JP2003182929A - Image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the reduction in efficiency until job printing ends even if jobs are mixed in an image formation device having a plurality of paper discharge destinations. <P>SOLUTION: A data analysis part 94 analyzes whether a page allowing discharge of paper to the specified discharge destination and a page making the discharge of paper thereto impossible are mixed in an output job or not. A paper discharge control part 96 switches the discharge destination for a recording paper sheet in such a way that the page allowing the discharge of the paper to the specified discharge destination is discharged to the specified discharge destination and the page making the discharge of the paper thereto impossible is discharged to a discharge destination different from the specified discharge destination. An informing control part 98 displays the information related to switching of discharge destination by the paper discharge control part 96 in a display device or outputs the information by printing it. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printing device (printer), a copying device (copying machine), and a facsimile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Image forming apparatuses such as printers, copiers and facsimiles are widely used today. Here, while image forming apparatuses such as printers and copiers are required to have multiple functions, they are also required to be small and space-saving, and as one method to meet the demand, for example,
It is proposed that a protruding portion (function) such as a paper feed cassette or a paper discharge tray peculiar to the apparatus is provided in the machine.

For example, a sorter or stacker that sorts output recording papers automatically by providing a plurality of paper discharge ports by adding a sorting device, a sorter (post-processing device), and a finisher (post-processing device). Those that realize the (rotary sort) function have been put to practical use. Here, the stacking (rotational sorting) is a function of sorting (stacking) the copied recording papers so that one copy is orthogonal to the recording papers of the same size and different directions.

On the other hand, in the process of printing and copying (hereinafter also referred to as a job), there are cases where a specific job is mixed in the jobs. In such a case, it may be necessary to change the discharge destination during printing, for example. At this time,
Originally, an output product that should be one lump is scattered over a plurality of discharge destinations, which makes it difficult for the user to understand.

For example, when the printer has a plurality of discharge trays, the sheet size (A
3, A4, etc.) and paper type (plain paper, OHP, etc.)
May be different. Further, the print speed may be different depending on the operation mechanism of the discharge tray.

In such a case, when the conventional rotary sort (stack) function is used, for example, either one of the same size and different direction recording paper size is selectively discharged with respect to the recording paper size to be discharged. When the paper cannot be ejected to the mouth, the paper is ejected to the paper ejection outlet of a size that cannot be ejected, and thus the sorting (stack) boundary is not clear in the finish. In other words, what is supposed to be a lump is discharged separately into a plurality of paper discharge ports, and it is forgotten to pick it up or requires re-sorting work for finishing, which causes a load on the user side and causes miscopying.

Further, for example, when the selected paper feed tray is switched to the recording paper of the same size and different direction, in the case where the discharging port during discharging cannot discharge the recording of the same size and different direction, A mistaken copy may be caused, such as forgetting to make copies or overlapping when the finished products are stacked, and the finished form may not be the one desired by the user.

As a method for solving such a problem, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-198614 discloses that when a job has a page that cannot be output to a designated discharge tray, the corresponding action is 1 There is proposed a method of interrupting the job without changing the discharge tray, or 2) changing the discharge tray after the non-outputtable page and continuing the job.

For example, when the rotational sort (stack) is selected, if the discharge destination can only discharge the recording paper size of the selected paper feed stage and the long size or the short size, the copy operation is interrupted / prohibited. When the rotation sort (stack) is selected, if only the recording paper size of the selected paper feed stage and the long size or the short size can be discharged to the discharge destination, the sizes in both directions are changed to the discharge ports capable of discharging. Alternatively, when the recording sheets of the same size and different direction cannot be ejected from the ejection port during ejection, the copy operation is interrupted / prohibited.

[0010]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.
In 1) of the method described in No. 000-198614, the user needs to change the discharge destination and then send the job again, which is troublesome in user operation. In 2),
When the print speed of the changed output tray is slower than that of the specified output tray, the time until the job printing ends is delayed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and job printing is performed even for a job in which pages that can be discharged to a specified discharge destination and pages that cannot be discharged are mixed. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that does not reduce the efficiency until the end.

[0012]

That is, a first image forming apparatus according to the present invention has a plurality of paper discharge destinations, forms an image on a designated recording paper, and discharges the paper to a designated paper discharge destination. An image forming apparatus that receives an output job, and the output job received by the job receiving unit has a mixture of pages that can and cannot be discharged to a specified discharge destination. And a data analysis unit for analyzing whether or not there is.

Further, in this first image forming apparatus, based on the result of analysis by the data analysis unit, pages that can be discharged to the designated discharge destination are discharged to the designated discharge destination and to the designated discharge destination. The pages that cannot be ejected to the first destination cannot be ejected to the specified ejection destination by switching the ejection destination of the recording paper to an ejection destination different from the specified ejection destination. A paper discharge control unit for continuously executing an output job in which various pages are mixed is provided.

The second image forming apparatus according to the present invention is
An image forming apparatus that has a plurality of paper discharge destinations, forms an image on a specified recording paper, and discharges the paper to a specified paper discharge destination. The job reception unit receives an output job, and the job reception unit receives the job. Whether the output job contains pages that can and cannot be ejected to the specified ejection destinations, the processing speed to multiple ejection destinations, and the ejection destination switching time At least one and a data analysis unit for analyzing are included.

Further, in the second image forming apparatus, based on the result analyzed by the data analysis unit, the pages which cannot be discharged to the designated discharge destination are different from the designated discharge destination. When the pages that can be discharged to the specified discharge destination are discharged to the specified discharge destination, the discharge destination of the recording paper can be switched to either the specified discharge destination or a discharge destination different from the specified discharge destination. Then, the paper ejection control unit is provided to continuously execute the output job in which the pages that can be ejected to the specified ejection destination and the pages that cannot be ejected are mixed.

[0016]

In the first image forming apparatus having the above-described structure, the data analysis section first mixes the output job with pages that can and cannot be discharged to the specified discharge destination. Such jobs are also referred to as mixed jobs below). Then, the paper discharge control unit determines that pages that can be discharged to the specified discharge destination are the specified discharge destination and pages that cannot be discharged to the specified discharge destination are the specified discharge destination. By switching the discharge destination of the recording paper to a different discharge destination, continuous printing is executed even in a mixed job.

In the second image forming apparatus having the above-mentioned structure, the data analysis unit not only determines whether the output jobs are mixed jobs, but also the processing speed to a plurality of paper discharge destinations and the discharge time of the paper discharge destinations. Also analyze. Then, the paper discharge control unit discharges the pages that cannot be discharged to the specified discharge destination to a discharge destination different from the specified discharge destination and discharges the pages to the specified discharge destination. By switching the discharge destination of the recording sheet to either the designated discharge destination or the discharge destination different from the designated discharge destination, the page is continuously printed even in a mixed job.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an image processing system (hereinafter simply referred to as a system) provided with an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 (A) is a diagram showing an overall configuration of the system, FIG. B) is a functional block diagram of the print engine.

The system 1 includes an image input terminal 3, an image processing device 5, and an image output terminal 7. The image processing apparatus 5 and the image output terminal 7 constitute an image forming apparatus 8 according to the present invention.

The image input terminal 3 processes a digital document (hereinafter simply referred to as a document) DOC such as creating or editing, for example, a personal computer (personal computer) 31, a color scanner 32, a digital camera 33, or a storage medium such as a hard disk. 34, etc.
It may include any number of image sources. For example, it may be a terminal device having a communication function of acquiring an image via a communication network (not shown).

Each of these terminal devices has a document D
An application program for OC creation and the like are incorporated. For example, 8-bit (multi-tone) digital image data representing the document DOC is an image format that can be processed by the image processing device 5 (for example, JPEG, B.
MP, PNG, etc.). The image input terminal 3 is
The document DOC is input to the image processing device 5 that forms a part of the system 1.

The image processing device 5 is an image data acquisition unit 5 for acquiring digital image data representing a document DOC.
2, an image data storage unit 54 that temporarily stores image data, and a decompression processing unit 55 that decompresses the image acquired by the image data acquisition unit 52 when the image is a compressed image.
And an image editing processing unit 56 for performing an editing process such as enlarging or reducing an image to a desired resolution (collectively referred to as scaling) or changing a color tone as necessary, and an image subjected to the editing process. An image data output unit 59 for inputting the image data D10 representing the image data to the image output terminal 7.

The image data storage unit 54 stores the input image acquired by the image data acquisition unit 52, the image data edited by the image editing processing unit 56, or the image editing processing unit 5.
Various intermediate calculation results and processing parameters used for the editing processing in 6 are held.

The image output terminal 7 is operable with various functions of the image processing apparatus 5, and includes a raster output scan (ROS) based print engine 70 for operating the system 1 as a digital printing system. Prepare In this configuration, the printer 9 which is an example of the image forming apparatus is configured.

The print engine 70 is used by the image processing device 5.
A print output processing unit 72 that performs a predetermined process for print output on the image data D10 output from the device, and a laser light source 74 such as a semiconductor laser array that emits a light beam.
And ON / OFF 2 output from the print output processing unit 72
A laser driving unit 76 that controls or modulates the laser light source 74 according to the binarized toner, and a polygon mirror (rotating polygonal mirror) 78 that reflects the light beam emitted from the laser light source 74 toward a photosensitive member (image carrier) 79. Have and.

The print output processing unit 72 generates and renders (develops into raster data) data representing a plurality of, preferably at least three, separation colors of the image data D10 representing an image according to a well-known technique. For example, when outputting a color image as a visible image, the data representing the image includes at least three (preferably four) color separation data (for example, C, M, Y, K, etc.), and each color is a separate image. It is processed as an image plane or in luminance-chrominance format.

Specifically, R, which is represented by the image data D10,
Mapping from G, B, or YCrCb color system to at least three (preferably four) color system, for example, CMY color system or CMYK color system, and color-separated raster data for print output is generated. That is, the print output processing unit 72 obtains on / off binarized toner signals of black (K), yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) based on the multi-tone image, and outputs each toner signal. Laser drive unit 7
Output to 6.

Further, the print output processing section 72 performs the CMY of the color image at the time of such raster data conversion processing.
Undercolor removal (UCR) for reducing the color of the component or gray component exchange (GCR) for partially exchanging the reduced CMY component with the K component is performed. Further, the print output processing unit 72 may perform linearization of color separation or similar processing in order to adjust the toner image of the output image created in response to the output data (CMYK or the like).

With this configuration, in the print engine 70, the light beam selectively emitted from the laser light source 74 based on the on / off binarized toner signal is reflected by a plurality of surfaces on the polygon mirror 78 to be photosensitive member 79. Is exposed and a latent image is formed on the photosensitive member 79 by scan scanning.

When the latent image is formed, the image is developed according to any one of many methods known in the art, and the color image edited by the image processing device 5 is output as a visible image. . Of course, a color image that has not been edited can be output as a visible image.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the print engine 70 includes a scan output system (recording section) 103 as a printer section for exclusively recording an image, and the scan output system 1.
03 is provided with a print output processing unit 72 for supplying image data, and a commercial power supply (AC) not shown in the drawings.
A predetermined DC or AC power source is supplied from the power source unit 714 connected to the.

The print output processing section 72 is an operation panel 15 arranged on the front surface of the apparatus body (not shown) (see FIG. 2).
Connected with. The operation panel 15 includes an input unit such as a key (switch) and a display unit such as an LCD or an LED.

The print engine 70 is capable of inputting print data to be recorded in a plurality of systems. FIG. 1B shows a case where print data can be input in two systems. One is from a host computer (not shown) to a host interface (I / F)
A method of inputting print data via the terminal 717 refers to a case where print data is supplied to the printer 9 from a personal computer (not shown) (see FIG. 1) via a dedicated cable, for example. Another method is to input print data from an unillustrated network through the input terminal 718. In the latter case, multiple devices on the network may serve as print data supply sources.

As described above, the printer 9 of this example can receive print data from various information processing devices such as host computers and workstations via the host interface terminal 717 or the input terminal 718. There are many types of information processing devices, and the control data sent by these are not necessarily unified.

For example, even if the control data sent from one device is designed to finely specify the size of the recording paper or the size of the characters, the control data of another device may not be able to be specified in this way. is there. Therefore, the printer 9 can input necessary instruction information 719 regarding recording from the operation panel 715.
Can be sent to. The image processing device 5 returns the response information S26 in response to this.

The printer 9 has an operation panel 15
Therefore, even when the size of the paper or the size of the characters to be recorded is designated as the control data on the information processing apparatus side, the instruction information S19 can be input from the operation panel 15 by a key operation or the like. . In such a case, the instruction on the information processing device side can always be prioritized, or the input on the operation panel 15 side can be prioritized. It is possible to give priority to those who give instructions later in time.

In the printer 9 of this embodiment, the scan output system 10 is used.
Reference numeral 3 denotes a laser printer, for example, which exchanges various signals between the print output processing unit 72 and the scan output system 103 to perform recording work, and prints the recording paper P recorded on one side or both sides. It is designed to be discharged. Further, for image transfer, a synchronization pulse 72 for synchronizing the print output processing unit 72 and the scan output system 103.
5 is also sent to the print output processing unit 72. In response to this, the print output processing unit 72 receives various operation command signals 72.
6 and the image signal 727 as the recorded content are output by the scan output system 1
It will be supplied to 03.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the main part of the circuit configuration of the printer 9 (especially the print output processing section 72). The printer 9 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 831 that performs the central functions of various controls. C
The PU 831 is connected to various circuit devices via the CPU bus 832. Of these, the panel interface circuit 833 is a circuit for interfacing with the operation panel 815. For example, the operator operates the operation panel 8
When the 15 key is operated, an instruction signal corresponding to this is output and transferred on the CPU bus 832. Further, in order to display the LCD or the LED of the operation panel 815, the information instructing it is transferred from the CPU bus 832 to the panel interface circuit 833.

The host interface circuit 834 is a circuit for interfacing with a host such as the personal computer 31 (host computer). For example, the circuit configuration is such that print data input from the host is received based on the RS232C standard or the Centronics standard. The non-volatile memory (NVM) 837 is a memory backed up by a battery (not shown), and the printer 9
It can hold necessary data even when its own power is off.

The RAM 838 is a working memory,
The data necessary for controlling each part of the printer 9 and the print data input from the host interface circuit 834 are temporarily held. The latter is
It is called the receive buffer. The RAM 838 also includes a page memory 842 described later. The program memory 839 is a memory that stores a program for controlling the printer 9.

The character pattern memory 841 is a so-called font memory, and stores a character pattern for printing out. Page memory 8
Reference numeral 42 is a memory for attaching the generated character pattern, image, etc. to one page of the recording paper and electronically editing the data.

The recording interface circuit 843 outputs the bit data expanded in the bit map memory 842 to the scan output system 103 as an image signal 827 as raster data.
And an interface circuit for transmitting and receiving various other signals 724 to 726 to and from the scan output system 103. The bitmap controller 844 is adapted to perform control relating to such image transfer.

Since the printer 9 can be connected to various hosts as described above, a program or character pattern corresponding to print data or control data sent from them may be required. Both the program memory 846 and the character pattern memory 847 are detachable IC card-type or SIMM-type read-only memories, and are selected to correspond to these various hosts or to realize special functions required by the operator. It is designed to be connected to this printer 9.

Further, the printer 9 can have a plurality of host interface terminals. The host I / F circuit 835 is added according to the host interface required by the operator. For example, Centronics interface, Ethernet (Ethern)
et (registered trademark)) and the like. As a result, print data can be input from a plurality of host interfaces.

The hard disk 848 is used for adding character patterns, saving form data / logo data, holding input data from the host computer, and the like. Operators can connect as needed.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration when the image forming apparatus 8 according to the present invention is applied to a printer.
As shown in the figure, the standard configuration of the printer 9 (hereinafter referred to as the printer body 100) includes a main unit 102, a standard discharge tray (CenterTray) 150, and a manual feed tray (S).
MH) 180 and a first paper feed tray (TRAY1) 190 installed on the lower side of the main unit 102.

Inside the main unit 102, the recording paper P is carried in to the scanning output system 103 side, or RO
The S-based scan output system 103, the cartridge unit 105 in which the toner cartridges (Toner Cartridge) for each color of Y, M, C, and K are arranged, and the recording paper printed by the ROS-based scan output system 103 are standard. Discharge tray 150
A transport system 107 including various rolls 108 (Rolls; 108a to 108e) and paper sensors 109 (Snr; 109a to 109c) for discharging the sheets to the manual feed tray 180 is housed. Here, description of various rolls 108 and the paper sensor 109 in the transport system 107 will be omitted.

The first paper feed tray 190 disposed below the main unit 102 includes various rolls 192 (19).
2a, 192b) and various paper sensors 194 (194
a, 194b) consisting of a feeder section (Feeder) 196
And a paper cassette 198 for accommodating recording paper of a predetermined size (it is possible to support a plurality of sizes by switching the position of the stopper). The feeder unit 196 rolls out recording paper one by one from the paper cassette 198 and sends it to the transport system 107 in the main unit 102.

The ROS-based scanning output system 103 transfers an image onto an intermediate transfer belt by a drum, which is an example of a photosensitive member, and a primary transfer roll, and transfers a transferred image portion of the intermediate transfer belt and a recording paper P. The image is printed on the recording paper P by sandwiching the sheet with a pair of secondary transfer rolls.

That is, the scanning output system 103 has transfer sections 130 of Y, M, C, and K arranged in parallel in one direction at regular intervals (Y, M, C, and K are attached to each of them; The same applies to the members; the color is omitted when collectively described).

A drum 131 is provided at the center of the transfer section 130.
The primary charger 1 is arranged around the drum 131.
33, a developing device 134, a laser light source (not shown) for recording a latent image on the drum 131 based on the on / off binary toner signal, the polygon mirror 76 and other mirrors 7.
A writing scanning optical system (ROS Unit) composed of 7, 78 and the like is arranged.

In the upper part of the transfer portion 130 for each color in the drawing, the drum 1 is sandwiched so as to hold the intermediate transfer belt 136.
A primary transfer roll 135 is arranged so as to face 31. The intermediate transfer belt 136 is stretched over a plurality of belt transport rolls 137 (five in the figure, 137a to 137e). A secondary transfer roll (2nd BTR) 138 is disposed at a position facing one belt transport roll 137c. Belt transport roll 137 arranged on the right side in the figure
A belt cleaning unit (Belt Cleanin
g Unit) 140 is arranged.

On the left side of the main unit 102 in the figure, the secondary transfer roll 13 is provided for discharging the printed recording paper sent from the secondary transfer roll 138 to the outside of the machine.
8 to the downstream side of the recording paper P in the transport direction, for example, a fixing roll (Fuser Roll) 139a, a fixing discharge roll (Fuser Exit Roll) 13
Various transport rolls such as 9b and a discharge roll 139d are provided. Further, the standard discharge tray 150 is provided with a discharge roll (Exit Roll) 152 for discharging the recording paper P sent from the main unit 102 to the outside of the machine.

In the scan output system 103 having such a structure, first, a laser light source for yellow (Y) (not shown)
Is driven by the yellow on / off binarized toner signal to convert the yellow on / off binarized toner signal into an optical signal, and the drum 13 is converted by the converted laser light.
Irradiate toward 1Y. As a result, the laser light scans the drum 131Y charged by the primary charger 133Y to form an electrostatic latent image on the drum 131Y.

This electrostatic latent image is made into a toner image by the developing device 134Y to which yellow toner is supplied. Then, the drum 131Y and the primary transfer roll 135Y form a pair and convey the intermediate transfer body belt 136, so that the toner image is transferred to the intermediate transfer body belt 136. After the transfer, a cleaner (not shown) removes excess toner from the drum 131Y.

Similarly, the primary chargers 133M and 133C are based on the corresponding on / off binarized toner signals of the respective colors M, C and K which are sequentially obtained at regular intervals with respect to the yellow on / off binarized toner signal. , 133K, the electrostatic latent images are sequentially formed on the drums 131M, 131C, 131K by scanning the charged drums 131M, 131C, 131K.

Each electrostatic latent image is sequentially made into a toner image by the developing devices 134M, 134C, and 134K to which the toners of the respective colors are supplied, and each toner image is made into the primary transfer roll 135M,
The images are sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 136 by 135C and 135K. After the transfer, a cleaner (not shown) removes excess toner from the drums 131M, 131C, 131K.

After this transfer, the portion of the intermediate transfer belt 136 where the image has been transferred (transfer image portion) is conveyed toward the secondary transfer roll 138. On the other hand, the transport system 107 is directed toward the contact portion between the belt transport roll 137c and the secondary transfer roll 138 by the registration roll 108d and the like.
The recording paper P is conveyed. Then, the intermediate transfer belt 13
The transfer image portion on 6 and the recording paper P are transferred to the secondary transfer roll 1
The image is printed on the recording paper P by being conveyed to the downstream side while being sandwiched by 38.

The recording paper P on which the toner images of Y, M, C, and K are sequentially transferred in this manner is separated from the intermediate transfer belt 136, and the toner images are thermally fixed by the fixing roll 139a. As a result, the toner image is fixed on the recording paper P, and then discharged to the outside of the machine such as the standard discharge tray 150.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining peripheral devices such as a sorter and a finisher used in combination with the printer body 100. The printer 9 is a printer body 10.
As shown in the drawing, the side tray 220 and the double-sided module (DM) 240 are arranged on the left side of the printer body 100, or are arranged at the bottom of the printer body 100, as shown in the figure. In some cases, the tray cabinet 300 is combined with an output device (Output) 500 arranged on the right side of the printer body 100 in the drawing.

Here, the tray cabinet 300 is the first paper feed tray 1 installed in the lower portion of the printer body 100.
It is arranged below 90. The toy cabinet 300 includes a first paper feed tray 190.
2 tray mount cabinet (2Tray MC) 310 that installs the second paper feed tray (TRAY2) 312 at the bottom of the
The second paper feed tray 32 is provided below the first paper feed tray 190.
A 4-tray mount cabinet (4Tray MC) 320 in which the second, third, and fourth paper feed trays 332 and 342 are installed in this order can be used.

Alternatively, the second paper feed tray 352 is arranged below the first paper feed tray 190 and further below the third paper feed tray 362 and the fourth paper feed tray 372.
Large capacity tray module (TTM MC;
Tandem Tray Module) 350 can also be used.

The output device 500 is arranged on the right side of the printer body 100 in the figure. The output device 500 may be, for example, the paper receiving section 51.
0, a horizontal transport unit (H-Tra) 520, a finisher unit 540 having a stapler accommodated therein, a sheet storage unit (StackerTray) 560, and a mount unit 570 can be used.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a combination of the printer body 100 and peripheral devices. The printer 9 includes a paper discharge unit 200, a side tray 220, a double-sided module 240, and a 4-tray cabinet 320.

A paper discharge roll 202 is provided in the opening provided on the left side of the paper discharge unit 200 in the figure, and the printed recording paper P sent from the discharge roll 139d of the main unit 102 is discharged. Via the inside of the unit 200, the side tray 22 is
The paper is discharged to 0.

Further, in the double-sided module 240, in order to return the recording paper P, which has been printed on the front surface side, to the main unit 102 again for printing on the back surface side, various transport rolls 242 (from the top in the figure) 242a to 242c in order)
Is provided. When the double-sided printing mode is designated, the recording paper whose one side is printed by the secondary transfer roll 138 is first conveyed from the fixing roll 139a to the exit roll 152 side.

The recording paper P is once fed to the discharge roll side, inverted, then conveyed to the discharge roll 139d side, and passed through the inside of the paper discharge unit 200 to the conveyance roll 242 in the double-sided module 240. After that, the transport roll 242 delivers this recording sheet to a registration roll (Regi Roll) 108d in the main unit 102. As a result, the back side of the recording paper P faces the side of the intermediate transfer belt 136, and printing on the back side becomes possible.

In the four-tray cabinet 320 arranged at the bottom of the printer body 100, three paper feed trays 32 are provided.
2, 332, 342 are prepared, and the first paper feed tray 19
As with 0, the respective paper feed trays 322, 332, 3
42 so that feeder parts 326, 336, 34
6 is provided. In addition, each feeder unit 326, 33
Conveying rollers 321 (321a to 321c in order from the top) for delivering the recording paper P rolled out from the sheets 6, 346 to the printer body 100 side are provided. In this example, the first paper feed tray 190 in the printer body 100 and the three paper feed trays 322, 332, 342 in the four-tray cabinet 320 are all set to A3 size.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing details of a finisher which is an example of the output device 500. Here, FIG. 6A is a diagram showing the entire finisher, and FIG. 6B is a diagram showing details of the paper receiving unit 510 and the horizontal transport unit 520. As shown in FIG. 4, the finisher includes a paper receiving portion 510, a horizontal transport portion 520,
A finisher unit 540 having a stapler 550 accommodated therein, a sheet storage unit 560, and a pedestal unit 57
It consists of zero.

The sheet receiving section 510 and the horizontal transport section 520 are members for switching the discharge destination for switching the recording sheet P to one of the standard discharge tray 150, the finisher section 540 and the side tray 220.
The paper receiving section 510 is a gate-in solenoid (Gate In Solenoid).
Sol) 512. In addition, the horizontal transport section 52
0 is a transport section gate (H-Tra-Gate) 522,
Transport input sensor (H-Tra Ent Snr) 524
a, Transport output sensor (H-Tra ExitSnr) 5
24b, transport interlock sensor (H-Tr
a Interlock Snr) 524c, various sheet sensors (collectively 524) such as a center tray full sensor (IOT Top-Tray Full Snr) 524d, and the conveyor belt 5
26, and various transport rollers 528a to 528d (collectively 528).

The discharge destination switching mechanism of this embodiment is realized by turning on / off the gate-in solenoid 512 and moving the transport unit gate 522 up and down. In particular,
As the switching between the standard discharge tray 150 and the finisher section 540, which is the first switching mode, the standard discharge tray 150
At the time of discharge, the transport unit gate 522 is raised to convey the recording paper P to the standard discharge tray 150. On the other hand, when the finisher section 540 is discharged, the transport section gate 522 is lowered to convey the recording paper P to the horizontal transport section 520 and discharge it to the finisher section 540.

Although not shown, switching between the standard discharge tray 150 and the side tray 220, which is a second switching mode, is performed by turning on / off a solenoid (not shown) in substantially the same manner as in the first switching mode. To be realized. As described above, the printer 9 of the above embodiment can switch the recording paper P to a plurality of discharge destinations.

7A and 7B are views for explaining the finisher section. FIG. 7A is a view showing details of the finisher section, FIG. 7B is a view for explaining details of the stapler, and FIG. 7C.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the orientation of a sheet with reference to the sheet feeding direction. Similar to FIG. 6A, FIG. 7A illustrates the printer 9 in a side view. In addition, FIG.
Unlike FIG. 6 (A) and FIG. 7 (A), the printer 9 is shown as viewed from above.

As shown in FIG. 7A, the finisher section 540 includes a decurler section 600 including a decurler cam clutch, a decurler cam, an export motor home sensor, and a staple head home sensor (Staple H).
A staple 550 having an ead Home Snr, a stapleless sensor (Low Staple Snr), a staple motor (Staple Motor) 632, a staple ready sensor (Staple Ready Snr), and the like. A sheet storage section 560 is attached to the right side surface of the finisher section 540 in the figure.

The recording paper P which has passed through the horizontal transport section 520 shown in FIG. 6B is conveyed to the finisher section 540 shown in FIG. 6A. Finisher section 54
The recording paper P conveyed to 0 passes through the decurler section 600 shown in FIG. 7A and is temporarily accumulated in the compiler tray 610.

After continuous printing is performed and a specified number of recording sheets P are accumulated on the compiler tray 610,
The ejection motor (Eject Motor) 620 is driven (downward in the drawing) to eject the bundle of sheets (Compile Paper) into the sheet storage unit 560. At this time, if the staple designation is set in the user interface (operation unit) (not shown), the staple motor 632 is set before ejection.
Drives to staple at a designated location, and then discharges the bundle of sheets to the sheet storage unit 560.

A stack of sheets is sequentially accumulated in the sheet accommodating portion 560, but a stacker sheet full sensor (Stack Hight Snr
) 640 detects the paper height, and drives the stacker motor (Stacker Motor) 634 as necessary to lower the paper storage unit 560 to prevent paper overflow.

The fact that the user has removed the paper from the paper storage unit 560 when the paper storage unit 560 is full of paper stacks, etc.
Paper Snr) 642 can be detected. When the stacker paper absence sensor 642 detects the absence of paper, the paper storage unit 560 is returned to the home position (top height).

The export motor (X'port Moto
r) and Decurler Cam Home S
The explanation of the operation of other members such as nr) is omitted.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, the recording paper P ejected to the compiler tray 610 has a rear tamper 650 and a front tamper (FrontTamp).
er) 652 or the like such as a propeller made of a soft material is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 7A (clockwise in the figure) to push the recording paper P toward the printer 9 main body of the compiler tray 610, Align the sheet bundle by aligning the sheet bundle.

After a certain number of sheets are accumulated on the compiler tray 610, if the job is stapling designated, stapling is carried out, and if there is no stapling (UnStaple) designation, then stapling is carried out. For discharging, as described in FIG. 7A, the discharging motor 620 is used.

At the time of stapling, the staple cartridge 660 moves in the vertical direction in the drawing of FIG. 7B, and the rear staple (Rear Staple) and front staple (Fron staple)
t Staple), Double Staple (Front + Re
ar Staple), etc., and perform stapling at a position according to the job specification.

FIG. 8 is a table showing a relationship between the dischargeable paper size and the paper type for each discharge tray, particularly a list of usable and detectable paper sizes. It is omitted to explain the aspects described in the figures one by one. “SEF (Short Egde Feed)” and “LEF (Long
As shown in FIG. 7C, "Egde Feed)" indicates the orientation of the paper based on the paper feed direction.
“F” means vertical placement, and “LEF” means horizontal placement. For example, in the case of A5SEF size, the standard output tray 150 can be discharged, but the finisher portion 540 cannot be discharged. .

FIG. 9 is a chart showing a list of the relationship between the dischargeable paper size and the paper type for each discharge tray, particularly the relationship between the paper types. For example, an OHP sheet can be discharged to the standard discharge tray 150, but cannot be discharged to the finisher section 540. It should be noted that it is omitted to explain the aspects described in the figures one by one.

FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram showing a part related to the discharge destination switching control in the printer 9 having the above structure. As shown in the figure, the printer 9 analyzes the job acceptance unit 92 that accepts an output job from an information processing device such as a personal computer and the data (for example, PDL format print data) accepted by the job acceptance unit 92, and prints it. And a data analysis unit 94 for determining whether or not the recording paper P can be discharged to a discharge tray designated by the user.

Further, the printer 9 discharges the printed recording paper P (for example, the standard discharge tray 150 or the side tray 220) and discharge mode (for example, offset) based on the result analyzed / determined by the data analysis unit 94. To notify the user by displaying a job history indicating what kind of discharge destination or discharge form has been discharged on the display device or by outputting it as a printed matter. The notification control unit 98 is provided.

The notification control unit 98 generates display data indicating the job history regarding the discharge destination and discharge form controlled by the paper discharge control unit 96, and inputs this display data to, for example, the operation panel or a dedicated display device. Also, the notification control unit 9
Reference numeral 8 generates print data in the form of a list of job histories, and inputs this print data to the scan output system 103.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the first mode (hereinafter referred to as the first embodiment) of the processing procedure in the printer 9 having the above configuration, and FIG. 11A is a flowchart showing the processing procedure. FIG. 6B is a diagram showing a relationship between a job unit and a discharge destination when a print job is executed as a series work. In the first embodiment, the printer 9 includes the standard discharge tray 150, the finisher unit 540, and the like, is compatible with a plurality of discharge trays, and prints pages that cannot be output to the discharge tray designated by the user. When the printing operation is in progress, the discharge destination is automatically switched only for the non-dischargeable pages.

When the print job starts, the data analysis unit 9
4 first analyzes the print data in the reception memory area,
A print request (information such as paper size, paper type, discharge tray, etc.) is acquired (S100). The data analysis unit 94
Determines whether or not the page to be processed can be discharged to the specified discharge tray based on the above-described FIGS. 8 and 9.
The result is notified to the paper discharge control unit 96 (S102).

If the page is a dischargeable page based on the analysis result from the data analysis section 94, the paper discharge control section 96 prints on the recording paper P based on the print data, and outputs it to the discharge tray specified by the user. Scan output system 1 to eject
03 and the paper discharge mechanism are controlled (S102-YES, S10).
4). On the other hand, when the page cannot be ejected, the paper ejection control unit 96 prints on the recording paper P based on the print data, and the default (standard) standard ejection tray 150.
The scanning output system 103 and the paper discharge mechanism are controlled so that the paper is discharged to (S102-NO, S106).

When the processing of the first sheet is completed in this way, it is continuously confirmed whether or not there is a subsequent page (S
108), if any, the process returns to step S100 and repeats the same processing as described above (S108-YES).

According to the processing of the first embodiment described above, for example, as shown in FIG. 11B, in the case where the output size and the direction are determined for each job,
If all pages 3, 4, and 7 can be discharged to the discharge destination specified by the user, but all the pages of jobs 2, 5 and 6 are impossible, if these print jobs 1 to 6 are processed consecutively, , The job 1 to the job 2, the job 2 to the job 3, the job 4 to the job 5, and the job 6 to the job 7, the discharge destination is automatically switched at the time of each job switching, and the entire process is not interrupted. Complete.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, if the output to the discharge tray designated by the user is possible, the discharge destination is the output destination, and if the output is not possible, the standard discharge tray 150 which is the default (standard). Since the output destination of printed materials is automatically switched, even if there is a page that cannot be output to the specified output tray during job printing, the print job will continue without interruption. It becomes possible to process it. This allows the user to
The troublesome operation of changing the discharge destination each time when hitting the non-dischargeable page and then transmitting the job again becomes unnecessary. As a result, it is possible to shorten the time until the end of printing the entire job.

In the description of FIG. 11B showing the specific example of the first embodiment, it is explained that whether or not the job can be discharged to the discharge destination designated by the user is switched on a job-by-job basis. It is not limited to the form. For example, it may be a case where pages of different paper sizes and orientations are included in one job unit, and pages of a particular size or orientation cannot be ejected to the ejection destination specified by the user. The same applies to other embodiments described later.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a second mode (hereinafter referred to as a second embodiment) of the processing procedure in the printer 9 having the above-mentioned configuration, and FIG. 12 (A) is a flowchart showing the processing procedure. (B) is a unit of a job when a print job is executed as a series work, a discharge destination, and a slip sheet insertion flag.
It is a figure showing the relation with (inserted sheet insertion identification information). In the second embodiment, when a page that cannot be output to the discharge tray designated by the user is in the job printing operation, the discharge destination is automatically switched only for the non-dischargeable page and the discharge destination is automatically set. This is a mode in which the user is notified that the discharge destination has been switched by inserting a slip sheet at the switching execution page.

First, as the standard (M / C) setting of the interleaf sheet setting, the user is asked to set the interleaf sheet tray (= interleaf sheet tray). The default is the first paper feed tray 190 (Tray1; see FIG. 3) provided in the printer body 100.
And It is easier to identify the position where the slip sheet is inserted (easier to understand) by setting a different color paper (colored paper) than the recording paper P that is normally used in the slip sheet tray, but in the present embodiment, Do not judge whether or not colored paper is set.

When the print job starts, the paper discharge control unit 96
First, the slip-sheet insertion flag for switching the discharge destination is preset to "OFF". Next, the data analysis unit 94 analyzes the print data in the reception memory area and prints the print data (paper size,
Acquire information such as paper type and discharge tray (S12)
0). Then, the data analysis unit 94 determines whether or not the processing target page can be discharged to the designated discharge tray as shown in FIG.
And the determination based on FIG.
6 is notified (S122).

If the page is a dischargeable page based on the analysis result from the data analysis section 94, the paper discharge control section 96 prints on the recording paper P based on the print data, and outputs it to the discharge tray specified by the user. Scan output system 1 to eject
03 and the paper discharge mechanism are controlled (S122-YES, S12).
4). Then, if the slip sheet insertion flag for switching the discharge destination is not "OFF", it is set to "OFF" (S126).

On the other hand, if the page cannot be discharged,
The paper discharge control unit 96 first controls the scan output system 103 and the paper discharge mechanism so that the recording paper P is printed on the basis of the print data and discharged to the standard (standard) standard discharge tray 150 (S122). -NO, S130). Next, the paper discharge control unit 96 confirms whether the slip-sheet insertion flag is "ON" (S132), and if it is not "ON" (when it is "OFF"), the slip-sheet is fed from the slip-sheet tray. Then, the sheet feeding mechanism and the sheet discharging mechanism are controlled so that the sheet is discharged to the discharging tray designated by the user through the same sheet path as the normal printing without printing (S132-NO, S134). After that, the paper ejection control unit 96 sets the interleaving paper insertion flag for switching the ejection destination to "ON" (S136). The timing for setting the slip sheet insertion flag to “ON” is arbitrary as long as it is between the start of feeding the slip sheet and the start of the determination process of step S132 for the next processing target page.

Inserting a slip sheet in step S132
Insert a slip sheet fl when checking whether the flag is "ON".
When ag is "on", the slip sheet is not inserted (S132).
-YES). This is to prevent the interleaving paper from being inserted continuously (for each page) when the pages that cannot be ejected are continuous. Note that the present embodiment is not limited to such a form, and the determination process of step S132 may be omitted to insert the slip sheets for the non-ejection pages.

After the processing of the first sheet is completed in this way, it is continuously confirmed whether or not there is a subsequent page (S
138), if there is a subsequent page, step S120
And the same process as described above is repeated (S138-YE
S).

According to the processing of the second embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 12B, as in the first embodiment,
Job 1 to Job 2, Job 2 to Job 3, Job 4 to Job 5, and Job 6 to Job 7 are automatically switched to the destination when switching jobs, and the entire process is completed without interruption. In addition, at the time of switching from the page that can be ejected to the page that cannot be ejected (in the previous example, job 1 to job 2 and job 4 to job 5), the interleaf paper (for example, different color paper) is the ejection destination specified by the user. It is automatically inserted in the tray.

Further, in the second embodiment, when jobs such as jobs 2, 5, and 6 are jobs in which non-ejection pages are continuous, the first page when switching from the eject-possible page to the non-ejection page is possible. Since the slip sheet is inserted only for one page, the waste of the slip sheet can be reduced.

As described above, in the second embodiment, not only the discharge destination of the printed matter is automatically switched according to whether the discharge is possible (similar to the first embodiment), but also the standard discharge tray 150 which is the default (standard). When you switch the output destination to, by inserting the slip sheet in the output destination specified by the user,
The user is notified of the relationship between the printed output and the output destination. For this reason, the user can understand that the output material, which should originally be one lump, is distributed to a plurality of discharge destinations and is discharged (the discharge destinations are automatically switched), and it is possible to prevent forgetting to remove. Like

Further, for example, when switching is made for each job unit, jobs can be separated at the slip sheet portion, so that re-sorting work of finish can be eliminated and user workability can be improved. Especially when colored papers of different colors are used as interleaving papers, it becomes very easy to distinguish the switching portions.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a third mode (hereinafter, referred to as a third embodiment) of the processing procedure in the printer 9 having the above-mentioned configuration. FIG. 13A is a flowchart showing the processing procedure, and FIG. B) shows a job unit, a discharge destination, and an offset flag when a print job is executed as a series work.
It is a figure showing the relation with (offset identification information).

In the third embodiment, when a page that cannot be output to the discharge tray designated by the user is in the job printing operation, the discharge destination of only the discharge-disabled page is automatically switched and the discharge is performed. This is a mode in which the user is notified that the discharge destination has been switched by offsetting (shifting the paper position) at the previous automatic switching execution page position.

When the print job starts, the paper discharge control unit 96
First, the discharge destination switching offset flag is preset to “OFF”. Next, the data analysis unit 94 analyzes the print data in the reception memory area and acquires a print request (information such as paper size, paper type, discharge tray) (S).
140). Then, the data analysis unit 94 determines whether or not the processing target page can be discharged to the specified discharge tray based on the above-described FIGS. 8 and 9, and notifies the discharge control unit 96 of the result (S142). .

On the basis of the analysis result from the data analysis unit 94, the paper discharge control unit 96 confirms whether or not the discharge destination switching offset flag is "ON" when the page is a dischargeable page (S142-YES). , S144), if "ON", print on the recording paper P based on the print data,
The scanning output system 103 and the paper discharge mechanism are controlled so as to offset and discharge to the discharge tray designated by the user (S14).
4-YES, S146). Then, the offset flag for switching the discharge destination is set to "OFF" (S148). The timing for setting the offset flag to “OFF” is arbitrary as long as the printing process is started, the paper is further discharged, and the determination process in step S144 for the next processing target page is started.

On the other hand, when the offset flag is not "ON"("OFF"), the paper discharge control unit 96 prints on the recording paper P based on the print data, without offsetting to the user specified discharge tray. The scan output system 103 and the paper discharge mechanism are controlled so that the paper is discharged normally (S
144-NO, S150).

As described above, when it is confirmed in step S144 whether or not the offset flag is "on", the offset is not offset when the offset flag is "off". This is to prevent an offset (for each page). It should be noted that the number of offsets is not limited to the first one page, and may be any number as long as the switching can be specified.

Further, the paper discharge control unit 96 includes the data analysis unit 9
If the result of analysis of whether or not the sheet can be ejected by No. 4 is a page that cannot be ejected, the scanning output system prints on the recording paper P based on the print data and ejects it to the standard ejection tray 150 that is the default (standard). It controls 103 and the paper discharge mechanism (S142-NO, S152). Then, the offset flag for switching the discharge destination is set to "ON" (S15).
4). The timing for setting the offset flag to “ON” is arbitrary as long as it is between the start of the printing process and the discharge of the sheet and the start of the determination process of step S144 for the next page to be processed.

When the processing of the first sheet is completed in this way, it is continuously confirmed whether or not there is a subsequent page (S
156), if there is a subsequent page, step S140
Then, the same process as described above is repeated (S156-YE).
S).

According to the processing of the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13B, for example, as in the first embodiment,
Job 1 to Job 2, Job 2 to Job 3, Job 4 to Job 5, and Job 6 to Job 7 are automatically switched to the destination when switching jobs, and the entire process is completed without interruption. At the same time, when the pages that cannot be ejected are switched to the pages that can be ejected (job 2 to job 3 and job 6 to job 7 in the previous example), the recording paper P is offset to the ejection destination tray specified by the user. Ejected automatically.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, not only the discharge destination of the printed matter is automatically switched according to whether the discharge is possible (similar to the first embodiment) but also the standard discharge which is the default (standard). After switching the discharge destination to the tray 150, when switching to the discharge destination specified by the user again, by offsetting and discharging the predetermined number of sheets,
The user is notified of the relationship between the printed output and the output destination. For this reason, as in the second embodiment, the user can recognize that the discharge destination has been automatically switched, and forgetting work or re-sorting the finish becomes easy.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a fourth mode (hereinafter, referred to as a fourth embodiment) of the processing procedure in the printer 9 having the above-mentioned configuration, showing an example of a screen showing a history summary at the time of job completion. There is. In the fourth embodiment, information such as whether or not the discharge destination has been switched is displayed on a predetermined display device such as an operation panel, so that the printer 9 has a plurality of discharge trays and the output to the designated discharge tray is impossible. This is a mode for notifying the user of information such as switching of the discharge destination when a possible page is in the job printing operation. The notification control unit 98 generates image data (display data) for this display.

Here, the example of FIG. 14A shows an example of a job management screen in which a summary of all jobs stored in the memory for job management is displayed at the time of job completion. When one of the jobs displayed in the list is selected and the detail button (upper right in the figure) is pressed, the process shown in FIG.
The screen is switched to the detailed screen of (B). Further, on this job management screen, "*" is added to the end of the description in the "Status" column to notify the user that the discharge destination has been switched.

The illustrated example shows the screen of the 1/2 page, and the outline of five jobs is displayed in a list. The third job from the top, "12345 Printer", is displayed with an "*" attached after it, instead of the normal "Normal end" job. Notify the user.

In the illustrated example, as a method of notifying the user that the discharge destination has been switched, an "*" is added to the end of the description in the "Status" column, but another method may be used. Good. For example, set the part of the job whose output destination has been changed to a color different from the display color (standard color) of other jobs (for example, red if the standard color is black), or use emphasized characters or other decorative characters. It is also possible to adopt a display mode in which the portion is highlighted, for example.

On the other hand, the example of FIG. 14B shows a detail screen (job unit) which is an example of a mode in which the details are displayed on a job unit basis when the job is completed. This FIG. 14 (B)
As you can see, when you switch the discharge destination and finish normally (it may be forced termination, of course), a message to that effect (“partial discharge tray change” in the figure),
The page number discharged to the standard discharge tray 150 which is the default (standard) instead of the discharge destination tray designated by the user (“discharge tray change: Page 2, 4” in the figure) is displayed.

Note that the noticeable information such as the fact that the discharge destination has been changed or the target page is changed to a color different from other display colors (standard color) (for example, red when the standard color is black), or It is preferable to use a display mode that makes the part stand out, such as by using emphasized characters or other decorative characters. Also, not only the page number for which the discharge destination has been switched, but also the tray for the discharge destination that has been switched (standard discharge tray 150 in the previous example)
May be specified in association with the page.

As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, when the discharge destination is switched, the fact and related information (for example, page number) are displayed as visible information, so that the printed output and the discharge destination can be changed. The user is notified of the relationship of. Therefore, if there is a page in the job printing operation that cannot be output to the specified output tray, the user
Based on the displayed information, it becomes possible to know that the discharge destination has been automatically switched, and it is possible to prevent forgetting to remove the discharge destination.

FIG. 15 is a view for explaining the fifth mode (hereinafter referred to as the fifth embodiment) of the processing procedure in the printer 9 having the above-mentioned configuration, and prints the outline of the job completion on the recording paper P in the report format. An example of the output is shown. In the fifth embodiment, when the job is completed, information such as whether or not the discharge destination has been switched is printed out on the recording paper P, so that the printer 9 has a plurality of discharge trays and the output to the designated discharge tray is impossible. This is a mode for notifying the user of information such as switching of the discharge destination when a possible page is in the job printing operation. The notification control unit 98 generates this print output data (print data).

Here, in the example of FIG. 15, when the job is completed,
An example of printing out the job history in a list format will be shown. As can be seen in FIG. 15, when the discharge destination is switched and the discharge is completed normally (of course, forced termination may be possible), a message indicating that (“partial discharge destination switching” in the figure) and the user are displayed. Not the discharge destination specified by
The page numbers (“Page2, 4” in the figure) discharged to the standard (standard) standard discharge tray 150 are printed out.

Note that the noticeable information such as the fact that the discharge destination has been changed or the target page is changed to a color different from other print colors (standard color) (for example, red when the standard color is black), or It is preferable to use a printing mode such as emphasizing characters or other decorative characters so as to make the part stand out.

As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, when the discharge destination is switched, the fact and the related information (for example, page number) are printed out as visible information, so that the printed matter and the discharged matter are discharged. Made the user aware of the relationship. Therefore, when there is a page in the job printing operation that cannot be output to the specified output tray, the user can know that the output destination is automatically switched based on the printed information. Like the fourth
As in the embodiment, it becomes possible to prevent forgetting to take the sheet.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining a sixth mode (hereinafter referred to as a sixth embodiment) of the processing procedure in the printer 9 having the above-mentioned configuration. FIG. 16A shows the correspondence between the paper type and the discharge tray. 16B is a diagram showing an example of the relationship of the processing speed in FIG. 16, FIG. 16B is a diagram showing the loss time due to the switching of the discharge destination, and FIG. It is the figure which showed the typical case.

First, as shown in the chart of FIG. 16A, the print speed is determined in advance by the combination of the paper type and the discharge tray. It should be noted that it is omitted to explain the aspects described in the figures one by one.

It takes a certain time to switch the discharge destination. That is, when it is necessary to switch the discharge destination because the paper type and the discharge destination are changed in consecutive pages, a certain time is required for the switching time. For example, in FIG.
As shown in (B), "Page 1 (plain paper / CneterTra
y) ”and“ Page 2 (plain paper / CneterTray) ”are set as job 1, there is no need to switch the discharge destination and both print speed is 22ppm (Print Per Minute
It can be processed continuously in e).

On the other hand, "Page 1 (plain paper / Cnet
erTray) and page 2 (plain paper / FinisherTray) are set as job 2, it is necessary to switch the discharge destination, which requires processing time for switching, and continuous processing cannot be performed. Print speed 22p
Even with pm (Print Per Minute), the total processing time becomes longer.

In this example, all trays have the same print speed of 22 ppm (Print Per Minute), but as shown in the chart of FIG. 16A, there are cases where the tray print speeds are different, Although the processing time for switching is required, there is also a case where the total processing time becomes shorter when the discharge tray is switched.

Therefore, in the sixth embodiment, when there is a job command for continuously processing a plurality of pages, not only is the output destination switched for a page that cannot be discharged to the discharge destination designated by the user, The output destination is determined in consideration of the printing speed and the output destination switching time so that the total processing time becomes shorter. For example, whether to switch the output tray for all pages after the non-outputtable page or to switch the output tray for only non-outputtable pages is determined in consideration of the print speed and the switching time of the output tray.

For example, before the printing of the first page is started, the paper size, the paper type, and the output tray of all the pages are determined, and "page 1 = plain paper", "page 2 = OHP",
"Page 3 = Plain paper", "Destination designation is all pages Finish"
If a print job called "erTray" is set,
The OHP sheet on the second page cannot be ejected to "FinisherTray", so the ejection destination has to be forced to eject to "CenterTray", but the plain papers on pages 1 and 3 are specified by the user. Not limited to “FinisherTray”,
It can also be forcibly discharged to "CenterTray".

In this case, as shown in FIG. 16C, for example, the processing methods of case 1 and case 2 are considered, and the total processing time differs depending on which case is selected. For example, in case 1, as usual, 1 and 3
The plain paper of the page is discharged from the designated "FinisherTray", and the OHP sheet of the second page is discharged from the "FinisherTray".

On the other hand, in case 2, the same processes as in case 1 are performed until the second page is ejected, but the third page of plain paper is used for the second page instead of the designated "FinisherTray". It discharges the “CenterTray” that was used. As a result, unlike Case 1, the second page and the third page
The discharge destination switching time between the page and the page can be omitted, and the total processing time (time until the end of all jobs) can be shortened compared to case 1.

In this way, when the sheet is discharged to a tray different from the discharge destination designated by the user, as shown in the second embodiment, the slip sheet is inserted into the discharge destination designated by the user, or As shown in the third embodiment, the user may be notified that the discharge destination is automatically switched by offsetting and discharging.
Alternatively, as shown in the above-described fourth or fifth embodiment, information indicating that the discharge destination has been switched is displayed on the display device or printed on the recording paper P to notify the user. May be.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure of the sixth embodiment. When the print job starts, the paper discharge control unit 96 first presets the discharge destination forced switching flag to "OFF". Next, the data analysis unit 94 analyzes the print data in the reception memory area and obtains print requests for all pages (information such as paper size, paper type, discharge tray) (S160). Then, the data analysis unit 94 determines whether or not the processing target page can be discharged to the designated discharge tray based on the above-described FIGS. 8 and 9, and notifies the discharge control unit 96 of the result (S162). .

The discharge control unit 96 determines whether the discharge destination forced switching flag is "ON" based on the analysis result from the data analysis unit 94, and determines whether the discharge destination forced switching flag is "ON". Is compared with the discharge destination switching time (S164). When the discharge destination forced switching flag is “ON” and the job finishes earlier if the discharge destination is not switched again, printing is performed on the recording paper P based on the print data, and the discharge tray specified by the user is output. Instead, the scanning output system 103 and the paper discharge mechanism are controlled so that the paper is discharged to the standard (standard) standard discharge tray 150 (S164-YES, S166).

On the other hand, if the discharge destination compulsory switching flag is not "ON" (that is, "OFF"), or if the end of the job is faster if the discharge destination is switched again, the discharge tray is discharged to the discharge tray designated by the user. , And controls the scan output system 103 and the paper discharge mechanism (S164-NO, S168). Then, the discharge destination forced switching flag is set to "OFF" (S170).
The timing at which the forced discharge destination switching flag is set to “OFF” is arbitrary as long as the printing process is started, the paper is further discharged, and the determination process in step S164 for the next processing target page is started.

Further, the paper discharge control unit 96 includes the data analysis unit 9
If the result of analysis of whether or not the sheet can be ejected by No. 4 is a page that cannot be ejected, the scanning output system prints on the recording paper P based on the print data and ejects it to the standard ejection tray 150 that is the default (standard). The control unit 103 and the paper discharge mechanism are controlled (S162-NO, S172). Then, the discharge destination forced switching flag is set to "ON" (S174). The timing at which the forced discharge destination switching flag is set to "ON" is arbitrary as long as the printing process is started, the sheet is further discharged, and the determination process in step S164 for the next processing target page is started.

When the processing of the first sheet is completed in this way, it is continuously confirmed whether there is a subsequent page (S17).
6) If there is a subsequent page, the process returns to step S162 and the same process as described above is repeated (S176-YES).

As described above, according to the sixth embodiment, when there is a print job command for continuously processing a plurality of pages, the print speed of the output tray and the switching time of the output destination are taken into consideration and the output failure occurs. Since it decides whether to switch the output tray for all pages after the available page or only the output tray for non-printable pages, it is possible to eject and shorten the total processing time. The discharge destination can be selected, and the printing work efficiency can be improved.

Although the present invention has been described using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. Various changes or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiment, and a mode in which such changes or improvements are added is also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Also,
The above embodiments do not limit the claimed invention, and all combinations of the features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0145]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the printing apparatus has a plurality of output trays and a page that cannot be output to the specified output tray is in the job printing operation, Only pages that cannot be ejected to the output destination specified by the user are ejected to any ejection destination that can eject the pages. In other words, pages that cannot be ejected to the specified destination are ejected to any destination that can eject the pages, such as the standard tray, and after that, when printing of the pages that can be ejected to the specified destination is performed, the user specifies again. The output destination is automatically switched and the paper is discharged.

Therefore, even if there is a page in the job printing operation that cannot be output to the specified discharge tray, the troublesome operation of changing the discharge destination each time it hits the discharge-disabled page and transmitting the job again It is possible to continuously perform the print processing without interrupting the job without performing the job. As a result, it is possible to shorten the time until the entire job printing is completed.

When the sheet is discharged to a discharge destination different from the user's designation, for example, a slip sheet is inserted at a position where the automatically switched page should be output, or a position where the automatically switched page should be output. If you offset the paper (shift the position of the paper) and discharge it, or if you automatically switch the output destination, for example, display or print out the page number, size, paper type, etc., The user can be notified that the paper has been discharged to a discharge destination different from the one designated by the user. As a result, the user
It becomes possible to easily understand that the sheets have been discharged by being separated into a plurality of sheet discharge ports, and to prevent forgetting to take them.

Further, according to the present invention, when a plurality of pages are continuously processed, not only the output destination is switched for a page that cannot be discharged to the discharge destination designated by the user, but also the printing speed and the output destination are changed. Since the output destination is determined in consideration of the switching time as well, it is possible to select a discharge destination that shortens the total processing time, and it is possible to shorten the time until the job printing is completed. Therefore, it is possible to improve the work efficiency of printing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an image processing system including an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main part of a circuit configuration of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example when an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a printer.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating peripheral devices used in combination with a printer body.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a combination of a printer body and peripheral devices.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing details of a finisher which is an example of an output device.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing details of a finisher portion.

FIG. 8 is a table showing a list of discharge trays and usable and detectable sheet sizes.

FIG. 9 is a chart showing a list of relationships between discharge trays and paper types.

FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram showing a part related to discharge destination switching control in the printer.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the sixth embodiment, and is a chart (A) showing an example of the relationship of the processing speed in correspondence between the paper type and the discharge tray, and a diagram showing the loss time due to the switching of the discharge destination. (B) is a diagram (C) showing a specific example of switching the discharge destination in consideration of the total printing processing time.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the sixth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

8 ... Image forming apparatus, 9 ... Printer, 92 ... Job receiving section, 94 ... Data analysis section, 96 ... Paper ejection control section, 98 ... Notification control section, 100 ... Printer body, 102 ... Main unit, 150 ... Standard ejection tray , 180 ... Manual feed tray, 190 ... First paper feed tray, 200 ... Paper discharge unit, 220 ... Side tray, 240 ... Double-sided module,
300 ... Tray cabinet, 500 ... Output device

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G03G 21/00 370 G03G 21/00 370 (72) Inventor Yuki Dohi 2274 Hongo, Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture Fuji Xerox Ebina Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoshihiro Tsuchiya 2274 Hongo, Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Ebina Co., Ltd. (72) Toshihiro Isozaki 2274 Hongo, Ebina, Kanagawa Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Terms (reference) 2C061 AP03 AP04 AQ06 AR01 AS02 CQ33 CQ34 HJ04 HN18 2H027 DC02 DC19 DE07 ED19 EF09 FA27 FD08 3F050 BA07 BC04 BE07 CA08 LA03 LA05 LA07 LB03 3F107 AA01 AB01 AC02 AC03 AC04 BA02 CA03 CB04

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus having a plurality of paper discharge destinations, which forms an image on a specified recording paper and discharges the paper to a specified paper discharge destination, and a job reception unit which receives an output job, A data analysis unit that analyzes whether the output job received by the job reception unit includes a mixture of pages that can be discharged to the specified discharge destination and pages that cannot be discharged, and the data analysis unit Based on the analyzed result, the pages that can be discharged to the specified discharge destination are the specified discharge destinations, and the pages that cannot be discharged to the specified discharge destination are the discharge destinations. By switching the discharge destination of the recording paper to a discharge destination different from the designated discharge destination, output in which pages that can be discharged to the specified discharge destination and pages that cannot be discharged are mixed Paper ejection control unit that continuously executes jobs An image forming apparatus comprising: 2. The sheet ejection control unit indicates a switching sheet between a page that can be ejected to the designated ejection destination and a page that cannot be ejected to the designated ejection destination. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet is discharged to the designated discharge destination. 3. The paper discharge control section, when discharging a page capable of being discharged to the specified discharge destination to the specified discharge destination, discharges the page to the specified discharge destination. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discharge position of the recording sheet is shifted at a switching portion between a possible page and a page that cannot be discharged to the designated discharge destination. . 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notification control unit that notifies, as visible information, information regarding switching of the discharge destination by the discharge control unit. 5. The notification control unit causes a predetermined display device to display at least one of a page number, a size of the recording paper, and a type of the recording paper as the information regarding the switching of the discharge destination. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image forming apparatus comprises: 6. The notification control unit prints out at least one of a page number, a size of the recording sheet, and a type of the recording sheet as information regarding the switching of the discharge destination on a predetermined recording sheet. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image forming apparatus comprises: 7. An image forming apparatus which has a plurality of paper discharge destinations, forms an image on a designated recording paper, and discharges the paper to a designated paper discharge destination, and a job receiving unit for receiving an output job, Whether the output job received by the job receiving unit includes a mixture of pages that can be discharged to the specified discharge destination and pages that cannot be discharged, and the processing speeds for the plurality of discharge destinations and A data analysis unit that analyzes at least one of the discharge destination switching times, and a page that cannot be discharged to the specified discharge destination based on the result analyzed by the data analysis unit. Is discharged to a discharge destination different from the designated discharge destination, and the pages that can be discharged to the designated discharge destination are different from the designated discharge destination and the designated discharge destination. To one of the discharge destinations By switching the discharge destination of the recording paper, there is provided a discharge control unit for continuously executing an output job in which pages that can be discharged to the specified discharge destination and pages that cannot be discharged are mixed. An image forming apparatus characterized by being provided.