JP2006308984A - Image forming apparatus and its control method, and control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus with which the improved convenience of a user is assured by adjusting time to perform the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus, taking account of an interruption operation or discontinuation operation for a job that may be highly urgently needed. <P>SOLUTION: In the case where a job being executed is discontinued due to an instruction for an interruption operation (YES in step S405), an image adjustment process is not performed when an interruption job is started in step S413. That is, even when a judgement is made that the image adjustment process of an electrophotographic color copying machine is required, the adjustment process is restricted at the start of the interruption job. In addition, in the case where a job being executed is ended due to the instruction to cancel (YES in step S404), a standby state is brought about without performing the image adjustment process regardless of the cumulative number of prints (step S401). Namely, even when an adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus is judged to be required, the adjustment operation is restricted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and a printer, a control method thereof, and a control program.

  Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus, the image density may change due to aging of a photoconductor or a developing device, changes in temperature and humidity around the apparatus, and the like. On the other hand, a technique for stabilizing the image density by adjusting parameter factors that affect the image density of the toner image, such as a charging bias and a developing bias, at an appropriate timing has been proposed.

  For example, when a color image is formed using a plurality of image carriers, a developer is applied to the visible image on each image carrier and transferred onto the transfer belt, but the image is generated on the transfer belt. A method for detecting predetermined pattern information (test patch) and controlling a toner density (see Patent Document 1) and a process for controlling an exposure amount (see Patent Document 2) are known. Further, there is known a process for measuring the density of the test patch and correcting one process condition among a plurality of process conditions related to the image forming unit (see Patent Document 3).

  Further, in order to correct the color misregistration that occurs when a color image is formed using a plurality of image carriers, a process for detecting the test patch and correcting the timing for creating a visible image on each image carrier is provided. Are known.

  These image adjustment processes are periodically executed for a predetermined time when the image forming apparatus satisfies a predetermined condition such as a predetermined cumulative number of printed sheets. For this reason, the image adjustment process may be performed even during the execution of the job. For example, if the image adjustment process is performed during the execution of the job in which the number of printed sheets is not so large, the image adjustment process is performed. In some cases, the user feels inconvenience because it takes an excessive amount of time.

As a solution to this, when it is determined that image adjustment processing is necessary during job execution, a method of executing image adjustment processing between jobs or a small amount of time during job interruption can be used effectively. A method for executing image adjustment processing is described (see Patent Document 4).
JP 63-147177 A JP-A 63-280275 JP 63-43169 A JP 2004-142250 A

  However, since the method of Patent Document 4 executes another job with a high degree of urgency, if a cancel operation or an interrupt operation is performed, image adjustment processing is executed each time the job to be executed is switched, and the user is prompted. There was a risk of inconvenience.

  An object of the present invention is to improve the convenience of the user by adjusting the execution time of the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus in consideration of an interrupt operation or a cancel operation that is expected to execute a job with higher urgency. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus, a control method therefor, and a control program.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to claim 1 is an image forming apparatus that executes an image forming job based on image data, and an adjustment determining unit that determines the necessity of an adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus. An adjustment unit that executes an adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus according to a determination result of the adjustment determination unit, and an interrupt that interrupts a job that is being executed, executes an interrupt job, and then resumes execution of the interrupted job If the interrupt instruction means for instructing the operation and the job being executed are interrupted by the interrupt operation instruction by the interrupt instruction means, the adjustment determination means needs the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus at the start of the interrupt job. Control means for suppressing the adjustment operation even when it is determined.

  The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein in the image forming apparatus that executes an image forming job based on image data, an adjustment determination unit that determines the necessity of an adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus, and a determination of the adjustment determination unit An adjustment unit that executes an adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus according to a result, a stop instruction unit that instructs to stop a job that is being executed, and when the job that is being executed is terminated by a stop instruction by the stop instruction unit And a control unit that suppresses the adjustment operation even when the adjustment determination unit determines that the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus is necessary.

  An image forming apparatus control method according to claim 8 is an image forming apparatus control method for executing an image forming job based on image data, and an adjustment determining step for determining the necessity of an adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus; An adjustment process for executing the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus according to the determination result of the adjustment determination process, and an interrupt operation for interrupting the job being executed, executing the interrupt job, and restarting the execution of the interrupted job When the interrupt job instruction is interrupted by the interrupt operation instruction by the interrupt instruction process, the adjustment determination process requires the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus at the start of the interrupt job. A control step of suppressing the adjustment operation even when the determination is made.

  An image forming apparatus control method according to claim 9 is an image forming apparatus control method for executing an image forming job based on image data, and an adjustment determining step for determining the necessity of an adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus; An adjustment step for executing the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus according to a determination result of the adjustment determination step, a stop instruction step for instructing stop of the job being executed, and a stop of the job being executed by the stop instruction step And a control step of suppressing the adjustment operation even when it is determined that the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus is necessary in the adjustment determination step.

  A control program according to a tenth aspect is the control program executed by an image forming apparatus that executes an image forming job based on image data. The adjustment determination module that determines the necessity of an adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus; An adjustment module that executes the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus according to the determination result of the adjustment determination module, and an interrupt operation that interrupts the job being executed and executes the interrupt job, and then resumes execution of the interrupted job. When the interrupt instruction module to be instructed and the job being executed are interrupted by an interrupt operation instruction by the interrupt instruction module, the adjustment determination module determines that the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus is necessary at the start of the interrupt job And a control module that suppresses the adjustment operation even when the adjustment is performed.

  The control program according to claim 11 is a control program executed by an image forming apparatus that executes an image forming job based on image data, and an adjustment determination module that determines the necessity of an adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus; An adjustment module that executes an adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus according to a determination result of the adjustment determination module, a stop instruction module that instructs to stop a job that is being executed, and a stop instruction that is being executed by the stop instruction module And a control module that suppresses the adjustment operation even when the adjustment determination module determines that the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus is necessary.

  According to the first, eighth, and tenth aspects of the present invention, even when a job being executed is interrupted by an interrupt operation instruction, even when it is determined that an adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus is necessary at the start of the interrupt job. The adjustment operation is suppressed. As a result, it is possible to improve the convenience of the user by adjusting the execution timing of the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus in consideration of an interrupt operation that is expected to execute a job with higher urgency.

  According to the second, ninth, and eleventh aspects of the present invention, when a job being executed is terminated by a cancel instruction, the adjustment operation is suppressed even when it is determined that the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus is necessary. As a result, the convenience of the user can be improved by adjusting the execution time of the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus in consideration of a cancel operation in which execution of a job with a higher degree of urgency is expected.

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

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is an electrophotographic color copying machine, but is not limited thereto.

  In FIG. 1, the electrophotographic color copying machine has an image reading unit 1R and an image output unit 1P.

  The image reading unit 1R optically reads a document image, converts it into an electrical signal, and transmits it to the image output unit 1P. The image output unit 1P includes four image forming units 10 (10a, 10b, 10c, 10d) arranged in parallel, a paper feeding unit 20, an intermediate transfer unit 30, a fixing unit 40, a cleaning unit 50, and a control unit. It has a unit (not shown).

  An operation unit (not shown) is disposed on the upper surface of the image reading unit 1R.

  The image forming units 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d have the same configuration. In each image forming unit 10 (10a to 10d), a drum-shaped electrophotographic photosensitive member as a first image carrier, that is, a photosensitive drum 11 (11a, 11b, 11c, 11d) is rotatably supported. , And is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow. The primary charger 12 (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d), the optical system 13 (13a, 13b, 13c, 13d), the folding mirror 16 (16a, 16d) are opposed to the outer peripheral surfaces of the photosensitive drums 11a to 11d in the rotation direction. 16b, 16c, 16d), a developing device 14 (14a, 14b, 14c, 14d), and a cleaning device 15 (15a, 15b, 15c, 15d) are arranged.

  The primary chargers 12a to 12d give a uniform charge amount of charge to the surfaces of the photosensitive drums 11a to 11d. Next, the optical systems 13a to 13d expose light beams such as laser beams, which are modulated according to the recording image signal input from the image reading unit 1R, onto the photosensitive drums 11a to 11d via the folding mirrors 16a to 16d. To do. Thereby, electrostatic latent images are formed on the photosensitive drums 11a to 11d.

  Further, the developing devices 14a to 14d respectively store four-color developers (hereinafter referred to as "toners") of yellow, cyan, magenta, and black, and store the electrostatic latent images on the photosensitive drums 11a to 11d. Visualize each.

  The visualized visible image is transferred to a belt-like intermediate transfer member as the second image carrier constituting the intermediate transfer unit 30 in the image transfer regions Ta, Tb, Tc, and Td, that is, to the intermediate transfer belt 31. Transcribed. A toner pattern reading sensor 60 for detecting the toner pattern primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 31 is disposed between the photosensitive drum 11 and the driving roller 32. The toner pattern sensor reading sensor 60 is configured to receive the reflected light of the toner pattern from a light emitting element such as an LED by a light receiving element such as a photodiode. The intermediate transfer unit 30 will be described in detail later.

  The cleaning devices 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d clean the drum surface by scraping off the toner that is not transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 31 and remains on the photosensitive drums 11a to 11d. By the process described above, image formation with each toner is sequentially performed.

  The paper feed unit 20 includes cassettes 21a and 21b and a manual feed tray 27 for storing the transfer material P, and pickup rollers 22a, 22b and 26 for feeding the transfer material P from the cassette 21a, 21b or the manual feed tray 27 one by one. A plurality of paper feed roller pairs 23 for conveying the transfer material P fed from the pickup rollers 22a, 22b, and 26 to the secondary transfer counter roller 34, a paper feed guide 24, and each image forming unit 10 ( 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d), and registration rollers 25a and 25b for sending the transfer material P to the secondary transfer region Te in accordance with the image forming timing.

  The intermediate transfer unit 30 functions as an intermediate transfer belt 31, a driving roller 32 that transmits driving to the intermediate transfer belt 31, and a tension roller that applies an appropriate tension to the intermediate transfer belt 31 by urging a spring (not shown). A driven roller 33 that is driven by the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 31 and a secondary transfer counter roller 34 are provided.

  The intermediate transfer belt 31 is stretched and wound between a driving roller 32, a driven roller 33, and a secondary transfer counter roller 34. A primary transfer plane A is formed between the driving roller 32 and the driven roller 33. As the intermediate transfer belt 31, for example, a belt formed of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PVdF (polyvinylidene fluoride), or the like is used. The drive roller 32 is coated with rubber (urethane or chloroprene) having a thickness of several millimeters on the surface of the metal roller to prevent a slip generated between the drive roller 32 and the intermediate transfer belt 31. The drive roller 32 is rotationally driven by a pulse motor (not shown).

  Primary transfer chargers 35 (35 a to 35 d) are disposed on the back of the intermediate transfer belt 31 in the primary transfer regions Ta to Td where the photosensitive drums 11 a to 11 d and the intermediate transfer belt 31 face each other. On the other hand, a secondary transfer roller 36 is disposed so as to face the secondary transfer counter roller 34. The intermediate transfer belt 31 is sandwiched between the secondary transfer counter roller 34 and the secondary transfer roller 36, and a secondary transfer region Te is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 31 by the sandwiching. The secondary transfer roller 36 is pressed against the intermediate transfer belt 31 with an appropriate pressure.

  A cleaning unit 50 for cleaning the image forming surface of the intermediate transfer belt 31 is disposed downstream of the secondary transfer region Te of the intermediate transfer belt 31. The cleaning unit 50 includes a cleaning blade 51 for removing toner on the intermediate transfer belt 31 and a waste toner box 52 for storing waste toner.

  The fixing unit 40 includes a fixing roller 41a provided with a heat source such as a halogen heater therein, and a roller 41b (which may also be provided with a heat source) pressed against the roller. Further, the guide 43 for guiding the transfer material P to the nip portions of these roller pairs 41a and 41b, the fixing heat insulating covers 46 and 47 for confining the heat generated in the fixing unit 40, and the rollers 41a and 41b are discharged. An internal paper discharge roller 44, an external paper discharge roller 45, and a paper discharge tray 48, on which the transfer material P is stacked, are further provided to guide the transferred transfer material P to the outside of the apparatus.

  Next, the operation of the electrophotographic color copying machine having the above configuration will be described.

  When an image forming operation start signal is issued by a control unit (not shown), the paper feeding operation is started from a paper feeding unit that stores the transfer material P (paper) of the selected paper size.

  For example, a case where paper is fed from the upper cassette 21a will be described. In FIG. 1, first, the transfer material P is sent out one by one from the cassette 21a by the pickup roller 22a. The transfer material P is guided between the plurality of paper feed guides 24 by the plurality of paper feed roller pairs 23 and is conveyed to the registration rollers 25a and 25b. At that time, the registration rollers 25a and 25b are stopped, and the leading edge of the transfer material P hits the nip portion of the registration rollers 25a and 25b. Thereafter, the registration rollers 25a and 25b start rotating in accordance with the timing at which the image forming unit 10 (10a to 10d) starts image formation. The rotation timing is set so that the transfer material P and the toner image primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 31 from the image forming unit 10 (10a to 10d) coincide in the secondary transfer region Te.

  On the other hand, in the image forming unit 10 (10a to 10d), when a start signal of an image forming operation is issued by a control unit (not shown), the photosensitive drum located on the most upstream side in the rotation direction of the intermediate transfer belt 31 by the process described above. The toner image formed on 11d is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 31 in the primary transfer region Td by the primary transfer charger 35d to which a high voltage is applied. The primarily transferred toner image is conveyed to the next primary transfer region Tc. In this case, image formation is performed by delaying the time during which the toner image is conveyed between the image forming portions, and the next toner image is transferred by aligning the resist on the previous image. Thereafter, the same process is repeated, and eventually the four color toner images are primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 31.

  Thereafter, when the transfer material P enters the secondary transfer region Te and contacts the intermediate transfer belt 31, a high voltage is applied to the secondary transfer roller 36 in accordance with the passage timing of the transfer material P. As a result, the four color toner images formed on the intermediate transfer belt 31 by the above-described process are transferred onto the surface of the transfer material P. Thereafter, the transfer material P is accurately guided to the fixing roller nip portion by the conveyance guide 43. The toner image is fixed on the surface of the transfer material P by the heat and pressure of the roller pair 41a and 41b. Thereafter, the transfer material P is conveyed by the inner and outer paper discharge rollers 44 and 45, and the transfer material P is discharged outside the apparatus and stacked on the paper discharge tray 48.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control unit.

  The control unit includes a CPU 101, ROM 102, RAM 103, storage device 104, communication unit 105, operation unit 106, and bus 107.

  The CPU 101 controls the entire electrophotographic color copying machine including the ROM 102, RAM 103, storage device 104, communication unit 105, and operation unit 106. The CPU 101 also has a function of counting the cumulative number of prints described later.

  A ROM (Read Only Memory) 102 is a read-only memory and includes a program for image adjustment processing. The ROM 102 includes a PROM (Programmable ROM) in which an administrator can write a program electrically, and a mask ROM in which contents are written at the time of manufacture. Any ROM may be used in this embodiment. .

  A RAM (Random Access Memory) 103 is a memory that can be freely written and read. The RAM 103 has a work memory function such as temporarily storing data when performing various processes to be described later.

  The storage device 104 stores image data, an update program for an electrophotographic color copying machine, and the like. The storage device 104 may be any one of a hard disk drive, an FD drive, an MO drive, a CD-RW, and a DVD-RW drive, and may include a plurality of these.

  The communication unit 105 includes a communication interface for connecting to the Internet or a LAN and a communication interface for transmitting and receiving a facsimile.

  The operation unit 106 is an input interface that accepts various settings, and includes a liquid crystal display unit that is provided at the top of the electrophotographic color copying machine and displays various settings.

  The bus 107 connects the CPU 101, the ROM 102, the RAM 103, the storage device 104, the communication unit 105, and the operation unit 106 to each other, and exchanges various data and supplies power between the components. The bus 107 includes an address line, a data line, a control line, a power source / ground line, and the like.

  Next, image adjustment processing in the electrophotographic color copying machine will be described.

  The image adjustment process includes a density adjustment process for correcting an image density change caused by an image forming condition such as a change in an environment in which the electrophotographic color copying machine is used and a cumulative number of prints, and a color image resulting from the image forming condition. Registration adjustment processing for correcting color misregistration.

  In the electrophotographic color copying machine, these density adjustment processing and registration adjustment processing are periodically executed under the control of the CPU 101. Hereinafter, although the density adjustment process and the resist adjustment process will be described, details of the execution timing of these processes will be described later.

  In the density adjustment processing, a toner pattern is formed on each of the photosensitive drums 11a to 11d, the toner pattern primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 31 is detected by the toner pattern reading sensor 60, and image formation is performed according to the measurement result. The density is adjusted by adjusting the conditions.

  This density adjustment process detects the density of the formed toner pattern while changing the development bias value, and feeds back the measurement result to the development bias value. Including a tone adjustment process for detecting the density of the formed toner pattern and feeding back the measurement result to the exposure amount, these processes are also executed under the control of the CPU 101.

  Similar to the density adjustment process, the resist adjustment process is executed by a method of detecting the toner pattern by the toner pattern reading sensor 60. The toner pattern reading sensor 60 measures the toner pattern reading timing instead of the toner pattern density. The point to do is different. In the resist adjustment process, the toner pattern reading timing is measured, and the measurement result is fed back to the image formation start timing on each of the photosensitive drums 11a to 11d, thereby correcting the color misregistration.

  Next, conditions for performing the density adjustment process and the resist adjustment process will be described.

  In the electrophotographic color copying machine, the density adjustment process and the resist adjustment process are periodically executed at the same time according to the cumulative number of prints. For this reason, compared with the case where the adjustment process is executed individually, one adjustment process becomes longer, but it is possible to prevent the adjustment process from being executed frequently.

  In addition, in order to prevent the image adjustment process from being executed during the job as much as possible, in particular, to prevent the image adjustment process from being executed during a job with a small number of prints, the predetermined number of accumulated print sheets for determining whether or not the image adjustment process is necessary Specifically, the cumulative number of prints for determining the necessity / unnecessity of the image adjustment processing is determined as follows.

  <Condition 1> During job execution: Image adjustment processing is executed when the cumulative number of printed sheets is 200 or more.

  <Condition 2> At the end of the job: Image adjustment processing is executed when the cumulative number of printed sheets is 170 or more.

  After execution of the image adjustment process, the cumulative number of prints is cleared to zero.

  FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing the execution timing of the image adjustment process. This figure shows an example of the operation of the electrophotographic color copying machine in which the job 1 (390 prints) is executed and the job 2 (20 prints) is executed after the cumulative number of prints is 0. ing.

  When execution of job 1 is started by the control unit ((i) in FIG. 3), the printing operation is sequentially executed by the above-described method, and 1 is added to the cumulative number of prints every time one sheet is printed. When the cumulative number of prints reaches 200, it is determined that image adjustment processing is necessary according to the above <Condition 1>. Therefore, the print operation is temporarily interrupted, and image adjustment processing (density adjustment processing and registration adjustment processing) is executed ( (Ii) in FIG. 3) After the image adjustment process is completed, the cumulative count number is cleared to 0, and the printing operation is resumed ((iii) in FIG. 3). When the final print of job 1 is completed, the cumulative number of prints is 190. Therefore, it is determined that image adjustment processing is necessary according to <Condition 2>, and image adjustment processing is performed ((iv) in FIG. 3). After completion of the adjustment process, the cumulative count number is cleared to 0, and the next job can be accepted ((v) in FIG. 3). Job 2 (20 prints) is completed without executing the image adjustment process ((vi), (vii) in FIG. 3).

  If <Condition 2> does not exist in the above operation, the image adjustment process at the end of job 1 is not executed. Instead, when 10 sheets are printed in job 2, the cumulative number of prints is 200. Here, the image adjustment process is executed, and after that, the remaining 10 sheets are printed. This is not preferable because the image adjustment process is executed during a job with a small number of prints.

  4 and 5 are flowcharts showing the execution timing of the image adjustment process when there is a cancel operation or an interrupt operation. The condition for the cumulative number of prints follows the above <Condition 1> and <Condition 2>. The processing of FIGS. 4 and 5 is mainly executed by the CPU 101.

  A cancel operation is an instruction to cancel a job being executed by a cancel key (not shown) of the operation unit 106, and indicates an operation of ending a job being executed and entering a standby state waiting for execution of the next job. .

  The interrupt operation is an instruction to interrupt the job being executed by an interrupt key (not shown) of the operation unit 106. The interrupting job is temporarily interrupted, the interrupt job is preferentially executed, and the interrupt job ends. Later, it refers to the operation of automatically resuming a suspended job.

  After the power is turned on, the electrophotographic color copying machine is in a standby state waiting for an instruction to start printing, and determines whether or not an instruction to start printing has been issued (step S401).

  If it is determined in step S401 that printing is not instructed, this determination is repeated. On the other hand, if printing is instructed, the above-described series of printing operations is executed (step S402), and printing is completed for one sheet. Each time, the cumulative number of prints is incremented by 1 (step S303).

  Next, it is determined whether or not there is a cancel operation by the cancel key of the operation unit 106 (step S404). If there is a cancel operation, the execution of the subsequent printing operation is stopped, the job is terminated without executing the image adjustment process regardless of the cumulative number of prints, and the printer returns to the standby state waiting for the print start instruction in S401. . On the other hand, if there is no cancel operation, it is determined whether there is an interrupt operation by the interrupt key of the operation unit 106 during job execution (step S405).

  If there is no interrupt operation during job execution, it is determined whether or not printing of all sheets has been completed (step S406). If printing of all the sheets has not been completed, it is determined whether or not the cumulative number of prints exceeds the determined number (200 sheets) of image adjustment processing execution during job execution in the above <condition 1> (step S407). ).

  If it is determined in step S407 that the accumulated number of prints does not exceed the determined number (200) of image adjustment processing execution, the process returns to step S402 to continue the printing operation. On the other hand, if the cumulative number of prints exceeds the judgment number (200) for executing the image adjustment process, the image adjustment process is executed (step S408), and after the image adjustment process is completed, the cumulative print number is set to zero. Clear (step S409). Thereafter, the process returns to step S402 to restart the printing operation.

  If all the sheets have been printed in step S406, it is determined whether or not the cumulative number of prints exceeds the determined number (170) of image adjustment processing execution at the end of the job of <Condition 2>. It discriminate | determines (step S410).

  If it is determined in step S410 that the accumulated number of prints does not exceed the determined number (170) of image adjustment processing execution, the job is terminated and the process returns to the standby state waiting for a print start instruction in step S401. On the other hand, if the cumulative number of prints exceeds the determined number (170) of image adjustment processing execution, image adjustment processing is executed (step S411), and after the image adjustment processing is completed, the cumulative number of prints is cleared to zero. (Step S412). Thereafter, the process returns to the standby state waiting for a print start instruction in step S401.

  In step S405, if there is an interrupt operation during job execution, the subsequent print operation is temporarily interrupted without executing image adjustment processing regardless of the cumulative number of prints, and a series of interrupt job print operations are executed. (Step S413) Each time one print is completed, 1 is added to the cumulative number of prints (Step S414).

  Next, it is determined whether or not printing of all the interrupt jobs has been completed (step S415). If printing of the entire number of interrupt jobs has not been completed, the image adjustment process is not executed regardless of the cumulative number of prints, and the process returns to step S413 to continue the interrupt print operation.

  On the other hand, if printing of all the interrupt jobs has been completed, whether or not the cumulative number of prints has exceeded the judgment number (170) of image adjustment processing execution at the end of the job in <Condition 2> above. Is discriminated (step S416).

  If it is determined in step S416 that the accumulated number of prints does not exceed the determined number (170) of image adjustment processing execution, the process returns to step S402 to resume the suspended job from the next. On the other hand, if the accumulated number of prints exceeds the determined number (170 sheets) for executing the image adjustment process in step S416, the image adjustment process is executed (step S417). Clear to zero (step S418). Thereafter, the process returns to step S402, and the job being temporarily suspended is resumed from the continuation.

  As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, when a job being executed is interrupted by an interrupt operation instruction (YES in step S405), image adjustment processing is performed when an interrupt job is started in step S413. Is not executed. That is, even when it is determined that the image adjustment process of the electrophotographic color copying machine is necessary at the start of the interrupt job, the adjustment process is suppressed. As a result, it is possible to improve the convenience of the user by adjusting the execution timing of the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus in consideration of an interrupt operation that is expected to execute a job with higher urgency. In addition, the interrupt job can be completed promptly.

  Further, if the job being executed is terminated with a stop instruction (YES in step S404), the image adjustment process is not executed regardless of the cumulative number of prints, and the standby state is set (step S401). Even when it is determined that the adjustment operation is necessary, the adjustment operation is suppressed. As a result, the convenience of the user can be improved by adjusting the execution time of the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus in consideration of a cancel operation in which execution of a job with a higher degree of urgency is expected. In addition, the next job can be executed promptly.

  In addition, it is possible to suppress image adjustment control during job execution by setting determination conditions for whether image adjustment processing is necessary or not at the time of job execution and at the end of the job (steps S406, S407, and S410). is there.

  In this embodiment, since the density adjustment process and the resist adjustment process are performed at the same time, the necessity / unnecessity of the image adjustment process is determined under the same conditions, but each has individual conditions, It goes without saying that the same effect as in the present embodiment can be obtained even if the necessity of image adjustment processing is determined based on the individual accumulated print number. Whether the image adjustment process is necessary / unnecessary is not limited to the cumulative number of prints, and may be determined based on any criteria such as the temperature or humidity in the apparatus, the cumulative toner consumption, and the cumulative image density. .

  4 and 5 illustrate the processing timing for executing the image adjustment process. The image adjustment process during execution of the interrupt job is suppressed and the interrupt job is completed quickly. Considering the time of the job, the image adjustment control may be executed by determining whether adjustment control is necessary or not even during an interrupt job. In this case, for example, as in steps S407 to S409 in FIG. 4, the necessity / unnecessity of the image adjustment processing may be determined by a method similar to that for a normal job, or the image adjustment processing may be performed by a method specific to an interrupt job. Necessity / unnecessity may be determined.

  In addition, an object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the embodiments to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus as a storage medium. This can also be achieved by reading and executing the stored program code.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

  Examples of the storage medium for supplying the program code include a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a CD-RW, a DVD-ROM, a DVD-RAM, and a DVD. -RW, DVD + RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, etc. can be used. Alternatively, the program code may be downloaded via a network.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. A case where part or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing is also included.

  Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. This includes the case where the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a control unit. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the implementation timing of an image adjustment process. It is a flowchart which shows the execution timing of an image adjustment process when there exists cancellation operation and interruption operation. It is a flowchart which shows the execution timing of an image adjustment process when there exists cancellation operation and interruption operation.

Explanation of symbols

101 CPU
102 ROM
103 RAM
104 Storage device 105 Communication unit 106 Operation unit 107 Bus

Claims (11)

In an image forming apparatus that executes an image forming job based on image data,
Adjustment determination means for determining the necessity of the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus;
An adjustment unit that performs an adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus according to a determination result of the adjustment determination unit;
An interrupt instruction means for instructing an interrupt operation for resuming execution of the interrupted job after interrupting the job being executed and executing the interrupt job;
When the job being executed is interrupted by an interrupt operation instruction by the interrupt instruction means, the adjustment is performed even when the adjustment determination means determines that the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus is necessary at the start of the interrupt job. An image forming apparatus comprising: control means for suppressing operation. In an image forming apparatus that executes an image forming job based on image data,
Adjustment determination means for determining the necessity of the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus;
An adjustment unit that performs an adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus according to a determination result of the adjustment determination unit;
A cancellation instruction means for instructing cancellation of a job being executed;
A control unit that suppresses the adjustment operation even when the adjustment determination unit determines that the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus is necessary when the job being executed is terminated by the cancellation instruction by the cancellation instruction unit. An image forming apparatus comprising the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment unit executes an adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus suppressed by the control unit after execution of the interrupt job. Having counting means for counting the number of sheets of image-formed paper;
4. The adjustment determination unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the adjustment determination unit determines the necessity of an adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus based on the number of sheets counted by the counting unit. Image forming apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the counting unit clears the counted number of sheets after the adjusting unit performs an adjusting operation of the image forming apparatus.   6. The adjustment determination unit according to claim 1, wherein the determination criterion for determining the necessity of the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus is changed depending on whether or not the image forming job is being executed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.   The adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus includes a density adjustment operation for correcting a change in image density caused by the image forming conditions, and a registration adjustment operation for correcting color misregistration of a color image caused by the image forming conditions. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. In a control method of an image forming apparatus that executes an image forming job based on image data,
An adjustment determination step for determining the necessity of the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus;
An adjustment step of performing an adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus according to a determination result of the adjustment determination step;
An interrupt instruction process for instructing an interrupt operation for resuming the execution of the interrupted job after interrupting the job being executed and executing the interrupt job;
When the job being executed is interrupted by an interrupt operation instruction by the interrupt instruction process, the adjustment is performed even when the adjustment determination process determines that the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus is necessary at the start of the interrupt job. And a control step for suppressing operation. A control method for an image forming apparatus, comprising: In a control method of an image forming apparatus that executes an image forming job based on image data,
An adjustment determination step for determining the necessity of the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus;
An adjustment step of performing an adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus according to a determination result of the adjustment determination step;
A cancellation instruction process for instructing cancellation of a job being executed;
A control step for suppressing the adjustment operation even when it is determined that the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus is necessary in the adjustment determination step when the job being executed is terminated by the stop instruction in the stop instruction step. An image forming apparatus control method comprising: In a control program executed by an image forming apparatus that executes an image forming job based on image data,
An adjustment determination module for determining the necessity of the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus;
An adjustment module that performs an adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus in accordance with a determination result of the adjustment determination module;
An interrupt instruction module for instructing an interrupt operation for resuming execution of an interrupted job after interrupting a job being executed and executing an interrupt job;
When the job being executed is interrupted by an interrupt operation instruction from the interrupt instruction module, the adjustment is performed even when the adjustment determination module determines that the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus is necessary at the start of the interrupt job. A control program comprising: a control module for suppressing operation. In a control program executed by an image forming apparatus that executes an image forming job based on image data,
An adjustment determination module for determining the necessity of the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus;
An adjustment module that performs an adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus in accordance with a determination result of the adjustment determination module;
A cancel instruction module for instructing to cancel a job being executed;
A control module for suppressing the adjustment operation even when the adjustment determination module determines that the adjustment operation of the image forming apparatus is necessary when the job being executed is terminated by the cancellation instruction by the cancellation instruction module; A control program comprising:

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