Printing system, control method of the same and program

Abstract

To solve the problem that destaticization control is executed to a sheet in a state in which inadequate setting of a charge adjustment value for a destaticization amount is continued without executing confirmation of a printed matter after printing.SOLUTION: A printing system, which comprises a destaticizing device that can change setting of a set value of a destaticizationg amount, comprises display means that executes displaying of a screen for prompting a user to confirm the set value of the destaticization amount when a printing process is executed, and control means. The control means controls the display means so that the display means executes the displaying, when determining that the set value of the destaticization amount has been changed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a printing system having a static elimination function for eliminating static electricity from a charged sheet, a control method thereof, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Recording media (hereinafter referred to as "sheets") used in printing operations carry static electricity when transported, either due to residual charge from the electrophotographic process or due to slight friction with transport rollers and guides during sheet transport. This static electricity can cause sheets to stick together. It can also cause dust and paper powder to adhere to the finished product, reducing the quality of the finished product. Plain paper and other materials have low electrical resistance, allowing charges to move easily within the sheet, and the charge itself is small, so it dissipates quickly. However, sheets made of synthetic resin (plastic), such as cardboard, synthetic paper, and coated paper, have high electrical resistance, making it difficult for charges to move within the sheet. As a result, sheets such as synthetic paper and coated paper tend to be more likely to become charged and retain a charge. It is also easily affected by the environment, especially humidity, and it is generally known that lower humidity environments reduce the amount of discharge into the air, making them more susceptible to static electricity. If post-processing is performed while sheets are stuck together, it will not only affect the sheet alignment process and reduce the quality of post-processing, but it may also induce jams due to poor paper feeding or transport during post-processing, which could damage the sheets and the equipment. Therefore, to prevent such risks, it is desirable to remove static electricity from the sheet after the printing process before post-processing is performed.Therefore, a proposal has been made to apply a voltage to a pair of transport rollers located downstream in the sheet transport direction to cancel out the charge on the sheet (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-258881 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] As described above, conventional static elimination using a configuration in which a voltage is applied to a transport roller (hereinafter referred to as a "static elimination roller") cancels static electricity by applying a charge opposite to the charge on the sheet via the static elimination roller. Therefore, the amount of static elimination using the static elimination roller (applying a charge opposite to that of the sheet to the static elimination roller) must be set according to the amount of charge on the sheet. In other words, there is an optimal charge adjustment value for static elimination depending on the printing environment, such as humidity, and the type of sheet. Although the user sets the static elimination amount before starting printing, because the optimal static elimination amount varies depending on the printing environment and sheet type, the user cannot determine whether the printout is what they expected until they pick up the printout. In other words, without checking the printout after printing, static elimination control may be performed on the sheet with an inappropriate charge adjustment value still set. In such a case, the sheet may end up being charged, which could lead to further sheet sticking. The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a mechanism that prompts a user to check the printed matter after changing the set value of the static elimination amount, and enables the static elimination amount to be reset as necessary. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present invention is a printing system equipped with a static elimination device capable of changing the set value of the static elimination amount, characterized in that it has a display means for displaying a screen that prompts a user to check the set value of the static elimination amount when a printing process is executed, and a control means for controlling the display means to display the screen when it is determined that the set value of the static elimination amount has been changed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present invention, when printing is completed after the setting value of the static elimination amount has been changed, the user is prompted to check the printed matter, and it is possible to reset the static elimination amount as necessary. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an operation unit of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an operation unit of the static eliminator according to the present embodiment. [Figure 6] 3A and 3B are diagrams showing a static elimination process in the static eliminator of the present embodiment. [Figure 7] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing a method for changing the static elimination amount setting via the operation unit of the printing apparatus. [Figure 8] 6 is a flowchart illustrating detection of a change in the static elimination amount setting in the present embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a user notification unit according to the present embodiment. [Figure 10] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing a method for changing the setting of the amount of static elimination via the static eliminator operation unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention. [Embodiment 1]

[0009] Overall system configuration FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system of this embodiment includes a printing system 1000 and a PC 102 which is a client computer, which are connected to each other via a network 101 . The PC 102 is capable of transmitting PDL (Page Description Language) code data, which is a print job, to the printing system 1000 via the network 101.

[0010] Hardware configuration of the printing system 1000 FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the printing system 1000. As shown in FIG. The printing system 1000 includes a printing apparatus 100 and a sheet processing apparatus 200, which are enclosed by dotted lines in the figure. Any number of sheet processing apparatuses 200 can be connected to the printing apparatus 100. In this embodiment, the sheet processing apparatus 200 is described as including a static eliminator 200-3a and a saddle stitcher 200-3b. In this embodiment, the printing apparatus 100 is described as an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) having multiple functions, such as a copy function and a printer function. However, the printing apparatus 100 may also be a single-function printing apparatus having only a copy function or only a printer function. In this embodiment, the printing system 1000 is described as having the following components, as an example. The printing system 1000 is configured so that sheet processing for sheets printed by the printing device 100 can be performed by a sheet processing apparatus 200 connected to the printing device 100. However, it is also possible to configure the printing system 1000 using only the printing device 100 without connecting the sheet processing apparatus 200.

[0011] (sheet processing device) The static eliminator 200-3a is configured to be able to communicate with the printing device 100, and can receive instructions from the printing device 100 and execute static elimination processing as described below. The static elimination operation unit 220 has a configuration as shown in FIG. 5, which will be described later, and the user can perform settings for the static elimination device 200-3a via the static elimination operation unit 220. The user may be allowed to configure the static eliminator 200-3a via a main body operation unit 204, which will be described later. The saddle stitching machine 200-3b is configured to be able to communicate with the printing apparatus 100, and can receive instructions from the printing apparatus 100 and execute sheet processing as described below.

[0012] (Printing device) The scanner unit 201 reads an image on a document, converts it into image data, and transfers it to other units. The external I / F 202 transmits and receives data to and from external devices connected to the network 101 . The printer unit 203 prints an image based on the input image data onto a sheet. 4, the main body operation unit 204 is configured to include a touch panel unit 401 and a hard key input unit 402, and receives instructions from the user via these. The main body operation unit 204 also displays various information on the touch panel unit 401. The CPU 205 includes a central processing unit (CPU) and comprehensively controls the processing and operation of various units included in the printing system 1000. Specifically, the CPU 205 also controls the operation of the printing apparatus 100 and the sheet processing apparatus 200 connected to the printing apparatus 100. The environmental sensor 206 is a general term for sensors that detect the installation environment, such as temperature and humidity, and in this embodiment, this refers to a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor. A typical temperature sensor is a thermistor that measures the temperature in the air. A typical humidity sensor detects the humidity in the air from changes in capacitance, and each sensor outputs an electrical signal. The CPU 205 constantly monitors the temperature and humidity of the environment in which the printing device 100 is installed, and reflects this information in the control of the printing device 100.

[0013] The ROM 207 stores various computer programs executed by the CPU 205. For example, the ROM 207 stores programs for causing the CPU 205 to execute various processes in the flowcharts described below, and display control programs required to display various setting screens described below. The ROM 207 also stores a program for causing the CPU 205 to interpret PDL code data received from the PC 102 and expand it into raster image data. The ROM 207 also stores boot sequence and font information, etc. The RAM 208 stores image data and PDL code data sent from the scanner unit 201 and the external I / F 202, various programs loaded from the ROM 207, and setting information. The RAM 208 also stores information related to the sheet processing apparatus 200 (such as information related to the type and functions of the sheet processing apparatus 200 connected to the printing apparatus 100). The CPU 205 can use the information related to the sheet processing apparatus 200 stored in the RAM 208 for control.

[0014] The HDD (hard disk drive) 209 includes a hard disk and a drive unit for reading and writing data from and to the hard disk. The HDD 209 is a large-capacity storage device for storing image data input from the scanner unit 201 and compressed by the compression / decompression unit 210. The CPU 205 can print image data stored in the HDD 209 using the printer unit 203 based on user instructions. The HDD 209 also functions as a spooler, and the CPU 205 can manage PDL code data received from the PC 102 as print jobs and store them in the HDD 209. The CPU 205 can also manage print jobs stored in the HDD 209 and can obtain the number of print jobs stored and setting information for each print job. Note that other storage devices such as an SSD (solid state drive) or an eMMC (embedded multi media card) may be included instead of or in addition to the HDD. The compression / decompression unit 210 compresses and decompresses image data stored in the RAM 208 and HDD 209 using various compression methods such as JBIG and JPEG. Although details will be described later, the printing system 1000 of this embodiment is a printing system having a static eliminator whose set value for the amount of static elimination can be changed.

[0015] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the printing apparatus 100 and the sheet processing apparatus 200 connected to the printing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. The sheet processing apparatus 200 of this embodiment includes a static eliminator 200-3a and a saddle stitcher 200-3b. (Printing device) First, the printing device 100 will be described. An automatic document feeder (ADF) 301 separates a stack of documents set on the loading surface of a document tray in page order, starting with the first page, and transports them onto a document glass platen for scanning by a scanner 302. The scanner 302 reads an image of an original conveyed onto a platen glass, and converts the image into image data using a CCD. A rotating polygon mirror (polygon mirror or the like) 303 receives a beam of light, such as a laser beam, modulated according to image data, and irradiates the beam as reflected scanning light onto a photosensitive drum 304 via a reflecting mirror. A latent image formed on photosensitive drum 304 by laser light is developed with toner, and the toner image is transferred to a sheet attached to transfer drum 305. A full-color image is formed by sequentially performing this series of image formation processes for yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) toners. After four image formation processes, the sheet on transfer drum 305 with the full-color image formed thereon is separated by separation claw 306 and transported to fuser 308 by pre-fixing transporter 307.

[0016] The fixing unit 308 is made up of a combination of rollers and belts, and has a built-in heat source such as a halogen heater, and melts and fixes the toner on the sheet onto which the toner image has been transferred, using heat and pressure. The discharge flapper 309 is configured to be swingable around a swing shaft and determines the sheet transport direction. When the discharge flapper 309 swings clockwise in the figure, the sheet is transported straight and is discharged outside the machine by the discharge rollers 310. The CPU 205 controls the printing device 100 to perform single-sided printing through the above-described sequence. On the other hand, when images are to be formed on both sides of the sheet, the discharge flapper 309 swings counterclockwise in the figure, and the sheet is changed course downward and sent to the double-sided conveying section, which includes a reversing flapper 311, a reversing roller 312, a reversing guide 313, and a double-sided tray 314.

[0017] The reversing flapper 311 swings around a swing shaft to determine the sheet transport direction. When processing a double-sided print job, the CPU 205 controls the printer unit 203 to swing the reversing flapper 311 counterclockwise in the figure, sending the sheet, whose first side has been printed, to the reversing guide 313 via the reversing roller 312. Then, with the trailing edge of the sheet sandwiched between the reversing roller 312, the CPU 205 temporarily stops the reversing roller 312, and then causes the reversing flapper 311 to continue swinging in the clockwise direction in the figure. The CPU 205 also rotates the reversing roller 312 in the reverse direction. This causes the sheet to switch back and be transported, and with its trailing edge and leading edge reversed, the CPU 205 controls the sheet to be guided to the double-sided tray 314. The sheet is temporarily stacked in the double-sided tray 314, and then the sheet is sent again to the registration roller 316 by the refeed roller 315. At this time, the sheet is fed so that the side opposite to the first-side transfer process faces the photosensitive drum. Then, in the same manner as the process described above, a second-side image is formed on the second side of the sheet. Images are then formed on both sides of the sheet, and after a fixing process, the sheet is discharged from inside the printer 100 main body to the outside via paper discharge rollers 310. CPU 205 controls printer 100 to perform double-sided printing through the above-described series of sequences.

[0018] The sheets are temporarily stacked in the double-sided tray 314, and then the sheets are sent again to the registration rollers 316 by the re-feed rollers 315. At this time, the sheets are sent so that the side opposite to the first side transfer process faces the photosensitive drum. Then, in the same process as described above, the second side image is formed on the second side of the sheet. Then, after the images are formed on both sides of the sheet, it goes through a fixing process and is discharged from inside the main body of the printing apparatus 100 to the outside via the discharge rollers 310. The CPU 205 controls the printing device 100 to perform double-sided printing through the above-described series of sequences. The printing device 100 also has a paper feed unit that stores sheets required for printing. The paper feed unit includes paper feed cassettes 317 and 318 (each capable of storing, for example, 500 sheets), paper feed deck 319 (capable of storing, for example, 5,000 sheets), and manual feed tray 320. Various sheets of different sizes and materials can be set in paper feed cassettes 317 and 318 and paper feed deck 319, separated for each paper feed unit. Furthermore, various types of sheets, including special sheets such as overhead projector sheets, can be set in manual feed tray 320.

[0019] (static eliminator) Next, the static eliminator 200-3a will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the static elimination operation unit 220 of the static eliminator 200-3a. The mode setting switch 601 in FIG. 5 switches whether or not static elimination is performed by the static eliminator 200-3a (ON / OFF), and the CPU 205 controls the static elimination process, which will be described later, to be executed only when the switch is ON. In addition, the adjustment dial 602, which is configured as a thumb rotary switch, adjusts the strength of the static elimination control that is performed when the mode setting switch 601 is ON, and is controlled by the CPU 205 so that it is effective only when the mode setting switch 601 is ON.

[0020] <Static charge removal treatment> Here, the static elimination process performed by the static eliminator 200-3a will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a schematic view of a state in which a static eliminator 200-3a performs static elimination processing on a sheet that has been printed by the printing apparatus 100. In FIG. First, sheet 701 is transported via transport path 710 to a developing / transferring unit consisting of photosensitive drum 304 and transfer drum 305, where toner is deposited on the sheet. The charged toner 702 on the sheet is negatively charged. After the toner is fixed through fuser 308, the sheet is transported to static elimination device 200-3a with the print surface 703 negatively charged. Static elimination device 200-3a includes a positively charged static elimination roller 322. The static elimination roller 322 contact-eliminates the negatively charged print surface 703, imparting a positive charge to it, thereby eliminating the charge. However, it is expected that negative charges that are not completely removed by the static elimination process using static elimination roller 322, or reversely charged positive charges, will remain on the sheet 705 after it passes through the static elimination roller. Therefore, the static elimination device 200-3a described in this embodiment is further configured to include an ionizer 323 downstream of the static elimination roller 322. Ionizer 323 is a device that applies a voltage to electrode needles provided within the device to generate a corona discharge, and uses the ions thus generated to eliminate the charge. In this way, by performing rough static elimination with static elimination roller 322 and then adjusting the remaining charge with ionizer 323, sheet 707 after static elimination processing, discharged from static elimination device 200-3a, is in a state where the charge has been eliminated. Now, let us return to the explanation using the cross-sectional view of FIG. The static eliminator 200-3a has a static eliminator roller 322 and its paired roller, and the sheet conveyed to the static eliminator 200-3a is conveyed while being sandwiched between the two rollers, and the rough static elimination is performed by the static eliminator roller 322. Thereafter, the sheet is conveyed outside the apparatus by a conveying roller 324, and the residual charge is eliminated by an ionizer 323.

[0021] <Saddle stitching machine> Next, the saddle stitching machine 200-3b will be described with reference to FIG. The sheet processing by the saddle stitching machine 200-3b includes, for example, saddle stitching, punching, cutting, shift discharge, folding, stapling, etc. Here, these jobs are called "saddle stitching jobs." When processing a saddle stitching job, the CPU 205 first transports the sheets of this job printed by the printing apparatus 100 to the saddle stitching machine 200-3b, and then causes the saddle stitching machine 200-3b to perform sheet processing for this job. The CPU 205 then stores the printed material of the saddle stitching job, which has undergone sheet processing by the saddle stitching machine 200-3b, in the paper discharge destination Z of the saddle stitching machine 200-3b. Note that there are multiple paper discharge destination candidates for the paper discharge destination Z. This is used when the saddle stitching machine 200-3b can perform multiple types of sheet processing and separates the paper discharge destinations for each sheet processing. In this embodiment, a detailed description of the transport procedure for a saddle stitching job will be omitted.

[0022] - Change of static elimination amount setting (Static charge removal amount setting change screen) A method for changing the static elimination amount setting via the main body operation unit 204 of this embodiment will be described. Fig. 7 shows a screen 1701 displayed on the main body operation unit 204. Note that, as described with reference to Fig. 5, the static eliminator 200-3a itself may have a mode setting switch 601 for changing the static elimination amount or an adjustment dial 602 for changing the setting, and the configuration is not limited to this. The static elimination mode setting 1702 in Fig. 7 can be set to whether or not static elimination is performed by the static eliminator 200-3a (ON / OFF), and Fig. 7 shows an example in which ON (706) is enabled. Furthermore, the static elimination amount 1703 adjusts the strength of static elimination control performed when the static elimination mode setting 1702 is ON, and Fig. 7 shows an example in which +15 (1707 and 1709) is set. (Static Neutralization Amount Setting Change Processing Flow) 8 shows a flowchart for explaining detection of a change in the setting of the static elimination amount in this embodiment. The processing of this flowchart is realized by the CPU 205 loading a program stored in the ROM 207, HDD 209, etc. into the RAM 208 and executing it. This processing is executed after the printing device 100 is started up, and is also executed again after the printing processing is completed. In S801, the CPU 205 determines whether the setting of the static elimination amount has been changed by the user. Specifically, the CPU 205 makes this determination by detecting that the adjustment dial 602 in Fig. 5 has been operated to change the value, or that the static elimination amount 1703 in Fig. 7 has been operated to change the value. If the setting of the static elimination amount has been changed (Yes in S801), the CPU 205 proceeds to S802, and if the setting of the static elimination amount has not been changed (No in S801), the CPU 205 proceeds to S803. In step S802, the CPU 205 sets the static elimination setting change flag to ON and stores it in the RAM 208. In S803, the CPU 205 determines whether a print instruction has been received. If a print instruction has not been received (No in S803), the process returns to S801, and if a print instruction has been received (Yes in S803), this processing flow ends. By executing this process, the CPU 205 can determine whether the static elimination amount setting has been changed before printing starts by referring to the static elimination setting change flag.

[0023] Printing process 9 is a flowchart illustrating the process flow for displaying a message prompting confirmation of the static elimination amount in the printing process of this embodiment. The process of this flowchart is realized by the CPU 205 loading a program stored in the ROM 207, HDD 209, etc. into the RAM 208 and executing it. This process is started when a print job is submitted to the printing system 1000. In S901, the CPU 205 of the printing apparatus 100 executes printing processing in accordance with an instruction to start printing. Thereafter, in S902, the CPU 205 of the printing apparatus 100 executes a static elimination process on the sheet on which the printing process has been performed, based on the setting of the static elimination operation unit 220 or the static elimination setting value set by the main body operation unit 204. Next, in S903, the CPU 205 of the printing device 100 determines whether the print job is complete. If the print job is not yet complete (No in S903), the CPU 205 of the printing device 100 returns the process to S901, and if the print job is complete (Yes in S903), the CPU 205 proceeds to S904. In S904, the CPU 205 determines whether the static elimination setting change flag recorded in the RAM 208 is ON or OFF. If the static elimination setting change flag is ON (Yes in S904), the process proceeds to S905, and if the static elimination setting change flag is OFF (No in S904), the process ends. In S905, the static elimination setting display screen 1701 shown in Fig. 7 is displayed on the main body operation unit 204. Note that, if the setting value of the static elimination amount is changed by changing the setting using the mode setting switch 601 or the adjustment dial 602 of the static eliminator 200-3a, a screen 1001 shown in Fig. 10 that prompts the user to change the setting of the static eliminator 200-3a may be displayed on the main body operation unit 204. Next, in S906, the CPU 205 sets the static elimination setting change flag recorded in the RAM 208 to OFF and stores it. By setting the static elimination setting change flag to OFF here, when a print process is executed thereafter, the CPU 205 determines that the static elimination setting change flag is not ON (No in S904). Then, the CPU 205 ends this processing flow without displaying a message on the main body operation unit 204 prompting the user to check the static elimination amount. As described above, by controlling the printing system 1000 including the discharge device 200-3a, a message is displayed to prompt the user to check the discharge setting value at the end of the printing process after the user has changed the discharge setting value. This allows the user to be notified to check the amount of static elimination after an inappropriate amount of static elimination has been set for a printed material and a print job has been executed, thereby presenting an opportunity to fine-tune the amount of static elimination again, thereby reducing the risk that suboptimal static elimination control will be performed on the sheet while the inappropriate charge adjustment value remains set.

[0024] (Other embodiments) The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that realizes one or more functions. The disclosure of this embodiment includes the following configuration, method, and program. (Configuration 1) A printing system including a static elimination device capable of changing a setting value of the static elimination amount, a display means for displaying a screen prompting a user to confirm the set value of the amount of static elimination when a printing process is executed; a control means for controlling the display means to display the screen when it is determined that the set value of the static elimination amount has been changed; A printing system characterized by: (Configuration 2) The control means A flag is set when the set value of the static elimination amount is changed, and when the printing process is executed, if the flag is set, it is determined that the set value of the static elimination amount has been changed. 2. The printing system according to configuration 1. (Configuration 3) It also has an operation unit, The set value of the static elimination amount is changed via the operation unit. 3. The printing system according to configuration 1 or 2. (Configuration 4) The operation unit is provided in the static eliminator. 4. The printing system according to configuration 3. (Method 1) A control method for a printing system including a static elimination device capable of changing a set value of static elimination amount, a display step of displaying a screen prompting a user to confirm the set value of the amount of static elimination when a printing process is executed; a control step of controlling the display step to execute display on the screen when it is determined that the set value of the static elimination amount has been changed; A method for controlling a printing system. (Program 1) A program for causing a computer to execute the printing system control method described in Method 1. [Explanation of symbols]

[0025] 100 Printing equipment 200-3a Static eliminator

Claims

1. A printing system including a static elimination device capable of changing a setting value of the static elimination amount, a display means for displaying a screen prompting a user to confirm the set value of the amount of static elimination when a printing process is executed; a control means for controlling the display means to display the screen when it is determined that the set value of the static elimination amount has been changed; A printing system characterized by:

2. The control means A flag is set when the set value of the static elimination amount is changed, and when the printing process is executed, if the flag is set, it is determined that the set value of the static elimination amount has been changed.

2. The printing system according to claim 1.

3. It also has an operation unit, The set value of the static elimination amount is changed via the operation unit.

3. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the printing system includes: a printer;

4. The operation unit is provided in the static eliminator.

4. The printing system according to claim 3.

5. A control method for a printing system including a static elimination device capable of changing a set value of static elimination amount, a display step of displaying a screen prompting a user to confirm the set value of the amount of static elimination when a printing process is executed; a control step of controlling the display step to execute display on the screen when it is determined that the set value of the static elimination amount has been changed; A method for controlling a printing system.

6. A program for causing a computer to execute the printing system control method according to claim 5.

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