JP5733604B2 - Image forming system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system having functions of enclosing an envelope and sealing the envelope.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of image forming system, a paper post-processing device capable of automatically sealing a sealed envelope in which a sheet loaded on a sheet stacking unit such as a bin is packed and sealed. Is known. Further, Patent Document 1 is an envelope sealing machine that attaches a liquid paste having adhesiveness as a sealing agent to a flap of an envelope in which contents are stored, and folds the flap and presses the envelope to seal it. An envelope sealing device capable of arbitrarily adjusting the amount of glue supplied is disclosed.

  However, as a paper post-processing device of the above-described conventional image forming system, as in the case of the envelope sealing machine of Patent Document 1, a liquid sealing agent having adhesiveness is attached to the flap of the envelope and sealed. There is a problem. In other words, if there is a mixture of an image forming job that involves sealing that requires gluing to an envelope and an image forming job that does not involve sealing, each time the image forming job that involves sealing is executed, the initial for gluing preparation for the sealing There is a problem that an operation (initial start-up operation) is required and power is wasted. Also, if an image forming job with sealing that requires gluing to an envelope and an image forming job without sealing are alternately executed, time for job switching operation is wasted and productivity is reduced. There is a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an initial stage for sealing even when a plurality of image forming jobs with sealing and at least one image forming job without sealing are mixed. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming system capable of preventing wasteful power consumption caused by a start-up operation and suppressing a decrease in productivity of a sealed envelope.

In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is to provide an envelope supply means for supplying an envelope, a paper supply means for supplying a paper to be sealed in the envelope, and an image formation for forming an image on the paper or the envelope. An image forming system comprising: a sealing means for sealing the paper in the envelope; and a sealing means for sealing the envelope in which the paper is sealed with a sealing agent. When an image forming job and at least one image forming job without sealing are mixed, the image forming job with sealing and the image forming job without sealing are grouped to form an image with sealing The image forming job without sealing is executed with priority over the job, and the image forming job with sealing is determined based on the time required for the image forming job without sealing. It is characterized in that it comprises a control means for setting the start timing of the sealing preparation operation.

  According to the present invention, when a plurality of image forming jobs with sealing and at least one image forming job without sealing are mixed, they are grouped into an image forming job with sealing and an image forming job without sealing. By controlling the order in which the image forming jobs are executed, each image forming job can be continuously executed for a group of a plurality of image forming jobs accompanied with sealing. Therefore, since the initial startup operation for sealing only needs to be performed once before executing a group of a plurality of image forming jobs with sealing, useless power consumption due to the initial startup operation for sealing is performed. Can be prevented. Moreover, unlike the case where the image forming job with sealing and the image forming job without sealing are alternately performed, switching between the image forming job with sealing and the image forming job without sealing can be performed only once. A reduction in productivity due to job switching can be suppressed. Therefore, even when a plurality of image forming jobs with sealing and at least one image forming job without sealing are mixed, unnecessary power consumption due to the initial start-up operation for sealing is prevented and sealed. There exists an effect which can suppress the fall of productivity of an envelope.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration of a main part of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged configuration diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of a sheet feeding device of the image forming system. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a drive control system of the sheet feeding device. Explanatory drawing which shows the front surface and back surface of the envelope set to the paper feeder. The cross-sectional view of the tray of the paper feeder. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of an enclosing / sealing device of an image forming system according to an embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the envelope chuck | zipper part in the enclosure sealing device. Explanatory drawing which shows the state by which the envelope was hold | maintained in the envelope chuck | zipper part by making the opening part below the lower end of an opening mylar. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which the lower end of the opening mylar entered in the envelope in the envelope chuck | zipper part. The perspective view which shows the state which the lower end of the opening mylar entered in the envelope in the envelope chuck | zipper part. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of the glue application | coating unit of an enclosure sealing device. (B) is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that the melt tank rose in the glue application unit. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of a sheet post-processing apparatus of an image forming system according to an embodiment. (A) And (b) is explanatory drawing of the mechanism and operation | movement which carry out additional folding with respect to the crease | fold of the booklet of the sheet | seat bundle in which the saddle stitch process was performed, respectively. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of an envelope inspection apparatus of an image forming system according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a main part of a control system that performs control for storing encapsulated document data from an external apparatus to a hard disk of the image forming apparatus in the image forming system of the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a print screen for performing basic settings for a print job. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the screen which performs the detailed setting of an envelope. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the screen which instruct | indicates the printing job start of enclosure and sealing. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the screen of an enclosure document list. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the setting screen of a printing order. Explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the screen of an enclosure document list. Explanatory drawing which shows the further another example of the screen of an inclusion document list. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the edit screen of an enclosed document. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the printing start screen of an enclosed document. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the deletion screen of the printed inclusion document. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of control for determining a printing priority order in the control device of the image forming system according to the exemplary embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration of a main part of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, an image forming system including an enclosing device as post-processing means for enclosing paper in an envelope will be described as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming system of this embodiment includes a multifunction peripheral (MFP) type image forming apparatus 1 which is an electrophotographic image forming means. On the upper part of the image forming apparatus 1, a display unit that displays the contents of an image forming job (hereinafter referred to as “print job” or “job”) and an operation panel that functions as an operation unit for a user to operate the print job ( OP) 1A and automatic document feeder: ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 2 are mounted. Further, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a plurality of sheet feeding devices 1B. The sheet feeding device 1B functions as a sheet supply unit that supplies a sheet and an envelope supply unit that supplies an envelope in which the sheet is enclosed.

  A sheet post-processing device 3 is connected to the side of the image forming apparatus 1. In the paper post-processing apparatus 3, post-processing that is arbitrarily selected by the user is performed on the paper conveyed from the image forming apparatus 1. An enclosing sealing device 4 is connected to the side of the sheet post-processing device 3 opposite to the image forming device 1. The enclosing and sealing device 4 functions as an enclosing unit and a sealing unit, and encloses a sheet or sheet bundle that has been post-processed by the sheet post-processing apparatus 3 in an envelope. In this embodiment, a case where a half-folded or saddle-stitched booklet is enclosed in an envelope will be described.

  The envelope and the paper as the enclosed material enclosed in the envelope are respectively set in one of the plurality of stages of paper feeding devices 1B of the image forming apparatus 1 and are respectively conveyed from the image forming apparatus 1 to the sealed sealing device 4. The

  An envelope inspection device 5 is connected to the side of the sealing device 4 opposite to the paper post-processing device 3. The envelope inspection apparatus 5 inspects the flap of the sealed envelope, and discharges the envelope to the discharge tray 6 when determined to be normal, and discharges the envelope to the discharge tray 7 when determined to be abnormal. .

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged configuration diagram illustrating an example of the internal configuration of the sheet feeding device 1B, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a drive control system of the sheet feeding device 1B. 4 is an explanatory view showing the front and back surfaces of the envelope Pf set in the paper feeding device 1B, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the tray 24 of the paper feeding device 1B. 2 to 5 exemplify the sheet feeding device 1B in which the envelope Pf is set, the other sheet feeding devices in which sheets are set can be similarly configured.

  2 and 3, the sheet feeding device 1B includes a bottom plate raising motor 205 that drives the movable table 103 of the tray 124, a pickup motor 201 that drives the pickup roller 107, and a sheet feeding motor 202 as a drive system. A transport motor 203. The paper feed motor 202 drives the paper feed belt 109, the reverse roller 110 and the pull-out roller 112. The intermediate conveyance motor 203 drives the first intermediate roller 114 and the second intermediate roller 115.

  In addition, the sheet feeding device 1B has, as detection means, a size detection sensor 130 that detects the size of the envelope Pf, an envelope set sensor 105 that detects the set of the envelope Pf, and a table rise detection sensor that detects the upper limit of the movable table 103. 108, an abutting sensor 111 for skew correction, and a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) reading registration sensor 113 for reading the identification information (for example, barcode) of the envelope.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the configuration of the drive control system of the sheet feeding device 1 </ b> B is configured with a sheet feeding control unit 200 as the center. The paper feed controller 200 includes a size detection sensor 130, an envelope set sensor 105, an abutment sensor 111, a table lift sensor 108, a bottom plate home position sensor 106, a registration sensor 113, a pickup motor 201, a paper feed motor 202, and an intermediate transport motor. 203 and a bottom plate raising motor 205 are connected.

  The sheet feeding control unit 200 and the control device 120 serving as a control unit on the image forming apparatus main body side can be configured by, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. The CPU expands the program code stored in the ROM to the RAM, and executes the control defined by the program code while using the RAM as a work area and a data buffer. Each part is controlled by executing a program using these CPU, ROM and RAM, various sensors, various motors and the like as hardware resources. The paper feed control unit 200 can communicate with the control device 120 on the main body side of the image forming apparatus 1 via a predetermined communication interface (I / F) 207. Cooperative control of the control device 120 is possible.

  The envelope Pf is set on the movable table 103 and the bottom plate 125 of the tray 124. More specifically, the envelope Pf is set with the front surface Pfa of the envelope Pf facing upward as shown in FIG. 4 and the flap Pfc of the envelope Pf positioned on the side opposite to the paper feed direction Pfd. Moreover, the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the envelope Pf is positioned by a side guide (not shown). The envelope set is detected by the set filler 102 and the envelope set sensor 105 and transmitted to the control device 120 via the paper feed control unit 200.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the envelope Pf placed on the bottom plate 125 of the tray 124 is sandwiched by a pair of side guides 127 and 128 that can slide in the direction of arrow A along the guide rod 126. , Is set at the center position of the bottom plate 125. Below the bottom plate 125, a size detection sensor 130 (for example, a variable resistance position sensor) that detects the paper size on the bottom plate 125 by detecting the position of the side guide 128 is disposed. The control device 120 or the paper feed control unit 200 compares the value detected by the size detection sensor 130 with, for example, size data stored in advance in the internal memory, whereby the size of the envelope Pf set on the bottom plate 125 is determined. Can be recognized.

  The movable table 103 is configured to be movable up and down (swingable) in the a and b directions by using a bottom plate raising motor 205 as a fulcrum at an end (left end in FIG. 3) on the bottom plate 25 side. When the control device 120 or the paper feed control unit 200 detects that the envelope Pf is set by the set filler 102 and the set sensor 105, the bottom plate raising motor 205 is rotated forward so that the uppermost surface of the bundle of envelopes Pf is the pickup roller 107. The movable table 103 is moved up so as to come into contact with. The pickup roller 107 is operated by the pickup motor 201 in the c and d directions shown in FIG. 3 by the cam mechanism, and the envelope discharge side of the movable table 103 is raised and pushed by the upper surface of the envelope Pf on the movable table 103. Go up in direction c. The table rise detection sensor 108 detects the upper limit position of the pickup roller 107, and can thereby detect the upper limit position of the movable table 103. When the operator presses the OP 104 print key, an envelope paper feed signal is transmitted from the control device 120 to the paper feed controller 200 via the I / F 207, and the pickup roller 107 is driven to rotate by the normal rotation of the paper feed motor 202. The envelope Pf on the bottom plate 125 is picked up. The rotation direction is a direction in which the uppermost envelope Pf is conveyed to the paper feed port.

  The paper feeding belt 109 is driven in the paper feeding direction by the normal rotation of the paper feeding motor 202, and the reverse roller 110 is driven to rotate in the reverse direction to the paper feeding by the normal rotation of the paper feeding motor 202. The envelope is separated and only the uppermost envelope is fed. More specifically, when the reverse roller 110 is in contact with the paper feeding belt 109 at a predetermined pressure and is in direct contact with the paper feeding belt 109 or through a single envelope, the reverse roller 110 rotates the paper feeding belt 109. Correspondingly, it rotates counterclockwise. On the other hand, when two or more envelopes Pf enter between the sheet feeding belt 109 and the reverse roller 110, the reverse roller 110 is originally set so that the accompanying force is set lower than the torque of the torque limiter. It rotates in the clockwise direction, which is the driving direction of, and pushes back the excess envelope, preventing double feeding.

  The envelope Pf separated into one sheet by the action of the paper feed belt 109 and the reverse roller 110 is further fed by the paper feed belt 109, the leading end is detected by the abutting sensor 111, and the pull-out roller 112 which is further advanced and stopped. I hit it. Thereafter, the sheet is fed by a predetermined distance from the detection position of the abutting sensor 111, and as a result, the paper feeding motor 202 is stopped while being pressed against the pull-out roller 112 with a predetermined amount of bending, The drive of the paper feeding belt 109 is stopped. At this time, the pickup roller 201 is retreated from the upper surface of the envelope by rotating the pickup motor 201. As a result, the envelope Pf is fed only by the conveying force of the paper feed belt 109, the leading end of the envelope enters the nip of the pair of upper and lower rollers of the pull-out roller 112, and the leading end of the envelope Pf is aligned (skew correction).

  The pull-out roller 112 is a roller that has the skew correction function and conveys the envelope Pf that has been skew-corrected after separation to the first intermediate roller 114, and is driven by the reverse rotation of the paper feed motor 202. At this time (when the paper feed motor 202 is reversely rotated), the pull-out roller 112 and the intermediate roller 114 are driven, but neither the pickup roller 107 nor the paper feed belt 109 is driven.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the enclosing sealing device 4.
<Process and transport envelopes>
In the enclosing sealing device 4 of FIG. 6, the envelope is conveyed as follows. The envelope set in the paper feeding device 1B is fed into the image forming apparatus 1, and after an address is formed on the image, the envelope is conveyed to the sealing device 4 via the paper post-processing device 3. The envelope is first carried into the entrance conveyance path 9. After the envelope is detected by the inlet sensor 8A, each transport roller is driven to start transporting the envelope. The branch claw 11 has moved to a position leading to the upper conveyance path 12, and the envelope is conveyed to the lower conveyance path 12. Further, the branch claw 13 has moved to a position leading to the envelope conveyance path 14, and the envelope is conveyed to the envelope conveyance path 14. Hold the envelope flap with the chuck roller pair 23 and wait for the inclusion to be sealed. At this time, the swing roller pair 25 is retracted in the direction of the arrow and is in a position not in contact with the envelope.

<Processing and transportation of inclusions>
Moreover, in the enclosure sealing apparatus 4 of FIG. 6, the enclosure thing enclosed with an envelope is processed as follows, and is conveyed. After the original is read by the ADF 2, the corresponding paper is fed from the paper feeding device 1 B into the image forming device 1, and after the image is formed, the paper is conveyed to the enclosing / sealing device 4 via the paper post-processing device 3. The When the inclusion is a single sheet or a sheet bundle that has been subjected to the edge binding process, it is carried into the entrance conveyance path 9. After the inclusion is detected by the inlet sensor 8A, each conveyance roller is driven to start conveyance of the inclusion. When the enclosed material is a booklet that has been subjected to the saddle stitching process by the paper post-processing device 3, it is carried into the entrance conveyance path 10. In this case, after the inclusion is detected by the inlet sensor 8B, each conveyance roller is driven to start conveyance of the inclusion, and the branching claw 11 is moved to a position leading to the upper conveyance path 12. Is transported to the upper transport path 12, and then follows the same transport path as a single sheet or a bundle of sheets subjected to edge binding processing. After the inclusion is conveyed to the conveyance path 12, the branch claw 13 is further moved to a position leading to the inclusion conveyance path 15, and the inclusion is conveyed to the inclusion conveyance path 15. The inclusion passes through the inclusion discharge sensor 16 and is discharged to the intermediate tray 18. After being discharged to the intermediate tray 18, the return roller 17 moves to a position where it comes into contact with the intermediate tray 18, and conveys the filled material toward the rear end stopper 21. After the completion of conveyance, the alignment operation is performed by the side jogger pair 20. The same operation is repeated until all the inclusions to be enclosed in the envelope are prepared.

<Encapsulation process>
Moreover, in the enclosure sealing apparatus 4 of FIG. 6, the enclosure of the enclosure is performed as follows. After all the inclusions are stacked on the intermediate tray 18, the rear end stopper 21 is retracted in the direction of the arrow. After retraction, the tip stopper 19 starts to move in the direction of the arrow, and the bundle of inclusions is conveyed into the pack unit 22. After the transport to the pack unit 22 is completed, the pack unit 22 moves in the direction of the arrow, and is transported and sealed by the transport roller in the pack unit 22 to the envelope in the chuck roller pair 23 part. After completing the sealing, the swing roller pair 25 moves in the direction opposite to the arrow, and starts transporting the envelope to the transport path 26.

<Sealing process>
Further, in the sealed sealing device 4 of FIG. 6, sealing of the sealed envelope in which the sealed material is sealed is performed as follows. The envelope in which the inclusion is enclosed is inserted into the envelope direction changing pocket 29 via the conveyance path 26, and insertion of the envelope is detected by a sensor 30 provided at the lower end of the envelope direction changing pocket 29. After the envelope is inserted into the envelope direction changing pocket 29, the glue application roller 27 comes into contact with the flap of the envelope and glues the flap. In the case of sealing, it is necessary to preheat the glue application roller 27 so that it can be adhered by glue as an adhesive sealant. When the flap is glued by the glue application roller 27, the envelope once stored in the envelope direction changing pocket 29 is in a state in which the flap is still open, and the drive discharge roller 31 and the driven discharge roller 32 rotate from the flap. It is bitten between these rollers 31 and 32, the flap is overlapped on the envelope, and both are bonded and fixed by the pressing force between the rollers 31 and 32. The sealed envelope passes between the rollers 32 and 33, is transported through the discharge transport path 34, and is transported to a downstream machine of the sealed sealing device 4.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of the envelope chuck portion 38 in the sealing device 4. As shown in FIG. 7, the envelope chuck portion 38 includes a pair of chuck rollers 23 and 36 (which may be rollers) that can rotate in pressure contact with each other in the upward and downward directions. The envelope chuck portion 38 is provided with envelope guides 35 and 39 for guiding the envelope Pf to the nip portions of the chuck rollers 23 and 36, and an envelope detection sensor 37 disposed on the upstream side of conveyance of the nip portion. A part of the opening mylar 24 serving as a sheet-shaped opening member that can be elastically deformed is in contact with a part of the lower chuck roller 23.

  The opening mylar 24 is disposed at a position where the envelope can be opened by inserting a part of the opening into the opening of the envelope Pf held by the chuck rollers 23 and 36. The chuck rollers 23 and 36 are arranged in a substantially vertical direction and are in pressure contact with each other. The envelope guides 35 and 39 guide the envelope Pf to the position where the sheet is transferred from the vertical conveyance path 40 and guide it to the nip portion between the chuck rollers 23 and 36, and the envelope Pf reaching the chuck rollers 23 and 36. Is guided further along the envelope Pf along the lower chuck roller 23.

  The unsealing mylar 24 is formed of, for example, a thin film-like resin material, which is disposed in the vicinity of the chuck roller 23, and its upper end side is fixed. In the opening mylar 24, the portion slightly above the lower end is normally in contact with the lower chuck roller 23 with a predetermined pressure by the elastic force of the material itself, but when the paper P is guided into the envelope Pf. As shown in FIG. 9 described later, the lower end 24a side is inserted into the opening Pon of the envelope, and the paper P transported by the pack unit 22 is guided into the opening Pon. The envelope chuck portion 38 guides the envelope Pf between the chuck rollers 23 and 36 by the envelope guides 35 and 39 when the envelope Pf is conveyed downward. Next, the envelope Pf is sent between the chuck roller 23 and the opening mylar 24 by the conveying force of the rotating chuck rollers 23 and 36, respectively.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the envelope Pf is held with the opening Pon below the lower end of the opening mylar 24 in the envelope chuck portion 38 of the sealing device 4. FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the lower end of the opening mylar 24 has entered the envelope Pf in the envelope chuck portion 38 of the sealing device 4. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state in which the lower end of the opening mylar 24 enters the envelope Pf in the envelope chuck portion 38 of the sealing device 4.
When the flap (envelope allowance) Pfc portion of the envelope Pf is held between the chuck rollers 23 and 36 as shown in FIG. 8, the envelope detection sensor 37 detects the passage of the end of the flap Pfc. Then, since the chuck rollers 23 and 36 stop rotating, the envelope Pf stops. At this time, the opening Pon of the envelope Pf is positioned below the lower end 24a of the opening mylar 24 as shown in FIG.

  Next, the chuck rollers 23 and 36 start to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow E in FIG. 8, respectively, and the envelope Pf is switched back to move up the vertical conveyance path 11. At that time, since the lower end side of the opening mylar 24 is in contact with the flap Pfc portion of the envelope by its own elastic force, the lower end 24a of the opening mylar enters the opening Pon of the envelope Pf as shown in FIG. In this state, the reverse rotation of the chuck rollers 23 and 36 stops and the rise of the envelope Pf stops. Therefore, the envelope Pf is set in an opened state in which the lower end 21a of the opening mylar 21 is inserted into the opening Pon of the envelope Pf as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 11A is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of the glue application unit 60 of the sealing device 4. FIG. 11B is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the melt tank 61 is raised in the glue application unit 60. The melt tank 61 contains hot melt paste 28 as a sealing agent melted at high temperature, and the hot melt paste 28 in the melt tank 61 is put on the surface of a rotating roller (application roller) 27 as an application member. A paste film is formed. The adhesive film is applied by bringing the adhesive film of the rotating roller 27 into contact with the flap Pfc of the envelope Pf. A heater as a heating means for heating the hot melt paste 28 and a thermometer as a temperature measuring means for measuring the temperature of the hot melt paste 28 are installed inside the shaft 71 of the rotating roller 27, and the hot melt paste 28 has a constant temperature. It is possible to keep When the rotating roller 27 is rotated in the direction shown in FIG. 11A, the hot melt paste 28 is scraped off by a sheet metal 72 which is a plate-like scraping member, and the hot melt paste 28 is applied to the rotating roller 27 by a necessary amount. Applied. The melt tank 61 in the glue application unit 60 is supported by a spring 63 of the housing 62. When the solenoid (SOL) 64 as the driving means is operated and the movable shaft is pulled in the direction of the arrow shown in the drawing, the plate material 66 rotates around the support point 65 and the melt tank 61 rises (see FIG. 11 (b)). Further, when the melt tank 61 is raised, the boss 67 slides on the notch 68 and the boss 69 moves up and down between the housing 62 and the housing 63.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of the sheet post-processing apparatus 3. In the following description with reference to FIG. 12, the saddle stitching process operation for performing the saddle stitching process on the paper P will be mainly described.
The paper sorted by the branch claw 135 and the branch claw 136 from the conveyance path A is guided to the conveyance path B, and is discharged to the processing tray T by the conveyance roller 137, the conveyance roller 138, the conveyance roller 139, and the staple paper discharge roller 140. The In the processing tray T, the same operation is performed until the sheets sequentially discharged by the paper discharge roller 140 are aligned and immediately before stapling (saddle stitching). After the sheet bundle is temporarily aligned on the processing tray T, the leading end of the sheet bundle is sandwiched between the discharge roller 143 and the pressure roller 141a attached to the end of the branch guide plate 141, and the branch guide plate 141 and the movable guide 142 is rotated again by the discharge claw 145 and the discharge roller 143 so as to pass the path guided to the processing tray C by rotating. The discharge roller 143 is provided on the drive shaft of the discharge belt 144 and is driven in synchronization with the discharge belt 144.

  Thereafter, the sheet bundle is conveyed by the discharge claw 145 until the rear end thereof passes the discharge roller 143, and further conveyed by the upper bundle conveyance roller 146 and the lower bundle conveyance roller 147. At that time, the stop position of the movable rear end fence 148 differs depending on the size of each sheet bundle in the transport direction, and is waiting. When the front end of the sheet bundle P ′ contacts and is stuck on the movable rear end fence 148 that is waiting, the pressure of the lower bundle conveying roller 147 is released, and the rear end tapping claw 149 strikes the rear end of the sheet bundle. Final alignment in the transport direction. That is, an alignment operation is performed in which the width direction of the sheet bundle P ′ is aligned by the saddle stitching jogger fences 150 and 151, and the conveyance direction of the sheet bundle P ′ is aligned by the movable rear end fence 148 and the rear end tapping claw 149. Then, the center of the sheet bundle P ′ is bound by the saddle stitch stapler S. Here, the movable rear end fence 148 is positioned by pulse control from the movable rear end fence HP (home position) sensor 152, and the rear end hitting claw 151 is controlled by pulse control from the rear end hitting claw HP (home position) sensor 153. It is positioned. The saddle-stitched sheet bundle P ′ is conveyed upward along with the movement of the movable rear end fence 148 while the pressurization of the lower bundle conveying roller 147 is released, and thereafter the vicinity of the stapled staple portion is in a substantially perpendicular direction. Are pushed by the folding plate 154 and guided to the nip of the opposing folding roller 155. The folding roller 155 that has been rotated in advance folds the center of the sheet bundle P ′ by conveying the sheet bundle P ′ under pressure, and conveys the sheet bundle P ′ as it is to the downstream subsequent machine.

  FIGS. 13A and 13B are enlarged views of the portion indicated by the symbol M in FIG. 12, and a mechanism for additionally folding the booklet of the sheet bundle P ′ subjected to saddle stitching processing. It is explanatory drawing of operation | movement. The pressure roller 156 that performs the folding process on the fold line is downstream in the transport direction of the sheet bundle (sheet bundle) P ″ after the center folding process that is transported through the transport path 157 by the rotation of the first folding roller 155. It is provided at a position close to the side. The pressure roller 156 is provided by a roller moving mechanism 158 so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to the sheet bundle conveying direction (sheet conveying direction) (a direction perpendicular to the drawing sheet). As shown in FIG. 13A, the sheet bundle P ″ is folded by the first folding roller 155 and then conveyed in the direction of the arrow as it is. Only stops and stops at the position shown in FIG. At this time, the stop position of the fold portion Pc, which is the leading end portion of the sheet bundle P ″, is on the movement locus of the pressure roller 156 moved by the roller moving mechanism 158. When the pressure roller 156 moves in the direction (perpendicular to the paper surface in the drawing) perpendicular to the sheet bundle conveyance direction (sheet conveyance direction) at the position shown in FIG. The fold portion Pc is further folded (pressurized), and the fold is strengthened. After the additional folding process in which the folds are strengthened is finished, the sheet bundle P ″ is conveyed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 13B by the conveying roller 160 and is conveyed toward the downstream succeeding machine. On the other hand, when the post-processing is not necessary in the downstream succeeding machine, the sheet bundle P ″ after the additional folding process is conveyed in the paper discharge direction.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram showing an example of an internal configuration of the envelope inspection apparatus 5 that inspects the flaps of the sealed envelope. The envelope inspection device 5 operates as follows, for example, in the inspection mode and the loading mode.
<In inspection mode>
First, after the envelope discharged from the upstream machine of the envelope flap inspection device 5 is detected by the inlet sensor 161, each conveyance roller is driven to start conveyance of the envelope. The envelope is conveyed on the entrance conveyance path 162, and the conveyance direction of the envelope is branched by the branching claw 163. In the inspection mode in which inspection is performed on the flap which is the sealing portion of the envelope, the envelope is conveyed onto the conveying belt 166 by the branching claw 163. As shown in the figure, the roller 168 is in contact with the conveyor belt 166, and the roller 168 rotates along with the slippage as the conveyor belt 166 travels. The rotary encoder 167 has a rotating shaft coupled to the rotating shaft of the roller 168, and both rotate integrally. The rotary encoder 167 detects rotation and outputs a running signal. A photoelectric sensor 165 and a displacement sensor 169 are installed on the upper surface side of the conveyor belt 166. A plurality of displacement sensors 169 are installed in a direction perpendicular to the envelope conveyance direction (a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 14). An envelope flap (sealing portion) is inspected mainly using the plurality of displacement sensors 169, and a specific method of the inspection will be described later. If the sealed state of the envelope is determined to be normal after inspection is completed, the envelope is conveyed to the upper conveyance path 172 by the branching claw 171 and is discharged to the normal discharge tray 6 as it is. On the other hand, when the sealed state of the envelope is determined to be abnormal, the envelope is conveyed to the lower conveyance path 173 by the branching claw 171 and is discharged to the abnormal discharge tray 7 as it is.

<In loading mode>
When inspection of the sealed portion of the envelope is not necessary, the user selects a stacking mode and stacks the envelope without passing through the inspection processing unit by the displacement sensor 169 or the like. Also in this case, after the envelope discharged from the upstream machine of the envelope flap inspection device 5 is detected by the inlet sensor 161, each conveyance roller is driven to start conveyance of the envelope. At this time, the envelope is conveyed to the lower conveyance path 164 by the branching claw 163. Thereafter, the envelope passes through the stack discharge sensor 175 and is conveyed onto the stack tray 178. The envelopes conveyed to the stack tray 178 are properly aligned by the leading jogger 177 and the side jogger 178. The stack tray 178 can be pulled out toward the front side when the front cover of the envelope inspection apparatus 5 is opened to collect the envelope.

  FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a main part of a control system that performs control for storing encapsulated document data from an external apparatus to the hard disk of the image forming apparatus 1 in the image forming system of the present embodiment. A control device 120 serving as a control unit provided in the main body 100 of the image forming apparatus 1 is connected to the operation panel 1A, the paper feed control unit 200 of the paper feed device 1B, and the hard disk 80 in a communicable manner. The control device 120 is also a personal computer (PC) as an external device (information processing device) via a communication interface (I / F) 208 such as a wired or wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or USB (Universal Serial Bus). It is configured to be communicable with the apparatus, and can receive data of a plurality of print jobs including image data from the PC apparatus. Print job data received from the PC device is stored in the hard disk 80 inside the image forming apparatus 1 through the control device 120.

  The control device 120 can be configured with, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. The CPU expands the program code stored in the ROM to the RAM, and executes the control defined by the program code while using the RAM as a work area and a data buffer. Each part is controlled by executing a program using these CPU, ROM and RAM, various sensors, various motors and the like as hardware resources. Further, the control device 120 can execute a print job involving image formation on a sheet and envelope sealing / sealing by executing control based on a predetermined program and print job data.

  The sheet feeding control unit 200 of the sheet feeding apparatus 1 </ b> B can communicate with the control apparatus 120 of the image forming apparatus 1 via a predetermined communication interface (I / F) 207. Further, between the control device 120 and the paper post-processing device control unit 210 of the paper post-processing device 3, between the paper post-processing device control unit 210 and the enclosing sealing device control unit 211 of the enclosing sealing device 4, and its The enclosure sealing device control unit 211 and the envelope inspection device control unit 212 of the envelope inspection device 5 are also configured to communicate with each other via a predetermined communication interface (I / F) 209. Similar to the control device 120, the paper feed control unit 200, the paper post-processing device control unit 210, the sealing and sealing device control unit 211, and the envelope inspection device control unit 212 may be configured by, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. The control defined by the predetermined program code can be executed. In the control system configured as described above, the control device 120 can perform cooperative control of the paper feed control unit 200, the paper post-processing device control unit 210, the sealing and sealing device control unit 211, and the envelope inspection device control unit 212. Yes.

In addition, the control device 120 and the operation panel 1A of the image forming apparatus 1 or the external device (PC) in which the control device 120 of the image forming apparatus 1 and a predetermined printer driver are incorporated includes the following means (1) to ( 3) can function.
(1) Means for changing the execution order of a group of enclosed document print jobs with sealing and a group of enclosed document print jobs without sealing.
(2) Printing based on at least one of the time when the instruction to execute the enclosed document print job is received, the name of the user who has issued the instruction to execute the enclosed document print job, the number of sheets processed by the print job, and the name of the print job Means for switching between rearranging the job execution order and rearranging the print job execution order based on the presence or absence of sealing in the print job.
(3) Means for changing the execution order of each print job of the enclosed document.

  FIG. 16 to FIG. 18 are explanatory diagrams of print screen groups displayed by the printer driver of the PC when printing a specified document on a sheet and enclosing and sealing an envelope in the image forming system. . When printing of an arbitrary document to be enclosed is selected, a screen 301 shown in FIG. 16 is displayed on the screen of the PC. Various print settings (for example, basic settings, initial settings, finishing methods, and stapling methods) can be selected on a tab 302 on the screen 301. However, items other than “encapsulation” are omitted here because they are not related to the present invention. On the “Encapsulation” of the tab 302, the accumulation setting of the enclosed document can be performed.

  First, “Accumulation of enclosed document” is selected as the printing method with the option 303. When the arrow 304 is pressed (including the case of clicking, the same applies hereinafter), several types of printing methods are displayed on the screen. In the option 303, settings such as “normal printing” and “trial printing” can be selected in addition to “accumulation of enclosed document”, and the transition to the normal print mode can be easily performed without accumulating as an enclosed document. It is possible to do. In addition, as the print setting of the enclosed document, the option 305 selects color and monochrome printing, the option 306 selects the envelope sealing process (sealing presence / absence), the option 307 selects the document size, and the option 309 selects the paper size. The document orientation can be selected from “vertical” and “horizontal”. When selecting an original size with the option 307, if necessary, check the “magnification” in the check box 308 below it, so that the magnification details setting described in gray below it can be made. It becomes possible to set.

  The setting of the envelope for enclosing the enclosed document is performed on the screen 313 in FIG. This screen 313 is displayed by pressing a button 310 “envelope details” on the screen 301. On the screen 313, a tray for feeding envelopes is set. When the arrow 316 is pressed, several types of trays are displayed in the options 317, so the tray on which the envelope is fed is selected. Here, an example in which an envelope having an A3 size and a flap length of 10 mm is set on the tray 1 is shown. Under the option 317 on the screen 313, the information (envelope size and flap length) of the tray 1 recorded on the hard disk 80 can be displayed on the PC via the control device 120. Therefore, it is possible to confirm on which screen the envelope has been fed when the user selects the tray on the screen of the PC without checking the paper feed tray of the image forming apparatus 1. Each content displayed on the screen 313 is confirmed by pressing “OK” in the option 314, and the envelope setting is temporarily stored in a RAM on the PC (not shown). When the “Cancel” option 315 is pressed, the screen 313 disappears and the screen 301 is restored.

  In the confirmation screen 318 of FIG. 18, it is possible to store the enclosed document and select the sealed envelope in the envelope. When the button 319 “Yes” is pressed, the screen 318 disappears, and sealing of the sealed document into the envelope is started. If the sealing process is selected, sealing is also performed. On the other hand, when the “No” button 320 is pressed, only document accumulation is started, and the screen 301 and the screen 318 disappear. When the “Cancel” button 321 is pressed, the storage of the enclosed document is canceled, the screen 318 disappears, and the screen 301 is restored.

FIGS. 19 to 25 show a group of print screens displayed by the printer driver of the PC when grouping a sealed print job and a non-sealed print job of encapsulated documents stored in the hard disk in the image forming system. It is explanatory drawing.
The enclosed document stored in the hard disk 80 can be confirmed by “details of stored document” 351 on the screen 301 of FIG. 16 of the printer driver. When this “details of stored document” 351 is pressed, a list of enclosed documents stored in the hard disk 80 is displayed on the screen 352 of FIG. In this example, eight documents in total are registered. On the screen 352, the user name, document name, number of copies, presence / absence of sealing, and printing order are displayed. At this time, the registered sealed documents are divided into a “no seal” group and a “sealed” group depending on the presence or absence of the seal. This grouping is performed by the control device 120 of the image forming apparatus 1.

  On the screen 352, “no seal” is set to be displayed at the top of the print order, but “print order setting” 353 can set the print priority. When “print order setting” 353 is pressed, a screen 354 of FIG. 20 is displayed. This screen 354 displays the current print priority setting. The initial setting (default setting) in this embodiment is the same as the setting on the screen 354.

  On the screen 354, the document with “no seal” has a higher print priority than the document with “sealing” for the following reason. That is, as described with reference to FIG. 11, the hot-melt paste 28, which is a high-melting sealing agent, is necessary for sealing the envelope. For the hot-melt paste 28, a hot-melt paste 28 is used. It takes time to heat the rotary roller 27 as a coating roller on which the paste film of the paste 28 is formed on the surface in advance. Therefore, by executing the encapsulated printing group, which is a print job for the encapsulated document of “no seal”, it is possible to preheat the rotating roller 27 while the encapsulated print group is encapsulated. Thus, productivity is improved. In addition, since the “unsealed” sealed document group to be printed is known in advance, the power supply timing to the heater of the rotating roller 27 is set by calculating backward from the print job time of the “unsealed” sealed document group. Thus, it is possible to minimize the waste of electric power applied to the heater of the rotating roller 27.

  In the option 355 on the screen 354, three selections of “presence / absence of sealing”, “reception time”, and “user name” are possible, and the printing priority 3 is selected based on the selection setting of the printing priority 1 and the printing priority 2. The setting is automatically changed. In addition, in the option 356, it is possible to select “Yes” or “No” as the priority for setting the presence / absence of sealing. The set content is confirmed by pressing “Yes” in the option 357, and print order setting data is transmitted from the PC to the image forming apparatus 1. The image forming apparatus 1 changes the printing order of each document based on the printing order setting data received from the PC, and the data can be referred to the PC side. When the “Cancel” option 358 is pressed, the screen screen 354 disappears, and the data changed on the screen 354 is returned to the screen 352 without being updated.

By depressing “sealed presence / absence” 359 on the screen 352 in FIG. 19, the group of the “unsealed” encapsulated document in the highest printing order is changed to the encapsulated document group of “sealed”. (See FIG. 21). When “sealing presence / absence” 359 is pressed again from the state of FIG. 21, the priority of printing is changed from “sealing is present” to “no sealing”, and the screen returns to the screen of FIG.
Also, by pressing “Reception time” 360 on the screen 352 in FIG. 19, the print priority order of the enclosed documents is sorted in the order of “Reception time”, that is, in order of earlier reception time (see FIG. 22). ). When “reception time” 360 is pressed again from the state of FIG. 22, the print priorities of the enclosed documents are sorted in order of late reception time.
Similarly, by pressing the “user name” 361 on the screen 352 in FIG. 19, it is possible to sort the printing priority order of the enclosed documents in the order of “user name”.
In this example, the print priority can be sorted by three items, “sealed / not sealed”, “reception time”, and “user name”, but the print priority can be sorted by “document name” and “number of sheets” on the screen 352. You can also sort.

  The button 362 on the screen 352 in FIG. 19 has eight encapsulated documents that can be displayed on the screen 352 here, so that when the total number of documents is nine or more, the ninth and subsequent documents can be displayed. Button. Each enclosed document can be selected by a button 363. When there is one enclosed document in a selected state (active), the printing order of the enclosed documents can be changed by a button 380. Yes.

  When the button 380 is pressed in the state of FIG. 19, a screen 381 of FIG. 23 is displayed. The screen 381 describes details of the active enclosing document. To change the print order setting, the print order may be selected from the options 382. The setting of the envelope set in “Envelope details” of the button 310 on the screen 301 in FIG. When the user presses “OK” on the button 384 on the screen 381, the sealing sequence is changed or the envelope paper feed tray is changed. At the same time, a command to delete from the hard disk 80 is sent from the PC to the image forming apparatus 1. Return to screen 352. When the “Cancel” button 376 is pressed, the editing process is not performed and the screen returns to the screen 352 in FIG.

  In addition, the enclosed document that is in the selected state (active) on the screen 352 in FIG. 19 can be deleted with the button 364. For example, when the button 364 is pressed in the state of the screen 352 in FIG. 19, the document 1 is deleted and disappears from the screen 352. However, the data of the enclosed document is not deleted from the hard disk 80 on the image forming apparatus 1 unless “OK” of the button 365 is pressed or printing is performed by “print” of the button 367.

  In order to activate all the enclosed documents on the screen 352 in FIG. 19, a “select all documents” button 368 may be pressed. In addition, when “select all documents” of the button 368 is pressed in a state where all the enclosed documents are active, all the enclosed documents are in a non-selected state.

  When “OK” of the button 365 on the screen 352 of FIG. 19 is pressed, the printing order of the enclosed documents and the updated data of the deleted enclosed documents are transmitted from the PC to the image forming apparatus 1, and are stored in the hard disk 80 through the control device 120. The contents are updated, and the screen returns to the screen 301 in FIG. When the “Cancel” button 366 on the screen 352 in FIG. 19 is pressed, the information performed on the screen 352 is not updated (except for the setting of the print order), and the screen 301 returns to the screen 301 in FIG.

  “Print” of the button 367 on the screen 352 in FIG. 19 can be pressed while any one of the enclosed documents 363 is active. In the example of the screen 352 in FIG. 19, only “document 1” is printed. State. When the “print” button 367 is pressed, a screen 370 in FIG. 24 is displayed. When “Yes” of the button 371 is pressed on the screen 370, the active enclosed document on the screen 352 in FIG. 19 is printed according to the printing order, and the screen 373 in FIG. 25 is displayed. When the “Cancel” button 372 is pressed on the screen 370 in FIG. 24, the screen returns to the screen 352 in FIG. 19 without printing.

  On the screen 373 in FIG. 25, it is possible to select whether to delete the printed enclosed document from the hard disk 80 of the image forming apparatus 1. When the “Yes” button 374 is pressed, the active enclosing document on the screen 352 in FIG. 19 is printed, and at the same time, a command to delete from the hard disk 80 is transmitted from the PC to the image forming apparatus 1 and the screen 301 in FIG. . Further, when “NO” of the button 375 is pressed on the screen 373 in FIG. 25, the active enclosed document on the screen 352 in FIG. 19 is printed, and the screen returns to the screen 301 in FIG. If the user presses “Cancel” on the button 376 on the screen 373 in FIG. 25, the screen returns to the screen 352 in FIG. 19 without printing.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the above-described various settings and changes thereof are performed by the printer driver of the PC has been described. However, the above-described settings and changes thereof may be performed by operating the operation panel 1A of the image forming apparatus 1. Good.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing an example of control for determining the print priority order in the control device 120 when the encapsulated document X is transmitted from the PC to the control device 120 when the print priority order shown in FIG. 20 is set. It is.
When the print job data of the enclosed document X is transmitted from the PC to the control device 120 of the image forming apparatus 1 (S101), the control device 120 stores the data of the enclosed document in the hard disk 80 based on the data received from the PC. Is stored (S101, S102). If the data of the enclosed document is not stored on the hard disk 80 (NO in S102), the printing order of the enclosed document X is set to “1”, and the data of the enclosed document X is stored on the hard disk 80 (S103). finish.

  On the other hand, if the data of the enclosed document is stored in the hard disk 80 (YES in S102), it is further determined whether or not the enclosed document X is “None” (S104). If the sealed document X is “None” (YES in S104), whether there is another sealed document “None”, that is, the data of the other sealed document “None” is stored in the hard disk 80. It is determined whether or not it is stored in (S105). If there is another sealed document with no seal (YES in S105), the sealed documents with the seal “None” are sorted in order of reception time (S106), and the sealed document X is a sealed document with the seal “None”. In the case of the nth oldest (S107), the rank of the enclosed document X is set to “n” and the data of the enclosed document X is stored in the hard disk 80 (S108). Then, the printing order is corrected to the order of +1 for all the other sealed “no” sealed documents whose printing order is n or more (S109), and the process ends.

  If there is no other sealed document “No” in the above step S105 (NO in S105), the ranking of the enclosed document X is set to “1” and the data of the enclosed document X is stored in the hard disk 80 (S110). Then, the printing order is corrected to the order of +1 for all the enclosed documents having a printing order of 2 or more (S111).

  If the sealed document X is not “None” in step 104, that is, if the sealed document X is “Yes” (NO in S104), there is another sealed document “Yes”. It is determined whether or not the data of another sealed document “Yes” is stored in the hard disk 80 (S112). If there is another sealed document with “seal” (YES in S112), the sealed documents with seal “same” are sorted in order of reception time (S113), and sealed document X is a sealed document with seal “Yes”. Is the m-th oldest (S114), the ranking of the enclosed document X is set to the total number “p” + “m” of the enclosed documents “nothing”, and the data of the enclosed document X is stored in the hard disk 80 (S115). ). Then, the printing order is corrected to the order of +1 for all the enclosed documents whose printing order is “p” + “m” or more (S116).

  In step S112, if there is no other sealed document with sealed “Yes” (NO in S112), the total number of sealed documents with sealed “none” is “p” + “1”, and the data of sealed document X is stored in the hard disk 80. (S117) and the process ends.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when a plurality of enclosed document print jobs with sealing and at least one enclosed document print job without sealing are mixed, the enclosed document print job with sealing and sealing are accompanied. By controlling the order in which print jobs are executed by grouping them into non-enclosed document print jobs, each print job can be continuously executed with respect to a plurality of enclosed document print job groups accompanied by sealing. Therefore, the initial startup operation for sealing only needs to be performed once before executing a group of print jobs for a plurality of encapsulated documents accompanied by sealing. Therefore, the initial startup operation for sealing is useless due to the initial startup operation for sealing. Power consumption can be prevented. In addition, unlike the case where the enclosing document print job with sealing and the enclosing document printing job without sealing are alternately performed, the enclosing document print job with sealing and the enclosing document print job without sealing are performed. Since switching is performed only once, it is possible to suppress a decrease in productivity due to job switching. Therefore, even when a plurality of encapsulated document print jobs with sealing and at least one encapsulated document print job without sealing are mixed, wasteful power consumption due to the initial startup operation for sealing is prevented. At the same time, it is possible to suppress a decrease in productivity of the sealed envelope.
Further, according to the present embodiment, by operating the PC or the operation panel 1A of the external apparatus, the execution order of the group of enclosed document print jobs with sealing and the group of enclosed document print jobs without sealing is executed. Since it can be arbitrarily changed, it is possible to secure a degree of freedom with respect to the execution order of the print job of the enclosed document.
Further, according to the present embodiment, by operating the PC of the external device or the operation panel 1A, the time when the execution instruction of the enclosed document print job is received, the name of the user who gives the execution instruction of the enclosed document print job, Reordering the print job execution order based on at least one of the number of sheets to be processed in the print job and the print job name, and rearranging the print job execution order based on the presence or absence of sealing in the print job The PC or the operation panel 1A can be operated and switched, so that it is possible to secure a further degree of freedom with respect to the execution order of the enclosed document print job.
In addition, according to the present embodiment, the initial setting of the execution order of the enclosing document print job is changed to the execution order of the enclosing document print job based on the presence or absence of sealing. The initial state can be brought into a state in which useless power consumption due to the initial start-up operation for sealing can be prevented, and a decrease in productivity of the sealed envelope can be suppressed.
Further, according to the present embodiment, the execution order of each of the enclosed document print jobs can be arbitrarily changed by operating the PC of the external device or the operation panel 1A. Further freedom can be secured.
In addition, according to the present embodiment, a preparatory operation necessary for sealing can be performed while executing a print job for a sealed document without sealing by preferentially executing a print job without sealing. Thus, productivity is further improved. In addition, since the sealed document group without sealing is known in advance, it becomes possible to set the start timing of the preparation operation necessary for sealing by calculating backward from the print job time of the sealed document group without sealing. It is possible to minimize waste of electric power necessary for the preparation operation necessary for sealing.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 1A Operation panel 1B Paper feeding device 3 Paper post-processing device 4 Sealing and sealing device 5 Envelope inspection device 80 Hard disk 120 Control device 200 Paper feeding control unit 207 Communication interface (I / F)
208 Communication interface (I / F)
209 Communication interface (I / F)
210 Paper Post-Processing Device Controller 211 Sealing Device Controller 212 Envelope Inspection Device Controller

JP-A-9-058619

Claims (1)

An envelope supply means for supplying an envelope; a paper supply means for supplying a paper to be sealed in the envelope; an image forming means for forming an image on the paper or the envelope; and a sealing means for sealing the paper in the envelope; An image forming system comprising: a sealing unit that seals an envelope containing the paper with a sealing agent attached thereto,
When a plurality of image forming jobs with sealing and at least one image forming job without sealing are mixed, the image forming job with sealing and the image forming job without sealing are grouped . The image forming job without the sealing is executed with priority over the image forming job with the sealing, and the image forming job with the sealing is performed based on the time required for the image forming job without the sealing. An image forming system comprising control means for setting a start timing of a sealing preparation operation .

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