Abstract:
Provided is a sheet feeding device including a tray that includes a roller that feeds a sheet to a body and a support member that supports the sheet and moves to change an interval from the roller, and a notifying unit that notifies attention calling information to check a movement state of the support member according to an opening and closing operation of the tray.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is based on and claims priority under 35 USC 119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-041007 filed Mar. 3, 2014. 
       BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device, and an image processing system. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a sheet feeding device including: 
         [0004]    a tray that includes a roller that feeds a sheet to a body and a support member that supports the sheet and moves to change an interval from the roller; and 
         [0005]    a notifying unit that notifies attention calling information to check a movement state of the support member according to an opening and closing operation of the tray. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the following figures, wherein: 
           [0007]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  are schematic views of an image processing system according to a first exemplary embodiment, where  FIG. 1A  is a perspective view and  FIG. 1B  is a front view; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a main controller according to the first exemplary embodiment; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3A  is a perspective view of a sheet feeding tray according to the first exemplary embodiment, and  FIG. 3B  is a cross-sectional view; 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a function block diagram for executing an attention calling control notification at the time of opening the sheet feeding tray in the main controller, according to the first exemplary embodiment; 
           [0011]      FIGS. 5A to 5C  are front views of a UI on which a pop-up menu screen is displayed on a display surface, according to the first exemplary embodiment; 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart illustrating an attention calling notification control routine applied at the time of opening the sheet feeding tray according to the first exemplary embodiment; 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is a front cross-sectional view of a sheet feeding tray according to a second exemplary embodiment; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 8  is a flowchart illustrating an attention calling notification control routine applied at the time of closing the sheet feeding tray according to the second exemplary embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     First Exemplary Embodiment 
       [0015]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  illustrate an image processing system  10  according to this exemplary embodiment. 
         [0016]    The image processing system  10  includes an image forming section  12  (see  FIG. 1B ) which forms an image on a recording sheet. 
         [0017]    The image forming section  12  includes a photoreceptor, and around the photoreceptor, a charging device that uniformly charges the photoreceptor, a scanning and exposing unit which scans a light beam on the basis of image data, an image developing unit which develops an electrostatic latent image formed by the scanning and exposing operation of the scanning and exposing unit, a transfer unit which transfers the developed image on the photoreceptor onto the recording sheet, and a cleaning unit which cleans the surface of the photoreceptor after the transfer are provided. On the transport path of the recording sheet, a fixing unit which fixes the image on the recording sheet after the transfer is provided. 
         [0018]    On the upper surface of a housing  10 A which accommodates the image forming section  12 , an output tray  10 T for the recording sheet, from which the recording sheet having the image recorded by the image forming section  12  is discharged, is formed. 
         [0019]    In addition, in a housing  10 B corresponding to the ceiling of the output tray  101 , a UI touch panel  14  (hereinafter, referred to as a “UI  14 ”) is disposed. 
         [0020]    As illustrated in  FIG. 1B , the image processing system  10  includes a main controller  18  to control an image forming process of the image forming section  12 , receive instruction information operated through the UI  14 , and display information on the display surface of the UI  14 . 
         [0021]    To the main controller  18 , a network communication line (not illustrated) such as the Internet is connected. The main controller  18  is, for example, connected to a PC (not illustrated) via the network communication line to receive image data. 
         [0022]    As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the main controller  18  includes a CPU  20 , a RAM  22 , a ROM  24 , an I/O  26 , and buses  28  such as a data bus and a control bus for connection therebetween. 
         [0023]    An image formation control unit  30  is connected to the I/O  26  via an I/F  29 . The image formation control unit  30  controls an image processing operation of the image forming section  12  under the instruction of the CPU  20  in the main controller  18 . 
         [0024]    In addition, to the I/O  26 , the UI  14  is connected, and although details are omitted, an output system device  32  including a transport system motor, and plural input system devices  34  including a sensor for detecting a position of a sheet during the transportation are connected. 
         [0025]    As illustrated in  FIG. 1A , a sheet feeding tray  36  is provided in the lower portion of the housing  10 A of the image processing system  10 . Recording sheets  38  are stacked in the sheet feeding tray  36  in advance. Here, as a sheet feeding function of the image processing system  10 , a function of taking out the recording sheets  38  stacked in the sheet feeding tray  36  sheet by sheet in order from the recording sheet  38  at the uppermost layer so as to be fed to the image forming section  12  is provided. 
         [0026]    The sheet feeding tray  36  has a box shape with an open upper surface, and has a so-called slide rail structure in which the sheet feeding tray  36  is drawn out manually by a user in the forward right direction of the image processing system  10  in  FIG. 1A  to be opened and is pushed back to be closed. In addition, the state of  FIG. 1A  is a state in which the sheet feeding tray  36  is “opened”. 
         [0027]    As illustrated in  FIGS. 3A and 3B , the vertical wall of the sheet feeding tray  36  in the drawing direction is a housing cover  40  having a design with the same texture as the front surface of the above-mentioned housing  10 A illustrated in  FIG. 1A . 
         [0028]    A grasping portion  42  which is recessed in a rectangular shape is formed in the housing cover  40 . The grasping portion  42  is grasped by the user when drawing out the sheet feeding tray  36 . That is, by providing the grasping portion  42  in the sheet feeding tray  36  of this exemplary embodiment, drawing-out and pushing-back operations (particularly, drawing-out operation) of the user are facilitated, compared to a case where the grasping portion  42  is absent. 
         [0029]    The bottom surface of the sheet feeding tray  36  functions as a support surface that supports the recording sheets  38  (see  FIG. 3B ), and on a region of a part thereof, a bottom plate  44  is disposed. 
         [0030]    The bottom plate  44  has a rectangular flat plate shape and is disposed at the center portion in the depth direction when the housing cover  40  is viewed from the front. In addition, the left side thereof is disposed along the left side surface of the sheet feeding tray  36 . 
         [0031]    On the right side of the bottom plate  44  of  FIG. 3A , an arm portion  44 A is formed along a direction from the housing cover  40  to a vertical wall portion  46  that faces the housing cover  40 . The bottom plate  44  is rotated about the arm portion  44 A by a predetermined angle (see the angle θ in  FIG. 3B ) from a state of lying on the floor surface of the sheet feeding tray  36 . In addition, a torsion coil spring  48  (see  FIG. 3B ) is attached to the arm portion  44 A, and typically, the bottom plate  44  is biased in a clockwise direction (in a direction to push up the left side) of  FIG. 3B . The biasing unit is not limited to the torsion coil spring  48 , and the attachment position thereof is not limited as long as the bottom plate  44  is biased in the clockwise direction in  FIG. 3B  about the arm portion  44 A. 
         [0032]    Therefore, in the recording sheet  38  supported by the floor surface including the bottom plate  44 , a region thereof on the bottom plate  44  is pushed up (see the dot-dashed line and the dotted line of  FIG. 3B ). 
         [0033]    In the sheet feeding tray  36 , the left side surface thereof when the housing cover  40  is viewed from the front functions as a feeding unit  50  for feeding the recording sheet  38  to the image forming section  12 , and an arc-shaped guide surface is formed to be continuous from the bottom surface thereof. 
         [0034]    In the feeding unit  50 , a feed roller  52  is disposed, and is attached to the center portion of a circular bar-shaped guide shaft  54 . 
         [0035]    Among the recording sheets  38  pushed up by the bottom plate  44 , the recording sheet  38  at the uppermost layer abuts on the feed roller  52 . 
         [0036]    One end portion of the guide shaft  54  of the feed roller  52  is supported by a bracket portion  56  attached to the housing cover  40  side, and the other end portion thereof is detachably connected to the rotating shaft of a motor driving unit  58  disposed on the housing  10 A side. That is, when the sheet feeding tray  36  is drawn out and is opened, the guide shaft  54  is separated from the rotating shaft of the motor driving unit  58 , and when the sheet feeding tray  36  is pushed back and is closed, the guide shaft  54  and the rotating shaft of the motor driving unit  58  are connected to each other (interlocked with the opening and closing of the sheet feeding tray  36 ). The motor driving unit  58  belongs to the above-described output system device  32 . 
         [0037]    In the state where the sheet feeding tray  36  is closed, the recording sheets  38  are pushed up by the bottom plate  44 , and the recording sheet  38  at the uppermost layer is in a state of abutting on the feed roller  52 . Therefore, when the motor driving unit  58  is operated under the command of the image formation control unit  30 , the feed roller  52  is rotated, and the recording sheet  38  at the uppermost layer is taken out of the sheet feeding tray  36  and is sent to the image forming section  12 . 
         [0038]    In the sheet feeding tray  36 , guide plates  60  which guide the circumferential ends (circumferential ends in three directions other than the feeding unit  50 ) of the recording sheet  38  according to the size of the recording sheet  38  are movably mounted, and the user determines the positions of the recording sheet  38  according to the size of the recording sheet  38  supported on the floor surface. 
         [0039]    In addition, in the sheet feeding tray  36 , a sheet presence and absence sensor  62  is mounted to recognize the presence or absence of the recording sheet  38  as an electrical signal. 
         [0040]    Furthermore, in the sheet feeding tray  36 , a size determining sensor  64  (see  FIG. 3B ) is provided to detect an uneven state that matches the positional relationship between the guide plates  60 , thereby determining the size of the stacked recording sheets  38 . In addition, the size determining sensor  64  may also function as a sensor that detects the opening and closing of the sheet feeding tray  36 . 
         [0041]    The sheet presence and absence sensor  62  and the size determining sensor  64  belong to the above-mentioned input system device  34 . 
         [0042]    Here, in the sheet feeding tray  36 , a lock mechanism portion  66  (see  FIG. 3B ) which holds the bottom plate  44  in a state of lying on the floor surface (a state of being parallel to the floor surface) against the biasing force of the torsion coil spring  48  is provided. The lock mechanism portion  66  has a structure that is locked by pressing down the bottom plate  44  (or the recording sheets  38  in a case where the recording sheets  38  are present) by the user when the sheet feeding tray  36  is opened. 
         [0043]    In addition, the locking of the lock mechanism portion  66  is automatically released when the sheet feeding tray  36  is closed so that the bottom plate  44  may be pushed up by the torsion coil spring  48 . 
         [0044]    In the above description, there may be cases where the sheet feeding tray  36  is drawn out when the user replenishes the recording sheets  38  or due to some error (jammed paper or the like). 
         [0045]    At this time, when the biasing force of the torsion coil spring  48  is applied to the bottom plate  44 , in a case where the recording sheet  38  is absent, the bottom plate  44  is in a state of becoming closest to the feed roller  52 . In a case where the recording sheets  38  are present, the recording sheets  38  are in a state of abutting on the feed roller  52 . 
         [0000]    In Case where Recording Sheets  38  are Absent 
         [0046]    When the recording sheets  38  are to be replenished, since the bottom plate  44  is disposed at an angle with respect to the floor surface, there may be cases where the recording sheets  38  are not supported at an appropriate position. Particularly, in a case where the guide plates  60  are moved, the appropriate position may not be known. 
         [0000]    In Case where Recording Sheets  38  are Present 
         [0047]    There may be cases where the recording sheet  38  in a state of abutting on the feed roller  52  due to the opening and closing operation of the sheet feeding tray  36  is shifted, which may cause jammed paper when the recording sheet  38  is taken out after closing the sheet feeding tray  36 . 
         [0048]    Therefore, on the bottom plate  44 , an image  44 B showing a user&#39;s hand and an arrow is displayed (see  FIG. 3A ). However, when the recording sheet  38  is present, the image  44 B is naturally invisible. In addition, even in the case where the recording sheet  38  is absent, the user may be distracted by a replenishing operation to be performed and thus the image  44 B may not receive attention. 
         [0049]    Here, in this exemplary embodiment, in the case where the sheet feeding tray  36  is drawn out, attention calling information which urges that the bottom plate  44  be pressed to be parallel to the floor surface so as to be held by the lock mechanism portion  66  is notified to the UI  14 . 
         [0050]      FIG. 4  shows a function block diagram for attention calling notification control at the time of opening the sheet feeding tray in the main controller  18 . In addition, this block diagram does not limit the hardware configuration of the main controller  18 . 
         [0051]    The size determining sensor  64  provided in the sheet feeding tray  36  is applied as a sensor that determines the opening and closing state of the sheet feeding tray  36  and is connected to a sheet feeding tray opening determining unit  70 . 
         [0052]    The sheet feeding tray opening determining unit  70  is connected to an information acquiring unit  72  and a notification period monitoring unit  74 . When the information acquiring unit  72  receives a signal indicating that the sheet feeding tray  36  is open, from the sheet feeding tray opening determining unit  70 , the information acquiring unit  72  acquires information about jammed paper from the image formation control unit  30 . 
         [0053]    The information acquiring unit  72  transmits presence or absence of the jammed paper information to a determining unit  76 . The determining unit  76  determines whether or not to execute the notification of attention calling information which urges that the bottom plate  44  be pushed back, on the basis of the presence or absence of the information, that is, whether or not there is jammed paper. 
         [0054]    The determining unit  76  is connected to the notification period monitoring unit  74  and transmits the determination result to the notification period monitoring unit  74 . 
         [0055]    Here, the notification period monitoring unit  74  receives information on the opening and closing state of the sheet feeding tray  36  from the sheet feeding tray opening determining unit  70 . The notification period monitoring unit  74  transmits a notification instruction signal to an image information output unit  78  during the opening of the sheet feeding tray  36  and only in a period in which there is no jammed paper. 
         [0056]    The image information output unit  78  is connected to an attention calling information reading unit  80 , and when receiving the notification instruction signal, instructs the attention calling information reading unit  80  to read image information from an image information memory  82 . The image information output unit  78  receives the corresponding image information and displays an image on the UI  14 . 
         [0057]    In this exemplary embodiment, as illustrated in  FIGS. 5A to 5C , the display screen of the UI  14  is divided into two regions so that one region displays an image representing the image processing system  10  and three frame images which urge that the bottom plate  44  be pressed down. 
         [0058]    In the other region, a message containing characters is displayed. The message containing characters is displayed as “XXX” in  FIGS. 5A to 5C , and for example, “after pressing down the center of the bottom plate, close the tray” may be considered. On the basis of the message, when sheets are present, a message to the effect that the sheets have to be temporarily taken out may be added. 
         [0059]    Hereinafter, the action of this exemplary embodiment will be described according to the flowchart of  FIG. 6 . 
         [0060]    In Step  100 , whether or not the sheet feeding tray  36  is opened is determined. When a negative determination is made, it is determined that there is no need to notify the attention calling information, and this routine is ended. 
         [0061]    When an affirmative determination is made in Step  100 , the routine proceeds to Step  102  to acquire information of the presence or absence of jammed paper from the image formation control unit  30 , and the routine proceeds to Step  104  to determine whether or not there is jammed paper. 
         [0062]    When there is an affirmative determination in Step  104 , that is, jammed paper, it is determined that there is no need to notify the attention calling information so as to perform a jammed paper eliminating process first, and the routine is ended. 
         [0063]    When a negative determination is made in Step  104 , for example, it is determined that the sheet feeding tray  36  is opened to replenish the recording sheets  38  or the like, and the routine proceeds to Step  106  to perform a notification execution determination because the attention calling information needs to be notified. The routine proceeds to Step  108 . 
         [0064]    In Step  108 , the attention calling information is read from the image information memory  82 , and thereafter the routine proceeds to Step  110  to start outputting the corresponding attention calling information to the UI  14 . 
         [0065]    On the UI  14 , first, as illustrated in  FIG. 5A , a pop-up menu screen  14 A is displayed on the display surface of the UI  14 . 
         [0066]    The pop-up menu screen  14 A is divided into two regions so that on one region, a picture image of a state where the sheet feeding tray  36  of the image processing system  10  is opened is displayed, and on the other region, an image containing characters (for example, as a message, “after pressing down the center of the bottom plate, close the tray”) is displayed. 
         [0067]    In this exemplary embodiment, the picture image includes three frame images. In  FIG. 5B , an image showing a state where the bottom plate  44  is raised is displayed, and in  FIG. 5C , an image showing a state where the user presses down the bottom plate  44  is displayed. The images are displayed in rotation in order from  FIG. 5A  to  FIG. 5C  to express a frame-stepping operation for calling attention. 
         [0068]    In this case, the message maybe changed or the characters may be allowed to blink or to expand or contract. 
         [0069]    As illustrated in  FIG. 6 , after starting outputting the attention calling information to the UI  14  in Step  110 , the routine proceeds to Step  112  to determine whether or not the sheet feeding tray  36  is closed. 
         [0070]    When an affirmative determination is made in Step  112 , the routine proceeds to Step  114  and the outputting of the information to the UI  14  is stopped, thereby ending the notification. 
         [0071]    In addition, in the routine of  FIG. 6 , when the sheet feeding tray  36  is closed, notification of the attention calling information is automatically ended. However, it is not always that the bottom plate  44  is reliably pressed down even though the sheet feeding tray  36  is closed. 
         [0072]    Here, an “OK” button image  14 B is displayed on a part of the pop-up menu screen  14 A displayed on the UI  14 , and by touching the region of the “OK” button image  14 B by the user, the displaying may be ended. That is, since the displaying continues even though the sheet feeding tray  36  is closed, when the attention calling information is ended by the user&#39;s intention, there is a higher possibility that the bottom plate  44  may be pressed down than a case where the displaying is automatically ended due to the closing of the sheet feeding tray  36 . 
       Modification Example of First Exemplary Embodiment  
       [0073]    In the first exemplary embodiment, when the sheet feeding tray  36  is opened, the attention calling information is notified to (displayed on) the UI  14 . 
         [0074]    However, when the sheet feeding tray  36  is closed, the locking of the lock mechanism portion  66  of the bottom plate  44  is automatically released such that the bottom plate  44  is rotated in the clockwise direction of  FIG. 3B  (the end portion of the bottom plate  44  on the feeding unit  50  side in the sheet feeding tray  36  is raised) by the biasing force of the torsion coil spring  48 . 
         [0075]    When the bottom plate  44  is raised, if there is an obstacle in the sheet feeding tray  36 , there may be cases where the obstacle abuts on the ceiling of the housing  10 A of the image processing system  10  due to the raising of the bottom plate  44  and interrupts the raising of the bottom plate  44 . 
         [0076]    Representative examples of the obstacle include a spare sheet and an instruction manual. 
         [0077]    The sheet feeding tray  36  has a size that may accommodate maximum-size recording sheets and for example, the maximum size is the A3 size. In a case where an assumed size is the A4 size, there is a margin of ½ of the region in the floor surface of the sheet feeding tray  36 . Therefore, there is a possibility that the spare sheet or the instruction manual may be stored in the margin region. In this case, if the user does not pay attention to the height direction, although the sheet feeding tray  36  may be closed, the spare sheet or the instruction manual may become an obstacle in a case where a margin of about the raising range of the bottom plate  44  is not provided. 
         [0078]    Here, in the modification example of the first exemplary embodiment, when the sheet feeding tray  36  is opened, the attention calling information to the effect that the bottom plate  44  has to be pressed down is notified, and when the sheet feeding tray  36  is closed, the attention calling information to the effect that the presence of a material that may become an obstacle in the sheet feeding tray  36  has to be considered is notified to the UI  14 . 
         [0079]    Accordingly, an opportunity to notify the calling attention associated with the opening and closing of the sheet feeding tray  36  increases, thereby increasing a degree of prevention of transport failure. 
       Second Exemplary Embodiment 
       [0080]    Next, a second exemplary embodiment will be described. In addition, like elements as those of the first exemplary embodiment are denoted by like reference numerals, and the description of the configurations thereof will be omitted. 
         [0081]    In the second exemplary embodiment, the bottom plate  44  is raised by a driving force of a motor. 
         [0082]      FIG. 7  is a front view of the sheet feeding tray  36  in which the bottom plate  44  is raised by the driving force of a motor  84 . 
         [0083]    The bottom plate  44  of the second exemplary embodiment is automatically lowered when the sheet feeding tray  36  is opened and is automatically raised when the sheet feeding tray  36  is closed. 
         [0084]    Here, when the sheet feeding tray  36  is closed and thus the bottom plate  44  is automatically raised, if an obstacle  86  is present in the sheet feeding tray  36 , there may be cases where the obstacle abuts on the ceiling of the housing  10 A of the image processing system  10  due to the raising of the bottom plate  44  and interrupts the raising of the bottom plate  44 . 
         [0085]    Representative examples of the obstacle include a spare sheet and an instruction manual. 
         [0086]    The sheet feeding tray  36  has a size that may accommodate maximum-size recording sheets and for example, the maximum size is the A3 size. In a case where an assumed size is the A4 size, there is a margin of ½ of the region in the floor surface of the sheet feeding tray  36 . Therefore, there is a possibility that the spare sheet or the instruction manual may be stored in the margin region. In this case, if the user does not pay attention to the height direction, although the sheet feeding tray  36  maybe closed, the spare sheet or the instruction manual may become an obstacle in a case where a margin of about the raising range of the bottom plate  44  is not provided. 
         [0087]    In the second exemplary embodiment, while the bottom plate  44  is raised and lowered, particularly, is raised by the driving force of the motor  84 , when there is operation failure in which the bottom plate  44  does not reach a predetermined position (the position where the recording sheet  38  abuts on the feed roller  52 ) due to the obstacle  86 , the operation is re-executed (re-tried) a predetermined number of times (for example, N times, N is a positive integer). 
         [0088]    Here, when the operation failure is not eliminated by N times of execution, as a system error of the sheet feeding device, the function of the image processing system  10  itself is stopped (powered off). 
         [0089]    While the operation failure is caused by the obstacle in the sheet feeding tray  36  and the operation failure is eliminated by a process such as removing the obstacle or lowering the height thereof, the re-execution is repeated while the user does not know the cause, and as a result, the system error is determined. 
         [0090]    Here, in the second exemplary embodiment, in a case where the operation failure occurs at the timing of raising the sheet feeding tray  36 , the attention calling information is notified to the UI  14  in stages. 
         [0091]    For example, when there is initial operation failure, a message (for example, check the inside of the sheet feeding tray) is displayed on the UI  14  as the attention calling information. At this time, a picture image (for example, the picture image illustrated in  FIG. 3A ) of the sheet feeding tray  36  that is open may be displayed. 
         [0092]      FIG. 8  is a flowchart illustrating an attention calling notification control routine applied at the time of closing the sheet feeding tray according to the second exemplary embodiment. 
         [0093]    In Step  150 , it is determined whether or not the sheet feeding tray  36  is closed. When an affirmative determination is made, the routine proceeds to Step  152  to raise the bottom plate  44  by driving the motor. 
         [0094]    Next, in Step  154 , it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed after the start of the raising of the bottom plate  44 . The predetermined time is a sufficient amount of time for the bottom plate  44  to reach an appropriate position at the uppermost end. 
         [0095]    When a negative determination is made in Step  154 , the routine proceeds to Step  156  to determine whether or not the bottom plate  44  reaches the appropriate position. When a negative determination is made in Step  156 , the routine returns to Step  154 , and Steps  154  and  156  are repeated until an affirmative determination is made in any of Steps  154  and  156 . 
         [0096]    Here, when an affirmative determination is made in Step  156 , it is determined that the bottom plate  44  reaches the appropriate position, and the routine proceeds to Step  158  to stop the raising. Thereafter, the routine proceeds to Step  160  to instruct a subsequent process, and the routine is ended. 
         [0097]    In addition, when an affirmative determination is made in Step  154 , it is determined that the bottom plate  44  has not reached the appropriate position within the predetermined time, and the routine proceeds to Step  162  to stop the raising of the bottom plate  44  as an error determination. Thereafter, the routine proceeds to Step  164  to lower the bottom plate  44  to the lowermost position by driving the motor, and proceeds to Step  166 . 
         [0098]    In Step  166 , the number of times of error after closing the sheet feeding tray  36  is determined. When an N-1 number of times after the first time is determined in Step  166 , the routine proceeds to Step  168  to output the attention calling information to the UI  14 . The attention calling information at this time is in stage  1 , and a message (for example, “check the inside of the sheet feeding tray”) is displayed as a relatively mild error, and the routine proceeds to Step  170 . 
         [0099]    As a result of the determination in Step  166 , when the number of times of error reaches the N number of times, that is, the predetermined number of times of re-execution, the routine proceeds to Step  174  to output the attention calling information to the UI  14 . The attention calling information at this time is in stage  2 , and a message (for example, “System error. Call SE”) is displayed as a relatively serious error. Thereafter, the routine proceeds to Step  176  to execute an error stop process for the image processing system  10 , and the routine is ended. 
         [0100]    In Step  170  after displaying the mild message (stage  1 ) in Step  168 , it is determined whether or not the predetermined time has elapsed, and when a negative determination is made, the routine proceeds to Step  172  to determine whether or not the sheet feeding tray  36  is opened. That is, in Steps  170  and  172 , an extra time for an operation of checking the inside of the sheet feeding tray  36  by the user is set on the basis of the message in the stage  1 . 
         [0101]    Therefore, Steps  170  and  172  are repeated. When an affirmative determination is made in Step  170 , it is determined that there is no intention for the user to open the sheet feeding tray  36  and check the inside, and the routine returns to Step  152  to repeat the affirmation. 
         [0102]    On the other hand, when an affirmative determination is made in Step  172 , it is determined that there is an intention for the user to check the inside of the sheet feeding tray  36 , and the routine returns to Step  150  to repeat the affirmation. 
         [0103]    In addition, the stages of the message is not limited to the two stages (stage  1  and stage  2 ), and may be set to three or more stages. In addition, the picture image may be set to a frame-stepping image showing that the obstacle  86  is removed. 
         [0104]    The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.