Image forming apparatus, control method thereof, and program

Abstract

To improve the convenience of a user to an image formation apparatus having a function which can reserve the use of a sheet holding part.SOLUTION: An image formation apparatus 100 displays on a UI panel 218 display information that is different between a case where a sheet feeding cassette detected to be in an open state is the sheet feeding cassette whose use is reserved and a case where the use of the sheet feeding cassette is not reserved.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a control method of the image forming apparatus, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] In an image forming apparatus, it is desirable to suppress the formation of an image on a sheet unintended by the user. Patent Document 1 describes that when the attribute of the sheet specified in a job does not match the attribute of the sheet held in the sheet holding unit specified in the job, an image prompting confirmation of the sheet is displayed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, when the image forming apparatus has a function of being able to reserve the use of a sheet holding unit, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, if a job based on the reservation is not started, the state of the sheet holding unit for which the use has been reserved cannot be recognized by the user. Therefore, the convenience for the user of an image forming apparatus having a function of being able to reserve the use of a sheet holding unit cannot be improved.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to improve the convenience for the user of an image forming apparatus having a function of being able to reserve the use of a sheet holding unit.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The image forming apparatus of the present invention is An image forming apparatus,At least one sheet holding unit that holds a sheet conveyed for image formation, and information that identifies the sheet holding unit for which a reservation for use has been made among the sheet holding units information for identifying a user who has reserved the use of the sheet holding unit, and information for identifying a user who is using the image forming apparatus, An acquisition means for acquiring the information, and a display control means for executing control to cause a display device to display different display information when the state of the sheet holding unit for which the reservation for use has been made changes and when the state of the sheet holding unit for which the reservation for use has not been made changes display setting means for setting whether to execute the display of the display information when the user using the image forming apparatus is the user who has reserved the use of the sheet holding unit, It is characterized by having and the display control means executes control to cause the display device to display different display information according to whether the user using the image forming apparatus is the user who has reserved the use of the sheet holding unit when the state of the sheet holding unit for which a reservation has been made changes, and executes control to cause the display device to display the display information according to the setting by the display setting means. the above.

Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the convenience for the user with respect to an image forming apparatus having a function capable of reserving the use of a sheet holding unit.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the present invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of the features described in this embodiment are essential for the solution means of the present invention.

[0010] In addition, in each of the following embodiments, a case where the image forming apparatus is a multifunction peripheral having functions of a printer, a copier, and a facsimile is exemplified. However, the image forming apparatus is not limited to a multifunction peripheral as long as it has a function (printing function) of feeding a sheet from a sheet holding unit and forming an image on the sheet. The image forming apparatus may be, for example, a printer or a copier. Also, in each of the following embodiments, terms such as "paper" or "paper feed" including the drawings are used. However, the sheet is not limited to paper as long as it is a recording medium on which an image is printed by the image forming apparatus. For example, the sheet may be paper such as paper and envelopes, a plastic film such as an overhead projector (OHP) sheet, or cloth. Thus, the sheet refers to general sheets including sheets other than paper.

[0011] (First Embodiment) First, the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the image forming apparatus 100. FIG. 1(a) is a diagram showing an example of the appearance of the image forming apparatus 100. The image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1(a) is a multifunction peripheral that forms an image on a sheet. The image forming apparatus 100 includes devices such as a printer unit 101, a plurality of paper feed cassettes 102 to 105, a manual feed tray 106, a discharge tray 107, and a scanner unit 108. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the plurality of paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 and the manual feed tray 106 are an example of a sheet holding unit. Hereinafter, the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 and the manual feed tray 106 are collectively referred to as a paper feed stage.

[0012] The scanner unit 108 as an image reading device optically scans a document and converts it into electronic image information by a photoelectric conversion device such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) method. The printer unit 101 has a printer engine 109. The printer engine 109 forms an image on a sheet based on the image information input from the scanner unit 108 or an external host computer. Each paper feed cassette 102 to 105 stores sheets. The manual feed tray 106 supports the sheets stored on the tray. The sheets held in the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 and the manual feed tray 106 are fed one by one to the printer engine 109 while being separated by a paper feed unit (not shown). The paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 and the manual feed tray 106 all hold the sheets to be fed (conveyed) to the printer engine 109.

[0013] In addition, opening / closing sensors 110 to 113 are provided for each paper feed cassette 102 to 105. The opening / closing sensors 110 to 113 are mechanisms for determining whether the states of the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 are in an open state or a closed state. That the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 are in the open state means that the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 are in an open state for replacing and replenishing paper in the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105. When the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 are in the open state, the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 are in a state where they cannot feed the paper accommodated in the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 to the printer engine 109. That the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 are in the closed state means that the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 are in a closed state. When the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 are in the closed state, the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 are in a state where they can feed the paper accommodated in the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 to the printer engine 109. As methods for determining the states of the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 by the opening / closing sensors 110 to 113, there are various methods such as a method using a mechanical mechanism and a method using software. However, the determination method itself is realized by a known technique. Therefore, a detailed description of the determination method is omitted. In addition, in the present embodiment, a case where the opening and closing of the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 are executed based on a user operation is illustrated.

[0014] In addition, in the present embodiment, a case where the image forming apparatus 100 has a function of executing both printing of normal office documents and in-house printing is illustrated. Therefore, it is assumed that there are cases where plain paper for normal printing is set in the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 and cases where special paper for in-house printing is set.

[0015] In the software that controls the control unit 211 described below, a process is executed for the control unit 211 to recognize the states of the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 through the open / close sensors 110 to 113. In the present embodiment, a case where the control unit 211 directly detects the signals of the open / close sensors 110 to 113 is exemplified. However, it is not necessarily required to be like this. For example, the signals of the open / close sensors 110 to 113 may be detected by an engine control unit (not shown) for controlling the printer engine 109 or the like. In such a case, the engine control unit notifies the control unit 211 of the states of the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105.

[0016] Figure 1(b) is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the printer engine 109. As shown in Figure 1(b), the printer engine 109 has an electrophotographic image forming unit PU. The image forming unit PU includes a photosensitive drum 1 which is a drum-shaped photoreceptor, a charging device 2, an exposure device 3, a developing device 4, and a cleaning device 6. When a start of an image forming operation is requested for the printer engine 109, the printer engine 109 operates as follows, for example. The charging device 2 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. The exposure device 3 scans the photosensitive drum 1 with laser light to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. The developing device 4 supplies charged toner to the photosensitive drum 1 to develop the electrostatic latent image into a toner image. The transfer device 5 transfers the toner image carried on the photosensitive drum 1 to the paper. The cleaning device 6 collects the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. The fixing device 7 fixes the toner image transferred to the paper to the paper by, for example, a heat fixing method. The paper on which an image is formed by the printer engine 109 is discharged to the discharge tray 107.

[0017] Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an image forming system including the image forming apparatus 100. Note that the configuration of the image forming system is not limited to the configuration shown in Figure 2. The image forming system may have a configuration of a known image forming apparatus and a known personal computer (PC) in addition to the configuration shown in Figure 2. The image forming apparatus 100 is connected to a wired or wireless network 230 via a communication interface (I / F) 217 and communicates with an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer (PC) 200.

[0018] The PC 200 includes a control unit 201, a storage unit 202, a communication unit 203, a communication interface (I / F) 204, an operation unit 205, and a display unit 206. A printer driver 207 is installed in the PC 200. In FIG. 2, the case where the printer driver 207 is stored in the storage unit 202 is illustrated as an example. The printer driver 207 is driver software that generates a job (hereinafter referred to as a print job) for instructing the image forming apparatus 100 to form an image. The control unit 201 generates a print job by executing a program that constitutes the printer driver 207.

[0019] The control unit 201 creates document data using, for example, a document creation application 208 stored in the storage unit 202. In this case, the control unit 201 generates a print job described in PDL based on the document data by executing a program that constitutes the printer driver 207. PDL is an abbreviation for a Page Description Language exemplified by PS, PCL, and LIPS (registered trademark).

[0020] The communication unit 203 executes communication processing with an external device such as the image forming apparatus 100. For example, the communication unit 203 transmits a print job to the image forming apparatus 100 via the communication interface (I / F) 204 and the network 230. The operation unit 205 functions as a user interface. The display unit 206 displays various types of information. The hardware of the PC 200 is realized by using, for example, a control device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Rewritable Memory), and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and various interfaces.

[0021] The image forming apparatus 100 includes a control circuit that realizes a specific function (for example, the communication unit 212, the interpreter 213, and the renderer 214), and the control unit 211. The control unit 211 comprehensively controls each unit of the image forming apparatus 100 including the control circuit that realizes a specific function. Further, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a storage device that can temporarily or permanently store data (for example, the storage unit 215 and the image data storage unit 216), and various interfaces (for example, the communication interface (I / F) 217 and the UI panel 218). Further, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a printer engine 109 and a device (for example, the paper feeding unit 219) for transporting (feeding paper) the paper on the paper feeding stage to the printer engine 109. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 100 includes the opening / closing sensors 110 to 113 and the like described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0022] As will be described in detail later, the image data included in the print job transmitted from the PC 200 is converted into raster format image data by the control circuit and stored. Further, the image information read from the original by the scanner unit 108 is also stored as image data by the control circuit. These image data are transmitted to the printer engine 109 as video data and used for the image forming operation by the printer engine 109.

[0023] The control unit 211 is configured using a CPU or the like that comprehensively controls the image forming apparatus 100. The control unit 211 reads out and executes the control program stored in the storage unit 215. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, each step of the control process of the image forming apparatus 100 is assumed to be executed by the control unit 211. The storage unit 215 is configured using, for example, a ROM, a RAM, an HDD, or the like. The storage unit 215 temporarily or permanently stores the control program and setting information of the image forming apparatus 100. The storage unit 215 is also used as a work memory when the control unit 211 executes the control program.

[0024] Also, the UI panel 218 is an example of a display device capable of displaying information. The UI panel 218 has a function as a user interface. The UI panel 218 has a display unit and an operation unit. The display unit has a display such as a touch panel equipped with the function of soft keys, for example. The operation unit has hard keys such as a numeric keypad and a print start button, for example.

[0025] (Outline of the processing during image formation) FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the processing during image formation. With reference to FIG. 3, an example of the flow of the processing during image formation in the present embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, before executing the formation of an image, the image forming apparatus 100 executes a paper feed stage reservation process (S301). The paper feed stage reservation process is a process for setting a user who can use each paper feed cassette 102 to 105 and the manual feed tray 106 in which the paper used for image formation is set. The detailed content of the paper feed stage reservation process will be described later. Thereafter, the PC 200 generates a print job by printer driver processing (S302) and outputs it to the image forming apparatus 100. When a print job is input to the image forming apparatus 100, the image forming apparatus 100 executes printer processing (S303) to process the print job.

[0026] (Printer driver processing) FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the printer driver processing (S302). An example of the printer driver processing will be described according to the flowchart of FIG. 4. Each step of the flowchart in FIG. 4 is realized, for example, when the control unit 201 of the PC 200 executes a control program stored in the storage unit 202. The control program stored in the storage unit 202 is, for example, a program constituting the printer driver 207 and a program constituting the document creation application 208.

[0027] The control unit 201 generates document data indicating the content to be printed (document, figure, etc.) using a document creation application 208 or the like in accordance with the operation of the operation unit 205 by the user (S401). The user of the PC 200 performs an operation for instructing the start of printing on the document creation application 208, for example, using the operation unit 205. Then, the processes after S402 are executed.

[0028] Based on the operation signal indicating the operation content of the user with respect to the PC 200, setting processing for setting the attribute information of the print job is performed (S402 to S404). FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the print settings screen 501. The print settings screen 501 is a screen for the user to set the print conditions. As shown in FIG. 5, when an operation for instructing the start of printing is executed, the control unit 201 displays the print settings screen 501 for setting the print conditions on the display unit 206 (display) of the PC 200. At this time, the print settings screen 501 is in a state where it can accept the user's operation. It is displayed on the tab 502 that it is a screen for performing print settings. In the paper size setting field 503, the set value of the paper size is displayed. In the paper type setting field 504, the set value of the paper type is displayed. In the paper feed tray setting field 505, the paper feed tray designated as the paper supply source is displayed.

[0029] The user can select, as the paper size, for example, the "original size" which is the same size as the document data, a standard size such as "A4", a user-defined size, etc. The user-defined size is a size based on a numerical value input to the PC 200 as the paper size by the user operating the operation unit 205. As the paper type, for example, in addition to "plain paper 1", "plain paper 2" with a basis weight larger than that of "plain paper 1", and setting values such as "coated paper" are selected by the user. Also, as the paper feed tray, for example, any one of the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 and the manual feed tray 106 is selected by the user. Note that in FIG. 5, cassette 1 corresponds to the paper feed cassette 102. Also, for each of the paper type and the paper feed tray, there may be provided options such as "automatic selection" that entrusts the selection to the image forming apparatus 100. The control unit 201 sets information specifying the paper size and type, and the paper feed tray that is the paper feed source of the paper, based on an operation signal indicating the content of the user's operation on the print setting screen 501.

[0030] Subsequently, the control unit 201 sets the owner name and document name of the print job (S405, S406). The owner name is information for identifying the user who created the print job. In this embodiment, an example is shown where the ID of the user currently logged in to the PC 200 is the owner name. The document name is information for identifying a data file such as a document or drawing to be printed. The control unit 201 acquires, for example, the document name obtained during the execution process of the program constituting the document creation application 208 used when generating the document data.

[0031] Then, based on the document data and various setting information, the control unit 201 generates PDL data according to the PDL format (S407). The PDL data includes page data representing the drawing content of each page and setting information of the print job. The setting information of the print job includes the paper size, paper type, paper feed tray, owner name, document name, and the like. The page data is image information generated from the document data according to the PDL format by the control unit 201. The communication unit 203 transmits the PDL data generated by the control unit 201 as a print job to the image forming apparatus 100 via the communication interface (I / F) 204 and the network 230 (S408). When the process of S408 ends, the printer driver process in FIG. 4 ends, and the process of S303 in FIG. 3 is executed.

[0032] (Printer Processing) When a signal representing the PDL data reaches the image forming apparatus 100, the control unit 211 of the image forming apparatus 100 starts the printer process (S303). FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the printer process. As shown in FIG. 6, the printer process generally includes a page generation process (S601) and a printing process (S602). The page generation process is a process for generating image data for each page. The printing process is a process for forming an image on a sheet based on the image data. Each step of the flowchart in FIG. 6 is realized, for example, when the control unit 211 of the image forming apparatus 100 executes a control program stored in the storage unit 215.

[0033] FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the page generation process (S601). An example of the page generation process will be described according to the flowchart in FIG. 7. The communication unit 212 receives the print job transmitted from the PC 200 and temporarily stores it (S701). The print job stored in the communication unit 212 includes page data as image information according to the PDL format. The interpreter 213 analyzes this page data (S702) and converts it into intermediate data (S703).

[0034] The intermediate data shall refer to the general term for drawing objects and background patterns and the drawing logic for drawing raster-formatted images from them. The drawing objects and background patterns include, for example, bitmaps, run lengths, trapezoids, boxes, and high-speed boundary-encoded bitmaps, etc. Also, the setting information (such as the size of the paper) of the print job included in the PDL data is extracted by the analysis of the interpreter 213 and stored in the storage unit 215 by the control unit 211.

[0035] The renderer 214 generates image data by performing RIP processing on the intermediate data and stores the image data in the image data storage unit 216 (S704). RIP is an abbreviation for Raster Image Processing and refers to the process of generating raster-formatted image data from image data such as vector images.

[0036] FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the printing process (S602). An example of the printing process will be explained along the flowchart of FIG. 8. When the printing process starts, the control unit 211 initializes a parameter P indicating the page being processed (the paper currently being printed) (S801). The parameter P shall be an integer value satisfying P≧1. The control unit 211 determines whether the parameter P exceeds a variable Pmax indicating the total number of pages (the number of sheets of paper specified in the print job) (S802). As a result of this determination, if P≦Pmax (YES in S802), the following processes (S803 to S808) are repeatedly executed. The variable Pmax is extracted by the analysis of the print job (PDL data) and stored in the storage unit 215.

[0037] First, the control unit 211 acquires, from the storage unit 215, the information on the paper feed stage included in the setting information of the print job. The setting of the paper feed stage is executed in S404 of FIG. 4 described above. The control unit 211 executes a paper feed determination process (S803). The paper feed determination process is a process for determining whether it is possible to feed paper from the paper feed stage specified from the information on the paper feed stage. An example of the paper feed determination process will be described in detail later. When it is determined by the paper feed determination process that it is possible to feed paper from the paper feed stage specified from the information on the paper feed stage, the paper feed unit 219 feeds one sheet of paper to the printer engine 109 (S804). Also, the control unit 211 reads out, from the image data storage unit 216, image data for forming an image on the paper being processed (S805). The control unit 211 converts the image data into video data and transfers it to the printer engine 109 (S806). Then, the printer engine 109 executes a printing process (image forming step) on the paper based on the video data (S807). Then, the control unit 211 increments the parameter P (S808). When the formation of images on all the sheets of the total number of pages (Pmax) is completed, if it is determined in the process of S802 that P≦Pmax is not satisfied (determined as NO in S802), the printing process ends. In the present embodiment, when ending the printing process, the control unit 211 determines whether the paper feed stage used in the printing process is a paper feed stage for which a reservation for use has been made. If the paper feed stage used in the printing process is a paper feed stage for which a reservation for use has been made, the control unit 211 deletes the reservation. Also, if the paper feed stage specified in the print job is a paper feed stage for which a reservation for use has been made and the execution of the print job has been aborted, the control unit 211 also deletes the reservation. In the present embodiment, the control unit 211 automatically deletes the reservation for use of the paper feed stage by clearing the information corresponding to the paper feed stage among the information on the reserver 1405 of the paper feed stage information 1400 shown in FIG. 14. The paper feed stage information 1400 will be described in detail later.

[0038] (Reservation of Paper Feed Stage) FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the paper feed stage reservation process (S301). An example of the paper feed stage reservation process will be described along the flowchart of FIG. 9. Here, as a specific example, the case where a user (user name: user1) sets the following special paper in the paper feed cassette 102 and performs an operation to reserve the use of the paper feed cassette 102 will be described. · Paper size: A4 · Paper type: coated paper

[0039] First, user1 sets special paper in the paper feed cassette 102. Subsequently, user1 performs a predetermined operation on the UI panel 218 of the image forming apparatus 100 to set the size and type of the paper set in the paper feed cassette 102. Then, the control unit 211 of the image forming apparatus 100 causes the UI panel 218 to display the login screen 1001 shown in FIG. 10 and accepts a login operation by the user (S901). On the login screen 1001, an input field 1002 for accepting a user name input by the user and an input field 1003 for accepting a password input by the user are displayed. Further, on the login screen 1001, a selection field 1004 for accepting a login destination selected by the user is displayed. Also, on the login screen 1001, a login button 1005 that is pressed by the user when determining the input to the login screen 1001 and instructing to start the authentication process is displayed. In the present embodiment, for example, an example of the operation information acquisition process is realized by the process of S901. When the control unit 211 detects the pressing of the login button 1005, it executes an authentication process based on the information input to the login screen 1001. The control unit 211 determines whether the user has successfully authenticated by determining whether the user name, password, and login destination input to the login screen 1001 match the information registered in advance for the image forming apparatus 100 (S902). As a result of this determination, if the user authentication is successful, the process of S903 is executed. Then, the control unit 211 causes the UI panel 218 to display the home screen 1101 shown in FIG. 11 (S903). On the other hand, if the user authentication fails, the process of S901 is executed again.

[0040] Here, the case where the authentication process is executed based on the content of the user's input operation on the login screen 1001 has been exemplified. However, the method of the authentication process is not limited to such a method. For example, the image forming apparatus 100 may read information about the user stored in a non-contact type IC card and execute the authentication process using the read information. Also, in the present embodiment, the case where the control unit 211 executes the authentication process has been exemplified. However, it is not always necessary for the control unit 211 to execute the authentication process. For example, the image forming apparatus 100 may have a dedicated circuit for executing user authentication, and the circuit may execute the authentication process. In the following description, a user who has successfully authenticated is called a logged-in user as needed.

[0041] In FIG. 11, buttons 1102 to 1106 are displayed on the home screen 1101. Button 1102 is a button that the user presses when using the copy function. Button 1103 is a button that the user presses when using the transmission function. Button 1104 is a button that the user presses when using the box function. Button 1105 is a button that the user presses to perform various settings of the image forming apparatus 100. When button 1105 is pressed, the image forming apparatus 100 sets the size and type of the paper set by the user (user1). Also, the user (user1) presses button 1105 when reserving the use of the paper feed stage (paper feed cassette 102). Button 1106 is a button that the user presses when logging out.

[0042] When the control unit 211 detects that the button 1105 has been pressed, it causes the UI panel 218 to display various setting screens 1201 shown in FIG. 12, and accepts selection operations of various setting items by the user. Buttons 1202 to 1207 are displayed on the various setting screens 1201. Button 1202 is pressed by the user when the user executes settings related to paper. Button 1203 is a button that the user presses when executing settings related to the display on the UI panel 218. Button 1204 is a button that the user presses when executing settings related to time, power, etc. Button 1205 is a button that the user presses when executing settings related to the network. Button 1206 is a button that the user presses when executing settings related to the external interface. Button 1207 is a button that the user presses when executing settings related to functions for assisting users who have difficulty seeing the display or performing input operations. Button 1208 is a button that the user presses when returning the display to the home screen 1101. Note that the settings executed by the user are not limited to the settings shown in FIG. 12. For example, the settings executed by the user may include at least one of settings related to the image quality of the image formed on the paper, settings related to various operations of the image forming apparatus 100, and settings related to the maintenance of the image forming apparatus 100.

[0043] The control unit 211 determines whether or not the button 1202 for performing paper settings has been pressed (S904). As a result of this determination, when it is detected that buttons 1203 to 1208 other than the button 1202 have been pressed, the control unit 211 executes various settings according to the pressed button (S905). Then, when the process of S905 ends, the process according to the flowchart of FIG. 9 ends. Note that the various settings in S905 are realized by known techniques. Therefore, a detailed description of the settings is omitted here.

[0044] When the control unit 211 detects that the button 1202 for paper setting has been pressed, it executes a process for setting the paper (S906). A specific example of the process of S906 will be described below. Here, in S906, a case where the type and size of the paper are set as the paper setting will be described. However, paper settings other than the type and size of the paper may be executed in S906. Also, as described above, here, an example will be given of a case where user1 sets A4-sized coated paper in the paper cassette 102 and executes an operation for reserving the use of the paper cassette 102.

[0045] First, the control unit 211 causes the UI panel 218 to display a paper setting screen 1301 shown in FIG. 13(a). FIG. 13(a) is a diagram showing an example of the paper setting screen 1301 before the paper settings are changed. FIG. 13(b) is a diagram showing an example of the paper setting screen 1301 after the paper settings are changed. On the paper setting screen 1301, paper feed stage selection buttons 1302 to 1306 are displayed. For each of the paper feed stage selection buttons 1302 to 1306, the setting status of each paper feed stage is displayed. An example of the display content in the paper feed stage selection buttons 1302 to 1306 will be described later. Also, on the paper setting screen 1301, a paper type setting button 1307, a paper size setting button 1308, an envelope button 1309, and a postcard button 1310 are displayed. The paper type setting button 1307 is a button that the user presses when changing the type of paper. The paper size setting button 1308 is a button that the user presses when changing the size of the paper. The envelope button 1309 is a button that the user presses when setting the size of the paper to the size of an envelope (a special size). The postcard button 1310 is a button that the user presses when setting the size of the paper to the size of a postcard (a special size). Further, in the present embodiment, a case where a reservation button 1311 is displayed on the paper setting screen 1301 is exemplified. The paper type setting button 1307, the paper size setting button 1308, the envelope button 1309, the postcard button 1310, and the reservation button 1311 are buttons that are operated after any one of the paper feed stage selection buttons 1302 to 1306 is selected. The OK button 1312 is a button that the user presses after the settings for the paper setting screen 1301 are completed.

[0046] Here, an example of the display content in the paper feed stage selection buttons 1302 to 1306 will be described. The setting status of each paper feed stage is stored as paper feed stage information in the storage unit 215 of the image forming apparatus 100. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the paper feed stage information. In the examples shown in FIGS. 14(a) and 14(b), the paper feed stage information 1400 is information including the paper feed stage 1401, the paper size 1402, the paper type 1403, the remaining paper amount 1404, and the reserved person 1405. FIG. 14(a) shows an example of the paper feed stage information 1400 when the reserved person 1405 is not set. FIG. 14(b) is a diagram showing an example of the paper feed stage information 1400 when user1 is set as the reserved person with respect to FIG. 14(a).

[0047] In FIGS. 14(a) and 14(b), the paper feed stage 1401 is information for specifying the paper feed stage. The paper size 1402 is information for specifying the size of the paper set in each paper feed stage. As the information of the paper size 1402, for example, the information of the paper size automatically detected by the sensors provided in each paper feed stage at the time of paper setting, or the information of the paper size set by the user is set. As the information of the paper size 1402, for example, the information set by pressing the paper size setting button 1308 shown in FIGS. 13(a) and 13(b) is set.

[0048] The paper type 1403 is information that identifies the type of paper set in each paper feed stage. As information on the paper type 1403, for example, information set by pressing the paper type setting button 1307 shown in FIGS. 13(a) and 13(b) is set. The remaining paper quantity 1404 is information that identifies the remaining quantity of paper set in each paper feed stage. In FIGS. 14(a) and 14(b), in each paper feed stage, when the paper of the specified capacity is set, the remaining quantity is taken as 100%, and when the set paper is 0, the remaining quantity is taken as 0%, and the case where the remaining quantity of paper is represented in five levels is exemplified. For example, when the remaining quantity = 0%, 0% < remaining quantity ≤ 25%, 25% < remaining quantity < 75%, 75% ≤ remaining quantity < 100%, and remaining quantity = 100%, the remaining paper quantity 1404 may be 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% respectively. Note that the representation method of the remaining paper quantity 1404 is not limited to such a representation method. For example, the remaining paper quantity 1404 may be represented by remaining quantity ÷ specified capacity × 100 (%).

[0049] The reserving user 1405 is information that identifies the user who can occupy the paper feed stage by reserving the use of the paper feed stage. The reserving user 1405 is set when the reserve button 1311 shown in FIGS. 13(a) and 13(b) is pressed. As described above, in FIG. 14(a), the columns of the reserving user 1405 for all the paper feed stages are blank, indicating that anyone can use all the paper feed stages. In the present embodiment, the case where only one reservation is possible for one paper feed stage is exemplified.

[0050] In FIGS. 14(a) and 14(b), the paper feed cassettes 1, 2, 3, and 4 shall represent the paper feed cassettes 102, 103, 104, and 105 shown in FIG. 1(a) respectively. Also, in FIGS. 14(a) and 14(b), the manual feed tray shall represent the manual feed tray 106 shown in FIG. 1(a). Also, in FIGS. 13(a) and 13(b), the paper feed stage selection buttons 1302, 1303, 1304, 1305, and 1306 shall be buttons corresponding to the paper feed cassettes 102, 103, 104, 105, and the manual feed tray 106 shown in FIG. 1(a) respectively.

[0051] Next, an example of the operation of the image forming apparatus 100 when the user presses the paper feed stage selection buttons 1302, 1303, 1304, 1305, or 1306 for a certain paper feed stage and then presses the paper type setting button 1307 will be described. As described above, here, an example is given where user1 sets A4-sized coated paper in the paper feed cassette 102 and performs an operation to reserve the use of the paper feed cassette 102. Therefore, here, user1 presses the paper type setting button 1307 after pressing the paper feed stage selection button 1302 corresponding to the paper feed cassette 102. As shown in FIG. 13(a), the control unit 211 makes the display mode of the paper feed stage selection button 1302 pressed by the user different from the display modes of the other paper feed stage selection buttons 1303 to 1306 among the paper feed stage selection buttons 1302 to 1306.

[0052] When the control unit 211 detects that the paper type setting button 1307 has been pressed, it causes the UI panel 218 to display the paper type setting screen 1501 shown in Fig. 15(a). Then, the control unit 211 obtains information on the type of paper set in the paper feed stage (here, the paper feed cassette 102) selected on the paper setting screen 1301 from the paper feed stage information 1400 stored in the storage unit 215 and causes it to be displayed on the paper type setting screen 1501. As shown in Fig. 14(a), the paper type 1403 of the paper feed cassette 1 corresponding to the paper feed cassette 102 is plain paper 1. Fig. 15(a) is a diagram showing an example of the paper type setting screen 1501 before changing the type of paper. In Fig. 15(a), the display mode of the selection button 1502 for selecting plain paper 1 is made different from that of the other selection buttons 1503 to 1507 to illustrate the case where the information on the type of paper set for the paper feed cassette 102 is plain paper 1. In Fig. 15(a), in addition to the selection button 1502 for selecting plain paper 1, selection buttons 1503, 1504, 1505, 1506, and 1507 for selecting plain paper 2, thick paper 1, thick paper 2, coated paper, and OHP are shown on the paper type setting screen 1501 as an example. As described above, here, an example is given of the case where user1 sets A4-sized coated paper in the paper feed cassette 102 and performs an operation to reserve the use of the paper feed cassette 102. Therefore, user1 presses the selection button 1506 for selecting coated paper.

[0053] When the control unit 211 detects the pressing of the selection button 1506, it changes the paper type setting screen 1501 from the state shown in FIG. 15(a) to the state shown in FIG. 15(b). FIG. 15(b) is a diagram showing an example of the paper type setting screen 1501 after the change of the paper type. As shown in FIG. 15(b), the control unit 211 makes the display mode of the selection button 1502 for selecting plain paper 1 the same as the display modes of the other selection buttons 1503 to 1505 and 1507, so that the selection button 1502 is in a non-selected state. Also, the control unit 211 makes the display mode of the selection button 1506 for selecting coated paper different from the display modes of the other selection buttons 1502 to 1505 and 1507, so that the selection button 1506 is in a selected state. Thereafter, the user (user1) presses the OK button 1508. When the control unit 211 detects the pressing of the OK button 1508, it updates the paper feed stage information 1400 based on the results of the operations on the selection buttons 1502 to 1507 of the paper type setting screen 1501. Here, in FIG. 14(a), the plain paper 1 indicating the paper type of the paper feed cassette 1 corresponding to the paper feed cassette 102 is changed to coated paper as shown in FIG. 14(b). Also, the control unit 211 changes the display content of the paper feed stage selection button 1302 shown in FIG. 13(a) according to the updated content of the paper feed stage information 1400 as shown in FIG. 13(b). FIG. 13(b) exemplifies the case where the plain paper 1 displayed on the paper feed stage selection button 1302 corresponding to the paper feed cassette 102 is changed to coated paper. When the paper feed stage information 1400 is updated as described above, the control unit 211 ends the setting of the paper type in S906. Note that when there is no need to change the paper type, the user does not need to press the paper type setting button 1307.

[0054] Next, an example of the operation of the image forming apparatus 100 when the user presses the paper feed stage selection buttons 1302, 1303, 1304, 1305, or 1306 for a certain paper feed stage and then presses the paper size setting button 1308 will be described. Here, an example is given where user1 sets A4 coated paper in the paper feed cassette 102 and performs an operation to reserve the use of the paper feed cassette 102. Therefore, here, after user1 presses the paper feed stage selection button 1302 corresponding to the paper feed cassette 102, the user presses the paper size setting button 1308.

[0055] When the control unit 211 detects that the paper size setting button 1308 has been pressed, it causes the paper size setting screen 1601 shown in FIG. 16 to be displayed on the UI panel 218. Then, the control unit 211 obtains information on the size of the paper set in the paper feed stage (here, the paper feed cassette 102) selected on the paper setting screen 1301 from the paper feed stage information 1400 stored in the storage unit 215 and causes it to be displayed on the paper size setting screen 1601. As shown in FIG. 14(a), the paper size 1402 of the paper feed cassette 1 corresponding to the paper feed cassette 102 is A4. FIG. 16(a) is a diagram showing an example of the paper size setting screen 1601 before changing the paper size. In FIG. 16(a), the display mode of the selection button 1603 for selecting A4 is made different from those of the other selection buttons 1602, 1604 to 1607 to illustrate the case where the information on the size of the paper set for the paper feed cassette 102 is A4. In FIG. 16(a), in addition to the selection button 1603 for selecting A4, selection buttons 1602, 1604 to 1607 for selecting A3, A5, B4, B5, and B6 are shown on the paper size setting screen 1601 as an example. As described above, here, an example is given of the case where user1 sets A4-sized coated paper in the paper feed cassette 102 and performs an operation to reserve the use of the paper feed cassette 102. Therefore, there is no need to change the paper size. Therefore, user1 presses the OK button 1608 without operating the selection buttons 1602 to 1607. In this case, the paper feed stage information 1400 is not updated. Here, for the sake of explanation, an example is given of the case where the paper size setting button 1308 is pressed by user1. However, when there is no need to change the paper size, the user does not need to press the paper size setting button 1308.

[0056] On the other hand, for example, when setting A3-sized coated paper instead of A4-sized paper in the paper feed cassette 102, the user presses the selection button 1602 for selecting A3. When the control unit 211 detects the pressing of the selection button 1602, it changes the paper size setting screen 1601 from the state shown in Fig. 16(a) to the state shown in Fig. 16(b). Fig. 16(b) is a diagram showing an example of the paper size setting screen 1601 after changing the paper type. As shown in Fig. 16(b), the control unit 211 makes the display mode of the selection button 1603 for selecting A4 the same as the display modes of the other selection buttons 1604 to 1607, so that the selection button 1603 is in a non-selected state. Also, the control unit 211 makes the display mode of the selection button 1602 for selecting A3 different from the display modes of the other selection buttons 1503 to 1507, so that the selection button 1602 is in a selected state. Thereafter, the user (user1) presses the OK button 1608. When the control unit 211 detects the pressing of the OK button 1608, it updates the paper feed stage information 1400 based on the results of operations on the selection buttons 1602 to 1607 of the paper size setting screen 1601. Here, in Fig. 14(a), A4 indicating the paper size of the paper feed cassette 1 corresponding to the paper feed cassette 102 is changed to A3. Also, as shown in Fig. 13(b), the control unit 211 changes the display content of the paper feed stage selection button 1302 shown in Fig. 13(a) according to the updated content of the paper feed stage information 1400 on the paper setting screen 1301. When the paper feed stage information 1400 is updated as described above, the setting of the paper size in S906 ends. Note that, as described above, the paper size 1402 of the paper feed stage information 1400 may be updated to the information on the paper size automatically detected by the sensors of each paper feed stage without using the paper size setting screen 1601.

[0057] Returning to the description of Fig. 9, when the process of S906 ends, the control unit 211 executes a process for reserving the use of the paper feed stage (S907). A specific example of the process of S907 will be described below. Note that, as described above, here too, the case where the user (user1) sets A4-sized coated paper in the paper feed cassette 102 and executes an operation for reserving the use of the paper feed cassette 102 is exemplified.

[0058] When the control unit 211 detects that the reservation button 1311 has been pressed while the paper feed cassette selection button 1302 corresponding to the paper feed cassette 102 is selected, it records the login username in the column of the reserved person 1405 in the paper feed stage information 1400 stored in the storage unit 215. Here, as shown in FIG. 14(b), information identifying user1 is recorded in the column of the reserved person 1405 of the paper feed cassette 1 corresponding to the paper feed cassette 102. As a result, user1 can occupy the paper feed cassette 102. For ease of comparing the differences between FIGS. 14(a) and 14(b), in the paper feed stage information 1400 shown in FIG. 14(b), the portions changed from the paper feed stage information 1400 shown in FIG. 14(a) by the processes of S906 and S907 are shown with inverted colors.

[0059] Also, deleting a usage reservation is executed, for example, as follows. The user presses the reservation button 1311 again. When the control unit 211 detects that the reservation button 1311 has been pressed again, it clears the information corresponding to the relevant paper feed stage among the information of the reserved person 1405 in the paper feed stage information 1400 stored in the storage unit 215. A specific example of the paper feed operation for occupying the paper feed stage will be described in detail in the following paper feed determination process.

[0060] (Paper Feed Determination Process) FIG. 17 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the paper feed determination process (S803). An example of the paper feed determination process will be described according to the flowchart of FIG. 17. First, the control unit 211 acquires the setting information of the print job stored in the storage unit 215 by S703 in FIG. 7 (S1701). The setting information of the print job includes the job owner name and information necessary for printing (for example, paper size, paper type, and paper feed stage setting information).

[0061] Next, the control unit 211 acquires the paper feed stage information 1400 stored in the storage unit 215 (S1702). Here, the latest paper feed stage information 1400 is acquired. In the examples shown in FIGS. 14(a) and 14(b), the paper feed stage information 1400 shown in FIG. 14(b) is the latest paper feed stage information 1400. As shown in FIG. 14(b), the paper feed stage information 1400 is a collection of setting information for each paper feed stage.

[0062] Next, the control unit 211 copies the paper feed stage information 1400 acquired in S1702 as a paper feed stage candidate list (S1703). The paper feed stage candidate list is used to determine the paper feed stages that will be paper feed candidates in subsequent processing. Next, the control unit 211 compares the information of the reserving person 1405 stored in each paper feed stage of the paper feed stage candidate list with the owner name of the job acquired in S1701. Then, based on the result of the comparison, if there is a paper feed stage reserved by a person other than the owner name of the job, the control unit 211 deletes the information of that paper feed stage from the paper feed stage candidate list (S1704). For example, when the owner name of the job is user1 and the paper feed stage candidate list is the paper feed stage information 1400 shown in FIG. 14(b), there is no paper feed stage to be deleted from the paper feed stage candidate list. On the other hand, when the owner name of the job is other than user1, the control unit 211 deletes the information of the paper feed cassette 1 corresponding to the paper feed cassette 102 from the paper feed stage candidate list.

[0063] Next, the control unit 211 refers to the paper feed stage setting information from the setting information of the print job acquired in S1701, and deletes the information of paper feed stages other than the paper feed stage specified by the paper feed stage setting information from the paper feed stage candidate list (S1705). The paper feed stage setting information is the information specified in the paper feed stage setting column 505 shown in FIG. 5. When a specific paper feed stage is specified in the paper feed stage setting column 505, the control unit 211 deletes the information of paper feed stages other than the specified paper feed stage from the paper feed stage candidate list. On the other hand, when no specific paper feed stage is specified in the paper feed stage setting column 505 and automatic selection is specified, the control unit 211 does not delete the information of any paper feed stage from the paper feed stage candidate list.

[0064] Next, the control unit 211 searches for the paper feed stage optimal for printing from the paper feed stages remaining in the paper feed stage candidate list (S1706). Specifically, the control unit 211 searches the paper feed stage candidate list for the paper feed stage in which the paper conforming to the information (paper size and type) included in the setting information of the print job is held. Then, the control unit 211 determines whether there is a paper feed stage optimal for printing based on the search result of the paper feed stage in S1706 (S1707). As a result of this determination, if there is a paper feed stage optimal for printing, the control unit 211 determines the said paper feed stage as the paper feed stage optimal for printing (S1708). Then, the control unit 211 notifies the paper feed unit 219 etc. that execute the processes after S804 in FIG. 8 of the information on the paper feed stage optimal for printing. When the process of step S1708 ends, the paper feed determination process in FIG. 17 ends, and the process of S804 in FIG. 8 is executed.

[0065] On the other hand, when it is determined in S1707 that there is no paper feed stage optimal for printing, the control unit 211 causes the error screen 1801 shown in FIG. 18 to be displayed on the UI panel 218 (S1709). On the error screen 1801, for example, information on the paper size and type is displayed as the paper information 1809 necessary to continue the print job. Further, on the error screen 1801, paper feed stage selection buttons 1802 to 1806, a cancel button 1807, and an OK button 1808 are displayed. Also, it is assumed that the paper feed stage selection buttons 1802, 1803, 1804, 1805, 1806 are buttons corresponding to the paper feed cassettes 102, 103, 104, 105, and the manual feed tray 106 shown in FIG. 1(a), respectively. Similar to the paper feed stage selection buttons 1302 to 1306, the setting status of each paper feed stage is also displayed on the paper feed stage selection buttons 1802 to 1806. The operations that the user can perform on the error screen 1801 are as follows.

[0066] After the user sets the paper displayed as paper information 1809 on any paper feed stage, the user presses the OK button 1808. Also, when the user wants to force the processing to continue with the paper set on a certain paper feed stage, after pressing the paper feed stage selection button corresponding to the said paper feed stage among the paper feed stage selection buttons 1802 to 1806, the user presses the OK button 1808. When the user wants to cancel the print job, the user presses the cancel button 1807.

[0067] The control unit 211 determines whether there has been any change in the state of the paper feed stage (S1710). As a result of this determination, if there is a change in the state of the paper feed stage, assuming that the paper may have been set by the user, the process of S1702 is executed again. Then, the control unit 211 executes the processes of S1702 to S1707 described above to execute the search process for the optimal paper feed stage again. On the other hand, if there is no change in the state of the paper feed stage, the control unit 211 determines whether it has detected an operation on the error screen 1801 (S1711). Here, the control unit 211 determines whether it has detected an operation including pressing any one of the paper feed stage selection buttons 1802 to 1806 or the cancel button 1807 by the user. As a result of this determination, if it has not detected an operation including pressing the paper feed stage selection buttons 1802 to 1806 or the cancel button 1807, the process of S1712 is executed. Then, the control unit 211 switches the process to be performed next according to the content of the operation on the error screen 1801 (S1712). If an operation including pressing any one of the paper feed stage selection buttons 1802 to 1806 is detected, the control unit 211 determines the paper feed stage corresponding to the pressed paper feed stage selection button as the paper feed stage to be used for printing (S1708). Then, the control unit 211 notifies the paper feed unit 219 etc. that will execute the processes after S804 in FIG. 8 of the information on the determined paper feed stage. On the other hand, as a result of the determination in S1712, if an operation including pressing the cancel button 1807 is detected, the control unit 211 ends the printing process itself. In this case, the processes after S804 are not executed and the flowchart in FIG. 8 ends.

[0068] (Cassette Open Detection Process) Next, an example of the cassette open detection process will be described. The cassette open detection process is a process executed by the image forming apparatus 100 when any one of the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 is in an open state. However, when the paper feed cassette designated for use in the currently executing print job is in an open state, the print job is interrupted. In this case, it is assumed that an error screen due to the inability to feed paper is displayed on the UI panel 218 prior to the cassette open detection process. Therefore, in the present embodiment, an example in which the cassette open detection process is a process targetting a paper feed cassette not designated for use in the currently executing print job will be illustrated. FIG. 19 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the cassette open detection process. FIG. 20 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the reserved cassette warning process of S1903 in FIG. 19. FIG. 21 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the paper change process of S2013 in FIG. 20. An example of the cassette open detection process will be described according to the flowcharts of FIGS. 19 to 21. Note that each step of the flowcharts of FIGS. 19 to 21 is realized, for example, when the control unit 211 of the image forming apparatus 100 executes a control program stored in the storage unit 215.

[0069] The control unit 211 detects whether each of the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 is in an open state or a closed state. When the control unit 211 detects that any one of the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 is in an open state, the process according to the flowchart of FIG. 19 is started. When any one of the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 is opened by the user and becomes in an open state, the control unit 211 acquires the paper feed stage information 1400 stored in the storage unit 215 (S1901). The paper feed stage information 1400 includes reservation information. In the example shown in FIG. 14(b), the information in which the information of the paper feed stage 1401 and the reserved person 1405 in each record of the paper feed stage information 1400 is taken as a set is the reservation information. In the present embodiment, for example, an example of the reservation information acquisition process is realized by the process of S1901.

[0070] Next, the control unit 211 determines whether the paper feed cassette detected to be in the open state is a paper feed cassette for which a use reservation has been made, based on the paper feed stage information 1400 (reservation information) (S1902). In the example shown in FIG. 14(b), the control unit 211 searches for reservation information in which information identifying the paper feed cassette detected to be in the open state is shown as the information of the paper feed stage 1401, and information identifying the logged-in user is shown as the information of the reserving person 1405. When there is such reservation information, the control unit 211 determines that the paper feed cassette detected to be in the open state is a paper feed cassette for which a use reservation has been made. On the other hand, when there is no such reservation information, the control unit 211 determines that the paper feed cassette detected to be in the open state is not a paper feed cassette for which a use reservation has been made.

[0071] At the time of S1902, no warning display change is made for each user yet, and the process remains at determining whether there is a reservation or not. As a result of the determination in S1902, if the paper feed cassette detected to be in the open state is not the paper feed cassette for which a usage reservation has been made, the control unit 211 executes normal cassette warning processing as an example of display control processing (S1904). The normal cassette warning processing is a process of displaying on the UI panel 218 that the paper feed cassette is open as the state of the image forming apparatus 100 when the paper feed cassette is opened. The printing process in the image forming apparatus 100 is not affected by the user's operation on the image forming apparatus 100 (closing the paper feed cassette) due to the information displayed by the normal cassette warning processing. The information displayed by the normal cassette warning processing is different from the information displayed by the reserved cassette warning processing described later. Different information is not limited to the case where the content of the information is different. For example, even if the content is the same, if the display mode is different, it shall be regarded as different information. For example, the information displayed by the normal cassette warning processing is displayed on the status line. On the other hand, the information displayed by the reserved cassette warning processing is, for example, pop-up displayed. Also, the information displayed by the normal cassette warning processing does not include information related to the reservation of the paper feed cassette. On the other hand, the information displayed by the reserved cassette warning processing may include information related to the reservation of the paper feed cassette. Since the normal cassette warning processing is a general operation in the control of the image forming apparatus, detailed description thereof is omitted.

[0072] As a result of the determination in S1902, if the paper feed cassette detected to be in the open state is the paper feed cassette for which a usage reservation has been made, the control unit 211 executes reserved cassette warning processing (S1903). The reserved cassette warning processing follows the flowchart of FIG. 20.

[0073] First, in S2001, the control unit 211 acquires the paper feed stage information 1400 in the same manner as in S1901. The process of S2001 is executed because it is necessary to acquire the paper feed stage information 1400 including reservation information in advance for the determination in S2009 described later. However, if the control unit 211 has stored the paper feed stage information 1400 acquired in the process of S1901 in FIG. 19 in the storage unit 215, the process of S2001 may be omitted.

[0074] Next, in S2002, the control unit 211 acquires the login context. The login context is information for identifying the logged-in user including the user name. The login context is stored in the storage unit 215 when the user performs a login operation on the login screen 1001 as the image forming apparatus 100 is used. In the present embodiment, since the information of the login context is used only for collation of the logged-in user name, a detailed description of the configuration of the login context is omitted. In addition to the logged-in user name, the login context includes, for example, password information, access authority information, and the like. Further, the information of the login context is deleted when the user finishes using it and logs out. When the control unit 211 acquires the login context in the logged-out state, since the attribute of the user name is not set, it is detected that no one is logged in. In S2003, the control unit 211 determines whether a logged-in user exists based on whether the attribute of the logged-in user name is in an unset state.

[0075] As a result of this determination, if there is no logged-in user, the process of S2004 is executed as an example of display control processing. In S2004, the control unit 211 prompts the user to log in. FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a login prompt screen 2201. In the present embodiment, the control unit 211 prompts the user to log in by displaying the login prompt screen 2201 on the UI panel 218. The login prompt screen 2201 displays information indicating that the paper feed cassette for which a reservation for use has been made is open, and information indicating the operations that the user should perform on the image forming apparatus 100. In FIG. 22, as an example, the case where the information indicating the operations that the user should perform on the image forming apparatus 100 includes logging in to the image forming apparatus 100 and closing the paper feed cassette is illustrated. In this way, the login prompt screen 2201 is a screen that is displayed to prompt a user who has left the paper feed cassette for which a reservation for use has been made in an open state to perform a login operation or close the paper feed cassette.

[0076] In addition, a login button 2202 and a cancel button 2203 are displayed on the login prompt screen 2201. When the user wishes to log in to the image forming apparatus 100, the user presses the login button 2202. On the other hand, when the user does not wish to log in to the image forming apparatus 100, the user presses the cancel button 2203.

[0077] In S2004, after the control unit 211 displays the login reminder screen 2201 on the UI panel 218, it determines whether the user has logged in (S2005). If it is determined in S2005 that the user has logged in, it means that the login button 2202 has been pressed and the user authentication has been successful. When the login button 2202 is pressed, the control unit 211 displays the login screen 1001 on the UI panel 218 and waits until the user performs a login operation. This process is the same as the process of S901 in FIG. 9. After the user performs a login operation on the login screen 1001, the control unit 211 executes an authentication process and determines whether the user authentication has been successful. This process is the same as the process of S902 in FIG. 9. As a result of this determination, if the user authentication is successful, the control unit 211 stores the information of the login context for the user in the storage unit 215. Then, the process of S2003 is executed again. On the other hand, if the user authentication fails, it is determined in S2005 that the user has not logged in.

[0078] Also, for example, if the act of opening the paper feed cassette is an operation error, the user presses the cancel button 2203. Even when the cancel button 2203 is pressed by the user in this way, it is determined in S2005 that the user has not logged in. When it is determined in S2005 that the user has not logged in, the process of S2006 is executed as an example of a display control process.

[0079] In S2006, the control unit 211 causes the UI panel 218 to display the cassette close instruction screen 2301 shown in FIG. 23(a). The cassette close instruction screen 2301 is a screen displayed to prompt a user who is not the logged-in user to close the open paper feed cassette. When the OK button 2302 displayed on the cassette close instruction screen 2301 is pressed by the user, in S2018, the control unit 211 determines whether the paper feed cassette detected as being in the open state has been closed. As a result of this determination, if the paper feed cassette has been closed, the control unit 211 ends the display of the screen displayed on the UI panel 218 in the reserved cassette warning process (S2019). For example, when the cassette close instruction screen 2301 is displayed on the UI panel 218, in S2019, the control unit 211 ends the display of the cassette close instruction screen 2301. When the process of S2019 ends, the process according to the flowchart of FIG. 20 ends.

[0080] On the other hand, as a result of the determination in S2018, if the paper feed cassette detected as being in the open state has not been closed, even if the OK button 2302 is pressed by the user, the process of S2006 is executed again and the cassette close instruction screen 2301 is displayed.

[0081] In S2003, when it is determined that there is a logged-in user, the process of changing the warning display for each logged-in user is realized in the processes after S2007. First, in S2007, the control unit 211 determines whether the logged-in user is the user who reserved the use of the paper feed cassette detected to be in the open state. In the following description, the user who reserved the use of the paper feed cassette detected to be in the open state is referred to as a reserved user as needed. Also, users other than the reserved user are referred to as non-reserved users as needed. The determination as to whether the logged-in user is a reserved user is executed, for example, as follows. That is, the control unit 211 determines whether the user name in the column of the reserving person 1405 of the reservation information included in the paper feed stage information 1400 acquired in S2001 matches the logged-in user name included in the information of the login context acquired in S2002. In step S2007, when it is determined that the logged-in user is a reserved user, the process of S2008 is executed as an example of the display control process. An example of the processes after S2008 will be described below.

[0082] (Cassette Open Warning Process for Reserved Users) For the act of a reserved user opening the paper feed cassette, for example, the following three cases can be considered. The first case is the case where the paper in the paper feed cassette is replaced. When the paper is replaced, the size of the paper, the type of the paper, etc. are changed. The second case is the case where the use of the paper feed cassette was reserved, but after finishing the necessary printing output, the paper set in the paper feed cassette (for example, paper for in-house printing) is collected. The third case is the following two cases. One is the case where it is necessary to visually check the inside of the paper feed cassette, such as checking the remaining amount of paper. The other is the case where, for reasons such as newly reserving the use of a paper feed cassette, an attempt was made to set paper in another paper feed cassette, but by mistake, the paper feed cassette that was already reserved for use was opened. The following S2008 to S2012 are processes for having the reserved user perform appropriate operations for these three cases.

[0083] In S2008, the control unit 211 causes the UI panel 218 to display the reservation user selection screen 2303 shown in FIG. 23(b). On the reservation user selection screen 2303, a paper change button 2304, a reservation change button 2305, and a cancel button 2306 are displayed. The paper change button 2304 is a button that the user presses when changing the paper set in the paper feed cassette for which a use reservation has been made. The reservation change button 2305 is a button that the user presses when ending the reservation for using the paper feed cassette. The cancel button 2306 is a button that the user presses when only closing the opened paper feed cassette is to be executed. Thus, the reservation user selection screen 2303 is a screen displayed to prompt the reservation user to perform operations corresponding to the three cases described above. Next, in S2009, the control unit 211 determines which of the paper change button 2304, the reservation change button 2305, and the cancel button 2306 has been pressed by the user.

[0084] As a result of the determination in S2009, when the paper change button 2304 is pressed by the user, the paper change process in S2013 is executed. The paper change process is a process for changing the settings for the paper set in the paper feed cassette. FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of the paper change instruction screen 2401 displayed in the paper change process. An example of the paper change process will be further described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 21 and FIG. 24.

[0085] First, in S2101, the control unit 211 causes the paper change instruction screen 2401 to be displayed on the UI panel 218. On the paper change instruction screen 2401, paper feed stage selection buttons 2402 to 2406, paper type setting button 2407, paper size setting button 2408, envelope button 2409, postcard button 2410, and OK button 2411 are displayed. The paper change instruction screen 2401 is essentially the same screen as the paper setting screen 1301 shown in FIGS. 13(a) and 13(b). The operation of the image forming apparatus 100 when the buttons on the paper change instruction screen 2401 are pressed is basically the same as the operation of the image forming apparatus 100 when the buttons on the paper setting screen 1301 are pressed. The difference between the paper setting screen 1301 and the paper change instruction screen 2401 is the presence or absence of the reservation button 1311 for reserving the use of the paper feed cassette. This difference is due to the difference in purpose that the paper setting screen 1301 is used for reserving the use of the paper feed cassette, while the paper change instruction screen 2401 is used for deleting the reservation of the use of the paper feed cassette.

[0086] Therefore, in FIG. 21, as an example, only the processing when the paper type setting button 2407 or the paper size setting button 2408 is pressed after the paper feed stage selection buttons 2402 to 2406 are pressed among the processing executed using the paper change instruction screen 2401 is shown. In S2102, after the paper feed stage selection buttons 2402 to 2406 are pressed, the control unit 211 determines which of the paper type setting button 2407 and the paper size setting button 2408 is pressed. As a result of this determination, when the paper size setting button 2408 is pressed, the processing of S2103 is executed as an example of the display control processing. In S2103, the control unit 211 causes the paper size setting screen 1601 shown in FIG. 16 to be displayed on the UI panel 218. Next, in S2104, based on the content of the user's operation on the paper size setting screen 1601, the control unit 211 changes the information of the paper size 1402 included in the paper feed stage information 1400 to set the size of the paper. Note that since the content of the operation on the paper size setting screen 1601 and the processing of the control unit 211 according to the content of the operation on the paper size setting screen 1601 have been described above, detailed descriptions thereof are omitted here. When the processing of S2104 is completed, the paper change process ends, and the process of S2018 in FIG. 20 is executed.

[0087] In S2102, when it is determined that the paper type setting button 2407 has been pressed, the process of S2105 is executed as an example of the display control process. In S2105, the control unit 211 causes the paper type setting screen 1501 shown in FIG. 15 to be displayed on the UI panel 218. Next, in S2106, based on the content of the user's operation on the paper type setting screen 1501, the control unit 211 changes the information of the paper type 1403 included in the paper feed stage information 1400 to set the size of the paper. Note that since the content of the operation on the paper type setting screen 1501 and the processing of the control unit 211 according to the content of the operation on the paper type setting screen 1501 have been described above, detailed descriptions thereof are omitted here. When the processing of S2106 is completed, the paper change process ends, and the process of S2018 in FIG. 20 is executed.

[0088] Note that in this embodiment, the case where the settings made in the paper setting change process are only the change of the paper size and the change of the paper type is taken as an example for explanation. However, this is for the sake of simplifying the explanation. In addition to these changes, various settings for the paper may be changed using the paper change instruction screen 2401. For example, changes such as parameters related to the conveyance of the paper and parameters related to the quality of the printed image that can be set for each paper type may be made using the paper change instruction screen 2401.

[0089] Also, as described above, on the paper change instruction screen 2401, the reservation button 1311 displayed on the paper setting screen 1301 is not displayed due to the difference in the purpose of the screen. However, even if the paper change instruction screen 2401 and the paper setting screen 1301 are made the same, the change and registration of the reservation for using the paper feed cassette may be executed from the screen for changing the paper settings.

[0090] Returning to the description of FIG. 20, in S2009, if it is determined that the reservation change button 2305 has been pressed by the user, the process of S2010 is executed as an example of the display control process. In S2010, the control unit 211 causes the reservation deletion screen 2501 shown in FIG. 25 to be displayed on the UI panel 218. The reservation deletion screen 2501 is a screen displayed to prompt the deletion of the reservation for the paper feed stage (paper feed cassette) for which the use reservation has been made. When the user wants to delete the reservation, the user presses the reservation deletion button 2502. On the other hand, when the user does not want to delete the reservation, the user presses the cancel button 2503.

[0091] In S2011, the control unit 211 determines whether the button pressed by the user is the reservation deletion button 2502. As a result of this determination, if the button pressed by the user is the reservation deletion button 2502, the process of S2012 is executed. In S2012, the control unit 211 deletes the corresponding reservation. The deletion of the reservation is performed by clearing the information of the reserved person 1405 in the corresponding paper feed stage (paper feed cassette) among the information of the reserved person 1405 included in the paper feed stage information 1400 recorded in the storage unit 215. Here, the corresponding paper feed stage (paper feed cassette) is the paper feed stage for which the use reservation has been made and which has been detected to be in an open state. After the process of S2012, the process of S2018 described above is executed. On the other hand, in S2109, if the button pressed by the user is not the reservation deletion button 2502 but the cancel button 2503, the process of S2018 described above is executed. Also, in S2009, when the cancel button 2306 on the reservation user selection screen 2303 is pressed by the user, the process of S2018 described above is also executed.

[0092] (Cassette Open Warning Process for Non-Reserved Users) In S2007, when it is determined that the logged-in user is a non-reserved user rather than a reserved user, it is the case where the non-reserved user has opened the paper feed cassette for which use has been reserved. The main reason for the non-reserved user to open the paper feed cassette for which use has been reserved is that the non-reserved user is unaware that the use of the paper feed cassette has been reserved. Therefore, it is necessary to prompt the user to quickly return the paper feed cassette to its original state (close it). Also, there is a possibility that the non-reserved user may attempt to replace the paper set in the paper feed cassette for which use has been reserved in order to reserve the use of the cassette. In that case, it is desirable to prompt the non-reserved user to reserve the use of another paper feed cassette.

[0093] Therefore, in S2007, when it is determined that the logged-in user is a non-reserved user rather than a reserved user, in S2014, the control unit 211 causes the non-reserved user selection screen 2601 shown in FIG. 26 to be displayed on the UI panel 218. On the non-reserved user selection screen 2601, a new reservation button 2602 and a cancel button 2603 are displayed. The new reservation button 2602 is a button that the user presses when making a new reservation for the paper feed cassette. The cancel button 2603 is a button that the user presses when not making a new reservation for the paper feed cassette.

[0094] Next, in S2015, the control unit 211 determines whether the button pressed by the user is the new reservation button 2602. As a result of this determination, if the button pressed by the user is the new reservation button 2602, the process of S2016 is executed as an example of the display control process. In S2016, the control unit 211 causes the reservation setting screen 2701 shown in FIG. 27 to be displayed on the UI panel 218. Then, in S2017, the control unit 211 updates the reservation information (reservation person 1405) included in the paper feed stage information 1400 based on the content of the user's operation on the reservation setting screen 2701. When the process of S2017 ends, the above-described process of S2018 is executed.

[0095] On the reservation setting screen 2701, paper feed stage selection buttons 2702 to 2706, paper type setting button 2707, paper size setting button 2708, envelope button 2709, postcard button 2710, reservation button 2711, and OK button 2712 are displayed.

[0096] The reservation setting screen 2701 is essentially the same screen as the paper setting screen 1301 shown in FIGS. 13(a) and 13(b). The operation of the image forming apparatus 100 when a button on the reservation setting screen 2701 is pressed is basically the same as the operation of the image forming apparatus 100 when a button on the paper setting screen 1301 is pressed. However, in the present embodiment, an example is illustrated in which only one reservation is possible for one paper feed stage (paper feed cassette). Therefore, among the paper feed stage selection buttons 2702 to 2706, the paper feed stage selection button corresponding to the paper feed stage for which a use reservation has been made is not selected by the user. In the example shown in FIG. 14(b), a use reservation has been made for the paper feed cassette 1 corresponding to the paper feed cassette 102. Therefore, the paper feed stage selection button 2702 corresponding to the paper feed cassette 102 is not selected by the user. In FIG. 27, the paper feed stage selection button 2702 is displayed in gray to indicate that the user cannot select the paper feed stage selection button 2702. Note that FIG. 27 illustrates a case where the paper feed stage selection button 2703 has been selected by the user. Also, here, an example is illustrated in which the reservation registration process is executed using the reservation setting screen 2701 shown in FIG. 27. However, the reservation registration screen does not necessarily have to be the reservation setting screen 2701 shown in FIG. 27. The reservation registration screen may be, for example, a screen obtained by removing at least one of the paper type setting button 2707, the paper size setting button 2708, the envelope button 2709, and the postcard button 2710 from the reservation setting screen 2701.

[0097] Returning to the description of FIG. 20, in S2015, if it is determined that the button pressed by the user is not the new reservation button 2602 but the cancel button 2603, the process of S2006 described above is executed.

[0098] As described above, in this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 causes the UI panel 218 to display different display information depending on whether the paper feed cassette detected to be in the open state is a paper feed cassette for which a use reservation has been made or not. Therefore, before a print job is input to the image forming apparatus 100, it is possible to notify the user that the paper feed cassette opened by the user is a paper feed cassette for which a use reservation has been made. Thus, it is possible to improve the convenience for the user of an image forming apparatus having a function capable of reserving the use of the sheet holding unit.

[0099] Also, even for a paper feed stage for which a certain user has made a use reservation, the paper feed stage may be operated (opened) by another user. At that time, if the same warning display is executed for any user, there is a possibility that it may be a troublesome process for the user who made the reservation. For example, when a user causes the in-house printing to be executed by the image forming apparatus 100, the user may set special paper for in-house printing in the paper feed cassette and input a PDL print job from the PC 200 away from the front of the image forming apparatus 100. That is, a case may inevitably occur where the user who performs in-house printing sets the paper and then returns to the front of the PC 200 to input a print job. In this case, after the user who performs in-house printing reserves the use of the paper feed cassette and before returning to the front of the PC 200 to instruct the input of the print job, the reserved paper feed cassette may be accidentally opened by another user and the paper may be replaced. Then, the user who performs in-house printing needs to perform the paper setting and reprinting again. On the other hand, another user who wants to perform normal office printing cannot execute a print job using the replaced paper even if the paper is replaced. As described above, it becomes an undesirable situation for both the user who performs in-house printing and the user who performs normal office printing. For such a problem, it is conceivable to notify the user who opens the paper feed cassette that the paper feed cassette is a reserved paper feed cassette. However, for the user who reserves the use of the paper feed cassette, the fact that the paper feed cassette is a reserved paper feed cassette is unnecessary information and is complicated. Note that such a problem may also occur, for example, among users who perform in-house printing and among users who perform normal office printing.

[0100] Therefore, in this embodiment, when the paper feed cassette with a reserved use is opened, the image forming apparatus 100 causes the UI panel 218 to display different display information according to whether the logged-in user is the user who reserved the use of the paper feed cassette. Accordingly, the image forming apparatus 100 can give an appropriate warning display according to the type of the user who opened the paper feed cassette with a reserved use. With an appropriate warning display, the reserved user can smoothly delete the reservation, change the paper settings, etc. Also, the non-reserved user can reserve the use of the paper feed cassette and execute a print job using another paper feed cassette without interfering with the execution of the print job of the reserved user. Thus, the convenience for the user of the image forming apparatus having a function of reserving the use of the sheet holding unit can be improved.

[0101] Also, in this embodiment, when the paper feed cassette with a reserved use is opened, the image forming apparatus 100 causes the UI panel 218 to display information indicating candidates for operations to be performed by the user as subsequent operations on the image forming apparatus 100. Accordingly, according to the type of the user who opened the paper feed cassette with a reserved use, the operations on the image forming apparatus 100 can be navigated for the user.

[0102] In this embodiment, the case where the control unit 211 of the image forming apparatus 100 realizes the registration and deletion of the reservation information for each paper feed stage is exemplified. However, it is not necessarily required to be like this. For example, a reservation management server connected to the network 230 may execute the registration and deletion of the reservation information. In such a case, the image forming apparatus 100 may be configured to use the reservation information registered in the reservation management server. That is, the registration, deletion, and management of the reservation information may be executed by the image forming apparatus 100 or may be executed outside the image forming apparatus 100.

[0103] In addition, in this embodiment, a case where reservation information is managed as part of the paper feed stage information 1400 has been exemplified. However, the reservation information does not necessarily have to be part of the paper feed stage information and may be separate information independent of the paper feed stage information.

[0104] Also, in this embodiment, a case where the reservation cassette warning process (S1903) is executed when the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 for which use has been reserved are in an open state has been exemplified. However, it is not necessarily the case. The reserved user and the non-reserved user may replace the paper set in the manual tray 106 for the same reason as when replacing the paper set in the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105. Therefore, for example, in addition to the case where the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 are in an open state, the reservation cassette warning process may also be executed when there is a change in the state of the manual tray 106. In such a case, when it is detected by a sensor (not shown) provided for the manual tray 106 that there is no paper set in the manual tray 106, the reservation cassette warning process may be executed.

[0105] (Second Embodiment) Next, the second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, a case where only one reservation is possible for one paper feed stage has been described. In contrast, in this embodiment, a case where multiple reservations are possible for one paper feed stage in different time zones will be described by setting a reservation period in the reservation information when making a reservation for the use of the paper feed stage. In this way, the configurations and processes mainly differ between this embodiment and the first embodiment by including the reservation period. Therefore, in the description of this embodiment, for the same parts as those in the first embodiment, the same reference numerals as those attached to FIGS. 1 to 27 will be used and the detailed description will be omitted. Also, in this embodiment as well, similar to the first embodiment, a case where user1 sets A4-sized coated paper in the paper feed cassette 102 and executes an operation to reserve the use of the paper feed cassette 102 will be described as a specific example.

[0106] FIG. 28 shows an example of a reservation time setting screen 2801. When the control unit 211 detects that the reservation button 1311 has been pressed by the user while any one of the paper feed stage selection buttons 1302 to 1306 shown in FIGS. 13(a) and 13(b) is selected, the reservation time setting screen 2801 is displayed on the UI panel 218. User1 sets A4-sized coated paper in the paper feed cassette 102 and makes a reservation for using the paper feed cassette 102. Therefore, after pressing the paper feed stage selection button 1302 corresponding to the paper feed cassette 102, user1 presses the reservation button 1311.

[0107] Input fields 2802 to 2806 for the reservation period of the paper feed stage are displayed on the reservation time setting screen 2801. In FIG. 28, an example is illustrated where a period from 10:00 to 12:00 on May 10, 2021 is input as the reservation period for the paper feed cassette 1 (paper feed cassette 102).

[0108] Accordingly, the reservation information (in the column of the reserving person 1405) included in the paper feed stage information 1400 shown in FIGS. 14(a) and 14(b) is expanded as follows. FIG. 29 is a diagram showing an example of reservation information 2900 for one paper feed stage. FIG. 29(a) shows an example of the reservation information 2900 before the change, and FIG. 29(b) shows an example of the reservation information 2900 after the change. Here, it is assumed that FIGS. 29(a) and 29(b) are the reservation information 2900 included in the paper feed stage information 1400 of the paper feed cassette 1 corresponding to the paper feed cassette 102 in FIGS. 14(a) and 14(b). For other paper feed stages, the reservation information shown in FIGS. 29(a) and 29(b) is created.

[0109] In the first embodiment, as described with reference to FIGS. 14(a) and 14(b), the information that sets the paper feed stage 1401 and the information of the reserving person 1405 in each record of the paper feed stage information 1400 as a set is the reservation information. In contrast, in this embodiment, in addition to the reserving person 2907, the reservation number (No. 2901), the reservation date (year 2902, month 2903, day 2904), the start time 2905, and the end time 2906 are included in the reservation information 2900. Also, No. (reservation number) 2901 is information indicating which new reservation information each reservation information is.

[0110] In FIG. 29(a), it shows that there are already two reservations in the paper feed cassette 102 (paper feed cassette 1). Here, when the control unit 211 detects the pressing of the OK button 2809 by the user on the reservation time setting screen 2801, it determines the reservation based on the content input on the reservation time setting screen 2801 at that time, and updates the paper feed stage information 1400. Then, the control unit 211 causes the original screen (paper setting screen 1301) to be displayed on the UI panel 218. FIG. 29(b) shows an example of the update result of the reservation information 2900 for the paper feed cassette 102 (paper feed cassette 1). For easy comparison of the differences between FIGS. 29(a) and 29(b), in the reservation information 2900 shown in FIG. 29(b), the added parts compared to the reservation information 2900 shown in FIG. 29(a) are shown with inverted colors.

[0111] When the control unit 211 detects that the user has pressed the cancel button 2808, it causes the UI panel 218 to display the original screen (paper setting screen 1301) without reserving the use of the paper feed stage. Also, a confirmation / cancellation button 2807 is displayed on the reservation time setting screen 2801. When the control unit 211 detects that the user has pressed the confirmation / cancellation button 2807, it causes the UI panel 218 to display the reservation status screen 3001 shown in FIG. 30. On the reservation status screen 3001, a timeline 3002 for four days from the day to which the current time belongs is displayed. The timeline 3002 indicates the reservation status of the paper feed stage corresponding to the paper feed stage selection button pressed by the user among the paper feed stage selection buttons 1302 to 1306. The control unit 211 creates such a timeline 3002 based on the reservation information 2900 shown in FIG. 29(a) and causes it to be displayed on the UI panel 218. Note that the number of days of the reservation status of the paper feed stage shown in the timeline 3002 is not limited to four days.

[0112] On the timeline 3002, the period newly reserved on the reservation time setting screen 2801 is displayed in a display mode different from other periods (see the area 3003 indicated by the grid). Also, on the timeline 3002, the periods that have already been reserved are displayed in a display mode different from other periods (see the areas 3004a and 3004b filled with black). In FIG. 30, the periods other than the areas 3003, 3004a, and 3004b (the areas indicated by the horizontal lines) are the periods for which no reservation has been made yet. Also, a cancel button 3005 is displayed on the reservation status screen 3001. The user selects the reserved area on the timeline 3002 and then presses the cancel button 3005. The control unit 211 deletes the corresponding reservation information 2900 from the paper feed stage information 1400 in conjunction with the pressing of the cancel button 3005. However, the period during which the reservation can be canceled on the reservation status screen 3001 is only the period reserved by the logged-in user. Therefore, the control unit 211 prevents the user from selecting the areas other than the period reserved by the logged-in user among the areas reserved on the timeline 3002. In the examples shown in FIGS. 29(a) and 29(b), the areas 3004a to 3004b are the periods reserved by a user (user2) other than the logged-in user (user1). Therefore, the logged-in user (user1) cannot select the areas 3004a to 3004b. In the present embodiment, in the process of S1901, the reservation information 2900 included in the paper feed stage information 1400 is acquired as described above. In the present embodiment, for example, an example of a reservation information acquisition process is realized by the process of S1901.

[0113] In this embodiment, in S1902 of FIG. 19, the control unit 211 may determine whether the paper feed cassette detected to be in the open state is a paper feed cassette for which a use reservation has been made as follows. That is, the control unit 211 compares the year, month, day, start time, and end time of the reservation information 2900 corresponding to the paper feed cassette detected to be in the open state with the current time. Then, when there is a record in the reservation information 2900 of the paper feed cassette detected to be in the open state that includes the current time in the reservation period, the control unit 211 determines that the paper feed cassette detected to be in the open state is a paper feed cassette for which a use reservation has been made.

[0114] Also, in S2007 of FIG. 20, the control unit 211 may determine whether the logged-in user is the user who reserved the use of the paper feed cassette detected to be in the open state by executing the reservation user determination process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 31. An example of the reservation user determination process will be described below according to the flowchart of FIG. 31.

[0115] First, in S3101, the control unit 211 acquires the reservation information 2900. Next, in S3102, the control unit 211 acquires the current time. Next, in S3103, the control unit 211 acquires the information (year, month, day, start time, end time, reserving person) of the first record (element with No. 1 = 1) of the reservation information 2900.

[0116] Next, in S3104, the control unit 211 determines whether the login user name obtained from the login context matches the user name stored in the column of the reserved person 2907 in the obtained reservation information 2900 record. As a result of this determination, if the login user name matches the user name stored in the column of the reserved person 2907, the process of S3105 is executed. In S3105, the control unit 211 determines whether the current time is within the reservation period specified by the information in the obtained reservation information 2900 record. As a result of this determination, if the current time is within the reservation period, in S3106, the control unit 211 determines that the reserved user is the login user and executes the process of S2008 in FIG. 20.

[0117] On the other hand, in S3104, if it is determined that the login user name does not match the user name stored in the column of the reserved person 2907, and in S3105, if it is determined that the current time is not within the reservation period, the process of S3107 is executed. In S3107, the control unit 211 determines whether the information of the last record of the reservation information 2900 has been acquired. As a result of this determination, if the information of the last record of the reservation information 2900 has been acquired, it means that the determinations of S3104 to S3105 have been executed for all records of the reservation information 2900. In this case, there is no record in the reservation information 2900 that matches the reservation period for which the login user made a reservation. Therefore, in S3108, the control unit 211 determines that the reserved user is not the login user and executes the process of S2014 in FIG. 10.

[0118] On the other hand, in S3107, if it is determined that the information of the last record of the reservation information 2900 has not been acquired, the process of S3109 is executed. In S3109, the control unit 211 acquires the information (year, month, day, start time, end time, reserved person) of the next record of the reservation information 2900. Then, the process of S3104 is executed again. Note that the next record of the reservation information 2900 is the first record among the records not acquired in S3103 and S3109.

[0119] Also, in the first embodiment, in S2010 of FIG. 20, the control unit 211 causes the UI panel 218 to display the reservation deletion screen 2501 shown in FIG. 25. In contrast, in this embodiment, in S2010 of FIG. 20, the control unit 211 causes the UI panel 218 to display the reservation deletion screen 3201 shown in FIG. 32. In the reservation deletion screen 3201, in addition to the reservation deletion button 3202 and the cancel button 3203, a timeline 3204 of the day to which the current time belongs is displayed. The timeline 3204 indicates the reservation status of the paper feed stage that has been detected to be in an open state and for which a use reservation has been made. In the timeline 3204, the reservation period of the reservation that can be deleted is displayed in a display mode different from other periods (see the area 3205 indicated by the grid). When the user wants to delete the corresponding reservation, the user presses the reservation deletion button 3202. Note that the reservation that can be deleted is a reservation in which the current time is included in the reservation period. On the other hand, when the user does not delete the corresponding reservation, the user presses the cancel button 3203. The roles of the reservation deletion button 3202 and the cancel button 3203 are the same as the roles of the reservation deletion button 2502 and the cancel button 2503 shown in FIG. 25.

[0120] As described in the first embodiment, if the button pressed by the user as a result of the determination in S2011 is the reservation deletion button 3202, the process of S2012 is executed. Also in this embodiment, in S2012, the control unit 211 deletes the corresponding reservation. In the first embodiment, the reservation is deleted by clearing the information of the reserving person 1405. In contrast, in this embodiment, the reservation is deleted by deleting the corresponding record among the records of the reservation information 2900 that is part of the paper feed stage information 1400 recorded in the storage unit 215. Note that the corresponding record includes the logged-in user who matches the reserving user as the information of the reserving person 2907 and is a record in which the current time is included in the reservation period.

[0121] Further, in the first embodiment, a case where only one reservation is possible for one paper feed stage is exemplified. Therefore, in the first embodiment, when a non-reserved user attempts to replace the paper set in the paper feed cassette with a reservation for using the paper feed cassette, if the non-reserved user is prompted to reserve the use of another paper feed cassette. On the other hand, in this embodiment, multiple reservations are possible for one paper feed stage. Therefore, in addition to another paper feed cassette, it is desirable to prompt the non-reserved user to reserve the use of the paper feed cassette with a reservation for use.

[0122] Therefore, in this embodiment, in S2007, when it is determined that the logged-in user is a non-reserved user rather than a reserved user, the control unit 211 executes the following processing. First, in S2014, the control unit 211 causes the UI panel 218 to display the non-reserved user selection screen 2601 shown in FIG. 26 in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Next, in S2015, when the control unit 211 determines that the button pressed by the user is the new reservation button 2602, the process of S2016 is executed. In the first embodiment, in S2016, the control unit 211 causes the UI panel 218 to display the reservation setting screen 2701 shown in FIG. 27. On the other hand, in this embodiment, in S2016, the control unit 211 causes the UI panel 218 to display the reservation setting screen 3301 shown in FIG. 33. In the reservation setting screen 2701 shown in FIG. 27, among the paper feed stage selection buttons 2702 to 2706, the paper feed stage selection button corresponding to the paper feed stage with a reservation for use is not selected by the user. On the other hand, in the reservation setting screen 3301 shown in FIG. 33, the paper feed stage selection button corresponding to the paper feed stage with a reservation for use can also be selected by the user. In the example shown in FIG. 33, all of the paper feed stage selection buttons 3302 to 3306 can be selected by the user. Incidentally, in FIG. 33, a case where the paper feed stage selection button 2702 is selected by the user is exemplified.

[0123] When the button on the reservation setting screen 3301 is pressed, the operation of the image forming apparatus 100 is basically the same as the operation of the image forming apparatus 100 when the button on the paper setting screen 1301 is pressed. As described above, in the present embodiment, when the reservation button 1311 is pressed by the user, the reservation time setting screen 2801 shown in FIG. 28 is displayed on the UI panel 218. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the reservation button 3311 on the reservation setting screen 3301 is pressed by the user, it is assumed that the reservation time setting screen 2801 shown in FIG. 28 is also displayed on the UI panel 218. Further, when the confirmation / cancellation button 2807 on the reservation time setting screen 2801 is pressed by the user, the reservation status screen 3001 shown in FIG. 30 is displayed on the UI panel 218. Since the process of registering a reservation for the use of the paper feed cassette through the display of the reservation time setting screen 2801 and the reservation status screen 3001 has already been described, the detailed description of the process will be omitted here.

[0124] Here, the case where the reservation registration process is executed using the reservation setting screen 3301 shown in FIG. 33 has been exemplified. However, the reservation registration screen does not necessarily have to be the reservation setting screen 3301 shown in FIG. 33. The reservation registration screen may be, for example, a screen obtained by removing at least one of the paper type setting button 3307, the paper size setting button 3308, the envelope button 3309, and the postcard button 3310 from the reservation setting screen 3301.

[0125] Also, in the present embodiment, when making a reservation for the use of a paper feed stage, a reservation period is set. In this case, it may happen that even after the reservation period has elapsed, the reserved user does not execute the print job based on the reservation. Therefore, the control unit 211 automatically clears the records in the reservation information 2900 for which the current time has passed the reservation period (end time of use).

[0126] As described above, in the present embodiment, when reserving the use of a paper feed tray, the reservation period is set. Therefore, it is possible to limit the period during which another user cannot use the paper feed tray because its use is reserved. Also, multiple reservations can be made for one paper feed tray. Further, reservations can be managed for each reservation period. Thus, the convenience for the user can be further improved. Note that in the present embodiment as well, various modifications described in the first embodiment may be adopted.

[0127] (Third Embodiment) Next, the third embodiment will be described. In the first and second embodiments, cases where warning displays are executed according to the user's login state and the reservation state of the paper feed tray were exemplified. However, for example, even when a reserved user intentionally opens the paper feed cassette, a warning display such as on the selection screen 2303 for the reserved user may be made, which may be bothersome to the user. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a case where whether to execute a warning display is switched when it is detected that the paper feed tray has been opened by the reserved user will be described. Thus, the present embodiment, the first embodiment, and the second embodiment mainly differ in the configuration and processing by executing the switching of whether to execute such a warning display. Therefore, in the description of the present embodiment, for the same parts as those in the first and second embodiments, the same reference numerals as those attached to FIGS. 1 to 33 are attached, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

[0128] FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an example of a display suppression setting screen 3401. The display suppression setting screen 3401 is a screen for registering settings for suppressing warning displays. In the present embodiment, the display suppression setting screen 3401 is exemplified when it is operated by a reserved user. Note that the screen transition until the registration of this setting is performed is not particularly limited. However, the display suppression setting screen 3401 is preferably displayed after successful user authentication and can be operated only by the logged-in user. For example, between S906 and S907 in FIG. 9, the control unit 211 may cause the display suppression setting screen 3401 to be displayed on the UI panel 218.

[0129] On the display suppression setting screen 3401, a suppression button 3402 and a non-suppression button 3403 are displayed. When the user wants to suppress the display (warning display) of the screen that is displayed when the logged-in user is the reserved user in the reserved cassette warning process (when YES in S2007), the user presses the suppression button 3402. When the control unit 211 detects that the user has pressed the suppression button 3402, it sets not to execute the display (warning display) of the screen that is displayed when the user is the reserved user in the reserved cassette warning process. On the other hand, when the user does not want to suppress the display (warning display) of the screen that is displayed when the logged-in user is the reserved user in the reserved cassette warning process, the user presses the non-suppression button 3403. When the control unit 211 detects that the user has pressed the non-suppression button 3403, it sets to execute the display (warning display) of the screen (warning display) that is displayed when the user is the reserved user in the reserved cassette warning process. Information indicating the content of the setting as to whether to execute the warning display is stored in the storage unit 215 for each user. For example, the paper feed stage information 1400 may include information indicating the necessity of executing the warning display. In the present embodiment, for example, an example of the display setting process is realized by the control unit 211 storing information indicating the content of the setting as to whether to execute the warning display in the storage unit 215.

[0130] FIG. 35 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the reservation cassette warning process (the process of S1903 in FIG. 19) of the present embodiment. The basic operation of the flowchart in FIG. 35 is the same as that of the flowchart in FIG. 20. The flowchart in FIG. 35 differs from the flowchart in FIG. 20 in the following points. That is, in step S2007, when it is determined that the logged-in user is the reserved user, the process of S3501 is executed before the process of S2008. In S3501, the control unit 211 determines whether to suppress the warning display for the reserved user. This determination is made based on the information indicating the content of the setting of whether to execute the warning display, which is stored in the storage unit 215 for each user based on the user's operation on the display suppression setting screen 3401.

[0131] As a result of this determination, when the warning display for the reserved user is not suppressed, the processes after S2008 are executed (that is, the same processes as the flowchart in FIG. 20 are executed). On the other hand, when the warning display for the reserved user is suppressed, the warning display is not executed. In this case, the process according to the flowchart in FIG. 35 ends.

[0132] As described above, in the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 switches whether to suppress the warning display for the reserved user. Therefore, according to the intention of the reserved user, it is possible to execute either guiding the operation or reducing the UI operation for the reserved user whose state of the paper feed stage for which the use reservation has been made has been changed. Thus, the convenience of the user can be further improved.

[0133] In the present embodiment, the case where the information indicating the content of the setting of whether to execute the warning display is set for each reserved user is exemplified. However, it is not necessarily necessary to do so. For example, the administrator of the image forming apparatus 100 may collectively set the information indicating the content of the setting of whether to execute the warning display for all users. Also, various modifications described in the first embodiment and the second embodiment may be adopted in the present embodiment.

[0134] (Other Embodiments) The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that implements one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and causing one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus to read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, an ASIC) that implements one or more functions. In addition, the embodiments of the present invention described above are merely examples of concretization in implementing the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed in a limited manner by these. That is, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from its technical idea or its main features.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0135] 100: Image forming apparatus, 102 - 105: Paper feed cassette, 211: Control unit, 218: UI panel

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus, comprising: at least one sheet holding unit for holding a sheet conveyed for image formation; acquisition means for acquiring information for identifying the sheet holding unit for which a reservation for use has been made among the sheet holding units, information for identifying the user who has reserved the use of the sheet holding unit, and information for identifying the user using the image forming apparatus; display control means for executing control to cause a display device to display different display information when the state of a sheet holding unit for which a reservation for use has been made changes and when the state of a sheet holding unit for which no reservation for use has been made changes; display setting means for setting whether to execute the display of the display information when the user using the image forming apparatus is the user who has reserved the use of the sheet holding unit; and having: the display control means executes control to cause the display device to display different display information according to whether the user using the image forming apparatus is the user who has reserved the use of the sheet holding unit when the state of the sheet holding unit for which a reservation for use has been made changes, and executes control to cause the display device to display the display information according to the setting by the display setting means. The image forming apparatus is characterized by this.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising user determination means for determining, based on the information acquired by the acquisition means, whether the user using the image forming apparatus is the user who has reserved the use of the sheet holding unit when the state of the sheet holding unit for which a reservation for use has been made changes.

3. The acquisition means further includes reservation information acquisition means for acquiring information including information for identifying the user who has reserved the use of the sheet holding unit and information for identifying the sheet holding unit for which the reservation for use has been made, and operation information acquisition means for acquiring information including information for identifying the user operating the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 is characterized by this.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the reservation information acquisition means further acquires information regarding the reservation period of the sheet holding unit for which the reservation for use has been made.

5. When a change in the state of the sheet holding unit for which the reservation of use has been made occurs in a state where information for identifying the user using the image forming apparatus has not been acquired, the display control means executes control to cause the display device to display display information including information for prompting input of information for identifying the user operating the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that.

6. The acquisition means acquires information for identifying a user who is operating the image forming apparatus and for whom use of the image forming apparatus is determined to be permitted based on the result of user authentication. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that.

7. The display information includes information indicating candidates for operations to be performed by the user as operations on the image forming apparatus after the change in the state of the sheet holding unit. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that.

8. The display information includes information for allowing the user to select any one of a plurality of operations on the image forming apparatus after the change in the state of the sheet holding unit. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that.

9. The operation on the image forming apparatus after the change in the state of the sheet holding unit includes at least one of an operation related to changing the sheet in the sheet holding unit, an operation related to the reservation, and an operation of returning the sheet holding unit to its original state. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that.

10. When the user using the image forming apparatus is the user who has reserved the use of the sheet holding unit, the display control means executes control to cause the display device to display display information including information different from the fact that the use of the sheet holding unit has been reserved. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that.

11. When the user using the image forming apparatus is not the user who has reserved the use of the sheet holding unit, the display control means executes control to cause the display device to display display information including the fact that the use of the sheet holding unit has been reserved by another user. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that.

12. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the display control means terminates the display of the display information after the state of the sheet holding unit returns to the state before the change after the change in the state of the sheet holding unit.

13. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the display control means executes control to cause the display device to display different display information according to whether or not the user using the image forming apparatus is a user who has made a reservation for use of the sheet holding unit with a reservation period including the period when the image forming apparatus is being used.

14. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the change in the state of the sheet holding unit is a change caused by an operation of the sheet holding unit by the user.

15. A control method for an image forming apparatus having at least one sheet holding unit for holding a sheet conveyed for image formation, an acquisition step of acquiring information for specifying the sheet holding unit for which a reservation for use has been made among the sheet holding units, information for specifying the user who has made a reservation for use of the sheet holding unit, and information for specifying the user using the image forming apparatus; a display control step of executing control to cause the display device to display different display information when the state of the sheet holding unit for which a reservation for use has been made changes and when the state of the sheet holding unit for which no reservation for use has been made changes; a display setting step of setting whether or not to execute the display of the display information when the user using the image forming apparatus is a user who has reserved the use of the sheet holding unit; comprising: In the display control step, when the state of the sheet holding unit for which a reservation for use has been made changes, control is executed to cause the display device to display different display information according to whether or not the user using the image forming apparatus is a user who has reserved the use of the sheet holding unit, and control is executed to cause the display device to display the display information according to the setting in the display setting step. A control method for an image forming apparatus, characterized by the above.

16. A program for causing a computer to function as each means of the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

Images