JP2010064408A - Image forming system, processing control apparatus, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control a processing for a recording material with an image formed thereon, through either of a communicating means for providing parallel communication, and a communicating means for providing a serial communication, according to the content of the processing. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming system includes a main apparatus 10 including a main apparatus controller 100, an interface apparatus 20 having an interface controller 200, a first post processing apparatus 30 having a first post processing controller 300, a second post processing apparatus 40 having a second post processing controller 400, and a third post processing apparatus 50 having a third post processing controller 500. The system is configured such that the main apparatus 100 and the interface controller 200 undergo the serial communication, the interface controller 200 and the second post processing controller 400, and the interface controller 200 and the third post processing controller 500, and that the interface controller 200 and the first post processing controller 300 undergo the parallel communication. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system, a processing control apparatus, and an image forming apparatus.

  A binding and binding apparatus that strikes a binding needle on a sheet bundle, a half-fold binding apparatus that folds the sheet bundle in half, a first glue binding apparatus that glues and bonds the sheet bundle, and covers and covers the front and back surfaces of the glue-bonded sheet bundle. There is a known post-processing device that has a configuration in which the second gluing bookbinding devices connected in series are sequentially connected, and one of the bookbinding devices is selected and a bookbinding process that combines a plurality of processes of each device can be executed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-326473 A

  Here, in general, the processing for the recording material on which the image is formed is not controlled via a communication unit corresponding to the content of the processing. Therefore, for example, the processing applied to each recording material cannot be controlled at high speed via a communication unit that performs parallel communication separately from the processing applied to a set of recording materials.

  An object of the present invention is to control processing for a recording material on which an image has been formed, via communication means corresponding to the content of the processing, among communication means for performing parallel communication and communication means for performing serial communication.

The invention according to claim 1 is an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording material, a first processing device that performs a first process on the recording material on which an image is formed by the image forming apparatus, A second processing device that performs a second process on the recording material on which an image is formed by the image forming device, and a communication unit that performs parallel communication between the first processing in the first processing device. And a control device for controlling the second processing in the second processing device via a communication means for performing serial communication.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming system according to the first aspect, the first process is a process performed on each of the recording materials.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming system according to the second aspect, the second process is a process performed on the set of recording materials.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming system according to the first aspect, the first process is a process of punching the recording material.
The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the second process is one of a process of stacking the recording material, a process of binding the recording material, and a process of folding the recording material. The image forming system according to claim 4.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the first communication means for performing parallel communication with the first processing device that performs the first processing on the recording material on which the image is formed, and the image are formed. A second communication unit that performs serial communication with a second processing device that performs a second process on the recording material; and the first communication unit that performs the first process in the first processing device. And a control means for controlling the second processing in the second processing device via the second communication means.
The invention according to claim 7 further includes third communication means for performing serial communication with an image forming apparatus for forming an image on the recording material, wherein the control means is connected to the third from the image forming apparatus. The process control apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the first process and the second process are controlled based on information received via the communication means.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording material, and a first processing device that performs a first process on the recording material on which an image is formed by the image forming unit. A second communication unit that performs serial communication between a first communication unit that performs parallel communication between the first processing unit and a second processing device that performs second processing on the recording material on which the image is formed by the image forming unit. And the first processing in the first processing unit is controlled via the first communication unit, and the second processing in the second processing unit is controlled by the second communication unit. And an image forming apparatus including a control unit that controls the image forming apparatus.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the processing for the recording material on which the image is formed can be controlled via the communication unit according to the processing content among the communication unit that performs parallel communication and the communication unit that performs serial communication. Become.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to control the processing for each recording material at a higher speed than in the case where the present configuration is not provided.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to control the processing for each recording material at a high speed while performing complicated control of the processing for the set of recording materials as compared with the case where the present configuration is not provided. .
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to control the process of punching the recording material at a higher speed than in the case where this configuration is not provided.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, compared to the case where the present configuration is not provided, the processing for stacking the recording materials, the processing for binding the recording materials, and the processing for folding the recording materials are complicated. While performing the control, the process for punching the recording material can be controlled at high speed.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the processing for the recording material on which the image is formed can be controlled via the communication means according to the processing content among the communication means for performing parallel communication and the communication means for performing serial communication. Become.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the processing for the recording material on which the image is formed can be controlled by a device independent from the device that forms the image.
According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the processing for the recording material on which the image is formed can be controlled via the communication unit according to the processing content among the communication unit that performs parallel communication and the communication unit that performs serial communication. Become.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”) will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an image forming system in the present embodiment.
As shown in the figure, the image forming system includes an image forming apparatus 10, a transport apparatus 20, a first post-processing apparatus 30, a second post-processing apparatus 40, and a third post-processing apparatus 50.

The image forming apparatus 10 forms an image on a sheet which is an example of a recording material by, for example, electrophotography. Specifically, the following configuration is provided.
That is, the image forming apparatus 10 includes four image forming units 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K (hereinafter also collectively referred to as image forming units 11) arranged in parallel at a constant interval. Each image forming unit 11 has a photosensitive drum 13 that forms an electrostatic latent image and holds a toner image, a charger 14 that uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 13 at a predetermined potential, and a photosensitive drum 13. A developing unit 15 for developing the formed electrostatic latent image and a drum cleaner 16 for cleaning the surface of the photosensitive drum 13 after transfer are provided.
Corresponding to each image forming unit 11, there are provided laser exposure devices 12Y, 12M, 12C, and 12K that expose the photosensitive drum 13 based on input print data and image data.
Here, each image forming unit 11 is configured in substantially the same manner except for the toner stored in the developing device 15. Each image forming unit 11 forms yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) toner images.

  The image forming apparatus 10 also includes an intermediate transfer belt 19 onto which the toner images of the respective colors formed on the photosensitive drums 13 of the respective image forming units 11 are transferred, and the respective color toner images of the respective image forming units 11 as primary transfer units. The primary transfer roll 17 that is sequentially transferred (primary transfer) to the intermediate transfer belt 19 at T1 and the superimposed toner image transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 19 are collectively transferred to the paper P at the secondary transfer portion T2 (secondary transfer). A secondary transfer roll 18 is provided, and a fixing device 150 that fixes the secondary transferred image onto the paper P is provided.

The transport device 20 transports the paper P output from the image forming apparatus 10 to a subsequent post-processing device.
The first post-processing device 30 includes a first post-processing mechanism 31 that is provided in the uppermost stream among the three post-processing devices and performs post-processing on the paper P. Here, it is assumed that the first post-processing mechanism 31 performs post-processing on each sheet P. As such post-processing, for example, there is processing for punching paper P. That is, the first post-processing device 30 is exemplified by a punch punching device. In the present embodiment, a first post-processing device 30 is provided as an example of a first processing device that performs a first processing on a recording material.

  The second post-processing device 40 includes a second post-processing mechanism 41 that is provided in the center among the three post-processing devices and performs post-processing on the paper P. Here, it is assumed that the second post-processing mechanism 41 performs post-processing other than post-processing for individual paper P. As such post-processing, for example, there is a stacking process for stacking a large amount of sheets P. That is, as the second post-processing device 40, a large-capacity stack device is exemplified. However, the second post-processing mechanism 41 may include a mechanism that performs post-processing on a set of paper P, in particular, as post-processing other than post-processing on individual paper P. For example, a mechanism for aligning the position in the width direction or the conveyance direction for each set may be included so that the paper P can be easily taken out for each set. In the present embodiment, a second post-processing device 40 is provided as an example of a second processing device that performs the second processing on the recording material.

  The third post-processing device 50 includes a third post-processing mechanism 51 that is provided on the most downstream side of the three post-processing devices and performs post-processing on the paper P. Here, it is assumed that the third post-processing mechanism 51 also performs post-processing other than the post-processing for individual sheets P. In particular, it is assumed that the third post-processing mechanism 51 performs post-processing on a set of paper P. As such post-processing, for example, there is a binding process in which binding is performed for each set of sheets P and a folding process in which folding is performed for each set of sheets P. That is, as the third post-processing device 50, a binding and folding device is exemplified. However, the third post-processing mechanism 51 may partially include a mechanism for performing post-processing on individual sheets P. For example, a mechanism for perforating each paper P before binding the paper P may be included. In the present embodiment, a third post-processing device 50 is provided as an example of a second processing device that performs the second processing on the recording material.

Although FIG. 1 shows three post-processing devices, the number is not limited to this.
Further, the post-processing devices can be freely selected and combined. For example, a folding device that only folds the paper P or a binding device that performs not only binding and folding but also cutting and the like on the paper P may be selected and combined. Further, a post-processing device of the same vendor as the vendor that manufactures the image forming apparatus 10 or the conveyance device 20 may be connected, or a post-processing device of a different vendor may be connected.

By the way, a post-processing device that performs post-processing on individual sheets and other post-processing devices, in particular, a post-processing device that performs post-processing on a set of sheets, are connected to the image forming apparatus 10. In this case, it is desirable from the viewpoint of improving the productivity of the entire image forming system to control each post-processing apparatus using a communication unit corresponding to the content of the post-processing.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, the transport device 20 controls the first post-processing device 30 that performs post-processing on individual sheets by parallel communication, and the second post-processing device 40 and the third that perform other post-processing. The post-processing device 50 is controlled by serial communication.

Next, the image forming system will be described from the viewpoint of controlling the first post-processing device 30, the second post-processing device 40, and the third post-processing device 50.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of such an image forming system.
As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming system includes an image forming apparatus 10, a transport apparatus 20, a first post-processing apparatus 30, a second post-processing apparatus 40, and a third post-processing apparatus 50. . In the following description, the image forming apparatus 10 is referred to as a main body device 10 in the sense of a main body that issues a control command by paying attention to control of the first post-processing device 30, the second post-processing device 40, and the third post-processing device 50. The conveying device 20 is referred to as an interface device 20 in the sense of an interface between the main body device 10 and the first post-processing device 30, the second post-processing device 40, and the third post-processing device 50.

  As illustrated, the main body device 10 includes a main body control unit 100 that controls the operation of the main body device 10, and the interface device 20 includes an interface control unit 200 that controls the operation of the interface device 20. Here, the interface control unit 200 controls the first post-processing device 30, the second post-processing device 40, and the third post-processing device 50 according to the instruction from the main body device 10, the first post-processing device 30, An operation of transmitting information received from the second post-processing device 40 and the third post-processing device 50 to the main body device 10 is also performed.

  The first post-processing device 30 includes a first post-processing control unit 300 that controls the operation of the first post-processing device 30, and the second post-processing device 40 controls the operation of the second post-processing device 40. And the third post-processing device 50 includes a third post-processing control unit 500 that controls the operation of the third post-processing device 50.

  In such an image forming system, between the main body control unit 100 and the interface control unit 200, between the interface control unit 200 and the second post-processing control unit 400, and between the interface control unit 200 and the third post-processing control unit. 500 is connected with a serial communication line used for function-oriented control. Further, the interface control unit 200 and the first post-processing control unit 300 are connected by a parallel communication line capable of high-speed control. In other words, the first post-processing device 30, the second post-processing device 40, and the third post-processing device 50 are not directly connected to the main body device 10, but are interface devices that are dedicated devices having both serial and parallel communication means. 20 is connected. In the present embodiment, parallel communication is performed as an example of a control device that controls the first processing in the first processing device and the second processing in the second processing device, and with the first processing device. First communication means for performing second communication means for performing serial communication between the second processing device, first processing in the first processing device, and second processing in the second processing device. An interface device 20 is provided as an example of a processing control device including a control means for controlling.

Next, a more detailed functional configuration of the interface control unit 200 will be described.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the interface control unit 200.
As shown in the figure, the interface control unit 200 includes a main body communication unit 21, a signal analysis unit 22, a serial communication unit 23, and a parallel communication unit 24.
The main body communication unit 21 transmits information (hereinafter referred to as “post-processing selection information”) for selecting what kind of post-processing to be performed on the paper on which the image is formed in the main body device 10 from the main body device 10 by serial communication. Receive. Further, information on the states of the first post-processing device 30, the second post-processing device 40, and the third post-processing device 50 (hereinafter referred to as “state information”) is transmitted to the main body device 10 by serial communication. In the present embodiment, the main body communication unit 21 is provided as an example of a third communication unit that performs serial communication with the image forming apparatus.

  The signal analysis unit 22 analyzes the signal received by the main body communication unit 21 from the main body device 10 and transmits information to the serial communication unit 23 or the parallel communication unit 24 according to the analysis result. The serial communication unit 23 analyzes the signal received from the second post-processing device 40 or the third post-processing device 50 and the signal received by the parallel communication unit 24 from the first post-processing device 30, and the main body according to the analysis result. Information is transmitted to the communication unit 21. In the present embodiment, the signal analysis unit 22 is provided as an example of a control unit that controls the first processing in the first processing device and the second processing in the second processing device.

The serial communication unit 23 performs communication by serial communication between the second post-processing device 40 and the third post-processing device 50. In the present embodiment, a serial communication unit 23 is provided as an example of a second communication unit that performs serial communication with the second processing apparatus.
The parallel communication unit 24 performs communication by parallel communication with the first post-processing device 30. In the present embodiment, the parallel communication unit 24 is provided as an example of a first communication unit that performs parallel communication with the first processing device.

Here, as already described, as the first post-processing device 30, for example, a punch punching device can be considered. Therefore, what kind of information is transmitted and received at each port when performing parallel communication with the punching device will be described.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating assignment of information to be transmitted / received to / from each port.
As shown in the figure, the port 1 is assigned a command for the main body device 10 to instruct the punch punching device to punch. For example, by setting “1” to port 1 and transmitting, it is possible to instruct the punch punching device to punch the paper, and by setting “0” to port 1 and transmitting, The punching device can be instructed not to punch the paper.

  Further, status information passed from the punch punching device to the main body device 10 is assigned to the ports 2 to 4. For example, the main body device 10 detects that the dust box is full by receiving “1” at the port 2, and receives “1” at the port 3 to detect the punch punching device. By detecting that the cover is open and receiving “1” at the port 4, it is detected that a paper jam has occurred in the punch punching device.

  Next, the first post-processing device 30 is a punch punching device, the second post-processing device 40 is a large-capacity stacking device, and the third post-processing device 50 is a binding and folding device. The operation of the interface control unit 200 in the interface device 20 of the form will be described.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the interface control unit 200 when controlling each post-processing device in response to an instruction from the main body device 10.
In the interface control unit 200, first, the main body communication unit 21 receives post-processing selection information by serial communication and transfers it to the signal analysis unit 22 (step 201). In this case, communication is performed in advance between the main apparatus 10 and each post-processing apparatus, and the main apparatus 10 recognizes what post-processing apparatus is connected to itself. The main body device 10 displays the post-processing contents in the connected post-processing device as options on a UI (User Interface), and displays post-processing selection information for specifying the post-processing selected by the user from the options. This is transmitted to the device 20, and this is received by the interface control unit 200 of the interface device 20 in step 201.

Then, the signal analysis unit 22 determines whether or not punch punching processing is included in the post-processing selection information, that is, whether or not punch punching processing is selected as post-processing (step 202).
As a result, if it is determined that the punching process has been selected, the parallel communication unit 24 sets “1” in the port 1 and transmits it to the punching apparatus in accordance with an instruction from the signal analysis unit 22 (step 203). ). That is, the punch punching apparatus is instructed to perform punching.
On the other hand, if it is determined that the punching process has not been selected, the parallel communication unit 24 sets “0” in the port 1 and transmits it to the punching apparatus in accordance with an instruction from the signal analysis unit 22 (step 204). ). That is, the punch punching apparatus is instructed not to perform punching.

  Further, the signal analysis unit 22 transmits information related to post-processing instructions other than punch punching processing in the post-processing selection information to the serial communication unit 23, and the serial communication unit 23 sends the information to the large-capacity stack device and the binding and folding device. On the other hand, an instruction is transmitted by serial communication (step 205). In the main body device 10, the punch hole punching process and other post processes may be selected at the same time, or only the punch hole punching process may be selected and the other post processes may not be selected. In the latter case, in particular, in step 205, an instruction is given to the large-capacity stacking device and the binding and folding device to convey the sheet conveyed from the upstream as it is without performing any post-processing.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the interface control unit 200 when receiving the status information of each post-processing device and transmitting it to the main device 10.
In the interface control unit 200, first, the serial communication unit 23 or the parallel communication unit 24 receives the state information and passes it to the signal analysis unit 22 (step 221).
Then, the signal analysis unit 22 determines whether the state information is from the serial communication unit 23 or the parallel communication unit 24 (step 222).
As a result, when it is determined that the data is from the serial communication unit 23, the status information is information on the large capacity stack device or the binding and folding device. Therefore, the signal analysis unit 22 passes the state information of the large capacity stack device or the binding / folding device to the main body communication unit 21, and the main body communication unit 21 transmits the state information to the main body device 10 by serial communication (step 223).

  On the other hand, if it is determined from the parallel communication unit 24, the signal analysis unit 22 determines whether the parallel communication unit 24 has received the status information by receiving “1” at which port. (Step 224). Here, it is assumed that only the ports 2 to 4 receive the status information, but the number of the port that receives the status information is not limited to this.

If “1” is received at the port 2, the signal analysis unit 22 informs the main body communication unit 21 that the dust box is full, and the main body communication unit 21 informs the main body device 10 to that effect by serial communication ( Step 225).
If “1” is received at the port 3, the signal analysis unit 22 notifies the main body communication unit 21 that the cover is open, and the main body communication unit 21 notifies the main body device 10 by serial communication. (Step 226).
Further, if “1” is received at the port 4, the signal analysis unit 22 notifies the main body communication unit 21 that a jam has occurred, and the main body communication unit 21 notifies the main body device 10 by serial communication. (Step 227).
Thereby, the main body device 10 notifies the user by displaying the state of each post-processing device received from the interface device 20 on the UI.

  By the way, in the present embodiment, the interface device 20 independent of the main body device 10 controls the first post-processing device 30, the second post-processing device 40, and the third post-processing device 50. However, the function of the interface device 20 may be provided inside the main body device 10 so that the main body device 10 controls the first post-processing device 30, the second post-processing device 40, and the third post-processing device 50. In that case, a portion corresponding to the signal analysis unit 22 in the main body device 10 is an example of a control unit that controls the first processing in the first processing device and the second processing in the second processing device. 10 corresponds to an example of a second communication means for performing serial communication with the second processing device, and a portion corresponding to the parallel communication unit 24 inside the main unit 10 This is an example of first communication means for performing parallel communication with the first processing apparatus.

1 is a diagram illustrating a mechanism of an image forming system to which the exemplary embodiment is applied. 1 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an image forming system to which the exemplary embodiment is applied. It is the block diagram which showed the function structure of the interface control part in the interface apparatus of this Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the example of allocation of the information transmitted / received between punch punching apparatuses with respect to each port of parallel communication in this Embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the operation example at the time of giving operation instruction | indication to the post-processing apparatus of the interface control part in this Embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the operation example at the time of receiving status information from the post-processing apparatus of the interface control part in this Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Image forming apparatus (main body apparatus), 20 ... Conveyance apparatus (interface apparatus), 30 ... 1st post-processing apparatus, 40 ... 2nd post-processing apparatus, 50 ... 3rd post-processing apparatus

Claims (8)

An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material;
A first processing device that performs a first processing on the recording material on which an image is formed by the image forming device;
A second processing device for performing a second processing on the recording material on which an image is formed by the image forming device;
Control for controlling the first processing in the first processing device via communication means for performing parallel communication, and controlling the second processing in the second processing device for communication via serial communication. And an image forming system.   The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the first process is a process applied to each of the recording materials.   3. The image forming system according to claim 2, wherein the second process is a process performed on the set of recording materials.   The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the first process is a process of punching the recording material.   5. The image forming system according to claim 4, wherein the second process is one of a process of stacking the recording materials, a process of binding the recording materials, and a process of folding the recording materials. . First communication means for performing parallel communication with a first processing device that performs first processing on a recording material on which an image is formed;
Second communication means for performing serial communication with a second processing device that performs second processing on a recording material on which an image is formed;
Control for controlling the first process in the first processing device via the first communication means and for controlling the second process in the second processing device via the second communication means. And a processing control apparatus. A third communication means for performing serial communication with an image forming apparatus for forming an image on the recording material;
7. The control unit according to claim 6, wherein the control unit controls the first process and the second process based on information received from the image forming apparatus via the third communication unit. Processing control device. Image forming means for forming an image on a recording material;
First communication means for performing parallel communication with a first processing device that performs first processing on the recording material on which an image is formed by the image forming means;
Second communication means for performing serial communication with a second processing device that performs second processing on the recording material on which an image is formed by the image forming means;
Control for controlling the first process in the first processing device via the first communication means and for controlling the second process in the second processing device via the second communication means. And an image forming apparatus.

Images