JP2004291331A - Printer for continuous web of paper - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer for a continuous web of paper in which print operation is not interrupted under a state where the continuous web of paper is not held stably. <P>SOLUTION: The printer 2 comprises an imaging unit 6, a tractor 14, an intermediate roller 28, a control section for controlling the imaging unit, the tractor and the intermediate roller based on the image data, a section for taking in the image data externally, a section for processing the image data thus taken in, an image memory for storing the processed image data, and an output managing section for outputting the processed image data to the control section. When printing is performed by carrying the continuous web of paper in the Z direction from an initial position where the forward end part of the continuous web of paper is held by the tractor, the output managing section postpones output of the processed image data to the control section until the accumulated number of pages A corresponding to the processed image data reaches a minimum number of print pages B required for the continuous web of paper to be carried in the Z direction from the initial position and held by the intermediate roller. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a continuous paper printer that performs printing on continuous paper.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a continuous paper printer that performs printing on continuous paper (also referred to as continuous paper) in which a plurality of pages are continuous in a longitudinal direction (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2). In these continuous paper printers, a tractor, a suction belt, an intermediate roller pair, and a paper discharge roller pair are provided as a transport system from the upstream side to the downstream side in the paper transport direction. The tractor is a belt having a projection that engages with a feed hole provided in the continuous paper. When the tractor is driven to rotate, the tractor feeds the paper to a transfer area located on the upstream side of the suction belt. When the toner image is transferred in the transfer area, the continuous paper is conveyed to the downstream side while being sucked by the suction belt, and then, after the toner image is fixed by the fixing device facing the suction belt, the intermediate roller The paper is discharged out of the printer through each nip portion of the pair and the paper discharge roller pair.
[0003]
In the continuous paper printer as described above, a print job is received from an external terminal connected to the printer via a network (for example, a LAN) (image data is fetched), and various processes are performed on the image data by an image processing unit. Generally, printing is performed on continuous paper by controlling the image forming unit based on the processed image data.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2002-103710 A
[Patent Document 2]
JP 2002-224647 A
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the continuous paper printer, printing in which an image forming unit (image forming unit) sequentially outputs images based on processed image data while sequentially performing image processing of each image data corresponding to each page in an image processing unit. In the operation control method, since the image forming speed is generally higher than the image processing speed, the image forming unit may wait until the image processing in the image processing unit is completed. Therefore, when the transport path between the tractor and the intermediate roller pair is relatively long, the continuous paper is placed at the initial position (for example, the paper leading end is set at a predetermined position between the tractor and the transfer area). If a print job is received in step (1), printing may be interrupted with the leading edge of the sheet stopped between the tractor and the intermediate roller. As a result, the leading end of the sheet may remain on the conveyance path in an unstable state, and may contact a fixing device or the like, thereby deteriorating the image quality, damaging the sheet, or causing a fire. Also, when printing is restarted, a jam may occur. A method of stably holding the continuous paper by constantly sucking the continuous paper with a suction belt may be considered, but the running cost is increased.
[0006]
If the speed at which image data corresponding to each page is acquired from the external terminal is lower than the image forming speed, even if the processing speed in the image processing unit is high, for example, after acquiring the image data of the first page, Even when the image output by the image forming unit based on the data is completed, the capture of the image data of the next page may not be completed. In this case, printing is interrupted for one page, and the above-described problem occurs.
[0007]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a continuous paper printer in which printing is not interrupted in a state where the continuous paper is not stably held.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problem, a first aspect of the continuous paper printer according to the present invention is as follows.
Image forming means for forming an image on continuous paper at a printing position,
First and second transport means for holding and transporting the continuous paper, and respectively disposed upstream and downstream of the printing position with respect to the transport direction of the continuous paper;
A control unit that controls the image forming unit, the first and second transport units based on the image data;
An image capturing unit that captures image data from outside;
An image processing unit that performs image processing on image data captured by the image capturing unit;
An image memory for storing image data having undergone image processing,
An output management unit that outputs the image-processed image data stored in the image memory to the control unit,
When printing is performed by transporting the continuous paper in the transport direction from a state where the leading end of the continuous paper is set at the initial position held by the first transport unit, the output management unit performs the above-described image processing. The total printing length A along the transport direction corresponding to the image data is transported in the transport direction from the initial position where the vicinity of the leading end of the continuous paper is retained by the first transport unit, and is retained by the second transport unit. The output of the image-processed image data to the control unit is postponed until the print length B is longer than the print length B required for the printing.
The total print length A increases as the number of processed image data increases. The print length B is a predetermined value.
In the case of continuous paper in which a plurality of pages (unit print length) are continuous in the transport direction, the total print length A is an integer value that is incremented by one in the total of the unit print lengths. The print length B is the number of unit print lengths, and is a predetermined integer value.
[0009]
In such a continuous paper printer, the printing operation is started after the processed image data of at least the printing length B is stored in the image memory, so that the printing operation is interrupted until the leading edge of the paper reaches the second conveying means. I will not.
[0010]
When the total print length A at the end of the first print job is less than the print length B (for continuous paper in which a plurality of pages (unit print lengths) are continuous, the total A of the unit print lengths is a unit. When the number of print lengths is less than B), the output management unit controls the image-processed image data after a lapse of a predetermined time after the image capturing unit receives a print job end signal from the outside following the image data. It may be output to a unit.
[0011]
In this case, it is possible to eliminate the inconvenience of waiting for a long time in a state where printing is not started even though the user has issued a print command.
[0012]
If the image capturing unit receives the start signal of the second print job before the predetermined time elapses, the output management unit determines the total print length corresponding to the image data on which image processing has been performed on the first and second print jobs. Until the length A becomes greater than or equal to the print length B (for continuous paper in which a plurality of pages (unit print lengths) are continuous, the total A of the unit print lengths becomes greater than or equal to the number B of unit print lengths). The output of the processed image data to the control unit may be postponed.
[0013]
Even if the total print length A corresponding to the previous job (the first print job) is less than the print length B, the next job (the If the second print job is started, the printing is postponed until the image data corresponding to the total print length A is processed for the first and second print jobs. Alternatively, even when the total print length A is less than the print length B in the second print job alone, printing is started without the user having to wait for a long time, thereby improving user convenience.
[0014]
A second aspect of the continuous paper printer according to the present invention is as follows.
Image forming means for forming an image on continuous paper at a printing position,
First and second transport means for holding and transporting the continuous paper, and respectively disposed upstream and downstream of the printing position with respect to the transport direction of the continuous paper;
A control unit that controls the image forming unit, the first and second transport units based on the image data;
An image capturing unit that captures image data from outside;
An image memory for storing captured image data,
An output management unit that outputs the image data stored in the image memory to the control unit,
When printing is performed by transporting the continuous paper in the transport direction from a state where the vicinity of the leading end of the continuous paper is set at the initial position held by the first transport unit, the output management unit determines the captured image data. The total print length A along the transport direction corresponding to the length of the continuous paper is transported in the transport direction from the initial position where the vicinity of the leading end of the continuous paper is held by the first transport unit and held by the second transport unit. The output of the captured image data to the control unit is postponed until the print length B or more is required.
[0015]
In such a continuous paper printer, the printing operation is started after image data for at least the printing length B is captured, so that the printing operation is not interrupted until the leading edge of the paper reaches the second transport unit.
[0016]
If the total print length A at the end of the print job is less than the print length B, the output management unit determines that a certain period of time has passed since the image capture unit received an external print job end signal following the image data. Later, the image data whose image has been captured may be output to the control unit.
[0017]
If the image capturing unit receives the start signal of the second print job before the elapse of the predetermined time, the output management unit determines the total print length corresponding to the image data for which image capturing has been performed for the first and second print jobs. The output of the image data whose image has been captured to the control unit may be postponed until the length A becomes equal to or longer than the print length B.
[0018]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the specification of the present application, terms indicating directions (for example, “up,” “down,” “right,” “left,” and other terms including these terms) are used. It is for directional purposes only, and these terms should not be construed as limiting the invention. In the present application, the unit of each sheet of continuous paper is referred to as “page” for simplicity of description, but the unit of each sheet is referred to as “unit print length along the transport direction of continuous paper”. Substantially equivalent.
[0019]
<Configuration of continuous paper printer>
Referring to FIG. 1, a continuous paper printer denoted by reference numeral 2 is provided with an endless intermediate transfer belt 3 at a substantially central portion inside the printer. The intermediate transfer belt 3 is rotatably driven in a counterclockwise direction in the drawing while being supported by outer peripheral portions such as a roller 4 located at a right end and a roller 5 located at a left end.
[0020]
Below the lower horizontal portion of the intermediate transfer belt 3, four image forming units 6Y, 6M, 6C, and 6K corresponding to colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), respectively. Are arranged side by side along the intermediate transfer belt 3 to form an image forming section.
[0021]
Although details are omitted, each of the image forming units 6Y, 6M, 6C, and 6K has a photosensitive drum. Around the photosensitive drums, a charging device, a print head unit, a developing device, a primary transfer roller facing each photosensitive drum with the intermediate transfer belt 3 interposed therebetween, and a cleaner are arranged in this order along the rotation direction. Have been. Toners of the image forming units 6Y, 6M, 6C, and 6K are supplied with yellow toner, magenta toner, cyan toner, and black toner from toner containers 8Y, 8M, 8C, and 8K, respectively.
[0022]
A transfer charger 10 is arranged to face a portion of the intermediate transfer belt 3 supported by the rollers 4. A space between the transfer charger 10 and the intermediate transfer belt 3 is a secondary transfer area (print position). Note that a transfer roller may be used instead of the transfer charger 10.
[0023]
A belt cleaner (not shown) for scraping the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 3 after the secondary transfer and collecting it in the waste toner box 11 is provided on a portion of the intermediate transfer belt 3 supported by the rollers 5. It is pressed.
[0024]
The continuous paper printer 2 includes a paper feed stacker 12 at a lower portion thereof. In the paper feed stacker 12, continuous paper P in which each page is separated by perforations is stacked and stored. In the present embodiment, the paper feed stacker 12 is disposed immediately below the secondary transfer area.
[0025]
A tractor (first transport unit) 14 is disposed between the secondary transfer area and the paper feed stacker 12. The tractor 14 includes a belt unit (two in the illustrated example) having a large number of tractor pins arranged at regular intervals. Each belt unit can be driven to rotate, and the tractor pins are connected to the continuous paper P. The continuous paper P is fed to the secondary transfer area in a state where the continuous paper P is engaged with feed holes formed at both sides in the width direction at a constant pitch. The tractor 14 can rotate forward and backward, and can control the transport amount (stop position) of the continuous paper P by the rotation speed of the tractor belt.
[0026]
In this embodiment, a tractor 14 as shown in FIG. 2A is used as a feed mechanism (first transport means) for the continuous paper P, but a sprocket as shown in FIG. 141, or a pair of grip rollers 142 having a large number of fine projections (for example, a diameter of 0.03 mm and a height of 0.07 mm) on the surface as shown in FIG. 2C.
[0027]
A pair of pre-transfer guides 16 are provided between the secondary transfer area and the tractor 14. The guide pair 16 is for allowing the continuous paper P sent between the guide pairs 16 by the tractor 14 located below to pass through the secondary transfer area while being pressed against the intermediate transfer belt 3. When the continuous paper P is manually set on the tractor 14, the leading end of the continuous paper P is automatically set at a position near the upstream end of the pre-transfer guide 16 (in the present application, in this state, The position of the continuous paper P or the position of the leading end is referred to as an initial position.)
[0028]
Immediately above the transfer charger 10, an endless transport belt 18 rotatably supported by two rollers is disposed along the longitudinal direction. A number of holes are formed in the transport belt 18, and when the suction fans 20 (two in the illustrated example) arranged on the side of the transport belt 18 are operated, the continuous paper P is placed on the surface of the transport belt 18. It is designed to be adsorbed. By rotating the transport belt 18 in this state, the continuous paper P is transported along the paper transport direction (arrow Z).
[0029]
The continuous paper P can be moved in the direction opposite to the arrow Z direction by driving the tractor 14 in the reverse direction. In this movement, the tractor 14, the transfer charger 10, and the pre-transfer guide pair 16 are moved to the positions indicated by the dotted lines. The sheet can be retracted so that the continuous sheet P does not come into contact with the intermediate transfer belt 3 when the sheet is conveyed in the reverse direction.
[0030]
A planar heater 22 (two in the illustrated example) is disposed in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the transport belt 18, and rotates the transport belt 18 while heating with the planar heater 22 during printing standby. Thus, the temperature of the transport belt 18 can be maintained at a predetermined temperature or higher.
[0031]
A preheater 24 and a flash fixing device 26 are arranged side by side to face the sheet suction surface of the conveyor belt 18. The preheater 24 is arranged on the upstream side of the flash fixing device 26 with respect to the paper transport direction Z. The pre-heater 24 cooperates with the planar heater 22 for heating the transport belt 18 to heat the continuous paper P to supplement the amount of heat required to fix the color toner image. For example, a halogen lamp is used. Can be On the other hand, the flash fixing device 26 is a non-contact type fixing device that fixes a toner image on the continuous paper P by a predetermined length every time a flash is emitted periodically.
[0032]
On the side of the flash fixing device 26, a deodorizing fan 27 for removing the toner vaporized in the fixing process is provided.
[0033]
Above the conveyor belt 18, an intermediate roller pair (second conveying means) 28, a paper discharge guide pair 30, and a paper discharge roller pair 32 are sequentially arranged from the upstream side to the downstream side. Thus, the continuous paper P is discharged outside the continuous paper printer 2. The continuous paper P discharged from the continuous paper printer 2 is loaded and stored in a paper discharge stacker 34 attached to a lower part of the continuous paper printer 2. Here, the second transporting unit located downstream of the printing position is not limited to a roller shape as long as it holds and transports the continuous paper P.
[0034]
A burster 36 is arranged near the upstream side of the paper discharge roller pair 32. The burster 36 includes a cutting disk that can advance into a transport path formed by the paper ejection guide pair 30. This disk is movable in the front and back directions on the paper surface of FIG. If necessary, for example, the continuous paper P is stopped by aligning the perforation forming the rear end of the last page after the end of the print job with the passing position of the disk, and then the disk is moved while being pressed against the continuous paper P. , The continuous paper P can be cut.
[0035]
FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the continuous paper printer 2. Reference numeral 50 denotes a control unit for controlling the entire continuous paper printer. The control unit includes a CPU 52 such as a microprocessor, a ROM 54 storing a control program of the CPU 52 and various data, a RAM 56 used as a work area of the CPU 52, and a printer controller 58. And an image memory 60 for storing the image data of each page.
[0036]
The printer controller 58 receives a print job, the number of print pages, various setting modes, a print interruption command from the user, and the like transmitted from an external terminal (for example, a personal computer) connected to the continuous paper printer 2 via a network (for example, a LAN). The CPU 66, a ROM 67 for storing a control program and various data of the CPU 66, a RAM 68 used as a work area of the CPU 66, an image memory 69 for storing captured image data, and various images for the image data. An image processing unit 70 for performing processing; a communication control unit (image capturing unit) 71 for communicating with an external terminal; a management unit 72 for managing output of image-processed image data to the control unit 50; Is provided. The cumulative page number A represents the total number of pages corresponding to the image data processed by the image processing unit 70. The output management unit 72 determines that the accumulated page number A starts printing from the initial position and the leading edge of the paper reaches the intermediate roller 28 (that is, the continuous paper P is stably held by the tractor 14 and the intermediate roller 28). ), The image data having undergone the image processing is transmitted to the control unit 50 when the number of print pages becomes equal to the minimum number of print pages B (for example, 6 pages).
[0037]
Various user commands can also be input through an operation panel 78 provided on the continuous paper printer 2 side.
[0038]
As shown in FIG. 3, the fixing section 80 (including the flash fixing device 26 and its power supply, etc.), the transfer section 82 (including the transfer charger 10 and its power supply, etc.), and the transport section 84 (including the tractor 14, The transport belt 18, the pair of intermediate rollers 28, the pair of discharge rollers 32, and their driving sources, and the like are operated upon receiving a control signal from the control unit 50.
[0039]
<Printing operation of continuous paper printer>
Next, the printing operation of the continuous paper printer 2 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.
[0040]
When the user gives a print command via an external terminal with the leading end of the sheet set at the initial position near the upstream end of the pre-transfer guide 16, the communication control unit 71 of the printer controller 58 sets the print job (first (Step S401). The communication control unit 71 subsequently starts receiving the image signal (step S402). Each time the communication control unit 71 completes the capture of one page of image data in step S403, the image processing unit 70 converts the color image into yellow, cyan, magenta, and black for each page in step S404. Data is created and stored in the image memory 69. When one page of color image data is processed by the image processing unit 70, the index (initial value 0) of the accumulated page number A stored in the storage unit 73 is incremented in step S405.
[0041]
In step S406, if the accumulated page number A becomes equal to the minimum number of printed pages (the number of unit print lengths) B required for the leading edge of the sheet to reach the intermediate roller 28, in step S407, the output management unit 72 Then, transmission of the color image data stored in the image memory 69 to the control unit 50 is started. The color image data is stored in the image memory 60.
[0042]
In step S408, the continuous paper printer 2 starts a printing operation. Specifically, the control unit 50 transmits a control signal to the print head unit of each image forming unit 6 based on the color image data stored in the image memory 60, and each print head unit applies a laser beam to the photosensitive drum. To perform exposure. As a result, an electrostatic latent image for each color is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum of each of the image forming units 6Y, 6M, 6C, and 6K.
[0043]
The electrostatic latent images formed on the respective photosensitive drums are respectively developed by the respective developing devices to become toner images of respective colors. Then, the toner images of each color are primary-transferred by the action of the respective primary transfer rollers while being sequentially superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 3 moving in the counterclockwise direction in FIG.
[0044]
The superimposed toner image thus formed on the intermediate transfer belt 3 reaches the secondary transfer area as the intermediate transfer belt 3 moves. In the secondary transfer area, the superimposed toner images of the respective colors are collectively transferred onto the continuous paper P sent from the paper feed stacker 12 by the tractor 14 by the operation of the transfer charger 10.
[0045]
The continuous paper P on which the toner image has been secondarily transferred is transported upward by the transport belt 18, and is heated by the transport belt 18 and the pre-heater 24 heated by the sheet heater 22 in this transport process, and the flash of the flash fixing device 26. The toner image is fixed by receiving the light emission. Then, the continuous paper P is discharged out of the printer 2 via the intermediate roller pair 28, the paper discharge path 30, and the paper discharge roller pair 32, and is stacked and stored in the paper discharge stacker 34.
[0046]
In the present embodiment, the printing operation is started when the processed color image data for B pages is accumulated in the image memory 69 of the print controller 58. Therefore, in the printing operation, the leading end of the sheet reaches the intermediate roller 28. Until there is no interruption. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the above-described problem that occurs when printing is interrupted in a state where the continuous paper P is not stably held.
[0047]
The image data exceeding B pages may be transmitted from the print controller 58 to the control unit 50 for each page or for a plurality of pages. Since the continuous paper P is already stably held. Even if printing is interrupted due to a delay in image processing, no problem occurs.
[0048]
In step S409, when the communication control unit 71 of the printer controller 58 receives a print job end signal following the image signal, the printing operation ends, and the flow ends.
[0049]
If the accumulated page number A does not reach the minimum number of printed pages B required for the leading edge of the sheet to reach the intermediate roller 28 in step S406, the flow proceeds to step S410. If the communication control unit 71 does not receive a print job end signal in step S410, the process returns to step S403, and image data for one page is further captured.
[0050]
Upon receiving a print job end signal in step S410, the process advances to step S411. If the start signal of the next job is not received within a fixed time (for example, the time arbitrarily specified by the user within a range of 1 to 30 seconds) after receiving the end signal of the print job (steps S411 and S412). Proceeding to step S407, the output management unit 72 starts transmitting the color image data stored in the image memory 69 to the control unit 50. In this case, since the number of pages to be printed is smaller than the minimum number of printed pages B (1 to 5 pages in the above example), the leading end of the sheet has not reached the intermediate roller 28 at the end of the print job (step S409). Therefore, even after the job is completed, the conveyance of the continuous paper P is continued with a blank portion added to the printed page, and the conveyance is stopped when the continuous paper P is stably held (note that the printed page is not printed). A blank portion may be attached before the job.) Then, the printer waits while being held by the tractor 14 and the intermediate roller 28 until the next job is received. Alternatively, the continuous paper P may be transported in the Z direction, the perforation at the rear end of the last page of the completed job may be cut by the burster 36, and the remaining portion may be transported in the reverse direction to the initial position. .
[0051]
If the start signal of the next job (second print job) is received before the predetermined time elapses (steps S411 and S412), the flow returns to step S403. Then, when the accumulated page number A reaches B for the first and second print jobs, the image data is transmitted to the control unit 50 and the printing operation is started.
[0052]
In step S411, when a user's forced print start command is received during a certain period of time, transmission of image data to the control unit 50 may be started to start printing. Alternatively, instead of setting the printing operation not to start until a predetermined time has elapsed after receiving the print job end signal, the printing operation is not started until the next job is received unless the user forcibly starts printing. May be set.
[0053]
If the user issues a print interruption command via the operation panel 78 or the like while the image data is being captured, the print controller 58 receives a print job end signal. If the cumulative number of pages corresponding to the data is less than the minimum number of printed pages, printing may be performed for the captured image data or printing may not be performed.
[0054]
The above description relates to one embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this, and can be variously modified. For example, in the above embodiment, printing is started until image processing is completed for image data corresponding to a predetermined number of pages (the minimum number of print pages required for the leading end of the continuous paper P to reach the intermediate roller 28) ( That is, the control unit 50 starts the printing operation control.) Alternatively, printing may be started when the number of pages corresponding to the image data that has been captured reaches the minimum number of printed pages. However, in this case, the condition is that printing is not interrupted before the leading edge of the sheet reaches the intermediate roller 28 due to a delay due to image processing.
[0055]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where one page is printed for one image data is described. However, the case where a plurality of pages (hereinafter referred to as a designated number of copies) is printed for one image data may be considered. As an example of this, (1) a mode in which one image is printed for a specified number of copies and then the next image is printed for a specified number of copies (for example, two copies of each of three images “1”, “2”, and “3” are printed) In this case, “1”, “1”, “2”, “2”, “3”, and “3” are printed in this order, and (2) an electronic sort printing mode (for example, three images “1” , "2", and "3" are printed in two copies, respectively, in a mode of printing in the order of "1", "2", "3", "1", "2", and "3"). . In the former case, the cumulative page number A is the number of image data after image processing × the number of copies. In the above example, the index of the cumulative page number A is incremented in the order of 2, 4, and 6. In the latter case, in the above example, the index of the accumulated page number A is incremented in the order of 1, 2, and 6.
[0056]
If a problem such as a jam occurs during printing or the user interrupts printing, and then manually set the leading edge of the paper to a standby state, or forcibly cut the paper with the burster 36 during printing, and The user may issue a print start command after the portion is transported in the reverse direction to the initial position. If the image data has already been captured with the leading edge of the sheet set in the standby state, it is not necessary to capture again the captured image data that has not been used for printing, and the image of the image data and the newly captured image data need not be captured. Let the number of processed pages be the cumulative number of pages.
[0057]
Further, the printing operation is started until the image processing of the image data corresponding to the minimum number of print pages required for the leading edge of the continuous paper P to reach the intermediate roller 28 is completed (or until the image data is completely captured). It is configured to be switchable by a user operation between a mode in which no printing is performed and a mode in which image processing of image data corresponding to one page is completed (or after image data is captured) and a printing operation is started immediately. Is also good.
[0058]
In addition, in the above-described embodiment, an example is described in which the present invention is applied to continuous paper P in which pages are separated by perforations. However, the continuous paper printer according to the present invention is not separated by perforations for each unit print length. For example, the present invention is also applicable to roll paper.
[0059]
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the operation of the continuous paper printer 2 has been described as an example of forming a full-color image. However, the same control is performed when only the black image forming unit 16K is operated to form a monochrome image. be able to.
[0060]
Note that, in the present invention, as in the above embodiment, since printing is performed while the continuous paper P is transported in the vertical direction, if the transport is interrupted while the leading end of the paper has not reached the intermediate roller, the paper may become unstable. Although it is particularly effective in such a mode, it is also useful in a mode in which continuous paper is conveyed in the horizontal direction as shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2, for example. The reason is that, when continuous paper is conveyed in the horizontal direction, the paper stays on the conveyance path due to its own weight even if the paper is not held by the intermediate roller when the conveyance is interrupted, but in the case of roll paper, the leading edge is easily curled. This is because there is a possibility of contact with another member (for example, a flash fixing device).
[0061]
In the continuous paper printer according to the present invention, in order to prevent the printing from being interrupted while the leading edge of the paper does not reach the intermediate roller 28, the leading edge of the continuous paper P reaches the intermediate roller 28 as in the above-described embodiment. The printing operation is set not to start until the image processing of the image data corresponding to the minimum number of print pages required for the image data is completed (or until the image data is completely captured). However, the printing operation is started after the image processing of the image data of two or more pages and less than the minimum number of printed pages is completed (or after the capture of the image data is completed). This also has the effect of reducing the possibility that printing will be interrupted while the leading edge of the sheet does not reach the intermediate roller 28.
[0062]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a highly reliable continuous paper printer in which printing is not interrupted in a state where the continuous paper is not stably held, and therefore, deterioration of image quality and occurrence of jams or the like are less likely to occur.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a continuous paper printer according to the present invention.
2A is an enlarged view of the tractor of FIG. 1, and FIGS. 2B and 2C show another example of a paper feed mechanism.
FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the continuous paper printer of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a printing operation by the continuous paper printer of FIG. 1;
[Explanation of symbols]
2: Continuous paper printer
6Y, 6M, 6C, 6K: imaging unit
10: Transfer charger
14: Tractor (first transport means)
18: Conveyor belt
26: Flash fixing device
28: Intermediate roller pair (second conveying means)
69: Image memory
70: Image processing unit
71: Communication control unit (image capturing unit)
72: Output management unit

Claims (5)

Image forming means for forming an image on continuous paper at a printing position,
First and second transport means for holding and transporting the continuous paper, and respectively disposed upstream and downstream of the printing position with respect to the transport direction of the continuous paper;
A control unit that controls the image forming unit, the first and second transport units based on the image data;
An image capturing unit that captures image data from outside;
An image processing unit that performs image processing on image data captured by the image capturing unit;
An image memory for storing image data having undergone image processing,
An output management unit that outputs the image-processed image data stored in the image memory to the control unit,
When printing is performed by transporting the continuous paper in the transport direction from a state where the leading end of the continuous paper is set at the initial position held by the first transport unit, the output management unit performs the image processing The total print length A along the transport direction corresponding to the image data of the second transport unit is transported in the transport direction from the initial position where the vicinity of the leading end of the continuous paper is held by the first transport unit. Outputting the image-processed image data to the control unit until the print length B is longer than the print length B required to be held in the continuous paper printer. If the total print length A at the end of the first print job is less than the print length B, the output management unit receives an external print job end signal after the image capturing unit has received the image data. 2. The continuous paper printer according to claim 1, wherein the image data on which the image processing has been performed is output to a control unit after a lapse of a predetermined time. If the image capturing unit receives the start signal of the second print job before the fixed time elapses, the output management unit determines the total print length corresponding to the image data on which image processing has been performed on the first and second print jobs. 3. The continuous paper printer according to claim 2, wherein output of the image-processed image data to the control unit is postponed until A becomes equal to or longer than the print length B. Image forming means for forming an image on continuous paper at a printing position,
First and second transport means for holding and transporting the continuous paper, and respectively disposed upstream and downstream of the printing position with respect to the transport direction of the continuous paper;
A control unit that controls the image forming unit, the first and second transport units based on the image data;
An image capturing unit that captures image data from outside;
An image memory for storing captured image data,
An output management unit that outputs the image data stored in the image memory to the control unit,
When printing is performed by transporting the continuous paper in the transport direction from a state where the leading end of the continuous paper is set at the initial position held by the first transport unit, the output management unit determines whether the continuous paper has been loaded. The total print length A along the transport direction corresponding to the image data is transferred from the initial position where the vicinity of the leading end of the continuous paper is held by the first transport unit in the transport direction to the second transport unit. A continuous paper printer which delays outputting the captured image data to a control unit until the print length B is longer than a print length B required to be held. If the total print length A at the end of the print job is less than the print length B, the output management unit determines that the image capture unit has received a print job end signal from the outside following the image data, and then has a constant value. 5. The continuous paper printer according to claim 4, wherein after the lapse of time, the image data whose image has been captured is output to a control unit.

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