JP2009008772A - Printing controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing controller suitably controlling on/off of a pre-feeding function for printing material. <P>SOLUTION: In a printer 1, a controller 31 in a printing controller 40 acquires printing job information regarding printing data and hands it over to a pre-feeding control part 32, the pre-feeding control part 32 determines whether it is suitable or not to turn on/off the pre-feeding function by comparing the printing job information with a pre-feeding conditions table 33 and notifies a determined result to the controller 31, the controller 31 carries out printing of the printing data while controlling the pre-feeding function in an engine 34 based on the suitable or not determination of the on/off of the pre-feeding function. Therefore, by suitably discriminating pre-feeding conditions such as a speedy printing request case, usability of the pre-feeding function can be improved as well as occurrence of jamming of recording paper can be suitably suppressed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing control apparatus, and more particularly to a printing control apparatus that appropriately controls on / off of a pre-feed function of a printing material.

  In a printing apparatus that creates image data from drawing data of print data and prints out an image on a printing material such as paper conveyed from the printing material supply unit to the printing engine by a print engine, an image based on the drawing data Before the creation of data is completed, when the size of the printing material to be printed with the printing data is determined, the printing material of the size is sent out from the printing material supply unit, and the printing material is sent to the print engine. A pre-feed function that increases the processing time of the entire printing process by stopping the process immediately before the image data creation is completed and transported to the print engine and printing the image on the printing material. I have.

  Conventionally, in the pre-feed, when changing the conveyance speed and resolution of the printing material according to the type of the printing material, a technique for controlling the printing material not to be pre-feeded has been proposed (patent) Reference 1).

JP 2001-002279 A

  When the printing material is pre-feeded using the pre-feed function, if the printing material is jammed (jammed), in order to eliminate the printing stop due to the printing material clogging, the printing in which the clogging has occurred In addition to the material, it is necessary to remove all the other printing materials that have already been sent out from the printing material supply unit and exist on the conveyance path, and it takes time to remove the printing material.

  However, in the above prior art, since the on / off of the pre-feed function is controlled based only on the type of the printing material, it is insufficient as a measure for trouble when the printing material is clogged. In order to improve usability, there was a need for improvement.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a print control apparatus that improves the usability of pre-feed and the handling capability when a jam occurs.

  The print control apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is a print control apparatus that controls a pre-feed function for supplying a printing material immediately before a printing position, and that predetermined print information for turning on the pre-feed function is a pre-feed condition. Prefeed condition information registration means registered as information, print information acquisition means for acquiring print information relating to print data to be printed on the printing material, print information acquired by the print information acquisition means, and the prefeed condition information The above object is achieved by including a discriminating unit that compares the pre-feed condition information of the registration unit and discriminates whether the pre-feed function is set to on or off.

  In the case of claim 1, for example, as described in claim 2, the control unit controls a print execution control unit that controls printing of the print data on the printing material while controlling the pre-feed function. An on / off discrimination result of the pre-feed function may be notified.

  In the case of claim 1 or claim 2, for example, as described in claim 3, the prefeed condition information registering unit includes at least a predetermined number of pages of the print data as the prefeed condition information. That the print data print time is not included, that the print data drawing area is smaller than a predetermined size, and the determination means prints the print data. If the information satisfies any of the pre-feed condition information, it may be determined that the pre-feed function is turned on.

  In the case of Claims 1 to 3, for example, as described in Claim 4, the print control apparatus appropriately registers, changes, and deletes the prefeed condition information of the prefeed condition information registration unit. Means may be provided.

  According to the present invention, whether or not the pre-feed function is turned on / off is determined according to the print information related to the print data. Therefore, when high-speed printing is requested or there is a possibility of occurrence of a jam in the printing material. Pre-feed conditions for turning on the pre-feed function when there are few, etc. can be properly determined, so the usability of the pre-feed function can be improved, and jams can be generated by suppressing the occurrence of jams in printing materials The correspondence of time can be improved.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, since the Example described below is a suitable Example of this invention, various technically preferable restrictions are attached | subjected, However, The scope of the present invention limits this invention especially in the following description. As long as there is no description of the effect, it is not restricted to these aspects.

  1 to 3 are views showing a first embodiment of the print control apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a main part of a printer 1 to which the first embodiment of the print control apparatus of the present invention is applied. FIG.

  In FIG. 1, a printer 1 has a main body housing 2 in which a paper feed unit 3, a transport unit 4, a registration unit 5, an image forming unit 6, a fixing unit 7, a paper discharge unit 8, and the like are housed. However, a discharge table or the like is provided on the side surface of the main body housing 2, and an operation unit is provided on the upper portion of the main body housing 2.

  The paper feed unit 3 is provided with four stages of paper feed cassettes (paper feed stages) 11 to 14, and recording papers (printing materials) of various sizes are arbitrarily supplied to the paper feed cassettes 11 to 14. Stored in the paper direction. The paper feed unit 3 is provided with paper feed rollers 11a to 14a for each of the paper feed cassettes 11 to 14, and the paper feed rollers 11a to 14a of the selected paper feed cassettes 11 to 14 indicate arrows in FIG. As shown, the recording sheets in the sheet feeding cassettes 11 to 14 are sent out one by one to the transport unit 4.

  The conveyance unit 4 is provided with a plurality of conveyance roller pairs 15 and the like, and sequentially conveys the recording sheets sent out from the respective paper feed cassettes 11 to 14 to the image forming unit 6.

  The image forming unit 6 uses an electrophotographic image forming unit. Although not shown, a charging charger, an optical writing unit, and a developing unit are provided around the photosensitive member 21 that is driven to rotate clockwise in FIG. , A transfer charger, a cleaning unit, and the like. The image forming unit 6 uniformly charges the rotationally driven photoconductor 21 with a charging charger, and irradiates the uniformly charged photoconductor 21 with laser light modulated based on image data by the optical writing unit. An electrostatic latent image is formed. The image forming unit 6 supplies toner from the developing unit to the photoconductor 21 on which the electrostatic latent image is formed to form a toner image, and transfers the image on the photoconductor 21 onto a recording sheet. The recording paper that has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 7.

  The registration unit 5 is disposed immediately before the photosensitive member 21 of the image forming unit 6, and temporarily stops the recording paper conveyed from the conveying unit 4 and aligns it with the toner image on the photosensitive member 21. Then, the conveyance of the recording paper once stopped in the direction of the photosensitive member 21 is resumed.

  The fixing unit 7 heats and presses the recording paper on which the toner image is transferred and conveyed by the image forming unit 6 to fix the toner image on the recording paper to the recording paper, and fixes the toner image. The completed recording sheet is sent to the paper discharge unit 7. The paper discharge unit 7 sequentially discharges the fixed recording paper onto a paper discharge table (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printer 1 includes a controller 31, a pre-feed control unit 32, a pre-feed condition table 33, an engine (print engine) 34, and the like, and transmits print data from a computer or the like. A host device HS is connected.

  The controller 31 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The ROM 31 stores a basic program as the printer 1 in the ROM and a CD (Compact Disc). ), MO (magneto-optical disk), CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), CD-RW (Compact Disc Rewritable), DVD (Digital Video Disk), SD card, memory card, flexible disk, etc. The printing control program being read is read by a predetermined reading unit, stored in the ROM, and executed by the CPU, thereby executing basic processing as the printing apparatus 1, and performing the prefeed control unit 32 and the prefeed condition. Print control for on / off control of the pre-feed function of this embodiment together with the table 33 It is constructed as a printing control apparatus 40 to perform the physical.

  When the controller 31 receives print job information, such as drawing data and print settings, number of pages, paper size, time specification, etc., from the host device 40, the controller 31 The print job information is passed to the pre-feed control unit 32, and the drawing data is converted into image data printable by the engine 34 based on the print job information.

  When the pre-feed control unit 32 receives print job information from the controller 31, the pre-feed control unit 32 refers to the pre-feed condition table 33 to determine whether to turn on / off the pre-feed function, that is, whether to execute or stop the pre-feed function. The determination result is passed (notified) to the controller 31 as pre-feed on / off information.

The pre-feed condition table 33 is stored in a non-volatile memory such as a battery-backed RAM or hard disk that retains the stored contents even when the power is off, and pre-feed conditions for turning on the pre-feed function, for example, printing Conditions such as that the number of pages is equal to or greater than a predetermined number of pages (for example, 10), that time-designated printing is off, and that the image drawing area is smaller than a predetermined size are set and registered. In the pre-feed function, as described above, the controller 31 expands the print data into the image data in the memory and passes it to the engine 34. Before the creation of the image data is completed, the recording paper to be printed with the print data is recorded. When the size of the recording sheet is determined, feeding of the recording paper of the size from the paper feeding unit 3 is started, and the recording paper is stopped at the registration unit 5 immediately before the photosensitive member 21 of the image forming unit 6. When the creation of the image data is completed, the image data is conveyed to the image forming unit 6 and the image is printed on the recording paper, thereby speeding up the processing time of the entire printer 1. The prefeed conditions in the prefeed condition table 33 Can be registered, changed, deleted, etc. as required by an instruction from the operation means using an operation unit (not shown) or a host device HS connected to the network as an operation means. it can.

  The controller 31 passes the pre-feed on / off information to the engine 34, and also passes the image data obtained by converting the print data to the engine 34 so as to print on the recording paper based on the image data.

  The engine 34 is a part that actually executes printing processing such as the paper feed unit 3, the conveyance unit 4, the registration unit 5, the image forming unit 6, the fixing unit 7, and the paper discharge unit 8 of FIG. When print job information such as pre-feed on / off information and selection information for the paper cassettes 11 to 14 is sent, first, the pre-feed function is determined based on the pre-feed on / off information. The image is printed on the recording paper based on the image data while controlling the function.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment performs a print control process for determining whether or not the print control apparatus 40 executes pre-feed based on a print job.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 3, when print data (print job) is transmitted from the host apparatus HS (step S101), the printer 1 receives the print data, and the controller 31 receives the print data. Print job information is passed to the pre-feed control unit 32 (step S102).

  The pre-feed control unit 32 compares the print job information received from the controller 31 with the pre-feed condition table 33 to check whether the pre-feed condition is satisfied, for example, a predetermined number of pages (N pages) with a preset number of pages. ) And other pre-feed conditions, for example, whether time-designated printing is off or whether the image drawing area is smaller than a predetermined size is checked (steps S103 and S104). If the number of pages is equal to or greater than the predetermined number of pages in step S103 or other prefeed conditions are satisfied in step S104, the prefeed control unit 32 sets prefeed on / off information for turning on the prefeed. It passes to the controller 31 (step S105). The controller 31 controls each part of the engine 34 based on the on-pre-feed on / off information and other print job information, develops print data, and performs the pre-feed based on the image data. (Step S106). In addition, as the printing time for time-designated printing, time outside business hours of a company or the like is usually designated, and such time-designated printing performs more appropriate printing while suppressing the occurrence of jam than high-speed printing. Therefore, the pre-feed function is turned off when the time-designated printing is on, and the pre-feed function is set on when the time-designated printing is off. Also, in printing with a large image drawing area, there is a risk of jamming of the recording paper. Therefore, in order to improve the efficiency of removing the recording paper when the jam occurs, the image drawing area is smaller than a predetermined size. , Turn on the pre-feed feature.

  The pre-feed control unit 31 then turns off the pre-feed when the print job information does not satisfy all the pre-feed conditions in the pre-feed condition table of the pre-feed condition table 33 in steps S103 and S104. The on / off information is passed to the controller 31 (step S106). The controller 31 controls each part of the engine 34 based on pre-feed on / off information and other print job information, develops print data, and prints without using the pre-feed function based on image data. (Step S106).

  As described above, in the printer 1 of this embodiment, the print control device 40 determines whether the pre-feed function of the recording paper that is the printing material is on or off according to the print job information related to the print data. .

  Therefore, it is possible to appropriately determine the pre-feed conditions for turning on the pre-feed function when high-speed printing is requested or when there is little possibility of occurrence of jamming of recording paper. The usability of the function can be improved, and the occurrence of a jam on the recording paper can be suppressed to improve the correspondence when the jam occurs.

  Further, in the printer 1, the print control device 40 pre-feed control unit 32 notifies the controller 31 of the determined pre-feed function on / off information, and the controller 31 is based on the pre-feed function on / off information. The engine 34 is controlled to print the print data while controlling the prefeed function.

  Therefore, it is possible to appropriately print the print data while appropriately controlling the pre-feed function.

  Further, the print control device 40 of the printer 1 confirms that the prefeed condition table 33 includes at least the number of pages of the print data not less than the predetermined number of pages, the designation of the print time of the print data, The fact that the data drawing area is smaller than a predetermined size is registered as a pre-feed condition for turning on the pre-feed function, and the pre-feed control unit 32 displays the print information of the print data in the pre-feed condition table 33. If any of the feed conditions is satisfied, it is determined that the pre-feed function is set to ON.

  Therefore, whether high-speed printing is required as printing, whether appropriate printing is required while suppressing the occurrence of jams compared to high-speed printing, and printing according to the size of the image drawing area is appropriately performed. Appropriateness of the feed function can be determined.

  The pre-feed conditions in the pre-feed condition table 33 can be registered, changed, deleted, etc., as appropriate, according to instructions from the operation unit using an operation unit (not shown) or a host device HS connected to the network as the operation unit. It has become.

  Therefore, it is possible to perform appropriate printing while improving the usability by appropriately registering, changing, or deleting the pre-feed conditions according to the usage mode or operating status of the printer 1.

  4 to 6 are diagrams showing a second embodiment of the print control apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the main part of the computer Pc to which the second embodiment of the print control apparatus of the present invention is applied. It is.

  In FIG. 4, a personal computer or the like having a normal hardware and software configuration is used as the computer Pc. An application 51, a driver (printer driver) 52, and a pre-processor are installed on an OS (Operating System) 50 such as Windows (registered trademark). A feed control unit 53 is mounted.

  The application 51 is software such as document creation software, figure creation software, spreadsheet software, database software and the like installed on the OS 50, and a print command for document data created by the application 51 by the user is displayed in the application 51. The application 51 displays the print setting screen and passes the document data and the print setting contents to the driver 52 when necessary print settings are made.

  When the driver 52 receives the document data and the print setting contents from the application 51, the driver 52 converts the document into drawing data interpretable by the printer of the printing destination according to the print setting contents, and prints the drawing data and the print setting information. Data is created and the print setting contents and document data are passed to the pre-feed control unit 53.

  When the pre-feed control unit 53 receives the print setting content from the controller 31, the pre-feed control unit 53 refers to the pre-feed condition table 54 to determine whether the pre-feed function is turned on or off, and the determination result is determined based on the pre-feed on / off. It is passed to the driver 52 as off information.

  The pre-feed condition table 54 is stored in a non-volatile memory such as a battery-backed RAM or hard disk that retains the stored contents even when the power is off, and pre-feed control conditions for turning on the pre-feed function, for example, Conditions such as that the number of printed pages is a predetermined number of pages (for example, 10 sheets) or more, that time-designated printing is off, and that the image drawing area is smaller than a predetermined size are set and registered.

  The pre-feed conditions in the pre-feed condition table 54 can be appropriately registered, changed, deleted, etc. by an operation from an input means such as a keyboard.

  Upon receiving the pre-feed on / off information from the pre-feed control unit 53, the driver 52 adds the received pre-feed on / off information to the created print data and passes it to the OS 50, as shown in FIG. The OS 50 transmits the print data via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) connected to the printer of the printing destination. In other words, the driver 52 adds the pre-feed on / off information to the print data, thereby notifying the printing destination printer of the determination result of the suitability of the pre-feed function. FIG. 5 shows print data in which on-pre-feed on / off information is added to the print job information in the print data composed of print job information and drawing data. In addition, information indicating that the number of pages is “10” and the time designation printing is “ON” is described.

  This destination printer (print destination printer) has at least a prefeed function and a prefeed function based on prefeed on / off information added to the print job information of print data from the computer Pc. A pre-feed on / off control function for on / off control is provided. When print data is sent from the computer Pc, the printing destination printer controls the pre-feed function on / off based on the pre-feed on / off information added to the print job information of the print data.

  The computer Pc reads the print control program recorded on a recording medium such as a CD, MO, CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD, SD card, memory card, or flexible disk by a predetermined reading unit. By storing and executing in hardware or the like, the print control device 60 that controls on / off of the pre-feed function by the driver 52, the pre-feed control unit 53, and the pre-feed condition table 54 is constructed.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The computer Pc of this embodiment determines whether to use the pre-feed function of the printing destination based on the pre-feed condition table 54, adds the pre-feed on / off information of the determination result to the print data, and transmits it. By doing so, the pre-feed is controlled and printed.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 6, when a print command for document data is issued to the application 51 by the application 51, the computer Pc displays a print setting screen and performs necessary print settings. Then, the document data and the print setting contents are passed to the driver 52 (step S201).

  When the driver 52 receives the document and the print setting contents from the application 51, the driver 52 converts the document into drawing data that can be interpreted by the printer of the printing destination according to the print setting contents, and print data including the drawing data and the print setting information. And the print data is passed to the pre-feed control unit 53 (step S202).

  When the pre-feed control unit 53 receives the print data from the controller 31, the pre-feed control unit 53 refers to the pre-feed condition table 54 to check whether the print data satisfies the pre-feed condition, for example, a predetermined number of pages with a preset number of pages. (N pages) or more and other pre-feed conditions, for example, whether time-designated printing is off or whether the image drawing area is smaller than a predetermined size is checked (steps S203 and S204). When the number of pages is equal to or greater than the predetermined number of pages in step S203 or other prefeed conditions are satisfied in step S204, the prefeed control unit 53 sets prefeed on / off information for turning on the prefeed. The data is passed to the driver 52 (step S205).

  Upon receiving the ON pre-feed on / off information from the pre-feed control unit 53, the driver 52 adds the ON pre-feed on / off information to the print data (step S206), and the pre-feed on / off information is added. The added print data is transferred to the OS 50, and the OS 50 transmits the print data to the printer of the print destination via the LAN or the like (step S207).

  When the print data does not satisfy all the prefeed conditions in the prefeed condition table 54 in steps S203 and S204, the prefeed control unit 53 sends prefeed on / off information for turning off the prefeed to the driver 52. (Step S208)

  Upon receiving the off pre-feed on / off information from the pre-feed control unit 53, the driver 52 adds the off pre-feed on / off information to the print data (step S206), and the pre-feed on / off information is added. The added print data is transferred to the OS 50, and the OS 50 transmits the print data to the printer of the print destination via the LAN or the like (step S207).

  As described above, in the computer Pc of this embodiment, the print control device 60 turns on / off the pre-feed function for pre-feeding the recording paper that is the printing material in the printing destination printer according to the print information regarding the print data. Judging the suitability of.

  Therefore, the pre-feed condition for turning on the pre-feed function can be appropriately determined on the computer Pc side when high-speed printing is requested or when there is little possibility of occurrence of a jam on the recording paper. In addition to improving the usability of the pre-feed function, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a jam on the recording paper and to improve the correspondence when the jam occurs.

  Further, the computer Pc notifies the driver 52 of the on / off information of the prefeed function determined by the prefeed control unit 53 of the print control device 60, and the driver 52 is based on the on / off information of the prefeed function. By adding the pre-feed on / off information to the print data to be transmitted to the print destination printer, the printer is controlled to print the print data while controlling the pre-feed function.

  Therefore, it is possible to appropriately print the print data while appropriately controlling the pre-feed function.

  Further, the print control device 60 of the computer Pc confirms that at least the number of pages of the print data is greater than or equal to the predetermined number of pages in the pre-feed condition table 54, the designation of the print time of the print data is not included, The fact that the data drawing area is smaller than a predetermined size is registered as a pre-feed condition for turning on the pre-feed function, and the pre-feed control unit 53 determines that the print information corresponds to the pre-feed condition of the pre-feed condition table 53. If either condition is met, it is determined that the pre-feed function is set to ON.

  Therefore, whether high-speed printing is required as printing, whether appropriate printing is required while suppressing the occurrence of jams compared to high-speed printing, and printing according to the size of the image drawing area is appropriately performed. Appropriateness of the feed function can be determined.

  The pre-feed conditions in the pre-feed condition table 54 can be appropriately registered, changed, deleted, etc., according to instructions from the operation means using a keyboard (not shown) as an operation means.

  Therefore, it is possible to perform appropriate printing while improving the usability by appropriately registering, changing, or deleting the pre-feed conditions according to the usage mode or operating status of the printer 1.

  The invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say.

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus such as a printer having a pre-feed function for pre-feeding a printing material such as recording paper, a copying apparatus, and a composite apparatus, and an information processing apparatus such as a computer that sends print data to the printing apparatus. The present invention can be applied to a print control apparatus that efficiently controls the feed function.

1 is a schematic front view of a main part of a printer to which a first embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the main part of the printer in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing print control processing with pre-feed control by the printer of FIG. 2. FIG. The principal part block block diagram of the computer to which 2nd Example of this invention is applied. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of print data to which pre-feed on / off information transmitted from the computer of FIG. 4 is added. 5 is a flowchart showing print control processing with pre-feed control by the computer of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer 2 Main body housing | casing 3 Paper feed part 4 Conveyance part 5 Registration part 6 Image formation part 7 Fixing part 8 Paper discharge part 11-14 Paper feed cassette 11a-14a Paper feed roller 21 Photoconductor 31 Controller 32 Pre-feed control part 33 Pre-feed condition table 34 Engine 40 Print control device HS Host device 60 Print control device

Claims (4)

  A pre-feed condition information registration means for controlling a pre-feed function for supplying a printing material immediately before a printing position, wherein predetermined print information for turning on the pre-feed function is registered as pre-feed condition information Print information acquisition means for acquiring print information relating to print data to be printed on the printing material, and the print information acquired by the print information acquisition means is compared with the pre-feed condition information of the pre-feed condition information registration means And a determination unit that determines whether the pre-feed function is set to ON or OFF.   The control means notifies a determination result of ON / OFF determination of the prefeed function to a print execution control means that controls printing of the print data on the printing material while controlling the prefeed function. The printing control apparatus according to claim 1.   The pre-feed condition information registering unit includes, as the pre-feed condition information, that at least the number of pages of the print data is greater than or equal to a predetermined number of pages, the print time designation of the print data is not included, and print data It is registered that the drawing area is smaller than a predetermined size, and the determination unit turns on the prefeed function when the print information of the print data satisfies any of the prefeed condition information. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print control apparatus is determined to be set.   4. The printing control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an operation unit that appropriately registers, changes, and deletes the pre-feed condition information of the pre-feed condition information registration unit. The printing control apparatus described.

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