JP2014232171A - Printer, control method of printer, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To print a generated image on an original sheet conveyed without stopping the conveyance of the original sheet while reading an image from the original sheet and generating the image to be printed.SOLUTION: A printer comprises: printing means for performing printing on a sheet conveyed through a prescribed conveyance path; reading means for reading an original sheet by use of the prescribed conveyance path; generating means for generating image data to be printed by the printing means on the basis of the image read; and control means for, when the image data generated is printed on the original sheet, switching the conveyance path for the original sheet between a first conveyance path for conveying the original sheet to the printing means without making the original sheet stand by, and a second conveyance path longer than the first conveyance path.

Description

The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, a printing apparatus control method, and a program.
It is about.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of printing apparatus, a document sheet conveyance system including a document conveyance type image reading unit and a sheet conveyance system for printing by the printing unit are configured independently of each other. That is, the document sheet conveyance system and the sheet conveyance system are configured such that a sheet feeding unit, a conveyance path, a conveyance roller, a paper discharge unit, and the like are provided independently of each other.

For this reason, it is inevitable that the overall mechanism configuration of the printing apparatus is complicated, the cost is increased, and the apparatus size is increased.
In order to solve this problem, in Patent Document 1, an image reading unit is arranged in a transfer paper transport path from a paper feed unit to a paper discharge unit, so that a document sheet transport system and a sheet transport system to be transferred are arranged. It describes that it is shared.

JP 2000-158881 A

However, Patent Document 1 does not assume that when an image on a document sheet is read, the document sheet passes through a printing unit, and thus an image is further added to the read document sheet for printing.
When reading an image on an original sheet, analyzing the image on the original sheet, and printing on the original based on the analysis result, if it takes time to analyze the image, the image to be printed is processed. The time to prepare cannot be secured. In this case, in order to complete the preparation of the image to be printed, in order to have a mechanism for stopping the sheet immediately before the printing unit, a transport mechanism for stopping and transporting the sheet again is required, which is costly. There is a problem of becoming higher.
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to generate an image to be printed from a document sheet without stopping the conveyance of the document sheet. It is to provide a mechanism capable of printing an image on a conveyed original sheet.

The printing apparatus of the present invention that achieves the above object has the following configuration.
A printing unit that prints on a sheet conveyed using a predetermined conveyance path; a reading unit that reads an original sheet using the predetermined conveyance path; and an image to be printed by the printing unit based on the read image Generating means for generating data, and when the generated image data is printed on the document sheet, a first transport path for transporting the document sheet transport path to the printing means without waiting for the document sheet; Control means for switching the original sheet to any one of a second transport path longer than the first transport path.

  According to the present invention, the generated image can be printed on the conveyed original sheet without stopping the conveyance of the original sheet while the image to be printed is generated by reading from the original sheet.

It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the printing apparatus which shows this embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the printing apparatus which shows this embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the printing apparatus which shows this embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the printing apparatus which shows this embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the printing apparatus which shows this embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the printing apparatus which shows this embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the printing apparatus which shows this embodiment. It is a block diagram explaining the control structure of the printing apparatus which shows this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a reading process of a document reading unit illustrated in FIG. 1. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling the printing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the relationship between an on-print classification and a conveyance path | pass. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the printing apparatus which shows this embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling the printing apparatus.

Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<Description of system configuration>
[First Embodiment]
1-7 is sectional drawing which shows an example of the printing apparatus which shows this embodiment. This example shows an example of a printing apparatus capable of executing a composite function. First, the image forming process will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 1, a rotatable photosensitive drum 10 serving as an image carrier and a developing roller 11 that rotates in parallel with the photosensitive drum 10 and holds toner are disposed at the center of the printing apparatus 1. When receiving the print signal, the light emitting unit 21 included in the optical unit 2 irradiates the surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 10 with laser light.

The surface of the photosensitive drum 10 irradiated with the laser light forms a latent image with charges. When the toner held is supplied to the latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 while the developing roller 11 rotates, a toner image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10.
On the other hand, the sheet S stored in the first paper feeding unit 30 is conveyed to the conveying roller 40 one by one by the CST pickup roller 31 and the separating unit 32. The conveyance roller 40 conveys the sheet S to the transfer unit 15 so that the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 and the leading edge position of the sheet S are synchronized.

The toner image conveyed to the transfer unit 15 by the rotation of the photosensitive drum 10 is transferred to the sheet S by the applied bias and pressure applied to the transfer unit 15. Further, the transfer unit 15 conveys the sheet S to the fixing unit 50. In the fixing unit 50, the heat from the rotatable heating roller 51 and the pressure of the pressure roller 52 that is opposed to the rotatable heating roller 51 and fixes the toner image on the sheet S. The sheet S on which the toner image is fixed is conveyed to the paper discharge roller 60.
In the case of single-sided printing, the discharge roller 60 conveys the sheet S as it is to the outside of the apparatus, and the sheet S is stacked on the first discharge unit 70. The components of the printing apparatus 1 are controlled by a control device 800 described with reference to FIG.

Hereinafter, the double-sided printing process will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 2, the double-sided flapper 61 switches the conveyance path after the trailing edge of the sheet S has passed. Thereafter, the paper discharge roller 60 rotates in the reverse direction and conveys the sheet S to the duplex conveyance path 80. The switched back sheet S is conveyed to the document reading unit 100 via the conveyance roller 41. Thereafter, the sheet S is transported to the transport rollers 42 and 40, transported again to the transfer unit 15, and stacked on the first paper discharge unit 70 after the toner image is transferred and fixed.
Next, a process for reading document information and performing duplex printing on a recording material will be described.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 3, a process at the time of starting reading the document surface will be described. In the present embodiment, as the document sheet G, a specific sheet such as a preprint sheet, a barcode, a sheet on which a two-dimensional QR code (registered trademark) is printed can be read.
In FIG. 3, the original sheet G stored in the second paper feeding unit 90 is conveyed to the conveyance roller 41 one by one by the CIS pickup roller 91 and the separating unit 92. On the other hand, the document reading unit 100 emits light to the white reference member 101 and corrects the white reference value before the reading of the first surface of the document sheet G fed from the second sheet feeding unit 90 is the document surface. After performing the above, it is rotated to a position facing the double-sided conveyance path 80. The conveyance roller 41 conveys the document sheet G to the document reading unit 100. The document reading unit 100 is already waiting at a position facing the duplex conveyance path 80, and information read by the document reading unit 100 is stored in the image memory 804, which will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Remembered. It should be noted that the white reference member 101 is disposed downward and consideration is given to dust adhesion.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 4, a process at the end of reading of the first surface, which is the surface of the document, will be described.
In FIG. 4, the document sheet G that has passed through the document reading unit 100 is transported to the transport roller 42. The conveyance roller 42 stops when the trailing edge of the original sheet G passes through the switchback flapper 82. Accordingly, the document sheet G is stopped while being held between the conveyance rollers 42. After the elapse of a predetermined time, the document is conveyed to the original document conveyance path 81. The conveyance roller 42 is controlled so as to be reversibly driven in forward rotation and reverse rotation in order to reversely convey the original sheet.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 5, a process at the start of reading of the second side which is the back side of the document will be described.
In FIG. 5, the switchback flapper 82 switches the conveyance path from the duplex conveyance path 80 to the original document conveyance path 81, and at the same time, the document reading unit 100 rotates to a position facing the original document conveyance path 81. When the conveyance roller 42 rotates in the reverse direction, the document sheet G is conveyed to the document reading unit 100 along the document dedicated conveyance path 81. When the original sheet G is conveyed to and passed through the original reading unit 100, information on the second side, which is the back side of the original, is read and stored in the image memory 804 as information on the second side of the original.
The sheets S fed from the first sheet feeding unit 30 are conveyed to the conveying roller 40 one by one. At substantially the same time, a latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 10 based on the previous image information from the light emitting unit 21 based on the information on the second side which is the back side of the document stored in the image memory 804. Next, after the toner image formed by the latent image is transferred to the sheet S by the transfer unit 15, the sheet S is conveyed through the fixing unit 50 and the like, and the image formation on the second side of the document is completed. In FIG. 5, reading of the information on the second side, which is the back side of the document, is started and feeding of the sheet S is started. However, the sheet S may be conveyed after reading the information on the second side. .

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 6, a process at the end of reading the back side of the document will be described.
In FIG. 6, the document sheet G for which image reading has been completed is transported to the transport roller 43 and the transport roller 44 and stacked on the second paper discharge unit 110. When the trailing edge of the document sheet G passes through the switchback flapper 82, the sheet S to be printed on both sides is guided to the duplex conveyance path 80 by the reverse rotation of the paper discharge roller 60 and then conveyed to the conveyance roller 40. , Change the transport path. The sheet S fed in FIG. 5 is guided to the double-sided conveyance path 80 by reverse rotation of the paper discharge roller 60 after the formation of the first image by the photosensitive drum 10 and the fixing unit 50 is completed.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 7, a process for printing the image of the second surface on the sheet S will be described. The sheet S guided to the duplex conveyance path 80 is conveyed to the conveyance roller 42 and then conveyed to the conveyance roller 40, and the conveyed sheet S has an image on the first side of the document by the photosensitive drum 10 and the fixing unit 50. Is printed. Thereafter, the sheet S is discharged to the first paper discharge unit 70. Here, based on the image information on the first side of the document stored in the previous image memory 804, the image on the first side of the document is printed. As described above, images on both sides of the original sheet G can be copied on both sides of the sheet S.
In this embodiment, the conveyance path that is conveyed when the sheet S is printed on both sides and the conveyance path that conveys the original sheet are common. Here, after the document sheet is fed from the second sheet feeding unit 90, the document sheet passes through a common transport path and is transported to the photosensitive drum 10 and the fixing unit 50 without changing the transport direction. A conveyance path for printing an image is referred to as a direct path (first conveyance path). Although the details will be described later, the next transport path is referred to as a second transport path. After the document sheet is fed from the second sheet feeding unit 90, the document sheet is transported by the transport roller 41 and the transport roller 42, and the transport roller 42 is reversely rotated to transport the document sheet to the document dedicated transport path 81. Then, after the original sheet is conveyed again to the conveyance roller 43, the conveyance roller 43 is rotated in the reverse direction and conveyed to the conveyance roller 42. Thereafter, a conveyance path in which the original sheet conveyed to the conveyance roller 42 is conveyed by the conveyance roller 40 and an image is printed by the photosensitive drum 10 and the fixing unit 50 is referred to as a switchback path (second conveyance path). Regardless of whether the original sheet is conveyed by the first conveyance path or the second conveyance path, the original sheet is discharged to the first discharge unit 70 after the image is printed.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating the control configuration of the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, operations of the CPU 801 and the ASIC 802 in the image forming operation of the printing apparatus 1 will be described.
In FIG. 8, a CPU 801 is connected to a light emitting unit 21 including a polygon mirror, a motor, a laser light emitting element, and the like via an ASIC 802. The CPU 801 controls the optical unit 2 by outputting a control signal to the ASIC 802 in order to draw a desired latent image by scanning the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 with laser light.

  Similarly, the CPU 801 controls a main motor 830 for driving the CST pickup roller 31 and the conveyance roller 40, the photosensitive drum 10, the transfer unit 15, the heating roller 51, and the pressure roller 52 in order to convey the sheet S. Similarly, the CPU 801 turns on the main motor 830 to drive the CST pickup roller 31 at the start of driving of the paper feed roller that feeds the sheet S. Further, the CPU 801 controls drive systems such as a CST paper feed solenoid 822, a CIS pickup roller 91 and a double-sided motor 840 for driving the transport roller 4144.

Further, the CPU 801 controls the high voltage power source 810 that controls primary charging, development, primary transfer, and secondary transfer bias necessary for the electrophotographic process, as well as the fixing unit 50 and the low voltage power source 811. Further, the CPU 801 monitors the temperature with a thermistor (not shown) provided in the fixing unit 50 and performs control to keep the fixing temperature constant.
The CPU 801 is connected to the program memory 803 via a bus or the like (not shown). The program memory 803 stores a program and data for executing the above control and all or part of the processing performed by the CPU 801 in each embodiment described in this specification. That is, the CPU 801 executes the operation of each embodiment of the present invention using the program and data stored in the program memory 803.

  An ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 802 performs motor speed control inside the light emitting unit 21 and speed control of the main motor 830 and the double-sided motor 840 based on an instruction from the CPU 801. The speed control of the motor is performed by detecting a tack signal (pulse signal output from the motor each time the motor is rotated) from the motor (not shown) so that the interval between the tack signals becomes a predetermined time. On the other hand, an acceleration or deceleration signal is output. As described above, the control circuit is configured by a hardware circuit of the ASIC 802 so that the control load of the CPU 801 can be reduced.

When the CPU 801 receives a print command instructed from a host computer (not shown), the CPU 801 drives the main motor 830, the double-sided motor 840, and the CST paper feed solenoid 822 to convey the sheet S.
After the toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 is transferred by the transfer unit 15 to the sheet S, the toner image is fixed by the fixing unit 50 and then the first discharge as a recording material stacking unit by the paper discharge roller 60. It is discharged to the paper section 70. At this time, in order to improve the alignment of the image-formed recording material, the first paper discharge unit 70 is provided with a gentle upward slope from the vicinity of the paper discharge port toward the recording material discharge direction.

  Here, the CPU 801 supplies a predetermined amount of power to the fixing unit 50 via the low-voltage power supply 811 to generate a desired amount of heat and apply it to the sheet S, and fuse and fix the toner image on the recording material. Let

Next, the document reading operation in this embodiment will be described.
When the CPU 801 receives a scan command instructed from a host computer (not shown), it drives the double-sided flapper solenoid 820 and the double-sided motor 840 to operate the CIS paper feed solenoid. Accordingly, the torque of the double-sided motor 840 is transmitted to the CIS pickup roller 91, and the original sheet G is conveyed.
The document reading unit 100 is connected to the ASIC 802 by CISLED, CISSTART, SYSCLK, Sl_in, Sl_select, and Sl_out, which are various control signals described later.

  The CPU 801 stores an image read from the document reading unit 100 through various controls via the ASIC 802 in an image memory 804 connected to the ASIC 802. Thereafter, the CPU 801 operates the switchback solenoid 821 to tilt the switchback flapper 82 toward the original document conveying path, reverse the double-sided motor 840, and convey the original sheet G to the second paper discharge unit 110.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a reading process of the document reading unit 100 shown in FIG. In this example, a CIS sensor (Contact Image Sensor) is used as an example of an image sensor.
In FIG. 9, reference numeral 901 denotes a contact image sensor portion. For example, photodiodes for 10368 pixels are arranged in an array at a specific main scanning density (for example, 1200 dpi). A start pulse signal (CISSTART) 902 is input to the output buffer 904. A transfer clock (CISCLK) 915 is input to the shift register 905.

  A system clock (SYSCLK) 914 is input to the timing generator 917. Here, the reading operation speed of the document reading unit 100 is determined based on the frequency of the SYSCLK 914. Reference numeral 908 denotes an A / D converter, which determines a sampling rate based on ADCLK 916. A light emitting element control signal 903 and a current amplifier 906 are supplied with a light emitting element control signal (CISLED) 903 to control the light quantity of the light emitting element 907. The amount of light emitted from the light emitting element 907 is controlled so as to uniformly irradiate the original sheet G based on a light emitting element control signal (CISLED) 903. A control circuit 911 variably controls the A / D conversion gain of the A / D converter 908 by Sl_in 912 and Sl_select 913. Reference numeral 909 denotes an output interface circuit which is controlled at a predetermined timing and outputs Sl_out 910 as serial data.

Next, a CIS reading operation will be described.
When CISSTART 902 is activated, the CIS sensor unit 901 starts accumulating charges based on the received light, and sequentially sets data in the output buffer 904. Next, when CISCLK 915 (for example, about 500 kHz 1 MHz) is applied, the data set in the output buffer 904 is transferred to the A / D converter 908 as the CISSNS 918 by the shift register 905.
Since this CISSNS 918 has a predetermined data guarantee area, it is necessary to perform sampling after a predetermined time has elapsed from the rising timing of the transfer clock CISCLK 915. The CISSNS 918 is output in synchronization with both rising and falling edges of the CISCLK 915.

Therefore, the frequency of the ADCLK 916 serving as the CIS sampling clock is generated to be twice that of the transfer clock CISCLK 915, and the CISSNS 918 is sampled at the rising edge of the ADCLK 916. The timing generator 917 divides the SYSCLK 914 to generate ADCLK 916 and CISCLK 915, and the phase of the ADCLK 916 is delayed by the data guarantee area compared to the CISCLK 915.
The CISSNS 918 digitally converted by the A / D converter 908 is controlled at a predetermined timing by the output interface circuit 909 and is output as serial data to the Sl_out 910. At that time, an analog output reference voltage is output from CISSTART 902 to CISSNS 918 for a predetermined number of pixels and cannot be used as an effective pixel.

On the other hand, the A / D conversion gain of the A / D converter 908 can be variably controlled by the control circuit 911 by Sl_in 912 and Sl_select 913.
For example, when the contrast of the captured image cannot be obtained, the CPU 801 can increase the contrast by increasing the A / D conversion gain of the A / D converter 908 and can always capture with the best contrast.
Here, a description has been given of a system in which all pixels are output as one CISSNS signal 918. However, for high-speed reading, pixels may be divided into areas and A / D conversion may be performed on a plurality of areas simultaneously. good. Although the description has been made so far using the CIS sensor in the document reading unit 100, it can be replaced with a CMOS sensor, a CCD sensor, or the like.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a control method of the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. In the process described below, the CPU 801 of the printing apparatus 1 executes the operation of this embodiment using a program and data stored in the program memory 303. In the present embodiment, on-print control will be described. In the on-print control, the printing apparatus feeds a document sheet set in the second sheet feeding unit 90, reads an image of the document sheet by the document reading unit 100, and reads the document sheet with the transport roller 42 and the transport roller. 40 is conveyed to the photosensitive drum 10. The printing apparatus is a control for causing the photosensitive drum 10 to print an image on the original sheet in accordance with image data generated based on the read original image. As the types of on-print control, four types of (1) printing on preprinted paper, (2) bar code reading, (3) blank paper confirmation, and (4) colored paper confirmation will be described as examples. Note that the four types of onprints used in the description are examples, and the types of onprints are not limited thereto. Hereinafter, when printing the generated image data on an original sheet, whether the conveyance path of the original sheet G is a direct path or a switchback path having a longer conveyance distance than the direct path, depending on the type of on-printing. Control for switching will be described.

In FIG. 11, “printing on preprinted paper” in (1) is performed by reading a sheet on which an image has been printed in advance and whose format has been determined, and making adjustments to fit the image into the form of the read format. Some print images.
“Barcode reading” in (2) reads an image of a document in which information is embedded with a barcode or QR code (registered trademark), acquires image data from the memory based on the information, and acquires the acquired image. An image is printed based on the data. Note that the image data may be acquired from an external server indicated by URLni included in the barcode or QR code (registered trademark) instead of the memory.
Further, “Blank Check” in (3) is for printing when a sheet is read and it is determined whether the sheet is blank or not.
Further, (4) “colored paper check” is to print when the paper is read, it is determined whether the paper is of the color specified by the user, and it is determined that the color is specified.

  Further, description will be given based on two types of “switchback path” and “direct path” as a plurality of paths for transporting paper from the reading unit to the printing unit (FIG. 11). Note that the two types of transport paths used in the description are examples, and are not limited to these. Here, assuming that the time until the sheet is conveyed to the printing means by the “direct path” is a predetermined time, the “switchback path” allows the sheet to be conveyed in the conveyance path as described above. This is a transport path for making the time until transport to the printing means longer than a predetermined time.

  If the CPU 801 determines that the above-described on-print is instructed in S1001, the CPU 801 reads the instructed on-print type in S1002. In step S <b> 1003, the CPU 801 determines whether to use a switchback path or a direct path based on the read on-print type. Here, it is assumed that the transport path to be used is determined in advance according to the type of on-print as shown in FIG. The table shown in FIG. 11 is stored in the program memory 803 and is referred to by the CPU 801. In the present embodiment, when the type of on-print is “printing on preprinted paper” or “barcode reading”, “switchback path” is determined. On the other hand, when the type of on-print is “Blank Check” or “Colored Paper Check”, “Direct Pass” is determined as the transport pass.

  “Print on preprinted paper” and “Load barcode” analyze the read image and generate output image data based on the analysis result. Image data generation is completed and the image can be printed. It takes time to become. Therefore, a “switchback path” having a long time until the document sheet is conveyed to the printing unit is determined, and the generation of the image data is made in time for printing the image. On the other hand, “white paper confirmation” and “colored paper confirmation” can be processed in real time by hardware, and it is not necessary to extend the time until the original sheet is conveyed to the printing means.

  When the CPU 801 determines that the switchback path is in S1003, in S1004, the CPU 801 sets the transport path to the switchback path. On the other hand, if the CPU 801 determines that it is not a switchback path in S1003, the transport path is directly set as a path in S1005.

  In step S1006, the original sheet G stored in the second paper supply unit 90 is supplied (FIG. 3). In step S1007, the original reading unit 100 reads an image (FIG. 3). In step S1008, the CPU 801 determines whether the set transport path is a switchback path. If the CPU 801 determines that the switchback path is in S1008, the document sheet G is conveyed using the switchback path. If the CPU 801 determines that the switchback path is not selected, the document sheet G is conveyed using the direct path.

  In the case of the switchback path, the CPU 801 controls the driving of the conveying roller 42 after the reading to switch back the original sheet G (FIG. 4) and convey it to the original conveying path 81 (FIG. 5). . Further, the CPU 801 controls the driving of the conveying roller 43 to control the document sheet G to be switched back after the reading of the image of the original sheet G and conveyed to the conveying roller 40 via the conveying roller 42 ( (See FIG. 12). In the case of the direct path, the CPU 801 controls the conveyance roller 42 to convey the document sheet G to the conveyance roller 40 without switching back after the reading of the image of the document sheet G is completed (see FIG. 12).

  In step S <b> 1011, the CPU 801 generates image data to be printed based on an image read from the document sheet G. Here, according to the instructed on-print type, an image read from the document sheet G is analyzed and image data to be output is generated. In step S1012, the CPU 801 prints out the image data generated in step S1011 on the original sheet G that is transported after being switched back (FIG. 1), and ends the process.

According to this embodiment, the first conveyance path that can wait for the sheet in the conveyance path and the second conveyance path that cannot wait for the sheet in the conveyance path are provided, and the on-print type is set. Accordingly, it is selected in advance which transport path is to be used. For this reason, if the second pass is used to generate an image to be printed, the second pass is selected, so that the sheet can be conveyed from the reading unit to the printing unit at a high speed.
Further, by realizing the first conveyance path that can wait for the sheet in the conveyance path by switchback, it is not necessary to provide a mechanism for stopping the sheet immediately before the printing unit, thereby reducing the cost. It becomes possible.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining a control method of the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. This example is a processing example in which printing is performed by controlling the conveyance of the original sheet G and the sheet S to be printed. In the process described below, the CPU 801 of the printing apparatus 1 executes the operation of this embodiment using a program and data stored in the program memory 303.
If the CPU 801 determines that on-printing has been instructed in S1301, the CPU 801 controls to feed the original sheet G stored in the second paper feed unit 90 in S1302 (FIG. 3). In step S1303, the CPU 801 causes the document reading unit 100 to read an image on the document sheet G (FIG. 3). In step S <b> 1304, the CPU 801 determines to convey the document sheet G through the switchback path.

  In step S <b> 1305, the CPU 801 generates image data to be printed on the sheet based on the image read from the document sheet G. If the generation of image data to be printed is completed in step S1305, the CPU 801 determines in step S1306 whether it is a timing that can be changed to a direct path while the document sheet G is being conveyed. At this time, when the switchback is not performed in the conveyance roller 42, the CPU 801 determines that the path can be directly changed to the path. On the other hand, if the switchback has already been performed on the conveyance roller 42 and the switchback process is being performed, the CPU 801 determines that the path cannot be changed directly.

  If the CPU 801 determines that the timing can be changed to the direct path in S1306, in S1307, the CPU 801 controls to switch the conveyance path to the direct path and convey the original sheet G. On the other hand, if the CPU 801 determines in S1306 that it is not the timing that can be changed to the direct path, the CPU 801 performs control so that the original sheet G is conveyed by the switchback path. Next, in step S1308, the CPU 801 prints out the image data generated in step S1305 to the document sheet G to be fed (FIG. 1), and ends this processing.

  According to the present embodiment, when it is determined that the second pass can be changed at the timing when the generation of the image to be printed is completed, the transport pass is changed to the second pass. Therefore, it is possible to increase the speed of paper conveyance from the reading unit to the printing unit without determining a conveyance path in advance as in the first embodiment.

  Each process of the present invention can also be realized by executing software (program) acquired via a network or various storage media by a processing device (CPU, processor) such as a personal computer (computer).

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications (including organic combinations of the embodiments) are possible based on the spirit of the present invention, and these are excluded from the scope of the present invention. is not.

801 CPU
802 ASIC
803 Program memory

Claims (10)

Printing means for printing on a sheet conveyed using a predetermined conveyance path;
Reading means for reading a document sheet using the predetermined conveying path;
Generating means for generating image data to be printed by the printing means based on the read image;
When printing the generated image data on the document sheet, the document sheet transport path includes a first transport path for transporting the document sheet to a printing unit without waiting, and the document sheet is printed on the first sheet. Control means for switching to one of the second transport paths longer than the transport path;
A printing apparatus comprising:   2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the document sheet is a specific sheet, the control unit switches the transport path of the document sheet to the second transport path. When the document sheet is a specific sheet, the control unit includes a determination unit that determines whether or not the document sheet conveyance path need not be switched to the second conveyance path;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that switching to the second transport path is not necessary, the transport path of the document sheet is switched to the first transport path.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a conveyance unit that switches back the original sheet conveyed to the second conveyance path and conveys the original sheet to the first conveyance path.   5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reading unit reads both sides of the document sheet using the second conveyance path. 6.   The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the specific sheet is a preprinted sheet or a sheet on which a barcode is printed.   The printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein image data to be printed based on the bar code is stored in advance.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined conveyance path is used to reversely convey a printed sheet or to convey the document sheet. A printing apparatus control method comprising: a printing unit that performs printing on a sheet that is conveyed using a predetermined conveyance path; and a reading unit that reads a document sheet using the predetermined conveyance path.
A generating step for generating image data to be printed by the printing unit based on the read image;
When printing the generated image data on the document sheet, the document sheet transport path includes a first transport path for transporting the sheet to a printing unit without waiting, and the sheet for the first transport path. A control step of switching to one of the longer second transport paths;
A control method for a printing apparatus, comprising:   A program for causing a computer to execute the method for controlling a printing apparatus according to claim 9.

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