Software-assisted methods for operating guides in printing presses

Abstract

This relates to software-assisted methods for operational guides in the graphics industry. [Solution] The method transmits one or more operation steps to an operator via an operation interface (9b), particularly optically and / or acoustically, using at least one computer (6,8,9a), where 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 material handling machine (9), and calculates manual operation steps depending on the characteristics of the material handling machine (9) that processes the print job. The method is characterized in that the operation steps to be performed manually are transmitted to the operator of the material handling machine (9) via the operation interface (9b) optically and / or acoustically at the time of execution.

Description

[[Technical Field]]

[0001] The present invention relates to a software-supported method for operation guidance in the graphics industry, wherein the method transmits one or more operation steps to an operator via an operation interface by using at least one computer, the at least one computer receives data from one or more print jobs, prepares data of the print jobs for processing by at least one substrate processing machine, and in this process, calculates manual operation steps depending on characteristics of the substrate processing machine that processes the print jobs.

[0002] This type of software-supported method for operation guidance is known from German Patent No. 102017205580. A method for operating a processing machine system by using at least one mobile operation unit is described herein, in which case the mobile operation unit provides machine-related, process-related or consumption material-related data to an operator. The mobile operation unit can notify the operator of data or information related to an operation action to be performed in a timely manner such that the operator can go to the location of the operation action, and in this case, the notification of the operation action is performed optically, acoustically or mechanically.

[0003] This method derived from the prior art has a disadvantage in that although the operator is informed in advance when the operator has to perform an operation action, the operator is not accurately informed in detail of when and on which machine in the printing shop the operation action has to be performed accurately. Therefore, this method lacks accurate temporal pre-settings so corresponding adjustment is impossible, and is not suitable for operation guidance in a printing shop having a large number of printing machines, folding machines and multiple operators.

[0004] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a software-assisted method for operation guidance in the graphics industry, which guides one or more operators of multiple printing material processing machines, even if they are inexperienced, so that they can process these printing material processing machines in the correct chronological order without problems by holding off on manual operation steps.

[0005] This problem is solved by claim 1 of the present invention. The advantageous configuration of the present invention will become apparent from the dependent claims, specification and drawings. The software-assisted method for operation guides in the graphics industry according to the present invention is realized by software installed on at least one computer. This computer does not need to be located in the printing plant, and the computer may be part of an internet cloud computing system, thereby running the software for operation guides in the graphics industry on the internet cloud. Importantly, the method according to the present invention calculates pending manual operation steps in one or more workpiece handling machines and thereby communicates the pending manual operation steps, along with specific timings for implementation, to one or more operators of workpiece handling machines in one or more printing plants, via an operating interface such as a display or speaker. Thus, the operator always knows with absolute accuracy when and which manual operation steps they must perform. In the case of optical displays on a display, this can be done particularly with a flowchart such as a timeline. In this process, the operator is not only shown the specific pending operation steps, but also the location and, in particular, the time or current timeframe until the manual operation step is performed. This allows the operator to, for example, know that the print-ready material stack on the printing press will be printed and emptied in 30 minutes, and to promptly transfer a new stack of print-ready material from storage to the printing press. This enables reliable execution planning, especially in large printing plants equipped with numerous printing presses, folding machines, and other print-ready material processing equipment, and employing many operators, including inexperienced ones.

[0006] In a first configuration of the present invention, at least one computer is envisioned to evaluate data from multiple print jobs in a print job queue, determine manual operation steps across the multiple print jobs, and transmit the multiple manual operation steps for the multiple print jobs optically and / or acoustically, along with precise time information, to the operator. In this configuration of the present invention, at least one computer can evaluate data from all print jobs present in a single print job queue and thus accurately determine the manual operation steps for each of the multiple print jobs at each point in time. This allows the operator of the material handling machine to see, with precise timing or duration, when and which manual operation steps they can perform for the next print job and the one after that, even before the next print job is executed. This also facilitates the operator's planning of manual operation steps, allowing them to prepare accordingly. If the processing of a planned print job should be delayed or performed without delay, the computer recognizes this during the processing of the print job, and furthermore, the computer constantly updates the timing for performing the manual operation steps at regular, short, predetermined time intervals. As a result, these points in time are constantly updated, and the operator always receives, optically or acoustically, this updated point in time along with the corresponding manual operation step. This is also a significant advantage over conventional technologies where the point in time of the manual operation step or the period leading up to it is not continuously updated.

[0007] Advantageously, the operating interface is assumed to be a display and / or speaker. In this way, the operator can be audibly and / or visually informed about pending manual operating steps. The display can thus show the next pending operating steps in chronological order, and certain particularly important or critical operating steps may even be highlighted in color.

[0008] In a further configuration of the present invention, it is envisioned that at least one computer is supplied with print jobs in a print job queue for multiple material handling machines, thereby the at least one computer calculates manual operation steps for the multiple material handling machines and transmits them optically and / or acoustically to the respective operators of each material handling machine, along with the corresponding time information for performing the operation steps. In particular, in large printing plants, numerous printing presses, folding machines, and other machines are present for continuous printing processing. Each of these machines needs to be operated, and any steps requiring manual operation must be performed at the appropriate time, otherwise the operation of each material handling machine will stop. In particular, if a printing press fails to process its print jobs in a timely manner, folding machines and other machines for continuous printing processing will not be able to process their planned jobs. By using the present invention, for the first time, it is possible to transmit to operators, optically or acoustically, the necessary manual operation steps for each material handling machine involved in the printing and subsequent processing processes, in a timely manner, along with the corresponding time information for performing them. Therefore, all operators of all machines in the printing press can keep their manual operation steps marked in an up-to-date state and perform them properly according to the communicated time pre-sets.

[0009] Further advantages include the fact that at least one computer is supplied with data on the operator's qualifications, skills, and permitted activities, and that at least one computer, depending on the data supplied for each operator, calculates the manual operation steps to be performed, assigns them accordingly to each operator, and displays them optically and / or audibly through their respective operating interfaces. In this advantageous configuration of the present invention, it is also possible to calculate and assign the manual operation steps to be performed depending on the characteristics assigned to the operator. This avoids assigning complex manual operation steps that an operator with little training and qualifications cannot perform or can only perform poorly. This allows each operator in the material handling machine to be assigned operation steps appropriate to their qualifications and training, as intended. In particular, this allows each operator to be assigned manual operation steps that can be performed without problems by that operator, especially when using individuals with different qualifications in a printing press. To this end, each operator must identify themselves using an electronic identifier, such as an RFID chip, or by facial recognition when approaching the material handling machine, so that the machine's operating unit can reliably identify which operator is in front of it. This ensures that unqualified operators are not assigned manual operating steps that they are unable to reliably perform.

[0010] Furthermore, advantageously, at least one computer is expected to calculate and avoid conflicts arising from simultaneous manual operation steps when planning multiple print jobs across multiple material handling machines by planning print jobs across multiple machines. Since at least one computer knows all pending print jobs in the printing plant, it can avoid conflicts with high reliability and, consequently, avoid machine downtime. For example, if there are too few operators in the printing plant to perform manual operation steps simultaneously, at least one computer can correct the corresponding time distortion of manual operation steps by moving some machine operation steps forward and others backward. For this purpose, the computer can also make corresponding presets for changes in machine speed to enable this correction of time distortion.

[0011] Advantageously, it is envisioned that at least one computer removes from the operating interface any manual operation steps that have been confirmed by the operator or recognized as having been performed by sensors within the printing material processing machine. In this configuration of the present invention, the operator can confirm that a manually performed operation step has been performed, for example, via a corresponding touch-sensitive operating panel on a display that shows the manual operation steps to the operator. Based on this, at least one computer removes the confirmed operation step from the list of manual operation steps to be processed. Alternatively, a performed manual operation step, such as inserting a printing plate, may also be recognized by a sensor, such as a printing plate sensor within the machine, and if the printing plate is properly inserted, the corresponding manual operation step can be removed from the list of the operating interface.

[0012] The present invention will be described and explained in detail below with reference to two drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1]This figure shows the components necessary for implementing the method according to the present invention, both inside and outside the printing press. [Figure 2] This figure shows a list of pending manual operation steps displayed on the printer's screen. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] Figure 1 shows an overview of the components involved in the method according to the present invention. The core component is task management software 1, which runs on a software cloud 6. This task management software 1 is used to capture data of print jobs to be processed from production workflow software 3 and to integrate any further required data via data capture 2. Task management software 1 has a task management software backend 4, which stores the print job data from production workflow software 3 in memory 5. Furthermore, task management software 1 communicates with further cloud software in the Internet of Things 7 via the backend 4. Communication here takes place via an SQS queue. The cloud in the Internet of Things 7 is also connected to a prepress software server 8 in the printing plant via an MQTT interface. For this purpose, the prepress software server 8 is connected to the Internet of Things. The prepress software server 8 is typically located within each printing plant and has an interface 8a for the Internet of Things. Furthermore, the prepress software server 8 has a press interface 8b, and via this press interface 8b, the prepress software server 8 sends print preparation data to the operating system of the press 9 via a Java server 9a. The printer 9 has a display 9b for operator assistance, through which the operator can operate the printer 9. Simultaneously, this operator assistance display 9b can be used to display manual operation steps calculated by the task management software 1 in the cloud 6 in the correct order and at the appropriate time. This ensures that the operator of the printer 9 is always provided with up-to-date information on when and which manual operation steps they must perform.

[0015] The prepress software server 8 also has an interface 8c for third-party software, through which third-party software 10 can be integrated. In Figure 1, the method according to the present invention is illustrated with an example of a printing press 9, but basically, any number of printing presses 9 and other material handling machines, such as continuous processing machines 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 operation steps for a large machine park in multiple printing plants. The important thing here is that the task management software 1 is supplied with the necessary data for pending print jobs via data capture 2 and production workflow 3, so that the task management software 1 can pre-calculate the manual operation steps required when processing the print jobs and display them to the operator working there on the display 9b of each printing press 9, along with the corresponding time points.

[0016] Figure 2 shows the manual operation steps on display 9b. It can be seen that there are basically two different types of manual operation steps. There are manual operation steps 11 that are held aside for immediate processing by the operator. These operation steps are appropriately labeled "immediately" and displayed on display 9b. Other operation steps are labeled with an appropriate time or period during which they should be performed, such as "in 24 minutes." These time-stamped operation steps 12 are displayed to the operator in a timely manner, allowing the operator to perform the operation step 12 as soon as it is displayed. Purposefully, here, manual operation steps 11 and 12 are displayed in a chronological order to be performed over time.

[0017] Task management software 1 here preferably includes artificial intelligence, so that it can continuously learn from the situation that occurs in the print job and the printer 9, which can be taken into consideration in the calculations at the time of manual operation steps 11 and 12. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0018] 1. Task management software 2. Data Capture 3. Production Workflow Software 4. Task management software backend 5 memory 6 Cloud 7. The Internet of Things 8. Prepress Software Server 8a Interface for the Internet of Things 8b Printer Interface 8c Interface for Third-Party Software 9 Printing machine 9a Java-based server 9b Display for operator assistance 10 Third-Party Software 11 Tasks that need immediate attention Future tasks with 12-hour information

Claims

1. A software-assisted method for operation guidance in the graphics industry, the method comprising transmitting one or more operation steps to an operator via an operation interface (9b), particularly optically and / or acoustically, using 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 material handling machine (9), and calculates manual operation steps depending on the characteristics of the material handling machine (9) that processes the print jobs, in the method, A method characterized in that operating steps to be performed manually by the operator of the printing material processing machine (9) are optically and / or acoustically transmitted to the operator of the operating interface (9b) at the time of performance.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one computer (6, 8, 9a) evaluates data for multiple print jobs from a print job queue, determines manual operation steps across the multiple print jobs, and transmits to the operator optically and / or acoustically the multiple manual operation steps for the multiple print jobs along with precise time information.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the operating interface (9b) is a display and / or speaker.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein at least one computer (6, 8, 9b) is supplied with print jobs in a print job queue for a plurality of material handling machines (9), and the at least one computer (6, 8, 9b) calculates manual operation steps for the plurality of material handling machines (9) and transmits optically and / or acoustically to each operator of each material handling machine (9) the corresponding time information for performing the operation steps.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein at least one computer (6, 8, 9b) is supplied with data relating to the qualifications, skills, and permitted activities of operators, and the at least one computer (6, 8, 9b) calculates operational steps to be performed manually, depending on the data supplied for each operator, assigns them accordingly to each operator, and displays them optically and / or acoustically through each operational interface (9b).

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the at least one computer (6, 8, 9b) calculates conflicts arising from simultaneous manual operation steps when planning multiple print jobs in multiple material handling machines (9) and avoids them by planning print jobs that span across machines in the multiple material handling machines (9).

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the at least one computer (6) is part of a cloud computing system.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein at least one computer (6, 8, 9b) removes from the operating interface (9b) any manual operation steps that have been confirmed by an operator or recognized as having been performed by a sensor in the material processing machine (9).

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the at least one computer (6, 8, 9b) periodically recalculates and updates the time of a pending manual operation step and transmits it to the operation interface (9b).

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