Software-supported procedure for operator guidance on printing machines

Abstract

The invention relates to a software-supported method for operator guidance in the graphic arts industry, which transmits one or more operating steps to an operator via an operator interface (9b), in particular optically and / or acoustically, by means of at least one computer (6, 8, 9a). The at least one computer (6, 8, 9a) receives data from one or more print jobs, prepares the print job data for processing by at least one printing material processing machine (9), and calculates manual operating steps depending on the properties of the printing material processing machine (9) processing a print job. The method is characterized in that operating steps to be carried out manually, along with a time for execution, are transmitted optically and / or acoustically to the operator of the printing material processing machine (9) via the operator interface (9b).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a software-supported method for operator guidance in the graphic arts industry, which transmits one or more operating steps to an operator via a user interface by means of at least one computer, wherein the at least one computer receives data from one or more print jobs, prepares the data of the print jobs for processing by at least one printing material processing machine and calculates manual operating steps depending on the properties of the printing material processing machine processing a print job.

[0002] Such a software-supported method for operator guidance is known from DE 10 2017 205 580 B4. This document describes a method for operating a processing machine system with at least one mobile operating unit, wherein the mobile operating unit provides an operator with machine-relevant, process-relevant, or consumable-relevant data. The mobile operating unit is capable of communicating data or information about operating actions to be performed to the operator in a timely manner so that the operator can locate the location of the operating action. The notification of the operating action is provided visually, acoustically, or mechanically.

[0003] This prior art method has the disadvantage that, although the operator is informed in advance when an action is required, it does not tell them exactly when they must perform this action on which machine in a printing plant. This method is therefore not suitable for operator guidance in a printing plant with numerous printing presses, folding machines, and large numbers of operating personnel, as appropriate coordination is not possible due to the lack of precise time specifications.

[0004] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a software-supported method for operator guidance in the graphic industry, in which one or more operators, even inexperienced operators, of machines processing several printing materials are guided through pending manual operating steps in such a way that they can easily process them in the correct chronological order.

[0005] This object is achieved according to the invention by patent claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the present invention emerge from the dependent patent claims, the description and the figures. The software-supported method according to the invention for operator guidance in the graphic arts industry is implemented by software that is installed on at least one computer. The computer does not have to be located in a print shop; the computer can also be part of a cloud computing system on the Internet, so that the software for operator guidance in the graphic arts industry runs in an Internet cloud. The decisive factor here is that the method according to the invention calculates the manual operating steps pending on one or more machines processing printing materials, so that the operator(s) of the machines processing printing materials in one or more print shops can be informed of the pending manual operating steps via a user interface, such as, for example, a Windows® operating system.a screen or loudspeaker with a specific time for execution. This way the operator always knows exactly when they have to carry out which manual operating step. With a visual representation on a screen, this can be done in particular in a flow chart such as a timeline. This not only shows the operator the specific operating step that is pending, but also the location and, above all, the time or the current period until the manual operating steps are carried out. This way the operator can, for example, drive a new stack of printing materials from the warehouse to a printing press in good time if they know that the printing press's printing material stack will be empty in 30 minutes. This allows for more reliable process planning, especially in a large printing company with many machines processing printing materials, such as printing presses, folding machines, etc.with many inexperienced operators.

[0006] In a first embodiment of the present invention, it is provided that the at least one computer evaluates the data from multiple print jobs in a print job queue and determines the manual operating steps across multiple print jobs and visually and / or acoustically communicates multiple manual operating steps from multiple print jobs to the operator with precise time information. In this embodiment of the invention, the at least one computer evaluates the data from all print jobs present in a print job queue and can thus precisely determine the manual operating steps and their respective times across multiple print jobs. Thus, the operator of a machine processing printing materials can be shown, with a precise time or time period, when they can perform which manual operating steps for the next or next-but-one print job, even before the next print job is executed.This also makes it easier for the operator to plan the manual operating steps, allowing them to prepare for them in good time. If the processing of the planned print jobs is delayed or needs to be completed more quickly, the computer detects this during the print jobs and continuously updates the times for performing the manual operating steps at regular, small, predefined intervals. This means that the times are constantly updated, and the operator always receives a visual or acoustic notification of the updated times along with the corresponding manual operating steps. This is also a major advantage over the current state of the art, where this constant updating of the times or time spans until the manual operating steps are not performed.

[0007] Advantageously, the operator interface is provided with a screen and / or loudspeaker. This allows the operator to be informed acoustically and / or visually about the upcoming manual operating steps. The next upcoming operating steps can be displayed chronologically on a screen, and certain particularly important or critical operating steps can also be highlighted in color.

[0008] In a further embodiment of the present invention, print jobs in a print job queue for multiple printing substrate processing machines are fed to the at least one computer, so that the at least one computer calculates the manual operating steps for multiple printing substrate processing machines and visually and / or acoustically communicates these to the respective operator of the respective printing substrate processing machine, along with the corresponding time specification for carrying out the operating steps. Large printing companies in particular have many printing presses, folding machines, and other machines for print finishing. Each of these machines must be operated, and the necessary manual operating steps must be carried out at the correct time; otherwise, the operation of the respective printing substrate processing machine will come to a standstill.In particular, folding machines and other post-press machines cannot process their scheduled jobs if the printing presses have not completed their print jobs on time. With the present invention, it is now possible for the first time for the operator of all machines involved in a printing and post-press process to be visually or acoustically notified in a timely manner of the necessary manual operating steps, along with the corresponding time for their execution. This enables all operators of all machines in a printing company to constantly monitor their manual operating steps and to carry them out correctly according to the communicated time specifications.

[0009] Advantageously, it is also provided that data on the qualifications, skills and permitted activities of the operator are fed to the at least one computer and that the at least one computer calculates the operating steps to be performed manually for the respective operator depending on the supplied data and assigns them accordingly to the respective operator and displays them visually and / or acoustically via the respective operating interface. With this advantageous embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to calculate and also assign the operating steps to be performed manually depending on the characteristics assigned to an operator. This avoids an operator who has only limited training and qualifications being assigned complicated manual operating steps that they cannot perform or can only perform inadequately.This allows each operator on a printing material processing machine to be specifically assigned the operating steps that are appropriate for their qualifications and training. In particular, when a print shop employs staff with different qualifications, this allows each operator to be assigned the manual operating steps that they can easily perform. To do this, each operator identifies themselves upon approaching a printing material processing machine, for example, with an electronic identifier such as an RFID chip or through facial recognition, so that the operating unit of the printing material processing machine can reliably identify which operator it is dealing with. This ensures that no unqualified operator is assigned manual operating steps that they cannot reliably perform.

[0010] Advantageously, it is also provided that the at least one computer calculates conflicts due to simultaneous manual operating steps when scheduling multiple print jobs on machines processing multiple printing materials and avoids conflicts by scheduling print jobs across multiple machines processing multiple printing materials. Since the at least one computer knows all of the print jobs pending in the print shop, it can reliably avoid conflicts and thus machine downtime. If, for example, there are too few operating personnel in the print shop to perform manual operating steps simultaneously, the at least one computer can stagger the corresponding manual operating steps by bringing the operating steps forward on some machines and postponing them on others.The computer can also make appropriate specifications for changing the machine speed in order to enable this temporal equalization.

[0011] Advantageously, it is further provided that the at least one computer deletes from the user interface manual operating steps that have been acknowledged by an operator or detected as having been carried out by a sensor in the machine processing the printing materials. In this embodiment of the invention, the operator can acknowledge a manually performed operating step as having been carried out, for example via a corresponding touch-sensitive control panel on the screen that displays the manual operating steps. The at least one computer then deletes the acknowledged operating step from the list of manual operating steps to be processed. Alternatively, performed manual operating steps, such as the insertion of a printing plate, can also be detected by a sensor such as a printing plate sensor in the machine, and if the printing plate is correctly inserted, the corresponding manual operating step can be deleted from the list in the user interface.

[0012] The present invention is described and explained in more detail below with reference to two figures. Fig. 1 the components necessary for the implementation of the method according to the invention in and outside a printing plant and Fig. 2 a list of pending manual operating steps on a screen of a printing press.

[0013] In Fig. Figure 1 shows an overview of the components involved in the method according to the invention. The core element is a task management software 1, which runs in a software cloud 6. The task management software 1 is used to capture the data of the print jobs to be processed from a production workflow software 3 and to integrate other necessary data via the data capture 2. The task management software 1 has a task management software backend 4, which stores the data of the print jobs from the production workflow software 3 in a memory 5. Furthermore, the task management software 1 communicates via the backend 4 with another cloud software in the Internet of Things 7. Communication takes place via an SQS queue. The cloud of the Internet of Things 7 is in turn connected to a prepress software server 8 in a print shop via an MQTT interface. For this purpose, the prepress software server 8 is connected to the Internet.The prepress software server 8 is typically located in the respective printing shop and has an interface to the Internet of Things 8a. Furthermore, the prepress software server 8 has a printing press interface 8b, via which the prepress software server 8 sends the data prepared for printing via a Java server 9a to the operating system of a printing press 9. The printing press 9 has an operator support screen 9b, via which the operator can operate the printing press 9. At the same time, this operator support screen 9b can be used to display the manual operating steps calculated by the task management software 1 in the cloud 6 in the correct order and at the correct times. Thus, the operator of the printing press 9 is constantly kept up to date on when to perform which manual operating steps.

[0014] The pre-stage software server 8 also has an interface 8c for third-party software, via which third-party software 10 can be integrated. Fig. 1, the method according to the invention is explained using the example of a printing press 9; however, in principle, any number of printing presses 9 and other machines processing printing materials, such as post-press devices and folding machines, can be integrated. Since the task management software 1 runs in the cloud 6, it can also be used to calculate manual operating steps for a large machine park in several printing companies. The only essential thing is that the required data for upcoming print jobs is fed to the task management software 1 via the data acquisition 2 and the production workflow 3, so that the task management software 1 can pre-calculate the manual operating steps necessary for processing the print jobs and display them, along with a corresponding time, on the screen 9b of the respective printing press 9 to the operator working there.

[0015] Fig.Figure 2 shows the representation of the manual operating steps on screen 9b. It can be seen that there are basically two different types of manual operating steps. There are manual operating steps 11 which are now pending for immediate processing by the operator. These operating steps are marked accordingly with "now" and thus displayed on screen 9b. Other operating steps are provided with the corresponding time or time period at which they are to be executed, e.g., "in 24 minutes." These operating steps 12 marked with a time are displayed to the operator in good time so that they can actually be carried out at the displayed time. For convenience, the manual operating steps 11, 12 are displayed in the chronological order in which they are to be carried out.

[0016] The task management software 1 is preferably equipped with artificial intelligence so that it can continuously learn from the print jobs and situations occurring on the printing machines 9 and can take these into account in the future when calculating the times of the manual operating steps 11, 12. List of reference symbols 1 task management software 2 Data collection 3 Production workflow software 4 Task management software backend 5 storage 6 Cloud 7 Internet of Things 8 prepress software servers 8a Interface to the Internet of Things 8b Printing machine interface 8c interface for third-party software 9 printing press 9a Java-based Server 9b Operator support screen 10 Third-party software 11 tasks to be done immediately 12 tasks in the future with time specification

Claims

[1] Software-supported method for operator guidance in the graphic arts industry, which transmits one or more operating steps to an operator via an operator interface (9b), in particular optically and / or acoustically, by means of at least one computer (6, 8, 9a), wherein the at least one computer (6, 8, 9a) receives data from one or more print jobs, prepares the data of the print jobs for processing by at least one printing material processing machine (9) and calculates manual operating steps depending on the properties of the printing material processing machine (9) processing a print job, characterized by that the operator of the printing material processing machine (9) is given optical and / or acoustic information via the operating interface (9b) about the operating steps to be carried out manually and a time for carrying them out. [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized bythat the at least one computer (6, 8, 9a) evaluates the data of several print jobs from a print job queue and determines the manual operating steps across several print jobs and transmits several manual operating steps of several print jobs to the operator optically and / or acoustically with precise time information. [3] Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that the operating interface (9b) is a screen and / or a loudspeaker. [4] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat print jobs in a print job queue for machines (9) processing a plurality of printing materials are fed to the at least one computer (6, 8, 9b), and that the at least one computer (6, 8, 9b) calculates the manual operating steps for machines (9) processing a plurality of printing materials and optically and / or acoustically transmits them to the respective operator of the respective machine (9) processing the printing materials, along with the corresponding time for carrying out the operating steps. [5] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat data on the qualifications, skills and permitted activities of the operator are fed to the at least one computer (6, 8, 9b) and that the at least one computer (6, 8, 9b) calculates the operating steps to be carried out manually for the respective operator as a function of the supplied data and assigns them to the respective operator accordingly and displays them optically and / or acoustically via the respective operating interface (9b). [6] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the at least one computer (6, 8, 9b) calculates conflicts due to simultaneous manual operating steps when planning several print jobs on machines (9) processing several printing materials and avoids them by cross-machine planning of the print jobs on machines (9) processing several printing materials. [7] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the at least one computer (6) is part of a cloud computer system. [8] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the at least one computer (6, 8, 9b) deletes from the operator interface (9b) manual operating steps acknowledged by an operator or recognized as having been carried out by a sensor in the printing material processing machine (9). [9] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the at least one computer (6, 8, 9b) regularly recalculates the times of the pending manual operating steps and sends them updated to the operator interface (9b).

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