JPH09272657A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To discharge paper so that various needs of users fir paper discharge may be met and reduce users' burden at the time of paper discharge. SOLUTION: It is discriminate whether data are inputted from an image scanner or the like through the second input terminal or not (136), and when the determinations is affirmative, a printing mode is made to be 'copying machine', a discharging mode is made to be 'sorter', and the offset amount of paper along the direction perpendicular to the discharge direction at the time of paper discharge is made to be the values corresponding to the above modes (140). When the determination of the step 136 is negative, it is discriminated whether the assignment of the discharging mode is 'sorter' of not. When the determination is affirmative, the printing mode is made to be 'printer', the discharging mode is made to be 'sorter', and the offset amount is made to be the values corresponding to the modes (142). When the determination is negative, the printing mode is made to be 'printer', the discharging mode is made 'mail box', and the offset amount is made to be the values corresponding to the modes (144), and the offset amount is made different for each mode, then discharging paper.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, and more particularly to a printing apparatus having a large number of storage units for storing sheets on which images are recorded.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an output device of an information processing device such as a workstation or a personal computer, an image representing a processing result (for example, a document) by the information processing device is recorded on a sheet. There is a known printer that outputs the output. In recent years, for the purpose of distributing information and load, a plurality of information processing devices such as workstations and personal computers can be connected to each other via a network, and various resources such as printers connected to the same network can be shared. Such information processing systems have become widespread, and user demands for printers are diversifying year by year.

Further, the printer connected to the network as described above is required to record an image on a sheet by an unspecified number of users, and records the image on each sheet in response to a request from each user. Therefore, if only a single bin is provided as a bin for accommodating the paper on which the image is recorded, different types of paper on which the image is recorded are placed on the single bin in response to requests from different users. Since they are mixed, it is necessary for the user to sort the sheets when the sheets are taken out from the bin, and the work may be very complicated.

Based on the above, printers having a plurality of bins for accommodating sheets have recently appeared on the market in order to meet the diversifying demands of users. It has not been clarified whether it is possible to meet various demands of users by providing a function of discharging in various discharge modes. Further, there has not been clarified a technique for reducing a user's burden such as paper sorting work when a function of discharging various bins in a plurality of bins is provided.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above facts, and it is possible to discharge a sheet so as to satisfy various user's requirements regarding sheet discharge, and the user's burden at the time of taking out the sheet is reduced. The purpose is to obtain a printing device that can do this.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 records the image on a sheet based on the input data, and the image is recorded by the recording means. A plurality of accommodating portions for accommodating sheets, and a plurality of sheets in which an image is recorded by the recording means are indicated in the instructed accommodating portion so that the accommodating state of the sheets on the accommodating portion can be visually distinguished from each other. The ejecting means for ejecting in any of the types of states and the ejecting mode desired by the user are a sorter mode for ejecting a plurality of sheets on which images are recorded in a plurality of accommodating sections and ejecting the image. And the paper on which the image is recorded by the recording means is judged by the discharge mode judging means. And a discharge control unit that controls the discharge unit so that the sheet is discharged into the storage unit corresponding to the discharge mode and the storage state of the sheet on the storage unit is different for each discharge mode. ing.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a large number of accommodating portions for accommodating sheets are provided, and the ejection mode desired by the user is such that a plurality of sheets are ejected by dividing them into a plurality of accommodating portions. Ejection mode determining means is provided to determine whether the sorter mode is set to ON or the mailbox mode in which the sheet is ejected to a specific storage unit. The ejection control means determines the sheet on which the image is recorded by the ejection mode designating means. The ejecting means is controlled so that the ejecting means ejects into the accommodation portion corresponding to the ejected form.

The determination of the discharge form by the discharge form determining means can be made based on the discharge form instruction from the user or the number of copies to be printed from the user. When connected to different types of devices that output data representing an image, the determination can be made based on which device is used to record the image on the paper. Is.

For example, a printing apparatus according to the present invention stores a first input section connected to an image output apparatus that outputs image data representing an original image to be copied on a sheet and data representing an image to be recorded on the sheet. A second input unit connected to an information processing device (host) for outputting, and a recording unit from each of the image output device and the information processing device via the first input unit or the second input unit. When the image is recorded on the sheet using the input data every time the data is input, the recording unit is input through either the first input unit or the second input unit. Considering whether an image is recorded using data, the user rarely wants the mailbox mode as the ejection mode when copying the original image onto a sheet, so the recording unit uses the first input unit. Image is input using the input data. The When recording is discharged form the user desires, it is determined that the sorter mode, can be as equal determining discharge forms the paper.

As described above, when the discharge mode designating means determines that the discharge mode desired by the user is the sorter mode, for example, when recording a predetermined number of copies of a predetermined document image consisting of a plurality of pages on a sheet. In addition, since the paper on which the image of each page of the predetermined document is recorded is separately discharged into the plurality of storage units, the user does not need to sort the discharged paper.

Further, when it is determined by the discharge form designating unit that the discharge form desired by the user is the mailbox mode, for example, when recording the image of the predetermined document on the paper, the image of the predetermined document is printed. The sheet on which is recorded is discharged to a specific storage section. Here, for example, if a plurality of storage units are assigned in advance for each user or each group of users, the paper on which the image is recorded based on the data input by a specific user is always discharged to a fixed storage unit. Therefore, for example, a paper on which an image of a highly confidential document is recorded according to an instruction from a predetermined user may be exposed to the eyes of another user or another user in a different group. It can be prevented.

Further, in the mailbox mode, when the user is made to specify the storage unit as the discharge destination, for example, the user may change the storage unit as the discharge destination for each job or each type of document. It is also possible to specify. In this case, the paper on which the image is recorded based on the data input as the different jobs by the same user is discharged to the different accommodating units for each job and each type of document. On the other hand, it becomes unnecessary for the user to sort each job or each document type.

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the discharge mode determining means for determining whether the discharge mode desired by the user is the sorter mode or the mailbox mode is provided, and the discharge mode for determining the sheet on which the image is recorded is determined. As described above, it is possible to discharge the paper so as to satisfy various user's requirements regarding the paper discharge.

By the way, when the sort mode and the mailbox mode are provided as the discharge modes as described above, the discharge of the sheet on which the image is recorded according to the discharge mode determination result (sort mode or mailbox mode) by the discharge mode designating means. Since the destination is determined, assuming that the printing apparatus according to the present invention simply ejects the paper to the storage unit corresponding to the ejection mode determined by the ejection mode determination unit,
For example, sheets ejected in different ejection modes may be mixed in the same accommodation unit.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the invention, the ejecting means ejects the sheet on which the image is recorded so that the accommodation state of the sheet in the accommodating portion is one of a plurality of types that can be visually distinguished from each other. The paper is ejected, and the ejection control unit controls the ejection unit so that the accommodation state of the sheet on the accommodation unit is different for each ejection mode. It should be noted that the plurality of types of states that can be visually distinguished from each other are, specifically, as described in claim 2, the position of the sheet on the accommodating portion along the sheet ejection direction or the direction intersecting the sheet ejection direction. This can be realized by making at least one of the direction of the side of the sheet and the direction of the front and back sides of the sheet different.

As a result, even if sheets ejected in different ejection modes are mixed in the same accommodating section, the accommodating state of the sheets differs depending on the ejecting modes, so that the sheets of paper ejected by the user from the accommodating section are different. At the time of taking out, the user can easily take out only the paper ejected in the predetermined ejection form based on the accommodation state of the paper in the accommodation portion, and the burden on the user at the time of taking out the paper can be reduced.

By the way, as described above, if the printing apparatus according to the present invention simply ejects the paper to the accommodating section corresponding to the ejection mode determined by the ejection mode determining means, the same ejection mode is stored in the same accommodating section. There is a possibility that different types of sheets ejected in (eg, sheets of different jobs, sheets of different users) are mixed, and in this case, the user needs to sort the sheets.

Therefore, in the invention according to claim 3, in the invention according to claim 1 or 2, the discharge control means is such that the storage state of the sheet on the storage section is different for each print request source or for each job. The discharging means is controlled so that

According to the third aspect of the invention, for each print request source (for example, for each user who requests printing, or for each print request source device that has output data (for example, the above-mentioned image output device, information processing device, etc.)) Alternatively, the sheets are controlled so that the sheets are stored in different states for each job. Therefore, even when sheets of different types ejected in the same ejection mode are mixed in the same accommodating section, the user can store the sheets. It is not necessary for the user to sort the sheets for each print request source or for each job when the sheets are taken out from the set, and it is possible to further reduce the user's burden when taking out the sheets from the storage section.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the presence / absence of sheets stored in each of the plurality of storage units and the discharge of the sheets stored in the storage units. It is characterized in that it further comprises a management means for managing whether it has been discharged in the form.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the management means manages whether or not the paper is stored in each of the plurality of storage units, and which discharge mode the paper stored in the storage unit is discharged. By displaying the information managed by the management means by the display means,
Based on the displayed information, the user can select the discharge mode and the like so that different types of paper discharged in the same discharge mode will not be mixed in the same accommodation section.

In addition, for example, the discharge control means, based on the information managed by the management means, sets the accommodating portion in which the discharged paper is not stored in the same discharge mode as the paper to be discharged. By confirming and discharging the sheet to the confirmed storing section, it is possible to automatically avoid mixing different types of sheets discharged in the same discharging mode in the same storing section.

As described above, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to avoid mixing different types of sheets ejected in the same ejection mode in the same accommodating section. It is possible to further reduce the burden on the user when taking out.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows a printer 10 as a printing apparatus according to the present invention. The printer 10 includes a recording unit 14 that records an image on a sheet 12,
An image supply unit 16 that controls the operation of the recording unit 14 and the like is provided. The recording unit 14 and the image supply unit 16 operate when a predetermined DC or AC power is supplied from a power supply unit 18 connected to a commercial power supply (not shown).

The recording unit 14 is composed of a laser beam printer or the like, and various operation command signals 20 and an image signal 22 representing image data to be recorded are input from the image supply unit 16. Then, an image is recorded on one side or both sides of the sheet 12 according to the input image signal 22, and the sheet 12 on which the image is recorded is discharged to the outside. In addition, the recording unit 14 includes a status signal 24 indicating the status of each unit (for example, the size of a sheet accommodated in a cassette tray (not shown), whether or not the fixing unit (not shown) has reached the fixing temperature), and the image supply unit 1.
6, the synchronizing pulse 26 for synchronizing with the image supplying section 16
Output to

On the front surface of the main body of the printer 10 is provided an operation panel 28 having a plurality of keys for the operator to input commands and the like and a display section for visually confirming the processing status. . The operation panel 28 is connected to the image supply unit 16, and an instruction input by an operator operating a key of the operation panel 28 is input from the operation panel 28 to the image supply unit 16 as an instruction signal 30. Further, the image supply unit 16 outputs a response to the instruction signal 30 and an instruction signal 32 indicating information to be displayed on the display unit to the operation panel 28. A liquid crystal display (LCD), an LED, or the like can be used as the display unit.

Further, the printer 10 includes print data representing an image to be printed, the number of pages of a document or the like to be printed, the number of copies, the size of the paper 12 to be printed, the discharge mode (mailbox mode / sort mode), and the like. It is configured such that print information including job control data representing various designations regarding printing can be input in a plurality of systems. In FIG.
An example is shown in which print information can be input in two systems. As terminals for inputting print information, a first input terminal 34 connected to a host such as a personal computer or a workstation, and an image scanner 38 ( Figure 1
(See) and a second input terminal 36 connected to an image output device such as a CCD camera.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a schematic configuration of a host connected to the first input terminal 34 with reference numeral 94. Host 94 is CPU94A, ROM94B, RAM
It has a 94C and an input / output port 94D, which are connected to each other via a bus. I / O port 94
D is a display 94 for displaying various information.
E, communication that is connected to an external device such as a keyboard 94F for inputting various kinds of information, and the printer 10 directly or through a network (for example, a digital network such as ISDN or a LAN such as Ethernet) and controls external communication The control unit 94G is connected.

From the host, data such as text data, image data (bitmap data) and vector data is input as print data via the first input terminal 34. Further, the image output device outputs the original image (image scanner 3
Image data representing the image of the original read by the image pickup device 8 and the image picked up by the CCD camera are input via the second input terminal 36.

In the printer 10, there is a possibility that printing is requested by a host such as various personal computers or workstations or an image output device through the first input terminal 34 or the second input terminal 36 to request printing. is there.
The contents of the job control data included in the print information output from various hosts and image output devices are not necessarily unified. For example, in a certain host, the size of the paper 12 and the size of characters are finely set by the control data. On the other hand, in some cases, another host or image output device may not be able to perform the above-mentioned designation due to the control data.

In consideration of the above case, the printer 10
Various input commands can be input via the operation panel 28. The operation panel 28 outputs various input commands to the image supply unit 16 as an instruction signal 30. Also, when various instructions are input as job control data from the host, it is possible to input various instructions separately via the operation panel 28. In this case, it is possible to always give priority to the instruction input as job control data from the host or the image output device via the communication line, or always give priority to the instruction input via the operation panel 28. It is also possible to prioritize an instruction input later. Further, various designations relating to printing may be preset and stored as defaults, and for example, among the various designations relating to printing, items not particularly designated may be printed using default values.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image supply unit 16 includes a CPU 40 that plays a central role in various controls.
The CPU 40 is connected to the system bus 42. A panel interface (I / F) circuit 44 is connected to the system bus 42. The panel I / F circuit 44 is a circuit for interfacing with the operation panel 28,
When the instruction signal 30 is input from the operation panel 28, the panel I / F circuit 44 outputs instruction information corresponding to the instruction signal 30, and the output instruction information is the system bus 42.
Transferred on. Further, the instruction information for displaying the predetermined information on the display of the operation panel 28 is transferred to the panel I / F circuit 44 via the system bus 42, and the panel I / F circuit 44 outputs the instruction signal 32 as an instruction signal 32.
8 is output.

The system bus 42 has a host interface (I / F) circuit 46 and an image input interface (I
/ F) circuit 47 is connected. Host I / F circuit 4
Reference numeral 6 is connected to the first input terminal 34, and print information input from the host via the first input terminal 34 is sent to the RS 23.
It is received according to the 2C standard, the Centronics interface, or the like. Further, the image input I / F circuit 47 is connected to the second input terminal 36, and receives print information input from an image output device such as an image scanner 38 via the second input terminal 36.

The system bus 42 has a non-volatile memory (NVM) 48 and a RAM 5.
0 is connected. The NVM 48 is a storage device backed up by a battery (not shown), and the printer 10
The stored data can be retained even when the power of the main body is turned off. RAM 50 is a working memory,
A part of the storage area is a page buffer 50 for storing one page of bitmap data to be recorded on the paper 12.
It is used as A and the other part of the storage area is the host I /
It is used as a reception buffer 50B for temporarily storing data or the like input via the F circuit 46.

A program memory 52 and a character pattern memory 54 are also connected to the system bus 42. The program memory 52 is a non-volatile memory,
Various programs for controlling the printer 10 are stored. The character pattern memory 54 is also a non-volatile memory, and stores a large number of types of font data (character pattern data) used for printing.

A recording interface (I / F) circuit 58 and a bit map controller 60 are connected to the system bus 42. The recording unit I / F circuit 58 is
The image data stored in the page buffer 50A is sequentially read to generate the image signal 22, and the generated image signal 22 is output to the recording unit 14. Further, the status signal 24, the synchronization pulse 26, and the operation command signal 20 (see FIG. 1) are transmitted to and received from the recording unit 14 via the recording unit I / F circuit 58. The bitmap controller 60 is connected to the page buffer 50A and the recording unit I / F circuit 58, respectively, and controls the transfer of image data between the page buffer 50A and the recording unit I / F circuit 58.

Further, since the printer 10 can be connected to various hosts as described above, there are cases where programs and character patterns corresponding to various control data and print data sent from various hosts are required. is there. For this reason, the printer 10 is configured such that the program memory 62 and the character pattern memory 64, which are constituted by a ROM of an IC card type or a SIMM type, are detachable. A plurality of types of program memory 62 and character pattern memory 64 are prepared in advance according to the type of host to be connected or to realize a special function required by an operator, and are selectively mounted and used depending on the situation. It is supposed to be done.

Further, the printer 10 can be expanded with host I / F terminals. When a new host interface is required due to the addition of host I / F terminals, a new host I / F circuit (not shown) is provided according to the requested host interface (for example, Centronics interface or Ethernet). ) Is added. Further, the printer 10 can be added with a hard disk 68 as needed. The hard disk 68 is used for adding character patterns, saving form data and logo data, saving data input from the host computer, and the like.

Next, the structure of the recording unit 14 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, the recording unit 14 includes a recording control unit 72. The recording control unit 72 includes the image supply unit 16 and the paper feeding unit 7.
4, connected to the printing unit 76 and the paper discharge unit 78,
The operation command signal 20, the image signal 22, the status signal 24, and the synchronization pulse 26 described above are transmitted to and received from the image supply unit 16, and the operations of the paper feed unit 74, the print unit 76, and the paper discharge unit 78 are controlled.

As shown in FIG. 3, the printer 10 includes a plurality of trays 80 for accommodating the paper 12 before image recording.
A, 80B, 80C, and 80D are provided, and each tray accommodates sheets 12 of different sizes. Further, the printer 10 is also provided with a manual feed tray (not shown) on which various sizes of paper can be set. The paper feed unit 74 detects the size of the paper set in each of the trays 80A to 80D and the manual feed tray, and when the paper feed of the paper 12 of the predetermined size is instructed, the paper of the predetermined size is set. Paper from tray 1
2 is taken out and supplied to the printing unit 76.

The image signal 22 output from the image supply unit 16 is input to the printing unit 76 via the recording control unit 72. The printing unit 76 uses the paper 12 supplied from the paper feeding unit 74.
On the other hand, an image is recorded by the electrophotographic method based on the input image signal 22. The printing unit 76 corresponds to the recording means of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the printer 10 is provided with a plurality of (eight in this embodiment) discharge bins 84 on the side of the main body. The paper discharge bin 84 corresponds to the storage unit of the present invention, and a bin number is preliminarily assigned in advance to distinguish each of them. The paper 12 on which the image is recorded by the printing unit 76 is conveyed by the paper discharge unit 78, and is sent to the paper distribution / discharge unit 86 provided corresponding to the paper discharge bin 84.

The paper distribution / ejection section 86 corresponds to the ejection means of the present invention, and the paper 12 fed from the paper ejection section 78.
Can be selectively discharged to any one of the plurality of paper discharge bins 84. Further, the sheet distribution / ejecting unit 86 includes a plurality of conveyance rollers 88 arranged along the conveyance path of the sheet 12. As shown in FIG. 4, the carrying roller 88 is composed of a plurality of rollers 88A coaxially arranged along a direction orthogonal to the paper carrying direction.
The rotary shaft is supported (a support mechanism is not shown) so that a predetermined amount of play is generated along a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the rotary shaft and orthogonal to the paper transport direction. When the driving force of the driving means (not shown) is transmitted, the rotary shaft is tilted with respect to the standard position (shown by the solid line in FIG. 4B) (the tilted state is shown by the broken line in FIG. 4B). 4A and 4B. As shown in FIG. 4A, the peripheral surface of the roller 88A (the surface in contact with the paper 12) is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the conveyance direction of the paper 12. It is like this.

When the sheet 12 passes through the portion where the conveying roller 88 is disposed while the peripheral surface of the roller 88A is inclined by a predetermined angle, the sheet 12 is transferred to the roller 88A as shown in FIG. 4 (A).
Is conveyed in a direction X inclined by a predetermined angle θ along a direction orthogonal to the standard conveyance direction in which the peripheral surface is not inclined. As a result, the position of the paper 12 ejected to the paper ejection bin 84 on the paper ejection bin 84 is offset by a predetermined amount from the position in the standard state in the direction orthogonal to the ejection direction to the paper ejection bin 84. become.

The tilting drive of the roller 88A described above is controlled independently for each transport roller 88. The offset amount of the position on the discharge bin 84 of the paper 12 discharged to the discharge bin 84 is determined by the inclination angle of the peripheral surface of the roller 88A (which changes the inclination angle θ in the paper conveyance direction) and the conveyance of the paper. Since the peripheral surface of the roller 88 </ b> A in the path depends on the length of the portion where the conveying roller 88 continues, the paper distribution and ejection unit 86 inclines the peripheral surface of the roller 88 </ b> A among the plurality of conveying rollers 88. By changing the number of the transport rollers 88 to be made and the inclination angle of the peripheral surface of the roller 88A,
The offset amount can be changed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the paper distribution / ejection section 86 is connected to the power source section 18 and operates by being supplied with power from the power source section 18. In addition, the paper distribution and ejection unit 8
6 is connected to the print output control unit 82. The print output control unit 82 is connected to the image supply unit 16 and print output control information input from the image supply unit 16 (details will be described later).
On the basis of the above, which discharge bin 84 the paper 12 is discharged to, and the offset amount at the time of discharging the paper 12 are controlled.
As shown in FIG. 2, the image supply unit 16 includes a print output control unit 8
A print output control unit interface (I / F) circuit 83 that controls the interface with the print output control unit I / F 2 is provided. The print output control unit I / F circuit 83 is connected to the system bus 42.

Next, as an operation of the first embodiment, first, referring to the flow chart of FIG. 5, the CPU 4 of the printer 10 will be described.
The reception process executed at 0 will be described. This reception process is repeatedly executed by the CPU 40 when the power of the printer 10 is turned on.

In step 100, it is determined whether or not any data such as print information is received from the host or the image output device via the first input terminal 34 or the second input terminal 36,
Wait until the determination is positive.

For example, when the user operating the host needs to print out the processing result and the like in the host, various specifications such as the number of copies to be printed, the size of the paper, and the discharge mode are performed, and the host is instructed. An instruction to send print data to the printer 10 is given. As a result, the host generates job control data based on the above various designations, and sends the job control data and print data representing an image to be printed to the printer 10 as print information. In this case, the print information is sent to the printer 10 via the first input terminal 34.
Is received.

Further, for example, when it becomes necessary to copy the image of the original, the user scans the original with the image scanner 38.
, And "copy" is instructed so that the image of the original is read by the image scanner 38, and at the same time, the above-described various designations are made through the operation unit of the image scanner 38.
As a result, the image scanner generates job control data based on the above various designations, and transmits the job control data and print data (image data) representing the image of the read document to the printer 10 as print information. In this case, the print information is received by the printer 10 via the second input terminal 36.

As described above, when the host I / F circuit 46 or the image input I / F circuit 47 receives some data from the host or the image output device through the first input terminal 34 or the second input terminal 36, the step is performed. In step 102, the received data is transferred to the reception buffer 50B and stored in the reception buffer 50B. In the next step 104, the data analysis / printing process is activated only when the data analysis / printing process is not being executed, and the process returns to step 100.

Next, referring to the flow chart of FIG.
The data analysis / printing process executed in U40 will be described. The data analysis / printing process is executed when the power of the printer 10 is turned on and when it is activated by the previous receiving process.

In step 110, the reception buffer 50B
It is determined whether or not received data is stored in. When the data analysis / printing process is activated by the previous receiving process, this determination is always affirmed, but when the determination is denied when the data analysis / printing process is activated by turning on the power of the printer 10, for example. Can also occur. If the determination is negative, the process ends.

On the other hand, if the judgment is affirmative, the routine proceeds to step 114, where it is judged again whether or not the reception data is stored in the reception buffer 50B. If the determination is affirmative, the routine proceeds to step 116, where data analysis processing is performed. The details of this data analysis process will be described later,
Data of a predetermined length is taken out from the reception buffer 50B, the contents are analyzed, and if the taken-out data is print data, the print data is expanded into the page buffer 50A as bitmap data.

When the data analysis process of step 116 is completed, the process proceeds to step 118 of the flowchart of FIG.
It is determined whether the data analysis for one page is completed. This determination is made when the data analyzed by the data analysis processing is job control data that means or indicates a page break operation, a paper discharge operation, a line feed operation exceeding one page, or the reception buffer 50B. The determination is affirmative when the state in which no data is stored (the determination in step 114 is negative and the data analysis processing in step 116 is not performed during this state) continues for a predetermined time or more. If the above determination is negative, the process moves to step 122 and it is determined whether or not the job is completed. If this determination is also denied, the process returns to step 114 and the data analysis process is repeated.

On the other hand, if it is judged that the data analysis for one page is completed and the judgment in step 118 is affirmed, the printing process is executed in step 120. In this printing process, as will be described later in detail, a tray (paper feeding tray) as a target for drawing out the paper 12 for recording an image is determined, and
The discharge destination for discharging the paper 12 on which the image is recorded and the offset amount at the time of discharging the paper are set, and the image is recorded on the paper 12 pulled out from the paper feed tray using the bitmap data stored in the page buffer 50A. Then, the paper 12 on which the image is recorded is offset by the previously set offset amount and discharged to the previously set discharge destination.

When the printing process of step 120 is completed,
The process proceeds to step 122, and it is determined again whether or not the job is completed. If the determination is negative, the process returns to step 114. Therefore, step 116 is repeated until the data analysis processing is performed on all the received data, and the print processing of step 120 is repeated each time the data analysis processing for one page is completed until the job is completed. It will be.

Next, details of the data analysis processing performed in step 116 of the data analysis / print processing shown in FIG. 6 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step 130, the reception data of a predetermined length (for example, 1 byte or more) is received from the reception buffer 50B. In step 132, it is determined whether the fetched data is print data or job control data. If the fetched data is print data, the process proceeds to step 134, the fetched print data is expanded in the page buffer 50A as bitmap data, and the process is ended.

If the fetched data is the job control data in step 132, the job control data is stored in the RAM 50 and then the step 1
In step 36, it is determined whether the data (print information) currently stored in the reception buffer 50B is the data input via the second input terminal 36. When the determination is affirmative, it is determined that the data stored in the reception buffer 50B is the data input from the image output device such as the image scanner 38, and the process proceeds to step 140.

The print data included in the print information output from the image output device is print data representing an original image such as an image of an original read by the image scanner 38 or an image picked up by a CCD camera. When the user uses the printer 10 as a copying machine and wants to copy the above-described original image on the paper 12, the user instructs the image output device to output print information. When the printer 10 is used as a copying machine, the user rarely desires a mail box mode in which the print result is discharged to a specific discharge bin 84 as the discharge mode.

Based on the above, in step 140, the copier mode is set as the print mode, and the sorter mode is set as the ejection mode (ejection mode), and the offset amount of the paper 12 at the time of ejecting the paper is the copier mode and the ejection mode. Set a predetermined value (for example, 100 mm) when the mode is the sorter mode. Then, the number of print copies designated by the job control information is fetched, the print output control information is generated based on the offset amount previously set and the number of print copies fetched, and the process proceeds to step 146. The print output control information is configured such that information indicating the number of copies to be printed and the offset amount of the paper 12 when the paper is discharged is set for each discharge bin 84.

On the other hand, when the determination in step 136 is negative, it is determined that the data stored in the reception buffer 50B is the data input from the host through the first input terminal 34, and the process proceeds to step 138. Transition. In step 138, it is determined whether or not the sorter mode is designated as the discharge mode based on the fetched job control information. This step 138, together with the previous step 136, corresponds to the discharge form determination means of the present invention.

If the determination is positive, step 142
Then, the printer mode is set as the print mode, and the sorter mode is set as the discharge mode (discharge mode), and the offset amount of the paper 12 when the paper is discharged is set in advance when the print mode is the printer mode and the discharge mode is the sorter mode. Set the specified value (for example, 50 mm). Then, the print copy number designated by the job control information is fetched, the print output control information is generated based on the previously set offset amount and the fetched print copy number, and step 146
Move to.

If the determination in step 138 is negative, the process proceeds to step 144, the printer mode is set as the print mode, the mail box mode is set as the discharge mode (discharge mode), and the offset of the paper 12 at the time of paper discharge is set. A predetermined value (for example, 0 mm) when the print mode is the printer mode and the discharge mode is the mailbox mode is set as the amount. Then, it takes in the number of print copies specified by the job control information and the discharge bin number as the discharge destination, and generates print output control information based on the offset amount, the number of print copies and the discharge bin number that were set in advance. , And proceeds to step 146. Then, in step 146, the print output control information generated above is output to the print output control unit 82, and the process ends.

If the print information of three print jobs of job No. 1 to No. 3 having the contents shown in the following Table 1 is received by the above-mentioned data analysis processing,

[0066]

[Table 1]

The print job of job No. 1 is step 14
Print job No. 0 and job No. 2 is step 142, job
For the No. 3 print job, in step 144, print output control information having the contents shown in Table 2 below is generated as an example.

[0068]

[Table 2]

Next, the details of the print processing performed in step 120 of the data analysis / print processing shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Step 2
At 00, the tray used as the paper feed tray is determined based on the job control data stored in the RAM 50.
In the next step 202, the print output control unit 82 is instructed to set the discharge destination of the paper 12 from which an image is to be recorded and discharged. As a result, the print output control unit 82 sets the discharge destination of the paper 12 which is about to be discharged, based on the print output control information previously input.

In the next step 204, the previous step 2
Paper 1 from Tray 80 that was decided as the paper feed tray at 00
2 is pulled out, and the sheet feeding unit 74 is controlled so that the pulled-out sheet 12 is conveyed to the printing unit 76. Next step 2
At 06, the bitmap data stored in the page buffer 50C is output to the recording unit 14 to instruct the recording of the image on the paper 12. As a result, in the recording unit 14, the printing unit 76 records an image, and the paper on which the image is recorded is sent to the paper distribution and discharge unit 86 by the paper discharge unit 78.

In step 208, the paper 12 on which the image is recorded by the printing portion 76 and sent to the paper distribution / ejection portion 86 is offset by the offset amount set in the print output control information, and is set in the previous step 202. The paper distribution / ejection unit 78 is controlled so that the paper is ejected to the ejected destination. More specifically, this process is performed by the print output control unit 82.
Done in This step 208 corresponds to the discharge control means of the present invention together with steps 140 to 146 of the data analysis processing described above.

By repeating the above processing until the job is completed, the paper 12 is ejected in the ejection mode desired by the user. Further, since the paper 12 is discharged to the paper discharge bin 84 with different offset amounts depending on the print mode (copier mode / printer mode) and the discharge mode (sorter mode / mailbox mode), a single paper discharge bin 84. Even if the sheets 12 in which at least one of the print mode and the discharge mode at the time of discharge are different are mixed in, the storage state on the discharge bin 84 (orthogonal to the sheet transport direction on the discharge bin 84) is present. Position along the direction) will be different. Therefore, when the paper 12 is taken out from the paper discharge bin 84, the user does not need to perform the paper sorting work for each of the print mode and the discharge mode, and the burden on the user is reduced.

In the above, the print information is the first input terminal 3
4 and the print information is input via the second input terminal 36, it is determined that the print request source device is different, and the offset amount of the paper 12 at the time of paper discharge is changed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and when the print information is input through the first input terminal 34, the host that has output the print information or the host is instructed to output the print information. The user may be identified, and the offset amount may be changed for each host or each user.

In the above, when the print mode is the copying machine mode and the discharge mode is the sorter mode, the print mode is the printer mode and the discharge mode is the sorter mode, and the print mode is the printer mode and the discharge mode is the mailbox mode. In this case, the offset amount of the paper in each case is predetermined, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the offset amount when discharged to the empty discharge bin 84 is set to a constant value (for example, 0), The offset amount may be changed by a predetermined amount each time a sheet of a new job is discharged.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The same portions as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 9, in the second embodiment, each discharge bin 84 is provided with a sensor 90 (detection means) for detecting the presence / absence of paper on each discharge bin 84. In addition,
The sensor 90 is composed of a pair of a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and is a non-contact type sensor that optically detects the presence or absence of a sheet, or the sheet is in contact with the sheet when there is a sheet in the discharge bin 84. By doing so, a contact-type sensor such as a limit switch whose output is switched can be applied. Although not shown, the sensor 90 is connected to the recording unit 14, and the detection result of the sensor 90 is output to the image supply unit 16 via the recording unit 14.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, each process described in the first embodiment is performed, and the discharge bin management process shown in FIG. 10 is repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals. In this paper discharge bin management process, the status of each paper discharge bin 84 (whether there is paper, and if there is paper, what printing mode , Is the paper ejected in the ejection mode).

[0078]

[Table 3]

In the discharge bin management process, it is determined in step 220 whether the job is completed. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 224, but if the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 222, and among the bin management information described above, it is set as the discharge destination of the paper 12 in the finished job. Step 2 after changing the state of the discharge bin 84
Move to 24.

At step 224, whether any output of the sensor 90 provided in each discharge bin 84 has changed from “with paper” to “without paper”, that is, the paper from any of the discharge bins 84 It is determined whether or not there has been taken out. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 228, but if the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 226, and the state of the discharge bin from which the paper has been taken out of the bin management information is changed to an empty state. After that, the process proceeds to step 228.

As described above, when a sheet is discharged to a certain discharge bin 84, the state of the discharge bin 84 in the bin management information is set to "paper present", and the sensor 90 causes the discharge bin 84 to exit from the discharge bin 84. When it is detected that all the sheets have been taken out,
The state of the discharge bin 84 on the bin management information is set to "no paper".

In step 228, it is determined whether or not an instruction to display the contents of the bin management information has been input by the user operating the operation panel 28 or the like. If the determination is negative, the process ends, but if the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 230, and the contents of the current bin management information are displayed on the display unit of the operation panel 28, and then the process ends. .

As described above, if the user instructs the display of the contents of the bin management information before the print information is output from the host or the image output device and the printer 10 performs the printing, the display unit of the operation panel 28 is displayed. The contents of the bin management information are displayed on the screen, and based on the contents of the displayed bin management information, in order to take out the paper (print result) discharged to the discharge bin 84 by the job to be performed from the discharge bin 84, It is possible to easily determine whether or not it is necessary to sort the print results.

That is, if the print results of another job have already been stored in the discharge bin 84 from which the print result of the job to be executed is discharged, a plurality of print results will be stored in the discharge bin 84 depending on the job to be executed. The print results of the job
If the print result of another job accommodated in is discharged in a print mode different from the job to be executed or a different discharge mode, the print result of the job to be executed is As described in the embodiment, since the print result is discharged with an offset amount different from the print result already stored in the discharge bin 84, it is not necessary to sort the print results when the print results are taken out.

However, if the print result of another job already stored in the paper discharge bin 84 has been discharged in the same print mode and the same discharge mode as the job to be executed now, then the job is to be executed now. If the desired job is simply executed, it can be determined that it is necessary to sort the print results. As described above, in the second embodiment, the user can determine in advance whether or not the sorting work needs to be performed when the print result is taken out.

If the user does not want to perform the sorting work, for example, the host or the image output device outputs print information until the discharge bin 84 becomes empty. Can take measures such as switching a job that was trying to eject the print results in the sort mode to a job that ejects the print results in the empty output bin by an electronic sort in the mailbox mode. Eliminates the need to sort the print results.

In the second embodiment, the paper discharge bin 84
Although the sensor 90 for detecting the presence or absence of the upper sheet 12 is provided and the bin management information is updated based on the detection result of the sensor 90, the present invention is not limited to this.
When a plurality of sensors 90 are provided corresponding to various storage states and the detection result of the sensor 90 for detecting the presence / absence of sheets in a specific storage state is switched from “with paper” to “without paper”, the specific storage state Alternatively, it may be determined that the discharged paper has been taken out from the paper discharge bin 84 and the bin management information may be updated.

In the second embodiment, when the user operates the operation panel 28 and inputs an instruction to display the contents of the bin management information, the contents of the bin management information are displayed on the display unit of the operation panel 28. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an instruction to display the contents of the bin management information is input from the host or the image output device, and when the instruction is input, the host or the image output that outputs the instruction. The contents of the bin management information may be displayed on the display unit of the device. This eliminates the need for the user to go to a place where the printer 10 is arranged in order to check the state of the paper discharge bin 84.

Further, in the second embodiment, the contents of the bin management information are displayed according to the instruction from the user, so that the execution of jobs is delayed or the mode is changed so that the sorting work is not required. Although the example in which the user is made to perform the processing such as changing has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and the printer 10 automatically performs the above processing so that the sorting work is not necessary. You may make it to. In this case, the job may not be executed and the paper may not be ejected in accordance with the instruction from the user. Therefore, the job execution status is notified to the user in response to an inquiry from the user. Preferably.

Further, in the above, an example in which the position of the paper 12 discharged to the paper discharge bin 84 is offset by inclining the peripheral surface of the roller 88 along the direction orthogonal to the paper conveying direction has been described. However, the offset may be performed by, for example, moving the position of the discharge bin 84 with respect to the main body of the printer 10 along a direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction.

Further, in the above description, an example in which the storage state of the paper 12 is changed by changing (offset) the position of the paper on the paper discharge bin 84 in the direction orthogonal to the paper discharge direction will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the position of the paper 12 on the paper discharge bin 84 along the paper discharge direction may be changed, or the edge of the paper 12 on the paper discharge bin 84 may be changed. It is needless to say that the orientation of the sheet or the orientation of the front and back of the sheet (in the case of single-sided printing) may be changed, or these may be combined to make the accommodation state different.

Further, although an example has been described above in which the discharge form determination means determines the discharge form based on the input job control information, the present invention is not limited to this, and the discharge mode can be set by the user. Instead of specifying, the sorter mode is set when multiple copies are instructed, and the mailbox mode is set when printing is requested by a specific user. The form may be determined and set.

In the above description, the user is allowed to specify the bin number as the discharge destination in the mailbox mode. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Instead of allowing the user to specify the bin number as the discharge destination. Alternatively, the discharge bin as the discharge destination may be determined based on the bin number set by default for each user or each group of users.

[0094]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, the discharge mode desired by the user is a sorter mode in which a plurality of sheets on which an image is recorded are separately discharged into a plurality of storage units. , It is determined whether the mode is a mailbox mode in which the sheet on which the image is recorded is discharged to a specific storage unit, and the sheet on which the image is recorded is discharged to the storage unit corresponding to the determined discharge mode, and on the storage unit. Since the state in which the sheets are accommodated in the sheet is controlled so as to be different depending on the discharge mode, it is possible to discharge the sheets so as to meet various user demands regarding sheet discharge, and at the time of sheet removal. It has an excellent effect that the burden on the user can be reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the storage state of the sheets on the storage section is controlled so as to be different for each print request source or for each job. Therefore, in addition to the above effects, there is an effect that the burden on the user when the paper is taken out from the storage unit can be further reduced.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the first or second aspect, whether or not the sheet is accommodated in each of the plurality of accommodating portions and the discharge form of the sheet accommodated in the accommodating portion is determined. In addition to the above effects, it is possible to further reduce the burden on the user when taking out the paper from the storage unit, since it is controlled whether or not the paper is discharged.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printer according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image supply unit.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a recording unit and a paper discharge bin.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are schematic views showing an example of a mechanism for offsetting the position of a sheet discharged to a discharge bin.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a data reception process.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a data analysis / printing process.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a data analysis process.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a printing process.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a recording unit and a paper discharge bin according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a discharge bin management process according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Printer 14 Recording Section 16 Image Supply Section 40 CPU 76 Printing Section 82 Print Output Control Section 84 Paper Ejection Bin 86 Paper Distribution Ejection Section 88 Conveying Roller

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Kenji Kawana, 3-7-1, Fuchu, Iwatsuki-shi, Saitama Prefecture Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd., Iwatsuki Plant (72) Ichiro Konno 3-7-1, Fuchu, Iwatsuki, Saitama Prefecture No. Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Iwatsuki Works (72) Inventor Seiichi Yoshinobu 3-7-1, Fuchu, Iwatsuki City, Saitama Prefecture Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Iwatsuki Works (72) Inventor, Yoshinori Gunji 3-7, Iwatsuki City, Saitama Prefecture No. 1 Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Iwatsuki Office

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A recording unit for recording an image on a sheet based on input data, a plurality of storage units for storing the sheet on which the image is recorded by the recording unit, and an image recorded by the recording unit. A discharging unit configured to discharge the formed sheet into a designated storage unit such that the storage state of the sheet on the storage unit is one of a plurality of visually distinguishable states; Determine whether the discharge mode being used is the sorter mode, in which multiple sheets of paper with images recorded are discharged into multiple storage units, or the mail box mode, in which the paper with images recorded is discharged into a specific storage unit. And a sheet on which an image has been recorded by the recording unit is discharged to a storage unit corresponding to the discharge mode determined by the discharge mode determination unit, and is placed on the storage unit. As accommodated state of the paper is different states for each discharge mode, the printing apparatus comprising, a discharge control means for controlling the discharge means. 2. The plurality of types of states are at least a position of a sheet on the storage unit along a sheet ejection direction or a direction intersecting the sheet ejection direction, a side direction of the sheet, and a front side and a back side of the sheet. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein any one of them is different from each other. 3. The discharge control means controls the discharge means such that the sheet storage state in the storage section is different for each print request source or for each job. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2. 4. A management unit is further provided for managing whether or not the paper is stored in each of the plurality of storage units, and in which discharge mode the paper stored in the storage unit is discharged. The printing device according to claim 1 or 2.