JP2005081811A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer equipped with a plurality of print units in which normal print results can be obtained even upon occurrence of an error. <P>SOLUTION: Upon occurrence of an error in a print unit, a main control section stops discharge operation (400, 402) and when a decision is made that a discrete error has occurred (404, 406), assignment of print data to the print unit is corrected (408) and the print data is transferred to a corrected print unit where printing is performed (410). The main control section resumes discharge operation at a moment in time when printing is ended and the sheets are discharged from a discharge buffer to a sheet discharge tray in the normal print order (412, 414). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer apparatus and relates to a printer apparatus including a plurality of printing units.

  When creating a large amount of printed matter, etc., high-speed printing is possible by arranging multiple printing units that perform printing in parallel, distributing print jobs to these printing units, and operating these printing units in parallel. A parallel processing type printer device has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

  In the technology described in Patent Document 1, the printing unit is unitized and stacked in a parallel printer system. Each unit is connected and used, and a unit for sharing a paper discharge between adjacent units is provided, so that the supply path can be used in common. This enables high-speed printing.

In the technique described in Patent Document 2, a process at the time of error in a printing apparatus having a multi-stage image forming unit is proposed. The technique described in Patent Document 2 includes an error detection unit and an error classification table, and determines whether to continue the error content. If it is determined that the error can be continued, the printing process is continued and the result is notified to the user. In the case of continuing processing, the user is also notified of the decrease in throughput. In this way, by performing error notification, it is possible to minimize the time during which the printing apparatus is not operating and to support the user's printing work.
JP 2002-103735 A JP 2002-103758 A

  In the conventional multistage printer as described above, if an error occurs, it is a multistage printer, so it is ideal that the original high speed can be maintained by continuing printing in the printing unit excluding the unit in which the error has occurred. .

  However, the conventional multi-stage printer has a problem that when an error occurs, the printing order is disturbed, and the user needs to perform a complicated operation of correcting the order while checking the printed matter.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and provides a printer device that can obtain a normal printing result even if an error occurs in a printer device having a plurality of printing means. Objective.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is characterized in that a plurality of printing means including a discharge buffer for printing on a recording medium and holding the printed recording medium, and a recording medium in the plurality of printing means. For printing on the supply tray, the discharge tray for holding the printed recording medium, the discharge means for discharging the recording medium held in the discharge buffer of the plurality of printing means, and the plurality of printing means And a control means for controlling the operation of the supply means and the discharge means, and a detection means for detecting an error of the plurality of printing means, the detection means When the error is detected by the control unit, the control unit controls the discharging unit to stop the operation of the discharging unit, corrects the sorting, and prints when an error occurs. When the printing corresponding to the data is completed, the operation of the discharging means is restarted, and the discharge medium is discharged to the discharge tray so that the recording medium held in the discharge buffer is discharged in a predetermined printing order. It is characterized by controlling the means.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the plurality of printing units perform printing on the recording medium, and the printed recording medium is held in the discharge buffer. For example, the plurality of printing units may be unitized printing units, or may be a single device configuration including a plurality of printing units.

  In the supply unit, the recording medium is supplied to the plurality of printing units. This makes it possible to print on the recording medium by a plurality of printing means.

  In the discharge means, the recording medium printed by the plurality of print means and held in the discharge buffer is discharged to the discharge tray.

  The control means distributes print data to be printed by each printing means to each printing means and controls the operation of the supply means and the discharge means, whereby the recording medium is supplied from the supply means to each printing means. The recording medium supplied and printed by each printing means is discharged to the discharge tray by the discharge means.

  Further, the detecting means detects an error of each printing means (for example, a state in which printing such as clogging of a recording medium or running out of ink is impossible). For example, it is possible to detect an error of each printing means by a sensor for detecting a recording medium provided on a recording medium conveyance path such as each printing means, a supply means, a discharging means, or a sensor for detecting a remaining amount of ink. It is. The detection means may include at least one state detection means such as a supply completion detection means, a print completion detection means, and a discharge completion detection means, as in the invention described in claim 4.

  By the way, when an error is detected by the detecting means, it becomes impossible to discharge the recording medium printed in a predetermined printing order to the discharge tray. Therefore, the control unit is controlled to stop the operation of the discharge unit when an error is detected by the detection unit. Thereby, the order of the recording media after printing on the discharge tray is maintained.

  Further, the control means corrects the sorting of the print data that has not been printed, so that the print data that has not been printed is transmitted to the print means in which no error has occurred. As a result, printing can be performed instead of the printing means in which an error has occurred. Then, the control means restarts the operation of the discharging means when printing corresponding to the print data at the time of error is completed, and the recording medium held in the discharging buffer of each printing means in a predetermined printing order is stored. The discharging means is controlled to discharge to the discharge tray. That is, since the print data before the occurrence of the error is discharged to the discharge buffer, when the printing corresponding to the print data at the time of the error is finished, the recording medium on which the printing has been finished in the predetermined printing order is stored. It becomes possible to discharge the recording medium. By restarting the discharging operation by the discharging means, the recording medium that has been printed in a predetermined printing order can be discharged to the discharge tray. Therefore, a normal printing result can be obtained even if an error occurs in a printer apparatus having a plurality of printing means.

  The printing means in which the error has occurred may directly transfer the non-printed print data to the printing means that performs printing instead according to the correction of the sorting, as in the second aspect of the invention. According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the control means holds the print data until the printing is completed by the printing means and an error is detected by the detection means, the printing is performed instead according to the correction of the sorting. You may make it transfer the printing data which is not printed to the printing means to perform.

  Note that, as in the invention described in claim 5, when the error is detected by the detection means, the control means is based on the type of error, except for the supply means, the discharge means, and the printing means in which the error has occurred. A determination unit that determines whether the operation of the printing unit is possible may be provided. When an error occurs by the determination unit, it is possible to determine whether the printing can be continued.

  Further, for example, as in the invention described in claim 6, the detecting means may detect an individual error occurring in the printing means and a serious error related to other than the printing means. At this time, as in the invention described in claim 7, when a serious error is detected by the detecting means, an abnormality notifying means for notifying that a serious error has occurred may be further provided.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the discharge operation is stopped when an error occurs, and the discharge operation is restarted when printing corresponding to the print data at the time of error is completed by other printing means. Since it is possible to prevent the printing order from being disturbed, it is possible to obtain a normal printing result without impairing the high speed even if an error occurs in a printer device having a plurality of printing means. is there.

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
1 and 2 show a printer apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 and 4 show a printing unit applied to the printer apparatus according to the present embodiment. .

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the printing unit 142 includes a casing 12 as an outer shell, and the casing 12 has a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape along the height direction of the apparatus (the arrow H direction in FIG. 3). Is formed. The casing 12 has one end side (the left side in FIG. 3A) along the width direction (the arrow W direction in FIG. 3) of the bottom plate portion 13 and the left side in the printing unit 142 and the paper discharge unit 70 for the sake of convenience. A slit-shaped sheet feeding port 16 is formed on the top plate portion 14 and a slit-shaped sheet discharge port 18 is formed on the top plate portion 14 so as to face the sheet feeding port 16. ing. In the casing 12, a sheet feeding hopper 20, which is a housing-like tray having an upper surface opened on the bottom plate portion 13, is disposed. In the paper feed hopper 20, a sheet of recording paper P or a stack of recording papers in which a plurality of recording papers P are stacked (hereinafter referred to as “recording paper P” in particular). , Referred to as “paper bundle B”).

  As shown in FIG. 3A, a flat stacking plate 22 is disposed on the bottom plate portion 21 in the paper feed hopper 20, and is stored in the paper feed hopper 20 on the stacking plate 22. A recording sheet P is placed. One end portion of the stacking plate 22 along the width direction is connected to the bottom plate portion 21 so as to be swingable, and the swing end side is biased upward by a biasing member 24 such as a coil spring. As a result, the recording paper P stored in the paper feed hopper 20 is urged upward at the leading end side under the pressing force from the stacking plate 22.

  The sheet feeding hopper 20 is supported by the casing 12 so as to be slidable between the mounting position and the replenishing position along the depth direction (the arrow D direction in FIG. 4). Here, when the paper feeding hopper 20 slides from the mounting position in the casing 12 to the replenishing position, the opening on the upper surface side is opened, and the recording paper P can be replenished or taken out through this opening. become. The paper feed hopper 20 is provided with a restraining mechanism (not shown) for restraining the stacking plate 22 against the biasing member 24, and this restraining mechanism is replenished from the mounting position of the paper feed hopper 20. In conjunction with the slide to the position, the stacking plate 22 is swung to the lower limit position close to the bottom plate portion 13 and restrained. The restraining mechanism releases the stacking plate 22 in conjunction with the slide of the paper feed hopper 20 from the replenishment position to the mounting position.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, a housing-like sheet discharge buffer 26 having an upper surface opened on the upper side of the sheet feeding hopper 20 is disposed in the printing unit 142. The recording paper P can be stored in the paper discharge buffer 26. In the paper discharge buffer 26, like the paper feed hopper 20, a flat stacking plate 28 is disposed on the bottom plate portion 27 so as to be swingable. On the stacking plate 28, the recording paper P stored in the paper discharge buffer 26 is placed. In the paper discharge buffer 26, the direction of the leading edge of the recording paper P is opposite to that in the paper feed hopper 20.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, in the printing unit 142, the printing unit 34 is disposed above the paper feed hopper 20 and adjacent to the paper discharge buffer 26 along the width direction. The printing unit 34 is provided with a guide rod 36 extending in the main scanning direction (arrow S direction in FIG. 4) parallel to the depth direction, and supported by the guide rod 36 so as to be movable along the main scanning direction. An ink jet head 38 is provided. The printing unit 34 is provided with a head drive mechanism (not shown) that reciprocally moves the inkjet head 38 at a predetermined main scanning speed when an image is recorded on the recording paper P.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the print unit 34 is provided with a nip roller pair 40 and a roller pair 42 so as to sandwich the inkjet head 38 along the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction. A guide plate 44 that forms a slit-like gap between the roller pair 40 and 42 and the lower surface of the inkjet head 38 is disposed. The nip roller pair 40 and the roller pair 42 convey the recording paper P in the sub-scanning direction (the arrow F direction in FIG. 4) at a predetermined sub-scanning speed.

  Here, the inkjet head 38 is provided with a plurality of nozzles (not shown) disposed on the lower surface portion thereof at a pitch corresponding to the pixel density of an image to be recorded along the main scanning direction. 38 is transported in the sub-scanning direction by the nip roller pair 40 and the roller pair 42 by ejecting ink from each nozzle and stopping ejection based on the digitized image information while moving in the main scanning direction by the head driving mechanism. An image corresponding to the image information is formed on the recording paper P to be printed. The inkjet head 38 may be a so-called full-line type having a substantially recording paper width, or may be applied to other configurations. In addition, although an ink jet recording head is used here, another recording head such as thermal may be employed. Further, a plurality of printing units may employ different types of recording heads.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the printing unit 142 has a cylindrical separating and feeding roller 46 disposed above the feeding hopper 20. The separation paper feed roller 46 is pressed against the leading end of the upper surface of the recording paper P (paper bundle B) housed in the paper feed hopper 20 and biased upward by the stacking plate 22. The print unit 142 is provided with a pair of print guide plates 48 and 50 that are opposed to each other with a certain distance between the separation paper feed roller 46 and the nip roller pair 40, and the pair of print guide plates 48, Reference numeral 50 denotes a U-shaped curve, and a print guide path 52 for guiding one recording sheet P to the nip roller pair 40 is formed between the pair of print guide plates 48 and 50.

  In the printing unit 142, when the recording paper P is supplied to the ink jet head 38, the separation paper feeding roller 46 pressed against the recording paper P in the paper feeding hopper 20 is rotated by a predetermined amount. Thereby, one sheet of recording paper P is separated from the inside of the paper feed hopper 20, and this one sheet of recording paper P is conveyed to the nip roller pair 40 along the print guide path 52 by the conveying force from the separation paper feeding roller 46. Is done. If the printing guide path 52 is relatively long and the recording paper P cannot be reliably conveyed to the nip roller pair 40 only by the conveying force from the separation paper feeding roller 46, the printing guide path 52 is in the middle of the printing guide path 52. A pair of conveyance rollers may be arranged, and the recording paper P conveyed halfway along the print guide path 52 by the pair of conveyance rollers may be conveyed to the nip roller pair 40.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, cylindrical separation and discharge rollers 54 and 55 are disposed above and below the discharge buffer 26 in the print unit 142. The separation paper discharge roller 54 comes into pressure contact with the leading end of the upper surface of the recording paper P (paper bundle B) housed in the paper discharge buffer 26 and biased upward by the stacking plate 28. The printing unit 142 is provided with a pair of branch guide plates 56 and 58 extending from the separation paper feed roller 46 to the rear end side, and the pair of branch guide plates 56 and 58 are spaced apart from each other. It is supported so as to face each other. A branch guide path 60 is formed between the pair of branch guide plates 56 and 58 for guiding one recording sheet P to a sheet discharge guide path 66 described later. Similarly, a pair of separation guide plates 57 and 59 are also supported below the pair of separation guide plates 56 and 58 so as to be opposed to each other at a predetermined interval. A separation guide path 61 for guiding one sheet of recording paper P to a sheet discharge guide path 66 described later is formed between 57 and 59. The separation paper discharge roller 55 is movable in the direction of FIG. 3H, and according to the printing order (page order), the pickup of the recording paper P from above the discharge buffer 26 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5B, the recording paper P can be picked up from below the discharge buffer 26.

  In the printing unit 142, a pair of paper discharge guide plates 62 and 64 extending in the vertical direction are disposed at the rear end, and the pair of paper discharge guide plates 62 and 64 are opposed to each other with a certain interval. A paper discharge guide path 66 is formed between the pair of paper discharge guide plates 62 and 64 that is supported so as to guide a sheet of recording paper P to a paper discharge unit 70 described later. Yes. The paper discharge guide path 66 connects the paper supply port 16 and the paper discharge port 18 formed in the casing 12. The printing unit 142 is provided with a pair of transport rollers 68 for transporting the recording paper P along the paper discharge guide path 66 to the paper discharge unit 70 side. The pair of conveying rollers 68 are disposed at least at the upper end and the lower end of the paper discharge guide path 66, respectively, and the paper discharge guide path 66 according to the length of the paper discharge guide path 66, the length of the recording paper P, etc. It arrange | positions suitably between the upper end part of this, and a lower end part.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, in the print unit 142, a pair of paper feed guide plates 150 extending along the height direction at the end (front end) opposite to the paper discharge guide path 66, A slit-shaped paper feed guide path 144 that penetrates the print unit 142 along the height direction is formed between the paper feed guide plates 150 and 152. In the casing 12 of the printing unit 142, a slit-shaped paper feed port 154 and a paper discharge port 156 (see FIG. 4) are formed in the bottom plate portion 13 and the top plate portion 14, respectively. 12, the paper feed port 154 and the paper discharge port 156 are connected. Further, a pair of conveying rollers 158 are arranged at the lower end and the upper end of the paper feed guide path 144, respectively.

  The printing unit 142 is provided with a branch guide path 148 that branches from the paper feed guide path 144 to the paper feed hopper 20 side, and receives the transport force from the transport roller pair 158 to enter the recording paper P into the paper feed hopper 20. Is to be stored.

  The print unit 142 is provided with a guide lever 146 in the vicinity of a branch point between the paper feed guide path 144 and the branch guide path 148. As shown in FIG. 3B, the guide lever 146 is provided with a support shaft portion 147 serving as a swing center at one end, and this support shaft portion 147 is disposed on one paper feed guide plate 152. Is supported by a bearing portion (not shown). Here, the guide lever 146 is rotatable in a range between a paper feeding position indicated by a solid line and a conveyance position indicated by a two-dot chain line. The guide lever 146 is connected to a rotary actuator (not shown), and is rotated and held at either the paper feed position or the transport position by the rotary actuator.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the printer device 140 includes a paper feed unit 170 at the bottom, and a print unit 142 and a paper discharge unit 70 are stacked on the paper feed unit 170. . Here, the paper feeding unit 170 is for replenishing the recording paper P into the paper feeding hopper 20 in each printing unit 142.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the paper feeding unit 170 includes a casing 172 as an outer shell, and the size of the casing 172 along the width direction and the depth direction is substantially the same as the casing 12 of the printing unit 142. . The casing 172 has a slit-shaped discharge port 174 (see FIG. 2) on the front end side of the upper surface thereof, and the discharge port 174 is adjacent to the upper side of the paper supply unit 170. Connected to the paper feed port 166.

  Inside the casing 172 is disposed a main paper feed hopper 176 capable of storing a bundle of paper B on which a plurality of recording papers P are stacked. The main paper feed hopper 176 is supported by the casing 172 to be slidable between the mounting position and the replenishment position along the depth direction, like the paper feed hopper 20 of each printing unit 142. Here, when the main paper feed hopper 176 is slid from the mounting position in the casing 172 to the replenishment position, the opening on the upper surface side is opened, and the recording paper P (paper bundle B) is replenished through this opening. Or can be removed.

  In the main sheet feeding hopper 176, a stacking tray 178 on which the stored paper bundle B is stacked, and an elevating mechanism (not shown) that supports the stacking tray 178 so as to be movable up and down along the height direction are arranged. . In the casing 172, a separation sheet feeding roller 180 is disposed above the main sheet feeding hopper 176. The separation sheet feeding roller 180 has an upper surface of the sheet bundle B on which the roller surface is stacked on the stacking tray 178. It is supported so that it may oppose the rear-end part. The elevating mechanism moves the stacking tray 178 to the lower limit position close to the bottom plate portion of the casing 172 in conjunction with the slide from the mounting position of the main paper feed hopper 176 to the replenishment position, and the replenishment position of the main paper feed hopper 176. The stacking tray 178 is raised in conjunction with the slide from the mounting position to the loading position, and the sheet bundle B on the stacking tray 178 is pressed against the separation sheet feeding roller 180 with a predetermined pressing force.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a connection guide path 182 extending from the paper discharge port 174 to the separation paper feed roller 180 side is provided in the casing 172, and the distal end portion of the connection guide path 182 has a separation supply path. The paper roller 180 is opened facing the pressure contact portion with the paper bundle B. Thus, when the separation paper feed roller 180 rotates by a predetermined amount, the recording paper P is separated from the paper bundle B on the stacking tray 178 by the separation paper feed roller 180, and the leading end side of the recording paper P is connected to the connection guide path. 182.

  Note that the number of stacking trays 178 disposed in the main sheet feeding hopper 176 is not limited to one, and a plurality of stacking trays 178 are disposed in the main sheet feeding hopper 176, and different types of recording are recorded on the respective stacking trays 178. The paper P may be stacked, and one type of recording paper P selected from a plurality of types of recording paper P stacked on any of the plurality of stacking trays 178 may be fed into the connection guide path 182.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer device 140 according to this embodiment is configured by stacking one or more (two in FIG. 1) printing units 142 and a paper discharge unit 70 along the height direction. Yes. Here, the paper discharge unit 70 is for receiving and temporarily storing the recording paper P on which an image is recorded by the printing unit 142, and is disposed at the uppermost stage in the printer device 140.

  The paper discharge unit 70 includes a casing 74 as an outer shell, and the size of the casing 74 along the width direction and the depth direction is substantially the same as the casing 12 of the printing unit 142. In the casing 74, a slit-shaped receiving port 76 (see FIG. 2) is opened on the rear end side of the lower surface portion thereof, and the receiving port 76 is disposed so as to be adjacent to the lower side of the paper discharge unit 70. Connected to the paper discharge port 18 of the printing unit 142. A paper discharge tray 78 on which a plurality of recording sheets P can be stacked is provided on the upper surface of the casing 74. The discharge tray 78 is formed with a stacking surface 80 that is inclined upward from one end on the receiving port 76 side toward the other end, and a positioning surface 82 that rises substantially vertically from one end of the stacking surface 80. Is formed. A slit-shaped discharge port 84 is opened at the upper end side of the positioning surface 82, and a receiving guide path 86 that connects the discharge port 84 and the receiving port 76 is provided in the casing 74. In the paper discharge unit 70, a pair of carry-out rollers 88 is disposed at the end of the receiving guide path 86 on the paper discharge port 84 side.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the print unit 142 arranged on the lower side of the paper discharge unit 70 has a lower paper feed port 16 when the other print unit 142 is arranged on the lower side. When the other paper discharge unit 70 is arranged on the upper side of the unit 142 and connected to the paper output port 18 of the unit 142, the paper output port 18 is connected to the paper supply port 16 of the upper side print unit 142. The Thus, when a plurality of printing units 142 are arranged on the lower side of the paper discharge unit 70, the paper discharge guide paths 66 of the respective print units 142 are connected to each other. A sheet discharge path that extends in the height direction so as to penetrate the printing unit 142 and whose upper end is connected to the receiving guide path 86 of the sheet discharge unit 70 is configured.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printer device 140 according to the present embodiment can be easily separated from the lower units 142 and 170 simply by lifting the upper units 70 and 142 upward. Accordingly, in the printer device 140, if the print unit 142 is separated from the other print units 142, or the paper discharge unit 70 is separated from the lower print unit 142, one or more print units 142 are provided. One or a plurality of printing units are inserted between the other printing units 142 or between the printing unit 142 and the paper discharge unit 70, or between the printing units 142 or between the printing unit 142 and the paper discharge unit 70. 142 can be extracted. Thereby, in the printer device 140, the number of printing units 142 constituting the device can be easily increased or decreased. By increasing or decreasing the number of printing units 142, the printing capability including the printing speed of the entire device can be adjusted.

  Next, the configuration of the control system of the printer apparatus 140 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the printer apparatus 140.

  The printer device 140 according to the present embodiment includes a main control unit 10 as a control unit according to the present invention, which includes a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. For example, the main control unit 10 may be provided in the paper feeding unit 170 or may be provided in another unit.

  An input / output interface (I / F) 11 is connected to the main control unit 10. The input / output I / F 11 includes a communication control unit 92, an error detection sensor 94, a paper feed control unit 96, a paper discharge control unit 98 for controlling paper discharge, and a plurality of printing units 90 (90A, 90B, etc.). The main control unit 10 controls the various operations of the printer device 140.

  The communication control unit 92 is connected to an external device (for example, a host computer) via a network or the like, and controls communication between the printer device 140 and the external device. For example, in response to a print request from a host computer or the like, communication control for printing by the printer device 140 is performed.

  The error detection sensor 94 corresponds to detection means of the present invention, and detects an error that occurs in the printer device 140. For example, it is composed of various sensors for detecting the movement of the recording paper provided in the recording paper conveyance path or the like in the printer device 140, a remaining amount detection sensor for detecting the remaining amount of ink in the printing unit, etc. From the detection results of various sensors, errors such as jamming of the recording paper and out of ink occurring in the printer device 140 are detected.

  The paper feed control unit 96 controls the operation of the paper feed unit 170 and performs control for supplying the recording paper P stored in the paper feed unit 170 to each print unit 170. The paper feed control unit 96 may be provided in the paper feed unit 170 or may be provided in another part.

  The paper discharge control unit 98 controls the operation of the paper discharge unit 70 and discharges the recording paper P printed by each printing unit 90 to the paper discharge tray 78. The paper discharge control unit 98 may be provided in the paper discharge unit 70 or may be provided in another part.

  The printing control unit 90 controls the printing operation of each printing unit 142. For example, the printing control unit 90 controls the conveyance system of each printing unit 142 to control the recording paper conveyance to the printing unit 34 and controls the printing operation of the printing unit 34. Then, after the printing is finished, the paper discharge operation of each printing unit 142 is controlled. Note that the print control unit 90 may be provided in each print unit 142 or may be provided in another part such as the paper feed unit 170. The sheet feeding operation by the sheet feeding control unit 96 controlling the sheet feeding unit 170 and the sheet feeding operation by the printing control unit 90 controlling the printing unit 142 correspond to the supply means of the present invention. The paper discharge operation by the paper discharge control unit 98 controlling the paper discharge unit 70 and the paper discharge operation by the print control unit 90 controlling the print unit 142 correspond to the discharge means of the present invention. The paper feed operation in each print unit 142 may be controlled by the paper feed control unit 96. Similarly, the paper discharge operation in each print unit 142 is controlled by the paper discharge control unit 98. Also good. In this case, the paper feed operation by the paper feed control unit 96 controlling the paper feed unit 170 corresponds to the supply means of the present invention, and the paper discharge operation by the paper discharge control unit 98 controlling the paper discharge unit 70. The operation corresponds to the discharging means of the present invention.

  When a print instruction is given from an external host computer or the like via the communication control unit 92, the main control unit 10 receives the print data and allocates the print data to the print control unit 90 of each print unit 142. At this time, the progress of printing is managed. That is, the main control unit 10 has at least a paper feed completion flag, a print end flag, and a paper discharge end flag, and these can be managed by the print progress management table. Each flag can be detected, for example, based on information from a sensor or the like included in each recording paper conveyance path that constitutes the error detection sensor 94. That is, the error detection sensor 94 includes the state detection means of the present invention for detecting these flags. FIG. 9 shows an example of print progress management.

  Next, a normal printing operation flow of the printer apparatus 140 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing up to printing, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing after printing.

  First, in step 100, a print request is made from the external host computer or the like to the printer device 140 via the communication control unit 92, and it is determined whether there is print data. That is, it is determined whether or not there is print data input to the printer device 140 via the communication control unit 92 after the print request, and the process waits until the determination is affirmed and the process proceeds to step 102.

  In step 102, the main control unit 10 issues a print command for printing with each print unit 142. At this time, the main control unit 10 determines the print unit 142 to be printed according to the number of print units 142 and the number of print data (number of pages), and as shown in FIGS. A management table is created and a print command is issued to each print control unit 90. Thereby, each printing unit 142 shifts to a printing operation. At this time, the main control unit 10 or the print control unit 90 of each print unit 142 outputs a paper feed request signal to the paper feed control unit 96.

  In step 104, in response to a paper feed request signal from the main control unit 10 or the print control unit 90 of each print unit 142, the paper feed control unit 96 conveys the recording paper to each print unit 90.

  Next, in step 106, the print control unit 90 of each print unit 142 performs control to start the print operation after confirming the conveyance of the recording paper P. For example, confirmation of conveyance of the recording paper P can be performed based on a signal from a sensor or the like provided in the recording paper conveyance path of each printing unit 142 that constitutes the error detection sensor 94.

  In step 108, it is determined whether printing by the printing unit 34 of each printing unit 142 has been completed. The determination is made, for example, based on information from various sensors that constitute the error detection sensor 94 provided in the recording paper conveyance path, and whether or not printing of print data for printing has been completed. The process waits until the determination is affirmed and proceeds to step 110.

  In step 110, the printing control unit 90 of the printing unit 142 notifies the main control unit 10 of the completion of printing, and the processing up to the printing operation is completed. As a result, the main control unit 10 updates the print progress management table as shown in FIGS.

  Thus, when the processing up to the printing operation is completed, the process proceeds to the flowchart of FIG. That is, in step 120, it is determined whether or not printing is finished, and the process waits until the determination is affirmed and the process proceeds to step 122.

  In step 122, the main control unit 10 determines whether or not paper discharge is possible. That is, the main control unit 10 determines whether or not discharge is possible in the order of pages from the print progress management table shown in FIGS. In other words, it is determined whether or not the printing has been completed to the extent that the print data of each page distributed to each printing unit 142 can be discharged in the order of the pages, and the process waits until the determination is affirmed and proceeds to step 124. .

  In step 124, the main control unit 10 issues a paper discharge command to each print control unit 90 and paper discharge control unit 98 so that the recording sheets of each print unit 142 are discharged in accordance with a predetermined discharge order (page order). To do. That is, the main control unit 10 discharges the recording paper P printed according to the page order of the print progress management table to the print control unit 90 and the discharge control unit 98 of each print unit 142 so that the recording paper P is discharged. Issue a directive.

  Accordingly, in step 126, the recording paper P is picked up from the paper discharge buffer 26 of each printing unit 142 and discharged to the paper discharge tray 78 of the paper discharge unit 70.

  In step 128, it is determined whether or not the discharge is completed. The process waits until the determination is affirmed, and the process proceeds to step 130 to determine whether or not there is the recording paper P to be discharged. If the determination in step 130 is affirmative, the process returns to step 124 and the above-described processing is repeated until there is no recording paper P to be discharged. When there is no recording paper P to be discharged, the processing after printing is terminated.

  Next, processing performed by each control unit in the printing operation as described above will be described in detail. First, the flow of processing performed in the main control unit 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step 200, it is determined whether or not a print command has been received. The process waits until the determination is affirmed, and the process proceeds to step 202. Step 200 is performed, for example, by determining whether or not a print instruction is received from an external host computer or the like via the communication control unit 92 or the like.

  In step 202, print data consisting of a plurality of sheets is received via the communication control unit 92 or the like, and the process proceeds to step 204.

  In step 204, based on the number of prints and the number of print units 142, the print data allocation and the paper supply / discharge sequence are determined. For example, when the number of print data is 5 and the number of print units is 3, as shown in FIG. 11A, the print unit A has pages 1 and 4 and the print unit B has pages. 2, page 5, and page 3 can be allocated to the printing unit C. Further, as shown in FIG. 11B, page 1 is allocated to printing unit A, page 2 is allocated to printing unit B, page 3 is allocated to printing unit C, and the remaining pages 4, 5 are reserved in the buffer of main control unit 10. You may make it do. The number of print units 142 can be recognized by the main control unit 10 by detecting the number of print control units 90 connected to the main control unit 10, for example.

  In addition, the paper supply / discharge sequence uses a print progress management table as shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C created by the main control unit 10 so that pages are output in order so that pages are output in order. Determine the sequence.

  In step 205, if there is print data that has not yet entered the print operation and there is a print unit that is not in operation, the process proceeds to step 206. If this condition is not satisfied, the routine proceeds to step 208.

  In step 206, the print data is transferred to the print control unit 90 of each print unit 142. That is, according to the print data allocation determined as described above, the corresponding print data is transferred to the print control unit 90 of each print unit 142.

  In step 208, it is determined whether or not there is a request for recording paper P from each print control unit 90. If there is a request for recording paper, the process proceeds to step 210. If there is no recording paper request, the process proceeds to step 212. Note that the recording paper P may be requested directly from the print control unit 90 to the paper feed control unit 96 without requesting the recording paper P from the main control unit 10.

  In step 210, a paper feed command is output to the paper feed control unit 96. Accordingly, the paper feed unit 170 is controlled by the paper feed controller 96, and paper feed processing is performed.

  In step 212, it is determined whether printing of each printing unit 142 has been completed. That is, based on the print progress management table, it is determined whether or not printing that can be discharged in page order has been completed. The determination is made based on the print end notification and the print progress management table obtained from the print control unit 90 of each print unit 142. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 214. Goes to step 216.

  In step 214, upon completion of printing by each printing unit 142, a discharge command is output to each print control unit 90 and paper discharge control unit 98 based on the page order of the print data.

  In step 216, it is determined whether or not printing has been completed for all print data. If the determination is negative, the process returns to step 208 and the above processing is performed until printing for all print data is completed. Repeatedly, when printing for all print data is completed, a series of control by the main control unit 10 is finished, and the next print command is waited for.

  9A to 9C show an example of the print progress management table of the main control unit 10, but in FIG. 9A, it can be seen that the print end signal of the print unit B142 has been received. However, since the printing of page 1 is not completed, the main control unit 10 does not operate the paper discharge unit 70. Then, as shown in FIG. 9B, when the print end signal of the print unit A 142 is received, since the pages 1 and 2 have been printed, the main control unit 10 operates the paper discharge unit 70. First, the recording paper is conveyed from the paper ejection buffer 26 of the printing unit A 142 to the paper ejection tray 78, and then the recording paper is conveyed from the paper ejection buffer 26 of the printing unit B 142 to the paper ejection tray 78. FIG. 9C shows a state where the discharge of pages 1 and 2 is completed.

  Next, the flow of processing performed by each print control unit 90 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step 250, it is determined whether print data has been received. That is, it is determined whether or not print data has been received from the main control unit 10 and waits until the determination is affirmed.

  In step 252, the main control unit 10 is requested to convey the recording paper. When the recording paper P is present in the paper feeding hopper 20 of each printing unit 142, the transport system of the printing unit 142 is set so that the recording paper P is transported from the paper feeding hopper 20 of each printing unit 142 to the printing unit 34. Drive control.

  In step 254, printing is started after confirmation of paper feed. That is, printing based on the print data is performed on the recording paper P. The paper feed confirmation is detected by various sensors (such as various sensors constituting the error detection sensor 94) provided in the conveyance system of the recording paper P of each printing unit 142.

  In step 256, it is determined whether or not printing is finished, and the process waits until the determination is affirmed. When printing is finished, the process proceeds to step 258 to notify the main control unit 10 of printing completion. Thus, the control of the print control unit 90 that controls each print unit 142 is terminated, and the process proceeds to a print data reception wait (step 250). That is, the main control unit 10 can update the print progress management table upon receiving a print end notification from the print control unit 90.

  Next, the flow of processing performed by the paper feed control unit 96 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step 300, it is determined whether or not a paper feed command to the printing unit 142 has been received. The process waits until the determination is affirmed, and the process proceeds to step 302. The paper feed command is received from the main control unit 10 or the print control unit 90.

  In step 302, the recording paper P is conveyed by driving each motor provided in the paper feeding unit 170 for feeding paper. Thus, paper feeding to each printing unit 142 is performed.

  In step 304, it is determined whether or not the conveyance of the recording paper P has been completed. The determination is made based on the recording paper detection result of each sensor provided in the paper feed path, and waits until the determination is affirmed and the process proceeds to step 306.

  In step 306, each motor of the paper feeding unit 170 is stopped and the process returns to step 300. At this time, the paper feed control unit 96 notifies the main control unit 10 of the completion of paper feed. As a result, the main control unit 10 can update the print progress management table.

  Finally, the flow of processing performed by the paper discharge control unit 98 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step 350, it is determined whether a discharge command has been received. That is, it is determined whether printing is finished and a discharge command is issued from the main control unit 10. The process waits until the determination is affirmed and proceeds to step 352.

  In step 352, the recording paper P is picked up from the paper discharge buffer 26 of the printing unit 142 designated by the main control unit 10 and conveyed to the paper discharge tray 78.

  In step 354, it is determined whether or not the conveyance is completed. The process waits until the determination is affirmed. When the determination is affirmed, the paper discharge control is terminated, and the process returns to step 350. The determination of the completion of conveyance can be made based on the detection result of the recording paper of various sensors provided in the conveyance path. When the discharge is completed, the main control unit 10 is notified of the discharge completion signal. Accordingly, the main control unit 10 updates the print management progress table.

  By controlling the individual units in this way, it is possible to control from the printing operation to the recording paper discharge operation of the printer device 140 as shown in FIGS.

  By the way, in the printer device 140 having a plurality of printing units 142 as in the present embodiment, when an error such as a paper jam or out of ink in each printing unit 142 occurs, another normal printing is performed. There is an advantage that the printing operation can be continued using the unit 142. However, if the print data of the print unit 142 in which an error has occurred is simply transferred to another print unit 142 and printing is performed, it will not be possible to output in the normal print order.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, when an error occurs, the following processing is executed to keep the printing order normal.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a flow of error control when an error occurs.

  In step 400, the main controller 10 determines whether an error has been detected. That is, from the detection result of the error detection sensor 94 composed of various sensors for detecting the movement of the recording paper provided in the recording paper conveyance path or the like in the printer device 140 and the remaining amount sensor for detecting the ink out. This is done by determining whether an error has occurred in the printer device 140. If the determination is negative, the process waits until the determination is positive. In other words, the error processing is executed when an error occurs.

  If an error has occurred, the process proceeds to step 402 where the main control unit 10 outputs a discharge operation stop instruction to the discharge control unit 98 and the print control unit 90 of each print unit 142. As a result, the paper discharge operation of the printer device 140 is stopped. That is, the discharge operation is temporarily stopped to maintain the printing order after the error.

  Subsequently, in step 404, it is determined whether the error is a serious error or an individual error based on the detection results of the sensors constituting the error detection sensor 94. That is, a serious error that affects the operation of the entire printer apparatus 140 such as a paper feed path for feeding paper to each print unit 142 and a paper discharge path for paper discharge from each print unit 142, From the detection result of the error detection sensor 94, the main control unit 10 determines whether the individual error occurred in step S1. This determination corresponds to the determination means of the present invention, and can be determined from the position where each sensor constituting the error detection sensor 94 detects a paper jam or the like.

  In step 406, it is determined whether or not the error determined in step 404 is a serious error. If the determination is negative, that is, if it is an individual error, the process proceeds to step 408.

  In step 408, the main control unit 10 corrects the distribution of print data. For example, in the case of the example shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, when an error occurs in the printing unit A 142, as shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B, the printing data of the printing unit A 142 is displayed. Page 1 is distributed to the printing unit B 142, and page 4 of the printing data of the printing unit A 142 is distributed to the printing unit C 142. In the case of FIG. 16A, in the printing unit B142, when page 4 of the print data is not printed, the page 1 is sorted to be printed first.

  Subsequently, in step 410, the print data of the print unit 142 corresponding to the error is transferred according to the above-described distribution. The print data may be transferred directly from the print control unit 90 corresponding to the print unit 142 in which an error has occurred to the print control unit 90 of the print unit 142 that performs printing. You may make it transfer via. When data is transferred via the main control unit 10, the main control unit 10 first acquires all print data and distributes the print data to the print control unit 90 of each print unit 142. The print data may be retained until the completion, and the print data may be deleted after printing. In this way, all the print data is retained in the main control unit 10 so that the distribution is performed again at the time of an error. Sometimes, it is possible to transfer data to the printing control unit 90 of the printing unit 142 that performs printing instead.

  Next, in step 412, it is determined whether printing based on the print data at the time of error has ended. The process waits until the determination is affirmed, and the process proceeds to step 414. When printing based on the print data at the time of error is completed, the discharge operation of each print unit 142 and paper discharge unit 70 is resumed. That is, the main control unit 10 resumes the discharge of the printed recording paper based on the progress management table. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 17A to 17C, if the printing progress has changed, each of page 1 and page 2 is discharged to the discharge buffer 26 of the printing unit B 142. Become. Here, in the present embodiment, since there are two outlets of the paper discharge buffer 26, it is possible to control whether the paper is discharged from the top or the bottom according to the discharge order. In the case of FIGS. 17A to 17C, as shown in FIG. 18, since page 1 is discharged onto the discharge buffer 26 after page 2, both pages 1 and 2 are stored in the discharge buffer 26. The paper is discharged from above to the paper discharge tray 78. Further, since page 4 after page 3 is discharged onto paper discharge buffer 26 of print unit C 142, after page 3 is discharged from paper discharge buffer 26 onto paper discharge tray 78. Both pages 4 are discharged from the upper side of the discharge buffer 26 (in this case, either one may be upper or lower) to the discharge tray 78. As a result, the printed recording paper can be discharged to the paper discharge tray 78 without causing the page order to be out of order.

  17A to 17C are examples of a print progress management table when an error occurs. FIG. 17A shows a state in which the print data allocation is corrected because an error has occurred in the print unit A 142, and the print operations of the print unit A 142 and the print unit B 142 are completed. The print data in which an error has occurred is newly allocated to the print unit B 142, and the transmission of the print data is finished. In FIG. 17B, printing of page 4 of the printing unit C142 is completed, but printing of the printing data (page 1) corresponding to the error has not been completed, so the main control unit 10 stops the paper discharge unit 70. Indicates the state as it is. In FIG. 17C, since the printing of the print data corresponding to the error is finished, the main control unit 10 resumes the operation of the paper discharge unit 70. At this time, since it is understood that the recording sheets are held in the order of page 2 and page 1 in the discharge buffer 26 of the print unit B 142, the exit of the print unit B 142 on the discharge buffer 26 and the print unit B 142 The recording paper P is picked up and discharged from each discharge buffer 26 in the order of the exit under the discharge buffer 26, the exit under the discharge buffer 26 of the print unit C142, and the exit above the discharge buffer 26 of the print unit C142. Transport to paper tray 78. As a result, the page order can be kept normal.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step 406 is affirmative, that is, if a serious error has occurred, it is difficult to continue the operation of the printer device 140, so the process proceeds to step 416 to perform a serious error notification process. In step 418, the operation of the printer device 140 is stopped. Step 406 corresponds to the abnormality notifying means of the present invention.

  In the serious error notification process, for example, a message indicating that a serious error has occurred and printing cannot be performed may be displayed on a display device provided in the printer device 140, or connected via the communication control unit 92. A message indicating that a serious error has occurred and printing cannot be performed may be displayed on the display device of the host computer.

As described above, by executing the error control, it is possible to obtain a normal printing result even when an error occurs without causing the printing order to be out of order.
[Second Embodiment]
Next, a printer apparatus according to the second embodiment of the invention will be described.

  The printer device 140 according to the first embodiment includes two outlets in the paper discharge buffer 26 of each printing unit 142, but in the second embodiment, the paper discharge buffer 26 of each printing unit 142 has 1 in the paper discharge buffer 26. The only difference is that it has only one outlet and the control of the print control unit 90 is different, and the rest of the configuration is the same as in the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing unit 142 according to the second embodiment. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 19, a housing-like paper discharge buffer 26 having an upper surface opened on the upper side of the paper feed hopper 20 is disposed in the print unit 142. The recording paper P can be stored in the paper discharge buffer 26. In the paper discharge buffer 26, like the paper feed hopper 20, a flat stacking plate 28 is disposed on the bottom plate portion 27 so as to be swingable. On the stacking plate 28, the recording paper P stored in the paper discharge buffer 26 is placed. Further, the loading plate 28 is connected to the bottom plate portion 27 so that the end of one side (right side in FIG. 3) is swingable along the width direction, and the swing end side is upward by a biasing member 30 such as a coil spring. Is being energized. As a result, the recording paper P stored in the paper discharge buffer 26 is urged upward by the pressing force from the stacking plate 28 at the leading end side. In the paper discharge buffer 26, the direction of the leading edge of the recording paper P is opposite to that in the paper feed hopper 20.

  The discharge buffer 26 is provided with an actuator (not shown) for moving and restraining the stacking plate 28 to the lower limit position along the swinging direction against the biasing member 30 on the lower surface side of the bottom plate portion 27. When the recording paper P on which an image has been recorded is received in the paper discharge buffer 26, the actuator swings the stacking plate 28 to a lower limit position close to the bottom plate portion 27 and restrains it. After the recording paper P is completely received, the stacking plate 28 is released.

  As shown in FIG. 19, the discharge buffer 26 of the printing unit 142 according to the second embodiment is provided with a cylindrical separation discharge roller 54 only at the top. The separation paper discharge roller 54 comes into pressure contact with the leading end of the upper surface of the recording paper P (paper bundle B) housed in the paper discharge buffer 26 and biased upward by the stacking plate 28. The printing unit 142 is provided with a pair of branch guide plates 56 and 58 extending from the separation paper discharge roller 54 to the rear end side, and the pair of branch guide plates 56 and 58 are spaced apart from each other. It is supported so as to face each other. A branch guide path 60 is formed between the pair of branch guide plates 56 and 58 for guiding one recording sheet P to a sheet discharge guide path 66 described later. That is, the paper discharge buffer 26 is configured to discharge the recording paper P to the paper discharge guide path 66 only from above.

  Next, control of the print control unit 90 of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of print control according to the second embodiment.

  First, in step 500, the print control unit 90 of the second embodiment determines whether print data has been received. That is, it is determined whether or not print data has been received from the main control unit 10 and waits until the determination is affirmed.

  In step 502, the main control unit 10 is requested to convey the recording paper P. When there is recording paper in the paper feed hopper 20 of each printing unit 142, the conveyance system of the printing unit 142 is driven so that the recording paper P is conveyed from the paper feeding hopper 20 of each printing unit 142 to the printing unit 34. Control.

  In step 504, printing is started after confirmation of paper feed. That is, printing based on the print data is performed on the recording paper P. The paper feed confirmation is detected by various sensors (such as various sensors constituting the error detection sensor 94) provided in the conveyance system of the recording paper P of each printing unit 142.

  In step 506, it is determined whether or not printing is completed, and the process waits until the determination is affirmed, and the process proceeds to step 508.

  In step 508, it is determined whether or not the recording paper P is on the paper discharge buffer 26. In the present embodiment, basically, when the recording paper is discharged onto the paper discharge buffer 26, the discharge operation is performed immediately and the recording paper P is conveyed to the paper discharge tray 78. That is, when there is a recording paper P on the paper discharge buffer 26 when printing is completed, an error is detected and the discharge operation is stopped by the main control unit 10. It is determined whether or not there is recording paper P.

  If the determination in step 508 is negative, the process proceeds to step 510, the recording paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 78, the print control is terminated, and the print data is waited for.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step 508 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 512, and has the print corresponding to the error (print corresponding to the print data transferred from the print control unit 90 in which the error occurred) completed? Judge whether or not. If the determination is affirmative, the routine proceeds to step 510 where the recording paper P on which printing corresponding to the error has been carried out is carried out, and then the recording paper P held on the paper discharge buffer 26 is discharged. Then, the process proceeds to step 500 and waits for reception of print data. If the result is NO in step 512, the process returns to step 508, and a loop is formed between step 508 and step 512 until there is no recording paper P in the paper discharge buffer 26, and a standby state is entered. In the normal printing state, since only one sheet of recording paper can be placed in the paper discharge buffer 26, the paper discharge operation will eventually be performed, and there will be no recording paper in the paper discharge buffer 26.

  As described above, by performing the print control by the print control unit 90, even when there is only one outlet of the paper discharge buffer 26, the print order is not changed as in the first embodiment, and normal printing is performed even when an error occurs. The result can be obtained.

  Here, the operation of the printer apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described as an example.

  If there are three printing units 142 (printing units A to C) and there are five pages of print data, the main control unit 10 causes the printing unit A142 to print one page, the printing unit B142 to print two pages, and the printing unit C142 to print. Allocation is performed so that three pages are printed, and data of the first page to be printed by each printing unit 142 is transferred. At the same time, by issuing a command to the paper feed control unit 96, the recording paper P is conveyed from the paper feed unit 170 to the printing unit 34 of each of the printing units A to C142. Pages 4 and 5 are held in the buffer of the main control unit 10. Note that, as described above, basically only one sheet of recording paper remains in the paper discharge buffer 26 of each printing unit 142. That is, immediately after printing, the printing unit 142 is discharged. Alternatively, when there is a recording sheet on the discharge buffer 26, new print data is not received.

  FIG. 21 shows an example of a print progress management table that the main control unit 10 has. In FIG. 21A, it can be seen that the print end signal of the print unit B 142 has arrived, but since the printing of page 1 has not ended, the paper discharge unit 70 does not operate. Next, when the print end signal of the print unit A 142 is received, as shown in FIG. 21B, since pages 1 and 2 have been printed, the main control unit 10 drives the paper discharge unit 70. First, the recording paper P is conveyed from the paper discharge buffer 26 of the printing unit A 142 to the paper discharge tray 78, and then the recording paper P of the paper discharge buffer 26 of the printing unit B 142 is conveyed to the paper discharge tray 78. When the conveyance is completed, the print progress management table is as shown in FIG.

  When each printing unit 142 confirms the presence of the recording paper conveyed from the paper feeding unit 170, it starts a printing operation and performs printing based on the printing data. At this time, when an error (recording paper jam, ink out, etc.) is detected in the printing unit A 142, the printing control unit 90 of the printing unit 142 notifies the main control unit 10 of the occurrence of the error. Upon receiving this, the main control unit 10 immediately stops the discharge operation of the paper discharge unit 70. When the error (serious error or individual error) determined by the main control unit 10 based on the signal from each sensor of the error detection sensor 94 is an individual error, the following processing is performed.

  The assignment of the print data is corrected, and the assignment of the print unit 142 that cannot be used due to an error is assigned to another print unit. The print data corresponding to the error is distributed so as to come after the currently printed data. At this time, it is efficient to transfer the print data corresponding to the error to the print unit 142 that has finished printing earliest. Here, the page of the printing unit B 142 corresponds to this. Then, the print data (print data corresponding to the error) held by the print control unit 90 of the print unit A 142 is sent to the print control unit 90 of the print unit B 142 together with an identifier indicating that the print data corresponds to the error. The data is transferred to the print control unit 90 of the print unit B142. Thereafter, printing other than the printing unit A 142 continues printing based on the given print data.

  That is, page 1 of printing unit A 142 stops due to an error, and printing unit B 142 prints page 1 after printing page 2, and then prints page 5. Further, in the printing unit C142, the main control unit 10 changes the allocation of print data so that the page 4 is printed after the page 3 is printed. Note that the print data corresponding to the error is discharged even if the recording paper P is in the discharge buffer 26. When the main control unit 10 detects that the printing of the page 1 delayed in printing due to an error has been completed by the printing unit B 142, the main control unit 10 resumes the operation of the discharging unit. In another printing unit 142, the recording paper P that is being printed when an error occurs is sent to the paper discharge buffer 26. The recording paper P that has been printed based on the next print data is conveyed to the paper discharge buffer 26. To stop. At this time, pages 2 and 1 are discharged in this order to the paper discharge buffer 26 of the printing unit B 142, but page 3 is held in the paper discharge buffer 26 in the printing unit C 142.

  Since the main control unit 10 can grasp which page is printed by which print unit 142 by using the print progress management table, the main control unit 10 first takes out the recording paper P from the paper discharge buffer 26 of the print unit B 142. Next, the recording paper P on the paper discharge buffer 26 of the printing unit B 142 is taken out, and then the recording paper P is picked up from the paper discharge buffer 26 of the printing unit C 142 and discharged to the paper discharge tray 78. When the printing unit 142 runs out of the recording paper P on the paper discharge buffer 26, the normal printing operation is resumed. Finally, the printing of the page 5 is finished by the printing unit C142 and is output to the paper discharge tray 78. End the operation. For restarting the printing operation, a sensor may be provided on the paper discharge buffer 26 to detect the presence or absence of the recording paper P, or a discharge end signal of the paper discharge unit 70 may be used.

  FIG. 22 shows an example of the print progress management table when an error occurs. FIG. 22A shows an error in the print unit A 142. Therefore, the print data allocation is corrected, and the print unit B 142 and the print unit C 142. Indicates that the printing operation has been completed. Since an error has occurred, the operation of the paper discharge unit 70 is stopped. The print data corresponding to the error is newly allocated to the print unit B 142, and the transmission of the print data is finished.

  In FIG. 22B, the printing unit C 142 is in the middle of printing page 4 or has finished printing, but has stopped because there is a recording sheet of page 3 on the paper discharge buffer 26. In FIG. 22C, since the printing of the print data corresponding to the error is completed, the main control unit 10 resumes the operation of the paper discharge unit 70. At this time, since it can be seen that the recording sheets are held in the order of page 2 and page 1 in the printing unit B 142, the recording sheets are discharged sequentially from the top of the discharge buffer 26 of the printing unit B 142, and then discharged from the printing unit C 142. The recording paper P is discharged from above the buffer 26 and discharged to the paper discharge tray 78.

  As described above, also in the second embodiment, when an error occurs in the printing unit 142, some waiting time is generated on the paper discharge buffer 26, but since the printing operation is continued, high-speed printing is possible. is there. Further, the recording paper is held on the paper discharge tray 78 while maintaining the printing order. As a result, the user can obtain a printed result with a uniform page at the printer. That is, even if there is an error in the printing unit 142, the user can easily obtain a normal printing result without worrying about it. Of course, if each printing unit 142 includes a plurality of stages of paper discharge buffers 26 so that recording paper can be picked up from an arbitrary position, higher-speed printing is possible.

  In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, an example is shown in which the unitized printing unit 142 is applied as the printing means of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, the present invention may be applied to a configuration including a plurality of printing units 34.

1 is a side view illustrating a configuration of a printer apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating a state where the printer apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is separated in units. (A) is a side view showing the configuration of the printing unit in the printer apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, (B) is a side view showing the operation of the guide lever in the printing unit. It is a top view which shows the structure of a printing unit. FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating a configuration of a paper discharge buffer of the printing unit. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of the printer apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of operations up to printing in the printer device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing after printing in the printer device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the printing progress management table at the time of normal operation | movement. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process performed in a main control part. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of print data allocation. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing performed by a print control unit. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing performed in a paper feed control unit. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing performed by a paper discharge control unit. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of error control performed by the printer apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of print data allocation correction. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the printing progress management table at the time of the occurrence of an error in 1st Embodiment. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printing result on a paper discharge buffer. FIG. It is a side view which shows the structure of the printing unit in the printer apparatus concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process performed in the printing control part of the printer apparatus concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the printing progress management table at the time of normal in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the printing progress management table at the time of the error generation in 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10 Main control unit 11 Input / output I / F
26 Paper discharge buffer 70 Paper discharge unit 90 Print control unit 94 Error detection sensor 96 Paper feed control unit 98 Paper discharge control unit 142 Print unit 170 Paper feed unit

Claims (7)

A plurality of printing means including a discharge buffer for printing on the recording medium and holding the printed recording medium;
Supply means for supplying a recording medium to the plurality of printing means;
A discharge unit that discharges the recording medium held in the discharge buffer of the plurality of printing units to a discharge tray that holds the printed recording medium;
Control means for distributing print data for printing by the plurality of printing means to each printing means, and for controlling operations of the supply means and the discharging means;
Detecting means for detecting errors of the plurality of printing means;
With
When an error is detected by the detection means, the control means controls the discharge means to stop the operation of the discharge means, corrects the sorting, and prints corresponding to the print data at the time of the error When the operation is completed, the operation of the discharge unit is restarted, and the discharge unit is controlled so that the recording medium held in the discharge buffer is discharged to the discharge tray in a predetermined printing order. A printer device.   2. The printer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing unit in which an error has occurred directly transfers unprinted print data to the printing unit that performs printing instead according to the correction of the sorting.   The control means holds the print data until printing by the printing means is completed, and when an error is detected by the detection means, print data is sent to the printing means that performs printing instead according to the correction of the sorting. The printer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer is performed.   The detection means includes a supply completion detection means for detecting completion of supply of the recording medium from the supply means to the printing means, a print completion detection means for detecting completion of printing by the printing means, and discharge of the recording medium by the discharge means. 4. The printer apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising at least one state detection unit of a discharge completion detection unit that detects completion.   If the error is detected by the detection means, the control means can operate the printing means other than the supply means, the discharge means, and the printing means in which an error has occurred based on the type of error. The printer apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a determination unit that determines whether or not.   6. The detection unit according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit detects an individual error occurring in the printing unit and a serious error related to other than the printing unit. Printer device.   The printer apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising an abnormality notification unit that notifies that a serious error has occurred when the detection unit detects the serious error.

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