JP4299072B2 - Image forming apparatus and image forming system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus provided with an auto fence mechanism that automatically adjusts at least a fence width according to the size of a sheet discharged to a sheet discharge table.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a printing apparatus or a copying apparatus, paper discharge as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 60-220552, 10-1254, 11-60028, and the like. 2. Description of the Related Art A mechanism that automatically adjusts the fence width of a paper discharge tray according to the size of a sheet to be printed, that is, a so-called auto fence is known. An image forming apparatus including an auto fence can automatically perform discharge processing corresponding to a plurality of types of paper sizes, and thus the user manually moves the discharge tray fence according to the paper size. Save time and effort.

  In such an image forming apparatus equipped with an auto fence, after performing the number of image forming processes with the first paper size less than the maximum discharge stacking capacity of the paper discharge tray, the paper larger than the first paper size. When the image forming process is performed using, the image forming process can be continuously performed by moving the auto fence outward from the initial position so that the sheets are stacked.

  However, when the image forming process is continuously performed using a paper smaller than the first paper size, the auto fence may be moved inward by the paper of the first paper size loaded on the paper discharge tray. Therefore, the image forming process cannot be continuously executed unless the stacked sheets are removed. Such a problem becomes particularly prominent when the maximum discharge capacity of the discharge tray is large and the number of images to be formed on one paper size is small, or when the image forming apparatus is operated from a remote place.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and in an image forming apparatus having an autofence mechanism, an image forming apparatus capable of continuously performing image forming processing of a plurality of paper sizes. And an image forming system.

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes: (a) a plurality of sheet feeding units having a sheet size detecting unit that detects a sheet size of a loaded sheet; and (b) sheets fed from the plurality of sheet feeding units. An image forming unit that forms an image on the paper; (c) a paper discharge unit on which the paper on which the image has been formed by the image forming unit is stacked; and (d) a paper discharge unit. , an auto fence having a pair of side fences for regulating the widthwise position of the sheet to be placing the product, and the job storage unit that stores as a job to (e) image unit of one page of the image formation processing, ( f) For the job stored in the job storage unit, the image forming unit is controlled to execute the image forming process in ascending order from a job having a small paper size in the width direction of the paper for forming the image. Along with the image Depending on the paper size of the job to execute the formation process, and a control unit for controlling the auto fence to the widthwise position of the sheet stacked on the sheet ejection unit for restricted by the pair of side fences It is characterized by that.

In addition, the image forming system according to the present invention includes (a) an information processing apparatus that inputs a document image and image formation processing information including at least information related to the number of image formations, and (b) A communication unit that receives the image formation processing information, a plurality of sheet feeding units that have a sheet size detection unit that detects a sheet size of the loaded sheet, and a sheet fed from the plurality of sheet feeding units an image forming unit that forms an image based on the document image, a paper discharge portion in which the sheet on which the image is formed is discharged by the image forming section is stacked, is provided in the discharge portion, it is placing the product an auto fence having a pair of side fences for regulating the widthwise position of the paper that a job storage unit that stores the image forming processing as a job to the image units of one page, serial to the job storage unit For jobs that are, in ascending order from a small job of the paper size in the width direction of the sheet forming the image, and controls the image forming section to perform said image forming process, performs the image forming processing An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the auto fence so that a position in the width direction of the paper stacked on the paper discharge unit is regulated by the pair of side fences according to a paper size of a job to be performed It is characterized by comprising.

With such a configuration, for a plurality of jobs stored in the job storage unit, control is performed so that image formation processing is executed from a job with a small paper size in the width direction, thereby shifting to a job with a large paper size. As it does, the position of the side fence moves in the spreading direction. Therefore, it is possible to continuously perform image forming processing of a plurality of paper sizes without removing the paper stacked on the paper discharge unit.

  Furthermore, the auto fence may have an end fence with which the front end of the paper abuts, and the end fence may be configured to displace the position in the paper transport direction according to the paper size.

  The image forming apparatus may further include a document reading unit that reads document images of a plurality of paper sizes and an input unit that inputs image formation processing information including at least information related to the number of image formations. . In other words, the original image read by the original reading unit and the image formation processing information input from the input unit are stored as jobs, and image formation is performed from a job with a small paper size for a plurality of jobs stored in the job storage unit. Control to execute the process. According to such a configuration, the image forming apparatus can be realized as a stand-alone operation.

  Further, the image forming apparatus may be configured to include a communication unit that is connected to the information processing apparatus and receives image forming processing information including a document image and at least information about the number of image formed sheets from the information processing apparatus. it can.

  In addition, as an “information processing device”, a manuscript image of an image formed by an image forming device such as a document creation device such as a personal computer or a word processor, or an image input device such as a digitizer or an image scanner is created and input. A device for doing so is included.

  Furthermore, the communication unit may be configured to connect to the information processing apparatus via a network. According to such a configuration, a plurality of paper size document images can be sent from an information processing apparatus at a remote location to the image forming apparatus, and a plurality of image forming processes can be performed continuously.

  According to the present invention, in an image forming apparatus including an auto fence mechanism, it is possible to continuously perform image forming processing of a plurality of paper sizes even when paper is stacked on a paper discharge unit.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment can be configured as a stencil printing apparatus as shown in FIG.

[Configuration of stencil printing machine]
The stencil printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes an original reading unit 1, a plate making unit 2, a printing unit (image forming unit) 3, a paper feeding unit 4, a paper discharging unit 120, and a plate discharging unit 130 as main components.

[Configuration of the document reader]
The document reading unit 1 conveys a document on a document set table 10 on which a document to be printed is placed, reflection-type document sensors 11 and 12 that detect the presence of a document on the document set table 10, and the document set table 10. Document transport rolls 13 and 14, a stepping motor 15 that rotationally drives the document transport rolls 13 and 14, and an image of the document transported by the document transport rolls 13 and 14 are optically read, and the read image data is converted into electrical signals. A close contact type image sensor 16 and a document discharge tray 17 on which a document discharged from the document set table 10 is placed. Then, the document placed on the document setting table 10 is transported by the document transport rolls 13 and 14, and the image sensor 16 reads the transported document image.

[Configuration of plate making section]
The plate making unit 2 is disposed at a position opposite to the thermal head 20, a stencil sheet storage unit 19 for storing the rolled long stencil sheet 18, a thermal head 20 disposed downstream of the stencil sheet storage unit 19, and the thermal head 20. A platen roll 21, a thermal head 20, and a pair of stencil sheet feed rolls 22 arranged downstream of the conveyance of the platen roll 21, a light pulse motor 23 that rotationally drives the platen roll 21 and the stencil sheet feed roll 22, and a pair of stencil sheet feeds A base paper cutter 24 is disposed downstream of the roll 22. Then, the long stencil sheet 18 is conveyed by the rotation of the platen roll 21 and the stencil sheet feed roll 22, and each point-like heating element of the thermal head 20 selectively generates heat based on the image data read by the image sensor 16. By operating, the stencil sheet 18 is melt-drilled to make a stencil, and the stencil sheet 18 thus made is cut with a stencil cutter 24 to produce a stencil sheet 18 having a predetermined length.

[Configuration of printing section]
The printing unit 3 is formed of an ink-permeable member having a multi-hole portion having a porous structure, and is provided on a plate cylinder 26 that rotates in the direction of arrow A in FIG. A stencil sheet sensor 27 for detecting whether or not the stencil sheet 18 is wound around and attached to the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 26 by detecting a detection piece 28a of the stencil sheet 26 and a clamping unit 27 for clamping the leading end of the stencil sheet 18. 28, a reference position detection sensor 30 for detecting a reference position of the plate cylinder 26 by detecting a detection piece 29 of the plate cylinder 26, and a rotary encoder 31 for detecting the rotation of the main motor 25. The rotational position of the plate cylinder 26 can be detected by detecting the output pulse of the rotary encoder 31 based on the detection output of the reference position detection sensor 30.

  The printing unit 3 includes a squeegee roll 32 disposed inside the plate cylinder 26 and a doctor roll 33 disposed in the vicinity of the squeegee roll 32, and the outer periphery surrounded by the squeegee roll 32 and the doctor roll 33. Ink 34 is stored in the space. When the ink 34 adhering to the outer periphery of the rotating squeegee roll 32 passes through the gap with the doctor roll 33, only the ink 34 having a predetermined film thickness adheres to the squeegee roll 32. Is supplied to the inner peripheral surface. Further, a press roll 35 is provided at a position facing the squeegee roll 32 and at the outer peripheral position of the plate cylinder 26, and the press roll 35 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 26 by the driving force of the solenoid device 36. And a standby position separated from the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 26 are configured to be displaceable. The press roll 35 is displaced from the standby position to the pressing position in synchronization with the paper feeding operation from the paper feeding unit 4, and is located at the pressing position only when the printing paper 37 passes through the lower part of the plate cylinder 26. Sometimes it is in the standby position.

  Then, the front end of the stencil sheet 18 conveyed from the plate making unit 2 is clamped by the stencil sheet clamp unit 27, and the stencil sheet 18 is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the stencil cylinder 26 by being rotated in this clamped state, The printing paper 37 conveyed from the paper supply unit 4 in synchronization with the rotation of the plate cylinder 26 is pressed against the stencil sheet 18 of the plate cylinder 26 by the press roll 35, whereby the ink 34 is punched from the stencil sheet 18 into the printing sheet 37. Is transferred and an image is printed.

[Configuration of paper feed unit]
The paper feed unit 4 includes an apparatus main body paper feed unit 5 and a gantry paper feed unit 6.

  The apparatus main body paper feeding unit 5 is an apparatus main body tray 41 that is a paper feed tray on which a large number of printing papers 37 are placed, and a primary feeding that conveys the uppermost printing paper 37 stacked on the apparatus main body tray 41 one by one. There is a secondary paper feed roll 43 that conveys the printing paper 37 conveyed by the paper roll 42 and the primary paper supply roll 42 between the plate cylinder 26 and the press roll 35 in synchronization with the rotation of the plate cylinder 26. The primary paper feed roll 42 is driven to rotate by the apparatus main body tray drive motor 101 (shown in FIG. 7). Further, an apparatus main body tray paper presence sensor 102 (shown in FIG. 7) that detects whether or not the print paper 37 is placed on the apparatus main body tray 41, and detects the paper size of the placed print paper 37. The apparatus main body tray paper size sensor 103 (shown in FIG. 7) is provided.

  The gantry paper feeding unit 6 includes a gantry upper paper feeding unit 51 that feeds the printing paper 37 to the printing unit 3 and a gantry lower paper feeding unit 52 that similarly feeds the printing paper 37. The gantry upper sheet feeding unit 51 is a primary feeding unit that conveys the uppermost printing sheet 37 loaded on the gantry upper tray 53 one by one, and a gantry upper tray 53 that is a sheet feeding tray on which a large number of printing sheets 37 are placed. There are two pairs of upper conveying rolls 55 that convey the printing paper 37 conveyed by the paper roll 54 and the primary paper feeding roll 54 to the secondary paper feeding roll 43 of the apparatus main body paper feeding unit 5. The primary paper feed roll 54 and the upper transport roll 55 are rotationally driven by a gantry upper tray drive motor 104 (shown in FIG. 7). The upper transport roll 55 is driven to rotate by the gantry upper tray drive motor 104 and is also driven to rotate by the gantry lower tray drive motor 105 (shown in FIG. 7).

  The under-frame sheet feeding unit 52 is a primary sheet feeding unit that conveys the uppermost printing sheet 37 loaded on the under-frame tray 57, which is a sheet feeding tray on which a large number of printing sheets 37 are placed, one by one. There are two pairs of lower transport rollers 59 for transporting the printing paper 37 transported by the paper roll 58 and the primary paper feed roller 58 to the upper transport roller 55 of the gantry upper sheet feeder 51. The primary paper feed roll 58 and the lower transport roll 59 are rotationally driven by a gantry lower tray drive motor 105.

  In addition, an upper tray paper presence sensor 106 and a lower tray paper presence sensor 107 (shown in FIG. 7) for detecting whether or not the printing paper 37 is placed on the upper tray 53 and the lower tray 57, A tray upper tray paper size sensor 108 and a tray lower tray paper size sensor 109 (shown in FIG. 7) for detecting the paper size of the printing paper 37 placed thereon are provided.

[Configuration of paper output section]
The paper discharge unit 120 includes a paper separation claw 61 that separates the printed printing paper 37 from the plate cylinder 26, a conveyance path 62 that conveys the printing paper 37 separated from the plate cylinder 26 by the paper separation claw 61, and a conveyance path. A paper discharge tray 63 on which the print paper 37 discharged from 62 is placed is provided.

  The paper discharge tray 63 is disposed at a position where the print paper 37 to be discharged falls, and as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, a pair of side fences 64 and 65 which are paper discharge fences are provided on the paper discharge tray 63. And an end fence 66 is provided. The pair of side fences 64 and 65 and the end fence 66 can be displaced between an upright position that interferes with the discharged print paper 37 and restricts the placement position, and a tilt position that cannot restrict the placement position of the print paper 37. Is provided. The pair of side fences 64 and 65 are provided symmetrically with respect to the center position in a lateral direction, and the end fence 66 is movably provided in the front-rear direction, and the pair of side fences 64 and 65 are discharged. The left and right edges of the printing paper 37 are restricted, and the end fence 66 restricts the front edge of the discharged printing paper 37.

  Then, the pair of side fences 64 and 65 and the end fence 66 are moved by the paper discharge fence moving unit 67 to a position corresponding to the paper size of the printing paper 37 based on the detection result of the paper size. The paper discharge fence moving means 67 includes a side fence motor 68, a plurality of gears 69 that transmit the rotation of the side fence motor 68 at a reduced speed, and a pair of left and right timing belt moving means 70 that move in synchronization with the output of the gear 69. The side fences 64 and 65 are fixed to the timing belts 70 a of the timing belt moving means 70. The side fences 64 and 65 are moved synchronously by driving the side fence motor 68. Further, the paper discharge fence moving means 67 has an end fence motor 71, a plurality of gears 72 that transmit the rotation of the end fence motor 71 at a reduced speed, and a timing belt moving means 73 that moves by the output of the gear 72. An end fence 66 is fixed to the 73 timing belt 73a. The end fence 66 is moved by driving the end fence motor 71.

  The paper discharge tray 63 includes a side fence home position sensor 110 (shown in FIG. 7) that detects the home position position of the pair of side fences 64 and 65, and an end fence home position sensor that detects the home position position of the end fence 66. 111 (shown in FIG. 7). The side fence home position sensor 110 has a maximum width position of the pair of side fences 64 and 65, and the end fence home position sensor 111 has a maximum front position of the end fence 66 as a home position position.

  Also, a non-contact or contact-type full detection sensor 74 is provided on one side of the pair of side fences 64 and 65 to detect that the printing paper 37 is fully loaded on the paper discharge tray 63. Yes. Further, the paper discharge tray 63 is provided so as to be housed in the apparatus main body in a state where all of the pair of side fences 64 and 65 and the end fence 66 are in the tilted position. Further, a reflection type paper presence sensor 75 is provided on the paper discharge tray 63 in the middle of the side fences 64 and 65.

  The structure of the paper discharge tray 63 is not limited to the above-described structure. For example, a large-capacity paper discharge tray in which the bottom surface on which the paper is stacked is driven up and down according to the stacking capacity, or a paper discharge A large-capacity paper discharge table may be used in which a plurality of tables are arranged vertically or front and back, and the paper transport path from the stencil printing apparatus to the paper discharge table is switched to select the paper discharge table.

[Configuration of the plate removal part]
The stencil unit 130 is a pair of stencil transport rolls 81 that transport the used stencil sheet 18 while peeling it from the plate cylinder 26, a stencil motor 82 that rotationally drives the stencil transport roll 81, and the stencil sheet transported from the stencil transport roll 81. A stencil box 83 for storing 18 and a stencil sheet sensor 84 for detecting whether or not the stencil sheet 18 has been conveyed to the evacuation box 83 by the evacuation conveyance roll 81 are provided.

[Operation panel configuration]
An operation panel 90 as shown in FIG. 6 is provided on the upper surface of the stencil printing apparatus main body. The operation panel 90 includes a mode selection key 91 for selecting a processing mode such as plate making and printing, and a mode selection key 91. A setting confirmation key 92 for confirming the setting contents of the mode selected by, a start key 93 for starting the plate making / printing operation in the selected processing mode, a stop key 94 for stopping the started plate making / printing operation, the number of printed sheets, etc. A numeric keypad 95 for inputting, a trial printing key 96 for performing trial printing, and the like are provided.

  The operation panel 90 is provided with a liquid crystal display touch panel 97 for displaying various data. There is a tray designation menu button (not shown) in the liquid crystal display touch panel 97, and when the tray designation menu button is pressed, the tray designation screen is displayed, and the apparatus main body tray 41, the gantry upper tray 53, and the gantry lower tray 57 are displayed. Either can be selected.

  Further, although not shown, an enlargement / reduction mode setting button for performing enlargement or reduction processing of an image read by the document reading unit 1 is provided in the liquid crystal touch panel.

(Configuration of control unit)
As shown in FIG. 7, a control device (CPU; Central Processing Unit) 100 in the stencil printing apparatus includes input data from an operation panel 90, an apparatus main body tray paper presence / absence sensor 102, a tray upper tray paper presence / absence sensor 106, and a base. Lower tray paper presence / absence sensor 107, apparatus main body tray paper size sensor 103, gantry upper tray paper size sensor 108, output signal from gantry lower tray paper size sensor 109, fullness detection sensor 74 of discharge tray 63, side fence home position Based on the output signals from the sensor 110 and the end fence home position sensor 111 and the output signal from the controller 112, the document reading unit 1, the plate making unit 2, the printing unit 3, the paper feed unit 4, the paper discharge unit 120, and the discharge plate Unit 130, apparatus main body tray drive motor 101, gantry tray drive motor 104, rack Lower tray driving motor 105, the side fences motor 68, as well as overall control of the end fence motor 71, controls the display of the operation panel 90. Further, the control device 100 controls writing / reading to / from a ROM (Read Only Memory) 113, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 114, and a storage means 115 in which various programs are stored. Either the tray 53 or the tray lower tray 57 is selected, and paper is fed from the selected tray. The storage unit 115 functions as a job storage unit that stores print jobs.

  Here, the controller 112 functions as a communication unit that communicates with the computer 116 connected directly or via a network, and is configured to print the print data transmitted from the computer 116 with the stencil printing apparatus. Yes. The network includes a closed network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) and an intranet, and an open network such as the Internet. Further, the controller 112 converts the print data transmitted from the computer 116 into a data format that can be printed by the stencil printing apparatus. In FIG. 7, the controller 112 is illustrated as being integrated with the stencil printing apparatus, but may be configured separately from the stencil printing apparatus.

[Operation of stencil printing machine]
[First Embodiment]
When the stencil printing apparatus reads an image of a paper document through the document reading unit 1 and executes the stencil printing process using the read image data, the stencil printing process is executed in order from the print job having the smallest paper size to be output. To do. That is, it is configured as a stencil printing apparatus that operates stand-alone. In this specification, a mode in which stencil printing processing is executed using image data read from a paper document via the document reading unit 1 is referred to as “PtoP (Paper to Paper) mode”. The processing operation of the stencil printing apparatus when executing the stencil printing process in the PtoP mode will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, the user operates the mode selection key 91 on the operation panel 90 to set the processing mode of the stencil printing apparatus to the PtoP mode, and further executes a print job in the input order. Then, the process is started when the print paper 37 to be output is switched to the “paper size priority mode” that is executed in order from the print job having the smallest paper size.

  In the processing of step S1, the control device 100 refers to the outputs from the apparatus main body tray paper size sensor 103, the tray upper tray paper size sensor 108, and the frame lower tray paper size sensor 109, and controls the apparatus main body tray 41 and the tray upper tray. 53, the size of the printing paper 37 set on the tray lower tray 57 is detected.

  Note that the detection of the paper size is determined only by the size in the width direction of the printing paper 37 in the stencil printing apparatus in which only the side fences 64 and 65 that adjust the size in the width direction of the printing paper 37 are driven. Therefore, for example, when the printing paper 37 set in the paper feeding unit 4 is A4 size (210 mm wide × 297 mm long), the printing paper 37 is placed vertically than B4 size (257 mm wide × 364 mm long). Is also determined to be large. Here, “vertical placement” refers to a placement method in which the long side of the rectangular paper is placed in parallel with the paper transport direction, and “landscape placement” refers to the short side of the rectangular paper in parallel with the paper transport direction. It shall mean how to place it on.

  On the other hand, as illustrated in the present embodiment, in the stencil printing apparatus in which the end fence 66 against which the leading edge of the printing paper 37 abuts is also combined with the side fences 64 and 65, the width of the printing paper 37 is increased. The size is based on both the vertical and vertical sizes. Here, the width direction means a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the printing paper 37, and the vertical direction means the conveyance direction of the printing paper 37. In this case, the A4 vertical placement is larger in the width direction and the B4 vertical placement in the vertical direction when the printing paper 37 set on the paper feed tray is in the A4 size landscape orientation and the B4 size portrait orientation. Therefore, the size relationship is different between the width direction and the vertical direction. Thus, when the magnitude relationship between the two directions is different, both the side fences 64 and 65 and the end fence 66 cannot be driven in accordance with a plurality of paper sizes. Accordingly, in the stencil printing apparatus in which the side fences 64 and 65 and the end fence 66 are driven, the vertical placement of the printing paper 37 is used as the reference for the paper direction in the “paper size priority mode”, and the horizontal placement of the printing paper 37 is detected. When this is done, setting of “paper size priority mode” is prohibited as an error.

  Thereby, the process of this step S1 is completed and it progresses to the process of step S2.

  In the process of step S <b> 2, the control device 100 refers to output signals from the document sensors 11 and 12 and detects whether or not there is a document on the document setting table 10. If the result of determination is that there is no document on the document setting table 10, this printing process ends. On the other hand, if there is a document on the document setting table 10 as a result of the determination, the process proceeds to step S3.

  In the process of step S <b> 3, the control device 100 performs a display prompting the user to input the number of prints on the operation panel 90 and displays the accepted number of prints on the liquid crystal display touch panel 97. Thereby, the process of this step S3 is completed and it progresses to the process of step S4.

  In the process of step S4, the control device 100 determines whether or not the input of the number of prints has been completed by monitoring whether or not the user has pressed the start key 93, for example. This determination process is a case where the setting of the paper size priority mode is used as a start key, and a “continue key” may be separately provided on the operation panel 90. If the input of the number of printed sheets is not completed as a result of the determination, the printing process returns from the process of step S4 to the process of step S3 again. On the other hand, if the input of the number of printed sheets is completed as a result of the determination, the printing process proceeds from the process of step S4 to the process of step S5.

  In the process of step S <b> 5, the control device 100 controls the document reading unit 1 to read an image of a paper document set on the document setting table 10. Thereby, the process of step S5 is completed, and the process proceeds to step S6.

  In the process of step S6, the control device 100 determines that the printing paper 37 having a size corresponding to the size of the image data is one of the apparatus main body tray 41, the gantry upper tray 53, and the gantry lower tray 57 based on the read image data. It is determined whether or not it is in the paper feed tray. As a result of the determination, if there is no print paper 37 having a size corresponding to the size of the image data, the printing process proceeds from the process of step S6 to the processes of steps S7 and S8.

  In the process of step S7, the control device 100 displays a message indicating that there is no printing paper 37 having a size corresponding to the image data on the liquid crystal display touch panel 97. In the process of step S8, the control device 100 refers to the outputs from the apparatus main body tray paper size sensor 103, the gantry upper tray paper size sensor 108, and the gantry lower tray paper size sensor 109, and has a size corresponding to the image data. It is determined whether the printing paper 37 is set in any one of the apparatus main body tray 41, the gantry upper tray 53, and the gantry lower tray 57. The processing in steps S7 to S8 is performed until the printing paper 37 having a size corresponding to the size of the image data is set in any one of the apparatus main body tray 41, the gantry upper tray 53, and the gantry lower tray 57. Is repeated, and the process proceeds to step S9 in response to the setting of the printing paper 37 having the corresponding size.

On the other hand, as a result of the determination process in step S6, if there is a print sheet 37 having a size corresponding to the size of the image data, the process proceeds from step S6 to step S9.

  In the process of step S9, the control device 100 executes a print job that executes image data read by controlling the document reading unit 1 and image forming process information such as the number of prints input by the user from the numeric keypad 95 of the operation panel 90. Is stored in the storage unit 115 (job storage process). Thereby, the process of step S9 is completed, and the process proceeds to step S10.

  In the process of step S <b> 10, the control device 100 refers to output signals from the document sensors 11 and 12 to detect whether or not there is a next document in the document reading unit 1. If it is determined that there is a next original in the original reading unit 1, the process returns to step S3 again, and the processes in steps S3 to S10 are repeated until there is no more original.

  On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S10 is that there is no next original in the original reading unit 1, the process proceeds to step S11.

  In the process of step S11, the control device 100 determines the print order of each print job stored in the storage unit 115 so that the print process is executed in ascending order from the print job having the smallest paper size in the width direction of the print paper 37. To do. When there are a plurality of print jobs having the same output paper size, the control device 100 may determine the print order of each print job in accordance with the input order of the print jobs, for example. Thereby, the process of step S11 is completed and it progresses to the process of step S12.

  In the process of step S12, the control device 100 controls the movement of the pair of side fences 64 and 65 and the end fence 66 via the paper discharge fence moving means 67 so as to match the output paper size of the print job to be executed. Thereby, the process of this step S12 is completed and it progresses to the process of step S13.

  In the processing of step S13, the control device 100 controls the plate discharging unit 130 to remove the stencil sheet 18 wound around the plate cylinder 26 and discharge it to the plate discharging box 83 (plate discharging process). Thereby, the process of step S13 is completed, and the process proceeds to step S14.

  In the process of step S14, the control device 100 controls the plate making unit 2 to melt and punch the stencil sheet 18 that has not been made so as to form image data related to the print job (plate making process). Thereby, the process of this step S14 is completed and it progresses to the process of step S15.

  In the process of step S15, the control device 100 controls the plate making unit 2 and the printing unit 3 to wind and mount the stencil sheet 18 subjected to the plate making process on the plate cylinder 26 (plate making process). Thereby, the process of step S15 is completed, and the process proceeds to step S16.

  In the process of step S16, the control device 100 controls the printing unit 3, rotates the plate cylinder 26, feeds the printing paper 37 from the paper feeding unit 4 in synchronization with the rotation, and feeds the fed printing paper 37. Is pressed against the stencil sheet 18 of the plate cylinder 26 by a press roll 35 to transfer the ink 34 to the printing paper 37 to form a printed image, and the printed printing paper 37 is discharged to the paper discharge unit 120 ( Printing process). Then, the control device 100 executes this printing process for the designated number of printed sheets. Thereby, the process of step S16 is completed, and the process proceeds to step S17.

  In the process of step S <b> 17, the control device 100 determines whether or not all print jobs stored in the storage unit 115 have been executed. If the result of determination is that execution of all print jobs has not been completed, the processing returns to step S12 again, and the processing from step S12 to step S17 is repeated until all jobs are completed.

On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S17 is that all print jobs have been executed, the control device 100 switches the processing mode of the stencil printing device from “paper size priority mode” to “normal mode”, and a series of The printing process ends.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment includes the following components.

(A) A plurality of paper supply units having paper size detection means (device main body tray paper size sensor 103, gantry tray paper size sensor 108, gantry tray paper size sensor 109) for detecting the paper size of the placed printing paper 37. Paper section 4 (device main body tray 41, gantry upper tray 53, gantry lower tray 57),
(B) Document reading unit 1 for reading document images of a plurality of paper sizes,
(C) an input unit (numerical key 95 on the operation panel 90) for inputting image formation processing information including at least information relating to the number of formed images;
(D) an image forming unit (printing unit 3) that forms an image related to the original image on the printing paper 37 fed from the paper feeding unit 4;
(E) a paper discharge unit 120 on which the printing paper 37 formed by the image forming unit 3 and discharged is stacked;
(F) A position in the width direction of the print paper 37 stacked in the paper discharge unit 120 is set in accordance with the paper size of the print paper 37 provided in the paper discharge unit 120 and fed from the paper supply unit 4. Auto fence to be displaced (side fences 64, 65),
(G) a job storage unit (storage unit 115) that stores the image forming process as a print job in image units for one page;
(H) For the print job stored in the job storage unit 115, control is performed so that the image forming process is executed in ascending order from a print job with a small paper size in the width direction of the print paper 37 forming the image. Control unit (control device 100).

  With such a configuration, for a plurality of print jobs stored in the storage unit 115, control is performed so that the stencil printing process is executed from the print job with the small paper size of the print paper 37, so that the print job with the large paper size is performed. The position of the side fences 64 and 65 moves in the direction in which the side fences 64 and 65 expand. Therefore, it is possible to continuously perform image forming processing of a plurality of paper sizes without removing the printing paper 37 stacked on the paper discharge unit 120.

  In addition to the side fences 64 and 65, the auto fence includes an end fence 66 against which the front end of the printing paper 37 abuts. The end fence 66 conveys the printing paper 37 according to the paper size of the printing paper 37. It can also be set as the structure which displaces the position of a direction.

[Second Embodiment]
In the second embodiment, when the stencil printing process is executed directly from the computer 116 or using image data transmitted via the network, the stencil printing process is executed in order from the print job having the smallest paper size to be output. A stencil printing apparatus will be described. In this specification, a mode in which the stencil printing process is executed using the image data transmitted from the computer 116 is referred to as “DtoP (Data to Paper) mode”. The processing operation of the stencil printing apparatus when executing the stencil printing process in the DtoP mode will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 9, the stencil printing apparatus starts processing when it is connected to the computer 116 via the controller 112 directly or via a network, and the process proceeds to step S21. In the following processing, it is assumed that the stencil printing apparatus is in a standby state until a print job is received.

  In step S21, the computer 116 transmits a notice setting command for “paper size priority mode” to the stencil printing apparatus. Thereby, the process of this step S21 is completed and it progresses to the process of step S22.

  In the process of step S22, the control device 100 of the stencil printing apparatus switches the processing mode of the stencil printing apparatus from the “standby state” to the “paper size priority mode” in response to receiving the notice setting command. The control device 100 refers to the outputs from the apparatus main body tray paper size sensor 103, the upper tray paper size sensor 108, and the lower tray paper size sensor 109, and the main apparatus tray 41, the upper tray 53, and the lower frame. The size of the printing paper 37 set on the tray 57 is detected. Thereby, the process of this step S22 is completed and it progresses to the process of step S23.

  In the processing of step S23, the control device 100 of the stencil printing apparatus detects the presence or absence of the printing paper 37 on the paper discharge tray 63 based on the output of the paper presence sensor 75, and when the printing paper 37 is on the paper discharge tray 63, By calculating the positions of the side fences 64 and 65 and the end fence 66 at that time, the paper size of the printing paper 37 on the paper discharge tray 63 is detected. Thereby, the process of step S23 is completed, and the process proceeds to step S24.

  In the process of step S24, the control device 100 of the stencil printing apparatus includes information relating to the paper size of the printing paper 37 stacked on the paper discharge tray 63 (including the case where there is no stacked printing paper 37), and the apparatus main body. Information relating to the paper size of the printing paper 37 set on the tray 41, the upper tray 53 and the lower tray 57 is transmitted to the computer 116. Thereby, the process of this step S24 is completed and it progresses to the process of step S25.

  In the process of step S <b> 25, the computer 116 displays selectable paper sizes on the display device of the computer 116 based on the information received from the control device 100. Thereby, the process of step S25 is completed, and the process proceeds to step S26.

  In step S26, the computer 116 refers to the paper size that can be selected by the user, and inputs document data (including paper size information) and image formation processing information such as the number of prints as a print job. The at least one or more print jobs are stored in a storage device in the computer 116. Thereby, the process of this step S26 is completed and it progresses to the process of step S27.

  In step S27, the computer 116 transmits at least one print job stored in the storage device to the stencil printing apparatus, and further transmits an end command of “paper size priority mode” to the stencil printing apparatus. Thereby, the process of step S27 is completed, and the process proceeds to step S28.

  In the process of step S <b> 28, the control device 100 of the stencil printing apparatus stores at least one print job transmitted from the computer 116 in the storage unit 115. Thereby, the process of this step S28 is completed and it progresses to the process of step S29.

  In the process of step S29, the control device 100 of the stencil printing apparatus executes the print processing in ascending order from the print job having the smallest paper size in the width direction of the print paper 37. Determine the printing order. As a result, the process of step S29 is completed, and thereafter, the process of steps S30 to S35 is executed, so that the printing with a small output paper size is performed as in the processes of step S12 to step S17 in the first embodiment. Print processing is executed for all print jobs in ascending order from the job. When the print processing is completed for all print jobs, the control device 100 switches the processing mode of the stencil printing device from “paper size priority mode” to “standby state”, and the series of print processing ends.

  In this way, the control device 100 of the stencil printing apparatus receives a “paper size priority mode” notice command from the computer 116 and receives a “paper size priority mode” end command from the computer 116. The transmitted print job is stored in the storage unit 115. Then, after receiving the “paper size priority mode” end command, the print processing stored in the storage unit 115 is executed in ascending order from the print job having the smallest paper size in the width direction of the print paper 37. . Accordingly, the positions of the side fences 64 and 65 and the end fence 66 move in the expanding direction as the print job moves to a large paper size, so even if the print paper 37 stacked on the paper discharge unit 120 is not removed. Image forming processing of a plurality of paper sizes can be performed continuously.

  Here, in the processing of step S29, a print job that cannot be executed (for example, a print paper 37 having a paper size in the width direction smaller than the paper size in the width direction of the print paper 37 stacked on the current discharge tray 63). Control device 100 or the display device of the computer 116, the control device 100 displays the print job that uses the print screen 37 or the print job that does not have the print paper 37 of the size to be used on any of the paper feed trays. After displaying information about the print job, the print job is deleted, and the printing order is determined for the remaining print jobs. When there is a print job that cannot be executed, the control device 100 may display error information on the liquid crystal display touch panel 97 or the display device of the computer 116 and stop the print processing operation. Further, when there is a print job that uses a print paper 37 having a paper size in the width direction smaller than the paper size in the width direction of the print paper 37 loaded on the paper discharge tray 63, the print job is excluded. The user may be able to select and set whether to execute the remaining print job or to display the error information and stop the print processing operation.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment is connected to the information processing apparatus (computer 116) in addition to the components in the first embodiment, and is related to the document image and at least the number of images formed from the computer 116. A communication unit (controller 112) that receives image formation processing information including information is included.

  With such a configuration, a plurality of paper size document images can be sent from the computer 116 at a remote location to the stencil printing apparatus, and a plurality of image forming processes can be performed continuously.

  When the output of the full detection sensor 74 is turned on during execution of the printing process shown in FIG. 8 or FIG. 9 and it is detected that the printing paper 37 is fully loaded on the paper discharge tray 63. The control device 100 interrupts the printing process and displays a message to the effect that the paper discharge tray 63 is full on the liquid crystal display touch panel 97 or the display device of the computer 116. When the output of the full detection sensor 74 is turned off and a print continuation operation is performed, the control device 100 resumes the interrupted print process.

  In the printing process shown in FIG. 8 or FIG. 9 described above, only information relating to the number of image formations is input in addition to image data as a job for each image unit. Information relating to other image formation such as paper size to be formed, enlargement / reduction ratio, negative / positive inversion may be input together.

  When the enlargement / reduction ratio is input, the control device 100 can determine the size of the printing paper 37 used for the printing process based on the document size and the enlargement / reduction ratio. When the paper size is input, the control device 100 may determine the enlargement / reduction ratio based on the document size and the paper size to be used, and control the printing process according to the determined enlargement / reduction ratio. .

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the stencil printing method is used as the image forming unit is shown, but various image forming methods such as an electrophotographic method and an ink jet method can be used as the image forming unit. .

  In this manner, the present invention can be implemented in various other forms without departing from the spirit or main features thereof. For this reason, the above-described embodiments are merely examples in all respects and should not be interpreted in a limited manner. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims, and is not restricted by the text of the specification. Further, all modifications and changes belonging to the equivalent scope of the claims are within the scope of the present invention.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the stencil printing apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of a paper discharge unit in the stencil printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a front view of a paper discharge unit in the stencil printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a paper discharge unit in the stencil printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the stencil printing apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a layout example of an operation panel in the stencil printing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the structure of the control system in the stencil printing apparatus shown in FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of processing operation according to the first embodiment in the stencil printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of processing operation according to a second embodiment in the stencil printing apparatus shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Original reading part 10 ... Original setting stand 100 ... Control apparatus 101 ... Apparatus main body tray drive motor 102 ... Apparatus main body tray paper presence sensor 103 ... Apparatus main body tray paper size sensor 104 ... Tray upper tray drive motor 105 ... Lower tray drive Motor 106: Tray paper presence sensor on gantry 107 ... Tray paper presence sensor under gantry 108 ... Tray paper size sensor on gantry 109 ... Tray paper size sensor under gantry 11, 12 ... Document sensor 110 ... Side fence home position sensor 111 ... End fence Home position sensor 112 ... Controller 113 ... ROM
114 ... RAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 115 ... Memory | storage means 116 ... Computer 13, 14 ... Document conveyance roll 16 ... Image sensor 17 ... Document discharge tray 18 ... Stencil paper 19 ... Stencil paper storage part 2 ... Stencil making part 20 ... Thermal head 21 ... Platen roll 22 ... Stencil paper feed Roll 23 ... Light pulse motor 24 ... Base paper cutter 25 ... Main motor 26 ... Plate cylinder 27 ... Base paper clamp part 28 ... Base paper confirmation sensor 28a ... Detection piece 29 ... Detection piece 3 ... Printing part (image forming part)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 30 ... Reference position detection sensor 31 ... Rotary encoder 32 ... Squeegee roll 33 ... Doctor roll 34 ... Ink 35 ... Press roll 36 ... Solenoid device 37 ... Printing paper 4 ... Paper feed part 41 ... Apparatus main body tray 42 ... Primary paper feed roll 43 ... Secondary paper feed roll 5 ... Main unit paper feed unit 51 ... Stage upper paper feed unit 52 ... Stage lower paper feed unit 53 ... Stage upper tray 54 ... Primary paper feed roll 55 ... Upper transport roll 57 ... Folder lower tray 58 ... Primary paper feed roll 59 ... Lower transport roll 6 ... Stand feed section 61 ... Paper separation claw 62 ... Transport path 63 ... Paper discharge platform 64, 65 ... Side fence 66 ... End fence 67 ... Paper discharge fence moving means 68 ... side fence motor 69 ... gear 70 ... timing belt moving means 70a ... timing belt 71 ... end fence motor 72 ... gear 7 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 ... Timing belt moving means 73a ... Timing belt 74 ... Full detection sensor 75 ... Paper presence sensor 81 ... Discharge plate transport roll 82 ... Discharge motor 83 ... Discharge box 84 ... Discharge sensor 9 ... Stand feeding section 90 ... Operation panel 91 ... Mode Selection key 92 ... Setting confirmation key 93 ... Start key 94 ... Stop key 95 ... Numeric keypad 96 ... Trial printing key 97 ... Liquid crystal display touch panel 120 ... Paper discharge part 130 ... Discharge part

Claims (5)

A plurality of paper feed units having paper size detection means for detecting the paper size of the placed paper;
An image forming unit that forms an image on the paper fed from the plurality of paper feeding units;
A paper discharge unit on which the paper on which the image is formed and discharged by the image forming unit is stacked;
An auto fence having a pair of side fences for regulating the provided discharge unit, the position in the width direction of the sheet to be placing the product,
A job storage unit that stores the image forming process as a job in image units for one page;
For the job stored in the job storage unit, the image forming unit is controlled to execute the image forming process in ascending order from a job having a small paper size in the width direction of the paper for forming the image, and A control unit that controls the autofence so that a position in the width direction of the paper stacked on the paper discharge unit is regulated by the pair of side fences according to a paper size of a job that executes the image forming process ; An image forming apparatus comprising: The auto fence has an end fence against which the front end of the paper abuts,
Wherein, in response to the previous SL paper size, image forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that to automatically displace the position of the conveying direction of the sheet of the end fence. The image forming apparatus further includes:
An original reading section for reading original images of a plurality of paper sizes;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an input unit configured to input image forming processing information including information on at least the number of image formed sheets. The image forming apparatus further includes:
2. A communication unit that is connected to an information processing apparatus directly or via a network, and that receives a document image and image formation processing information including at least information related to the number of image formations from the information processing apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3. An information processing apparatus for inputting image formation processing information including information on a document image and at least the number of formed images;
A communication unit that receives the document image and the image formation processing information from the information processing apparatus; a plurality of sheet feeding units that include a sheet size detection unit that detects a sheet size of the loaded sheet; An image forming unit that forms an image based on the original image on paper fed from a paper unit, a paper discharge unit on which the paper on which the image has been formed and discharged by the image forming unit is stacked, and the discharge provided in the paper unit, an auto fence having a pair of side fences for regulating the widthwise position of the sheet to be placing the product, and the job storage unit that stores the image forming processing as a job to the image units of one page the the job stored in the job storage unit, the image from a small job width direction of the paper size of the paper forming the in ascending order, the image forming processing said image forming unit to execute Controls, in response to said paper size of the job to execute the image forming process, controls the auto fence to the widthwise position of the sheet stacked on the sheet ejection unit for restricted by the pair of side fences And an image forming apparatus having a control unit.

Images