JP2000332954A - Digital compound machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more efficiently perform pre-feed to perform speed improvement of printout without ejecting useless paper nor mistaking the surface of paper for the rear face. SOLUTION: Print data is received from a host device (S1), the received print data is stored in an input buffer (S2), and the end of reception is confirmed (S3). The code conversion of the print data is performed (S4), a converted intermediate code is stored in an intermediate buffer (S5), and the conversion of the print data into the intermediate code is confirmed (S6). Expansion processing of image data is performed (S7). The intermediate codes are sequentially subjected to expansion processing, and the number of intermediate code residual items of the intermediate buffer is compared with a preliminarily set value (S8). When the number of the intermediate code residual items is the same as the set value (Yes), pre-feed is started (S9). Further, the end of expansion processing to image data is confirmed (S10), and the printout of the image data is obtained (S11).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital multifunction peripheral having an image reading unit and an image forming unit, having functions such as copying, a printer, and a facsimile, and performing a pre-feed for improving a first print process. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A pre-feed function provided in a conventional digital multifunction peripheral (hereinafter referred to as a multifunction peripheral) is an effective method for improving its printing speed, particularly the speed of first printing. In particular, in the case of a printer function that performs print processing of print data from the outside, depending on the data to be processed, the processing time, such as the time required for developing the print data into image data and the time required for transport from the paper tray, etc. Are different from each other and are difficult to predict, so that when the print data is input, the paper is pre-fed.

[0003]

However, the multifunction peripheral having such a configuration has not only a printer function but also a function of copying (copying), facsimile, and the like. If the paper is fed, when other functions use the printer unit, there is a problem that the processing is waited until the processing starts or the paper that has been pre-fed is discharged once. Was.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to solving the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, in which a pre-feed for improving the speed of print output is made more efficient, and wasteful paper discharge and different front and back sides are performed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital multifunction peripheral that performs print output without the need.

[0005]

In order to achieve this object, a digital multi-function peripheral according to the present invention converts a plurality of pages of print data transferred from a host device into an intermediate code and develops the intermediate code into image data. A control unit for processing, a storage unit for storing the transferred print data and intermediate codes, a printer unit for printing out the expanded image data on paper, a scanner unit for reading the image data, and displaying and setting various information. And a pre-feed at the time of printing is started based on the number of remaining items of the intermediate code obtained by converting the print data from the host device.

In the digital multifunction peripheral, the number of remaining items of the intermediate code for starting the pre-feed is arbitrarily set, or the number of remaining items of the intermediate code for starting the pre-feed is developed from the intermediate code to the image data. Automatically reset according to the processing, and when automatically resetting the remaining number of intermediate codes to start pre-feeding, it should be performed based on the arbitrarily set number of remaining intermediate codes. Features.

Further, the digital multi-function peripheral is provided with a printer unit for printing out the developed image data on both sides or one side of a sheet, and the printing is performed based on the number of remaining intermediate code items converted from the print data from the host device. Starts the pre-feed and prints out the image data from the scanner unit as the copying function during the expansion processing into the image data in the first processing of the printer unit which prints out the print data from the host device as the printer function. The paper pre-fed in the first processing is evacuated to the transport path for the back side printing in response to any processing request to the printer unit which performs the second processing for outputting or the third processing for printing out received data as a facsimile function. The first processing is performed after any of the generated second and third processings conveys the specified sheet and prints out. To.

Further, the printer section is provided with a transport path for avoiding a sheet reversing mechanism on a transport path for reversing the sheet for printing on the back side when printing on both sides of the sheet.

According to the above configuration, in order to improve the speed of print output, by starting with the number of remaining items of the expanded intermediate code in the pre-feed, the waiting time after the pre-feed can be reduced, and the remaining items can be reduced. By setting the number arbitrarily, it is possible to set more suitable for the usage environment.In addition, by automatically resetting according to the processing time, and by resetting it based on the set value at that time, It can be operated in a timely and optimal environment.

In the case where priority is given to processing by another function when pre-feeding is performed, the pre-fed paper is not wastefully discharged, and furthermore, the front and back of the paper to be printed out are not changed. Can be printed out.

[0011]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a digital multifunction peripheral according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a host device, 2 is a digital multifunction peripheral, 3 is an operation unit, 4 is a control unit, 5 is a storage unit, 6 is a scanner unit, and 7 is a printer unit.

The multifunction device (digital multifunction device) 2 is a printer,
It has a copying and facsimile function, the operation unit 3 displays and sets various information, and the control unit 4 processes print data sent from the host device 1 and develops it into image data. The storage unit 5 stores the print data separated by the control unit 4 and retrieves the corresponding print data in accordance with an instruction from the operation unit 3 or the host device. By the first process of printing out the print data from the host device 1, the printer unit 7 prints the developed image data on paper.

As a copying function, the scanner unit 6 reads image data as an image from a document and sends it to the control unit 4, and the printer unit 7 prints it out as a second process. Further, as a facsimile function, the printer unit 7 prints out data received from a communication line (not shown) as a third process.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a first process of the printer unit which prints out print data sent from the host device which is a first example of the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a paper transport path of the multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment.
Reference numerals 0c and 10d denote paper feed trays, 11 denotes a conveyance path, 12 denotes a registration position, 13 denotes a photosensitive drum, and 14 denotes a fixing unit.

Here, a first example of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, when print data is received from the host device (S1), the received print data is stored in an input buffer as a printer function of the multifunction peripheral (S2), and the above processing is performed until the end of reception is confirmed (S3). ) Input control is performed.

When the storage of the print data by the input control is completed, a code conversion process of the print data is performed (S
4), the converted intermediate code is stored in the intermediate buffer (S5). It is confirmed that the print data stored in the input buffer has been converted into the intermediate code, for example, that one page or all the conversion processes in the input buffer have been completed (S6).

Further, a process of expanding the converted intermediate code into image data is performed (S7). The intermediate code is sequentially expanded, and the number of remaining items of the intermediate code stored in the intermediate buffer is compared with a preset value (S8). When the number of remaining items becomes equal to the set value in the process S8 (Yes), as shown in FIG. 3, the paper selected from any of the paper feed trays 10a to 10d is transferred to the registration position via the transport path 11. A pre-feed that is stopped at 12 and stands by is started (S9).

Further, the developing process of the intermediate code is performed, and the completion of the developing process for image data (for one page to be output on paper) is confirmed (S10). After the electrostatic latent image is formed with a laser beam and visualized by toner, the electrostatic latent image is developed on a sheet conveyed from the registration position 12, and the sheet fixed by the fixing unit 14 is discharged to obtain a print output (S1).
1).

Note that the capacity of the input buffer and the intermediate buffer differs for each device. For example, the size of all pages or one page of print data depends on the capacity of the storage unit of the device.

The pre-feed is started when the number of remaining items in the intermediate buffer to be expanded becomes equal to the set value. This set value differs greatly depending on the paper feed tray. It can be obtained by calculating the number of items that can be processed within the time from the transport time from the time to the registration position and the average processing time for developing the intermediate code.

As described above, when the number of remaining items of the expanded intermediate code becomes equal to the set value, a pre-feed start process is performed to eliminate wasteful waiting time and to perform another process. Without having to wait for
Efficient printing can be performed. Also. FIG. 4 is a view showing the image, and indicates that the pre-feed is started when the pointer indicating the current processing execution position advances to the pre-feed start position.

Further, since the processing time varies depending on the print data to be expanded, that is, between the case of printing one character and the case of filling a large area, the expansion processing time is greatly different even for the same intermediate code. Will be.

However, since print data has a tendency depending on the place where the processing is performed, the type of job, etc., it is possible to perform a more suitable operation by setting the number of remaining items for starting the pre-feed according to the tendency. it can.

Further, the set value is calculated by accumulating the number of remaining items for which the pre-feed is actually started and the error at that time, and calculating the average, thereby automatically setting the number of remaining items for which the pre-feed is started to the set value. . As shown in FIG. 5, when the start position of the pre-feed is initially “1”, if there is a waiting time at the registration position 12 in FIG. 2, the start position is moved in the direction of “2”. If the sheet has not reached the registration position 12 even though the data is ready, the start position is moved in the direction of “3”.

Also, by combining a preset set value and a set value by automatic setting, automatic setting is performed within a range that does not greatly deviate from the set value, thereby shortening the time to an optimum environment. Can be.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a first process of the printer unit which prints out print data sent from the host device, which is a second embodiment of the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a paper transport path of the multifunction peripheral according to the second embodiment.
Reference numerals c and 10d denote paper feed trays, 11 denotes a conveyance path, 12 denotes a registration position, 13 denotes a photosensitive drum, 14 denotes a fixing unit, 15 denotes a guide, and 16 denotes a reversing unit. As shown in FIG. 7, the sheet developed into the image data and waiting at the registration position 12 is:
An image is formed by the photosensitive drum 13 and the fixing unit 14.
In the case of double-sided printing, the guide 15 conveys the sheet to the reversing section 16 for printing out on the back side, and after reversing the front and back,
The sheet is sent to the registration position again, and both sides are printed out.

Here, a second example of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG.
In the flowchart shown in FIG. 7, the description of the same processes as those described in the flowchart shown in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment will be omitted.

The difference from the flowchart of FIG. 2 is that the copy function or the facsimile, which is another function of the multifunction machine, is performed before confirming the completion of the expansion processing for one page (S10). It is detected whether or not the second and third processes to the printer unit by the function have occurred (S20), and the corresponding process (print output process) is performed by each function. At this time, if the expansion processing has been completed in processing S10, print output is first performed as the first processing.

Next, it is confirmed whether or not the sheet is pre-fed to the registration position 12 shown in FIG. 7 (S2).
1). When the pre-feed is performed (Yes), the guide is switched to the reversing unit 16 that performs the sheet reversing process at the time of duplex printing and the guide 15 is conveyed (S22), during which the copying function and the facsimile function corresponding to the preceding process are performed. (S23). The end of the process (print process) by each function is confirmed (S24), and the process returns to step S10. At this time, when the pre-fed paper is transported to the reversing unit in step S22, the paper is returned to the state of waiting at the registration position 12.

In the above-described second embodiment, the sheet is conveyed to the reversing unit 16 as a process for avoiding the pre-fed sheet. State. FIG. 8 is a view showing an example of a paper transport path of the multifunction peripheral. In the configuration shown in FIG. 7, a reversing bypass guide 17 and a bypass transport path 18 are provided to avoid a transport path to a reversing unit 16 for reversing a sheet for performing duplex printing. It is a thing.
In FIG. 8, reference numeral 21 denotes a sheet conveyed to the reversing unit 1, 22 denotes a sheet conveyed to the registration position, and 23 denotes a sheet conveyed from the registration position.

When the paper is pre-fed and there is a process by another function (see S20 in FIG. 6), the paper is conveyed to avoid the paper (paper 23).
The reversing bypass guide 1 prevents the front and back sides of the paper to be printed out from being reversed by the reversing unit 16 (paper 21).
7, the paper is conveyed to the registration position 12 via the bypass conveyance path 18 (paper 22) instead of the conveyance path to the reversing unit 16.

With the above-described processing, the printing process of other functions in the same multifunction peripheral as described above is performed, and even if the pre-fed paper is avoided, the printed output on the same surface is maintained without changing the front and back sides. It can be performed.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In the pre-feed performed as an operation for improving the speed of print output, by starting with the number of remaining items of the expanded intermediate code, useless time such as waiting time after the pre-feed can be reduced, and the pre-feed can be performed. By setting the number of remaining items to be set arbitrarily, settings that are more suitable for the usage environment can be made, and resetting is automatically performed according to the processing time.At that time, resetting is performed based on the set value The operation can be performed in a shorter time and in an optimum environment without extra work.

Further, when the pre-feeding is performed and the processing by other functions of the digital multi-function peripheral is prioritized, the pre-fed paper can be printed without being wastefully discharged. There is an effect that the printout can be performed without changing the front and back of the sheet on which the printout is performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a digital multifunction peripheral according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a first process of a printer unit that prints out print data sent from a host device, which is a first example of the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a paper transport path of the multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a start position of a pre-feed in processing of an intermediate buffer in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing automatic setting of a pre-feed start position in the processing of an intermediate buffer in the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a first process of a printer unit that prints out print data sent from a host device, which is a second example of the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a paper conveyance path of a multifunction peripheral according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a paper conveyance path of a multifunction peripheral according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 host device 2 digital multifunction machine 3 operation unit 4 control unit 5 storage unit 6 scanner unit 7 printer unit 10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d paper feed tray 11 transport path 12 registration position 13 photosensitive drum 14 fixing unit 15 guide 16 inversion Unit 17 Reverse Bypass Guide 18 Bypass Transport Path 21, 22, 23 Paper

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI Theme coat II (reference) G06F 3/12 G03G 21/00 372 F term (reference) 2C087 AA03 AA09 AB05 AC08 BA01 BA03 BB10 BD46 CB12 DA16 2H027 EC20 ED17 EE02 EE07 EF06 FA13 ZA07 ZA10 3F343 FA02 FB02 JA01 MB03 MC23 5B021 AA05 AA19 BB00 FF03 5C062 AA05 AA13 AB20 AB22 AB32 AB38 AB42 AC09 AC11 AC29 BA04

Claims (6)

[Claims] A control unit configured to convert print data of a plurality of pages transferred from a host device into an intermediate code and to develop the intermediate code into image data; and a storage unit configured to store the transferred print data and the intermediate code. A digital multifunction peripheral including a printer unit that prints out the expanded image data on paper, a scanner unit that reads the image data, and an operation unit that displays and sets various types of information. A multi-function device that starts pre-feeding at the time of printing based on the number of remaining items of the intermediate code obtained by converting the print data of (1). 2. The digital multi-function peripheral according to claim 1, wherein the number of remaining items of the intermediate code for starting the pre-feed is arbitrarily set in the digital multi-function peripheral. 3. The digital multifunction peripheral according to claim 1, wherein the number of remaining items of the intermediate code for starting the pre-feed is automatically reset according to a process of developing the intermediate code into image data. Digital multifunction peripheral as described. 4. The digital multifunction peripheral according to claim 2, wherein when automatically resetting the number of remaining items of the intermediate code for starting the pre-feed, the number of remaining items of the intermediate code is set arbitrarily. The digital multifunction peripheral according to claim 3. 5. A control unit for converting print data of a plurality of pages transferred from a host device into an intermediate code and processing the intermediate code into image data, and a storage unit for storing the transferred print data and the intermediate code. A digital multifunction peripheral including a printer unit that prints out the developed image data on both sides or one side of a sheet, a scanner unit that reads the image data, and an operation unit that displays and sets various types of information, The pre-feed at the time of printing is started based on the number of remaining items of the intermediate code obtained by converting the print data from the host device, and an image is formed by a first process of the printer unit that prints out the print data from the host device as a printer function. During the data development process, the second process of printing out image data from the scanner unit, which is a copying function, and the receiving process, which is a facsimile function, are performed. By any of the processing request to the printer unit that performs third processing for printing out data, the first
After retreating the paper pre-fed in the process to the transport path during backside printing, any of the generated second and third processes conveys the requested specified paper and performs print output. A digital multifunction peripheral that performs a first process. 6. A printer according to claim 5, wherein said printer unit includes a transport path for avoiding a sheet reversing mechanism on a transport path for reversing the sheet for printing on the back side when printing on both sides of the sheet. Digital multifunction peripheral as described.