MEDIUM SUPPLY SYSTEM AND IMAGE FORMING SYSTEM

Abstract

A medium supply system includes: a supply unit that supplies air to a plurality of stacked recording media while changing a supply direction from an edge side of the recording media to float and separate the recording media; an imaging unit that captures images of the plurality of recording media to which the air is supplied by the supply unit from the edge side; and at least one processor, wherein the processor determines separation of the recording media using an image suitable for determining the separation of the recording media among the images captured by the imaging unit.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 USC 119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-101255 filed Jun. 20, 2023.

BACKGROUND

(i) Technical Field

The present invention relates to a medium supply system and an image forming system.

(ii) Related Art

A sheet supply apparatus described in JP2015-24868A includes: a tray on which a stack of sheets, which is formed with a plurality of vertically stacked sheets, can be placed; an air blowing section that blows air toward the stack of sheets placed on the tray to float at least a topmost sheet; a sucking and conveying section that is disposed above the tray and sucks the topmost sheet floated by the air blowing section and conveys the topmost sheet in a prescribed conveying direction; a first light source that emits first slit light, which is strip-shaped light having a component extending vertically, the first slit light crossing at least a first edge of a first sheet and a second edge of a second sheet below the first sheet, the first sheet and the second sheet being part of a plurality of floated sheets; an image capture section that captures an image of the first slit light, emitted to the first sheet and the second sheet, and is oriented in an image capture direction that is different, in a plane parallel to the first sheet and the second sheet, from a direction in which the first slit light is emitted from the first light source; a calculating section that calculates a vertical clearance between the first sheet and the second sheet according to the image of the first slit light, the image being captured by the image capture section; and an air amount adjusting section that adjusts an amount of air to be blown by the air blowing section, according to the vertical clearance between the first sheet and the second sheet, the vertical clearance being calculated by the calculating section.

SUMMARY

The air supplied from an edge side of a plurality of stacked recording media to the recording media floats a recording medium to separate a stack of the recording media. Whether or not the stack of recording media is separated is determined based on an image of the floated recording medium.

Here, air is supplied to the stack of recording media while changing a direction to float the stacked recording media, thereby separating the stack of recording media. However, when a supply direction of the air is changed in this manner, one stacked recording medium is pressed against another recording medium, and an image which is not suitable for determining whether or not the stack of recording media is separated may be captured depending on the supply direction of the air. If such an image is used to determine whether or not the stack of recording media is separated, an erroneous determination occurs.

Aspects of non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a medium supply system that suppresses an erroneous determination from occurring in a configuration in which air is supplied to stacked recording media while changing a supply direction as compared with a case where separation of the recording media is determined using all images.

Aspects of certain non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure address the above advantages and/or other advantages not described above. However, aspects of the non-limiting embodiments are not required to address the advantages described above, and aspects of the non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure may not address advantages described above.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a medium supply system comprising:

• • a supply unit that supplies air to a plurality of stacked recording media while changing a supply direction from an edge side of the recording media to float and separate the recording media;
  • an imaging unit that captures images of the plurality of recording media to which the air is supplied by the supply unit from the edge side; and
  • at least one processor,
  • wherein the processor determines separation of the recording media using an image suitable for determining the separation of the recording media among the images captured by the imaging unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a medium supply apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a shutter provided in a duct of the medium supply apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are cross-sectional views illustrating states in which air is supplied from edge portions to stacked sheet members in the medium supply apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are cross-sectional views illustrating states where air is supplied from the edge portion to the stacked sheet members in the medium supply apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating hardware configurations and functional configurations of a control unit provided in the medium supply apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of control by the control unit provided in the medium supply apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are configuration diagrams illustrating a camera, a shutter, and a shielding member provided in a medium supply apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams illustrating hardware configurations and functional configurations of a control unit provided in the medium supply apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are configuration diagrams illustrating a modification of the medium supply apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

First Embodiment

Examples of a medium supply apparatus and an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. In the drawings, an arrow H indicates an apparatus up-down direction (vertical direction), an arrow W indicates an apparatus width direction (horizontal direction), and an arrow D indicates an apparatus depth direction (horizontal direction).

(Overall Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus 100)

As illustrated in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 100 includes an image forming unit 102 that forms an image on a sheet member P, which is an example of a recording medium, and a medium supply apparatus 10 that supplies the sheet member P to the image forming unit 102. In addition, a transport section (not illustrated) that transports the sheet member P to an image formation position of the image forming unit 102 is provided inside the image forming apparatus 100. Note that the medium supply apparatus 10 may be attached to a main body of the image forming apparatus as an option or the like. The medium supply apparatus 10 is an example of a medium supply system, and the image forming apparatus 100 is an example of an image forming system.

(Overall Configuration of Medium Supply Apparatus 10)

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the medium supply apparatus 10 includes a stacking unit 12 on which the sheet member P is stacked in the up-down direction, and a supply unit 14 that supplies air to a plurality of the sheet members P stacked on the stacking unit 12 to float and separate the sheet members P. Further, the medium supply apparatus 10 includes a feeding unit 16 that sequentially feeds out the sheet members P floated and separated by the supply unit 14 to the image forming unit 102.

The medium supply apparatus 10 further includes a camera 18 which is an example of an imaging unit that captures an image of a state in which the stacked sheet members P floated and separated by the supply unit 14, and an irradiation unit 22 that irradiates a portion of the sheet members P whose image is captured by the camera 18 with light. The medium supply apparatus 10 further includes a control unit 40 (see FIGS. 6A and 6B) that controls an operation of each unit.

[Stacking Unit 12]

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the stacking unit 12 includes a bottom plate 12a on which the plurality of sheet members P can be stacked, and a lifting device (not illustrated) that lifts and lowers the bottom plate 12a in the up-down direction. The lifting device lifts the bottom plate 12a such that a position of an uppermost sheet member P of the sheet members P stacked on the upper side of the bottom plate 12a becomes a predetermined height.

In the stacking unit 12, as illustrated in FIG. 2, side guides 12b that regulate positions of both edges of the sheet member P stacked on the bottom plate 12a in a width direction (in this embodiment, a direction of the arrow D) are provided on both sides of the sheet member P in the width direction. At least one of the side guides 12b is attached so as to be slidable in the apparatus depth direction which is the width direction of the sheet member P. Thus, the side guide 12b is configured to regulate the positions of both the edges of the sheet member P in the width direction by sliding the side guide 12b in the apparatus depth direction in accordance with a size of the sheet member P.

[Feeding Unit 16]

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the feeding unit 16 is disposed above the uppermost sheet member P among the plurality of sheet members P stacked on the bottom plate 12a of the stacking unit 12, and includes a suction unit 30 and a feeding roller 26.

The suction unit 30 is disposed above a leading end portion of the uppermost sheet member P with a gap from the uppermost sheet member P in a stacked state. Then, the suction unit 30 sucks the uppermost floating sheet member P and moves to one side (left in the drawing) in the apparatus width direction in a state of sucking the sheet member P to transport the sheet member P.

The feeding roller 26 is disposed on one side in the apparatus width direction with respect to the suction unit 30, receives the sheet member P transported by the suction unit 30, and transports the received sheet member P toward the image forming unit 102 (see FIG. 1).

[Supply Unit 14]

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the supply unit 14 is disposed inside the side guide 12b on the front side in the apparatus depth direction, and includes a duct 50 in which a supply port 50a is formed, a blower 54 that supplies air to the inside of the duct 50, a shutter 58 (see FIG. 3) disposed inside the duct 50, and a motor 60 that moves the shutter 58 up and down. The shutter 58 is an example of a moving member. Note that the supply unit 14 will be described in detail below.

[Camera 18 and Irradiation Unit 22]

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the camera 18 is disposed on one side in the apparatus widthwise direction with respect to the side guide 12b disposed on the front side in the apparatus depth direction so as to capture an image of an upper portion of the stacked sheet members P from an edge side of the sheet members P.

The irradiation unit 22 is disposed above the camera 18 so as to irradiate a portion of the sheet member P whose image is captured by the camera 18 with light.

(Configuration of Main Part)

Next, the supply unit 14, the control unit 40, and the like will be described.

[Detailed Configuration of Supply Unit 14]

As illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the supply unit 14 includes the duct 50, the blower 54, the shutter 58, the motor 60, and a detection unit 62 (see FIG. 6A).

—Duct 50—

As illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the duct 50 extends in the up-down direction, and the supply port 50a is formed in an upper end portion of the duct 50 on a side facing the stacked sheet members P.

In addition, a top plate of the duct 50 has a horizontal portion 50b extending in the apparatus depth direction and an inclined portion 50c inclined with respect to the up-down direction when viewed from the apparatus width direction. Specifically, the horizontal portion 50b is formed on a side closer to the supply port 50a, and the inclined portion 50c is formed on a side opposite to the supply port 50a. The inclined portion 50c is inclined such that the side closer to the supply port 50a is higher than the side opposite to the supply port 50a.

—Blower 54—

As illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the blower 54 is disposed on the lower side of the duct 50 and supplies air into the duct 50.

With this configuration, as illustrated in FIG. 4B, the air supplied into the duct 50 by the blower 54 rises inside the duct 50 and is supplied (blown) to the edge side of the sheet member P to be stacked through the supply port 50a. Then, the air is supplied between the stacked sheet members P at the upper portion so that the plurality of sheet members P are floated and separated.

—Shutter 58—

As illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the shutter 58 is attached to a rail member (not illustrated) so as to be movable up and down inside the duct 50, and is disposed so as to oppose the edge side of the sheet member P through the supply port 50a of the duct 50.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the shutter 58 includes a base portion 58a having a rectangular parallelepiped shape, an inclined plate 58b that is provided above the base portion 58a and is inclined with respect to the up-down direction, and a connecting portion 58c that connects the inclined plate 58b and the base portion 58a.

The inclined plate 58b has a rectangular shape when viewed from a thickness direction of the inclined plate 58b, and is disposed with a gap 58d between the inclined plate 58b and the base portion 58a. A pair of the connecting portions 58c is provided, and is disposed at a portion on one side and a portion on the other side of the inclined plate 58b in the apparatus width direction.

In this configuration, the shutter 58 reciprocates in the up-down direction by a driving force from the motor 60 between a lower position (see FIG. 4B) at which the shutter 58 is disposed in a lower portion of the supply port 50a and an upper position (see FIG. 5B) at which the shutter 58 is disposed in an upper portion of the supply port 50a. Then, in a state in which the shutter 58 is moved to the lower position, air supplied by the blower 54 hits the inclined portion 50c of the duct 50 to change its direction as illustrated in FIG. 4B. The air having hit the inclined portion 50c and changed its direction flows in the apparatus depth direction and is supplied to the sheet members P from the edge side of the sheet members P. Thus, the plurality of sheet members P are floated and separated.

Specifically, in a state in which the shutter 58 is disposed at the lower position, air flowing in the horizontal direction is supplied to the sheet members P from the edge side of the sheet members P, so that the plurality of sheet members P evenly float, and a state suitable for determining separation of the sheet members P is obtained.

On the other hand, in a state in which the shutter 58 is moved to the upper position, the air supplied by the blower 54 hits the inclined portion 50c of the duct 50 to change its direction, and then, hits the inclined plate 58b of the shutter 58 to further change its direction as illustrated in FIG. 5B. The air having hit the inclined plate 58b and changed its direction flows in a direction inclined downward with respect to the apparatus depth direction and is supplied to the sheet members P from the edge side of the sheet members P through the gap 58d. In this manner, most of the air supplied by the blower 54 flows in the direction inclined downward with respect to the apparatus depth direction and is supplied to the sheet members P from the edge side of the sheet members P.

Thus, a force of pressing one sheet member P against another sheet member P disposed below the one sheet member P is generated by the air supplied to the sheet member P.

As illustrated in FIG. 5A, air supplied by the blower 54 is supplied to the sheet member P from two directions in a state in which the shutter 58 is moved to an intermediate position between the upper position and the lower position. Specifically, the air is divided into air that hits the inclined portion 50c of the duct 50, changes its direction, and is directly supplied to the sheet members P from the edge side of the sheet members P, and air that hits the inclined portion 50c of the duct 50, hits the inclined plate 58b of the shutter 58, changes its direction and is supplied to the sheet members P from the edge side of the sheet members P through the gap 58d.

Thus, the plurality of sheet members P are floated and separated by the air directly supplied to the sheet members P from the edge side of the sheet members P after hitting the inclined portion 50c of the duct 50 and changing its direction. On the other hand, the force of pressing one sheet member P to another sheet member P disposed below the one sheet member P is generated by the air supplied to the sheet members P from the edge side of the sheet members P through the gap 58d after hitting the inclined plate 58b of the shutter 58 and changing its direction.

In this manner, a supply direction of the air supplied from the supply unit 14 is changed depending on the position of the shutter 58 in the up-down direction. In other words, the supply direction of the air is changed by moving the shutter 58 in the up-down direction.

—Detection Unit 62—

The detection unit 62 is, as an example, an optical sensor, and detects the position of the shutter 58 in the up-down direction.

[Control Unit 40]

—Hardware Configurations of Control Unit 40—

As illustrated in FIG. 6A, the control unit 40 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 41, a read only memory (ROM) 42, a random access memory (RAM) 43, a storage 44, and a communication interface (I/F) 45. The respective configurations are connected to each other via a bus 49 to be capable of communicating with each other. The CPU 41 is an example of a processor.

The CPU 41 is a central processing unit, and executes various programs or controls each unit. That is, the CPU 41 reads the programs from the ROM 42 or the storage 44 and executes the programs using the RAM 43 as a work area. The CPU 41 performs control of the respective configurations and various types of arithmetic processing in accordance with the programs stored in the ROM 42 or the storage 44.

In this embodiment, for example, the ROM 42 or the storage 44 stores an operation program for setting operation or non-operation of the irradiation unit 22 based on a detection result of the detection unit 62.

The RAM 43 serves as the work area and temporarily stores a program or data. The storage 44 is configured using a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), and stores various programs including an operating system and various types of data.

The communication interface 45 is an interface for the control unit 40 to communicate with the camera 18, the feeding unit 16, the irradiation unit 22, the blower 54, the motor 60, the detection unit 62, the image forming unit 102, and the like, and a standard such as Ethernet (registered trademark), FDDI, or Wi-Fi (registered trademark) is used.

When driving programs are executed, the control unit 40 implements various functions using hardware resources. Functional configurations of the control unit 40 that enables the control unit 40 to implement the various functions will be described.

—Functional Configurations of Control Unit 40—

As illustrated in FIG. 6B, the control unit 40 includes a reception unit 46, a determination unit 47, and an operation unit 48. Each of the functional configurations is implemented by causing the CPU 41 to read and execute the driving program stored in the ROM 42 or the storage 44. Details of the control unit 40 will be described together with an effect to be described below.

(Effect of Configuration of Main Part)

Next, a determination process in which the control unit 40 of the medium supply apparatus 10 determines whether or not the sheet members P stacked on the medium supply apparatus 10 are separated will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. 7. In a non-operating state of the medium supply apparatus 10, the shutter 58 is moved to the lower position.

When a plurality of the sheet members P are stacked on the bottom plate 12a and the reception unit 46 of the control unit 40 receives an instruction to supply the sheet members P to the image forming unit 102, the operation unit 48 operates the blower 54 to supply air to the sheet members P from the edge side of the sheet members P in step S100 (see FIG. 4B). Thus, the air is supplied between the sheet members P, whereby the sheet members P are floated and separated.

In step S200, the operation unit 48 operates the camera 18 and further operates the motor 60. Specifically, the operation unit 48 operates the motor 60 to move the shutter 58 up and down a plurality of times. In this embodiment, the shutter 58 is caused to reciprocate three times in the up-down direction. As the shutter 58 reciprocates to move up and down, a supply direction of the air supplied from the supply port 50a of the duct 50 to the edge portion of the sheet members P changes as illustrated in FIGS. 4B, 5A, and 5B. Thus, the floating sheet members P are more effectively separated as compared with a case where the supply direction of the air is constant. In this embodiment, time taken for the shutter 58 to reciprocate once is about 5 seconds as an example.

When the shutter 58 reciprocates three times in the up-down direction, in step S300, the reception unit 46 receives a detection result of the detection unit 62, and the determination unit 47 determines whether or not a plurality of the sheet members P floating due to the supplied air are in a state suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P based on the detection result of the detection unit 62.

Here, the state suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P is a state in which the floating sheet members P evenly float and air is supplied to the sheet members P from the horizontal direction as illustrated in FIG. 4B. In other words, it is a state in which the shutter 58 is moved to the lower position. That is, the determination unit 47 determines whether or not the shutter 58 is moved to the lower position from the detection result of the detection unit 62.

As illustrated in FIG. 5B, in a state in which the shutter 58 is moved to the upper position, the air flows along a lower surface of the inclined plate 58b and is supplied to the sheet members P from the edge side of the sheet members P through the gap 58d. Since the air is supplied to the sheet members P from an inclined direction inclined downward, a force of pressing one sheet member P against another sheet member P disposed below the one sheet member P is generated by the air supplied to the sheet members P. For this reason, the state suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P is not obtained.

As illustrated in FIG. 5A, in a state where the shutter 58 is at the intermediate position between the upper position and the lower position, part of the air flows along the lower surface of the inclined plate 58b and is supplied to the sheet members P from the edge side of the sheet members P through the gap 58d. Since the air is supplied to the sheet members P from an inclined direction inclined downward, a force of pressing one sheet member P against another sheet member P disposed below the one sheet member P is generated by the air supplied to the sheet members P. For this reason, the state suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P is not obtained.

When the shutter 58 moves to the lower position and the state suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P is set, the process proceeds to step S400. In a case where the state suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P is not set, the determination unit 47 determines again in step S300 whether or not the supply direction of air from the supply unit 14 is in the state suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P.

When the state suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P is set, the operation unit 48 operates the irradiation unit 22 to emit light in step S400. Here, the purpose of the irradiation by the irradiation unit 22 is to acquire an image suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P. For this reason, a time during which the light is emitted by the irradiation unit 22 is only a predetermined time since the movement of the shutter 58 to the lower position, and is, for example, about 1.5 seconds in this embodiment.

In step S500, the determination unit 47 determines whether or not the sheet members P are separated from the image captured by the camera 18. Specifically, for example, binary imaging in which only edges of the sheet members P are extracted is performed on the captured image, and it is determined whether or not the edges of the adjacent sheet members P are in contact with each other.

Then, the process proceeds to step S600 in a case where the sheet members P are separated or proceeds to step S610 in a case where the sheet members P are not separated. In step S600, the operation unit 48 does not operate the camera 18 but operates the feeding unit 16. Specifically, the operation unit 48 operates the suction unit 30 to suck the uppermost floating sheet member P, and moves to one side in the apparatus width direction in a state of sucking the sheet member P to transport the sheet member P. Further, the operation unit 48 operates the feeding roller 26 to receive the sheet member P transported by the suction unit 30 and transport the received sheet member P toward the image forming unit 102. Thus, the determination process is ended.

After it is determined that the sheet members P are separated and the determination process is ended, the blower 54, the motor 60, and the feeding unit 16 are kept operating such that the uppermost sheet member P stacked on the medium supply apparatus 10 is sequentially supplied to the image forming unit 102.

On the other hand, when the sheet members P are not separated and the process proceeds to step S610, in step S610, the operation unit 48 does not operate the camera 18, the blower 54, and the motor 60, displays that the sheet members P are not separated on a user interface (not illustrated), and ends the determination process.

SUMMARY

As described above, in the medium supply apparatus 10, when the state suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P is set, the operation unit 48 operates the irradiation unit 22 to emit light in step S400. Then, the image suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P is acquired. Thus, an erroneous determination is suppressed from occurring in the configuration in which air is supplied to the stacked sheet members P while changing the supply direction as compared with a case where separation of recording media is determined using all images.

In addition, in the medium supply apparatus 10, when the state suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P is set, in step S400, the operation unit 48 operates the irradiation unit 22 to irradiate the light, and the camera 18 captures the image of the floating sheet members P. For this reason, control is simplified as compared with a case where the image suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P is acquired by operating or not operating the camera.

In addition, in the medium supply apparatus 10, the determination unit 47 determines whether or not the state suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P is set based on the detection result of the detection unit 62 received by the reception unit 46. In other words, the supply direction of the air is indirectly acquired based on the detection result of the detection unit 62, and the determination unit 47 determines whether or not the state suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P is set. For this reason, the image suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P is acquired without using a member that directly detects the supply direction of the air.

In addition, in the medium supply apparatus 10, the operation unit 48 operates the motor 60 to move the shutter 58 to reciprocate in the up-down direction a plurality of times in step S200, and then, the camera 18 captures the image of the sheet members P in step S400. In other words, the camera 18 captures the image of the sheet members P after the sheet members P are separated by changing the supply direction of the air supplied to the sheet members P a plurality of times. Thus, the determination accuracy of determining whether or not the sheet members P are separated is improved as compared with a case where the camera 18 captures the image the sheet members P after the supply direction of the air is changed only once.

Since the image forming apparatus 100 includes the medium supply apparatus 10, overlap-feeding of the sheet members P is suppressed so that generation of the sheet member P on which no image is formed is suppressed as compared with a case where a medium supply apparatus that determines separation of the sheet members P using all images.

Second Embodiment

Examples of a medium supply apparatus and an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 8A to 10B. Note that the second embodiment will be described focusing on portions different from the first embodiment.

(Configuration)

As illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B, a medium supply apparatus 210 according to the second embodiment includes a plate-shaped shielding member 220 that shields a lens 18a of the camera 18, and a motor 224 for moving the shielding member 220 up and down. Note that only the camera 18, the shutter 58, the shielding member 220, and the motor 224 are illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B such that the main part of the present disclosure can be easily understood.

In this configuration, the shielding member 220 is supported by a rail member (not illustrated) so as to be movable up and down, and is moved by a driving force of the motor 224 to a shielding position (see FIG. 8B) at which the lens 18a of the camera 18 is shielded and a releasing position (see FIG. 8A) at which the shielding is released.

As illustrated in FIG. 9A, a control unit 240 of the medium supply apparatus 210 includes a CPU 241, a ROM 242, a RAM 243, a storage 244, and a communication interface 245. The respective configurations are connected to each other via a bus 249 to be capable of communicating with each other. The CPU 241 is an example of a processor.

The communication interface 245 is an interface for the control unit 240 to communicate with the camera 18, the feeding unit 16, the motor 224, the blower 54, the motor 60, the detection unit 62, the image forming unit 102, and the like.

In this embodiment, for example, the ROM 242 or the storage 244 stores an operation program for setting operation or non-operation of the motor 224 based on a detection result of the detection unit 62.

As illustrated in FIG. 8B, the control unit 240 includes a reception unit 246, a determination unit 247, and an operation unit 248. Each of the functional configurations is implemented by causing the CPU 241 to read and execute the driving program stored in the ROM 242 or the storage 244.

(Effect)

The shielding member 220 is moved to a shielding position (FIG. 8B) in a state before the medium supply apparatus 210 operates. The operation unit 248 operates the irradiation unit 22 (refer to FIG. 2) together with the operation of the blower 54 to irradiate the sheet member P with light.

When a state suitable for determining separation of the sheet members P is set, the operation unit 248 moves the shielding member 220 from the shielding position to a releasing position. Here, the purpose of the movement by the shielding member 220 is to acquire an image suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P, a time during which the shielding member 220 moves to the releasing position is only a predetermined time since the movement of the shutter 58 to a lower position, and is, for example, about 1.5 seconds in this embodiment.

As illustrated in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the shielding member 220 may be attached to the shutter 58 so as to move up and down. In this case, however, the camera 18 acquires an image when the camera 18 operates and the shielding member 220 moves to the releasing position.

SUMMARY

As described above, in the medium supply apparatus 210, when the state suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P is set, the shielding member 220 is moved from the shielding position to the releasing position so that the camera 18 captures an image of the floating sheet members P. For this reason, control is simplified as compared with a case where the image suitable for determining the separation is acquired by operating or not operating the camera.

Although the specific embodiment of the present disclosure have been described in detail, the present disclosure is not limited to such embodiments, and it is apparent to those skilled in the art that various other embodiments can be made within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the image suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P is acquired by operating or not operating the irradiation unit 22 in the above first embodiment, but the image suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P may be acquired by operating or not operating the camera 18. In this case, however, an effect achieved by operating or not operating the irradiation unit 22 is not achieved.

In addition, the image suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P is acquired by moving the shielding member 220 in the above second embodiment, but the image suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P may be acquired by operating or not operating the camera 18. In this case, however, an effect achieved by moving the shielding member 220 is not achieved.

In the above embodiments, the reception unit 46 or 246 receives the result of the detection unit 62, and the determination unit 47 or 247 determines whether or not the supply direction of the air by the supply unit 14 is in the state suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P from the detection result of the detection unit 62. However, a detection member that detects the supply direction of the air may be provided, and whether or not the state suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P is set may be determined from a detection result of the detection member. In this case, however, an effect achieved by the determination based on the detection result of the detection unit 62 is not achieved.

In the above embodiments, the control unit 40 or 240 acquires the image suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P by operating or not operating the irradiation unit 22 or by moving the shielding member 220. However, the camera 18 may constantly capture images of the sheet members P, and the control unit may receive only the image suitable for determining the separation of the sheet members P from all the images to determine the separation of the sheet members P.

Although not particularly described in the above embodiments, the medium supply apparatuses 10 and 210 and the image forming apparatus 100 may be each configured using a single apparatus or may be configured using a plurality of apparatuses.

(((1)))

A medium supply system comprising:

• • a supply unit that supplies air to a plurality of stacked recording media while changing a supply direction from an edge side of the recording media to float and separate the recording media;
  • an imaging unit that captures images of the plurality of recording media to which the air is supplied by the supply unit from the edge side; and
  • at least one processor,
  • wherein the processor determines separation of the recording media using an image suitable for determining the separation of the recording media among the images captured by the imaging unit.(((2)))

The medium supply system according to (((1))), further comprising:

• • an irradiation unit that irradiates the recording media in a portion whose image is to be captured by the imaging unit with light,
  • wherein the processor causes the irradiation unit to irradiate the recording media with the light in a case where the recording media which are floating are in a state suitable for determining the separation of the recording media.(((3)))

The medium supply system according to (((2))), further comprising:

• • a moving member that is provided in the supply unit, is disposed at a supply port through which the air is supplied, and moves in a vertical direction to change the supply direction of the air; and
  • a detection unit that detects a position of the moving member in the vertical direction,
  • wherein the processor causes the irradiation unit to irradiate the recording media with the light based on a detection result of the detection unit.(((4)))

The medium supply system according to (((1))), further comprising:

• • a shielding member that shields a lens of the imaging unit,
  • wherein the processor releases the shielding by the shielding member in a case where the recording media which are floating are in a state suitable for determining the separation of the recording media.(((5)))

The medium supply system according to (((4))), further comprising:

• • a moving member that is provided in the supply unit, is disposed at a supply port through which the air is supplied, and moves in a vertical direction to change the supply direction of the air; and
  • a detection unit that detects a position of the moving member in the vertical direction,
  • wherein the processor releases the shielding by the shielding member based on a detection result of the detection unit.(((6)))

The medium supply system according to any one of (((1))) to (((5))), wherein the processor determines the separation of the recording media after the supply direction of the air is changed a plurality of times.

(((7)))

An image forming system comprising:

• • the medium supply system according to any one of (((1))) to (((6))); and
  • an image forming unit that forms an image on each of the recording media supplied from the medium supply system.

Claims

1. A medium supply system comprising: a supply unit that supplies air to a plurality of stacked recording media while changing a supply direction from an edge side of the recording media to float and separate the recording media;an imaging unit that captures images of the plurality of recording media to which the air is supplied by the supply unit from the edge side; andat least one processor,wherein the processor determines separation of the recording media using an image suitable for determining the separation of the recording media among the images captured by the imaging unit.

2. The medium supply system according to claim 1, further comprising: an irradiation unit that irradiates the recording media in a portion whose image is to be captured by the imaging unit with light,wherein the processor causes the irradiation unit to irradiate the recording media with the light in a case where the recording media which are floating are in a state suitable for determining the separation of the recording media.

3. The medium supply system according to claim 2, further comprising: a moving member that is provided in the supply unit, is disposed at a supply port through which the air is supplied, and moves in a vertical direction to change the supply direction of the air; anda detection unit that detects a position of the moving member in the vertical direction,wherein the processor causes the irradiation unit to irradiate the recording media with the light based on a detection result of the detection unit.

4. The medium supply system according to claim 1, further comprising: a shielding member that shields a lens of the imaging unit,wherein the processor releases the shielding by the shielding member in a case where the recording media which are floating are in a state suitable for determining the separation of the recording media.

5. The medium supply system according to claim 4, further comprising: a moving member that is provided in the supply unit, is disposed at a supply port through which the air is supplied, and moves in a vertical direction to change the supply direction of the air; anda detection unit that detects a position of the moving member in the vertical direction,wherein the processor releases the shielding by the shielding member based on a detection result of the detection unit.

6. The medium supply system according to claim 1, wherein the processor determines the separation of the recording media after the supply direction of the air is changed a plurality of times.

7. An image forming system comprising: the medium supply system according to claim 1; andan image forming unit that forms an image on each of the recording media supplied from the medium supply system.

8. An image forming system comprising: the medium supply system according to claim 2; andan image forming unit that forms an image on each of the recording media supplied from the medium supply system.

9. An image forming system comprising: the medium supply system according to claim 3; andan image forming unit that forms an image on each of the recording media supplied from the medium supply system.

10. An image forming system comprising: the medium supply system according to claim 4; andan image forming unit that forms an image on each of the recording media supplied from the medium supply system.

11. An image forming system comprising: the medium supply system according to claim 5; andan image forming unit that forms an image on each of the recording media supplied from the medium supply system.

12. An image forming system comprising: the medium supply system according to claim 6; andan image forming unit that forms an image on each of the recording media supplied from the medium supply system.