JP2015187018A - Recording device and discharge method of recording medium of the device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable output as a high quality recording medium by preventing a recorded recording medium which has been discharged to a tray from being damaged and the quality from deteriorating.SOLUTION: According to the size of recording media used for each printing job, the recorded recording media by each printing job are classified into one of a plurality of groups, and when discharging the classified recording media into a tray, the following processing is performed. That is, presence/absence of the recording media loaded on the tray is determined, and when there are recording media loaded on the tray, it is determined whether, by the recording media discharged by the next printing job, a loading limit of the tray is exceeded or not. Next, when the presence of the recording media loaded on the tray is determined, and also, it is determined that the loading limit of the tray is not exceeded, the group of the recording media loaded at the uppermost part out of the recording media already discharged in the tray is determined. Then, according to the group of the classified recording media and the three determination results, whether or not to perform discharging is determined.

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a recording medium discharging method of the apparatus, and more particularly, to a recording apparatus that performs recording using a full line recording head according to an inkjet method, and a recording medium discharging method of the apparatus.

  In the recording apparatus, a configuration for performing job sorting on a paper discharge tray for discharging a recording medium after recording has been proposed.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, the size of a sheet that has been ejected on a tray is compared with the size that will be supplied, and job sorting is performed by overlapping jobs of different sizes on the tray.

JP 2001-019271 A

  However, the above-mentioned conventional example is a countermeasure mainly for plain paper used in a copying machine, and cannot sufficiently cope with high-quality album photo paper whose demand has been rapidly increasing in recent years. Such albums are in demand for family trips, graduation albums, and the like, and in particular, there is a high demand for high-quality printing on photo glossy paper using an ink jet recording apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a recording apparatus).

  Moreover, the following problems have occurred in the conventional example.

  (1) No consideration is given to a case where a paper size that is extremely larger than the paper already discharged on the tray is discharged on the tray. The paper accumulated in the tray may collapse, and the load balance may not be good due to friction caused by the discharged paper. Further, if the unstucked stacked sheets are left as they are, the sheets are deformed and curled, and the finished quality at the time of creating the album is lowered. These problems are particularly noticeable with photographic glossy media, and are difficult to occur in a copying machine using plain paper having a relatively small size difference.

  (2) In the conventional example, sheets of the same size cannot be stacked in a state where jobs are sorted on the discharge tray, and there are significant restrictions on the stacking conditions. For example, when continuously printing on 8.27 × 8.27 inch paper, which is the main size for album creation, jobs can be printed only for the number of trays at a time.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional example, and a recording apparatus capable of preventing a recorded recording medium discharged to a tray from being damaged or degrading and capable of outputting as a high-quality recording medium and its It is an object to provide a method for discharging a recording medium of an apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, the recording apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration.

  That is, according to the size of the recording medium used in each print job, a sorting unit that sorts the recording media recorded by each print job into any of a plurality of groups, and the recording media sorted into the plurality of groups in a tray. And a first discriminating unit for discriminating whether or not there is a recording medium stacked on the tray, and a recording medium discharged by the next print job when there is a recording medium stacked on the tray. And determining whether or not there is a recording medium loaded on the tray by the first determination unit, and determining whether or not the tray stacking limit is exceeded. If it is determined that the stacking limit of the tray is not exceeded, the group of recording media stacked on the top of the recording media already discharged to the tray A third discriminating means for discriminating a group, a group of the recording media sorted by the sorting means, a result of discrimination by the first discriminating means, a result of discrimination by the second discriminating means, And determining means for determining whether or not to discharge by the discharging means in accordance with the result of determination by the third determining means.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for discharging a recording medium on which recording has been performed in a recording apparatus, wherein the recording medium recorded by each print job is recorded according to the size of the recording medium used in each print job. A sorting step for sorting into any of a plurality of groups, a discharging step for discharging the recording media sorted into the plurality of groups to a tray, and a first discriminating step for discriminating the presence or absence of the recording media stacked on the tray A second determination step of determining whether or not the tray stacking limit is exceeded by a recording medium discharged by a next print job when there is a recording medium stacked on the tray; and the first determination In the step, it is determined that there is a recording medium loaded on the tray, and in the second determination step, it is determined that the tray stacking limit is not exceeded. A third discriminating step for discriminating a group of the recording media stacked on the top of the recording media already discharged to the tray, the group of the recording media sorted, and the first A determination step for determining whether or not to discharge in the discharge step according to a determination result in the determination step, a determination result in the second determination step, and a determination result in the third determination step; The recording medium discharging method is provided.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the recorded recording medium discharged to the tray from being damaged or to deteriorate the quality and maintain the recording medium as a high-quality recording medium.

  Further, in the case where a plurality of trays are provided, it is possible to efficiently load recording media on each tray and to use the maximum loading capacity of the tray.

1 is a schematic sectional side view showing an internal configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus which is a typical embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an operation during single-sided recording in the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an operation during double-sided recording in the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the control part of the recording device shown in FIGS. It is a figure which shows the mode at the time of job sorting according to the conventional method. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a discharge process according to the first embodiment. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example in which sheets are discharged and stacked on one tray according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control part according to Example 2. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating tray movement control according to the second embodiment. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example in which sheets are discharged and stacked on one tray according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a discharge process according to the third embodiment.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described more specifically and in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to already demonstrated part and duplication description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In this specification, “recording” (sometimes referred to as “printing”) is not limited to the case of forming significant information such as characters and graphics, but may be significant. It also represents the case where an image, a pattern, a pattern, etc. are widely formed on a recording medium, or the medium is processed, regardless of whether it is manifested so that humans can perceive it visually. .

  “Recording medium” refers not only to paper used in general recording apparatuses but also widely to cloth, plastic film, metal plate, glass, ceramics, wood, leather, and the like that can accept ink. Shall.

  Further, “ink” (sometimes referred to as “liquid”) should be interpreted widely as in the definition of “recording (printing)”. Therefore, by being applied on the recording medium, it is used for formation of images, patterns, patterns, etc., processing of the recording medium, or ink processing (for example, solidification or insolubilization of the colorant in the ink applied to the recording medium). It shall represent a liquid that can be made.

  Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the “nozzle” collectively refers to an ejection port or a liquid channel communicating with the ejection port and an element that generates energy used for ink ejection.

  An element substrate (head substrate) for a recording head to be used below does not indicate a simple substrate made of a silicon semiconductor but indicates a configuration in which each element, wiring, and the like are provided.

  Further, the term “on the substrate” means not only the element substrate but also the surface of the element substrate and the inside of the element substrate near the surface. In addition, the term “built-in” as used in the present invention is not a term indicating that each individual element is simply arranged separately on the surface of the substrate, but each element is manufactured in a semiconductor circuit. It shows that it is integrally formed and manufactured on an element plate by a process or the like.

  Next, examples of the ink jet recording apparatus will be described. This recording apparatus uses a continuous sheet (recording medium) wound in a roll shape, and is a high-speed line printer that supports both single-sided recording and double-sided recording. For example, it is suitable for a large number of print fields in a print laboratory or the like.

  FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a schematic internal configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a recording apparatus) which is a typical embodiment of the present invention. The inside of the apparatus is roughly divided into a sheet supply unit 1, a decurling unit 2, a skew correction unit 3, a recording unit 4, a cleaning unit (not shown), an inspection unit 5, a cutter unit 6, an information recording unit 7, a drying unit 8, and a sheet. It is divided into a winding unit 9, a discharge transport unit 10, a sorter unit 11, a discharge unit 12, a control unit 13, and the like. A sheet is conveyed by a conveyance mechanism including a roller pair and a belt along a sheet conveyance path indicated by a solid line in the drawing, and is processed in each unit.

  The sheet supply unit 1 is a unit that stores and supplies a continuous sheet wound in a roll shape. The sheet supply unit 1 can store two rolls R <b> 1 and R <b> 2, and is configured to selectively pull out and supply a sheet. The number of rolls that can be stored is not limited to two, and one or three or more rolls may be stored. The plurality of roll-shaped continuous sheets may have the same width or different widths. Further, the quality may be glossy for high-quality printing, or may be for ordinary printing.

  The decurling unit 2 is a unit that reduces curling (warping) of the sheet supplied from the sheet supply unit 1. In the decurling unit 2, curling is reduced by using two pinch rollers for one driving roller and curving the sheet so as to give a curl in the opposite direction of curling. The skew correction unit 3 is a unit that corrects skew (inclination with respect to the original traveling direction) of the sheet that has passed through the decurling unit 2. The sheet skew is corrected by pressing the sheet end on the reference side against the guide member.

  The recording unit 4 is a unit that forms an image on the sheet by the recording head unit 14 with respect to the conveyed sheet. The recording unit 4 also includes a plurality of conveyance rollers that convey the sheet. The recording head unit 14 has a full line recording head (inkjet recording head) in which an inkjet nozzle row is formed in a range that covers the maximum width of a sheet that is assumed to be used. In the recording head unit 14, a plurality of recording heads are arranged in parallel along the sheet conveyance direction. In this embodiment, there are four recording heads corresponding to four colors of K (black), C (cyan), M (magenta), and Y (yellow). The arrangement order of the recording heads is K, C, M, Y from the upstream side of the sheet conveyance. The number of ink colors and the number of recording heads are not limited to four. For example, a configuration having seven recording heads corresponding to seven colors of C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), LC (light cyan), LM (light magenta), G (gray), and K (black). But it ’s okay.

  As the ink jet method, a method using a heating element, a method using a piezo element, a method using an electrostatic element, a method using a MEMS element, or the like can be adopted. The ink of each color is supplied from the ink tank to the recording head unit 14 via the ink tube.

  The inspection unit 5 is a unit that optically reads the inspection pattern or image recorded on the sheet by the recording unit 4 and inspects the nozzle state of the recording head, the sheet conveyance state, the image position, and the like. The inspection unit 5 includes a scanner unit that actually reads an image and generates an image data, and an image analysis unit that analyzes the read image and returns an analysis result to the recording unit 4. The inspection unit 5 is a CCD line sensor or a CMOS image sensor, and the sensors are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction.

  The cutter unit 6 is a unit including a mechanical cutter that cuts a recording medium after recording into a predetermined length. The cutter unit 6 also includes a plurality of conveying rollers for sending the recording medium to the next process. The information recording unit 7 is a unit that records recording information such as a serial number and date of recording on the back surface of the cut recording medium. The recording is performed by a recording head according to an ink jet method, a thermal transfer method, or the like. The drying unit 8 is a unit that heats the recording medium recorded by the recording unit 4 and dries the applied ink in a short time. The drying unit 8 also includes a conveyance belt and a conveyance roller for sending the recording medium to the next process. The drying unit 8 dries the ink application surface by applying hot air to the sheet passing through the inside from at least the lower surface side. The drying method is not limited to the method of applying hot air, and may be a method of irradiating the sheet surface with electromagnetic waves (such as ultraviolet rays and infrared rays).

  The sheet conveyance path from the sheet supply unit 1 to the drying unit 8 is referred to as a first path. The first path has a U-turn shape between the recording unit 4 and the drying unit 8, and the cutter unit 6 is located in the middle of the U-turn shape.

  The sheet take-up unit 9 is a unit that temporarily takes up a recording medium such as continuous roll paper on which surface recording has been completed when performing double-sided recording. The sheet winding unit 9 includes a rotating winding drum for winding the recording medium. The sheet winding unit 9 is a path (loop path: referred to as a second path) from the drying unit 8 to the recording unit 4 through the decurling unit 2 for supplying the sheet that has passed through the drying unit 8 to the recording unit 4 again. It is provided on the way. A recording medium such as continuous roll paper that has been subjected to surface recording and has not been cut is temporarily wound around a winding drum. After the winding is completed, the winding drum rotates in the reverse direction, and the wound recording medium is supplied to the decurling unit 2 and sent to the recording unit 4. Since the recording medium is reversed, the recording unit 4 can perform recording on the back surface. More specific operation of double-sided recording will be described later.

  The discharge conveyance unit 10 is a unit for conveying the recording medium cut by the cutter unit 6 and dried by the drying unit 8 and delivering the recording medium to the sorter unit 11. The discharge conveyance unit 10 is provided in a path (referred to as a third path) different from the second path in which the sheet winding unit 9 is provided. In order to selectively guide the sheet conveyed on the first path to one of the second path and the third path, a path switching mechanism having a movable flapper is provided at a branch position of the path.

  The sorter unit 11 and the discharge unit 12 are provided on the side of the sheet supply unit 1 and at the end of the third path. The sorter unit 11 is a unit that sorts the recorded recording media for each group as needed, sorts them on different trays 12a and 12b of the discharge unit 12, and discharges them. In this way, the third path has a layout that passes below the sheet supply unit 1 and discharges the sheet to the opposite side of the recording unit 4 and the drying unit 8 across the sheet supply unit 1.

  The control unit 13 is a unit that controls each part of the recording apparatus. The control unit 13 includes a CPU, a memory, a controller 15 having various I / O interfaces, and a power source. The operation of the recording apparatus is controlled based on a command from a host device 16 such as a controller 15 or a host computer connected to the controller 15 via an I / O interface.

  Although not illustrated, the recording apparatus includes a humidifying unit that generates and supplies humidified gas (air) between the recording head unit 14 of the recording unit 4 and the sheet. Thereby, ink drying of the nozzles of the recording head unit 14 is suppressed. As the humidification method of the humidification unit, a vaporization method, a water spray method, a steam method, or the like is adopted. As the vaporization type, in addition to the rotary type, there are a moisture permeable membrane type, a drop penetration type, a capillary type, and the like. The water spray type includes an ultrasonic type, a centrifugal type, a high-pressure spray type, and a two-fluid spray type. The steam type includes a steam piping type, an electric heating type, and an electrode type.

  The humidification unit and the recording unit 4 are connected by a first duct (not shown), and the humidification unit and the drying unit 8 are further connected by a second duct 22 (not shown). The drying unit 8 generates a humid and high-temperature gas when the sheet is dried. This gas is introduced into the humidification unit through the second duct and used as auxiliary energy for generating the humidified gas in the humidification unit. Then, the humidified gas generated by the humidifying unit is introduced into the recording unit 4 through the first duct.

  As described above, the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is compatible with both single-sided recording and double-sided recording. FIGS. 2 and 3 are respectively the operations during single-sided recording in the recording apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an operation during double-sided recording.

  Next, the basic operation during recording will be described. Since the recording operation differs between single-sided recording and double-sided recording, each will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation during single-sided recording.

  In FIG. 2, the transport path from when the recording medium supplied from the sheet supply unit 1 is recorded and discharged to the discharge unit 12 is indicated by a bold line. The recording medium supplied from the sheet supply unit 1 and processed by the decurling unit 2 and the skew correction unit 3 is recorded on the surface by the recording unit 4. The recorded recording medium passes through the inspection unit 5 and is cut into predetermined unit lengths set in advance in the cutter unit 6. In the cut recording medium, recording information is recorded on the back surface of the recording medium by the information recording unit 7 as necessary. The cut recording medium is conveyed to the drying unit 8 one by one and dried. Thereafter, the sheet is sequentially discharged and stacked on the discharge unit 12 of the sorter unit 11 via the discharge conveyance unit 10.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation during double-sided recording.

  In double-sided recording, the back surface recording sequence is executed after the front surface recording sequence. In the first front surface recording sequence, the operation in each unit from the sheet supply unit 1 to the inspection unit 5 is the same as the one-side recording operation described above. However, the cutter unit 6 does not perform the cutting operation and is conveyed to the drying unit 8 as a continuous recording medium. After the surface ink is dried by the drying unit 8, the recording medium is introduced not to the path toward the discharge conveyance unit 10 but to the path toward the sheet winding unit 9.

  The introduced recording medium is wound around the winding drum of the sheet winding unit 9 that rotates in the forward direction (counterclockwise in the drawing). In the recording unit 4, when all scheduled recording of the surface is completed, the rear end of the recording area of the continuous recording medium is cut by the cutter unit 6. With reference to the cut position, the continuous recording medium on the downstream side (recorded side) in the conveying direction is wound up to the recording medium rear end (cut position) by the sheet winding unit 9 through the drying unit 8. On the other hand, the continuous recording medium upstream in the transport direction from the cut position is rewound onto the sheet supply unit 1 so that the leading end (cut position) of the recording medium does not remain in the decurling unit 2.

  After the front surface recording sequence, the recording operation is switched to the back surface recording sequence.

  The take-up drum of the sheet take-up unit 9 rotates in the opposite direction (clockwise direction in the drawing) to the time of take-up. The end of the wound recording medium (the trailing end of the recording medium at the time of winding becomes the leading end of the recording medium at the time of feeding) is fed into the decurling unit 2. The decurling unit 2 performs curl correction in the opposite direction. This is because the recording medium wound around the take-up drum is wound upside down from the roll in the sheet supply unit 1 and is curled in the opposite direction. Thereafter, the recording is performed on the back surface of the recording medium cut in the front surface recording sequence by the recording unit 4 through the skew correction unit 3. The recorded recording medium passes through the inspection unit 5 and is cut into predetermined unit lengths set in advance in the cutter unit 6. Since the recording medium cut at this time is recorded on both sides, recording by the information recording unit 7 is not performed. The cut recording media are conveyed one by one to the drying unit 8, and sequentially discharged and stacked on the discharge unit 12 of the sorter unit 11 via the discharge conveyance unit 10.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the control unit 13 of the recording apparatus shown in FIGS.

  4 includes a CPU 201, a ROM 202, a RAM 203, a HDD 204, an image processing unit 207, an engine control unit 208, and an individual unit control unit 209. These components are connected to the system bus 210 and can exchange information with each other.

  The CPU 201 controls the operation of each unit of the recording apparatus in an integrated manner. The ROM 202 stores programs to be executed by the CPU 201 and fixed data necessary for various operations of the recording apparatus. The RAM 203 is used as a work area for the CPU 201, is used as a temporary storage area for various received data, and stores various setting data. An HDD (hard disk) 204 stores programs to be executed by the CPU 201, recording data, and setting information necessary for various operations of the recording apparatus, and can be read as appropriate.

  In addition to the controller 15, the control unit 13 includes an external interface (I / F) 205 serving as an interface between the operation unit 206 and the host device. The external interface 205 is an interface (I / F) for connecting the controller 15 to the host device 16 and is a local I / F or a network I / F.

  The operation unit 206 is an input / output interface for information with the user, and includes an input unit such as a hard key and a touch panel, and an output unit such as a display for presenting information and a sound generator. For example, an LCD with a touch panel is used, and the operation status, recording status, maintenance information (ink remaining amount, remaining sheet amount, maintenance status, etc.) of the apparatus and the like are displayed to the user. The user can input various information from the touch panel.

  A dedicated processing unit is provided for units that require high-speed data processing. The image processing unit 207 performs image processing of recording data handled by the recording apparatus. The color space (for example, YCbCr) of the input image data is converted into a standard RGB color space (for example, sRGB). Various image processing such as resolution conversion, image analysis, and image correction is performed on the image data as necessary. The recording data obtained by these image processes is stored in the RAM 203 or HDD 204.

  The engine control unit 208 performs drive control of the recording head unit 14 of the recording unit 4 according to the recording data based on the control command received from the CPU 201 or the like. The engine control unit 208 also controls the transport mechanism of each unit in the recording apparatus. The individual unit control unit 209 includes a sheet supply unit 1, a decurling unit 2, a skew correction unit 3, an inspection unit 5, a cutter unit 6, an information recording unit 7, a sheet winding unit 9, a discharge conveyance unit 10, a sorter unit 11, It is a sub-controller for controlling each unit of the discharge unit 12 and the humidification unit individually. The individual unit control unit 209 controls the operation of each unit based on a command from the CPU 201.

  The above components are connected by the system bus 210.

  The host device 16 is a device serving as a supply source of image data for causing the recording device to perform recording. The host device 16 may be a general-purpose or dedicated computer, or may be a dedicated image device such as an image capture having an image reading unit, a digital camera, or a photo storage. When the host device 16 is a computer, an OS, application software for generating image data, and a printer driver for the recording device are installed in a storage device included in the computer.

  Note that it is not essential to implement all of the above processing by software, and a part or all of the processing may be realized by hardware.

  Next, some examples of the discharging process to the sorter unit in the recording apparatus having the above-described configuration will be described.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that the next sheet size is discharged to the tray of the discharge unit 12. That is, the sheet has a size of 4 × 6 inches, 5 × 7 inches, 8.27 × 8.27 inches, 10 × 10 inches, 12 × 12 inches, and 12 × 18 inches. The recording apparatus mainly performs album printing. For example, the first print job has a size of 8.27 × 8.27 inches and 20 pages, and the next print job has a size of 5 × 7 inches and 30 pages. Thus, one print job corresponding to one album is configured. In recent years, such albums have been in great demand for family trips, graduation albums, and the like. In particular, as described above, the demand for high-quality printing on glossy photographic paper is rapidly increasing.

  First, a comparative example for comparing effects in the embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which jobs are sorted according to a conventional method. FIG. 5 shows a state where a plurality of sheets of a plurality of sizes are discharged and stacked on one tray 12a.

  In the example shown in FIG. 5, first, a plurality of 6 inch wide sheets, a plurality of 5 inch wide sheets, and a plurality of 12 inch wide sheets are discharged and stacked on the top. Yes. As is clear from FIG. 5, job sorting is performed, but the uppermost sheet is not well balanced in the stacked state. Therefore, during the paper discharge operation, the sheet may fall off, scratch the result, or the order in the job may be out of order. There was a possibility that curls would cause a big problem when binding the album.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the discharge process according to the first embodiment.

  In this embodiment, the sheet size is managed in two groups. The first group consists of 4 × 6 inch and 5 × 7 inch sheets which are relatively small sizes, and the second group is 8.27 × 8.27 inch, 10 × 10 inch and 12 which are relatively large sizes. It consists of x12 inch and 12 x 18 inch sheets.

  Each group of sheets is gathered in a size that is close to the width and length of the sheets so that they are stable when ejected and stacked on a tray. The first group is preferentially discharged and stacked on the first tray 12a, and the second group is preferentially discharged and stacked on the second tray 12b. All the sheet sizes in the same print job are the same.

  Each of the two trays 12a and 12b is provided with a sensor that detects the presence or absence of a sheet on each tray and, if a sheet is present, measures the weight and the number of sheets to limit stacking. You can check if it exceeds. In this embodiment, the maximum stack number of each tray is 500 sheets.

  First, in step S100, it is checked whether or not the next print job is discharged in the first group. If it is the first group, the process proceeds to step S110 to check whether or not sheets are stacked on the first tray 12a. If there is no sheet stacking, the process proceeds to step S130, and the sheet is discharged to the first tray 12a. Then, the process ends. On the other hand, if there is a stack of sheets, the process proceeds to step S120 to check whether the first tray 12a exceeds the stacking limit. If the load limit is not exceeded, the process proceeds to step S130, and the above-described process is executed. On the other hand, if the load limit is exceeded, the process proceeds to step S170.

  In step S170, it is checked whether or not sheets are stacked on the second tray 12b. If there is no sheet stacking, the process proceeds to step S190, and the sheet is discharged to the second tray 12b. Then, the process ends. On the other hand, if there is sheet stacking, the process proceeds to step S180 to check whether the second tray 12b exceeds the stacking limit. If the load limit is not exceeded, the process proceeds to step S190, and the above-described process is executed. On the other hand, if the load limit is exceeded, the process proceeds to step S200. In step S200, a message prompting to remove sheets from the two trays 12a and 12b is displayed on the display of the operation unit 206.

  If it is determined in step S100 that the next print job is to be discharged from the second group, the process proceeds to step S140 to check whether sheets are stacked on the second tray 12b. If there is no sheet stacking, the process proceeds to step S160, and the sheet is discharged to the second tray 12b. Then, the process ends. On the other hand, if there is a stack of sheets, the process proceeds to step S150, where the first tray 12a does not exceed the stacking limit and the print job stacked on the top of the tray is the second group. Find out. Here, if the condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S160, and the above-described process is executed. On the other hand, if the condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S210.

  In step S210, it is checked whether or not sheets are stacked on the first tray 12a. If there is no sheet stacking, the process proceeds to step S240, and the sheet is discharged to the first tray 12a. Then, the process ends. On the other hand, if there is a stack of sheets, the process proceeds to step S220, and it is checked whether or not the print job stacked on the top of the first tray 12a is the second group. Here, if the condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S240, and the above-described process is executed. On the other hand, if the condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S230. In step S230, a message prompting to remove sheets from the two trays 12a and 12b is displayed on the display of the operation unit 206 as in step S200.

  After the processing as described above is performed and then a sheet bundle is taken out from the tray, a job sorting operation is performed in order to sort the jobs.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example in which sheets are discharged and stacked on one tray according to the first embodiment.

  In the example shown in FIG. 7, sheets of 12 inches, 8.27 inches, 12 inches, 5 inches, and 6 inches wide are sequentially stacked on the tray 12b in order from the bottom. As can be seen from FIG. 7, in this embodiment, extremely large sheets are not stacked on small sheets, and discharged sheets are stably stacked. As a result, it is possible to maintain a high quality print product without causing scratches, cargo collapse, or sheet deformation. Further, since the sheet sizes are grouped and discharged to the tray, subsequent sorting by the user is facilitated.

  In addition, when there are a plurality of trays, the priority trays for discharge are set for each group as described above. Further, in this embodiment, when the number of trays preferentially discharged exceeds the stacking limit number, The sheet is discharged to the tray. As a result, the maximum number of sheets that can be loaded as a recording apparatus can be effectively secured. At this time, if the sheets of the previous print job are already stacked on the tray, any group can be stacked as long as it is the second group in which a large size sheet is discharged preferentially. In the case of one group, loading of the second group is not permitted. In addition, if any tray exceeds the stacking limit and there is no tray to discharge sheets, the tray is full before printing, a warning message is displayed to remove the discharged sheets, and the user removes the sheets on the tray. Encourage

  When the tray is cleared in this way, printing and discharging are started.

  Furthermore, in the example described above, an example in the sheet width direction is given, but it goes without saying that classification and sorting may be performed into a small size sheet and a large size sheet in the sheet length direction.

  If the print order of a plurality of print jobs can be set in advance, it is desirable to set the print jobs so that they are stacked on the paper discharge tray in order from the largest job. Thereby, stacking on the discharge tray can be performed more efficiently.

  Even when there are three or more trays used for paper discharge, the sheet sizes can be similarly grouped. In the case of four sheets, the sheet size may be divided into four groups. In this way, according to the number of the plurality of trays, the same number of groups can be divided.

  Therefore, according to the embodiment described above, for example, the tray can be efficiently discharged and stacked in high-definition printing using photographic glossy paper for ink jet, curling and curling deformation at the time of stacking can be prevented, and high quality can be achieved. It is possible to provide deliverables suitable for creating an album.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit according to the second embodiment.

  FIG. 8 shows only the characteristic configuration of this embodiment in addition to the configuration shown in FIG. 4, and the components already described are given the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

  The controller 15 connects the sensor unit 310 including a plurality of sensors for detecting the state of the apparatus and the two motor drivers 300A and 300B. The motor driver 300A controls a tray up / down drive motor 301 for driving the trays 12a and 12b up and down, and lowers the tray in conjunction with the height of the sheets stacked on the trays. Match the height of the paper exit with the stacking height. On the other hand, the motor driver 300B controls a tray left / right drive motor 302 for driving the trays 12a and 12b in a direction orthogonal to the sheet discharge direction, and the tray is loaded when the next job loaded on these trays has the same size. Move to the left and right to execute job sorting.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing tray movement control according to the second embodiment.

  Normally, every time a print job is discharged, the tray is moved in the direction perpendicular to the sheet discharge direction, that is, in the left-right direction, and job sorting is performed. Accordingly, in step S310, it is checked whether or not the discharge of the next print job is the same as the size of the sheets stacked on the top of the tray that is the discharge destination. If it is determined that sheets of the same size are printed and discharged as a continuous job, the process proceeds to step S320, and a job sorting operation is executed.

  On the other hand, if the size of the sheet currently stacked on the top of the tray that is the discharge destination is different from the size of the sheet that is scheduled to be discharged and stacked in the next print job, it is determined that job sorting is not performed. Then, the process is finished as it is. This is because the sheet sizes are different, so that the user can easily distinguish the sheets of each print job without sorting.

  In step S320, the motor driver 300B controls the tray left / right drive motor 302, and when the next job loaded on these trays has the same size, the tray is reciprocated left and right to execute job sorting.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example in which sheets are discharged and stacked on one tray according to the second embodiment.

  In the example of FIG. 10, a plurality of 12 inch, 12 inch, 6 inch, and 6 inch wide sheets are stacked in order from the bottom on the tray 12b for each print job. When a sheet having the same width (in this case, the same length) is discharged, the tray 12b is moved in the left-right direction twice in the middle, and job sorting is executed. On the other hand, as described above, when a print job for discharging sheets of different sizes is executed next, the sorting operation is not performed.

  Therefore, according to the embodiment described above, it is possible to sort jobs with the same size sheet. Also, when discharging sheets of different sizes, job sorting is not performed, so unnecessary operations in the printing device are reduced, so that operating noise is reduced, power consumption is reduced, and the degree of wear of each part of the device is reduced. Therefore, there is an advantage that the durability of the apparatus is improved.

  Further, similarly to the first embodiment, it is possible to efficiently discharge and stack sheets on a plurality of trays, and the number of trays that can be stacked even when sheets of various sizes including repetition of the same size are used. Can be maximized.

  Here, a paper discharge process when there is one paper discharge tray will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the discharge process according to the third embodiment.

  In this embodiment, the same processing as in the first embodiment is executed except for the concept of priority tray. In this embodiment, as described above, the discharge process is executed according to the rule that the second group of large sheets are not stacked on the first group of small sheets, so that a more stable tray can be obtained. Sheet loading is possible.

  The process of FIG. 11 will be described below. Since the process is similar to the process described with reference to FIG. 6, a prime (′) is added to the step reference number shown in FIG.

  First, in step S100 ', it is checked whether or not the next print job is discharged in the first group. Here, if it is the first group, the process proceeds to step S110 'to check whether or not the sheets on the tray are stacked. If there is no sheet stacking, the process advances to step S130 'to discharge the sheet to the tray. Then, the process ends. On the other hand, if there is a stack of sheets, the process proceeds to step S120 'to check whether the tray exceeds the stacking limit. Here, if the stacking limit is not exceeded, the process proceeds to step S130 'and the above-described process is executed. On the other hand, if the load limit is exceeded, the process proceeds to step S200 '. In step S200 ', a message prompting the user to remove the sheet from the tray is displayed on the display of the operation unit 206.

  If it is determined in step S100 'that the discharge of the next print job is the second group, the process proceeds to step S140' to check whether or not sheets on the tray are stacked. If there is no sheet stacking, the process advances to step S160 'to discharge the sheet to the tray. Then, the process ends. On the other hand, if there is a stack of sheets, the process proceeds to step S150 ′ to determine whether the tray does not exceed the stacking limit and the print job stacked on the top of the tray is the second group. Investigate. If the condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S160 'to execute the above-described process. On the other hand, if the condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S210 '.

  In step S210, it is checked whether or not sheets on the tray are stacked. If it is determined that no sheets are stacked, the process advances to step S240 'to discharge the sheets to the tray. Then, the process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that sheets are stacked, the process proceeds to step S220 'to check whether the print job stacked on the top of the tray is the second group. Here, if the condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S240, and the above-described process is executed. On the other hand, if the condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S230 '. In step S230 ', a message prompting to remove the sheet from the tray is displayed on the display of the operation unit 206 as in step S200'.

  Further, the job sorting operation described in the second embodiment can be executed in the same manner.

  Therefore, according to the embodiment described above, it is possible to provide a print product suitable for creating a high-quality album by preventing scratches at the time of sheet discharge and curling deformation at the time of stacking even with a simple tray configuration. Is possible.

11 Sorter unit, 12 discharge unit, 12a tray, 12b tray,
15 controller, 201 CPU, 310 sensor unit

Claims (12)

According to the size of the recording medium used in each print job, a sorting unit that sorts the recording media recorded by each print job into one of a plurality of groups;
Discharging means for discharging the recording media sorted into the plurality of groups to a tray;
First discriminating means for discriminating the presence or absence of a recording medium loaded on the tray;
A second discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the tray stacking limit is exceeded by a recording medium ejected by a next print job when there is a recording medium stacked on the tray;
When it is determined by the first determination means that there is a recording medium loaded on the tray, and when it is determined by the second determination means that the tray stacking limit is not exceeded, the tray already has a recording medium. Third discriminating means for discriminating a group of the recording media stacked on the top of the discharged recording media;
According to the group of the recording media sorted by the sorting unit, the determination result by the first determination unit, the determination result by the second determination unit, and the determination result by the third determination unit And a judging means for judging whether or not to eject by the ejecting means.   2. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit configured to display a message prompting to remove the recording medium that has already been ejected from the tray when the determination unit determines that the ejection unit cannot perform ejection. Recording device. The discharging means has a plurality of trays,
The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the recorded recording medium is preferentially discharged to one of the plurality of trays according to a group sorted by the sorting unit.   When the preferentially ejected tray exceeds the stacking limit, the first determination unit determines whether there is a recording medium stacked with respect to another tray, and the second determination unit further includes the When there is a recording medium loaded on another tray, it is determined whether or not the recording medium discharged by the next print job exceeds a stacking limit of the other tray, and the determination unit determines the first determination. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein whether or not to discharge the second tray by the discharge unit is determined according to a determination result by the unit and a determination result by the second determination unit. . The determination means has a recording medium already loaded on any of the plurality of trays, and the size of the recording medium ejected by the next print job is larger than the size of the recording medium already loaded on the plurality of trays. In the case of a large group, it is determined not to discharge by the discharging means,
The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the display unit displays a message prompting to remove a recording medium that has already been ejected from all of the plurality of trays. A moving means for reciprocating the tray in a direction perpendicular to the discharging direction of the recording medium discharged by the discharging means;
6. The discharging unit according to claim 1, wherein the discharging unit controls the moving unit for each print job to move the tray and to change the discharging position on the tray. The recording apparatus according to claim 1.   The recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the tray is moved by the moving unit only between jobs having the same sheet width, and the discharge position is changed. The recording medium is a roll-shaped continuous sheet,
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of roll-shaped continuous sheets having different widths are provided. Recording means for recording an image on the roll-shaped continuous sheet;
The recording apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a cutting unit that cuts the continuous sheet after the recording by the recording unit.   The recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the sorting unit sorts the sheets cut by the cutting unit.   The recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the recording unit includes a full line recording head that performs recording by discharging ink. A method for discharging a recording medium recorded in a recording apparatus,
According to the size of the recording medium used in each print job, a sorting step of sorting the recording medium recorded by each print job into any of a plurality of groups;
A discharge step of discharging the recording media sorted into the plurality of groups to a tray;
A first determination step of determining the presence or absence of a recording medium loaded on the tray;
A second determining step of determining whether or not the tray stack limit is exceeded by a recording medium ejected by a next print job when there is a recording medium stacked on the tray;
If it is determined in the first determination step that there is a recording medium loaded on the tray, and if it is determined in the second determination step that the stacking limit of the tray is not exceeded, the tray already has a recording medium. A third discriminating step for discriminating a group of recording media stacked on the top of the discharged recording media;
According to the group of the recording media sorted, the determination result in the first determination step, the determination result in the second determination step, and the determination result in the third determination step. And a determination step of determining whether or not to discharge in the process.

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