JPS63154547A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate test printing operation by permitting a paper feeding device in which paper sheets are present to be automaticaly selected according to the priority order which a controller determines previously for a plurality of paper feeding devices and carrying out test printing immediately after switching to the off-line operation. CONSTITUTION:When operation is switched from on-line to off-line, the presence of paper sheets is detected by a detecting means for an upper cassette 7, and if paper sheets are present, the cassette 7 is selected, and if paper sheets are not present, a lower cassette 8 is searched, and if paper sheets are present, the cassette 8 is selected. When paper sheets are not present in the cassette 8, a larger quantity paper feeding unit LCIT2 is searched, and if paper sheets are present, the LCIT2 is selected. If paper sheets are not present in the LCIT2, the tray of a duplex machine 3 is searched, and if paper sheets are present, the duplex machine 3 is selected, and if paper sheets are not present, it is judged that paper sheets are not present in all the paper feeding devices, and the paper feeding position is not changed. When all the paper sheet feeding devices are full of paper sheets, test printing is carried out for the paper feeding device having the higher priority order, and if paper sheets are present in the paper feeding device to be tested, the paper feeding device full of paper sheets can be automatically selected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to a printer, specifically a printer having a plurality of paper feeding devices,
The present invention relates to a printer that can be connected to a recording device such as a computer.

2. Description of the Related Art It is already known to use a printer having multiple paper feed devices connected to a recording device such as a computer. When it comes to printers, there are times when you want to make a test print. Normally, a printer connected to a recording device is operated online based on information from the recording device.

A test print +-S function is usually provided to test the printing status of the printer, but it can be operated in an offline state. Therefore, when making a test print, you can switch from online to offline. In this case, the paper feed device remains in the online state, so if you want to load paper only into the paper feed device you want to test print, use the paper feed position changeover switch etc. to change the paper feed position to the paper feed position you want to test print. If you do not switch, you will not be able to perform a test print. Therefore, when switching from online to offline, it is necessary to switch to an available paper feeding device. This is time-consuming, and there is a problem that a test print of a predetermined paper feeding device may not be possible due to an operational error.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a printer that can perform test printing immediately after being switched online.

The present invention has achieved the above object by providing a recording apparatus which includes a plurality of paper feeding devices each having a detection means for detecting the presence or absence of paper, a control device having an online/offline switching means, and a paper feeding position switching means. A printer that can be electrically connected to a main body, characterized in that the control device has a control circuit that selects a paper feeding device having paper according to a predetermined priority among a plurality of paper feeding devices. Achieved.

The structure and operation of the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

In the first E, the system controller unit 1 is provided with a mass paper feed unit 2, and a duplex unit 3 for circulating recording paper is placed above the system controller unit 1.
is arranged, and a printer body 4 is placed on top of the duplex unit 3.
A reversing machine 5 for reversing the paper discharged from the printer main body 4 and sending it to the duplex unit 3 is arranged. The reversing machine 5 has a path for ejecting the sheet on which a recorded image has been formed and transferred and fixed as it is to a sorter 6 or a paper discharge tray, and a reversing path for reversing the sheet and sending it to the duplex unit 3 from the rear end.

In the duplex unit 3, a circulation path is formed in which the paper sent from the printer main body 4 through the reversing machine 5 is once docked and then fed back to the printer main body 3.

When it is desired to print on both sides of a sheet of paper, the sheet sent out from the printer main body 4 is reversed in the reversing machine 5 and fed to the image forming position of the printer main body 4 through the circulation path of the duplex unit 3.

When it is desired to write twice on one side of a sheet of paper, the sheet sent out from the printer main body 4 is fed to the image forming position of the printer main body 4 through the circulation path of the duplex unit 3 without being reversed in the reversing machine 5.

The sheets with double-sided printing or double writing are discharged to a sorter 6 through a reversing machine 5, sorted by destination, and stocked.

The system controller provided in the system controller unit 1 is connected to the host computer as shown in FIG. and is connected to. The system controller is configured to control the timing of paper passage between each device.

A control section of the printer main body 4 is connected to an operation display section and various sensors.

The printer main body 4 is provided with an upper cassette paper feed section 7 and a lower cassette paper feed section 8. Paper can be fed from either the bulk paper feed unit 2 or the upper and lower cassette paper feed sections 7 and 8 according to commands from the system controller. It is papered.

An example of the operation display section of the printer main body 4 is as shown in FIG.
2, a jam reset switch 13, a sound select switch 14, a agent exchange switch 15, etc. are provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, the paper feed position changeover switch 9 has indicator lights 9a, 9b, and 9C corresponding to the respective paper feed positions. Each press of the switch 9 changes the paper feed position. For example, to select the upper cassette paper feed section, press the switch once and select the position shown in Figure 4 (
The indicator light 9a lights up as shown in A), and to select the lower cassette paper feed section, press twice and the indicator light 9b lights up as shown in FIG. 4(B), selecting the bulk paper feed unit. To do so, press the button three times to turn on the indicator light 9c as shown in Figure 4(c).
lights up. When printing on paper stocked in the duplex unit 3 by double-sided printing or double writing, all indicator lights 9a, 9b, and 9c are turned off as shown in the fourth diagram. Of course, it is also possible to provide individual switches at each paper feeding position.

Test lint switch 10 allows service personnel and operators to check paper passing and image checking.
is provided. To perform a test print, turn on the test print switch 10, and manually select the paper feed position at which you want to perform the test print out of multiple paper feed positions, for example, the three locations shown in the figure, using the paper feed position changeover switch 9 as shown in Figure 4. select.

The operation display section is provided with an online switch 11 for switching between online and offline states, and the online switch 11 has a switch section 11a and an indicator light 11b, such as an LED. Each time the switch part 11a is pressed, the mode is alternately switched between offline (indicator lamp 11b is off) (FIG. 5A) and online (indicator lamp 11b is on) (FIG. 5B).

The offline switch 11 is an indicator light 11b shown in FIG. 5A.
A test print can be executed by turning off the light and pressing the test print switch 10.

As shown in FIG. 6, each paper feeding device is provided with a detection means (sensor) 16 for detecting the presence or absence of paper, and when a filler 17 in contact with the paper is present, the sensor is in a solid line state. When the paper runs out, it is inserted into the sensor 16 as shown by the broken line, and the sensor, for example, a photo ink converter, is connected.

The printer control section can manage each switch, display member, sensor signal, etc., and an example of the control flow is as shown in FIG.

When the power is turned on (step 1), upper cursor is selected as the default rule (step 2).
, is set online (step 3).

When the online switch 11 is pressed (step 4), it is established whether or not it is online (step 5), and if it is currently offline it is set to online (step 6), and if it is currently online it is set to offline (step 7). .

When going from online to offline, the detection means 16 of the upper cassette 7 determines whether or not a signal is being output, that is, whether it is the signal of the upper cassette (step 8).
, if present, the upper cassette is selected (step 9)
. If the upper cassette is out of paper, it is determined whether or not the lower cassette 8 is paper-filled (step 10); if it is paper-filled, the lower cassette is selected (step 11). If there is no paper in the lower cassette, the large quantity paper feed unit (LCIT) 2 determines whether there is paper or not (Step 12), the LCI
If T has paper, LCIT is selected (step 13).

If the LCIT is out of paper, it determines whether there is paper in the tray of the duplex unit (duplex machine) 3 (step 14),
If it is available, a double-sided machine is selected (step 15).

If there is no paper, it means that there is no paper in all paper feeding devices, and the paper feeding position does not change.

As described above, the paper feeder with paper is found in the order of upper cassette, lower cassette, LCIT, and duplexer, and the paper feeder with paper is automatically selected. The order of selection of each paper feeding device can be set appropriately using the above example as an example, so that paper feeding devices with a higher priority can be selected.

If paper is loaded into all paper feeders, the test print will be performed on the paper feeder with the highest priority.
If paper is loaded only into the paper feeder that you want to test, the paper feeder containing paper will be automatically selected as the paper feeder for the test print.

According to the present invention, if a paper feeder is selected to receive paper for test printing and paper from other paper feeders is removed, the paper feeder automatically performs test printing by switching from online to offline. is selected, eliminating the need to manually switch the paper feed device. Therefore, the test print operation becomes very easy and the work becomes more reliable.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an overall schematic diagram of the printer, Fig. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the control section, Fig. 3 is a plan view of an example of the operation display section of the device according to the present invention, and Fig. 4 is a plan view of the paper feed position changeover switch. In the figure, A, B, C, and D show the respective switching states. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the online switch, and A and B show the respective switching states. Fig. 6 shows the paper detection of the paper feeder. A schematic representation of an example of means;
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the flow of control. 4...Printer body 9...Paper feeder selection switch 10...Test print switch 11...Online switch No. (A) (B), Fig. 5 (A) (B) Fig. 4 (C) ) (D) Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] A plurality of paper feeding devices each having a detection means for detecting the presence or absence of paper, a control device having an online/offline switching means and a paper feeding position switching means, and electrically connected to the main body of the recording apparatus. 1. A printer in which the control device has a control circuit that selects a paper feeding device having paper according to a predetermined priority order from a plurality of paper feeding devices.