JP2005280944A - Finishing system and finishing device - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to prevent a print paper from being placed in an incorrect orientation when being placed on a finisher.
Printing apparatuses 104 and 105 that perform printing on printing paper, a finisher 103 that finishes printing paper printed by the printing apparatus, print information and finishing information for the printing apparatus and finisher, and printing paper to the finisher And a setting device 101 that generates job setting information including the placement direction information of the print paper, and the finisher includes a detection sensor that detects the placement direction of the placed print paper, It is confirmed whether or not the placement direction matches the placement direction of the print paper designated by the job setting information.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming means such as a copying machine and a printer connected to a network, a finisher for binding printed paper, etc., and a PC for setting the printing and finishing state of the image forming means and the finisher. The present invention relates to a network finishing system comprising job setting information generating means configured by software or the like. In particular, the present invention relates to a technique for detecting the loading direction and confirming consistency with job setting information when printing paper output by an image forming unit is loaded on a finisher.

  Conventionally, folding, binding, bookbinding, etc. are processed by a finisher that is connected to a copying machine or printer (hereinafter referred to as a copying machine) or is independently arranged on printing paper output by a copying machine or printer. And finishing. In recent years, as the network has spread to offices, the need for finishing network support has increased.

In addition, the applicant of the present application has proposed software that sets the final output state of a job so as to correspond to the functions of the printer and the finisher as much as possible (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-091384 A

  However, the networking of the finishing system has not yet progressed, and there is a disconnection between the printer and job setting software and the finisher.

  In particular, the most familiar problem is that when the print paper output by the printer is manually placed on the finisher, if it is placed in the wrong orientation, it is as set in the job setting software. It will not be finished.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to prevent the print paper from being placed in the wrong direction when being placed on the finisher.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a finishing system according to the present invention includes a printing unit that prints on a printing paper, a finisher that finishes the printing paper printed by the printing unit, and the printing And setting means for generating job setting information including print information and finishing information for the finisher and placement orientation information of the print paper on the finisher, and the finisher It is characterized by comprising a detecting means for detecting the loading direction, and confirming whether or not the loading direction of the loaded printing paper matches the loading direction of the printing paper instructed by the job setting information. To do.

  In the finishing system according to the present invention, a non-contact information transmission medium is disposed on the print paper, and the detection means has a function of receiving information on the non-contact information transmission medium.

  In the finishing system according to the present invention, the non-contact information transmission medium transmits information by radio wave communication.

  In the finishing system according to the present invention, the non-contact information transmission medium transmits unique serial number information.

  In the finishing system according to the present invention, the non-contact information transmission medium is an RFID chip.

  In the finishing system according to the present invention, the non-contact information transmission medium optically transmits information.

  In the finishing system according to the present invention, the non-contact information transmission medium is a bar code.

  In the finishing system according to the present invention, the non-contact information transmission medium is arranged at substantially both ends on a diagonal line of the rectangular print paper.

  In the finishing system according to the present invention, the detection means is arranged at two places on the print paper placement portion of the finisher.

  In the finishing system according to the present invention, the finisher does not match the placement direction of the printed paper placed by the detection means with the placement direction of the printed paper instructed by the job setting information. When this is detected, it is further provided with a notifying means for notifying that effect.

  In the finishing system according to the present invention, the finisher does not match the placement direction of the printed paper placed by the detection means with the placement direction of the printed paper instructed by the job setting information. When it is detected, there is further provided an instruction means for instructing the user of the correction direction of the print paper placement direction.

  Further, the finishing apparatus according to the present invention includes a finishing means for finishing the print paper, a reference means for referring to job setting information including information on the placement direction of the print paper on the finishing means, and a print on the finishing means. Detection means for detecting the paper placement direction, and whether the print paper placement direction detected by the detection means matches the print paper placement direction indicated by the placement direction information included in the job setting information Discriminating means for discriminating whether or not.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the print paper from being placed in the wrong direction when being placed on the finisher.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the overall configuration of the network finishing system of the present embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, as a non-contact information medium, an RFID chip (Radio Frequency IDentification) (for example, a mu chip (registered trademark), which is an IC chip that performs proximity communication of a unique serial number by radio waves as a non-contact information medium in order to detect the orientation of print paper Hitachi, Ltd.)).

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a PC (personal computer), which sets print and finishing states such as the number of prints of a job, the number of pages, binding and folding.

  Job setting information is created as follows by the job setting information creation software installed in the PC 101. In this embodiment, it is assumed that settings are made to obtain a finished 10-side duplex printed material. It is assumed that the first page is color page printing, the second page is blank, the third to 102nd pages are printed in black and white, and the left edge of the printed paper is stapled at two places.

  The color copier 104 prints a color image on the A4 paper as the cover, and this is the first page. The back side of this paper is left blank, which is the second page. When the discharge tray (not shown) of the color copier 104 is on the left side of the machine, the first page is oriented so that the front side is the bottom of the document and the back side is the top of the document, and the first page is the bottom The paper is discharged so that the second page faces upward. Since 10 copies are set, printing is performed on 10 sheets of paper and the paper is discharged.

  The position of the RFID chip attached to the print paper is discharged so that μ1 is located at the back right side and μ2 is located at the left front side when viewed from the front side of the copying machine. The black and white copying machine 105 prints the images from the third page to the 102nd page on both sides of 50 sheets of paper. The paper is discharged so that the third page is facing down and the 102nd page is facing upward, and this is set as one set, and a total of 500 sheets corresponding to 10 copies are discharged. In the discharged state, the RFID chip is discharged such that the back right side is μ1 and the left front side is μ2 when viewed from the front side of the copier.

  Based on the job setting information, the server 102 is placed such that the print paper bundle 201 output from the color copier 104 is placed on the finisher bin so that the right back is μ1 and the left front is μ2. Recognize that there is one copy per copy. Further, the server 102 is placed so that the print paper bundle 202 output from the black and white copying machine 105 is placed on the finisher bin based on the job setting information so that the right back is μ1 and the left front is μ2. The number of sheets is recognized as 50 per copy. Further, the server 102 is based on the job setting information, the first page and the second page are the cover pages of the color pages, the third page to the 102nd page are black and white pages, and is stapled at two places at the left end portion. Recognize 10 copies.

  A unique number is stored in the RFID chip, and based on the number read from the RFID chip, it is possible to determine which paper bundle is a color page or a monochrome page.

  The job setting information as described above is created, and the job setting information is stored in the server 102.

  A copier 104 having a color print function prints and outputs a color page of a job. Reference numeral 105 denotes a copying machine having a monochrome printing function. A finisher 103 has a function of folding and binding paper printed by a copying machine. The PC 101, server 102, finisher 103, and copying machines 104 and 105 are connected via a LAN. Based on the job setting information, color page print paper is output from the color copier 104 and monochrome page print paper is output from the black and white copier 105.

  Color copiers tend to be expensive and slow per print, and black and white copiers tend to be cheap and fast per print. Therefore, when a printed output is finished and completed, it is often used that only a cover page or an illustration page is printed in color, and the others are printed in black and white.

  Also, in this embodiment, the configuration is provided with one copying machine for each of black and white and color, but it is convenient and necessary to prepare another copying machine, for example, when inserting Z-folded pages. Depending on the combination, the combination is arbitrary. The important point is to manage the job setting information without getting which page is printed on which copier.

  In this embodiment, the finisher is configured as a stand-alone, but may be combined with a copying machine.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which print paper is placed on the finisher.

  Reference numeral 201 denotes a print paper output from the color copying machine 104 placed in a bundle on the uppermost bin of the finisher 103. Reference numeral 202 denotes a print paper output from the black-and-white copier 104 placed in a second stage bin in a bundled state. The third bin is empty.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state where finishing is completed. 203 is a finishing output, and the finisher 103 refers to the job setting information stored on the server 102 via the network, executes the finishing, and combines the color output paper 201 and the monochrome output paper 202 together. The finishing is completed according to the job setting information.

  FIG. 4 is a plan view of the finisher 103 as viewed from above.

  As shown in the figure, the printed paper is placed in contact with the paper, and is sandwiched and held by paper holders 303 and 304. This is performed for each bin of each stage.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a mechanism for detecting the orientation of the print paper.

  The sheet presser 303 includes a first sensor 301 that reads information from the RFID chip at the position shown in the figure.

  The sheet presser 304 includes a second sensor 302 that reads information from the RFID chip at the position shown in the figure.

  In addition, two RFID chips μ1 and μ2 are arranged on the diagonal side of the paper on the side of the printed paper. Note that the RFID chip does not need to be arranged on all printed papers. In this embodiment, only one RFID chip is arranged as information paper on either the uppermost paper or the lowermost paper. I put paper. That is, the color copying machine 104 and the monochrome copying machine 105 have a function of automatically feeding a sheet on which an RFID chip is arranged from one sheet cassette, and an information sheet is attached in advance.

  Now, a mechanism for detecting the orientation of a sheet will be described with reference to FIG.

The sensitivity is set so that the RFID chips μ1 and μ2 and the first sensor 301 and the second sensor 302 react when close to each other.
In the direction (a), the first sensor 301 reacts to μ1.
In the direction (b), the second sensor 302 reacts to μ2.
In the direction (c), the first sensor 301 reacts to μ2.
In the direction (d), the second sensor 302 reacts to μ1.

  The distinction between μ1 and μ2 is possible because each RFID chip has unique 128-bit numeric information in which the same number does not exist. In this way, information on the paper orientation can be detected.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of confirming the paper loading direction.

  In step S 101, the print sheets 201 and 202 are manually placed on the finisher 103.

  In step S102, the job setting information on the network stored in the server 102 is referred to.

  In step S103, the print paper placement direction is detected as described with reference to FIG.

  In step S104, it is determined whether the job setting information referred in step S102 matches the print paper placement direction detected in step S103.

  As described above, according to the job setting information managed by the server, the state in which the stack of papers should be placed in the bin of the finisher 103 is managed in the orientations (a) to (d). It is set to be in the direction (a).

  In FIG. 5, when the paper bundle is placed in a state where the sensor 1 and μ1 are close to each other, that is, in the direction (a), it is determined that the paper bundle matches the job setting information described above. When the paper bundle is placed in the direction (b), the paper bundle needs to be rotated 90 degrees clockwise, and when it is placed in the direction (c), it is rotated 180 degrees clockwise. It is determined that it is necessary to rotate 270 degrees clockwise when it is placed in the direction (d).

  As a result, if they match, the process proceeds to step S108 and ends.

  On the other hand, if not, the process proceeds to step S105.

  In step S105, the fact that no print paper is loaded according to the job setting information is displayed on an operation unit (not shown) of the finisher 103.

  In step S106, a rotation placement work instruction indicating which orientation is to be matched with the job setting information is displayed on an operation unit (not shown) of the finisher 103.

  In step S107, the user manually rotates the print paper according to the instruction displayed in step S106.

  Thereafter, the process returns to step S103.

  With the above operation, this flow ends when the orientation of the print paper detected in step S103 matches the job setting information referred to in step S102.

  In the above flow, the display is displayed on the operation unit (not shown) of the finisher, but it is more convenient if it is displayed on the PC 101 in addition.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the entire system.

  In step S201, job setting information is created by the PC 101.

  In step S202, the color copying machine 104 and the monochrome copying machine 105 perform printing, and print paper is output.

  In step S203, the print paper printed in step S202 is manually placed on the finisher 203.

  In step S204, the placement direction matches the job setting information in accordance with the flowchart described in FIG.

  In step S205, the print paper is taken from the bin into the finisher, and finishing is executed according to the job setting information.

  In step S206, the process ends.

  By the operation of the above flowchart, the desired finishing is executed according to the job setting information without any error in the orientation of the print paper.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the RFID chip that performs radio wave communication is used as the non-contact information medium. However, an optical information medium such as a barcode may be used separately. The purpose is to make the job setting information on the network coincide with the placement direction of the print sheets 201 and 202 placed on the finisher 103.

  As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, when the print paper output by the printer is placed on the finisher, the situation in which the print paper is placed upside down and left and right is referred to as job setting information on the network. It is possible to provide a network finishing system which can be prevented by checking whether they match, and can be reliably finished in a state set by the job setting software.

It is a figure explaining the whole network finishing system composition of an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure explaining the state which mounted the print paper in the finisher. It is a figure explaining the state which finished finishing. It is the top view which looked at the finisher from the top. It is a figure explaining the mechanism which detects the direction of print paper. It is a flowchart explaining the operation | movement which confirms mounting direction. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of the whole finishing system.

Explanation of symbols

101 PC
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 102 Server 103 Finisher 104,105 Copy machine 201 Color output paper 202 Black-and-white output paper 203 Finishing output product 303,304 Paper suppression 301 1st sensor 302 2nd sensor μ1, μ2 RFID chip

Claims (12)

Printing means for printing on printed paper;
A finisher for finishing the printed paper printed by the printing means;
Print information and finishing information for the finisher, and setting means for generating job setting information including print paper placement direction information on the finisher,
The finisher includes a detecting unit that detects a placement direction of the placed print paper, and the placement direction of the placed print paper matches the placement direction of the print paper instructed by the job setting information. A finishing system characterized by confirming whether or not to perform.   The finishing system according to claim 1, wherein a non-contact information transmission medium is disposed on the print paper, and the detection unit has a function of receiving information on the non-contact information transmission medium.   The finishing system according to claim 2, wherein the non-contact information transmission medium transmits information by radio wave communication.   The finishing system according to claim 3, wherein the non-contact information transmission medium transmits unique serial number information.   The finishing system according to claim 4, wherein the non-contact information transmission medium is an RFID chip.   The finishing system according to claim 2, wherein the non-contact information transmission medium optically transmits information.   The finishing system according to claim 6, wherein the non-contact information transmission medium is a bar code.   The finishing system according to claim 2, wherein the non-contact information transmission medium is disposed at substantially both ends on a diagonal line of the rectangular print paper.   The finishing system according to claim 2, wherein the detection unit is arranged at two places on the print paper placing portion of the finisher.   If the finisher detects that the placement direction of the placed print paper does not match the placement direction of the print paper instructed by the job setting information, the finisher The finishing system according to claim 1, further comprising an informing unit for informing the user.   The finisher detects the print paper when the detection unit detects that the placement direction of the placed print paper does not coincide with the placement direction of the print paper instructed by the job setting information. The finishing system according to claim 1, further comprising instruction means for instructing a user of a correction direction of the mounting direction. Finishing means for finishing printed paper;
A reference means for referring to job setting information including information on the orientation of the print paper on the finishing means;
Detecting means for detecting the placement direction of the print paper on the finishing means;
A discriminating unit that discriminates whether or not the placement direction of the print paper detected by the detection unit coincides with the placement direction of the print paper indicated by the placement direction information included in the job setting information;
A finishing apparatus comprising:

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