JPH114315A - Image input output device and image input output control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simply realize a desired function with excellent economy by combining an image input job with an image output job so as to control input/output and then hence to use control programs for a printer section and a reader section in common thereby reducing a capacity of the control programs to realize various functions. SOLUTION: The device is provided with a core section 10 that controls an image input job transferring an image from any of image input means to a storage section 5, controls an image output job which transfers an image from the storage section 5 to any of the image output means and combines the image input job and the image output job to control the image input. Thus, the image input job to record an image to the storage section 5 and the image output job from tone storage section 5 are separately controlled. Moreover, the image input job and the image output job are optionally combined to control image input output sessions thereby allowing one program to attain the image output job.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image input / output device and an image input / output control method, and more particularly, to an image input / output device suitable for inputting / outputting various types of image data via a storage medium. The present invention relates to an image input / output control method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the digitalization of copiers, facsimile transmission / reception has been performed using scanner units and printer units of copiers, and PDL (Page Description Language) has been adopted.
ge) MFPs having a plurality of functions, such as printers, have been put to practical use. This type of multifunction machine is configured to be operable not only with a single function such as a copier function, a facsimile function, and a PDL print function, but also with a plurality of functions such as facsimile transmission of a PDL expanded image. Further, the multifunction peripheral is connected to a LAN (Local Area Network).
By connecting via k), it is configured such that the functions of the multifunction device can be used in a computer device or the like.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, when a copier function, a facsimile function, a PDL print function, and the like are realized by using a scanner unit and a printer unit of the copier, hardware is not used. Although the scanner portion and the printer portion are shared from a simple viewpoint, the control portion is realized by a separate control program for each function from a software viewpoint. Therefore, when a new function is added, it is necessary to create a completely new function added part, which is inefficient.

For example, when a PDL print function is newly added to a copier function, a control program for realizing a PDL print function is created separately from a control program for realizing the copier function. When a scanner function for transferring a scanned image to a computer device is newly added in addition to the copier function, a control program for realizing the scanner function is created separately from the control program for realizing the copier function. Was.

In the PDL print function, generally, P
A RIP (Raster Image Processor) unit that interprets the PDL for each type of DL and develops it into image data to be output as bitmap data to a printer unit is used. In this case, the output page order is controlled by the RIP output control unit depending on the double-sided print configuration of the output printer unit,
Also, when a plurality of copies are sorted and printed, the RIP output control unit controls the output page order and the number of output page copies depending on the configuration of the sorter unit provided in the printer unit. As a result, since the control program of the jam processing depending on the configuration of the printer unit is controlled by the RIP output control unit, each time the configuration of the printer unit is replaced with a new one, the RIP output control unit must also be replaced with a control program that can match. However, there is a problem that it is complicated and inefficient.

Further, the present applicant has previously proposed an image processing apparatus in order to reduce the capacity of a control program for realizing the above-described functions. However, since the proposal is configured to sequentially input images and record them on a recording device, then sequentially read the recorded image data and output the images, for example, an image input job including a large number of pages was executed. In this case, it takes a very long time to output an image, and when viewed from the user, there is a problem that it takes a long time to obtain a desired result after starting the processing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and a first object of the present invention is to standardize a control program of a printer part with a copier function, a PDL print function, a facsimile print function, and the like, An image input / output device that realizes desired functions economically and simply by reducing the size of the control program that realizes various functions by sharing the control program of the reader part with the facsimile reading function, scanner function, etc. And an image input / output control method.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and a second object of the present invention is to speed up image input / output processing and reduce the waiting time from the start of processing to the acquisition of a desired result. Image input / output device and image input / output control method.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, at least one input means for inputting image data, a storage means for storing input image data, and an output of stored image data An input / output device having at least one output unit for performing an image input job for transferring an image from one of the input units to the storage unit; It is characterized by having output control means for controlling an image output job for transferring an image and input / output control means for performing input / output control by combining an image input job and an image output job.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 2 includes at least one input means for inputting image data, a first storage means for storing input image data, and a first storage means for storing input image data.
Second storage means for storing the image data of the storage means, reading means for reading the image data of the second storage means to the first storage means, and at least one output for outputting the image data of the first storage means And an input control means for controlling an image input job for transferring an image from one of the input means to the first and second storage means. Output control means for controlling an image output job for transferring image data to one of the output means, and input / output control means for performing input / output control by combining an image input job and an image output job. I do.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the input / output control means controls the operation timing of the input control means and the output control means to operate the image output job after the end of the image input job. One of a post-accumulation processing mode to be performed and a sequential processing mode to operate an image output job before the end of an image input job is selected.

In order to achieve the above object, a fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the input means is means for reading an image.

In order to achieve the above object, a fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the input means is means for expanding code data input from an external device into image data.

In order to achieve the above object, a sixth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the input means is a means for receiving an image by facsimile.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 7 is characterized in that the input means is means for inputting an image from a storage medium which is detachable from the apparatus main body.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 8 is characterized in that the output means is means for printing out an image.

In order to achieve the above object, a ninth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the output means is means for facsimile transmitting an image.

In order to achieve the above object, a tenth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the output means is means for outputting an image to an external device.

[0019] In order to achieve the above object, an eleventh aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the output means is means for outputting an image to a storage medium detachable from the apparatus main body.

In order to achieve the above object, a twelfth aspect of the present invention has a setting means for performing input / output setting, wherein the input / output control means switches the processing mode in accordance with the input / output setting content. Features.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, when the output of a plurality of copies is set, the input control means causes the input control means to output the image data of the first copy.
Transferring from the first storage means to the output means before storing in the storage means, and transferring the image data in the second storage means to the first storage means and thereafter to the output means for the second and subsequent copies. Features.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 14 provides at least one input step for inputting image data, a storage step for storing input image data, and at least one output step for outputting stored image data. An image input / output control method comprising: an input control step of controlling an image input job for transferring an image from one of the input steps to the storage step; and an image transfer from the storage step to one of the output steps. An output control step of controlling an image output job to be performed, and an input / output control step of performing input / output control by combining an image input job and an image output job.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 15 provides at least one input step of inputting image data, a first storing step of storing input image data, and a step of storing image data of the first storing step. An image input having a second storage step of storing, a reading step of reading image data of the second storage step to the first storage step, and at least one output step of outputting image data of the first storage step; An output control method, comprising: an input control step of controlling an image input job for transferring an image from one of the input steps to the first and second storage steps; An output control step of controlling an image output job to transfer an image to one of the output steps; and an image input job and an image output job. And having a output control step for output control to suit observed.

[0024] To achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 16 is characterized in that in the input / output control step, the operation timing of the input control step and the output control step is controlled so that the image output job is operated after the image input job is completed. One of a post-accumulation processing mode to be performed and a sequential processing mode to operate an image output job before the end of an image input job is selected.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 17 is characterized in that the input step is a step of reading an image.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 18 is characterized in that the input step is a step of expanding code data input from an external device into image data.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 19 is characterized in that the inputting step is a step of receiving an image by facsimile.

In order to achieve the above object, a twentieth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the inputting step is a step of inputting an image from a removable storage medium.

[0029] In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 21 is characterized in that the output step is a step of printing out an image.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 22 is characterized in that the output step is a step of facsimile transmitting an image.

In order to achieve the above object, a twenty-third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the output step is a step of outputting an image to an external device.

[0032] In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 24 is characterized in that the output step is a step of outputting an image to a removable storage medium.

In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 25 has a setting step of performing input / output setting, and in the input / output control step, switching the processing mode according to the input / output setting content. Features.

According to a twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention, in the output control step, the image data of the first copy is stored in the second storage step in the input control step when the output of a plurality of copies is set. The image data of the second storage step is transferred to the first storage step and then transferred to the output step for the second and subsequent copies.

[0035]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[1] First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image input / output device according to a first embodiment. The image input / output device includes a reader unit 1
, A printer unit 2 and an image input / output control unit 3. Further, the image input / output control unit 3 includes a facsimile unit 4, a storage unit 5, a hard disk 6,
Computer interface unit 7 and RIP unit 8
, An operation unit 9 and a core unit 10, and are connected to a reader unit 1, a printer unit 2, a personal computer / workstation (PC / WS) 11, and a telephone line.

The configuration of each of the above-described units together with the operation will be described in detail.
The reader unit 1 reads an image of a document, and outputs image data corresponding to the document image to the image input / output control unit 3. The printer unit 2 records an image corresponding to the image data from the image input / output control unit 3 on a recording sheet. The facsimile unit 4 of the image input / output control unit 3 decompresses the compressed image data received via the telephone line and sends the decompressed image data to the core unit 1.
0, and compresses the image data transferred from the core unit 10 and transmits the compressed image data to the outside via a telephone line.

The storage unit 5 compresses the image data transferred from the core unit 10 and stores it on the hard disk 6 together with an ID number for searching the image data. The storage unit 5 searches compressed image data stored in the hard disk 6 based on the code data transferred via the core unit 10, reads out the searched compressed image data, decompresses it, and decompresses the decompressed image data. The core part 10
Transfer to The hard disk 6 is connected to the storage unit 5 and can temporarily store image data to be transmitted and received. Computer interface unit 7
Is an interface between the personal computer or workstation (PC / WS) 11 and the core unit 10, and may be connected to the PC / WS 11 by a one-to-one local interface or by a network.

The RIP unit 8 transmits code data (PDL) representing an image transferred from the PC / WS 11 to the printer unit 2.
Expands to image data that can be recorded with. The operation unit 9 includes, for example, a touch panel display and hard keys, and performs an operation instruction and an operation setting to the image input / output device by a user interface. Core part 1
Numeral 0 controls the flow of data among the reader unit 1, facsimile unit 4, storage unit 5, computer interface unit 7, RIP unit 8, and operation unit 9. The core 10 will be described later. Also, PC /
The WS 11 is connected to the image input / output device via the computer interface unit 7 of the image input / output control unit 3, and transmits and receives data to and from the image input / output device.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the structure of each mechanism of the reader unit 1 and the printer unit 2 of the image input / output device according to the first embodiment. The reader unit 1 includes a document feeder 101
, Platen glass 102, lamp 103, scanner unit 104, mirrors 105, 106, 107
, Lens 108, and CCD (Charge Coupled Devi)
se) An image sensor (hereinafter abbreviated as CCD) 109 is provided. The printer unit 2 includes a laser emitting unit 20.
1, a photosensitive drum 202, a developing unit 203, cassettes 204 and 205, a transfer unit 206, a fixing unit 207,
The printer includes a discharge roller 208, a flapper 209, a re-feeding conveyance path 210, a sorter 220, and a laser driver 221.

The configuration of each part of the reader unit 1 will be described in detail together with the operation. The document feeder 101 feeds a document one by one on the platen glass 102 in the order of the head, and after the reading operation of the document is completed, the document feeder 101 The original is discharged. When the original is conveyed onto the platen glass 102, the lamp 103 is turned on, and then the scanner unit 1 is turned on.
04 is started to scan the original by exposure. The reflected light from the original at this time is guided to the CCD 109 by the mirrors 105, 106, 107 and the lens 108. In this manner, the scanned image of the document is read by the CCD 109. The image data output from the CCD 109 is subjected to predetermined processing and then transferred to the printer unit 2 and the core unit 10 of the image input / output control unit 3.

The configuration of each part of the printer unit 2 will be described in detail together with the operation. The laser driver 221 of the printer unit 2 drives the laser emission unit 201 and is output from the core unit 10 of the image input / output control unit 3. The laser light emitting unit 201 emits laser light corresponding to the image data. The laser beam is applied to the photosensitive drum 202, and a latent image corresponding to the laser beam is formed on the photosensitive drum 202. The photosensitive drum 20
The developer is adhered to the portion of the latent image formed in No. 2 by the developing device 203.

Then, at a timing synchronized with the start of the laser beam irradiation, a recording sheet is fed from one of the cassettes 204 and 205 and conveyed to the transfer section 206 to record the developer adhered to the photosensitive drum 202. Transfer to paper. The recording paper loaded with the developer is conveyed to the fixing unit 207, and the developer is fixed on the recording paper by the heat and pressure of the fixing unit 207.
The recording paper that has passed through the fixing unit 207 is discharged by a discharge roller 208, and the sorter 220 stores the discharged recording paper in each bin and sorts the recording paper, or staples the sorted recording paper.

When the sorting is not set, the sorter 220 stores the recording paper in the highest bin among the plurality of bins. When double-sided recording is set, the sorter 220 conveys the recording paper to the position of the discharge roller 208, then reverses the rotation direction of the discharge roller 208, and guides the recording paper to the re-feeding conveyance path 210 by the flapper 209. . When multiple recording is set, the sorter 220 guides the recording sheet to the re-feeding conveyance path 210 by the flapper 209 so as not to convey the recording sheet to the discharge roller 208. The recording paper guided to the re-feeding conveyance path 210 is supplied to the transfer unit 206 at the timing described above.

FIG. 3 is a detailed configuration of the core unit 10 of the image input / output control unit 3 of the image input / output device according to the first embodiment, and the core unit 10, the reader unit 1, the printer unit 2, the facsimile unit 4, the storage FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a connection configuration with a unit 5, a computer interface unit 7, a RIP unit 8, and an operation unit 9. The core unit 10 includes an interface (I /
F) 120, a data processing unit 121, an interface (I / F) 122, a CPU 123, and a memory 124.
And

The structure of each part described above will be described in detail together with the operation.
Image data from the reader unit 1 is transmitted to the interface 12
2 to the data processing unit 121. The data processing unit 121 performs image processing such as image rotation processing and scaling processing.
The image data transferred to the storage unit 5 is transferred to the storage unit 5 via the interface 120. Code data (PDL) representing an image input via the computer interface unit 7 is transmitted to the interface 120.
Is transferred to the data processing unit 121 via the RIP unit 8, is transferred to the RIP unit 8, and is developed into image data. The image data is transferred to the data processing unit 121 and then transferred to the storage unit 5.

The image data from the facsimile unit 4 is transferred to the data processing unit 121 and then to the storage unit 5. The image data from the storage unit 5 is
After being transferred to the data processing unit 121, the printer unit 2, the facsimile unit 4, the computer interface unit 7
Transferred to The CPU 123 performs the above-described control according to the control program stored in the memory 124 and the control command transferred from the operation unit 9. Also,
The memory 124 is also used as a work area of the CPU 123.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the operation unit 9 of the image input / output device according to the first embodiment. The operation unit 9 includes a power key 801, a preheat key 802, a copy function selection key 803, a facsimile function selection key 804, a personal box function selection key 805, and a start key 8.
06, a stop key 807, and a reset key 808
, Operation guide key 809, and user mode setting key 8
10, an interrupt copy key 811 and a numeric keypad 812
, A clear key 813, a facsimile one-touch key 814, a one-touch key switching cover 815, and a touch panel 816. Details of the copy setting by the operation unit 9 will be described later.

As described above, in the image input / output apparatus according to the first embodiment, the reading of the original image, the image reading, and the image reading are performed through the storage unit 5 centering on the core unit 10 of the image input / output control unit 3. Print, send and receive images, save images,
It is possible to perform processing combining functions such as input / output of data from the PC / WS 11.

FIG. 5 logically shows a unit of job control in the image input / output apparatus according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 5, the facsimile unit 4 (reception,
Transmission) and the computer interface unit 7 are shown in two blocks. The unit of job control is input and output processing for a set of image data including a plurality of pages. Jobs controlled by this are roughly classified into image input jobs and image output jobs.

The image input job includes an image input job 411 for sequentially recording image data read by the reader unit 1 in the storage unit 5 and an image input job 412 for sequentially recording image data developed by the RIP unit 8 in the storage unit 5. An image input job 413 for sequentially recording image data received by the facsimile unit 4 in the storage unit 5;
Image data input from the interface unit 7 is classified into an image input job 414 for sequentially recording the image data in the storage unit 5.

The image output job is sent to the storage unit 5.
An image output job 401 for sequentially outputting the image data read from the printer unit 2 to the printer unit 2, an image output job 403 for sequentially outputting the image data read from the storage unit 5 to the facsimile unit 4, and sequentially outputting the image data read from the storage unit 5 to the computer The job is classified into an image output job 404 to be output to the interface unit 7.

FIG. 6 shows a unit (hereinafter, referred to as a unit) obtained by combining a plurality of jobs in the image input / output apparatus according to the first embodiment.
This is referred to as a “session”. 50
A PDL print session 1 controls an image input job 412 and an image output job 401 in combination as a session. A copy session 502 includes an image input job 411 and an image output job 40
1 is controlled as a session.

A facsimile transmission session 503 controls the combination of the image input job 411 and the image output job 403 as a session. 50
Reference numeral 4 denotes a facsimile reception session, which controls the combination of the image input job 413 and the image output job 401 as a session. Reference numeral 505 denotes a scan session, which controls the combination of the image input job 411 and the image output job 404 as a session.

A session is a unit including one or more jobs. For example, the image input job 412 is treated as one session, the image output job 401 is treated as a session, the image input job 412 and the image output job are The session 401 and the image output job 403 may be combined and treated as one session.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of a session management table, a job management table, and a page management table in the image input / output device according to the first embodiment. The session management table 700 includes a session ID field 701, a session type field 702, a session priority field 703, a session status field 704, a link job number field 705,
It comprises a first job pointer field 706 and a second job pointer field 707.

The job management table 710 contains a job ID
Field 711, job type field 712, job priority field 713, job status field 714, page number field 715, page pointer field 716, job parameter field 7
17. Page management field 720
Are page 1 field 721, page 2 field 7
22, a page p field 72p.

The job management table 730 contains the job ID
Field 731, job type field 732, job priority field 733, job status field 734, page number field 735, page pointer field 736, job parameter field 7
37. Page management table 740
Are page 1 field 741, page 2 field 7
42,... Page p field 74p. These details will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

Next, the operation of the image input / output device according to the first embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. FIGS. 8 and 9 show an example of session control and job control of the image input / output apparatus according to the first embodiment, in which a PDL print session 501 and image data developed by the RIP unit 8 constituting the PDL print session 501 are sequentially stored. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure of an image input job 412 to be recorded in the storage unit 5 and an image output job 401 to sequentially print out image data recorded in the storage unit 5 to the printer unit 2.

First, in step S601, PC / WS
The user makes print settings on the screen 11. The print setting contents include the number of copies, paper size, enlargement / reduction ratio, single side / double side, page output order, sort output, and whether or not stapling is performed. After the print setting, the user gives a print instruction on the PC / WS11. At the same time, the driver software installed on the PC / WS11 converts the document data to be printed into a so-called PDL, and sets the print setting parameters. At the same time, PDL data is transferred to the computer interface unit 7 of the image input / output device via the computer interface connected to the PC / WS11.

The PDL data representing the image input via the computer interface unit 7 is transferred to the data processing unit 121 of the core unit 10 and then transferred to the RIP unit 8. The RIP unit 8 sequentially develops (rasterizes) the transferred PDL data into image data. RIP part 8
When the reception of PDL data is started, the RIP unit 8 issues a processing request to the core unit 10. In the core unit 10, the CPU 123 receives the issued processing request. Here, the print settings set by the user are also transferred to the CPU 123.

In step S602, a session is internally generated from the processing request issued from the RIP unit 8 and managed. In the session generation, the session management table 700 shown in FIG. 7 is generated on the memory 124 of the core unit 10 and various information is held until the session ends. The session ID field 701 is for generating and holding a unique session ID in the image input / output device. The session type field 702 is
The type of the generated session (PDL print session, copy session, facsimile transmission session, facsimile reception session, scan session, etc.) is specified. In the present embodiment, the PDL is specified.
The fact that this is a print session is stored.

The session priority field 703 contains
The priority order regarding the processing order of the session is held. Session status field 704
Holds the execution state (executable state, execution state, interruption state, end state, error state, etc.) of the session according to the execution state. The link job number field 705 holds the number of image input jobs and the number of image output jobs constituting the session. In the present embodiment, the two job numbers of the image input job 412 and the image output job 401 are used. Is set. The first job pointer field 706 is a pointer to the job management table 710 of the image input job 412. The second job pointer field 707 is a pointer to the job management table 730 of the image output job 401.

In step S603, image input job 4
Twelve job management tables 710 are created on the memory 124 of the core unit 10 and various information is held until the job is completed. The job ID field 711 generates and holds a unique job ID in the image input / output device. The job type field 712 specifies the type of the generated job (the above-described image input job and image output job). In the present embodiment,
It is recorded that the image data is an image input job 412 for sequentially recording the image data developed by the RIP unit 8 in the storage unit 5. The job priority field 713 holds the priority regarding the processing order of the job.

The job status field 714 holds the execution state (executable state, execution state, interruption state, end state, error state, etc.) of the job in accordance with the execution state. The page number field 715 holds the number of pages of the job. The page pointer field 716 is a pointer to a page management table 720 that describes detailed information of each page managed by the job. The page management field 720 is recorded on the hard disk 6. The job parameter field 717 holds various setting parameters of the job. In the present embodiment, the job parameter field 717 stores the above-described step S601.
, The number of copies, the paper size, the enlargement / reduction ratio, one-sided / two-sided, the page output order, the sort output, the presence or absence of stapling, and the like are held.

In step S604, processing of the generated image input job 412 is started. In step S605, one page of the image data expanded by the RIP unit 8 is received. That is, image transfer from the RIP unit 8 to the data processing unit 121 via the interface 120 of the core unit 10 is performed. In step S606, the image data transferred to the data processing unit 121 is stored in the hard disk 6 of the storage unit 5. At this time, the page management field 720
Various image attribute information (resolution, number of pixels, etc.) is recorded in the page 1 field 721 in the middle. In step S607,
It is determined whether or not all the pages to be processed developed by the RIP unit 8 have been recorded on the hard disk 6 as image data. If the result of this determination is that there are pages that have not been processed, the process returns to step S605, and if all pages have been processed, the process proceeds to step S608.

In step S608, the above-mentioned step S6
In step S609, the job status in the job management table 710 generated in step S03 is set to the end state. In step S609, a job management table 730 for the image output job 401 is created on the memory 124 of the core unit 10, and various information is held until the job is completed.
The job ID field 731 generates and holds a unique job ID in the image input / output device. The job type field 732 specifies the type of the generated job (the above-described image input job and image output job). In the present embodiment, the image data recorded in the storage unit 5 is sequentially transferred to the printer unit 2. It is recorded that the job is an image output job 401 to be printed out. The job priority field 733 holds the priority regarding the processing order of the job.

The job status field 734 holds the execution state (executable state, execution state, interruption state, end state, error state, etc.) of the job according to the execution state. The page number field 735 holds the number of pages of the job. The page pointer field 736 is a pointer to a page management table 740 that describes detailed information of each page managed by the job. The substance of the page management table 740 is the same as the page management table 720 recorded on the hard disk 6 in the image input job 412. The job parameter field 737 holds various setting parameters of the job. In the present embodiment, the number of copies, paper size, enlargement / reduction ratio, one-sided / two-sided, page output order, and sort set in step S601 are set. output,
The presence or absence of stapling is retained.

In step S610, processing of the generated image output job 401 is started. In step S611, the image data of each page recorded on the hard disk 6 of the storage unit 5 in step S606 is sequentially read, and the image data is transferred to the data processing unit 121 via the interface 120 of the core unit 10. Step S612
Then, the image data transferred to the data processing unit 121 is transferred to the printer unit 2 via the interface 122, and the printer unit 2 forms an image as described above and prints out. In step S613, it is determined whether all the image data for each page recorded on the hard disk 6 has been printed out. If the result of this determination is that there are pages that have not been processed, the process returns to step S611, and if all pages have been processed, the process proceeds to step S614.

In step S614, the above-described step S6
In step S615, the job status in the job management table 730 generated in step S09 is set to an end state. In step S615, the job management table generated in steps S603 and S609,
The page management table generated in step S606 and the image data for each page are discarded to release resources, and the session management table generated in step S602 is also discarded, resources are released, and a series of processing ends. I do.

As described above, a mode in which image information is transferred from the PC / WS 11 as PDL data in accordance with the print settings created on the PC / WS 11, and the image input / output device develops the PDL data into image data and prints out the image data will be described. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to a case where image information read by the reader unit 1 is printed out.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, a copy session 502 will be described as a second example of the session control and the job control of the image input / output apparatus according to the first embodiment.
And an image input job 41 for sequentially recording image data read by the reader unit 1 constituting the storage unit 5 in the storage unit 5
1 and an image output job 40 for sequentially printing out image data recorded in the storage unit 5 to the printer unit 2
The first control procedure will be described.

First, in step S601, the user makes copy settings on the operation unit 9 shown in FIG. The copy setting contents include the number of copies, paper size, enlargement / reduction ratio, one-sided / two-sided, sort output, whether or not stapling is performed, and the like, and are input according to setting items displayed on the ten keys 812 and the touch panel 816. Place the original on the reader unit 1,
After the copy setting, the user presses the start key 806 to give a copy instruction, transfers the set copy setting parameters to the CPU 123 of the core unit 10, and issues a processing request.

In step S602, a session is internally generated from the processing request issued from the operation unit 9, managed by the session management table 700 shown in FIG. 7, and various information is held until the session ends. Session I
The D field 701 generates and holds a unique session ID in the image input / output device. The session type field 702 specifies the type of the generated session (PDL session, copy session, facsimile transmission session, facsimile reception session, scan session, etc.), and in the present embodiment, indicates that the session is a copy session. Record it.

The session priority field 703 holds the priority regarding the processing order of the session. The session status field 704 holds the execution state (executable state, execution state, suspension state, end state, error state, etc.) of the session according to the execution state. The link job number field 705 holds the number of image input jobs and the number of image output jobs constituting the session. In the present embodiment, the number of image input jobs 411 and the number of image output jobs 401 are equal to each other. Is set. First job pointer field 7
06 is the job management table 7 of the image input job 411.
Pointer to 10. The second job pointer field 707 is a pointer to the job management table 730 of the image output job 401.

In step S603, image input job 4
Eleven job management tables 710 are created on the memory 124 of the core unit 10 and various information is held until the job is completed. The job ID field 711 generates and holds a unique job ID in the image input / output device. The job type field 712 specifies the type of the generated job (the above-described image input job and image output job). In the present embodiment,
An image input job 411 for sequentially recording image data read by the reader unit 1 in the storage unit 5 is recorded. The job priority field 713 holds the priority regarding the processing order of the job.

The job status field 714 holds the execution status of the job (executable status, execution status, suspended status, end status, error status, etc.) according to the execution status. The page number field 715 holds the number of pages of the job. The page pointer field 716 is a pointer to a page management table 720 that describes detailed information of each page managed by the job. The page management field 720 is recorded on the hard disk 6. The job parameter field 717 holds various setting parameters of the job. In the present embodiment, the job parameter field 717 stores the above-described step S601.
, The number of copies, the paper size, the enlargement / reduction ratio, one-sided / two-sided, the page output order, the sort output, the presence or absence of stapling, and the like are held.

In step S604, processing of the generated image input job 411 is started. That is, it instructs the reader unit 1 to start reading a document. In step S605,
One page of image data read by the reader unit 1 is received. That is, image transfer from the reader unit 1 to the data processing unit 121 via the interface 120 of the core unit 10 is performed. In step S606, the image data transferred to the data processing unit 121 is stored in the hard disk 6 of the storage unit 5. At this time, various image attribute information (resolution, number of pixels, etc.) is recorded in the page 1 field 721 of the page management field 720.

In step S607, it is determined whether or not all pages to be processed read by the reader unit 1 have been recorded on the hard disk 6 as image data. If the result of this determination is that there are pages that have not been processed, the process returns to step S605. If all pages have been processed, the process proceeds to step S60.
Proceed to 8. In step S608, step S6
In step S609, the job status in the job management table 710 generated in step S03 is set to the end state. The processing after step S609 is exactly the same as that in the case of the print session 501 described above, and thus will not be described.

In the above example, the mode relating to the PDL print session and the copy session has been described. However, as shown in the extended example of the session in FIG. 6, an arbitrary image input job and an arbitrary image output job are combined. The present embodiment can be applied in the same manner even if an arbitrary session is configured by using this method.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the image input / output device includes the reader unit 1 and the facsimile unit 4.
Image input means such as a storage unit for storing images
And image output means such as the printer unit 2 and the facsimile unit 4, control of an image input job for transferring an image from one of the image input means to the storage unit 5, and image transfer from the storage unit 5 to one of the image output means. Since it has a core unit 10 that controls image output jobs and performs image input / output control by combining image input jobs and image output jobs, an image input job to the storage unit 5 that records images and an image from the storage unit 5 Output jobs can be divided and controlled,
By controlling the image input / output session by arbitrarily combining the image input job and the image output job, the image output job can be configured by one program.

As a result, in an image input / output device (multifunction device) having both a copy function, a PDL print function, a facsimile print function, and a print function of image data from a computer device such as the PC / WS11, a complete print output portion is provided. This makes it possible to achieve commonality and to reduce the program capacity.

Further, in an image input / output device (multifunction machine) having both a copy function, a facsimile reading function, and a function of scanning image data to a computer device, it is possible to completely commonize a scanner reading portion. There is an effect that the capacity can be reduced.

Further, when a PDL print function, a facsimile function, a scanner function for a computer device, and the like are added to a product provided as a single copy function according to user needs, the reader unit 1 and the printer unit 2 can be used. It is possible to provide the program simply, quickly and economically without changing the program.

[2] Second Embodiment An image input / output device according to a second embodiment comprises a reader unit 1, a printer unit 2,
Facsimile unit 4, storage unit 5, hard disk 6, computer interface unit 7, RIP unit 8, operation unit 9, image input / output control unit 3 having core unit 10
And connected to a personal computer / workstation (PC / WS) 11 and a telephone line (see FIG. 1 above).

The reader unit 1 of the image input / output device according to the second embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment.
Document feeder 101, platen glass 102, lamp 103, scanner unit 104, mirror 10
5, 106, 107, a lens 108, and a CCD image sensor 109. The printer unit 2 includes a laser emitting unit 201, a photosensitive drum 202, and a developing unit 203.
, Cassettes 204 and 205, a transfer unit 206, a fixing unit 207, a discharge roller 208, a flapper 209,
A re-feeding conveyance path 210, a sorter 220, and a laser driver 221 are provided (see FIG. 2).

The core unit 10 of the image input / output control unit 3 of the image input / output device according to the second embodiment includes an interface (I / F) 12 like the first embodiment.
0, the data processing unit 121, and the interface (I /
F) 122, a CPU 123, and a memory 124 (see FIG. 3). The first part in the core part 10
The differences from the above embodiment are as follows. That is, the data processing unit 121 performs compression and decompression of image data in addition to image processing such as image rotation processing and scaling processing, and has a page memory for two pages of image data, for example. The image data transferred from the reader unit 1 to the data processing unit 121 is temporarily stored in a page memory, compressed, and transferred to the storage unit 5 via the interface 120. Image data expanded into image data by the RIP unit 8 is transferred to the data processing unit 121,
After being temporarily stored in the page memory, it is compressed and transferred to the storage unit 5.

The image data from the facsimile unit 4 is transferred to the data processing unit 121, temporarily stored in the page memory, compressed, and transferred to the storage unit 5. The image data from the storage unit 5 is transferred to the data processing unit 121, decompressed and temporarily stored in the page memory, and then transferred to the printer unit 2, the facsimile unit 4, and the computer interface unit 7. Note that various image data are input to the data processing unit 121 described above,
After temporarily storing the image data in the page memory and before transferring the image data to the storage unit 5, the image data may be transferred to the printer unit 2, the facsimile unit 4, and the computer interface unit 7, or an internal selector (not shown) may be switched. Can be done.

The operation unit 9 of the image input / output device according to the second embodiment includes a power key 801, a preheat key 802, a copy function selection key 803, similarly to the first embodiment. Facsimile function selection key 804, personal box function selection key 805, start key 8
06, a stop key 807, and a reset key 808
, Operation guide key 809, and user mode setting key 8
10, an interrupt copy key 811 and a numeric keypad 812
, A clear key 813, a facsimile one-touch key 814, a one-touch key switching cover 815, and a touch panel 816 (see FIG. 4 above).

The logical configuration of the image input job and the image output job in the image input / output apparatus according to the second embodiment (see FIG. 5), the configuration of the session (see FIG. 6), the session management table, Job management table,
The configuration of the page management table (see FIG. 7) is also the same as in the first embodiment. The detailed configuration of each of the components of the image input / output device according to the second embodiment has been described in detail in the first embodiment, and will not be described.

Next, the operation of the image input / output device according to the second embodiment having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIGS. 10 and 11 show a PDL print session 501 as an example of session control and job control of the image input / output apparatus according to the second embodiment.
And an image input job 41 for sequentially recording the image data developed by the RIP unit 8 constituting the same in the storage unit 5
And an image output job 40 for sequentially printing out image data recorded in the storage unit 5 to the printer unit 2
4 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure of FIG.

First, in step S701, PC / WS
The user makes print settings on the screen 11. The print setting contents include the number of copies, document size, paper size, enlargement / reduction ratio, single-sided / double-sided, layout, page output order, sort mode, and whether or not stapling is performed. Here, it is assumed that the following print settings are made as an example of the operation in the post-accumulation processing mode.

Number of copies: 10 (P1) Double-sided printing: Yes (P2) Document size: A4 (P3) Paper size: A3 (P4) Enlargement / reduction ratio: 70% (P5) Layout: Bookbinding mode (P6) Page output order: Ascending order (P7) Sort mode: Yes ... (P8) Stop stapling: Yes (P9) After the above print setting, the user gives a print instruction on PC / WS11, and the driver software installed on PC / WS11 is also printed. Is converted into so-called PDL, and the set print setting parameters and the computer interface of the image input / output apparatus are connected via a computer interface connected to the PC / WS11. The PDL data is transferred to the face unit 7.

The PDL data representing the image input via the computer interface unit 7 is transferred to the data processing unit 121 of the core unit 10 and then transferred to the RIP unit 8. The RIP unit 8 sequentially develops (rasterizes) the transferred PDL data into image data. RIP part 8
When the reception of PDL data is started, the RIP unit 8 issues a processing request to the core unit 10. In the core unit 10, the CPU 123 receives the issued processing request. Here, the print settings (P1) to (P9) set by the user are also CP
Transferred to U123.

In step S702, a session is internally generated from the processing request issued from the RIP unit 8 and managed. In the session generation, the session management table 700 shown in FIG. 7 is generated on the memory 124 of the core unit 10 and various information is held until the session ends. The session ID field 701 is for generating and holding a unique session ID in the image input / output device. The session type field 702 is
The type of the generated session (PDL print session, copy session, facsimile transmission session, facsimile reception session, scan session, etc.) is specified. In the present embodiment, the PDL is specified.
The fact that this is a print session is stored.

The session priority field 703 contains
The priority order regarding the processing order of the session is held. Session status field 704
Holds the execution state (executable state, execution state, interruption state, end state, error state, etc.) of the session according to the execution state. The link job number field 705 holds the number of image input jobs and the number of image output jobs constituting the session. In the present embodiment, the number of job of the image input job 412 and the number of the image output job 401 are different. Is set. The first job pointer field 706 is a pointer to the job management table 710 of the image input job 412. The second job pointer field 707 is a pointer to the job management table 730 of the image output job 401.

In step S703, image input job 4
Twelve job management tables 710 are created on the memory 124 of the core unit 10 and various information is held until the job is completed. The job ID field 711 generates and holds a unique job ID in the image input / output device. The job type field 712 specifies the type of the generated job (the above-described image input job and image output job). In the present embodiment,
It is recorded that the image data is an image input job 412 for sequentially recording the image data developed by the RIP unit 8 in the storage unit 5. The job priority field 713 holds the priority regarding the processing order of the job.

The job status field 714 holds the execution state (executable state, execution state, interruption state, end state, error state, etc.) of the job in accordance with the execution state. The page number field 715 holds the number of pages of the job. The page pointer field 716 is a pointer to a page management table 720 that describes detailed information of each page managed by the job. The page management field 720 is recorded on the hard disk 6. The job parameter field 717 holds various setting parameters of the job. In the present embodiment, the job parameter field 717 stores the above-described step S701.
The setting contents of the print settings (P1) to (P9) set in are stored.

In step S704, processing of the generated image input job 412 is started. In step S705, one page of image data expanded by the RIP unit 8 is received. That is, image transfer from the RIP unit 8 to the data processing unit 121 via the interface 120 of the core unit 10 is performed. In step S706, the image data transferred to the data processing unit 121 is stored in the hard disk 6 of the storage unit 5. At this time, the page management field 720
Various image attribute information (resolution, number of pixels, etc.) is recorded in the page 1 field 721 in the middle. In step S707,
It is determined whether or not all the pages to be processed developed by the RIP unit 8 have been recorded on the hard disk 6 as image data. If the result of this determination is that there are pages that have not been processed, the process returns to step S705, and if all pages have been processed, the process proceeds to step S708.

In step S708, step S7
In step S709, the job status in the job management table 710 generated in step S03 is set to the end state. In step S709, the job management table 730 of the image output job 401 is created on the memory 124 of the core unit 10, and various information is held until the job is completed.
The job ID field 731 generates and holds a unique job ID in the image input / output device. The job type field 732 specifies the type of the generated job (the above-described image input job and image output job). In the present embodiment, the image data recorded in the storage unit 5 is sequentially transferred to the printer unit 2. It is recorded that the job is an image output job 401 to be printed out. The job priority field 733 holds the priority regarding the processing order of the job.

The job status field 734 holds the execution state (executable state, execution state, interruption state, end state, error state, etc.) of the job in accordance with the execution state. The page number field 735 holds the number of pages of the job. The page pointer field 736 is a pointer to a page management table 740 that describes detailed information of each page managed by the job. The substance of the page management table 740 is the same as the page management table 720 recorded on the hard disk 6 in the image input job 412. The job parameter field 737 holds various setting parameters of the job. In the present embodiment, the number of copies, paper size, enlargement / reduction ratio, one-sided / two-sided, page output order, sort set in step S701 are set in this embodiment. output,
The presence or absence of stapling is retained.

In step S710, processing of the generated image output job 401 is started. In step S711, the image data for each page (image data for two pages) recorded on the hard disk 6 of the storage unit 5 in step S706 is read out in the bookbinding order, and
Data processing unit 121 via the interface 120
Transfer the image to. The data processing unit 121 lays out the transferred two pages of image data on the page memory. In step S712, the image data transferred to the data processing unit 121 is transferred to the printer unit 2 via the interface 122, and the printer unit 2 forms an image as described above and prints out.

In step S713, the hard disk 6
It is determined whether or not all the image data for each page recorded in. If the result of this determination is that there are pages that have not been processed, the process returns to step S711. If all pages have been processed, the printer unit 2 prints one copy of paper in bookbinding mode. , And the process proceeds to step S714. In step S714, it is determined whether or not all the print copies set in step S701 have been printed out. If the result of this determination is that there are unprocessed copies remaining, the process proceeds to step S711
, And if all copies have been processed, the process proceeds to step S715.

In step S715, step S7
In step S716, the job status in the job management table 730 generated in step S09 is set to the end state. In step S716, the page management table generated in steps S703 and S709,
The page management table generated in step S706 and the image data for each page are discarded to release resources, and the session management table generated in step S702 is also discarded, resources are released and a series of processing ends. I do.

As described above, a mode in which image information is transferred from the PC / WS 11 as PDL data in accordance with the print settings created on the PC / WS 11 and the image input / output device develops the PDL data into image data and prints out the image data will be described. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to a case where image information read by the reader unit 1 is printed out.

Next, an example of a sequential processing mode of session control and job control of the image input / output device according to the second embodiment will be described. 12 to 15 show a PDL print session 501, an image input job 412 for sequentially recording image data developed by the RIP unit 8 constituting the PDL print session 501 in the storage unit 5, a storage unit 5 or a core unit 10.
Image output job 401 for sequentially printing out the image data recorded in the data processing unit 121 to the printer unit 2
5 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the first embodiment. The session, the image input job, and the image output job each perform a multitask operation.

First, in step S801, the user makes print settings on the PC / WS 11, as in the post-accumulation processing mode described above. Here, it is assumed that the following print settings are made as an example of the operation in the sequential processing mode.

Number of copies: 10 (P11) Single-sided printing: Yes (P12) Document size: A4 (P13) Paper size: A4 (P14) Enlargement / reduction ratio: 100% (P15) Layout: None (P16) Page output order: Ascending order (P17) Sort mode: Yes (P18) Stop stapling: Yes (P19) After the print setting, the user gives a print instruction on the PC / WS 11, and a processing request is issued to the core unit 10 in the above-described procedure. The core unit 10 transmits the issued processing request to the CP.
U123 accepts. Here, the print settings (P11) to (P19) set by the user are also transferred to the CPU 123.

In step S802, a session is internally generated from the processing request issued from the RIP unit 8 and managed. The management of the session has been described above and will not be described. In step S803, a job management table 710 for the image input job 412 is created on the memory 124 of the core unit 10, and various information is held until the job is completed. The job parameter field 717 holds various setting parameters of the job, and in the present embodiment,
The print settings (P1) set in step S801
The setting contents of 1) to (P19) are held. After creating the job management table 710 for the image input job, the session control task activates the image input job control task.

At step S804, image output job 4
01 is created in the memory 124 of the core unit 10 and various information is held until the job is completed. The job parameter field 737 holds various setting parameters of the job. In the present embodiment, the setting contents of the print settings (P11) to (P19) set in step S801 are stored. After creating the job management table 730 of the image output job, the session control task activates the image output job control task. In step S805, the processing of the generated image input job 412 is started. That is, the session control task instructs the image input job control task to start a job. In step S806, processing of the generated image output job 401 is started. That is, the session control task instructs the image output job control task to start a job.

In step S807, a job end notification is received from the image input job management task, and an image input job end process is performed. That is, the job status in the job management table of the image input job is set to the end state. In step S808, a job end notification is received from the image output job management task, and the image output job end processing is performed. That is, the job status in the job management table of the image output job is set to the end state. Step S809
Then, a session end process is performed. That is, the job management tables of the image input job and the image output job, the page management table, the image data for each page are discarded to release resources, and the session management table is also discarded.
The resources are released and a series of processing ends.

In step S811, the image input job control task receives the job start instruction from the session control task and starts the job. In step S812, one page of the image data expanded by the RIP unit 8 is received. That is, image transfer from the RIP unit 8 to the data processing unit 121 via the interface 120 of the core unit 10 is performed. In step S813, the image data transferred to the data processing unit 121 is temporarily stored in the page memory. In step S814, a page output request is transmitted to the image output job management task. When reading of the page from the page memory is completed by the image output job management task, the process proceeds to step S815.

At step S815, the image data temporarily stored in the page memory is stored in the hard disk 6 of the storage unit 5. In step S816, R
It is determined whether all pages to be processed and developed by the IP unit 8 have been stored in the hard disk 6 as image data. If the result of this determination is that there are pages that have not been processed, the process returns to step S812, and if all pages have been processed, the process proceeds to step S817. In step S817, an image input job end notification is transmitted to the session control task, and the image input job control task ends.

In step S821, the image output job control task receives the job start instruction from the session control task and starts the job. In step S822, a request to output image data temporarily stored in the page memory is received from the image input job control task. In step S823, reading of image data from the page memory is started. In step S824, the read image data of the page is transferred to the interface 1 of the core unit 10.
The image is transferred to the printer unit 2 via the
The image is formed and printed out as described above.

In step S825, it is determined whether the page output request from the image input job control task is the last page. If the result of this determination is that there is a page that has not been processed, the process returns to step S822. If all pages have been processed, the process proceeds to step S826. In the processing so far, (P1
One out of ten print copies set in 1) is completed. In step S826, the image data for each page recorded in the hard disk 6 of the storage unit 5 in step S815 is sequentially read, and the image data is transferred to the data processing unit 121 via the interface 120 of the core unit 10. The data processing unit 121 stores the transferred image data for one page in the page memory.

At step S827, the data processing unit 12
1 is transferred to the printer unit 2 via the interface 122, and the printer unit 2 forms an image and prints out. In step S828, it is determined whether the image data for each page recorded on the hard disk 6 has been printed out for all pages. If the result of this determination is that there are pages that have not been processed, the process returns to step S826, and if all pages have been processed, the printer unit 2
The stapling of one set of sheets is performed, and the process proceeds to step S829.

At step S829, step S8
It is determined whether all the print copies set in 01 have been printed out. If the result of this determination is that there are unprocessed copies remaining, the process returns to step S826, and if all copies have been processed, the process proceeds to step S830. Step S83
In the case of 0, an end notification of the image output job is transmitted to the session control task, and the image output job control task ends.

As described above, a mode in which image information is transferred from the PC / WS 11 as PDL data in accordance with the print settings created on the PC / WS 11 and the image input / output device develops the PDL data into image data and prints out the image data will be described. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to a case where image information read by the reader unit 1 is printed out.

In the above example, the embodiment relating to the PDL print session has been described. However, as shown in the extended example of the session in FIG. 6, an arbitrary image input job and an arbitrary image output job are combined to obtain an arbitrary image output job. Even when a session is configured, the present embodiment can be similarly applied.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the image input / output device includes the reader unit 1 and the facsimile unit 4.
And the like, a storage unit 5 for storing image data, an image output unit such as a printer unit 2 and a facsimile unit 4, and control of an image input job for transferring an image from one of the image input units to the storage unit 5. A core unit 10 for controlling an image output job for transferring an image from the storage unit 5 to one of the image output units, and performing image input / output control by combining an image input job and an image output job.
In order to select between the post-accumulation processing mode in which the image output job is operated after the image input job is completed and the sequential processing mode in which the image output job is operated before the image input job is completed, the storage unit 5 for recording the image is selected. The image input job and the image output job from the storage unit 5 can be divided and controlled to control the image input / output session by arbitrarily combining these image input jobs and image output jobs. By controlling the operation so that the job and the image output job are overlapped with each other in terms of time, the waiting time from the start of the process to obtaining a desired result can be reduced.

With this, in an image input / output device (multifunction device) having both a copy function, a PDL print function, a facsimile print function, and a print function of image data from a computer device, a job including a large number of pages and a large number of copies is required. Even in the case of performing the processing, there is an effect that it is possible to provide an image input / output device with a short waiting time from when the processing is started until a desired result is obtained.

Further, as described above, it is possible to automatically switch between the post-accumulation processing mode and the sequential processing mode in accordance with the contents of the image input / output setting. The image input / output processing can be performed in the mode, and the fastest processing according to the image input / output setting can be performed without the user being particularly conscious.

The present invention may be applied to a system constituted by a plurality of devices or to an apparatus constituted by a single device. A storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or an apparatus, and a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or the apparatus executes the program code stored in the storage medium. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by executing the reading.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium implements the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD
-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS and the like running on the computer are actually executed based on the instructions of the program code. It goes without saying that a part or all of the above-described processing is performed, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0128]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, at least one input means for inputting image data, storage means for storing input image data, and at least one input means for outputting stored image data. An image input / output device having two output units, wherein the input control unit controls an image input job for transferring an image from one of the input units to the storage unit; Output control means for controlling an image output job for image transfer;
Since the apparatus has input / output control means for performing input / output control by combining an image input job and an image output job, the image input job to the storage means and the image output job from the storage means can be divided and controlled. By controlling the image input / output by arbitrarily combining the image input job and the image output job, the image output job can be constituted by one control program.

Thus, for example, the copy function and the PDL
In an image input / output device that has a (page description language) print function, a facsimile print function, and a function of printing image data from an external device such as a computer device, it is possible to completely standardize the print output portion. There is an effect that the control program capacity can be reduced.

For example, in an image input / output device having both a copy function and a facsimile reading function and a function of scanning image data to an external device such as a computer device, it is possible to completely share a scanner reading portion. There is an effect that the control program capacity can be reduced.

Further, for example, when a PDL print function, a facsimile function, a scanner function to an external device such as a computer device, etc. are added to an image input / output device (product) provided as a single copy function according to user needs. In addition, there is an effect that the control program of the input means (reader section) and the output means (printer section) can be provided economically, simply, and quickly without changing the control program.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, at least one input means for inputting image data, a first storage means for storing input image data, and a second storage means for storing image data in the first storage means An image input / output device comprising: means, reading means for reading image data from the second storage means to the first storage means, and at least one output means for outputting image data from the first storage means. Input control means for controlling an image input job for transferring an image from one of the input means to the first and second storage means; and image data read out to the first storage means to one of the output means. An output control unit that controls an image output job to transfer an image; and an input / output control unit that controls input and output by combining an image input job and an image output job. The image output job from the storage unit can be divided and controlled, and the image input job and the image output job can be arbitrarily combined to perform image input / output control. The waiting time can be reduced.

Thus, for example, in an image input / output device having both a copy function, a PDL print function, a facsimile print function, and a print function of image data from an external device such as a computer device, a job including a large number of pages and a large number of copies Is effected, it is possible to obtain an image input / output device with a short waiting time from when the process is started until a desired result is obtained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the input / output control means controls the operation timing of the input control means and the output control means, and operates the image output job after the end of the image input job. To select the sequential processing mode to operate the image output job before the image input job ends, so that the image input / output processing can be performed in the optimal processing mode, and the fastest processing can be performed without the user's particular awareness This has the effect of being

According to the invention of claim 4, since the input means is means for reading an image, an image input / output device having an image reading function is also provided in the same manner as in the inventions of claims 1 and 2. This has the effect that the control program capacity can be reduced, and the waiting time from when the processing is started until a desired result is obtained can be reduced.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the input means is means for expanding code data input from an external device into image data. As in the first and second aspects of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the capacity of the control program and to shorten the waiting time from the start of the processing until the desired result is obtained.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the input means is a means for receiving an image by facsimile, even in an image input / output device having a facsimile receiving function,
As in the first and second aspects of the invention, it is possible to reduce the capacity of the control program and to reduce the waiting time from when the processing is started until a desired result is obtained.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the input means is for inputting an image from a removable storage medium to the apparatus main body, an image input / output having an input function from a removable storage medium is provided. Also in the device, similarly to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the control program capacity can be reduced,
This has the effect that the waiting time from the start of the processing until the desired result is obtained can be reduced.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the output means is a means for printing out an image. Therefore, even in an image input / output apparatus having a print output function, the output means is the same as the first and second aspects. Similarly, reduction of control program capacity,
This has the effect that the waiting time from the start of the processing until the desired result is obtained can be reduced.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, since the output means is a means for transmitting an image by facsimile, even in an image input / output apparatus having a facsimile transmission function,
As in the first and second aspects of the invention, it is possible to reduce the capacity of the control program and to reduce the waiting time from when the processing is started until a desired result is obtained.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, since the output means is a means for outputting an image to an external device, the image input / output device having an output function to an external device also has a function as described above. As in the second aspect of the invention, there is an effect that the control program capacity can be reduced and the waiting time from when the processing is started until a desired result is obtained can be reduced.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, since the output means is an means for outputting an image to a removable storage medium in the apparatus main body, an image input / output apparatus having an output function to a removable storage medium is provided. Also in the above-mentioned claim 1 and claim 2
As in the invention of the third aspect, it is possible to reduce the capacity of the control program and to reduce the waiting time from when the processing is started until a desired result is obtained.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a setting means for performing input / output setting, wherein the input / output control means switches the processing mode in accordance with the input / output setting contents. Accordingly, the image input / output processing can be performed in the optimum processing mode, and the fastest processing according to the image input / output setting can be performed without the user being particularly conscious.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the output control means sets the first image data before the input control means stores the first set of image data in the second storage means when the output of a plurality of copies is set. A job including a large number of pages and a large number of copies to transfer from the storage unit to the output unit and to transfer the image data of the second storage unit to the output unit after transferring the image data of the second storage unit to the first storage unit. Is effected, it is possible to obtain an image input / output device with a short waiting time from when the process is started until a desired result is obtained.

According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image input apparatus having at least one input step of inputting image data, a storing step of storing input image data, and at least one output step of outputting stored image data. An output control method, comprising: an input control step of controlling an image input job for transferring an image from one of the input steps to the storage step; and an image output job for transferring an image from the storage step to one of the output steps. Since it has an output control step for controlling and an input / output control step for performing input / output control by combining an image input job and an image output job, the same effects as those of the first aspect of the present invention are provided.

According to the fifteenth aspect, at least one input step of inputting image data, a first storing step of storing input image data, and a second storing step of storing image data of the first storing step. Step and the second
An image input / output control method, comprising: a reading step of reading image data of a storage step into the first storage step; and at least one output step of outputting image data of the first storage step. An input control step for controlling an image input job for transferring an image from one to the first and second storage steps, and an image output for transferring the image data read to the first storage step to one of the output steps Since it has an output control step of controlling a job and an input / output control step of performing input / output control by combining an image input job and an image output job, the same effect as the second aspect of the invention can be obtained.

According to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the input / output control step, the operation timing of the input control step and the output control step is controlled to operate the image output job after the image input job is completed. And any one of the sequential processing modes in which the image output job is operated before the end of the image input job.

According to the seventeenth aspect, since the input step is a step of reading an image, the same effect as that of the fourth aspect can be obtained.

According to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, the input step is a step of developing code data input from an external device into image data, and thus has the same effect as the fifth aspect of the present invention.

According to the nineteenth aspect, since the input step is a step of receiving an image by facsimile, the same effect as that of the sixth aspect can be obtained.

According to the twentieth aspect, the inputting step is a step of inputting an image from a removable storage medium, and thus has the same effect as the seventh aspect.

According to the twenty-first aspect, since the output step is a step of printing out an image, the same effect as that of the eighth aspect is obtained.

According to the invention of claim 22, since the output step is a step of facsimile transmitting an image, the same effect as that of the invention of claim 9 can be obtained.

According to the twenty-third aspect of the present invention, the output step is a step of outputting an image to an external device, and thus has the same effect as the tenth aspect of the present invention.

According to the twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, the output step is a step of outputting an image to a removable storage medium, and thus has the same effect as the eleventh aspect of the present invention.

According to the twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a setting step for making input / output settings, and in the input / output control step, the processing mode is switched according to the contents of the input / output settings. The same effects as those of the present invention can be obtained.

According to the twenty-sixth aspect, in the output control step, when the output of a plurality of copies is set, the first copy image data is stored in the second storage step before the image data of the first copy is stored in the second storage step. 14. The same effect as the invention of the above-described claim 13, since the image data of the second storage step is transferred to the output step after transferring the image data of the second storage step to the first storage step from the storage step to the output step. To play.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image input / output device according to first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of each mechanism of a reader unit and a printer unit of the image input / output device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a core unit and a connection configuration between the core unit and each unit of the image input / output device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an operation unit of the image input / output device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing input and output of an image input job and an image output job of the image input / output device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of each session of the image input / output device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a session management table, a job management table, and a page management table of the image input / output device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an image input job in image input / output control of the image input / output device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an image output job in image input / output control of the image input / output device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an image input job post-accumulation processing mode in image input / output control of the image input / output apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an image output job post-accumulation processing mode in image input / output control of the image input / output apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a sequential processing mode of session control in image input / output control of the image input / output device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a sequential processing mode of image input job control in image input / output control of the image input / output device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a sequential processing mode of image output job control in image input / output control of the image input / output device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a sequential processing mode of image output job control in image input / output control of the image input / output device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 reader unit 2 printer unit 3 image input / output unit 4 facsimile unit 5 storage unit 6 hard disk 7 computer interface unit 8 RIP unit 9 operation unit 10 core unit 11 PS / WS

Claims (26)

[Claims] 1. An image input / output device having at least one input unit for inputting image data, a storage unit for storing input image data, and at least one output unit for outputting stored image data, Input control means for controlling an image input job for transferring an image from one of the input means to the storage means; output control means for controlling an image output job for transferring an image from the storage means to one of the output means; An image input / output apparatus comprising: input / output control means for performing input / output control by combining an input job and an image output job. 2. At least one input means for inputting image data, first storage means for storing input image data, second storage means for storing image data in the first storage means, and second storage means An image input / output device comprising: reading means for reading the image data of the means into the first storage means; and at least one output means for outputting the image data of the first storage means, wherein one of the input means Input control means for controlling an image input job for transferring an image from the first storage means to the first and second storage means;
Output control means for controlling an image output job for transferring the image data read out to the first storage means to one of the output means, and input / output control for performing input / output control by combining an image input job and an image output job And an image input / output device. 3. An input / output control unit controls operation timings of the input control unit and the output control unit to operate an image output job after an image input job is completed. 3. The image input / output apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of a sequential processing mode for operating an image output job is selected. 4. An image input / output apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said input means is means for reading an image. 5. The image input / output apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said input means is means for expanding code data input from an external device into image data. 6. An image input / output apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said input means is means for receiving an image by facsimile. 7. An image input / output apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said input means is means for inputting an image from a storage medium which is detachably attached to the apparatus main body. 8. An image input / output apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said output means is means for printing out an image. 9. An image input / output apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said output means is means for transmitting an image by facsimile. 10. The image input / output apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said output means is means for outputting an image to an external device. 11. The image input / output apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said output means is means for outputting an image to a storage medium detachable from the apparatus main body. 12. The image input / output apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising setting means for performing input / output settings, wherein said input / output control means switches said processing mode in accordance with said input / output setting contents. . 13. The output control means, when output setting of a plurality of copies is set, from the first storage means to the output means before the input control means stores the image data of the first copy in the second storage means. 3. The image input / output apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image data of the second copy is transferred to the output unit after transferring the image data of the second storage unit to the first storage unit. 14. An image input / output control method having at least one input step of inputting image data, a storage step of storing input image data, and at least one output step of outputting stored image data, An input control step of controlling an image input job for transferring an image from one of the input steps to the storage step;
An output control step of controlling an image output job for transferring an image from the storage step to one of the output steps;
An input / output control step of performing input / output control by combining an image input job and an image output job. 15. At least one input step of inputting image data, a first storing step of storing input image data, a second storing step of storing image data of the first storing step, and the second storing step An image input / output control method, comprising: a reading step of reading image data of a step into the first storage step; and at least one output step of outputting image data of the first storage step. An input control step for controlling an image input job for transferring an image from the first storage step to the first and second storage steps; and an image output job for transferring the image data read to the first storage step to one of the output steps And an input / output control step for controlling input / output by combining an image input job and an image output job. Image output control method characterized by having a flop. 16. In the input / output control step, operation timings of the input control step and the output control step are controlled to execute an image output job after the image input job is completed, and a storage post-processing mode for operating the image output job before the image input job is completed. 16. The image input / output control method according to claim 14, wherein one of a sequential processing mode for operating an image output job is selected. 17. The image input / output control method according to claim 14, wherein the input step is a step of reading an image. 18. The image input / output control method according to claim 14, wherein the input step is a step of expanding code data input from an external device into image data. 19. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inputting step is a step of receiving an image by facsimile.
16. The image input / output control method according to 4 or 15. 20. The image input / output control method according to claim 14, wherein the inputting step is a step of inputting an image from a removable storage medium. 21. The method according to claim 14, wherein the output step is a step of printing out an image.
5. The image input / output control method according to 5. 22. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the outputting step is a step of facsimile transmitting the image.
16. The image input / output control method according to 4 or 15. 23. The method according to claim 14, wherein the outputting step is a step of outputting an image to an external device.
Or the image input / output control method according to 15. 24. The image input / output control method according to claim 14, wherein said output step is a step of outputting an image to a removable storage medium. 25. The image input / output control according to claim 16, further comprising a setting step of performing input / output setting, wherein in the input / output control step, the processing mode is switched according to the contents of the input / output setting. Method. 26. In the output control step, when the output of a plurality of copies is set, the image data of the first copy is transferred from the first storage step to the output step before being stored in the second storage step in the input control step. 16. The image input / output control method according to claim 15, wherein the image data of the second storage step is transferred to the first storage step and then transferred to the output step for the second copy and thereafter.