JP7281358B2 - printer - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus having multiple medium containers.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus, a plurality of paper supply compartments are grouped, and when a paper shortage is detected in one of the paper supply compartments in the group, paper is fed to the other paper supply compartments in the group. A switching technique is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2009-256077 A

By the way, for example, in a print job set by a user at a user terminal, it is conceivable to set multiple candidates for designating a plurality of candidates for a medium storage unit to be used from among a plurality of medium storage units that store media such as paper. be done. With this multiple-candidate setting, the medium used for printing is supplied from one of the plurality of designated medium storage units, so that even if one medium storage unit runs out of remaining medium, other The medium can be supplied from the medium containing portion of the.

On the other hand, in the printing apparatus, for example, when a medium different from other medium storage units, such as paper with perforations or matte paper, is stored, settings are made so that multiple candidate settings are not accepted for each medium storage unit. preferably

However, if a plurality of medium storage units are specified in the multiple candidate settings of the print job, and the printing apparatus is set not to accept the multiple candidate settings for some of the specified multiple medium storage units, the printing system , the print job cannot be executed, and the print settings are determined to be inconsistent, and printing stops. This causes downtime in the printing device, for example, requiring the user to re-specify the media container in the print job.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus capable of reducing downtime caused by printing being stopped due to determination that print settings are inconsistent when a plurality of medium storage units are specified in a print job. is.

In one aspect, the printing apparatus has a plurality of medium storage units that store media, and multiple candidate settings for supplying the medium from two or more of the medium storage units designated from among the plurality of medium storage units. is input, and some of the two or more medium storage units designated by the multiple candidate setting are set to refuse to accept the multiple candidate setting. and a control unit for controlling supply of the medium from the medium containing unit for which the refusal setting is not made among the two or more medium containing units designated by the multiple candidate setting.

According to the above aspect, it is possible to reduce downtime caused by stopping printing due to determination that print settings are inconsistent when a plurality of medium storage units are specified in a print job.

1 is a configuration diagram showing a printing apparatus according to an embodiment; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the main control configurations of a printing apparatus and a user terminal according to an embodiment; FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining multiple candidate setting in one embodiment; 4 is a flow chart for explaining processing for determining a supply tray to be used in one embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship of multiple candidate settings between print job settings and printing device settings in one embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship of multiple candidate settings between print job settings and printing device settings in a comparative example; FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship of multiple candidate settings between print job settings and printing device settings in a modified example of an embodiment;

A printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a printing apparatus 1 according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the main control configurations of the printing apparatus 1 and the user terminal 100. As shown in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the printing apparatus 1 includes a medium supply section 10, a first printing section 20, a first intermediate transport section 30, a second printing section 40, and a second intermediate transport section 50. , and a medium ejection unit 60 . Further, as shown in FIG. 2 , the printing apparatus 1 further includes a control section 71 , a storage section 72 , an input section 73 , a display section 74 and an interface section 75 .

As shown in FIG. 1, the medium supply unit 10, the first printing unit 20, the first intermediate conveying unit 30, the second printing unit 40, the second intermediate conveying unit 50, and the medium discharging unit 60 are for example sheets ( are arranged in series in the conveying direction of the medium M (paper). The conveying direction of the medium M is the right direction in FIG. In FIG. 1, the straight transportation routes R1, R4-1, R5, R8-1 and the ejection route R9 of the medium M are indicated by solid lines, the circular transfer routes R2 and R6 are indicated by two-dot chain lines, and the reverse transfer routes R3 and R4-2 are shown. , R7 and R8-2 are indicated by dashed lines.

Note that in FIG. 1, each of the medium supply unit 10, the first printing unit 20, the first intermediate conveying unit 30, the second printing unit 40, the second intermediate conveying unit 50, and the medium discharging unit 60 is a separate housing. , multiple of these may be located together in a common housing.

The medium supply unit 10 has a supply tray HF on which the medium M before printing is stacked. The supply tray HF is an example of a medium containing portion (first medium containing portion) that is arranged upstream of the first printing unit 20 in the transport direction of the medium M and that contains the medium M. As shown in FIG. Although not shown, the medium supply unit 10 includes a transport member such as a roller for feeding and transporting the uppermost medium M among the plurality of media M stacked on the supply tray HF, and a drive member for driving the transport member. Supply driving means (for example, an actuator) such as a motor that

The first printing unit 20 includes a plurality of pairs of transport roller pairs 21 , a print head 22 , a suction transport unit 23 , transport path switching units 24 and 25 , a switchback roller pair 26 , a discharge supply tray 27 , 3 It has three medium supply units 28 (28a, 28b, 28c) and prints on the medium M.

A plurality of transport roller pairs 21 are arranged in the first printing unit 20 to transport the medium M while nipping it.

The print head 22 has, for example, a line head type inkjet head (not shown) for each color used for printing. The print head 22 prints on the medium M using, for example, basic color inks such as CMYK and gray (inks that are not magnetic inks). The printing method of the print head 22 may be a printing method other than the inkjet printing method. That is, the print head 22 is merely an example of printing means, and the printing means is not limited to the print head 22 .

The suction transport unit 23 is arranged so as to face the print head 22 . The suction conveying unit 23 conveys the medium M by a belt while sucking the medium M. As shown in FIG. The suction transport unit 23 is an example of transport means for transporting the medium M. As shown in FIG. This conveying means may be one that does not perform suction.

On the other hand, the transport path switching unit 24 switches the transport path of the medium M printed by the print head 22 to the straight transport path R1 leading to the first intermediate transport part 30, the discharge supply tray 27, and the reverse transport path R3. It switches to the circulating transport route R2.

The other transport path switching unit 25 divides the circulation transport path R2 of the medium M into a transport path leading to the discharge supply tray 27 and a transport path leading to a reversing transport path R3 in which the medium M is turned upside down by the switchback roller pair 26. switch to Note that the medium M whose front and back sides have been reversed on the reversing transport path R3 is transported to the print head 22 again.

The medium M that is not discharged to the medium discharge section 60 is stacked on the discharge supply tray 27 .
Each of the three medium supply units 28 (28a, 28b, 28c) has supply trays T1, T2, T3 on which the medium M before printing is stacked. The supply trays T1, T2, and T3 are an example of a medium accommodation section (first medium accommodation section) that is arranged in the first printing section 20 and accommodates the medium M. As shown in FIG. Each of the medium supply units 28 includes a conveying member such as a roller for feeding and conveying the medium M positioned at the top among the plurality of media M stacked on the supply trays T1, T2, and T3, and the conveying member. A supply driving means (for example, an actuator) such as a driving motor is arranged.

The first intermediate conveying section 30 has a plurality of conveying roller pairs 31 and switchback roller pairs 32 .

The transport roller pair 31 nips and transports the medium M discharged from the first printing unit 20 .

The transport path switching mechanism (not shown) of the first intermediate transport section 30 uses a straight transport path R4-1 for directly transporting the medium M discharged from the first printing section 20 to the second printing section 40, and the switchback roller pair 32. The transport path is switched to the reversing transport path R4-2 for reversing the front and back of the medium M.

The configuration of the second printing unit 40 can be the same as the configuration of the first printing unit 20 . For example, like the first printing unit 20 , the second printing unit 40 includes a plurality of pairs of transport rollers 41 , a print head 42 , a suction transport unit 43 , a transport path switching unit 44 , and a switchback roller pair 45 . and Unlike the first printing unit 20 , the second printing unit 40 does not have the discharge supply tray 27 and the transport path switching unit 25 for switching the transport path to the discharge supply tray 27 . Similarly, the discharge supply tray 27 and the transport path switching unit 25 may be provided. The second printing unit 40 is arranged downstream of the first printing unit 20 in the transport direction of the medium M as described above, and prints on the medium M. As shown in FIG. Although FIGS. 1 and 2 show the three medium supply units 46 (46a, 46b, 46c) of the second printing unit 40, they are not used in this embodiment and can be omitted.

Although the printing apparatus 1 has a total of two printing units, the first printing unit 20 and the second printing unit 40, it may have only one printing unit or three or more printing units.

A plurality of transport roller pairs 41 are arranged in the second printing unit 40 to transport the medium M while nipping it.

The print head 42 is an example of printing means, and has, for example, a line head type inkjet head (not shown) for each color used for printing. The print head 42 prints on the medium M using, for example, basic color inks (inks that are not magnetic inks) such as CMYK and gray, or special inks. This special ink is, for example, magnetic ink such as MICR (Magnetic ink character recognition) ink. Alternatively, the special ink is ink of a color other than the basic color, such as transparent color ink, UV ink, or the like.

The suction transport unit 43 is arranged so as to face the print head 42 . The suction conveying unit 43 conveys the medium M by a belt while sucking the medium M. As shown in FIG. The suction transport unit 43 is an example of transport means for transporting the medium M. As shown in FIG. This conveying means may be one that does not perform suction.

The transport path switching unit 44 switches the transport path of the medium M printed by the print head 42 between the straight transport path R5 leading to the second intermediate transport part 50 and the circulating transport path R6 leading to the reverse transport path R7. .

The switchback roller pair 45 reverses the front and back of the medium M on the reverse transport path R7. The medium M whose front and back sides have been reversed on the reverse transport path R7 is transported to the print head 42 again.

Each of the three medium supply units 46 (46a, 46b, 46c) has supply trays T4, T5, T6 on which the medium M before printing is stacked. The supply trays T4, T5, and T6 are an example of a medium accommodation section (second medium accommodation section) that is arranged in the second printing section 40 and accommodates the medium M. As shown in FIG. Each of the medium supply units 46 includes a conveying member such as a roller for feeding and conveying the medium M positioned at the top among the plurality of media M stacked on the supply trays T4, T5, and T6, and the conveying member. A supply driving means (for example, an actuator) such as a driving motor is arranged.

The second intermediate transport section 50 has multiple pairs of transport roller pairs 51 and switchback roller pairs 52 .

The transport roller pair 51 nips and transports the medium M discharged from the second printing unit 40 .

The transport path switching mechanism (not shown) of the second intermediate transport section 50 includes a straight transport path R8-1 that transports the medium M ejected from the second printing section 40 to the medium ejection section 60 as it is, and a switchback roller pair 52 to switch the medium. The conveying route is switched to the reversing conveying route R8-2 for reversing the front and back of the M.

The medium ejection section 60 has an ejection supply tray 61, an upper surface detection sensor 62, and a supply tray elevation driving section 63 shown in FIG.

The media M ejected from the second intermediate transport unit 50 , that is, the printed media M are sequentially stacked on the ejection supply tray 61 . The discharge supply tray 61 is moved up and down by the drive of the supply tray elevation driving section 63 . Note that the discharge supply tray 61 may be a belt conveyor, a roller conveyor, or the like on which the medium M is stacked, that is, a discharge supply tray having a conveying means.

The upper surface detection sensor 62 detects the height of the stacking surface of the ejection supply tray 61, that is, the height of the uppermost medium M (the height of the upper surface of the ejection supply tray 61 when no medium M is stacked). It is a sensor for The upper surface detection sensor 62 has, for example, a light emitting portion that horizontally emits light (indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 1) at a desired stacking surface height, and a light receiving portion that receives the light. When the light emitted by the light emitting portion of the upper surface detection sensor 62 is blocked by the medium M and the light receiving portion of the upper surface detection sensor 62 does not receive the light, the control unit 71, which will be described later, moves the discharge supply tray 61 for several sheets of the medium M, for example. The supply tray lifting/lowering drive unit 63 is controlled so that the tray is lowered by a height of .

The supply tray elevation driving unit 63 shown in FIG. 2 raises and lowers the discharge supply tray 61 . The supply tray elevation drive unit 63 is, for example, an actuator such as a motor.

The control unit 71 has a processor (for example, CPU: Central Processing Unit) that functions as an arithmetic processing unit that controls the operation of the entire printing apparatus 1, and controls the operation of each unit such as the first printing unit 20 and the second printing unit 40. Control. The details of the control unit 71 will be described later.

The storage unit 72 is, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory), which is a read-only semiconductor memory in which a predetermined control program is recorded in advance, and a work storage area as necessary when the processor executes various control programs. A random access memory (RAM), which is a semiconductor memory that can be written and read at any time, is used.

The input unit 73 has, for example, operation keys for performing various operations, and receives input of various operation information by the user. For example, in the input unit 73, for each of the supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 (first medium storage unit) for supplying the medium M, a setting is made to accept multiple candidate settings in which a plurality of supply trays are specified in a print job, or Refusal settings not to be accepted are entered.

The display unit 74 is a display that displays various information. An operation panel having a touch panel can serve as both the input section 73 and the display section 74 .

The interface unit 75 exchanges various types of information with an external device such as the user terminal 100 (interface unit 150) that is wirelessly or wiredly connected via a network, for example. For example, the interface unit 75 can receive (input) a print job including image data and settings (single designation or multiple candidate settings) of the supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 to be used from the user terminal 100. Good to have. Thereby, the control unit 71 can acquire the information of the input print job. The print job may be input through the input unit 73 of the printing apparatus 1 or the like.

The above-described control unit 71, storage unit 72, input unit 73, display unit 74, and interface unit 75 may be arranged integrally with the first printing unit 20 or the second printing unit 40, for example. It may be arranged separately from the first printing unit 20 and the second printing unit 40 .

The user terminal 100 includes a control unit 110, a storage unit 120, an input unit 130, a display unit 140, and an interface unit 150, and functions as a RIP (Raster image processor) controller, for example. The user terminal 100 is, for example, a stationary terminal such as a desktop personal computer, or a mobile terminal such as a smart phone, a tablet terminal, or a notebook personal computer.

The control unit 110 has a processor (for example, CPU) that functions as an arithmetic processing unit that controls the operation of the user terminal 100 as a whole.

The storage unit 120 includes, for example, a ROM, which is a read-only semiconductor memory in which a predetermined control program is recorded in advance, and an occasional write area that is used as a work storage area as necessary when the processor executes various control programs. RAM, which is a readable semiconductor memory, or the like.

The input unit 130 is, for example, a keyboard device or a mouse device, and receives input of various operation information by the user.

The display unit 140 is a display that displays various information.
The interface unit 150 exchanges various types of information with an external device such as the printing apparatus 1 (interface unit 75) connected wirelessly or by wire through a network, for example.

Hereinafter, determination of the supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 to be used in the printing apparatus 1 will be described while appropriately omitting matters overlapping with the above description.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining multiple candidate setting.
First, the user sets a print job in the input unit 130 of the user terminal 100 shown in FIG. 2, for example. This print job includes image data and setting information for the supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 to be used. The designated supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 may be single (single setting) or plural (multiple candidate setting). In this embodiment, the supply trays T4, T5, and T6 arranged in the second printing section 40 are not used.

In the example of FIG. 3, in a 4-page print job having image data on each page, the supply tray HF is specified alone for page 1, and the supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 are specified for pages 2 and 3. Two or more of the supply trays T1, T2, T3 are specified, and on page 4, all supply trays HF, T1, T2, T3 are specified.

Further, in the printing apparatus 1, for example, the administrator of the printing apparatus 1 has previously set (ON) to accept multiple candidate settings for a print job, or set (OFF) to refuse to accept multiple candidate settings for the supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3. selected for each. For example, the administrator sets the refusal setting (OFF) for a supply tray that differs in the type of medium M (for example, presence or absence of perforations, paper material such as plain paper, matte paper, etc.) from other supply trays. The sizes of the media M contained in the supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 are the same. If a supply tray accommodating a medium M different from the size of the medium M specified in the print job is specified in the multiple candidate setting, even if this supply tray is set to accept the multiple candidate setting, it will not be used. should be excluded from the supplied tray.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the process of determining the supply trays HF, T1, T2 and T3 to be used.

When a print job is input, the control unit 71 determines whether multiple candidates are set in the print job, for example, for each page (step S1). As in page 1 of FIG. 3, when the supply tray HF is specified alone in the print job (step S1: NO), the control unit 71 causes the medium M to be supplied from the designated single supply tray HF (step S2), and the process shown in FIG. 4 is terminated.

If multiple candidates are set as in pages 2 to 4 (step S1: YES), the control unit 71 checks whether all the designated supply trays are set (ON) to accept multiple candidates. Determine (step S3). As shown in pages 2 and 3 of FIG. 3, all of the supply trays T1, T2, and T3 specified in the print job are set (ON) to receive multiple candidate settings in the printing apparatus 1 (step S3: YES ), the control unit 71 causes the medium M to be supplied from one of all the specified supply trays T1, T2, and T3 (step 4), and ends the processing shown in FIG.

If the setting (ON) to accept the multiple candidate setting is not set for all the specified supply trays (step S3: NO), the control unit 71 sets the refusal setting for all the specified supply trays not to accept the multiple candidate setting. (OFF) is determined (step S5). As shown in page 4 of FIG. 3, when only some of the specified supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 are set to reject (OFF) (step S5: NO), the control unit 71 causes the medium M to be supplied from any one of the supply trays T1, T2, and T3 for which rejection is not set, excluding the supply tray HF for which rejection is set (step S6), and the processing shown in FIG. 4 is terminated. .

Note that if all of the specified supply trays are set to reject multiple candidate settings (OFF) (step S5: YES), the control unit 71 sets an "error" that does not allow the medium M to be supplied. end the processing shown in . In the case of this error, the printer 1 determines that the print settings are inconsistent and does not print. Redesignation of the supply tray should be encouraged.

As described above, with respect to page 4 in FIG. 3, a print job in which a plurality of candidate settings specifying two or more supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 among the plurality of supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 is input (step S1 in FIG. 4 described above: YES), and multiple candidate setting is performed for some of the two or more supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 specified by the multiple candidate setting. The refusal setting (OFF) not to accept is made (steps S3 and S5: NO). In this case, the control unit 71 selects one of the two or more supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 specified by the multiple candidate setting, from any of the supply trays T1, T2, and T3 for which the refusal setting (OFF) is not set. A first control (step S6) for supplying the medium M is performed. This first control is control by which the control unit 71 causes the medium supply unit 28 (28a, 28b, 28c) to supply the medium M. As shown in FIG. When the medium M is supplied from one of the supply trays T1, T2, and T3, the control unit 71 supplies the medium M from the same supply tray in order of the supply trays T1, T2, and T3 until the supply tray becomes empty. Alternatively, the supply tray to which the medium M is supplied may be changed according to conditions such as a certain number of sheets or a certain period of time. In addition, when the supply tray HF can accommodate more media M than the other supply trays T1, T2, and T3, the control unit 71 sequentially loads the media M from the supply tray that accommodates the larger number of media M. Priorities may be set among the supply trays, such as allowing them to be supplied.

Further, the control unit 71 may perform a second control of notifying the supply tray HF that is specified in the multiple candidate setting and is set to be rejected (OFF) with respect to page 4 . This second control is, for example, control in which the control unit 71 notifies the user terminal 100 of information regarding the supply tray HF. The user terminal 100 can, for example, display the notified supply tray HF on the display unit 140 so that the user can recognize that the supply tray HF is set to be rejected (OFF). The second control includes control by the control unit 71 to display information about the supply tray HF on the display unit 74 of the printing apparatus 1, control to output information about the supply tray HF to the voice output unit (not shown) of the printing apparatus 1, and the like. may be

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the correspondence relationship of multiple candidate settings between print job settings and printer settings according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship of multiple candidate settings between print job settings and printer settings in a comparative example.

In this embodiment of FIG. 5, as described above, when the refusal setting is made for all of the two or more supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 specified by the multiple candidate setting (step S5 : NO) becomes an "error" (step S7).

In the comparative example of FIG. 6, in the case of the "error" of the embodiment of FIG. is set to reject (step S5: NO), and some of the two or more supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 specified in the multiple candidate setting are set to multiple candidate. If the refusal setting to reject the request is made (step S5: YES), it will also be an "error".

In the example of FIG. 3, the medium storage units (supply trays) specified in the multiple candidate setting of the print job are the supply trays T1, T2, and T3 for pages 2 and 3, and the supply trays HF, T1, T2, and HF for page 4. It is T3. In the printing apparatus 1, the setting (ON) for accepting multiple candidate settings is selected for the supply trays T1, T2, and T3, and the rejection setting (OFF) for not accepting multiple candidate settings is selected for the supply tray HF.

Therefore, page 2 and page 3 correspond to the fourth row from the top of FIG. , T3. This also applies to the comparative example shown in FIG.

Page 4 corresponds to the first row from the bottom in FIG. 5 (multiple candidate setting: supply tray HF+T1+T2+T3) and the eighth column from the left (multiple candidate setting reception ON: T1+T2+T3), so supply trays T1, T2, and T3 A medium M is supplied from either On the other hand, in the comparative example of FIG. 6, since the supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 specified by the multiple candidate setting include the supply tray HF for which the refusal setting is set, the first line from the bottom in FIG. , the 8th column from the left becomes "Error".

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship of multiple candidate settings between print job settings and printer settings in a modification of the present embodiment.

In the modification shown in FIG. 7, the two or more supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 designated by the multiple candidate setting include the supply tray HF, which is an example of a predetermined specific medium container. When there is, the first control described above is performed only when the refusal setting (OFF) is not set for this specific supply tray HF. That is, when a specific supply tray HF is designated by multiple candidate settings and is set to be rejected (areas 5 to 11 rows from the top and columns 2 to 8 from the left surrounded by dashed lines in FIG. 7), All are "errors". Others are the same as in the case of FIG.

In this modified example, the above-described first control is performed only when the supply tray HF, which is an example of a specific medium container, is not set to reject (OFF). Separately, when the two or more supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 specified in the multiple candidate setting include the supply tray HF, which is an example of a predetermined specific medium container, this The first control described above may be performed so that the medium M is supplied first from the supply tray HF. Examples of the specific medium feeding unit include a medium containing unit with a large amount of remaining medium M, a medium containing unit with a large stackable amount of medium M, and a medium containing unit containing medium M oriented in the same direction as the image data. Good.

In the embodiment described above, the printing apparatus 1 includes the supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3, which are examples of a plurality of medium storage units that store the medium M, and the control unit 71 . The control unit 71 executes a print job in which multiple candidates are set to supply the medium M from two or more specified supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 out of the plurality of supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3. A refusal setting that does not accept multiple candidate settings is set for some of the two or more supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 that have been input and specified in the multiple candidate setting (for example, the supply tray HF). 4 (step S5 in FIG. 4: NO), the supply tray for which the refusal setting is not set (for example, the supply tray T1 , T2, T3) to supply the medium M (first control) (step S6).

As a result, when the refusal setting is set not to accept the multiple candidate setting for some of the multiple supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 specified in the multiple candidate setting of the print job, the refusal setting is performed. The medium M can be supplied from the remaining supply trays T1, T2, and T3 that are not loaded. On the other hand, in the comparative example of FIG. 6, a rejection setting is made not to accept the multiple candidate setting for some of the multiple supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 specified in the multiple candidate setting of the print job. If so, an "error" occurs, and the print settings are judged to be inconsistent, and the medium M cannot be supplied. As a result, the user has to specify the supply tray again in the print job. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when a plurality of supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 are specified in a print job, it is determined that the print settings are inconsistent and printing is stopped. can do.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the control unit 71 notifies the supply tray (for example, the supply tray HF) that is specified in the multiple candidate setting and is set to be rejected. As a result, the user can be made aware that some of the supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 specified in the multiple candidate setting of the print job are set to reject the multiple candidate setting. can. Therefore, the user can further reduce the downtime of the printing apparatus 1 by taking measures such as removing the informed supply tray HF from designation of the multiple candidate setting.

In addition, in the modified example of the present embodiment, the control unit 71 supplies the two or more supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 specified by the multiple candidate setting with an example of a predetermined specific medium supply unit. When a certain supply tray HF is included, the above control is performed only when this specific supply tray HF is not set to reject. As a result, for example, when a supply tray HF that can accommodate more media M than the other supply trays T1, T2, and T3 is specified in the multiple candidate setting and the rejection setting is made, an "error" is set. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the supply tray HT containing a large amount of media M from becoming unusable. In this way, it is possible to increase the priority of use of a specific supply tray HF compared to other supply trays T1, T2, T3.

In addition, the control unit 71 determines that the two or more supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 specified by the multiple candidate setting include the supply tray HF, which is an example of a predetermined specific medium storage unit. Sometimes, the above control is performed so that the medium M is supplied first from the supply tray HF. This makes it possible to increase the priority of use of the specific supply tray HF compared to the other supply trays T1, T2, and T3. For this priority, for example, in order to reduce the number of times of tray switching, the priority of a tray with a large amount of remaining medium M may be increased. Alternatively, in order to prevent a decrease in productivity due to image rotation, the priority of the tray on which the medium M oriented in the same orientation as the image data is set may be increased.

Further, in the present embodiment, the printing apparatus 1 includes a first printing unit 20 that prints on the medium M, and a first printing unit 20 that is arranged downstream of the first printing unit 20 in the transport direction of the medium M, and prints on the medium M. and a second printing unit 40 for performing printing. The plurality of supply trays HF, T1 to T6 are arranged in the first printing unit 20, or the second printing unit 40, or two or more medium storage units ( These are the supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3, which are examples of the first medium container. When some of the two or more supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 specified in the multiple candidate setting are set to reject, the control unit 71 controls the two or more specified in the multiple candidate setting. The above-described control to supply the medium M from the supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction, or from the first printing unit 20 or the supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3, which are not set to reject among the supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3. I do. In this way, when performing high-speed double-sided printing using two printing units (the first printing unit 20 and the second printing unit 40), the control unit 71 temporarily controls the second printing unit downstream of the first printing unit 20. 2. Even if the supply trays T4, T5, and T6 arranged in the printing unit 40 exist, they are not used, and the supply trays T1, T2, and T3 arranged in the first printing unit 20 and the first printing unit 20 The first control is performed using the supply tray HF arranged on the upstream side. This makes it possible to simplify the control of double-sided printing. If the supply trays T4, T5, and T6 arranged in the second printing unit 40 are used, for example, the supply trays for supplying the medium M are changed from the supply trays HF, T1, T2, and T3 to the supply trays T4, T5, T4, T5, and T4. When changing to T6, the process of deleting the print job of the first printing unit 20 and changing to the print job of the second printing unit 40 occurs. In addition, the ink used in the second printing unit 40 may be a special ink different from the ink used in the first printing unit 20 (for example, magnetic ink such as MICR ink, ink of a color other than the basic color such as transparent color ink, etc.). , UV ink, etc.), printing that should be performed by the first printing unit 20 is performed by the second printing unit 40 . The present invention can also avoid them.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying constituent elements without departing from the scope of the present invention at the implementation stage. Also, various inventions can be formed by appropriate combinations of the plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, all the components shown in the embodiments may be combined as appropriate. It goes without saying that various modifications and applications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. The invention described in the scope of claims at the time of filing of the present application will be additionally described below.

[Appendix 1]
a plurality of medium storage units that store media;
A print job with multiple candidate setting for supplying the medium from two or more designated medium containing units out of the plurality of medium containing units is input, and the two designated by the multiple candidate setting are input. If some of the medium housing units have a refusal setting that does not accept the multiple candidate setting, among the two or more medium housing units specified in the multiple candidate setting, the and a control unit that controls supply of the medium from the medium storage unit that is not set to reject.

[Appendix 2]
The printing apparatus according to Supplementary note 1, wherein the control unit notifies the medium storage units that are specified in the multiple candidate setting and that are set to be rejected.

[Appendix 3]
When the two or more medium storage units designated by the multiple candidate setting include a predetermined specific medium storage unit, the control unit selects the specific medium storage unit first. 3. The printing apparatus according to appendix 1 or 2, wherein the control is performed to supply the medium.

[Appendix 4]
a first printing unit that prints on the medium;
A second printing unit arranged downstream of the first printing unit in the medium transport direction and printing on the medium,
The plurality of medium storage units are the first printing unit, the second printing unit, or two or more medium storage units arranged upstream in the transport direction from the first printing unit,
When the refusal setting is applied to a part of the medium housing units among the two or more medium housing units designated by the multiple candidate setting, the control unit controls the The control is performed such that the medium is supplied from the first printing unit for which the refusal setting is not set or the medium storage unit arranged upstream in the transport direction among the two or more medium storage units. 4. The printing apparatus according to any one of appendices 1 to 3.

1 printing device 10 medium supply section 20 first printing section 21 conveyance roller pair 22 print head 23 suction conveyance section 24, 25 conveyance path switching section 26 switchback roller pair 27 discharge supply tray 28 (28a, 28b, 28c) medium supply section 30 first intermediate transport unit 31 transport roller pair 32 switchback roller pair 40 second printing unit 41 transport roller pair 42 print head 43 suction transport unit 44 transport path switching unit 45 switchback roller pair 46 (46a, 46b, 46c) medium Feeding section 50 Second intermediate conveying section 51 Conveying roller pair 52 Switchback roller pair 60 Medium discharge section 61 Discharge supply tray 62 Upper surface detection sensor 63 Supply tray lifting/lowering drive section 71 Control section 100 User terminal HF, T1 to T6 Supply tray M Medium

Claims (4)

a plurality of medium storage units that store media;
A print job including a page for which multiple candidate setting is made to supply the medium from two or more designated medium containing units out of the plurality of medium containing units is input, and the multiple candidate setting is designated by the multiple candidate setting. the two or more medium storage units specified in the multiple candidate setting when some of the two or more medium storage units are set to refuse to accept the multiple candidate setting; a control unit that performs control to supply the medium from the medium storage unit for which the refusal setting is not made ,
wherein the print job including the page with the multiple candidate setting further includes a page with the single setting designating only the single medium container among the plurality of medium containers, in which case and performing control to supply the medium from the designated single medium housing unit even if the refusal setting that does not accept the multiple candidate setting is made to the designated single medium housing unit.
A printing device characterized by: 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit notifies the medium storage unit specified in the multiple candidate setting and to which the rejection setting is made. When the two or more medium storage units designated by the multiple candidate setting include a predetermined specific medium storage unit, the control unit selects the specific medium storage unit first. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control is performed so as to supply said medium. a first printing unit that prints on the medium;
A second printing unit that is arranged downstream of the first printing unit in the medium transport direction and prints on the medium,
The plurality of medium storage units are the first printing unit, the second printing unit, or two or more medium storage units arranged upstream in the transport direction from the first printing unit,
When the refusal setting is applied to a part of the medium housing units among the two or more medium housing units designated by the multiple candidate setting, the control unit controls the The control is performed such that the medium is supplied from the first printing unit for which the refusal setting is not set among the two or more medium storage units or from the medium storage unit arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction. 4. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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