JP2013018220A - Image formation book binding system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily produce a booklet of easily viewable back cover, even when the booklet is provided with the inner binding and folding where the back cover having a needle is rectangularly formed.SOLUTION: The image formation book binding system 1 includes: an image forming device 100; an inner binding and folding device 200; and an image forming device 400. A correction means is provided, which corrects, when title data is arranged in a position to become the back cover after the booklet is formed in a rectangular shape, a position of the title data or a position of a binding needle so that a character position of the title data and the position of the binding needle are not overlapped. Even when the rectangularly formed inner binding and folding back cover is given the data, the title data is prevented from overlapping with the binding needle.

Description

  The present invention relates to a bookbinding system in which images are formed on a plurality of sheets and bound to each other, and in particular, the sheets that have been imaged are stacked, the center of which is bound, and then folded in two at the binding position to create a saddle stitched booklet Further, the present invention relates to the technical field of a bookbinding system for forming the spine into a square shape.

  Many saddle-stitched bookbinding is performed in which the center of a plurality of sheets on which images are formed is bound with a binding needle, and the bound portion is folded in two to form a booklet. However, as the number of pages increases, the number of sheets to be folded increases accordingly, so that even if two folds are performed, the opening remains and a problem occurs in appearance and stackability. In view of this, a technique for forming a curved portion of a booklet into a square shape has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-260564 A (paragraphs [0006] to [0009], FIGS. 3 to 5 and others)

  By forming the back portion of the saddle-stitched booklet into a square shape, the opening of the booklet is suppressed and a flat back cover can be formed. If information is given to this back cover, there is a great merit that it can be used as a headline when taking out from a bookshelf etc., but because of the nature of being a saddle-stitched booklet, there is a needle on the back cover and it is given There is a problem in that this needle may overlap the information thus making it difficult to see the information.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and when a saddle-stitched booklet is formed into a square shape, a booklet that does not overlap with the binding needle can be created even if information is given to a portion serving as a back cover. An object is to provide a bookbinding system.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an image forming bookbinding system according to an aspect of the present invention includes an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet, and an image forming apparatus that is connected to the image forming apparatus and stores the image-formed sheet. A saddle stitch folding device that binds the two parts at the bound portion, a booklet molding device that is connected to the saddle stitch folding device and forms the back of the saddle stitched booklet into a square shape, and print bookbinding job information. And storing the print bookbinding job information based on the print bookbinding job information, the image forming apparatus, the saddle stitching and folding device, and a control device for controlling the operation of the booklet molding device. Including the original image data to be formed on each of the sheets constituting the image and the title data to be printed on the back cover of the booklet. When the title data is arranged on the portion of the back cover after the booklet is formed into a square shape with respect to the document image data to be performed, the character position of the title data and the position of the binding needle are not overlapped. An image forming bookbinding system comprising correction means for correcting the position of title data or a binding needle.

  According to this aspect, even if the title data is given to the saddle-stitched back cover formed into a square shape, the title data can be surely avoided from overlapping with the binding needle. Can be formed.

  Further, the correction means includes information on the position and length of the binding needle appearing on the spine after the square molding, and information on the character position of the title data arranged on the spine after the square formation based on the print bookbinding job information. The image forming bookbinding system may be characterized by calculating and correcting the binding needle position and the character position so that the binding needle is accommodated between the characters.

  According to this aspect, since the binding needle and the character position are automatically calculated and corrected so that the binding needle is accommodated between the characters, the operation is extremely simple and surely the needle position. And the character position can be avoided.

  Further, the correction means includes information on the position and length of the binding needle appearing on the back after the angulation shape, information on the character position of the title data arranged on the back after the angulation shape based on the print bookbinding job information, , And a preview image of the back after the angulation shape displaying both the binding needle and the character of the title data is displayed, and the character position and / or needle position correction operation by the user while referring to this image 2. The image forming bookbinding system according to claim 1, wherein the image forming bookbinding system is received.

  According to this aspect, since the user can freely move the hand position and the character position on the preview image by the screen operation, the correction work as intended by the user can be easily performed.

  According to the present invention, even a saddle-stitched booklet in which a spine having a needle on the back cover is formed into a square shape, an easy-to-read back cover booklet can be easily created.

1 is a front view schematically showing a bookbinding system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the control structure of the bookbinding system 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the specific example of text data. It is a figure which shows the position of a default binding needle. It is a flowchart which shows the basic operation | movement of the bookbinding system 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows a title character position before and behind the correction process which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the title character after the correction process by the modification of this invention, and a hand position. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the title character after the correction process by the modification of this invention, and a hand position. It is a figure which shows the correction operation screen 700 for performing correction operation by the user which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the correction operation of the character position which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the correction | amendment operation of the needle position which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing a bookbinding system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The bookbinding system 1 includes an image forming apparatus 100, a saddle stitch folding apparatus 200, a cutting apparatus 300, a booklet forming apparatus 400, and a management apparatus 500.

The image forming apparatus 100 includes a paper feeding unit 110, an image forming unit 120, and a paper discharge / reversing unit 130. The sheet feeding unit 110 includes a sheet feeding table 111, a separation head 112, and a main conveyance path 113.
The paper feed tray 111 stacks the paper bundle P1 thereon. The separation head 112 separates and feeds the topmost sheet of the sheet bundle P1 one by one. The separation head 112 winds a plurality of belts in a direction orthogonal to the paper conveyance direction (hereinafter referred to as “width direction”), sucks air from the gap between the belts on the lower surface side, adsorbs the paper, and circulates the belt to send it out. Since it is a suction belt type, a detailed description is omitted because it is publicly known. Moreover, not only such a suction belt type but a rotary suction type, a friction type, etc. may be used. The sheet sent out by the separation head 112 is sent to the image forming unit 120 via the main conveyance path 113.

  The image forming unit 120 includes two head units 121a and 121b, and a platen 122 below the head units 121a and 121b. The platen 122 is conveyed while adsorbing the sheet fed from the main conveyance path 113 to the platen 122 on the upper surface of the belt by a belt with holes around the outside of a suction chamber (not shown) having a plurality of openings on the upper surface. To do.

  Each of the head units 121a and 121b has a line head in which ink ejection nozzles are arranged in a straight line in the width direction. In this embodiment, three line heads are provided for each head unit 121, and each head unit 121 is arranged so as to overlap with each other in the width direction, and the width is equal to or larger than the maximum print width of the paper. Ink jet nozzles are arranged over the entire area. Each line head receives a drive signal based on image data, and ejects ink toward a sheet conveyed on the platen 122. Each head unit 121a, 121b is supplied with one color ink. That is, the image forming unit 120 of this embodiment is a line type two-color ink jet recording unit having two head units 121.

  However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the image forming unit 120 may be a full-color inkjet recording apparatus having a head unit for four colors of CMYK, or may be an electrophotographic method, a thermal method, or other known printing methods. Of course.

  The discharge / reverse unit 130 has a discharge conveyance path 131. The discharge conveyance path 131 conveys the paper on which the image is formed by the image forming unit 120 toward the paper discharge port 135. A branch conveyance path 132 is provided by branching from the discharge conveyance path 131, and can be switched by a switching gate (not shown) to be conveyed to the discharge port 135 by the discharge conveyance path 131 or sent to the branch conveyance path 132. . A reversing unit 133 is provided on the downstream side in the paper conveyance direction of the branch conveyance path 132 (hereinafter simply referred to as “downstream side”) to switch back the paper and reverse the front and back. The paper once sent to the reverse conveyance unit 133 is switched back and sent to the reverse conveyance path 134. The reverse conveyance path 134 joins the main conveyance path 113 at the downstream end. When performing double-sided printing, the sheet on which the image is formed on one side by the image forming unit 120 is sent to the reversing unit 133 to be switched back, and turned over to the main conveying path 113 via the reversing conveying path 134. The image is returned to the image forming unit 134 and image formation is performed on the other side of the sheet.

  The saddle stitch folding apparatus 200 includes a binding unit 210 and a folding unit 220. The sheet fed from the discharge port 135 of the image forming apparatus 100 and entering the saddle stitch folding apparatus 200 is transported along the transport path 201 toward the left in the drawing. The conveyed paper stops when the leading edge hits the binding stopper 211 provided to block the conveyance path 201. Next, the fed paper is placed on the previously fed paper and hits the binding stopper 211 to stop. By repeating this, one sheet of paper is accumulated in the binding unit 210.

  When one sheet of paper is accumulated in the binding unit 210, the paper is sandwiched by side joggers 212, which are plate-like members provided on both sides of the paper, and both sides of the paper are aligned. At the same time, a back jogger 213, which is a plate-like member provided on the upstream side in the paper conveyance direction (hereinafter simply referred to as “upstream side”), abuts the rear end of the paper, and sandwiches the paper between the binding stopper 211 and the paper. The front end and rear end of are aligned. A direction (hereinafter referred to as “width direction”) perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction by the stitcher 214 at the center of the sheet conveyance direction (hereinafter referred to as “conveyance direction”) with respect to the sheet bundle having the four ends aligned in this manner. The binding needle is driven into two places.

  After the binding needle is driven by the binding unit 210, the binding stopper 211 is retracted from the conveyance path 201, the sheet bundle is sent to the folding unit 220, and the leading end of the folding stopper 221 hits and stops. A folding knife 222 is provided below the stopped sheet so as to be movable up and down. The folding knife 222 is a plate-like member extending in the paper width direction. The leading end of the raised folding knife 222 comes into contact with the lower surface of the sheet bundle in the conveyance direction (the portion bound by the stitcher 214) that is in contact with the folding stopper 221 and stopped, and the sheet bundle is a pair of folding rollers 230. It is pushed in between and folded in half to form a booklet. As is, the back (fold) is transported through the folding transport path 240 and sent to the cutting device 300.

  The cutting device 300 includes an upper movable blade 301, a lower fixed blade 302, a stopper 303, and a paper presser 304. The booklet carried into the cutting apparatus 300 with the spine at the top comes into contact with the stopper 303 and stops, and the bulge of the fold is suppressed by the paper press 304. Thereafter, the upper movable blade 301 is lowered and slidably contacts the lower fixed blade 302 so that the small edge side of the booklet is trimmed. After cutting, the stopper 303 is retracted from the conveyance path, and the booklet is conveyed to the left in the figure and is carried into the booklet forming apparatus 400.

  The booklet forming apparatus 400 includes a gripping mechanism 410, a forming mechanism 420, and a discharge conveyance mechanism 430. The gripping mechanism 400 is provided with a carry-in / conveyor belt 411 provided as a pair in the vertical direction, and the carried booklet is sandwiched by the carry-in / conveyor belt 411 and conveyed to the left in the figure, and the spine abuts against the stopper 412. And stop. While holding the back of the booklet stopped from above and below with a gripper 413, the booklet is gripped and fixed with the spine slightly protruding, and the stopper 412 is retracted downward.

  The molding mechanism 420 is provided with a molding member 421, and a cam follower 422 is provided at the left end of the molding member 421 in the figure. Further, a cam 423 is provided on the left side, and the cam floor 422 follows the outer periphery of the cam 423 by the tensile force of the spring 424. By the rotation of the cam 423, the molding member 421 moves to the right in the drawing together with the cam follower 422, and the back of the booklet gripped and fixed by the gripper 413 is crushed and molded into a square shape. At this time, since the stopper 412 is lowered, interference with the molding member 412 is avoided. A plurality of the forming members 421, cam followers 422, and cams 423 are provided in parallel over the entire width of the booklet, and the respective forming members advance to the back of the booklet and crush them at different timings. Therefore, the range to be crushed at a time can be kept narrow, and the force required for crushing can be suppressed.

  When the forming of all the widths of the booklet is completed, the forming mechanism 420 and the discharge / conveyance mechanism 430 are both lowered, and the conveyance path formed between the pair of upper and lower discharge / conveyance belts 431 is the back of the booklet being held. Stop at a position closest to the downstream side of Then, gripping by the gripper 413 is released, and both the carry-in conveyance belt 411 and the discharge conveyance belt 431 are driven to rotate, and the booklet is conveyed to the left in the drawing between the discharge conveyance belts 431 and is discharged and accumulated in the stacker 440.

  The management apparatus 500 includes a management PC (Personal Computer) 501, a display 502, a keyboard 503, and a mouse 504. The management PC 501 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk, and the like, and is connected to the management apparatus 500, the image forming apparatus 100, the saddle stitch folding apparatus 200, the cutting apparatus 300, and the booklet forming apparatus 400 so as to be able to transmit and receive data. . The display 502, the keyboard 503, and the mouse 504 are connected to the management PC 94.

  The management PC 500 displays a setting screen on the display 502 so that various settings can be input by the user. The user can input various settings using the keyboard 504 and the mouse 505 on this setting screen. When the start button displayed on the display 502 is clicked, the management PC 500 transmits information indicating the setting contents to each of the image forming apparatus 100, the saddle stitch folding apparatus 200, the cutting apparatus 300, and the booklet forming apparatus 400. Then, a start signal indicating that the bookbinding process is to be started is transmitted. Each of the image forming apparatus 100, the saddle stitch folding apparatus 200, the cutting apparatus 300, and the booklet forming apparatus 400 has a control unit that has a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM and controls the operation of the internal mechanism, and outputs a start signal. When received, the bookbinding process based on the received setting content is performed. These control unit and management PC 501 will be described below as an electronic control unit 600 as a whole.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the bookbinding system 1 of the present invention.
The electronic control unit 600 includes a job information storage unit 610, a printing image data generation unit 620, a stitcher position control unit 630, and an image formation control unit 640. The job information stored in the job information storage unit 610 includes title data 611, document image data 612, paper size information 613, paper number information 614, and square shape necessity information 615.

  The title data 611 indicates a title to be printed on the back cover of the booklet, and may be text data or image data obtained by combining a plurality of characters. A specific example is shown in FIG. The data shown in FIG. 3A is text data and includes at least information indicating a character code, a font, a character size, a character arrangement interval, and a character aspect ratio. FIG. 3B shows image data, which is stored as image data in which characters are embedded in an appropriate background. Image data in various formats such as raster image data and compressed image data can be used as the image data.

  The document image data 612 indicates an image to be a document when the image forming apparatus 100 prints on a paper surface, and is composed of image data of various formats such as raster image data and compressed image data. In this embodiment, it is PDF (Portable Document Format).

  The paper size information 613 is information related to the size of the paper supplied to the bookbinding system 1 and includes at least the width direction dimension of the paper. The sheet number information 614 is the number of sheets constituting one booklet. Square shape forming necessity information 615 is information indicating whether or not the back of the booklet to be created is formed into a square shape. 1 is given when molding is required, and 0 is given when molding is unnecessary.

  The stitcher position control unit 630 determines the position by moving the stitcher 214 in the width direction according to the binding position determined based on the paper size information 613 stored in the job information storage unit 610. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the default binding position is from one end in the width direction of the paper to the center position in the width direction of the needle closer to one of the two needles. Distance D1, the distance D2 between the center positions in the width direction of the two needles, and the distance from the center position in the width direction of the needle near the other end of the sheet to the other end in the width direction of the sheet The relationship with D3 is determined at a position where D1: D2: D3 = 1: 2: 1. Note that the binding position does not depend on the paper size information 613 but may be stored in the job information storage unit 610 separately from the paper size information 613.

  The print image data generation unit 620 generates print image data that is a print image that is actually printed by the image forming apparatus 100 based on the document image data. When character font is included in the document image data, the font is embedded and the title data 611 is also referred to, and the character data is arranged and embedded. At this time, the title data 611 is embedded at a position to be a spine when the booklet is saddle-stitched and bound and the spine is formed into a square shape. At this time, a correction process for embedding the characters of the title data 611 so as to be printed at a position that does not overlap the binding needle exposed on the spine is performed. Details of this correction processing will be described later.

  The image formation control unit 640 controls ink ejection of the line head. The image forming control unit 640 is supplied with the printing image data generated by the printing paper image data generating unit 620, and the line is formed so that an image is formed on the paper surface to be conveyed according to the printing image data. The ink ejection of the head is controlled.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the basic operation of the bookbinding system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Prior to printing, job information is acquired, and the acquired job information is stored in the job information storage unit 610 (step S01). The job information is acquired by acquiring job information including title data 611, document image data 612, sheet size information 613, sheet number information 614, and square forming necessity information 615 from the outside through a communication line or wirelessly. It is possible to input. Each data can also be manually input through the display 502, the keyboard 503, and the mouse 504. For example, the title data 611 can be input by inputting the character data, the paper size information 613 can be input by a numerical value in the transport direction and the width direction, and the paper number information 614 can be input by the keyboard 503. . The square forming necessity information 615 can be input by checking a check box indicating whether or not the square forming is displayed on the display, or selecting ON / OFF from a pull-down menu. Further, the job information may be a combination of the external input data and the manual input data, or the external input data may be modifiable by manual input.

  Next, the printing image data generation unit 620 generates printing image data together with the correction process, and sends it to the image formation control unit 640 (step S02). Here, the correction process means that the title data printed on the spine cover is not overlapped with the title character printed on the spine cover when the booklet is formed into a square shape after binding. This is a process of correcting the printing position or the position where the needle is driven. Specific examples will be described below.

  The correction processing according to the present embodiment corrects the title data 611 so as to fit the needle between the characters while keeping the character spacing uniform. FIG. 6A shows an example of the relationship between the character position before correction and the needle position, and FIG. 6B shows an example of the relationship between the character position after correction and the needle position. In FIG. 6, a booklet having a width of 200 mm is taken as an example and viewed from the back side, and the character position is represented by a square and the needle position is represented by a vertical line. In FIG. 6A, the distance L1 from the upper end of the booklet to the center of the uppermost character is 40 mm, and the character size L2 = 4 mm (one side) at the character pitch (distance between the character centers) L3 = 13 mm. 8 characters are printed. The data of L1, L2, and L3 is included in the title data 611. On the other hand, the binding needles are centered in the width direction so that the relationship between the distance from the upper end to the upper binding needle, the distance between the upper and lower binding needles, and the distance from the lower binding needle to the lower end is 1: 2: 1. The distance L6 is driven to a position where the distance L6 is 100 mm, and the length L5 of the needle protruding to the back side is 10 mm. In FIG. 6A, the second character from the top of the characters of the title data overlaps with the upper binding needle.

A specific correction procedure will be described below. First, it is determined whether or not the binding needle enters the space between characters, and if not, the character pitch L3 is changed so as to enter. A length (L5 + 2 × α1) obtained by adding a predetermined margin length α1 to both sides of the binding needle length L5 is the minimum distance between characters necessary to accommodate the binding needle between characters. Therefore, if the calculation result β of the following formula E1 is 0 or more, it is determined that the binding needle enters the character interval, and if it is less than 0, it is determined that it does not enter.
β = (L3−L2) − (L5 + 2 × α1) (formula E1)

As a result of the calculation of Expression E1, if it is determined that β <0, that is, a binding needle does not enter between characters, the character pitch L3 is corrected to L3 ′ in order to widen the character spacing so that β = 0. L3 ′ is obtained by the following equation E2 obtained by substituting β = 0 into equation E1.
L3 ′ = L5 + L2 + 2 × α1 (formula E2)
When β ≧ 0, L3 is not corrected, that is, L3 ′ = L3.

In the example of FIG. 6, when substituting into the formula E1 with a predetermined margin α1 = 1 mm,
β = (13−4) − (10 + 2 × 1) = − 3. Since β is less than 0, if correction is made by substituting into equation E2, L3 ′ = 10 + 4 + 2 × 1 = 16. That is, the character pitch L3 = 13 is corrected to L3 ′ = 16.

Second, the interval between the binding needles (the distance between the centers of the binding needles) L6 is corrected to L6 ′ so that the two binding needles are accommodated between the characters. In order for the two binding needles to be accommodated between the characters, the distance (L5 / 2) from the center of the needle to the end (L5 / 2), the margin length α1, the center of the character from the binding needle interval L6 ′. The length obtained by subtracting the distance (L2 / 2) from the edge to the edge must be an integral multiple of the corrected character pitch L3 ′. That is, the calculation result γ of the following formula E3 may be an integer.
γ = (L6′−2 × (L5 / 2 + L2 / 2 + α1)) / L3 ′ (formula E3)

  As the interval L6 between the binding needles before correction, either the interval is increased or decreased, and L6 ′ is determined so that the result γ of the equation E3 becomes an integer. The width of the correction is desirably as small as possible so as not to impair the balance as a bookbinding product. Therefore, it is only necessary to determine whether the interval is widened or narrowed based on the magnitude relationship between the remainder obtained from the equation obtained by replacing L6 ′ in equation E3 with L6 before correction and L3 ′ / 2. If the remainder is larger than L3 ′ / 2, the width of correction is smaller than narrowing the interval, and if the remainder is smaller than L3 ′ / 2, narrowing is smaller than widening the correction. The width becomes smaller. When the remainder is equal to L3 ′ / 2, the width of correction is the same regardless of whether the interval is widened or narrowed.

  In the example of FIG. 6, the equation in which L6 ′ in equation E3 is replaced with L6 = 100 mm before correction is (100−2 × (10/2 + 4/2 + 1)) / 16, and the integer part of the value obtained by calculating this is 5 and the remainder is 4. Since this remainder is smaller than 16/2 = 8, correction is performed so as to narrow the interval. In order to reduce the correction range, L6 ′ may be determined so that 5 which is an integer part of the calculation result becomes γ. That is, when substituting into the equation E3, 5 = (L6′−2 × (10/2 + 4/2 + 1)) / 16, and calculating this results in L6 ′ = 96 mm. That is, the needle position is determined at a position where the center distance between the needles is 96 mm in the center distribution. If the center distance L6 before correction is 108 mm, the integer part of the result obtained by replacing L6 ′ in Expression E3 with L6 = 108 mm is 5, and the remainder is 12. Since this remainder is larger than 16/2 = 8, correction is performed so as to widen the interval. In order to reduce the correction range, L6 ′ may be determined so that 6 which is 1 larger than 5 which is an integer part of the calculation result is γ. Therefore, as a result of the calculation in Expression E3, L6 ′ = 112 mm.

Thirdly, the character placement position is determined in accordance with the determined needle position. That is, the distance L1 from the upper end of the booklet to the center of the uppermost character is corrected to L1 ′ so that the determined needle position falls between the characters. When the distance from the upper end of the booklet to the center position of the upper needle is L4, the distance from this L4 to the center of the needle (L5 / 2), the margin length α1, the distance from the center of the character to the end The difference between the length obtained by subtracting the distance (L2 / 2) and the corrected L1 ′ needs to be 0 or an integral multiple of the character pitch L3 ′. That is, L1 ′ may be determined so that the calculation result of the following formula E4 is 0 or an integer.
δ = (L4 − ((L5 / 2) + (L2 / 2) + α1) −L1 ′) / L3 ′ (formula E4)

  In addition, although L1 before correction is not considered to avoid overlap with the needle position, it is considered that the balance as the title print position is determined, so that the correction width is made as small as possible. Is desirable. Accordingly, a value that is closest to L1 before correction may be adopted among the values of L1 ′ for which the result of Expression E4 is 0 or an integer.

In the example of FIG. 6, the equation E4 is expressed as δ = (52 − ((10/2) + (4/2) +1) −L1 ′) / 13.
If δ = 0 is substituted for this, L1 ′ = 44 mm, L1 ′ = 31 when δ = 1, and L1 ′ = 18 mm when δ = 2. Since the case closest to L1 = 40 mm before correction is the case where δ = 0, it may be determined that L1 ′ = 44 mm. In other words, the value of δ is a numerical value that is one less than the number of characters existing on the upper needle. That is, it is determined how many characters should exist above the upper needle so as not to disturb the balance of the arrangement position before correction as much as possible. Therefore, when each of the plurality of δ values is calculated, the maximum value of δ may be determined in consideration of the upper limit of the number of characters that may be placed further above the upper needle.

  The correction process is not limited to the above-described form, and various processes for correcting the character position and the hand position so that they do not overlap are conceivable. For example, the entire title character may be accommodated inside two binding needles. In this case, it is not necessary to allow the needles to be accommodated between the characters, but it is preferable to reduce the character pitch when the number of characters is large so as not to impair the balance of the binding needle positions. Alternatively, it is preferable that the distance between the two binding needles is not excessively widened by changing the aspect ratio of the character to make a horizontally long character or reducing the size of the character itself.

  Further, when the needle cannot be accommodated between the characters, the interval may be enlarged so that the needle can be accommodated only in the portion where the needle exists, and the other portion may not be enlarged. In particular, when the number of characters in the title data is large, if all the character intervals are unified so that the needles can be accommodated between them, there is a high possibility that characters protrude from the width of the booklet. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 7, the interval may be enlarged by the portion where the needle exists so that the character does not come to the position where the needle exists.

  Further, the character position, pitch, size, aspect ratio may be changed so that the character can be accommodated above or below the two needles, and there are a plurality of title data, which are above the two needles, You may arrange | position each in the middle and the downward | lower direction. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the title data 611a representing the book series name is located above the two needles, the title data 611b representing the book title is located between the two needles, and the title indicating the book publisher. The character position, pitch, size, and aspect ratio of each title data may be determined so that the data 611c is arranged below the two hands.

  If the title data is image data, the title image is embedded by changing the interval between the two needles or changing the size of the image data so that the entire image data fits between the two needles. Data and character data should not be overlapped. Furthermore, image data may be accommodated between the end of the booklet and the needle.

  Returning to FIG. When the correction process is performed, the print image data generated by embedding the title data 611 in the corrected position is transmitted to the image formation control unit 640, and the corrected needle position is changed to the stitcher position control unit. To 630. The stitcher position control unit 630 moves the stitcher 214 to adjust the position so that the needle is driven into the received needle position, and preparation for the start is completed.

  When the device is started by pressing the start button on the operation panel provided in each device or clicking the start button on the display 502 (step S11), one sheet is fed from the sheet feeding unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 100. Sheets are sent out one by one (step S12). The fed sheet is transported to the image forming unit 120 via the main transport path 113 and receives an ink ejected from the line head while being sucked and transported to the upper surface of the platen 122 to form an image. Each ejection nozzle of the line head is driven by a drive signal based on the print image data sent from the image formation control unit 640, and as a result, an image is formed on the paper according to the print image data (step S13). ). When printing on the back side is necessary, the paper after the front side printing is sent to the branch conveyance path 132, switched back by the reversing unit 133, and then sent to the platen 122 again via the reverse conveyance path 134. Image formation is performed.

  The sheet after the image formation is sent to the saddle stitch folding device 200 and hits the binding stopper 211 and stops. Subsequent sheets are further fed and overlapped at the stop position to form a bundle of one book (step S14), and are aligned by the side jogger 212 and the back jogger 213, and the binding needle is driven by the stitcher 214. Thereafter, the sheet is fed into the folding unit 220 and comes into contact with the folding stopper 221 to temporarily stop, and is pushed between the folding rollers 230 by the folding knife 222 and folded in half. In this way, the saddle stitch booklet is formed (step S15).

  The saddle stitched booklet is sent to the cutting device 300, stops after coming into contact with the leading end stopper 303, and then the upper movable blade 301 is lowered and the small edge side of the booklet is cut and trimmed (step S16).

  The booklet after the fore cutting is carried into the booklet forming apparatus 400, the back is in contact with the stopper 412 and stopped, the stopper 412 is retracted downward with the gripper 413 gripped from the front and back near the back, and the back is formed by the forming member 421. Is crushed into a square shape (step S18). Thereafter, the forming mechanism 420 and the discharge conveyance mechanism 430 are both lowered, and the formed booklet is conveyed by the discharge conveyance belt 431 and the processing is completed. When the creation of the predetermined number of booklets is completed, the apparatus stops and the processing is completed (step S19).

(Second Embodiment)
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The second embodiment of the present invention is different from the first embodiment in correction means. The correcting means of the second embodiment displays a preview image of the booklet viewed from the back side after creation based on the document image data, title data, and the thickness of the booklet to be created, while referring to this image. Correction is performed by a correction operation by the user. Since other than the correction means is the same as that of the first embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a correction operation screen 700 for performing a correction operation by the user according to the second embodiment. A spine display unit 701 that schematically displays the back portion of the booklet is provided at the center. The spine display unit 701 includes a title character position display 702 and a hand position display 703. The vertical dimension of the outer frame of the spine display unit 701 is displayed in accordance with the width dimension of the paper included in the paper size information 613 read from the job information storage unit 610. The width of the outer frame of the spine display portion 701 is displayed in accordance with the width of the spine cover after bookbinding. Specifically, the sheet number information 614 read from the job information storage unit 610 is multiplied by the thickness per sheet, and further displayed twice according to a numerical value (for folding in half). The sheet thickness information (not shown in FIG. 2) included in the job information storage unit 610 may be used for the thickness per sheet, or the user may input the thickness.

  The title character position display 702 is displayed based on the distance L1, the character size L2, and the character pitch L3 from the upper end of the booklet to the center of the top character included in the title data 611 read from the job information storage unit 610. The The needle position display 703 calculates and displays the needle position based on the paper width direction dimension included in the paper size information 613 read from the job information storage unit 610. Specifically, a distance D1 from one end in the width direction of the paper to the center position in the width direction of the needle near one end of the two needles and the width direction of the two needles. The relationship between the distance D2 between the center positions and the distance D3 from the center position in the width direction of the needle near the other end of the sheet to the other end in the sheet width direction is D1: D2: D3 = 1. : Displayed at a position of 2: 1.

  A character position operation unit 711 is provided on the left side of the spine display unit 701 in the figure. The character position operation unit 711 is provided with a rectangular outer frame 712 having a vertical dimension that matches the range of the title character displayed on the back display unit 710, and each title is displayed in the outer frame 712. Rectangle-shaped character frames 713a to 713f having vertical dimensions that match the range in which characters are present are formed for the number of characters. An upper end moving handle 714 is provided at the upper end of the outer frame 712, and a lower end moving handle 715 is provided at the lower end. An all character moving handle 716 is provided above the outer frame 712. A fixed character pitch icon 717 is displayed on the left side of the outer frame 712 in the vicinity of the center in the vertical direction of the spine display unit 701.

  A needle position operation unit 721 is provided on the right side of the back display unit 701 in the figure. The needle position operation unit 721 is provided with a rectangular outer frame 722 having a vertical dimension corresponding to the range of the needle displayed on the back display unit 701, and each needle is placed in the outer frame 722. Rectangular needle frames 723a and 723b having a vertical dimension that matches the existing range are formed by the number of needles. An upper end moving handle 724 is provided at the upper end of the outer frame 722, and a lower end moving handle 725 is provided at the lower end. An all-needle movement handle 726 is provided above the outer frame 722. On the right side of the outer frame 722 in the figure, the center position fixing icon 727 of the needle is displayed near the center of the back display unit 701 in the vertical direction.

  This correction operation screen 700 is displayed on the display 502. The cursor appearing on the screen can be operated with the mouse 504 to change both the position of the character and the position of the needle, so that the position where the character and the needle do not overlap each other can be operated. In addition, since the relationship between the position of the character and the position of the hand is previewed and the position can be adjusted while verifying whether or not they are actually overlapped on this screen, a device with good operability can be obtained.

  A procedure for changing the position of characters performed on the correction operation screen 700 will be described. First, the character pitch fixing icon 717 is clicked as necessary to switch the character pitch fixing ON and OFF. By default, the character pitch fixed state is ON, and when the character pitch fixed icon 716 is clicked once, it is turned OFF. Furthermore, if it clicks once in the state of OFF, it will return to ON.

  Next, the actual character position is changed. When the cursor is dragged in the vertical direction by moving the upper end moving handle 714 of the outer frame 712 by operating the mouse 504, the upper end of the outer frame 712 is moved accordingly, and the range of the outer frame 712 is enlarged or reduced. The characters are equally arranged in accordance with the moved outer frame 712 with the same interval, and the character positions displayed on the spine display unit 701 move accordingly. FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating a change in the character position operation unit 711 when the upper end moving handle 714 is dragged upward and the outer frame 712 is enlarged upward. Similarly, when the lower end moving handle 715 is dragged in the vertical direction, the lower end of the outer frame 712 is moved accordingly, and the range of the outer frame 712 is enlarged or reduced.

  Next, a method for changing the character position by dragging the character frame 713 will be described. The movement when the character frame 713 is dragged differs depending on whether the character pitch fixed state is ON or OFF. First, a case where the character pitch fixed state is ON will be described. If you left-click on the character frame 713 and drag it up or down, the character frame 713 will move up or down as it is, and all the characters that exist in the moved direction will move in the same direction, maintaining the character spacing. Thus, each character existing in the direction opposite to the moved direction does not move. That is, the character spacing between the moving direction and the adjacent character is increased. The character position displayed on the spine display unit 701 also moves accordingly. FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating a change in the character position operation unit 711 when the character frame 713d is left-clicked and dragged downward. The space between the character frame 713d and the character frame 713c is opened, and the space between the character frames 713d, 713e, and 713f is maintained.

  Right-clicking on the character frame 713 and dragging it up and down moves the character frame 713 up and down, and all characters existing in the opposite direction to the moved direction move in the same direction. The character spacing is maintained, and each character existing in the moving direction does not move. That is, the character spacing between the moved direction and the adjacent character is narrowed. The character position displayed on the spine display unit 701 also moves accordingly. FIG. 10C is a diagram illustrating a change in the character position operation unit 711 when the character frame 713c is right-clicked and dragged downward. The space between the character frame 713c and the character frame 713d becomes narrow, and the space between other character frames is maintained.

  Next, a case where the character pitch fixed state is OFF will be described. When the character frame 713 is left-clicked and dragged in the vertical direction, only the character frame 713 moves in the vertical direction as it is, and the other character frames 713 do not move. FIG. 10D is a diagram illustrating a change in the character position operation unit 711 when the character frame 713d is dragged downward. Only the character frame 713d moves downward, and the other character frames 713 do not move.

  In the character pitch fixed state ON, it is convenient when it is desired to change the interval only between arbitrary characters. In the character pitch fixed state OFF, it is convenient when only arbitrary characters are desired to move. Instead of using the inter-character pitch fixing icon 717, only the character may move when the character frame is dragged, and when the interval is to be changed, the character frame may be dragged between the character frames.

  When the all character movement handle 716 is dragged in the vertical direction, the entire outer frame 712 moves in the vertical direction. That is, it is possible to move the entire position without changing the length and interval of all the title characters. The character position displayed on the spine display unit 701 also moves accordingly. FIG. 10E is a diagram illustrating a change in the character position operation unit 711 when the all character movement handle 716 is dragged downward.

  Next, a procedure for changing the position of the needle performed on the correction operation screen 700 will be described. First, the center distribution fixing icon 727 is clicked as necessary to switch the center distribution fixing state ON and OFF. By default, the center distribution fixed state is ON, and when the center distribution fixed icon 727 is clicked once, it is turned OFF. Furthermore, if it clicks once in the state of OFF, it will return to ON.

  Next, the actual needle position is changed. When the cursor is dragged in the vertical direction by moving the upper end moving handle 724 of the outer frame 722 by operating the mouse 504, the upper end of the outer frame 722 moves accordingly. Similarly, when the lower end movement handle 725 is dragged in the vertical direction, the lower end of the outer frame 722 moves accordingly. If the center distribution fixed state is ON, when one of the upper end and the lower end of the outer frame 722 is dragged and moved, the other moves in the opposite direction by the same movement amount. The needle frame 723a moves with the upper end, and the needle frame 723b moves with the lower end. That is, the two needles move in a distributed manner to the left and right around the center in the longitudinal direction (the width direction of the booklet). If the center distribution fixed state is OFF, only the dragged person moves and the other needle does not move. FIGS. 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating changes in the needle position operation unit 721 when the upper end moving handle 724 of the outer frame 722 is dragged upward, and FIG. 11A is a center distribution fixed state. 11 is ON, FIG. 11B shows a case where the center distribution fixed state is OFF.

  When the all-needle movement handle 726 is dragged in the vertical direction, the entire outer frame 722 moves in the vertical direction. That is, both needles can be moved in the same direction. FIG. 11C shows a change in the needle position operation unit 721 when the all-needle movement handle 726 is dragged upward.

  In this way, by operating the cursor with the mouse 502 in the character position operation unit 711 and the needle position operation unit 721, the character position and the needle position are moved while confirming the positional relationship with each other on the back display unit 701. The position can be adjusted so that it does not overlap. When the adjustment is completed, when the processing completion key 731 is clicked, the title character is embedded at the set position to generate print image data, and the position in the width direction of the stitcher 214 is moved so that the needle is hit at the set position. Preparation for print binding is completed. Subsequent printing and bookbinding operations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  The title data 611 may be image data instead of character data, and a title character may already be embedded in the image data. In that case, the image data may be automatically scaled and the position of the needle moved so that the image data itself fits between the needles. May be displayed, and image data scaling and needle position movement may be performed on the screen by an appropriate method. Further, by referring to the booklet thickness calculated by multiplying the sheet number information 614 read from the job information storage unit 610 by the thickness per sheet and multiplying it, the characters and image data of the title data 611 are printed in the booklet. When it protrudes from the thickness direction dimension of the back of this, you may correct | amend simultaneously with the said correction process.

  1 bookbinding system, 100 image forming apparatus, 200 saddle stitch folding apparatus, 300 cutting apparatus, 400 booklet forming apparatus, 500 management PC, 600 electronic control unit, 610 job information storage unit, 611 title data, 620 image data generation unit for printing , 630 Stitcher position control unit, 640 Image formation control unit, 700 Correction operation screen, 701 Back display unit, 711 Character position operation unit, 721 Needle position operation unit

Claims (3)

An image forming apparatus for forming an image on paper;
A saddle stitch folding device connected to the image forming apparatus, storing the image-formed paper, binding the central portion thereof, and folding the binding portion into two;
A booklet forming apparatus that is connected to the saddle stitch folding apparatus and forms the back of the saddle stitched booklet into a square shape;
In an image forming bookbinding system that stores print bookbinding job information and includes a control device that controls operations of the image forming device, the saddle stitch folding device, and the booklet forming device based on the print bookbinding job information.
The print bookbinding job information includes original image data to be formed on each of the sheets constituting the booklet and title data to be printed on the back cover of the booklet, and the control device is a sheet that becomes a cover of the booklet after saddle stitching When the title data is arranged on the portion of the back cover after the booklet is formed into a square shape with respect to the original image data to be formed, the character position of the title data and the position of the binding needle are not overlapped. The image forming bookbinding system further comprises correction means for correcting the position of the title data or the binding needle.   The correction means includes information on the position and length of the binding needle that appears on the spine after the square forming, and information on the character position of the title data arranged on the spine after the square forming job based on the print bookbinding job information. The image forming bookbinding system according to claim 1, wherein the binding needle position and the character position are calculated and corrected so that the binding needle is accommodated between the characters.   The correction means refers to information on the position and length of the binding needle appearing on the back after the angulation shape, and information on the character position of the title data arranged on the back after the angulation shape based on the print bookbinding job information. In addition, a preview image of the back after the angle forming shape displaying both the binding needle and the character of the title data is displayed, and a correction operation of the character position and / or the needle position by the user while receiving this image is received. 2. The image forming bookbinding system according to claim 1, wherein:

Images