IP Library Granted Patent US 12,398,010
Granted Patent B2
US 12,398,010 · App. 17/509,753 · Granted Aug 26, 2025

General printing management device, conveyance management device, and printing system

Inventors: Hiroki Yamamoto (Takashima, JP); Kohei Kashiwagi (Takashima, JP)
Assignee: Horizon Inc.
B65H29/22B65H5/04B65H29/00B65H31/18B65H43/00B65H2301/421B65H2301/42252B65H2301/42256B65H2301/54B65H2405/312B65H2511/13B65H2511/18B65H2511/414B65H2511/415B65H2557/25B65H2557/30
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,398,010
App. No.
17/509,753
Granted
Aug 26, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

Personnel saving of a process from a printer to a sheet processing machine is achieved. A general printing management device is connected to be communicable with a conveyance management device that manages a plurality of automatic guided vehicles each conveying a stacker in which paper ejected from a printer is stackable. The general printing management device generates conveyance instruction information for conveying a stacker in which paper ejected from the printer is stacked from a sheet receiving position of the printer to a sheet supply position of a next processing machine, based on job information in which a manufacturing process procedure for manufacturing a printed product is registered, and transmits the conveyance instruction information to the conveyance management device.

Claims (29)

1. A general printing management device connected to be communicable with a conveyance management device that manages a plurality of automatic guided conveying apparatuses each conveying a sheet stacking apparatus in which a sheet ejected from a printer is stackable, the general printing management device comprising:

a processor configured to generate a conveyance instruction information for conveying, by one of the automatic guided conveying apparatuses, the sheet stacking apparatus in which the sheet ejected from the printer is stacked from a sheet receiving position of the printer to a sheet supply position of a next processing machine, based on a job information in which a manufacturing process procedure for manufacturing a printed product is registered; and

a transmitter configured to transmit the conveyance instruction information to the conveyance management device,

wherein the conveyance instruction information includes information concerning an orientation of a sheet to be ejected from the printer to the sheet stacking apparatus.

2. The general printing management device according to claim 1 , wherein the conveyance instruction information includes at least one of a sheet size, a sheet thickness, or a number of sheets to be stacked in the sheet stacking apparatus.

3. The general printing management device according to claim 1 , wherein the conveyance instruction information includes processing machine identification information individually given to the processing machine and an offset information of the sheet supply position in the processing machine.

4. The general printing management device according to claim 1 , wherein the conveyance instruction information includes information concerning a paper supply orientation of a stacker to the processing machine.

5. The general printing management device according to claim 1 , wherein, in response to a plurality of sheet stacking apparatuses being required for execution of one job, the conveyance instruction information includes an identification information of the plurality of sheet stacking apparatuses that execute the one job, and at least one of an order of the sheet stacking apparatuses in which sheets ejected from the printer are stacked or an order of the sheet stacking apparatuses that supply the sheets to the next processing machine.

6. The general printing management device according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to generate, based on the job information, conveyance instruction information for conveying the sheet stacking apparatus in which the sheet is not stacked to the sheet receiving position of the printer.

7. The general printing management device according to claim 1 , wherein the conveyance instruction information includes an identification information individually given to the sheet stacking apparatus.

8. A printing system comprising:

the general printing management device according to claim 1 , and

the conveyance management device, which is configured to manage a plurality of automatic guided conveying apparatuses each conveying a sheet stacking apparatus in which a sheet ejected from a printer is stackable.

9. A conveyance management device configured to manage a plurality of automatic guided conveying apparatuses each conveying a sheet stacking apparatus in which a sheet ejected from a printer is stackable, the conveyance management device comprising:

a processor; and

a memory including a program that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform operations, the operations including:

acquiring at least one of a battery information, an operating information, or a current position information of each of the plurality of automatic guided conveying apparatuses;

receiving a conveyance instruction information for conveying the sheet stacking apparatus;

determining one automatic guided conveying apparatus based on the information acquired by the acquired information and the conveyance instruction information; and

transmitting the conveyance instruction information to a determined automatic guided conveying apparatus, the conveyance instruction information including at least one of a sheet size, a sheet thickness and a number of sheets to be stacked in the sheet stacking apparatus, an identification information of the sheet stacking apparatus, or an identification information of the printer or a processing machine that is a conveyance destination of the sheet stacking apparatus,

wherein the conveyance instruction information includes information concerning an orientation of a sheet to be ejected from the printer to the sheet stacking apparatus.

10. The conveyance management device according to claim 9 , wherein the conveyance instruction information includes an information concerning a running route from a conveyance source to a conveyance destination of the sheet stacking apparatus and an information of a particularity on the running route, and

wherein the particularity includes at least one of a floor slope information, a floor step information, a temperature, a humidity, an air conditioning air volume, or an air conditioning wind direction.

11. A method, comprising:

generating a conveyance instruction information for conveying, by one of a plurality of automatic guided conveying apparatuses, a sheet stacking apparatus in which a sheet ejected from a printer is stacked to a sheet supply position of a next processing machine, based on a job information in which a manufacturing process procedure for manufacturing a printed product is registered, wherein the conveyance instruction information includes information concerning an orientation of a sheet to be ejected from the printer to the sheet stacking apparatus; and

transmitting the conveyance instruction information to a conveyance management device configured to manage the plurality of automatic guided conveying apparatuses each conveying the sheet stacking apparatus.

12. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to:

generate a conveyance instruction information for conveying, by one of a plurality of automatic guided conveying apparatuses, a sheet stacking apparatus in which a sheet ejected from a printer is stacked to a sheet supply position of a next processing machine, based on a job information in which a manufacturing process procedure for manufacturing a printed product is registered, wherein the conveyance instruction information includes an information concerning an orientation of the sheet to be ejected from the printer to the sheet stacking apparatus; and

transmit the conveyance instruction information to a conveyance management device configured to manage the plurality of automatic guided conveying apparatuses each conveying the sheet stacking apparatus.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 25, 2021
From: YAMAMOTO, HIROKI; KASHIWAGI, KOHEI
To: HORIZON INC.
Reel/Frame 057902/0486 →
Priority Claims (2)
JP 2020-179034 · Oct 26, 2020 · national
JP 2021-144018 · Sep 3, 2021 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20220127097A1 · Apr 28, 2022
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Cited By (1)
US 12,528,646