JP3511859B2 - Document sorting system - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a document sorting system, and more particularly to a batch sorting process for printing a plurality of copies of a document having a plurality of pages and rearranging a bundle of printed recording sheets in a designated method. The present invention relates to a document sorting system that can be performed by

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when copying or printing a plurality of copies of a document having a plurality of pages by a copying machine or a printer, recording sheets to be printed (recorded) are superposed in order of pages. In addition, a sorter is used to sort each part. Such a sorter is provided in a paper output unit such as a copying machine or a printer, and its sorting process is executed in synchronization with the printing process.

In addition, with the spread of the Internet / Intranet in recent years, a distributed printing system for printing a large amount of documents at high speed by operating a plurality of black and white printers or color printers connected by a network in cooperation with each other. Have been proposed.
In such a distributed printing system, usually, a sorter is not provided at all, or each printer is individually provided with a sorter. Therefore, when the sorter is used, it is necessary to specify a specific printer equipped with the sorter to perform the print processing.

As a known technique of this type, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-249452, an image is formed by a group of a plurality of copying machines or printers so that the entire system can be efficiently operated. A system has been proposed. According to this, for example, when four sheets of printers print 16 sheets (16 pages) of 200 sheets each, the first printer prints 1 sheet.
~ Print the 4th original, and print it on the second printer with 5 ~
Prints the 8th original and prints 9 to 1 on the third printer
It is possible to print the second document and the fourth printer to print the thirteenth to sixteenth documents, for example, so that the processes can be distributed to the respective printers to perform the printing process.

Further, in the proposal of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-139837, in a system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected, does any of the plurality of image forming apparatuses appear incapable of printing during image formation? If there is an inoperable device, the image data corresponding to the number of unformed image outputs in the unprintable device is distributed to the other image forming devices and transmitted, and the image data is distributed. The apparatus proposes an image forming system in which images of the designated number of output sheets are printed, and the printed recording sheets are accommodated in another bin for identification.

[0006]

However, in the sorter connected to the printer, the sorting process is performed in synchronization with the printing process, so that the same document can be sorted and sorted again after printing, or the user can perform a complicated sorting method. It was impossible to tell.

In the distributed printing system proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-249452 or Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 8-139837, recording sheets that are distributed and output are partially sorted. In some cases, the recording papers output from a plurality of locations are not collected as a whole, so that the user needs to collect the recording papers from the trays of a plurality of printers and sort them manually.

Even if each printer or image forming apparatus is provided with a sorter individually, it is still necessary to rely on humans to collect the distributed output sheets and sort them into document sets. The provision of the above causes the cost of the system configuration to increase.

Further, in such a distributed printing system, if a printer equipped with a sorter is used, it is possible to sort each document by the printer, but a more complicated sorting processing method, for example, a plurality of documents can be used. It was impossible to group them and sort them into groups.

Further, since the single sorting processing method is automatically performed, it is impossible for the user to select a desired sorting processing method or sort the same sheet a plurality of times by different sorting methods. .

The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to bother the manual sorting and sorting of a bundle of recording sheets of a document having a plurality of pages. In addition, the sorting and sorting process can be performed asynchronously with the printing process without increasing the cost of the device and reducing the printing process efficiency of the system. It is to provide a flexible document sorting system having a function of selecting and executing a sorting processing method.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, the document sorting system of the present invention prints a plurality of pages or a plurality of copies of a document, and prints a bundle of recording sheets in a specified order. A document sorting system for collectively performing sorting processing, wherein print processing means for executing document printing processing and generating document sorting information for determining a sorting order of the bundle of recording sheets and the document sorting information. A printing device having sorting information assigning means for imparting to the recording sheet, sorting information reading means for inputting the recording sheet bundle provided with the document sorting information and reading the document sorting information assigned to the recording sheet, An instruction to start sorting processing and whether the stack of recording sheets is aligned Sorting instruction means for inputting an instruction of an order of sorting, sorting management means for managing the sorting order of the recording sheets based on the read document sorting information and the input sorting instruction without conflict, and the sorting management means. A document sorting apparatus having sorting processing means for performing a process of rearranging the order of the recording papers controlled by, and a recording paper outputting means for outputting the recording papers sorted and sorted, and the sorting management means. In order to receive a part or all of the document sorting information from the print service means as required, the printing apparatus and the communication apparatus for connecting the document sorting apparatus are provided.

According to such a document sorting system, the print service means generates the document sorting information together with the print processing of the document, and the sorting information giving means gives the document sorting information to the recording sheet. When a bundle of recording sheets to which the document sorting information has been added is collectively input to the document sorting apparatus, the sorting information reading means reads the document sorting information provided to the recording sheets and performs sorting processing according to the document sorting information.

This document sorting information is composed of at least a unique identifier for each document, a page number, and a print service identifier, and when the reading of the document sorting information of all recording sheets is completed, the sorting management means performs the print service means. Receive complete document sorting information from a communication device. The sorting method is input from the sorting instruction means, and the sorting management means controls the sorting operation of the sorting processing means based on all the document sorting information and the sorting instruction. The sorting processing means is controlled by the sorting management means to sort the recording sheets one by one for each document and send the recording sheets to a predetermined output position of the recording sheet output means. The unsorted recording sheets that cannot be sent to the recording sheet output means are temporarily stored inside until the turn of the document to be sent to the recording sheet output means comes.

With this, it is possible to eliminate the troublesomeness of manually collecting and sorting a bundle of recording sheets composed of a plurality of pages and rearranging them in page order. Further, since it is not necessary to perform sorting in synchronization with the document print processing, it is possible to sort the same document any number of times.

When the document sorting system is used in combination with the distributed printing system,
Since at least one document sorting device in the system will produce sufficient effect, it is less expensive than the case where all printers are equipped with dedicated sorters, and a bundle of distributed recording sheets can be bundled together. It is possible to sort and sort.

Since there is no restriction that the load of print processing is distributed for each document, the degree of freedom of load distribution is high, and the resources of the distributed print system can be utilized to the maximum.
The print processing efficiency of the entire system can be improved.

Furthermore, it is possible to select and execute a sorting processing method from among a plurality of sorting processing methods according to a user's instruction, and the document sorting information held by the print service means after printing is also performed. Since it can be changed, it excels in reusability of recording paper and system expandability.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of a document sorting system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 11 is a printing device, 12 is a document sorting device, 13 is a communication device,
4 is a print service device, 5 is a sorting information adding device,
6 is a sorting information reading device, 7 is a sorting instruction device, 8
Is a sorting management device, 9 is a sorting processing device, and 10 is a recording paper output device.

As shown in FIG. 1, the document sorting system according to the present embodiment comprises a printing device 11, a document sorting device 12, and a communication device 13 which connects the printing device 11 and the document sorting device 12 to each other. Has been done. The printing device 11 performs document printing processing, generation of document sorting information for sorting the printed recording sheet bundle, and addition of the generated document sorting information to the recording sheet. Also,
The document sorting device 12 executes sorting processing based on the document sorting information.

The printing device 11 also includes a print service device 4 and a sorting information adding device 5.
The print service apparatus 4 executes document printing processing and generates document sorting information that determines the order in which the recording sheet bundle on which the documents are printed are rearranged. The sorting information assignment device 5 assigns a part or all of the document sorting information generated by the print service device 4 to a recording sheet.

Further, in the configuration of the document sorting device 12, as shown in FIG. 1, the sorting information reading device 6
1, a sorting instruction device 7, a sorting management device 8, a sorting processing device 9, and a recording paper output device 10. The sorting information reading device 6 inputs a bundle of recording sheets to which the document sorting information is added, and reads the document sorting information from each recording sheet. The sorting instruction device 7 instructs the sorting method in the document sorting device 12. The sorting management device 8 manages the sorting order of the recording sheets according to the document sorting information and the designated sorting method without any inconsistency.
Is controlled by the sorting management device 8 to execute a process of rearranging the order of recording sheets. In addition, the recording paper output device 1
0 outputs the recording paper that has been sorted and rearranged.

In the document sorting system configured as described above, when the document print processing is issued, the print service device 4 executes the document print processing and automatically generates a part of the document sorting information. To do. The print service device 4
For the document sorting information that cannot be automatically generated, the print processing issuer is inquired and generated based on the reply. Of the document sorting information generated in this way, at least the unique identifier for each document, the page number, and the identifier of the print service device that executed the printing process are assigned to each recording sheet by the sorting information assigning device 5. To be done.

When the document sorting information is given to each recording sheet, a sheet bundle consisting of a plurality of pages of the recording sheet is collectively input to the document sorting device 12 by the sorting processing issuer, and the sorting instruction device 7 The start of reading is instructed.

When the start of reading is instructed, the document sorting information is first read by the sorting information reading device 6. Then, the sorting information reading device 6
When the document identifier, page number, and print service identifier for each recording sheet are recognized, the information is sent to the sorting management device 8. Sorting management device 8
Requests all the document sorting information to the print service device 4 based on the sent document sorting information.

The print service device 4 transfers all the generated document sorting information regarding the document to the sorting management device 8 through the communication device 13. The sorting management device 8 sorts the recording sheets one by one according to the document sorting information and the sorting method instructed by the sorting process issuer. That is, if the recording sheet that has passed through the sorting information reading device 6 is a bundle of recording sheets including, for example, the last page of a document, the sorting processing device 9 is controlled to send it to the recording sheet output device 10. If the recording sheet is not a bundle of recording sheets including the last page of the document, the recording sheet is temporarily stored inside and held until the sorting order comes.

The sorting processing device 9 is thus arranged to read the sorting information reading device 6 or the print service device 4.
The recording sheets are rearranged based on the document sorting information obtained from the above and the sorting method instructed by the sorting instruction device 7, and are sent to a predetermined output position of the recording sheet output device 10. The recording paper output device 10 outputs the recording paper to a different output position for each document when there are a plurality of positions for outputting the recording paper, and when the number of documents is large, the output has already been completed for a certain document. Output to the output position. As a result, it becomes possible to input a bundle of recording papers consisting of a plurality of pages at once and rearrange the recording papers in a specified order. When the sorting management device 8 cannot receive all the document sorting information from the print service device 4 due to a malfunction of the communication device 13, only the document identifier and page number read from the recording paper by the sorting information reading device 6 are received. Sorting is performed by using.

Next, an embodiment in which the document sorting system of the present invention is applied to a distributed printing system will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a document sorting system according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the document sorting system includes two printing devices (11a, 11b), a document sorting device 12, and a communication device 13 interconnecting these devices. The communication device 13 is for connecting the two printing devices (11a, 11b) and the document sorting device 12 to each other, and uses a communication path of a network such as Ethernet or wireless LAN, for example.

The first printing device 11a has a computer 14a in which the print service processing function is executed as a software process, and a sorting information addition device 3
It is composed of printers 15a to 15c. Similarly, the second printing device 11b is composed of a computer 14b in which the print service processing function is executed as a software process, and two printers 15d to 15e having sorting information adding devices. In addition,
Reference numerals 16a to 16e denote printers 15a to 15 respectively.
7 shows a bundle of recording sheets printed out from e. The bundle of recording sheets 16a to 16e is collected from the output trays of the printers 15a to 15e by the user (sorting process issuer), conveyed to the document sorting apparatus 12, and input as one bundle.

The printing apparatuses (11a, 11b) are configured as a distributed printing system, and a document consisting of a plurality of pages is distributed by a plurality of printers and the pages of the document are distributed and output. When outputting a 120-page document, if three printers are available, for example, printers 15a, 15b, 1
5c is available, the document is divided into 40 pages, and the first 1 to 40 pages are output from the first printer 15a.
The page is output, and the next 41 is output from the second printer 15b.
-80 pages are output, and the last 81-120 pages are output from the third printer 15c.

Of course, the printing device (11
In addition, a and 11b) do not restrict having a high-level print job distributed allocation function or control function. For example, if a printer that is printing a multi-page document is unable to continue printing due to some failure, it has the function to transfer the print job to another available printer and print the next page. Even with such a system, the document sorting system of the present embodiment can be adapted very well. Further, in each of the printers 15a to 15e, at the same time when the document is printed, the same printing mechanism is used,
According to the function of the embodiment according to the present invention, the document sorting information for sorting the documents is printed at a predetermined position on the recording sheet.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the document sorting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a recording paper conveyance mechanism centered on a recording paper conveyance unit of the document sorting apparatus. 3 and 4, reference numeral 21 is a recording paper input unit, 22 is a sorting information reading unit, 23 is a recording paper temporary storage unit, 24 is a recording paper transport unit, 25 is a sorting control unit, and 26a to 26m are recording paper output units. , 27 is a communication device connection unit, 28 is a sorting instruction input unit, and 29 is a management state display unit.

As shown in FIG. 4, the recording sheet conveying section 24 is provided with a plurality of recording sheet conveying rollers 24a to 24h along a conveying path for sorting the recording sheets, and each recording sheet is conveyed. The paper transport rollers 24a to 24h are drive-controlled. 16a to 16e are bundles of recording sheets on which sorting information is printed.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the document sorting apparatus 12 includes a recording sheet input section 21, a sorting information reading section 22, a recording sheet temporary storage section 23, a recording sheet transport section 24, and sorting control. Unit 25, one or more recording paper output units 26 a to 26 m, and communication device connection unit 27.
And a sorting instruction input unit 28 and a management status display unit 29. In FIG. 3, the flow of recording paper is indicated by a thick arrow symbol, and the flow of control information for controlling the paper flow is indicated by a thin arrow symbol.

Next, each block of the elements constituting the document sorting device 12 will be individually described. The recording paper input unit 21 is configured by the sorting process issuer to have the printer group 15a.
A bundle 16a of recording sheets collected from the output trays 15e to 15e
16e are collectively input, and the recording paper transport roller 24a
Is a device having a mechanism for separating the recording paper into recording paper sheets one by one and feeding it to the sorting information reading unit 22.

The sorting information reading section 22 optically reads and recognizes the document sorting information printed together with the content of the document from the recording sheet input by the recording sheet input section 21, and controls this electronically. The information is converted and output to the sorting control unit 25. The recording paper from which the document sorting information is read by the sorting information reading unit 22 is transferred to the recording sheet conveying roller 24.
In step b, the recording paper is sent to the temporary storage unit 23.

The recording paper temporary storage unit 23 temporarily holds a bundle of recording papers that have not been sorted yet. The recording sheet temporary storage unit 23 receives the recording sheet by the recording sheet conveying roller 24b, temporarily stores the recording sheet, and discharges the recording sheet by the recording sheet conveying roller 24h. In other words, a FIFO (First-In First-O)
ut) Works as a mechanism.

The recording sheet conveying section 24 controls the driving of a plurality of recording sheet conveying rollers 24a to 24h at predetermined timings, and inputs one sheet from the recording sheet input section 21 through the sorting information reading section 22. Alternatively, one recording sheet is input from the recording sheet temporary storage unit 23 and sorted in the recording sheet temporary storage unit 23, or the recording sheet output unit 2
The paper feed mechanism for outputting to 6a to 26m is controlled. By this paper feed control, the recording paper on which the document classification information is printed is sorted. The switching of the input position and the output position of the transport path of the paper feed mechanism by these recording paper transport rollers 24a to 24h is controlled by a control signal input from the sorting control unit 25.

Based on the document sorting information received from the sorting information reading unit 22 or the communication device connecting unit 27 and the sorting method input from the sorting instruction input unit 28, the sorting control unit 25 determines each of the recording paper transport units 24. It controls the driving operation of the recording paper conveying rollers 24a to 24h to manage the sorting and rearrangement of the recording papers.

The recording paper output units 26a to 26m are for outputting the recording papers for which the sorting and rearranging processing has been completed for each document, and are composed of a plurality of trays or sort bins.

The communication device connection unit 27 is an electronic circuit unit for connecting the document sorting device 12 and the communication device 13, and is composed of an MPU, an ASIC, a memory, etc., and is connected to the sorting control unit 25 and the communication device 13. To communicate with software processes running on other devices.

The sorting instruction input section 28 is an input device for inputting an instruction of a sorting method for a bundle of recording sheets from the outside.
For example, the keyboard is configured so that the sorting process issuer can directly operate and input.

The management status display section 29 is the sorting control section 25.
Is a display device unit that displays an internal state relating to a sorting process that is being executed and is configured by, for example, a small liquid crystal display device.

Next, the flow of recording sheets in the document sorting device 12 will be described with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 4, the bundle of recording sheets 16a to 16e input to the recording sheet input unit 21 is fed one by one by the first recording sheet conveying roller 24a and guided into the document sorting apparatus 12. . Then, after the document sorting information is read by the sorting information reading unit 22, the recording sheet transport roller 24b once transports the document to the recording sheet temporary storage unit 23 and temporarily stores it.

The recording sheets held in the recording sheet temporary storage unit 23 are taken out one by one by the recording sheet conveying roller 24h on the exit side, and are sent through the conveying path by the recording sheet conveying rollers 24c and the recording sheet conveying rollers 24b. hand,
The recording paper is temporarily returned to the recording paper temporary storage unit 23, or the recording paper conveyance roller 24c and the recording paper conveyance roller 2 are used.
4d, the recording paper is conveyed to one of the recording paper output units 26a to 26m by being sent through the conveying path by the recording paper conveyance rollers 24e to 24g. Such recording sheet conveying rollers 24a ...
As described above, the sorting control unit 25 controls the start and stop of 24h and the switching of the paper feeding direction based on the document sorting information.

Next, the document sorting information printed together with the documents on the recording paper for sorting the documents will be described. The document sorting information is composed of document attribute information indicating attributes unique to each document, sorting instruction information for instructing the order or method of rearranging recording sheets, and a page number unique to each recording sheet. The page number for sorting here does not always match the page number assigned by the application program that created the document.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the items of document attribute information and their data formats. In the document attribute information, the document identifier A1 of the item is an integer value unique to each copy of the document. Number of pages A2
Indicates the number of recording sheets on which the document is printed. The print service identifier A3 is a character string that can uniquely specify the print service process on the network. For example, when implemented on the IP (Internet Protocol), it is the IP address of the host computer on which the print service process is executed. It consists of the port number of the print service process.

The document creator identifier A4 is a unique character string representing the creator of the document, and is composed of, for example, a login name. The creation date and time A5 is an integer value representing the date and time when the document was created. The print process issuer identifier A6 is a unique character string representing the user who issued the print process of the document, and is composed of, for example, a login name. Issue date and time A7
Is an integer value representing the date and time when the document print processing was issued. The document group identifier A8 is
This is an integer value that is unique to each document group in which multiple documents are registered. The document group here includes, for example, a distribution list in which map documents and guidebook documents are registered.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing items of document sorting instruction information, possible values of each item, and values (default values) automatically given by the print service apparatus 4 when no designation is made.

In the document sorting instruction information,
The instruction information B1 of that item is information that specifies whether or not to sort each document, and when the value is true, sorts each document, and when the value is false, indicates that sorting is not performed. The default value is true. That is, the instruction is to sort each document. The instruction information B2 indicates whether to sort the documents in page order, and when sorting, indicates ascending order or descending order. The default value is an instruction to sort in ascending order. The instruction information B3 indicates whether to sort each document group. The default value is false, which is an instruction not to sort by document group. The instruction information B4 indicates whether or not to sort each print processing issuer. The default value is false, that is, an instruction not to sort each print processing issuer.

Further, the instruction information B5 indicates whether or not to sort the print processing according to the issue date and time. When sorting, specify either ascending or descending order. No default value,
That is, it is an instruction not to sort. Instruction information B
Reference numeral 6 is instruction information for instructing whether to sort each document creator. The default value is false, that is, the instruction does not sort each document creator. The instruction information B7 indicates whether or not to sort documents by the date and time they were created. When sorting, specify either ascending or descending order. There is no default value, ie
It is an instruction not to sort.

The instruction information B8 indicates to which of the recording paper output units 26a to 26m the recording paper is output. The possible value of the instruction information B8 is an integer value indicating the number of the recording paper output unit, and the default value is 1. Instruction information B
9 designates whether or not to notify the print processing issuer when the sorting processing is started by the document sorting apparatus 12. The default value is false, that is, an instruction not to notify. Further, the instruction information B10 specifies whether or not to notify the print processing issuer when the document sorting apparatus 12 finishes the sorting processing. The default value is false, that is, an instruction not to notify.

The instruction information B11 is an item used only when the instruction information B10 is true, and specifies the document sorting information to be notified to the print processing issuer at the end of the sorting processing. The default value of this instruction information B11 is A1. That is, the document identifier A1 is notified. Similarly, the instruction information B12 is an item used only when either the instruction information B9 or the instruction information B10 is true, and the instruction information specifies a method of notifying the print processing issuer of the document sorting information. In this example, it is possible to select whether to display directly on the console or to notify by electronic mail,
The default value is set to display directly on the console.

By the way, when the content of each item of the instruction information shown in FIG. 6 cannot be executed at the same time, for example, when it is instructed to sort each issuer and each creator, The document sorting apparatus 12 is controlled so that the sorting is performed by giving priority to the instruction information of the item with the smaller code of the instruction information B1 to B12 shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the processing flow of the document sorting information generation and the addition to the recording paper in the printing apparatus 11. This processing will be described with reference to FIG. 7. When the print process issuer issues a print process for a document (step 71), the print service process executes the document print process and automatically generates a part of the document sorting information (step 72). .

Since the print service process cannot automatically determine the document group identifier A8 and the sorting instruction information B1 to B12, an inquiry is made using the console of the print processing issuer and the instruction is input (step 73). ). When the instruction information is input, it is then determined whether or not all the document sorting information has been generated (step 74). If further sorting instruction input is required, this is determined and the print processing issuer The process of inputting instructions from is repeated.

When all the document sorting information is generated and the processing of the instruction input from the print processing issuer is completed, the print service process stores them in the secondary storage area, and a part of them (document identifier A1, print The service identifier A3 and page number) are sent to the printer 15 and printed on recording paper together with the document (contents thereof) (step 75), and this processing ends.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen for instructing the document sorting method by the print processing issuer. When the print processing issuer instructs the document sorting method, the print service process opens a window screen of the input interface on the console monitor, as shown in FIG. 8, and displays the document sorting method on the display screen 30. Is displayed. On the display screen 30, sorting instruction items 31 and check buttons 32a-3
2n, radio buttons 33a and 33b, a pull-down menu 34, an add button 35, and an instruction input window including a character string input field 36 are displayed.

The check buttons 32a-32n and the radio buttons 33a-33b are pre-checked based on the default values defined by the sorting instruction information as shown in FIG. The print processing issuer changes these sorting methods according to his or her preference. For example, when the sorting check button 32n by document group is checked, the document group to register the document is selected from the pull-down menu 34, or
Alternatively, the add button 35 and the character string input field 36
Use to to register a new document group. Finally, the "OK" button 37a or the "Cancel" button 37b is used to notify the print service process that all the inputs have been completed.

The document sorting information here is printed by using human-readable characters and numbers, but in order to simplify the sorting information reading unit 22, improve reading accuracy, and speed up, a code is used. It is preferable to print with a converted symbol (for example, a bar code). Prints that can be visually identified or special inks that cannot be visually identified may be used. The identifier can be used properly depending on the sensor and the identification ability of the sorting information reading unit 22.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a print area of a document printed on a recording sheet and document sorting information. When the recording paper is in the vertical direction, the document sorting information is printed in the header area or the footer area of each page of the recording paper as shown in FIG. 9A. Further, when the recording paper is in the horizontal direction, the document sorting information is printed in the header area or the footer area of each page of the recording paper as shown in FIG. 9B. The recording paper 41 here is divided into three areas: a document area 42 in which the contents of the document are printed, a first sorting information area 43 in which the document sorting information is printed, and a second sorting information area 44.

In FIG. 9, each area is displayed as a rectangular frame for convenience of explanation, but these frames are not necessarily forced to be printed. Further, even when the document sorting information is printed, it is not necessary to print the header area or the footer area of each page at two places. Also,
As shown in FIG. 9C, for example, it is also possible to print the document sorting information in the vicinity of the center in a format that the user does not understand, using ink or the like that can be seen only by ultraviolet rays.

Since a normal document has margins above and below the recording paper, there is a blank area sufficient for printing the document sorting information in the header area or the footer area. This is used as the first sorting information area 43 and the second sorting information area 44 where the document sorting information is printed. If the document has no such margin, reduce the document area 42 for printing the contents of a normal document,
Sorting information areas (43, 44) in which blank portions are provided above and below the recording paper, and document sorting information is printed therein.
Should be provided.

In this embodiment, the first sorting information area 43 and the second sorting information area 44 for printing the document sorting information are printed on the same surface as the contents of the document, but the document sorting information is printed on the paper. May be printed on the back surface of the sheet, or may be printed on the other portion of the paper.

Next, a specific example of the sorting operation of the document sorting device 12 in the case where documents are sorted and sorted in ascending order of pages will be described in detail. This will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12. Here, it is assumed that the four documents A to D are appropriately divided into pages and output from the three printers configured as the distributed printing system.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow until the bundle of recording sheets output by the three printers of the printing apparatus 11a is input to the document sorting apparatus 12. In this example, in the printing apparatus 11a having the three printers 15a to 15c, document A, document B, document C, and document D
It is assumed that these four documents are output in page distribution by these printers in this order. Further, the document sorting device 12 is assumed to have four recording paper output units 26a to 26d.

The document A here is composed of 90 pages, and the first 1 to 30 pages (a bundle A1 of recording sheets in FIG. 10) are output from the printer 15c and the next 3 pages.
Pages 1 to 60 (bundle of recording paper A2) are printed by printer 15b
And the next 61 to 90 pages (a bundle A3 of recording sheets) are output from the printer 15a. Document B is composed of 50 pages, and the first 1
Pages 30 to 30 (bundle B1 of recording sheets) are output from the printer 15b, and the next 31 to 50 pages (bundle B of recording sheets B).
2) is output from the printer 15a.

The document C is composed of 70 pages, and the first 1 to 35 pages (bundle C1 of recording sheets) are output from the printer 15a, and the next 36 to 70 pages (bundle C2 of recording sheets) are printed by the printer. It is output from 15c. The document D is composed of 120 pages, and the first 1 to 30 pages (a bundle D1 of recording sheets) are the printer 15
Then, the next page 31 to 60 (a bundle D2 of recording sheets) is output from the printer 15a. Next 61
~ 90 pages (a bundle D3 of recording sheets) is output from the printer 15c, and the following pages 91 to 120 (a bundle D3 of recording sheets).
4) is output from the printer 15b.

In this way, each of the printers 15a-15
A bundle of recording sheets printed separately from c (Documents A1 to A3, Documents B1 to B2, Documents C1 to C2, and Documents D1 to D4) is
The printers 15a, 15b, and 15c are collected in this order by the sorting processing issuer, collected into one bundle 100 of recording sheets, and input to the recording sheet input unit 21 of the document sorting apparatus 12, as shown in FIG. Suppose that is done.
The input stack of recording sheets 100 is passed through the sorting information reading section 22 to read the document sorting information printed on the respective recording sheets, and the order in which they are temporarily input to the recording sheet temporary storage section 23. It is stored in.

At this time, the sorting information reading section 22
The document sorting information printed on each page of the recording paper is read, recognized, converted into electronic sorting control information, and the sorting control information is transmitted to the sorting control unit 25.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a control processing flow in the sorting control section 25. The control processing here will be described with reference to FIG. 11. When a bundle of some recording sheets is set in the recording sheet input unit 21 and the sorting processing issuer instructs to start the sorting information reading, the processing is started. First, in step 111, the document sorting information is read from the recording paper by the sorting information reading unit 22, and the sorting control unit 25
Transferred to.

Next, in step 112, the print service process that printed the document is specified from the print service identifier A3 in the transferred document sorting information, and the document identifier A1 is transferred to the print service process, and all Request to send document sort information for. Next, step 1
In step 13, it is determined whether or not there is a correct response from the print service process within a predetermined time. If the response is correct, the process proceeds to step 114, and complete document sorting information cannot be obtained due to some trouble. If so, go to step 116.

In step 114, the value of the instruction information B9 of the document sorting information is determined. According to this determination, if the value of the instruction information B9 is “true”, that is,
If the instruction is to notify the print processing issuer when the document sorting apparatus 12 starts the sorting processing, the process proceeds to step 115 to notify the print processing issuer of the sorting start. If the value of the instruction information B9 is "false", nothing is done and the process proceeds to step 116.

At step 115, the print processing issuer is notified of the start of sorting, and if necessary, the sorting method is input again, and at next step 116,
The preparation of sorting is displayed on the management status display unit 29, and the input of sorting instruction from the sorting processing issuer is waited for. When all sort instruction inputs are completed and sort start instructions are input, next, in step 117, a recording paper output unit for outputting a document is assigned according to the input document sort information and sort instruction method. .

Next, at step 118, a control signal is generated and a sorting process is executed. That is, the sorting control unit 25 determines the recording paper output unit 26 and the order in which the page range of each document in the recording paper temporary storage unit 23 is arranged. Generates a control signal for controlling the start / stop of 24h and the switching of the paper feed direction,
According to the control signal, the recording paper conveying rollers 24a-24
The sorting process is executed by controlling the paper feeding by h.

Next, in step 119, it is judged whether or not the sorting process is completed. If the sorting process is not completed by the execution of the first sorting process, the process returns to step 118 to generate a control signal and sort. The process of executing the process is repeated. That is, for the unsorted documents temporarily stored in the recording paper temporary storage unit 23, the control signal is generated again, and the sorting process is executed based on the control signal. If it is determined in step 119 that the sorting process is completed, the process proceeds to step 120.

In step 120, the value of the instruction information B10 of the document sorting information is determined. If the value of the instruction information B10 is "true", the process proceeds to step 121, and in step 121, the print processing issuer is notified of the end of the sorting. In the determination process of step 120,
If the value of the instruction information B10 is "false", the sorting process ends.

Next, a specific example of the sorting process of the documents stored in the recording paper temporary storage unit 23 will be described with reference to FIG. In this case, it is assumed that the bundle of recording sheets of the documents to be sorted is stored in the recording sheet temporary storage unit 23 in the order of being input as a bundle as shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a specific example of the sorting process in the document sorting device 12. In the document sorting device 12, the sorting control unit 25 controls the recording sheet conveying unit 24 based on the document sorting information and the sorting method input by the instruction. Here, the document is assigned to the recording sheet output units 26a to 26d. Regarding Document A, the document A is a recording paper output unit 26a.
Document B is assigned to the recording sheet output unit 26b, document C is assigned to the recording sheet output unit 26c, and document D is assigned to the recording sheet output unit 26d.

As shown in FIG. 12, first, in the first-stage sorting process, the recording sheet transport section 24 is stored in the recording sheet temporary storage section 23 in the order of input to the document sorting apparatus 12. Bunch of recording paper (Fig. 10)
In the order of input, such as A1, C2, D3, ...
A stack of document recording sheets (C2, D4, A3, B2) that can be taken out in sequence and output immediately in that order.
The sorting control unit 25 outputs C1) to the bin tray of the assigned recording paper output units 26a to 26d. In addition, a stack of recording sheets (A1, D3, A2,
B1, D1, D2) are stored again in the recording paper temporary storage unit 23.

That is, according to the input order,
First, the second bundle of recording sheets C2 is output to the recording sheet output unit 26c, the sixth bundle of recording sheets D4 is output to the recording sheet output unit 26d, and the eighth bundle of recording sheets is output. A3 is output to the recording paper output unit 26a, the ninth stack of recording papers B2 is output to the recording paper output unit 26b, and the tenth stack of recording papers C1 is output to the recording paper output unit 26c. To be done. The other bundles of recording sheets cannot be immediately output to the recording sheet output units 26a to 26d in the same order, and thus the remaining bundles of recording sheets are
It is stored in the recording paper temporary storage unit 23.

In this way, the recording paper temporary storage unit 23
When the beginning of the bundle of recording papers stored in (1) again becomes the bundle A1 of recording papers, the first-stage sorting process ends. At this point, the stack of recording sheets A1, D3, A2, B not sorted yet is stored in the recording sheet temporary storage unit 23.
1, D1 and D2 are stored in this input order. At this time, the document C (a bundle of recording paper C
2, C1) have already been sorted at this stage and are output to the bin tray of the assigned recording paper output unit 26c. Only a part of the bundle of recording sheets of documents A, B and D is output to the assigned recording sheet output units 26a, 26b and 26d.

Also in the next second-stage sorting process, the sorting process is performed on the bundle of recording sheets remaining in the recording-sheet temporary storage unit 23, similarly to the first-stage sorting process. That is, the bundle of recording sheets remaining in the recording sheet temporary storage unit 23 at this time can be sequentially taken out in the input order as A1, D3, A2, ..., And immediately output in the same order. The bundle of document recording sheets is output to the bin trays of the recording sheet output units 26a, 26b, and 26d. If you need to change the order,
It is stored in the recording paper temporary storage unit 23.

That is, the second stack of recording sheets D3 is stored in the recording sheet temporary storage section 23 at this time in accordance with the order of the remaining bundle of recording sheets stored again in the recording sheet temporary storage section 23. , The third sheet bundle A2 of recording sheets is output to the recording sheet output unit 26a, and the fourth sheet bundle B1 of recording sheets is output to the recording sheet output unit 26b. . Since the other bundles of recording paper (A1, D1) cannot be immediately output to the recording paper output units 26a to 26d in the same order, the remaining bundles of recording papers are stored again in the recording paper temporary storage unit 23. To be done.

In this way, the recording paper temporary storage unit 23
When the beginning of the bundle of recording papers stored in (1) again becomes the bundle A1 of recording papers, the sorting process of the second stage ends.

At the second stage, document B is newly added.
Sorting is completed. Only the bundle A1 of recording sheets and the bundle D1 of recording sheets are not sorted yet, and these are returned to the recording sheet temporary storage unit 23.

Then, in the next third stage sorting process, the bundle A1 of recording sheets is output to the recording sheet output unit 26a, and the bundle D1 of recording sheets is output to the recording sheet output unit 26d. Here, for the first time, the recording paper temporary storage unit 23
Indicates that all four copies of the document have been sorted, and the pages have been sorted and output in page order. As a result, a series of document sorting processing is completed.

The document sorting system of this embodiment is premised to be used in combination with the distributed printing system. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a printer locally connected to the host computer by a parallel interface or the like can be used. Obviously, they may be used in combination.

Further, in the document sorting system of the present embodiment, it is assumed that the recording sheet output section constituting the document sorting apparatus is plural and has the respective bin trays, but the present invention is not limited to this. The document sorting apparatus may have only a single recording sheet output unit and simply stack and output sheets sorted and sorted for each document.

Further, not only stacking the sheets,
Document sorting device with a post-processing mechanism that sandwiches some marks between documents, document sorting device with a post-processing mechanism that changes the orientation or position of the paper for each document, and recording paper output with stapling function Even a document sorting device provided with a section, a document sorting device having a post-processing mechanism for folding and outputting a part of a large-sized paper in a document, etc. are within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. It is clear that there is.

The features of the document sorting system according to the present embodiment described above can be summarized together with the modification thereof.
It looks like this: That is, (1) the document sorting system of the present embodiment is a document sorting system that prints a plurality of pages or a plurality of copies of a document and collectively sorts the printed recording sheet bundle in a specified order. The printer 11 includes a printing device 11, a document sorting device 12, and a communication device 13.

(2) The printing device 11 here prints the document and generates the document sorting information for determining the order in which the bundle of printed recording sheets is rearranged, and the document sorting information. And a sorting information assigning device 5 that assigns to the recording sheet.

(3) Document sorting device 1 here
2 is a sorting information reading device 6 and a sorting instruction device 7
1, a sorting management device 8, a sorting processing device 9, and a recording paper output device 10.

(4) The sorting information reading device 6 inputs the bundle of recording sheets provided with the document sorting information and reads the document sorting information provided on the recording sheets. The sorting instruction device 7 inputs an instruction to start a sorting process and an instruction to rearrange the stack of recording sheets, and the sorting management device 8 records based on the read document sorting information and the input sorting instruction. Manage the paper order so that it is consistent. The sorting processing device 9 is controlled by the sorting management device 8 to perform a process of rearranging the order of the recording sheets. Further, the recording paper output device 10 outputs the recording paper that has been sorted and rearranged.

(5) In the communication device 13, the sorting management device 8 receives a part or all of the document sorting information from the print service device 4 as necessary, so that the printing device 11 and the document sorting device 12 Connect.

(6) For application in the case where a plurality of printing devices 11 are provided as in a distributed printing system, the communication device 13 connects the plurality of printing devices 11 and the document sorting device 12.

(7) The document sorting information is composed of document attribute information indicating the attributes of documents, sorting instruction information for instructing the order in which recording sheets are rearranged, and a page number unique to each recording sheet.

(8) For some document sorting information that cannot be automatically generated, the print service apparatus 4 manually generates the document sorting information based on the instruction of the print issuer through the man-machine interface ( (Figure 8).

(9) The print service device 4 is provided with a sorting information holding unit for holding the generated document sorting information, and in response to a request from the sorting management device 8, the sorting information holding unit appropriately sorts the documents. The information is taken out and passed through the communication device 13.

(10) Further, when the user wants to change the contents of the document sorting process, the print service apparatus 4 temporarily sorts the document sorting information stored in the sorting information holding unit that holds the generated document sorting information. Allows information to be changed after the document is printed.

(11) Further, if a large amount of document sorting information is held in the sorting information holding unit, the amount of document sorting information becomes too large, so the print service device 4 is not used for a predetermined period. Document sorting information can be deleted from the sorting information holding unit.

(12) The sorting information reading device 6 receives the bundle of recording sheets on which a plurality of pages or a plurality of sets of documents are recorded all at once, and feeds the recording sheets one by one, and the recording sheet input unit 21. A sorting information reading unit 22 that reads and recognizes the document sorting information provided on the paper and converts it into electronic sorting control information.

(13) The sorting information reading section 22 optically outputs the document sorting information (FIG. 9) printed by a normal document printing mechanism to a partial area on the front surface or the back surface of each page of the recording paper. It is read and recognized and converted into electronic sorting control information.

(14) The sorting processing device 9 recognizes the document sorting information, and the recording sheet temporary storage unit 23 for temporarily holding a part or all of the recording sheet for which the document sorting information is recognized. The recording sheet is conveyed to the recording sheet temporary storage section, or the recording sheet to be sorted from the recording sheet in the recording sheet temporary storage section 23 is conveyed to the recording sheet output section 26, or the sorting is not completed. The recording sheet conveying unit 24 conveys the recording sheet so as to return it to the recording sheet temporary storage unit 26.

(15) The sorting management device 8 controls the recording sheet conveying section 24 in accordance with the document sorting information and inputs one recording sheet from either the sorting information reading section 22 or the recording sheet temporary storage section 23. , The recording paper temporary storage unit 23 or the recording paper output unit 26.

(16) The sorting management device 8 has a sorting information temporary storage section for temporarily storing the document sorting information received from the print service device 4.
Further, of the document sorting information stored in the sorting information temporary storage unit, the one that has not been used for the longest time is discarded, and a process for preparing a storage area for newly storing the document sorting information is performed.

(17) In the sorting management device 8, the document sorting information required for the next sorting process is already stored in the sorting information temporary storage section and is held by the print service device 4. Processing for executing the sorting process by using the document sorting information stored in the sorting information temporary storage unit without newly receiving the document sorting information from the print service device 4 when the document sorting information matches. I do.

(18) The recording paper output device 10 has a plurality of recording paper output units (bin trays) for outputting the recording papers that have been sorted and rearranged.

(19) The document attribute information includes a unique identifier (A1) for each document, the number of recording sheets on which the document is printed (A2), and an identifier of the print service device that executed the document print processing ( A3), an identifier (A4) unique to each document creator, a document creation date and time (A5), an identifier (A6) unique to each print process issuer, and a print process issue date and time (A7). And a part of the document group identifier (A8) including all the documents.

(20) The sorting instruction information includes an instruction (B1) as to whether or not to sort each document, an instruction as to whether or not to sort in page order, and an instruction in ascending or descending order when sorting in page order (B2). ), An instruction whether to sort by document group (B3), an instruction whether to sort by print process issuer (B4), an instruction whether to sort by print process issue date and time, and When sorting by print processing issue date / time, an instruction of ascending or descending order (B5), an instruction of sorting by document creator (B6), an instruction of sorting by document creation date / time, and a document When sorting by creation date and time, an instruction of ascending order or descending order (B7), an instruction of which recording paper output unit to output (B8), and the start of the sorting process to the print process An instruction whether to notify the ascetic (B
9), an instruction as to whether or not to notify the print processing issuer of the sorting result at the end of sorting (B10), an item (B11) to be notified when notifying, and a notification method instruction (B1).
2) and are included.

(21) As the document sorting information added to the recording paper, an identifier (A1) unique to each document in the document attribute information, a page number unique to each recording paper, and a document print process are executed. The print service means identifier (A3) is used.

(22) The sorting management device 8 receives the complete document sorting information from the print service device 4 based on the document sorting information attached to the recording sheet, and executes the sorting process.

(23) Further, the sorting management device 8 here
When the complete document sorting information cannot be received from the print service apparatus 4, the document sorting processing and the page rearrangement processing are performed using only the document sorting information attached to the recording paper.

(24) The sorting instructing device 7 displays the internal state of the sorting managing device, which is determined based on the document sorting information read from the recording sheet or the document sorting information received from the print service device 4. It has a display unit 29 and a sorting instruction input unit 28 for inputting a start of sorting processing or a change in sorting instruction.

(25) The sorting management device 8 selects either the contents of the sorting instruction input to the sorting instruction device 7 and the sorting instruction information read from the recording paper or the sorting instruction information received from the print service device 4. If there is a conflict, the sorting instruction input to the sorting instruction device 7 is prioritized to perform the sorting process.

As described above, according to the document sorting system of the present invention, a part of the document sorting information is printed on the recording paper in advance by the printing device, and the printing is performed by the sorting information reading unit. The document sorting information that has been read is recognized and passed to the sorting control unit, and the sorting control unit communicates with the print service device to receive the complete document sorting information, and the sorting and rearranging process of the documents is performed according to the sorting method input by the instruction. It is configured to control execution. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the trouble of manually collecting, sorting, and rearranging a bundle of recording sheets made up of a plurality of pages in page order.

Further, since it is not necessary to sort the documents in synchronization with the print processing of the documents, it is possible to sort the same document any number of times. Further, when the document sorting system according to the present invention is used in combination with the distributed printing system, the system has sufficient effect if there is at least one document sorting device. Therefore, when a dedicated sorter is provided for all printers. It is possible to collectively sort and sort a bundle of recording sheets output in a distributed manner at a low cost as compared with. Also,
Since there is no restriction that the load of print processing is distributed for each document, the degree of freedom of load distribution is high, the resources of the distributed print system can be maximized, and the print processing efficiency of the entire system can be improved. Furthermore, it is possible to select and execute a sorting processing method from a plurality of sorting processing methods according to a user's instruction. Further, since the document sorting information held by the print service device can be changed even after printing, it is excellent in reusability of recording paper and system expandability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a document sorting system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a document sorting system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a document sorting apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a recording sheet conveyance mechanism centering on a recording sheet conveyance section of the document sorting apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating items of document attribute information and their data formats.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing items of document sorting instruction information, possible values of each item, and values (default values) automatically given by the print service when no designation is made.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of generating document sorting information and giving it to a recording sheet in the printing apparatus 11.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen on which a print processing issuer instructs a document sorting method.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a print area of a document printed on a recording sheet and document sorting information.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow until a bundle of recording sheets output by three printers of the printing apparatus is input to the document sorting apparatus.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a control processing flow in the sorting control unit 25.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of a sorting process in the document sorting device 12.

[Explanation of symbols]

4 ... Print service device, 5 ... Sorting information adding device,
6 ... Sorting information reading device, 7 ... Sorting instruction device, 8
... sorting management device, 9 ... sorting processing device, 10 ... recording paper output device, 11 ... printing device, 12 ... document sorting device, 13 ... communication device, 16a to 16e ... recording paper bundle, 21 ... recording paper input section, 22 ... Sorting information reading section, 23 ... Recording sheet temporary storage section, 24 ... Recording sheet transport section, 24a-24h ... Recording sheet transport roller, 25 ... Sorting control section, 26a-26m ... Recording sheet output section, 27 ...
Communication device connection unit, 28 ... Sorting instruction input unit, 29 ... Management status display unit, 30 ... Display screen, 31 ... Sorting instruction item,
32a to 32n ... Check button, 33a to 33b ... Radio button, 34 ... Pull-down menu, 35 ... Add button, 36 ... Character string input area, 37a ... "OK" button,
37b ... "Cancel" button.

Continuation of front page (56) Reference JP-A-2-8080 (JP, A) JP-A-2-220875 (JP, A) JP-A-6-156867 (JP, A) JP-A-61-117571 (JP , A) JP 3-151290 (JP, A) JP 5-32371 (JP, A) JP 8-221233 (JP, A) JP 9-62761 (JP, A) 4-46071 (JP, U) (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 29/38 B65H 39/11 G03G 15/00 534 G03G 21/00 396

Claims (22)

(57) [Claims] 1. A document sorting system, which prints a plurality of pages or a plurality of copies of a document and collectively sorts a bundle of printed recording papers in a specified order, which is a printing device or a document sorting device. , And a communication device, wherein the printing device performs document printing processing and generates document sorting information for determining a rearrangement order of a bundle of printed recording sheets, and the document sorting information. The document sorting apparatus includes sorting information assigning means for assigning recording sheets, the document sorting device inputs a stack of recording sheets to which the document sorting information is assigned, and sorts information reading means for reading the document sorting information assigned to the recording sheets. , Instruction and record of sorting process start Sorting instruction means for inputting an instruction of the order of rearranging the stack of paper, and sorting management means for managing the order of the recording papers based on the read document sorting information and the input sorting instruction so as to be consistent with each other. The communication device includes a sorting processing unit that is controlled by the sorting management unit to perform a process of rearranging the order of the recording sheets, and a recording sheet output unit that outputs the recording sheets that have been sorted and rearranged. A document sorting system, characterized in that the management means receives a part or all of the document sorting information from the print service means as necessary so that the printing device and the document sorting device are connected. 2. The document sorting system according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of the printing devices, wherein the communication device connects the plurality of printing devices and the document sorting device. . 3. The document sorting system according to claim 1, wherein the document sorting information includes document attribute information indicating a document attribute, sorting instruction information indicating a sorting order of recording sheets, and each of the recording sheets. A document sorting system that consists of unique page numbers. 4. The document sorting system according to claim 1, wherein the print service means generates some document sorting information that cannot be automatically generated based on an instruction from a print issuer. Document sorting system. 5. The document sorting system according to claim 1, wherein the print service unit includes a sorting information storage unit for storing generated document sorting information, and the print management unit stores the sorting information according to a request from the sorting management unit. A document sorting system characterized by taking out appropriate document sorting information from a sorting information holding unit and delivering it. 6. The document sorting system according to claim 5, wherein the print service means is capable of changing the document sorting information once held in the sorting information holding unit after the printing of the document is completed. Characteristic document sorting system. 7. The document sorting system according to claim 5, wherein the print service unit deletes document sorting information that has not been used for a predetermined period from the sorting information holding unit. system. 8. The document sorting system according to claim 1, wherein the sorting information reading means collectively receives a bundle of recording sheets on which a plurality of pages or a plurality of copies of documents are recorded and sends the recording sheets one by one. A document sorting system, comprising: a recording sheet input section; and a sorting information reading section for reading and recognizing document sorting information provided on a fed recording sheet and converting it into electronic sorting control information. 9. The document sorting system according to claim 8, wherein the sorting information reading unit prints a document on a part of the front surface or the back surface of each page of the recording paper by using a normal document printing mechanism. A document sorting system characterized by optically reading and recognizing sorting information and converting it into electronic sorting control information. 10. The document sorting system according to claim 1, wherein the sorting processing unit includes a recording sheet temporary storage unit that temporarily holds a part or all of the recording sheets for which the document sorting information is recognized. A recording sheet for which the document sorting information is recognized is conveyed to the recording sheet temporary storage section, or a recording sheet to be sorted with respect to the recording sheet in the recording sheet temporary storage section is conveyed to the recording sheet output means, or A document sorting system, comprising: a recording sheet transport unit that transports recording sheets that have not been sorted to a recording sheet temporary storage unit. 11. The document sorting system according to claim 10, wherein the sorting management unit inputs one recording sheet from either the sorting information reading unit or the recording sheet temporary storage unit according to the document sorting information. A document sorting system, characterized in that the recording sheet conveying section is controlled so as to output to a recording sheet temporary storage section or recording sheet output means. 12. The document sorting system according to claim 1, wherein the sorting management unit has a sorting information temporary storage unit that temporarily stores the document sorting information received from the print service unit. Document sorting system. 13. The document sorting system according to claim 12, wherein the sorting management unit discards the document sorting information stored in the sorting information temporary storage unit that has not been used for the longest period. Then, the document sorting system is characterized by performing processing for preparing a storage area for newly storing document sorting information. 14. The document sorting system according to claim 12, wherein the sorting management unit stores document sorting information required for the next sorting process in the sorting information temporary storage unit, and prints the document. If it matches the corresponding document sorting information held by the service means, the document sorting information stored in the sorting information temporary storage section is used without newly receiving the document sorting information from the print service means. A document sorting system characterized by executing sorting processing. 15. The document sorting system according to claim 1, wherein the recording paper output unit has a plurality of recording paper output units that output the recording papers that have been sorted and rearranged. Sorting system. 16. The document sorting system according to claim 3, wherein the document attribute information includes a unique identifier for each document, a number of recording sheets on which the document is printed, and a unique creator for each document. An identifier, a unique identifier for each print process issuer, a document creation date and time, a print process issue date and time, an identifier for a document group that includes multiple documents, and an identifier for the print service means that executed the document print process A document sorting system characterized by comprising part or all. 17. The document sorting system according to claim 3, wherein the sorting instruction information includes an instruction as to whether or not to sort each document, an instruction as to whether or not to sort in page order, and a sorting in page order. Is an ascending or descending order, an instruction as to whether to sort by document creator, an instruction as to whether to sort by print process issuer, and an instruction as to whether to sort by document creation date and time. , When ascending or descending when sorting by document creation date, whether or not sorting by print processing issue date and time, and ascending or descending order when sorting by print processing issue date, and document group The print processing issuer is instructed whether to sort each paper, which recording paper output section to output, and the start of sorting processing. Document sorting characterized in that it includes an instruction as to whether or not to do so, an instruction as to whether or not to notify the print processing issuer of the sorting result at the end of sorting, and if notifying, an item to be notified and an instruction of a notification means. system. 18. The document sorting system according to claim 3, wherein the document sorting information attached to the recording sheet is an identifier unique to each document, a page number unique to each recording sheet, and a document print process. And a identifier of a print service means that executes the document sorting system. 19. The document sorting system according to claim 5 or 18, wherein the sorting management unit obtains complete document sorting information from the print service unit based on the document sorting information attached to the recording sheet. A document sorting system characterized by receiving and executing sorting processing. 20. The document sorting system according to claim 19, wherein when the sorting management unit cannot receive the complete document sorting information from the print service unit, only the document sorting information attached to the recording sheet is used. A document sorting system that sorts documents by using and sorts documents in page order. 21. The document sorting system according to claim 1, wherein the sorting instruction means determines the sorting based on document sorting information read from the recording sheet or document sorting information received from the print service means. A document sorting system comprising: a management status display section for displaying an internal status of management means; and a sorting instruction input section for inputting a start of sorting processing or a change in sorting instruction. 22. The document sorting system according to claim 3 or 21, wherein the sorting management means includes the contents of the sorting instruction input to the sorting instruction means, the sorting instruction information read from the recording sheet, or the sorting instruction information. A document sorting system, wherein when any of the sorting instruction information received from the print service means conflicts with each other, the sorting instruction inputted to the sorting instruction means is preferentially executed for sorting processing.