JP2000263893A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To give a user data for judging a waiting time required until the image output designated by the user himself. SOLUTION: When receiving data is recognized, an image forming time is calculated from the header data of the receiving data (S3). When data is already present in an active interface and an image output waiting queue at this point of time (S4, YES), the output data of this interface is registered in the queue (S5). Further, an image output start waiting time or the number of image output waiting leaves is calculated from the image output time or number of output leaves of the other receiving data registered in the cue previously and the residual time of the present image output (S6) to be transmitted to the host computer connected to the interface.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, such as a printer or a plotter, having a plurality of interfaces, receiving and analyzing image data and forming an image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an image forming apparatus receives data from an external host computer via an interface, analyzes the data, and forms and outputs an image. This is a basic series of operations of the image forming apparatus.

When one image forming apparatus is shared by a plurality of users, the image forming apparatus has a plurality of interfaces. In such an image forming apparatus, when data received from a plurality of interfaces is recognized in parallel, the following processing is performed as interface switching processing.

[0004] An interface that first recognizes the received data is defined as an active interface, an analysis process is also performed in parallel with the reception process, and an image formation output process is started when the analysis process is completed. During this time, if it recognizes the received data from another interface, it receives as much data as possible into the input buffer dedicated to that interface,
Store. When the buffer becomes full, a signal corresponding to a busy signal is output to the host computer, and the state is maintained until image formation and output of the image data received by the active interface is completed.

[0005] When the image formation and output of the image data of the active interface is completed, the first interface received among the interfaces having image data in the input buffer dedicated to the interface is set as a new active interface, and the reception, analysis, and image processing are performed. Perform formation output processing.

When the image forming output of this interface is completed, the same processing is repeated for the next interface.

[0007]

However, the above prior art has the following problems.

That is, when waiting for an image output from another interface, the user who is waiting for the image output does not know what state the image forming apparatus is in, or
Even if the user knows that another interface is waiting for an image to be output, it is often not possible to know how long the image data transferred by himself will be output.

There is also a method in which a plurality of analysis units of an image forming apparatus are used and analysis is performed in advance, but a program area and a work memory of the analysis unit are excessively required.
Further, if the analysis processing is to be performed on a plurality of image files in parallel, the analysis time and the image output time for one image file will increase, which is not preferable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and provides a user with information for judging how long an image output designated by the user can be obtained in a shared environment. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which can be provided to a user.

[0011]

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of interfaces for receiving data from a plurality of higher-level devices. When the plurality of interfaces recognize received data in parallel, first, An image forming apparatus that receives, analyzes, and forms an image of an interface that has recognized the received data, and, after the image formation, receives, analyzes, and forms an image of the interface that has recognized the received data in the following order. Means for determining the image forming time of the received data from the header information of the data of the interface which has recognized the error, means for registering the output information of the received data which cannot be processed immediately in the image forming waiting queue, Total image formation time of received data of interface that recognized data and current image type Means for obtaining, as standby status information, an image formation start waiting time of reception data of the interface which has recognized the reception data at the n-th (except for 1), based on the sum of the remaining time for the image in progress, and registration in the image formation waiting queue Means for transmitting standby status information for each interface corresponding to the output information to the host device.

According to another aspect, the image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a plurality of interfaces for receiving data from a plurality of higher-level devices, and when the plurality of interfaces recognize received data in parallel, An image forming apparatus that receives, analyzes, and forms an image on an interface that first recognizes received data, and after receiving the image, completes receiving, analyzing, and forming an image on the interface that sequentially recognizes the received data. Means for determining the number of image formations of the received data from the header information of the data of the interface which recognized the data, means for registering the output information of the reception data which cannot be processed immediately in the image formation waiting queue, Total number of image formation of received data of the interface that recognized the received data and current image formation Means for obtaining, as standby status information, the number of images waiting for image formation of the received data of the interface that has recognized the received data n-th (excluding 1) as standby status information, based on the sum of the number of remaining images for that image. Means for transmitting standby status information about each interface corresponding to the output information to the respective higher-level devices.

According to the configuration of the present invention, based on the output time and the output number of the image data previously registered in the queue, standby status information such as the output waiting time and the output standby number of the image data is obtained. This can be provided to the user as a criterion for determining whether to continue or interrupt the image output instruction. For example, if the number of images to be output is too large and the user is likely to affect his or her work efficiency, the user may take measures such as temporarily canceling the image output.

The output information of the received data registered in the image formation waiting queue includes, for example, at least one of the image formation time and the number of image formations and the type of the interface.

[0015] The output status of the received data may be periodically obtained from the higher-level device registered in the image forming queue and transmitted to the higher-level device. Alternatively, for a higher-level device in which output information of the received data is registered in an image formation waiting queue,
The standby state information may be obtained and transmitted to the higher-level device in response to a user request. In any case, the user can recognize whether the processing of other image data previously registered in the queue is proceeding smoothly.

[0016]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numerals 1, 2, and 3 denote host computers (upper devices) for transmitting image data and receiving status data from the image forming apparatus and displaying the data on a display. Reference numerals 4, 5, and 6 denote interfaces for connecting to the host computers 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Reference numerals 7, 8, and 9 are input buffers provided for the interfaces 1, 2, and 3, and for storing image data received through the interfaces. Reference numeral 10 denotes an image output waiting queue for storing image data information waiting for image output and an active interface information area. The image output waiting queue area manages the order in which image data is output, and the active interface information area stores the image output time and the number of output images of the data received by the currently active interface. The input buffers 7, 8, and 9, the image output waiting queue 10, and the work memory area 11 are allocated on the RAM 12.

An analysis unit 13 analyzes the received image data and generates print data. An image output unit 14 outputs the print data generated by the analysis unit and forms an image on a recording medium such as paper. Reference numeral 15 denotes a ROM in which a program for operating the entire series of devices is written.
It is. A CPU 16 controls the operation of the entire apparatus. Although not shown, the CPU 16 has a timer for measuring time.

The image forming apparatus 17 comprises these interfaces 4, 5, 6, input buffers 7, 8, 9, image output waiting queue and work memory area 10, analysis unit 13, image output unit 14, ROM 15, and CPU 16. Is done.

FIG. 2 is a processing flow from image data reception to image output when focusing on an arbitrary interface in the image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an example of a configuration diagram of an image output waiting queue and an active interface information area. It is.

When image data is transmitted from a certain host computer (hereinafter, referred to as a computer of interest) to the image forming apparatus (S1), reception of data is started at an interface (hereinafter, referred to as an interface of interest) connected to the host computer. (S2). The header information (file size, image data command format, output number) of the image data is read from the received data, and based on the file size and the image data command format, the image formation time of the image data to be received (from the start of reception) Is calculated (up to image output) (S3). If there is no information on the number of output images in the header information, the setting of the image forming apparatus or the command of the image data is followed.

Next, it is checked whether or not there is an interface that is currently undergoing image forming processing (active) (S4). If there is no interface, information on the type of interface of interest, image output time, and output number is written in the active interface information area. The interface of interest is activated (S9). Further, the timer count described later is reset, and the receiving operation, further analysis, image output processing and image output are performed (S10), and after that, the active state of the interface of interest is released (S11).

In step S4, if an interface other than the interface of interest already exists as an active interface, reception is performed until the input buffer of the interface of interest is almost full, and information of the interface of interest (type of interface, image (Output time, output number) are registered in the image output waiting queue (S
5).

As shown in FIG. 3B, the image output waiting queue 101 stores a plurality of sets of array data with the interface type, the image output time and the number of output sheets as one set of array data. When the image output of the active interface is completed and the active state is released, the head array data of the image output waiting queue 101 is removed from the queue, and it is transferred to the active interface information area 102.
To perform the analysis of the received data in the buffer and the image formation output operation. The active interface information area 102 has a recording area for storing only one array data removed from the image output waiting queue 101, as shown in FIG.

If it is determined that the image data received by the interface of interest cannot be output immediately, an interface registered in the queue 101 prior to the interface of interest is notified in order to notify the user working on the host computer of interest. The total number of output sheets for the target interface (excluding the interface of interest registered in S5) is calculated (S6). As for the image output waiting time, the sum of the sum of the image output time previously registered in the queue 101 and the value obtained by subtracting the timer count from the image output time in the active interface information area is calculated as the image output waiting time. (S6). The timer count is
It is activated when the image output time of the active interface starts to decrease.

These pieces of information are transmitted to the target host computer and displayed on the display as shown in FIG. 4 (S7), and the apparatus enters the wait state for the calculated image output waiting time. In response, the user either waits,
Alternatively, it is possible to determine whether to cancel the image output.

When the wait is completed, the array data of the interface of interest is located at the head of the image output waiting queue 101. At this time, after confirming that the active interface no longer exists, the interface type, image output time, and output number information of the target interface are written in the active interface information area 102, and the target interface is activated (S9). ).
Further, the timer count is reset, the receiving operation is continuously performed (S10), and the analysis and image output processing are performed. After the image output ends, the active state of the interface of interest is released (S11), and the processing in FIG. 2 ends (S12).

Next, a processing flow in the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, the same steps as those shown in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and only operations different from those in the first embodiment will be described below.

In step S8 of the process of FIG. 2 in the previous embodiment, the process simply waits until the interface of interest becomes active. However, in the second embodiment,
Waiting status information such as a waiting time is periodically transmitted to and displayed on each of the standby host computers. For this purpose, in the processing flow of FIG. 5, for each such host computer in standby, after entering the standby state, the elapsed time is periodically monitored (S21). The same process is performed to calculate the remaining total number of output sheets and the image output waiting time of the other interfaces registered in the queue 101 before the interface and the active interface at that point in time, and the calculated information is stored in the host computer. To be displayed on the display (S22). Until the standby state ends (S23), the process returns to step S21 to repeat the above processing.

Next, a processing flow in the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 6, steps similar to those shown in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and only operations different from those in the first and second embodiments will be described below.

In the second embodiment, the standby status information is periodically transmitted to the host computer during the standby. In the third embodiment, the standby status information is transmitted when a request from the user is received. It is for transmitting information. Therefore, in the processing flow of FIG. 6, after entering the standby state, it is monitored whether or not there is a request from the user (S31).
To calculate the remaining total output number and image output waiting time of the other interfaces and active interfaces registered in the queue 101 before the interface, and transmit the calculated information to the host computer. Then, it is displayed on the display (S32). Until the standby state ends (S33), the process returns to step S31 to monitor a request from the user.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, various modifications and changes are possible. For example,
The second embodiment and the third embodiment can be used together.

[0033]

According to the present invention, when a plurality of interfaces in the image forming apparatus recognize the received data, the standby status information is transmitted to a higher-level device connected to the interface for outputting an image later. This allows the user to quickly grasp the output waiting time. Thereby, for example, the image output waiting time is too long,
When the work efficiency on the host device is likely to be affected, the user can be given the right to make a decision such as temporarily canceling the image output.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing flow from data reception to image output when focusing on an arbitrary interface according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image output waiting queue and an active interface information area according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of waiting time information displayed on a display of a host computer in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 2, 3 ... host computer, 4, 5, 6 ... interface, 7, 8, 9 ... input buffer, 10 ... output waiting queue and active interface information area, 11
... Work memory area, 12 ... RAM, 13 ... Analyzer, 1
4 image output unit, 15 CPU, 16 image forming apparatus
101: output waiting queue, 102: active interface information area.

Claims (5)

[Claims] A plurality of interfaces for receiving data from a plurality of higher-level devices; and when the plurality of interfaces recognize received data in parallel, receiving data of an interface which first recognizes the received data; After performing the analysis and the image formation, and after the image formation is completed, in the image forming apparatus that performs reception, analysis, and image formation of the interface that sequentially recognizes the reception data, the reception is performed based on the header information of the data of the interface that recognizes the reception data. Means for determining the image forming time of data; means for registering output information of received data which cannot be processed immediately in an image forming waiting queue; and image forming time of received data of an interface which has recognized the (n-1) th obtained received data. And the time remaining for the current image being formed, Secondly (excluding 1) means for obtaining, as standby status information, the image formation start waiting time of the reception data of the interface that has recognized the reception data, and standby for each interface corresponding to the output information registered in the image formation waiting queue. Means for transmitting status information to the respective higher-level devices. And a plurality of interfaces for receiving data from a plurality of higher-level devices. When the plurality of interfaces recognize received data in parallel, receiving data of an interface that first recognizes the received data; After performing the analysis and the image formation, and after the image formation is completed, in the image forming apparatus that performs reception, analysis, and image formation of the interface that sequentially recognizes the reception data, the reception is performed based on the header information of the data of the interface that recognizes the reception data. Means for determining the number of image data to be formed; means for registering output information of received data that cannot be processed immediately in an image formation waiting queue; and number of image data for received data of an interface that has recognized the (n-1) th received data obtained And the sum of the number of remaining images for the image currently being formed, Secondly (excluding 1) means for obtaining, as standby status information, the image formation start waiting number of the reception data of the interface that has recognized the reception data, and standby for each interface corresponding to the output information registered in the image formation waiting queue. Means for transmitting status information to the respective higher-level devices. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output information of the reception data registered in the image formation waiting queue includes at least one of an image formation time and the number of image formations, and an interface type. 3. The image forming apparatus according to 2. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output information of the received data is periodically obtained from the high-order apparatus registered in the image forming waiting queue, and the standby state information is obtained and transmitted to the high-order apparatus. 4. The image forming apparatus according to 1, 2, or 3. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output information of the received data is registered in an image forming waiting queue, and the standby status information is obtained in response to a user request and transmitted to the upper apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.