JP2877934B2 - Digital image forming equipment - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital image forming apparatus that reproduces and records digital image information on a recording device such as a printer, and more particularly, to a digital image connected to another digital image forming device. The present invention relates to a forming apparatus.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, when an error occurs in the host computer when the printer and the host computer are connected,
It is known to output the details of the abnormality to a printer.

In addition, when a plurality of printers are connected, a paper end occurs when printing is performed by a certain printer, and at this time, if a sheet of the same size is present in another printer, the other printer is output. It is also known.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, a function of mutually printing out abnormal contents by connecting and communicating a plurality of digital image forming apparatuses for reproducing and recording digital image information such as a digital copying machine and a facsimile by a recording apparatus such as a printer is conventionally known. Absent.

Therefore, for example, when an error or the like occurs in the digital copying machine, a symbol corresponding to the call instruction of the serviceman is displayed on the normal operation display unit, and when a jam or the like occurs, the location of occurrence and a simple precautionary note are displayed. However, since the user cannot know in detail what kind of content is abnormal or how to remove the jam, the user must read the service manual and Met.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital image forming apparatus in which operability is improved by printing out the details of abnormalities and the corresponding measures.

[Means for solving the problem]

The present invention provides recording means (10) for recording digital image information.
In the digital image forming apparatus (No. 1) including 3), a memory means (107) and a communication means (108) for inputting and outputting signals to and from other digital image forming apparatuses (Nos. 2 to 6); In this case, the contents of the abnormality are detected, and an instruction to output the details of the abnormality is written in the memory means (107) to the other digital image forming apparatuses (Nos. 2 to 6) (181 to FIG. 5b).
194) Abnormality detecting means (140); and when the memory means (107) has an abnormality content output instruction addressed to the self-digital image forming apparatus, the recording means (103) (6 to 11 in FIG. 5a).

In addition, in order to facilitate understanding, in parentheses, symbols of corresponding elements or corresponding items of the embodiment shown in the drawings and described below,
This is shown for reference.

[Action]

According to this, for example, when a plurality of digital image forming apparatuses (Nos. 1 to 6) are connected and an abnormality occurs in one digital image forming apparatus (No. 1) , the abnormality detecting means (140) ) Detects abnormal contents and writes an abnormal contents output instruction to the memory means (107) to another digital image forming apparatus (No. 2) ( 181 to 194 in FIG. 5b).
Control means (14 ) for the other digital image forming apparatus (No. 2)
0), when the memory means (107) has an instruction to output the details of the abnormality addressed to the self-digital image forming apparatus, instructs the recording means (103) to form an image indicating the details of the abnormality and the corresponding measures (see FIG. ~ 11). The user quickly repairs the one digital image forming apparatus (No. 1) by following the abnormal contents printed out from the recording means (103) of the other digital image forming apparatus (No. 2) and the measures therefor. be able to.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 shows a digital copying machine No. 1 as an example of the present invention and another digital copying machine ( No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, No. 6) mutually connected via a communication cable. Indicates the state of connection with the connector. The communication cable is output from the digital copier,
Alternatively, it communicates address information, data contents, control information, and the like input to the digital copying machine. The digital copying machine No. 1 has other digital copying machines ( No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5,
No. 6) and the structure of the mechanical part and the electrical part are the same. The dual port RAM 107 has an area A for output data.
And an area B for receiving data, each area A and area B
, Areas corresponding to the number of digital copiers (six) are respectively defined. In this embodiment, the number of digital copying machines shown in FIG. 1 is six, but the number is not limited to six.

In FIG. 2, shows a schematic configuration of a mechanism portion of the digital copying machine No. 1, in Figure 3, shows the schematic configuration of the electrical portion of the digital copying machine No. 1.

First, referring to FIG. 2, a mechanical unit of a digital copying machine No. 1 mainly includes a scanner unit 101 for reading an image of an original 1 and a printer unit 103 for recording an image on a recording sheet.
Divided into

The document 1 is placed on a platen (contact glass) 2 and illuminated by an exposure lamp 3. The reflected light of the original 1 passes through the lens array 4 and is sent to a line image sensor.
Light is incident on CCD5. Exposure lamp 3, lens array 4 and CC
D5 is mounted on a carriage (not shown).
Is read from right to left by the carriage drive motor 23, and scans the entire surface of the original 1 placed on the rapten 2.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the reflected light of the original 1 is converted into an electric signal by the CCD 5, subjected to necessary processing by the scanner unit 101 and the image processing unit 102, and is subjected to an LD (laser diode) drive circuit of the printer unit 103. 130
Is input to

The LD drive circuit 130 energizes the LD 131, and the LD emits modulated laser light.

FIG. 2 is referred to again. The laser light emitted from the LD 131 is reflected by the polygon mirror 6 and fθ lens 7 and mirror 8
After that, the photosensitive drum 9 is irradiated with an image.

The polygon mirror 6 is fixed to a rotating shaft of the polygon motor 10, and the polygon motor 10 rotates at a constant speed to drive the polygon mirror 6 to rotate. By the rotation of the polygon mirror 6, the laser light is scanned in a direction perpendicular to the rotation direction (clockwise) of the photosensitive drum 9, that is, in a direction along the drum axis.

The surface of the photosensitive drum 9 is uniformly charged by a charging charger 11 connected to a high voltage generator of a negative voltage (not shown), and then is turned on / off by a laser beam emitted from the printer unit 103. A potential distribution corresponding to the on / off pattern is formed. Further, since the laser beam is modulated so as to be turned on / off in accordance with the black / white of the pixel at the scanning position of the image to be written, the potential distribution formed on the photosensitive drum 9 depends on the density of the image to be recorded. Match the distribution. As a result, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the density of the document 1 is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 9, and when this electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing unit 12, a toner image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 9. .

On the other hand, the recording paper 17 stored in the cassette 16
The sheet is fed out by the sheet feeding operation 18 and is fed toward the photosensitive drum 9 at a predetermined timing by the registration roller 20.
While the recording paper 17 passes below the photosensitive drum 9, the toner image is transferred to the recording paper 17 by the operation of the transfer charger 13, and the recording paper 17 is separated from the photosensitive drum 9 by the operation of the separation charger 14.

The peeled recording paper 17 is sent to the fixing unit 21, where the transferred toner is fixed to the recording paper 17, and the recording paper 17 to which the toner is fixed is discharged to the tray 22.

Further, the toner remaining on the photoconductor surface even after the transfer is removed by the cleaning unit 15.

Please refer to FIG. The electronic unit of the digital copying machine mainly includes a scanner unit 101 that reads the original 1 and outputs an image data signal, an image processing unit 102 that processes the image data signal, a printer unit 103 that performs recording based on the image data signal, Synchronization control unit 105 that generates signals to match the timing of signal transfer between units and between elements in units, operation display unit 106 to input and display various processing modes, and other digital copiers Dual port RAM 107 for inputting / outputting signals to / from, communication interface 108, dip switch 10 for selecting and specifying the number of copier
9 (designated No. 1 in this embodiment) and a system control unit 104 for controlling these units and the like.

In the scanner unit 101, the signal output from the CCD 5 is converted into an 8-bit digital signal by the A / D conversion circuit 110 and input to the shading correction circuit 111.

The shading correction circuit 111 is a circuit for correcting unevenness in illuminance of the exposure lamp 3, unevenness in sensitivity of the light receiving element inside the CCD 5, and dark current.

The scanner unit 101 includes a carriage drive motor 23 and a motor control circuit 112 that controls rotation of the motor.
Having.

The image data signal output from the shading correction circuit 111 is input to the MTF correction circuit 120 of the image processing unit 102.

The MTF correction circuit 120 is a circuit that performs a filtering process on an input image data signal, and increases the sharpness of an image and removes noise.

The image data signal output from the MTF correction circuit 120 is input to the scaling processing circuit 121.

The scaling processing circuit 121 enlarges / reduces the input image data signal in the main scanning direction (the direction in which the CCDs 5 as line image sensors are arranged). The enlargement / reduction in the sub-scanning direction (the vertical direction of the CCD 5 which is a line image sensor) is performed by controlling the rotation speed of the carriage drive motor 23.

The image data signal output from the scaling processing circuit 121 is
It is input to the binarization processing circuit 122 and the document size detection circuit 123.

The binarization processing circuit 122 is a circuit that performs dither processing on the 8-bit multivalued image data signal output from the scaling processing circuit 121 and outputs a binary image data signal. The document size detection circuit 123 is a circuit that detects the density difference between the document 1 placed on the platen 2 and the document pressure plate 24 to detect the size of the document 1.

The image data signal output from the binarization processing circuit 122 is input to the LD drive circuit 130 of the printer unit 103.

The LD drive circuit 130 activates the LD 131 in accordance with the image data signal while correcting the output fluctuation of the laser light due to the temperature or the like, and emits the modulated laser light to the LD 131.

The character generator 124 performs image processing when creating a format output from the printer according to the present invention.

The system control unit 104 includes a CPU 140, a ROM 141 storing a program for performing a series of operations, a RAM 142, and an I / O
A microcomputer including a port 143 and the like,
The entire copier is controlled.

FIG. 4 shows the appearance of the operation display unit 106 described above. Ten (10) key 61 for setting the number of copies, same clear key 62, start key 63 for copy start, mode clear key 64 for initializing various modes, and enter key for recognition in numerical input in special mode Key 65,
Interrupt key 66 for setting and releasing interrupt mode
A mode selection key group 67 for selecting various other modes (paper selection, scaling, image density, etc.) is provided. Display unit
Reference numeral 68 denotes a liquid crystal (LCD), and has a fixed pattern (display) section 69 for displaying a mode state such as the number of copies, and a character (dot) display section 70 capable of displaying characters.
Further, an output instruction key 71 for printing out the information content when an abnormality or the like occurs in the copying machine is provided.

Next, FIGS. 5a and 5b show the contents of the processing operation of the CPU 140 in the digital copying machine No. 1 shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 5a, when the power is turned on, the CPU 140 sets the processing mode and the like to the initial state (Step 1: the word "step" is omitted in parentheses hereinafter). Next, the set input is read (2), and when each unit is ready (3), it is checked whether the start switch 63 is turned on (4).

 If the start switch 63 is not turned on, other keys
Performs input processing, mode processing, etc. (5).
The number specified by C 109No.i is read (6). here,
DIP switch 109No.1 is specified. next,
Area A of dual port RAM 107No.i, ieNo.1
The ready state is written in the area of (7),
This is the area B of the dual port RAM 107No.i (No.
The data of 1) is read (8). Preset the contents of the data
Check if there is any
(9) If there is no instruction, step 2
Return to step B, but if there is a printout instruction,N
o.i (No.Determined in 1) “Abnormal information output process” described later
Print out the whole information (10)No.
i (No.After clearing the data of 1) (11), step
Return to 2.

When the start switch 63 is turned on in step 4, the number No. i designated by the dip switch 109 is read, and a busy operation is performed at No. i ( No. 1) of the area A of the dual port RAM 107 in order to start the copying operation . The state is written (12). Thereafter, normal copying operations such as document image scanning (13), image processing (14), and copy control (15) are performed. Then, it is checked whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the copying machine (16). If there is no abnormality, step 2 returns .
i is read, and No. i ( N
o. Write the busy state in 1) (17) and execute the abnormality information output process (18).

FIG. 5b shows the content of the “abnormality information output process” (18). First, the CPU 140 determines whether or not a malfunction such as an error or a jam has occurred (181). If an error occurs, the digital copier No. 1 checks whether the digital copying machine No. 1 is in a normal and outputable state (182). If output is possible, it is checked whether the output instruction key 71 shown in FIG. 4 has been pressed by the user (183), and if pressed, it is determined which place is abnormal,
The data corresponding to the content of the abnormality is stored. That is, it is checked whether or not the scanner is abnormal (184). If the scanner is abnormal, the corresponding data is stored (185). If not, then it is checked whether or not the lens is abnormal (18).
6) If the lens is abnormal, the corresponding data is stored (187), and if not abnormal, it is sequentially checked whether or not the developing motor, the fixing unit, etc. are abnormal (not shown).

Thereafter, the number No. i designated by the dip switch 109 is read (188). Here, DIP switch 109 is No.
1 is specified. Next, the register j is set to 1 (18
9) Check whether the value of j (= 1) is equal to the value of i read earlier (190). Here, i = 1,
Since j and i are equal, j is set to 2 (= 1 + 1) (195),
Compare j and i again. If they are different, j is 7 or more,
That is, it is checked whether or not the value of j is larger than the number of copying machines (6) (191).
Read the contents of No. j data in area A of AM107 (19
2) If the data indicates a ready state (19
3) The printout instruction and the contents of the abnormal data are output according to the format by designating the writing of No. j in the area B of the dual port RAM 107 (194). Step 193
When the data content does not indicate the ready state, j is incremented.

For example, if the abnormality in the digital copying machine No. 1 has occurred, whether j = 2 i.e. the state of the digital copying machine No. 2 is ready, it is determined whether the busy and is ready digital copying machine No . since instructs 2 to the printout format, the digital copying machine No. format corresponding to the generated abnormality information from the second printer in a digital copying machine No. 1 is outputted. At this time, if the state of digital copying machine No. 2 is busy, the next digital copying machine N
o. 3 of the state is going to examine in the same way whether it is ready, from the digital copying machine is in the ready state, the digital copier N
o. Output the format corresponding to the error information that occurred in Step 1.

The digital copying machine No. shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b
1 is the same as the processing operation of the other digital copying machines ( No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, No. 6) shown in FIG. , when this by, for example, an abnormality or a jam in the digital copying machine No. 2 occurs digital copying machine No. 1 printer or other digital copying machine (No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, No. It can be output from the printer of 6).

As a result, a format as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B is output from the printer. That is, when an abnormality occurs, 1
For one error, one format that describes the date and time of occurrence, the number of the abnormal machine, and the details of the error as shown in Fig. 6a is output, and when an error such as a jam occurs, one format is displayed as shown in Fig. 6b. One format that describes the date and time of the occurrence, the number of the faulty machine, and the content of the fault is output.

In this embodiment, the format output instruction is issued by pressing the output instruction key 71 shown in FIG. 4, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the format may be forcibly output.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention, for example, when a plurality of digital image forming apparatuses (Nos. 1 to 6) are connected and an abnormality occurs in one digital image forming apparatus (No. 1) , the abnormality detecting unit ( No. 140) detects the contents of the abnormality and writes an instruction to output the details of the abnormality to the memory means (107) to another digital image forming apparatus (No. 2) ( 181 to 19 in FIG. 5b).
Four). When the control means (140) of the other digital image forming apparatus (No. 2) has an instruction to output the details of the abnormality addressed to the self digital image forming apparatus in the memory means (107), an image indicating the details of the abnormality and the corresponding measures The formation is instructed to the recording means (103) (6 to 11 in FIG. 5a).

The user quickly repairs the one digital image forming apparatus (No. 1) by following the abnormal contents printed out from the recording means (103) of the other digital image forming apparatus (No. 2) and the measures therefor. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a digital copying machine No. showing one embodiment of the present invention .
1 and other digital copiers No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5 and N
o. it is a block diagram showing a connection state of the 6. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an outline of the structure of a mechanical section of the digital copying machine No. 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an outline of the configuration of the electrical unit of the digital copying machine No. 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically showing the operation display unit 106 of the digital copying machine No. 1 shown in FIG. 5a and 5b show the digital copying machine N shown in FIG.
6 is a flowchart showing processing contents of CPU 140 of FIG. 6a and 6b show the digital copying machine N shown in FIG.
o. From the printer unit 103 to the digital copier No. 1
FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an example of a format output when an error occurs and when a defect occurs. 1: Original, 2: Platen 3: Exposure lamp, 4: Lens array 5: CCD, 6: Polygon mirror 7: fθ lens, 8: Mirror 9: Photoconductor drum, 10: Polygon motor 11: Charging charger, 12: Development Unit 13: Transfer charger, 14: Separation charger 15: Cleaning unit, 16: Cassette 17: Recording paper, 18, 19: Feed roller 20: Registration roller, 21: Fixing unit 22: Tray, 23: Carriage drive motor 24: Original pressure plate, 71: output instruction key 101: scanner unit, 102: image processing unit 103: printer unit (recording means), 104: system control unit 105: synchronization control unit, 106: operation display unit 107: dual port RAM (memory Means), 108: communication interface 109: dip switch, 110: A / D conversion circuit 124: character generator, 140: CPU (abnormality detection means,
Control means) 141: ROM, 142: RAM No. 1 to No. 6: Digital copier

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A digital image forming apparatus comprising a recording unit for recording digital image information, a memory unit and a communication unit for inputting / outputting a signal to / from another digital image forming apparatus; Abnormality detecting means for detecting and writing an error content output instruction to the memory means addressed to another digital image forming apparatus; and when the memory means has an error content output instruction addressed to the self-digital image forming apparatus, the error content is output. And a control unit for instructing the recording unit to form an image indicating a corresponding action.