Patent ID: 8167308
Filing Date: 2012-05-01
Classification: B65H,G03G

Abstract:
1. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a main body; an image forming portion provided in the main body to form an image on a sheet; a top receiving tray provided on a top of the main body to load the sheet on which the image is formed in the image forming portion so as to be visible from the top of the main body; a side receiving tray provided at a side of the main body and under the top receiving tray to load the sheet on which the image is formed in the image forming portion with a maximum sheet loading amount more than a maximum sheet loading amount of the top receiving tray; a control unit to select one of the top receiving tray and the side receiving tray as a discharge destination for the sheet according to whether or not a number of the output sheets outputted from the image forming portion exceeds a prescribed threshold value, wherein the control unit is configured to: judge whether or not the number of the output sheets outputted from the image forming portion exceeds the maximum sheet loading amount of the side receiving tray; judge whether or not the maximum sheet loading amount of the side receiving tray subtracted from the number of the estimated output sheets exceeds the maximum sheet loading amount of the top receiving tray, when judging that the number of the output sheets exceeds the maximum sheet loading amount of the side receiving tray; and select the side receiving tray as a discharge destination of a number of output sheets within a range of the maximum sheet loading amount of the side receiving tray when judging that the maximum sheet loading amount of the side receiving tray subtracted from the number of the output sheets exceeds the maximum sheet loading amount of the top receiving tray, and to select the top receiving tray as a discharge destination of the number of output sheets exceeding the maximum sheet loading amount of the side receiving tray when judging that the maximum sheet loading amount of the side receiving tray subtracted from the number of the output sheets does not exceed the maximum sheet loading amount of the top receiving tray.