Image formation device

Abstract

To prevent erroneous taking of a printed matter without requiring complicated operation by a simple structure.SOLUTION: An image formation device 1 includes: an approaching person detection part 101; a determination part 102 for determining whether an approaching person to the image formation device 1 is detected by the approaching person detection part 101, in a monitoring target period from completion of a second printing job J2 executed immediately before the first printing job J1 to completion of a first printing job J1, when the approaching person to the image formation device 1 is detected by the approaching person detection part 101 for the first time, after completion of the first printing job J1 executed at the latest; and a control part 100 for executing predetermined attention reminding processing for allowing an approaching person AP to pay attention to erroneous taking of a printed matter discharged to a discharge tray 151, when the determination part 102 determines that the approaching person to the image formation device 1 is not detected in the monitoring target period PD.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a technique for preventing the wrong print from being taken. [Background technology]

[0002] When a print job instruction is received from an image forming device such as a printer or an external device such as a personal computer, the device executes the print job based on the print job instruction and ejects the printout created by the executed print job onto an ejection tray. Because printers and other devices are often shared by many people, printed materials from other people and your own printed materials may be present in the ejection tray at the same time. This raises the concern that you may mistake your own printed materials for those of others.

[0003] Various technologies have been proposed to prevent the mistake of picking up a printed material. For example, Patent Document 1 below describes a technique for performing personal authentication so that only those who are authorized to receive the printed material can eject the printed material. Furthermore, Patent Document 2 below describes a technique for making it possible to inquire between the person who mistakenly took the printed material and the person whose printed material was taken, in the event of a mistake of picking up a printed material. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-118734 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 5392370 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 requires additional personal authentication to confirm qualifications. Furthermore, the operation for personal authentication is troublesome for users. Furthermore, the technology described in Patent Document 2 does not prevent users from picking up the wrong printed material.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to make it possible to prevent the wrong printed matter from being picked up with a simple configuration that does not require complicated operations. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium, an output tray onto which printed materials created by image formation by the image forming unit are discharged, a communication unit that performs data communication with an external device, a control unit that controls the operation of the image forming unit and executes print job instructions received from the external device by the communication unit, an approaching individual detection unit that detects a person approaching the image forming apparatus, and a judgment unit that, when a person approaching the image forming apparatus is first detected by the approaching individual detection unit after completion of a first print job that was most recently executed, judges whether a person approaching the image forming apparatus has been detected by the approaching individual detection unit during a monitoring period from the completion of a second print job that was executed immediately before the first print job to the completion of the first print job. When the judgment unit determines that a person approaching the image forming apparatus has not been detected by the approaching individual detection unit during the monitoring period, the control unit executes a predetermined warning process to warn the person about mistaking the printed materials discharged to the output tray. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] If no person approaches the image forming device during the monitored period from the completion of the second print job to the completion of the first print job, at the time the approaching person is detected, both the printed materials from the first print job and the printed materials from the second print job may remain in the output tray without being collected, and printed materials from each print job instructed by multiple users may be present on the output tray at the same time.

[0009] According to the present invention, when there is a possibility that printed materials from multiple users may be mixed in the output tray, a warning process is executed, making it possible to prevent the wrong printed material from being picked up. This warning process does not require special processing such as personal authentication, and no special configuration is required. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the wrong printed material from being picked up with a simple configuration without requiring complicated operations. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a schematic main internal configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3] 10A to 10D are diagrams illustrating changes in the state of the discharge tray. [Figure 4] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining changes in the state of the discharge tray. [Figure 5] 6 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed by a control unit in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating changes in the state of the discharge tray. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed by a control unit in an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment. [Figure 8] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining changes in the state of the discharge tray. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] An image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the main internal configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] The image forming apparatus 1 is a multifunction device that combines multiple functions, such as a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a control unit 10, a document feeder 6, a document reader 5, an image forming unit 12, a fixing unit 13, a paper feeder 14, a motion sensor 21, an operation unit 47, a communication unit 9, and a storage device 8.

[0013] The document feeder 6 is configured to be openable and closable by a hinge or the like (not shown) on the top surface of the document reading unit 5, and functions as a document pressing cover when reading a document placed on a platen glass (not shown). The document feeder 6 is also called an ADF (Auto Document Feeder), and includes a document placement tray 61 on which documents are placed, and a document discharge tray 62 provided below the document placement tray 61. The document feeder 6 supplies documents placed on the document placement tray 61 to the document reading unit 5 one by one, and discharges the documents to the document discharge tray 62.

[0014] The document reading unit 5 includes a scanner and the like, and reads the document fed from the document feeding unit 6 or reads the document placed on the platen glass. The document reading unit 5 is also capable of sequentially reading multiple document images sent from the document feeding unit 6.

[0015] The following describes the case where a document is read by the image forming apparatus 1. The document reading unit 5 optically reads an image of a document supplied to the document reading unit 5 by the document feeding unit 6 or a document placed on the platen glass, and generates image data. The image data generated by the document reading unit 5 is stored in an image memory (not shown) or the like.

[0016] The following describes an image forming operation performed by the image forming apparatus 1. The image forming unit 12 is equipped with a photosensitive drum, charging device, exposure device, developing device, and primary transfer device for each color, and is a mechanism for forming an image on recording paper as a recording medium by secondary transfer via an intermediate transfer belt. The image forming unit 12 forms a toner image on recording paper fed from the paper feed unit 14 based on image data generated by a document reading operation, image data stored in an image memory, etc., and image data received from a computer connected via a network, to create a printed matter.

[0017] The fixing unit 13 is a fixing device equipped with a heat roller, a pressure roller, and a drive mechanism for rotating these rollers. The fixing unit 13 heats and presses the recording paper on which the toner image has been formed by the image forming unit 12 at the nip between the two rollers, fixing the toner image to the recording paper. The fixing-processed recording paper (printed matter) is discharged to the discharge tray 151.

[0018] The paper feed unit 14 includes a paper feed cassette 141, a pickup roller that picks up recording paper from the paper feed cassette and feeds it to the image forming unit 12, a transport roller, a transport path, and a rotation drive mechanism for each roller.

[0019] The human presence sensor 21 detects the approach of a person to the image forming apparatus 1 and outputs an on / off signal according to the detection result to the control unit 10. As the human presence sensor 21, for example, a sensor that detects infrared rays emitted by a human body is used.

[0020] The operation unit 47 includes various hard keys that are operated by the user, and receives instructions from the user, such as an instruction to execute an image forming operation, regarding various operations and processes that the image forming apparatus 1 can execute in response to the operation of the hard keys.

[0021] The operation unit 47 includes a display unit 473 that displays operation guides and the like to the operator. The operation unit 47 also receives input of instructions from the user based on the user's operation (touch operation) on the screen displayed on the display unit 473 via a touch panel that the display unit 473 has.

[0022] The display unit 473 is composed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like. When the operator touches a button or key displayed on the screen, the touch panel receives an instruction associated with the touched position. In this case, the touch panel functions as an operation unit.

[0023] The communication unit 9 is a communication interface for transmitting and receiving various data to and from external devices (for example, personal computers) within a local area or on the Internet.

[0024] The storage device 8 is a large-capacity storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive), and stores various control programs and the like. The storage device 8 has a job history information storage unit 81 and an access information storage unit 82. The job history information storage unit 81 is a storage area that stores history information related to jobs (e.g., print jobs, copy jobs, scan transmission jobs) executed by the image forming device 1. The job history information storage unit 81 stores job history information including the job type, execution start time, execution end time, processing status (successful completion, execution failure, etc.), and execution instructor.

[0025] The approach information storage unit 82 is a storage area that stores information about a person's approach to the image forming apparatus 1 based on a detection signal sent from the human presence sensor 21. The control unit 100 causes the approach information storage unit 82 to store approach information including the time when the person approached the image forming apparatus 1 and the time when the person left the image forming apparatus 1 based on the detection signal.

[0026] If personal authentication is required when an instruction to execute a job is input, the authentication code (user ID) of the person issuing the instruction is input to operation unit 47, and control unit 100 performs personal authentication based on the input authentication code. Therefore, the authentication code is used as information for identifying the person issuing the instruction to execute. Furthermore, if an instruction to execute a print job is issued from an external device such as a personal computer, an IP address assigned to each external device is sent from the external device to image forming apparatus 1, and the IP address is used as information for identifying the person issuing the instruction to execute.

[0027] The control unit 10 includes a processor, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a dedicated hardware circuit. The processor is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit). The control unit 10 includes a control unit 100, an approaching individual detection unit 101, and a determination unit 102.

[0028] The control unit 10 functions as a control unit 100, an approaching individual detection unit 101, and a determination unit 102 through operation by the processor in accordance with a control program, etc. stored in the storage device 8. However, the control unit 100, etc. may each be configured by a hardware circuit, without relying on operation in accordance with a control program by the control unit 10. Unless otherwise stated below, this applies to each embodiment.

[0029] The control unit 100 is responsible for overall operational control of the image forming apparatus 1. The control unit 100 is connected to the document feeding unit 6, the document reading unit 5, the image forming unit 12, the fixing unit 13, the paper feeding unit 14, the motion sensor 21, the operation unit 47, the communication unit 9, and the storage device 8, and controls the driving of these units and executes various processes required for image formation by the image forming apparatus 1.

[0030] For example, when the communication unit 9 receives a print job instruction from an external device, the control unit 100 controls the operation of the image forming unit 12 to execute the print job based on the print job instruction. The control unit 100 also executes various jobs (e.g., a copy job, a scan transmission job) in accordance with a user instruction received by the operation unit 47. The control unit 100 also stores the job history information in the job history information storage unit 81 as appropriate.

[0031] The approaching individual detection unit 101 detects an individual approaching the image forming apparatus 1. For example, the approaching individual detection unit 101 detects an individual approaching the image forming apparatus 1 based on a detection signal, such as an ON signal or an OFF signal, output from the human sensor 21. Furthermore, the control unit 100 stores approach information indicating the approach in the approach information storage unit 82 as appropriate based on the detection result by the approaching individual detection unit 101.

[0032] The human presence sensor 21 detects people around the image forming apparatus 1. The human presence sensor 21 is, for example, a known sensor including an infrared sensor. The detection signal output from the human presence sensor 21 to the control unit 10 is an ON signal when a human is detected, and an OFF signal when no human is detected.

[0033] As another embodiment of the approaching individual detection unit 101, a camera that captures images of the periphery of the image forming apparatus 1 may be employed. In this case, the approaching individual detection unit 101 detects an individual approaching the image forming apparatus 1 based on an image captured by the camera. For example, the control unit 100 learns, by machine learning, characteristics shown in an image of a person approaching the image forming apparatus 1 and generates a learning model in advance, and the approaching individual detection unit 101 uses the generated learning model to determine whether or not a person is approaching the image forming apparatus 1 based on an image captured by the camera.

[0034] 3A to 3D are diagrams illustrating changes in the state of the discharge tray 151. In the figures, J1 indicates the most recently executed first print job, and J2 indicates the second print job executed immediately before the first print job J1. In the figures, R1 indicates the first printed material created by executing the first print job J1, and R2 indicates the second printed material created by executing the second print job J2. In addition, an approaching individual AP in the figures indicates an individual approaching the image forming apparatus 1 detected by the approaching individual detection unit 101 after the first print job J1 was executed.

[0035] As shown in Figure 3(A), the second print job J2 is executed, and the second printed material R2 created by the image forming device 1 through execution of the second print job J2 is discharged to the discharge tray 151. Then, before the first print job J1 is executed, a person approaches the image forming device 1, and when this person "collects" the second printed material R2 from the discharge tray 151, the discharge tray 151 becomes empty.

[0036] When the first print job J1 is executed following the second print job J2, the first printed material R1 created by executing the first print job J1 is discharged to the discharge tray 151. After that, a person approaches the image forming apparatus 1, and as shown in FIG. 3A, when the first printed material R1 is "collected" from the discharge tray 151 by the approaching person, the discharge tray 151 becomes empty. Since there are no printed materials on the discharge tray 151, a subsequent person AP approaching the image forming apparatus 1 will not mistakenly pick up a printed material.

[0037] 3(B), when the second print job J2 is executed, the second printed material R2 created by the image forming device 1 is discharged to the discharge tray 151, and then, before the first print job J1 is executed, an approaching person appears near the image forming device 1, and the second printed material R2 is "collected" from the discharge tray 151 by the approaching person, and then the first print job J1 is executed, and when the approaching person AP is detected for the first time, the first printed material R1 remains in the discharge tray 151 at the time the approaching person AP is detected. Because only the first printed material R1 created by the first print job J1 is present in the discharge tray 151, if the approaching person AP is the person who instructed the first print job J1, the approaching person AP will not mistake the first printed material R1 for another printed material.

[0038] 3C, when the second print job J2 is executed and the second printed material R2 is discharged to the discharge tray 151, no approaching person appears, and the second printed material R2 remains in the discharge tray 151 without being collected, if the first print job J1 is executed and the first printed material R1 is discharged to the discharge tray 151, the first printed material R1 will be stacked on top of the second printed material R2. In this way, if an approaching person AP appears at the image forming device 1 while both the first printed material R1 and the second printed material R2 remain in the discharge tray 151, the approaching person AP will not know which printed material he or she should collect, and may pick up the wrong printed material.

[0039] 3(D), when both the first printed material R1 and the second printed material R2 are "collected" from the discharge tray 151 by a person other than the person AP approaching the image forming apparatus 1, the discharge tray 151 becomes empty. Since there are no printed materials on the discharge tray 151, it is impossible for the person AP approaching the image forming apparatus 1 to mistakenly pick up a printed material.

[0040] Furthermore, when only the first printed material R1 is "collected," only the second printed material R2 remains on the discharge tray 151, and when only the second printed material R2 is "collected," only the first printed material R1 remains on the discharge tray 151. Since other people's printed material and one's own printed material are not present on the discharge tray 151 at the same time, it is unlikely that a person AP approaching the image forming apparatus 1 will pick up the wrong printed material.

[0041] When the approaching person detection unit 101 detects a person approaching the image forming device 1 for the first time after the completion of the most recently executed first print job J1, the judgment unit 102 judges whether the approaching person detection unit 101 has detected a person approaching the image forming device 1 during the monitoring period from the completion of the second print job J2 executed immediately before the first print job J1 to the completion of the first print job J1.

[0042] When the determination unit 102 determines that the approaching individual detection unit 101 has not detected an approaching individual to the image forming apparatus 1 during the monitoring period PD, the control unit 100 executes a predetermined warning process to warn the approaching individual AP not to mistakenly pick up printed materials discharged onto the discharge tray 151. For example, as the warning process, the control unit 100 executes a process to display a predetermined message on the display unit 473 to warn the approaching individual AP not to mistakenly pick up printed materials discharged onto the discharge tray 151. The predetermined message is, for example, a message such as "Printed materials printed by other people are mixed in the discharge tray. Please do not mistake them for your own printed materials." On the other hand, when the determination unit 102 determines that the approaching individual detection unit 101 has detected an approaching individual to the image forming apparatus 1 during the monitoring period PD, the control unit 100 does not execute the warning process.

[0043] 4, when no person approaches the image forming device 1 during the monitoring period PD from the completion of the second print job J2 to the completion of the first print job J1, and an approaching person AP is detected for the first time after the completion of the first print job J1, at this point, both the first printed material R1 from the first print job J1 and the second printed material R2 from the second print job J2 remain in the discharge tray 151 without being collected from the discharge tray 151. In other words, the approaching person AP who approaches the image forming device 1 to collect the printed materials from the discharge tray 151 may become confused because he or she does not know which printed material he or she should collect. For this reason, the control unit 100 executes the above-mentioned warning process.

[0044] For example, as described above, the control unit 100 executes the warning process by controlling the display of the display unit 473 to display a message such as "There are printed materials printed by other people mixed in the discharge tray. Please do not mistake them for your printed materials." Also, the control unit 100 may use a speaker (not shown) to warn the approaching person AP by voice. The display unit 473 and the speaker are examples of a notification unit in the claims.

[0045] Furthermore, if the control unit 100 determines that the person who instructed the execution of the first print job J1 and the person who instructed the execution of the second print job J2 are the same person based on predetermined identification information for identifying both the person (for example, if both print jobs are the person's own prints), the control unit 100 does not execute the warning process. The identification information is information about the person who instructed the execution stored in the job history information storage unit 81 (such as a user ID or IP address).

[0046] Next, a first embodiment of a process for preventing the mistaken picking up of printed materials in the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 5. This process is performed when the approaching individual detection unit 101 detects an individual approaching the image forming apparatus 1 for the first time after the first print job J1 is completed.

[0047] When the approaching person detection unit 101 detects a person approaching the image forming device 1, the control unit 100 determines whether the person who instructed the execution of the first print job J1 and the person who instructed the execution of the second print job J2 are the same person based on the job history information stored in the job history information storage unit 81 (S1).

[0048] If the control unit 100 determines that the two are the same person (YES in S1), the process ends. This is because there is no risk that the approaching individual AP will mistakenly pick up the printed material, and there is no need to execute the above-mentioned attention-calling process.

[0049] On the other hand, if the control unit 100 determines that the two are not the same person (NO in S1), the judgment unit 102 determines whether or not a person approached the image forming device 1 during the monitoring period PD based on the job history information stored in the job history information storage unit 81 and the approach information stored in the approach information storage unit 82 (S2).

[0050] If the determination unit 102 determines that no person has approached the image forming device 1 during the monitoring period PD (NO in S2), the control unit 100 executes the above-mentioned attention calling process (S3). After this, the process ends. On the other hand, if the determination unit 102 determines that a person has approached the image forming device 1 during the monitoring period PD (YES in S2), the process ends. This is because in this case too, there is no risk of the approaching person AP mistaking the printed material, and there is no need to execute the above-mentioned attention calling process.

[0051] According to the first embodiment, when there is a possibility that a printed material of another person and a printed material of the user are present on the discharge tray 151 at the same time, a warning process is executed, thereby preventing the user from picking up the wrong printed material. This warning process does not require special processing such as personal authentication, and does not require the addition of any special configuration. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the user from picking up the wrong printed material with a simple configuration without requiring any complicated operations.

[0052] If the approaching person detection unit 101 detects an approaching person to the image forming device 1 during the monitoring period PD, there is a high possibility that the second printed material R2 has been collected from the discharge tray 151 by that approaching person.

[0053] However, a person approaching the image forming apparatus 1 is not necessarily approaching the image forming apparatus 1 in order to collect printed materials. There are cases where a person approaches the image forming apparatus 1 for a purpose other than collecting printed materials, such as to execute a copy job or a scan transmission job.

[0054] If the purpose of the person approaching the image forming device 1 during the monitoring period PD is to "collect" the printed material, as shown in the example of Figure 6(A), the second printed material R2 will not be present in the discharge tray 151 at the time the approaching person AP is detected.

[0055] On the other hand, if the purpose of the approaching person to the image forming device 1 during the monitored period PD is not to collect printed materials but to execute a "copy" job, the second printed material R2 will not be collected from the discharge tray 151, as shown in the example of Figure 6(B), and at the time the approaching person AP is detected for the first time after the completion of the first print job J1, both the first printed material R1 and the second printed material R2 will be present in the discharge tray 151.

[0056] Therefore, in a second embodiment of the process for preventing the mistaken picking up of printed materials in the image forming device 1, even if the approaching person detection unit 101 detects a person approaching the image forming device 1 during the monitoring period PD, if an instruction to execute a predetermined type of job (e.g., a copy job, a scan sending job) is received from the user at the operation unit 47 during the monitoring period PD after the detection, the control unit 100 executes the above-mentioned warning process.

[0057] A second embodiment of the process for preventing the mistaken picking up of printed materials in the image forming apparatus 1 will be described using the flowchart shown in Fig. 7. Note that the process differs from that shown in Fig. 5 in the process that is performed when the determination unit 102 determines "YES" in S2, and therefore only the differences will be described here.

[0058] If the judgment unit 102 determines that a person has approached the image forming device 1 during the monitoring period PD (YES in S2), the control unit 100 determines, based on the job history information stored in the job history information storage unit 81 and the approach information stored in the approach information storage unit 82, whether the operation unit 47 accepted the execution of a copy job or a scan transmission job during the monitoring period after the approaching person detection unit 101 detected the approaching person during the monitoring period PD (S21).

[0059] If the control unit 100 determines that the operation unit 47 has not received the user instruction during the monitoring period PD (NO in S21), the process ends. On the other hand, if the control unit 100 determines that the operation unit 47 has received the user instruction during the monitoring period PD (YES in S21), the control unit 100 executes the warning process (S3).

[0060] However, as shown in the example in Figure 8, if both an approaching person whose purpose is to collect printed materials and an approaching person whose purpose is to perform a copy job (or scan transmission job) are present during the monitoring period PD, it is highly likely that the second printed material R2 will not be present in the discharge tray 151 when the approaching person AP is detected for the first time after the first print job J1 is completed.

[0061] Therefore, in a third embodiment of the process for preventing the mistaken removal of printed materials in the image forming apparatus 1, even if the operation unit 47 receives the above instruction during the monitoring period PD, the control unit 100 does not execute the above-mentioned warning process if the operation unit 47 does not receive the above instruction while a person approaching the image forming apparatus 1 is detected during the monitoring period PD. In other words, an approaching person intending to execute a copy job (or a scan transmission job) will be very close to the image forming apparatus 1 and will operate the operation unit 47 to input the above instruction, so their presence should be detected by the human sensor 21 at the time the instruction is received by the operation unit 47. If the operation unit 47 does not receive the above instruction while a person approaching the image forming apparatus 1 is detected during the monitoring period PD, it is highly likely that this approaching person is approaching to collect the second printed material R2.

[0062] According to the third embodiment, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not a warning process should be performed depending on the state of the printed materials remaining on the discharge tray 151, and to accurately perform the warning process when necessary. Therefore, it is possible to further improve the effectiveness of preventing the wrong printed materials from being picked up.

[0063] The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. In addition, in the above embodiment, the configuration and processing shown in the above embodiment using Figures 1 to 8 are merely one embodiment of the present invention, and it is not intended that the present invention be limited to these configurations and processing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 1. Image forming device 9. Communications Department 12 Image forming unit 47 Operation section 100 control section 101 Judgment section 102 Approaching person detection unit 151 Output tray

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus, an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium; an output tray onto which printed matter created by image formation by the image forming unit is output; a communication unit for performing data communication with an external device; a control unit that controls the operation of the image forming unit and executes a print job instruction received by the communication unit from the external device; an approaching individual detection unit that detects an individual approaching the image forming apparatus; a determination unit that, when the approaching individual detection unit detects an individual approaching the image forming device for the first time after the completion of the most recently executed first print job, determines whether or not the approaching individual detection unit has detected an individual approaching the image forming device during a monitoring period from the completion of the second print job that was executed immediately before the first print job to the completion of the first print job, The control unit of the image forming device executes a predetermined warning process to warn the approaching person not to mistakenly pick up the printed material discharged onto the output tray when the judgment unit determines that the approaching person detection unit has not detected any approaching person to the image forming device during the monitoring period.

2. The image forming device of claim 1, wherein the control unit does not execute the warning process if it determines that the person who instructed the execution of the first print job and the person who instructed the execution of the second print job are the same person based on predetermined identification information for identifying the person who instructed the execution of the first print job and the person who instructed the execution of the second print job.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit does not execute the warning process when the judgment unit determines that the approaching individual detection unit has detected an individual approaching the image forming apparatus during the monitoring period.

4. further comprising an operation unit for receiving input of instructions from a user; The image forming device of claim 3, wherein the control unit executes the warning process if the operation unit receives an instruction to execute a predetermined type of job during the monitoring period, even if the approaching person detection unit detects an approaching person to the image forming device during the monitoring period.

5. The image forming device of claim 4, wherein the control unit does not execute the warning process if the operation unit does not accept the instruction during the monitoring period while a person approaching the image forming device is detected during the monitoring period, even if the operation unit accepts the instruction during the monitoring period.

6. Further provided with a notification unit, 6. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs the warning process by causing the notification unit to notify the approaching person of a predetermined message to warn the approaching person not to mistakenly pick up the printed material discharged onto the discharge tray.

Images