JP2009298009A - Tandem configuration printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent cost increase due to addition of signal lines in a tandem configuration printing apparatus by providing each print controller additionally with a serial communication function and a software so that error information can be shared. <P>SOLUTION: A serial communication function for transmitting/receiving error information between print controllers, and a status information table for storing detailed error information are prepared, the information is transmitted/received by the print controllers when an error occurs in one printer, and the error information is stored in the status information table of each print controller, thus sharing the error information among the print controllers. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a tandem printing apparatus.

  Conventionally, a printing apparatus having a tandem configuration is used for high-speed printing in which two printing apparatuses are arranged in a column, or for spot color printing using two different color toners in two printing apparatuses ( For example, see Patent Document 1).

  In a tandem printing apparatus constituted by two printing apparatuses, status information such as an error that has occurred in each printing apparatus is generally reported to each printing apparatus individually. For this reason, in a printing apparatus having a normal tandem configuration, each of the front printing apparatus and the rear printing apparatus has a printing control apparatus to perform error control. Separate print data is sent from the host system to each print control apparatus.

  Therefore, in the tandem printing apparatus, the contents printed by the front printing apparatus and the rear printing apparatus are different, but the process (recovery process) executed when an error occurs (paper jam or the like) is generally common.

  However, in a normal tandem printing apparatus, status information such as an error is reported to each printing apparatus individually. Therefore, in order to share status information such as an error between two printing apparatuses, I related to error detection is used. / F (signal lines, etc.) must be connected to both the front and rear printing devices, but the error-related signal lines detected by the printing devices will be wired to each printing device. Cost increases. In a large-scale tandem printing apparatus to which various post-processing devices are attached, an error detection wiring corresponding to the processing device is also required thereafter, so that an increase in cost becomes a more significant problem.

  Further, when the amount of wiring in each printing apparatus increases, the failure rate due to disconnection of signal lines and the like also increases, which may cause a reduction in operating rate of the entire system.

JP 2007-1175 A

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to prevent the increase in cost associated with the sharing of error information in each print control device of the tandem printing device and the increase in the wiring amount in the printing device.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, in the tandem configuration printing apparatus that connects two printing apparatuses and prints print data received from a host system by each of the printing apparatuses, each of the printing apparatuses includes a control device. The control device includes an error information storage table for storing detailed error information generated in each of the printing devices, and includes means for transmitting and receiving the error information to and from each other in the control device. .

  The second means of the present invention transmits the error status information to the control device of the other printing apparatus when the error information is entered in one of the tandem printing apparatuses in the first means. It is characterized by doing.

  The error control method in the tandem configuration printing apparatus according to the present invention enables the sharing of error information generated in each print control apparatus, thereby increasing the cost due to the addition of error detection signal lines in the tandem configuration print control apparatus, and the system There is an advantage of preventing a reduction in operating rate.

  The most important feature of the present invention is that, in a tandem printing apparatus, sharing of error information detected by each printing control apparatus is realized by a software method of adding an algorithm for synchronizing error information.

  More specifically, a function for transmitting and receiving error information detected between two printing control devices and a table for storing error detailed information are prepared in each printing control device, and when an error occurs in each printing device, This is realized by adding a common algorithm that reflects these information in the status information table of each print control device by transmitting and receiving these pieces of information between the two print control devices.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a tandem configuration printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The printing apparatus in the tandem configuration is divided into two printing apparatuses, a front printing apparatus 1 and a rear printing apparatus 2. Further, the two printing apparatuses are connected by the intermediate conveyance device 3. Reference numeral 6 denotes a hopper that is a paper feed mechanism, and 7 is a stacker that is a paper discharge mechanism.

  Each of the front printing apparatus 1 and the rear printing apparatus 2 includes print control apparatuses 4 and 5 that perform printing control, and the front printing control apparatus 4 of the front printing apparatus 1 and the rear printing control apparatus 5 of the rear printing apparatus 2 each include The error detection signal line 10 is connected. The two print control apparatuses communicate with each other through the serial communication control unit 8 in order to transmit and receive error information.

  Next, an example of sharing information when an error such as a jam occurs in the printing apparatus will be described. FIG. 2 shows (a) error information transmission flow and (b) error information reception flow in each printing control apparatus.

  Status information (error information and the like) generated in the rear printing apparatus 2 is notified via an error detection signal line 10 connected to the rear printing control apparatus 5. For example, when a paper jam error occurs in the rear printing apparatus 2, an error such as a paper jam occurs in the rear printing apparatus 2 because the error detection signal 10 related to the rear printing apparatus 2 is not connected to the front printing control apparatus 4. But I can't recognize it.

  For this reason, in this embodiment, the rear print control device 5 transmits the error information notified via the error detection signal 10 to the front print control device 4 through the serial communication control unit 8. Further, the status information table 9 held in the rear printing control device 5 is updated based on the information notified via the error detection signal 10.

  When the error information generated in the rear printing apparatus 2 is input to the front print control apparatus 4 through the serial communication control unit 8, the front print control apparatus 4 performs serial communication with the status information table 9 provided therein. Update based on the information received from the control unit 8. Through the above operation, error information is shared.

  As in the case of the error occurrence in the rear printing apparatus 2 described above, even when an error occurs in the front printing apparatus 1, the transmission / reception function by the serial communication control unit 8 and the status information table 9 in each printing control apparatus. By using this, the rear printing control device 5 can recognize error information generated in the front printing device 1.

  The serial communication control unit 8 uses standard communication means called serial communication as communication means for transmitting and receiving input / output device information. This is usually because existing communication algorithms can be used without modification.

  Also, a table for storing status information such as paper jams prepared in each print control device and an algorithm for transmitting and receiving error information generated between the print control devices should be shared among the print control devices. Is possible.

  As described above, the present invention can also be expected to have an effect of preventing the software development efficiency from being lowered when the specification is changed or added by absorbing the software difference between the two print control apparatuses.

  Furthermore, by using serial communication, error information can be shared between each print control device using only one serial line, so even if an error detection configuration is added to a tandem print control device, each print control device There is no need to add a signal line between the control devices. This is very useful from the viewpoint of preventing cost increase due to the addition of signal lines.

  Not only can error information be shared by the serial communication device attached to each print control device, but also when a single configuration is removed from the tandem configuration, the status information table of the print control device and accompanying information Since the software continues to function, error information such as paper jams can be recognized correctly.

  In addition, even when expanding from a tandem configuration to three or more large-scale systems, error information can be shared by connecting each print control device with a serial communication cable, so it is flexible for error control in large-scale systems. It is possible.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a tandem printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is an error detailed information transmission / reception flowchart when an error occurs in the tandem printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

  1: Front printing device, 2: Rear printing device, 3: Intermediate transport device, 4: Front printing control device, 5: Rear printing control device, 6: Hopper, 7: Stacker, 8: Serial communication control unit, 9: Status Information table, 10: error detection signal line.

Claims (2)

In a tandem configuration printing apparatus that connects two printing apparatuses and prints print data received from a host system by each of the printing apparatuses.
Each of the printing devices has a control device, and the control device has an error information storage table for storing detailed error information generated in each of the printing devices, and has means for transmitting and receiving the error information to and from each other by the control device. A tandem configuration printing apparatus.   2. The tandem configuration printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when one of the tandem configuration printing apparatuses includes error occurrence status information, the tandem configuration printing apparatus transmits the error status information to a control device of the other printing apparatus.

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