JP3208233B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing device such as a laser printer, a facsimile, a digital copier, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, within the maximum width that can be conveyed, sheets of the same size are transported in the vertical direction with the longitudinal direction coincident with the transverse direction with the lateral direction coincident with the transport direction, for each paper size. A plurality of stored paper cassettes are mounted, and a paper cassette corresponding to the paper size of the print data is selected from among the paper cassettes according to an instruction from the print control device or an instruction from the panel from the user, and the selected paper cassette is selected. Printing devices such as a laser printer, a facsimile, and a digital copying machine that convey paper stored in a paper feed cassette and print print data are generally known.

In such a printing apparatus, transporting paper in a horizontal direction is shorter than transporting the paper in a vertical direction. Therefore, paper other than paper having a paper width exceeding the maximum transportable width in the printing apparatus is required. When printing is performed in the horizontal direction, printing in one job (print processing) can be performed more efficiently.

[0004]

However, in the conventional printing apparatus as described above, when the print data in one job consists of a plurality of paper sizes, the paper is transferred from a paper cassette for each paper size in the vertical direction. Alternatively, any paper that can be conveyed in the same horizontal direction may be used.However, when both a paper cassette that is set vertically and a paper cassette that is set horizontally are installed, the paper is discharged after printing. The direction of the paper output to the paper tray may be mixed in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and in such a case, there is a problem that the work of aligning the printed paper becomes complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and a printing apparatus capable of transporting and printing a sheet of the same size for each of various paper sizes in either a vertical direction or a horizontal direction. The purpose of the present invention is to make the direction of the printed and discharged paper uniform.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a printing apparatus according to the present invention is arranged so that a sheet of the same size is transported in the longitudinal direction with respect to the transport direction within the maximum transportable width for each of various paper sizes. A plurality of paper cassettes housed in the horizontal direction with the matched vertical and short directions are installed, and a paper cassette according to the paper size of the print data is selected from among the paper cassettes. The printing apparatus includes a selection unit, a conveyance unit that conveys a sheet stored in the sheet cassette selected by the unit, and a printing unit that prints print data on the sheet conveyed by the unit.

When the print data in one job is composed of a plurality of paper sizes, it is determined whether or not there is a paper size in each of the paper sizes whose longitudinal size is larger than the maximum width that can be carried by the carrying means. Means for determining the paper feed cassette containing paper vertically when the determination is made by the means, and a paper cassette containing paper horizontally when the paper is determined not to be provided. A means for making the selecting means select is provided.

Alternatively, the number of paper cassettes in which the paper is stored vertically and the number of paper cassettes which are stored in the horizontal direction among the mounted paper cassettes are compared, and the number is large. A means may be provided for causing the selection means to select one of the paper feed cassettes. Further, when the print data in one job has the same paper size, it is preferable to provide a means for allowing the selection means to select a paper cassette in which paper is stored in the horizontal direction.

[0009]

In the printing apparatus according to the present invention, when print data in one job is composed of a plurality of paper sizes, a paper size whose longitudinal size is larger than the maximum width that can be carried by the carrying means is included in each paper size. It is determined whether or not there is a paper cassette. When it is determined that there is paper, a paper cassette in which paper is stored vertically is selected. When it is determined that paper is not stored, a paper cassette in which paper is stored horizontally is selected. When the print data in one job contains a paper size larger than the maximum width that can be conveyed by the conveyance means, all paper of each paper size is conveyed in the vertical direction and printed and ejected. And print and eject.
Therefore, the directions of the sheets to be discharged are aligned.

Further, the number of the paper cassettes in which the sheets are stored vertically and the number of the paper cassettes which are stored in the horizontal direction among the mounted paper cassettes are compared. If the number of paper cassettes that store paper in the vertical direction is greater than the number of paper cassettes that store in the horizontal direction, all paper of each paper size is transported vertically and printed and discharged. However, if the number of paper cassettes that store paper in the horizontal direction is larger than the number of paper cassettes that store in the vertical direction, all paper of each paper size is conveyed in the horizontal direction, printed, and discharged. The orientation of the paper to be printed is aligned.

Further, when the print data in one job has the same paper size, a paper cassette in which the paper is stored in the horizontal direction is selected so that the print of the same paper size in one job is performed. Data is conveyed in the horizontal direction, printed, and discharged, whereby the direction of the discharged paper can be aligned and the printing speed can be increased.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a laser printer which is a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and includes a printer controller (printer control apparatus) 1, an engine 2, a panel apparatus 3, a host apparatus 4, and a sheet cassette group 5. Consists of

The engine 2 mounts the paper cassette 5 and receives a paper cassette selection command, and in accordance with the command, selects one of the paper cassettes in the paper cassette 5 according to the paper size of the print data. The selected paper cassette is selected, the paper stored in the selected paper cassette is transported, and print data is printed on the transported paper.

The panel device 3 informs the user of the current status of the printer and gives a mode instruction. The host device 4 is a host device of the laser printer. The paper feed cassette group 5 is configured such that, within the maximum width that can be conveyed, paper of the same size is transported in the vertical direction in which the longitudinal direction is aligned with the transport direction and the lateral direction in which the short direction is aligned with the transport direction, for each paper size These are a plurality of stored paper cassettes.

The printer controller 1 includes a CPU 6, a program ROM 7, a font ROM 8, a RAM 9, an NV
RAM 10, IC card 11, engine interface (hereinafter, "interface" is abbreviated as "I / F")
12, a panel I / F 13 and a host I / F 14.

The CPU 6 is a central processing unit that controls the entire printer controller 1 according to a program in the program ROM 7, a mode instruction from the panel device 3, and a command from the host device (host computer) 4.

When a paper size selection command and print data are received from the host device 4, when the print data in one job includes a plurality of paper sizes, the longitudinal size of each paper size is conveyed by the engine 2. It is determined whether or not there is a paper size larger than the maximum possible width. If it is determined that the paper size is larger than the maximum width, the engine 2 selects a paper cassette in the paper cassette group 5 which stores the paper in the vertical direction. ,
When it is determined that there is no sheet, the engine 2 selects the sheet cassette in which the sheets in the sheet cassette group 5 are stored in the horizontal direction.

Alternatively, the number of paper cassettes in each of the paper cassettes in the paper cassette group 5 that are stored in the vertical direction and the number of paper cassettes that are stored in the horizontal direction are compared. The engine 2 selects the paper cassette. Further, when the print data in one job has the same paper size, the engine 2 may be configured to select a paper cassette in which the paper in the paper cassette group 5 is stored in the horizontal direction.

The program ROM 7 is a read-only memory that stores a control program for the printer controller 1 and a processing program for selecting a sheet cassette according to the present invention. The font ROM 8 is a read-only memory for storing font pattern data and the like.

The RAM 9 is a work memory for the CPU 6,
An input buffer (input buffer) for storing input data, a transport direction flag indicating a sheet cassette to be used, a frame buffer for storing print data, a random file used for a font file for storing download fonts, and the like. Access memory.

The NVRAM 10 is a non-volatile memory for storing the contents of a mode instruction from the panel device 3 and the like. The IC card 11 is a removable memory card used to supply font data and programs from the outside. The engine I / F 12 is an interface for communicating commands, statuses, and print data with the engine 2 that actually performs printing.

The panel I / F 13 is an interface for communicating commands and status with the panel device 3. The host I / F 14 is an interface that communicates with the host device 4, and is usually a Centronics I / F or RS233C.

With this configuration, the printer controller 1 receives various commands such as a paper cassette selection command and print data from the host device 4 via the host I / F 14 and temporarily stores them in the input buffer of the RAM 9. To be stored. Then, data is taken out from the RAM 9, command processing and page creation in the page buffer are performed, the data is developed in the frame buffer of the RAM 9 as a bit map, and transmitted to the engine 2 via the engine I / F 12.

Next, a process of selecting a paper feed cassette in the laser printer will be described. (1) Processing for selecting a paper cassette in which sheets to be used are stored in accordance with the presence / absence of print data having a paper size exceeding the maximum transportable width in one job

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the processing at that time. First, data (including print data and commands) is extracted from the input buffer, and it is determined whether or not the transport direction designation flag has been set. Since the transport direction designation flag has not been set at first, the paper size in one job in the input buffer is selected. Examine the command.

It is determined whether or not any of the paper sizes specified by the paper size selection command has a size in the longitudinal direction larger than the maximum transport width of the laser printer. Is set in the vertical direction, and if not, the paper transport direction designation flag is set in the horizontal direction.

Thereafter, page data is created in the page buffer, it is determined whether page data for one page is completed, and data is sequentially taken out from the input buffer until completion, and the creation of page data is continued. When completed, the page data is developed in the frame buffer, and a paper cassette selection command determined in accordance with the paper size selection command and the transport direction designation flag and the data in the frame buffer are sent to the engine.

Further, it is determined whether or not one job has been completed, and if not completed, the process returns to the first processing, data is again taken out from the input buffer, and it is determined whether or not the transfer designation direction flag has been set. Since the transport direction designation flag has already been set in the vertical or horizontal direction this time,
The process directly proceeds to the process of creating page data in the page buffer.

Then, the page data is completed, and a paper cassette selection command determined in accordance with the paper size selection command and the transport direction designation flag and the data of the frame buffer are sent to the engine. After the transport direction designation flag is set in this way, the page data in one job and the paper feed cassette selection command are sent to the engine for each page, and when all the data for one job are sent to the engine, this processing is performed. To end.

For example, in this laser printer, A
The length of the 3-size sheet in the longitudinal direction exceeds the maximum width that can be conveyed, and the A3-size sheet cannot be physically conveyed in the horizontal direction. Only the stored vertical paper cassette is installed, and for paper of B4 or smaller size, the vertical paper cassette stored vertically in the transport direction and the horizontal paper cassette stored horizontally The case where the camera is mounted will be described.

When printing of one job consisting of A3 size and A4 size print data is instructed, as shown in FIG. 3A, A3 size paper is transferred in the transport direction with respect to A3 size print data. The paper is conveyed from the paper cassette which is stored vertically, and printing is performed. A4 size print data is also stored vertically in the conveyance direction as shown in FIG. The paper is conveyed from the fed paper cassette and printed.

As described above, when print data exceeding the maximum transportable width is included, all the print data is printed for each size by using the paper transported in the vertical direction with respect to the transport direction. The direction of each sheet discharged after printing can be all aligned in the vertical direction.

In printing one job specified to the laser printer, A3 is included in the print data.
If there is no B4 size and all B4 size or smaller, for example, for A4 size print data, as shown in FIG. The paper is transported from the paper cassette stored in the direction and printed. Further, for print data of other sizes, the paper is similarly conveyed from a paper cassette in which the paper is stored in the horizontal direction and printed.

As described above, when print data exceeding the maximum transportable width is not included, all print data is printed for each size on paper conveyed transversely to the conveyance direction, thereby achieving printing. Such time can be reduced.

(2) Processing for Selecting a Paper Cassette Containing Paper to be Used According to the Type of Paper Cassette Installed FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing at that time. First, data (including print data and commands) is extracted from the input buffer, and it is determined whether or not the transport direction designation flag has been set. Check the number of cassettes.

By examining the number of paper feed cassettes, it is found that the number of vertical paper feed cassettes in which the paper is stored in the longitudinal direction in the transport direction and the paper is stored in the transverse direction in the transport direction. The number of horizontal paper cassettes is counted, and it is determined whether the number of vertical paper cassettes is greater than the number of horizontal paper cassettes. If so, the transport direction designation flag is set in the vertical direction. If not, set the transport direction designation flag in the horizontal direction.

Thereafter, page data is created in the page buffer, it is determined whether page data for one page is completed, and data is sequentially taken out from the input buffer until the page data is completed, and creation of page data is continued. When completed, the page data is developed in the frame buffer, and a paper cassette selection command determined in accordance with the paper size selection command and the transport direction designation flag and the data in the frame buffer are sent to the engine.

Further, it is determined whether or not one job has been completed, and if not completed, the process returns to the first processing, data is again taken out from the input buffer, and it is determined whether or not the transfer designation direction flag has been set. Since the transport direction designation flag has already been set in the vertical or horizontal direction this time,
The process directly proceeds to the process of creating page data in the page buffer.

Then, the page data is completed, and a paper feed cassette selection command determined in accordance with the paper size selection command and the transport direction designation flag and the data of the frame buffer are sent to the engine. After the transport direction designation flag is set in this way, the page data in one job and the paper feed cassette selection command are sent to the engine for each page, and when all the data for one job are sent to the engine, this processing is performed. To end.

For example, in this laser printer, a vertical paper cassette is mounted for A4 size paper, and a vertical paper cassette and a horizontal paper cassette are mounted for A5 paper. Will be described.

When printing of one job consisting of A4 size and A5 size print data is instructed, the laser printer has one vertical paper cassette and one horizontal paper cassette. Since the number of horizontal paper feed cassettes is larger, the transport direction designation flag is set in the horizontal direction.

Both the A4 size print data and the A5 size print data are conveyed from the vertical paper cassette and printed. Therefore, each sheet printed by this job is ejected in both the A4 size and the A5 size in the vertical direction.

In this way, the number of paper feed cassettes mounted on the laser printer is investigated, and the larger of the paper feed cassette in which paper is stored in the vertical direction and the paper feed cassette in which the paper is stored in the horizontal direction, By selecting one of the paper feed cassettes, it is possible to align all the paper sheets discharged after printing in either the vertical or horizontal direction.

If there is no print data of a paper size exceeding the maximum width that can be conveyed in one job, this processing is performed by selecting the larger one of the number of paper feed cassettes in the vertical or horizontal direction. The direction of each sheet discharged after printing can be aligned either vertically or horizontally.
If there is print data of a paper size exceeding the maximum width that can be conveyed in the job, select the paper feed cassette in the vertical direction at most with the number of paper feed cassettes in the horizontal direction, and select each paper output after printing. Align the paper orientation vertically.

(3) When print data in one job has the same paper size, a process of selecting a paper feed cassette in the horizontal direction in which the short side of the paper is made to coincide with the transport direction, for example, (1) ) Or (2), if the transport direction designation flag is set in the vertical direction, the next printing is instructed. If the A3 size print data is not included in the one job, the The vertical transport direction designation flag set in the horizontal direction is reset in the horizontal direction, and the paper is transported and printed from the paper cassette stored in the horizontal direction that matches the short side direction with the transport direction. . Therefore, the printing speed can be increased by transporting the paper in the horizontal direction.

That is, 1 including A3 size print data
After the printing of the job is completed, if the printing of the next one job newly occurs, when the print data in the one job has the same size, for example, when each print data has the A4 size, the first job The transport direction designation flag of the loaded paper is reset from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction, and the A4 size print data is transferred from the paper cassette in which the A4 size paper is stored in the transverse direction with respect to the transport direction. And print it.

In this way, when jobs are generated one after another, and when there is print data exceeding the maximum transportable width in each job, the paper is transported from the vertical paper cassette and printed. Make sure that the orientation of each sheet discharged after printing is aligned vertically.If there is no print data exceeding the maximum transportable width in each job and the print data has the same paper size, remove the paper from the horizontal paper cassette. By shortening the transport distance by transporting and printing, the switching can be automatically performed so as to shorten the time required for printing.

As described above, according to the laser printer of this embodiment, in the case of data having a plurality of paper sizes in one job, the printed paper is conveyed in one of the vertical and horizontal directions. Since the printed sheets are ejected after printing, all the ejected sheets are aligned in the vertical or horizontal direction, so that the complicated work of aligning the printed sheets can be reduced, and the sheets can be easily arranged.

Further, since the direction of each sheet discharged after printing is aligned in the same direction, when the printing direction of data such as characters printed on each sheet is the same, the information printed on each sheet becomes easy to see. . Further, in the case where print jobs are performed one after another, when the print data in one job has the same paper size, the printing speed can be increased by transporting the paper horizontally.

[0050]

As described above, according to the printing apparatus of the present invention, even when the print data in one job is composed of a plurality of paper sizes, all the papers to be discharged after printing are irrespective of the paper size. It can be aligned either vertically or horizontally. Further, when the paper size of the print data in one job is the same, if the paper is conveyed from a paper cassette which is stored transversely with respect to the conveyance direction, and is printed and discharged, the printing speed is reduced. Can be faster.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a process of selecting a paper feed cassette according to the paper size of print data when print data in one job has a plurality of paper sizes in the laser printer of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a laser printer showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a transport direction of A3 size and A4 size paper in the laser printer of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows a case in which the print data in one job in the laser printer of FIG. 2 has a plurality of paper sizes, and a paper feed cassette is selected according to the number of vertical paper feed cassettes and horizontal paper feed cassettes of the same size paper. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: printer controller 2: engine 3: panel device 4: host device 5: paper cassette group 6: CPU 7: program ROM 8: font ROM 9: RAM 10: NVRAM 11: IC card 12: engine interface (I / F) 13: Panel I / F 14: Host I / F

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-2-182633 (JP, A) JP-A-57-191658 (JP, A) JP-A-53-114432 (JP, A) JP-A-56-117933 (JP) JP-A-4-32439 (JP, A) JP-A-61-23048 (JP, A) JP-A-50-93442 (JP, A) JP-A-61-177856 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65H 3/44 342

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. Within the maximum width that can be transported, sheets of the same size are stored for each of various paper sizes in the vertical direction in which the longitudinal direction is aligned with the transport direction and in the horizontal direction in which the short direction is aligned with the transport direction. Selecting means for mounting a plurality of paper feed cassettes and selecting a paper feed cassette according to the paper size of print data from the respective paper feed cassettes; and sheets stored in the paper feed cassette selected by the means And a printing means for printing print data on the paper conveyed by the means, when the print data in one job consists of a plurality of paper sizes, Means for determining whether or not there is a paper size whose longitudinal size is larger than the maximum width that can be conveyed by the conveying means. Printing apparatus for a receiving sheet feeding cassette, a paper feeding cassette accommodating the sheet in said transverse direction when it is determined not, characterized in that a means for selectively to each of the selection means. 2. Within the maximum width that can be conveyed, sheets of the same size are stored for each of various paper sizes in the vertical direction in which the longitudinal direction is aligned with the transport direction and the horizontal direction in which the short direction is aligned with the transport direction. Selecting means for mounting a plurality of paper feed cassettes and selecting a paper feed cassette according to the paper size of print data from the respective paper feed cassettes; and sheets stored in the paper feed cassette selected by the means And a printing means for printing print data on paper conveyed by the means, wherein when the print data in one job consists of a plurality of paper sizes, The number of the paper cassettes in which the paper is stored in the vertical direction and the number of the paper cassettes in which the paper is stored in the horizontal direction among the paper cassettes are compared, and the paper cassette having the larger number is selected by the selecting means. Printing apparatus characterized in that a stage. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the print data in one job has the same paper size, the selection unit selects the paper cassette in which the paper is stored in the horizontal direction. A printing device comprising means.