JP2004201334A - Image formation system and processing method in image formation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image formation method and an image formation system which can raise user's operability, shorten transfer time of an image data, and reduce operation cost. <P>SOLUTION: In an image data transfer between a system having a personal computer and a facsimile 103 and a system being connected to the system with public line and having a facsimile 104 and copying machines 108-110 connected with LAN, the facsimile 103 and 104 are connected using the public line, an output destination of the image data generated with the personal computer is designated, the designated copying machine following the designation automatically selects a processable page-description language, and the image data is generated based on the selected page-description language and transferred to a designated copying machine. In addition, the connection of the public line may be disconnected/reestablished according to load status of the LAN and the line connection may be disconnected after the image data has been transferred only to the copying machine which can process an optimum page-description language selected based on each function of the copying machines 108-110. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system and a processing method in the image forming system, and more particularly, to an image forming system used for transferring image data between different systems and a processing method in the image forming system.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is an information processing system in which a plurality of LANs are connected to each other via a network using communication means such as a facsimile. In such a system, image data generated by a computer operating in a certain LAN environment is transferred to an image processing device operating in another LAN environment by facsimile, and the image processing device Can output an image.
JP-A-6-87548

  However, the above conventional example has the following problems.

  That is, a certain image forming apparatus may access another image forming apparatus to transfer image data, and may wait until the image transfer is accepted, so that the image forming apparatus performs useless processing for the transfer. That happened.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional example, and an image forming apparatus accesses another image forming apparatus in order to transfer image data, and does not have to wait until an image transfer is accepted. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming system and a processing method in the image forming system in which the apparatus does not need to perform useless processing for transfer.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image forming system of the present invention has the following configuration.

  That is, the storage means for storing the image data provided in at least one of the plurality of apparatuses constituting the image forming system, and the storage means storing the image data based on the data transmission from the data generation apparatus. Notification means for notifying the image forming apparatus other than the apparatus provided with the storage means, and a transfer request source in response to a transfer request for the image data from the image forming apparatus after the notification by the notification means. And a transfer unit for transferring the image data to the image forming apparatus.

  The present invention also includes a method invention having the same features as those of the system having the above configuration.

  The method invention comprises the following steps.

  That is, a processing method in an image forming system, wherein image data is held in a storage unit provided in at least one of a plurality of devices constituting the image forming system based on data transmission from a data generating device. A notification step of notifying the image forming apparatus other than the apparatus provided with the storage unit, and a transfer request of the image data from the image forming apparatus after the notification in the notification step. And a transfer control step of transferring the image data to the image forming apparatus that has requested the transfer.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a storage unit for holding data provided in at least one of a plurality of apparatuses constituting an image forming system, and a plurality of image forming apparatuses other than the apparatus provided with the storage unit Transfer means for transferring the data to each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses in response to a transfer request for the data held in the storage means, and in response to the transfer request in each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses. An image forming system is provided, wherein printout is performed based on the transferred data.

  The present invention also includes a method invention having the same features as those of the system having the above configuration.

  The method invention comprises the following steps.

  That is, a processing method in an image forming system, comprising: a storage step of storing data in a storage unit provided in at least one of a plurality of devices constituting the image forming system; A transfer step of transferring the data to each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses in response to a transfer request of the data held in the storage unit from a plurality of image forming apparatuses other than the plurality of image forming apparatuses. Each of the image forming apparatuses is provided with a processing method in which printout is performed based on data transferred in response to a transfer request.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, an image forming apparatus accesses another image forming apparatus to transfer image data, and does not have to wait until the image transfer is accepted, so that the image forming apparatus becomes useless for the transfer. There is an effect that unnecessary processing need not be performed.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image transfer system according to a representative embodiment of the present invention. This system is commonly used in the second and third embodiments described later.

  In FIG. 1, 101 and 106 are LANs, 102 is a general-purpose personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a personal computer) connected to the LAN 101 and capable of communicating with an external device via the LAN 101, and 103 to 104 are each a LAN 101 , 106 is a facsimile, and 105 is a public line.

  The personal computer 102 has several types of print drivers inside, and can automatically switch the print drivers depending on the function of the printer used. Further, the personal computer 102 is provided with a display unit such as a CPU, a memory, an LCD or a CRT, and the memory incorporates various programs executed by the CPU. Further, the personal computer 102 is provided with a unit for input instructions such as a keyboard and a mouse. Each of the facsimile machines 103 and 104 has a large liquid crystal touch panel, and can transfer image data using a public line 105. Further, the facsimile machines 103 and 104 can communicate with an image forming apparatus such as a personal computer or a copying machine connected to the LAN to which each of the facsimile machines 103 and 104 is connected according to a predetermined protocol. The transferred image data can be transferred to an image forming apparatus such as a personal computer or a copying machine on the LAN.

  A job server 107 is connected to the LAN 106 and manages operations of devices such as a printer and a personal computer connected to the LAN 106. The job server 107 acquires the function information of the apparatus registered in the job server in advance, and notifies the personal computer that has requested the print request of the attribute of the image data to be transmitted based on the acquired function information.

  Reference numerals 108 to 110 denote copying machines (image forming apparatuses) connected to the LAN 106 each having a large liquid crystal touch panel and having both a scanner function and a printer function. Therefore, these devices function independently as a copy machine independently of the LAN 106 and the job server 107, but receive command data in a page description language sent from a personal computer and internally store bitmap image data. It also functions as a printer that prints out. Although the copiers 108 to 110 have the same function, they can process different page description languages. Here, the page description language that the copier 108 can process is LIPS, the page description language that the copier 109 can process is PostScript (PS), and the page description language that the copier 110 can process is PCL.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the copying machines 108 to 110. As described above, the copiers 108 to 110 are different only in the page description language that can be processed, and are common in terms of functionality. Therefore, only the configuration of the copier 108 is shown here as a representative.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 201 denotes a microprocessor (CPU) which operates by a real-time OS and controls the entire apparatus, 202 denotes a large-capacity hard disk (HDD) which is managed by the CPU 201 and stores a plurality of applications executed by the CPU 201; A memory 203 is used as a work area for the CPU 201 to execute various applications, and can be accessed at high speed by the CPU 201. A memory 204 transfers data between the CPU 201, the HD 202, the memory 203, and each functional unit described later at high speed. This is a high-speed CPU bus for performing (DMA transfer). The HDD 202 is also used to temporarily store image data as needed, and to store information about an image output request notified from an external device such as an image reading device described later.

  Reference numeral 205 denotes an image input command input from an external interface connected to a computer described later, which receives an image forming command via the high-speed CPU bus 204, generates a bitmap image according to the command content, and outputs the bit image to a high-speed image bus described later Is a functional unit (RIP) that outputs the same. The types of page description languages that can be processed by the RIP 205 include PostScript, PCL, LIPS, and CaPSL.

  Reference numeral 206 denotes a filtering process for the image image such as a smoothing process and an edge process, a character recognition (OCR) process, and a process for separating a character portion from an image portion in accordance with a processing instruction instructed by the CPU 201. This is an image processing unit that performs image separation processing.

  207 compresses the image image input from the high-speed image bus by an image compression method such as MH, MR, MMR, or JPEG, and transfers the compressed data to the high-speed CPU bus 204 or the high-speed image bus again. This is a compression / decompression unit that transmits and conversely decompresses compressed data input from those two buses according to a compressed system and transmits the decompressed data to a high-speed image bus.

  A bus bridge controller 208 connects the high-speed CPU bus 204 and a low-speed CPU bus, which will be described later, and absorbs a difference in processing speed between the buses. Through the bus bridge 208, the CPU 201 operating at a high speed can access a unit connected to the low-speed CPU bus and having a low data transfer rate.

  Reference numeral 209 denotes a bus configuration having a lower data transfer capability than the high-speed CPU bus 204, and a low-speed CPU bus to which a unit having a relatively low processing capability is connected. Reference numeral 210 denotes a bus configuration between the public line 211 and the low-speed CPU bus 209. The modem 212 modulates the transmitted digital data so that it can be output to the public line as data, or demodulates the modulated data transmitted from the public line 211 into digital data that can be processed in the apparatus. And a LAN board for transmitting and receiving data via the LAN.

  214 is used to connect to a computer, receive a control command from the computer, and return a status to the computer, for example, RS-232C (for serial communication) or Centronics interface (parallel communication). Communication port with a computer interface.

  A control unit 215 transmits and receives various control signals to and from an operation panel, which will be described later, transmits input signals from keys and the like arranged on the operation unit to the CPU 201, and transmits an RIP 205, an image processing unit 206, a compression / decompression unit 207. Is a panel interface that performs resolution conversion for displaying the image data generated in step (1) on an LCD provided in the operation unit.

  A high-speed image 216 connects the RIP 205, the image processing unit 206, the compression / expansion unit 207, and a scanner interface (I / F) and a printer interface (I / F) to be described later, and inputs and outputs image data. It is a bus. The bus is not controlled by the CPU 201, but is controlled by the bus controller 222 to transfer data.

  A scanner unit (image reading device) 217 includes an automatic document feeder and a three-color CCD color sensor of RGB. The image data read by the scanner unit 217 is transferred to the high-speed image bus 216 by a scanner interface unit described later. A function 218 performs an optimal gradation conversion of the image data read by the scanner unit 217 according to the contents of processing in the subsequent process, and converts the read RGB primary color data into CMYBk data. Scanner interface (I / F) provided with

  Reference numeral 219 denotes printing image data received from a printer interface (I / F) described later as a visible image on recording paper, for example, printing an image on recording paper by ink droplets using an inkjet method. A printer such as an ink-jet printer or a laser beam printer that forms an image on a photosensitive drum by using a laser beam by using an electrophotographic technique and forms an image on a recording sheet, and 220 is a high-speed printer having a predetermined bus width. When the image data transferred from the image bus 216 is transferred to the printer 219, a bus width conversion for converting the image data into a bus width corresponding to the gradation of the printer 219 is performed. Printer interface (I / F) used to absorb differences in image data transfer speed A.

  An operation panel 221 includes an LCD, a touch panel attached to the LCD, and a plurality of input keys. A signal input by a touch panel or a key is transmitted to the CPU 201 via a panel interface (I / F) 215, and the LCD is used for image data transmitted from the panel interface (I / F) 215 or for operating the apparatus. Menu, icons, etc. are displayed.

  Further, the external device 224 can perform data communication via the bus interface (I / F) 223.

  Next, the image transfer processing executed in the system having the above configuration will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 and the display screen of the operation panel 221 shown in FIG. Here, it is assumed that image data processing is performed when a document created by the personal computer 102 is output to the copying machines 108 to 110 connected to another network (LAN 106).

  First, in step S101, the personal computer 102 connected to the LAN 101 communicates with the facsimile 103 according to a predetermined protocol, and the facsimile 104 is used to output image data to the copying machines 108 to 110 connected to the LAN 106. Is instructed to connect using the public line 105. Next, in step S102, the facsimile 103 establishes communication with the facsimile 104 using the public line 105 based on the telephone number of the facsimile 104 notified from the personal computer 102. Further, in step S103, the personal computer 102 notified of the establishment of the connection from the facsimile machine 103 to the facsimile machine 104 transmits the information to the job server 107 connected to the LAN 106 to the apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer connected to the LAN 106. Query function information of.

  At this time, the facsimile machines 103 to 104 operate as gateways for connecting the LANs 101 and 106, and the personal computer 102 can communicate with the job server 107 according to a predetermined protocol. That is, the personal computer 102 and the job server 107 perform communication according to the protocol, while the facsimile 103 and 104 exchange the attributes of the protocol and the contents of the communication data as normal facsimile communication data. Is done. Therefore, when data is sent from the facsimile to the LAN, the data format is converted according to the protocol attribute.

  Next, in step S104, the job server 107, which is inquired of the function information of the copying machine or the printer connected to the LAN 106 from the personal computer 102, sends the printing function to the copying machines 108 to 110 according to a predetermined protocol. To obtain information on what kind of page description language can be processed.

  Here, in copier 108 to 110, and acquires information regarding CPU201 can be processed in advance what kind of page description language from RIP 205, the contents of which are stored in the HDD 202. Therefore, when an inquiry about function information is received from an external device such as the job server 107, the information stored in the HDD 202 is transmitted. Further, the copiers 108 to 110 also store basic function information such as the resolution information of the scanner 217 and the capacity of the HDD 202, and similarly, when there is an inquiry from an external device, the information is transmitted to the outside. Can be notified. Then, the job server 107 that has acquired the function information of the copying machines 108 to 110 transmits the function information of the copying machines 108 to 110 connected to the LAN 106 to the personal computer 102.

  Further, in step S105, the personal computer 102 that has received the function information of the copying machines 108 to 110 from the job server 107 displays a selection screen (printer selection screen) as shown in FIG. And ask the user to make a selection. The user selects a copier to output from the screen.

  FIG. 4 is a view of a selection screen showing a state where selection is made from copying machines 108 to 110 connected to LAN 106. In FIG. 4, COPIER1 (LISP) is a copier 108 capable of processing LISP, COPIER2 (PS) is a copier 109 capable of processing PostScript (PS), and COPIER3 (PCL) is a copier capable of processing PCL. 110 is shown. Further, from the selection screen, one of “high-speed transfer” and “normal transfer” can be selected as the transfer mode of the image data. Therefore, in step S105, the transfer mode of the image data is selected.

  Then, in step S105a, it is checked whether the selection mode is high-speed transfer or normal transfer. Here, if it is determined that the transfer mode is the normal transfer mode, the process proceeds to step S106. If it is determined that the mode is the high-speed transfer mode, the process proceeds to step S105b, and the high-speed transfer process is performed. Execute. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S110. This high-speed transfer processing will be described later with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In steps S106 to S109, the personal computer 102 sequentially transfers image data to the copying machines 108 to 110.

  First, in step S106, when the personal computer 102 transfers image data to the copying machine 108, a printer driver is selected and set based on the function information of the copying machine transferred from the job server 107 in advance. Then, the image data to be transferred is converted into a LIPS code, and the image data is transferred to the copying machine 108. Further, in step S108, the end of the transfer is monitored, and if it is determined that the transfer is not completed, the process returns to step S107, but if it is determined that the transfer is completed, the process proceeds to step S109. Then, in step S109, it is determined whether or not image data transfer to all copying machines (here, copying machines 108 to 110) has been completed. Here, if it is determined that the transfer is not completed, the process returns to step S106. On the other hand, if it is determined that the transfer is completed, the process proceeds to step S110.

  As described above, in steps S106 to S109, the personal computer 102 uses the printer driver for the LISP code when transferring the image data to the copying machine 108, and uses the printer driver for the PostScript when transferring the image data to the copying machine 109. When the image data is transferred to the copier 110, the printer driver for PCL is automatically selected in sequence and activated.

  When receiving the LIPS code, the copier 108 transfers the LIPS code to the RIP 205, develops the bitmap here, transfers the bitmap data to the printer 220 via the printer I / F 220, and prints the recording paper. An image is formed on a recording medium and output. Next, when a postscript (PS) code is sent from the personal computer 102, the copying machine 109 receives the code and forms an image in the same manner as the copying machine 108. Further, the PCL code is sent from the personal computer 102. Then, the copier 110 receives this, forms an image in the same manner as the copiers 108 to 109, and prints out.

  When the output of the image data to the copying machines 108 to 110 is completed as described above, the process in step S110 causes the personal computer 102 to instruct the facsimile 103 to disconnect the line connection of the public line 105 with the facsimile 104. , And the process ends.

  Next, the high-speed transfer processing when the high-speed transfer mode is selected as the transfer mode will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, in step S202, the personal computer 102 inquires the job server 107 about an optimal data transfer pattern. In response to this, in step S203, the job server 107 acquires the function information of the copier connected to the LAN 106, and further, in step S204, sends the information to the personal computer 102 between the facsimile machines 103 and 104 based on the information. To transfer image data so that the traffic on the public line 105 is minimized.

  For example, it is assumed that the copying machine 109 can receive the PS code in the RIP 205 and once develop a bitmap image and transfer it to another copying machine via the LAN board 212 using a printer driver installed in advance. When the job server 107 determines based on the function information, the job server 107 notifies the personal computer 102 to transmit the PS code to the copying machine 109. Such control eliminates the need to transfer LISP codes and PCL codes via the public line 105, and minimizes traffic on the public line 105.

  The following processing steps assume the above example for more specific description.

  In step S205, upon receiving the notification from the job server 107, the personal computer 102 automatically selects and sets a PostScript (PS) printer driver. In step S206, the PS code is transferred to the copying machine 109. I do. When the transfer of the PS code to the copier 109 is completed, in step S207, the personal computer 102 instructs the facsimile 103 to disconnect the line connection of the public line 105 with the facsimile 104, and the print processing operation as the personal computer 102 To end.

  On the other hand, in step S208, the copying machine 109 that has received the PS code from the personal computer 102 develops the image into a bitmap based on the received PS code, forms an image with the printer 219, and prints out the image. Next, in step S209, the copier 109 receives the instruction from the job server 107, and in the following step S210, the copier 109 transmits the bitmap-developed image data from the PS code to the specified copiers 108 and 110. To send. At this time, the copier 109 notifies the copiers 108 and 110 of the resolution of the bitmap image data to be transmitted in advance, while the copiers 108 and 110 transmit the image data sent from the copier 109 to the image processing unit. At 206, resolution conversion is performed. Then, in step S211, the copiers 108 and 110 perform image formation and output.

  Therefore, according to the embodiment described above, the most suitable printer driver is selected on the personal computer side which is the image data transfer source according to the capability and the transfer mode of the image data transfer destination copy machine, and the image data is transferred to one copy machine. Control is performed to transfer image data only to Then, one copier that receives the image data from the personal computer distributes the image data to the transfer destination copier. As a result, traffic on the public line is minimized and the period of use of the public line can be shortened, so that the line use cost can be reduced. Further, since the user does not need to switch the printer driver setting for each copying machine, the operability for the user is also improved.

[Second embodiment]
Here, another embodiment of the high-speed transfer processing will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In this flowchart, the same processing steps as already described in FIG. 5 are denoted by the same step reference numbers. Therefore, the description of these processing steps is omitted, and here, only the processing characteristic of this embodiment will be described.

  Further, here, an example is considered in which the copier 109 has a function of receiving the PS code in the RIP 205 and temporarily storing image data that has been bit-mapped once in the HDD 202 or the memory 203.

  After the processing in steps S202 to S204, in step S204a, the job server 107 notifies the copying machine 108 and the copying machine 110 that the image data is stored in the copying machine 109, and the copying machine 109 After receiving the PS code, an instruction is issued to issue an instruction to output the image data stored in the HDD 202 or the memory 203 after bitmap development.

  On the other hand, after the processing in steps S205 to S208, in step S209a, the copying machine 108 and the copying machine 110 issue a transfer request for image data to the copying machine 109 based on the instruction from the job server 107 in step S204a. In response to the request, the copier 109 completes the bitmap development of the PS code transferred from the personal computer 102, and if the copier 109 can communicate with an external device via the LAN 106, the developed bitmap data is The data is transferred to the copying machine 108 and the copying machine 110.

  Finally, in step S208b, upon receiving the bitmap image data from the copying machine 109, the copying machines 108 and 110 transfer the image data to the respective printers 219, form an image, and print out.

Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, the job server 107 notifies the respective copying machines that output images of the job contents, and the copying machines 108 and 110 request the copying machine 109 to transfer image data. Therefore, the copier 109 accesses the copier 108 and the copier 110 to retransmit the image data, and does not have to wait until each of them receives the image transfer. There is an advantage that it is not necessary to perform a complicated process.

[Third embodiment]
Here, in addition to the processing in the first embodiment, the image data transfer processing that further enhances the line use efficiency and reduces the line cost will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In this flowchart, the same processing steps as those already described in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same step reference numbers. Therefore, the description of these processing steps is omitted, and here, only the processing characteristic of this embodiment will be described.

  After the processing in steps S101 to S103, in step S404, if the communication load on the LAN 106 is high and the job server 107 cannot immediately acquire the function information of the copying machine or the like connected to the LAN 106, the job server 107 It communicates, acquires its telephone number, and stores its contents. Next, in step S405, the job server 107 communicates with the personal computer 102, acquires the physical address of the personal computer 102 on the LAN 101, and stores the content. In step S406, the personal computer 102 is requested to disconnect the line connection with the public line 105. In response, in step S407, the personal computer 102 once instructs the facsimile 103 to disconnect the line connection of the public line 105. As a result, the line connection of the public line 105 is disconnected.

  In step S408, when the communication load of the LAN is reduced and the job server 107 can acquire the function information of the copying machine and the like connected to the LAN 106, the job server 107 stores the information in the facsimile 104 in advance in step S409. The telephone number of the facsimile 103 is notified, and a line connection via the public line 105 to the facsimile 103 is instructed. In this way, when the line connection is restored and the job server 107 is notified that the connection from the facsimile machine 104 to the facsimile machine 103 has been completed, the process proceeds to step S410. The personal computer 102 is accessed based on the address, and the function information of the copying machine or the like connected to the LAN 106 is transferred.

  Next, the personal computer 102 that has received the function information transfers the image data to the copying machine selected by the user in step S411, and when the data transfer ends, in step S412, the data transfer to the job server 107 is performed. Notify that it has finished. When the job server 107 is notified of the end of the data transfer and finally instructs disconnection of the line in step S413, the facsimile machine 104 disconnects the line connection of the public line 105 in response to the instruction and ends the processing. I do.

  Therefore, according to the embodiment described above, when the personal computer 102 requests function information of the device connected to the LAN 106, if the communication load of the LAN 106 is high and the job server 107 cannot respond immediately, After the connection is cut off and the function information is obtained, the public line is connected again to perform communication, so that the public line is not continuously connected unnecessarily without actual communication. As a result, unnecessary line costs can be reduced.

  Further, an object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus to store the storage medium. It is needless to say that the present invention can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in the program.

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

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

  When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a part or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

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

  When the present invention is applied to the storage medium, the storage medium stores program codes corresponding to the above-described flowcharts. In brief, an example of the memory map shown in FIG. Each module will be stored in a storage medium. That is, the program codes of at least the “connection processing module”, “designated processing module”, “generation processing module”, and “transfer processing module” may be stored in the storage medium.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image transfer system that is a typical embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of copying machines 108 to 110. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an image transfer process according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display screen of an operation panel 221. 5 is a flowchart illustrating high-speed transfer processing according to the first embodiment. 9 is a flowchart illustrating high-speed transfer processing according to the second embodiment. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an image transfer process according to a third embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a memory map.

Explanation of reference numerals

101, 106 LAN
102 Personal computer (PC)
103-104 Facsimile 105 Public line 107 Job server 108-110 Copier (image forming apparatus)

Claims (10)

Storage means for storing image data provided in at least one of a plurality of devices constituting the image forming system;
Notifying means for notifying an image forming apparatus other than the apparatus provided with the storage means a notification corresponding to the fact that the image data is held in the storage means based on data transmission from the data generation apparatus,
An image forming system comprising: a transfer unit configured to transfer the image data to a transfer requesting image forming apparatus in response to a transfer request of the image data from the image forming apparatus after the notification by the notifying unit. The number of the image forming apparatuses that the notification unit notifies is plural,
The transfer unit transfers the image data to each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses that are transfer request sources in response to a transfer request of the image data from the plurality of image forming apparatuses after the notification. The image forming system according to claim 1.   The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the notification by the notification unit is an instruction to output the stored image data.   The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus forms an image based on the image data transferred by the transfer unit. Storage means for holding data provided in at least one of a plurality of devices constituting the image forming system;
Transfer means for transferring the data to each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses in response to a transfer request of the data held in the storage means from a plurality of image forming apparatuses other than the apparatus provided with the storage means. And
An image forming system, wherein each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses performs a print output based on data transferred in response to a transfer request. A processing method in an image forming system,
Based on the data transmission from the data generation device, the storage unit notifies the storage unit provided in at least one of the plurality of devices constituting the image forming system that the image data is held in the storage unit. A notification step of notifying an image forming apparatus other than the provided apparatus,
A transfer control step of transferring the image data to the transfer requesting image forming apparatus in response to a transfer request of the image data from the image forming apparatus after the notification in the notification step. Processing method. The notification in the notification step is made to a plurality of image forming apparatuses,
The transfer control step transfers the image data to each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses that are transfer request sources in response to the transfer request of the image data from the plurality of image forming apparatuses after the notification. The processing method according to claim 6, wherein   The processing method according to claim 6, wherein the notification in the notification step is an instruction to output the held image data.   9. The processing method according to claim 6, wherein the image forming apparatus forms an image based on the image data transferred in the transfer control step. A processing method in an image forming system,
A storage step of storing data in a storage unit provided in at least one of a plurality of apparatuses constituting the image forming system;
A transfer step of transferring the data to each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses in response to a transfer request of the data held in the storage section from a plurality of image forming apparatuses other than the apparatus provided with the storage section. And
A processing method, wherein each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses performs a print output based on data transferred in response to a transfer request.

Images