JP6217607B2 - Printing system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system.

  In a printing apparatus typified by a digital multifunction peripheral or the like, after an image of an original is read by an image reading unit, light is irradiated on the photoconductor provided in the printing unit based on the read image, and the photoconductor is irradiated on the photoconductor. An electrostatic latent image is formed. Thereafter, a developer such as charged toner is supplied onto the formed electrostatic latent image to form a visible image, and then transferred to a sheet, fixed, printed, and discharged outside the apparatus.

  Here, in a printer system including a printing apparatus that forms and outputs an image, a printer system that performs desired printing with a plurality of large-format printers connected via Lan is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-178846 (Patent Document 1). It is disclosed.

  According to Patent Document 1, printer information detection means for detecting paper type information and roll paper width of roll paper set in a printer device, optimum printer determination means for judging a printer most suitable for printing from the detection means, and optimum A default printer switching unit that switches the driver as the default printer determined by the printer determination unit, a default printer display unit that displays the location of the printer determined by the default printer switching unit, and allows the operator to recognize the printer, A printer system is disclosed that includes a default printer returning unit that returns the default printer to the one before printing again after printing.

JP 2006-178846 A

  According to Patent Document 1, when performing so-called large format printing, information on the paper type and roll paper size of roll paper set in a plurality of printers is acquired via Lan, and which is the most suitable printer. It is going to be judged. However, with such a configuration, the object to be printed is limited to roll paper in the first place, and when the user wants to print on other paper types or other sizes, that is, on the media requesting printing. Cannot handle when the type changes.

  Here, as a measure for detecting the type of media used for printing, there is a printing apparatus including a media sensor. The media sensor includes an optical element and a light receiving element as constituent members. The media sensor receives light emitted from an optical element and receives reflected light reflected from the medium by a light receiving element, and detects the type of the medium from the amount of received light.

  It is inefficient as a printing system to activate a media sensor provided in all printing devices in a network-connected printing system to detect the type of media set in the printing device when printing is requested. Yes, not preferred. In other words, each time printing is requested, trying to activate the media sensor provided in each printing apparatus also leads to unnecessary repetition of turning on and off the light emitting elements, and the life of the media sensor as a device is shortened. There is a risk of becoming.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a printing system that can perform printing efficiently when a user designates a medium to be printed and requests printing.

  The printing system according to the present invention includes a plurality of printing apparatuses and a computer that is communicably connected to the plurality of printing apparatuses via a network. The computer includes an input unit for inputting a print request from a user, and a media designating unit for designating a type of media requested for printing input by the input unit. Each printing device includes a media setting unit in which media to be printed is set, a printing unit that performs printing using the media set in the media setting unit, and a media ejection that ejects media printed by the printing unit. A media sensor that detects the type of media, a usage count unit that counts the usage count of the media sensor, and a usage count data storage unit that stores data on the usage count counted by the usage count count unit. The printing system includes a usage count data acquisition unit that acquires data on the usage count of the media sensor stored by the usage count data storage unit included in each printing device, and a media sensor usage count acquired by the usage count data acquisition unit. From the data, a selection unit that selects a printing device with the least number of uses, a media sensor operation unit that operates a media sensor included in the printing device selected by the selection unit, and a media sensor that is operated by the media sensor operation unit A determination unit for determining whether a medium corresponding to the medium specified by the medium specifying unit is set in a media setting unit provided in the printing apparatus selected by the selection unit based on the detection result; Corresponds to the media type specified by the media specification section. If the media is set in the media setting unit provided in the printing device selected by the selection unit, the printing device selected by the selection unit is selected according to the print request input by the input unit. And a system control unit that controls to perform printing by the printing unit provided in the printing apparatus selected by the selection unit using the media set in the provided media setting unit.

  According to such a printing system, when printing is requested by designating a medium, a printing apparatus that uses the least number of media sensors is selected. Then, for the selected printing device, based on the detection result detected by the media sensor, it is determined whether or not the designated media is set in the media setting unit provided in the selected printing device. If it is determined that the medium is set, printing is performed by the printing apparatus. Then, the operation of the media sensor provided in each printing device included in the printing system can be efficiently performed. Therefore, according to such a printing system, it is possible to print efficiently.

1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an external appearance of a digital multifunction peripheral when a printing apparatus included in a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to the digital multifunction peripheral. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an external view illustrating a schematic configuration of an operation unit provided in the digital multifunction peripheral. It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the cassette with which a digital multifunctional device is equipped. It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of an operation part. 1 is a diagram illustrating an entire printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an external view illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming unit provided in a digital multifunction peripheral. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process in the case of printing by the printing system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen on a display when a computer requests printing. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process in the case of printing by the printing system which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an external appearance of a digital multifunction machine when a printing apparatus included in a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to the digital multifunction machine. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the printing system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  1 and 2, the digital multifunction peripheral 11a displays a digital multifunction peripheral control unit 12 that controls the entire digital multifunction peripheral 11a, information transmitted from the digital multifunction peripheral 11a, and user input contents. An operation unit 13 that includes a display screen 21 and inputs image forming conditions such as the number of copies to print and gradation and power on / off, and an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) that automatically conveys a set document to a reading position. ) 22, and includes an image reading unit 14 that reads an image of a document, a manual feed tray 28 for manually setting media, and a cassette group 29 that can store a plurality of media of different sizes, and is supplied to the image forming unit 15. Media setting unit 19 for setting media, scanned images, and images transmitted via the network 25 An image forming unit 15 that forms an image based on data and fixes a visible image formed of toner on a medium, and a media discharge unit that forms an image on the medium by the image forming unit 15 and discharges the medium after fixing the image. 30, a hard disk 16 serving as a storage unit that stores transmitted image data, input image forming conditions, and the like, a facsimile communication unit 17 that is connected to the public line 24 and performs facsimile transmission and reception, A network interface unit 18 for connecting to the network 25 is provided. The digital multi-function peripheral control unit 12 also operates as part of a system control unit that controls the entire printing system. The digital multi-function peripheral 11a includes a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) for writing and reading image data, but illustration and description thereof are omitted. In addition, arrows in FIG. 2 indicate the flow of data regarding control signals, control, and images. As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the cassette group 29 is composed of three parts: a first cassette 23a, a second cassette 23b, and a third cassette 23c. That is, the digital multifunction peripheral 11a includes three cassettes 23a to 23c.

  Here, the medium refers to a medium on which a visible image is formed in printing, such as plain paper, thin paper, thick paper, an OHP (Overhead Projector) sheet, glossy paper, and color paper. Media are classified into a plurality of types according to the material, thickness, surface gloss, and the like. In addition, the type of media may be determined based on the level of media weight such as basis weight from the viewpoints of fixing control and transport speed control. Regarding the media type, for example, in order of light basis weight, the weight level 1 type such as thin paper, the weight level 2 type such as plain paper, the weight level 3 type such as glossy paper, In some cases, the weight is defined according to the type of weight of the medium such as a type of weight level 4 such as cardboard.

  The digital multifunction peripheral 11a operates as a copying machine by forming an image in the image forming unit 15 using the document read by the image reading unit. Further, the digital multifunction peripheral 11a uses the image data transmitted from the computers 26a and 26b connected to the network 25 through the network interface unit 18 to form an image in the image forming unit 15 and print it on a medium. Operates as a printer. That is, the image forming unit 15 operates as a printing unit that prints the requested image. Further, the digital multifunction peripheral 11 a forms an image in the image forming unit 15 through the DRAM using the image data transmitted from the public line 24 through the facsimile communication unit 17, and also by the image reading unit 14. The image data of the read original is transmitted to the public line 24 through the facsimile communication unit 17, thereby operating as a facsimile apparatus. That is, the digital multifunction peripheral 11a has a plurality of functions such as a copying function, a printer function, and a facsimile function with respect to image processing. Further, each function has functions that can be set in detail.

  A printing system 27 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a digital multifunction peripheral 11a having the above-described configuration, other digital multifunction peripherals 11b, 11c, and 11d having the same configuration as the digital multifunction peripheral 11a, and a network 25. And a plurality of computers 26a and 26b connected to the digital multifunction peripherals 11a to 11d, respectively. That is, the printing system 27 includes four digital multifunction peripherals 11a, 11b, 11c, and 11d, and two computers 26a and 26b that are communicably connected to the digital multifunction peripherals 11a to 11d via the network 25. Including. Each of the computers 26a and 26b can make a print request to the digital multifunction peripherals 11a to 11d via the network 25 to perform printing. The digital multifunction peripherals 11a to 11d and the computers 26a and 26b may be connected by a wired connection using a LAN (Local Area Network) cable or the like, or may be connected wirelessly. Furthermore, a configuration in which another digital multi-function peripheral, a computer, a server, or the like is connected may be used. Of course, the number of computers 26a included in the printing system 27 may be one.

  Here, the configuration of the computer 26a will be briefly described. The computer 26a includes a computer control unit 31 that controls the computer 26a itself, a display 32 that serves as a display screen for displaying information in the computer 26a, and a keyboard 33 and a mouse (not shown) that serve as an input interface from the user to the computer 26a. With. The computer control unit 31 also operates as part of a system control unit that controls the entire printing system 27. The user looks at the display screen displayed on the display 32 and uses the keyboard 33 and the mouse to perform operations such as execution of operations on the computer 26a and input of numerical data. Since the computer 26b has the same configuration as the computer 26a, the description thereof is omitted.

  Next, the configuration of each unit of the digital multifunction peripheral 11a provided in the printing system 27 will be described in detail. First, the configuration of the operation unit 13 will be described. FIG. 3 is an external view showing a schematic configuration of the operation unit 13. Referring to FIG. 3, the operation unit 13 includes a numeric keypad 34 for inputting numbers 0 to 9 for inputting the number of copies to be printed, and symbols “*” and “#”, and start of printing and facsimile transmission. A start key 35 for instructing the start of a digital multifunction device 11a, a power key 36 for inputting power on / off of the digital multifunction device 11a, a menu key 37 for instructing selection of a printer function, a copy function, etc. of the digital multifunction device 11a, A registration key 38 for instructing various image forming conditions and user registration, a reset key 39 for canceling the contents of an instruction input by the user using the numeric keypad 34, and the display screen 21 are included. The display screen 21 has a liquid crystal touch panel function, and allows the user to input image forming conditions and the like from the display screen 21 and select a function by pressing with a user's finger.

  Next, the configuration of the first cassette 23a provided in the media setting unit 19 will be described. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the first cassette 23a. From the viewpoint of easy understanding, the members are not hatched in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the digital multifunction machine 11a cut along a plane extending in the vertical direction.

  1 to 4, the first cassette 23a is a cassette provided at the uppermost stage among the first to third cassettes 23a to 23c. In other words, the first cassette 23 a is a cassette provided at a position closest to the media discharge unit 30.

  The first cassette 23a can be set so that a plurality of printing media 46 are stacked therein. The first cassette 23a includes a frame portion 41 constituting the entire frame, and a bottom plate portion 42 on which a plurality of media can be placed. The frame portion 41 has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the vertical direction. The size of the frame portion 41 can be changed in the longitudinal direction and the short side direction, and can accommodate a medium 46 having a maximum A3 size. That is, media 46 of various sizes can be set within the A3 size. In FIG. 4, one medium 46 placed on the bottom plate portion 42 is illustrated.

The first cassette 23a can be pulled out from the digital multi-function peripheral 11a. A first cassette 23a is pulled out in the direction of arrow D ₁ of the in Figure 1, the user sets the media 46 inside the first cassette 23a. Bottom plate 42, when the first cassette 23a is set in the digital multifunction peripheral 11a, as a fulcrum to the left end 43a, the upper right end portion 43b is the direction of the arrow R ₁ in FIG. 4 It is lifted by a predetermined angle.

  When the bottom plate portion 42 is lifted by a predetermined angle, the first cassette 23a abuts on the top media 46 among the media 46 placed on the bottom plate portion 42 to place the media 46 in the first cassette 23a. A pickup roller 44 fed out from the cassette 23a, and a pair of transport rollers 45a and 45b that transport the medium 46 fed out by the pickup roller 44 to the image forming unit 15 side. The medium 46 sent out by the pickup roller 44 is transported to a position where the pair of transport rollers 45a and 45b is provided, and further transported to the image forming unit 15 side by the pair of transport rollers 45a and 45b.

  The digital multifunction peripheral 11a includes a media sensor 61 that is provided at a predetermined position of the cassette 23a and detects the type of the media 46. Specifically, the media sensor 61 is a portion that does not hinder the conveyance of the medium 46, and is provided between the pickup roller 44 and the pair of conveyance rollers 45a and 45b. The media sensor 61 includes a light emitting element 62 that emits light to the medium 46, a first light receiving element 63 a that receives reflected light from the medium 46, and a second light receiving element that receives transmitted light that passes through the medium 46. A detecting unit for detecting the type of the medium 46, specifically, the material of the medium 46 and the thickness of the medium 46 from the light quantity and detection time of the light received by the element 63b and the first and second light receiving elements 63a and 63b. 64. The media sensor 61 is schematically indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

  The media sensor 61 irradiates light from the light emitting element 62 to the media 46 accommodated in the cassette 23a. The first and second light receiving elements 63a and 63b receive the reflected light reflected from the medium 46 upon receiving the irradiated light and the amount of transmitted light that passes through the medium 46. The detection unit 64 detects the material of the medium and the thickness of the medium from the received light amounts and the times received by the light receiving elements 63a and 63b. Then, the type of the medium 46, for example, whether it is plain paper or thick paper is detected. Further, the media sensor 61 can detect the weight level of the media 46.

  The digital multi-function peripheral 11a includes a printing frequency counting unit that counts the number of times printing has been performed for each medium. Specifically, the number of times of printing is counted for each type of media 46 such as thin paper, plain paper, and thick paper. In addition, the digital multifunction peripheral 11 a includes a printing frequency data storage unit that stores the printing frequency data counted by the printing frequency counting unit for each medium 46.

  The digital multi-functional peripheral 11a includes a usage count counting unit that counts the number of times the media sensor is used. That is, the number of times the media sensor 61 is operated to detect the media type is counted. In addition, the digital multifunction peripheral 11a includes a usage count data storage unit that stores data on the usage count counted by the usage count counter.

  FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing the contents of data stored in the hard disk 16 provided in the digital multifunction peripheral 11a. Referring to FIG. 5, in hard disk 16, a print count data storage area 66 a for storing print count data printed for each medium 46 and a use count data storage area for storing data on the use count of media sensor 61 are stored. 66b.

  Specifically, the following data is stored in the print count data storage area 66a. That is, in the print count data storage area 66a, the print count “2000 times” when the type of the medium 46 is “thin paper” and the print count “15000 times” when the type of the medium 46 is “plain paper”. ”, The number-of-prints data 67a for each type of the medium 46 such as the number of times of printing“ 40 times ”when the type of the medium 46 is“ thick paper ”. The usage count data storage area 66b stores usage count data 68a of the media sensor 61 usage count “2500”.

  The digital multi-function peripheral 11a counts the number of times of printing for each type of media 46 every time printing is performed. Then, the counted number of times of printing is added and updated as new number of times of printing data 67a, and stored in the number of times of printing data storage area 66a. Here, the digital multi-function peripheral control unit 12 operates as a printing count counting unit. Further, the digital multi-function peripheral control unit 12 and the hard disk 16 operate as a printing frequency data storage unit.

  Each time the media sensor 61 is used, the digital multifunction peripheral 11a counts the number of times the media sensor 61 is used. Then, the counted number of times of use of the media sensor 61 is added and updated as new number-of-uses data 68a, and stored in the number-of-uses data storage area 66b. Here, the digital multi-function peripheral control unit 12 operates as a use frequency counting unit. Further, the digital multi-function peripheral control unit 12 and the hard disk 16 operate as a usage count data storage unit.

  Here, in the digital multifunction peripherals 11a to 11d provided in the printing system 27, the print count data 67a, 67b, 67c, 67d and the use count data 68a, 68b, 68c, 68d stored in each hard disk 16 will be described. . FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the entire printing system 27 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  Referring to FIG. 6, the hard disk 16 provided in each of the digital multifunction peripherals 11 a to 11 d has print count data 67 a to 67 d for each type of media 46 and use count data 68 a to 68 d for the media sensor 61. Stored. Specifically, on the hard disk 16 of the digital multifunction peripheral 11a, printing is performed when the type of the medium 46 is “thin paper” “2000 times” and when the type of the medium 46 is “plain paper”. The number of printing times 67a for each type of media 46, such as the number of times “15000 times”, the number of times of printing “40 times” when the type of the medium 46 is “thick paper”, and the number of times the media sensor 61 is used are “2500 times” The number-of-uses data 68a to be stored is stored.

  Similarly, on the hard disk 16 of the digital multi-function peripheral 11b, the number of times of printing “600 times” when the type of the medium 46 is “thin paper” and the number of times of printing “when the type of the medium 46 is“ plain paper ”“ “8000 times”, printing count data 67b for each type of media 46 such as “200 times” printing count when the type of the media 46 is “thick paper”, and use of the media sensor 61 as “300 times”. Number-of-times data 68b is stored. In the hard disk 16 of the digital multifunction peripheral 11c, the number of times of printing “800 times” when the type of the medium 46 is “thin paper”, and the number of times of printing “20,000” when the type of the medium 46 is “plain paper”. When the type of the medium 46 is “thick paper”, the number-of-prints data 67c for each type of the medium 46 such as the number of times of printing “10 times”, and the number-of-uses data 68c with the number of uses of the media sensor 61 as “1000 times”. Is stored. In the hard disk 16 of the digital multifunction peripheral 11d, the number of times of printing “50 times” when the type of the medium 46 is “thin paper”, and the number of times of printing “12000” when the type of the medium 46 is “plain paper”. When the type of the medium 46 is “thick paper”, the number of times of printing 67d for each type of the medium 46 such as the number of times of printing “30” and the number of times of use 68d that sets the number of times of use of the media sensor 61 to “500”. Is stored.

  In the digital multifunction peripheral 11a, the second cassette 23b is provided on the lower side of the first cassette 23a. The third cassette 23c is provided on the lower side of the second cassette 23b. The third cassette 23c is a cassette provided at the lowest level. In addition, about the structure of the 2nd cassette 23b and the 3rd cassette 23c, since it is the structure similar to the 1st cassette 23a, those description is abbreviate | omitted. That is, the media sensor 61 is provided in each of the cassettes 23a to 23c. Further, the digital multi-function peripheral 11a is provided with a total of three media sensors 61. The usage count data 68a to 68d of the media sensor 61 indicates the total usage count of all the media sensors 61 provided in each of the digital multifunction peripherals 11a to 11d.

  Different types of media can be stored in the first to third cassettes 23a to 23c, respectively. Similarly, media of different sizes can be stored for the media size. Of course, the same type of media and media of the same size can be stored in the first to third cassettes 23a to 23c.

  Next, the configuration of the image forming unit 15 provided in the digital multifunction peripheral 11a will be described. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of the digital multifunction peripheral 11a. From the viewpoint of easy understanding, the hatching of members is omitted in FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the digital multifunction peripheral 11a cut along a plane extending in the vertical direction.

  1 to 7, the image forming unit 15 includes photoreceptors 51a, 51b, 51c, and 51d, and includes four image forming units 52a corresponding to four colors of black, magenta, cyan, and yellow. An image forming unit 53 including 52b, 52c, and 52d, an LSU (Laser Scanner Unit) 54 as an exposure unit that exposes the four image forming units 52a to 52d based on the image read by the image reading unit 14, The transfer belt 55 as an intermediate transfer member that is temporarily transferred before transferring the visible image formed by the toner formed by the image forming units 52a to 52d to the medium, and the visible image transferred onto the transfer belt 55 to the medium. Transfer roller 56 for transferring, and media on which a visible image is transferred by toner by the transfer roller 56 On the other hand, a fixing device 57 for fixing the toner to the medium by heat and pressure, and a transfer belt cleaning unit (not shown) for removing the toner remaining on the transfer belt 55 with a blade or the like are provided. The LSU 54 is schematically indicated by a one-dot chain line. The fixing device 57 is also schematically indicated by a one-dot chain line. The image forming unit 15 is a so-called four-tandem development method.

The transfer belt 55 is endless, and a visible image formed by black, magenta, cyan, and yellow image forming units 52a to 52d is rotated in one direction by a pair of drive rollers 58a and 58b. Transcribed. Rotational direction of the transfer belt 55 is indicated by the arrow D ₂ in FIG. In the rotation direction of the transfer belt 55, among the image forming units 52a to 52d, the yellow image forming unit 52d is disposed on the most upstream side, and the black image forming unit 52a is disposed on the most downstream side. .

  The media 46 is transported to the image forming unit 15 from the first to third cassettes 23 a to 23 d through the media transport path 47. In this case, the medium 46 transported from the pair of transport rollers 45 a and 45 b is transported from the pair of transport rollers 48 a and 48 b to the transfer roller 56. Then, a visible image made of toner formed on the surface 59 of the transfer belt 55 is transferred by the transfer roller 56 and conveyed to a fixing device 57 positioned above the transfer roller 56. After the visible image by toner is fixed on the medium 46 by heat and pressure in the fixing device 57, the medium 46 is discharged to the medium discharge unit 30.

  Although the conveyance path of the medium 46 to the image forming unit 15 is different, the medium 46 set on the manual feed tray 28 is also conveyed to the image forming unit 15 at the time of image formation. Then, a visible image made of toner formed on the surface 59 of the transfer belt 55 is transferred to the medium 46 by the transfer roller 56, fixed by the fixing device 57, and discharged to the medium discharge unit 30.

  Next, a case where printing is performed using the printing system 27 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when printing is performed by the printing system 27 according to the embodiment of the present invention. In this case, it is assumed that printing is requested by the computer 26a included in the printing system 27.

  1 to 8, in the printing system 27, the user designates the type of the medium 46 for which printing is requested, and requests printing from any of the digital multifunction peripherals 11a to 11d from the computer 26a. In this case, the user transmits image data to be printed to one of the digital multifunction peripherals 11a to 11d connected to the network 25 by the computer control unit 31 provided in the computer 26a, and sets the type of the medium 46. Specify and instruct it to print.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the display screen 71 of the display 32 when a print request is issued from the computer 26a. Referring to FIG. 9, a display screen 71 of the display 32 connected to the computer 26 a has a “print setting” display 72, a message “73 a. Please specify the media to be printed”, and printing. An icon 74a for designating “thin paper” as the type of media to be requested, an icon 74b for designating “plain paper” as the type of media for which printing is requested, and an icon for designating “thick paper” as the type of media for which printing is requested. 74c, an icon 74d for designating a type of “other” other than “thin paper”, “plain paper”, and “thick paper” as the type of media requesting printing, and “please input image data to be printed”. Message 73b, an image data input unit 75 for inputting image data to be printed, and “print”. And icon 76 to start more execution of printing is displayed.

  Prior to printing on the medium 46, the user first instructs the display 32 to display the print setting display screen 71. In response to the command, the computer 26a displays a display screen 71 for print settings on the display 32 (in FIG. 8, step S11, hereinafter “step” is omitted).

  The user performs these designations and inputs using the keyboard 33 and the mouse. Specifically, any of the icons 74a to 74d is designated by clicking with the mouse. Further, the file name of the image data to be printed is input to the input unit 75 using the mouse or the keyboard 33.

  Next, the user clicks an icon 76 labeled “print” to request printing. It is assumed here that the icon 74b is clicked to specify the medium type of “plain paper”.

  The computer 26a accepts a print request in the computer control unit 31 by specifying the media and inputting the image data (S12). Here, the computer control unit 31, the display 32, and the like operate as an input unit that inputs a print request from a user and a media specification unit that specifies the type of media input by the input unit that requests the print.

  Next, the computer control unit 31 acquires data on the number of times the media sensor 61 is used in each of the digital multifunction peripherals 11a to 11d connected to the network 25 (S13). Here, the computer control unit 31 operates as a use count data acquisition unit. Specifically, the computer control unit 31 acquires the usage count data 68 a to 68 d from the hard disks 16 provided in the digital multifunction peripherals 11 a to 11 d via the network 25.

  The computer control unit 31 acquires data on the number of times of use of the media sensor 61 and also acquires data on the number of times of printing on plain paper, which is a designated medium, in each of the digital multifunction peripherals 11 a to 11 d connected to the network 25. (S14). Here, the computer control unit 31 operates as a printing frequency data acquisition unit. Specifically, the computer control unit 31 acquires the print count data 67a to 67d from the hard disks 16 provided in the digital multifunction peripherals 11a to 11d via the network 25.

  Thereafter, the computer control unit 31 extracts the digital multifunction peripherals 11a to 11d that are equal to or greater than the predetermined number of times of printing from the acquired plain paper printing times data 67a to 67d (S15). According to the acquired printing frequency data 67a to 67d, the plain paper of the digital multifunction peripheral 11a is 15000 times, the plain paper of the digital multifunction peripheral 11b is 8000, and the plain paper of the digital multifunction peripheral 11c is printed. The number of times is 20000 times, and the number of times that the digital multifunction peripheral 11d prints plain paper is 12000 times. Here, when the predetermined number of times is 10,000, the computer control unit 31 extracts the digital multifunction peripherals 11a, 11c, and 11d.

  Next, the computer control unit 31 selects one of the extracted digital multifunction peripherals 11a, 11c, and 11d that uses the media sensor 61 the least number (S16). In this case, according to the acquired use frequency data 68a, 68c, 68d, the media sensor 61 of the digital multi-function peripheral 11a is used 2500 times, the digital sensor 11c is used 1000 times, and the digital multi-function peripheral 11c is 1000 times. The media sensor 61 of the machine 11d is used 500 times. Therefore, the computer control unit 31 selects the digital multifunction peripheral 11d as the one that uses the media sensor 61 the least number of times.

  Thereafter, the media sensor 61 provided in the digital multifunction peripheral 11d is activated for the selected digital multifunction peripheral 11d (S17). Here, the digital multifunction machine control unit 12 provided in the digital multifunction machine 11d operates as a media sensor operation unit.

  Then, it is determined whether or not there is a cassette in which plain paper as the designated medium is set in the digital multifunction peripheral 11d (S18). Here, the digital multifunction peripheral control unit 12 provided in the digital multifunction peripheral 11d operates as a determination unit.

  If the plain paper as the designated medium is in any of the first to third cassettes 23d to 23f provided in the digital multifunction peripheral 11d (YES in S18), the plain paper as the designated medium is set. The selected cassettes 23d to 23f are selected (S19). Then, printing is performed with plain paper set in the selected cassettes 23d to 23f (S20).

  On the other hand, if the plain paper as the designated medium is not in the first to third cassettes 23d to 23f provided in the digital multifunction peripheral 11d (NO in S18), the extracted digital multifunction peripherals 11a, 11c, and 11d. Then, the digital multifunction peripherals 11a, 11c, and 11d with the smallest number of times of use of the media sensor 61 are selected (S21). In this case, the digital multifunction peripheral 11c in which the media sensor 61 is used 1000 times is selected. Then, the media sensor 61 is operated again, and it is determined again whether or not there is a cassette in which plain paper as the designated medium is set. This is performed until it is determined that there is a cassette in which the designated medium is set.

  According to such a printing system 27, when printing is requested by specifying the medium 46, the digital multifunction peripherals 11a to 11d that use the media sensor 61 the least number of times are selected. Then, for the selected digital multifunction peripherals 11a to 11d, based on the detection result detected by the media sensor 61, the designated medium 46 is placed in the cassettes 23d to 23f included in the selected digital multifunction peripherals 11a to 11d. It is determined whether it is set. If it is determined that the medium 46 is set, printing is performed by the digital multifunction peripherals 11a to 11d. Then, the operation of the media sensor 61 provided in the digital multifunction peripherals 11a to 11d included in the printing system 27 can be efficiently performed. That is, it is possible to avoid a tendency that the number of times the media sensor is operated is biased for each of the digital multifunction peripherals 11a to 11d. Therefore, according to such a printing system 27, it is possible to print efficiently.

  In this case, the specified media 46 is printed more than the predetermined number of times, and the media sensor 61 is operated in the order from the least used number of times of the media sensor 61, and the specified media 46 is It is determined whether or not there are cassettes 23d to 23f set. Therefore, there is a high possibility that a digital multi-function peripheral having the cassettes 23d to 23f in which the designated medium 46 is set will be found earlier. Therefore, printing can be performed more efficiently.

  In the above-described embodiment, when there are a plurality of digital multi-function peripherals that use the smallest number of media sensors, for example, a digital multi-function peripheral that has a large number of prints of a designated medium may be selected. . This increases the possibility of finding a digital multi-function peripheral having a cassette in which a designated medium is set earlier. Therefore, printing can be performed more efficiently.

  Further, in the above embodiment, when it is determined that there is no digital multi-function peripheral having a cassette in which the designated medium is set in the extracted digital multi-function peripheral, the number of times of printing is smaller than the predetermined number of times of printing. May be configured so that a digital multifunction device having the least number of times of use of the media sensor is selected from among those having the number of times of printing set or more. Furthermore, a digital multi-function peripheral having a print history of a designated medium may be extracted, and a digital multi-function peripheral that uses the least number of media sensors may be selected from the extracted digital multi-function peripherals.

  Further, in the above embodiment, when it is determined that there is no digital multifunction peripheral having a cassette in which the designated medium is set in the extracted digital multifunction peripheral, the digital multifunction peripheral other than the extracted digital multifunction peripheral You may comprise so that the digital multifunction device with the fewest use times of a media sensor may be selected from among them. By doing so, it is possible to print the specified medium more reliably.

  A configuration in which a media sensor is activated by simply selecting a media sensor that is used less frequently and determining whether or not there is a cassette in which the specified media type is set in the selected digital multi-function peripheral. It is good.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in this case. Referring to FIG. 10, in the printing system according to another embodiment of the present invention, the processing of S31 and S32 is the same as the processing of S11 and S12 in the flowchart shown in FIG. .

  After accepting the print request, data on the number of times the media sensor 61 is used is acquired (S33). Then, the digital multifunction peripherals 11a to 11d with the smallest use count of the media sensor 61 are selected (S34). In this case, the setting shown in FIG. 6 selects the digital multifunction device 11b that uses the media sensor 61 as few as 300 times.

  Thereafter, similarly to the case shown in FIG. 8, the media sensor 61 provided in the selected digital multi-function peripheral 11b is operated (S35). If it is determined that the plain paper as the designated medium is in any of the first to third cassettes 23g, 23h, and 23i provided in the digital multifunction peripheral 11b (YES in S36), the designated medium is used. The cassettes 23g to 23i in which a certain plain paper is set are selected (S37), and printing is performed with the plain paper set in the selected cassettes 23g to 23i (S20).

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the plain paper as the designated medium is not in the first to third cassettes 23g to 23i provided in the digital multifunction peripheral 11b (NO in S36), the number of times the media sensor 61 is used next. The digital multi-function peripheral 11d having a small amount is selected (S39). Then, such processing is performed until a digital multi-function peripheral having a cassette in which the designated medium is set is selected.

  With this configuration, the media sensor 61 provided in each of the digital multifunction peripherals 11a to 11d included in the printing system 27 can be used efficiently, and the life of the entire system can be extended.

  In the above embodiment, when there are a plurality of cassettes in which the designated media type is set in the selected digital multi-function peripheral, the cassette closest to the media discharge unit may be selected. Good.

  In the above embodiment, the computer control unit includes the use count data acquisition unit, the print count data acquisition unit, the selection unit, the extraction unit, and the system control unit. At least one of the use count data acquisition unit, the print count data acquisition unit, the selection unit, the extraction unit, and the system control unit is any of a plurality of digital multifunction peripherals connected to the network. A configuration provided in a digital multi-function peripheral control unit provided in the above may be employed. By doing so, it is possible to reduce the processing load on the computer side. In addition, the determination unit and the media sensor operation unit may be provided in the computer control unit.

  In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the media sensor 61 is provided at a predetermined position of the cassette 23a. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the media sensor 61 is provided at a predetermined position on the media transport path 47. It is good as well. Specifically, for example, in the case shown in FIG. 7, the media sensor 49 may be provided on the media conveyance path 47 between the pair of conveyance rollers 48 a and 48 b and the transfer roller 56. By doing so, the number of media sensors 49 can be reduced.

  In the above embodiment, the media sensor detects the type of media such as the weight of the media by detecting the material of the media and the thickness of the media. However, the media sensor is not limited to this. It may be configured to detect at least one of the material of the medium and the thickness of the medium.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where a visible image using toner is printed on a medium has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is also applicable to a printing apparatus including a printer using ink or the like. .

  It should be understood that the embodiments and examples disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not restrictive in any respect. The scope of the present invention is defined by the scope of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the scope of the claims.

  The printing system according to the present invention is particularly effectively used when efficient printing is required when a user specifies printing media and requests printing.

11a, 11b, 11c, 11d Digital multifunction device, 12 Digital multifunction device control unit, 13 Operation unit, 14 Image reading unit, 15 Image forming unit, 16 Hard disk, 17 Facsimile communication unit, 18 Network interface unit, 19 Media set unit, 21, 71 Display screen, 22 ADF, 23a, 23b, 23c, 23d, 23e, 23f, 23g, 23h, 23i Cassette, 24 Public line, 25 Network, 26a, 26b Computer, 27 Printing system, 28 Manual feed tray, 29 Cassette Group, 30 Media ejecting unit, 31 Computer control unit, 32 Display, 33 Keyboard, 34 Numeric keypad, 35 Start key, 36 Power key, 37 Menu key, 38 Registration key, 39 Reset key, 41 Frame part, 42 Bottom plate part, 3a, 43b end, 44 pickup roller, 45a, 45b, 48a, 48b transport roller, 46 media, 47 media transport path, 49, 61 media sensor, 51a, 51b, 51c, 51d photoconductor, 52a, 52b, 52c, 52d Image forming unit, 53 Imager, 54 LSU, 55 Transfer belt, 56 Transfer roller, 57 Fixing device, 58a, 58b Drive roller, 59 Surface, 62 Light emitting element, 63a, 63b Light receiving element, 64 Detector, 66a Printing Count data storage area, 66b Use count data storage area, 67a, 67b, 67c, 67d Print count data, 68a, 68b, 68c, 68d Use count data, 72 Display, 73a, 73b Message, 74a, 74b, 74c, 74d, 76 icons, 75 image data input section.

Claims (6)

A printing system including a plurality of printing apparatuses and a computer that is communicably connected to the plurality of printing apparatuses via a network,
The computer includes an input unit for inputting a print request from a user;
A media designating unit for designating a type of media requested to be printed input by the input unit;
Each of the printing devices
A media setting unit on which the media to be printed is set;
A printing unit that performs printing using the media set in the media setting unit;
A medium discharge section for discharging the medium printed by the printing section;
A media sensor for detecting the type of the media;
A use count section for counting the number of uses of the media sensor;
A usage count data storage unit that stores data of the usage count counted by the usage count count unit;
The printing system includes:
A usage count data acquisition unit for acquiring data of the usage count of the media sensor stored by the usage count data storage unit provided in each of the printing apparatuses;
A selection unit that selects the printing device with the least number of uses from the data on the number of uses of the media sensor acquired by the use number data acquisition unit;
A media sensor actuating unit that actuates the media sensor provided in the printing apparatus selected by the selection unit;
The medium provided in the printing apparatus selected by the selection unit, corresponding to the medium designated by the media designation unit, based on the detection result by the media sensor operated by the media sensor operation unit A determination unit for determining whether or not the set unit is set;
If the determination unit determines that the medium corresponding to the type of the media specified by the media specification unit is set in the media setting unit provided in the printing apparatus selected by the selection unit Selected by the selection unit using the media set in the media setting unit included in the printing apparatus selected by the selection unit in response to a print request input by the input unit A printing system comprising: a system control unit that controls printing by the printing unit provided in the printing apparatus. If the system control unit determines that the media corresponding to the specified media type is not set in the media setting unit provided in the printing apparatus selected by the selection unit, by the determination unit. 2. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein control is performed so as to select the next printing device with the smallest number of times of use of the media sensor from among the plurality of printing devices that are communicably connected via the network. Each of the printing devices
A printing count section for counting the number of times printing has been performed for each medium;
A printing frequency data storage unit that stores the printing frequency data counted by the printing frequency counting unit for each medium;
The printing system includes:
A printing frequency data acquisition unit that acquires, for each of the printing devices, data of the printing frequency of the media corresponding to the media specified by the media specification unit;
Based on the information on the number of times of printing of the medium for each of the printing devices acquired by the number of times of printing data acquisition unit , the medium designated by the media designation unit causes the plurality of printing devices to print the plurality of printing devices having a predetermined number of times of printing or more. An extraction unit for extracting from the device,
3. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the system control unit controls the selection unit to select the printing device with the smallest number of times of use from the printing devices extracted by the extraction unit. . The system control unit includes the media set provided in the printing apparatus in which the medium corresponding to the type of the medium specified by the determination unit is selected from the printing apparatuses extracted by the extraction unit. The control unit controls the selection unit to select the printing device with the smallest number of times of use from among the printing devices other than those extracted by the extraction unit if it is determined that the printing device is not set in the copy unit. The printing system described in. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the media sensor detects at least one of a material of the medium and a thickness of the medium as the type of the medium. The media sensor is provided at at least one of a predetermined position in the media setting unit and a predetermined position on a media conveyance path where the medium is conveyed from the media setting unit to the printing unit. Item 6. The printing system according to any one of Items 1 to 5.

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