JP2013006322A - Network printer and paper ejection method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce careless errors to pull off printing paper concerning own print job under the operation performed by connecting a post processing unit to a network printer.SOLUTION: For a print job sent from the same client terminal 90, among print jobs that are spooled in a printer unit 2 from respective client terminals 90 and whose job data are stored in an external storage device 75, the paper ejection destination of printing paper W determined based on print setting of each print job is confirmed. When a print job whose paper ejection destination is a top tray 101 of the post processing unit 3, a stacker tray 102, or a booklet tray 103, and a print job whose paper ejection destination is a paper ejection stand 41 of a printer unit 2 are mixed in the print job sent from the same client terminal 90, in principle, the paper ejection destination of the print job is changed to the top tray 101 of the post processing unit 3, the stacker tray 102, or the booklet tray 103.

Description

  The present invention relates to a network printer that is operated by connecting a post-processing apparatus and a paper discharge method thereof.

  When operating with a finisher (post-processing unit) connected to the printer, post-processing such as punching (punching) or stapling (paper binding) is applied to the printing paper printed by the printer as necessary. Can do. In this way, when operating with a finisher connected to the printer, non-post-processed printing paper is discharged from the paper output tray, and post-processed printing paper is discharged to the finisher output tray. (For example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-326731 A

  When the above-described finisher is connected to a network printer that is shared by a plurality of client terminals on the network, the print job of each user on the network is output from the printer according to whether or not post-processing is performed. And the finisher's discharge tray. Therefore, especially in situations where the discharged print paper is stored in the output tray as it is, when the user goes to the printer installation location and picks up the print paper for his / her print job, There may be cases where you forget to pick up the printing paper.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to prevent a user from forgetting to take a print sheet related to his / her print job when a post-processing unit is connected to a network printer for operation. To provide a network printer and a discharging method of the network printer.

In order to achieve the above object, a network printer according to the present invention described in claim 1 comprises:
A print unit that executes print processing by print jobs from a plurality of client terminals on the network;
A paper discharge tray for discharging the printed paper after printing when the print job does not include post-processing for the printed paper after printing;
When the print job includes post-processing for the printed paper after printing, the post-printing paper is delivered to a post-processing unit that executes the post-processing and discharges the paper, and the post-processing included in the print job And a control unit that outputs the execution command to the post-processing unit,
The control unit includes post-processing when a plurality of print jobs that have the same client terminal as an output source include those that include post-processing for printed paper after printing and those that do not. A print paper after printing a non-printing job is handed over to the post-processing unit, and a discharge process execution command for discharging paper from a discharge tray of the post-processing unit is output to the post-processing unit;
It is characterized by that.

In order to achieve the above object, a paper discharge method for a network printer according to a fourth aspect of the present invention includes:
Print processing by a print job from a plurality of client terminals on the network is executed by a network printer connected to the network;
If the print job includes post-processing for printed paper after printing, the post-printing paper is delivered to a post-processing unit that performs post-processing and ejects paper, and post-processing is executed by the post-processing unit. ,
If multiple print jobs that have the same client terminal as the output source include those that include post-processing for printed paper after printing and those that do not include post-processing, print jobs that do not include post-processing The printed paper after printing is delivered to the post-processing unit and discharged from the paper output tray of the post-processing unit.
It is characterized by that.

  According to the network printer of the present invention described in claim 1 and the paper discharge method of the network printer of the present invention described in claim 5, a print job that does not include post-processing for printed paper after printing, If a print job that includes processing is mixed in a print job that is output from the same client terminal, the output destination of a print job that does not include post-processing is placed in the output tray of the post-processing unit. Be changed.

  Therefore, the output destinations of a plurality of print jobs that are output from the same client terminal are unified to the output tray of the post-processing unit, and the output tray of the post-processing unit is used when picking up the print paper related to the print job. You can make sure you don't forget to pick it up. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the user from forgetting to take out the printing paper related to his / her print job.

  The network printer of the present invention described in claim 2 is the network printer of the present invention described in claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured such that the number of printed sheets by a print job not including post-processing is equal to or less than a predetermined number. Only, the print paper after printing of the print job is handed over to the post-processing unit, and the execution instruction of the paper discharge process for the print paper after printing of the print job not including post-processing is output to the post-processing unit. It is characterized by that.

  According to the network printer of the present invention described in claim 2, in the network printer of the present invention described in claim 1, in general, compared with a paper output tray of a network printer that discharges printed paper after printing as it is, The paper output tray of the post-processing unit that performs post-processing on the print paper and discharges the print paper discharge processing is slower (the number of discharged paper per unit time is smaller).

  Therefore, when the number of printed sheets by a print job that does not include post-processing exceeds a predetermined number, the paper output destination is not changed to the paper output tray of the post-processing unit, so that the print processing including paper output by changing the paper output tray can be performed. It can prevent the required time from increasing significantly.

  Further, the network printer of the present invention described in claim 3 is the network printer of the present invention described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit completes reception of job data and the client terminal of the output source. In a plurality of print jobs that are waiting for input of print authentication data by the user and output from the same client terminal, there are cases in which a post-processing for a print sheet after printing is included or not included. In this case, the print paper after printing of the print job that does not include post-processing is delivered to the post-processing unit, and the execution command of the paper discharge process for the print paper after printing of the print job that does not include post-processing is It outputs to a processing unit.

  According to the network printer of the present invention described in claim 3, in the network printer of the present invention described in claim 1 or 2, the print authentication data by the user is input to the print job that has received the job data. Until it is printed, it is stored in the memory without being subjected to the printing process. Therefore, for example, when a user inputs print authentication data in a network printer, the print authentication data of a print job whose output source is the user's client terminal is collectively input.

  At this time, if a print job that does not include post-processing and a print job that includes post-processing are mixed in a plurality of print jobs in which the user collectively inputs print authentication data, The print paper for the print job is discharged from the discharge tray of the post-processing unit. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the number of forgetting to take out the print paper relating to the user's print job by collecting the discharge destinations of the print paper relating to the user's print job to which the user has input the print authentication data into the post-processing unit.

  Note that in the network printer according to the first, second, or third aspect of the present invention, the control unit sets the print paper after printing of a print job not including post-processing to the print paper of the post-processing unit. It is also possible to provide a network printer characterized in that a discharge processing execution command for discharging paper from a paper discharge tray that outputs sheets one by one is output to the post-processing unit.

  According to the network printer described above, in the network printer according to the first, second, or third aspect of the present invention, on the path for transporting the printing paper to the paper discharge tray that discharges a plurality of printing paper of the post-processing unit collectively. In many cases, post-processing is performed on a plurality of print sheets. On the other hand, post-processing is not performed on a group of print sheets on a path for transporting the print sheets to a discharge tray that discharges the print sheets one by one.

  Therefore, it does not include post-processing, so when changing the output destination of a print job that is originally output from the output tray of the network printer to the output tray of the post-processing unit, the print paper is discharged one by one. By selecting the output tray to be used as the new output destination, select the output tray of the post-processing unit that is suitable for discharging the print paper for print jobs that do not require post-processing. Can be made.

  According to the present invention, the output destinations of a plurality of print jobs having the same client terminal as an output source are unified to the output tray of the post-processing unit, and the post-processing unit is used when picking up printing paper relating to the own print job. If only the paper discharge tray is checked, it is possible to avoid forgetting to take it out. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the user from forgetting to take out the printing paper related to his / her print job.

1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a printer system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of the printer unit in FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control system of the post-processing unit of FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a paper discharge destination changing process performed by a CPU of a control unit of the printer unit in FIG. 2 executing a ROM program.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an internal configuration of a printer system including a network printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  A printer system 1 according to the present embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a printer unit 2 that performs printing on a printing paper W, and a post-processing unit (finisher unit) 3 that performs post-processing on the printing paper W. .

  The printer unit 2 (corresponding to the network printer in the claims) includes a side paper feeding unit 10, an internal paper feeding unit 20, a printing unit (image forming unit) 30, a paper discharge unit 40, and a reversing unit 50. I have.

  The side paper feeding unit 10 includes a paper feeding table 11 on which the printing paper W is stacked, and a primary paper feeding unit 12 that conveys only the uppermost printing paper W from the paper feeding table 11 onto the paper feeding conveyance path SR. And a secondary paper feeding unit 14 for carrying the printing paper W conveyed by the primary paper feeding unit 12 onto the circulation conveyance path CR. The printing paper W conveyed on the paper feeding conveyance path SR by the primary paper feeding unit 12 is abutted against the secondary paper feeding unit 14, whereby the alignment and skew correction of the leading edge of the printing paper W are performed. It is conveyed on the circulation conveyance path CR toward the printing unit 30 at a predetermined timing.

  The internal paper feeding unit 20 feeds and conveys only the uppermost printing paper W from the paper feeding bases 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d on which the printing paper W is stacked and these paper feeding bases 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d. Primary paper feeding sections 22a, 22b, 22c, and 22d that are transported onto the path SR are provided.

  The printing paper W transported onto the paper feed transport path SR by the primary paper feed sections 22a, 22b, 22c, and 22d is supplied by a plurality of transport rollers such as a transport roller 23 installed on the paper feed transport path SR. The paper is conveyed on the paper conveyance path SR and is abutted against the secondary paper supply unit 14. As a result, the printing paper W is slackened, and the slackness adjusts the position of the leading edge of the printing paper W and corrects the skew feeding. Thereafter, the printing paper W is conveyed on the circulation conveyance path CR toward the printing unit 30 at a predetermined timing. .

  In this way, the printing paper W is conveyed from the side paper feeding unit 10 and the internal paper feeding unit 20 to the secondary paper feeding unit 14, and further, the printing paper W is also conveyed from the reversing unit 50 described later.

  Therefore, in front of the secondary paper feed unit 14 in the transport direction, the transport path of the fed printing paper W and the paper for back side printing that is circulated through the apparatus after front side printing and reversed by the reversing unit 50 are provided. There is a merging point where the route that is conveyed in a circulating manner merges. On the basis of this merging point, the path on the paper feeding mechanism side is referred to as a paper feed transport path SR, and the path through which the printing paper W is circulated in the printer unit 2 is referred to as a circulation transport path CR.

  The printing unit 30 includes a head unit 31 in which a plurality of print heads are incorporated, and an annular conveyance belt 32 provided on the opposing surface of the head unit 31, and is fed by the secondary paper feeding unit 14. The printing paper W is printed on the printing paper W line by line with the ink ejected from the head unit 31 while being transported on the transport belt 32 at a speed determined by the printing conditions.

  The printing paper W printed by the printing unit 30 is conveyed on the circulation conveyance path CR in the housing by a conveyance roller or the like disposed on the circulation conveyance path CR. A switching mechanism 43 is provided on the circulation conveyance path CR to switch between guiding the printing paper W conveyed on the circulation conveyance path CR to the paper discharge unit 40 or recirculating it on the circulation conveyance path CR. Yes.

  The paper discharge unit 40 guides the print paper W to a paper discharge tray 41 (corresponding to a paper discharge tray of a network printer in the claims) having a tray shape protruding from the housing of the printer unit 2. And a pair of paper discharge rollers 42. Then, the printing paper W guided to the paper discharge unit 40 by the switching mechanism 43 is conveyed to the paper discharge table 41 by the paper discharge roller 42, and the print surface printed immediately before being transferred to the paper discharge table 41 is faced down. Loaded.

  The reversing unit 50 reverses the printing paper W, and the reversing unit 51 conveys the printing paper W from the circulation conveyance path CR to the reversing table 51 or conveys the printing paper W from the reversing table 51 onto the circulation conveyance path CR. A roller 52 is provided.

  The printing paper W guided to the reversing unit 50 by the switching mechanism 43 is transported from the circulation transport path CR to the reversing table 51 by the reversing roller 52, and is transported from the reversing table 51 to the circulation transport path CR after a predetermined time. Thus, the front and back are reversed with respect to the circulation conveyance path CR. Then, the printing paper W whose front and back sides are reversed is conveyed on the circulation conveyance path CR by a plurality of rollers such as the conveyance roller 53 provided on the circulation conveyance path CR, and is abutted against the secondary paper feeding unit 14. As a result, the printing paper W is slackened, and the slackness adjusts the position of the leading edge of the printing paper W and corrects the skew feeding. Thereafter, the printing paper W is conveyed on the circulation conveyance path CR toward the printing unit 30 at a predetermined timing. .

  In addition, a switching mechanism 44 is provided in the circulation conveyance path CR. When the post-processing of the printing paper W is performed, the switching mechanism 44 switches the conveyance direction, so that the printing paper W is transferred to the post-processing unit 3. To be guided to. That is, when post-processing from single-sided printing is designated, the printing paper W is ejected from the printer unit 2 by the switching mechanism 44 after one-side printing is performed by the printing unit 30, and post-processing from double-sided printing is performed. If designated, the printing paper W on which one side (front side) is printed is reversed by the reversing unit 50 and then the other side (back side) is printed by the printing unit 30 and then the printer unit 2 by the switching mechanism 44. Are discharged to the post-processing unit 3.

  The post-processing unit 3 includes a reversing unit 110, a punch processing unit 120, a staple processing unit 130, and a saddle stitching processing unit 140.

  The reversing unit 110 reverses the front and back of the printing paper W. When the reversing unit 110 performs reversal, the switching mechanism 112 on the post-processing path FR switches the conveyance direction of the printing paper W, whereby the printing paper W is guided to the reversing unit 110. The printing paper W guided to the reversing unit 110 on the post-processing path FR is reversed on the front and back, returned to the post-processing path FR, and supplied to the punch processing unit 120.

  In the punch processing unit 120, punch processing for punching punch holes in the printing paper W according to a print job is executed, and the top tray 101, stacker tray 102, or booklet tray 103 (all of which are charged on the post-processing path FR) (Corresponding to the paper discharge tray of the post-processing unit in the section).

  The printing paper W transported in the direction of the top tray 101 is stacked on the top tray 101, and the printing paper W transported in the direction of the stacker tray 102 is moved to the position of long-side binding or short-side binding by the staple processing unit 130. In response, the stapling process is performed, and then the stacking process is performed on the stacker tray 102. The printing paper W transported in the direction of the booklet tray 103 is loaded on the booklet tray 103 after the saddle stitching processing unit 140 performs a saddle stitching (half folding) process.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the printer unit 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the printer unit 2 of the present embodiment is connected to a network LAN and functions as a network printer shared by a plurality of client terminals 90.

  The printer unit 2 includes, in addition to the printing unit 30 described with reference to FIG. 1, a scanner unit 61 that reads a document image on a document and outputs an image signal, and a display for various inputs and displays (touch panel display). ) 62 and a control unit 70 (see FIG. 2) for overall control. The printing unit 30 can also print (record) a document image on the printing paper W (one side or both sides) based on the image signal output from the scanner unit 61.

  The control unit 70 (corresponding to the control unit in the claims) is connected to the network LAN via the external interface unit 71. For this network LAN, for example, a 100BASE-TX wired LAN is used. Then, the control unit 70 receives a print job of a document image from the client terminal 90 connected to the network LAN. This print job includes postscript data and print environment data. The control unit 70 generates raster data of the original image based on the received postscript data of the print job. The printer unit 2 causes the printing unit 30 to print the original image on the printing paper W under the conditions specified in the printing environment information of the print job.

  Further, the control unit 70 performs a printing process on the printing paper W by a print job spooled from the client terminal 90, and a transporting and discharging process of the printing paper W according to whether or not post-processing is performed. The print paper W for a print job with post-processing is delivered to the post-processing unit 3, and the print paper W for a print job without post-processing is discharged from the paper discharge tray 41 in principle. However, as will be described later, it may be delivered to the post-processing unit 3 and discharged by the post-processing unit 3. In this case, the control unit 70 outputs a discharge process execution command for discharging the printing paper W by the post-processing unit 3 to the control unit 80 described later of the post-processing unit 3.

  Further, the above-described display 62 is connected to the CPU 72 of the control unit 70. The display 62 is used as an input operation unit for a user to input copying conditions such as the number of copies and a copying magnification when the printer unit 2 is used in a copying mode in which a document image set on the scanner unit 61 is copied and printed. Can do. The display 62 can also be used as an input operation unit for the user of the client terminal 90 to input print authentication for a print job from the client terminal 90.

  The control unit 70 of the printer unit 2 that causes the printing unit 30 to perform a printing operation includes a CPU 72 as shown in FIG. The CPU 72 controls the operation of the scanner unit 61 and the printing unit 30 according to the contents input and set from the display 62 based on the program and setting information stored in the ROM 73. In the present embodiment, the CPU 72 corresponds to the computer in the claims, and the display 62 corresponds to the display in the claims.

  The control unit 70 is provided with a RAM 74, and the RAM 74 stores the number of prints input from the display 62 and various setting contents as needed. The RAM 74 is provided with a frame memory area. In this frame memory area, the original image raster data generated by the CPU 72 from the postscript data of the print job input from the client terminal 90 to the control unit 70 is temporarily output until it is output to the printing unit 30. Is remembered.

  The control unit 70 is provided with an external storage device 75. In this external storage device 75, the display 62, the color matching system and printer engine of the printing unit 30, the printer engine, the driver software of the scanner unit 61, and the like are stored separately for each area to be used. At the same time, the external storage device 75 has an area for storing job data of a print job that requires a print authentication input from the display 62 by the user for print processing. When print authentication is input, raster data of the document image is generated by the CPU 72 from the postscript data of the print job and temporarily stored in the frame memory area of the RAM 74.

  The client terminal 90 is configured by a PC (personal computer) or the like, and includes a CPU 92 that executes various processes based on a control program stored in the ROM 93, a RAM 94 that functions as a working area of the CPU 92, a keyboard, An input unit 96 composed of a mouse or the like and an output unit 97 composed of a liquid crystal display or the like are provided.

  In addition to the external interface unit 91 described above, an external storage device 95 and a disk drive 98 are connected to the CPU 92. The external storage device 95 includes an application program storage area for generating document image data, a printer driver program storage area for the printer unit 2, a database area for document image data generated using the application program, In addition, a database area such as standard contents of the printing environment information in the printer driver program or contents customized by the user is secured. The print environment information is output to the control unit 70 of the printer unit 2 as print information data in the print job.

  The CPU 92 activates the application program of the external storage device 95 in accordance with the activation request input from the input unit 96, and the original image data having the contents instructed by the parameter input from the input unit 96 is activated. Generate on application program. The generated document image data is displayed and output by the output unit 97, and when a save request is input from the input unit 96, it is stored in the database area of the document image data in the external storage device 95.

  The document image data stored in the database area of the external storage device 95 is read from the external storage device 95 when a read request is input from the input unit 96 during the activation of the application program. The read document image data can be displayed and output to the output unit 97, or can be processed on the application program and regenerated as new document image data.

  When a print command is input from the input unit 96 during the activation of the application program, the CPU 92 generates a print job for the original image to be printed, and sends the generated print job from the external interface unit 91 to the control unit 70. Is output to the external interface unit 71. The print job can be output to the control unit 70 by the CPU 92 executing the printer driver program stored in the external storage device 95.

  Further, the CPU 92 reads various programs and data from the disk-shaped recording medium 99 such as an optical disk by the disk drive 98 of the client terminal 90 and installs (stores) them in the external storage device 95 or transmits them to the printer unit 2 side. Can do.

  The control unit 70 of the printer unit 2 is connected to an external interface unit 81 (see FIG. 3) described later of the post-processing unit 3 via an external interface unit 71. For this connection, for example, a 100BASE-TX wired LAN is used. The control unit 70 outputs to the post-processing unit 3 a command indicating the processing content input from the display 62 regarding the post-processing applied to the printed printing paper W (see FIG. 1).

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the post-processing unit 3. The post-processing unit 3 includes a control unit 80 for overall control in addition to the reversing unit 110, the punch processing unit 120, the staple processing unit 130, and the saddle stitching processing unit 140.

  The control unit 80 includes a CPU 82 that controls the operation of the post-processing unit 3 based on the program and setting information stored in the ROM 83. An external interface unit 71 (see FIG. 2) of the printer unit 2 is connected to the CPU 82 via an external interface unit 81.

  The CPU 82 receives from the control unit 70 (see FIG. 2) of the printer unit 2 a command indicating the post-processing content input and set by the display 62 of the printer unit 2. In the RAM 84 connected to the CPU 82, various setting contents related to post-processing performed by the post-processing unit 3 notified from the control unit 70 by a command are stored as needed.

  The CPU 82 of the control unit 80 determines the control contents of each part of the post-processing unit 3 according to the contents of the mode and the like that are stored as commands in the RAM 84 and set by the display 62 of the printer unit 2. Thereby, the post-processing unit 3 can operate in conjunction with the operation on the printer unit 2 side.

  The control unit 80 is provided with an external storage device 85. The external storage device 85 stores driver software and the like of each part of the post-processing unit 3.

  Then, the control unit 80 performs post-processing according to the content instructed from the control unit 70 of the printer unit 2 on the print paper W of the print job with post-processing delivered from the printer unit 2, and discharges the paper. To do. In addition, the control unit 80 causes the print paper W of the print job that has not been post-processed delivered from the printer unit 2 to be conveyed through the post-processing path FR through a path according to the content instructed by the control unit 70 of the printer unit 2. Then, the discharged trays 101, 102, 103 are discharged.

  Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4, the procedure of the paper discharge destination changing process that is periodically performed by the CPU 72 of the control unit 70 of the printer unit 2 executing the program stored in the ROM 73 will be described. The procedure of the flowchart in FIG. 4 is performed for each client terminal 90 (user) with respect to a print job waiting for print authentication input spooled from the client terminal 90 and having job data stored in the external storage device 75. Done.

  First, the CPU 72 of the control unit 70 checks whether or not a plurality of print jobs (job data) are spooled (stored in the external storage device 75) from the same client terminal 90 (step S1). If a plurality of print jobs are not spooled (the spooled print job is “0” or “1”) (NO in step S1), the output destination (discharge destination) of the spooled print job is set. No change is made (step S9), and the series of processing ends.

  On the other hand, when a plurality of print jobs are spooled from the same client terminal 90 (YES in step S1), the main body side (discharge destination) is set as the discharge destination (discharge destination) of the print paper W determined by the print settings of those print jobs. It is checked whether or not the paper discharge tray 41 of the printer unit 2 and the finisher side (top tray 101, stacker tray 102, or booklet tray 103 of the post-processing unit 3) are mixed (step S3).

  If the main body side and the finisher side are not mixed (NO in step S3), the discharge destination (discharge destination) of the spooled print job is not changed (step S9), and the series of processing ends.

  On the other hand, if the main body side and the finisher side are mixed in the discharge destination (discharge destination) of the printing paper W (YES in step S3), the discharge destination (discharge destination) is the main body side (discharge of the printer unit 2). It is confirmed whether or not the number of prints of the print job on the paper table 41) is equal to or less than the set number (predetermined number) (step S5). If the number is not less than the set number (NO in step S5), the discharge destination (discharge destination) of the spooled print job is not changed (step S9), and the series of processing ends.

  If the number is equal to or less than the set number (YES in step S5), the discharge destination (discharge destination) of the print job whose discharge destination (discharge destination) is the main body side (discharge tray 41 of the printer unit 2) is set. Then, switching to the finisher side (the top tray 101, the stacker tray 102, or the booklet tray 103 of the post-processing unit 3) is performed (step S7), and a series of processing is completed.

  Note that the discharge destination (discharge destination) after switching may be any of the top tray 101, the stacker tray 102, and the booklet tray 103 of the post-processing unit 3. However, when switching to the stacker tray 102 or the booklet tray 103, the printing paper W that does not require post-processing is purposely sent once to the stapling processing unit 130 or the saddle stitching processing unit 140.

  Each of these units 130 and 140 has a buffer for performing a stapling process or a saddle stitching (center folding) process on a plurality of sheets, and the print paper W performs a switchback operation when passing through the buffer. Accordingly, the printing paper W fed here cannot be discharged to the stacker tray 102 or the booklet tray 103 unless the switchback operation is performed without performing the stapling process or the saddle stitching (center folding) process. Accordingly, extra time is required for paper discharge to the stacker tray 102 and booklet tray 103.

  Therefore, when switching the discharge destination (discharge destination) of the print job whose discharge destination (discharge destination) is the main body side (discharge tray 41 of the printer unit 2) to the finisher side, the staple processing unit 130 or the saddle stitching process is performed. It is advantageous to use the top tray 101 that does not require the printing paper W to pass through the section 140 as a discharge destination (discharge destination) after switching.

  Further, at the time of switching the discharge destination (discharge destination) in step S7, the print processing by the target print job is not performed. For this reason, switching of the discharge destination (discharge destination) is performed by writing information indicating that the discharge destination (discharge destination) is the finisher side in the job data of the print job in the external storage device 75, for example. Can do.

  As is apparent from the above description, in the present embodiment, the CPU 72 of the control unit 70 that executes the procedure of the flowchart of FIG. 4 functions as a discharge destination changing unit.

  As described above, according to the printer system 1 of the present embodiment, among print jobs spooled from each client terminal 90 to the printer unit 2 and having job data stored in the external storage device 75, For print jobs, the discharge destination of the print paper W determined from the print settings of each print job is confirmed.

  Then, during a print job from the same client terminal 90, a print job whose discharge destination is the top tray 101, stacker tray 102, or booklet tray 103 of the post-processing unit 3 and a discharge destination of the printer unit 2 are discharged. When print jobs for the table 41 are mixed, in principle, the output destination of the print job is switched to the top tray 101, stacker tray 102, or booklet tray 103 of the post-processing unit 3. .

  For this reason, when the user of the client terminal 90 inputs print authentication for his / her print job on the display 62 of the printer unit 2 and print processing of a plurality of print jobs is executed at a time, each print job Print paper W can be collected and discharged to the post-processing unit 3. Therefore, if the top tray 101, the stacker tray 102, and the booklet tray 103 of the post-processing unit 3 are checked when the printing paper W relating to the print job is taken, it is possible to avoid forgetting to take it. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the user from forgetting to take out the printing paper W related to his / her print job.

  In the present embodiment, when the number of print jobs for the print job whose discharge destination is the discharge tray 41 of the printer unit 2 is not less than the set number, the discharge destination is the top tray 101 or stacker tray of the post-processing unit 3. 102 or the booklet tray 103 is not switched. Thereby, the discharge destination of a print job having a large number of sheets, not less than the set number, can remain the discharge table 41 of the printer unit 2 having a high discharge speed, thereby preventing a significant decrease in the printing process speed.

  On the other hand, even when the number of printed sheets is not less than the set number, the discharge destinations of the print jobs having the discharge tray 41 of the printer unit 2 as the discharge destination are uniformly set as the top tray 101, the stacker tray 102 of the post-processing unit 3, Or you may make it switch to the booklet tray 103. FIG.

  In this embodiment, a case has been described in which the discharge destination of a print job waiting for print authentication input is confirmed for each client terminal 90, but the present invention can be implemented in other forms. For example, when print jobs (including those that have already been printed) in the past predetermined period include print jobs whose discharge destinations are the trays 101, 102, and 103 of the post-processing unit 3, the same client terminal The output destination of the print job spooled from 90 may be switched to the trays 101, 102, and 103 of the post-processing unit 3 each time the output destination of the print job is the output tray 41 of the printer unit 2.

  In this case, the switching of the discharge destination of the print job is immediately reflected in the print processing by executing the print job. Therefore, instruction data is output from the control unit 70 of the printer unit 2 to the control unit 80 of the post-processing unit 3 so that the post-processing path FR of the post-processing unit 3 performs an operation corresponding to the switched paper discharge destination. Become.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the case where the printer unit 2 as a network printer is an ink jet printer has been described as an example. However, the present invention is also applicable to a case where a network printer is used as a printer using a method other than inkjet, such as an electrophotographic method.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer system 2 Printer unit 3 Post-processing unit 10 Side paper feed part 11 Paper feed stand 12 Primary paper feed part 14 Secondary paper feed part 20 Internal paper feed part 21a, 21b, 21c, 21d Paper feed stand 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d Next feeding unit 23 Conveying roller 30 Printing unit 31 Head unit 32 Conveying belt 40 Discharging unit 41 Discharging stand 42 Discharging roller 43 Mechanism 44 Switching mechanism 50 Reversing unit 51 Reversing table 52 Reversing roller 53 Conveying roller 61 Scanner Unit 62 Display 70 Control unit 71 External interface unit 72 CPU
73 ROM
74 RAM
75 External storage device 80 Control unit 81 External interface unit 82 CPU
83 ROM
84 RAM
85 External storage device 90 Client terminal 91 External interface unit 92 CPU
93 ROM
94 RAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 95 External storage device 96 Input part 97 Output part 98 Disk drive 99 Disc-shaped recording medium 101 Top tray 102 Stacker tray 103 Booklet tray 110 Reversing part 112 Switching mechanism 120 Punch processing part 130 Staple processing part 140 Saddle stitching processing part CR Circulation conveyance path FR Post-processing path LAN Network SR Paper feed path W Printing paper

Claims (4)

A print unit that executes print processing by print jobs from a plurality of client terminals on the network;
A paper discharge tray for discharging the printed paper after printing when the print job does not include post-processing for the printed paper after printing;
When the print job includes post-processing for the printed paper after printing, the post-printing paper is delivered to a post-processing unit that executes the post-processing and discharges the paper, and the post-processing included in the print job And a control unit that outputs the execution command to the post-processing unit,
The control unit includes post-processing when a plurality of print jobs that have the same client terminal as an output source include those that include post-processing for printed paper after printing and those that do not. A print paper after printing a non-printing job is handed over to the post-processing unit, and a discharge process execution command for discharging paper from a discharge tray of the post-processing unit is output to the post-processing unit;
A network printer characterized by that.   The control unit delivers the print paper after printing of the print job to the post-processing unit only when the number of printed sheets by a print job that does not include post-processing is equal to or less than a predetermined number, and prints that do not include post-processing. 2. The network printer according to claim 1, wherein a command for executing a paper discharge process for the printing paper after printing the job is output to the post-processing unit.   The control unit completes receiving job data and is waiting for input of print authentication data by a user of the output source client terminal. In the case where a paper sheet that includes post-processing for a print sheet and a paper sheet that does not include post-processing are mixed, the print paper after printing of a print job that does not include post-processing is transferred to the post-processing unit and includes post-processing. 3. The network printer according to claim 1, wherein a command for executing a paper discharge process for a printing paper after printing a non-printing job is output to the post-processing unit. Print processing by a print job from a plurality of client terminals on the network is executed by a network printer connected to the network;
If the print job includes post-processing for printed paper after printing, the post-printing paper is delivered to a post-processing unit that performs post-processing and ejects paper, and post-processing is executed by the post-processing unit. ,
If multiple print jobs that have the same client terminal as the output source include those that include post-processing for printed paper after printing and those that do not include post-processing, print jobs that do not include post-processing The printed paper after printing is delivered to the post-processing unit and discharged from the paper output tray of the post-processing unit.
A network printer discharge method characterized by the above.

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