Distributed printing system, sheet sorting method, and job management device

Abstract

A distributed printing system includes: a job management device that divides a print job to generate divided jobs; image forming devices that execute the divided jobs to form an image on a sheet; and a sorting device that sorts sheets of a sheet bundle, wherein each of the image forming devices executes the divided jobs, and discharges a sheet bundle, the job management device includes a storage that stores information regarding the sheets constituting the sheet bundles, and the sorting device includes a sheet feeder on which the sheet bundles is settable, an instructor that instructs an operator on an arrangement order of the sheet bundles to be set on the sheet feeder, and a sheet discharger that sorts the sheets of the sheet bundles on the basis of operation information, and discharges a sheet bundle and a sheet bundle including remaining sheets to different sheet discharge trays.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A distributed printing system comprising:
 a job management device that divides a print job to generate a plurality of divided jobs; a plurality of image forming devices that respectively executes the plurality of divided jobs to form an image on a sheet; and a sorting device that sorts sheets of a sheet bundle, wherein   each of the image forming devices executes a plurality of the divided jobs respectively corresponding to a plurality of print jobs, and discharges a sheet bundle in which sheets of the plurality of divided jobs are mixed,   the job management device includes
 a storage that stores, about a plurality of the sheet bundles respectively discharged from the plurality of image forming devices, information regarding the sheets constituting the sheet bundles, and 
   the sorting device includes
 a sheet feeder on which the plurality of sheet bundles is settable, 
 an instructor that instructs an operator on an arrangement order of the sheet bundles to be set on the sheet feeder, and 
 a sheet discharger that sorts the sheets of the plurality of sheet bundles set on the sheet feeder on the basis of operation information obtained from the information stored in the storage, and discharges a sheet bundle including sheets of one print job and a sheet bundle including remaining sheets to different sheet discharge trays. 
   
     
     
         2 . The distributed printing system according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the sheet bundle including the remaining sheets includes a plurality of sheet bundles respectively obtained by removing the sheets of the one print job from the plurality of sheet bundles set on the sheet feeder, and   the sheet discharger discharges the plurality of sheet bundles including the remaining sheets in a distinguishable manner from each other.   
     
     
         3 . The distributed printing system according to  claim 1 , wherein
 in a case where the sheet feeder includes sheet feed trays of a number equal to or larger than the plurality of sheet bundles, the instructor instructs the operator on a sheet bundle to be set on each of the sheet feed trays, and   in a case where the sheet feeder includes sheet feed trays of a number less than the plurality of sheet bundles, the instructor instructs the operator on a sheet feed tray on which the sheet bundles are to be set and an order of the sheet bundles to be loaded on the sheet feed tray.   
     
     
         4 . The distributed printing system according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the image forming device further includes an image former that forms an image on a sheet, and   forms an image indicating identification information for identifying the sheet bundle on a sheet, and outputs the sheet as a cover sheet of the sheet bundle.   
     
     
         5 . The distributed printing system according to  claim 1 , wherein the image forming device further includes an inserter that inserts a predetermined sheet as a cover sheet of the sheet bundle. 
     
     
         6 . The distributed printing system according to  claim 4 , wherein the sorting device discards the cover sheet when a sheet bundle corresponding to the cover sheet is gone by performing sorting. 
     
     
         7 . The distributed printing system according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the sheet bundle including the remaining sheets includes a plurality of sheet bundles respectively obtained by removing the sheets of the one print job from the plurality of sheet bundles set on the sheet feeder, and the plurality of sheet bundles including the remaining sheets is stacked and discharged onto one sheet discharge tray, and   in a case where sheets adjacent between the sheet bundles discharge on the sheet discharge tray are sheets of successive divided jobs of a same print job, the sheet discharger includes the sheet of one divided job of the successive divided jobs to the sheet bundle of the sheet of the other divided job and discharges the sheet bundle, or discharges the sheets of the successive divided jobs as a new sheet bundle.   
     
     
         8 . The distributed printing system according to  claim 7 , wherein, in a case where a cover sheet is stacked on the plurality of sheet bundles, the sorting device discards a cover sheet existing between the successive divided jobs, and stacks a new cover sheet on a sheet bundle to be newly formed. 
     
     
         9 . The distributed printing system according to  claim 8 , wherein
 the sorting device is the image forming device, and   forms an image indicating identification information for identifying the sheet bundle on a sheet, and outputs the sheet as the new cover sheet.   
     
     
         10 . The distributed printing system according to  claim 8 , wherein the sorting device further includes an inserter that inserts a predetermined sheet as the new cover sheet. 
     
     
         11 . The distributed printing system according to  claim 5 , wherein an image indicating identification information for identifying the sheet bundle is formed on the predetermined sheet, and the identification information is registered in the job management device. 
     
     
         12 . The distributed printing system according to  claim 1 , wherein the image forming device further includes a communicator that transmits information regarding the sheets constituting the sheet bundle discharged on the sheet discharge tray of the image forming device to the job management device. 
     
     
         13 . The distributed printing system according to  claim 12 , wherein
 the image forming device further includes a receiver that receives an operation to determine a configuration of a sheet bundle, and   when the operation is received, the communicator transmits the information regarding the sheets constituting the sheet bundle to the job management device.   
     
     
         14 . The distributed printing system according to  claim 13 , wherein, when the operation is received, the image forming device forms an image indicating identification information for identifying the sheet bundle on a sheet, and outputs the sheet as a cover sheet of the sheet bundle. 
     
     
         15 . The distributed printing system according to  claim 4 , wherein the image forming device forms the image on a sheet having a different size from the sheet of the sheet bundle or a tab sheet, and outputs the sheet or the tab sheet as the cover sheet. 
     
     
         16 . The distributed printing system according to  claim 1 , wherein the sorting device further includes
 an image reader that reads an image formed on the sheet, and   a hardware processor that stops a sorting operation when a sheet bundle set on the sheet feeder has been recognized not to be correct from a read result by the image reader.   
     
     
         17 . The distributed printing system according to  claim 16 , wherein
 the sorting device continues the sorting operation even when the sheet bundle set on the sheet feeder has been recognized not to be correct, and   performs processing of changing a sheet discharge position of the sheet to be discharged on the sheet discharge tray or processing of inserting a predetermined sheet to make a place where arrangement of sheets of a sheet bundle discharged on the sheet discharge tray has an error recognizable.   
     
     
         18 . A sheet sorting method executed in a distributed printing system including a job management device that divides a print job to generate a plurality of divided jobs, a plurality of image forming devices that respectively executes the plurality of divided jobs to form an image on a sheet, and a sorting device that sorts sheets of a sheet bundle, the sheet sorting method comprising:
 (a) executing a plurality of the divided jobs respectively corresponding to a plurality of print jobs, and discharging a sheet bundle in which sheets of the plurality of divided jobs are mixed, by each of the image forming devices;   (b) storing, about a plurality of the sheet bundles respectively discharged from the plurality of image forming devices, information regarding the sheets constituting the sheet bundles in a storage, by the job management device;   (c) instructing an operator on an arrangement order of the sheet bundles to be set on the sheet feeder, by the sorting device; and   (d) sorting the sheets of the plurality of sheet bundles set on the sheet feeder on the basis of operation information obtained from the information stored in the storage, and discharging a sheet bundle including sheets of one print job and a sheet bundle including remaining sheets to different sheet discharge trays, by the sorting device.   
     
     
         19 . A job management device used in a distributed printing system including the job management device that divides a print job to generate a plurality of divided jobs, a plurality of image forming devices that respectively executes the plurality of divided jobs to form an image on a sheet, and a sorting device that sorts sheets of a sheet bundle, wherein
 each of the image forming devices executes a plurality of the divided jobs respectively corresponding to a plurality of print jobs, and discharges a sheet bundle in which sheets of the plurality of divided jobs are mixed,   the job management device includes
 a storage that stores, about a plurality of the sheet bundles respectively discharged from the plurality of image forming devices, information regarding the sheets constituting the sheet bundles, 
 a hardware processor that: 
 generates instruction information for instructing an operator on an arrangement order of the sheet bundles to be set on a sheet feeder of the sorting device; and 
 generates operation information of the sorting device from the information stored in the storage so that the sorting device sorts the sheets of the plurality of sheet bundles set on the sheet feeder, and discharges a sheet bundle including sheets of one print job and a sheet bundle including remaining sheets to different sheet discharge trays, and 
 a communicator that transmits the instruction information and the operation information to the sorting device.