JP7370766B2 - printing system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a printing system including a plurality of printing units.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a printing system including a plurality of printing devices arranged in series in the conveyance direction of a print medium has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). According to such a printing system, when performing double-sided printing on a print medium, compared to a conventional switchback type printing device, high-speed printing processing is possible and productivity can be improved.

Furthermore, since the above-described printing system aims to obtain high-volume printed matter in a shorter time than conventionally, a large-capacity paper feeder and paper ejection device may be connected to the printing system. When such a paper feeding device and a paper ejecting device are connected, conveyance errors such as jam errors sometimes occur depending on the usage frequency and installation environment of these devices and the two printing devices.

In general printing apparatuses, a method has been proposed in which, when a conveyance error occurs, the location where the conveyance error occurs is displayed on the operation panel to prompt the user to cancel the error.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-220607

However, in a printing system where a plurality of printing devices are connected as described above, transport of print media is involved in the entire printing system, but how to notify the user of the location where a transport error has occurred? has not been given much consideration until now.

In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention has been made to improve the visibility of the occurrence of conveyance errors in the entire printing system in a printing system in which a plurality of printing units are connected, and to efficiently perform conveyance error cancellation operations. The purpose is to provide a printing system that can.

The printing system of the present invention includes a first print processing unit that performs printing processing on a print medium based on first print data, and a first display unit that displays the occurrence status of a conveyance error related to conveyance of the print medium. a second printing processing section that is arranged downstream of the first printing section in the printing medium conveyance direction and performs printing processing on the printing medium based on the second printing data; A second printing section having a second display section that displays the occurrence situation, and a control section that controls the first printing section and the second printing section, the control section controlling at least the first printing section and the second printing section. On the other hand, if a conveyance error occurs, the first display section displays the occurrence of the conveyance error in the first printing section, and at the same time, the second display section displays the occurrence of the conveyance error in the second printing section.

According to the printing system of the present invention, in the printing system in which the first printing section and the second printing section are connected, when a conveyance error occurs in at least one of the first printing section and the second printing section, the first display section The occurrence status of conveyance errors in the first printing section is displayed, and at the same time, the occurrence status of conveyance errors in the second printing section is displayed on the second display section, so that the occurrence status of conveyance errors in the entire printing system can be displayed. Visibility can be improved. In other words, the user can check whether transport errors are biased toward either the first printing section or the second printing section, or whether they occur evenly between the first printing section and the second printing section. Since the occurrence situation can be immediately recognized, the conveyance error cancellation operation can be performed efficiently.

A diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a printing system of the present invention A block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the control system of the printing system shown in FIG. Flowchart for explaining processing when a conveyance error occurs in the printing system shown in FIG. 1 A diagram showing an example of the display mode of the first display section and the second display section when a conveyance error occurs. Diagram showing an example of an image showing the procedure for canceling a conveyance error A diagram showing a state in which all conveyance errors in the first printing section have been canceled, but conveyance errors in the second printing section have not yet been canceled. Flowchart for explaining processing when an error other than a conveyance error occurs in the printing system shown in FIG. 1 A diagram showing an example of the display mode of the first display section and the second display section when a door opening/closing error occurs in the paper feeding device of the first printing section.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the printing system of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printing system 1 of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control system of the printing system 1 shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system 1 of this embodiment includes a paper feeding device 10, a first printing device 20, a first reversing device 30, a second printing device 40, a second reversing device 50, A paper discharge device 60 is provided.

The printing system 1 receives first print data for the first printing device 20 and second print data for the second printing device 40 from a printing control device 100 (see FIG. 2) such as a personal computer that functions as a RIP controller. do. The first print data and the second print data are print jobs that include image data to be printed and printing conditions.

The paper feeding device 10, the first printing device 20, the first reversing device 30, the second printing device 40, the second reversing device 50, and the paper ejecting device 60 are arranged in series on the conveyance path of the print medium S (for example, paper). has been done. Note that at least two of the paper feeding device 10, the first printing device 20, the first reversing device 30, the second printing device 40, the second reversing device 50, and the paper ejecting device 60 are arranged integrally in a common housing. You can leave it there. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the paper feeding device 10, the first printing device 20, and the first reversing device 30 correspond to the first printing section of the present invention, and the second printing device 40, the second reversing device 50, and the paper ejecting device The device 60 corresponds to the second printing section of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the straight conveyance paths R1, R4-1, R5, R6-1 and discharge path R7 of the print medium S are shown as solid lines, the circular conveyance path R2 is shown as a two-dot chain line, the reverse conveyance paths R3, R4-2, R6-2 is indicated by a broken line.

The paper feeding device 10 has a paper feeding tray 11 on which print media S before printing are loaded. Although not shown in the drawings, the paper feed device 10 includes a paper feed roller that feeds and conveys the uppermost print medium S among the plurality of print media S stacked on the paper feed tray 11, and this paper feed roller. A supply drive means (actuator) such as a motor is arranged to drive the supply drive means (actuator).

As shown in FIG. 1, the first printing device 20 includes a plurality of conveyance roller pairs 21, a first print processing section 22, an adsorption conveyance section 23, a first conveyance path switching section 24, and a second conveyance path switching section. section 25 , a pair of switchback rollers 26 , a paper discharge table 27 , and a first display section 33 . Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the first printing device 20 includes a control section 28, a storage section 29a, an interface section 29b, a first conveyance error detection section 34, and a first error detection section 35.

A plurality of pairs of conveyance rollers 21 are arranged in the first printing device 20 and convey the print medium S while nipping it.

The first print processing unit 22 performs single-sided or double-sided printing on the print medium S based on the first print data received from the print control device 100. The first print processing unit 22 performs printing processing on the print medium S using basic color inks such as CMYK and gray. The first print processing section 22 has, for example, a line head type inkjet head that discharges ink of each color. In addition, in this embodiment, the inkjet method is adopted as the printing method of the first print processing section 22, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a laser method or a stencil printing method may be adopted.

The suction conveyance section 23 is arranged to face the first print processing section 22 . The suction conveyance unit 23 conveys the print medium S using a belt while suctioning the print medium S.

The first conveyance path switching section 24 switches the conveyance path of the print medium S on which one-sided printing has been performed by the first print processing section 22 into a straight conveyance path R1 that continues to the first reversing device 30, a sheet discharge tray 27, and a reverse conveyance path. The route is switched to the circulation conveyance route R2 which continues to the route R3. When the first printing device 20 performs double-sided printing, the first conveyance path switching unit 24 switches the conveyance path of the print medium S to the circular conveyance path R2 after the single-sided printing of the print medium S is completed, and switches the conveyance path of the print medium S to the circular conveyance path R2. After double-sided printing of the print medium S is completed, the conveyance path of the print medium S is switched to the straight conveyance path R1, or is switched again to the circulation conveyance path R2 so that the print medium S is discharged to the paper discharge number 27.

The second conveyance path switching unit 25 converts the circulation conveyance path R2 of the print medium S into a conveyance path that continues to the paper discharge table 27 and a reversal conveyance path R3 that reverses the front and back of the print medium S by a pair of switchback rollers 26. Switch to route. When the first print processing section 22 performs double-sided printing, the second conveyance path switching section 25 switches the circulation conveyance path R2 of the print medium S to a conveyance path that continues to the reverse conveyance path R3. Then, the print medium S whose front and back sides have been reversed in the reversal conveyance path R3 is conveyed to the first print processing section 22 again.

Print media S that are not ejected to the paper ejection device 60 are stacked on the paper ejection table 27 .

The first display section 33 is provided at the top of the first printing device 20 as shown in FIG. 1, and displays various information under the control of the control section 28. Specifically, the first display section 33 is composed of, for example, a touch panel having a liquid crystal display. The first display section 33 includes a first printing section including a paper feeding device 10 , a first printing device 20 , and a first reversing device 30 , a second printing device 40 , a second reversing device 50 , and a paper discharge device 60 When a conveyance error of the print medium S occurs in at least one of the second printing units, the occurrence status of the conveyance error in the first printing unit is displayed.

A conveyance error is an error related to the conveyance of the print medium S, and includes, for example, a jam error, a double feed error, and an empty conveyance error of the print medium S, but it can be any error that occurs when the print medium S is conveyed. good.

Further, even if a conveyance error occurs only in the second printing unit described above and no conveyance error occurs in the first printing unit, the first display unit 33 displays a situation in which the conveyance error does not occur. . The specific display mode will be explained later.

Further, the first display unit 33 displays an administrator menu, a maintenance menu, a job confirmation menu, and the like, and receives various setting inputs from the administrator and various setting inputs related to maintenance and job confirmation. In this embodiment, the first display unit 33 displays the above-mentioned administrator menu, maintenance menu, job confirmation menu, etc. as the home screen, and when a transport error or an error other than the transport error described later occurs, the first display unit 33 displays the transport error. A screen showing the occurrence of an error or an error other than a transportation error is displayed in a hierarchical manner as a screen separate from the home screen.

The first conveyance error detection unit 34 detects a conveyance error of the print medium S in the paper feeding device 10, the first printing device 20, and the first reversing device 30. Specifically, the first conveyance error detection unit 34 includes a plurality of optical sensors provided on the conveyance path of the print medium S of the paper feeding device 10, the first printing device 20, and the first reversing device 30. Then, the presence or absence of conveyance of the print medium S is detected by each optical sensor of the first conveyance error detection section 34, and the detection signal is outputted to the control section 28. Note that in FIG. 2, the first conveyance error detection unit 34 is shown in the first printing device 20, but it is assumed that a part thereof is included in the paper feeding device 10 and the first reversing device 30. .

The control unit 28 recognizes a conveyance error of the print medium S based on the presence or absence of a detection signal from the first conveyance error detection unit 34 and the input timing of the detection signal. When the control unit 28 recognizes a conveyance error, it temporarily stops the operations of the paper feeding device 10, the first printing device 20, and the first reversing device 30. Then, the control unit 28 displays the occurrence status of the conveyance error on the first display unit 33 of the first printing device 20, and displays a message urging the user to cancel the conveyance error and a procedure for canceling the conveyance error. Further, the control unit 28 outputs a signal indicating that a transport error has occurred in the first printing unit to the control unit 44 of the second printing device 40 .

The first error detection unit 35 detects errors other than conveyance errors in the paper feeding device 10, the first printing device 20, and the first reversing device 30. Errors other than conveyance errors include, for example, door opening/closing errors indicating that the front doors of the housings of the paper feeding device 10, first printing device 20, and first reversing device 30 are open, and errors in the paper feeding device 10. These include a paper out error, an ink out error in the first printing device 20, and a parts replacement error in the paper feeding device 10, the first printing device 20, and the first reversing device 30. The first error detection unit 35 includes a sensor for detecting a door opening/closing error, a paper out error, an ink out error, a timer, a print number counter, etc. for detecting a component replacement error. Note that although the first error detection unit 35 is shown in the first printing device 20 in FIG. 2, a portion thereof is included in the paper feeding device 10 and the first reversing device 30.

The signal detected by the sensor of the first error detection section 35 and the count number in the timer and print number counter are output to the control section 28.

The control unit 28 recognizes errors other than the above-mentioned conveyance error based on the sensor detection signal output from the first error detection unit 35 and the count of the timer and print counter. When the control unit 28 recognizes that the above error has occurred in the first printing unit,
The operations of the paper feeding device 10, first printing device 20, and first reversing device 30 are temporarily stopped. Then, the control unit 28 displays the occurrence status of the error on the first display unit 33 of the first printing device 20, and displays a message urging the user to clear the error and a procedure for clearing the error. Further, the control unit 28 outputs a signal indicating that the above error has occurred in the first printing unit to the control unit 44 of the second printing device 40.

The control unit 28 includes a processor (for example, a CPU: Central Processing Unit) that functions as an arithmetic processing unit, and controls the operations of each unit of the paper feeding device 10, the first printing device 20, and the first reversing device 30.

The printing system 1 includes a control unit 28 of the first printing device 20, a control unit 44 of the second printing device 40 (described later), a control unit 64 of the sheet discharging device 60 (described later), etc., but these can be printed together or individually. It can be called the control section of the system 1. Note that a control unit may be provided that performs processing of at least two of the control unit 28 of the first printing device 20, the control unit 44 of the second printing device 40, and the control unit 64 of the paper ejecting device 60. good. Further, the processing of the control unit of the present invention may be performed by any one of the control unit 28, the control unit 44, and the control unit 64, or these control units may perform the processing in cooperation with each other. A control unit other than these control units 28, 44, and 64 may be provided and the control may be performed by that control unit.

The storage unit 29a may be, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory), which is a read-only semiconductor memory in which a predetermined control program is recorded in advance, or a working storage area as needed when the processor executes various control programs. It includes a RAM (Random Access Memory), which is a semiconductor memory that can be written to and read from at any time.

The interface section 29b exchanges various information with the printing control device 100, each section of the printing system 1, and the like.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the first reversing device 30 is disposed on the downstream side of the first printing device 20 in the conveyance direction of the print medium S. The first reversing device 30 includes a plurality of transport roller pairs 31 and a first reversing section 32 . The transport roller pair 31 transports the print medium S discharged from the first printing device 20 while nipping it.

The first reversing device 30 is equipped with a conveyance path switching mechanism (not shown), and the conveyance path switching mechanism is a straight conveyance path R4 that conveys the print medium S discharged from the first printing device 20 as it is to the second printing device 40. -1 and a reversal conveyance path R4-2 for reversing the front and back of the print medium S. A first reversing section 32 is provided on this reversing conveyance path R4-2. The first reversing section 32 includes a pair of switchback rollers and a reversing drive section that drives the pair of switchback rollers. The reversal drive unit is composed of a known actuator.

The first reversing device 30 is controlled by the control unit 28, and switches between the straight conveyance path R4-1 and the reverse conveyance path R4-2 as appropriate depending on whether or not printing is performed on the front and back sides of the print medium S.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the second printing device 40 is disposed on the downstream side of the first reversing section 32 in the conveyance direction of the print medium S. The second printing device 40 includes a plurality of conveyance roller pairs 41 , a second print processing section 42 , and a suction conveyance section 43 . Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the second printing device 40 includes a control section 44, a storage section 45, an interface section 46, a second display section 47, a second conveyance error detection section 48, and a second error detection section 48. It has a detection section 49.

A plurality of pairs of conveyance rollers 41 are arranged within the second printing device 40 and convey the print medium S while nipping it.

For example, the second print processing unit 42 performs single-sided printing on the back side of the print medium S, which has been printed on the front side and is conveyed from the first printing device 20, based on the second print data received from the print control device 100. The second print processing unit 42 performs printing processing on the print medium S using basic color inks such as CMYK and gray. As a result, compared to the case where double-sided printing is performed using only the first printing device 20, it is not necessary to provide a circulation path in the first printing device 20 for conveyance, so productivity can be improved.

Note that the second print processing unit 42 may print on the print medium S using magnetic ink such as MICR ink. The second print processing unit 42 may print on the print medium S using special color ink of a color other than the basic color such as transparent color ink, UV ink, or the like. The ink such as magnetic ink used in the second print processing section 42 is an example of a different type of ink from the ink used in the first print processing section 22 (basic color ink such as CMYK). Note that when the ink used in printing by the second print processing section 42 is magnetic ink, a mechanism for stirring the ink may be disposed in order to suppress sedimentation of components.

The second print processing section 42 has a line head type inkjet head. In addition, in this embodiment, the inkjet method is adopted as the printing method of the second print processing section 42, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a laser method or a stencil printing method may be adopted.

Further, the second print processing unit 42 prints, for example, on one side of the print medium S that has been printed on both sides and is conveyed from the first printing device 20 . The second print processing unit 42 may print on either side of the print medium S, and whether the printing side is the front side or the back side may be controlled by the reversing process in the first reversing device 30.

The suction conveyance section 43 is arranged to face the second print processing section 42 . The suction conveyance section 43 conveys the print medium S using a belt while suctioning the print medium S.

Note that, like the first printing device 20, the second printing device 40 also has a first conveyance path switching section 24, a second conveyance path switching section 25, a pair of switchback rollers 26, a paper discharge tray 27, etc. It may be possible to perform double-sided printing on the medium S.

The second display section 47 is provided at the top of the second printing device 40 as shown in FIG. 1, and displays various information under the control of the control section 44. Specifically, the second display section 47 includes, for example, a touch panel having a liquid crystal display. The second display section 47 includes a first printing section including a paper feeding device 10 , a first printing device 20 , and a first reversing device 30 , a second printing device 40 , a second reversing device 50 , and a paper ejecting device 60 When a conveyance error of the print medium S occurs in at least one of the second printing units, the occurrence status of the conveyance error in the second printing unit is displayed.

Furthermore, even if a conveyance error occurs only in the first printing unit described above and no conveyance error occurs in the second printing unit, the second display unit 47 displays a situation in which the conveyance error does not occur. . The specific display mode will be explained later.

Further, the second display unit 47 displays an administrator menu, a maintenance menu, a job confirmation menu, and the like, and receives various setting inputs from the administrator and various setting inputs related to maintenance and job confirmation. In this embodiment, the second display unit 47 displays the above-mentioned administrator menu, maintenance menu, job confirmation menu, etc. as the home screen, and when a transport error or an error other than the transport error described later occurs, A screen showing the occurrence of an error or an error other than a transportation error is displayed in a hierarchical manner as a screen separate from the home screen.

The second conveyance error detection unit 48 detects a conveyance error of the print medium S in the second printing device 40 , the second reversing device 50 , and the paper discharge device 60 . Specifically, the second conveyance error detection unit 48 includes a plurality of optical sensors provided on the conveyance path of the print medium S of the second printing device 40, the second reversing device 50, and the paper discharge device 60. Then, the presence or absence of conveyance of the print medium S is detected by each optical sensor of the second conveyance error detection section 48 , and the detection signal is outputted to the control section 44 . In FIG. 2, the second conveyance error detection unit 48 is shown in the second printing device 40, but it is assumed that a part thereof is included in the second reversing device 50 and the paper ejecting device 60. . Further, a detection signal of a conveyance error in the paper ejection device 60 is output to the control section 44 via the control section 64 of the paper ejection device 60.

The control unit 44 recognizes a conveyance error of the print medium S based on the presence or absence of a detection signal from the second conveyance error detection unit 48 and the input timing of the detection signal. When the control unit 44 recognizes a conveyance error, it temporarily stops the operations of the second printing device 40, second reversing device 50, and paper ejecting device 60. Then, the control unit 44 displays the occurrence status of the conveyance error on the second display unit 47 of the second printing device 40, and displays a message urging the user to cancel the conveyance error and a procedure for canceling the conveyance error. Further, the control unit 44 outputs a signal indicating that a transport error has occurred in the second printing unit to the control unit 28 of the first printing device 20.

The second error detection unit 49 detects errors other than conveyance errors in the second printing device 40, second reversing device 50, and paper ejecting device 60. Errors other than conveyance errors include, for example, door opening/closing errors indicating that the front doors of the housings of the second printing device 40, second reversing device 50, and paper ejecting device 60 are open, and errors in the second printing device 40. These include an out-of-ink error in the paper discharging device 60, a lifting error of the paper discharging tray 61 (described later) in the paper discharging device 60, and a component replacement error in the second printing device 40, the second reversing device 50, and the paper discharging device 60. The second error detection unit 49 includes a sensor for detecting a door opening/closing error, an out-of-ink error, and a paper ejection table lifting/lowering error, a timer, a printed sheet counter, and the like for detecting a component replacement error. Although the second error detection section 49 is shown in the second printing device 40 in FIG. 2, it is assumed that a portion thereof is included in the second reversing device 50 and the paper ejecting device 60.

The signal detected by the sensor of the second error detection section 49 and the count number in the timer and print number counter are output to the control section 44 . Note that the detection signal and count number in the paper discharging device 60 are output to the control unit 44 via the control unit 64 of the paper discharging device 60.

The control unit 44 recognizes errors other than the above-mentioned conveyance error based on the sensor detection signal output from the second error detection unit 49 and the count of the timer and print counter. When the control unit 44 recognizes that the above error has occurred in the second printing unit,
The operations of the second printing device 40, second reversing device 50, and paper ejecting device 60 are temporarily stopped. Then, the control unit 44 displays the occurrence of the error on the second display unit 47 of the second printing device 40, and displays a message urging the user to clear the error and a procedure for clearing the error. Further, the control unit 44 outputs a signal indicating that the above error has occurred in the second printing unit to the control unit 28 of the first printing device 20.

The control unit 44 includes a processor (for example, a CPU) that functions as an arithmetic processing device, and controls the operations of each unit of the second printing device 40 and the second reversing device 50.

The storage unit 45 includes, for example, a ROM which is a read-only semiconductor memory in which a predetermined control program is recorded in advance, and a ROM which is used as a working storage area as needed when the processor executes various control programs. This includes RAM, which is a readable semiconductor memory.

The interface section 46 exchanges various information with the print control device 100, each section of the printing system 1, and the like.

The second reversing device 50 is arranged downstream of the second printing device 40 in the conveyance direction of the print medium S. The second reversing device 50 includes a plurality of conveyance roller pairs 51 and a second reversing section 52, as shown in FIG. The conveyor roller pair 51 conveys the print medium S discharged from the second printing device 40 while nipping it.

The second reversing device 50 is equipped with a conveyance path switching mechanism (not shown), and the conveyance path switching mechanism is a straight conveyance path R6-- which conveys the print medium S discharged from the second printing device 40 as it is to the paper discharge device 60. 1 and a reversal conveyance path R6-2 for reversing the front and back of the print medium S. A second reversing section 52 is provided on the reversing conveyance path R6-2. The second reversing section 52 includes a pair of switchback rollers and a reversing drive section that drives the pair of switchback rollers. The reversal drive unit is composed of a known actuator.

The second reversing device 50 is controlled by the control unit 44, and the second reversing device 50 appropriately selects the straight conveyance path R6-1 and the reverse conveyance path depending on whether the print medium S that has been printed is discharged face-up or face-down. Switch route R6-2.

Next, the paper ejection device 60 includes a paper ejection tray 61, a top surface detection sensor 62, and a paper ejection tray elevation drive section 63 (see FIG. 2).

Print media S discharged from the second reversing device 50, that is, print media S subjected to printing processing, are sequentially stacked on the paper discharge tray 61. The paper ejection table 61 is raised and lowered by driving of the paper ejection table elevating drive unit 63. Note that the paper ejection table 61 may be a paper ejection table having a conveyance unit such as a belt conveyor or a roller conveyor on which the print medium S is loaded.

The top surface detection sensor 62 detects the height of the stacking surface of the paper delivery tray 61, that is, the height of the topmost print medium S (the height of the top surface of the paper delivery tray 61 when no printing medium S is loaded). This is a sensor for detection. The upper surface detection sensor 62 includes, for example, a light emitting section that emits light (shown by a dotted line in FIG. 1) horizontally to a height that is a desired loading surface, and a light receiving section that receives this light. When the light emitted by the light emitting section of the top surface detection sensor 62 is blocked by the print medium S and the light receiving section of the top surface detection sensor 62 does not receive the light, the control section 64, which will be described later, controls the paper ejection table 61, for example, by adjusting the number of print media S. The paper ejection tray lift drive unit 63 is controlled to lower the paper ejection tray by the height corresponding to the number of sheets.

The paper ejection table elevation drive section 63 raises and lowers the paper ejection table 61. The paper ejection table lifting/lowering drive section 63 is, for example, an actuator such as a motor.

The control unit 64 includes a processor (for example, a CPU) that functions as an arithmetic processing device, and controls the operation of each unit of the paper ejecting device 60. Further, if a conveyance error or an error other than the above-mentioned conveyance error occurs in the paper ejecting device 60, the control section 64 outputs a signal indicating this to the control section 44 of the second printing device 40.

The storage unit 65 includes, for example, a ROM, which is a read-only semiconductor memory in which a predetermined control program is recorded in advance, and an optional write-in memory that is used as a working storage area as necessary when the processor executes various control programs. This includes RAM, which is a readable semiconductor memory.

The interface unit 66 exchanges various information with the print control device 100, each unit of the printing system 1, and the like.

Next, processing when a transport error occurs in the printing system 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 and FIGS. 4 to 6. Note that here, a case will be described in which a conveyance error occurs in both the first printing section and the second printing section described above.

First, the control unit 28 of the first printing device 20 and the control unit 44 of the second printing device 40 monitor the occurrence of a conveyance error in the first printing unit and the second printing unit (S10).

If a conveyance error occurs in both the first printing unit and the second printing unit, the control unit 28 of the first printing device 20 displays the occurrence status of the conveyance error in the first printing unit on the first display unit 33. At the same time, the control section 44 of the second printing device causes the second display section 47 to display the occurrence status of the conveyance error in the second printing section (S12).

4A shows an example of the display mode of the first display section 33, and FIG. 4B shows an example of the display mode of the second display section 47. As shown in FIG. 4A, the first display section 33 displays a schematic external view of the first printing section (paper feeding device 10, first printing device 20, and first reversing device 30), and also displays a schematic external view of the first printing section (sheet feeding device 10, first printing device 20, and first reversing device 30). The location where the transport error occurred is displayed on the diagram. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the second display section 47 displays a schematic external view of the second printing section (second printing device 40, second reversing device 50, and paper ejecting device 60), and The location where the conveyance error has occurred is displayed on the external schematic diagram.

In the example shown in FIG. 4A, a rectangular image including the characters "N1", "R2", "G", "A5", and "A2" is displayed as an image indicating the location where the conveyance error has occurred. "N1" and "R2" indicate the location where the conveyance error occurred in the paper feeding device 10, "G" indicates the location where the conveyance error occurred in the first printing device 20, and "A2" and " A5'' indicates a location where a conveyance error occurs in the first reversing device 30.

In the example shown in FIG. 4B, a rectangular image including the characters "A5", "A9", "A11", "A13", and "A14" is displayed as an image indicating the location where the conveyance error has occurred. “A5” and “A9” indicate locations where a conveyance error has occurred in the second reversing device 50, and “A11”, “A13” and “A14” indicate locations where a conveyance error has occurred in the paper ejecting device 60. ing.

In this way, the first display section 33 displays the occurrence of a conveyance error in the first printing section, and at the same time, the second display section 47 displays the occurrence of a conveyance error in the second printing section. It is possible to improve the visibility of the occurrence of conveyance errors in the entire printing system. In other words, the user can check whether transport errors are biased toward either the first printing section or the second printing section, or whether they occur evenly between the first printing section and the second printing section. Since the occurrence situation can be immediately recognized, the conveyance error cancellation operation can be performed efficiently.

Furthermore, even if a conveyance error occurs only in the first printing unit, for example, the first display unit 33 and the second display unit 47 display the occurrence status of the conveyance error in the entire printing system 1. A user near the second printing section can immediately notice that a conveyance error has occurred in the second printing section.

When the user touches and selects one of the images of the transport error occurrence location shown in FIG. 4A (S14), the transport error cancellation procedure corresponding to the selected transport error occurrence location is performed. The image shown is displayed on the first display section 33 (S16). Furthermore, when the user touches and selects one of the images of the transport error occurrence location shown in FIG. 4B (S14), the transport error cancellation procedure corresponding to the selected transport error occurrence location is executed. The image shown is displayed on the second display section 47 (S16).

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an image of the cancellation procedure displayed on the first display section 33 when the "N1" image shown in FIG. 4A is selected by the user.

The user performs the transportation error cancellation operation while referring to the image of the cancellation procedure as shown in FIG. If the user performs a release operation for a predetermined conveyance error location (S18, YES) and then touches the "Close" button in the upper right corner of the screen shown in FIG. 5 (S20, YES), the control The unit 28 closes the screen shown in FIG. 5 and hides the image showing the location where the transport error occurred where the release operation was performed (S22). That is, when the "Close" button on the screen shown in FIG. 5 is touched, the control unit 28 hides the "N1" image shown in FIG. 4A.

Then, the above-mentioned image of the transport error occurrence location is displayed until all images of the transportation error occurrence location displayed on the first display section 33 and the transportation error occurrence location displayed on the second display section 47 are hidden. selection, image display of the cancellation procedure, cancellation operation by the user, and selection of the "close" button are repeatedly performed (S24, NO).

6A and 6B show a state in which all transport errors in the first printing unit have been cleared from the states shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, and a state in which transport errors in the second printing unit have not yet been cleared. ing. As shown in FIG. 6A, the control unit 28 of the first printing device 20 does not close the screen of the schematic diagram of the appearance of the first printing unit and displays it as it is even if all conveyance errors in the first printing unit are cleared. maintain. This allows the user to confirm that all conveyance errors have been cleared for the first printing unit, and it is necessary to perform the operation to clear conveyance errors for the second printing unit as the next step. It can be recognized that

Then, the user continues to perform the conveyance error cancellation operation, and all images of the conveyance error occurrence location displayed on the first display section 33 and the conveyance error occurrence location displayed on the second display section 47 are erased. When the message is displayed (S24, YES), the control unit 28 of the first printing device 20 and the control unit 44 of the second printing device 40 end the process related to the conveyance error and restart the printing operation (S26).

Note that in the above description, a case has been described in which a conveyance error occurs in both the first printing unit and the second printing unit, but the printing system 1 of this embodiment If a conveyance error occurs only on one side, a situation in which no conveyance error has occurred is displayed on the first display section 33 or the second display section 47 that does not have a conveyance error.

Specifically, for example, if a conveyance error occurs only in the second printing unit and no conveyance error occurs in the first printing unit, the control unit 44 of the second printing device 40 controls the control of the first printing device 20. A signal indicating that a conveyance error has occurred in the second printing unit is output to the unit 28 . When the control unit 28 of the first printing device 20 receives the above-mentioned signal, since no conveyance error has occurred in the first printing unit, the control unit 28 of the first printing device 20 displays the situation where no conveyance error has occurred on the first display unit 33. Display. For example, only a schematic external view of the first printing section as shown in FIG. 6A is displayed on the first display section 33. Note that the display of the conveyance error on the second display section 47 at this time is the same as described above.

Further, contrary to the above example, if a conveyance error occurs only in the first printing section and no conveyance error occurs in the second printing section, the control section 28 of the first printing device 20 controls the second printing section. A signal indicating that a conveyance error has occurred in the first printing section is output to the control section 44 of the apparatus 40. When the control unit 44 of the second printing device 40 receives the above signal, since no transport error has occurred in the second printing unit, the control unit 44 of the second printing device 40 displays a status that no transport error has occurred on the second display unit 47. Display.

In this way, by displaying the situation where no conveyance error has occurred on the first display section 33 or the second display section 47, whichever is the one where no conveyance error has occurred, the user can monitor the entire printing system 1. Among them, it is possible to recognize that the conveyance error is biased toward the first printing section or the second printing section, and promptly perform an operation to cancel the conveyance error in the first printing section or the second printing section. This can improve work efficiency.

In addition, by constantly displaying the entire printing system 1 including the first printing section and the second printing section and displaying the location of the transportation error, the transportation error can be unevenly distributed in which printing section. It is possible to understand whether there is a problem or whether it is occurring in general. As a result, if, for example, the first printing device 10 is unevenly distributed and conveyance errors occur repeatedly, the need for maintenance work on the first printing device 10 can be avoided even before the predetermined maintenance period. It is possible to make the user recognize it.

Next, processing when an error other than a transport error occurs in the printing system 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8.

First, the control unit 28 of the first printing device 20 and the control unit 44 of the second printing device 40 monitor the occurrence of errors other than transport errors in the first printing unit and the second printing unit (S30).

For example, if an error occurs in the first printing unit (S30, YES, S32, YES), the control unit 28 of the first printing device 20 causes the first display unit 33 to display the error occurrence status (S34). , and further outputs a signal indicating that the above error has occurred in the first printing unit to the control unit 44 of the second printing device 40 .

When the control unit 44 of the second printing device 40 receives a signal indicating that the above error has occurred, the control unit 44 displays a message on the second display unit 47 that the above error has occurred in the first printing unit. A screen is displayed (S36).

FIG. 8A shows an example of the display mode of the first display section 33 when a door opening/closing error occurs in the paper feeder 10 of the first printing section, and FIG. 8B shows the display of the second display section 47. An example of the embodiment is shown. As shown in FIG. 8A, the first display section 33 displays a message informing that the front door of the paper feeder 10 is open and a schematic diagram of its appearance. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8B, a message notifying that an error has occurred in the first printing section is displayed on the second display section 47.

Then, when the above error is canceled by the user (S38), the control unit 28 of the first printing device 20 and the control unit 44 of the second printing device 40 display screens as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. The display on the first display section 33 and the second display section 47 is changed to the state before the error occurred. Specifically, for example, home screens are displayed on the first display section 33 and the second display section 47, respectively.

Then, the control unit 28 of the first printing device 20 and the control unit 44 of the second printing device 40 end the process related to the error and restart the printing operation (S40).

On the other hand, if an error occurs in the second printing unit (S30, YES, S32, NO), the control unit 44 of the second printing device 40 causes the second display unit 47 to display the error occurrence status (S42), Furthermore, a signal indicating that the error has occurred in the second printing unit is output to the control unit 28 of the first printing device 20 .

When the control unit 28 of the first printing device 20 receives a signal indicating that the above error has occurred, the control unit 28 indicates to the first display unit 33 that the above error has occurred in the first printing unit. A screen is displayed (S44).

Then, when the above error is canceled by the user (S38), the control section 28 of the first printing device 20 and the control section 44 of the second printing device 40 control the first display section 33 and the second display section 47. Transition the display to the state before the error occurred. Specifically, for example, home screens are displayed on the first display section 33 and the second display section 47, respectively.

Then, the control unit 28 of the first printing device 20 and the control unit 44 of the second printing device 40 end the process related to the error and restart the printing operation (S40).

As described above, if an error other than a conveyance error occurs in either the first printing section or the second printing section, the occurrence of the error will be displayed on either the first display section 33 or the second display section 47. When the situation is displayed and the other first display section 33 or second display section 47 is made to notify that an error has occurred in one of the first printing section or second printing section, For example, even if the user is near the first printing section or the second printing section on the side where the error has not occurred, the user can immediately recognize the occurrence of an error and immediately cancel the error. can.

Further, in the printing system 1 of the above embodiment, when a conveyance error occurs, the first display section 33 displays the occurrence status of the conveyance error in the first printing section, and at the same time, the second display section 47 displays the occurrence of the conveyance error. The occurrence status of the conveyance error in the second printing unit is displayed, but even if the conveyance error is cleared in either the first printing unit or the second printing unit, the occurrence of the conveyance error in the other printing unit is displayed. Continue to display the occurrence status.

However, the present invention is not limited to this, and after displaying the occurrence status of the conveyance error on the first display section 33 and the second display section 47, the conveyance error may be canceled in either the first printing section or the second printing section. During this time, a screen may be displayed on the display section of the other printing section that accepts setting inputs for items unrelated to the input items for conveyance errors. Such an item may be an item whose contents are set in common between the first printing part and the second printing part, or an item which is set uniquely between the first printing part and the second printing part.

In addition, even if an error other than a transport error occurs, while the error is being cleared in either the first printing unit or the second printing unit, the above-mentioned error will be displayed on the display of the other printing unit. A screen may be displayed that accepts setting input for items unrelated to the input items. Examples of such errors include errors that require a certain amount of time to clear, such as an out-of-ink error, an out-of-paper error, and a parts replacement error.

As described above, if a screen that accepts setting input for items unrelated to conveyance errors or errors other than conveyance errors is displayed on the display section of the other printing section, it is possible to detect a conveyance error or When an error other than the error is cleared, a signal is sent from the control section of one of the printing sections to the control section of the other printing section to inform the control section of the other printing section.

In addition, when the other printing section finishes processing an item unrelated to a conveyance error or an error other than a conveyance error, the control section of the other printing section notifies the control section of one printing section to that effect. Send a signal to notify. This exchange of signals between the control units is managed by one of the control units or another control unit, and the cancellation of a conveyance error or an error other than a conveyance error is completed, and the error is confirmed to be a conveyance error or an error other than a conveyance error. The display on the first display section 33 and the second display section 47 may be returned to the home screen when processing of unrelated items is completed.

Regarding the printing system of the present invention, the following additional notes are further disclosed.
(Additional note)

In the above-described printing system of the present invention, when a conveyance error occurs in only one of the first printing unit and the second printing unit, the control unit controls the first display unit or the second display unit of the one in which the conveyance error does not occur. It is possible to display a situation in which no conveyance error has occurred on the display unit.

Furthermore, in the above printing system of the present invention, when an error other than a conveyance error occurs in either the first printing section or the second printing section, the control section displays one of the first display section or the second display section. On the other hand, it is possible to display the error occurrence status and to notify on the other first display section or second display section that an error has occurred in one of the first printing section or second printing section. can.

1 Printing system 10 Paper feeding device 11 Paper feeding platform 21 Conveyance roller pair 23 Adsorption conveyance section 24 First conveyance path switching section 25 Second conveyance path switching section 26 Switchback roller pair 27 Paper discharge tray 28, 44, 64 Control section 29a , 45, 65 Storage sections 29b, 46, 66 Interface section 31 Conveyance roller pair 41 Conveyance roller pair 43 Adsorption conveyance section 50 Second reversing device 51 Conveyance roller pair 60 Paper discharge device 61 Paper discharge tray 62 Upper surface detection sensor 63 Paper discharge tray Lifting drive unit 100 Printing control device R1, R4-1, R5, R6-1 Straight transport route R2 Circulating transport route R3, R4-2, R6-2 Reverse transport route R7 Discharge route S Print medium

Claims (4)

a first printing unit that includes a first print processing unit that performs printing processing on a print medium based on first print data; and a first display unit that displays the occurrence status of a conveyance error related to conveyance of the print medium;
a second print processing section that is disposed downstream of the first printing section in the conveyance direction of the print medium and performs printing processing on the print medium based on second print data; and a conveyance error related to conveyance of the print medium. a second printing section having a second display section that displays the occurrence status of the
a control unit that controls the first printing unit and the second printing unit,
When the conveyance error occurs in at least one of the first printing unit and the second printing unit, the control unit displays a schematic external view of the first printing unit and the top of the schematic external view on the first display unit. displaying the location where the conveyance error has occurred, and simultaneously displaying on the second display section a schematic external view of the second printing section and the location where the conveyance error has occurred on the schematic external view;
If the conveyance error occurs in only one of the first printing unit and the second printing unit, for the first display unit or the second display unit in which the conveyance error does not occur, A printing system that displays only the external schematic diagram in which the transport error has not occurred. When an error other than the conveyance error occurs in either the first printing unit or the second printing unit, the control unit controls the one of the first display unit or the second display unit, Displaying the occurrence status of the error, and indicating on the other first display section or the second display section that the error has occurred in the one of the first printing section or the second printing section. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the printing system is configured to notify. When the location where the transportation error has occurred is selected, the control unit displays a transportation error cancellation procedure corresponding to the location where the transportation error has occurred, and when a cancellation operation according to the cancellation procedure is performed, the transportation error is 2. The printing system according to claim 1 , wherein the display of the location where the error occurs is hidden. a first printing unit that includes a first print processing unit that performs printing processing on a print medium based on first print data; and a first display unit that displays the occurrence status of a conveyance error related to conveyance of the print medium;
a second print processing section that is disposed downstream of the first printing section in the conveyance direction of the print medium and performs printing processing on the print medium based on second print data; and a conveyance error related to conveyance of the print medium. a second printing section having a second display section that displays the occurrence status of the
a control unit that controls the first printing unit and the second printing unit,
When the conveyance error occurs in at least one of the first printing unit and the second printing unit, the control unit displays a schematic external view of the first printing unit and the top of the schematic external view on the first display unit. displaying the location where the conveyance error has occurred, and simultaneously displaying on the second display section a schematic external view of the second printing section and the location where the conveyance error has occurred on the schematic external view;
In a state where the location where the transport error occurred is displayed on both the first display section and the second display section, all transport errors are displayed for only one of the first printing section and the second printing section. When the cancellation operation is performed, the external appearance model of either one of the first display section or the second display section of the other one is displayed until the cancellation operation of all conveyance errors is performed on the other one. A printing system that continues to display diagrams.