JP2008126609A - Image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that printing for a continuous form cannot be performed in large quantities at a high speed. <P>SOLUTION: First and second image forming apparatuses are arranged above and below, and the respective continuous forms are fed from a medium storage portion in which the continuous form is housed, so that the printing can be performed by the first and second image forming apparatuses. The image forming apparatuses are arranged in a superposed manner, so as to be capable of individually performing the printing on the plurality of continuous forms and adapting to a user's sudden demand. Additionally, since the image forming apparatuses require only a small installation area, the printing can also be performed on the continuous form at a high speed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming system for printing continuous paper.

Conventionally, an apparatus for printing a long recording medium or continuous paper is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. The printer apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 receives a long recording medium from a multi-purpose tray MPT, performs printing, and discharges the printed medium from a discharge port provided at the rear of the apparatus. there were.
JP 2006-76780 A

However, in the conventional printer, once the continuous paper is set, when printing on other continuous paper, the continuous paper has to be cut and reset. In particular, the continuous paper set is troublesome for the user, unlike the cut sheet, and cannot cope with the sudden acceptance of the user.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming system that can cope with a user's sudden reception and can obtain a large amount of printing on continuous paper at a high speed.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the solution means provided in the present invention includes a first recording medium storage unit that stores continuous paper, a second recording medium storage unit that stores continuous paper, and a first recording medium storage. A first image forming apparatus that receives continuous paper from the first section and prints an image on the continuous paper, and a continuous sheet received from the second recording medium accommodating section that is stacked on the upper portion of the first image forming apparatus, and images on the continuous paper. A second image forming apparatus for printing, the first image forming apparatus includes a first engaging portion for stacking the second image forming apparatuses, and the second image forming apparatus includes a first engagement member. A second engaging portion that engages with the joint portion is provided.

According to the above configuration, by stacking and arranging the image forming apparatuses, it is possible to individually print on a plurality of continuous sheets, and it is possible to cope with the sudden acceptance of the user. Further, the installation area of the image forming apparatus can be reduced, and printing on continuous paper can be performed at high speed.

Hereinafter, an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the element common to each drawing.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram 1 of an image forming system according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram of the configuration diagram 1 of the image forming system as viewed from above. In this embodiment, an example of a printer using an electrophotographic recording method will be described. The printer may be an inkjet printer, an impact printer, or a composite device including a printer and a scanner.

Reference numerals 1A and 1B denote printers as image recording apparatuses, and a printer 1B is arranged on top of the printer 1A.
Reference numerals 200A and 200B denote unwinders as recording medium storage units that can store the continuous papers 2A and 2B. The continuous winders 2A and 2B are continuously supplied to the printers 1A and 1B.
The continuous papers 2A and 2B are both formed in a roll shape and are accommodated in the unwinders 200A and 200B.
The unwinders 200A and 200B are installed in substantially the same plane as the plane on which the printer 1A is installed, and the unwinder 200A and the unwinder 200B are installed side by side in the continuous paper conveyance direction.

300A and 300B are day touchers serving as medium discharge units for carrying and cutting continuous paper, accepting continuous papers 2A and 2B printed by the printers 1A and 1B, cutting them to a predetermined length, and further passing them to subsequent units. Transport. Further, the day toucher 300A, 300B may be provided with a medium accommodating unit for stacking cut continuous paper.
The day touchers 300A and 300B are installed in substantially the same plane as the plane on which the printer 1A is installed, and the day touchers 300A and 300B are provided in a direction substantially orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the continuous paper.

Reference numeral 400 denotes a relay transport unit for transporting the continuous paper 2B from the unwinder 200B to the printer 1B. The transfer unit for relay may be provided as a single unit, or may be provided integrally with the unwinder 200B.
A relay discharge unit 500 conveys the continuous paper 2B discharged from the printer 1B to the detacher 300B. The relay discharge unit may be provided as a single unit, or may be provided as the day toucher 300B.

Reference numerals 70A and 70B denote fixing plates as first engaging portions for fixing the printers stacked up and down. The fixing plates 70A and 70B may be fixed to the printer 1A and the printer 1B in advance, or may be fixed later by screwing or the like.
Fixing members 71A, 72A, 71B, 72B for fixing the printers stacked above the printer are attached to the fixing plates 70A, 70B. The fixing members 71A, 72A, 71B, and 72B are constituted by screw members such as thumb screws, and fix the printer loaded on the upper side. For this reason, the printers 1A and 1B are provided with screw holes 80A, 81A, 80B and 81B as second engaging portions for fitting with the thumbscrews.
In the present embodiment, the fixing plate is provided on the upper portion of the printer, but the fixing plate may be configured separately.

Next, details of each device and unit will be described below.
In the present embodiment, the printer 1A and the printer 1B are described as monochrome printers, but one of them may be a color printer or both may be configured by a color printer.
Reference numerals 10A and 10B denote multi-purpose trays (hereinafter referred to as MPTs) for placing recording media, and medium detection sensors 30A and 30B for detecting whether or not the recording media are placed on the MPTs 10A and 10B. Is provided. In the present embodiment, the continuous papers 2A and 2B supplied from the unwinders 200A and 200B are placed.

21A and 21B are conveyance roller pairs for conveying the continuous papers 2A and 2B. The driving force is transmitted to one of the rollers, and the continuous papers 2A and 2B are conveyed into the printers 1A and 1B.
22A and 22B are registration roller pairs that correct the skew of the conveyed continuous papers 2A and 2B and convey the continuous papers 2A and 2B. The registration roller pair also conveys the continuous sheets 2A and 2B by transmitting a driving force to one of the rollers.
31A and 31B are entrance sensors that detect the conveyance of the continuous papers 2A and 2B, and detect the passage of the continuous papers 2A and 2B by detecting the leading ends of the continuous papers 2A and 2B.

Reference numerals 100A and 100B denote image forming units, which transfer and fix the toner images on the conveyed continuous sheets 2A and 2B, and convey them in the discharge direction.
Here, the details of the image forming units 100A and 100B will be described.
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the image forming unit according to the first embodiment. Details of the image forming unit will be described below with reference to FIG.
Since the image forming units 100A and 100B have the same configuration, the image forming unit 100A will be described as a representative.

Reference numeral 140A denotes a pair of conveyance rollers for conveying the continuous paper 2A, and conveys the continuous paper 2A into the image forming unit 100A by transmitting a driving force to one of the rollers.
Reference numeral 32A denotes a writing sensor that detects the leading edge of the conveyed continuous paper 2A. By detecting the leading edge of the continuous paper 2A, it is used as a writing timing by the exposure head.
Reference numeral 101A denotes a photosensitive drum as an electrostatic latent image carrier, which rotates in the direction a.
The photosensitive drum 101A includes a conductive support and a photoconductive layer. As the conductive support, a metal pipe such as aluminum is used, and as the photoconductive layer, an organic photoreceptor comprising a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer sequentially stacked on the metal pipe is used.

Reference numeral 102A denotes a charging roller as a charger for charging the photosensitive drum 101A, which rotates in the direction b shown in the figure. The charging roller 102A includes a metal shaft and a semiconductive rubber layer, and is configured to be applied with a negative DC high voltage. Alternatively, an AC voltage may be superimposed on the DC voltage and applied.
In this embodiment, the charging roller 102A is provided in contact with the photosensitive drum 101A, but may be configured in a non-contact manner by providing a predetermined gap.
Reference numeral 103A denotes an LED head as an exposure head, in which a plurality of LED elements are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording medium, and the photosensitive drum 101A is charged by turning on / off each LED element in accordance with image data. An electrostatic latent image is formed thereon. In this embodiment, the LED head will be described, but a laser head may be used as an exposure head.

Reference numeral 111A denotes a developing roller as a developing member for attaching toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 101A. The developing roller 111A contacts the photosensitive drum 101A and rotates in the c direction shown in the drawing. Is provided. The developing roller 111A is composed of a metal shaft and a semiconductive urethane rubber material, and is applied with a positive or negative voltage. In this embodiment, the developing roller is in contact development, but a non-contact development method may be used.
A supply roller 112 </ b> A is provided in contact with the developing roller 111 </ b> A and rotates in the illustrated d direction. The supply roller 112A includes a metal shaft and a semiconductive foamed sponge, and a positive or negative voltage is applied. The supply roller 112A supplies toner to the developing roller 111A and frictionally charges the toner at a contact portion with the developing roller 111A.
A developing blade 113A is in contact with the developing roller 111A with a predetermined pressing force, and forms a thin layer of toner on the developing roller 111A.
Reference numeral 114A denotes a toner cartridge containing toner, which is detachably provided.
The developing unit 110A includes a developing chamber 111A, a supply roller 112A, a developing blade 113A, a toner cartridge 114A, and a storage chamber that stores toner from the toner cartridge 114A.

Reference numeral 120A denotes a transfer roller as a transfer member, which transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 101A to the conveyed continuous paper 2A. A positive voltage is applied to the transfer roller 120A.
Reference numeral 108A denotes a creening blade, which removes residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 101A after the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 101A is transferred to the continuous paper 2A by the transfer roller 120A.
A waste toner container 109A temporarily holds the toner removed by the craning blade 108A. The waste toner accumulated in the waste toner container 109A is transported to a waste toner box by a toner transport member (not shown) and collected.

A fixing unit 130A fixes the toner image on the continuous paper 2A by heat and pressure.
The fixing unit 130A includes a fixing roller 131A having a built-in halogen heater 132A, a pressure roller 134A urged toward the fixing roller 131A by a pressing member (not shown) on the fixing roller 131A, and a surface temperature of the fixing roller 131A. It is comprised from thermistor 133A for detecting.
The continuous paper 2A on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing unit 130A is conveyed from the image forming unit 100A.
Further, a belt fixing system or the like may be used as the fixing unit.

Further, the configuration of the printers 1A and 1B will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
23A to 26A and 23B to 26B are conveying roller pairs that convey the continuous papers 2A and 2B on which the toner images are transferred and fixed by the image forming units 100A and 100B to the recording medium discharge ports 91A and 91B. The medium is conveyed by transmitting the driving force.
Note that conveyance paths 90A and 90B for conveying the continuous paper 2A and 2B from the conveyance roller pair 21A and 21B to the conveyance roller pair 26A and 26B are formed.
Reference numerals 33A, 34A, 33B, and 34B denote recording medium detection sensors that detect the passage of the continuous sheets 2A and 2B. Whether or not the continuous papers 2A and 2B are normally conveyed is detected by detecting whether or not the leading edges of the continuous papers 2A and 2B have passed and whether or not the trailing edges have passed. When the continuous paper is not conveyed normally, it is detected as a medium jam.

Reference numerals 50A, 51A, 50B, and 51B denote fitting portions provided at the lower portions of the printers 1A and 2A, and reference numerals 40A, 41A, 40B, and 41B denote protrusions provided at the upper portion of the printer.
When the printer 1B is stacked on the printer 1A, the protrusion 40A of the printer 1A is inserted into the fitting part 50B of the printer 1B, and the protrusion 41A of the printer 1A is inserted into the fitting part 51B of the printer 1B for fitting. Thereby, the printer 1A and the printer 1B are stacked up and down.
In the present embodiment, the fitting parts 50A, 51A, 50B, 51B and the protrusions 40A, 41A, 40B, 41B have been described in two places. good.

  Reference numerals 150A and 150B denote operation panels, which are provided with an LCD for displaying the status of the printer, a plurality of LEDs, and a plurality of switches for inputting instructions to the printer. A feed switch for conveying a predetermined amount of the continuous paper 2A, 2B is also provided.

  Next, the unwinders 200A and 200B that supply the continuous papers 2A and 2B to the printers 1A and 1B will be described. The continuous paper 2A is supplied from the unwinder 200A to the printer 1A, and the continuous paper 2B is supplied from the unwinder 200B to the printer 1B.

The unwinders 200A and 200B are provided with spaces for storing the continuous papers 2A and 2B, and the continuous papers 2A and 2B can be exchanged by opening and closing a cover (not shown). The continuous papers 2A and 2B are accommodated so as to be rotatable with respect to shafts 211A and 211B extending from the inner side walls of the unwinders 200A and 200B. 210A and 210B are accommodated rolls of continuous paper.
220A to 222A and 220B to 222B are rotating bodies for smoothly moving the continuous papers 2A and 2B. The continuous papers 210A and 210B can be moved as the continuous papers 2A and 2B by the conveyance of the printers 1A and 1B. . The rotating bodies 220A to 222A and 220B to 222B are rotatably engaged with the shafts, and smoothly move the continuous sheets 2A and 2B conveyed by the printers 1A and 1B. Further, the rotating bodies 220A to 222A and 220B to 222B rotate with the movement of the continuous papers 2A and 2B. 2B may be conveyed.

  Next, a relay transport unit for supplying the continuous paper 2B from the unwinder 200B to the printer 1B will be described. In this embodiment, the relay transport unit is described separately from the unwinder 200B. However, the relay transport unit may be configured as a part of the unwinder 200B.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the relay transport unit in the present embodiment. The relay transport unit will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 4.
Reference numeral 400 denotes a relay transport unit that supplies continuous paper 2B from the unwinder 200B to the printer 1B.
Reference numerals 401 a, 402 a, 403 a, 401 b, 402 b, and 403 b are frame bodies of the relay transport unit 400. Rotating bodies 404, 405, 406, and 407 that are rotatably attached are attached to the frames 401a to 403a and 401b to 403b.
The rotating bodies 404 to 407 are rotatably attached to a roller formed of a member such as rubber or plastic with respect to a rotating shaft.
The rotating bodies 404 to 407 rotate when the continuous paper 2B is conveyed, and smoothly move the continuous paper 2B. The continuous paper 2B is moved by the conveying force of the printer 1B. Further, the rotating bodies 404 to 407 may be a pair of conveying rollers that are rotated by driving force transmitted thereto.

  Next, a relay discharge unit that conveys the continuous paper 2B from the printer 1B to the day toucher 300B will be described. In this embodiment, the relay discharge unit is described as being provided separately from the day toucher 300B. However, the relay discharge unit may be configured as a part of the day toucher 300B.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the relay discharge unit in the present embodiment. The relay discharge unit will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 5.
A relay discharge unit 500 conveys the continuous paper 2B discharged from the printer 1B to the detacher 300B.
Reference numerals 501, 502, 503, 504, 505, and 506 denote frames of the relay discharge unit 500. Support members 510 and 511 are attached to the frames 501 to 506.
Reference numerals 520, 521, 522, 523, and 524 denote rotating bodies that move the continuous paper 2 B, and are rotatably provided on the frame bodies 501 to 506 and the support members 511 and 512.
The rotating bodies 501 to 506 are rotatably attached to rollers formed of rubber or plastic or the like with respect to the rotating shaft.

The rotating bodies 520 to 524 rotate when the continuous paper 2B is conveyed, and smoothly convey the continuous paper 2B to the attacher 300B. In particular, the rotating bodies 523 and 524 are for changing the conveying direction of the continuous paper 2B. The continuous paper 2B conveyed in the direction of arrow h shown in FIG. 2 by the rotating body 523 is changed in the direction of arrow i, and the continuous paper 2B conveyed in the direction of arrow i shown in the figure by the rotating body 524 is shown. The transport direction is changed in the direction of arrow j. Thus, the continuous paper 2B discharged from the printer 1B is supplied to the day toucher 300B while changing the transport direction.
Since the day toucher 300B is installed in a direction substantially orthogonal to the continuous paper transport direction with respect to the day toucher 300A, it is supplied to the day toucher 300B using the relay discharge unit 500 while changing the transport direction of the continuous paper 2B.

Next, the day touchers 300A and 300B will be described.
FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of the day toucher 300A in the first embodiment of the present invention. Since the day toucher 300A and the day toucher 300B have the same configuration, the day toucher 300A will be described as a representative.

The day toucher 300A includes a medium cutting unit 310A and a medium transport unit 330A.
The medium cutting unit 310A has a function of receiving the continuous paper 2A discharged from the printer 1A, further conveying it, and cutting the continuous paper 2A.
The medium transport unit 330A is for receiving and further transporting the continuous paper 2B cut by the medium cutting unit 310A.

The medium cutting unit 310A includes a conveyance roller 311A that conveys the continuous paper 2A inside, an infeed roller 312A that further conveys the continuous paper 2A conveyed inside at a first speed, and a first of the infeed rollers 312A. A high feed roller 313A that transports the continuous paper 2A at a second transport speed that is faster than the transport speed.
The medium cutting unit 310A cuts the continuous paper 2A based on the speed difference between the first transport speed of the infeed roller 312A and the second transport speed of the high feed roller 313A.
The continuous paper 2A is provided with perforations so as to be easily cut at a predetermined interval. A cutting position is detected by providing a sensor for detecting a perforation. The carry amount is detected by the number of pulses that drive the motor.

The medium cutting unit 310A is provided with a slack detection unit 320A that detects slack of the continuous paper 2A.
FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of the slack detection unit in the first embodiment.
In FIG. 7, reference numeral 321A denotes a lever, which is rotatably provided in the directions of arrows k and l around a fulcrum 322A. The lever 321A is biased in the direction of the arrow k by a biasing means (not shown), and is configured to rotate in the direction of the arrow l due to the slack of the continuous paper 2A.
A shielding plate 323A is attached to the tip of the lever 321A. 324A is a sensor for detecting the movement of the shielding plate 323A, and a transmission type sensor is used.
When the lever 321A is in the direction of the arrow k, the amount of looseness of the continuous paper 2A is small, and the shielding plate 323A represents a state where the sensor 324A is not shielded. When the lever 321A rotates in the direction of the arrow l, the shielding plate 323A crosses the sensor, and it can be detected that the continuous paper 2A is slackened by a predetermined amount.

Next, the printing operation of the image forming system will be described.
FIG. 8 is a control block diagram of the printer, and FIG. 9 is a control block diagram of the day toucher. FIG. 10 is a timing chart showing the operation of the printer, and FIG. 11 is a timing chart showing the operation of the day toucher.
The operation of the image forming system will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, a control block diagram of the printer will be described. Since the printer 1A and the printer 1B have the same configuration, the printer 1A will be described as a representative. A day toucher 300A and an unwinder 200A are connected to the printer 1A, and a day toucher 300B and an unwinder 200B are connected to the printer 1B.
In FIG. 8, 600A is a print control unit composed of a microprocessor, ROM, RAM, input / output port, timer, etc., and receives print data and control commands from the host device via the I / F control unit 601A. The entire printer is controlled in sequence and printing operation is performed.
In the present embodiment, the print control unit 600A is synchronized by communicating with the day toucher 300A via the I / F control unit 601A.

Reference numeral 602A denotes a memory that stores print data input from the host device via the I / F control unit 601A, and includes a RAM or a RAM and an HDD.
Reference numeral 603A denotes an image data editing memory for storing image data. The image data editing memory 603A stores the image data that has been edited in order to transmit the print data temporarily stored in the reception memory 602A to the LED head 103A.

An operation unit 604A includes an LCD and an LED for displaying the status of the printer 1A, and a switch for giving an instruction from the operator to the printer 1A. A feed switch for conveying the continuous paper 2A is also provided.
Reference numerals 30A, 31A, 32A, 33A, and 34A denote medium detection sensors for detecting the conveyance state of the continuous paper 2A. 30A detects the presence or absence of the continuous paper 2A placed on the medium tray 10A. By detecting the leading edge of the paper 2A, it is used to generate the exposure timing of the LED head 103A. Reference numerals 31A, 33A, and 34A denote sensors for detecting a medium jam according to the conveyance state of the continuous paper 2A.

Reference numeral 610A denotes a charging power source, which performs control for charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 101A by applying a negative high voltage to the charging roller 102A as a charger according to an instruction from the printing control unit 600A. During printing, a voltage of −1.3 KV is applied to the charging roller, and the surface of the photosensitive drum 101A is charged to −800V.
Reference numeral 620A denotes a head drive control unit, which irradiates light on the surface of the photosensitive drum 101A charged by the LED head 103A as a print head in accordance with image data stored in the image data editing memory 603A, and electrostatically follows the image data. A latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 101A.

Reference numeral 630A denotes a developing power source that applies a voltage to the developing roller 111A in order to attach toner to the electrostatic latent image formed by the LED head 103A on the surface of the photosensitive drum 101A. The developing power source 630A is configured to generate positive and negative voltages and supply them to the developing roller 111A, and the supply of the voltage to the developing roller 111A is controlled by an instruction from the printing control unit 600A. In the present embodiment, a voltage of −300 V is applied during printing.
Reference numeral 640A denotes a supply power source for supplying a voltage to the supply roller 112A in order to supply toner onto the developing roller 111A. The supply power source 640A is configured to generate positive and negative voltages and supply them to the supply roller 112A, and the supply of voltage to the supply roller 112A is controlled by an instruction from the print control unit 600A. In the present embodiment, a voltage of −350 V is applied during printing.

Reference numeral 650A denotes a transfer power source that supplies a voltage to the transfer roller 120A in order to transfer the toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum to the continuous paper 2A. The transfer power source 650A supplies a positive voltage to the transfer roller 120A when printing is performed in response to an instruction from the print control unit 600A. In the present embodiment, a voltage of +2000 V to +3000 V is determined and supplied depending on the type of medium.
Reference numeral 660A denotes a fixing control unit that heats the fixing roller 131A by supplying an AC voltage to a halogen lamp 132A serving as a fixing heater. The fixing roller 131A is provided with a thermistor 133A for detecting the surface temperature, and the output of the thermistor 133A is input to the fixing controller 660A.
The fixing controller 660A controls on / off of the halogen lamp 132A according to the output of the thermistor 133A so that the surface temperature of the fixing roller 131A becomes substantially constant.
The thermistor 133A may be provided in contact with the fixing roller 131A or may be provided in a non-contact state.

Reference numeral 670A denotes a conveyance motor control unit that drives the conveyance motor 675A. The conveyance motor 675A drives the conveyance roller pairs 21A to 26A to convey the continuous paper 2A from the medium suction port to the medium discharge port.
Further, the conveyance motor control unit 670A can also control the driving of the registration roller pair 140A, and a rotation of the registration roller 140A is controlled by providing a clutch or the like (not shown).
Reference numeral 680A denotes an image forming unit drive control unit (hereinafter referred to as an EP drive control unit), which controls driving of an image forming unit drive motor 685A (hereinafter referred to as an EP drive motor 685A). The photosensitive drum 101A, charging roller 102A, developing roller 113A, supply roller 112A, transfer roller 120A, fixing roller 131A, and pressure roller 134A are driven by the EP drive motor 685A.
The photosensitive drum 101A is rotated in the direction of arrow a shown in FIG. 3, the charging roller 102A is rotated in the direction of arrow b, the developing roller 111A is rotated in the direction of arrow c, and the supply roller 112A is rotated in the direction of arrow d. Then, the transfer roller 120A is rotated in the direction of arrow e. The fixing roller 131A is rotated in the direction of arrow f, and the pressure roller 134A is rotated in the direction of arrow g.

  Next, a control block diagram of the day touchers 300A and 300B will be described. Since the day touchers 300A and 300B have the same configuration, the day toucher 300A will be described as a representative.

FIG. 9 is a control block diagram of the day toucher according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 9, a detoucher control unit 350A includes a microprocessor, a ROM, a RAM, an input / output port, a timer, and the like, which exchanges control signals with the printer 1A and cuts and conveys the continuous paper 2A of the detoucher 300A. Control.
Reference numeral 360A denotes an I / F control unit, which transmits and receives control signals to the printer 1A and performs transmission / reception control for receiving control signals from the printer 1A.
Signals transmitted and received between the printer 1A and the day toucher 300A will be described later.

Reference numeral 370A denotes a medium conveyance control unit, which conveys the continuous paper 2A conveyed from the printer 1A according to an instruction from the day toucher control unit 350A. Also, the cutting of the continuous paper 2A is controlled.
Reference numeral 375A denotes a medium conveyance motor that controls the start and stop of driving of the conveyance roller 311A and the infeed roller 312A according to a signal from the medium conveyance control unit 370A.
Reference numeral 376A denotes a medium transport motor that controls the start and stop of driving of the high speed roller 313A according to a signal from the medium transport control unit 370A.
Reference numeral 377A denotes a medium transport motor, which controls the start and stop of driving of the medium transport unit 333A according to a signal from the medium transport control unit 370A.
In this embodiment, the transport roller 311A and the infeed roller 312A are rotated at a speed of 150 m / min, the high speed roller 313A is rotated at a speed of 225 m / min, and the transport unit 333A is rotated at a speed of 235 m / min. It is controlled to let you.

  In this embodiment, each roller has a speed difference. The high-speed roller 313A cuts the continuous paper 2A by rotating at a rotation speed 1.5 times the rotation speed of the in-feed roller 312A, and the conveyance unit 333A is set to 5% UP with respect to the speed of the high-speed roller 313A. Then, the cut continuous paper 2A is delivered to the next folding machine.

Reference numeral 324A denotes a loop sensor provided in the slack detection unit 320A, and detects the slack state of the continuous paper 2A. When the slack of the continuous paper 2A reaches a predetermined amount, a HI level signal is output, and when the slack is equal to or less than the predetermined amount, a LO level signal is output.
380A is a perforation detection sensor.
The day toucher control unit 350A controls the cutting of the continuous paper 2A by controlling the rotation start and stop of the infeed roller 312A and the high speed roller 313A while monitoring the outputs of the loop sensor 324A and the perforation sensor 380A.
Reference numeral 390A denotes an operation unit, which is provided with an LED, an LCD, and the like for displaying the state of the day toucher 300A, and a switch that receives an instruction from the operator.

  Next, operations of the printer 1A and the day toucher 300A configured as described above will be described with reference to timing charts of FIGS. The basic operation is the same for the printer 1A and the printer 1B, so the printer 1A will be described as a representative. Differences between the printer 1A and the printer 1B will be described later.

First, before describing the operation of the printer 1A, the I / F specifications of the printer 1A and the day toucher 300A, and the printer 1B and the day toucher 300B will be described.
FIG. 11 is a timing chart showing I / F specifications of the printers 1A and 1B and the day touchers 300A and 300B.

Each signal will be described. Since the day touchers 300A and 300B have the same specifications, the day toucher 300A and the printer 1A will be described as an example.
The DT-READY signal is a signal transmitted from the day toucher 300A to the printer 1A. The DT-READY signal is set to the HI level when there is no failure on the day toucher 300A side and the printer 1A enters the interlocking state. The printer 1A can monitor the state of this signal, and can start printing when this signal is at the HI level. If this signal falls to the LO level during the printing operation, the printer 1A immediately stops printing.

The CLK-1 / 6 signal is a signal transmitted from the printer 1A to the day toucher 300A. CLK-1 / 6 transmits this CLK-1 / 6 signal every time the printer 1A normally carries 1/6 inch continuous paper 2A. The day toucher 300A conveys the continuous paper 2A at a speed synchronized with the printer 1A based on the detection result of the pulse signal and the slack detection unit.
The DT-PWON signal is a signal transmitted from the day toucher 300A to the printer 1A. The DT-PWON signal makes this signal HI when the power of the day toucher 300A is on.

The DT-HLTRQ signal is a signal transmitted from the day toucher 300A to the printer 1A. This signal is set to HI when the day toucher 300A requests a pause in some state. After detecting this signal, the printer 1A shifts to a temporary stop state (standby state). When the signal from the day toucher 300A is canceled and set to the LO level, the printer 1A automatically returns to start a printing operation.
The DT-STTS signal is a signal transmitted from the day toucher 300A to the printer 1A. The state on the day toucher 300A side is notified to the printer 1A side by a bit signal. The status is subdivided and all information such as errors can be transmitted. The DT-STTS signal is composed of 8 bits, and the idling state is represented by “00” and the operating state is represented by “01”. Further, an 8-bit code is provided corresponding to each error state, and a code corresponding to the error state can be transmitted.

Next, an operation of supplying continuous paper 2A from the unwinder 200A to the printer 1A, printing on the continuous paper 1A by the printer 1A, and then conveying and cutting the continuous paper 1A by the day toucher 300A will be described.
The operation of supplying continuous paper 2B from the unwinder 200B to the printer 1B, printing on the continuous paper 2B with the printer 1B, and then conveying and cutting the continuous paper 2B with the day toucher 300B is the same. Both systems can operate independently.

FIG. 10 is a timing chart showing the operation of the printers 1A and 1B of the present embodiment.
FIG. 11 is a timing chart showing the operation of the day touchers 300A and 300B of the present embodiment.
In the following description, the printer 1A and the day toucher 300A are taken as an example.
First, operations from the power ON of the printer 1A to the standby state will be described with reference to FIG.

When the printer 1A is turned on, the printer 1A performs a warm-up process. A period from T1 to T2 indicates a warm-up period of the printer 1A.
In warming up, the print control unit 600A issues an instruction to the EP drive control unit 680A to rotate the EP drive motor 685A. The rotation of the EP drive motor 685A starts driving the photosensitive drum 101A, the charging roller 102A, the developing roller 111A, the supply roller 112A, the transfer roller 120A, the fixing roller 131A, and the pressure roller 134A.

The print controller 600A issues an instruction to the EP drive controller 680A and also instructs the charging power supply 610A to supply a negative voltage to the charging roller 102A to negatively charge the surface of the photosensitive drum 101A.
The print control unit 600A instructs the transfer power source 650A to supply a positive voltage to the transfer roller 120A.
The print control unit 600A issues an instruction to the fixing control unit 660A to control on / off of the halogen lamp 132A so that the surface temperature of the fixing roller 131A becomes a constant temperature. The fixing control unit 660A monitors the output of the thermistor 133A and then controls the fixing roller surface temperature to be constant based on the output of the thermistor 133A until a stop command is received from the printing control unit 600A.

  The print controller 600A instructs the developing power source 630A and the supply roller power source 640A to supply a voltage to the developing roller 111A and the supply roller 112A. First, the printing control unit 600A supplies a positive voltage to the developing roller 111A. Thereafter, a negative voltage is supplied to the developing roller 111A. Switching from a positive voltage to a negative voltage with respect to the developing roller 111A is performed when the surface of the photosensitive drum charged by the charging roller 102A reaches a contact portion with the developing roller 111A. This is to prevent the toner on the developing roller 111A from adhering to the surface of the photosensitive drum when the surface where the surface of the photosensitive drum 101A is reliably charged reaches the developing roller 111A.

  With the above operation, the warm-up of the printer 1A is completed, and the printer 1A enters a standby state. When the printer 1A is in a standby state, the printer 1A is in a state of accepting a switch on the operation panel 150A, and a state of accepting print data and a control command from the host device via the I / F control unit 601A. At this time, the printer 1A is in an online state.

Next, the operator pulls out the continuous paper 2A from the unwinder 200A for a predetermined length and sets it in the MPT 10A of the printer 1A. Then, the operator presses a feed switch provided on the operation panel 150A of the printer 1A.
When the print control unit 600A of the printer 1A detects the pressing of the feed switch of the operation panel 150A, the print control unit 600A performs a warm-up operation from T1 to T2, and the medium detection sensor 30A detects the presence of the continuous paper 2A. When the printing control unit 600A detects the presence of the continuous paper 2A, the print control unit 600A instructs the conveyance motor control unit 670A to drive the paper conveyance motor 675A to rotate the medium conveyance roller pair 21A to convey the continuous paper 2A.
Next, when the medium detection sensor 31A detects the leading edge of the continuous paper 2A, the print control unit 600A further conveys the continuous paper 2A by a predetermined amount.

The printing control unit 600A conveys the continuous paper 2A by a predetermined amount by the conveying roller pair 22A, thereby abutting against the registration roller pair 140A and correcting the skew of the continuous paper 2A.
When the skew correction is completed, the print control unit 600A issues an instruction to the EP drive control unit 680A, drives the EP drive motor 685A, rotates the registration roller pair 140A, and further conveys the continuous paper 2A. At this time, the registration roller pair 140A and the medium transport roller pairs 21A and 22A rotate to transport the continuous paper 2A.

The print controller 600A issues an instruction to the EP drive controller 680A, and also instructs the charging power source 610A, the developing power source 630A, the supply roller power source 640A, and the transfer power source 650A to supply voltages to the respective rollers. At this time, the LED head 103A is brought into a non-driving state without giving an instruction to the head driving control unit 620A.
T2 to T3 in the timing chart of FIG. 10 indicate voltages supplied to the rollers when the continuous paper 2A is conveyed without printing. As a result, the continuous paper 2A is conveyed without forming a toner image.
Further, while the continuous paper 2A is being conveyed, the CLK-1 / 6 pulse is output to the detoucher 300A. The CLK-1 / 6 pulse is output every time the continuous paper 2A is conveyed 1/6 inch.

The continuous paper 2A conveyed through the image forming unit 100A is further conveyed by the conveyance roller pairs 23A to 26A, and is discharged from the medium discharge port 91A to the outside of the printer 1A.
The operator detects that a predetermined amount of continuous paper 2A has been discharged from the printer 1A, and stops pressing the feed switch of the operation panel 150A.
When the operator stops pressing the feed switch, the print control unit 600A issues a stop instruction to the EP drive control unit 680A and the transport motor control unit 670A, and stops the EP drive motor 685A and the paper transport motor 675A.

The print control unit 600A issues a stop instruction to the charging power source 610, the developing power source 630A, the supply roller power source 640A, and the transfer power source 650A, and stops the voltage supply to each roller.
At this time, the halogen heater 132A of the fixing unit continues to control so that printing can be started immediately when printing is activated.
If the printing is not activated for a predetermined time, the power supply to the halogen heater 132A can be stopped to enter the energy saving mode.
T3 to T4 indicate the standby state of the printer 1A.

Next, the initial operation of the day toucher 300A will be described with reference to the timing chart of FIG.
When the power of the day toucher 300A is turned on at t1, the day toucher control unit 350A sets the DT-PWON signal to the HI level and outputs “00” to the DT-STTS signal to execute a predetermined initial process.
At t2, the execution of the initial process is completed, and when there is no failure or the like and enters the interlocking state, the DT-READY signal is set to the HI level and “01” is output to the DT-STTS signal. At this time, if a failure occurs in the day toucher 300A, the DT-READY signal is set to the LO level, a value corresponding to the failure content is output to the DT-STTS signal, and the failure content is displayed on the operation unit 390A.

Next, in order to set the continuous paper 2A discharged from the printer 1A on the day toucher 300A, the operator bites the continuous paper 2A into the transport roller 311A of the day toucher 300A and presses the feed switch provided in the operation unit 390A. To do.
When the day toucher control unit 350A detects that the feed switch of the operation unit 390A is pressed, the day toucher control unit 350A instructs the medium transport control unit 370A to drive the transport motor 375A to rotate the transport roller 311A and the infeed roller 312A. When the predetermined amount of the continuous paper 2A has been conveyed, the conveying roller 311A and the infeed roller 312A are stopped.
Thus, the continuous paper 2A supplied from the unwinder 200A is set on the day toucher 300A via the printer 1A, and the preparation for printing is completed.

The method for setting the continuous paper 2B from the unwinder 200B to the day toucher 300B via the printer 1B is basically the same as the method for setting the continuous paper 2A from the unwinder 200A to the day toucher 300A via the printer 1A.
The differences will be described below.

  When the continuous paper 2B is supplied from the unwinder 200B to the printer 1B, the continuous paper 2B is pulled out from the unwinder 200B, and the continuous paper 2B is set on the rotating members 404 to 407 of the relay transport unit 400 and placed on the MPT 10B of the printer 2B. set. The operation until the continuous paper 2B is discharged from the printer 1B is the same as the operation until the printer 1A discharges the continuous paper 2A. However, the operator discharges the continuous paper 2B discharged from the printer 1B sufficiently longer than the continuous paper 2A discharged from the printer 1A.

When the continuous paper 2B is supplied from the printer 1B to the day toucher 300B, the continuous paper 2B discharged from the printer 1B is set in the relay discharge unit 500.
As shown in FIG. 2, the setting to the relay discharge unit 500 is performed by turning the continuous paper 2B once by 90 degrees with the rotating body 523, and further turning the continuous paper 2B by 90 degrees with the rotating body 524. The continuous paper 2B is set so as to be conveyed in the direction of the arrow shown.
Then, the continuous paper 2B set in the relay discharge unit 500 is set in the detoucher 300B in the same manner as the continuous paper 2A discharged from the printer 1A.
As described above, the continuous paper 2B supplied from the unwinder 200B is set in the printer 2B via the relay transport unit 400, and the continuous paper 2B discharged from the printer 2B is set in the detacher 300B via the relay discharge unit. .

Next, the printing operation of the continuous paper 2A set on the printer 1A will be described. The continuous paper 2B set in the printer 1B performs printing in the same manner as the continuous paper 2A set in the printer 1A. Here, the printing operation of the continuous paper 2A will be described as a representative.
T4 to T5 in the timing chart of FIG. 10 are timing charts of the printing operation of the continuous paper 2A by the printer 1A.
In T4, when printing is started from the host device, the print control unit 600A determines the level of the DT-READY signal received via the I / F control unit 601A. If the level of the DT-READY signal is in the HI state, it is determined that printing is possible and printing processing is started.

The print control unit 600A converts print data transmitted from the host device into image data and stores the image data in the edit memory 602A. When the predetermined amount of image data is stored in the editing memory 602A, the print control unit 600A instructs the EP drive control unit 680A to start the rotation of the EP drive motor 685A, and the print control unit 600A includes the charging power source 610A, The development power source 630A, the supply roller power source 640A, and the transfer power source 650A are instructed to supply a voltage to each roller.
By driving the EP drive motor 685A, the photosensitive drum 101A, the charging roller 102A, the developing roller 111A, the supply roller 112A, the transfer roller 120A, and the fixing roller 131A start to rotate in the arrow direction shown in FIG.

A negative voltage is supplied to the charging roller 102A to charge the surface of the photosensitive drum 101A. A positive voltage is supplied to the developing roller 111A for a predetermined period, and then a negative voltage is supplied. The predetermined period is a period until the surface of the photosensitive drum 101A charged by the charging roller 102A reaches the nip portion with the developing roller 111A. A positive voltage and a negative voltage may be supplied to the supply roller 112A at the same timing as the developing roller 111A, or a negative voltage is supplied to the supply roller 112A at a timing when a negative voltage is supplied to the developing roller 111A. You may make it do.
A positive voltage is supplied to the transfer roller 120A.

The print control unit 600A starts conveying the continuous paper 2A after supplying a predetermined voltage to each roller. The printing control unit 600A detects the head mark provided on the continuous paper 2A by the writing sensor 32A in order to determine the printing start position of the continuous paper 2A. The head mark is provided on the continuous paper 2A at a predetermined interval. The head mark is provided in synchronization with the perforation, and printing can be performed from the start position of the perforation.
When the mark is detected by the writing sensor 32A, the print control unit 600A reads the image data stored in the editing memory 602A and transmits it to the LED head 103A. The LED head 103A emits light from the LED element based on the transmitted image data, and forms an electrostatic latent image based on the image data on the surface of the photosensitive drum 101A.

Toner is supplied from the developing roller 111A to the photosensitive drum 101A on which the electrostatic latent image is formed to form a toner image, and the toner image is transferred onto the continuous paper 2A conveyed by the transfer roller 120A.
The continuous paper 2A onto which the toner image has been transferred is heated and pressed by the fixing roller 131A and the pressure roller 134A to fix the toner image.
Thereafter, the continuous paper 2A is further transported by the transport roller pairs 23A to 26A and is discharged from the printer 1A.

The print control unit 600A transmits a CLK-1 / 6 pulse to the detoucher 300A via the I / F control unit 601A every time the continuous paper 2A is conveyed 1/6 inch.
The print control unit 600A returns to the standby state from T3 to T4 when the print data from the host device is completed.
At T5, the print control unit 600A detects the level of the DT-READY signal, and when the DT-READY signal changes from the HI level to the LO level, the print control unit 600A determines that an abnormality has occurred on the day toucher 300A side. Stop the printing operation. At this time, the DT-STTS signal output from the day toucher 300A may be determined and the status of the day toucher 300A may be displayed on the operation unit 604A also on the printer 1A side.
When the level of the DT-READY signal detects HI, the print control unit 600A restarts from the processing of the timing chart T4. At this time, the printing control unit 600A instructs the fixing control unit 660A, energizes the halogen heater 132A, and resumes printing when the surface temperature of the fixing roller 131A reaches the target temperature.

When printing of all the print data transmitted from the host apparatus is completed, the print control unit 600A issues an instruction to the EP drive control unit 680A to stop the rotation of the EP drive motor 685A and complete the print control in order to end the printing operation. The unit 600A instructs the charging power source 610A, the developing power source 630A, the supply roller power source 640A, and the transfer power source 650A to stop voltage supply to each roller.
Further, the print control unit 600A instructs the fixing control unit 660A to stop energizing the halogen heater 132A.
When printing is activated again, the process is started from T4, and the surface temperature of the fixing roller 131A is raised to the target temperature, and printing is started.

Next, the operation of the day toucher 300A will be described. The initial operations t1 to t2 of the day toucher 300A are as described above.
t2 to t3 indicate that the day toucher 300A is in an operable state. The day toucher control unit 350A outputs a DT-READY signal via the I / F control unit 360A and outputs "01" to the DT-STTS signal to stand by to stand by.
The day toucher control unit 350A receives the 1 / 6-CLK signal output from the printer 1A, and detects that the printer 1A is printing normally and discharging the continuous paper 2A. The day toucher control unit 350A monitors the 1 / 6-CLK signal output from the printer 1A and the outputs of the slack sensor 324A and the perforation sensor 380A of the slack unit 320A, and instructs the medium transport control unit 370A while maintaining a predetermined slack. put out.

The medium conveyance control unit 370A receives an instruction from the day toucher control unit 350A, drives the medium conveyance motor 375A, rotates the medium conveyance roller 311A and the infeed roller 312A, and conveys the continuous paper 2A into the inside of the day toucher 300A.
When the medium conveyance control unit 370A conveys the continuous paper 2A by a predetermined amount, the medium conveyance control unit 370A drives the medium conveyance motor 376A to rotate the high speed roller 312A.
The high speed roller 312A rotates the continuous paper 2A at 225 m / min, and rotates the in-feed roller 312A at 150 m / min to cut and convey the continuous paper 2A. Then, the medium conveyance control unit 370A drives the medium conveyance motor 377A to drive the medium conveyance unit 333A and conveys the continuous paper 2A that has been further cut.

  The high speed roller 312A is rotated at 225 m / min when the continuous paper 2A is cut. In other cases, the continuous paper 2A is conveyed at the same speed or slightly faster than the infeed roller. The cutting timing of the continuous paper 2A is set by presetting the cutting interval and measuring the transport amount by the number of motor pulses.

When the day toucher 300A is operating normally, it operates as shown in the timing charts t2 to t3.
At t3, if any abnormality occurs on the day toucher 300A side, the day toucher control unit 350A sets the DT-HLTRQ signal to the HI level and outputs “00” or a code indicating abnormality information to the DT-STTS signal.
When the printer 1A detects the HI level of the DT-HLTRQ signal input from the day toucher control unit 350A via the I / F control unit 360A, the printer 1A stops the printing operation.
Further, when the abnormality on the day toucher 300A side is canceled, the day toucher control unit 350A sets the DT-HLTRQ signal to the LO level and outputs “00” to the DT-STTS signal as shown in t4, and the explanation is made at t2 to t3. Repeat the operation.

As described above in detail, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the printer 1B is stacked on the upper part of the printer 1A, and the printer 1A, the unwinders 200A and 200B, and the day touchers 300A and 300B are installed on substantially the same plane. The continuous paper 2A fed from the unwinder 200A is printed by the printer 1A and cut and conveyed by the day toucher 300A. The continuous paper 2B fed from the unwinder 200B is printed by the printer 1B and cut by the day toucher 300B. Since it is configured to convey, the printer 1A and the printer 1B can operate simultaneously, and the print end time can be shortened.
Further, the installation area of the printer can be minimized by stacking the printer 1A and the printer 1B vertically.
If the continuous paper is set while the printer 1A is always in the printing state and the printer 1B is used for emergency use, it is possible to respond immediately to the sudden acceptance of the user.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of an image forming system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed description of the same configuration as that of the first embodiment will be omitted, and characteristic portions of the second embodiment will be described in detail.
The image forming system according to the second embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that a detection sensor as a detection member for detecting the stacking position is provided in the printer 1A and the printer 2B.
In FIG. 12, 60A and 60B are sensors for detecting the vertical relationship of the printers 1A and 1B. When the printer 1B is stacked on the printer 1A, the sensor 60A of the printer 1A is in a non-detection state, and the sensor 60B of the printer 1B is pressed by a protrusion 40A provided on the printer 1A to be in a detection state.

The print control unit 600A of the printer 1A determines that the state of the sensor 60A is a non-detection state, and determines that the printer 1A is disposed on the lower side. The print control unit 600B of the printer 1B determines that the state of the sensor 60B is a detection state, and determines that the printer 1B is disposed on the upper side.
The second embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the amount of placement of the printers 1A and 1B is detected, and the transport amount when the continuous sheets 1A and 1B are set is controlled.
When the continuous paper 2A and 2B are set in the printers 1A and 1B, in the first embodiment, the operator continuously presses the switches of the operation panels 150A and 150B provided on the printers 1A and 1B, respectively. 2A and 2B were conveyed outside the printers 1A and 1B.
That is, in the first embodiment, the operator determines the discharge amount of the continuous papers 2A and 2B from the printers 1A and 1B while looking at the actual discharge amount, and switches the operation panels 150A and 150B to stop the discharge. The press was stopped.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, a predetermined amount of continuous paper 2A, 2B is conveyed and automatically stopped by once pressing a switch of the operation panels 150A, 150B provided in the printers 1A, 1B.
FIG. 13 is a control block diagram of the printer according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Since the basic configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, its details are omitted. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of the conveyance amount according to the second embodiment.

Reference numerals 690A and 690B denote medium transport amount memories. FIG. 13 shows a control block diagram of the printer 1A as a representative. Each of the medium transport amount memories 690A and 690B stores a transport amount when the printer is disposed on the upper side and a transport amount when the printer is disposed on the lower side.
The discharge amount of the printer 1A disposed on the lower side is L1, and an amount with sufficient slack from the discharge port of the printer 1A to the suction port of the day toucher 300A is set.
The discharge amount of the printer 1B disposed on the upper side is L2, and a sufficient discharge amount from the discharge port of the printer 1B to the suction port of the day toucher 300B is set through the relay discharge unit 500. ing. The discharged amount has a relationship of L1 <L2, and is obtained in advance by experiment and stored in the memory.

Next, the operation of the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described. The difference from the first embodiment is the operation from T2 to T3 in the timing chart of FIG.
The operator finishes the initial operation of the printer 1A, sets the continuous paper 2A fed from the unwinder 200A on the MPT tray 10A of the printer 1A, and then presses the feed switch on the operation panel 150A.

When the print control unit 600A of the printer 1A detects pressing of the feed switch of the operation panel 150A, the medium detection sensor 30A detects the presence or absence of the continuous paper 2A. When the print control unit 600A detects the presence of the continuous paper 2A, the print control unit 600A instructs the transport motor control unit 670A to drive the paper transport motor 675 to rotate the medium transport roller pair 21A to transport the continuous paper 2A.
Next, when the medium detection sensor 31A detects the leading edge of the continuous paper 2A, the print control unit 600A further conveys the continuous paper 2A. Then, the continuous paper 2A is further conveyed by a predetermined amount by the medium conveying roller pair 22A.

The printing control unit 600A conveys the continuous paper 2A by a predetermined amount by the conveying roller pair 22A, thereby abutting against the registration roller pair 140A and correcting the skew of the continuous paper 2A.
When the skew correction is completed, the print control unit 600A issues an instruction to the EP drive control unit 680A, drives the EP drive motor 685 to rotate the registration roller pair 140A, and further conveys the continuous paper 2A. At this time, the registration roller pair 140A and the medium transport roller pairs 21A and 22A rotate to transport the continuous paper 2A.

The print controller 600A issues an instruction to the EP drive controller 680, and also instructs the charging power source 610A, the developing power source 630A, the supply roller power source 640A, and the transfer power source 650A to supply voltages to the respective rollers. At this time, the LED head 103A is brought into a non-driving state without giving an instruction to the head driving control unit 620A.
The timing chart and T2 to T3 in FIG. 10 indicate voltages supplied to the rollers when the continuous paper 2A is conveyed without printing. As a result, the continuous paper 2A is conveyed without forming a toner image.
Further, while the continuous paper 2A is being conveyed, the CLK-1 / 6 pulse is output to the detoucher 300A. The CLK-1 / 6 pulse is output every time the continuous paper 2A is conveyed 1/6 inch.

The continuous paper 2A transported through the image forming unit 100A is further transported by transport roller pairs 23A to 26A and is discharged out of the printer 1A.
In the printer 1A, the transport amount of the continuous paper 2A discharged outside the apparatus is L1 stored in the transport storage memory 690A, and the print control unit 600A reads the value of L1, reads the transport motor control unit 670A, and EP drive control. An instruction is issued to unit 680A.
The carry motor control unit 670A and the EP drive control unit 680A drive the paper carry motor 675A and the EP drive motor 685A so that the discharge amount of L1 is obtained. L1 is obtained by counting the number of drive pulses of the motor, and after driving only L1, the sheet conveying motor 675A and the RP drive control unit 680A are stopped.

In the printer 1B, the continuous 2B conveyance amount discharged outside the apparatus is L2 stored in the conveyance storage memory 690B, and the print control unit 600B reads the value of L2, reads the conveyance motor control unit 670B, and the EP drive control unit. An instruction is issued to 680B.
The transport motor control unit 670B and the EP drive control unit 680B drive the paper transport motor 675B and the EP drive motor 685B so that the discharge amount of L2 is obtained. L2 is obtained by counting the number of driving pulses of the motor, and after driving only L2, the sheet conveying motor 675B and the EP drive control unit 680B are stopped.
Subsequent operations are performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

As described above in detail, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the discharge amount is automatically set by detecting the arrangement state of the printer 1A and the printer 1B, and only the set discharge amount is set. Since the continuous paper is transported and stopped, it is not necessary for the operator to keep pressing the feed switch until the predetermined amount of transport is completed.
Further, since the discharge amount is set in advance, the discharge amount is not insufficient or excessive, and a predetermined amount can be discharged by one operation.

  In this embodiment, the recording medium supplied to the printer is described as continuous paper. However, it is possible to print one as a single sheet or both as a single sheet.

1 is a configuration diagram 1 of a printing system according to a first embodiment. FIG. It is a block diagram 2 of the printing system in 1st Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an image forming unit in the first embodiment. It is a perspective view of the transfer unit for relay in a 1st embodiment. It is a perspective view of the discharge unit for relay in a 1st embodiment. It is a block diagram of the day toucher in 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram of the slack detection unit in 1st Embodiment. 2 is a control block diagram of the printer in the first embodiment. FIG. It is a control block diagram of the day toucher in 1st Embodiment. FIG. 6 is a timing chart illustrating the operation of the printer according to the first embodiment. It is a timing chart figure which shows the operation | movement of the day toucher in 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram of the printing system in 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 10 is a control block diagram of a printer according to a second embodiment. It is conveyance amount explanatory drawing in 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1A 1st printer 2A 2nd printer 2A, 2B Continuous paper 200A 1st unwinder 200B 2nd unwinder 300A 1st detoucher 300B 2nd detoucher 400 Relay conveyance unit 500 Relay discharge unit

Claims (17)

A first recording medium storage unit for storing continuous paper;
A second recording medium storage unit for storing continuous paper;
A first image forming apparatus that receives continuous paper from the first recording medium storage unit and prints an image on the continuous paper;
A second image forming apparatus that is stacked on top of the first image forming apparatus, receives continuous paper from a second recording medium storage unit, and prints an image on the continuous paper;
The first image forming apparatus includes a first engaging part for stacking the second image forming apparatuses, and the second image forming apparatus engages with the first engaging part. An image forming system comprising an engaging portion. The first recording medium storage unit and the second recording medium storage unit are installed side by side,
2. The image forming system according to claim 1, further comprising a relay conveyance unit that guides the continuous paper supplied from the second recording medium storage unit to the second image forming apparatus disposed at an upper portion.   The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the first image forming apparatus, the first recording medium container, and the second recording medium container are installed on substantially the same plane.   The image forming system according to claim 3, wherein the first recording medium accommodation unit and the second recording medium accommodation unit are provided side by side in a conveyance direction of continuous paper. A first medium discharge unit for receiving continuous paper output from the first image forming apparatus;
The image forming system according to claim 1, further comprising: a second medium discharge unit that receives the continuous paper output from the second image forming apparatus. The first medium discharge unit and the second medium discharge unit are installed side by side,
6. The image forming system according to claim 5, further comprising a relay discharge unit that guides the continuous paper output from the second image forming apparatus to the second medium discharge unit.   The image forming system according to claim 6, wherein the first image forming apparatus, the first medium discharge unit, and the second medium discharge unit are installed on substantially the same plane. The first medium discharge unit and the second medium discharge unit are provided side by side in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveyance direction of continuous paper,
8. The relay discharge unit conveys the continuous paper output from the second image forming apparatus in a direction substantially perpendicular to the discharge direction of the continuous paper, and conveys the continuous paper from the upper part to the lower part. The image forming system described.   6. The image forming system according to claim 5, wherein the first medium discharge unit and the second medium discharge unit include a medium cutting unit for cutting continuous paper. The medium cutting unit receives first continuous paper and transports it at a first speed;
A second conveying means for conveying the continuous paper conveyed by the first conveying means at a second speed higher than the first speed;
The image forming system according to claim 9, wherein the continuous sheet is cut by a speed difference between the first conveying unit and the second conveying unit.   The first medium discharge unit and the second medium discharge unit further include a third transport unit that transports the cut continuous paper at a third speed higher than the second transport speed. Item 12. The image forming system according to Item 11.   The first medium discharge unit and the second medium discharge unit each include a slack detection unit that detects a slack of continuous paper output from the first image forming apparatus and the second image forming apparatus. The image forming system according to claim 5.   2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the first image forming apparatus and the second image forming apparatus include a stacking position detection unit for detecting a stacking position. Each of the first image forming apparatus and the second image forming apparatus has a storage unit that records a first medium conveyance amount when arranged at the lower portion and a second medium conveyance amount when arranged at the upper portion. Prepared,
The continuous paper is conveyed by reading either the first medium conveyance amount or the second medium conveyance amount stored in the storage unit based on a detection result of the stack position detection unit. 14. The image forming system according to 13.   The image forming system according to claim 14, wherein the second medium transport amount is set to be greater than the first medium transport amount.   The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein one or both of the first image forming apparatus and the second image forming apparatus is an apparatus that performs monochromatic printing.   2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein one or both of the first image forming apparatus and the second image forming apparatus is an apparatus that performs multicolor printing.

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