JP2006245761A - Image-forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem, wherein a hard disk drive (HDD) is essential for spooling of image data in a conventional image-forming system, however, the HDD has a higher failure rate since it has many operating parts, and the failure rate becomes higher and higher when used for a long period of time, the HDD is a device having the highest failure rate in a conventional image forming system controller, and damages become enormous, since a system cannot be started and data stored in the HDD are lost or the like, if the HDD fails. <P>SOLUTION: A degree of consumption of the HDD is recognized, by referring to an attribute value and a threshold of the HDD with an MFP. When the degree of consumption becomes higher, processing is executed to a level that can be processed by a memory only at the beginning of a job, without spooling the image into the HDD from the beginning of the job. Only when the processing cannot be executed by the memory only, will the image data subsequent to the case be spooled into the HDD. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system having an apparatus for recording input image data.

  In a conventional image forming system, a device for recording image data (such as an HDD) is mounted as standard, and is used for storing a system control program, a scanned image, and storing PDL data sent from a PC. Yes.

As a conventional example, for example, Patent Document 1 can be cited.
JP 2004-32511 A

  In a conventional image forming system, a hard disk drive (HDD) is essential for spooling image data. However, HDDs have a high failure rate because there are many active parts, and the failure rate further increases when they are used for a long time. In the conventional image forming system controller, the HDD is the device with the highest failure rate, and if the failure occurs, the system cannot be started up, and data is lost after being stored in the HDD, causing serious damage.

The HDD has a RAM therein, and holds effective information for analyzing the state of the device called an attribute value. The attribute value has a limit value called an attribute threshold corresponding to each item, such as the number of OFF / ON times and the energization time. If the attribute value is equal to or less than the threshold, the reliability is lowered.

  In addition, the frequency and number of retries increase due to an increase in defective sectors and wear of elements over a long period of time.

  Information that can be used to estimate the wear level of the HDD as described above is constantly monitored, and if the wear level exceeds a predetermined value, a service call is generated and a message requesting replacement of the HDD is displayed on the operation unit. . Then, the service person takes a backup of the HDD, replaces the HDD, and restores the system.

  As a result, downtime due to HDD failure can be reduced, and important data can be prevented from being lost.

  Downtime due to HDD failure can be reduced and important data can be prevented from being lost.

(1) An overall system diagram of an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.

  The operation unit 201 is connected to the system control unit 203 and is configured with a liquid crystal touch panel to provide an I / F for operating the image input system. Further, when an error occurs in the image forming system, an error code for specifying the generated error, various setting values in the image forming system, and the like are displayed.

  The image reading unit 202 optically reads a document image and converts it into electronic data.

  The image data converted into electronic data by the image reading unit is compressed by the image compression unit 208, spooled once in the memory 206, and then spooled in the HDD 204. At this time, the memory 206 is used as a buffer for writing data to the HDD, and a capacity for several lines is secured. The HDD 204 spools image data in units of pages, and secures a capacity for spooling images of a plurality of pages. Keep it.

  The image data spooled in the HDD 204 is once spooled in the Memory 206 again, developed into a raw image by the image decompression unit, and transferred to the image processing unit. At this time, the memory 206 is used as a buffer for reading from the HDD, and a capacity for several lines is secured.

  The image processing unit 205 converts the image data read from the HDD 204 and transferred by color space conversion, halftone processing, or the like into image data suitable for a printer to be printed, and transfers the image data to the printer control unit 302.

  The PWM unit 303 and the marking unit 304 form a visible image based on the image data transferred via the printer control unit 302.

<Configuration of operation unit 201>
The configuration of the operation unit 201 is shown in FIG. The LCD display unit 401 is controlled by the system control unit 203 to display an operation screen. In addition, a touch panel sheet is pasted on the LCD, and when the LCD is touched, information on the touched position is transmitted to the system control unit 203. Then, the system control unit 203 recognizes the selected operation by referring to the operation screen and information on the touched position. A start key 402 is used when starting an image reading operation or the like. In the center of the start key, there are two colors of LEDs 404 and 405 of green and red, which indicate whether or not the start key can be used. A stop key 403 functions to stop an operation in progress.

<Configuration of Image Reading Unit 202>
The configuration of the image reading unit 202 is shown in FIG. Reference numeral 501 denotes a platen glass on which a document 502 to be read is placed. A document 502 is irradiated by an illumination lamp 503, and the reflected light is imaged on a CCD 508 by a lens 507 through mirrors 504, 505 and 506. The first mirror unit 510 including the mirror 504 and the illumination lamp 503 moves at a speed v, and the second mirror unit 511 including the mirrors 505 and 506 moves at a speed 1 / 2v, thereby scanning the front surface of the document 502. The first mirror 510 unit and the second mirror unit 511 are driven by a motor 509. An image captured by the CCD 508 is converted into, for example, an 8-bit digital image signal for each of R, G, and B, and sent to the system control unit 203.

<Configuration of Image Processing Unit 205>
The configuration of the image processing unit 205 is shown in FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 601 denotes a shading correction circuit, and reference numeral 602 denotes an input masking circuit. Reference numeral 603 denotes an RGB editing circuit, 604 a color space compression circuit, and 605 a light amount-density conversion (hereinafter referred to as LOG conversion) table. Reference numeral 606 denotes an output masking circuit, 607 denotes a CMYK editing circuit, and 608 denotes a density correction table. Reference numeral 609 denotes a scaling circuit, 610 a spatial filter circuit, 611 a black character processing circuit, and 612 an area generation circuit.

  An image read by the CCD 508 and converted into digital image signals R, G, and B by the amplification device is corrected by the shading correction circuit 601 for the light distribution inclination of the lamp light source 503 and sensor variations. Thereafter, the input masking circuit 602 converts the signal into three signals representing the standard color space, and inputs the signal to the RGB editing circuit 603 to perform some editing processing such as color conversion and character processing signal generation. Next, a color space compression circuit 604 compresses the color space so that the color of the original is not lost and is within the color reproduction range of the printer unit. Further, in the LOG conversion table, the image signal RGB expressed by the amount of light is converted into three color signals of density signals C (cyan), M (magenta), and Y (yellow) of the corresponding developer (for example, toner). The output masking circuit 606 at the next stage outputs a signal of one color for forming an image out of the CMYBk converted according to the spectral characteristics of the toner in a frame sequential manner. After adding functions such as painting and coloring by the CMYK editing circuit 607, an image signal that has passed through the density correction circuit 608, the scaling circuit 609, and the spatial filter 610 is formed.

  On the other hand, the black character processing circuit 611 detects the boldness, edge, and color of the image from the RGB image signal, and switches the output masking 606, the coefficients of the spatial filter 610, and the number of laser-driven lines according to the result. The area signal generation circuit 612 generates an area signal in accordance with designation by a digitizer or a marker.

<Configuration of PWM unit 303>
The configuration of the PWM unit 303 is shown in FIG. 9, and its waveform is shown in FIG. Reference numeral 701 denotes a triangular wave generator, and reference numeral 702 denotes a D / A converter (D / A converter) that converts an input digital image signal into an analog signal. The signal from the triangular wave generator 701 (FIG. 11 (a)) and the signal from the D / A converter 702 (FIG. 11 (b)) are compensated and compared by a comparator 703, as shown in FIG. 11 (c). A signal is sent to the laser drive unit 704, and each CMYK is converted into a laser beam by each of the CMYK lasers 705.

<Configuration of marking unit 304>
The configuration of the marking unit 304 is shown in FIG. A polygon mirror 813 receives four laser beams emitted from the four semiconductor lasers 805. One of them scans the photosensitive drum 817 through the mirrors 814, 815, and 816, and the next one scans the photosensitive drum 821 through the mirrors 818, 819, and 820, and goes through 822, 823, and 824. Then, the photosensitive drum 825 is scanned, and the next one scans the photosensitive drum 829 through mirrors 826, 827, and 828.

  On the other hand, a developing unit 830 supplies yellow (Y) toner, forms a yellow toner image on the photosensitive drum 817 in accordance with the laser beam, and a developing unit 831 supplies magenta (M) toner. , A magenta toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 821 in accordance with the laser beam, and a developing unit 832 supplies cyan (C) toner. A cyan toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 825 in accordance with the laser beam. , 833 is a developing device for supplying black (K) toner, and forms a magenta toner image on the photosensitive drum 829 in accordance with the laser beam. The four color (Y, M, C, K) toner images are transferred onto the sheet, and a full-color output image can be obtained.

  The sheet supplied from any of the sheet cassettes 834 and 835 and the manual feed tray 836 passes through the registration roller 837 and is sucked onto the transfer belt 838 and conveyed. The timing and motivation of paper feeding are taken, and toners of respective colors are developed in advance on the photosensitive drums 817, 821, 825, and 829, and the toner is transferred to the sheet as the sheet is conveyed. The sheets on which the toners of the respective colors are transferred are separated and conveyed by the conveyance belt 839, and the toner is fixed to the sheets by the fixing device 840. The sheet that has passed through the fixing device 840 is once guided downward by the flapper 850, and after the trailing edge of the sheet has passed through the flapper 850, the sheet is switched back and discharged. As a result, the sheets are discharged in a face-down state, and are in the correct order when printed in order from the first page. The four photosensitive drums 817, 821, 825, and 829 are arranged at equal intervals with a distance d, and the sheet is conveyed at a constant speed v by the conveyance belt 839, and this timing synchronization is made. Thus, the four semiconductor lasers 805 are driven.

  FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of the first embodiment. It is possible to set a plurality of originals at a time in the image reading unit 202. When copying them all at once, the images are usually read in order from the topmost original set, and the image is compressed. The image data compressed by the unit 208 is spooled to the HDD 204 in units of pages. When all the originals set in the image reading unit 202 have been page spooled, the images are read from the HDD 204 in order from the last page that was read and spooled, and the image decompression unit 209, image processing unit 205, printer control unit 302, PWM The image is printed out on the sheet through the section 303 and the marking unit 304. This method is called electronic sorting and is printed out from the final page, so that a copy result in the same order as the original set on the image reading unit 202 is obtained.

  Normally, when a plurality of originals are set in the image reading unit 202, it is not known how many originals are set, so it is necessary to ensure that all originals are first spooled in a page spool without stopping processing. HDD 204 is used. However, if the number of pages is actually several, it is possible to perform page spooling only with the memory 206. Therefore, before starting copying, the Attribute value of the HDD 204 is read, and if the HDD wear level is high, even if electronic sorting is necessary, the HDD 204 is not spooled to the HDD 204 at first and spooled to the Memory 206 as much as possible. When all the capacity of the memory 206 is used up, the image reading unit first stops reading the image of the next page, and the image data spooled in the memory 206 is transferred to the HDD 204 to secure the capacity of the memory 206, and then the image is read again. Resumes image reading from the reading unit. When all the pages of the document set in the document reading unit 202 are spooled by repeating the above steps, the page spooled in the memory 206 is first printed out from the page spooled last, and then the image data saved in the HDD 204 exists. In order to do so, the page spooled in the HDD 204 is printed out from the last spooled page.

  FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of the second embodiment.

  In a normal system, when image data read by the image reading unit is spooled in the HDD 204, the image data is compressed and then spooled. This is because the used area of the HDD 204 to be used is reduced and the bus bandwidth of the data path is effectively utilized. Therefore, if the compression rate is increased, the usage frequency of the HDD 204 is reduced and the system can operate at high speed. However, as the compression rate is increased, the image quality deteriorates. Therefore, by reading the Attribute value of the HDD 204 before starting copying, and increasing the compression rate set in the image compression unit 208 when the HDD consumption level is high, the usage frequency of the HDD 204 can be lowered. Can reduce the probability of failure.

  FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of the third embodiment.

  The system control unit 203 periodically reads the Attribute value of the HDD 204, and when the value exceeds a certain value, the HDD 204 is consumed in the operation unit 201 and the probability of failure is high. And a message prompting the user to replace the HDD is displayed. When the user recognizes that a message prompting the user to replace the HDD is displayed on the operation unit, the service person is contacted, and the received service person backs up the contents of the HDD 204 to the HDD of the PC 500 once over the network as necessary. After that, the HDD 204 is replaced with a new one. Then, data backed up in advance on the HDD of the PC is written back to the HDD 204.

  Further, depending on the setting, the content equivalent to the message displayed on the operation unit is transmitted to the service center 400 via the network. When the service center receives the message, the content of the message is transferred to each PC in the service center by E-Mail. A service person is resident in the service center. If the service person confirms the contents of the E-mail and the user's HDD is seriously consumed, the contents of the user's HDD 204 are backed up to the HDD of the server 401 at the same time. Then, the user is dispatched to replace the HDD 204 with a new one.

  FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the fourth embodiment.

  The system control unit 203 periodically records in the HDD 204 the sector area where the write request is executed and the time required for the execution. If the time required to execute reading and writing on the same sector area becomes longer than the initial value, it is considered that the HDD 204 has been exhausted and that many retries have occurred. Therefore, the operating unit 201 is informed that the HDD 204 is being consumed and the probability of failure is high, and a message for prompting replacement of the HDD is displayed. When the user recognizes that a message prompting the user to replace the HDD is displayed on the operation unit, the service person is contacted, and the received service person backs up the contents of the HDD 204 to the HDD of the PC 500 once over the network as necessary. After that, the HDD 204 is replaced with a new one. Then, data backed up in advance on the HDD of the PC is written back to the HDD 204.

  Further, depending on the setting, the content equivalent to the message displayed on the operation unit is transmitted to the service center 400 via the network. When the service center receives the message, the content of the message is transferred to each PC in the service center by E-Mail. A service person is resident in the service center. If the service person confirms the contents of the E-mail and the user's HDD is seriously consumed, the contents of the user's HDD 204 are backed up to the HDD of the server 401 at the same time. Then, the user is dispatched to replace the HDD 204 with a new one.

Diagram showing the entire system Explanatory drawing of Example 1 Explanatory drawing of Example 2. Explanatory drawing of Example 3 Explanatory drawing of Example 4 Explanatory drawing of the operation unit 201 Explanatory drawing of the image reading unit 202 Explanatory drawing of the image processing unit 205 Illustration of PWM unit 303 Explanatory drawing of marking unit 304 Illustration of PWM unit 303

Claims (7)

Image input means for inputting an image signal read from a document;
Image processing means for converting the image signal into image data corresponding to a printer that outputs the image signal, first means for recording the input image data, and second means for recording the input image data ,
In an image forming system comprising: means for diagnosing the state of the second means for recording the image data; and image forming means for forming a visible image based on the image data on a recording medium.
The second means for recording the image data according to the diagnosis result of the second means for recording the image data by the means for diagnosing the state of the second means for recording the image data. An image forming system characterized by changing a method of use.   2. The configuration according to claim 1, wherein the diagnostic result of the second means for recording the image data by the means for diagnosing the state of the second means for recording the image data, the image data being recorded. When the second means to be worn is large, only the first means for recording the image data is used without using the second means for recording the image data at first. The second means for recording the image data can be used only when it is determined that the image data cannot be processed only by the first means for recording the image data.   2. The configuration according to claim 1, wherein the diagnostic result of the second means for recording the image data by the means for diagnosing the state of the second means for recording the image data, the image data being recorded. In a case where the consumption level of the second means is large, the image data is recorded by increasing the compression rate of the image data spooled in the second means for recording the image data. It is possible to reduce the number of accesses to the means.   2. The configuration according to claim 1, wherein the image forming system has an operation panel capable of displaying a state of the image forming system, and displays a diagnosis result of the means for recording the image data on the operation panel. Is possible.   2. The configuration according to claim 1, wherein the image forming system has a function of communicating with another server through a network, and the diagnostic result of the means for recording the image data can be communicated to the other server through the network. It is.   2. The configuration according to claim 1, wherein the means for recording the image data includes means for recording a use status such as its own number of OFF / ON times, energization time, and the like. The means for diagnosing the state can read the value of the means for recording the usage status of the means for recording the image data. The means for diagnosing the state of the means for recording the image data is based on the usage status of the means for recording the image data read from the means for recording the usage status. If it has exceeded, the fact that the usage status of the means for recording the image data has exceeded a certain standard is displayed on the operation unit.   2. The configuration according to claim 1, wherein said image data recording means performs a write / read operation once when executing a write / read to an internal recording element in response to a write / read request. And a retry function for repeating the same operation once more. The means for diagnosing the state of the means for recording the image data is to monitor the frequency of retries when a write / read request occurs, the number of retries when a retry occurs, and the frequency and number of retries. When the value exceeds a certain standard, the fact that the usage status of the means for recording the image data exceeds a certain standard is displayed on the operation unit.

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