Printing apparatus

Abstract

To improve maintainability. [Solution] The system includes a storage device 80 that stores information about received job data as job-related information, a determination unit 71 that determines whether or not there is job-related information similar to the newly received job data among the job-related information stored when new job data is received, a calculation unit 72 that calculates an error rate based on the similar job-related information if it is determined that similar job-related information exists, and a log collection unit 73 that collects log data in progress based on the newly received job data if it is determined that the error rate is higher than a predetermined threshold, while collecting simplified log data by removing logs related to predetermined processing from the log data if it is determined that the error rate calculated by the calculation unit 72 is below a predetermined threshold.

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present invention relates to a printing device for improving maintainability.

Background Art

[0002] Generally, a printing device that collects log data during printing is well known.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology related to a printing device that writes first event information related to a first event that occurred in a printing mechanism unit to a first storage unit, and stores second event information related to a second event that occurred in a communication unit and the first event information read from the first storage unit in a second storage unit as event log information including data in a predetermined common format.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, in the technology of Patent Document 1, since the printing device uniformly stores event log information in any state, there is a problem that a large amount of useless event log information is stored.

[0006] For example, in a job with sufficient record of no errors, logs related to image expansion are unnecessary but are uniformly stored. Therefore, when an abnormality occurs in the printing device, it takes a considerable amount of time for a service technician to acquire and analyze a large amount of log data, resulting in a problem of low maintainability.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a printing device for improving maintainability.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] To achieve the above objective, the features of the printing apparatus according to the present invention are: A printing device that performs printing based on received job data, A storage means for storing information about the received job data as job-related information, A determination means that determines whether or not there is job-related information similar to the newly received job data among the job-related information stored in the storage means when new job data is received, If the determination means determines that there is job-related information similar to the newly received job data, the calculation means calculates the error rate based on the similar job-related information. If the error rate calculated by the calculation means is determined to be higher than a predetermined threshold, the log collection means collects log data during printing based on the newly received job data. On the other hand, if the error rate calculated by the calculation means is determined to be below a predetermined threshold, the log collection means collects simplified log data by removing logs related to predetermined processing from the log data. It is equipped with this. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The features of the printing apparatus according to the present invention make it possible to improve maintainability. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a configuration diagram showing a printing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This figure shows a partial control configuration of a printing apparatus in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of a setting screen displayed on an input / output device of a printing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Throughout the drawings, identical or equivalent parts and components are denoted by the same or equivalent reference numerals. However, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic and may differ from reality. Furthermore, there are parts where the dimensional relationships and proportions differ between drawings.

[0012] Furthermore, the embodiments shown below are illustrative examples of devices and the like for realizing the technical concept of this invention, and the technical concept of this invention is not limited to the arrangement of each component as described below. The technical concept of this invention can be modified in various ways within the scope of the claims.

[0013] Figure 1 is a configuration diagram showing a printing apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] Figure 2 shows a partial control configuration of the printing apparatus 1 in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the printing apparatus 1 has a tandem configuration and includes a media supply device 10, a first printing apparatus 20 which is upstream of the inkjet recording apparatus, an intermediate transport device 30, a second printing apparatus 40 which is downstream of the inkjet recording apparatus, an inspection device 50, a media discharge device 60, and a control device 70.

[0016] The media supply device 10, the first printing device 20, the intermediate transport device 30, the second printing device 40, the inspection device 50, and the media discharge device 60 are arranged in series along the transport path (transport direction D) of the media M, which is, for example, paper.

[0017] Figure 1 shows the straight transport paths R1, R4-1, and R5 of the medium M in the first printing device 20, intermediate transport device 30, second printing device 40, and medium discharge device 60, with solid lines; the circulating transport paths R2 and R6 with dashed lines; and the reverse transport paths R3, R4-2, and R7 with dashed or dotted lines.

[0018] The media supply device 10 has a mounting table 11 on which the media M before printing is loaded. The media supply device 10 supplies the media M to the first printing device 20 at a predetermined supply interval.

[0019] The first printing device 20 has a plurality of conveying roller pairs 21, a first printing unit 22, a suction conveying unit 23, conveying path switching units 24, 25, a switchback roller pair 26, and a discharge unit 27.

[0020] A plurality of pairs of conveying roller pairs 21 are arranged in the first printing device 20 and convey the media M while nipping it.

[0021] The first printing unit 22 performs printing on the media M using basic color inks such as CMYK and gray color.

[0022] The suction conveying unit 23 is arranged to face the first printing unit 22. The suction conveying unit 23 conveys the media M by a belt while sucking the media M.

[0023] One of the conveying path switching units 24 switches the conveying path of the media M printed by the first printing unit 22 to a straight - through conveying path R1 that continues to the intermediate conveying device 30 and a circulating conveying path R2 that continues to the discharge unit 27 and the reversing path R3.

[0024] The other conveying path switching unit 25 switches the circulating conveying path R2 of the media M to a conveying path that continues to the discharge unit 27 and a reversing path R3 that reverses the front and back of the media M by the switchback roller pair 26. Note that the media M whose front and back are reversed in the reversing path R3 is conveyed back to the first printing unit 22 again.

[0025] The discharge unit 27 is loaded with the media M that is not discharged to the media discharge device 60.

[0026] The intermediate conveying device 30 has a plurality of conveying roller pairs 31, a switchback roller pair 32, and a conveying path switching unit 33.

[0027] The transport roller pair 31 transports the medium M discharged from the first printing device 20 while nipping it.

[0028] The transport path switching unit 33 switches the transport path between a straight transport path R4-1, which transports the medium M discharged from the first printing device 20 directly to the second printing device 40, and a reverse transport path R4-2, which reverses the front and back sides of the medium M using the switchback roller pair 32.

[0029] The configuration of the second printing apparatus 40 can be the same as that of the first printing apparatus 20. For example, the second printing apparatus 40 has a transport roller pair 41, a second printing section 42, a suction transport section 43, a transport path switching section 44, and a switchback roller pair 45, similar to the first printing apparatus 20. Unlike the first printing apparatus 20, the second printing apparatus 40 does not have a discharge section 27 and a transport path switching section 25 for switching the transport path to the discharge section 27, but it may have a discharge section 27 and a transport path switching section 25, similar to the first printing apparatus 20.

[0030] Furthermore, the printing device 1 includes a total of two printing units: the first printing unit 22 of the first printing device 20 and the second printing unit 42 of the second printing device 40. However, it may also have only one printing unit or three or more printing units.

[0031] Multiple pairs of transport rollers 41 are arranged within the second printing apparatus 40 to transport the medium M while nipping it.

[0032] The second printing unit 42 performs printing on the medium M.

[0033] The suction transport unit 43 is positioned opposite the second printing unit 42. The suction transport unit 43 transports the medium M by a belt while adsorbing the medium M.

[0034] The transport path switching unit 44 switches the transport path of the medium M printed by the second printing unit 42 between a straight transport path R5 leading to the inspection device 50 and a circulating transport path R6 leading to a reverse path R7.

[0035] The switchback roller pair 45 reverses the front and back sides of the medium M in the reversal path R7. The medium M, whose front and back sides have been reversed in the reversal path R7, is then transported back to the second printing section 42.

[0036] The inspection device 50 includes a first transport unit 51, a second transport unit 52, a first inspection unit 53, a second inspection unit 54, a medium detection sensor 55, and press rollers 56a and 56b.

[0037] The first transport unit 51 is positioned on the underside of the medium M and transports the medium M.

[0038] The second transport unit 52 is located downstream of the first transport unit 51 in the transport direction D, adjacent to the first transport unit 51 on the upper surface side of the medium M, and transports the medium M.

[0039] The first inspection unit 53 is positioned above the first transport unit 51 and inspects the image printed on the upper surface of the medium M being transported by the first transport unit 51.

[0040] The second inspection unit 54 is located below the second transport unit 52 and inspects the underside of the medium M being transported by the second transport unit 52.

[0041] The medium detection sensor 55 is positioned upstream of the first inspection unit 53 in the transport direction D and detects the medium M.

[0042] The media discharge device 60 has a first conveyor 61, which has a belt 63 and rollers 64 and 65.

[0043] Belt 63 is stretched between rollers 64 and 65. As described above, the printed media M discharged from the inspection device 50 is loaded onto belt 63. In this way, the media M discharged from the printing devices (first printing device 20 and second printing device 40) is sequentially loaded onto the first conveyor 61 (belt 63). In other words, the first conveyor 61 also functions as a paper discharge platform.

[0044] The control device 70 shown in Figure 2 has a processor (e.g., CPU: Central Processing Unit) that functions as an arithmetic processing unit and controls each of the devices of the printing device 1. The control device 70 also controls the media supply device 10, the first printing device 20, the intermediate transport device 30, the second printing device 40, the inspection device 50, the media discharge device 60, the storage device 80, and the input / output device 90 based on job data received from a computer or the like connected via a network (not shown) and executes printing.

[0045] The storage device 80 stores information about the received job data as job-related information. Job-related information includes, for example, paper size, information about the paper feed device to be used, information about the media output device to be used, data volume, number of pages, job type information (α-Stream, system information, TM data), and error information.

[0046] The input / output device 90 includes a display / input panel (not shown), and various operation keys such as a start key for starting reading or printing, a stop key for stopping reading or printing, and a numeric keypad (none of which are shown) for inputting the number of pages to print, etc., and supplies operation signals based on user operation to the control device 70. The display / input panel has a pressure-sensitive or electrostatic transparent touch panel located on the front, and a liquid crystal display panel (none of which are shown) located on the back of the touch panel for displaying various screens.

[0047] The control device 70, in terms of its function, includes a determination unit 71, a calculation unit 72, and a log collection unit 73.

[0048] When a new job data is received, the determination unit 71 determines whether or not there is job-related information similar to the newly received job data among the job-related information stored in the storage device 80. Here, similarity is determined, for example, if a predetermined number or more of the items included in the job-related information match, then it is determined that the job-related information stored in the storage device 80 is similar to the newly received job data.

[0049] If the calculation unit 72 determines, based on the determination unit 71, that there is job-related information similar to the newly received job data, it calculates the error rate based on the similar job-related information. The error rate can be said to be a value that indicates the probability of an error occurring when printing is performed based on job data that has similar job-related information.

[0050] If the log collection unit 73 determines that the error rate calculated by the calculation unit 72 is higher than a predetermined threshold, it considers that there is a high probability that an error will occur during printing based on newly received job data. Therefore, the log collection unit 73 collects log data during printing based on newly received job data in "detailed log recording mode". "Detailed log recording mode" is a mode that performs processing to obtain the maximum amount of information while ensuring productivity.

[0051] On the other hand, if the log collection unit 73 determines that the error rate calculated by the calculation unit 72 is below a predetermined threshold, it considers that the possibility of an error occurring during printing based on newly received job data is low. Therefore, the log collection unit 73 collects log data during printing based on newly received job data in "simplified log recording mode". "Simplified log recording mode" is a mode that obtains information in a way that does not affect productivity in any way, and for example, it omits log data related to paper feeding by the media supply device 10 and paper ejection by the media ejection device 60, which are redundant and unnecessary.

[0052] Figure 3 shows an example of a setting screen displayed on an input / output device 90 of a printing apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0053] As shown in Figure 3, the setting screen G10 is displayed on the display / input panel of the input / output device 90.

[0054] The settings screen G10 includes an input area G11 for entering a threshold value related to the error rate.

[0055] Here, the user has entered a value of "20" (%) into input area G11. As a result, the log collection unit 73 will determine whether the error rate calculated by the calculation unit 72 is higher than the threshold of 20 (%).

[0056] Additionally, the settings screen G10 includes a device setting area G12 for configuring devices that will omit log data.

[0057] The device setting area G12 includes checkboxes for configuring various devices, such as the paper feed unit and paper output unit. By checking these checkboxes, users can configure which devices collect log data, even in "simple log recording mode."

[0058] In one embodiment of the present invention, a printing apparatus 1 having a tandem configuration was described as an example, but the invention is not limited to this, and a printing apparatus having a single printing unit may also be used.

[0059] (Note) This application discloses the following invention:

[0060] (Note 1) A printing device that performs printing based on received job data, A storage means for storing information about the received job data as job-related information, A determination means that determines whether or not there is job-related information similar to the newly received job data among the job-related information stored in the storage means when new job data is received, If the determination means determines that there is job-related information similar to the newly received job data, the calculation means calculates the error rate based on the similar job-related information. If the error rate calculated by the calculation means is determined to be higher than a predetermined threshold, the log collection means collects log data during printing based on the newly received job data. On the other hand, if the error rate calculated by the calculation means is determined to be below a predetermined threshold, the log collection means collects simplified log data by removing logs related to predetermined processing from the log data. A printing apparatus characterized by being equipped with

[0061] This allows the level of detail in log data acquisition to be varied based on the relationship between job-related information stored in the memory and new job data. Therefore, when printing job data with a low error rate, it is possible to store only the minimum necessary log data while preventing a decrease in productivity, and when printing job data with a high error rate, detailed log data can be stored. As a result, sufficient log data, including operational information, can be stored, improving analyzability and leading to reduced downtime and shorter lead times for troubleshooting. By acquiring appropriate log data in this way, maintainability can be improved. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0062] 1 Printing device 10 Media supply device 20 1st printing device 30 Intermediate transport device 40 Second printing device 50 Inspection equipment 60 Media ejector 70 Control device 80 Storage device 90 Input / Output Devices

Claims

[Claim 1] A printing device that performs printing based on received job data, A storage means for storing information about the received job data as job-related information, A determination means that determines whether or not there is job-related information similar to the newly received job data among the job-related information stored in the storage means when new job data is received, If the determination means determines that job-related information similar to the newly received job data exists, the calculation means calculates the error rate based on the similar job-related information. If the error rate calculated by the calculation means is determined to be higher than a predetermined threshold, the log collection means collects log data during printing based on the newly received job data. On the other hand, if the error rate calculated by the calculation means is determined to be below a predetermined threshold, the log collection means collects simplified log data by removing logs related to predetermined processing from the log data. A printing apparatus characterized by being equipped with

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