JPH07137233A - Operation-planning system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a production-machine-operation-planning system which makes optimum schedules, by automatically allocating a plurality of production items to a plurality of production machines. CONSTITUTION:In a planning system, print item data, stored in an item file 115, which are to be printed by a printer, are allocated to compatible printers by referring to data on the contents of the print item data and on the specification of each printer, thereby creating schedule data by the use of an allocating means 103. The system has a data sort means 102 which sorts plate sizes in descending or ascending order, for the print item data of the schedule data which is allocated to a specified printer.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for planning the operation of a printing machine, and more particularly, to allocate a plurality of printing items to be processed to a plurality of printing machines so that the printing machines can be operated efficiently. The operation schedule planning system that can be done.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in various production systems,
It is generally practiced to use a plurality of production machines having different processing capacities and specifications, and to allocate a plurality of production items to appropriate production machines according to their contents and process them.

For example, in the case of production processing of printed matter, the processing is performed by allocating to a plurality of printing machines having different specifications according to the size, the number of colors, etc. of the printed matter. In this case, in order to operate a plurality of printing machines with the highest efficiency, that is, with the highest production efficiency, it is made a schedule as to which item of the printing materials is to be assigned to which printing machine. Conventionally, the planning of this kind of operation schedule has been mainly performed manually by the planner.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned work schedule planning work is a very complicated work, and it takes a lot of time and effort to make an optimum schedule. There was a problem that the difference occurred depending on the experience and way of thinking of the person. Further, when a plurality of print items are printed by a printing machine, it is necessary to switch each print item, but if it takes a lot of time to switch each item, the production efficiency will be reduced. For this reason, it is desirable to allocate items to the printing machine so that the switching time is minimized, but with manual planning as described above,
It was virtually impossible.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such a conventional problem, and it is possible to automatically allocate a plurality of print items to be processed to a plurality of printing machines to make an optimum schedule. It is an object of the present invention to provide an operation schedule planning system for a printing machine, which is capable of allocating item data so that the time required for switching each item can be minimized.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a schedule planning system for planning an operation schedule of each printing machine when printing a plurality of printing items by a plurality of printing machines. An item file that stores a plurality of print item data to be printed by a machine, a registration file that stores data relating to specifications of the plurality of printing machines in advance, and the print item data in the content of the print item data and the registration file. Allocation means for generating scheduled data by allocating to the applicable printing machine by referring to the stored data regarding the specifications of each printing machine, and the size of the item data assigned to the predetermined printing machine of the scheduled data. Data sort means for performing descending or ascending sort processing for It is configured to include an output device for.

Further, in the system for planning operation of a printing machine according to a second aspect, the allocated item data is divided by a quantity or an element, and a dividing means for generating a plurality of item data is provided, and the item data includes: When divided by the quantity or the elements, division history information is provided to identify that the plurality of item data after division have a sibling relationship with each other.

[0008]

According to the present invention, for each of a plurality of print item data, the data related to the specifications of each printing machine stored in the registration file is referred to and assigned to a suitable printing machine. This allocation is processed to meet the delivery deadline of each print item. Schedule data is generated by this allocation. Also, by sorting the item data assigned to the printing machine in descending order according to the size, it is possible to assign the items in order from the item with the larger size to the item with the smaller size. Since the adhered paper powder or ink does not reach the paper size of the next item, the work of removing the paper powder or ink is unnecessary, and the switching time can be shortened.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an operation schedule planning system for a printing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. Further, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a printing system to which the system for planning actual operation is applied.

First, the overall configuration of the production system will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in the figure, the operation schedule planning system 10 is installed in a factory equipped with a plurality of printing machines,
Each of the printing machines P1 and P via a line 30 that constitutes a LAN or the like
2, P3, ... Managing terminals 40a, 40b,
···It is connected to the. The schedule data created by the operation schedule planning system 10 is stored in the management terminals 40a, 40b, ...
., And in each of the management terminals 40a, 40b, ..., The printer monitoring terminals 20p1, 20p2, 20p3, ..., 20 connected by the line 60 according to the scheduled data sent.
Printing machines P1, P2, P3, ...
・ Manage. Printing press monitoring terminals 20p1, 20p2, 2
At 0p3, ..., 20pj, the management terminals 40a, 40
Report the work results for the schedule to b, .... The management terminals 40a, 40b, ... Report their work results to the operation schedule planning system 10, and the schedules are deleted based on the results. In addition, the operation schedule planning system 10
It is connected by a line 30 to a host system (host computer) 50 that manages the item data of the printed matter, and the item data of a plurality of printed matter to be processed in the printing equipment is provided by the line 3.
0 to the operation schedule planning system 10.

In FIG. 1, an operation schedule planning system 10 for this printing machine includes a processor 100 for planning a schedule, an item data file 115 for storing item data of printed matter,
A registration data file 120 for storing registration data relating to the processing capability and specifications of the printing machine, a schedule data file 130 for storing planned data, a display device 141 for displaying a screen for the planned schedule, and an output including a printer 142 for printing out. Device 140, keyboard 151 and mouse 152 for inputting data and instruction commands
The input device 150 is composed of.

The function of the processing device 100 is that data read / write means 101 for controlling data input / output to / from each file, data sort means 102 for sorting item data, and item data are assigned to a plurality of printing machines. Allocation means 103 for creating data, input / output control means 104 for controlling the output of the schedule data created by the allocation means 103 to the display device 141 or printer 142, and the input from the keyboard 151 or mouse 152, the division of item data. And item data division / combination means 105 for performing a combining process of the divided data, a printing margin calculation means 106 for calculating a printing margin for each item data,
Control means 107 for controlling the entire apparatus, item data inserting means 108 for inserting item data into the created scheduled data, and item data moving means 109 for moving the item data within the created scheduled data to change the allocation destination. , Item data exchanging means 110 for exchanging item data in the created schedule data to change the allocation destination. This operation schedule planning system processing device 100
Is realized by a workstation, a personal computer, or the like.

The item data of the printed matter is sent from the above-mentioned upper system 50 through the line 30. This item data is data relating to specifications of printed matter such as catalogs, magazines, calendars, etc., and as shown in FIG. 3, an order number, a content code, a printing surface, a component, a size, a front surface color number, a back surface color number. , Date of completion of printing (delivery date), planned date of lower plate (scheduled date for plate making), item name, number of sheets, etc. The item data sent from the host system 50 is stored in the item data file 115.

Here, the order number is a multi-digit number assigned to each item, and the content code is a code indicating how the printed matter is physically divided, for example, printed matter such as magazines. In this case, it is divided into a cover and a body, and a code is attached to each. The printing surface is data that specifies whether to print on the front, back, or both sides. The component parts are the units divided by the above content code for printing. Upper system 5
The item data sent from 0 further has a division history storage unit. The division history is history information that is added when the operation schedule planning apparatus 10 further divides an item divided into units of constituent parts by quantity or elements (number of colors).

FIG. 4 shows the relational structure of the order number, the content code, the printing surface, the component parts, and the division history among the item data representing one certain printed matter. As shown, these data form a hierarchical structure starting with the order number. Here, the printed matter of the order number 111 is divided into a cover and a body, and content codes 01 and 02 are attached to each. Further, data designating a surface to be printed is attached to each portion corresponding to each content code, and further divided into constituent parts. Here, content code 01
(Cover) consists of one component, content code 02
It shows that the (text) consists of three components.
Details of the division history will be described later. The item data of the above-mentioned printed matter is sent from the host system 50 in a state of being divided up to the component level. That is, FIG.
In this example, as shown in FIG. 5, one printed matter (managed by one order number) is divided into four item data and sent.

Registration data such as processing capabilities and specifications for the plurality of printing machines P1 to Pj are prepared in advance and stored in the registration data file 120. Registration data file 1
The data registered in 20 are the printing machines P1 to P
data 600 indicating the specifications of j and the printing machines P1 to Pj
Data 700 indicating the processing capacity of each of the printing machines P1 to P
The data 800 includes the scheduled stop data 800 of j. Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the data 600 indicating the specifications of each printing machine includes, for each printing machine P1 to Pj, its plate type (rotation or sheet-fed discrimination) data 601, format size data 602,
The printable color number data 603 and the like are registered. The number-of-colors data 603 shows the number of front and back colors that can be printed by the printing machine.

Data 700 showing the processing capacity of each printing machine
Is, for each of the printing machines P1 to Pj, as shown in FIG.
The printing speed data 701 and the time required for switching the printing are registered. The time required to switch printing is
There are basic switching time data 702, size switching time data 703 for changing the print size, color switching time data 704 for changing the color, and the like. As shown in FIG. 8, the scheduled operation stop data 800 of each printing machine includes operation stop date and time data 801 for stopping the operation of each printing machine P1 to Pj due to maintenance and the like, and stop time data 802.
Is registered for each of the printing machines P1 to Pj.

Next, the operation of the printing machine operation schedule planning system will be described with reference to the flow charts of FIGS. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the outline of schedule planning. The item data sent from the host system 50 and stored in the item data file 115 is read by the data read / write means 101 (step 901). at the same time,
A plurality of printing machines P1 to P from the registration data file 120
The registration data (specification data 600, processing capacity data 700, suspension schedule data 800) relating to j is read by the data read / write means 101 (step 902).
As shown in FIG. 3, each read item data is individually given a continuous ID number, and thereafter managed by this ID number.

With respect to the read item data, the printing margin calculation means 106 calculates the printing margin defined by (delivery date-planned planning day) / number of sheets for each item (step 9).
03). Then, the data sorting means 102 sorts the calculated printing margins in ascending order (step 9).
04). The sorted item data are assigned to the printing machines P1 to Pj having the specifications in order from the item with the smallest printing margin (step 905). When there are a plurality of printing machines that meet the specifications, the printing machine with the smallest load is selected and allocated. Schedule data is generated by the allocation to the printing machines P1 to Pj and stored in the schedule data file 130 (step 906). Also,
The schedule data that has been allocated to the printing machine is displayed as a schedule on the display device 141, and is printed out by the printer 142 as necessary.

Details of the allocation process in step 905 are shown in the flowchart of FIG. First, the allocation according to the size is performed (step 1001). This is a process of allocating each item to a printing machine having a compatible size by collating the size of the item data with the size of the size recorded in the specification data of each printing machine. Next, allocation is performed according to the number of colors (step 1002). This is a process of assigning each item to a printing machine having a matching number of colors by collating the number of colors of item data with the number of colors of specification data of each printing machine.

The scheduled print start date and time for each item is calculated based on the allocation state of each printing machine, the scheduled operation stop data 800 of the registration data file 120, and the scheduled completion date of plate making for each allocated item (step). 10
03). The scheduled finish date of the plate making is taken into consideration because the actual printing cannot be performed unless the plate making for printing the item is completed.

Next, the scheduled printing end date and time for each item is calculated based on the allocation status of each printing machine, the data 700 indicating the processing capacity of the registration data file 120, and the scheduled operation stop data 800 (step 1004). ). The schedule data is generated as described above, and the schedule is displayed on the screen of the display device 141 based on the schedule data (step 1005). After that, the control means 107 checks whether or not the scheduled data of each item is allocated within the delivery date (step 1006). If the delivery condition is satisfied, the allocation process is terminated.

Each item data is transferred to a plurality of printing machines P1 to Pj.
13 to 16 show the structure of the schedule data generated by allocating to the. The schedule data includes allocation data, item data and related data of allocation data, scheduled print start date / time data, and scheduled print end date / time data.

FIG. 13 shows allocation data generated by the allocation process. Here, it is recorded which printing machine and which number is assigned to each item identified by the ID number. FIG. 14 is data showing a relation between the item data and the allocation data shown in FIG. 13, and shows which item data (ID number) is allocated to each printing machine P1 to Pj.

Further, FIG. 15 shows data in which the scheduled print start date and time obtained in step 1003 of FIG. 10 is recorded for each allocation order in each printing machine. FIG. 16 shows data in which the scheduled printing end date and time obtained in step 1004 of FIG. 10 is recorded for each allocation order in each printing machine. In FIG. 17,
The screen image of the schedule displayed in step 1005 is shown. Here, the ID number of the allocated item data is displayed in the display band 17 by taking the time axis of the date and time vertically for each printing machine.
It is displayed as 0 in the allocation order. The height of the display band 170 corresponds to the time required for the printing process. In the display band 170 of each item, an order number, a content code, a component, a division history, etc. of the item data are displayed, and by visually observing the display band 170, it is possible to know which item the data is. .

In the step 1006, when the delivery date of the particular item is overdue, a warning of delivery delay is displayed on the schedule displayed on the display device 141 to call attention (step 1007). In this case, the allocation is changed by dividing the number of items or the number of colors, which will be described later (step 1008). This allocation change is repeated until the delivery date condition is satisfied. Step 100
With respect to the warning No. 7, for example, by changing the display color of the display band 170 of each item of the schedule shown in the image of FIG. 17, it is possible to easily confirm which item is past the delivery date.

Next, the processing contents of the allocation change in step 1008 will be described with reference to FIG. First, it is selected whether the item data that does not meet the delivery date condition is divided by the number of sheets or the number of colors (step 110).
1). Each item data is divided based on the number of sheets or the number of colors according to the selection of the dividing method (steps 1102, 1).
104). Then, history information is added to the division history shown in FIG. 3 for the new item data obtained by division so that it is possible to identify that they have a sibling relationship with each other.

FIG. 18 shows an example in which the item data shown in FIG. 4 is divided by the number of sheets and the number of colors. Here, the number of colors is 6
Components of content code 01 (cover) that is color (1/1)
Is divided into two by the number of colors. The division information of C1 and C2 is added to the division history. Content code 0
The first component (1/3) of 2 (text) is divided into two by the number of sheets. The division information of L1 and L2 is added to the division history.

Further, FIG. 19 shows how the item data of FIG. 5 is changed by the division of FIG. Here, two item data are newly added and inserted by division, and ID numbers (numbers 1 and 3) are added. When new item data is inserted, the ID numbers after that are automatically updated and become continuous ID numbers. With respect to the item data of ID numbers 0 and 1, history information C1 and C2 indicating that the number of colors is divided is added to the division history, and the sibling relationship is designated. Further, the number of colors is 6 colors in the original item data of FIG. 5, but is divided into 4 colors and 2 colors. For item data of ID numbers 2 and 3,
History information L1 and L2 indicating that the lot is divided is added to the division history, and the sibling relationship is designated. Further, the number of sheets is 2000 in the original item data of FIG. 5, but is divided into 1500 and 500.

The divided item data (for example, ID numbers 0 and 1 and ID numbers 2 and 3 in FIG. 19) are assigned to a printing machine conforming to the specifications (steps 1103 and 110).
5). This allocation is performed by the above-mentioned printing machines P1 to Pj.
It is done with reference to the registration data of. Also, the divided item data can be assigned automatically,
It is also possible to perform it manually by the operation of the operator. When manually allocating, by specifying the divided item data by clicking with the mouse 152 on the screen of the schedule displayed as shown in FIG. 17, and by specifying the allocation destination with the mouse 152. To do.

With respect to the item data divided by the number of colors, which color is to be printed first may be predetermined. For example, if the order is determined such that yellow, magenta, indigo, and black are printed first, and then other special colors (eg, gold, silver, etc.) are printed, the colors are divided by color. The control means 107 checks whether or not the item data is assigned according to a predetermined order (step 1106). For example, when the spot color item data is assigned earlier in time, a warning indicating that the order is wrong is issued. This warning is given by changing the color of the display band of the corresponding item data on the display screen of the calendar. If the order is different, the allocation is performed again so that the order is predetermined (step 1107).

When the above item data is divided by the number of sheets or the number of colors and the change of allocation is completed, it is checked again in step 1006 of FIG. 10 whether each item data satisfies the delivery date. If satisfied, the allocation is complete. If not satisfied, the allocation changing process by division is repeated. In addition to such delivery date handling, of course, the number of colors is divided for items that exceed the machine's color number limit.

Next, the process for synthesizing the divided item data is shown in the flowchart of FIG. When combining the once divided item data for reasons such as schedule change, first, the divided item data is designated (step 120).
1). This designation is made by clicking the item data display band 170 with the mouse 152 on the display screen of the schedule shown in FIG. By specifying the item data, the history information recorded in the division history is read (step 1202). Then, based on the read history information of division, it is determined whether or not division data exists (step 1203). If the divided item data does not exist, it indicates that the item data specified first is incorrect, and the process ends.

If there are divided item data,
The item data is rewritten based on the division history information and combined (step 1204). For example, in the item data of FIG. 19, the item data of ID numbers 0 and 1 and the item data of ID numbers 2 and 3 are combined to obtain the content of FIG. When the divided item data is combined, the original divided data is deleted, and the combined item data is allocated (step 1205).

FIG. 20 shows a screen display example when confirming and editing item data. Here, an example is shown in which the window 200 for displaying the contents of the item data is displayed overlapping the schedule table by designating the display band 170 of the specific item on the schedule display screen of FIG. ing. On this screen, as shown in the figure, the content of the data regarding the item is divided into a plurality of item names 201 and displayed. With this display, the detailed contents of each item data can be confirmed. When editing the displayed item data, the item number 202 attached to the left of the displayed item name 201 can be edited by inputting it from the item number input window 203. Become.

Next, a description will be given of a process for sorting the item data assigned to the printing machines P1 to Pj according to the size of the scheduled data assigned as shown in FIG. The sorting process of the allocated item data is performed by the data sorting means 102.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart for explaining a sorting process of item data according to the above size. First,
A printing machine to be sorted is selected and designated from the printing machines P1 to Pj (step 2101). The selection of the printing machine is designated by clicking the desired printing machine with the mouse 152 in the schedule displayed on the display device 141 as shown in FIG.

Next, the start date and time and the period for sorting the item data assigned to the designated printing machine are designated (step 2102). This start date and time,
The operator manually inputs by using the keyboard 151. Then, it is designated whether the sort processing is performed in descending order of size or in ascending order of size (step 210).
3). The data sorting unit 102 executes sorting according to the designated sort type (step 2104).

As a result of the sorting, the allocation in the designated printing machine changes, so the control means 107 checks whether or not each item data is allocated within the delivery date (step 2105). If the item data that exceeds the delivery date occurs due to sorting, a warning indicating that the delivery date is late is displayed on the schedule displayed on the display device 141 (step 2).
106). In that case, the operation is performed again from the designation of the start date and time of the sorting and the period in step 2102. If the delivery condition is satisfied, the sorting process based on the size is finished.

When an item is printed by the printing machine according to the planned data, the switching operation is performed for each item. When switching the size, the items of small size are switched to those of large size.
The time required for the switching work is different when switching from a large size item to a smaller size item. In the printing process, the paper dust generated from the edge of the paper and the ink protruding from the edge of the paper adheres to the surface of the blanket cylinder or impression cylinder, but when switching from a small size item to a large size item, the previous printing process Since the paper dust or ink attached in step will affect the paper size of the next item,
It is necessary to remove paper dust or ink, which requires a long switching time.

On the other hand, when switching from a large size item to a small size item, the paper dust or ink adhered in the previous printing process does not reach the paper size of the next item. There is no need to remove ink, and the switching time can be shortened. Therefore, as described above, if the item data assigned to the planned data is sorted in the descending order of the size, it is possible to assign the items to the specified printing machine in order from the item with the larger size to the item with the smaller size. Therefore, the time required for switching the item can be shortened as much as possible. The inclusion of the ascending order for the size of the size is taken into consideration when the descending order is sorted and then returned to the original size for some reason.

The allocation change of the created schedule data is not limited to the case where the item data is divided and combined, but the new item data is inserted by the item data inserting means 108, the allocated item data is moved by the item data moving means 109, and the items are changed. This can also be done by exchanging the allocated item data by the data exchanging means 110.

Next, a process of inserting new item data into the planned data assigned as described above to change the assignment, and assigning the assigned item data to another printing machine or another printing machine in the same printing machine. A process for changing the allocation by moving to the time zone of 2 and a process for changing the allocation by exchanging two item data with each other will be described. First, FIG. 2 shows the process of inserting item data by the data inserting means.
A description will be given according to the flowchart of 2. First, item data to be inserted into the already created schedule data is input (step 2201).

The new item data to be inserted is read from the item data file 115 or manually input by the operator using the keyboard 151. When inputting with the keyboard 151, the window 200 for inserting item data is overlapped and displayed on the display screen of the schedule as described above, and the input is performed on the window 200.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 17, the display device 141
The insertion position is specified by clicking the position to be inserted in the schedule displayed on the screen with the mouse 152 (step 2202). When the insertion position is designated, it is determined whether the size of the inserted item data conforms to the specifications of the designated printing machine (step 2203). If they do not match, a warning to that effect is displayed on the display device 141 (step 2205). This warning display may be performed by allocating the item data to the insertion position of the scheduled data and then changing the display color of the item data.

If the size size meets the specifications of the printing machine, then it is determined whether the number of colors of the inserted item matches the specifications of the specified printing machine (step 220).
4). If they do not match, a warning is displayed in step 2205. If they match, allocation is possible, and the input item data is allocated to the scheduled data (step 2206). By the above, allocation can be changed by inserting new item data.

Next, the process of moving the item data by the data moving means will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the display band 170 of the item to be moved on the display screen of the calendar displayed on the display device 141 is moved by the mouse 15
By clicking at 2, the item data to be moved is specified (step 2301).

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 17, the display device 141
The position of the moving destination is specified by clicking with the mouse 152 on the place to be moved in the schedule displayed on the screen (step 2302). When the position of the moving destination is designated, it is determined whether the size of the item data to be moved conforms to the specifications of the printing machine of the moving destination (step 2303).
If they do not match, a warning to that effect is displayed on the display device 141 (step 2307). This warning display may be performed by allocating the item data to the destination of the scheduled data and then changing the display color of the item data.

If the size size meets the specifications of the printing machine, then it is determined whether the number of colors of the moved item matches the specifications of the destination printing machine (step 2304).
If they do not match, a warning is displayed in step 2307. If the number of colors matches the specifications of the printing machine you are moving to,
For the designated item data, it is determined whether or not there is item data in a sibling relationship divided by the number of colors (step 2305). This judgment is made by referring to the division history information of the item data.

If the item data having a sibling relationship exists, it is determined as a result of the movement whether or not the divided item data are assigned in a predetermined order (step 2306). If the movement of the designated item data results in the item data of the spot color being allocated earlier in time, a warning indicating that the order is wrong is issued in step 2307.

When there is no sibling item data, or when the item data is assigned in the order determined in step 2306, it is possible to perform the assignment by moving. Therefore, the item data designated by the schedule data is moved to the destination. Allocation processing is performed (step 2308). As described above, the allocation can be changed by moving the item data.

Next, the exchange process of item data by the data exchange means will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the display band 170 of the item to be exchanged is displayed on the display screen of the schedule displayed on the display device 141 with the mouse 15
By clicking at 2, the two item data to be exchanged are designated (step 2401).

When the two item data to be exchanged are designated, it is determined whether or not the size of each item data matches the specifications of the printing machine of the exchange destination (step 2402). If not, the display device 14
A warning to that effect is displayed in step 1 (step 2406).
The warning display may be performed by changing the display color of the item data after the item data is exchanged and allocated.

If the size of the sheet meets the specifications of the printing machine, it is then determined whether the number of colors of each item meets the specifications of the printing machine of the replacement destination (step 24).
03). If they do not match, a warning is displayed in step 2406. If the number of colors conforms to the specifications of the printing machine at the moving destination, it is determined whether the specified item data has sibling item data divided by the number of colors (step 2404). This judgment is made by referring to the division history information of the item data.

If the item data having a sibling relationship exists, it is determined as a result of the exchange whether or not the divided item data are assigned in a predetermined order (step 2405). If the exchange of the designated item data results in the item data of the spot color being allocated earlier in time, a warning indicating that the order is wrong is issued in step 2406.

If there is no sibling item data, or if the items are assigned in the order determined in step 2405, it is possible to perform the assignment by exchanging, so the designated item data is exchanged to perform the assignment (step 2407). ). As described above, the allocation can be changed by exchanging the item data. Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the preferred embodiments, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above embodiments.

[0057]

As described above, according to the operation schedule planning system for a printing machine of the present invention, a plurality of printing items to be processed are automatically assigned to a plurality of printing machines to create an optimum schedule. You can

Further, by sorting the item data in descending order of size for each printing machine of scheduled data,
When switching from a large size item to a smaller size item, the paper dust or ink attached in the previous printing process is hidden inside the paper size of the next item, so the above work to remove the paper dust or ink is unnecessary. Therefore, the switching time can be shortened. Therefore, as described above, if the item data assigned to the scheduled data is sorted in descending order of the size, the time required for switching the items can be minimized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram of an operation schedule planning system for a printing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a printing system to which a main operation schedule planning system is applied.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of item data for allocation.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a hierarchical structure of item data.

5 is a diagram showing an example of item data corresponding to the hierarchical structure shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of specification data of each printing machine.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of processing capacity data of each printing machine.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of scheduled stop date and time data for each printing machine.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of an operation performed by the operation schedule planning system.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating details of allocation processing in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an allocation change process by dividing item data.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a combining process of divided item data.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of allocation data of item data to each printing machine.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing relational data between item data and allocation data.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating scheduled print start date and time data of each printing machine.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating scheduled print end date / time data of each printing machine.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an image of a schedule table displayed on a display device.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a hierarchical structure of item data divided by the number of colors or the number of sheets.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of item data divided by the number of colors or the number of sheets.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display when confirming and editing item data.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a process of sorting item data of scheduled data according to size.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating the contents of a process of inserting new item data into the created schedule data.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating the contents of a process of moving the item data assigned to the created schedule data and changing the assignment destination.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating the contents of a process of changing the allocation destination by exchanging the item data allocated to the created schedule data.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Operation Schedule Planning System 20p1 to 20pj Printing Machine Monitoring Terminal 30 Lines 40a, 40b, 40c Management Terminal 50 Host System 60 Line 100 Processing Unit 101 Data Reading / writing Unit 102 Data Sorting Unit 103 Allocation Unit 104 Input / Output Control Unit 105 Item Data Division / Composing means 106 Printing margin calculating means 107 Control means 108 Item data inserting means 109 Item data moving means 110 Item data exchanging means 115 Item data file 120 Registration data file 130 Scheduled data file 140 Output device 141 Display device 142 Printer 150 Input device 151 Keyboard 152 Mouse P1-Pj Printing machine

Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Hitoshi Ichimura 1-1-1, Ichigayakamachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A scheduling system for planning an operation schedule of each printing machine when printing a plurality of printing items by a plurality of printing machines, wherein an item file storing a plurality of printing item data to be printed by the printing machine is provided. A registration file that stores in advance data relating to specifications of the plurality of printing machines, and the printing item data is adapted by referring to the contents of the printing item data and the data relating to the specifications of each printing machine stored in the registration file. Allocating means for generating scheduled data by allocating to the printing machine, and data sort means for performing sort processing in descending order or ascending order for the size of the print item data allocated to the predetermined printing machine of the scheduled data, Operation characterized by having an output device that outputs the generated schedule data Constant planning system. 2. A dividing unit that divides the allocated item data by a quantity or an element to generate a plurality of item data, and when the item data is divided by a quantity or an element, a plurality of divided items are obtained. 2. The operation schedule planning system according to claim 1, further comprising division history information for identifying that the item data items of 1 are in a sibling relationship with each other.