2 is from front to back in the front-to-back direction, and the horizontal component of the transport direction of roll paper P1 and cut paper P2 discharged to the outside from the open paper output tray 6 after passing a position facing the underside of the head 5 is from back to front in the front-to-back direction. In other words, the printer 100 of this embodiment has a so-called U-turn path configuration in which the transport direction is turned back midway.

[0027] The control unit 10 is connected to the feed motor, intermediate motor, conveying motor, paper discharge motor, driver IC, cutting motor, etc. via an internal bus (not shown). The control unit 10 is also electrically connected to the intermediate registration sensor 31 and sensors 51b, 52b, and 53b (described later). The control unit 10 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), and RAM (Random Access Memory). The ROM stores programs and data for the CPU to perform various controls. The RAM temporarily stores data used when the CPU executes programs.

[0028] The notification unit 30 can perform a notification operation to notify the user. The notification unit 30 may be, for example, a display provided in the printer 100, which performs the notification operation to the user by displaying information to be notified to the user. Alternatively, the notification unit 30 may be a speaker provided in the printer 100, which performs the notification operation to the user by emitting the information to be notified to the user by voice, or may perform the notification operation by some other method. The notification operation performed by the notification unit 30 will be described in detail in the section on processing by the control unit 10, which will be described later.

[0029] (Roll paper detection unit 51) The printer 100 of the first embodiment also includes a roll paper detection unit 51 (an example of a first detection unit according to the present invention) that detects whether roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage unit 11a. The roll paper detection unit 51 is a sensor that can detect roll paper P1 unwound from the roll R. The roll paper detection unit 51 is located below and behind the roller 15 of the first storage unit 11a. As shown in FIG. 3, the roll paper detection unit 51 includes an actuator 51a and a sensor 51b. The actuator 51a is supported so that it can rotate around a rotation shaft 51a2. The axial direction of the rotation shaft 51a2 is parallel to the left-right direction. The sensor 51b is a sensor that detects the actuator 51a. The sensor 51b is, for example, a photosensor that has a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element (not shown). When roll paper P1 unwound from the roll R is not stored in the first storage section 11a, as shown in FIG. 3(a), the actuator 51a does not block the optical path and is not detected by the sensor 51b. When roll paper P1 unwound from the roll R is stored in the first storage section 11a, the roll paper P1 unwound from the roll R comes into contact with the actuator 51a, as shown in FIG. 3(b). The actuator 51a is then pushed by the roll paper P1 and rotates around the rotation axis 51a2 (solid arrow in FIG. 3(b)), blocking the optical path and being detected by the sensor 51b. This allows the roll paper detection section 51 to detect whether roll paper P1 unwound from the roll R is stored in the first storage section 11a. The actuator 51a and sensor 51b may be supported by the housing 100a or the feed tray 11. Alternatively, one of the actuator 51a and the sensor 51b may be supported by the housing 100a, and the other may be supported by the feed tray 11.

[0030] (Cut paper detection unit 52) The printer 100 of the first embodiment also includes a cut-sheet detection unit 52 (an example of a second detection unit according to the present invention) that detects whether or not a cut sheet P2 is stored in the second storage unit 11b. The cut-sheet detection unit 52 is attached to the swing arm 20a. As shown in FIG. 4, the cut-sheet detection unit 52 includes an actuator 52a and a sensor 52b. The actuator 52a is supported by the swing arm 20a so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft 52a2. The axial direction of the rotation shaft 52a2 is parallel to the left-right direction. The sensor 52b detects the actuator 52a. The sensor 52b is attached to the swing arm 20a. The sensor 52b is, for example, a photosensor having a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element (not shown). When the cut sheet P2 is not stored in the second storage unit 11b, the actuator 52a does not block the optical path and is not detected by the sensor 52b, as shown in FIG. 4(a). When cut sheet P2 is stored in second storage section 11b, as shown in FIG. 4(b), cut sheet P2 stacked on bottom surface 17 comes into contact with actuator 52a. Then, actuator 52a is pushed by cut sheet P2 and rotates about rotation axis 52a2 (solid arrow in FIG. 4(b)). This blocks the optical path and is detected by sensor 52b. This allows cut sheet detection section 52 to detect whether cut sheet P2 is stored in second storage section 11b. Note that actuator 52a and sensor 52b may be supported directly on housing 100a without via swing arm 20a, or may be supported on feed tray 11. Alternatively, either actuator 52a or sensor 52b may be supported on housing 100a, and the other may be supported on feed tray 11. In FIG. 4, paper presence / absence detection section 53 is omitted.

[0031] (Paper presence / absence detection unit 53) Furthermore, the printer 100 of the first embodiment includes a paper presence / absence detection unit 53 (an example of a third detection unit of the present invention) that detects whether roll paper P1 or cut paper P2 is located at a feeding position where the feed roller 2 can feed the roll paper P1 or cut paper P2. More specifically, the paper presence / absence detection unit 53 is a sensor that detects whether roll paper P1 or cut paper P2 is located at a feeding position downstream of the roll paper detection unit 51 in the transport direction and downstream of directly below the feed roller 2 in the transport direction. The paper presence / absence detection unit 53 is attached to the swing arm 20a. A portion of the paper presence / absence detection unit 53 is located downstream of directly below the feed roller 2 in the transport direction along the transport path. As shown in FIG. 5, the paper presence / absence detection unit 53 includes an actuator 53a and a sensor 53b. The actuator 53a is supported by the swing arm 20a so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft 53a2. The axial direction of the rotation shaft 53a2 is parallel to the left-right direction. The sensor 53b detects the actuator 53a. The sensor 53b is attached to the swing arm 20a. The sensor 53b is, for example, a photosensor having a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element (not shown). When the roll paper P1 or the cut paper P2 is not located downstream in the transport direction from directly below the feed roller 2, the actuator 53a does not block the optical path and is not detected by the sensor 53b, as shown in FIG. 5(a). When the roll paper P1 or the cut paper P2 is located downstream in the transport direction from directly below the feed roller 2, the roll paper P1 or the cut paper P2 comes into contact with the actuator 53a, as shown in FIG. 5(b). FIG. 5(b) shows the state when the roll paper P1 unwound from the roll R is located downstream in the transport direction from directly below the feed roller 2. Then, actuator 53a is pushed by roll paper P1 or cut paper P2 and rotates around rotation axis 53a2 (solid arrow in FIG. 5(b)), blocking the optical path and being detected by sensor 53b. This enables paper presence detection unit 53 to detect whether roll paper P1 or cut paper P2 is present in a position downstream in the transport direction from directly below feed roller 2.The actuator 53a and the sensor 53b may be supported directly on the housing 100a without using the swing arm 20a, or may be supported on the feed tray 11. Alternatively, one of the actuator 53a and the sensor 53b may be supported on the housing 100a, and the other may be supported on the feed tray 11. In FIG. 5, the cut-sheet detection unit 52 is not shown.

[0032] In addition, the distance between the roll paper detection unit 51 and the paper presence / absence detection unit 53 along the conveying path is greater than or equal to the distance between the feed roller 2 and the intermediate roller pair 9 along the conveying path, and greater than or equal to the distance between the intermediate roller pair 9 and the conveying roller pair 3a along the conveying path.

[0033] (Processing of the control unit 10) Next, with reference to Figures 6 and 7, an example of the processing performed by the control unit 10 when printing on roll paper P1 or cut paper P2 in the printer 100 will be described. The processing described below begins when the control unit 10 receives a print instruction. The print instruction is input by the user, for example, via a terminal such as a PC or smartphone connected to the printer 100, or via an input device (not shown) included in the printer 100. In this embodiment, the print instruction is an instruction to print on roll paper P1 stored in the first storage unit, or an instruction to print on cut paper P2 stored in the second storage unit.

[0034] First, the control unit 10 determines whether the roll paper detection unit 51 has detected that roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage unit 11a (step S1). If the roll paper detection unit 51 has not detected that roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage unit 11a (S1: NO), the control unit 10 proceeds to step S22, which will be described later. If the roll paper detection unit 51 has detected that roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage unit 11a (S1: YES), the control unit 10 determines whether the cut paper detection unit 52 has detected that cut paper P2 is stored in the second storage unit 11b (step S2).

[0035] If cut sheet detection unit 52 determines that cut sheet P2 is not stored in second storage unit 11b (S2: NO), the process proceeds to step S8, which will be described later. If cut sheet detection unit 52 determines that cut sheet P2 is stored in second storage unit 11b (S2: YES), control unit 10 determines that both roll paper P1 and cut sheet P2 are stored in feed tray 11. Control unit 10 then determines whether the input print instruction is for roll paper P1 (step S3).

[0036] If the control unit 10 determines that the printing instruction is for roll paper P1 (S3: YES), it causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify the user that the cut paper P2 needs to be removed from the second storage unit 11b (step S4).If the control unit 10 determines that the printing instruction is not for roll paper P1 (S3: NO), it causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify the user that the roll paper P1 that has been unwound from the roll body R needs to be rewound (step S5).

[0037] After step S4 or S5, the control unit 10 determines whether a sensor (not shown) has detected insertion or removal of the feed tray 11 into or from the housing 100a (step S6). If the control unit 10 determines that the sensor has detected insertion or removal of the feed tray 11 into or from the housing 100a (S6: YES), the control unit 10 stops the predetermined notification operation by the notification unit 30 (step S7) and returns to step S1. Note that the predetermined notification operation here refers to any of the notification operations of steps S4, S5, and steps S17, S18, S19, and S21 described below. If the control unit 10 determines that the sensor has not detected insertion or removal of the feed tray 11 into or from the housing 100a (S6: NO), the control unit 10 causes the notification unit 30 to continue executing the predetermined notification operation until the sensor detects insertion or removal of the feed tray 11 into or from the housing 100a.

[0038] If, in step S2 described above, it is determined that the cut paper detection unit 52 does not detect that the cut paper P2 is stored in the second storage unit 11b (S2: NO), the control unit 10 determines whether the paper presence / absence detection unit 53 has detected that the roll paper P1 is located at the feeding position of the feed roller 2 (step S8). If it is determined that the paper presence / absence detection unit 53 has not detected that the roll paper P1 is located at the feeding position of the feed roller 2 (S8: NO), the control unit 10 determines that the roll paper P1 is not set correctly. "The roll paper P1 being set correctly" means that the roll paper P1, unwound from the roll R stored in the first storage unit 11a, is located at the feeding position of the feed roller 2. The control unit 10 then determines whether the input print instruction is for the roll paper P1 (step S16).

[0039] If the control unit 10 determines that the print instruction is for roll paper P1 (S16: YES), it causes the notification unit 30 to execute a notification operation to notify the user that the roll paper P1 stored in the first storage unit 11a is not positioned at the feeding position (step S17). In the notification operation of step S17, the notification unit 30 may execute a notification operation such as notifying the user that the roll paper P1 has not been fully unwound, notifying the user that the roll paper P1 is not positioned at the feeding position, or notifying the user that the roll paper P1 needs to be unwound to the feeding position. The process then proceeds to step S6. If the control unit 10 determines that the print instruction is not for roll paper P1 (S16: NO), it determines that the paper stored in the feed tray 11 is incorrect, and causes the notification unit 30 to execute a notification operation to notify the user that the roll paper P1 needs to be rewound and that cut paper P2 needs to be set in the second storage unit (step S18). Then, the process proceeds to step S6 described above.

[0040] If the paper presence / absence detection unit 53 determines that the roll paper P1 is located at the feeding position of the feeding roller 2 (S8: YES), the control unit 10 determines that the roll paper P1 unwound from the roll body R is correctly set. Then, the control unit 10 determines whether the input print instruction is for the roll paper P1 (step S9).

[0041] If it is determined that the print instruction is not for roll paper P1 (S9: NO), the control unit 10 determines that the paper stored in the feed tray 11 is incorrect, and causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify the user that the roll paper P1 needs to be rewound and that cut paper P2 needs to be set in the second storage unit (step S18).Then, the process proceeds to step S6 described above.

[0042] If it is determined that the print instruction is for roll paper P1 (S9: YES), the control unit 10 drives the feed motor to start feeding the roll paper P1 using the feed roller 2 (step S10). Then, the control unit 10 controls the feed motor, intermediate motor, transport motor, and discharge motor to transport the roll paper P1 a predetermined distance (step S11). Next, the control unit 10 determines whether the intermediate registration sensor 31 detects the roll paper P1 within a first time period after the feed roller 2 is driven (step S12). The first time period is the time period from the drive of the feed roller 2 until the roll paper P1 reaches the intermediate registration sensor 31, calculated by dividing the distance along the transport path from the feed roller 2 to the intermediate registration sensor 31 by the feed speed of the feed roller 2, plus an allowable error.

[0043] If the control unit 10 determines that the intermediate registration sensor 31 has not detected the paper roll P1 within the first time period since the feed roller 2 was driven (S12: NO), it determines that the paper roll P1 did not reach the intermediate registration sensor 31 and causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify the user that the paper roll P1 stored in the first storage unit 11a is not properly positioned in the feed tray 11 (step S19). In the notification operation of step S19, the notification unit 30 may perform, for example, an operation to notify the user that the paper roll P1 cannot be fed, an operation to notify the user that the paper roll P1 may be positioned in a distorted state, or an operation to notify the user that the paper roll P1 needs to be properly unwound to the feeding position.

[0044] If the control unit 10 determines that the intermediate registration sensor 31 detected the roll paper P1 within a first time period after the feed roller 2 was driven (S12: YES), it then determines whether the intermediate registration sensor 31 no longer detected the roll paper P1 within a second time period after the feed roller 2 was driven (step S20). The second time period is, for example, the time period from when the intermediate registration sensor 31 begins to detect the cut sheet P2 until when it no longer detects the cut sheet P2, calculated by dividing the length of the cut sheet P2 in the conveyance direction by the conveyance speed of the intermediate registration sensor 31, plus an allowable error. In other words, if the intermediate registration sensor 31 continues to detect the roll paper P1 after the second time period has passed since it began detecting the cut sheet P2, the control unit 10 can determine that the intermediate registration sensor 31 has detected the roll paper P1, not the cut sheet P2.

[0045] If the control unit 10 determines that the intermediate registration sensor 31 has stopped detecting the roll paper P1 before the second time has elapsed (S20: YES), it determines that the cut paper P2 may have been placed by mistake or the roll paper P1 may have been cut in the middle, and causes the notification unit 30 to execute a notification operation to notify the user that the cut paper P2 or the cut roll paper P1 needs to be removed from the feed tray 11 (step S21). After step S19 or step S21, the process proceeds to step S6 described above.

[0046] If the control unit 10 determines that the state in which the roll paper P1 is detected by the intermediate registration sensor 31 is still maintained even after the second time has elapsed (S20: NO), it controls the driver IC to record a predetermined number of passes (step S13).

[0047] Next, the control unit 10 determines whether or not there is no recorded data on the same sheet of paper (step S14). If it determines that there is recorded data on the same sheet of paper (S14: NO), the process returns to step S11. If it determines that there is no recorded data on the same sheet of paper (S14: YES), the control unit 10 ejects the roll paper P1 (step S15) and ends printing.

[0048] In the above-mentioned step S1, if it is determined that the roll paper detection unit 51 has not detected that roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage unit 11a (S1: NO), the control unit 10 determines whether the cut paper detection unit 52 has detected that cut paper P2 is stored in the second storage unit 11b (step S22).

[0049] If cut sheet detection unit 52 determines that cut sheet P2 is stored in second storage unit 11b (S22: YES), the process proceeds to step S28, which will be described later. If cut sheet detection unit 52 determines that cut sheet P2 is not stored in second storage unit 11b (S22: NO), control unit 10 determines that roll paper P1 and cut sheet P2 are not stored in feed tray 11. Control unit 10 then determines whether the input print instruction is for cut sheet P2 (step S23).

[0050] If the control unit 10 determines that the printing instruction is not for cut paper P2 (S23: NO), it causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify the user that the roll R has been stored in the first storage unit 11a and that the roll paper P1 has been unwound from the roll R (step S24).If the control unit 10 determines that the printing instruction is for cut paper P2 (S23: YES), it causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify the user that the cut paper P2 has been set (step S25).

[0051] After step S24 or S25, the control unit 10 determines whether a sensor (not shown) has detected insertion or removal of the feed tray 11 into or from the housing 100a (step S26). If it is determined that the sensor has detected insertion or removal of the feed tray 11 into or from the housing 100a (S26: YES), the control unit 10 stops the predetermined notification operation by the notification unit 30 (step S27) and returns to step S1. Note that the predetermined notification operation here refers to any of the notification operations of steps S24, S25, and steps S37 and S40 (described later). If it is determined that the sensor has not detected insertion or removal of the feed tray 11 into or from the housing 100a (S26: NO), the control unit 10 causes the notification unit 30 to continue executing the predetermined notification operation until the sensor detects insertion or removal of the feed tray 11 into or from the housing 100a.

[0052] If, in step S22 described above, it is determined that cut sheet detection unit 52 has detected that cut sheet P2 is stored in second storage unit 11b (S22: YES), control unit 10 then determines whether paper presence / absence detection unit 53 has detected that cut sheet P2 is located at the feed position by feed roller 2 (step S28). If it is determined that paper presence / absence detection unit 53 has not detected that cut sheet P2 is located at the feed position by feed roller 2 (S28: NO), control unit 10 determines that cut sheet P2 is not set correctly. Setting cut sheet P2 correctly means that cut sheet P2 stored in second storage unit 11b is located downstream in the transport direction from directly below feed roller 2. Control unit 10 then determines whether the input print instruction is for cut sheet P2 (step S36).

[0053] If it is determined that the print instruction is for cut sheet P2 (S36: YES), the control unit 10 proceeds to step S26 via step S25 described above. If it is determined that the print instruction is not for cut sheet P2 (S36: NO), the control unit 10 determines that the paper stored in the feed tray 11 is incorrect, and causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify the removal of cut sheet P2, the storage of the roll R, and the unwinding of the roll paper P1 (step S37). Then, the process proceeds to step S26 described above.

[0054] If the paper presence / absence detection unit 53 determines that the cut sheet P2 is positioned at the feed position of the feed roller 2 (S28: YES), the control unit 10 determines whether the input print instruction is for the cut sheet P2 (step S29). If the print instruction is not for the cut sheet P2 (S29: NO), the process proceeds to step S26 via step S37. If the print instruction is for the cut sheet P2 (S29: YES), the control unit 10 drives the feed motor to start the feed operation of the feed roller 2 to feed the cut sheet P2 (step S30). Then, the control unit 10 controls the feed motor, intermediate motor, transport motor, and paper discharge motor to transport the cut sheet P2 a predetermined distance (step S31). Next, the control unit 10 determines whether the intermediate registration sensor 31, which is located downstream of the feed roller 2 in the transport direction, has detected the cut sheet P2 (step S32). Note that the control unit 10 may execute step S32 after stopping the transport of the cut sheet P2, or may execute step S32 while the cut sheet P2 is being transported.

[0055] If it is determined that the intermediate registration sensor 31 has not detected the cut sheet P2 (S32: NO), the control unit 10 determines that the trailing edge of the cut sheet P2 has passed the intermediate registration sensor 31. The control unit 10 then calculates the remaining unrecorded length of the cut sheet P2 and determines whether this remaining unrecorded length is greater than the required recording length of the cut sheet P2 on which an image will be recorded (step S38). Note that the calculated remaining unrecorded length of the cut sheet P2 is, for example, the length from the intermediate registration sensor 31 to the head 5. If the remaining unrecorded length is less than the required recording length (S38: NO), the control unit 10 determines that there is a size error in the set cut sheet P2 and ejects the cut sheet P2 (step S39). The control unit 10 then causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify the user that the cut sheet P2 has been set (step S40), and proceeds to step S26 described above.

[0056] If it is determined that the intermediate registration sensor 31 has detected the cut paper P2 (S32: YES), or if it is determined that the remaining unrecorded length is greater than the required recording length (S38: YES), the control unit 10 controls the driver IC to record a predetermined number of passes (step S33).

[0057] Next, the control unit 10 determines whether or not there is no recording data on the same sheet (step S34). If it determines that there is recording data on the same sheet (S34: NO), the process returns to step S31. If it determines that there is no recording data on the same sheet (S34: YES), the control unit 10 ejects the cut sheet P2 (step S35) and ends printing.

[0058] As described above, the printer 100 of the first embodiment includes the feed tray 11 having the first storage section 11a capable of storing the roll R in which the roll paper P1 is wound in a roll shape and the second storage section 11b capable of storing multiple stacked cut sheets P2, the feed roller 2, the head 5, multiple detectors, the notification section 30, and the control unit 10. The control unit 10 then causes the notification section 30 to perform a notification operation based on the detection results of the multiple detectors. According to this embodiment, the control unit 10 detects whether the roll paper P1 or the cut sheets P2 is placed in a predetermined position on the feed tray 11, and notifies the user based on the detection results. Therefore, in a printer 1 having a feed tray 11 capable of storing both the roll R in which the roll paper P1 is wound in a roll shape and multiple stacked cut sheets P2, the user can determine whether the roll paper P1 or the cut sheets P2 is appropriately placed in the predetermined position on the feed tray 11.

[0059] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the control unit 10 causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation based on the detection results of the roll paper detection unit 51, the cut paper detection unit 52, and the paper presence / absence detection unit 53. This allows the user to determine whether the roll paper P1 or the cut paper P2 is properly placed in the specified position on the feed tray 11 based on the detection results of the roll paper detection unit 51, the cut paper detection unit 52, and the paper presence / absence detection unit 53.

[0060] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the control unit 10 receives an instruction to print on the roll paper P1 stored in the first storage unit 11a and the detection result from the roll paper detection unit 51 indicates that the first storage unit 11a does not store the roll paper P1, the control unit 10 causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify the user that the roll paper P1 stored in the first storage unit 11a is about to be unwound from the roll R. This makes it possible to prevent printing from proceeding even if the control unit 10 receives an instruction to print on the roll paper P1 stored in the first storage unit 11a when the first storage unit 11a does not store the roll paper P1.

[0061] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the control unit 10 receives an instruction to print on the cut sheet P2 stored in the second storage unit 11b and the detection result by the roll paper detection unit 51 indicates that the roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage unit 11a, the control unit 10 causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify the user that the roll paper P1 unwound from the roll R needs to be rewound. This makes it possible to prevent printing from occurring even when the control unit 10 receives an instruction to print on the cut sheet P2 stored in the second storage unit 11b while the roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage unit 11a.

[0062] Furthermore, the printer 100 of this embodiment includes an intermediate registration sensor 31 that can detect roll paper P1 or cut paper P2 in the transport path. When the control unit 10 receives an instruction to print on roll paper P1 stored in the first storage unit 11a and the detection result from the roll paper detection unit 51 indicates that roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage unit 11a, the control unit 10 drives the feed roller 2. If the intermediate registration sensor 31 does not detect roll paper P1 within a first time period after driving the feed roller 2, the control unit 10 causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation that notifies the user that the roll paper P1 stored in the first storage unit 11a is not properly positioned in the feed tray 11. This allows the user to know that the roll paper P1 stored in the first storage unit 11a is not properly positioned if the feed roller 2 does not properly feed the roll paper P1 even though the roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage unit 11a.

[0063] Furthermore, in this embodiment, if the roll paper P1 is no longer detected by the intermediate registration sensor 31 within a second time period after the feed roller 2 is driven, the control unit 10 causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify the user that the cut paper P2 needs to be removed from the second storage unit 11b. This allows the user to know that the cut paper P2 needs to be removed from the second storage unit 11b if the roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage unit 11a but the sheet medium that was actually fed is the cut paper P2 stored in the second storage unit 11b.

[0064] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the control unit 10 receives an instruction to print on the roll paper P1 stored in the first storage unit 11a and the detection result by the cut paper detection unit 52 indicates that the cut paper P2 is stored in the second storage unit 11b, the control unit 10 causes the notification unit 30 to execute a notification operation to notify the user that the cut paper P2 needs to be removed from the second storage unit 11b. When printing on the roll paper P1 stored in the first storage unit 11a, if the cut paper P2 is stored in the second storage unit 11b, printing cannot be performed properly. According to the above configuration, when an instruction to print on the roll paper P1 stored in the first storage unit 11a is received and there is a possibility that the cut paper P2 is stored in the second storage unit 11b, a notification is issued that the cut paper P2 needs to be removed from the second storage unit. This prevents printing from being performed when the sheet of media is not properly positioned in the specified position on the feed tray 11.

[0065] Furthermore, in this embodiment, if the detection result from the roll paper detection unit 51 indicates that the roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage unit 11a and the detection result from the paper presence / absence detection unit 53 indicates that no sheet medium is placed at the feeding position, the control unit 10 causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify the user that the roll paper P1 stored in the first storage unit 11a is not placed at the feeding position. This allows the user to know that the roll paper P1 unwound from the roll R is not properly set at the feeding position. This prevents the roll paper P1, which is set in an improper state, from not being fed by the feed roller 2 even though the roll R is stored in the first storage unit 11a, or from causing a jam inside the housing 100a after being fed.

[0066] (Second embodiment) In the first embodiment, printer 100 does not necessarily have to include cut paper detection unit 52 and paper presence detection unit 53. A second embodiment of the present invention, which includes roll paper detection unit 51 but does not include cut paper detection unit 52 or paper presence detection unit 53, will be described below with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. In the following description, the same components as in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted. The printer of the second embodiment has the same configuration as printer 100 of the first embodiment, except that it does not include cut paper detection unit 52 or paper presence detection unit 53.

[0067] In the printer of the second embodiment, the distance along the transport path between the roll paper detection unit 51 and the feed roller 2 is greater than or equal to the distance along the transport path between the feed roller 2 and the intermediate roller pair 9, and greater than or equal to the distance along the transport path between the intermediate roller pair 9 and the transport roller pair 3a.

[0068] An example of the processing performed by the control unit 10 when recording an image on roll paper P1 or cut paper P2 in the printer of the second embodiment will be described below. The processing described below begins when the control unit 10 receives a print instruction.

[0069] First, the control unit 10 determines whether the roll paper detection unit 51 has detected that roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage unit 11a (step S101). If the roll paper detection unit 51 has not detected that roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage unit 11a (S101: NO), the control unit 10 proceeds to step S121, which will be described later. If the roll paper detection unit 51 has detected that roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage unit 11a (S101: YES), the control unit 10 determines whether the input print instruction is for roll paper P1 (step S102).

[0070] If it is determined that the printing instruction is not for roll paper P1 (S102: NO), the control unit 10 determines that the paper stored in the feed tray 11 is incorrect, and causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify the user of the rewinding of roll paper P1 and the setting of cut paper P2 (step S103).

[0071] The control unit 10 determines whether a sensor (not shown) has detected insertion or removal of the feed tray 11 into or from the housing 100a (step S104). If it is determined that the sensor has detected insertion or removal of the feed tray 11 into or from the housing 100a (S104: YES), the control unit 10 stops the predetermined notification operation by the notification unit 30 (step S105) and returns to step S101. Note that the predetermined notification operation here refers to any of the notification operations in step S103 and steps S109, S114, and S117 described below. If it is determined that the sensor has not detected insertion or removal of the feed tray 11 into or from the housing 100a (S104: NO), the control unit 10 causes the notification unit 30 to continue the predetermined notification operation until the sensor detects insertion or removal of the feed tray 11 into or from the housing 100a.

[0072] If it is determined that the print instruction is for roll paper P1 (S102: YES), the control unit 10 drives the feed motor to start the feed operation of the feed roller 2 to feed the roll paper P1 (step S106). Next, the control unit 10 determines whether the intermediate registration sensor 31, which is located downstream of the feed roller 2 in the transport direction, has detected the roll paper P1 (step S107).

[0073] If the control unit 10 determines that the intermediate registration sensor 31 has not detected the paper roll P1 (S107: NO), it determines whether the amount of drive of the feed roller 2 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (step S108). Here, the predetermined threshold is a predetermined threshold value used to determine whether the paper roll P1 is empty, and is set in advance, for example. If the control unit 10 determines that the amount of drive of the feed roller 2 is less than the predetermined threshold (S108: NO), it returns to step S107. If the control unit 10 determines that the amount of drive of the feed roller 2 is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold (S108: YES), it determines that the paper roll P1 is not correctly set, and causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify the user that the paper roll P1 should be unwound from the roll R (step S109). Then, it proceeds to step S104 described above.

[0074] If it is determined that the intermediate registration sensor 31 has detected the roll paper P1 (S107: YES), the control unit 10 controls the feed motor, intermediate motor, transport motor, and discharge motor to transport the roll paper P1 a predetermined amount (step S110). Next, the control unit 10 determines whether the roll paper detection unit 51 has detected that a roll R is stored in the first storage unit 11a (step S111). Note that the control unit 10 may execute step S111 after stopping the transport of the roll paper P1, or may execute step S111 while the roll paper P1 is being transported.

[0075] If it is determined that the roll paper detection unit 51 has not detected that roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage unit 11a (S111: NO), the control unit 10 calculates the remaining unrecorded length of the long paper P1 that makes up the roll R, and determines whether this remaining unrecorded length is greater than the required recording length of the long paper P1 on which an image will be recorded (step S112). Note that the remaining unrecorded length of the long paper P1 that makes up the roll R calculated in this embodiment is, for example, the length from the roll paper detection unit 51 to the head 5.

[0076] If the remaining unrecorded length is equal to or shorter than the required recording length (S112: NO), the control unit 10 determines that the long paper P1 constituting the roll R has run out of paper, and ejects the roll paper P1 being transported (step S113).The control unit 10 then causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify the storage of a new roll R and the unwinding of the roll paper P1 (step S114), and proceeds to step S104 described above.

[0077] If the roll paper detection unit 51 determines that roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage unit 11a (S112: YES), or if the control unit 10 determines that the remaining unrecorded length is greater than the required recording length (S111: YES), the control unit 10 determines whether the intermediate registration sensor 31 has detected roll paper P1 (step S115). Whether the intermediate registration sensor 31 has detected roll paper P1 depends on whether the intermediate registration sensor 31 has detected the trailing edge of the paper. More specifically, when cut paper P2 is being transported, the intermediate registration sensor 31 switches from a state in which it detects paper to a state in which it does not detect paper. At this time, the control unit 10 determines that the intermediate registration sensor 31 has detected the trailing edge of cut paper P2, i.e., has not detected roll paper P1. On the other hand, when roll paper P1 is being transported, the intermediate registration sensor 31 maintains its state in which it detects paper. At this time, the control unit 10 determines that the intermediate registration sensor 31 has not detected the trailing edge of cut paper P2, i.e., has detected roll paper P1.

[0078] If it is determined that the intermediate registration sensor 31 has not detected the roll paper P1 (S115: NO), the control unit 10 determines that the cut paper P2 has been set by mistake and ejects the cut paper P2 being transported (step S116).The control unit 10 then causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify the user that the cut paper P2 should be removed from the second storage unit 11b (step S117), and proceeds to step S104 described above.

[0079] If it is determined that the intermediate registration sensor 31 has detected the roll paper P1 (S115: YES), the control unit 10 controls the driver IC to record a predetermined number of passes (step S118).

[0080] Next, the control unit 10 determines whether or not there is no recording data on the same sheet of paper (step S119). If it determines that there is recording data on the same sheet of paper (S119: NO), the process returns to step S110. If it determines that there is no recording data on the same sheet of paper (S119: YES), the control unit 10 ejects the roll paper P1 (step S120) and ends printing.

[0081] In step S101 described above, if it is determined that the roll paper detection unit 51 has not detected that roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage unit 11a (S101: NO), the control unit 10 determines that cut paper P2 is set in the feed tray 11 or that neither roll paper P1 nor cut paper P2 is stored in the feed tray 11. Then, the control unit 10 determines whether the input print instruction is for cut paper P2 (step S121).

[0082] If it is determined that the printing instruction is not for cut paper P2 (S121: NO), the control unit 10 determines that the paper stored in the feed tray 11 is incorrect, and causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify the removal of cut paper P2, the storage of the roll body R, and the unwinding of the roll paper P1 (step S122).

[0083] Next, the control unit 10 determines whether a sensor (not shown) has detected insertion or removal of the feed tray 11 into or from the housing 100a (step S123). If it is determined that the sensor has detected insertion or removal of the feed tray 11 into or from the housing 100a (S123: YES), the control unit 10 stops the predetermined notification by the notification unit 30 (step S124) and returns to step S101. Note that the predetermined notification operation here refers to any of the notification operations in step S122, steps S128, and S133 described below. If it is determined that the sensor has not detected insertion or removal of the feed tray 11 into or from the housing 100a (S123: NO), the control unit 10 causes the notification unit 30 to continue the predetermined notification operation until the sensor detects insertion or removal of the feed tray 11 into or from the housing 100a.

[0084] If it is determined that the print instruction is for cut sheet P2 (S121: YES), the control unit 10 drives the feed motor to start the feed operation of the cut sheet P2 by the feed roller 2 (step S125). Next, the control unit 10 determines whether the intermediate registration sensor 31, which is located downstream of the feed roller 2 in the conveying direction, has detected the leading edge of the cut sheet P2 (step S126).

[0085] If the control unit 10 determines that the intermediate registration sensor 31 has not detected the leading edge of the cut sheet P2 (S126: NO), it determines whether the amount of drive of the feed roller 2 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (step S127). Here, the predetermined threshold is a predetermined threshold value used to determine whether the cut sheet P2 is empty, and is set in advance, for example. If the control unit 10 determines that the amount of drive of the feed roller 2 is less than the predetermined threshold (S127: NO), it returns to step S126. If the control unit 10 determines that the amount of drive of the feed roller 2 is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold (S127: YES), it determines that the cut sheet P2 is not set correctly or that neither the roll R nor the cut sheet P2 is stored, and causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify the user that the cut sheet P2 has been set (step S128). Then, it proceeds to step S123 described above.

[0086] If it is determined that the intermediate registration sensor 31 has detected the leading edge of the cut sheet P2 (S126: YES), the control unit 10 controls the feed motor, intermediate motor, transport motor, and discharge motor to transport the cut sheet P2 a predetermined amount (step S129). Next, the control unit 10 determines whether the intermediate registration sensor 31 has detected the cut sheet P2 (step S130). Note that the control unit 10 may execute step S130 after stopping the transport of the cut sheet P2, or may execute step S130 while the cut sheet P2 is being transported.

[0087] If it is determined that the intermediate registration sensor 31 has not detected the cut sheet P2 (S130: NO), the control unit 10 determines that the trailing edge of the cut sheet P2 has passed the intermediate registration sensor 31. The control unit 10 then calculates the remaining unrecorded length of the cut sheet P2 and determines whether this remaining unrecorded length is greater than the required recording length of the cut sheet P2 on which an image will be recorded (step S131). Note that the calculated remaining unrecorded length of the cut sheet P2 is, for example, the length from the intermediate registration sensor 31 to the head 5. If the remaining unrecorded length is less than the required recording length (S131: NO), the control unit 10 determines that the set cut sheet P2 has a size error and ejects the cut sheet P2 (step S132). The control unit 10 then causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify the user that the cut sheet P2 has been set (step S133), and proceeds to step S123 described above.

[0088] If it is determined that the intermediate registration sensor 31 has detected the cut paper P2 (S130: YES), or if it is determined that the remaining unrecorded length is greater than the required recording length (S131: YES), the control unit 10 controls the driver IC to record a predetermined number of passes (step S134).

[0089] Next, the control unit 10 determines whether or not there is no recording data on the same sheet (step S135). If it is determined that there is recording data on the same sheet (S135: NO), the process returns to step S129. If it is determined that there is no recording data on the same sheet (S135: YES), the control unit 10 ejects the cut sheet P2 (step S136) and ends printing.

[0090] As described above, the printer of the second embodiment includes the roll paper detection unit 51. This allows the user to determine whether the sheet medium is properly placed in the specified position in the feed tray based on the detection result of whether roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage unit 11a.

[0091] (Variation) Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims.

[0092] The printer 100 of the first embodiment includes a roll paper detection unit 51, a cut paper detection unit 52, and a paper presence / absence detection unit 53. The printer of the second embodiment includes only the roll paper detection unit 51 out of the roll paper detection unit 51, cut paper detection unit 52, and paper presence / absence detection unit 53. However, a printer according to the present invention may include only one of the roll paper detection unit 51, cut paper detection unit 52, and paper presence / absence detection unit 53, or a combination of any two of them. For example, the printer may include only the cut paper detection unit 52 and the paper presence / absence detection unit 53 out of the roll paper detection unit 51, cut paper detection unit 52, and paper presence / absence detection unit 53. In this case, the control unit 10 causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation based on the detection results from the cut paper detection unit 52 and paper presence / absence detection unit 53. This allows the user to determine whether the sheet medium is properly placed in the specified position on the feed tray 11 based on the detection results of the cut paper detection unit 52 and the paper presence / absence detection unit 53.

[0093] Furthermore, in a printer configured to include only roll paper detection unit 51 and paper presence / absence detection unit 53 among roll paper detection unit 51, cut paper detection unit 52, and paper presence / absence detection unit 53, if roll paper detection unit 51 does not detect roll paper P1, it is determined that cut paper P2 is contained in feed tray 11, or that neither roll paper P1 nor cut paper P2 is contained in feed tray 11. In this case, whether cut paper P2 is correctly set is determined, for example, by whether intermediate registration sensor 31, located downstream of feed roller 2 in the transport direction, detects cut paper P2 after the feeding operation has started.

[0094] In a printer according to the present invention that does not include a paper presence / absence detection unit 53, determining whether the roll paper P1 or cut paper P2 is located directly below the feed roller 2, i.e., whether it is correctly loaded, may be performed, for example, as follows. For example, determining whether the roll paper P1 or cut paper P2 is correctly loaded is performed by determining whether the roll paper P1 or cut paper P2 unwound from the roll R stored in the feed tray 11 is detected by the intermediate registration sensor 31, which is located downstream of the feed roller 2 in the transport direction, after the start of the feeding operation. Alternatively, determining whether the roll paper P1 or cut paper P2 is correctly loaded may be performed by detecting the current generated in the feed motor (not shown), which drives the rotation of the feed roller 2. If the roll paper P1 or cut paper P2 is not correctly loaded, the feed roller 2 will come into contact with the bottom of the feed tray 11. In this case, the feed roller 2 will be locked and unable to rotate, and the maximum current will flow in the feed motor. Detecting the current at this time makes it possible to determine whether the roll paper P1 or cut paper P2 is correctly loaded.

[0095] In the above embodiment, the roll paper detection unit 51, cut paper detection unit 52, and paper presence detection unit 53 each consist of an actuator and a photosensor. However, each detection unit may not have an actuator, but may be a photosensor with a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element that directly detects paper by irradiating it with light. In this case, the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element are attached to the housing. Alternatively, the sensor may detect the presence or absence of paper by pressing an actuator that comes into contact with paper and contacts a switch or the like.

[0096] In the above embodiment, the paper presence / absence detection unit 53 detects whether roll paper P1 or cut paper P2 is present in a position downstream in the transport direction from directly below the feed roller 2. However, the paper presence / absence detection unit 53 may also detect whether roll paper P1 or cut paper P2 is present in a position directly below the feed roller 2.

[0097] In the first and second embodiments, the feed tray is insertable and removable in the front-rear direction relative to the housing. However, the feed tray may be insertable and removable in the left-right direction relative to the housing.

[0098] The image forming apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to a multifunction machine, a copier, etc. in addition to the printer 100. The printer is not limited to an inkjet type, but may be a laser type. Furthermore, the sheet medium according to the present invention may be a cloth, a label, etc., in addition to paper.

[0099] In the first embodiment, the control unit 10 may cause the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify the user that a scrap of roll paper P1 remaining in the feeding position needs to be removed from the feed tray 11 if the detection result from the roll paper detection unit 51 indicates that roll paper P1 is not stored in the first storage unit 11a, the detection result from the cut paper P2 indicates that cut paper P2 is not stored in the second storage unit 11b, and the detection result from the paper presence / absence detection unit 53 indicates that a sheet of medium is placed in the feeding position. When printing on roll paper P1 unwound from the roll R, the roll paper P1 is cut to an appropriate length. Scraps of the cut roll paper P1 may remain in the feed tray 11. With the above configuration, scraps of roll paper P1 remaining in the feed tray 11 can be detected. The user can then be notified that the scraps need to be removed. The timing at which the control unit 10 causes the notification unit 30 to notify the user that the scrap of roll paper P1 remaining in the feeding position needs to be removed from the feed tray 11 may be when the feed tray 11 is inserted into the housing 100a. This timing may also be any timing before a print command is received, after a print command is received, or after the feed operation by the feed roller 2 has started. The control unit 10 may also cause the notification unit 30 to notify the user that the scrap of roll paper P1 remaining in the feeding position needs to be removed from the feed tray 11 at any of the above timings.

[0100] In the present invention, if the detection result by the roll paper detection unit 51 indicates that roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage unit 11a and the detection result by the cut paper detection unit 52 indicates that cut paper P2 is stored in the second storage unit 11b before receiving an instruction to print on the sheet medium, the control unit 10 may cause the notification unit 30 to execute a notification operation to notify the user that the cut paper P2 stored in the second storage unit 11b will be fed. This allows the user to know that the cut paper P2 stored in the second storage unit 11b will be fed when the feed roller 2 feeds the sheet before receiving an instruction to print on the sheet medium. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the sheet medium needs to be removed from the second storage unit 11b before the feed roller 2 starts the feeding operation.

[0101] In the present invention, when the detection result by the roll paper detection unit 51 indicates that the first storage unit 11a does not contain roll paper P1 and the detection result by the cut paper detection unit 52 indicates that the second storage unit 11b does not contain cut paper P2, the control unit 10 may cause the notification unit 30 to execute a notification operation to notify the user that neither the first storage unit 11a nor the second storage unit 11b contains sheet media. This allows the user to know that no sheet media is placed in the feed tray 11. Note that the timing when the control unit 10 causes the notification unit 30 to execute a notification operation to notify the user that neither the first storage unit 11a nor the second storage unit 11b contains sheet media may be when the feed tray 11 is inserted into the housing 100a. Furthermore, this timing may be any timing before receiving a print command, after receiving a print command, or after the feed roller 2 has started feeding. In addition, at all of the above timings, the control unit 10 may cause the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation to notify that no sheet-like media is stored in either the first storage unit 11a or the second storage unit 11b.

[0102] In the present invention, when the detection result from the roll paper detection unit 51 indicates that the roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage unit 11a and the detection result from the paper presence / absence detection unit 53 indicates that no sheet medium is placed at the feeding position, the control unit 10 may cause the notification unit 30 to execute an operation to notify the user that the roll paper P1 stored in the first storage unit 11a is not placed at the feeding position when the feed tray 11 is inserted into the housing 100a. This timing may also be any timing before a print command is received, after a print command is received, or after the feed operation by the feed roller 2 has started. The control unit 10 may also cause the notification unit 30 to execute an operation to notify the user that the roll paper P1 stored in the first storage unit 11a is not placed at the feeding position at any of the above timings.

[0103] In the present invention, "when the detection result does not indicate that sheet media is stored in the first storage section" is not limited to cases where the roll paper detection unit 51 directly detects that roll paper P1 is not stored in the first storage section 11a. For example, in a printer that does not have a roll paper detection unit 51, the detection result of a detection unit other than the roll paper detection unit 51 cannot be said to "indicate that sheet media is stored in the first storage section," so the detection result of a detection unit other than the roll paper detection unit 51 is also included in "when the detection result does not indicate that sheet media is stored in the first storage section."

[0104] In the present invention, "when the detection result does not indicate that no sheet media is stored in the first storage section" is not limited to cases where the roll paper detection unit 51 directly detects that roll paper P1 is stored in the first storage section 11a. For example, in a printer that does not have a roll paper detection unit 51, the detection result of a detection unit other than the roll paper detection unit 51 cannot definitively indicate that "no sheet media is stored in the first storage section," so the detection result of a detection unit other than the roll paper detection unit 51 is also included in "when the detection result does not indicate that no sheet media is stored in the first storage section."

[0105] The phrase "when the detection result does not indicate that sheet media are stored in the second storage unit" of the present invention is not limited to cases where cut sheet detection unit 52 directly detects that cut sheet P2 is not stored in second storage unit 11b. For example, in a printer that does not have cut sheet detection unit 52, the detection result of a detection unit other than cut sheet detection unit 52 cannot be said to "indicate that sheet media are stored in the second storage unit," so the detection result of a detection unit other than cut sheet detection unit 52 is also included in "when the detection result does not indicate that sheet media are stored in the second storage unit."

[0106] The phrase "when the detection result does not indicate that no sheet media is stored in the second storage unit" of the present invention is not limited to cases where cut sheet detection unit 52 directly detects that cut sheet P2 is stored in second storage unit 11b. For example, in a printer that does not have cut sheet detection unit 52, the detection result of a detection unit other than cut sheet detection unit 52 cannot be said to "indicate that no sheet media is stored in the second storage unit," so the detection result of a detection unit other than cut sheet detection unit 52 is also included in "when the detection result does not indicate that no sheet media is stored in the second storage unit."

[0107] The "action of notifying the user of the positioning of the sheet-like medium stored in the first storage section relative to the feed tray" of the present invention includes an action of notifying the user of the unwinding of roll paper P1 from the roll body R, an action of notifying the user that roll paper P1 is not stored in the first storage section 11a, an action of notifying the user that roll paper P1 needs to be properly set in the first storage section 11a, an action of notifying the user that scraps of roll paper P1 need to be removed, etc.

[0108] The "action of notifying the user of the positioning of the sheet-like medium stored in the second storage section relative to the feed tray" of the present invention includes an action of notifying the user that cut paper P2 needs to be set in the second storage section, an action of notifying the user that cut paper P2 is not stored in the second storage section 11b, an action of notifying the user that cut paper P2 needs to be properly set in the second storage section 11b, etc.

[0109] The image forming device of the present invention includes a control unit 10 that controls the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation if the detection result is a certain one based on the detection result by one or more detection units, and not to perform the notification operation if the detection result is a different one.

[0110] In the printer 100 of the above embodiment, when printing on roll paper P1, if cut paper P2 is stored in the second storage compartment 11b, the roll paper P1 cannot be fed by the feed roller 2. However, the image forming apparatus of the present invention may be configured to feed roll paper P1 and cut paper P2 to different feeding paths by different feed rollers. That is, in this configuration, when both roll paper P1 and cut paper P2 are stored in the feed tray, roll paper P1 and cut paper P2 can be fed separately. Even in this configuration, the control unit 10 causes the notification unit 30 to perform a notification operation based on the detection results of one or more detection units that can detect whether sheet media is placed in a predetermined position in the feed tray. [Explanation of symbols]

[0111] 2 Feeding roller 3a Discharge roller pair 3b Paper ejection roller pair 5 Head (image forming unit) 9 Intermediate roller pair 11 Feeder tray 11a First storage section 11b Second storage section 51 Roll paper detection unit 52 Cut paper detector 53 Paper presence detection unit 100 printers 100a housing P1 Long paper P1 roll paper P2 cut paper R roll body

Claims

1. The housing and a feeding tray that is insertable into and removable from the housing and has a first storage section that can store a roll of sheet media wound in a roll shape, and a second storage section that can store a plurality of stacked sheet media; a feed roller that feeds the sheet medium from the feed tray toward a conveyance path; an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet medium in the transport path; one or more detectors capable of detecting whether or not a sheet medium is placed at a predetermined position on the feed tray; a notification unit capable of performing a notification operation to notify a user; a control unit, the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification operation based on a detection result by the one or more detection units; A configuration in which the sheet media stored in the first storage section and the sheet media stored in the second storage section are fed by a single common feed roller, the feeding roller is configured to feed the sheet medium from either the first storage unit or the second storage unit; An image forming device characterized in that when the control unit receives an instruction to print on sheet media stored in the first storage unit and the detection result does not indicate that sheet media is not stored in the second storage unit, the control unit executes an operation to notify the notification unit that the sheet media needs to be removed from the second storage unit as the notification operation.

2. The housing and a feeding tray that is insertable into and removable from the housing and has a first storage section that can store a roll of sheet media wound in a roll shape, and a second storage section that can store a plurality of stacked sheet media; a feed roller that feeds the sheet medium from the feed tray toward a conveyance path; an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet medium in the transport path; one or more detectors capable of detecting whether or not a sheet medium is placed at a predetermined position on the feed tray; a notification unit capable of performing a notification operation to notify a user; a control unit, the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification operation based on a detection result by the one or more detection units; A configuration in which the sheet media stored in the first storage section and the sheet media stored in the second storage section are fed by a single common feed roller, the feeding roller is configured to feed the sheet medium from either the first storage unit or the second storage unit; An image forming device characterized in that when the control unit receives an instruction to print on sheet media stored in the second storage unit and the detection result does not indicate that the sheet media is not stored in the first storage unit, the control unit executes an operation to notify the notification unit that the sheet media unwound from the roll body needs to be rewinded.

3. The housing and a feeding tray that is insertable into and removable from the housing and has a first storage section that can store a roll of sheet media wound in a roll shape, and a second storage section that can store a plurality of stacked sheet media; a feed roller that feeds the sheet medium from the feed tray toward a conveyance path; an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet medium in the transport path; one or more detectors capable of detecting whether or not a sheet medium is placed at a predetermined position on the feed tray; a notification unit capable of performing a notification operation to notify a user; a control unit, the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification operation based on a detection result by the one or more detection units; A configuration in which the sheet media stored in the first storage section and the sheet media stored in the second storage section are fed by a single common feed roller, the feeding roller is configured to feed the sheet medium from either the first storage unit or the second storage unit; the one or more detection units include a first detection unit that can detect whether or not a sheet medium is accommodated in the first accommodation unit of the feed tray, the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification operation based on a detection result by the first detection unit; An image forming device characterized in that when the control unit receives an instruction to print on sheet media stored in the second storage unit, and the detection result by the first detection unit indicates that the sheet media is stored in the first storage unit, the control unit executes an operation to notify the notification unit that the sheet media unwound from the roll body needs to be rewinded as the notification operation.

4. The housing and a feeding tray that is insertable into and removable from the housing and has a first storage section that can store a roll of sheet media wound in a roll shape, and a second storage section that can store a plurality of stacked sheet media; a feed roller that feeds the sheet medium from the feed tray toward a conveyance path; an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet medium in the transport path; one or more detectors capable of detecting whether or not a sheet medium is placed at a predetermined position on the feed tray; a notification unit capable of performing a notification operation to notify a user; a control unit, the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification operation based on a detection result by the one or more detection units; the one or more detection units include a first detection unit that can detect whether or not a sheet medium is accommodated in the first accommodation unit of the feed tray, the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification operation based on a detection result by the first detection unit; a transport detection unit capable of detecting the sheet medium in the transport path; The control unit When receiving an instruction to print on the sheet medium contained in the first container, and when a detection result by the first detection unit indicates that the sheet medium is contained in the first container, driving the feed roller; An image forming apparatus characterized in that, if the transport detection unit does not detect sheet media within a first time period after the feed roller is driven, the notification unit executes an operation to notify the user that the sheet media stored in the first storage unit is not properly positioned in the feed tray.

5. The housing and a feeding tray that is insertable into and removable from the housing and has a first storage section that can store a roll of sheet media wound in a roll shape, and a second storage section that can store a plurality of stacked sheet media; a feed roller that feeds the sheet medium from the feed tray toward a conveyance path; an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet medium in the transport path; one or more detectors capable of detecting whether or not a sheet medium is placed at a predetermined position on the feed tray; a notification unit capable of performing a notification operation to notify a user; a control unit, the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification operation based on a detection result by the one or more detection units; A configuration in which the sheet media stored in the first storage section and the sheet media stored in the second storage section are fed by a single common feed roller, the feeding roller is configured to feed the sheet medium from either the first storage unit or the second storage unit; the one or more detection units include a first detection unit that can detect whether or not a sheet medium is accommodated in the first accommodation unit of the feed tray, the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification operation based on a detection result by the first detection unit; the length of the sheet medium unwound from the roll accommodated in the first accommodation section in a transport direction in which the sheet medium is transported is longer than the length of the sheet medium accommodated in the second accommodation section in the transport direction; a transport detection unit capable of detecting the sheet medium in the transport path; The control unit When receiving an instruction to print on the sheet medium contained in the first container, and when a detection result by the first detection unit indicates that the sheet medium is contained in the first container, driving the feed roller; An image forming device characterized in that, when the sheet medium is no longer detected by the transport detection unit within a second time period after the feed roller is driven, the notification unit executes an operation to notify the user that the sheet medium needs to be removed from the second storage unit.

6. The housing and a feeding tray that is insertable into and removable from the housing and has a first storage section that can store a roll of sheet media wound in a roll shape, and a second storage section that can store a plurality of stacked sheet media; a feed roller that feeds the sheet medium from the feed tray toward a conveyance path; an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet medium in the transport path; one or more detectors capable of detecting whether or not a sheet medium is placed at a predetermined position on the feed tray; a notification unit capable of performing a notification operation to notify a user; a control unit, the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification operation based on a detection result by the one or more detection units; A configuration in which the sheet media stored in the first storage section and the sheet media stored in the second storage section are fed by a single common feed roller, the feeding roller is configured to feed the sheet medium from either the first storage unit or the second storage unit; the one or more detection units include a first detection unit that can detect whether or not a sheet medium is accommodated in the first accommodation unit of the feed tray, the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification operation based on a detection result by the first detection unit; the one or more detection units further include a second detection unit capable of detecting whether or not a sheet medium is accommodated in the second accommodation unit of the feed tray; the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification operation based on detection results by the first detection unit and the second detection unit; An image forming device characterized in that when the control unit receives an instruction to print on sheet media stored in the first storage unit, and the detection result by the second detection unit indicates that sheet media is stored in the second storage unit, the control unit executes an operation to notify the notification unit that the sheet media needs to be removed from the second storage unit as the notification operation.

7. The housing and a feeding tray that is insertable into and removable from the housing and has a first storage section that can store a roll of sheet media wound in a roll shape, and a second storage section that can store a plurality of stacked sheet media; a feed roller that feeds the sheet medium from the feed tray toward a conveyance path; an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet medium in the transport path; one or more detectors capable of detecting whether or not a sheet medium is placed at a predetermined position on the feed tray; a notification unit capable of performing a notification operation to notify a user; a control unit, the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification operation based on a detection result by the one or more detection units; the one or more detection units include a first detection unit that can detect whether or not a sheet medium is accommodated in the first accommodation unit of the feed tray, the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification operation based on a detection result by the first detection unit; the one or more detection units further include a third detection unit that detects whether or not the sheet medium is placed at a feeding position where the sheet medium can be fed by the feeding roller; The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification operation based on the detection results of the first detection unit and the third detection unit.

8. The housing and a feeding tray that is insertable into and removable from the housing and has a first storage section that can store a roll of sheet media wound in a roll shape, and a second storage section that can store a plurality of stacked sheet media; a feed roller that feeds the sheet medium from the feed tray toward a conveyance path; an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet medium in the transport path; one or more detectors capable of detecting whether or not a sheet medium is placed at a predetermined position on the feed tray; a notification unit capable of performing a notification operation to notify a user; a control unit, the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification operation based on a detection result by the one or more detection units; the one or more detection units include a first detection unit that can detect whether or not a sheet medium is accommodated in the first accommodation unit of the feed tray, the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification operation based on a detection result by the first detection unit; the one or more detection units further include a second detection unit capable of detecting whether or not a sheet medium is accommodated in the second accommodation unit of the feed tray; the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification operation based on detection results by the first detection unit and the second detection unit; the one or more detection units further include a third detection unit that detects whether or not the sheet medium is placed at a feeding position where the sheet medium can be fed by the feeding roller; The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification operation based on detection results by the first detection unit, the second detection unit, and the third detection unit.

9. The control unit When an instruction to print on the sheet medium contained in the first storage unit is received and the detection result does not indicate that the sheet medium is contained in the first storage unit, the notifying unit executes an operation to notify the content regarding the arrangement of the sheet medium contained in the first storage unit relative to the feed tray as the notifying operation. An image forming device as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that when an instruction to print on sheet media stored in the second storage section is received and the detection result does not indicate that sheet media is stored in the second storage section, the notification section executes an operation to notify the user of the positioning of the sheet media stored in the second storage section relative to the feed tray as the notification operation.

10. the one or more detection units include a first detection unit that can detect whether or not a sheet medium is accommodated in the first accommodation unit of the feed tray, 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification operation based on a detection result by the first detection unit.

11. An image forming apparatus as described in any one of claims 3 to 8 and 10, characterized in that when the control unit receives an instruction to print on sheet media stored in the first storage unit and the detection result by the first detection unit indicates that no sheet media is stored in the first storage unit, the control unit causes the notification unit to perform an operation to notify the user of the placement of the sheet media stored in the first storage unit relative to the feed tray as the notification operation.

12. A configuration in which the sheet media stored in the first storage section and the sheet media stored in the second storage section are fed by a single common feed roller, the feeding roller is configured to feed the sheet medium from either the first storage unit or the second storage unit; The image forming apparatus of claim 6 or 8, characterized in that when the detection result by the first detection unit indicates that no sheet media is stored in the first storage unit and the detection result by the second detection unit indicates that no sheet media is stored in the second storage unit, the control unit causes the notification unit to perform an operation to notify that no sheet media is stored in either the first storage unit or the second storage unit as the notification operation.

13. A configuration in which the sheet media stored in the first storage section and the sheet media stored in the second storage section are fed by a single common feed roller, the feeding roller is configured to feed the sheet medium from either the first storage unit or the second storage unit; The control unit An image forming apparatus as described in any one of claims 6, 8, and 12, characterized in that before receiving an instruction to print on sheet media, if the detection result by the first detection unit indicates that sheet media is stored in the first storage unit and the detection result by the second detection unit indicates that sheet media is stored in the second storage unit, the notification unit is caused to perform an operation to notify that the sheet media stored in the second storage unit will be fed as the notification operation.

14. The control unit The image forming apparatus of claim 7, characterized in that when the detection result by the first detection unit indicates that sheet media is stored in the first storage unit and the detection result by the third detection unit indicates that sheet media is not placed at the feeding position, the notification unit executes an operation to notify that the sheet media stored in the first storage unit is not placed at the feeding position as the notification operation.

15. The control unit The image forming apparatus of claim 8, characterized in that when the detection result by the first detection unit indicates that no sheet media is stored in the first storage unit, and the detection result by the second detection unit indicates that no sheet media is stored in the second storage unit, and the detection result by the third detection unit indicates that sheet media is placed at the feeding position, the notification unit executes an operation to notify the user that scraps of sheet media remaining at the feeding position need to be removed from the feeding tray.

16. The one or more detection units are a second detection unit that detects whether a sheet medium is accommodated in the second accommodation unit of the feed tray; a third detection unit that detects whether a sheet medium is placed at a feeding position where the sheet medium can be fed by the feeding roller; 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification operation based on the detection results of the second detection unit and the third detection unit.

Images