JP5667028B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a multifunction peripheral, or a printer, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus having a FAX function.

  In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a multifunction peripheral, and a printer having a FAX function, the FAX function is often an optional function. Accordingly, in addition to a main board on which a main CPU for controlling an image forming function such as a copying machine, a multifunction machine, and a printer is mounted, a FAX board on which a FAX CPU for controlling a FAX function is mounted is generally provided. The main CPU issues a FAX transmission instruction to the FAX CPU, and the FAX CPU executes the FAX transmission.

  In the image forming apparatus having such a configuration, after the FAX transmission instruction is issued from the main CPU to the FAX CPU, the FAX CPU on the FAX board may cause an error (lock) due to static electricity or the like. Even if the call is interrupted, the telephone line may continue to be held in a call state. Therefore, by detecting the disconnection of the line by the partner FAX apparatus by the busy tone detection circuit for detecting the busy tone, the FAX CPU is forcibly reset to disconnect the line, thereby preventing the telephone line from being kept in a call state. A technique has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-11-112686

  However, in the prior art, it is necessary to provide a special circuit for error detection called a busy tone detection circuit, which increases the cost. In addition to the error (lock) of the FAX CPU, there is also an error in FAX transmission caused by the counterpart FAX device, and the same error is repeated many times just by forcibly resetting the FAX CPU as in the prior art. There was a problem.

  In view of the above problems, the object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art, and to detect an error in FAX transmission executed by the FAX CPU with the main CPU without providing a special circuit for error detection. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of appropriately responding to various errors.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention is an image forming apparatus having a main CPU that controls an image forming function, and a FAX CPU that controls a FAX function under the control of the main CPU. The transmission completion scheduled time is calculated based on the data amount of the image data to be transmitted, and the transmission start signal is transmitted from the FAX CPU to the FAX CPU without receiving a response signal informing the success or failure of the FAX transmission. When the scheduled transmission completion time elapses, a status confirmation signal is transmitted to the FAX CPU, and when a response signal to the status confirmation signal is not received, the FAX CPU is reset and a response indicating that the status confirmation signal is being transmitted. When a signal is received and the scheduled transmission completion time has elapsed from the start of FAX transmission, The end of the AX transmission characterized by instructing the FAXCPU.
Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, when the FAX CPU is in a retry waiting state, the FAX CPU transmits a scheduled transmission start time to the main CPU together with a response signal indicating that the state confirmation signal is in a waiting state. The main CPU may transmit a status confirmation signal to the FAX CPU when the scheduled transmission completion time has elapsed from the scheduled transmission start time without receiving a response signal informing the success or failure of FAX transmission from the FAX CPU. .
Further, in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, when the FAX CPU is transmitting a FAX, the FAX CPU transmits a transmission start time to the main CPU together with a response signal indicating that the status confirmation signal is being transmitted. The CPU may determine whether or not the scheduled transmission completion time has elapsed from the transmission start time .

  According to the present invention, the main CPU calculates the scheduled transmission completion time based on the data amount of image data to be faxed, and does not receive a response signal informing the success or failure of the fax transmission from the fax CPU. When the scheduled transmission completion time elapses from the transmission of the transmission start signal instructing the transmission, a status confirmation signal is transmitted to the FAX CPU, and when no response signal to the status confirmation signal is received, the FAX CPU is reset, When a response signal indicating that transmission is in progress is received and the transmission completion scheduled time has elapsed since the start of FAX transmission, the FAX CPU is instructed to end FAX transmission, thereby providing a special error detection Without the circuit, the main CPU detects an error in FAX transmission executed by the FAX CPU. Bets can be an effect that it is possible to perform an appropriate response to various errors.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an internal configuration of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a FAX transmission error detection operation by a main control unit shown in FIG.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
An image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is a copying machine. Referring to FIG. 1, a document reading unit 2, a document feeding unit 3, a body unit 4, a stack tray 5, and an operation unit 6 are provided. I have. The document reading unit 2 is disposed on the top of the main body unit 4, and the document feeding unit 3 is disposed on the top of the document reading unit 2. The stack tray 5 is disposed on the recording paper discharge port 41 side of the main body unit 4, and the operation unit 6 is disposed on the front side of the image forming apparatus 1.

  The operation unit 6 is provided with a liquid crystal display unit 61 and a numeric keypad 62. The user operates the operation unit 6 to input an instruction, thereby performing various settings of the image forming apparatus 1 and executing various functions such as image formation. The liquid crystal display unit 61 displays the state of the image forming apparatus 1, displays the image forming status and the number of copies, and can be used as a touch panel to perform various settings such as functions such as double-sided printing and black-and-white reversal, magnification setting, and density setting. It has become. In addition, the operation unit 6 includes a start button for instructing the user to start image formation, a stop / clear button used when the image formation is stopped, and various settings of the image forming apparatus 1 are set to the default state. A reset button or the like is provided for use.

  The document reading unit 2 includes a scanner 21, a platen glass 22, and a document reading slit 23. The scanner 21 includes an exposure lamp, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor, and the like, and is configured to be movable in the document transport direction by the document feeder 3. The platen glass 22 is an original table made of a transparent member such as glass. The document reading slit 23 has a slit formed in a direction perpendicular to the document transport direction by the document feeder 3.

  When reading a document placed on the platen glass 22, the scanner 21 is moved to a position facing the platen glass 22 and reads the document while scanning the document placed on the platen glass 22 to obtain image data. The acquired image data is output to the main unit 4. When reading the document conveyed by the document feeding unit 3, the scanner 21 is moved to a position facing the document reading slit 23, and the document is conveyed by the document feeding unit 3 through the document reading slit 23. The document is read in synchronization with the operation to acquire image data, and the acquired image data is output to the main body unit 4.

  The document feeding unit 3 includes a document placement unit 31, a document discharge unit 32, and a document transport mechanism 33. The originals placed on the original placement unit 31 are sequentially fed out one by one by the original conveyance mechanism 33, conveyed to a position facing the original reading slit 23, and then discharged to the original discharge unit 32. The document feeding unit 3 is configured to be retractable, and the upper surface of the platen glass 22 can be opened by lifting the document feeding unit 3 upward.

  The main body unit 4 includes the recording unit 7, and includes a paper feeding unit 42, a paper conveyance path 43, a conveyance roller 44, and a discharge roller 45. The paper feed unit 42 includes a plurality of paper feed cassettes 42a1 to 42an and paper feed rollers 42b1 to 42bn that feed recording sheets from the paper feed cassettes 42a1 to 42an one by one to the paper transport path 43. The paper feed rollers 42b1 to 42bn, the transport roller 44, and the discharge roller 45 function as a transport unit, and the recording paper is transported. The recording paper fed to the paper transport path 43 by the paper feed rollers 42 b 1 to 42 bn is transported to the recording unit 7 by the transport roller 44. Then, the recording paper on which recording is performed by the recording unit 7 is discharged to the stack tray 5 by the discharge roller 45.

  The recording unit 7 includes a photosensitive drum 71, an exposure unit 72, an image forming unit 73, a transfer unit 74, and a fixing unit 75. The exposure unit 72 is an optical unit including a laser device, a mirror, and the like, and outputs a laser beam based on image data to expose the photosensitive drum 71 to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 71. To do. The image forming unit 73 is a developing unit that develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 71 using toner, and forms a toner image based on the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 71. The transfer unit 74 transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 71 by the image forming unit 73 to a recording sheet. The fixing unit 75 heats the recording paper on which the toner image is transferred by the transfer unit 74 to fix the toner image on the recording paper.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a main board 8a on which the main control unit 8 is mounted and a FAX board 9a on which the FAX control unit 9 is mounted. The document reading unit 2, document feeding unit 3, transport unit (feed rollers 42 b 1 to 42 bn, transport roller 44, discharge roller 45), operation unit 6, and recording unit 7 are connected to the main control unit 8 and are connected to the main control unit 8. The operation is controlled by the control unit 8. The main board 8a is provided with a storage unit 10 connected to the main control unit 8 and an image processing unit 11.

  The main control unit 8 is an information processing unit such as a microcomputer including a main CPU 81, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 82, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 83, and the like. The ROM 82 and the storage unit 10 store a control program for performing operation control of the entire image forming apparatus 1. The main CPU 81 reads a control program stored in the ROM 82 or the storage unit 10 and develops it on the RAM 83 to drive the control program and control the image forming function.

  The storage unit 10 is a storage unit such as a semiconductor memory or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and receives control programs and control data, image data obtained by reading a document by the document reading unit 2, and received by FAX communication. Stored image data and the like are stored.

  The image processing unit 11 is configured by a dedicated signal processing circuit, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), or the like, and is a means for performing predetermined image processing on image data. For example, the image processing unit 11 is described in a predetermined print job description language. Processing to convert a print job into bitmap image data used for image formation, enlargement / reduction processing, gradation adjustment, density adjustment, and other image improvement processing are performed.

  The FAX control unit 9 is an information processing unit such as a microcomputer including a FAX CPU 91, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 92, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 93, and the like. The FAX control unit 9 is connected to the main control unit 8 and is connected to the main control unit 8. 8 transmits and receives image data and various control signals. The ROM 92 stores a control program for performing operation control of FAX transmission. The FAX CPU 91 reads out a control program stored in the ROM 92 and develops it on the RAM 93 to drive the control program, and controls the FAX function under the control of the main CPU 81.

  When the FAX CPU 91 receives a transmission start signal instructing FAX transmission from the main CPU 81, the FAX CPU 91 executes FAX transmission and transmits a response signal informing the success or failure of FAX transmission to the main CPU 81. If the FAX transmission fails due to the other party's FAX device being busy, the FAX CPU 91 retries the FAX transmission after a predetermined interval, and if the FAX transmission fails a predetermined number of times, the FAX transmission fails. Is sent to the main CPU 81. When the FAX CPU 91 receives a status confirmation signal instructing FAX transmission from the main CPU 81, when FAX transmission is in progress, the FAX CPU 91 sets the transmission start time together with a response signal indicating "transmitting" to the counterpart FAX apparatus. When waiting for a retry due to reasons such as talking, a transmission start scheduled time is transmitted to the main CPU 81 together with a response signal indicating “waiting”.

  The FAX board 9 a is provided with an image memory 12 connected to the FAX control unit 9, an encoding unit 13, a decoding unit 14, a modem 15, and a network control unit 16. The image memory 12 is a storage means for temporarily storing image data for FAX transmission and image data received by FAX from the counterpart FAX apparatus. The encoding unit 13 encodes image data to be transmitted by a standard (for example, G3 standard) method and performs data compression. The decoding unit 14 receives image data (compressed) received from the counterpart FAX apparatus. Decoded image data). Further, when transmitting by FAX, the modem 15 modulates the image data encoded by the encoding unit 13 and demodulates the image data received from the counterpart FAX apparatus. The network control unit 16 is a part that performs processing such as line connection to the exchange, notification of the FAX number of the other party, disconnection, change of communication destination, etc., and is connected to a public line.

  Next, the FAX transmission error detection operation by the main CPU 81 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  First, when receiving a FAX transmission instruction by an input from the operation unit 6, the main CPU 81 sets a variable n to 1 (step S1), and sets a transmission completion scheduled time T based on the data amount of image data to be transmitted. Calculate (step S2). The transmission completion scheduled time T is a predicted value of the time from the start to the end of FAX transmission. In order to calculate the scheduled transmission completion time T, parameters such as the time required for the call, the compression rate at the time of encoding by the encoding unit 13 and the line speed are required in addition to the data amount of the image data to be transmitted. By setting these parameters in advance, the estimated transmission completion time T can be estimated based on the data amount of image data to be transmitted. Further, the time required for making a call, the compression rate at the time of encoding by the encoding unit 13, and the line speed can be grasped by the FAX CPU 91 as measured values, and the FAX CPU 91 notifies the main CPU 81 of the measured values and transmits them. You may make it use for calculation of the completion scheduled time T. FIG.

  Next, the main CPU 81 transmits a transmission start signal instructing FAX transmission to the FAX control unit 9 (Step S3), and waits for reception of a response signal informing the success or failure of FAX transmission from the FAX CPU 91 (Step S4). The passage of the scheduled transmission completion time T from the transmission of the transmission start signal in S3 is monitored (step S5).

  If the response signal from the FAX CPU 91 is received in step S4 before the scheduled transmission completion time T elapses in step S5, the main CPU 81 determines whether the response signal indicates “transmission success” or “transmission failure”. "Is determined (step S6). If the response signal indicates “successful transmission” in step S6, the main CPU 81 displays a FAX transmission success message on the liquid crystal display unit 61 of the operation unit 6 to notify the user of the FAX transmission success ( Step S7). If the response signal indicates “transmission failure” in step S6, the main CPU 81 displays a FAX transmission failure message on the liquid crystal display unit 61 of the operation unit 6 to notify the user of the FAX transmission failure. (Step S8).

  If the transmission completion scheduled time T has elapsed in step S5 before receiving the response signal from the FAX CPU 91 in step S4, the main CPU 81 transmits a state confirmation signal for confirming the state of FAX transmission to the FAX CPU 91 (step S5). S9), it is determined whether or not a response signal is received from the FAX CPU 91 (step S10). In a state in which the FAX CPU 91 is functioning normally, the FAX CPU 91 sets a transmission start time together with a response signal indicating “transmitting” in response to the state confirmation signal in step S9 when FAX transmission is being performed. When the other party's FAX apparatus is waiting for a retry because it is busy or the like, a scheduled transmission start time is transmitted to the main CPU 81 together with a response signal indicating “waiting”.

  If a response signal is received from the FAX CPU 91 in step S10, the main CPU 81 determines whether it is a response signal indicating "transmitting" or a response signal indicating "standby" (step S11). ).

  If the response signal indicates “standby” in step S11, the process returns to step S4, and the main CPU 81 waits for reception of a response signal informing the success or failure of FAX transmission from the FAX CPU 91 in step S4. In step S5, the elapse of the scheduled transmission completion time T from the scheduled transmission start time is monitored.

  On the other hand, if it is a response signal indicating “transmitting” in step S11, the main CPU 81 determines whether or not the scheduled transmission completion time T has elapsed from the transmission start time (step S12). . If the scheduled transmission completion time T has elapsed from the transmission start time in step S12, the main CPU 81 transmits a transmission disconnection signal for instructing the end of FAX transmission and disconnection of the line to the FAX CPU 91 (step S13). ) A FAX transmission failure message is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 61 of the operation unit 6 to notify the user of the FAX transmission failure (step S8). As a result, the FAX CPU 91 forcibly executes the termination of the FAX transmission and the disconnection of the line according to the instruction of the main CPU 81 even if the FAX transmission cannot be terminated due to a problem of the partner FAX apparatus. Can do. Note that by determining whether the scheduled transmission completion time T has elapsed from the transmission start time in step S12, it is possible to prevent the FAX transmission from being terminated accidentally during transmission even when the call is delayed due to a retry or the like. doing.

  If the scheduled transmission completion time T has not elapsed from the transmission start time in step S12, the process returns to step S4, and the main CPU 81 waits for reception of a response signal informing the success or failure of FAX transmission from the FAX CPU 91 in step S4. At the same time, in step S5, the passage of the scheduled transmission completion time T from the transmission start time is monitored.

  If a response signal is not received from the FAX CPU 91 in step S10, the main CPU 81 determines that the FAX CPU 91 has caused an error (lock) due to static electricity or the like, and resets the FAX CPU 91 (step S14). Next, the main CPU 81 determines whether or not the variable n has reached the preset number N (step S15), and when the variable n has not reached the preset number N. Increments the variable n (step S16), and after restarting the FAX CPU 91, returns to step S3 and transmits a transmission start signal instructing FAX transmission to the FAX control unit 9. Even if the telephone line is kept in a call state due to an error (lock) of the FAX CPU 91, the network control unit 16 connected to the FAX CPU 91 is also initialized by the resetting of the FAX CPU 91. Therefore, the telephone line may be disconnected. it can.

  In step S15, when the variable n reaches the preset number N, that is, when the error (lock) of the FAX CPU 91 is repeated N times despite resetting the FAX CPU 91, the main CPU 81 Then, a message indicating an error of the FAX CPU 91 is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 61 of the operation unit 6 to notify the user of the error of the FAX CPU 91 (step S17).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the main CPU 81 calculates the transmission completion scheduled time T based on the data amount of image data to be transmitted by FAX, and receives a response signal notifying the success or failure of FAX transmission from the FAX CPU 91. If the transmission completion scheduled time T has elapsed from the transmission of the transmission start signal instructing FAX transmission to the FAX CPU 91, the state confirmation signal is transmitted to the FAX CPU 91, and if no response signal to the state confirmation signal is received, the FAX CPU 91 is reset. When the response signal indicating that transmission is being performed in response to the status confirmation signal is received and the transmission completion scheduled time T has elapsed from the start of FAX transmission, the FAX CPU 91 is instructed to end FAX transmission. ing. Thus, in this embodiment, the main CPU 81 can detect an error in FAX transmission executed by the FAX CPU 91 without providing a special circuit for error detection. When the response signal to the status confirmation signal is not received from the FAX CPU 91, it is determined that some kind of error (lock) has occurred in the FAX CPU 91, and the main CPU 81 can reset the FAX CPU 91. Further, in a state where there is a response from the FAX CPU 91, when the transmission completion scheduled time T has elapsed since the start of FAX transmission, it is determined that some kind of error (lock) has occurred in the counterpart FAX apparatus, and the main CPU 81 determines , FAX transmission can be terminated. Thus, in this embodiment, it is possible to appropriately cope with various errors.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the FAX CPU 91 is waiting for a retry, the FAX CPU 91 transmits a scheduled transmission start time to the main CPU 81 together with a response signal indicating that the main CPU 81 is waiting for a state confirmation signal from the main CPU 81. Is configured to transmit a status confirmation signal to the FAX CPU when the scheduled transmission completion time T has elapsed from the scheduled transmission start time without receiving a response signal notifying the success or failure of FAX transmission from the FAX CPU 91. In addition, when FAX transmission is in progress, the FAX CPU 91 transmits a transmission start time to the main CPU 81 together with a response signal indicating that transmission is being performed in response to the state confirmation signal from the main CPU 81, and the main CPU 81 transmits from the transmission start time. It is configured to determine whether the scheduled completion time has elapsed. Further, when the scheduled transmission completion time has not elapsed from the transmission start time, the main CPU 81 does not receive a response signal informing the success or failure of the FAX transmission from the FAX CPU 81 and the transmission completion scheduled time elapses from the transmission start time. The state confirmation signal is transmitted to the FAX CPU 91. As a result, in this embodiment, even when a call is delayed due to a retry or the like, the FAX transmission is prevented from being erroneously terminated during the transmission.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it is obvious that the embodiments can be appropriately changed within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. In addition, the number, position, shape, and the like of the constituent members are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be set to a number, position, shape, and the like that are suitable for implementing the present invention. In each figure, the same numerals are given to the same component.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Original reading part 3 Original feeding part 4 Main body part 5 Stack tray 6 Operation part 7 Recording part 8 Main control part 8a Main board 9 FAX control part 9a FAX board 10 Storage part 11 Image processing part 12 Image memory 13 Encoding section 14 Decoding section 15 Modem 16 Network control section 21 Scanner 22 Platen glass 23 Document reading slit 31 Document placement section 32 Document discharge section 33 Document transport mechanism 41 Discharge port 42 Paper feed section 42a1-42an Paper feed cassette 42b1- 42bn paper feed roller 43 paper transport path 44 transport roller 45 discharge roller 61 liquid crystal display unit 62 numeric keypad 71 photoconductor drum 72 exposure unit 73 image forming unit 74 transfer unit 75 fixing unit 81 main CPU
82 ROM
83 RAM
91 FAX CPU
92 ROM
93 RAM

Claims (3)

An image forming apparatus having a main CPU that controls an image forming function and a FAX CPU that controls a FAX function under the control of the main CPU,
The main CPU is
Calculate the scheduled transmission completion time based on the amount of image data to be faxed,
Without receiving a response signal notifying the success or failure of FAX transmission from the FAX CPU, a status confirmation signal is transmitted to the FAX CPU when the scheduled transmission completion time elapses from transmission of a transmission start signal instructing FAX transmission to the FAX CPU. ,
If a response signal for the status confirmation signal is not received, the FAX CPU is reset, a response signal indicating that transmission is being performed is received for the status confirmation signal, and the scheduled transmission completion time has elapsed since the start of FAX transmission. If so, the image forming apparatus is configured to instruct the FAX CPU to end FAX transmission. When the FAX CPU is waiting for a retry, it sends a scheduled transmission start time to the main CPU together with a response signal indicating that the state confirmation signal is waiting;
The main CPU, said without receiving a response signal indicating the success or failure of the FAX transmission from FAXCPU, when the transmission completion expected time from the transmission start scheduled time has passed, and characterized by transmitting a status check signal to the FAXCPU The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The FAX CPU transmits a transmission start time to the main CPU together with a response signal indicating that the status confirmation signal is being transmitted when the FAX transmission is in progress.
The main CPU An image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the determining whether the transmission start the transmission completion expected time from the time has elapsed.

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