JP2001047690A - Printer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To select automatically a rotation sort function and sort recording papers when there is a request for printing specifying sort. SOLUTION: When sort is specified by a request for printing transferred from a host device 2, a sort selection section 9, selects a rotation sort function, when there is a paper tray in which papers of the same kind of paper of a specified size by the printing request are set longitudinally and horizontally. A CPU 4 prints printing data by the rotation sort function selected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer for printing print data transferred from a host device, and more particularly to a printer for printing print data transferred from a host device.
It relates to improvement of printing efficiency.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a plurality of copies are designated for printing by a printing request from a host device, the printing device stores the print data sent from the host device in a storage device such as a hard disk or a memory and stores one copy. Print eyes. After the printing of the first copy is completed, the print data stored in the storage device is read out, and the second and subsequent copies are sequentially printed. In order to facilitate post-processing such as sorting when a plurality of copies are printed, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
As shown in JP-A-236717, a normal sorting function for moving the paper discharge tray to the left and right with respect to the paper discharge direction for each number of copies to be printed, a paper feed tray in which recording paper of the same size is set in the vertical direction, and a paper feed tray It has a rotation sort function that alternates with the paper tray set in the printer for each number of copies to be printed, feeds the recording paper, prints it, and sorts it. Are sorted, and when there is an abnormality in the paper discharge tray, the sheets are sorted by the rotation sort function. When the operator instructs the rotation sort, the rotation sort function is prioritized to sort the recording paper on which the image is formed.

[0003]

By combining the two sort functions as described above, it is possible to sort the recording paper and facilitate post-processing even if the paper discharge tray fails, Until the discharged recording paper is checked, it is not known how the paper was sorted, and in some cases, post-processing may be confused. In order to avoid confusion in the post-processing, it is necessary for the operator to specify the rotation sort and sort the recording papers by the rotation sort function, and the operation is complicated.

The present invention solves such a disadvantage, and when a print request specifying sort is made, a rotation sort function can be automatically selected to sort recording papers. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer device capable of sorting rotation of a recording sheet by selecting a normal sort function while prohibiting a rotation sort.

[0005]

A printer apparatus according to the present invention has a normal sorting function of moving a discharge tray to the right and left with respect to the discharge direction for each number of copies to be printed, and a method of printing recording paper of the same size in the vertical direction. A paper feed tray set in the printer and a paper feed tray set in the horizontal direction are alternately switched according to the number of copies to be printed. When the sort request is specified in the specified print request and there is a paper tray in which the same type of paper of the paper size specified in the print request is set in the vertical and horizontal directions, select the rotation sort function and print. Is performed.

If the print request specifies a discharge tray that moves left and right with respect to the discharge direction along with the sort specification, the normal sort function is selected and printing is executed without selecting the rotation sort function. I do.

[0007] When a staple designation or a punch designation is specified together with a sort designation in a print request, a normal sort function is selected and printing is executed without selecting a rotation sort function.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A printer device of the present invention prints print data sent from a host device on a recording sheet. The host device receives commands such as print instructions from the host device and receives print data. A CPU that manages the operation of the entire apparatus, a ROM storing a processing program of the CPU, a RAM used as a work memory of the CPU, an image memory storing print data, a printer engine control unit, a sort selection unit, It has a printer engine. The printer engine has a plurality of paper feed trays and a plurality of paper discharge trays. The printer engine has a normal sorting function that moves the paper output tray to the left and right in the paper output direction, and prints, for example, a paper feed tray in which A4 size recording paper is set vertically and a paper feed tray in which it is set horizontally. A rotation sorting function for alternately switching the number of copies to be performed, feeding recording paper, printing, and sorting.

When a print request is issued from the host device to the printer device, the CPU determines whether or not the print request has a sort designation. If there is no sort designation, the CPU sends the transmitted print data to the printer via the printer engine control unit. Send it to the engine for normal printing. When the print request includes a sort specification, the CPU instructs the sort selection unit to select a sort function. The sort selection unit does not specify staples or punches in the print request, the shift tray is not selected as the output tray, and the same type of recording paper of the size specified in the print request is set vertically. If there is a paper tray set horizontally with the tray, select the rotation sort function. The CPU causes the printer engine to execute printing by the selected rotation sort function.

[0010]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, a printer device 1 prints print data sent from a host device 2 on a recording sheet, and a host interface 3 that receives commands such as print instructions from the host device 2 and receives print data. CPU 4, a ROM 5 storing a processing program of the CPU 4, a RAM 6 used as a work memory of the CPU 4, an image memory 7 storing print data, a printer engine control unit 8, a sort selection unit 9 And a printer engine 10. The printer engine 10 includes a plurality of paper feed trays 11 and a plurality of paper output trays 1.
2 The printer engine 10 includes a normal sort function for moving the paper discharge tray 12 right and left in the paper discharge direction,
For example, a rotation sort in which the paper feed tray 11a in which the A4 size recording paper is set in the vertical direction and the paper feed tray 11b in which the A4 size recording paper is set in the horizontal direction are alternately switched for each number of copies to be printed, and the recording paper is fed, printed, and sorted. With function. The sort selection unit 9 switches and selects between a normal sort function and a rotation sort function when sort is specified in a print request from the host device 2.

The operation of printing the print data transferred from the host device 2 by the printer device 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When there is a print request from the host device 2 to the printer device 1 (step S1), the CPU 4 determines whether the print request includes a sort designation (step S2).
If the result of this determination is that there is no sort designation, the CPU 4 sends the print data sent from the host device 2 to the printer engine 10 via the printer engine control unit 8 to execute normal printing (step S9).

When the print request has a sort designation,
The CPU 4 instructs the sort selection unit 9 to select a sort function. The sort selection unit 9 determines whether or not staple is specified in the print request (step S3). If staple is specified, the staple specification is enabled (step S4), and the discharge tray 12 is discharged. Select the normal sort function that moves left and right in the direction. The CPU 4 causes the printer engine 10 to execute printing by the selected ordinary sorting function (step S10). If the print request does not include staple designation, the sort selection unit 9 determines whether punch designation is designated (step S).
5). If the result of this determination is that the punch designation has been made, the punch designation is made valid and the ordinary sort function is selected (step S6). The CPU 4 causes the printer engine 10 to execute printing by the selected ordinary sorting function (step S10).

When there is no punch designation in the print request, the sort selection unit 9 uses a shift tray which can move the discharge tray 12 designated as the discharge destination by the print request of the host apparatus 2 to the left and right in the discharge direction. It is determined whether there is (step S
7). As a result of this determination, if the shift tray is selected as the discharge tray 12 in the print request of the host device 2,
The sort selection unit 9 selects a normal sort function. CPU
4 causes the printer engine 10 to execute printing by the selected ordinary sorting function (step S10). Further, when the shift tray is not selected as the discharge tray 12 in the print request of the host apparatus 2, the paper tray 11 in which the same type of recording paper of the size specified in the print request is set in the vertical direction and the horizontal It is determined whether or not there is a paper feed tray 11 set in the direction (step S8). If there are no such two paper feed trays 11, the sort selecting unit 9 selects a normal sort function. The CPU 4 causes the printer engine 10 to execute printing by the selected ordinary sorting function (step S10). Also, as a result of this determination, for example, a paper feed tray 1 in which the same type of recording paper of the A4 size specified in the print request is set in the vertical direction.
When there is the paper feed tray 11b set in the horizontal direction with 1a (step S8), the sort selecting unit 9 selects the rotation sort function. The CPU 4 causes the printer engine 10 to execute printing by the selected rotation sort function (Step S).
11).

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention, when sorting is designated by a print request transferred from a host device, sheets of the same type of paper size designated by the print request are printed in the vertical and horizontal directions. If there is a paper tray set in
Since the rotation sort function is selected and printing is performed, the user can simply select the sort function in the print request and automatically select the sort function according to the print request and execute the printing, thereby improving user operability. And the printed matter intended by the user can be reliably obtained.

When the print request specifies a discharge tray that moves left and right with respect to the discharge direction along with the sort specification, or when the print request specifies the staple or punch together with the sort specification. By selecting a normal sort function and performing printing without selecting a rotation sort function, a printed material intended by the user can be reliably obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1; printer device; 2; host device; 3; host interface; 4; CPU; 9; sort selector, 10; printer engine, 11; paper feed tray, 12;

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A normal sort function for moving a discharge tray to the left and right with respect to the discharge direction for each number of copies to be printed, and a paper feed tray in which recording paper of the same size is set in a vertical direction and a paper tray is set in a horizontal direction. When a print request is transferred from the host device and sort is specified in a printer device that has a rotation sort function that feeds and prints and sorts recording paper by alternately switching between the paper tray and the number of copies to be printed A printing apparatus that selects a rotation sort function and performs printing when there is a paper feed tray in which sheets of the same type of paper size specified in a print request are set in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction. 2. When the print request specifies a discharge tray that moves left and right in the discharge direction along with the sort specification in the print request, a normal sort function is selected and printing is performed without selecting a rotation sort function. 2. The printer device according to claim 1, wherein the printer device executes: 3. The printing method according to claim 1, wherein when a staple designation or a punch designation is specified together with the sort designation in the print request, the normal sort function is selected and the printing is executed without selecting the rotation sort function. Printer device.