JP2011235972A - Sorting device and image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sort printed paper sheets with respect to each printing job while executing the plurality of printing jobs continuously.SOLUTION: This image forming system 1 includes: an image forming device 3 printing information on printing paper sheets P in accordance with the printing jobs; and a sorting device 110 sorting printed paper sheets Pb printed by the image forming device 3 with respect to each printing job. In the image forming system 1, while the plurality of printing jobs are executed continuously, an insertion piece Ta such as a tape piece is inserted to an uppermost layer of the predetermined number of printed paper sheets Pb stacked on a paper delivery table 67 of a paper delivery part 60 of the image forming device 3, so as to sort the printed paper sheets Pb with respect to each printing job.

Description

  The present invention includes a sorting device that cuts an insertion member such as a strip-shaped tape to produce an insertion piece (tape piece) having a predetermined length, and a sorting device and an image forming device. After printing the information on the printing paper according to the print job, insert the insertion piece into the uppermost layer of the predetermined number of printed papers that are stacked on the paper ejection tray of the paper ejection unit and set for each print job. The present invention relates to an image forming system for sorting printed sheets by a predetermined number.

  In general, a paper feeding unit that feeds unprinted paper, a printing unit that prints desired information on the fed unprinted paper, a paper discharge unit that ejects printed paper, Examples of the image forming apparatus including at least a control unit for controlling include a stencil printing apparatus, an inkjet printing apparatus, a laser printing apparatus, and a thermal transfer printing apparatus.

  Then, when this type of image forming apparatus is used to stack printed sheets printed according to a print job on the sheet discharge tray of the sheet discharge unit, the printed sheets for each print job stacked on the sheet discharge tray There is a stencil printing apparatus and a stencil printing system including a sorting device that inserts a tape piece into the uppermost layer and sorts printed paper for each print job (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the stencil printing apparatus and stencil printing system disclosed in Patent Document 1, although not shown here, a document reading unit for reading a document image, a plate making unit for making a thermal stencil sheet based on the document image, A paper feeding unit that feeds printing paper, a printing unit that performs stencil printing on unprinted paper while rotating the plate cylinder on which the pre-made heat-sensitive stencil paper is wound, and pressing the unprinted paper with a press roller, and printing For each print job, a paper discharge unit for discharging the used paper, a plate discharge unit for discharging the used heat-sensitive stencil paper wound around the plate cylinder, and printed paper stacked on the paper discharge tray of the paper discharge unit A sorting device for sorting.

  At this time, the sorting device performs reduction printing on the beginning of the image data printed in accordance with the print job on a roll-shaped tape, cuts the tape into a predetermined length, and produces the tape piece. Describes that the printed sheets are sorted for each print job by dropping to the top of the printed sheets in units of print jobs stacked on the paper discharge tray.

JP 2003-80814 A

  By the way, according to the stencil printing apparatus and stencil printing system disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, a tape piece (marking member) on which a sorting apparatus is driven to print a destination name or a user name of a print job is printed. By sandwiching between the printed sheets that are the boundary of the print job, the requester of the print job can be immediately identified, and the sorted work of the printed sheets becomes easy.

  However, every time a print job for one person is completed, the printing operation is stopped and then the sorting device is driven to sort the printed paper. Therefore, the printing device stops printing, the sorting operation by the sorting device, The problem is that the starting operation of the printing device for the next print job is required individually, and multiple print jobs cannot be printed continuously, and it takes a long time to complete multiple print jobs. Has occurred.

  Therefore, an object is to provide a sorting apparatus and an image forming system that solve these problems.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the invention according to claim 1 is provided in the vicinity of a paper discharge tray of an image forming apparatus that prints information on printing paper, and is provided on the paper discharge tray. In a sorting apparatus for inserting an inserted piece obtained by cutting an insertion member into a predetermined length into an uppermost layer of the predetermined number of printed sheets in order to sort the stacked printed sheets by a predetermined number,
An insertion member conveying means for conveying the insertion member or the insertion piece;
Control means for starting conveyance of the insertion member or the insertion piece by the insertion member conveyance means before completion of the printing of the predetermined number of sheets;
It is a sorting device characterized by comprising.

Further, in the invention according to claim 2, the insertion member conveying means feeds and conveys the belt-like insertion member,
Furthermore, it comprises an insertion member cutting means for cutting the conveyed insertion member to produce the insertion piece of the predetermined length,
2. The conveyance start timing of the insertion member is set by back-calculating from a conveyance period required for execution of conveyance by the insertion member conveyance means and a cutting period required for execution of cutting by the insertion member cutting means. The sorting apparatus described.

Further, the invention according to claim 3 is the sorting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The respective timings of the start of conveyance of the insertion member conveying unit and the start of cutting of the insertion member cutting unit are the predetermined number, the length in the conveyance direction of the printing paper, the paper conveyance speed in the image forming apparatus, and the image The sorting apparatus is set based on at least one of the printing modes of the forming apparatus.

An invention according to claim 4 is an image forming system including the sorting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and the image forming apparatus.
The image forming apparatus includes a paper feeding unit that feeds the printing paper;
A control unit for controlling a paper feeding interval by the paper feeding unit;
An image forming system comprising:

The invention according to claim 5 further includes an operation panel unit capable of setting printing conditions,
The image forming system according to claim 4, wherein the sheet feeding interval can be set by the operation panel unit.

The invention according to claim 6 is capable of further changing the paper conveyance speed during printing by operating the operation panel unit.
6. The image forming system according to claim 4, wherein the change instruction is prohibited when an instruction to change the sheet conveyance speed is given at least within the cutting period.

Furthermore, the invention according to claim 7 is a stencil printing apparatus in which the image forming apparatus includes a printing drum,
The image forming system according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the paper feed interval is set based on the idling number of the printing drum by idling the printing drum. .

  According to the sorting apparatus according to claim 1, information is printed on a print sheet in accordance with a print job in the image forming apparatus, and printed sheets to be stacked on a discharge tray of the image forming apparatus are set for each print job. In order to sort by a predetermined number of sheets, when inserting an insertion piece obtained by cutting the insertion member into a predetermined length into the uppermost layer of a predetermined number of printed sheets, especially before the control unit completes the predetermined number of printings. In addition, since the insertion member or the insertion piece is started to be conveyed by the insertion member conveying means, it is possible to continuously execute a plurality of print jobs at the time of sorting the printed paper and to sort the plurality of print jobs. Can be shortened and speeded up.

  Further, according to the sorting apparatus of claim 2, the insertion member conveying means feeds and conveys the belt-like insertion member, and in particular, a conveyance period required for carrying out the conveyance by the insertion member conveying means, and the insertion member cutting means. Since the insertion start timing of the insertion member is set by calculating backward from the cutting period required for cutting by the above, in addition to obtaining the effect of the first aspect, the conveyance start timing of the insertion member should be set with high accuracy. Can do.

  According to the sorting apparatus of claim 3, each timing of the start of conveyance of the insertion member conveyance unit and the start of cutting of the insertion member cutting unit is a predetermined number, the length in the conveyance direction of the printing paper, and the image forming apparatus Since it is set on the basis of at least one condition of the paper conveyance speed and the printing modes of the image forming apparatus, the sorting operation can be controlled in more detail and executed with good timing.

  According to an image forming system of a fourth aspect, the image forming system includes the sorting apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects and the image forming apparatus. Since the paper feed unit that feeds the printing paper and the control unit that controls the paper feed interval by the paper feed unit, it is possible to optimize the holding period of paper feed by the paper feed unit, Even if there is a variation in the insertion member transport time by the sorting device and the time from the insertion member cutting to the insertion piece fall, it is possible to insert the insertion piece into the uppermost layer of a predetermined number of printed sheets reliably at the correct timing. Become.

  Further, according to the image forming system of the fifth aspect, the operation panel unit that can set the printing condition is further provided, and the paper feed interval can be set by the operation panel unit. In addition, a user-friendly image forming system can be provided.

  According to the image forming system of the sixth aspect, it is possible to further change the paper conveyance speed during printing by operating the operation panel unit, and when an instruction to change the paper conveyance speed is given at least within the cutting period. Since the change instruction is prohibited, the effect of claim 4 or 5 can be obtained, and the tape insertion posture can be stabilized and the sheet transport speed can be reduced by suppressing the shift of the sheet transport speed. As much as possible, it is possible to contribute to the improvement of productivity and to deal with sorting with a small number of sheets.

  Further, according to the image forming system of claim 7, the image forming apparatus is a stencil printing apparatus including a printing drum, and the paper feed interval is set based on the idling number of the printing drum by causing the printing drum to idle. Therefore, in addition to the effects described in any one of claims 4 to 6, the same information is obtained by the stencil printing apparatus in a predetermined number of sheets (set number × set) in print job units (set units). Number), and the paper feed interval can be set based on the number of idling of the printing drum.

1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating a stencil printing apparatus as an example of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view illustrating an operation panel unit illustrated in FIG. 2. It is the block diagram which expanded and showed the control part shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2. It is the figure which expanded and showed the sorting apparatus based on this invention shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2, (a) is a side view, (b) is a front view, (c) is an enlarged view of a pair of tape conveyance roller. It is. (A)-(f) is each the top view and side view shown in order to demonstrate the basic operation | movement of the sorting apparatus based on this invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating a first example when the conveyance of the tape is started in the sorting apparatus before the predetermined number of sheets are printed by the print job in the first sorting control method. In the first sorting control method, a second example is schematically shown when the conveyance of the tape is started in the sorting apparatus before the printing of a predetermined number of sheets by the print job is completed. In the first sorting control method, a third example is schematically shown when tape transport is started in the sorting device before a predetermined number of sheets are printed by a print job. In the first sorting control method, the timing of the fourth example showing the operation of deliberately holding the paper feeding operation when the conveyance of the tape is started in the sorting apparatus before the printing of the predetermined number of sheets by the print job is completed. FIG. FIG. 10 is a flow chart when printing paper is idled due to a paper feed error in the fourth sorting control method. FIG. 10 is a timing diagram illustrating an interval printing operation when the paper transport speed is 4th speed or 5th speed in the fifth sorting control method. It is the figure which showed the interval printing flow in the 5th sorting control method. It is the figure which showed the processing flow of the tape conveyance flag in the 6th sorting control method.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a sorting apparatus and an image forming system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming system 1 according to the present invention is connected to at least one information processing apparatus (personal computer) 2 to which print job data is input, and this information processing apparatus 2 via a line. Then, the image forming apparatus 3 that prints image information and the like on the printing paper P (unprinted paper Pa) fed from the paper feed tray 51 according to the print job, and the image forming apparatus 3 prints and discharges the paper 67 Sorting of printing paper P (printed paper Pb) stacked on top of each other by a print job using an insertion piece (tape piece) Ta obtained by cutting a band-like insertion member (tape) T into a predetermined length. The apparatus (tape sorter) 110 is comprised.

  At this time, the image forming apparatus 3 includes a communication unit 5 connected to the information processing apparatus 2 via a line, a paper feeding unit 50 that feeds unprinted paper Pa stacked on the paper feeding table 51, and , A printing unit 40 that prints desired information on unprinted paper Pa sent from the paper feeding unit 50, and a paper discharge unit that discharges printed paper Pb printed by the printing unit 40 onto a paper discharge tray 67. As long as it has at least the control unit 100 connected to the communication unit 5 and controlling each unit 40, 50, 60 and controlling the sharing unit 110 in common, any printing structure may be used. Any printing device such as a stencil printing device, an ink jet printing device, a laser printing device, or a thermal transfer printing device is applicable, but in the following embodiments, a stencil printing device is applied as an example of the image forming device 3 If There will be described.

  Further, the sorting device (tape sorter) 110 according to the present invention is installed close to the upper portion in the vicinity of the paper discharge table 67 of the paper discharge unit 60 in the image forming apparatus 3. The tape T is cut to a predetermined length, and the tape piece Ta serving as the cut insertion piece is dropped onto the top of the printed paper Pb in units of print jobs stacked on the paper discharge table 67, and the print job Unlike the conventional example, when sorting the printed paper Pb every time, it is possible to perform printing continuously while sorting a plurality of print jobs. This will be described in detail later.

[Example]
In the image forming system 1 according to the present invention, before explaining the sorting apparatus (tape sorter) 110 according to the present invention, an image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a stencil printing apparatus) 3 in which the sorting apparatus 110 is installed will be described with reference to FIG. Will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the stencil printing apparatus (image forming apparatus) 3 includes a communication unit 5, a document reading unit 10, a plate making unit 20, a printing unit 40, connected to an information processing device (personal computer) 2. The sheet feeding unit 50, the sheet discharge unit 60, the plate discharging unit 70, the operation panel unit 80, and the control unit 100 are configured, and these units are arranged in a box 4 formed in a box shape. Has been.

  First, the above-described document reading unit 10 is disposed in the upper portion of the housing 4 in the figure, and a document 11 on which image information or the like is previously written is placed on a document table 12 using a transparent glass plate or the like. In addition, an image sensor 13 using a CCD or the like is provided opposite to the document table 12 so as to be reciprocally movable in the direction of the arrow by a timing belt type image sensor moving mechanism section 14, for example.

  Then, the image information written on the document 11 is read by the image sensor 13, and the read image information is temporarily stored in a RAM 100 c (FIG. 4) provided in the control unit 100 to be described later and via the control unit 100. A stencil sheet 21 in the plate making unit 20 described below is supplied as a plate making image.

  Next, the plate-making part 20 described above is disposed in the middle part on the left side in the figure inside the housing 4.

  In the plate making unit 20, a stencil sheet 21 for producing a plate making image based on print information input to the information processing apparatus 2 or image information read by the document reading unit 10 is formed on a base film (not shown). An annular cylindrical stencil roll 22 around which the stencil sheet 21 is wound is rotatably supported in the master holder 23 and is also attached to the master holder 23. On the other hand, it is detachably supported.

  Further, downstream of the stencil sheet roll 22, first and second guide shafts 24 and 25, a platen roller 27 that is rotated clockwise at a predetermined constant speed by a platen pulse motor 26, and a plurality of heating elements. (Not shown) are arranged in a line in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface and can be brought into and out of contact with the platen roller 27 via a pressing mechanism (not shown) and pressed against the stencil sheet 21 to form a prepress image on the stencil sheet 21 The length of one plate set to be equal to or less than the circumferential length of a cylindrical printing drum (plate cylinder) 43 provided in a printing unit 40 to be described later with a thermal head 28 for heat-sensitive perforation. A pair of upper and lower cutter members 29 that are cut at the same time, a pair of upper and lower first feed rollers 30 and 30 that are rotationally driven in common with the platen pulse motor 26, and the stencil sheet 21 that has been made are temporarily stored. A stencil sheet storage box 31, a stencil sheet conveyance detection sensor 32 that detects the conveyance state of the stencil sheet 21 that has been made, a pair of upper and lower second feed rollers 33 and 33, and a pair of upper and lower third feed rollers 34 and 34. Are provided in the above order toward the printing unit 40 along the conveyance path of the stencil sheet 21.

  Then, the stencil sheet 21 sequentially fed from the stencil sheet roll 22 has its plate-making image heat-sensitive by a plurality of heating resistors (not shown) provided on the thermal head 28 while being sandwiched between the platen roller 27 and the thermal head 28. The perforated stencil sheet 21 is conveyed to the side of a cylindrical printing drum 43 provided in a printing unit 40 described below by first, second and third feed rollers 30, 33 and 34.

  Next, the printing unit 40 described above is disposed at a substantially central portion in the housing 4.

  In the printing unit 40, a printing drum (plate) which is rotated by a drum driving pulse motor 41 around a shaft 43b at a predetermined speed in the clockwise direction in the drawing and has a clamp plate 44 attached to a cylindrical outer peripheral surface 43a. (Cylinder) 43 is provided downstream of the plate making unit 20 described above.

  At this time, the cylindrical printing drum 43 is formed so that the outer shape can be attached up to, for example, a B3 size stencil sheet 21, and normally, the A3 size stencil sheet 21 is used as a standard specification.

  An encoder 42 is attached to the rear end shaft portion of the drum driving pulse motor 41. The encoder 42 indicates a reference position of the printing drum 43 and a rotation pulse for detecting the rotation speed of the printing drum 43. The angular position pulse indicating the rotational angular position from the reference position of the printing drum 43 is output.

  Further, in the stencil printing apparatus 3, the printing speed is determined by the number of rotations of the printing drum 43 per unit time, whereby the printing speed of the printing paper P is determined. This printing speed is equivalent to the paper conveyance speed of the printing paper P. In this embodiment, the paper conveyance speed is 1st speed (60 sheets / min: 60 rpm), 2nd speed (75 sheets / min: 75 rpm), 3rd speed. (90 sheets / min: 90 rpm), 4th speed (105 sheets / min: 105 rpm), 5th speed (120 sheets / min: 120 rpm), or high speed exceeding 5th speed from the information processing device 2 Alternatively, the number of rotations of the printing drum 43 can be changed by selecting an input instruction from a paper conveyance speed setting key 88 (FIG. 3) of the operation panel unit 80 described later, and the value of the selected paper conveyance speed is selected. Can be displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 92 (FIG. 3) of the operation panel unit 80.

  In addition, the paper conveyance speed of the printing paper P is normally the same during paper feeding, printing, and paper discharge, and the speed can be changed as necessary when a print job is changed.

  And after clamping the front-end | tip part of the stencil paper 21 made by the plate making part 20 with the clamp board 44, the stencil paper 21 for A3 size 1 plate is cut | disconnected by the cutter member 29 of the plate making part 20, for example, and one plate part The stencil sheet 21 is wound along the outer peripheral surface 43 a of the printing drum 43.

  At this time, the vertical direction that is the longitudinal direction of the stencil sheet 21 formed in A3 size is along the radial direction of the printing drum 43, and the left-right direction that is the short direction of the stencil sheet 21 is in the axial direction of the printing drum 43. It is wound along.

  In addition, a doctor roller 45 and an ink roller 46 are rotatably provided in the printing drum 43 below the shaft portion 43 b while being in contact with each other, and a shaft is interposed between the doctor roller 45 and the ink roller 46. Ink 47 supplied from the portion 43 b is accumulated, and the ink 47 passes through the gap between the doctor roller 45 and the ink roller 46 and is wound around the outer peripheral surface 43 a of the printing drum 43 from the outer peripheral surface of the ink roller 46. The stencil sheet 21 is supplied.

  Further, a press roller 48 is provided at a position below the outer side of the printing drum 43 so as to be able to contact with and separate from an ink roller 46 provided in the printing drum 43 by an electromagnetic solenoid (not shown). The stencil sheet 21 wound around the outer peripheral surface 43a of the printing drum 43 is overlaid with the unprinted paper Pa sent from the paper supply unit 50 described below and pressed with a predetermined pressure by a spring (not shown), thereby printing drum An ink image can be printed on the unprinted paper Pa by allowing the ink 47 supplied into the ink 43 to pass through the stencil sheet 21.

  At this time, when the stencil sheet 21 rotates in the clockwise direction integrally with the printing drum 43 and the clamp plate 44 attached to the printing drum 43 passes the press roller 48, an electromagnetic solenoid (not shown) is operated to operate the press roller 48. Is temporarily retracted from the stencil sheet 21 wound around the printing drum 43.

  Next, the above-described paper feeding unit 50 is disposed in the lower right portion of the housing 4 in the figure, and for example, A3 size printing paper P (unprinted paper Pa) is stacked on the paper feeding table 51, and A paper feed roller 53 that is rotationally driven by the paper feed motor 52 is provided so as to be able to contact with and separate from the uppermost printing paper P. Note that the paper feed roller 53 may always be in contact with the uppermost printing paper P.

  Then, the uppermost printing paper P is sent out one by one by the paper feeding roller 53 in contact with the uppermost printing paper P, and further fed out by the pair of upper and lower transport rollers 54, 54 and fed by the paper feeding sensor 55. While checking the state, the ink image is formed on the unprinted paper Pa while the unprinted paper Pa is pressed against the stencil sheet 21 by the press roller 48 toward the stencil sheet 21 wound around the printing drum 43 along the sheet guide 56. It is supposed to be printed.

  The paper feed tray 51 is formed so that, for example, A3 size printing paper P can be stored in a dedicated manner. However, although not shown here, the paper feed tray 51 is B3 size, A3 size, B4 size. , A4 size, etc., and a structure in which the outer size can be changed so as to be compatible with a plurality of paper sizes, and a plurality of paper feed stands corresponding to a plurality of paper sizes can be prepared.

  At this time, the control unit 100 detects the passage of the unprinted paper Pa by the paper feed sensor 55, and if the unprinted paper Pa does not pass the paper feed sensor 55 within a preset time, It is detected that a paper jam has occurred.

  Next, the paper discharge unit 60 is provided with a printing paper separation claw 61 for separating the printed paper Pb printed by the printing unit 40 close to the outer peripheral surface 43a of the printing drum 43 on the left side of the drawing. In addition, a pair of pulleys 63 and 63 connected to a paper discharge motor 62 and an endless belt 64 are used to convey the printed paper Pb separated from the outer peripheral surface 43a of the printing drum 43 by the printing paper separation claw 61. A paper discharge passage 65 is provided below the printing paper separation claw 61.

  Further, a paper discharge sensor 66 is installed above the paper discharge path 65, and the control unit 100 passes the printed paper Pb conveyed by the endless belt 64 provided in the paper discharge path 65 by the paper discharge sensor 66. In addition, when the printed paper Pb does not pass through the paper discharge sensor 66 within a preset time, it is detected that a paper discharge jam of the printed paper Pb has occurred.

  Further, a paper discharge stand 67 for stacking the discharged printed paper Pb is provided in the lower left portion of the housing 4 in the figure.

  Next, the stencil sheet separation claw 71 is provided on the right side of the casing 4 on the right side in the figure and close to the outer peripheral surface 43a of the printing drum 43, and the stencil sheet separation claw 71 is provided on the right side in the figure. The used stencil sheet 21 separated from the outer peripheral surface 43 a of the printing drum 43 by 71 is accommodated in a discharge box 73 via a pair of upper and lower conveying rollers 72, 72.

  Next, the above-described operation panel unit 80 is provided on a surface (any one of a side surface, a front surface, an upper surface, etc.) of the housing 4 that is easy for a user to operate.

  On the operation panel 80, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 3, a plate making key 81 for producing the stencil sheet 21, a printing key 82 for continuously printing the unprinted paper Pa, and the unprinted paper Pa are provided. Interval print key 83 that prints intermittently at a predetermined interval, and program printing that performs program printing so that the printed paper Pb can be sorted into a predetermined number (number of sheets × number of groups) for each print job (group unit) A key 84, a start key 85 for starting the operation of each of the keys 81 to 84, a stop key 86 for urgently stopping the operation of each of the keys 81 to 84, and an interval interval setting key 87 for setting an interval interval during interval printing. A paper transport speed setting key 88 for setting the paper transport speed of the print paper P by changing the number of revolutions per unit time of the print drum 43, When the printing operation is idled and the printing operation is idle, the paper supply holding number setting key 89 for setting the paper supply holding number based on the idling number of the printing drum, the numeric keypad 90, and a warning buzzer 91 for warning the occurrence of a jam, etc. A liquid crystal display panel 92 for displaying various types of information is provided.

  Furthermore, a high-speed sorting key 93 and a low-speed sorting key 94 are provided on the operation panel unit 80 as necessary, which will be described in the section of function expansion of the image forming system described later.

  In the stencil printing apparatus 3, an example in which the A3 size printing paper P is configured exclusively as a standard specification will be described. However, as described above, printing paper of B3 size, B4 size, and A4 size other than the A3 size is also available. If the configuration is applicable, a paper size setting key (not shown) may be provided in the operation panel unit 80.

  Next, the control unit 100 described above is installed at an appropriate location in the casing 4 of the stencil printing apparatus 3.

  As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 4, the control unit 100 includes a CPU 100 a that performs arithmetic processing and determination processing, a ROM 100 b that stores operation programs of the stencil printing apparatus 3 and the sorting apparatus 110, and printing from the information processing apparatus 2. The RAM 100 c that temporarily stores data, image information read from the document 11, various printing conditions during printing, and the operation timing of the paper feed motor 52 and paper discharge motor 62 are controlled based on the rotation of the print drum 43. It has a timer 100d inside.

  The control unit 100 also includes a document reading unit 10, a plate making unit 20, and a printing unit based on a print job input from the information processing apparatus 2 or a print job input from the operation panel unit 80 of the stencil printing apparatus 3. 40, a paper feed unit 50, a paper discharge unit 60, a plate discharging unit 70, and an operation panel unit 80, respectively, and a sorting device (tape sorter) 110, which will be described later, is also controlled in conjunction with the stencil printing device 3. ing.

  A configuration in which a control unit for the stencil printing apparatus and a control unit for the sorting apparatus are separately provided and the two control units are interlocked with each other is also conceivable. A case where one control unit 100 is shared by both apparatuses 3 and 110 will be described.

  Then, by using the stencil printing apparatus 3 having the above-described configuration, the stencil sheet 21 that has been subjected to plate making is wound around the cylindrical printing drum 43, and the unprinted paper Pa sent from the paper feeding unit 50 is removed by the press roller 48. The ink supplied into the printing drum 43 is passed through the stencil sheet 21 while being in pressure contact with the stencil sheet 21 that has been subjected to the plate-making process, and an ink image is printed on the unprinted sheet Pa. Are stacked on the paper discharge tray 67.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the sorting device (tape sorter) 110 according to the present invention is integrally attached to the side surface of the housing 4 above the paper discharge table 67 of the paper discharge unit 60.

  This sorter (tape sorter) 110 inserts printed sheets Pb stacked on the sheet discharge table 67 (FIG. 2) such as tape pieces Ta as shown in enlarged views in FIGS. In order to sort each print job by a piece, a strip-shaped tape T serving as an insertion member is wound inside a box 111 and stored.

  A band-shaped tape T is fed out by a pair of tape transport rollers 114 and 115 serving as insertion member transport means, and one end of the tape T can be moved up and down to stamp a print job number or print job name. It passes between the member 112 and the stamping table 113 facing it, and is further conveyed toward the outlet 111a formed on the front surface of the box 111 while being sandwiched between the pair of tape conveying rollers 114, 115. It is like that.

  At this time, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 5C, one of the pair of tape transport rollers (insertion member transport means) 114 and 115 is driven by the control unit 100 of the stencil printing apparatus 3. It is a concave lower drive roller connected to the DC motor 116, and the other roller 115 is a convex upper driven roller, and the longitudinal direction of the tape T is sandwiched between the rollers 114 and 115. The section can be conveyed while being seated in a substantially V-shape, and the number of pulses from the encoder 117 connected to the DC motor 116 is counted to set the feed amount of the tape T to a predetermined length L. It is set.

  Further, the outlet 111a formed on the front surface of the box body 111 is opened in parallel with the transport direction of the discharged paper Pb, and a plate-like cutter member 118 serving as an insertion member cutting means is not provided in front of the outlet 111a. It is provided such that it can be moved up and down by the illustrated vertical movement means.

  A portion of the cutter member 118 corresponding to the outlet 111a of the box body 111 is opened, and an oblique blade 118a is formed on the upper side. The oblique blade 118a is substantially V-shaped by a pair of tape transport rollers 114 and 115. The tape T sent while being seated in the shape of a letter is cut into a predetermined length L to produce a tape piece Ta as an insertion piece in a substantially V-shape.

  Then, the cut tape pieces Ta are perpendicular to the transport direction of the printed paper Pb, and the tape pieces Ta are stacked on the paper discharge tray 67 (FIG. 2), and a predetermined number of printed sheets set for each print job are printed. By being dropped and inserted into the uppermost layer of the paper Pb, the printed paper Pb can be sorted for each print job.

  At this time, the sorting apparatus 110 according to the present invention starts transporting the tape T by the pair of tape transport rollers 114 and 115 before the predetermined number of prints are completed according to the print job, and prints the predetermined number of printed sheets Pb. By inserting the cut tape piece Ta above, the next print job is controlled to be continuously printable.

  Specifically, FIG. 2, FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 will be described together. When the number of prints of one print job is set to n, as shown in FIG. For example, during printing by the printing unit 40 of the stencil printing apparatus 3, a part of the printed paper Pb is being discharged toward the discharge table 67 of the discharge unit 60.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6B, while the (n−2) th printed paper Pb is being discharged, the tape T is moved to approximately V by the pair of tape transport rollers 114 and 115 in the sorting device 110. Conveying starts while sitting on the shape.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6C, the (n−2) th printed paper Pb is completely stacked on the paper discharge tray 67, and subsequently, the (n−1) th sheet is printed by the printing unit 40. A part of the printed sheet Pb is being discharged toward the sheet discharge stand 67 of the sheet discharge unit 60, but the tape T is printed on the printed sheet Pb from the outlet 111a of the box 111 of the sorting device 110. It protrudes perpendicular to the transport direction.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6D, the (n−1) th printed paper Pb is completely stacked on the paper discharge tray 67, and subsequently the nth paper is being printed by the printing unit 40. A part of the printed sheet Pb is being discharged toward the sheet discharge stand 67 of the sheet discharge unit 60, and the tape T extended from the sorting device 110 is set to a predetermined length L by the cutter member 118. When cut, a tape piece Ta seated in a substantially V shape is obtained with a predetermined length L.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6E, a tape piece Ta having a predetermined length L drops onto the nth printed sheet Pb being discharged.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6F, the nth printed sheet Pb is completely discharged onto the sheet discharge table 67, and a tape piece Ta is inserted on the nth printed sheet Pb. Thus, one print job is sorted. Thereafter, the next print job is subsequently printed.

  6C to 6F, the tape T is projected from the outlet 111a of the box 111 in the middle of printing, and the cut tape piece Ta is printed by one print job. When inserting on Pb, it is not necessary to stop the printing operation of the next print job.

  As described above, when printing is performed while the printing paper P is conveyed in the stencil printing apparatus 3, and the printed paper Pb is sorted for each print job by the sorting apparatus 110 according to the present invention, the settings are made for each print job. By starting the conveyance of the tape T in the sorting device 110 before the predetermined number of prints are completed, unlike the conventional example, it becomes possible to continuously execute a plurality of print jobs when sorting the printed paper Pb. Therefore, the work time for sorting a plurality of print jobs is shortened and speeded up.

  At this time, when controlling the sorting apparatus 110 in conjunction with the stencil printing apparatus 3, a plurality of sorting control methods (first to sixth sorting control methods) will be specifically described in order.

[First sorting control method]
In the first sorting control method, the operation panel unit 80 in the information processing apparatus 2 or the stencil printing apparatus 3 is operated, and the paper conveyance speed of the printing paper P is within a range of 1st to 5th speeds within a predetermined speed range. When printing the printing paper P according to at least one or more print jobs, control is performed so that the transport of the tape T is started in the sorting apparatus 110 before the printing of a predetermined number of sheets by the print job is completed. .

  At this time, the control unit 100 in the stencil printing apparatus 3 sets the transport start timing of the tape T and the cut processing start timing of the tape T to the predetermined number of print sheets P, the sheet transport speed in the stencil printer 3, and the print sheet. The length is set based on at least one of the length in the transport direction of P and each printing mode of the stencil printing apparatus 3.

  In this embodiment, there is no problem such as occurrence of paper discharge jam due to collision with the tape T on which the printed paper Pb is floated and conveyed above the paper discharge port at the paper conveyance speed, and normal sorting operation is performed. As long as this is possible, it can be applied to any sheet conveying speed.

  In the following illustration, the printing operation of the printing paper P is performed in the order of paper feeding, printing, and paper discharging. In this embodiment, the printing operation is simply illustrated based on the paper feeding operation.

  That is, when sorting the printed paper Pb on which one print job has been printed, the number of print paper P from the start of printing is counted, or the number of rotations of the print drum 43 from the start of printing is set to 1 from the encoder 42. Counting by the rotation pulse, during the printing of one print job, before the completion of printing a predetermined number of times, determine the tape T transport start timing and the tape cut processing start timing in the sorting device 110 Yes.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, in the first example of the first sorting control method, printing of a print job while transporting the printing paper P within the range of the first speed to the fifth speed that is a predetermined speed range. When the number of sheets from the start is counted and sorted, for example, every 7 sheets, the control unit 100 determines the timing before the time from the tape transport to the tape cut by the sorting device 110 (the transport period required for executing the tape transport + tape cutting). Set the tape transport start timing to start the tape transport operation by calculating back the cutting period required for execution, and the timing before the time from tape cut to tape drop (cut period required for tape cutting execution + tape drop) The tape cut process start timing for performing the tape cut process by setting back the required fall period) is set. In this first example, the tape is cut immediately after the completion of the tape conveyance of one print job, and the next print job is fed immediately after the tape cut is completed.

  At this time, since the tape transport operation and the tape cut processing operation are continued, the tape piece Ta can be produced without time loss by one sorting program, and the sorting operation can be executed. The numbers in FIG. 7 indicate the number of sheets counted from the start of printing.

  Further, since the tape insertion timing differs depending on the paper conveyance speed, it goes without saying that control is performed to change the timing at which the tape conveyance operation is started according to the paper conveyance speed.

  However, in the first sorting control method, when the sheet conveyance speed is changed to, for example, high speed during printing, the time required for printing a predetermined number of sheets for inserting the tape pieces Ta is shortened. Therefore, the tape insertion timing is earlier than the tape insertion timing at the start of printing toward the tape cut processing start timing, and the tape insertion timing is deviated from the beginning of printing.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, in the second example of the first sorting control method, the sheet conveyance speed is set so as to correspond to all the conveyance speeds (1st to 5th speeds) within a predetermined sheet conveyance speed range. If the tape transport start timing and the tape cut processing start timing are set at a timing in time when the maximum speed (5th speed) is set, it is possible to cope with all paper transport speeds (1st to 5th speeds) in common. .

  In this second example, taking into account the time required for tape conveyance, the time required for tape cutting, and the time for guaranteeing the tape cutting operation, the tape conveyance start that can be supported at all conveyance speeds within a predetermined paper conveyance speed range is started. Determine the timing and start tape transport. Also, for the tape cut operation, the tape cut operation processing start timing at the fastest paper transport speed is set as a reference point so that it can correspond to all transport speeds within a predetermined paper transport speed range, and if it is other speed The tape cut operation start timing may be controlled to be delayed from this reference point according to the sheet conveyance speed. In order to realize this, it is only necessary to separately adjust the time by two programs, ie, a tape conveyance program and a tape cut processing program. Note that the numbers in FIG. 8 indicate the number of sheets remaining until the tape is inserted.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9, in the third example of the first sorting control method, when the print job is sorted, the number of print sheets P is small, and it takes time to transport the tape T and cut the tape T. In such a case, the sheet feeding operation of the sheet feeding unit 50 is intentionally suspended (stopped), and the press roller 48 of the printing unit 40 is separated from the printing drum 43 to control the printing drum 43 to idle. Yes.

  For example, when the setting is made to sandwich the tape piece Ta for every three print sheets, the first half of the figure shows an example in which the paper transport speed is set to a low speed, and the second half of the figure shows an example in which the paper transport speed is set to a high speed. However, in any case, the number of print sheets P is small, and it takes time to transport the tape T and cut the tape T in the sorting apparatus 110. And whether the tape sorter (sorting device) 110 is operating immediately before feeding after the tape cutting process is started. If it is operating, the feeding is intentionally performed in order to increase the time for cutting the tape T. When the tape T has been cut, it is checked again whether the tape sorter (sorting device) 110 is operating. If the operation is completed, the next print job is executed. It is.

  As apparent from the above, the interval of the printing paper P that reaches the paper discharge tray 67 of the paper discharge unit 60 of the stencil printing device 3 (FIG. 2) is cut by the cutter member 118 (FIG. 5) of the sorting device 110. In this case, the control unit 100 controls the paper feeding interval by the paper feeding unit 50 of the stencil printing apparatus 3 (FIG. 2) by the paper feed suspension. .

  Although illustration is omitted here, if the number of printing sheets P is small and printing is finished during tape conveyance, the tape T is cut without waiting for the timing. Shortening can be achieved.

  Further, when the number of print sheets P is small and the immediately preceding sheet transport speed is very slow, the tape cut control may be performed after a predetermined cut timing time is reached when the tape transport is completed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 10, in the fourth example of the first sorting control method, when the conveyance speed of the printing paper P is higher than a specific speed, the paper conveyance speed is set to, for example, 4th speed or 5th speed. Thus, when each print job is sorted while processing a plurality of print jobs at high speed, the feeding operation of the sheet feeding unit 50 is intentionally suspended (stopped), and the time for starting the tape cutting process in the sorting device 110 is set. I earn.

  At this time, the paper conveyance speed of the printing paper P is set to 1st speed, 2nd speed, 3rd speed, 4th speed, 5th speed, and 5th speed by the paper conveyance speed setting key 88 in the operation panel unit 80 shown in FIG. It can be selectively set to any one of the high speeds that have been exceeded, and the number of reserved paper feeds can be set to an appropriate numerical value by the number of paper supply hold number setting key 89 based on the idling number of the printing drum 43.

  For example, when the paper transport speed is set to 4th speed or 5th speed and each print job is sorted while processing a plurality of print jobs at high speed, the tape transport is performed in the sorting device 110 with respect to the transport of the printed paper Pb. If the processing and tape cut processing times are in time, the paper feed need not be suspended.

  Further, in order to guarantee the sorting operation by the sorting device 110, the paper feed holding operation may be performed for all speeds regardless of the paper transport speed.

  Furthermore, although not shown, even if there is a sufficient number of printing papers P, a malfunction such as the DC motor 116 that serves as a drive source for transporting the tape T within the sorting device 110 or a slip that occurs between the pair of tape transport rollers 115 and 115. Even when the tape T takes longer than planned due to the above, the paper feeding operation of the paper feeding unit 50 may be intentionally suspended.

  From the above, it becomes possible to optimize the holding period of the paper feeding by the paper feeding unit 50, and even if there is a variation in the tape transport time by the sorting device (tape sorter) 110 and the time from tape cutting to tape dropping, It becomes possible to insert the tape piece Ta to the uppermost layer of the predetermined number of printed sheets Pb at the correct timing.

  Further, when a plurality of paper sizes (for example, B4, A3, B4, A4, etc.) can be printed in the stencil printing apparatus 3, a paper size setting key (not shown) provided in the operation panel unit 80 is provided. ) Or a paper size sensor (not shown) provided on the paper feed tray 51 or the like to confirm the paper size and perform sorting control corresponding to the paper size.

  At this time, when the A3-sized printing paper P is set to the standard paper size, as described above, the transport start timing of the tape T and the cutting process of the tape T within the sorting device 110 for the A3-sized printing paper P are performed. Although the start timing is determined based on the paper conveyance speed or the like, the interval between the papers becomes narrower in the printing paper P having a length (for example, B3 size) longer in the paper conveyance direction than the standard paper size (A3 size). In addition, by deliberately holding the paper feed, it is possible to prevent the collision between the tape piece Ta and the printed paper Pb due to variations in the tape drop and the deviation of the tape insertion position, thereby widening the allowable range of the tape drop timing. The waiting time for the start timing of the tape cut processing at a specified time corresponding to a size longer than the standard paper size (A3 size) Minute only may be to set it adds.

  On the other hand, in the case of the printing paper P having a shorter length in the paper conveyance direction (for example, B4, A4 size) than the standard paper size (A3 size), the printed paper Pb having a shorter length is connected to the printing drum 43. Since the timing of detachment from the nip by the press roller 48 is advanced and the printed paper Pb is accelerated at a speed faster than the peripheral speed of the printing drum 43 and the transport speed at the time of paper discharge is increased, the tape T cutting process starts. Consistency can be achieved by advancing the timing. In this case, the waiting time of the tape cut processing start timing is a predetermined specified time corresponding to the B4 size and A4 size rather than the standard paper size (A3 size). Subtract only and set.

[Second sorting control method]
In the second sorting control method, when sorting the printed paper Pb according to a plurality of print jobs, control is performed so as to calculate the sorted number of the next print job.

  Specifically, the control is performed when one rotation pulse from the printing drum 43 in the stencil printing device 3 is counted and the transport start timing of the tape T and the cut processing start timing of the tape T are set in the sorting device 110. The unit 100 enters an operation for calculating the number of sorted sheets corresponding to one unit at the time of the next tape sorting in accordance with the start timing for cutting the tape T, and this operation is the basic operation for calculating the number of sorted sheets. In other words, since the operation for calculating the next number of tapes to be sorted is started a predetermined time before the tape cutting operation, for example, one revolution before the rotation of the printing drum, a plurality of print jobs are processed while sorting the tapes for a plurality of print jobs. Can be printed continuously.

  At this time, the number of sheets to be sorted for the next print job input from the information processing apparatus 2 or the number of sheets indicating the unit of sorting set for each print job by the program print key 84 (FIG. 3) of the operation panel 80 By referring to the number, the control unit 100 can calculate the number of sheets to be sorted for the next print job.

  Here, in order to calculate the number of tapes to be sorted for the next print job described above, a print instruction is received and the number of sorts is acquired, and every time the paper discharge sensor 66 (FIG. 2) detects the discharge of the print paper Pb. Subtract one by one and calculate the number of tapes sorted for the next print job at least when the remaining number of tapes sorted is one before cutting the tape. Thereby, even if the number of sorted sheets changes, a suitable sorting operation is possible. The paper feed sensor 55 may be used as a reference.

[Third sorting control method]
In the third sorting control method, when the printed paper Pb is sorted according to a plurality of print jobs, the tape T is stably cut in the sorting device 110, and the cut tape pieces Ta are printed for each print job. In order to insert into the uppermost layer of the paper Pb in a stable posture, as a condition for suppressing the shift of the paper conveyance speed, during the tape cut processing start timing waiting time, during the tape cut operation from the start of the tape cut processing to the end of the tape cut processing, the tape The control unit 100 performs control so as to suppress (prohibit) the speed change operation of the sheet conveyance speed during any operation including at least the tape cutting operation during the jam check after the cutting operation.

  On the other hand, after the tape cut is completed by the control unit 100 or after the jam check after the tape cut operation is completed, the control is performed so as to permit the shift operation of the paper conveyance speed.

  At this time, any one of the above-described shift suppression conditions may be selected corresponding to the sheet conveyance speed or the like.

  In addition, when an error such as a paper feed jam or a paper discharge jam occurs, it is possible to cancel the suppression of the change in the paper transport speed, and an instruction to change the paper transport speed is input from the information processing apparatus 2 or This can be done from the paper conveyance speed setting key 88 (FIG. 3) of the operation panel 80 of the stencil printing apparatus 3.

  Thus, after the tape T is cut, the tape piece Ta can be inserted into the uppermost layer of the printed paper Pb in a stable posture for each print job.

  Further, when suppressing the shift of the sheet conveyance speed, the shift is prohibited until the drum shift timing which is the timing for permitting the change of the rotation speed of the printing drum 43 after the printed paper Pb passes the paper discharge sensor 66 (FIG. 2). When the width is controlled so as to extend the section, the tape piece Ta can be inserted in a more stable posture by the uppermost layer of the printed paper Pb for each print job.

  Then, after reaching the drum shift timing, the shift of the sheet conveyance speed is permitted.

  At this time, a condition such that no jamming occurs in the stencil printing apparatus 3, the paper conveyance speed does not change, the printing result is not affected, and the printed paper Pb does not collide with the falling tape piece Ta. If this condition is satisfied, it is possible to appropriately extend the shift prohibited section.

  By controlling the shift of the paper transport speed as described above, the tape insertion posture can be stabilized and the paper transport speed can be changed as much as possible to contribute to the improvement of productivity, and sorting with a small number of sheets. Can also be supported.

  Note that the shift suppression is not limited to the above-described period, and may be executed when a sorting operation is required. This is to ensure that the sorting operation is executed.

[Fourth sorting control method]
In the fourth sorting control method, when the printed paper Pb on which a plurality of print jobs are printed is sorted on the tape, there is a problem due to wear of the paper feed roller 53 (FIG. 2) of the paper feed unit 50 in the stencil printing apparatus 3 or the like. Due to this, there is a case where the printing paper P is transported idle due to a paper feed error, resulting in a paper feed error. In this case, control may be performed so that the printing operation is automatically stopped, or control may be performed so that printing is continued by executing a paper feed retry that causes the paper feeding unit 50 to perform the paper feeding operation again. . These can be selected as appropriate according to user settings.

  The idle feeding is determined by whether or not the leading edge of the printing paper is detected within a predetermined period after the paper feeding unit 50 performs paper feeding by the paper feeding sensor 55 (FIG. 2) in the stencil printing apparatus 3. The

  When the paper feed retry is selected, the start of transport of the tape within the sorting apparatus 110 is shifted due to the occurrence of the empty feeding of the printing paper P, so that the sorting operation of the print job cannot be performed reliably. Problems arise.

  Therefore, in the example of the fourth sorting control method, when the empty feeding of the printing paper P is detected, the control unit 100 can execute the paper feeding retry operation even when the paper feeding retry is selected. The printing operation is stopped halfway.

  At this time, even if the tape is transported in the sorting apparatus 110, the tape cutting operation is stopped in conjunction with the stop of the printing operation in the middle, so that the sorting operation of the print job is also stopped. When the printing operation is stopped halfway, the sent out tape T is cut before starting the next print job, which will be described later.

  On the other hand, in a special example in the fourth sorting control method, when the print paper P is transported to the last print job among a plurality of print jobs due to a paper feed error, a paper feed retry is performed. Control to allow printing to continue. At this time, since no problem arises with respect to the sorting operation for the last print job, printing can be terminated without unnecessary stop control by this control, and as a result, the completion of printing can be accelerated.

  Here, a flow in a case where the printing paper is idled due to a paper feeding error will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 11, when the flow in the case where the printing paper is idled due to a paper feeding error is started, in step S31, it is asked whether the printing paper P is idly fed due to a paper feeding error. When the print sheet P is not fed idle (in the case of NO), the process moves to step S32.

  In step S32, since the printing paper P has not been idled, the predetermined number of prints has been reached, and it is asked whether printing has been completed. If printing has not been completed, the process returns to step S31. If printing is finished, this flow is finished.

  Further, in step S33, since the printing paper P is idled due to a paper feed error, it is asked whether or not the print job is being sorted. If the sort operation is being performed (YES), the process proceeds to step S34. On the other hand, when the sorting operation is not being performed (in the case of NO), the process proceeds to step S35 described later.

  Further, in step S34, it is asked whether or not the print job is the last print sorting unit. If it is the last print sorting unit (in the case of YES), a paper feed retry is performed in step S35 and the printing operation is continued. After the printing operation is finished, this flow is finished.

  On the other hand, if the print job is not the last print sorting unit (in the case of NO), the printing operation is stopped halfway without retrying the paper feed in step S36, and this flow is ended.

  According to the flow in the case where the printing paper is transported by the paper feeding error, the tape sorting work by the sorting device 110 can be executed without any trouble even if the printing paper P is transported by the air.

[Fifth sorting control method]
In the fifth sorting control method, when the printing paper P is set to, for example, the fourth speed or the fifth speed and a plurality of print jobs are processed at a high speed, the sorting apparatus 110 inserts the tape. Control is performed to perform interval printing in order to stabilize the operation.

  The above-described interval printing is, for example, FIG. 2 HYPERLINK "http://www8.ipdl.inpit.go.jp/Tokujitu/tjitemdrwkt.ipdl? % 20% 20% 20% 20 & N0510 = 22V7seL4n9nEh3Jho7Yf & N0552 = 9 & N0553 = 000005 "\ t Prints on the printing paper P in the first rotation of the printing drum 43 in the stencil printing machine 3 shown in" tjitemdrwkt ". The printing is performed at a predetermined interval between the printing sheets by stopping the feeding of the printing sheet P, moving the press roller 48 away from the printing drum 43, and causing the printing drum 43 to idle.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, in the example of the fifth sorting control method, the paper conveyance speed of the printing paper P is set to, for example, 4th speed or 5th speed while processing a plurality of print jobs at high speed. When sorting each print job, since the printing paper P is opened by a predetermined interval interval in this interval printing, the tape cutting when intentionally idling in the sorting apparatus 110 without intentionally causing the printing drum 43 to idle is performed. By subtracting the time for the idling of the printing drum 43 corresponding to the printing paper speed at that time from the timing, the cutting timing time of the tape T is set to the tape cutting timing corresponding to the printing paper speed.

  At this time, the interval between the start of the cut process timing and the start of the cut process is narrower than that in the case of the paper feed holding operation when the paper transport speed is 4th speed or 5th speed described above with reference to FIG. The interval between the cut processing timing start and the cut processing start is close to each other.

  In FIG. 12, the predetermined interval interval is set to one rotation of the printing drum 43, but the predetermined interval interval is set to the interval interval setting key 87 in the operation panel unit 80 shown in FIG. Thus, an appropriate numerical value can be set according to the paper conveyance speed, the dryness of the ink printed on the printed paper Pb, and the like.

  In this example, the case where the paper conveyance speed of the printing paper P is set to, for example, the fourth speed or the fifth speed during the interval printing has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the paper conveyance speed of the printing paper P is set to the first speed to the first speed. The fifth sorting control method described above can also be applied when performing interval printing so as to reduce the printing load by setting within the third speed.

  Here, the flow during the interval printing described above will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 13, when the flow at the interval printing is started, in step S41, it is asked whether or not the sheet conveyance speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined conveyance speed (for example, 4th speed). If it is less (NO), the process proceeds to step S43 described later, and the idling of the printing drum 43 is not inserted.

  On the other hand, when the paper conveyance speed is equal to or higher than the predetermined conveyance speed (in the case of YES), the process proceeds to step S42, where it is asked whether or not interval printing is effective, and when interval printing is effective. (In the case of YES), the idling of the printing drum 43 is not inserted in step S43, and thereafter, in step S44, the tape cut timing time in the sorting device 110 is set to the tape cut timing corresponding to the paper transport speed. This flow is finished.

  On the other hand, in step S42, if interval printing is not effective (in the case of NO), the process proceeds to step S45, and in this step S45, as in the fourth example in the first sorting control method shown in FIG. After the idling of the printing drum 43 is inserted, the tape cut timing time in the sorting device 110 is changed to the tape cut timing corresponding to the paper conveyance speed at one rotation of the printing drum corresponding to the paper conveyance speed in step S46. This flow is finished by setting the value to the time added.

  With the above-described flow at the time of interval printing, the time required for the sorting operation can be ensured to a minimum, and the tape insertion posture during the sorting operation can be stabilized while maintaining productivity.

[Sixth sorting control method]
In the sixth sorting control method, when the printing is stopped while the tape T is being transported in the sorting apparatus 110 described with reference to FIG. 5 or the power supply (not shown) in the stencil printing apparatus 3 is shut off, When the tape T is stopped while being sent out from the outlet 111a of the box body 111 and the printing is restarted or the power is turned on in this state, the tape T is at most twice the predetermined length L (2 × L). Sent out. In order to prevent this, when the tape T has been transported by a predetermined length L, a tape transport flag is set, and the fact that the tape transport flag is in an ON state is indicated by the controller 100 in the stencil printing machine 3. It is temporarily stored in the RAM 100c (FIG. 4). When the tape transport flag is ON at the time of restarting printing or when the power is turned on, control is performed so that the tape T is not transported and only the tape T is cut (cut).

  Also, when the tape conveyance flag is ON when the sheet conveyance speed is switched from the first to fifth speeds to the high speed exceeding the fifth speed and a print job resumption instruction is received. Performs the control of cutting (cutting) the tape T and then restarting printing.

  Here, when the tape cut is executed, the tape transport flag is controlled to be OFF in any of the above cases.

  The processing flow of the tape transport flag described above will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the processing flow of the tape transport flag shown in FIG. 14 is started, it is asked in step S51 whether the paper transport speed of the printing paper P is a high speed exceeding, for example, five speeds. In the case of (NO), the control unit 100 in the stencil printing apparatus 3 determines that the paper transport speed of the printing paper P is within the range of 1st to 5th speeds, and therefore steps S52 to S59 shown on the left side of the drawing. Move to the flow.

  On the other hand, when the paper transport speed is high speed (in the case of YES), the control unit 100 in the stencil printing apparatus 3 determines that the speed has been switched to high speed, and therefore the flow of steps S60 to S66 shown on the right side of the figure. Migrate to

  Then, in the flow within the range of the first to fifth speeds of the sheet conveyance speed shown on the left side of the drawing, in step S52, the tape conveyance flag temporarily stored in the RAM 100c (FIG. 4) of the control unit 100 in the stencil printing apparatus 3. Is in the ON state, and if the tape transport flag is in the ON state (in the case of YES), the process proceeds to step S56 to be described later. In this state, the tape T is already in the box in the sorting apparatus 110. Since a predetermined length L is sent from the 111 exit 111a (FIG. 5), it is not necessary to carry the tape for sorting the resumed job, and this can be omitted.

  On the other hand, if the tape transport flag is not ON in step S52 (in the case of NO), the process proceeds to step S53, and in this step S53, it is asked whether it is time to start tape transport in the sorting apparatus 110, If it is not the timing to start tape conveyance (in the case of NO), the process returns to step S53. On the other hand, if it is time to start tape conveyance (in the case of YES), the process proceeds to step S54, and the tape conveyance is executed in step S54. Then, the tape T is sent out by a predetermined length L from the outlet 111a (FIG. 5) of the box body 111 in the sorting apparatus 110, and the conveyance of the tape T is completed.

  Thereafter, in step S55, since the transport of the tape T is completed, a tape transport flag is set, and the fact that this tape transport flag is ON is indicated in the RAM 100c (FIG. 4) of the control unit 100 in the stencil printing apparatus 3. Temporary storage.

  Thereafter, in step S56, it is asked whether or not it is time to cut the tape T. When it is not time to cut the tape T (in the case of NO), the process returns to this step S56 while it is time to cut the tape T. If YES (YES), the process proceeds to step S57, and the tape cut is executed in step S57, and the tape piece Ta cut to a predetermined length L is inserted into the uppermost layer of the printed paper Pb in units of print jobs. .

  Thereafter, in step S58, since the tape piece Ta has been cut, the tape transport flag temporarily stored in the RAM 100c (FIG. 4) of the control unit 100 is turned off, and printing of this print job is completed in step S59. Although this process flow is closed, the next print job is actually printed continuously.

  Also, in the flow with the high paper conveyance speed shown on the right side of the figure, in step S60, is the tape conveyance flag temporarily stored in the RAM 100c (FIG. 4) of the control unit 100 in the stencil printing apparatus 3 turned on? If the tape conveyance flag is not in the ON state (in the case of NO), the process proceeds to step S63 described later, and high-speed printing is restarted in step S63.

  On the other hand, if the tape transport flag is ON in step S60 (in the case of YES), the tape T has already been sent out from the outlet 111a (FIG. 5) of the box 111 in the sorting apparatus 110 by a predetermined length L. Therefore, the tape T that has already been sent out is an obstacle. If the printing speed is a high speed (high speed) that is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed, the printed paper Pb that has been ejected may float above the paper ejection port, and may collide with the tape T and cause a paper ejection jam. It is.

  Therefore, the tape cut is executed in step S61, and the tape transport flag temporarily stored in the RAM 100c (FIG. 4) of the control unit 100 is turned OFF in step S62 after the tape cut.

  Thereafter, the high speed printing is restarted in step S63, and then the printing is terminated in step S64 when the predetermined number of printings are completed.

  In this high-speed printing, after the print job is finished and the uppermost printed paper Pb is stacked on the paper discharge tray 67, tape transport is executed in the sorting device 110 (FIG. 5) in step S65. Then, the tape T is sent out by a predetermined length L from the outlet 111a of the box 111 in the sorting device 110.

  Thereafter, in step S66, since the conveyance of the tape T is completed, the tape cutting is executed, and the tape piece Ta cut to a predetermined length L is inserted into the uppermost layer of the printed paper Pb for each print job. This flow is finished.

  Needless to say, this example can also be executed when the power is turned on. For example, the determination in S51 described above may be “Power-on?”.

[Function enhancement of image forming system]
A case where the function of the image forming system according to the present invention is expanded will be described.

  In the image forming system 1 according to the present invention described above with reference to FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus (for example, a stencil printing apparatus) 3 and a sorting apparatus 110 are applied to sort a plurality of print jobs for each print job. In this case, as described above, the sheet conveyance speed of the printing sheet P is set within a predetermined conveyance speed range of 1st to 5th speeds, and a predetermined number of prints set for each print job are performed. By starting the conveyance of the tape T in the sorting apparatus 110 before completion, unlike the conventional example, a plurality of print jobs can be continuously executed when sorting the printed paper Pb, and a plurality of print jobs can be executed. The sorting work time is shortened and speeded up.

  On the other hand, as described above, in the stencil printing apparatus 3, high-speed printing with a paper transport speed exceeding 5 speeds is possible, and even higher speeds can be achieved. Since the paper Pb is lifted, when the tape piece Ta is dropped onto the printed paper Pb by the sorting device 110, the posture and the insertion position of the tape piece Ta may become unstable.

  Therefore, when printing at a predetermined speed or higher (for example, high-speed printing), the conventional technology described above is applied, and one print job is completed and the uppermost printed paper Pb is discharged. After being stacked on the paper table, the sorting device 110 performs sorting work for one print job, thereby stabilizing the posture and the insertion position of the tape piece Ta.

  As a result, in the image forming system 1 according to the present invention, the control unit 100 in the stencil printing apparatus 3 automatically determines the sheet conveyance speed, and the first to fifth speeds in which the sheet conveyance speed is within a predetermined conveyance speed range. Within this range, high-speed sorting is performed in which multiple print jobs are continuously printed and sorted in parallel. On the other hand, each time when printing of each print job is completed during high-speed printing exceeding 5 speeds, sorting operation is performed. Therefore, the function of the image forming system 1 according to the present invention can be expanded, and the user-friendly image forming system 1 can be provided.

  Further, after the printing is completed, the post-processing for the paper feed motor 52 and the paper discharge motor 62 is omitted, the rotation of both the motors 52 and 62 is continued, and when the next print job starts, Productivity can be improved by omitting the preparation for the paper discharge motor 62. Specifically, several sheets can be printed after printing one set (one print job) until the next set (next print job) starts printing, Productivity is improved.

  Further, when the tape T is cut by the sorting device 110, the productivity can be further improved by starting paper feeding for the next print job.

  By the way, the control unit 100 in the stencil printing apparatus 3 (FIG. 2) prints within the range of 1st to 5th speed in which the paper transport speed is within a predetermined transport speed range, or high speed exceeding 5th speed. Although it is automatically determined whether printing is performed, the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. 3, a high-speed sorting key 93 and a low-speed sorting key 94 are provided on the operation panel unit 80 as necessary. Thus, manual selection can be made regardless of the determination of the paper conveyance speed.

  As a result, the user can select either high-speed sorting or low-speed sorting, so that the usability of the image forming system 1 is improved.

  In the case of the stencil printing apparatus 3 described in detail above, since the image information of the stencil sheet 21 is printed on the printed paper Pb, what is the predetermined number of printed paper Pb having the same image information for each print job? It becomes work to sort into groups.

  In the above embodiment, the sorting apparatus 110 has been described as an apparatus that inserts the belt-shaped transport tape T that has been transported by the insertion member transport means 114 and 115 and cut by the insertion member cutting means 118. The long insertion piece Ta may be simply inserted. For example, the insertion member conveyance means 114 and 115 of the sorting apparatus 110 function as insertion piece conveyance means, and one or more stacked insertion pieces Ta are fed and conveyed one by one, like a paper discharge unit in a stencil printing apparatus. For example, the tape Ta can be inserted into a desired position by discharging the insertion piece Ta.

  On the other hand, in the case of an ink jet printing apparatus that does not use stencil paper, a laser printing apparatus, or a thermal transfer printing apparatus, an operation of sorting a predetermined number of printed sheets Pb having different image information for each print job. Needless to say, even in this case, the technical idea of the embodiment can be applied.

1 ... Image forming system,
2 Information processing device (PC),
3 ... stencil printing device,
10: Document reading section,
20 ... plate making section, 27 ... platen roller, 28 ... thermal head,
40 ... printing unit, 41 ... drum driving pulse motor, 42 ... encoder,
43 ... printing drum (plate cylinder), 48 ... press roller,
50... Paper feeding unit, 55.
60... Discharge section, 66... Discharge sensor, 67.
70 ... Discarding part,
80 ... operation panel section,
100 ... control unit,
110: Sorting device (tape sorter),
114, 115 ... insertion member conveying means (a pair of tape conveying rollers),
118 ... Inserting member cutting means (cutter member),
P ... printed paper, Pa ... unprinted paper, Pb ... printed paper,
T: Insertion member (tape), Ta: Insertion piece (tape piece).

Claims (7)

An insertion member is cut to a predetermined length in order to sort a predetermined number of printed sheets, which are provided in the vicinity of a paper discharge tray of an image forming apparatus that prints information on a print paper, and are stacked on the paper discharge tray. In a sorting apparatus for inserting the inserted piece into the uppermost layer of the predetermined number of printed sheets,
An insertion member conveying means for conveying the insertion member or the insertion piece;
Control means for starting conveyance of the insertion member or the insertion piece by the insertion member conveyance means before completion of the printing of the predetermined number of sheets;
A sorting apparatus comprising: The insertion member conveying means is for feeding out and conveying the band-shaped insertion member,
Furthermore, it comprises an insertion member cutting means for cutting the conveyed insertion member to produce the insertion piece of the predetermined length,
2. The conveyance start timing of the insertion member is set by back-calculating from a conveyance period required for execution of conveyance by the insertion member conveyance means and a cutting period required for execution of cutting by the insertion member cutting means. The sorting device described.   The respective timings of the start of conveyance of the insertion member conveying unit and the start of cutting of the insertion member cutting unit are the predetermined number, the length in the conveyance direction of the printing paper, the paper conveyance speed in the image forming apparatus, and the image 3. The sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sorting apparatus is set based on at least one condition of each printing mode of the forming apparatus. An image forming system comprising the sorting apparatus according to claim 1 and the image forming apparatus.
The image forming apparatus includes a paper feeding unit that feeds the printing paper;
A control unit for controlling a paper feeding interval by the paper feeding unit;
An image forming system comprising: It further includes an operation panel that can set printing conditions.
The image forming system according to claim 4, wherein the sheet feeding interval can be set by the operation panel unit. The operation of the operation panel unit can further change the paper conveyance speed during printing,
6. The image forming system according to claim 4, wherein the change instruction is prohibited when an instruction to change the sheet conveyance speed is given at least within the cutting period. The image forming apparatus is a stencil printing apparatus provided with a printing drum,
The image forming system according to claim 4, wherein the sheet feeding interval is set based on the number of idling of the printing drum by idling the printing drum.

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