JP2001045191A - Device and method for inputting and outputting image - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an image input-output device capable of selecting an output operation without immediately discarding inputted image data by deciding whether processing can be continued, continuing the operation as it is when the processing can be continued and selecting a job to be continued when it is decided that the processing is not continuable. SOLUTION: Whether or not a plurality of image input-output sessions including an image input job exist at the same time is checked (S1002). Which image input-output session to be stopped is selected among a plurality of interrupted image input-output sessions (S1003). An image input job about the selected image input-output session is subjected to termination processing, an image output job is resumed (S1005), the image input job and the image output job about the selected image input-output job are subjected to termination processing (S1006), the image input-output session including other interrupted image input jobs is restarted (S1009), and whether all of the other restarted image output jobs are terminated is decided (S1010).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image input / output device for inputting / outputting various image data via a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the digitalization of copiers in recent years, multifunction machines having a plurality of functions, such as facsimile transmission / reception using a scanner and a printer of the copier and a PDL (Page Description Language) printer, have been put into practical use. Have been.

[0003] Such a multifunction machine is designed to be capable of performing not only a single function such as a copying machine function, a facsimile function, and a PDL print function, but also a plurality of functions such as facsimile transmission of a PDL expanded image. It is configured.

In such a multifunction peripheral, a control program for a printer portion is shared in the copier function, the PDL print function, the facsimile print function, etc., and the copier function, the facsimile read function, the scanner function, etc. A common control program for the reader part reduces the control program capacity to realize various functions,
A desired function can be realized economically and simply.

Further, such a multifunction peripheral is provided with an image storage unit such as a large-capacity hard disk or a semiconductor memory for storing image data, and a spread image of a scanner or PDL, a facsimile reception An image input job for inputting a document or the like to the image storage unit, and an image output job for printing out the image data stored in the image storage unit, transmitting the image data by facsimile, or transferring the image data to a computer via a network. A desired function can be provided by an arbitrary combination of the image input job and the image output job.

Furthermore, by processing an image input job and an image output job in parallel, it is possible to speed up image input / output.

[0007]

However, in the conventional example described above, when image data is input to the image storage unit and the storage capacity using the image storage unit reaches a predetermined maximum storage capacity (disk full, memory full). Etc.), since the job in operation (image input) has been stopped at this point, the image data stored in the image storage unit is temporarily discarded until the maximum storage capacity is reached, and the original image is reduced again to reduce the image data. There was a problem that input had to be redone.

When the maximum storage capacity is reached when there are a plurality of jobs that are simultaneously inputting images, all the running jobs are also stopped. There has been a problem that the image input has to be repeated with a minimum.

In order to solve the above problems,
In the image input / output device configured as described above, when the hard disk or memory usage reaches the maximum storage capacity, a selection screen is displayed so that a job to be continued with priority can be selected, and a job to be prioritized is displayed together therewith. Proposals have been made so far to provide an image input / output device capable of selecting an output operation without immediately discarding image data that has been input so far by selecting a memory device. Has always selected a job to be continued with priority depending on whether or not the maximum storage capacity has been reached. Even if it is not necessary to prioritize the output jobs, the user can select a priority job. As a result, for example, while the input of the image data is interrupted, the output of the output job is continued, so that the memory usage amount has reached the maximum storage capacity. Despite can be avoided, inadvertently, will be allowed to select the priority of the job, there is a problem such as accidentally canceled the job.

[0010] The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and when a hard disk or memory usage reaches a maximum storage capacity, the state of a job that has caused a memory full or other job status. It is determined whether or not the processing can be continued by interrupting the input. If the processing can be continued, the operation is continued as it is. If it is determined that the processing cannot be continued, the job to be continued with priority can be selected and stopped. It is another object of the present invention to provide an image input / output apparatus and an image input / output method capable of selecting an output operation without immediately discarding image data input up to then for a job.

[0011]

The present invention can solve the above-mentioned problems by providing the following constitution.

(1) At least one image input unit for inputting image data, a storage unit for storing the input image data, and outputting the image data stored in the storage unit to at least one image output unit Image input job control for controlling an image input job for transferring an image from one of the image input units to the storage unit, and an image output job for transferring an image from the storage unit to one of the image output units. Image output job control to control the image input job controlled by the image input job control and the image output job controlled by the image output job control session control means for controlling an image input and output session consisting of a combination of Detecting means for detecting the used amount in the storage capacity of the storage means; and a detection result of the detecting means has reached a predetermined value. If, first interrupts the input of the image input job related to the image input and output sessions currently active 1
A second control mode in which the image data transferred by the image input job control to the storage means is output until the detection result reaches a predetermined value, and the process is continued thereafter. Until the result reaches a predetermined value, the image data transferred to the storage unit by the image input job control and the image data input thereafter are deleted or discarded, and the processing of the next job is continued. An image input / output device having a control mode.

(2) In the image input job control, when the detection result of the detection means reaches a predetermined value, the first control mode and the second control mode are controlled according to the state of another session being input or output. (1) The image input / output apparatus according to the above (1), further including a determination unit and a control switching unit that perform output by switching between a control mode and a third control mode.

(3) The determination means is a detection means for detecting the used amount in the storage capacity of the storage means. When the detection result of the detection means reaches a predetermined value, data input is completed and output (2) The image input / output apparatus according to the above (2), further comprising: a determination unit configured to determine whether there is a job performing the job.

(4) The determination means is a detection means for detecting the used amount in the storage capacity of the storage means. When the detection result of the detection means reaches a predetermined value, the job being output is: (2) The image input / output apparatus as described in (2) above, further including a determination unit configured to determine whether there is a job whose output is suspended.

(5) The judging means is a detecting means for detecting the used amount in the storage capacity of the storing means. When the detection result of the detecting means reaches a predetermined value, the input means and the outputting means (2) The image input / output apparatus according to the above (2), further comprising: a determination unit configured to determine whether a job is present and the used amount in the storage capacity of the storage unit can be reduced by outputting the job. .

(6) In an image input method, a procedure for inputting image data, a procedure for storing the input image data, and an image input / output method for outputting the stored image data to an image output section. A step of controlling an image input job to transfer an image from the storage unit to the storage unit, a step of controlling an image output job to transfer an image from the storage unit to one of the image output units, and a step of controlling the image input job. A session control procedure for controlling an image input / output session comprising a combination of a controlled image input job and an image output job controlled by a procedure for controlling an image output job; and a used amount in a storage capacity of the storage means. And a first step of interrupting the input of an image input job relating to the currently operating image input / output session when the detection result reaches a predetermined value. A control mode, a second control mode for outputting the image data transferred to the storage means in the image input job control procedure until the detection result reaches a predetermined value, and thereafter continuing the processing; Until the detection result reaches a predetermined value, the image data transferred to the storage unit in the image input job control procedure and the image data input thereafter are deleted or discarded, and the processing of the next job is continued. An image input / output method having a third control mode.

(7) The procedure for controlling the image input job is such that, when the detection result of the detection procedure has reached a predetermined value, the first control mode, the first control mode, The image input / output method according to the above (6), further comprising a judgment procedure and a control switching procedure for performing output by switching between the second control mode and the third control mode.

(8) The determining step is a detecting step of detecting a used amount in the storage capacity of the storage means. When a detection result of the detecting step reaches a predetermined value, data input is completed and output is performed. The image input / output method according to the above item (7), further comprising a determination procedure for determining whether or not there is a job performing the job.

(9) The determining step is a detecting step of detecting a used amount in the storage capacity of the storage means. When the detection result of the detecting step reaches a predetermined value, the job being output is: The image input / output method according to the above item (7), further comprising a judgment procedure for judging whether or not there is a job whose output has been interrupted.

(10) The determining step is a detecting step for detecting the used amount in the storage capacity of the storage means. When the detection result of the detecting step reaches a predetermined value, the input and output are being performed. The image input / output method according to the above item (7), further comprising a judgment procedure for judging whether or not there is a job and it is possible to reduce the used amount in the storage capacity of the storage means by outputting the job. .

[0022]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an image input / output apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of a main part of a reader section and a printer section, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an image input job and an image output job, FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of each session, FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of image input / output control, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of a session management, job management, and page management table according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 is an external view showing an example of the layout of the operation unit. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control situation when a hard disk is full, FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display example of a touch panel of an operation unit, and FIG. Explanatory view showing a display example, FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of operation during hard full.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the image input / output device according to the present invention.
The facsimile unit 4, the storage unit 5, the computer interface unit 7, the RIP (Raster Image Processor) unit 8,
The reader unit 1 reads an image of a document, outputs image data corresponding to the image of the document to the image input / output control unit 3, and the printer unit 2 includes an image input / output control unit. An image corresponding to the image data from Step 3 is recorded on a recording sheet.

The facsimile unit 4 expands the compressed image data received via the telephone line, transfers the expanded image data to the core unit 10, and compresses the image data transferred from the core unit 10. The compressed image data is transmitted via a telephone line. These image data to be transmitted and received can be temporarily stored in the hard disk 6 connected to the storage unit 5.

A hard disk 6 is connected to the storage unit 5. The storage unit 5 compresses the image data transferred from the core unit 10 and stores the compressed image data together with an ID number for searching for the image data.

Further, the storage unit 5 stores the hard disk 6 based on the code data transferred via the core unit 10.
The compressed image data stored in the CPU 10 is retrieved, the retrieved compressed image data is read and decompressed, and the decompressed image data is transferred to the core unit 10.

The computer interface unit 7 includes a personal computer / workstation (PC / W
S) an interface between 11 and the core unit 10,
It 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.
The image data is developed into image data recordable by.

The operation unit 9 includes a touch panel display and hard keys, and performs operation instructions and operation settings to the image input / output device through a user interface.

Although the core unit 10 will be described later, the core unit 10 includes a reader unit 1, a printer unit 2, a facsimile unit 4,
Storage unit 5, computer interface unit 7,
It controls the flow of data between the RIP (Raster Image Processor) unit 8 and the operation unit 9.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of the reader unit 1 and the printer unit 2 shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 1 denotes an original that is fed one by one onto the platen glass 102 in the leading order, and after the original reading operation is completed, the platen glass 1
02 is to be ejected. When the document is conveyed onto the platen glass 102, the lamp 103 is turned on,
Then, the movement of the scanner unit 104 is started, and the original is exposed and scanned. The reflected light from the original at this time is reflected by the mirrors 105, 106, 107 and the lens 108.
It is guided to a D image sensor (hereinafter referred to as CCD) 109. Thus, the scanned image of the original is
Read by. The image data output from the CCD 109 is transferred to the core unit 10 of the image input / output control unit 3 after performing predetermined processing.

The laser driver 221 of the printer unit 2 drives the laser emitting unit 201 and emits a laser beam corresponding to the image data output from the core unit 10 of the image input / output control unit 3 to the laser emitting unit 201. Let it. The laser beam is applied to the photosensitive drum 202, and the photosensitive drum 202
Is formed with a latent image corresponding to the laser beam. A developer is attached to the latent image portion of the photosensitive drum 202 by a developing device 203. Then, at a timing synchronized with the start of the irradiation of the laser beam, the recording paper is fed from one of the cassettes 204 and 205, conveyed to the transfer unit 206,
02 is transferred to a recording paper. The recording paper on which the developer is loaded is conveyed to the fixing unit 207, and the fixing unit 207
The developer is fixed on the recording paper by the heat and pressure of the developer. The recording paper that has passed through the fixing unit 207 is discharged by a discharge roller 208, and the finisher 220 bundles the discharged recording paper to sort the recording paper or staple the sorted recording paper. When double-sided recording is set, the recording paper is conveyed to the discharge roller 208, the rotation direction of the discharge roller 208 is reversed, and the recording paper is guided to the re-feed conveyance path 210 by the flapper 209. The recording paper guided to the re-feeding conveyance path 210 is fed to the transfer unit 206 at the timing described above.

In the block diagram showing the configuration of the core unit shown in FIG. 3, image data from the reader unit 1 is transferred to the data processing unit 121 via the interface I / F 122. The data processing unit 121 performs image processing such as image rotation processing and scaling processing, and compresses and decompresses image data, and internally has a page memory for a plurality of pages of image data equivalent to A4 / Letter size. The image data transferred from the reader unit 1 to the data processing unit 121 is temporarily stored in a page memory, compressed, and
/ F120 to the storage unit 5.

The computer interface unit 7
Data (PDL) representing an image input through
Is transferred to the data processing unit 121 via the interface I / F 120, and then transferred to the RIP unit 8 and expanded into image data.
After being transferred to 1, it is temporarily stored in the page memory,
Subsequently, the data 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 and then temporarily stored in a page memory, compressed and transferred to the storage unit 5.

The image data from the storage unit 5 is decompressed and temporarily stored in a page memory.
The data is transferred to the printer unit 2, the facsimile unit 4, and the computer interface unit 7.

After inputting various image data to the data processing unit 121 and temporarily storing the image data in the page memory, before transferring the image data to the storage unit 5, the printer unit 2, facsimile unit 4, computer The transfer to the interface unit 7 can also be performed by switching the internal selector.

The CPU 123 performs the above control in accordance with 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.

As described above, the reading of the original image, the printing of the image, the transmission and reception of the image, the storage of the image, and the input and output of data from the computer are performed through the data processing unit 121 and the storage unit 5 centering on the core unit 10. It is possible to perform processing combining functions such as the above.

Next, job control in the image input / output device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 logically shows a unit of job control. The unit of job control is input and output processing for a block combined into one 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, an image input job 412 for sequentially recording image data developed by the RIP unit in the storage unit 5, The image input job 413 stores the image data received by the facsimile unit 4 in the storage unit 5 sequentially, and the image input job 414 stores the image data input from the computer interface unit 7 in the storage unit 5 sequentially.

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

FIG. 5 shows an example of a unit (hereinafter referred to as a session) obtained by combining a plurality of jobs.
In FIG. 5, reference numeral 501 denotes a PDL print session, which controls an image input job 412 and an image output job 401 in combination as a session. 50
Reference numeral 2 denotes a copy session, which controls the combination of the image input job 411 and the image output job 401 as a session. A facsimile transmission session 503 includes an image input job 411 and an image output job 4
03 is controlled as a session. A facsimile reception session 504 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 control unit including one or more jobs. For example, an image input job 412 is handled as one session, and an image output job 401
As one session, or the image input job 412
And the image output job 401 and the image output job 403 may be combined and treated as one session.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the image input / output control. The session control task and the job control task executed by the CPU 123 of the core unit 10 of the image input / output device in the embodiment according to the present invention include: PD
L print session 501 and its RIP
5 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of an image input job 412 for sequentially storing image data developed by the unit 8 in the storage unit 5 and an image output job 401 for sequentially printing out image data stored in the storage unit 5 to the printer unit 2. It is.

S601 to S630 in the figure indicate respective steps, and the session control task (a), the image input job task (b), and the image output job task (c) each perform a multitask operation.

First, in step S601, PC / WS
The user makes print settings on the screen 11. The print setting contents (P1 to Pn) include the number of pages, the number of copies, the document size, the paper size, the enlargement / reduction ratio, one-sided / two-sided, layout, page output order, sort mode, and whether or not stapling is performed.

Here, as an example, it is assumed that the following print settings (P1 to Pn) have been made.

Number of pages: 20 pages (P1) Number of prints: 10 (P2) Single-sided printing (P3) Original size: A4 (P4) Paper size: A4 (P5) Enlargement / reduction ratio: 100% ... (P6) Layout: No ... (P7) Page output order: Ascending order (P8) Sort mode: Yes ... -(P9) Staple stop: Yes ... ···· (P10) after the print set as described above, the user PC / WS11
The print instruction is given on the PC / WS11, and the driver software installed on the PC / WS11 converts the document data to be printed into so-called PDL data, and sets the print data together with the set print setting parameters.
The PDL data is transferred to the computer interface unit 7 of the image input / output device via the computer interface connected to the PC. After PDL data representing an image input via the computer interface unit 7 is transferred to the data processing unit 121, the PDL data is transferred to the RIP unit 8, and the transferred PDL data is sequentially developed into image data (rasterization). ). PD in RIP 8
When the reception of the L data starts, the RIP unit 8 transmits the
A processing request is issued to. In the core unit 10, the CPU 123 accepts the issued processing request. Here, the print settings (P1) to (P10) set by the user are also used by the CPU 123.
Transferred to

In step S602, a session is internally generated from the processing request issued from the RIP unit 8 and managed.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of the session management, job management, and page management tables according to the present embodiment. In the session generation, a session management table 700 shown in FIG. Retain the information until the end of the session. The session ID 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 print session, copy session, facsimile transmission session, facsimile reception session, scan session, etc.), and stores that it is a PDL print session in this embodiment. Keep it. Session priority field 70
Reference numeral 3 holds a priority order regarding the processing order of the session. Session status field 7
04 holds the execution state of the session (executable state, execution state, interruption state, end state, error state, etc.) according to the execution state. A link job number field 705 holds the number of image input jobs and image output jobs constituting the session. In the present embodiment, the number of link job fields is 705.
Are set. The first job pointer field 706 is a pointer to the job management table 710 of the image input job 412. Further, the second job pointer field 707 indicates that the image output job 40
This is a pointer to the first job management table 730.

In step S603, image input job 4
Twelve job management tables 710 are created on the memory 124, and various information is held until the job is completed. The job ID field 711 is for generating and holding a unique job ID in the image input / output device. The job type field 712 specifies the type of the generated job (the image input job and the image output job described above). In the present embodiment, the image data developed by the RIP unit 8 is sequentially stored in the storage unit 5. The image input job 412 is stored. 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 job parameter field 717 holds various setting parameters of the job.
In this embodiment, the print settings (P1) to (P10) set in step S601 are held.

The session control task (a) starts the image input job control task (b) after creating the job management table 710 for the image input job.

In step S604, image output job 4
01 is created on the memory 124 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 image input job and the image output job described above). In the present embodiment, the image data stored in the storage unit 5 is sequentially printed on the printer unit 2. It is stored that the image output job 401 is out. The job priority field 733 holds the priority regarding the processing order of the job. The job status field 734 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 735 holds the number of pages of the job. 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 of the image input job.

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 output, the presence or absence of stapling, and the like are retained.

The session control task (a) starts the image output job control task (c) after creating the job management table 730 for the image output job.

In step S605, processing of the generated image input job 412 is started. That is, the session control task (a) instructs the image input job control task (b) to start a job.

In step S606, processing of the generated image output job 401 is started. That is, the session control task (a) instructs the image input job control task (c) to start a job.

In step S607, 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 S608, 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.

In step S609, a session end process is performed. That is, the job management tables of the image input job and the image output job and the image data for each page of the page management table are discarded to release resources, and the session management table is also discarded to release resources and perform a series of processing. finish.

Next, the image input job control task (b) in the PDL print session 501 will be described.

In step S611, the image input job control task (b) is changed from the session control task (a) by
Upon receiving the job start instruction, the job is started.

In step S612, one page of the image data developed by the RIP unit 8 is received. That is, RIP
The image is transferred from the unit 8 to the data processing unit 121 via the interface 120.

In step S613, the data processing unit 12
1 is temporarily stored in the page memory.

In step S614, a page output request is sent 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 S615.

In step S615, the image data temporarily stored in the page memory 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 stored in the page 1 field 721 of the page management field 720. here,
The image data will be described as being correctly stored in the hard disk 6, and the case where the storage capacity of the hard disk 6 in use reaches a predetermined maximum storable capacity will be described later.

In step S616, it is determined whether or not all the pages to be processed developed by the RIP 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 S612. If all pages have been processed, the process proceeds to step S61.
Proceed to 7.

In step S617, an end notification of the image input job is transmitted to the session control task (a), and the image input job control task (b) ends.

Next, the image output job control task (c) in the PDL print session 501 will be described.

In step S621, the image output job control task (c) receives the job start instruction from the session control task (a) and starts the job.

In step S622, a request to output image data temporarily stored in the page memory is received from the image input job control task (b).

In step S623, reading of image data from the page memory is started.

In step S624, after obtaining the right to use the printer unit 2, the image data of the read page is transferred to the printer unit 2 via the interface I / F 122, and the printer unit 2 executes the above-described operation. An image is formed and printed out.

In step S625, it is determined whether the page output request from image input job control task (b) is the last page. If the result of this determination is that unprocessed pages remain, the process proceeds to step S62.
2 and if all pages have been processed,
The process proceeds to step S626. With the processing so far, the first part of the number of print copies 10 set in the print setting (P2) is completed.

In step S626, step S615
, Sequentially reads out the image data for each page stored in the hard disk 6 of the storage unit 5 and transfers the image data to the data processing unit 121 via the interface 120. The data processing unit 121 stores the transferred image data for one page in the page memory.

In step S627, after obtaining the right to use the printer unit 2, the image data transferred to the data processing unit 121 is transferred to the printer unit 2 via the interface I / F 122, and the image formation is performed by the printer unit 2. And print it out.

In step S628, the hard disk 6
It is determined whether all the image data for each page stored in is printed out. As a result of this decision,
If unprocessed pages remain, the process returns to step S626. If all pages have been processed, the printer unit 2 staples some of the sheets and proceeds to step S626. Proceed to S629.

In step S629, step S601
It is determined whether or not all the print copies set in are printed out. If the result of this determination is that there are pages that have not been processed, the process returns to step S626. If all the pages have been processed, the printer unit 2 stops stapling some sheets. And the process proceeds to step S630.

In step S630, an image output job end notification is transmitted to the session control task (a), and the image output job control task (c) ends.

In the above example, image information is transferred from the PC / WS 11 as PDL data in accordance with the print settings set on the PC / WS 11, and the PDL data is transferred to the image input / output device.
Although a form in which data is developed into image data and printed out has been described, the present invention can be similarly applied to a case where image information read by the reader unit 1 is printed out.

Referring to FIG. 6, the CPU 123 of the core unit 10 of the image input / output device in the embodiment according to the present embodiment will be described below.
As a second example that can be executed by the
2 and an image input job 4 for sequentially storing the image data read by the reader unit 1 constituting the storage unit 2 in the storage unit 5
11 and an image output job 40 for sequentially printing out the image data stored in the storage 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. FIG. 8 shows the appearance of the operation unit 9. 8, 801 is a power key, 802 is a preheating key, 803 is a copy function selection key, 804 is a facsimile function selection key, 805 is a personal box function selection key, 806 is a start key, 806 is a stop key, and 808 is a reset key. , 809 are operation guide keys,
810 is a user mode setting key, 811 is an interrupt copy 812 is a ten (10) key, 813 is a clear key, 8
14 is a facsimile one-touch key, 815 is a one-touch key switching lid, and 816 is a touch panel. 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,
Input is performed according to setting items displayed on a ten (10) key 812 and a touch panel 816.

Here, it is assumed that the following copy settings are made as an example.

Number of copies: 10 copies (C1) One-sided copy (C2) Paper size: A4 (C3) Enlargement / reduction ratio: 100% (C4) Layout: No (C5) Sort mode: Yes (C6) Staple stop: Yes (C7) After setting the copy, copy the original. The user places the reader unit 1 on the reader unit 1 and presses a start key 806 to give a copy instruction.
The processing is transferred to the PU 123 and a processing request is issued.

In step S602, a session is internally generated from the processing request issued from the operation unit 9, managed by the above-described session management table 700 in FIG. 7, and various information is held until the session ends. The session ID field 701 generates and holds a unique session ID in the image input / output device. The session type field 702 specifies the type of session created (PDL print session, copy session, facsimile transmission session, facsimile reception session, scan session, etc.),
In this embodiment, the fact that the session is a copy session is stored. 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, 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 image output jobs constituting the session. In the present embodiment, two job numbers of the image input job 411 and the image output job 401 are set. . The first job pointer field 706 is a pointer to the job management table 710 of the image input job 411. Also, the second job pointer field 707 is
This 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, and various information is held until the job is completed. The job ID field 711 is for generating and holding a unique job ID in the image input / output device. The job type field 712 specifies the type of the generated job (the image input job and the image output job described above). In the present embodiment, the image data read by the reader unit 1 is sequentially stored in the storage unit 5. The image input job 411 is stored. 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, interrupt 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 table 720 is stored on the hard disk 6.

The job parameter field 717 holds various setting parameters of the job.
In this embodiment, the setting contents of the copy settings (C1) to (C7) set in step S601 are held.

Further, the session control task (a) activates the image input job control task (b) after creating the job management table 710 for the image input job.

In step S604, image output job 4
01 is created on the memory 124 and various information is held until the job is completed. The job ID field 731 is for generating and holding a unique job ID in the image input / output device. The job type field 732 specifies the type of the generated job (the image input job and the image output job described above). In the present embodiment, the image data stored in the storage unit 5 is sequentially printed on the printer unit 2. It is stored that the image output job 401 is out.
The job priority field 733 holds the priority regarding the processing order of the job. The job status field 734 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 735 holds the number of pages of the job. Page pointer field 736
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. Page management table 7
The entity of 40 is the same as the page management table 720 stored on the hard disk 6 in the image input job 412. The job parameter field 737 holds various setting parameters of the job. In this embodiment, the number of copies, paper size, enlargement / reduction ratio, one-sided / two-sided, page output order,
Sort output, the presence or absence of stapling, and the like are retained.

The session control task (a) activates the image output job control task (c) after creating the job management table 730 for the image output job.

In step S605, processing of the generated image input job 411 is started. That is, the session control task (a) instructs the image input job control task (b) to start a job.

In step S606, processing of the generated image input job 401 is started. That is, the session control task (a) instructs the image output job control task (c) to start a job.

In step S607, a job end notification is received from the image input job management task, and the image input job end processing 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 S608, 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.

In step S609, session termination processing is performed. That is, the job management tables of the image input job and the image output job, and the page management table, discard the image data for each page to release the resources, release the session management table, release the resources, and end a series of processing. I do.

The image input job control task (b) in the copy session 502 will be described below.

In step S611, the image input job control task (b) receives the job start instruction from the session control task (a) and starts the job.

In step S612, 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 I / F 120 is performed.

In step S613, the data processing unit 12
1 is temporarily stored in the page memory.

In step S614, 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 S615.

In step S615, the image data temporarily stored in the page memory 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 stored in the page 1 field 721 of the page management field 720. Here, the description will be made assuming that the image data is correctly stored in the hard disk 6, and a description will be given later when the storage capacity of the hard disk 6 in use reaches a predetermined maximum storable capacity.

In step S616, it is determined whether all pages to be processed and read by the reader unit 1 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 S612. If all pages have been processed, the process proceeds to step S61.
Proceed to 7.

In step S617, a notification of the end of the image input job is transmitted to the session control task (a), and the image input job control task (b) ends.

The processing after step S 621 is exactly the same as that in the case of the PDL print session 501 described above, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In the above example, the mode relating to the PDL print session and the copy session has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 5, an example of an extended session is shown in which an arbitrary image input job and an arbitrary image output job are combined. Even if an arbitrary session is configured, the present embodiment can be similarly applied.

The PDL print session and the copy session described above can be processed simultaneously in parallel by having a plurality of session management tables 700 shown in FIG.

Next, referring to FIG. 9, step S6 in FIG.
A method of securing disk capacity and used area when storing image data in the hard disk 6 of the storage unit 5 will be described at 15.

Generally, a FAT (File Allocation Table) 900 is used for securing a disk area and managing a used area. Reference numeral 901 denotes a FAT entry. One of the FAT entries corresponds to a predetermined logical block.
If the logical block per unit is 512 bytes, the total disk capacity is (number of FAT entries) × (512) bytes. The use state and link relationship of the FAT entry are written in the FAT entry 901. 0 indicates an unused FAT, and a value other than 0 is written in the FAT being used, and the number of the next FAT entry is written when continuous FATs are used. The last FA of the link
0xFF is written in the T entry.

Reference numeral 902 conceptually shows the use state of the hard disk 6 indicated by the FAT 900. 90
Reference numeral 3 denotes a logical block, which indicates a storage area that is the entity of the FAT900. The shaded area in the figure indicates the area currently in use.

As a result, the use status of the storage area in the hard disk 6 can be known, and the process proceeds to step S61 in FIG.
When the image data is stored in the hard disk 6 of the storage unit 5 at 5, the available storage area and the area can be secured.

Next, referring to FIG. 13, step S6 in FIG.
The case where no storage area could be secured when storing image data in the hard disk 6 of the storage unit 5 at 15 (disk full) will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the processing after the occurrence of a disk full. In addition,
S1301 to S1306 in the figure show each step.

In FIG. 13, in step S1301, a process for interrupting image input is performed for the job currently being input.

Next, in step S1302, it is checked whether or not the storage area has a margin. If there is a margin, in step S1307, the job whose input has been interrupted is restarted. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1302 that there is no room in the storage area, it is determined in step S1303 whether or not there is a job currently being output.
Branch to 6. If it is confirmed in step S1303 that there is a job that is being output, it is determined in step S1304 whether or not there is a job whose input has been completed in the job that is being output. If there is, the process branches to step S1302. . If there is no job, the process branches to step S1305, and it is determined whether or not there is a job in the output suspended state for some reason among the jobs being output. When it is determined that there is a job in the output suspended state, for example, the image formation is stopped due to a job in which the paper for forming the image runs out during the output and the output is suspended, a jam, or the toner runs out. For example, a job whose output is interrupted because it cannot be performed. If there is such a job, the output is resumed by canceling the cause of the interruption, and there is a possibility that the free space of the memory may increase. Therefore, steps S1305 and S130
2. A loop is formed in steps S1303 and S1304, and the system waits until output is restarted. Step S1
If it is determined in step 305 that there is no job that is being output and the output of which is in a suspended state, the process proceeds to step S1.
Branch to 306. Step S1306 corresponds to FIG.
Transfer processing to

Referring to FIG. 10, a flow in the case where it is determined in the flow of FIG. 13 that there is no possibility that a storage capacity area can be secured and the process is shifted from step S1306 will be described.

S1001 to S1010 in the figure indicate each step.

In step S1001, by checking the session management table 700, the image input / output session including the active image input job is interrupted, and the session status field 704 of the image input / output session including the active image input job and The job status field 714 of the image input job management table 710 is written as a suspended state.

In step S1002, it is checked whether or not a plurality of image input / output sessions including an image input job exist simultaneously. If there are a plurality of image input / output sessions, the process proceeds to step S1003, and if there is only one image input / output session, the process proceeds to step S1004.

In step S1003, step S10
01 selects which image input / output session of the plurality of image input / output sessions interrupted is to be canceled (canceled).

FIG. 11 shows an example of a selection screen displayed on the touch panel 816. 1100 is a selection screen, 110
Reference numeral 2 denotes the remaining memory capacity of the hard disk 6, which is 0%. 11
03, 1104, 1105, and 1106 denote active image input / output sessions, and 1103 and 1104 denote PDLs.
Print session 501, 1105 and 110
Reference numeral 6 denotes a copy session 502. Reference numeral 1107 denotes a stop key.

At step S1004, at step S10
In the image input / output session to be canceled selected in step 03, the hard disk 6 must be
Or not to output the image data stored in.

FIG. 12 shows another example of the selection screen displayed on the touch panel 816. 1200 is a selection screen, 12
01 is a “Yes” key for selecting output, 1202
Is a "No" key to select not to output.
If the “Yes” key 1201 has been pressed, step S1
If the “No” key 1202 has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S1006.

In step S1005, the image input job for the selected image input / output session is terminated, and the image output job is restarted for the image data stored in the hard disk 6 before the hard disk is full. Proceed to.

At step S1007, step S10
At 06, it is determined whether or not the restarted image output job is completed. If not completed, step S1007
If the processing has ended, the processing for ending the image input / output session is performed, and the flow advances to step S1008.

In step S1006, the image input job and the image output job for the selected image input / output session are terminated, and the flow advances to step S1008. In step S1008, the session management table 700 is checked to determine whether there is another image input / output session interrupted by the hard disk full. If an interrupted image input / output session exists, the process advances to step S1009; otherwise, the process ends.

In step S1009, step S10
The image input / output session including another image input job interrupted in 01 is restarted, and the process proceeds to step S1010.

In step S1010, step S10
At 09, it is determined whether or not all the restarted image output jobs have been completed. If not completed, step S101
If the processing is terminated to 0, the processing for ending the image input / output session is performed to continue the operation.

In the above example, the case where at least one page of image data is stored in the hard disk 6 when the hard disk becomes full has been described. Occurs, or when the print setting specified in step S601 is such that, for example, printing cannot be started until all pages are temporarily stored in the hard disk 6 as in the bookbinding mode, for example, it is meaningless to output halfway. In this case, step S1005, step S100
7 may be omitted and step S1006 may be always executed instead. In this case, the present embodiment can be applied.

Further, in the above example, the case where the image input / output is processed via the hard disk 6 of the storage unit 5 has been described. However, without using the hard disk 6, for example, a part of the page memory of the data processing unit 121 is used. It is needless to say that the present invention can be similarly applied to a configuration in which the image input / output operation is performed by using.

[0135]

According to the present invention, when the used amount of the hard disk or the memory reaches the maximum storage capacity, it is determined whether or not the processing can be continued by interrupting the input from the state of the job in which the memory is full or another job. If the job can be continued, the operation is continued as it is. If it is determined that the job cannot be continued, the job to be continued can be preferentially selected, and the job data to be canceled is immediately discarded for the job to be stopped. This has the effect that the output operation can be selected without the need.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an image input / output device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of a main part of a reader unit and a printer unit.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a core unit.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image input job and an image output job.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of each session.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of image input / output control;

FIG. 7 shows a session management according to the embodiment of the present invention;
Explanatory diagram showing the structure of the job management and page management tables

FIG. 8 is an external view illustrating an example of a layout of an operation unit.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an area management mode of a hard disk;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control situation when a hard disk is full.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display example of a touch panel of an operation unit.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display example of a touch panel of an operation unit.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation when the hard disk is full.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 reader unit 2 printer unit 3 image input / output control unit 4 facsimile unit 5 storage unit 6 hard disk 7 computer interface unit 8 RIP unit 9 operation unit 10 core unit 11 PC / WS (personal computer / workstation)

Claims (10)

[Claims] At least one image input unit for inputting image data, a storage unit for storing the input image data, and outputting the image data stored in the storage unit to at least one image output unit In the image input / output device, an image input job control for controlling an image input job for transferring an image from one of the image input units to the storage unit;
An image output job control for controlling an image output job for transferring an image from the storage unit to one of the image output units; an image input job controlled by the image input job control; and an image output job controlled by the image output job control A session control means for controlling an image input / output session composed of a combination of: a detection means for detecting a used amount in a storage capacity of the storage means; and a detection result obtained by the detection means reaching a predetermined value. A first control mode for interrupting input of an image input job relating to the active image input / output session, and an image transferred to the storage unit by the image input job control until the detection result reaches a predetermined value. A second control mode in which data is output and the processing is continued thereafter, and the image input job is performed until the detection result reaches a predetermined value. A third control mode for erasing or discarding the image data transferred to the storage means and the image data inputted thereafter, and continuing the processing of the next job. apparatus. 2. The image input job control according to claim 1, wherein when the detection result of said detection means reaches a predetermined value, the first control mode and the second control mode are controlled according to the state of another session being input or output. 2. The image input / output apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a determination unit and a control switching unit that perform output by switching between a mode and a third control mode. 3. The detecting means detects a used amount in a storage capacity of the storage means, and when a detection result of the detecting means reaches a predetermined value, data input is completed and output is completed. 3. The image input / output apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a determination unit configured to determine whether there is a job being performed. 4. A determination means for detecting a used amount in a storage capacity of the storage means, wherein when a detection result of the detection means reaches a predetermined value, a job being output is output. 3. The image input / output apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a determination unit configured to determine whether or not there is a job that has been interrupted. 5. A job being input and being output when a detection result of the detection means reaches a predetermined value by a detection means for detecting a used amount in a storage capacity of the storage means. 3. The image input / output apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a determination unit configured to determine whether or not it is possible to reduce the used amount in the storage capacity of the storage unit by outputting the output. 6. An image input / output method for inputting image data, storing the input image data, and outputting the stored image data to an image output unit. Controlling the image input job to transfer the image from the storage unit to the storage unit, controlling the image output job transferring the image from the storage unit to one of the image output units, and controlling the image input job. A session control procedure for controlling an image input / output session comprising a combination of an image input job to be controlled and an image output job controlled by a procedure for controlling an image output job; The procedure to detect,
A first control mode for interrupting the input of an image input job relating to the currently operating image input / output session when the detection result reaches a predetermined value; and an image input job until the detection result reaches a predetermined value. A second control mode in which the image data transferred to the storage means is output to the storage means in a procedure for controlling the image input job, and a control procedure for the image input job until the detection result reaches a predetermined value. A third control mode for erasing or discarding image data transferred to the storage means and image data inputted thereafter, and continuing processing of the next job. Method. 7. The procedure for controlling the image input job includes:
When the detection result of the detection procedure reaches a predetermined value, the output is switched by switching the first control mode, the second control mode, or the third control mode according to the state of another session being input or output. 7. The image input / output method according to claim 6, further comprising a determination procedure and a control switching procedure. 8. The determining step is a step of detecting a used amount in a storage capacity of the storage means. When a detection result of the detecting step reaches a predetermined value, data input is completed and output is performed. 8. The image input / output method according to claim 7, further comprising a judgment procedure for judging whether or not there is a job. 9. The determining step is a detecting step for detecting a used amount in a storage capacity of the storage means, and when a detection result of the detecting step reaches a predetermined value, the job is being output, and 8. The image input / output method according to claim 7, further comprising a judgment procedure for judging whether or not there is a job interrupting the job. 10. The job that is being input and being output when the detection result of the detection procedure reaches a predetermined value in the detection procedure for detecting a used amount in the storage capacity of the storage unit. 8. The image input / output method according to claim 7, further comprising a judgment procedure for judging whether or not it is possible to reduce the used amount in the storage capacity of the storage means by outputting.