JP2001353947A - Stencil type plate-making printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a stencil type plate-making printing apparatus enabling easy checking of each sort of status at all times. SOLUTION: The apparatus has residual amount detecting sensors detecting the residual amounts or resources for plate-making or printing, connective equipment connected through the intermediary of communication circuits and a display means which always displays the information on the residual amounts of resources from the residual amount detecting sensors and the state of connection of connected devices in specified display areas on an operating panel.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a stencil printing machine for displaying system information such as information on the remaining amount of resources such as consumables and the connection status of connected devices in a display area on an operation panel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an image forming apparatus such as a printing machine or a copying machine is provided with an alarm function or the like for notifying an operator when consumables such as paper and ink are exhausted. The operator detects out of consumables based on the alarm and takes measures such as replenishment as necessary. As an alarm output method, there are a method of displaying a message and a warning light, and a method of outputting an alarm sound.

Further, for example, in a stencil type stencil printing machine for performing color separation printing such as multicolor printing, the drum to be used is exchanged for each plate (for each color) and used properly. Performs plate making / printing work while appropriately checking what kind of drum the currently mounted drum is.

Further, in a stencil printing machine having an interface function with a computer, print data created by a document creation application or the like such as a personal computer locally connected via a communication circuit or connected via a network is provided. The plate making / printing process is performed based on the received print data. In order for the operator to check the progress of the print data sent to the stencil printing machine, the processing status is checked by a monitoring program or the like on the personal computer side.

[0005]

As described above, the operator detects out-of-consumable supplies or the like by the alarm generated by the image forming apparatus, and appropriately checks the status of various connected devices connected to the image forming apparatus. While doing the operation.

However, the above-mentioned alarm function is set so as to be output for each consumable item. For example, the process is interrupted by the output of an alarm indicating that the ink has run out, the ink is replenished and the process is resumed. Immediately thereafter, there is a case where an inefficient operation cannot be performed between consumable items, such as an alarm indicating that the paper has run out and the processing is interrupted. That is, in the above example, if it can be recognized that the paper is going to run out when refilling the ink, the paper can be refilled together with the refilling of the ink. In particular, as the number of consumables used increases and the number and types of output alarms increase, such a vicious cycle is likely to occur.

[0007] Further, in color separation printing such as multicolor printing, an operator cannot easily confirm what kind of drum is currently mounted on a stencil type stencil printing apparatus.

Further, for example, when print data is transmitted from a remote terminal on a network to a stencil printing machine, it is necessary to monitor the progress of the transmitted print data on the remote terminal. When the remote terminal is located in a remote place such as a floor or another building different from the stencil printing machine, it is very inconvenient for the operator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and has an area for displaying system information such as resource remaining information such as consumables, drum information, and reception job information. An object of the present invention is to provide a stencil type stencil printing apparatus which can be easily provided at any time by easily displaying various statuses by displaying such information at all times.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a stencil type stencil printing apparatus according to the present invention makes a stencil sheet of original image data, and wraps the stencil sheet after the stencil printing around a drum for printing. In a stencil printing machine that performs printing on paper, a remaining amount detection sensor that detects the remaining amount of resources for performing stencil making or printing, a connected device connected via a communication circuit, and the remaining amount detection sensor Display means for constantly displaying the remaining resource information and the connection status of the connected device in a specific display area on an operation panel.

Further, in the stencil printing machine according to the present invention, the display means always displays the size and color information of the drum connected via a communication circuit in the display area. .

Further, in the stencil printing machine according to the present invention, the display means always displays data reception information from a personal computer connected via a communication circuit in the display area. .

In the stencil printing machine according to the present invention, the remaining amount detecting sensor includes a master remaining amount detecting sensor for detecting a remaining amount of the stencil sheet as a resource for performing stencil making. And

Further, in the stencil printing machine according to the present invention, the remaining amount detecting sensor detects a remaining amount of the stencil container which is a resource for discharging the stencil sheet after printing. It is characterized by including a detection sensor.

Further, in the stencil printing machine according to the present invention, the remaining amount detecting sensor includes a sheet remaining amount detecting sensor for detecting a remaining amount of the printing paper which is a resource for performing printing. And

Further, in the stencil printing machine according to the present invention, the remaining amount detecting sensor includes an ink remaining amount detecting sensor for detecting a remaining amount of printing ink which is a resource for performing printing. I do.

Further, in the stencil printing machine according to the present invention, the display means may include: when a remaining amount of at least one of the resources becomes equal to or less than a predetermined remaining amount.
The remaining amount information of each resource is displayed as a list in the display area on the operation panel.

Further, the operation panel is a touch panel type input device of a liquid crystal display type.

According to the present invention, an area for displaying system information such as resource remaining information such as consumables, drum information, and reception job information is provided on a stencil printing machine, and such information is always displayed. Thus, the operator can easily confirm various statuses at any time.

[0020]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of a stencil printing machine according to the present invention. This stencil printing machine has a ROM (Read Only Memory) 2 for storing a control program for controlling the apparatus and a CPU (Central Proc.) For processing the control program and data.
essing Unit) 1, a non-volatile RAM (Random Acces) for storing the set plate making / printing conditions and their values
s Memory) 3, operation panel 4, print drum communication circuit 5,
It has a network communication circuit 6, a paper remaining amount detection sensor 7, an ink remaining amount detection sensor 8, a master remaining amount detection sensor 9, and a plate discharge box remaining amount detection sensor 11.

A pressure-sensitive or electrostatic touch panel 10 is mounted on the operation panel 4, and an operator can input various parameters by directly touching the touch panel with a finger or the like.

The printing drum communication circuit 5 is a communication means for controlling the operation of a detachable printing drum (not shown) mounted on the apparatus, and the size and color information of the drum are transmitted via the communication means. Will be transferred.

The network communication circuit 6 is a communication means for locally or globally connecting a personal computer (not shown) equipped with a document creation application for creating print data. The stencil printing machine receives print data input and transferred from such a personal computer, develops pages, and performs stencil making / printing.

The paper remaining amount detecting sensor 7 is a sensor for detecting the remaining amount of printing paper (not shown) for performing printing, and the ink remaining amount detecting sensor 8 is for detecting the remaining amount of ink for performing printing. It is a sensor for detecting the amount. The master remaining amount detection sensor 9 is a sensor for detecting the remaining amount of the stencil sheet for performing stencil making. The stencil discharge box remaining amount detection sensor 11 is a stencil container for discharging the stencil sheet after printing. This is a sensor for detecting the remaining capacity.

The stencil type stencil printing machine is provided with an operation panel 4 as shown in FIG. 2. The operation panel 4 is used to input a start key 41 for starting stencil making or printing, the number of prints, and the like. For displaying the number of prints and the like input from the ten keys 44
Display means such as a CD is provided. A pressure-sensitive or electrostatic touch panel 10 is mounted on the operation panel 4, and the operator can input various parameters by directly touching the touch panel with a finger or the like.

When performing plate making or printing, the touch panel 1
A screen as shown in FIG. here,
FIG. 5 illustrates a screen in standby for operation in a print mode. As shown in FIG. 3, an area for status display is secured in the lower part of this screen. This status display area is shown in FIG.
The details are shown below. The status display area includes a drum information area 17 for displaying information on the attached print drum, and a job output status for monitoring and displaying the processing status of print data input from a connected personal computer. An area 16 includes a remaining amount confirmation area 15 for displaying the remaining amount of consumables detected by each of the remaining amount detecting devices, and a time display area 14 for displaying the current time. The drum information areas 17a and 17b are display examples for a stencil type stencil printing apparatus of a type in which two sets of drums are mounted.

This status display area is secured not only on the operation standby screen shown in FIG. 3 but also on any screen displayed on the touch panel 10, and the operator always displays the status display area. Each status information can always be confirmed.

A display example of various status information displayed in the status display area will be described below with reference to FIG.

In the drum information area 17, information on the print drum mounted via the print drum communication circuit 5 is displayed, and a drum icon representing the image of the drum and the size and color information of the set drum are always displayed. Is displayed. Therefore, the operator can recognize the attributes of the mounted drum at a glance. FIG. 5A shows a display example of the size of the drum, and FIG.
(B). The size of the drum and the color display are connected by “/”, and for example, as shown in FIG.
/ Black ". If the size and color information of the mounted drum cannot be recognized,
Only icons are displayed.

The job output status area 16 monitors and displays the processing status of print data input from a personal computer connected globally or locally via the network communication circuit 6. FIG. 6 shows a display example of the job output status area 16.

FIG. 6A illustrates a display format.
As shown, there are a method of displaying a button and a method of displaying a state on the job output status area 16. Pressing (touching) the button in the case of displaying the button
As a result, a pop-up screen displaying the processing status is displayed.

FIG. 6B shows a display example of a method for displaying the status on the job output status area 16. Note that “PtoP” in the figure is an abbreviation of “Paper to Paper”, which indicates a mode for making / printing print data read from the document reading unit of this machine, and “DtoP” is “Data to Paper”. Represents a mode for making / printing print data input from a connected personal computer. For example, when in the “waiting for reception” state, “(icon) REA
The display content changes according to the status of the job such that “DY” is displayed, and “(icon) developing” is displayed in the “development processing” state. Job status can be easily recognized. FIG. 6C shows a display example of the icon portion in the display content in the “DtoP” mode. As shown in the figure, the current data receiving mode is displayed so that it can be visually identified whether the current data receiving mode is a mode of receiving from a locally connected personal computer or a mode of receiving from a remotely connected personal computer. You.

FIG. 7 shows a display example of buttons in the remaining amount confirmation area 15. The remaining amount confirmation button is displayed when at least one of the items detected by the various remaining amount detecting means becomes equal to or less than a prescribed value. When all the detection items exceed the specified value, the display of the remaining amount confirmation button is not performed (or the remaining amount confirmation button is invalidated).

FIG. 8 exemplifies a processing operation related to the display of the remaining amount confirmation button. When the remaining paper amount sensor 7 detects that the remaining amount of the printing paper has become equal to or less than the specified value (Step 0).
1) A remaining amount confirmation button is displayed (Step 06). Similarly, also when the remaining amount of the ink remaining amount detecting sensor 8 detects that the amount of the ink is equal to or less than the specified value (Step 02), the master remaining amount detecting sensor 9 sets the remaining amount of the stencil sheet to the specified value or less. The remaining amount check button is also displayed when the remaining amount of the stencil discharge box is detected (Step 04) or when the remaining amount of the stencil discharge box sensor detects that the remaining capacity of the stencil discharge container has fallen below the specified value. (Step 06). When all the determination processes in Step 01 to Step 04 are “No”, the remaining amount confirmation button is not displayed (Step 05). In other words, if at least one of the items detected by the various remaining amount detecting means is equal to or less than the specified value, the remaining amount confirmation button is displayed. If all the detected items exceed the specified value, the remaining amount is displayed. The confirmation button is not displayed.

It is preferable that the specified value relating to the display condition of the remaining amount confirmation button be adjusted, for example, according to the use condition by allowing the administrator to set the value. Also, besides the method of directly setting the value, for example,
The timing of detection may be qualitatively designated, such as "Hayame" or "Osame".

When the user presses the remaining amount confirmation button, a consumables remaining amount confirmation screen 20 shown in FIG. 9A pops up. The consumables remaining amount confirmation screen 20 includes a remaining amount detection item display area 22 and a remaining amount bar 21 indicating the remaining amount. The item name of the detection item is displayed in the remaining amount detection item display area 22, and the remaining amount bar 21 is “full”, “3/3” as shown in FIG.
4 ”,“ １ ／ ”,“ 」”, and “unknown” are displayed so that they can be visually recognized. For example, as shown in the figure, “paper feeder sheet” is “full” and “ink” is “1 /
"4" and "master" can be recognized at a glance as "unknown". To close the consumables remaining amount confirmation screen 20 and return to the previous screen, the close button 23 is pressed.

As described above, when the remaining amount of at least one of the plurality of consumables becomes equal to or less than the specified value, the remaining amount confirmation button 15 is displayed. When the user presses the remaining amount check button, a consumables remaining amount confirmation screen 20 displaying a list of the remaining amounts of all consumables is displayed.
The remaining amount of other consumables that are not less than the prescribed value can be checked at the same time, and measures such as replenishment can be performed as necessary. For example, in the example of FIG. 9A, it is assumed that the remaining amount check button 15 is displayed when the remaining amount of the ink becomes equal to or less than the specified value. Looking at the confirmation screen 20, it is possible to recognize that the amount of ink remaining is small and that the number of sheets in the tray 2 is also small.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and various improvements and modifications may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. . For example, the display example of various statuses shown in the present embodiment is merely an example, and is not limited to the present embodiment.

Therefore, the present invention should be limited only by the matters specifying the invention according to the claims that are reasonable from this disclosure.

[0041]

According to the present invention, an area for displaying system information such as remaining resource information such as consumables, drum information, and reception job information is provided on a stencil printing machine, and such information is constantly displayed. By displaying, the operator can easily confirm various statuses at any time.

When the remaining amount of at least one of the plurality of consumables falls below a specified value, a remaining amount confirmation button is displayed, so that the operator is liable to lose some of the consumables. Pressing this remaining amount check button displays a consumables remaining amount confirmation screen that lists the remaining amounts of all consumables. The remaining amount of the consumables can be checked at the same time, and measures such as replenishment can be taken as needed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of a stencil printing machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an image diagram showing a layout example of an operation panel provided in the stencil printing machine shown in FIG. 1;

3 is an image diagram showing a layout example of an operation standby screen displayed on a touch panel provided on the operation panel shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an image diagram showing a layout example of a status display area provided on each screen displayed on the touch panel.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of a drum information area in the status display area shown in FIG. 4;

6 is a diagram showing a display example of a job output status area in the status display area shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example of a remaining amount confirmation area in the status display area shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation example of displaying a remaining amount confirmation button.

FIG. 9 is an image diagram showing a layout example of a consumables remaining amount confirmation screen displayed when a remaining amount confirmation button is pressed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1. CPU 2. ROM 3. RAM 4. Operation panel 5. Printing drum communication circuit 6. Network communication circuit 7. Remaining amount of paper Detection sensor 8 ... Ink remaining amount detection sensor 9 .... Master remaining amount detection sensor 10 .... Touch panel 11 .... Printer discharge box remaining amount detection sensor 14 .... Time display area 15. Remaining amount check area 16. Job output status area 17. Drum information area 20. Remaining amount check screen 21. Remaining amount bar 22. Remaining amount detection Item display area 23 .... Close button 61 .... Start key 61 64 .... Numeric keypad

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) B41F 33/14 B41L 13/14 Z B41L 13/14 B41F 33/14 Z

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A stencil-type stencil printing machine for making stencil image data on a stencil sheet and winding the stencil sheet on a drum to print on printing paper, the remaining amount of resources for stencil making or printing. And a connection device connected via a communication circuit; a specific display area on an operation panel for displaying remaining resource information and the connection status of the connection device from the remaining amount sensor; A stencil-type stencil printing machine, characterized by comprising: display means for constantly displaying the stencil. 2. A stencil printing machine according to claim 1, wherein said display means constantly displays the size and color information of said drum connected through a communication circuit in said display area. . 3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit constantly displays data reception information from a personal computer connected via a communication circuit in the display area. A stencil printing machine as described in the above. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the remaining amount detecting sensor includes a master remaining amount detecting sensor for detecting a remaining amount of the stencil sheet, which is a resource for performing stencil making. A stencil type stencil printing machine as described in Crab. 5. A stencil discharge container remaining amount detection sensor for detecting a remaining capacity of a stencil discharge container, which is a resource for discharging the stencil sheet after printing, is provided. A stencil printing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The remaining amount detecting sensor according to claim 1, wherein the remaining amount detecting sensor includes a sheet remaining amount detecting sensor for detecting a remaining amount of the printing sheet, which is a resource for performing printing.
A stencil printing machine according to any one of the above. 7. The remaining amount detecting sensor according to claim 1, wherein the remaining amount detecting sensor includes an ink remaining amount detecting sensor for detecting a remaining amount of printing ink which is a resource for performing printing.
A stencil printing machine according to any one of the above. 8. The display unit displays the remaining amount information of each of the resources on an operation panel when the remaining amount of at least one of the resources becomes equal to or less than a predetermined remaining amount value. The stencil printing machine according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the list is displayed as a list. 9. The stencil printing machine according to claim 1, wherein the operation panel is a touch panel type input device of a liquid crystal display type.