JP2008131105A - Image forming apparatus, image forming method and image forming program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus which allows modules to perform communication using WUSB, and to provide an image forming method and an image forming program. <P>SOLUTION: In an image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of this invention, an engine control section causes an NV-RAM to store a table including information inherent to an exclusive module, and selectively determines as to which USB device is used for connection on the basis of the table. When another host USB exists near the USB device, the USB device side information is returned in response to that host. However, this image forming apparatus previously stores host information into a work memory of each USB device, compares host information from the host with the host information stored in the work memory upon receiving the host information from the host USB, and device does not transmit and receive the data when a comparison result shows unmatching. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, and an image forming program, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, and an image forming program that allow each module to communicate with each other via WUSB.

  Recent computer systems are configured to use USB, which is an external peripheral interface standard, for communication between the computer system and peripheral devices. When communicating using USB, each peripheral device is generally connected via a cable plugged into a standardized USB port on a computer system. However, wireless USB based on ultra wideband (UWB) technology is being standardized without connecting a USB cable to a computer system and external peripheral devices.

  In US Pat. No. 6,057,033, a software controller component comprising a program capable of configuring an error threshold in a data structure corresponding to one or more packets transferred in a computing environment, and a scheduling process in hardware The scheduling process includes a mechanism that activates to execute one or more packets and evaluates whether each packet has been successfully received, and the scheduling process has been sent but not received There has been proposed a system comprising a scheduling process that no longer schedules the data structure when the error count of one or more packets reaches an error threshold.

  In Patent Documents 2 and 4, even if a tag member is disposed at a position where a signal of the communication means on the apparatus main body cannot be directly received due to the positional relationship between the communication means of the image forming apparatus and the exchange body, the communication on the apparatus main body side can be satisfactorily performed. An image forming unit and an image forming apparatus that can receive the signal of the means and can reduce the cost of the image forming unit have been proposed.

In patent document 3, it is a packing member of the article | item provided with the non-contact communication member for performing transmission / reception of data, Comprising: A packing member's location corresponding to the location of the non-contact communication member at the time of goods packing By providing a marking on the surface, the position of the non-contact type memory tag can be easily recognized with the replacement parts such as the toner unit packed. A packaging member and a packaging method that can improve the performance have been proposed.
JP 2006-2116015 A JP 2006-209038 A JP 2006-193206 A JP 2006-119553 A

  However, the above invention has the following problems.

  Usually, in an MFP (multifunction peripheral), when the scanner unit is handled by copying or the like, it is in a high position for people with reduced mobility and short people, and it is difficult to work. Although the scanner unit may be separated, the distance is limited because it is wired. Furthermore, in an image forming apparatus having a FAX control unit, a cable may be an obstacle depending on the position.

  In view of the above, the present invention proposes an image forming apparatus for communicating between modules by WUSB.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus having a plurality of engines and a control unit that communicates with each engine by wireless USB, the engine stores a host information unique to the control unit. The control means has a second storage means for storing peripheral information specific to each engine, and the control means is assigned in advance when communication with each engine is started by wireless USB. When the received host information specific to the control means is transmitted to the engine and the peripheral device information is received from the engine, it is determined whether or not the peripheral device information is stored in the second storage means, When the peripheral device information is stored, communication with the engine is executed. When the engine receives the host information from the control means, the host information is First determines whether it is stored in the storage means, when said host information is stored, and transmits the engine-specific peripheral device information given in advance to said control means.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the engine includes a correspondence table storage unit that stores a correspondence table in which a distance between the control unit and the engine is associated with a communication speed. When a distance between the control unit and the engine changes and a communication speed decreases or increases, a notification unit that notifies the fact is provided.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect, the notifying unit includes a plurality of LEDs of different colors, and emits any one LED according to a change in communication speed. And

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, when a predetermined communication speed cannot be obtained because the distance between the control unit and the engine is too large. It has the display means which displays the message which shows that.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a control unit is mounted on any one of the plurality of engines.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fifth aspect, a control means is mounted on the plotter unit.

  The invention according to claim 7 is a plurality of engines, a control unit that communicates with each engine by wireless USB, a first storage unit that stores host information unique to the control unit, and the control unit In the image forming method of the image forming apparatus having the second storage means for storing the peripheral device information unique to each engine, the control means is assigned in advance when communication with each engine is started by wireless USB. Transmitting the host information specific to the control means to the engine and, when receiving the peripheral device information from the engine, determining whether the peripheral device information is stored in the second storage means And the step of executing communication with the engine when the peripheral device information is stored, the engine receiving the host information from the control means. The host information is stored in the first storage means, and when the host information is stored, the engine-specific peripheral device information given in advance is stored in the first storage means. And transmitting to the control means.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there are provided a plurality of engines, a control unit that communicates with each of the engines by wireless USB, the engine includes a first storage unit that stores host information unique to the control unit, and the control unit In the image forming program of the image forming apparatus having the second storage means for storing the peripheral device information unique to each engine, the control means is assigned in advance when communication with each engine is started by wireless USB. When the received host information specific to the control means is transmitted to the engine and the peripheral device information is received from the engine, it is determined whether the peripheral device information is stored in the second storage means. Processing and processing for executing communication with the engine when the peripheral device information is stored, and the engine receives the host from the control means. Processing to determine whether the host information is stored in the first storage means when the host information is received, and peripheral information specific to the engine given in advance when the host information is stored And a process of transmitting to the control means.

  In the present invention, the host module and the peripheral device can be arranged separately, the host module and the peripheral device hold each other's unique information, exchange the unique information, and hold the unique information By performing communication only when the exchanged unique information matches, it is possible to prevent information in the image forming apparatus from leaking to the outside.

  The configuration and operation of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

  First, the system configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a part of an electric circuit of the image forming apparatus. In the figure, a controller board 200 has a plurality of application functions such as a scanner application, a facsimile application, a printer application, and a copy application, and controls the entire system. The controller board 200 includes a CPU 201, a ROM 202 that controls the system controller board, an SRAM 203 that is a work memory used by the CPU, a frame memory 204, and a work memory 205. The SRAM 203 has a backup function, an NV-RAM with a built-in clock and lithium battery, an ASIC 206 for controlling the CPU peripheral such as system bus control, frame memory control, and FIFO of the controller board 200, and its interface circuit, etc. It has. The controller board 200 is connected to an operation unit board 210 of the image forming apparatus and an HDD 220 for recording image data.

  The operation unit board 210 controls the input for inputting system settings by the user operating the panel of the image forming apparatus, and controls the display for displaying the setting contents and status of the system to the user. . The operation unit board 210 is written with a CPU 211, a RAM 212 which is a working memory used by the CPU 211, a control program for the operation board 502, a ROM 213 which controls input reading and display output of the operation board, and displays setting contents and states. An LCD 214 that performs key input, an ASIC (LCDC) 215 that controls key input, and the like are mounted.

  The HDD 220 is used as an application database for storing system application programs and device activation information of printer image forming process devices. Further, it is also used as an image database for storing image data of read images and write images, that is, image data and document data. The HDD 220 and the controller board 200 are connected to each other by an interface compliant with ATA / ATAPI-4, for both physical and electrical interfaces.

  A LAN interface board 230 is connected to the controller board 200. Communication with the management system is performed via the LAN interface board 230. The LAN interface board 230 is a communication interface board between an in-house LAN (Internet) and a controller. The LAN interface board 230 is connected by a standard communication interface of a PHY chip I / F and an I2C bus I / F.

  Furthermore, a general-purpose PCI bus is connected to the controller board 200. An engine control board 240 is connected to the PCI bus, and the engine control board 240 and the controller board 200 are connected via the PCI bus. The engine control board 240 mainly performs image creation control of the image forming apparatus. The CPU 241, the IPP 242 which is a programmable arithmetic processing means for performing image processing, and the ROM 243 incorporating a program necessary for controlling copying and printout. The SRAM 244 and the NV-RAM 245 necessary for the control are mounted. The NV-RAM 245 includes an SRAM 244 and a memory that detects that the power is turned off and stores it in the EEPROM. The engine control board 240 also includes an I / OASIC 247 that controls a nearby I / O (counter, fan, solenoid, motor, etc.) on which the engine control board is mounted.

  The engine control board 240 is based on a scanner (SBU) board 250 that reads a copy original (image), an LDB board 260 that writes image data on a photoconductor, an FCU 270 that transmits image data by FAX, and an ultra-wideband (UWB) technology. Communication is performed by a wireless USB (hereinafter referred to as WUSB) 246. The engine control board 240 is connected to non-contact communication means 248 that communicates with an IC tag attached to the image forming unit.

  The SBU board 250 includes a CPU 251, an ASIC 252, a CCD 253, a circuit that generates drive timing for the ASIC 252, a wireless 254 that transmits and receives signals to and from the wireless USB 246 of the engine control unit 240, and a work memory that temporarily stores image data read by the CCD 253. 255.

  The LDB board 260 includes a CPU 261, an ASIC 262, an LD 263 that outputs laser light, an LDB 264 that modulates and controls a signal input to the LD 263, a wireless 265 that receives image data from the wireless USB 246 of the engine control unit 240, and an image received by the wireless 265. A work memory 266 for temporarily storing data is provided.

  The FCU board 270 includes a CPU 271, an ASIC 272, a communication unit 273 that transmits and receives image data via a telephone line, and a wireless USB 246 that receives image data from the wireless USB 246 of the engine control unit 240 or transmits image data received by the communication unit 273 to the wireless USB 246 274 and a work memory 275 that temporarily stores image data transmitted and received by the FCU board 270.

  Next, image formation control will be described.

  Place the document on the reading unit that optically reads the document. Then, the original illumination light source provided in the reading unit is scanned to irradiate the original with light. The reflected light of the original is photoelectrically exchanged by the CCD 253 to generate an image signal. The CCD 253 is a three-line color CCD and generates an EVENch / ODDch RGB image signal. The R, G, and B image signals are input to the ASIC of the SBU board 250 corresponding to each image signal. The R, G, and B image signals output from the CCD 253 are sampled and held by a sampling and holding circuit in the ASIC 252 and then A / D converted, and the R, G, and B image signals are converted into data signals, respectively. Convert. At the same time, the shading correction is performed by each of the R, G, and B ASICs 252 and the data is transmitted to the wireless USB 246 of the engine control board 510 via the wireless 254. The image data transferred from the SBU board 250 to the engine control board 240 is corrected for signal deterioration (signal deterioration of the scanner system) due to quantization into an optical system and a digital signal by the IPP 242, and the image data bus of the PCI bus To the frame memory 205 of the controller board 200.

  The black (B), yellow (Y), cyan (C), and magenta (M) write signals output from the work memory 204 of the controller board 200 are supplied to the B, Y, M, and C of the LDB board 260, respectively. Are respectively input to the LD write circuit (LDB) 264. Then, LD current control (modulation control) is performed by the LD writing circuit (LDB) 264 for each color, and the current is output to the LD 263 for each color, and writing is performed on the surface of the photoreceptor of each color by laser light.

  Next, a data transmission / reception operation between the host USB (wireless USB 246) and the USB device (wireless 254, 265, 274) included in the engine control unit 240 will be described. In this embodiment, the host USB is provided in the engine control unit 240. However, for example, a host USB may be provided in any one engine of the image forming apparatus and the engine may be operated as a host module. It is.

  When the modules (the engine control unit 240, the SBU board 250, the LDB board 260, and the FCU board 270) that can communicate with each other by the wireless USB are turned on, communication between the modules is started. Originally, in wireless USB communication, the host USB searches for a USB device and determines which one to connect to. However, in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, the engine control unit 240 holds a table (shown in FIG. 2) including information specific to a dedicated module in the NV-RAM 245, and which USB is based on the table. Select whether to connect to the device. In addition, when another host USB is nearby, the USB device responds to it and returns information on the USB device side. However, in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, the work memories 255 and 266 of each USB device. , 275 stores the host information (shown in FIG. 3), and when the host information is received from the host USB, it is compared with the host information stored in the work memory. Absent. According to this configuration, it is possible to give the meaning of a dedicated line and improve security.

  Here, in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, the operation until the communication between the modules is started will be specifically described with reference to FIG.

  When the power of the image forming apparatus is turned on by the user (step S 401), the engine control unit 240, which is a host module, uses information assigned to the host module (hereinafter referred to as host information) via the wireless USB 246. To the peripheral devices (peripheral modules) such as the SBU board 250, the LDB board 260, and the FCU board 270 (step S402). The peripheral device that has received the host information wirelessly (254, 265, 274) compares the host information stored in advance in its own work memory with the received host information (step S403).

  If the host information stored in the work memory matches the received host information (step S404 / YES), each peripheral device wirelessly transmits its own information (hereinafter referred to as peripheral device information) (254). , 265, 274) to the engine control unit 240 (step S405). The engine control unit 240 determines whether the peripheral device information received from the peripheral device by the wireless USB 246 is included in the table stored in the NV-RAM 245 (step S406). If the received peripheral device information is included in the table (step S406 / YES), wireless USB communication with the peripheral device corresponding to the peripheral device information is started (step S407).

  On the other hand, when the host information stored in the work memory does not match the received host information (step S404 / NO), and the peripheral device information received from the peripheral device by the wireless USB 246 is stored in the NV-RAM 245. If it is not included (step S406 / NO), it is determined that the peripheral device is not dedicated to the engine control unit 240, and communication is disconnected (step S408).

  According to the above-described configuration, the host module and the peripheral device can be arranged separately, and the host module and the peripheral device hold the unique information of each other, exchange the unique information, and hold the unique information Only when the exchanged information matches the exchanged unique information, information in the image forming apparatus can be prevented from leaking to the outside by performing communication. Further, since the host module manages information unique to the peripheral device, centralized management becomes easy. Further, regarding the communication between the host module and the peripheral device, since the user does not need to give an instruction from the operation unit board 210, the operation is facilitated.

  Further, in wireless USB communication, if peripheral devices are arranged at distant positions, the communication speed may be reduced, and for example, the print speed in the LDB 260 may be reduced. Therefore, each peripheral device holds a comparison table (shown in FIG. 5) of the distance between the host module and the peripheral device and the communication speed in the work memory, and the distance between the host module and the peripheral device becomes long, so that the communication speed is increased. When it decreases, the emission color of the interface such as the LED is changed according to the change in the communication speed, and the user is notified of the decrease in the printing speed and the like.

  For example, it is green when sufficient data transfer is obtained, yellow when it is bare, and red when it is bad (shown in FIG. 6). Then, when it turns red, it is also possible to notify the user that the distance is too far as shown in FIG. 7 on the display unit such as a liquid crystal (WUSB can measure the distance between modules). Is possible).

  According to this configuration, by displaying an error according to a change in the distance between the host module and the peripheral device, even if the host module and the peripheral device are arranged apart from each other, the specification of the image forming apparatus is not reduced. It can be operated.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. It is a table comprising information specific to peripheral devices held in the host module. This is host module specific information held in the peripheral device. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. It is a comparison table | surface of the distance and communication speed between a host module and peripheral devices. It is a figure which shows the light emission example of LED. It is an example of the message notified to a user when a communication speed falls.

Explanation of symbols

200 Controller board 210 Operation unit board 220 HDD
230 LAN interface board 240 Engine control unit 250 SBU board 260 LDB board 270 FCU board

Claims (8)

In an image forming apparatus having a plurality of engines and a control unit that communicates with each engine by wireless USB,
The engine has first storage means for storing host information specific to the control means,
The control means includes second storage means for storing peripheral device information unique to each engine,
When the control unit starts communication with each engine by wireless USB, the control unit transmits host information specific to the control unit assigned in advance to the engine and receives the peripheral device information from the engine. Determine whether device information is stored in the second storage means, and when the peripheral device information is stored, execute communication with the engine,
When receiving the host information from the control means, the engine determines whether or not the host information is stored in the first storage means. When the host information is stored, the engine is assigned in advance. An image forming apparatus, wherein peripheral device information unique to the engine is transmitted to the control means. The engine is
Correspondence table storage means for storing a correspondence table associating the distance between the control means and the engine and the communication speed;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies when the distance between the control unit and the engine changes and the communication speed decreases or increases.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the notification unit includes a plurality of LEDs of different colors, and causes any one LED to emit light according to a change in communication speed.   4. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit that displays a message to that effect when a predetermined communication speed cannot be obtained because the distance between the control unit and the engine is too large. The image forming apparatus according to Item.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a control unit is mounted on any one of the plurality of engines.   6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a control means is mounted on the plotter unit. A plurality of engines, control means for communicating with each engine by wireless USB, the engine having first storage means for storing host information unique to the control means, and the control means having a unique peripheral for each engine; In an image forming method of an image forming apparatus having a second storage unit for storing device information,
The control means includes
A step of transmitting host information specific to the control means given in advance to the engine when communication with each engine via wireless USB is started;
Determining whether the peripheral device information is stored in the second storage means when the peripheral device information is received from the engine;
A step of executing communication with the engine when the peripheral device information is stored;
The engine is
When receiving the host information from the control means, determining whether the host information is stored in the first storage means;
And a step of transmitting peripheral information specific to the engine given in advance to the control means when the host information is stored. A plurality of engines, control means for communicating with each engine by wireless USB, the engine storing first information for storing host information unique to the control means, and the control means having a peripheral area unique to each engine In an image forming program of an image forming apparatus having second storage means for storing device information,
The control means includes
A process of transmitting host information specific to the control unit assigned in advance to the engine when communication with the engine is started by wireless USB;
A process of determining whether the peripheral device information is stored in the second storage means when the peripheral device information is received from the engine;
A process for executing communication with the engine when the peripheral device information is stored;
The engine is
Processing for determining whether the host information is stored in the first storage means when the host information is received from the control means;
An image forming program comprising: processing for transmitting peripheral device information assigned in advance to the control means when the host information is stored.

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