JP4193464B2 - Print priority determination system and method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a print priority determination system that determines which printer is to be used preferentially among a plurality of connected printers.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Print creation apparatuses that can print images taken with a digital camera or images created with a personal computer have become widespread.
[0003]
For example, as a printer that prints an image photographed with a digital camera on photographic paper, a so-called TA printer that employs a TA (Thermo Auto Chrome) system as a printing system is currently commercially available. In this TA system, a color photographic paper (hereinafter referred to as “TA paper”) having C, M, and Y color developing layers itself is developed with a thermal head at a predetermined heating temperature to develop a color that develops at a predetermined temperature. This is to fix the color developed by irradiating ultraviolet rays of a wavelength with a fluorescent lamp or the like, and has the feature that ink and toner are unnecessary.
[0004]
In order to print an image taken by a digital camera, a sublimation type thermal transfer printer in which ink applied by applying heat to an ink ribbon is sublimated and adhered to a special paper coated with a resin is also widespread.
[0005]
Furthermore, images taken by a digital camera may be printed by a conventional ink jet printer.
[0006]
Recently, recording media used in digital cameras have also become large in capacity, and many images have been stored in the recording media. Under these circumstances, in order to perform high-speed printing using the above-mentioned TA printer, sublimation type thermal transfer printer, and inkjet printer, printing machines that connect multiple printers or have multiple printers are also commercialized. It is coming.
[0007]
If you continue to use a print system that is connected to multiple printers or installed in multiple printers, print performance such as print speed and print quality will deteriorate due to various factors among the multiple printers. The printer comes out.
[0008]
In such a situation, if you do not take into account the situation of the printer whose performance and quality have deteriorated, you may bother printing with a printer with a slow print speed or selecting a printer that will speed up the failure. May be frustrated.
[0009]
The following Patent Document 1 confirms jobs of a plurality of connected printers and allocates the jobs to a printer with a low load. Select a printer to be printed based on the printer speed reduction status or quality deterioration information. I don't mean.
[0010]
On the other hand, in a printing machine equipped with a plurality of printers, it is determined whether or not the printer is being used, and in a sequence in which printing is started from the first printer that is not used, the printing time becomes longer or the printer May speed up the breakdown.
[0011]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-7-129337
[0012]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In consideration of the above circumstances, the present invention obtains information related to performance such as printer printing speed and print quality in a printing system in which a plurality of printers are connected, and performs printing based on the obtained information. It is an object of the present invention to provide a print priority determination system that determines the priority order of the prints.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
Book invention First side of Is a print priority determination system that determines which printer is to be used preferentially from among a plurality of connected printers, an acquisition unit that acquires information related to the performance and quality of the printer, and the acquisition A priority determination unit that determines the priority of use of the printer to be used based on information including information acquired by the unit, and a print priority determination system.
[0014]
Book invention First side of The plurality of connected printers may be simply connected to a plurality of printers or may be a printing machine equipped with a plurality of connected printers. Based on the information related to the performance and quality of the printer acquired by the acquisition means, and other information if present, the priority of use of the printer used by the priority order determination means is determined.
[0015]
Book invention Second side of Is a print priority determination system that determines which printer is preferentially used in a printing machine equipped with a plurality of connected printers, and acquires information related to performance degradation and quality degradation of each printer. The print priority order determination system includes: an acquisition unit; and a priority order determination unit that determines a use priority order of a printer to be used based on information including information acquired by the acquisition unit.
[0016]
Book invention Second side of According to this, the printing machine is equipped with a plurality of connected printers. In the printing machine, the acquisition unit acquires information related to performance degradation and quality degradation of each printer. Based on the information including the information acquired by the acquisition means, the priority order determination means determines the use priority order of the printer to be used among a plurality of connected printers.
[0017]
The information related to the performance degradation of each printer includes information related to the printer speed degradation.
[0018]
The information related to the deterioration of the quality of each printer includes information related to the deterioration of the function of the printer head of the printer.
[0019]
The present invention of claim 5 uses color photographic paper having a cyan (C) layer, a magenta (M) layer, and a yellow (Y) layer, and color-develops a color image for each layer of the color photographic paper. A print priority determination system for determining which printer is to be used preferentially in a printing machine equipped with a plurality of printers that print color images.
An illuminance decrease detecting means for detecting an illuminance decrease of a light source for M and Y fixing of the printer;
Based on the information including the head abnormality detection means for detecting an abnormality related to the printer head of each printer, the information acquired by the illuminance decrease detection means and the information detected by the head abnormality detection means, the usage priority of the printer to be used is determined. A priority order determining means for determining, and a print priority order determining system.
[0020]
According to the present invention of claim 5, the printing machine is equipped with a plurality of connected printers. The printer is a printer that prints a color image using color printing paper. In the printing machine, the illuminance decrease detecting means detects a decrease in illuminance of the M and Y fixing light sources of the printer, and the head abnormality detecting means detects an abnormality relating to the printer head of each printer. Based on the information including the information acquired by the illuminance drop detection means and the head abnormality detection means, the priority order determination means determines the use priority order of the printers to be used among a plurality of connected printers. The abnormality relating to the printer head includes, for example, an abnormality relating to head cleaning, the head being overheated, and the like.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a print priority determination system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0022]
FIG. 1 is a front sectional view of a storefront digital photo print system to which a print priority determination system according to the present invention is applied. This over-the-counter digital photo print system employs a TA method in which a user inserts a recording medium such as a smart medium into the media insertion slot 89, inserts money, and prints a digital image stored in the recording medium on TA paper. This is a printing machine for a TA printer.
[0023]
The printing machine 70 is provided with a touch panel 98 on the front and a liquid crystal display 80 on the upper front. The user operates the touch panel 98 while viewing the display 80 to display necessary information such as the print size and the number of prints. input. Printers 90, 92, 94, and 96 are installed from the middle to the lower part of the inside of the printing machine 70, and the printers 90 to 96 print digital images. Therefore, the printing machine 70 of this embodiment can print with four printers. A take-out port (not shown) through which the printed TA paper is ejected to a size specified by the user is provided on the front outside of the print machine 70, and a coin machine (shown by 88 in FIG. 2) is attached. ing.
[0024]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the print machine 70.
[0025]
The user inserts the recording medium into the media insertion port 89 (FIG. 1). The hard disk controller 74 operates control software recorded on a hard disk (not shown). The image data is recorded on the recording medium in a compressed state. When the CPU 72 instructs the media reader controller 82 to read out the image data and obtains the required image data from the recording medium, this data is recorded. The image data is decompressed and restored to the original image data, and further, necessary image processing is performed and the image data is stored in the RAM 76.
[0026]
From the touch panel 98, the user inputs necessary information such as the print size and the number of prints, and the input information is displayed on the display 80 and sent to the serial controller 86. Display 80 is operated by display controller 78. The coin machine 88 checks whether or not the user has inserted the amount displayed on the display based on the information input from the touch panel 98. When the necessary amount is input, the image data stored in the RAM 76 is sent to each of the printers 90 to 96 as a print job via the SCSI controller 84. The CPU 72 performs a series of these controls.
[0027]
Each of the printers 90 to 96 employs a printing system called a TA system, and uses TA paper having a characteristic that color is developed when heat is applied and fixing is performed when light of a predetermined wavelength is irradiated. A configuration and operation related to print processing generally performed in a TA printer will be described.
[0028]
As shown in FIG. 3, the system controller 10 is a processing unit that comprehensively controls the entire system, and is connected to the SCSI controller 84 of the print machine 70. The system controller 10 receives a job from the SCSI controller 84. The system controller 10 gives various instructions such as delivery of image data to each control block and execution of printing. The CPU 72 gives various processing instructions to the system controller 10 based on the touch panel 98 operated by the user. The operation program of the system controller 10 is recorded in the EEPROM 18.
[0029]
The job transferred from the SCSI controller 84 is temporarily stored in the memory 22 via the system controller 10 and the memory controller 20. In other words, the memory controller 20 is a processing unit that controls writing and reading of data to and from the memory 22, and image data such as print images transferred from the SCSI controller 84 and the system controller 10 is processed by the processing of the memory controller 20. Image data such as a print image stored in the memory 22 and stored in the memory 22 in accordance with an instruction from the system controller 10 is output to the print controller 28. The memory 22 stores the total amount of stored image data.
[0030]
The print controller 28, the head drive circuit 30, the paper conveyance control unit 32, and the fixing control unit 34 shown in FIG. 1 are control blocks for executing printing, and these control blocks execute printing from the system controller 10. Various controls are executed in synchronism with each other.
[0031]
Here, the TA paper used in this printer will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the TA paper 50 has a cyan (C) coloring layer 54, a magenta (M) coloring layer 56, a yellow color on the surface of a support 52. (Y) Three layers of the color developing layer 58 are sequentially stacked. When each of the C coloring layer 54, the M coloring layer 56, and the Y coloring layer 58 is supplied with a corresponding amount of heat, the C color, M color, and Y color of the density (gradation) corresponding to the amount of heat are changed. Color develops. Further, each of the M coloring layer 56 and the Y coloring layer 58 excluding the C coloring layer 54 is irradiated with light of a wavelength corresponding to each of them (the M coloring layer 56 is about 365 nm and the Y coloring layer 58 is about 425 nm). Then, the colored state is fixed.
[0032]
When a print execution instruction is given from the system controller 10, the print controller 28 acquires image data of a print image stored in the memory 22 via the memory controller 20, and prints based on the image data of the print image. The gradation (print gradation value) of each color of C, M, and Y in each pixel of the image is set in an 8-bit resolution range (0 to 255), for example. Then, the print gradation value data of each color of C, M, and Y in each pixel of the print image is synchronized with the travel of the TA paper and is 1 in the direction (main scanning direction) perpendicular to the traveling direction (sub-scanning direction). Each line is output to the head drive circuit 30.
[0033]
The head drive circuit 30 receives the print tone value data of each color of C, M, and Y from the print controller 28 as described above, and the thermal heads 36 arranged in the main scanning direction based on the print tone value. The voltage applied to the heating element of each dot and the energization time (pulse width) are controlled in synchronization with the travel of the TA paper. As a result, the amount of heat applied to each point of the TA paper from the heating element of each dot of the thermal head 36 is controlled in accordance with the print gradation values of C, M, and Y colors, and printing is performed on each color developing layer of the TA paper. A color having a density corresponding to the print gradation value designated by the controller 28 is developed.
[0034]
A sensor 24 is connected to the thermal head 36, and the sensor 24 detects the temperature of the thermal head 36. The sensor 24 is also connected to the system controller 10 and sends detected temperature information to the system controller 10. The system controller 10 determines whether the thermal head 36 is in an overheated state based on the received temperature information.
[0035]
When a print execution instruction is given from the system controller 10, the paper transport control unit 32 feeds TA paper from the TA paper storage unit to the print processing unit. The TA paper storage unit is loaded with a roll of TA paper 50 as shown in FIG. Further, when the paper transport control unit 32 feeds the TA paper to the printing processing unit, the capstan roller 38 is driven by a motor to cause the TA paper to run in synchronization with the color printing and fixing printing processing. At this time, the system controller 10 uses the home position (HP) sensor 40 to detect that the TA paper is at the home position, and causes the paper transport control unit 32 to reciprocate the TA paper based on the home position. Let it run. Details of the TA paper transport control will be described later.
[0036]
The fixing control unit 34 controls the turning on / off of the Y fixing fluorescent lamp 42 and the M fixing fluorescent lamp 44 in synchronization with the coloring process of the Y coloring layer and the M coloring layer of the TA paper by the thermal head 36. The Y-fixing fluorescent lamp 42 is a lamp having a light emission characteristic having a peak wavelength of at least 425 nm. When the Y-fixing fluorescent lamp 42 is turned on and TA paper is irradiated with light of the wavelength, The Y coloring layer of the TA paper is fixed. On the other hand, the M fixing fluorescent lamp 44 is a lamp having a light emission characteristic having a peak wavelength of at least 365 nm. The M fixing fluorescent lamp 44 is turned on and the TA paper is irradiated with light of the wavelength from the lamp. Then, the M coloring layer of the TA paper is fixed.
[0037]
Sensors 12 and 14 are connected to the Y-fixing fluorescent lamp 42 and the M-fixing fluorescent lamp 44, respectively. The sensors 12 and 14 determine the illuminance values of the Y-fixing fluorescent lamp 42 and the M-fixing fluorescent lamp 44, respectively. Each is measured. The sensors 12 and 14 are also connected to the system controller 10, and the measured illuminance value information is sent to the system controller 10. Based on the received illuminance value information, the system controller 10 determines whether the Y-fixing fluorescent lamp 42 and the M-fixing fluorescent lamp 44 are in a reduced illuminance state.
[0038]
FIG. 5 is an arrangement diagram showing an embodiment of member arrangement of a print processing unit in which printers 90 to 96 execute color printing and fixing print processing on TA paper.
[0039]
As shown in FIG. 5, in the print processing section, a capstan roller 38, a nip roller 39, a thermal head 36, a sensor 24 for detecting the temperature of the thermal head 36, and a platen roller are provided in a conveyance path through which the TA paper 50 is fed. 62, the light emitting LED 40A and the light receiving sensor 40B constituting the HP sensor 40, the Y fixing fluorescent lamp 42, the M fixing fluorescent lamp 44, the sensor 12 for measuring the illuminance value of the Y fixing fluorescent lamp 42, the M fixing use Sensors 14 for measuring the illuminance value of the fluorescent lamp 44 are sequentially arranged.
[0040]
The TA paper 50 fed from the upstream side of the conveyance path is sandwiched between the capstan roller 38 and the nip roller 39 and also sandwiched between the thermal head 36 and the platen roller 62. When the print processing is executed, the capstan roller 38 is By rotating by the motor, the TA paper 50 reciprocates in the sub-scanning direction indicated by arrows A and A ′ in the figure.
[0041]
In the thermal head 36, a plurality of heating elements are arranged in a line in the main scanning direction perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction that is the transport direction of the TA paper 50. The TA paper 50 is indicated by an arrow A in FIG. In synchronism with the conveyance in the printing direction, a predetermined heat is applied to the TA paper 50 line by line in the main scanning direction to perform color development of each color developing layer.
[0042]
The LED 40A of the HP sensor 40 projects light toward the light receiving sensor 40B across the transport path of the TA paper 50 so that the presence or absence of the TA paper 50 can be detected based on the detection signal of the light receiving sensor 40B. It has become. The detection signal output from the light receiving sensor 40B is input to the system controller 10 shown in FIG. 3 via an A / D converter (not shown).
[0043]
The system controller 10 determines whether or not the TA paper 50 is positioned at the position of the HP sensor 40 by detecting whether or not the light projected from the LED 40A is received by the light receiving sensor 40B. Then, by detecting the switching between when the TA paper 50 is located at the position of the HP sensor 40 and when it is not, it is detected whether or not the tip of the TA paper 50 is conveyed to the position of the HP sensor 40. As a result, the TA paper 50 is aligned to the home position of the TA paper 50 when the tip of the TA paper 50 is transported to the position of the HP sensor 40, and the TA paper 50 is transported, colored, and colored based on this position. The fixing printing process is performed synchronously.
[0044]
An outline of a processing procedure when a required print image is printed on the TA paper 50 in the printers 90 to 96 configured as described above will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. First, when an instruction to execute printing is given, the system controller 10 in FIG. 3 starts a printing sequence, and feeds the TA paper 50 from the paper storage unit to the printing processing unit in FIG. (Step 10). Then, the TA paper 50 is fed at a constant speed in a printing direction indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 5 (start of paper feeding) (step 12). When the system controller 10 starts paper feed at a constant speed, the system controller 10 counts the number of pulses of a synchronization signal synchronized with the paper feed operation, and detects the leading edge of the TA paper 50 by the HP sensor 40. It is determined whether or not the tip of the TA paper 50 is detected by the HP sensor 40 (step 14). If NO at this time, it is determined that the TA paper 50 is not loaded in the paper storage unit or an error such as a paper jam has occurred, and error processing such as cancellation of the printing process is performed (step 16).
[0045]
On the other hand, if YES, the system controller 10 next turns on the Y-fixing fluorescent lamp 42 by the fixing controller 34 in FIG. 3 (step 18), and passes through the thermal head 36 as shown in FIG. Then, the TA paper 50 conveyed to the position of the Y fixing fluorescent lamp 42 is sequentially irradiated with light having a wavelength of about 425 nm.
[0046]
Further, the system controller 10 instructs the print controller 28 to execute the printing process for the Y color, and the amount of heat applied to the TA paper 50 by the heating element of each dot of the thermal head 36 is determined by the image data of the print image. The control is performed based on the Y print gradation value. Then, a synchronization signal synchronized with the paper feed speed of the TA paper 50 is given to the print controller 28 and the head drive circuit 30 with reference to the time when the TA paper 50 passes the home position. As a result, first, when the TA paper 50 passes through the thermal head 36, the thermal head 36 applies low energy heat to the point where the uppermost layer (Y coloring layer) of the TA paper 50 should be colored. Is colored. The amount of heat given to each point of the TA paper 50 by the thermal head 36 is adjusted according to the density of the Y color to be developed, and the density of the Y color to be developed is converted into the image data of the print image in the print controller 28 in FIG. It is set by the Y-color print gradation value based on it.
[0047]
The TA paper 50 passes through the thermal head 36 as described above, and the portion on which the color development relating to the Y color is performed by passing through the thermal head 36 is then irradiated with fixing light by the Y fixing fluorescent lamp 42. Then, fixing is performed by irradiating fixing light from the Y fixing fluorescent lamp 42. Thereby, the printing process for the Y color of the TA paper 50 is completed (step 20).
[0048]
When the printing process relating to the Y color is completed, the system controller 10 then causes the paper transport control unit 32 to transport the TA paper 50 in the return direction indicated by the arrow A ′ in FIG. 3 (start of paper return) (step 22). As in step S14, the tip of the TA paper 50 is detected by the HP sensor 40, and it is determined whether or not the tip of the TA paper 50 is detected by the HP sensor 40 within a specified pulse (step 24). At this time, if NO, an error process such as cancellation of the print process is performed (step 26).
[0049]
On the other hand, if YES, the paper return operation of the TA paper 50 is stopped at the position of the home position, and the TA paper 50 is fed at a constant speed in the printing direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. Let me send it. Then, the system controller 10 turns off the Y-fixing fluorescent lamp 42 by the fixing control unit 34 shown in FIG. 3 (step 28) and this time turns on the M-fixing fluorescent lamp 44 (step 30). The portion of the TA paper 50 that passes through 36 and is conveyed to the position of the M fixing fluorescent lamp 44 is sequentially irradiated with fixing light.
[0050]
Further, the system controller 10 instructs the print controller 28 to execute the printing process for the M color as in the case of the color development of the Y coloring layer of the TA paper 50, and the TA of each dot of the thermal head 36 is heated by the heating element. The amount of heat applied to the paper 50 is controlled based on the print gradation value of M color determined by the image data of the print image. Then, a synchronization signal synchronized with the paper feed speed of the TA paper 50 is given to the print controller 28 and the head drive circuit 30 with reference to the time when the TA paper 50 starts the paper feed operation from the home position. As a result, heat of medium energy is applied by the thermal head 36 to the point where the intermediate layer (M coloring layer) of the TA paper 50 is to be colored, and M color is developed (step 32). The amount of heat given to each point of the TA paper 50 is adjusted according to the density of the M color to be developed in the same manner as in the case of the Y color, and the density is the M print gradation based on the image data of the print image. Set by value.
[0051]
The TA paper 50 passes through the thermal head 36 as described above, and the portion where the color development relating to the M color is performed through the thermal head 36 is then irradiated with fixing light by the M fixing fluorescent lamp 44. Then, the fixing light is irradiated from the M fixing fluorescent lamp 44 to be fixed. Thereby, the printing process for the M color of the TA paper 50 is completed (step 32).
[0052]
When the printing process related to the M color is completed, the system controller 10 indicates the TA paper 50 to the paper transport control unit 32 by the arrow A ′ in FIG. 5 in the same manner as when the printing process related to the Y color is completed. The paper is conveyed in the returning direction (starting paper returning) (step 34), the leading edge of the TA paper 50 is detected by the HP sensor 40, and it is determined whether or not the leading edge of the TA paper 50 is detected by the HP sensor 40 within a specified pulse. (Step 36). At this time, if NO, an error process such as canceling the print process is performed (step 38).
[0053]
On the other hand, if YES, the paper return operation of the TA paper 50 is stopped at the position of the home position, and the TA paper 50 is fed at a constant speed in the printing direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. Move the feed. Then, the system controller 10 turns off the M fixing fluorescent lamp 44 (step 40).
[0054]
Further, the system controller 10 instructs the print controller 28 to execute the printing process for the C color as in the case of the color development of the Y color development layer and the M color development layer of the TA paper 50, and The amount of heat applied to the TA paper 50 by the heating element is controlled based on the C print gradation value determined by the image data of the print image. Then, a synchronization signal synchronized with the paper feed speed of the TA paper 50 is given to the print controller 28 and the head drive circuit 30 with reference to the time when the TA paper 50 starts the paper feed operation from the home position. As a result, heat of high energy is applied by the thermal head 36 to the point where the lowermost layer (C coloring layer) of the TA paper 50 is to be colored, and color C is developed (step 42).
[0055]
As described above, color development and fixing of each color of C, M, and Y are performed, TA paper on which a predetermined print image is printed is cut by the cutter 63, is discharged from the printer, and the printing process is completed.
[0056]
Next, a description will be given of a print priority order determination system that determines which of the TA printers 90, 92, 94, and 96 described above is to be used preferentially as the print machine 70. FIG.
[0057]
FIG. 7 shows an illuminance lowering warning at the sensors 12 and 14 for measuring the illuminance values of the Y and M fixing fluorescent lamps 42 and 44 and the head cleaning warning of the thermal head 36 among the printers 90, 92, 94 and 96. 6 is a list of print priority orders related to occurrence.
[0058]
In the illuminance reduction warning, the system controller 10 issues a warning when the illuminance value detected by the sensors 12 and 14 is lower than a predetermined illuminance value.
[0059]
In the head cleaning warning, the system controller 10 issues a warning when the cumulative amount of image data stored in the memory 22 exceeds a predetermined amount.
[0060]
In FIG. 7, the illuminance reduction warning and the head cleaning warning are given as elements for determining the print priority. However, this is an example, and the temperature of the thermal head 36 detected by the sensor 24 may be used as an element for determining the print priority. . In this case, the system controller 10 issues a warning. In this embodiment, when the temperature detected by the thermal head 36 is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, the printer itself is treated as an error because the thermal head 36 is overheated. An out-of-paper condition is also handled as an error.
[0061]
In FIG. 7, since the printer 96 has normal illuminance and head cleaning, the priority is set to the first. Since the printer 94 has normal illuminance and a head cleaning warning has occurred, the priority is second. The printer 92 has the third highest priority because the illuminance generates a warning and the head cleaning is normal. The printer 90 has the fourth highest priority because the illuminance generates a warning and the head cleaning also generates a warning. In this example, the illuminance lowering warning is considered to be more important than the head cleaning warning, and the priority order is lowered.
[0062]
FIG. 8 is a control flowchart of the printing machine 70 when determining the printer priority order. The control procedure of FIG. 8 is followed for each of the printers 90-96.
[0063]
First, the initial value 1 as the priority order is taken (step 100). Next, collection of printer information is started (step 102). Printer information is information relating to illuminance reduction and head cleaning.
[0064]
First, the presence / absence of illuminance reduction warning information is checked (step 104). If warning information exists, the print priority is lowered by “2” (step 106). If there is no illuminance reduction warning information and if step 106 is passed, the presence / absence of head cleaning warning information is checked (step 108). If there is head cleaning warning information, the print priority is lowered by "1" (step 110). If the head cleaning warning information does not exist, and if step 110 is performed, the process ends.
[0065]
The illuminance lowering warning of the fixing fluorescent lamp is issued when it is detected that at least one of the sensor 12 and the sensor 14 is lower than a predetermined illuminance.
[0066]
As a result of the control flowchart of FIG. 8, there is a case where priority occurs the same row of the printer, or that time is determined in advance whether to prioritize which printer in advance, may be so as to substitute the priority printer in order .
[0067]
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an error / warning display procedure after the print machine 70 is powered on.
[0068]
When the power source of the printing machine 70 is activated (step 120), a hardware check such as an error check is performed in addition to the control procedure of FIG. 8 (step 122). Details of step 122 are as shown in FIG.
[0069]
When the check is completed (step 124), the state of the front door is confirmed (step 126), and if it is in the “open” state, “error / warning determination” is performed (step 128). If “warning / error present”, the contents of the failure are displayed on the display 80 (step 130). The details of step 130 are as shown in FIG. At this stage, the warning contents of the printers 90 to 96 can be confirmed. If “status is normal” in step 128, the display 80 shifts to the maintenance TOP screen (step 132).
[0070]
If it is in the “closed” state at step 126, “error / warning determination” is performed (step 134).
[0071]
If the “status is normal”, the screen shifts to the print machine TOP screen (step 136). The details of step 136 are as shown in FIG. In the case of “service available but with error / warning”, a selection display of whether to start the service or confirm the error / warning is displayed (step 138). If “service start” is selected, the screen of step 136 is displayed. To do. When “Confirm error / warning” is selected, the front door is opened and the trouble content display screen in step 130 is displayed. In the case of “failure that cannot be serviced” in step 134, a display is made to confirm the content of the failure (step 140), the front door is opened, and the failure content display screen in step 130 is displayed.
[0072]
According to this embodiment, it is possible to avoid as much as possible the use of a printer that has caused a reduction in illuminance of the fluorescent lamp for fixing and a head cleaning request. When the illuminance of the fixing fluorescent lamp decreases, it takes time to apply a certain amount of energy to the TA paper, and the printing speed becomes slow. Therefore, it is possible to avoid as much as possible the use of a printer that prints with a printer with a reduced printing speed or that accelerates the failure.
[0073]
In this embodiment, the TA printer is applied to the printing machine to detect the illuminance drop and the head cleaning of each printer. However, the elements that generate a warning are not limited to the illuminance drop and the head cleaning. May be performed based on the applied voltage, energization time, print gradation value, or a combination of these. It is also possible to detect a drop in gradation on the print machine TOP screen and use this as a warning element.
[0074]
Each printer in the printing machine may be a sublimation thermal transfer printer or an inkjet printer.
[0075]
Further, the present invention may be applied to a printing machine equipped with a plurality of connected printers as in this embodiment, or may be applied to a case where a plurality of printers are simply connected.
[0076]
【The invention's effect】
Book invention First side of According to this, based on information including information related to the performance and quality of the printer, it is possible to designate a printer to be preferentially used from among a plurality of printers.
[0077]
Book invention Second side of According to the above, based on information including information related to the performance degradation and quality degradation of each printer, it is possible to specify the printer to be used preferentially from among the multiple connected printers. The use of a printer can be avoided, and the use of a printer that can bother to print with a slow printer or accelerate the failure can be avoided as much as possible.
[0078]
According to the present invention of claim 5, in a printing machine equipped with a plurality of printers that use color photographic paper and print a color image for each layer of the color photographic paper by printing a color image. Based on the information including the information acquired by the illuminance reduction detection means and the head abnormality detection means, the priority order determination means determines the use priority order of the printers to be used among a plurality of connected printers. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the use of a printer having a head abnormality as much as possible, and it is possible to avoid the use of a printer that prints with a printer having a reduced printing speed due to a decrease in illuminance or that accelerates the failure as much as possible.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front sectional view of a storefront digital photo print system to which a print priority determination system according to the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the printing machine.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration related to print processing in a TA-type printer.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of TA paper.
FIG. 5 is an arrangement diagram showing an embodiment of member arrangement of a print processing unit in which color printing and fixing print processing for TA paper is executed in each printer.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an outline of a processing procedure when a required print image is printed on TA paper.
FIG. 7 is a list of print priorities related to occurrence of an illuminance lowering warning at a sensor for measuring illuminance values of Y and M fixing fluorescent lamps and a head cleaning warning of a thermal head among the printers.
FIG. 8 is a control flowchart of the printing machine when determining printer priority.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an error / warning display procedure after power-on of the printing machine.
10 is a detailed view of step 122 in FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 is a detailed view of step 130 in FIG. 9;
12 is a detailed view of step 136 in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... System controller, 12 ... Sensor, 14 ... Sensor, 24 ... Sensor, 50 ... TA paper, 70 ... Print machine, 72 ... CPU, 74 ... Hard disk controller, 76 ... RAM, 84 ... SCSI controller, 90, 92, 94 96 printer

Claims (10)

A print priority determination system that determines which TA printer is to be used preferentially among a plurality of connected TA printers,
Acquisition means for acquiring information related to the performance and quality of the TA printer;
A print priority determination system comprising: priority determination means for determining the use priority of the TA printer to be used based on information including information acquired by the acquisition means. A print priority determination system that determines which printer is to be used preferentially in a printing machine including a plurality of connected printers,
Performance of each printer, an acquisition unit configured to acquire information relating to the quality,
A print priority determination system comprising priority order determination means for determining a use priority of a printer to be used based on information including information acquired by the acquisition means. The information related to the performance of each printer, the print prioritization system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises information on reduction rate of the printer. Information relating to the quality of each printer, the print prioritization system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises information about degraded printer of the printer head. A plurality of printers that print color images by using color photographic paper having a cyan (C) layer, a magenta (M) layer, and a yellow (Y) layer, and developing a color image for each layer of the color photographic paper. A print priority determination system that determines which printer is to be used preferentially in a printing machine mounted in a connected state,
An illuminance decrease detecting means for detecting an illuminance decrease of a light source for M and Y fixing of the printer;
Head abnormality detection means for detecting an abnormality related to the printer head of each printer;
A print priority order determination system comprising: priority order determination means for determining a use priority order of a printer to be used based on information acquired by the illuminance decrease detection means and information including information detected by the head abnormality detection means. A print priority determination method for determining which TA printer is to be used preferentially among a plurality of connected TA printers,
Acquiring information related to the performance and quality of the TA printer;
And determining the use priority of the TA printer to be used based on the acquired information including information relating to the performance and quality. A print priority determination method for determining which printer is to be used preferentially in a printing machine including a plurality of connected printers,
Acquiring information related to the performance and quality of each printer;
And determining a use priority of a printer to be used based on the acquired information including information related to the performance and quality. 8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the information related to the performance of each printer includes information related to a decrease in printer speed. 8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the information relating to the quality of each printer includes information relating to a deterioration in function of a printer head of the printer. A color photographic paper having a cyan (C) layer, a magenta (M) layer, and a yellow (Y) layer is used, and a color image is developed for each layer of the color photographic paper to print a color image. A print priority determination method for determining which printer is to be used preferentially in a printing machine mounted with a plurality of printers connected,
Detecting a decrease in illuminance of a light source for fixing the M and Y of the printer;
Detecting an abnormality related to the printer head of each printer;
Determining a use priority of a printer to be used on the basis of information including information on a detected decrease in illuminance and information on an abnormality relating to a detected printer head.

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