JP7468197B2 - Image forming apparatus and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming device and a program.

Conventionally, in a roll-to-roll (R2R) digital printing machine that performs full-color printing in C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), and K (black) on roll paper, a transparent film, a hologram, or the like may be used as a recording medium. In this case, a white background is printed on the recording medium in advance by an analog printing machine, and then color printing is performed as overprinting by the digital printing machine.
In this overprinting printing, the starting position of the overprinting image is determined by detecting an alignment image (eye mark) that serves as a position marker and is printed in advance along with a white background by an analog printing press using a dedicated sensor (eye mark sensor).
In addition, when using a printing machine for small lots and a wide variety of products, multiple small lot jobs are printed continuously on one roll, reducing the wasted time and paper waste associated with roll paper changes.

In relation to this, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-233696 discloses a technique for storing a job and an eyemark position in association with each other.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-233693 describes a technique for determining whether or not consecutive printing of overprint jobs can be performed on the same roll paper.

JP 2018-65341 A JP 2018-98606 A

Incidentally, in order to reduce work time, there is a demand for printing without moving the eye mark sensor within one roll of paper. However, since the eye mark may be printed in a different position for each print job, the user must check the settings for each job against the print instructions, and determine the order of the print jobs so that jobs with the same eye mark print position can be printed consecutively. Once printing is complete, the user must replace the roll of paper and move the eye mark sensor, and then perform the same tasks as above again, which makes the operation cumbersome and increases the work time.
The techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 cannot solve such problems.

The objective of the present invention is to provide an image forming device and program that can print multiple jobs continuously with a minimum of work time.

In order to solve the above problems, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises:
an image forming unit that performs overprinting on a continuous medium on which an alignment image has been printed in advance by preprinting;
a reading unit that reads the alignment image on the upstream side of the image forming unit in the continuous media transport direction;
An acquisition unit that acquires position information of the alignment image included in print management information of the overprinting print job;
A setting unit that sets a group of jobs in which a difference in position information of the alignment image is within a predetermined range when a plurality of the overprinting jobs are continuously printed;
a control unit for continuously printing jobs in the group set by the setting unit;
Equipped with.

The invention described in claim 2 is the invention described in claim 1,
a first reading unit that reads a first side of the continuous medium;
a second reading unit that reads a second surface of the continuous medium, the second surface being the reverse side of the first surface of the continuous medium;
The setting unit sets a group of the job for each surface of the continuous medium on which the alignment image is printed.

The invention described in claim 3 is the invention described in claim 1 or 2,
The setting unit sets the printing order of the jobs in the group to the order of the job names.

The invention described in claim 4 is the invention described in claim 1 or 2,
The setting unit sets the printing order of the jobs in the group to the job creation order.

The invention described in claim 5 is the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 4,
The setting unit divides the group when the continuous print distance of the group is equal to or greater than a maximum printable distance.

The invention described in claim 6 is the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 5,
The control unit stops continuous printing after printing of the group is completed.

The invention described in claim 7 is the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 6,
The predetermined range is a range that the reading unit can read.

The program of the invention according to claim 8,
an image forming unit that performs overprinting on a continuous medium on which an alignment image has been printed in advance by preprinting;
a reading unit that reads the alignment image on the upstream side of the image forming unit in the continuous media transport direction,
an acquisition unit for acquiring position information of the alignment image included in print management information of the overprinting print job;
a setting unit for setting a group of jobs in which the position information of the alignment image is within a predetermined range when a plurality of jobs are to be printed continuously;
a control unit for continuously printing jobs in the group set by the setting unit;
Function as.

This invention allows multiple jobs to be printed continuously with minimal work time.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a main part of a control system of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing eye mark position information. 13 is a flowchart of a group setting process for a plurality of jobs. 11 is a flowchart of a continuous printing process for a plurality of jobs.

The following describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. However, the scope of the invention is not limited to the illustrated examples.

[Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus]
Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a main part of a control system of the image forming apparatus 100. The image forming apparatus 100 is a device that forms an image on continuous media M, such as roll paper, roll film, or continuous forms.

As shown in Fig. 1, image forming apparatus 100 is configured with a paper feeder 1, a main body 2, and a winding device 3 connected from the upstream side along the transport direction (paper transport direction) of continuous media M. Note that Fig. 1 shows a case in which paper feeder 1 and winding device 3 are configured separately from main body 2, but they may also be configured integrally.
In addition, above the transport path for the continuous media M at the entrance of the main body 2, there is a reading unit 4A (surface eye mark sensor) that reads an alignment image (eye mark) formed on the surface, which is the top surface of the continuous media M.
In addition, below the transport path for the continuous media M at the entrance of the main body 2, there is a reading unit 4B (reverse side eye mark sensor) that reads an alignment image (eye mark) formed on the reverse side, which is the underside, of the continuous media M.

The paper feeder 1 is a device that feeds continuous media M to the main body 2. The paper feeder 1 transports the continuous media M wound around a support shaft X at a constant speed to the main body 2 by driving a motor (not shown). The operation of the motor of the paper feeder 1 is controlled by a control unit 10 (FIG. 2) provided in the main body 2.
The reading units 4A and 4B are capable of reading a portion of the width of the continuous media M, and are installed to match the area to be read. The reading units 4A and 4B can also move in the width direction of the continuous media M and be fixed in an appropriate position. The reading units 4A and 4B can also be configured with a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor or a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) sensor. The reading units 4A and 4B are controlled by a control unit 10 that controls the entire image forming apparatus 100, and the reading results are sent to the control unit 10.
The main body 2 forms an image on the continuous medium M fed from the paper feeder 1 by an intermediate transfer method using electrophotographic process technology.

As shown in FIG. 2, the main body 2 includes a control unit 10, a memory unit 20, an operation display unit 30, an image forming unit 40, a paper conveying unit 50, a fixing unit 60, a communication unit 70, etc.

The control unit 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10a, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 10b, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 10c, etc. The CPU 10a reads a program corresponding to the processing content from the ROM 10b, loads it into the RAM 10c, and cooperates with the loaded program to centrally control the operation of each part of the main body 2, the paper feeder 1, the winder 3, etc.

The control unit 10 also acquires the position information of the eye mark included in the job information, which is the printing management information of the image. Here, the control unit 10 functions as an acquisition unit.
An example of the position information of the eye mark is shown in Fig. 3. The white arrow indicates the transport direction of the continuous medium M, d indicates the position information of the eye mark, image M1 is an eye mark printed by pre-printing, and image M2 is a white character pattern image printed by pre-printing. An overprinting image is printed on image M2 by overprinting. Image M1, which is an eye mark, is printed upstream in the transport direction of image M2, which is a white character pattern image. The position information of the eye mark may be the distance from the edge of the continuous medium M to image M1, which is an eye mark, as shown in Fig. 3, or may be the distance from another reference image to image M1, which is an eye mark.
When multiple jobs are printed consecutively, the control unit 10 sets a group of jobs whose difference in the position information of the eye marks is within a predetermined range. Here, the control unit 10 functions as a setting unit. The predetermined range is a range that can be detected by the sensors (eye mark sensors) of the reading units 4A and 4B.
Furthermore, the control unit 10 sets a job group for each side of the continuous medium M on which an eye mark is printed. That is, a group is set within a job in which an eye mark is printed on the front side of the continuous medium M, and a group is set within a job in which an eye mark is printed on the back side of the continuous medium M.
Furthermore, the control unit 10 sets the printing order of the jobs in the set group according to the file names, which are the names of the jobs, or according to the order of creation.
Furthermore, if the continuous print distance of the set group is equal to or greater than the maximum printable distance, the control unit 10 divides the set group.
Furthermore, after printing of the set group is completed, the control unit 10 stops the continuous printing in order to replace the continuous medium M.

The storage unit 20 is composed of, for example, a non-volatile semiconductor memory (so-called flash memory) or a hard disk drive. The storage unit 20 stores input job information, manuscript data, various setting information, image data, etc. Note that these data, etc. may also be stored in the RAM 10c of the control unit 10.

The operation display unit 30 is configured, for example, by a liquid crystal display (LCD) with a touch panel, and functions as a display unit 31 and an operation unit 32 .
The display unit 31 displays various operation screens, image states, operation statuses of each function, and the like in accordance with a display control signal input from the control unit 10 .
The operation unit 32 includes various operation keys such as a numeric keypad and a start key, and receives various input operations by the user and outputs operation signals to the control unit 10 .

The image forming unit 40 forms (prints) an image by forming toner images of each color, Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan) and K (black), on the photoconductor drums 41Y, 41M, 41C and 41K based on image data input from an external device (such as a personal computer) via the communication unit 70, sequentially transferring the toner images to the intermediate transfer belt 42 as a primary transfer, superimposing the four color toner images, and then performing a secondary transfer onto the continuous medium M fed from the paper feeder 1 by the transfer roller 43.

The paper transport section 50 includes a paper passage path 52 equipped with a plurality of transport rollers.
The paper transport unit 50 transports the continuous medium M transported from the paper feeder 1 to the main body unit 2 under the control of the control unit 10 to the image forming unit 40, and transports the continuous medium M on which a toner image has been formed in the image forming unit 40 to the fixing unit 60. Then, the paper transport unit 50 transports the continuous medium M on which the toner image has been fixed in the fixing unit 60 to the winding device 3.

The communication unit 70 is composed of a communication control card such as a LAN (Local Area Network) card, and transmits and receives various data to and from an external device (e.g., a personal computer) connected to a communication network such as a LAN or a WAN (Wide Area Network).

The winding device 3 is a device that winds up the continuous medium M transported from the main body 2. Driven by a motor (not shown), the winding device 3 winds up the continuous medium M transported from the main body 2 onto the support shaft Y at a constant speed. The winding operation of the winding device 3 is controlled by the control unit 10 provided in the main body 2.

(Operation of Image Forming Apparatus 100)
Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
4 shows a flowchart of a group setting process for a plurality of jobs executed in the image forming apparatus 100. The group setting process is executed by a program stored in the control unit 10.

The job information for multiple jobs that are printed continuously includes information on double-sided or single-sided printing, information on whether the eye mark is printed on the front or back of the continuous media M, eye mark position information, job creation date and time, file name which is the name of the job, and whether the sort order is by creation date and time or file name. This information is set, for example, by editing the job ticket, setting in the printer driver, or by input operations by the user in imposition software, etc.

First, the control unit 10 stores a plurality of jobs accepted via the communication unit 70 in the storage unit 20 (step S1).
Next, the control unit 10 refers to the job information of the multiple jobs stored in the storage unit 20 and determines whether the job is an overprint job (step S2). If an overprint job is not stored (step S2; NO), the process ends.
In an overprinting job (step S2; YES), the control unit 10 acquires information on whether the job is double-sided or single-sided printing, which is included in the job information, and determines whether the job is a single-sided printing job (step S3). In a single-sided printing job (step S3; YES), the control unit 10 acquires information on whether the printing position of the eye mark is on the front or back side of the continuous medium M, which is included in the job information, and determines whether the job is one in which the eye mark is printed on the front side of the continuous medium M (step S4).
For a job in which an eye mark is printed on the obverse side (step S4; YES), the control unit 10 acquires eye mark position information contained in the job information, and sorts multiple jobs in which an eye mark is printed on the obverse side in order of the eye mark position information (step S5).
Next, the control unit 10 assigns the same group ID to jobs among the sorted jobs whose difference in eyemark position information is within a predetermined range, and sets the group (step S6). Specifically, when the predetermined range is ±2.5 mm, it is assumed that multiple jobs whose eyemark position information is 20 mm, 22 mm, 28 mm, and 30 mm are saved. In this case, the jobs whose eyemark position information is 20 mm and 22 mm are set as a group, and the jobs whose eyemark position information is 28 mm and 30 mm are set as a group.

Next, the control unit 10 judges whether the continuous print distance of each group is equal to or greater than the continuous printable distance (step S7). The continuous printable distance is set to a predetermined value in advance. If it is equal to or greater than the continuous printable distance (step S7; YES), the control unit 10 divides the group so that the continuous print distance of the group does not exceed the continuous printable distance (step S8).
If the continuous printing distance of the group is within the continuous printing distance (step S7; NO), the control unit 10 judges whether the sorting of the group is set to be in file order (step S9). If the sorting is set to be in file name order (step S9; YES), the control unit 10 sorts the jobs in the group in file name order, assigns a print order ID to each job, and sets the print order (step S10).
If sorting is not set to file name order (step S9; NO), the control unit 10 sorts the jobs in the group by the job creation date and time, assigns a print order ID to each job, and sets the print order (step S11).
Next, the control unit 10 determines whether the job is a single-sided printing job in which an eye mark is printed on the back side of the continuous medium M (step S12).
Next, for a job in which an eye mark is printed on the back side (step S12; YES), the control unit 10 obtains the eye mark position information contained in the job information, and sorts multiple jobs in which an eye mark is printed on the back side in order of the eye mark position information (step S13).
Next, the control unit 10 performs steps S14 to S19 similar to steps S6 to S11 for a job in which an eye mark is printed on the back side, and ends the process.

Also, if the job is for single-sided printing and no eye mark is printed on the front side (step S4; NO), the control unit 10 proceeds to step S12.
Moreover, if the job is a single-sided printing job and the eye mark is not printed on the back side (step S12; NO), the control unit 10 ends the process.

Also, in a double-sided printing job (step S3; NO), the control unit 10 performs the same processing as steps S4 to S19 (step S20) and ends the processing.

Figure 5 shows a flowchart of the continuous printing process for multiple jobs executed in the image forming device 100. The continuous printing process is executed by a program stored in the control unit 10.

When a user issues a command to perform continuous printing via the operation unit 32, the control unit 10 first determines whether all jobs have been printed (step S21). When all jobs have been printed (step S21; YES), the control unit 10 ends the continuous printing process.
If the job has not been completely printed (step S21; NO), the control unit 10 judges whether the group ID of the current job is the same as the group ID of the previous job printed before the current job (step S22). If the group IDs are the same (step S22; YES), printing continues (step S23) and returns to step S21.
If the group IDs are different (step S22; NO), that is, if the difference in eye mark position information between the current job and the job printed before the current job is equal to or greater than a predetermined range, it becomes necessary to replace the continuous medium M and move the reading unit 4A or 4B, which is the eye mark sensor. Therefore, the control unit 10 stops the continuous printing operation (step S24). When the continuous printing operation is stopped, the user replaces the continuous medium M and moves the reading unit 4A or 4B, which is the eye mark sensor, to align the eye marks with the eye mark sensor. When the alignment is complete, the user issues a command to start printing via the operation unit 32.
Next, the control unit 10 judges whether a print start instruction has been received from the user (step S25). If a print start instruction has been received (step S25; YES), the control unit 10 returns to step S23 and prints the current job.
If the control unit 10 has not received a print start instruction from the user (step S25; NO), the control unit 10 judges whether or not a continuous printing end instruction has been received from the user via the operation unit 32 (step S26). If a continuous printing end instruction has been received (step S26; YES), the control unit 10 ends the continuous printing process.
Moreover, if the control unit 10 has not received an instruction to end the continuous printing (step S26; NO), the control unit 10 returns to step S24 and continues the stop.

As described above, the image forming apparatus 100 comprises an image forming unit 40 that performs overprinting on continuous media M on which an alignment image (eye mark) has been pre-printed by pre-printing, a reading unit 4A or 4B (eye mark sensor) that reads the alignment image upstream of the image forming unit 40 in the transport direction of the continuous media M, an acquisition unit (control unit 10) that acquires position information of the alignment image included in the printing management information of the overprinting printing job, a setting unit (control unit 10) that, when printing multiple overprinting printing jobs continuously, sets a group of jobs whose difference in position information of the alignment images is within a predetermined range, and a control unit 10 that continuously prints jobs within the group set by the setting unit.
Therefore, multiple jobs can be printed in succession with a minimum of operating time.

In addition, the image forming apparatus 100 is equipped with a first reading unit (reading unit 4A) that reads the first side (front side) of the continuous medium M, and a second reading unit (reading unit 4B) that reads the second side (reverse side) which is the reverse side of the first side of the continuous medium M, and the setting unit (control unit 10) sets a job group for each side of the continuous medium M on which an alignment image (eye mark) is printed, so that a job group can be set for each reading unit 4A, 4B that reads the eye mark.
Furthermore, since the setting unit (control unit 10) sets the printing order of jobs in a group in the order of job names, it is possible to continuously print a plurality of jobs in the order of job names with a minimum of work time.
Furthermore, since the setting unit (control unit 10) sets the printing order of the jobs in the group to the order in which the jobs were created, it is possible to continuously print a plurality of jobs in the order in which the jobs were created with a minimum of work time.
Furthermore, the setting unit (control unit 10) divides the group when the continuous printing distance of the group is equal to or greater than the maximum printable distance, eliminating the need for the user to set the group so that the continuous printing distance of the group does not exceed the maximum printable distance, and allowing multiple jobs to be printed continuously with a minimum of work time.
Furthermore, since the control unit 10 stops the continuous printing after printing of a group is completed, it is possible to prevent erroneous printing of a group in which the position information of the eye mark is outside the predetermined range.
Furthermore, since the predetermined range is a range that can be read by the reading units 4A and 4B, it is possible to prevent errors in reading the eye marks and false detections.

In addition, the detailed configuration and operation of the image forming device 100 may be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

1 Paper feed device 2 Main body unit 10 Control unit (acquisition unit, setting unit)
20 Memory unit 30 Operation display unit 31 Display unit 32 Operation unit 40 Image forming unit 50 Paper conveying unit 60 Fixing unit 70 Communication unit 3 Winding device 4A Reading unit (first reading unit)
4B Reading unit (second reading unit)
100 Image forming apparatus

Claims (8)

an image forming unit that performs overprinting on a continuous medium on which an alignment image has been printed in advance by preprinting;
a reading unit that reads the alignment image on the upstream side of the image forming unit in the continuous media transport direction;
An acquisition unit that acquires position information of the alignment image included in print management information of the overprinting print job;
A setting unit that sets a group of jobs in which a difference in position information of the alignment image is within a predetermined range when a plurality of the overprinting jobs are continuously printed;
a control unit for continuously printing jobs in the group set by the setting unit;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a first reading unit that reads a first side of the continuous medium;
a second reading unit that reads a second surface of the continuous medium, the second surface being the reverse side of the first surface of the continuous medium;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the setting unit sets the group of the job for each surface of the continuous medium on which the alignment image is printed. The image forming device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the setting unit sets the printing order of the jobs in the group in the order of the job names. The image forming device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the setting unit sets the printing order of the jobs in the group to the order in which the jobs are generated. The image forming device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the setting unit divides the group when the continuous printing distance of the group is equal to or greater than the maximum printable distance. The image forming device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the control unit stops continuous printing after printing of the group is completed. The image forming device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the predetermined range is a range that the reading unit can read. an image forming unit that performs overprinting on a continuous medium on which an alignment image has been printed in advance by preprinting;
a reading unit that reads the alignment image on the upstream side of the image forming unit in the continuous media transport direction,
an acquisition unit for acquiring position information of the alignment image included in print management information of the overprinting print job;
a setting unit for setting a group of jobs in which the position information of the alignment image is within a predetermined range when a plurality of jobs are to be printed continuously;
a control unit for continuously printing jobs in the group set by the setting unit;
A program that functions as a

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