JP4444808B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a printing apparatus such as a digital copying machine or a laser printer, and more particularly to a printing apparatus having a mechanism for Z-folding the paper.

In recent years, printers have been developed that have various functions for driving staples on paper on which images have been formed, folding paper in two to bind bags, and Z-folding paper. . Patent Document 1 discloses a printer device having such a function. This printer device discloses a mechanism for performing Z-folding on B4-size and A3-size paper, and control of a stopper position for stopping the paper for Z-folding.
JP-A-10-194586

  In Patent Document 1 described above, Z-foldable paper is B4 size and A3 size, and cannot be applied to an original document in which A5 size and A4 size are mixed. Therefore, for example, when printing a mixed document of A4 size and A3 size with Z-folding, the user needs to specify the folding position. For this reason, the operation is troublesome.

  In addition, since the folding position designation method is the position relative to the image of the first page, if the first page is not foldable, it is complicated, a setting error is likely to occur, and the usage rate of the user is reduced. It is a factor inviting.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and makes it unnecessary to specify the user's folding position for Z-folding and reduce setting errors even in the case of a document of mixed sizes. An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus capable of performing the above.

Printing apparatus of the invention described in claim 1 includes a staple mechanism driving a staple, a punch mechanism to form a punch hole in the sheet, and a Z-folding mechanism for folding Z the paper against the paper, the host a printing apparatus for printing print data from a computer, said host computer, when there is specified by the user of the Z-fold, if there is an image of the first page sheet size different from the sheet size of the image, the sheet The Z folding position is determined based on the difference in size and the orientation of the image, or if the folding position cannot be determined only by the difference in paper size and the orientation of the image, the binding margin of the paper is further determined. corresponding position, stapling position, to determine the folding position on the basis of the data of the punching position, the image of the first page sheet size different from the sheet size of the image I If all of the same paper size, and performing an inquiry of whether or not the user performs a folding Z.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus according to the first aspect, when the host computer has no data on the binding position, the stapling position, and the punching position of the paper , the host computer performs a right fold or a left fold. The folding position is determined after waiting for the input of the designation.

A third aspect of the invention is the printing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the host computer receives a right-folding or left-folding when there is no data on the binding position, stapling position, and punching position of the paper . The designation is made in advance.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a stapling mechanism for driving a staple into a paper, a punching mechanism for forming a punch hole in the paper, and a Z-folding mechanism for Z-folding the paper, and printing from a host computer. A printing apparatus that prints data, and the host computer, when the user designates the Z-folding, if there is an image having a paper size different from the paper size of the first page image, Determining the folding position of the Z-fold based on the orientation of the image, or if the folding position cannot be determined only by the difference in the paper size and the orientation of the image, a position corresponding to the binding margin of the paper; The folding position is determined based on the staple position and punch position data, and there is no image with a paper size different from the paper size of the first page image. In the case of the paper size, if the user designates the Z-folding and if the user has previously designated the Z-folding even when all the images have the same paper size, the user performs the Z-folding in advance. If not specified, the user is inquired whether or not to perform Z-folding.

In the present invention, when the user designates Z-folding and there is an image having a paper size different from the paper size of the first page image, the Z-folding position is determined based on the difference in paper size and the orientation of the image. If the folding position cannot be determined only by the determination or the difference in paper size and the orientation of the image, the folding position is further determined based on the binding position, staple position, and punch position data corresponding to the binding margin of the paper. If there are no images with different paper sizes from the paper size of the first page image and all the paper sizes are the same, the user is asked whether or not to perform Z-folding. Does not need to specify the folding position. For this reason, Z-folding with no mistakes can be performed.

  A printer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a double-sided printing mechanism, a stapling mechanism, a punching mechanism, and a Z-folding mechanism. The double-sided printing mechanism is a mechanism for printing on both sides of the paper, the stapling mechanism is a mechanism for driving staples into the paper, and the punching mechanism is a mechanism for forming punch holes in the paper. The Z-folding mechanism is a mechanism that Z-folds the paper.

  FIG. 1 shows a folding state of a sheet by a Z-folding mechanism, and a front end portion in the conveyance direction of a sheet (transfer sheet) 2 is Z-folded with respect to one document 1 on which an image is formed. As shown in FIG. 2, the staple mechanism drives the staple needle 3 into the rear end portion of the paper 2 in the transport direction, and the punch mechanism punches holes in the rear end portion of the paper 2 in the transport direction as shown in FIG. 4 is formed. These stapling mechanism and punching mechanism may be provided in a finisher attached to the printer main body.

  In this embodiment, there are three types of paper sizes that can be Z-folded: A4, B4, and A3, and Z-folding is possible only for paper in a direction in which the short side is the leading edge in the transport direction (SEF: Short Edge Feed). Thus, the long edge of the paper (LEF: Long Edge Feed) is not an object of Z-folding. As for the stapling mechanism and the punching mechanism, both SEF and LEF can be stapled and punched. However, paper having a width equal to or larger than the A4 size LEF width cannot be passed. Therefore, in this embodiment, B4 and A3 size paper can pass only SEF.

  Z-folding includes “down folding”, “right folding”, “up folding”, and “left folding”. FIG. 4 shows “down folding”, which corresponds to a folding method in which the lower side is folded with respect to the direction of the transferred image. FIG. 5 shows “right folding”, which corresponds to a folding method in which the right side of the image is folded. 4 and FIG. 5, when the opposite side is folded, “upward folding” and “left folding” are performed. In Z-fold printing, the folding position is designated as the folding position with respect to the image orientation of the first page from the user.

When the above is assumed, the following printing conditions are established, whereby A4 and A3 mixed originals are output as a bundle of sheets of the same size.
(1) For example, in the case of right folding, the image is selected by rotating the image so that the right end of the image on the first page is the leading end in the transport direction.
(2) If the paper is Z-foldable (Z-foldable size and SEF paper), the paper is printed without being folded.
(3) The paper is selected so that the second and subsequent pages have the same width as the first page.

  FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of this embodiment. In this printer device 10, images developed on a memory are temporarily stored in a storage device 11 such as a RAM or an HDD, and images of all pages of a job are read from the storage device a plurality of times and printed. Therefore, it has a so-called electronic sorting function that performs sorting without using a mechanical multi-pin sorter.

  The host computer 5 to which the display device 6 is connected is connected to the printer device 10 by the host interface 12. The printer device 10 develops the print data from the host computer 6 on the memory 11, accumulates the developed image in the storage device 15, reads it from the storage device 15, and performs printing. That is, when printing conditions and print data are received from the host computer 6, the image is developed on the memory 11, and the image on the memory 11 is transferred to the printer engine 13 controlled by the print control unit 12 to execute printing. The

  In the case of sorting, the image is compressed via the compression / decompression unit 14 and accumulated in the image storage unit 15 as a storage device. When printing of all pages of the job is completed, the image of the first page is read from the image storage unit 15. Sorting is realized by decompressing and transferring to the printer engine 12. In this case, printing and storage in the case of sorting may be performed simultaneously. Regardless of sorting / non-sorting, images are always stored once, and when printing, the images are always taken out from the image storage unit 15 and transferred to the printer engine 13 to improve the memory specification efficiency, The deployment speed may be improved. In general electronic sorting, image expansion and printing operations are generally performed in parallel.

  In this embodiment, when Z-folding is designated, regardless of sorting / non-sorting, all pages are stored without starting the printing operation until image development and storage for all pages of the job are completed. The printing operation is performed for the first time after completion.

The host computer 5 determines the Z-folding position according to the following procedure.
(1) The paper size and image orientation (portrait or landscape) of the first page image are stored.
(2) When a paper size of a different size appears, if it is double or half the size of the first page, it is determined that Z-folding is possible.
(3) The folding position is determined according to the rules in Table 1 from the relationship between the paper size and image orientation of the first page and the different paper sizes appearing on the second and subsequent pages.

  In Table 1, it may not be possible to determine whether to turn right or left. At this time, the host computer 5 determines the folding position based on the binding position on both sides, the staple position, and the punch position. That is, if the binding position on both sides is a left binding, it is right-folded, if it is right-binding, it is left-folded, if the stapling position is upper left and left two, it is right-folded, if it is upper-right, and if it is two right-handed, it is left-folded. When the punch position is the left punch, the final fold position is determined as the right fold, and when the punch position is the right punch, the printing operation is started.

  If all of the above staple, punch, and double-sided designations are not made, the host computer 5 may not be able to determine whether to fold right or left. In this case, the user is inquired of right-folding or left-folding, and the operation is continued after the user specifies. This inquiry may be made on the operation panel of the apparatus, or may be made on the screen of the host computer 5 using bidirectional communication.

  The host computer 5 cannot make the right or left turn determination as described above, and it is a burden on the user to make an inquiry each time. For this reason, in this embodiment, it is possible to preliminarily designate right / left folding to the printer device 10 side. Even in this case, since at least the downward folding and the right / left folding are determined by the printer apparatus 10, the possibility of setting mistakes is reduced. When such pre-designation is performed using a command in the print data, the user can designate on the screen of the driver of the host computer 5 each time printing is performed. When this designation is set as a default on the panel of the printer apparatus 10, the user can perform printing without being aware of the setting.

  In this embodiment, “if a paper size of a different size appears, it is determined that Z-folding is possible if it is double or half the size of the first page”, but when an image of a different size does not appear That is, if all the images on all pages have the same size and a foldable size, the output may be expected to be Z-folded. In this case, an inquiry is made to the user. Thereby, the output intended by the user can be output. When the inquiry to the user is made on the operation panel on the printer apparatus 10 side, the user can specify whether or not to perform Z-folding by the panel operation. When the same inquiry is made on the screen of the host computer 5 using means such as bidirectional communication, it is possible to specify whether or not to perform Z-folding on the screen of the host computer 5.

  If the above-described inquiry is always made, the user must always perform the operation of whether or not the folding is performed under the folding condition, and the operability is deteriorated. For this reason, in this embodiment, it is possible to designate in advance whether or not to perform Z-folding when folding is specified and all images have the same paper size. This designation is performed on the driver setting screen in the host computer 5 and is set for each print as a command. Not limited to this, when the above setting is performed from the operation panel, it is not necessary to specify for each printing. In this case, it is possible to operate as the initial setting of the printer apparatus 10.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of a flowchart in this embodiment. This flowchart is an operation in the case where printing is started after waiting for the user to specify right or left folding.

  When data is received from the host computer 5, image development is performed (step S1), the size of the first page / image orientation is stored (step S2), and image development of the subsequent page is performed (step S3). In step S4, it is determined whether or not the subsequent pages have different sizes. If the pages are the same size, the process returns to step S3. If the sizes are different, the process proceeds to step S5 to determine whether the size is half the size of the first page.

  If the size is half, the process proceeds to step S7. If the size is not half, the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, it is determined whether or not the size is double the size of the first page. If the size is different, Z-folding is canceled (step S8), and if the size is double, the process proceeds to step S9.

  In step S7 described above, it is determined whether or not the top image is a portrait. If it is not a portrait, the process proceeds to a Z-folding process (step S10). In step S10, it is unclear whether it is left-folding or right-folding, and therefore the process proceeds to step S12.

  In step S12, an inquiry is made as to whether left-folding or right-folding, and the folding method is designated. In subsequent step S13, it is determined whether or not the data of all pages has been accumulated. If the accumulation has been completed, the process proceeds to step S14 to start printing. If the first image is a portrait in step S9 described above, the process proceeds to step S10. If the first image is not a portrait, the process proceeds to step S11 and a downward folding process is performed. After the downward folding process is performed, the process proceeds to step S13.

It is the front view and end elevation which show Z folding. It is a front view which shows a staple location. It is a front view which shows a punch location. It is a perspective view which shows a downward folding. It is a perspective view which shows right folding. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of one Embodiment. It is an operation | movement flowchart.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Document 2 Paper 5 Host computer 6 Display apparatus 10 Printer apparatus 11 RAM
12 Host interface 13 Printer engine

Claims (4)

A staple mechanism driving a staple against the paper, and a punch mechanism which forms a punch hole in the sheet, said sheet and a Z-folding mechanism for folding Z, printing apparatus that performs printing of the print data from the host computer Because
Said host computer when there is a specified by the user of the Z-fold,
If there is an image with a paper size different from the paper size of the first page image, the Z-folding position is determined based on the difference in paper size and the orientation of the image, or only the difference in paper size and the orientation of the image Then, if the folding position cannot be determined, the folding position is further determined based on the data corresponding to the binding margin of the paper, the staple position, and the punch position .
A printing apparatus, characterized in that if there is no image of a paper size different from the paper size of the first page image and all have the same paper size, the user is inquired whether to perform Z-folding . The host computer determines the folding position after waiting for an input of designation of right folding or left folding from a user when there is no data on the binding position, stapling position, and punching position of the paper. Item 2. The printing apparatus according to Item 1. 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the host computer is designated in advance by a right-folding or left-folding user when there is no data on the binding position, stapling position, and punching position of the paper . A staple mechanism driving a staple against the paper, and a punch mechanism which forms a punch hole in the sheet, said sheet and a Z-folding mechanism for folding Z, printing apparatus that performs printing of the print data from the host computer Because
Said host computer when there is a specified by the user of the Z-fold,
If there is an image with a paper size different from the paper size of the first page image, the Z-folding position is determined based on the difference in paper size and the orientation of the image, or only the difference in paper size and the orientation of the image Then, if the folding position cannot be determined, the folding position is further determined based on the data corresponding to the binding margin of the paper, the staple position, and the punch position .
When there is no image of a paper size different from the paper size of the first page image and all the paper sizes are the same, the user specifies the Z-folding and specifies that the Z-folding is performed even when all the images have the same paper size. The printing apparatus is characterized in that Z-folding is performed in advance when the user has previously made a Z-folding, and the user is inquired whether to perform Z-folding if not previously designated .

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