Printing system and control method
AssigneeSeiko Epson Corporation
InventorMaki Amano
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A printing system including plural devices can appropriately stop normally operating devices in a short time when a problem occurs in any one of the plural devices. The printing system has devices that execute processes for printing on printing paper, device control units that control the devices, and a central control unit that centrally controls the devices. When a problem is detected in one device, the central control unit sends, as a command for a process to be executed immediately, a stop device command for stopping the other device to the device control unit that controls the device in which a problem is not detected. The device control unit that receives the stop device command executes a process based on the stop device command with priority over processes based on other commands, and stops the device.
Claims17
A printing system comprising:
- a plurality of devices including a device that prints on printing paper;
- a plurality of device control units that respectively control the plurality of devices;
- and
- a central control unit that centrally controls the plurality of device control units;
- wherein when the central control unit detects a problem in at least one of the plurality of devices, the central control unit sends a stop device command for stopping devices in which a problem is not detected as a command to be processed immediately to device control units that control the devices in which a problem is not detected,
- the device control units that received the stop device command execute a process based on the stop device command with priority over processes based on other commands to stop the devices in which a problem is not detected,
- an image printer that prints images on a front side, which is one side of the printing paper, and a reverse printer that prints text on a reverse side, which is another side of the printing paper, as devices that print on the printing paper;
- and
- a reverse printing control unit that controls the reverse printer as a device control unit;
- wherein when the central control unit detects a problem with the image printer, the central control unit sends the stop device command for stopping the reverse printer to the reverse printing control unit;
- and
- the reverse printing control unit executes a process based on the stop device command with priority to processes based on other commands, and stops the reverse printer.
A control method for a printing system that has a plurality of devices including an image printer that prints images on a front side, which is one side of a printing paper, and a reverse printer that prints text on a reverse side, which is another side of the printing paper, the control method comprising:
- a stop device command transmission step in which when a central control unit that centrally controls device control units that respectively control the plurality of devices detects a problem in at least one of the plurality of devices, the central control unit sends a stop device command for stopping devices in which a problem is not detected as a command to be processed immediately to device control units that control the devices in which a problem is not detected;
- and
- a stop device step in which the device control units that received the stop device command execute a process based on the stop device command with priority over processes based on other commands to stop the devices in which a problem is not detected,
- controlling the reverse printer as a device control unit;
- wherein when the central control unit detects a problem with the image printer, the central control unit sends the stop device command for stopping the reverse printer to a reverse printing control unit;
- and
- executing a process based on the stop device command with priority to processes based on other commands, and stopping the reverse printer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.