JP2004229120A - Image formating system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming system which effectively shares a printing processing in the condition that a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected. <P>SOLUTION: Any one image forming apparatus is taken for a master unit to transfer read image data to a plurality of other apparatus to be slave units. A connection I/F driver is provided for sharing the printing with the master and slave units as a joint job to process in parallel. When the master unit starts a copy operation, a read operation is executed in the reference numeral 1 and a printing operation is executed in the numeral 2. The slave unit starts operating after completion of a previous job in the numeral 4. After the previous job 4 ends, an operation in the numeral 3 is made for transferring images read by the master unit. This transfer sends images one after another in the reverse order of manuscript numbers and hence starts from the image with a manuscript number 5. The slave unit prints the images in a printing process in the numeral 5, starting from the image with the manuscript number 5. Outputs of the master unit/slave units are collected to complete all the prints, thus finishing the job. As the result memory resources at the slave units are efficiently usable. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image forming system including a plurality of electrically connectable image forming apparatuses, and more particularly, to an image forming system including an image forming apparatus capable of sharing and printing a print function.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional image forming apparatus, there is known a technique in which a plurality of digital copying machines are functionally connected and used. The connection mode is selected on the master device side, the read image is shared by the connected slave devices, and the printing operation is performed in parallel to obtain the total performance.
[0003]
For example, when 100 originals are copied, if there are two image forming apparatuses in a connected state, the printing operation is performed 50 sheets per one, and this function is a function to shorten the total printing time.
[0004]
In addition, in a multi-function device (hereinafter referred to as an MF device) in which a plurality of applications such as a printer and a facsimile are effective irrespective of only copying, a technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-163555, for example, is a technology for effectively using a memory shared resource. When a plurality of applications use the memory sharing resource, a memory controller for arbitration is provided and realized.
[0005]
Further, in the technique described in Patent Document 2, a memory area for a linking operation is secured, and when the linking operation is not performed, the memory area can be used in a single operation. When a linking operation is instructed, the remaining area is opened. I am trying to do it.
[0006]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 10-74163 A [Patent Document 2]
JP 2001-13827 A
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional method, if the image transfer is performed at the start of the connection operation, there is a case where the memory resource is restricted in the operation by another application on the slave unit side.
[0008]
For example, if the slave unit transfers an image by linking during the execution of the previous job, the memory area used by the previous job may be squeezed, and in the worst case, the previous job and the next linked job It is also conceivable that competition for memory resources may occur, resulting in a deadlock state. Further, when the slave unit attempts to register the next unconnected job, there is a possibility that the memory resource cannot be obtained similarly.
[0009]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the invention according to claim 1 is to transfer a transfer image to the slave unit from the last page when the slave unit prints pages in reverse order in the stack mode. An object of the present invention is to transfer data in reverse order so that the slave unit can immediately start a printing operation and efficiently acquire memory resources of the slave unit.
[0010]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, image transfer is not performed for an image for which printing has already been completed on the master unit, so that memory resources on the slave unit are not unnecessarily consumed. Also, it aims at reducing the traffic on the communication path.
[0011]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the transfer of the image read by the master unit to the slave unit is completed, and the printing of the image is normally completed by the slave unit and also normally by the master unit, the master / child unit is completed. The purpose is to efficiently use memory resources and to reduce traffic on communication paths by deleting each image.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 includes a reading unit that reads a document as image data, an image processing unit that performs image processing on image data read by the reading unit, and an image forming unit that performs image forming. An image forming system having a connection system formed by electrically connecting a plurality of image forming apparatuses each provided with a unit for printing the selected image data, wherein any one of the plurality of image forming apparatuses is provided. A plurality of image forming apparatuses serving as a master unit, transferring the read image data to another image forming apparatus serving as a slave unit, and allowing the parent and child to share the printing as a connected job and process the images in parallel. In the system in which the slave unit prints images to be printed in reverse order in the mode, transfer images to the slave unit should be transferred in reverse order from the last page. And butterflies.
[0013]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming system according to the first aspect, image transfer is not performed for an image for which printing has already been completed on the master device side.
[0014]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming system according to the first or second aspect, the transfer of the image read by the master unit to the slave unit is completed, and the image is normally printed by the slave unit. The image of each of the parent and the child is deleted when printing is normally completed on the parent machine.
[0015]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0016]
FIG. 1 shows an image forming apparatus of the present invention.
When the start key 34 on the operation unit 30 is pressed, the original bundle placed on the original platen 2 of the automatic document feeder (hereinafter ADF) 1 is pressed. Is fed to a predetermined position on the contact glass 6 by a feed roller 3 and a feed belt 4. After the reading unit 50 reads the image data of the document on the contact glass 6, the document that has been read is discharged by the feed belt 4 and the discharge roller 5. Further, when the document set detection 7 detects that the next document is present on the document table 2, the document is fed onto the contact glass 6 in the same manner as the previous document. The feed roller 3, the feed belt 4, and the discharge roller 5 are driven by a motor.
[0017]
The transfer sheets stacked on the first tray 8, the second tray 9, and the third tray 10 are fed by the first sheet feeding device 11, the second sheet feeding device 12, and the third sheet feeding device 13, respectively, and are vertically conveyed. The sheet is transported by the unit 14 to a position where it contacts the photoconductor 15. The image data read by the reading unit 50 is written on the photoconductor 15 by the laser from the writing unit 57, and passes through the developing unit 27 to form a toner image. Then, the toner image on the photoconductor 15 is transferred while the transfer paper is conveyed by the conveyance belt 16 at the same speed as the rotation of the photoconductor 15. Thereafter, the image is fixed by the fixing unit 17, and the image is discharged to the finisher 100 of the post-processing device by the sheet discharging unit 18.
[0018]
The finisher 100 of the post-processing apparatus can guide the paper toward the normal paper discharge roller 102 and the staple processing unit. By switching the switching plate 101 upward, the sheet can be discharged to the normal sheet discharge tray 104 via the transport roller 103. Further, by switching the switching plate 101 downward, the sheet can be conveyed to the staple table 108 via the conveying rollers 105 and 107.
[0019]
The transfer paper stacked on the staple table 108 is aligned with the jogger 109 for paper alignment every time one sheet is discharged, and is stapled by the stapler 106 when a part of the copy is completed. The transfer paper group bound by the stapler 106 is stored in the stapling completion paper discharge tray 110 by its own weight.
[0020]
On the other hand, the normal paper discharge tray 104 is a paper discharge tray that can move back and forth. The paper discharge tray unit 104 that can be moved back and forth moves back and forth and sorts the discharged copy paper easily for each document or for each copy unit sorted by the image memory.
[0021]
When forming an image on both sides of the transfer paper, the transfer paper fed and imaged from each of the paper feed trays 8 to 10 is not guided to the paper discharge tray 104 side, and the branch claw 112 for path switching is set. By setting it on the upper side, it is once stocked in the duplex sheet feeding unit 111.
[0022]
Thereafter, the transfer paper stocked in the duplex paper supply unit 111 is re-fed from the duplex paper supply unit 111 in order to transfer the toner image formed on the photoconductor 15 again, and the branch claws 112 for switching the path. Is set on the lower side, and guided to the discharge tray 104. As described above, the double-sided paper feeding unit 111 is used when forming images on both sides of the transfer paper.
[0023]
The photoconductor 15, the transport belt 16, the fixing unit 17, the paper discharging unit 18, and the developing unit 27 are driven by a main motor 25, and the respective paper feeding devices 11 to 13 drive the main motor 25 by paper feeding clutches 22 to 24, respectively. Driven by transmission. The vertical transport unit 14 is driven to transmit the drive of the main motor 25 by the intermediate clutch 21.
[0024]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the operation unit 30.
The operation unit 30 has a liquid crystal touch panel 31, a numeric keypad 32, a clear / stop key 33, a print key 34, a preheat key 35, and a reset key 36. The liquid crystal touch panel 31 has keys for setting a mode to be described later and image forming. A message indicating the status of the device is displayed.
[0025]
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display on the liquid crystal touch panel 31 of the operation unit 30.
When the operator touches a key displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 31, the key indicating the selected function is inverted to black. When the details of the function need to be specified (for example, in the case of scaling, a scaling value or the like), by touching a key, a setting screen for a detailed function is displayed. As described above, since the liquid crystal touch panel uses the dot display, the optimal display at that time can be graphically performed.
[0026]
In FIG. 3, the upper left is a message area for displaying a message such as "Ready to copy" or "Please wait", and the right is a copy number display for displaying the number of sheets set, and an automatic sheet for automatically selecting a transfer sheet. Selection key, sort key to specify the process to arrange copies one by one in the page order, stack key to specify the process to sort copies by page, staple key to specify the process to bind the sorted items one by one, The same-size key for setting the same size, the scaling key for setting the enlargement / reduction ratio, the two-sided key for setting the duplex mode, the edit key for setting the binding margin mode, etc., and the cover / interleaf for setting the cover / interleaf mode The key is a link mode key for printing out a large number of print operations by dividing them into a plurality of print operations via a digital copier network.
[0027]
Further, the state of the paper feed tray corresponding to the number of paper feed trays is shown, and a key for manually setting the paper feed tray is displayed for each paper feed tray.
[0028]
In FIG. 4, when a certain input is performed from the operation unit 30 by the user, the main controller 20 operates the transport motor 26 and the main motor 25, causes the ADF 1 to read a document image, and operates the clutches (21 to 24). The document image is fed under control. The processing signal transmitted from the operation unit 30 is transmitted to the IPU 49, and is used when performing image processing described later with reference to FIG.
[0029]
With reference to FIG. 1, the image reading means and the operation up to the formation of a latent image on a recording surface according to the present invention will be described. A latent image is a potential distribution generated by converting an image into optical information and irradiating the image on the photoreceptor surface.
[0030]
The reading unit 50 includes a contact glass 6 on which a document is placed and an optical scanning system. The optical scanning system includes an exposure lamp 51, a first mirror 52, a lens 53, a CCD image sensor 54, and the like. I have. The exposure lamp 51 and the first mirror 52 are fixed on a first carriage (not shown), and the second mirror 55 and the third mirror 56 are fixed on a second carriage (not shown). When reading a document image, the first carriage and the second carriage are mechanically scanned at a relative speed of 2: 1 so that the optical path length does not change. This optical scanning system is driven by a scanner drive motor (not shown). The document image is read by the CCD image sensor 54, converted into an electric signal, and processed. By moving the lens 53 and the CCD image sensor 54 in the left-right direction in FIG. 1, the image magnification changes. That is, the positions of the lens 53 and the CCD image sensor 54 in the left-right direction are set corresponding to the designated magnification.
[0031]
The writing unit 57 includes a laser output unit 58, an imaging lens 59, and a mirror 60. Inside the laser output unit 58, a rotating polygon mirror (polygon mirror) that rotates at a high speed at a constant speed by a laser diode as a laser light source and a motor. ) Is provided.
[0032]
The laser light emitted from the laser output unit 58 is polarized by a polygon mirror that rotates at a constant speed, passes through the imaging lens 59, is turned back by the mirror 60, and forms a focused image on the surface of the photoconductor.
[0033]
The polarized laser light is exposed and scanned in a direction (main scanning direction) orthogonal to the direction in which the photoconductor rotates, and performs recording in units of lines of an image signal output from a selector 64 of an image processing unit described later. An image (electrostatic latent image) is formed on the photoconductor surface by repeating main scanning at a predetermined cycle corresponding to the rotation speed of the photoconductor and the recording density.
[0034]
As described above, the laser light output from the writing unit 57 is applied to the photoconductor 15 of the image forming system. Although not shown, a beam sensor that generates a main scanning synchronization signal is disposed at a position near one end of the photoconductor 15 where the laser beam is irradiated. Based on the main scanning synchronization signal, control of image recording start timing in the main scanning direction and generation of a control signal for inputting and outputting an image signal described later are performed.
[0035]
The configuration of the image processing unit (image reading unit and image writing unit) in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The light emitted from the exposure lamp 51 irradiates the original surface, and the reflected light from the original surface is imaged and received by an image forming lens (not shown) by the CCD image sensor 54 and photoelectrically converted. The signal is converted into a digital signal by the D converter 61. The image signal converted into the digital signal is subjected to MTF correction, γ correction, and the like in the image processing unit 63 after being subjected to shading correction 62. In the selector 64, the destination of the image signal is switched to the write γ correction unit 71 or the image memory controller 65. The image signal that has passed through the writing γ correction unit 71 is sent to the writing unit 57. The image memory controller 65 and the selector 64 are configured so that image signals can be input and output in both directions. Although not explicitly shown in FIG. 5, the image processing unit (IPU) 49 includes image data supplied from outside in addition to the image data input from the reading unit 50 (for example, from a data processing device such as a personal computer). It has a function of selecting input / output of a plurality of data so that output data can be processed.
[0036]
Further, a CPU 68 for setting the image memory controller 65 and the like and controlling the reading unit 50 and the writing unit 57, and a ROM 69 and a RAM 70 for storing the programs and data are provided. Further, the CPU 68 can write and read data in the image memory 66 via the memory controller 65. Further, an HDD 71 for saving and storing the contents of the image memory 66 is provided.
[0037]
Here, an image signal for one page in the selector 64 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0038]
/ FGATE indicates the effective period of one page of image data in the sub-scanning direction. / LSYNC is a main scanning synchronization signal for each line, and the image signal becomes valid at a predetermined clock after this signal rises. A signal indicating that the image signal in the main scanning direction is valid is / LGATE. These signals are synchronized with the pixel clock VCLK, and data of one pixel is sent for one cycle of VCLK. The image processing unit (IPU) 49 has a separate / FGATE, / LSYNC, / LGATE, and VCLK generation mechanism for image input and output, respectively, and enables various combinations of image input / output. .
[0039]
In order to share work, it is necessary to transmit and receive image data and commands to and from another digital copying machine. In this embodiment, the transmission and reception of image data and commands are performed by connecting the IEEE1394 connection I / F 48 and transmitting and receiving commands. A serial communication line is used for transmission and reception. The memory controller 65 of FIG. 5 realizes this via a connection interface driver.
[0040]
Next, a software control module configuration in the present image forming apparatus, image transfer, and print control will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a software module configuration.
[0041]
The job information set in the application layer is transferred to the control service layer with a start key or the like as a trigger.
The control service layer interprets job information from the application and requests process information for operating the handler layer from the handler manager.
[0042]
The handler manager operates individual handlers according to the process information.
In the handler,
Scanner handler that controls the reading unit Image memory handler that controls the input and output of image data to the image memory and plotter handler that controls the paper transport and post-processing peripherals. Then, the image data is stored in the image memory and the image forming process is performed.
[0043]
Further, the present image forming apparatus is provided with a connection I / F driver for connecting with another image forming apparatus, so that image data and command information can be exchanged via this I / F (connection I / F 48). Has become.
[0044]
In the case of a single copy job, the procedure of reading and storing an image and the procedure of printing a stored image are performed. In the case of a linked copy job, the following control is added in addition to the above procedure.
[0045]
For the linked copy job that occurred on the master unit, the process of storing the image read by the scanner in the image memory after the job information was interpreted in the control service of the master unit, and transferring the image to the image memory of the slave unit To be executed separately.
[0046]
When the required image transfer is completed, the control service of the slave unit generates a print process that refers to the image data that has been transferred in advance, according to the information received from the control service of the master unit, and prints the print process on the handler manager of the slave unit. Request.
[0047]
Then, the control service of the slave unit notifies the master unit of the print job processed by the master unit sequentially. According to this information, the control service of the master unit monitors the progress of the print job of its own unit and the print job of the slave unit, and performs printing as needed.
[0048]
<Example 1>
FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation for claim 1.
[0049]
FIG. 8 shows an image of a one-to-one connection, in which a connection operation is started during execution of a previous job on the slave unit side. The horizontal axis indicates time. The operation in five originals, a stack mode as a finish, and a repeat 7 mode is shown.
[0050]
When the master unit starts a copy operation, a read operation is executed at 1 and a print operation at 2 is started.
[0051]
Reference numerals 1 to 5 in FIG. 8 indicate document numbers, and indicate that the document performs a reading operation from the first page to the fifth page. Since printing is stack and repeat 7, printing of document number 1 is performed seven times as shown in the figure. Thereafter, printing on the document 2 continues.
[0052]
Here, since the slave unit is executing the previous job at 4, the slave unit job as a linked operation is a reserved job, and the actual operation is started after the completion of the previous job.
[0053]
Then, when the preceding job of 4 is completed, the order of execution of the linked slave unit jobs is established, so that the operation of 3 for transferring the image read by the master unit is performed here. Since this transfer is performed in the reverse order of the read document number, in this example, the images are transferred in order from the image of document number 5.
[0054]
Since the print image on the slave unit side can be printed as soon as it is prepared, print processing 5 is performed. Since printing is performed in reverse order, printing is performed from the image of document number 5 that has been sent.
[0055]
The job ends when all printing is completed with the outputs of the parent machine / child machine.
[0056]
<Example 2>
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the operation for claim 2.
[0057]
FIG. 9 shows an image of a one-to-one connection, in which a connection operation is started during execution of a previous job on the child device side. The horizontal axis indicates time. The operation in five originals, a stack mode as a finish, and a repeat 7 mode is shown.
[0058]
When the master unit starts a copy operation, a read operation is executed at 1 and a print operation at 2 is started.
[0059]
Reference numerals 1 to 5 in FIG. 9 indicate document numbers, and indicate that the document performs a reading operation from the first page to the fifth page. Since printing is stack and repeat 7, printing of document number 1 is performed seven times as shown in the figure. Thereafter, printing on the document 2 continues. Here, since the slave unit is executing the previous job at 4, the slave unit job as a linked operation is a reserved job, and the actual operation is started after the completion of the previous job.
[0060]
Then, when the preceding job of 4 is completed, the order of execution of the linked slave unit jobs is established, so that the operation of 3 for transferring the image read by the master unit is performed here. Since this transfer is performed in the reverse order of the read document number, in this example, the images are transferred in order from the image of document number 5. However, when the transfer of the image of document number 3 is completed, the printing of the image of document number 2 has been completed on the master device side, and therefore the images of document number 2 and document number 1 are not transferred to the slave device side.
[0061]
Since the print image on the slave unit side can be printed as soon as it is prepared, print processing 5 is performed. Since printing is performed in reverse order, printing is performed from the image of document number 5 that has been sent.
[0062]
The job ends when all printing is completed with the outputs of the parent machine / child machine.
[0063]
<Example 3>
FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation according to claim 3.
[0064]
FIG. 10 shows an image of a one-to-one connection, in which a connection operation is started during execution of a previous job on the slave unit side. The horizontal axis indicates time. The operation in five originals, a stack mode as a finish, and a repeat 7 mode is shown.
[0065]
When the master unit starts a copy operation, a read operation is executed at 1 and a print operation at 2 is started.
[0066]
Reference numerals 1 to 5 in FIG. 10 indicate document numbers, which indicate that the document performs a reading operation from the first page to the fifth page. Since printing is a stack and repeat 7, printing of document number 1 is performed seven times as shown in FIG. Thereafter, printing on the document 2 continues.
[0067]
Here, since the slave unit is executing the previous job at 4, the slave unit job as a linked operation is a reserved job, and the actual operation is started after the completion of the previous job.
[0068]
Then, when the preceding job of 4 is completed, the order of execution of the linked slave unit jobs is established, so that the operation of 3 for transferring the image read by the master unit is performed here. Since this transfer is performed in the reverse order of the read document number, in this example, the images are transferred in order from the image of document number 5. However, when the transfer of the image of document number 3 is completed, the printing of the image of document number 2 has been completed on the master device side, and therefore the images of document number 2 and document number 1 are not transferred to the slave device side.
[0069]
Since the print image on the slave unit side can be printed as soon as it is prepared, print processing 5 is performed. Since printing is performed in reverse order, printing is performed from the image of document number 5 that has been sent.
[0070]
The timing a in the figure indicates that the printing of the image of document number 5 has been completed on the slave device side, and the image of document number 5 is deleted by the parent / child at this timing.
[0071]
Similarly, at timing b, the printing of the image of document number 4 has been completed for the parent / child together, so the image of document number 4 is deleted by the parent / child.
The job ends when all printing is completed with the outputs of the parent machine / child machine.
[0072]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
[0073]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the case where the page is printed in the reverse order in the slave mode in the stack mode, the transfer image to the slave is transferred in reverse order from the last page, so that the handset prints immediately. The operation can be started, and the memory resources of the slave unit can be efficiently acquired.
[0074]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, image transfer is not performed for an image that has already been printed on the master device, so that memory resources on the slave device are not unnecessarily consumed. And the traffic on the communication path can be reduced.
[0075]
In the invention according to claim 3, the transfer of the image read by the master unit to the slave unit is completed, and when the master unit successfully prints the image and the master unit successfully finishes printing the image, Since each image is deleted, it is possible to efficiently use memory resources and reduce traffic on a communication path.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external view of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an operation unit 30.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a liquid crystal touch panel 31 of the operation unit 30.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a main controller 20 and a control target thereof.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing unit (IPU) 49.
FIG. 6 is a timing chart of an image signal for one page in the selector 64;
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a module configuration of software.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the first embodiment.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the second embodiment.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a third embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Automatic Document Feeder (ADF)
2 Document table 3 Feed roller 4 Feed belt 5 Discharge roller 6 Contact glass 7 Document set detection 8 First tray 9 Second tray 10 Third tray 11 First feed unit 12 Second feed unit 13 Third feed Paper unit 14 Vertical transport unit 15 Photoconductor 16 Transport belt 17 Fixing unit 18 Discharge unit 50 Reading unit 51 Exposure lamp 52 First mirror 53 Lens 54 CCD image sensor 55 Second mirror 56 Third mirror 57 Writing unit 58 Laser output unit 59 imaging lens 60 mirror 100 finisher 101 branch deflection plate 102 stacker transport roller 103 stacker discharge roller 104 stacker tray 105 stapler transport roller 106 stapler 107 stapler discharge roller 108 stapler tray 109 drop stopper 1 0 drop tray 111 duplex paper feed unit 112 branch claw

Claims (3)

A plurality of units including a reading unit that reads a document as image data, an image processing unit that performs image processing on the image data read by the reading unit, and a unit that prints image data formed by the image processing unit An image forming system having a connection system configured by electrically connecting the image forming apparatuses,
Any one of the plurality of image forming apparatuses serves as a master unit, and transfers the read image data to another image forming apparatus serving as a slave unit. In a system comprising means for sharing printing and processing in parallel, and in the stack mode, the slave unit side prints images to be printed in reverse order.
An image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the transfer image to the slave unit is transferred in reverse order from the last page. 2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein image transfer is not performed for an image for which printing has already been completed on the master device side. The transfer of the image read by the master unit to the slave unit is completed, and when the image is normally printed on the slave unit and the printing is also successfully completed on the master unit, the image of each of the master / child is completed. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the image is deleted.

Images