JP2014040289A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

When a specified amount of printing paper on a paper discharge tray reaches a predetermined amount and the paper discharge tray is switched, if all of the printing paper is removed from the original paper discharge tray that has reached the predetermined amount, The printing paper printed on is improved in productivity without going through the circulation inversion path.
In this printing apparatus, when the print paper loaded on the face-down paper discharge tray 350 or the face-up paper discharge tray 362 specified first reaches a predetermined amount, After transporting the circulation reversal path, the paper is ejected from a paper ejection tray that is different from the designated paper ejection tray, and then all the printing paper has been removed from the paper ejection tray that has reached the specified amount. If detected by the down discharge tray paper presence / absence sensor 383 or the face up discharge tray paper presence / absence sensor 384, the discharge tray is returned to its original position, and the print paper is discharged from the first specified discharge tray and stacked. To do.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that includes a face-up discharge tray that discharges and stacks a print surface up, and a face-down discharge tray that discharges and stacks a print surface down.

  Generally, a printing apparatus performs printing on a printing sheet fed from a sheet feeding mechanism, discharges the sheet onto a sheet discharge tray, and stacks the sheets. There are two types of discharge trays: a face-up discharge tray that discharges and stacks the print side up, and a face-down discharge tray that discharges and stacks the print side down. Some printing apparatuses include both a face-up discharge table and a face-down discharge table, and such a printing apparatus can discharge and stack on an arbitrary discharge table.

  When printing a plurality of pages, printed sheets are stacked one after another on the paper discharge tray in the face-up paper discharge tray with the printing surface facing upward. For this reason, in order to obtain a printing result in the page order, it is necessary to print in the reverse order of the pages. On the other hand, in the face-down paper discharge tray, printed sheets are stacked one after another on the paper discharge tray with the printing surface facing downward. For this reason, in order to obtain the print result in the page order, it is necessary to print in the page order. As described above, it is necessary to change the printing order of pages according to the paper discharge tray, and the computer connected to the printing apparatus transmits print data to the printing apparatus in the page order according to the paper discharge tray.

  By the way, both the face-up discharge tray and the face-down discharge tray have a structure in which the maximum load amount of printing paper is determined. If the stack amount exceeds the maximum load amount, a problem may occur. In order to prevent this problem, a technique is known in which when the maximum stacking capacity of one paper discharge tray is exceeded during printing, the printed paper is stacked by switching to the other paper discharge tray.

  However, since the upper and lower surfaces of the printing paper are reversed from those before the switching when the paper discharge table is switched, there is a problem that the user has to rearrange the pages of the printed matter after the switching after the printing is finished. In order to solve this problem, the present applicant has designated a face-up discharge tray, a face-down discharge tray, and a circulation reversal path, and has designated after starting printing to discharge the designated discharge tray. When the amount of print paper loaded on the paper discharge tray reaches a specified amount, the print paper after printing is transported from the paper discharge tray different from the specified paper discharge tray after being transported through the circulation inversion path. Therefore, even if the face-down discharge tray and the face-up down discharge tray are switched during printing, a printing apparatus is proposed that eliminates the need for page rearrangement after printing (see Patent Document 1). ).

JP 2009-241293 A

  However, in the print control apparatus described in Patent Literature 1, when the print paper stacked on the designated paper discharge tray reaches a predetermined amount and the paper discharge tray is switched, the paper discharge tray that has reached the predetermined amount. Even after all the printing paper is carried out from the printer, the paper printed after that is transported through the circulation reversal path and discharged to the switching destination paper discharge tray. There was a problem that.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and when the print paper of the designated paper discharge tray reaches a predetermined amount and the paper discharge tray is switched, the original paper discharge tray that has reached the predetermined amount is changed. An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus capable of improving the productivity without removing the printing paper printed after that through the circulation inversion path when all the printing paper is removed.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first feature of the printing apparatus according to the present invention is that a face-up discharge tray that discharges and stacks the print side up, and discharges and stacks the print side down. A face-down paper discharge tray, a circulation reversing path for reversing the front and back of the print paper, and a paper discharge tray paper stack detection means for detecting that the print paper loaded on each paper discharge tray has reached a predetermined amount. Paper discharge tray paper presence / absence detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of printing paper on each paper discharge tray, and a printing process based on the print data, and discharging the printed paper to the designated paper discharge tray. Print control means for controlling the print sheet, and the print control means is configured such that, during printing processing of predetermined print data, the discharge tray paper stacking amount detection means determines the stacking amount of print sheets on the designated discharge tray. If it detects that the amount is reached, The printing paper is reversed in the circulation reversing path, and is controlled to be discharged to a discharge tray different from the designated discharge tray. Thereafter, during the printing process of the predetermined print data, the discharge When the base paper presence / absence detecting means detects the absence of printing paper at the designated paper discharge tray, control is performed so as to stop passing through the circulation inversion path and discharge the paper to the designated paper discharge tray.

  A second feature of the printing apparatus according to the present invention is that the print control unit is configured such that after the print paper reaches a predetermined amount on the designated paper discharge table, the paper discharge table paper presence / absence detection unit is specified. When the absence of printing paper is detected in the paper discharge tray, the print paper loaded on a paper discharge tray different from the designated paper discharge tray is removed, and the specified paper discharge tray reaches the predetermined amount. A message prompting the user to superimpose on the printing paper removed from the printing paper.

  According to the first feature of the printing apparatus according to the present invention, when the printing paper loaded on the designated original paper discharge tray reaches a predetermined amount and the discharge tray is switched, the predetermined amount is reached. When all the printing paper has been removed from the original paper ejection tray, the paper ejection tray is returned, and then the printed paper is ejected from the first designated paper ejection tray and passes through the circulation inversion path. Therefore, productivity can be improved.

  According to the second feature of the printing apparatus according to the present invention, when all the printing paper is removed from the original paper discharge tray where the printing paper has reached a predetermined amount, the printed printing paper is first printed. In addition to returning to the specified paper tray and ejecting it, the user is prompted to remove the print paper loaded on another paper tray and stack it on the print paper removed from the original paper tray. Since the message is output, the user removes the print paper from another paper discharge tray and removes it from the original paper discharge tray without forgetting the presence of the print paper loaded on the other paper discharge tray. It can be securely stacked on the removed printing paper.

1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a paper discharge control process in the printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart illustrating another example of the paper discharge control process in the printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  Next, a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a printing apparatus 10 including a circulation conveyance path with a sheet reversing mechanism according to the present invention. In this figure, the printing paper conveyance path is particularly shown in detail. As shown in the figure, the printing apparatus 10 is a sheet feeding mechanism that supplies printing paper, and includes a side sheet feeding table 320 exposed outside the side of the casing and a plurality of sheet feeding trays (inside the casing). 330a, 330b, 330c, 330d). Further, a face-down paper discharge port 340 and a face-up paper discharge port 360 are provided as a paper discharge mechanism for discharging printed printing paper. The paper discharged from the face-down paper outlet 340 is stacked on the face-down paper outlet 350, and the paper discharged from the face-up paper outlet 360 is stacked on the face-up paper outlet 362.

  The printing apparatus 10 includes a plurality of head units 310 including a print head that extends in a direction orthogonal to the paper conveyance direction and includes a plurality of nozzles as a print mechanism, and discharges black or color ink from each print head. This is an inkjet line color printer that performs printing in line units. However, a serial color printer that performs image formation by scanning in the line direction may be used. Moreover, you may employ | adopt another printing system, for example, a laser system etc.

  Print sheets fed one by one from one of the side paper feed tray 320 and the paper feed tray 330 are fed by a drive mechanism such as a roller in a paper feed system conveyance path (indicated by a thick black line in the figure). And is guided to the resist portion Rg. Here, the registration portion Rg is provided for performing alignment and skew correction of the leading edge of the printing paper, and includes a pair of registration rollers. The fed printing paper is temporarily stopped at the registration unit Rg and conveyed toward the printing mechanism at a predetermined timing.

  A plurality of head units 310 are provided further on the conveyance direction side of the resist unit Rg. The printing paper is conveyed in units of lines by ink ejected from the printing heads provided in each head unit 310 while being conveyed at a speed determined by printing conditions by an annular conveying belt 352 provided on the opposite surface of the head unit 310. An image is formed.

  When the printing paper having the upper surface printed thereon is discharged from the face-up discharge port 360, it is conveyed in the direction of the face-up discharge port 360 by the switching mechanism 372, and is discharged as it is with the print surface facing up. Then, the paper is stacked on the face-up discharge tray 362. When the paper is discharged from the face-down paper discharge port 340, the paper is further conveyed through the housing by a switching mechanism 372 and a driving mechanism such as a roller. Then, the switching mechanism 370 guides and discharges the paper to the face-down paper discharge port 340, and is stacked on the face-down paper discharge tray 350 provided as a receiving base for the face-down paper discharge port 340 with the printing surface facing down. .

  The face-down discharge tray 350 and the face-up discharge tray 362 have a tray shape protruding from the casing and have a certain thickness. The face-down discharge tray 350 and the face-up discharge tray 362 are inclined, and are discharged from the face-down discharge outlet 340 and the face-up discharge outlet 360 by the wall formed at the lower position of the inclination. The printing paper that slides down is arranged naturally and overlaps.

  Both the face-down paper discharge tray 350 and the face-up paper discharge tray 362 have a maximum print paper stack amount, and a face down paper discharge tray paper stack amount that detects that the print paper stack amount has reached the maximum stack amount. A sensor 381 and a face-up sheet tray paper loading amount sensor 382 are provided. Further, on the bottom surface of the face-down discharge tray 350 and the face-up discharge tray 362, a face-down detecting that all the printing sheets loaded on the face-down discharge tray 350 and the face-up discharge tray 362 have been removed. A paper discharge tray paper presence / absence sensor 383 and a face-up paper discharge tray paper presence / absence sensor 384 are provided.

  In the case of double-sided printing in which printing is performed on both sides of the printing paper, the face-down discharge tray 350 and the front side (the first printed side is “front side” and the next printed side is “back side”) Without being guided to the face-up discharge tray 362, the switching mechanism 370 further conveys the inside of the housing. Then, it is drawn into the switchback route SR and performs switchback, and the front and back are reversed with respect to the conveyance route. After reversing the front and back, it is guided again to the registration portion Rg by a driving mechanism such as a roller and temporarily stops. Thereafter, the sheet is conveyed in the direction of the printing mechanism at a predetermined timing, and the back side is printed by the same procedure as that for the front side. The printing paper on which the back side is printed and images are formed on both sides is guided to the face-down paper outlet 340 or the face-up paper outlet 360 according to the specification of the paper outlet included in the printing conditions, and is discharged. Then, the sheets are stacked on the face-down discharge tray 350 or the face-up discharge tray 362.

  In the printing apparatus 10, switchback at the time of double-sided printing is performed using a space provided in the face-down paper discharge tray 350. The space provided in the face-down paper discharge tray 350 is covered so that the printing paper cannot be taken out from the outside during switchback. As a result, it is possible to prevent the user from accidentally pulling out the printing paper during the switchback operation. In addition, the face-down paper discharge tray 350 is originally provided in the printing apparatus 10, and the space inside the face-down paper discharge tray 350 is used to perform switchback, so that the printing apparatus 10 can be separately provided. It is not necessary to provide a switchback space. Therefore, an increase in the size of the housing can be prevented. Furthermore, since the face-down paper discharge port 340 and the switchback path are not shared, the switchback process and the paper discharge of other sheets can be performed in parallel.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the printing apparatus 10. The printing apparatus 10 includes a main control unit 100 including a CPU, a memory, and the like, and a print control unit 101 and a drive control unit 102 are configured by the CPU operating according to a program stored in the memory. . A part of the memory functions as the print data storage unit 103.

  In addition, the printing apparatus 10 includes an operation receiving unit 110 that receives setting of printing conditions and the like via an operation panel, a display unit 120 that displays information about the printing apparatus, and a communication processing unit 130 for connecting to a computer network and the like. I have.

  The print control unit 101 generates image data in accordance with print data received from a host computer (not shown) via the communication processing unit 130, and controls print processing in the print execution unit 140 including a print mechanism such as a print head. To do. The drive control unit 102 operates the conveyance drive unit 150 under the control of the print control unit 101. The conveyance driving unit 150 includes a driving roller, a conveyance belt 352, a switching mechanism 370, a switching mechanism 372, and the like, and conveys printing paper.

  Next, the paper discharge control process in the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  This process is started by receiving print data from the host computer (step S101). The print data sent from the host computer includes information for designating a paper discharge port as a print condition. When the face-up discharge port 360 is designated as the paper discharge port, the print data is sent in the reverse order of the pages. When the face-down paper discharge port 340 is designated as the paper discharge port, the print data is printed in the order of the pages. Data is being sent. The designation of the discharge port and the management of the page order of the print data are performed by a printer driver corresponding to the printing apparatus 10 installed in the host computer, as in the past.

  When the print data is received, the print control unit 101 temporarily stores the print data for each page in the print data storage unit 103, and determines the discharge port information based on the discharge port designation information included in the print data. Setting is performed (step S102). That is, when the face-down paper discharge port 340 is designated, the printed mechanism is conveyed to the face-down paper discharge port 340 by the switching mechanisms 372 and 370, and the face-up paper discharge port 360 is designated. If the print paper is printed, the switching mechanism 372 transports the printed print paper to the face-up paper discharge port 360.

  Then, printing is performed page by page according to the order of the print data (step S103). The printed printing paper is discharged from the set paper discharge port, that is, either the face-up paper discharge port 360 or the face-down paper discharge port 340 (step S104). When the paper is ejected from the paper ejection slot, the print control unit 101 determines whether the printed paper stacked on the paper ejection tray has exceeded the maximum stacking capacity of the paper ejection platform (step S105). ). Whether the printed sheet has exceeded the maximum stacking capacity of the discharge tray is determined by the face-down discharge tray paper stack sensor 381 or the face-up discharge tray 362 disposed on the face-down discharge tray 350. Further, the determination can be made based on the detection result of the sheet-up amount sensor 382 of the face-up discharge tray. However, without providing the face-down discharge tray paper stacking amount sensor 381 and the face-up discharge tray paper stacking amount sensor 382, the maximum number of discharge trays can be determined by counting the number of print sheets discharged to the discharge tray. You may make it determine whether the load amount was exceeded. In addition, the maximum load capacity does not have to be the physical maximum load capacity, and may be a standard value handled as the maximum load capacity for convenience.

  If it is determined in step S105 that the maximum load capacity is not exceeded (NO), the print control unit 101 performs the above-described printing process (step S103) and paper discharge process (steps) until printing of all pages is completed. S104) The maximum loading amount determination process (step S105) is repeated (step S106: NO). When printing of all pages is completed (step S106: YES), this process ends.

  On the other hand, in step S105, when the printed sheets stacked on one of the discharge trays exceed the maximum stack amount of the discharge tray (in the case of YES), the print control unit 101 determines whether the discharge outlet Switching is performed (step S107). That is, when the face-down paper discharge port 340 is designated first and the print paper loaded on the face-down paper discharge tray 350 exceeds the maximum load capacity, the print control unit 101 causes the face-up paper discharge port 360 to be printed. When the face-up discharge port 360 is first designated and the print sheets stacked on the face-up discharge table 362 exceed the maximum load amount, the face-down discharge port 340 is switched. Switch the paper exit.

  Note that in this case, it may not be noticed that the print paper has reached the maximum loading capacity at the original paper discharge tray corresponding to the paper discharge outlet designated by the user first. You may make it alert | report to a user by displaying on the display part 120 that it exceeded the maximum load capacity, etc., displaying a lamp | ramp, and also outputting a sound. In this way, the user can know that the printing paper has reached the maximum loading capacity at the paper discharge outlet designated by the user first, so that the printing paper can be printed from the original paper discharge tray that has reached the predetermined amount. Can be removed quickly. As a result, the amount of printing paper passing through the circulation conveyance path and the switchback path SR, which are circulation reversal paths, is reduced, so that productivity can be further improved.

  Next, the print control unit 101 continues printing one page at a time in the order of the print data (step S108). The printed printing paper is not discharged immediately from the switched discharge outlet, but is conveyed through the circulation conveyance path in the same manner as in double-sided printing, and is reversed by switching back through the switchback path SR ( In step S109), the sheet is conveyed again to the resist unit Rg. In other words, if the paper is ejected from the switched paper ejection slot as it is, the page order will be stacked in the reverse order. Therefore, by switching back, the top and bottom surfaces are reversed and the paper is ejected. The order can be continued.

  Thereafter, the print control unit 101 discharges paper from the switched paper discharge port without performing backside printing (step S110). When the paper is discharged from the switched paper discharge port, the front and back sides of the printing paper are reversed by the switchback, so that even when the paper is discharged from the face-up paper discharge port 360, it is discharged face-down. Even when the paper is discharged from the face-down paper discharge port 340, the paper is discharged in a face-up state. That is, the paper is discharged in the same state as the paper discharged from the paper discharge port before switching. At this time, there is no need to change the printing order of the pages.

  The drive control unit 102 dynamically controls the operations of the switching mechanisms 370 and 372 of the transport driving unit 150 so as to perform such transport.

  Next, the print control unit 101 determines whether or not printing of all pages has been completed (step S111). When it is determined that printing of all pages has been completed (in the case of YES), the process ends.

  On the other hand, if printing of all pages has not been completed in step S111 (in the case of NO), the print control unit 101 determines that the face-down discharge tray 350 or the face-up discharge tray that has been designated before switching, that is, the first is the face-up discharge tray. If no signal is detected from the face-down discharge tray paper presence / absence sensor 383 or the face-up discharge tray paper presence / absence sensor 384 provided at 362 (step S112: NO). Since the print paper of the maximum stacking capacity still remains on the first designated paper discharge tray, printing is performed as it is (step S108), transported through the circulation transport path, and reversed by the switchback path SR ( In step S109, the paper is discharged from the switching destination paper discharge port (step S110).

  On the other hand, when printing of all the pages has not been completed (step S111: NO), the print control unit 101 before the switching, that is, the face-down discharge tray 350 or the face-up discharge tray 362 specified first. If a signal is detected from the face-down discharge tray paper presence / absence sensor 383 or the face-up discharge tray paper presence / absence sensor 384 provided in the printer (step S112: YES), printing is performed. The delivery destination of the finished printing paper is switched to the face-down delivery port 340 or the face-up delivery port 360 specified first (step S113). That is, when the face-down paper discharge port 340 is designated first and the paper discharge port is switched to the face-up paper discharge port 360, the print control unit 101 first designates the face-down paper discharge port. If the paper discharge destination is returned to 340 and the face-up paper discharge port 360 is first designated and the paper discharge port is switched to the face-down paper discharge port 340, the face-up paper discharge designated first is performed. The paper discharge destination is returned to the mouth 360. Thereafter, the process returns to step S103, and the subsequent processes are repeated.

  Therefore, according to the printing apparatus of the present embodiment, the printing paper loaded on the paper discharge tray corresponding to the paper discharge outlet specified at the start of printing has reached the maximum load amount, and the paper discharge outlet has been switched. In this case, when all of the printing paper is removed from the original paper delivery tray that has reached the predetermined amount, the printed paper printed after that is discharged from the first designated paper discharge outlet, Productivity can be improved because it does not pass through a certain circulating conveyance path and switchback path SR.

  In the above description, in addition to the face-down discharge tray paper stacking amount sensor 381 and the face-up discharge tray paper stacking amount sensor 382, the face-down discharge tray paper presence sensor 383 and the face-up discharge tray paper are respectively provided. In the present invention, the presence / absence sensor 384 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a single sensor provided on each of the face-down discharge tray 350 and the face-up discharge tray 362 is loaded on each discharge tray. Of course, it is possible to detect both the fact that the print paper has reached the maximum load amount and that all the print paper loaded on the paper discharge tray has been removed.

  In the above description, since it is described that the process immediately returns to the printing process in step S103 after the discharge port switching process in step S113, the print discharged to the original discharge tray corresponding to the first specified discharge port. When the sheet reaches the maximum loading capacity, the print sheet is removed by the user, and the discharge of the print sheet to the first specified discharge port is resumed, the user automatically discharges the sheet by the process of step S107. There is a risk that the mouth is switched and the presence of the printing paper loaded on another paper discharge tray via the circulation conveyance path and the switchback path SR may be forgotten. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, after the paper discharge port switching process in step S113, the print paper discharged to another paper discharge tray corresponding to the paper discharge port switched by the process in step S107 is removed. A message prompting the user to superimpose on the printing paper removed from the original paper discharge tray may be displayed on the display unit 120 (step S114). In this way, even if the printing paper is stacked on a different paper discharge tray from the original paper discharge tray by the automatic switching process of the paper discharge outlet in step S107, the user receives another message according to the message. Without forgetting the presence of the printing paper loaded on the table, it is possible to remove the printing paper from another paper discharging tray and to stack it on the printing paper removed from the original paper discharging tray.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Printing apparatus 100 ... Main control part 101 ... Print control part 102 ... Drive control part 103 ... Print data storage part 110 ... Operation reception part 120 ... Display part 130 ... Communication processing part 140 ... Print execution part 150 ... Conveyance drive part 310 ... Head unit 320 ... Side paper feed tray 330 ... Feed tray 340 ... Face down paper discharge port 350 ... Face down paper discharge plate 352 ... Conveying belt 360 ... Face up paper discharge port 362 ... Face up paper discharge plate 370 ... Switching mechanism 372... Switching mechanism 381. Face-down discharge tray paper loading sensor 382. Face-up discharge tray paper loading sensor 383. Face-down discharge tray paper presence sensor 384.

Claims (2)

A face-up discharge tray that discharges and stacks the print side up, a face-down discharge tray that discharges and stacks the print side down, a circulation reversal path that reverses the front and back of the print paper, Paper discharge tray paper stack amount detection means for detecting that the print paper loaded on the paper discharge tray has reached a predetermined amount, and paper discharge tray paper presence detection for detecting the presence or absence of print paper on each paper discharge tray. And a print control means for performing a printing process based on the print data and controlling the printing paper on which the printing process has been performed to be discharged to a designated discharge tray,
The print control means includes
During the printing process of the predetermined print data, when the paper discharge tray paper stacking amount detecting means detects that the print paper stacking amount has reached a predetermined amount on the designated discharge tray, The printing paper is reversed and controlled to be discharged to a paper discharge tray different from the designated paper discharge tray, and then the paper discharge tray paper presence / absence detection means during the printing process of the predetermined print data In the printing apparatus, when the absence of printing paper is detected at the designated paper discharge tray, control is performed so as to stop passing through the circulation inversion path and discharge the paper to the designated paper discharge tray. The print control means includes
After the print paper reaches a predetermined amount on the designated paper discharge tray, when the paper discharge tray paper presence / absence detecting means detects the absence of print paper on the designated paper discharge tray, the designated paper discharge is detected. A message that prompts the user to remove the printing paper loaded on the paper discharge tray different from the paper tray, reach a predetermined amount, and stack it on the printing paper removed from the specified paper discharge tray. The printing apparatus according to claim 1.

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