JP2006172095A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of smoothly forcing an urgent job in an active print job without dissatisfying the client of the active print job. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus is provided with a discriminating means 2a for discriminating whether an inputted print job is an urgent job, an LCD 71 for displaying a message for allowing an operating part 70 to selectively input whether to allow interruption in the currently active print job, a clocking means 2c for starting clocking in response to the display of the message, a queue preparing means 2d for changing a print queue so as to make the execution order of an urgent job to be the first when a selective input is not performed to the message when a prescribed time is clocked, and a printer part 80 for interrupting the currently active print job and forming an image based on the urgent job according to the changed print queue. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image based on image data on a recording sheet, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus that can store a plurality of jobs in a print waiting state.

  In an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a multifunction peripheral, a configuration is generally used in which a plurality of print jobs are accumulated in a print waiting state and the output order of these jobs is managed in a queue (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In addition, various devices have been conventionally used for processing when a highly urgent job (referred to as an urgent job) is input.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which when a new emergency job is input, the queue is changed so that the new emergency job is executed next to the job currently being printed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 describes a configuration in which a print job currently being printed is interrupted and an emergency job is interrupted and output.

  As described above, if a subsequent job is preferentially output according to the urgency level of the job, the requester of the preceding job that was postponed may feel dissatisfied.

  The invention described in Patent Document 3 focuses on such problems. When a new job with an interrupt request is input, a dialog requesting permission for interrupt is displayed on the terminal device that has transmitted the preceding job. In response to the permission of the requester of the preceding job, an interrupt output of a new job is executed.

  However, there are cases where a requester of a job or the like currently being printed is waiting for the completion of his job in front of the image forming apparatus. This is particularly likely when the job being executed is urgent. In such a case, the interruption permission cannot be input from the terminal device, and the newly input emergency job is postponed, so that there is a problem that it is not preferentially processed. In particular, if this emergency job is truly urgent, the inconvenience is significant. In addition, in the case where it is not desired to permit interruption, if the interruption is made suddenly while waiting for the finish in front of the image forming apparatus, the requester of the preceding job will feel extremely dissatisfied.

JP-A-8-292854 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-219727 JP-A-11-212745

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it is possible to smoothly perform interrupt processing of a highly urgent job without causing dissatisfaction with the requester of the currently executing print job. An object is to provide an image forming apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 includes a queue creation means for creating a print queue that defines an execution order of print jobs, and an execution order defined by the print queue. An image forming apparatus that includes a printing unit that sequentially forms images based on the print job on recording paper, and whether the print job input from the operation unit and the client connected via the network is an emergency job. Determining means for determining whether the input print job is an emergency job, and determining whether to permit interruption of the emergency job for the currently executing print job. And an output means for outputting a selection request for selection input.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a timing unit that starts timing in response to the output of the selection request by the output unit, When the selection input for the selection request has not been made before the predetermined time is counted by the timing unit, the queue creation unit causes the print queue to interrupt the execution order of the emergency job first. The printing unit suspends the currently executing print job, and forms an image based on the emergency job according to the changed print queue.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the queue creation means interrupts the emergency job in response to the selection request output by the output means. The print queue is changed so that the emergency job is interrupted at the next execution order of the print job that is currently being executed when the selection input indicating that permission is not permitted is made.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the selection for permitting the interruption of the emergency job in response to the selection request output by the output unit. When an input is made, the queue creation unit changes the print queue so that the execution order of the emergency job is interrupted first, and the printing unit interrupts the currently executing print job. Forming an image based on the emergency job in accordance with the changed print queue.

The invention according to claim 5 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print job input from the client includes requester information for identifying a requester of the print job. ,
Requester information for determining whether the requester information of the emergency job and the requester information of the currently executed print job are the same when the input print job is determined to be an emergency job A determination unit, and when the determination is made that the requester information of the emergency job is the same as the requester information of the print job currently being executed, the output unit outputs the selection request. First, the queue creation means changes the print queue so that the execution order of the emergency job is interrupted first, and the printing means interrupts the currently executing print job and the changed An image based on the emergency job is formed according to the print queue.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, when an emergency job is included in a print job waiting to be printed, a new emergency job is input from the client. In this case, the output means does not output the selection request, and the queue creation means outputs the new emergency job after the emergency job with the last execution order among the emergency jobs waiting to be printed. The print queue is changed to interrupt the execution order.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein each of the preset number of output copies is set for the recording paper on which the image based on the print job is formed. And post-processing means for performing post-processing for each of the copies, and detecting whether or not the post-processing for the currently executing print job is in the middle of a copy when a print job is input from the client And the output means outputs the selection request when it is detected that the post-processing is not in the middle of the unit.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the output unit determines whether or not to permit interruption of the emergency job. Display means for displaying a message prompting the selection input as the selection request.

  The invention according to claim 9 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the output means outputs a warning sound when displaying the message on the display means. .

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when an urgent job is input while a preceding print job is being executed, a selection request for selectively inputting whether or not to permit interruption of the urgent job is output. It is configured. In many cases, a requester of a print job being executed is waiting for the finish on the side of the image forming apparatus. This requester can select and input interrupt permission / disapproval based on his / her own judgment for the output selection request, so even if an emergency job interrupts, he / she will not be dissatisfied, Accordingly, the interrupt process is executed smoothly.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the selection input for the selection request is not performed within a predetermined time from the display start of the selection request, the print job being executed is interrupted and the emergency job is interrupted and output. It is like that. If there is no selection input for the selection request, it is considered that the requester of the print job being executed is not waiting for the finish by the side of the image forming apparatus, and the print job is presumed not to be highly urgent. The present invention performs an emergency job interrupt process in such a case. As a result, it is possible to quickly process an emergency job without frustrating the requester of the print job being executed.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the input requester of the emergency job and the requester of the print job being executed are the same, the emergency job can be interrupted. The present invention is based on the fact that when the same requester inputs an urgent job later, it is possible to estimate that the subsequent urgent job is more urgent than the preceding print job. Thereby, an emergency job can be processed smoothly.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, a selection request is displayed when post-processing of a print job being executed at the time of inputting an emergency job is not in the middle of a copy, and selection input by the requester of the print job being executed Depending on the situation, emergency jobs are interrupted. As a result, in the case where both the print job being executed and the emergency job are jobs to be post-processed, it is possible to avoid the situation where post-processing is performed due to the mixed recording paper of both jobs, and the post-emergency job. Processing can be performed smoothly.

  An example of a preferred embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

〔Device configuration〕
A configuration of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus showing a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

  The image forming apparatus shown in the figure includes an image forming apparatus main body GH and a post-processing apparatus (finisher) FS. The image forming apparatus main body GH includes an image reading unit 1, an image processing unit 2, an image writing unit 3, an image forming unit 4, a paper feeding tray unit 5, a large capacity paper feeding unit 6, a fixing processing unit 7, and a paper discharging unit 8. , And an automatic double-sided copy paper feeder 9.

  The post-processing device FS has a configuration for executing post-processing such as stapling processing and punching processing, which will be described later, and corresponds to “post-processing means” of the present invention. The paper feed tray 5 can be pulled out to the front side of the sheet of FIG. 1, and the recording paper CP is replenished in this state. Further, the large-capacity paper feed unit 6 can be pulled out in the right direction in FIG. 1, and the recording paper CP is replenished in this state.

  An automatic document feeder DF is mounted on the upper part of the image forming apparatus main body GH. A post-processing device FS is connected to the paper discharge unit 8 side on the left side of the image forming apparatus main body GH.

  A document GK placed on the document table of the automatic document feeder DF is conveyed in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and an image on one or both sides of the document is read by the optical system of the image reading unit 1, and is read by the CCD image sensor 1A. Is read. A document stage GS is provided below the automatic document feeder DF, on which the document is placed when the document is read one by one.

  The analog signal photoelectrically converted by the CCD image sensor 1A is subjected to analog processing, A / D conversion, shading correction, image compression processing, and the like in the image processing unit 2, and then transmitted to the image writing unit 3.

  The image processing unit 2 is connected to a client PC 90 described later, receives image data sent from the client PC 90, and transmits the image data to the image writing unit 3.

  In the image writing unit 3, output light from the semiconductor laser is applied to the photosensitive drum of the image forming unit 4 to form a latent image. In the image forming unit 4, processing such as charging, exposure, development, transfer, separation, and cleaning is performed, and the image is transferred to the recording paper CP conveyed from the paper feed tray unit 5 or the large-capacity paper feed unit 6. The The recording paper CP carrying the image is subjected to fixing processing by the fixing processing unit 7 and then conveyed to the post-processing device FS by the paper discharge roller 8. Here, when the recording paper CP is sent to the automatic double-sided copy paper feeding unit 9 by the conveyance path switching plate 8A, the recording paper CP subjected to the single-sided image processing is again subjected to the double-sided image processing in the image forming unit 4. Then, it is conveyed to the post-processing device FS.

  The post-processing device FS is provided with a punching unit 10, a shift unit 11, a staple stacker 12, and a stapler 14. The punching means 10 is for making a hole (punch hole) for a file in the recording paper CP. The punching unit 10 is set by a setting condition set by the operation unit OP of the image forming apparatus main body GH or a client PC (not shown) connected to the image forming apparatus main body GH via a network or the like. According to the setting conditions, punch holes are made in the vertical side or the horizontal side of the recording paper CP.

  The shift unit 11 is a processing unit that discharges the recording paper CP that is continuously conveyed by changing the discharge position for each copy. The shift unit 11 determines how many sheets are shifted by the operation unit OP or the client PC. Set by.

  The stapler 14 performs a process of binding a bundle of recording sheets CP stacked on the staple stacker 12 with a needle. Processing conditions such as a stapling position (vertical side portion, horizontal side portion, corner portion) and the number of output copies are set by the operation unit OP or the client PC.

  Further, the post-processing device FS is provided with an up-and-down discharge tray 23 that is provided so as to move up and down and accumulates the recording paper CP discharged from the post-processing device FS.

  The processing of the post-processing device FS will be briefly described for each post-processing mode. The post-processing mode includes, for example, the following punching mode, shift mode, and stapling mode, and the setting is performed by the operation unit 70 described later. When the post-processing mode is not set, the recording sheet CP on which an image is formed by the image forming apparatus GH is discharged to the fixed discharge tray 22 through the carry-in portion A, the common transfer path B, and the transfer path C. Is done. Here, the common conveyance path B is a path from the carry-in portion A to the branch mechanism 39 via the roller 30, the punching means 10, and the roller 31. Further, the conveyance path C is a path from the branch mechanism 39 to the shift unit 11 and the paper discharge roller 33.

  In the punching mode, the post-processing device FS performs punching processing on the recording paper CP carried in from the carry-in section A by the punching means 10, and then transfers the recording paper CP to the lift paper discharge tray 23 via the transport path C. The sheet is discharged, or discharged to the lifting / lowering discharge tray 23 via the transport paths D and E.

  In the shift mode, the recording paper CP carried in from the carry-in section A is sent to the transport path C via the common transport path B, shifted by the shift means 11, and then discharged to the lift paper discharge tray 23.

  In the staple mode, the recording paper CP carried from the carry-in section A is sent to the conveyance path D and the conveyance path E via the common conveyance path B. The recording paper CP is held in a state in which the lower ends thereof are aligned by the stopper EA and is stacked on the staple stacker 12. The stapler 14 performs a stapling process on the bundle of stacked recording sheets CP. Further, when the stapling process is completed, the stopper EA is moved upward to push up the bundle of recording paper CP, and the paper is discharged onto the lift paper discharge tray 23 by the paper discharge roller 33. Here, the conveyance path D is a path that passes from the branch mechanism 39 via the rollers 34, 35, and 36, and the conveyance path E is the stopper EA because the recording paper conveyed upward by the roller 36 falls downward. It is a route until it is held by.

[Control system configuration]
Next, the configuration of the control system of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of the image forming apparatus.

  The image reading unit 1 is provided with a CCD image sensor 1A and a control unit 1B that drives the CCD image sensor 1A. The printer unit 80 corresponds to the “printing unit” of the present invention, and includes the image writing unit 3 and the image forming unit 4 shown in FIG. 1. The printer unit 80 includes a semiconductor laser LD 81 and a control unit 82 for driving the semiconductor laser LD 81. Contains.

  The image processing unit 2 includes a control unit 2A that processes image data read by the image reading unit 1 and image data transmitted from a client PC 90 described later, and a DRAM or hard disk drive (HDD) that stores the image data. And a storage processing unit 2B that performs storage processing, reading processing, and the like of image data in the image storage unit 2C. Details of the image processing unit 2 will be described later (see FIG. 3).

  The control unit 60 controls the operations of the image reading unit 1, the image processing unit 2, the printer unit 80, and the operation unit 70, and mainly includes an image control unit 61, a reading processing unit 65, a writing processing unit 67, and a storage. A processing unit 62 and an image storage unit 64 are included.

  The image control unit 61 is connected to the control unit 1B of the image reading unit 1, the control unit 2A of the image processing unit 2, the control unit 72 of the operation unit 70, the control unit 82 of the printer unit 80, and the storage processing unit 62, respectively. The operation of each control unit is controlled.

  The storage processing unit 62 reads out image data and the like from the image storage unit 64 according to a command from the image control unit 61, and stores the image data and the like in the image storage unit 64.

  The reading processing unit 65 processes the analog signal photoelectrically converted by the CCD image sensor 1 </ b> A and outputs image data to the compression unit 66. The compression unit 66 compresses the read image data and outputs the compressed image data to the storage processing unit 62. The decompression unit 68 receives the compressed image data from the storage processing unit 62, decompresses the image data, and outputs the decompressed image data to the writing processing unit 67. The writing processing unit 66 processes the decompressed image data for writing on the recording paper CP, and outputs it to the printer unit 80.

  The nonvolatile memory 63 stores various control programs executed by the image control unit 61 and the like, information according to the function of the image forming apparatus, and the like.

  The operation unit 70 functions as a user interface of the image forming apparatus, and has a display function for displaying various screens based on text data and image data, and an input function for receiving information input by the user. The operation unit 70 includes a flat panel display such as a touch panel type liquid crystal display (LCD) 71, for example. The LCD 71 is driven by the control unit 72 to display various screens. On the other hand, the information input process is performed by the user pointing a cursor key, a numeric input key, various function keys, and the like displayed as soft keys on the LCD 71. The input content is transmitted to the image control unit 61 by the control unit 72 as an electrical signal. The operation unit 70 includes a part of the operation unit OP illustrated in FIG. 1, and the operation unit OP is provided with a print start button, a print stop button, and the like in addition to the operation unit 70. The operation unit 70 corresponds to the “operation unit” of the present invention. The LCD 71 is included in the “output unit” of the present invention and corresponds to the “display unit”.

  In addition to the punching means 10, the shift means 11, and the stapler 14, the post-processing device FS is provided with an FS control unit 16 that controls the operation of these means.

  Further, the image processing unit 2 is provided with a communication interface (I / F) 2D and connected to client PCs 90A to 90N (sometimes collectively referred to as client PC 90) via a network such as a LAN. . The number of client PCs is arbitrary. The client PC 90 corresponds to the “client” of the present invention.

  The user makes a print job request to the image forming apparatus from the client PC 90. The job request is made from a predetermined print setting screen displayed on a monitor device (not shown) of the client PC 90 as usual. On this print setting screen, various output settings such as setting the size of the recording paper CP, setting the number of output copies, setting a post-processing mode such as a staple mode, and setting an emergency job request can be performed. When the “OK” key on the print processing screen is clicked, output setting information and requester information are transmitted to the image forming apparatus in addition to the image data used for the print processing. The output setting information and the requester information are transmitted, for example, attached to the job header. The requester information is identification information for identifying the job requester. For example, the communication ID of the client PC 90, the user name of the requester, the user ID, and the user password (for example, for accessing the image forming apparatus) Or billing) is used. Further, the emergency job request of the output setting information is formed by a flag indicating an emergency job.

  A print job input from the client PC 90 is stored in the image storage unit 2C, and its output order is registered in a print queue (described later). When the output order comes around, image data and output setting information of the print job are sent to the control unit 60.

  The image control unit 61 performs output setting according to the output setting information and displays the setting content on a job management screen 71A described later. In particular, when the output setting information includes setting information regarding post-processing, the image control unit 61 sends the post-processing setting information to the FS control unit 16 via the control unit 82 of the printer unit 80. The FS control unit 16 then operates the stapler 14 and the like based on the process setting information. Further, the image control unit 61 sends the image data of the print job to the printer unit 80 via the expansion unit 68 and the writing processing unit 67, and forms an image based on the image data on the recording paper CP.

(Detailed configuration of control system)
The detailed configuration of the control system of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. In addition, the content which overlaps with the said description with reference to FIG. 2 is not demonstrated here.

  First, the image processing unit 2 will be described. Print jobs J1 to Jn (n ≧ 1) input from the client PC 90 are accumulated in the image storage unit 2C. Each of the print jobs J1 to Jn includes image data, output setting information, and requester information. Note that a print job may not be stored in the image storage unit 2C, for example, immediately after activation of the image forming apparatus or when there is no other user.

  The control unit 2A is provided with a determination unit 2a, a requester information determination unit 2b, a timing unit 2c, and a queue creation unit 2d.

  The determination unit 2a determines that a print job input from the client PC 90 is an emergency job when an emergency job request is included, and determines that the print job is not an emergency job when it is not included.

  The requester information determination unit 2b operates when the print job input from the client PC 90 is an emergency job, and the requester information included in the print job and the currently executing job stored in the image storage unit 2C. It is determined whether the requester information of the print job is the same. The presence or absence of a print job currently being executed is determined by the image control unit 61.

  The time measuring means 2c is composed of, for example, a timer using a CPU clock, starts time measurement in response to a message to be described later displayed on the LCD 71, and measures a predetermined time set in advance. This predetermined time is set to a time sufficient for a person on the image forming apparatus side to notice the display of the message and input a response, and can be set to about 30 seconds to 1 minute, for example.

  The queue creation means 2d creates a print queue that defines the output order of a plurality of print jobs J stored in the image storage unit 2C. Further, when a new print job is input or when the output order of the print jobs is changed on the job management screen 71A described later, the print queue is changed by the queue creation means 2d. The specific operation of the queue creating means 2d will be described in detail in [Processing Procedure].

  A job management screen 71 </ b> A as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the touch panel LCD 71 of the operation unit 70. The job management screen 71 is displayed with a message display unit 71B that displays various messages related to print processing, and an output order display unit 71C that displays the output order of print jobs defined by the print queue. It includes a job operation unit 71D composed of soft keys that operate to change or delete the output order of print jobs, and an output status display unit 71E that displays the current print output status.

  In the output order display section 71C of the job management screen 71, a “job No” indicating the output order, a “mode” indicating the output mode (copy / printer), a “status” indicating the status of the print job, and the number of copies output. “Number of copies” representing the number of copies, “Number of copies” representing the number of copies to be output, “Remaining number of copies” representing the number of remaining copies of output, and “Time (minutes)” representing the approximate time required for output are provided.

  The audio output unit 100 is included in the “output unit” of the present invention, and includes an audio output circuit, a speaker, and the like. The audio output unit 100 is controlled by the control unit 60 and outputs a warning sound or an audio message.

  The FS control unit 16 of the post-processing device FS is provided with detection means 16A corresponding to the “detection means” of the present invention.

  The detection unit 16A detects whether or not the post-processing is in the middle of a part of the plurality of output copies. That is, it is detected whether or not the post-processing is at the timing of division. For example, in the stapling process, one copy of the recording paper CP is accumulated in the staple stacker 12, and the stapler 14 applies the binding needle when the one portion is aligned. Is stored in the middle of the copy (no break timing), on the other hand, when a portion of the recording paper CP is aligned, when the binding needle is applied, or When a bundle of recording paper CP subjected to stapling is being discharged, the detection result is “not in the middle of the copy (it is the division break timing)”.

  The detection unit 16A also detects whether or not post-processing is currently being executed. The presence / absence of post-processing may be detected by detecting whether the operation of the stapler 14 is ON / OFF, or detecting whether post-processing is set for the print job being executed. You may go by. In the latter case, the post-processing may be determined by the control unit 2A of the image processing unit 2, the image control unit 61 of the control unit 60, or the like.

  The print processing unit 69 of the control unit 60 represents the writing processing unit 67 and the expansion unit 68 shown in FIG.

[Processing procedure]
An example of processing realized by the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG.

  When a print job is input from the client PC 90 (S1), the determination unit 2a of the image processing unit 2 determines whether the print job is an emergency job (S2). If it is determined that the job is not an urgent job (S2; N), the queue creation means 2d registers the output order of the print job at the end of the current print queue (S3). Image forming processing and post-processing as necessary are performed (S4), and the processing is terminated.

  When it is determined that the input print job is an emergency job (S2; Y), the image control unit 61 determines whether there is a print job currently being executed (S5). If there is no print job being executed (S5; N), the queue creation means 2d interrupts the output order of this emergency job at the head of the print queue (S6), and preferentially performs output processing ( S4) The process is terminated. As for the case where there is no print job being executed, (1) there is no accumulated print job, (2) there is an accumulated print job, but the recording paper CP runs out in the paper feed tray unit 5 or the like. It is assumed that the next job cannot be started.

  On the other hand, when there is a print job currently being executed (S5; Y), the requester information determination unit 2b has the same requester information included in the emergency job and the requester information of the print job being executed. It is determined whether or not (S7). If both requester information is the same (S7; Y), it is determined that an interrupt is possible, and the output order of this emergency job is interrupted at the head of the print queue (S6), giving priority to output processing. (S4) to finish the process.

  If the requester information is different between the emergency job and the print job being executed (S7; N), whether post-processing for the print job being executed is currently being executed by the detection means 16A of the post-processing device FS. Whether or not is detected (S8). If post-processing has not been executed (S8; N), it is determined that the interrupt is possible, and whether or not the emergency job interrupt is permitted to the message display portion 71B of the job management screen 71A on the LCD 71 is determined. A message for prompting the selection input is displayed (S9), and a warning sound is output from the voice output unit 100 (S10). At the same time, the time measuring means 2c of the image processing unit 2 starts measuring time (S11).

  Here, in step S9, a soft key (permission key, non-permission key; not shown) for selecting and inputting interrupt permission / non-permission is displayed together with the above message. The displayed message is, for example, a content such as “Do you want to allow interruption of emergency job? Please select and operate the key.” This message is information corresponding to the “selection request” of the present invention.

  When post-processing is being executed (S8; Y), the detection means 16A detects whether or not the post-processing is in the middle of a section (whether it is a section break timing) (S12). If it is not the division timing (S12; N), it is determined that it is not in an interruptible state, and the output order of this emergency job is interrupted to the next order of the currently executing print job (S13). After the print job is finished, an output process is performed (S4), and the process is finished.

  If it is determined that the post-processing is a parting timing (S12; Y), it is determined that an interrupt is possible and the above message is displayed on the message display unit 71B of the job management screen 71A. (S9) A warning sound is output from the audio output unit 100 (S10), and the time measuring means 2c starts measuring time (S11).

  When the time measurement in step S11 is started, the control unit 2A of the image processing unit 2 determines whether or not the time measurement by the time measuring means 2c has reached the predetermined time (time up) (S14), and time up. It is determined whether or not a response to the message has been input at regular intervals (eg, 1 second) until S14 (Y) (S15).

  When a response is input before the time is up (S14; N) (S15; Y), when “interrupt permission” is selected and input (S16; Y), the currently executing print job is interrupted ( In S17, the output order of the emergency job is interrupted at the head of the print queue (S6), the output process is performed (S4), and the process is terminated. In the interruption process in step S17, if a post-process is included in the print job being executed, the interruption is made at the division timing.

  If “disallow interrupt” is selected and input (S16; N), an emergency job is interrupted to the next output order of the print job being executed (S13), and after the print job being executed is completed. An output process is performed (S4), and the process ends.

  On the other hand, if the time is up before the response to the message is input (S15; N) (S14; Y), it is determined that the interrupt can be performed, and the currently executing print job is interrupted (S17). The job output order is placed at the head of the print queue (S6), output processing is performed (S4), and the processing is terminated. This is the end of this processing procedure.

[Function and effect]
According to the image forming apparatus as described above, when a preceding print job is being executed when an emergency job is input from the client PC 90, a selection input as to whether or not to permit interruption of the emergency job is prompted. A message is displayed on the LCD 71. The requester of the preceding print job often waits for the finish by the side of the image forming apparatus when the job requested by the user is being executed. Therefore, the requester of this preceding job can recognize that an emergency job has been newly input by a message displayed by the image forming apparatus, consider the remaining number of output sheets, etc., and then interrupt the emergency job. It is possible to input whether or not to allow As a result, an emergency job is not interrupted by the user's own job, and the job is not delayed.

  Also, since a warning sound is emitted when the message is displayed, the requester of the preceding job beside the image forming apparatus can easily know that something has occurred during the execution of his job. You can easily notice that the message is displayed.

  When “interrupt permission” is input as a response to the message, the print job being executed is automatically interrupted and the emergency job is executed, so that the interrupt process can be performed smoothly. The remaining image data and output settings of the interrupted print job are temporarily saved in the image storage unit 64 by the image control unit 61 and sent to the printer unit 80 and the post-processing unit FS after the end of the emergency job. Then, the remaining output processing is performed.

  On the other hand, when “interrupt permission” is input as a response to the message, the emergency job is interrupted to the next output order of the print job being executed, so that the emergency job can be processed quickly. Note that processing when an emergency job is already included in a print job waiting to be printed will be described later in [Modification].

  Also, according to the present embodiment, timing is started at the same time as a message is displayed on the LCD 71, and if there is no response input within a predetermined time, an ongoing print job is interrupted and an emergency job is assigned. It is designed to output. In other words, if there is no response input, the requester of the print job being executed is not beside the image forming apparatus, and thus it is estimated that it is not a rush job. Prioritize interrupt processing.

  Furthermore, this embodiment is configured to interrupt and output an emergency job when the requester of the input emergency job and the job being executed is the same. This process is based on the fact that if the same client inputs an urgent job later, it can be estimated that a later urgent job is more urgent than a preceding job.

  The above message is displayed when the post-processing is at the division timing when the emergency job is input. When the post-processing is not at the division timing, the emergency job is executed after the job being executed. This is because, when post-processing is set for both the job being executed and the emergency job, a situation in which the recording paper CP of both jobs is mixed and the post-processing of the emergency job is performed smoothly. .

  In the above embodiment, it is configured to determine whether the print job being executed is in the post-processing mode (S8), and then determine whether it is the division timing (S12). The former process (S8) is not necessarily performed. That is, as described above, interrupt processing can be performed smoothly as long as it is at the division timing, and smooth interruption is difficult when it is not at the division timing.

[Modification]
The configuration detailed above is merely an example of a specific mode for carrying out the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. Therefore, arbitrary modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. Hereinafter, various modifications of the above embodiment will be described.

  When a new emergency job is input when an emergency job is already included in the print jobs waiting to be printed, the queue creation unit 2d causes the emergency job with the last execution order among the emergency jobs waiting to be printed. The print queue can be changed so that a new emergency job is interrupted at the next output order of the job. For example, when there is a print queue in which the first to third output ranks are emergency jobs and the fourth to sixth output ranks are non-urgent print jobs, and a new emergency job is input Then, the order of the fourth to sixth print jobs is moved backward by one, and the order of the new emergency job is interrupted to the fourth. In short, this process gives priority to the preceding emergency job over the subsequent emergency job. Accordingly, the priority order between the emergency jobs is determined according to the input and output of the client PC 90, which is fair and can reduce the dissatisfaction among the requesters of the emergency jobs. In addition, when applying this modification, the display of the said message and the output of a warning sound are unnecessary.

  In the above embodiment, the message is displayed on the job management screen 71A, but can be displayed on the LCD 71 in any display mode. This message can be displayed on an arbitrary display device provided in the image forming apparatus itself.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a configuration of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a control system of the embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a control system of the embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a job management screen displayed by the embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of processing executed by the embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image reading part 2 Image processing part 2A Control part 2a Discriminating means 2b Requester information judging means 2c Time measuring means 2d Queue creation means 2B Storage processing part 2C Image storage part 2D Communication interface 3 Image writing part 4 Image forming part 14 Stapler 16 FS control unit 16A detection means 60 control unit 61 image control unit 62 storage processing unit 64 image storage unit 69 print processing unit 70 operation unit 71 LCD
71A Job management screen 71B Message display unit 80 Printer unit 90 (90A to 90N) Client PC
100 Audio output unit GH Image forming apparatus main body FS Post-processing apparatus

Claims (9)

Queue creation means for creating a print queue that defines the execution order of print jobs; and printing means for sequentially forming images based on the print jobs on recording paper according to the execution order defined by the print queue. An image forming apparatus having
Operation means;
Determining means for determining whether a print job input from a client connected via a network is an emergency job;
When the input print job is determined to be an emergency job, a selection request for allowing the operation unit to selectively input whether or not to permit interruption of the emergency job to the currently executed print job is output. Output means for
An image forming apparatus comprising: Further comprising timing means for starting timing in response to the selection request being output by the output means,
When the selection input for the selection request has not been made before the predetermined time is counted by the timing means,
The queue creation means changes the print queue so that the execution order of the emergency job is interrupted first,
The printing means interrupts the currently executing print job and forms an image based on the emergency job according to the changed print queue;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. When the selection input indicating that the interruption of the urgent job is not permitted in response to the selection request output by the output unit, the queue creation unit is configured to execute a print job next to the currently executing print job. Changing the print queue to cause the emergency job to interrupt the execution order;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. When the selection input for permitting the interruption of the emergency job is made in response to the selection request output by the output means,
The queue creation means changes the print queue so that the execution order of the emergency job is interrupted first,
The printing means interrupts the currently executing print job and forms an image based on the emergency job according to the changed print queue;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The print job input from the client includes requester information for identifying the requester of the print job,
Requester information for determining whether the requester information of the emergency job and the requester information of the currently executed print job are the same when the input print job is determined to be an emergency job A judgment means,
When it is determined that the requester information of the urgent job and the requester information of the print job currently being executed are the same,
The output means does not output the selection request,
The queue creation means changes the print queue so that the execution order of the emergency job is interrupted first,
The printing means interrupts the currently executing print job and forms an image based on the emergency job according to the changed print queue;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. When a new emergency job is input from the client when an emergency job is included in a print job waiting to be printed,
The output means does not output the selection request,
The queue creating means changes the print queue so that the execution order of the new emergency job is interrupted after the emergency job having the last execution order among the emergency jobs waiting to be printed.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. Post-processing means for performing post-processing for each of a predetermined number of output copies on a recording sheet on which an image based on a print job is formed;
Detecting means for detecting whether the post-processing for the currently executing print job is in the middle of a copy when a print job is input from the client;
Further comprising
The output means outputs the selection request when it is detected that the post-processing is not in the middle of the unit;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus.   8. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the output unit includes a display unit that displays, as the selection request, a message that prompts a selection input as to whether to permit interruption of the emergency job. The image forming apparatus described in the item. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the output unit outputs a warning sound when the message is displayed on the display unit.

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