JP3201215B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus capable of executing image data processing by a plurality of functions such as a copying function, a facsimile function, and a printing function, in particular, an output processing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a digital copier capable of executing a plurality of functions such as a copying function, a facsimile function, and a printing function by one unit, in what order image data obtained from the plurality of functions are processed. Various proposals have been made. For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 5-130311 discloses an apparatus that processes each function according to a predetermined priority. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-136934 discloses a technique for determining the processing order of a plurality of competing functions under conditions specified by a user.

Further, focusing on the printer function, similar proposals have been made regarding the output processing order in which the output processing is performed. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-2560013, a job is divided into a plurality of spool files, an output process is started in units of the divided spool files, and after the output process of the job is completed, an output process of the next job is started. Is disclosed. Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 22506/1990
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-107421 discloses a device that includes means for switching the priority of output processing, thereby performing output processing by switching interface means for output processing data. or,
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-233028 discloses a printer device which assigns a predetermined priority to information stored in a spool means and performs output processing according to the priority. or,
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2-113327 discloses a device which includes a means for selecting an interface means and preferentially processes data from the interface means specified by an interrupt means for the selection means.

[0004]

However, these prior arts have the following problems. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-
According to the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 130311, the image input / output unit of the digital copying machine can be shared and used by each function, but when jobs are concentrated on a function with a high priority, the priority is low. There is a problem that the job processing of the function is not processed forever. Further, since the priorities are fixed, there is a problem that if the user's use conditions do not match the priorities, the job of the function to be prioritized is postponed. According to the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-136934, a user can specify the processing order of a plurality of functions of a digital copying machine. When concentrated, there is a problem that the processing is delayed even for a job with a small number of output sheets of a function having a low priority.

In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-2560013, spooling and output processing can be performed in parallel by dividing a job into a plurality of spool files, but the output processing is started once. Then, output processing of another job cannot be performed until the job ends. Therefore, once the output process of a large job of, for example, about 1000 sheets is started, there is a problem in that even a small job of about 1 sheet is printed after the output of 1,000 sheets is completed. In the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H2-225067, priority processing is possible. However, in order to set a priority order for each interface unit, when a plurality of jobs are received by the same interface unit, the above-described example is used. As described above, there is a similar problem that output processing of another job cannot be performed until the job ends. In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-233028, since there is no means for changing the priority of information stored in the spool means, only the output processing of a plurality of jobs with high priority is executed, and However, there is a problem that the output processing of a job with a low priority stored in the spool means is not started forever. In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-113327, it is possible to change the selection of the interface unit. However, when a plurality of jobs are received by the same interface unit, the job is terminated as in the example described above. There is a similar problem that the output process of another job cannot be performed until the job is completed. In addition, since the user must change the selection of the interface means, a troublesome operation is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. Even if a large-volume job is being processed on a first-come- It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus such as a digital copying machine or a printer which can process a job while keeping the waiting time to a minimum.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided image data input means for inputting image data of a job requiring image formation, and the image data input means. Output processing means for outputting image data input by the means, job amount measuring means for measuring a processed job amount of a job for which output processing is performed by the output processing means, and measurement by the job amount measuring means In accordance with the processed job amount determined, it is determined whether or not to interrupt the processing of the priority job with respect to the job that is performing the output processing by the output processing unit. Interrupt control means for interrupting the job which is performing the output processing. According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image data input unit for inputting image data of a job requiring image formation, an output processing unit for performing an output process of the image data input by the image data input unit, and the output processing unit. An unprocessed job amount measuring unit that measures an unprocessed job amount of the job that is performing the output process; and an output process by the output processing unit according to the unprocessed job amount measured by the unprocessed job amount measuring unit. Interrupt control means for determining whether or not to interrupt the processing of the priority job with respect to the job being performed, and for interrupting the priority job with the job performing the output processing when an interrupt is determined; It is characterized by. In the invention of claim 3,
Image data input means for inputting image data of a job requiring image formation, output processing means for performing output processing of the image data input by the image data input means, and job amount measurement for measuring a job amount of a job to be interrupted Means and a priority job to be interrupted by the output processing means on the basis of the job amount measured by the job amount measuring means, and Interrupt control means for interrupting a job which is performing output processing. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image data input unit for inputting image data of a job requiring image formation, an output processing unit for performing output processing of image data input by the image data input unit, and a job of a job to be interrupted. A job amount measuring unit for measuring an amount, an unprocessed job amount measuring unit for measuring an unprocessed job amount of a job that is performing output processing by the output processing unit, and a job amount measured by the job amount measuring unit. A priority job to be interrupted by the output processing unit based on a comparison with the unprocessed job amount measured by the unprocessed job amount measurement unit, and an interrupt is determined. Interrupt control means for causing the priority job to be interrupted by the job performing the output processing. In the invention according to claim 5, image data input means for inputting image data of a job requiring image formation, output processing means for performing output processing of the image data input by the image data input means, and a function of the job to be interrupted Function information recognizing means for recognizing information, based on the function information of the job recognized by the function information recognizing means, determine a priority job to be interrupted by the output processing means for a job that is performing output processing; Interrupt control means for interrupting the priority job determined by the interrupt to the job performing the output processing.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a processed job amount of a job that is performing output processing is measured, and a priority job is assigned to a job that is performing output processing in accordance with the measured processed job amount. It is determined whether or not to interrupt the processing, and if an interrupt is determined, the priority job is interrupted. According to the second aspect of the present invention, the unprocessed job amount of the job that is performing the output process is measured, and the process of the priority job is interrupted with respect to the job that is performing the output process according to the measured unprocessed job amount. It is determined whether or not to cause the priority job to be interrupted when an interrupt is determined.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the job amount of the interrupted job is measured, and the priority job to be interrupted with respect to the job that is performing the output process is determined based on the measured job amount. Is interrupted by the job performing the output processing. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the job amount of the job to be interrupted is compared with the unprocessed job amount of the job that is performing the output process, and the job that is performing the output process is interrupted based on the comparison result. The priority job is determined, and the interrupted priority job is interrupted. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, a print function, a copy function,
The function information indicating which one of the facsimile function and the like is used is recognized, and the function information of the recognized job is used as a factor in determining an interrupt.

[0009]

The present invention will be described below with reference to examples. FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram relating to a printer device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the interface means 21 to 24
, Spool means 3, print processing order management means 4, management information changing means 5, print processing control means 6, storage means 7, printing means 8, interrupt means 9, system bus
It is composed of 10. The operation of each component block will be described below. The interface means 21 to 24 are connected to a host computer according to the instruction of the print processing control means 6,
Alternatively, print data is received from an external device such as a host computer connected to a network. The spool unit 3 temporarily stores the print data received from the interface units 21 to 24 in units of jobs divided by the print processing order management unit 4 according to an instruction of the print processing control unit 6. The print processing order management means 4 stores the spool file capacity stored in the spool means 3 as information on the job amount for each print job, and simultaneously determines and stores the print processing order according to the job amount. For example, FIG.
The stored spool file, its job information amount, and the print processing order are stored as a print processing order table as shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 2A, the information amount of the spool file B is 30 KB, and the information amount of the spool file C is 200 K.
B, the information amount of the spool file D is 2 MB, and the print processing order is B, C, D. At this time, if another spool file A is newly stored, this job is compared with the information on the job amount of the already stored job, and based on the comparison result, the change of the print processing order of the job is performed. Do. In this example, as shown in FIG. 2B, since the information amount of the spool file A is 3 KB, this is the first print processing order. The management information changing means changes the information of the print processing order table managed by the print processing order management means when the print processing order is changed. This is because, for example, as shown in FIG. 2B, the job amount information of the spool files B, C, and D is Just reduce. If a predetermined condition is satisfied by such a change, the change of the print processing order in job units is prohibited. The print processing control unit 6 performs overall control for performing print processing according to the print processing order. Storage means 7
Stores image data recorded and output by the printing means 8 in accordance with the print processing control means 6. The printing means 8 prints out the image data of the storage means 7 expanded into the image data on the recording paper according to the print processing control means 6. The interrupt means 9 changes the print processing order by the print processing order management means 4, and the print processing order of the job in the print waiting state becomes higher than the print processing order of the job in the print processing.
When the highest processing order is reached, an interrupt is issued to the print processing control means 6.

FIG. 3 is a connection configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. The printer device 1 is connected to an external device via an interface means.
There are a network connection by Ethernet such as HST2, HST5, and HST6, a connection of a personal computer (HST3) by RS232C, and a personal computer (HST4) by SCSI.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the present embodiment. With reference to FIG. 4, a description will be given of the print processing order changing operation of the printer device. Interface means 21-24
When print data is received from the
Is temporarily stored for each job (step S1). At this time, the capacity of the spool file is used as job amount information A.
It is stored in the print processing order management means 4 (step S2). The print order management unit 4 refers to the print order table as shown in FIG. 2 to determine whether there is a job waiting to be printed (step S3). If there is no job waiting to be printed, the printing process is started (step S12). If there is already a job waiting to be printed, the job amount information B of the job with the lowest print processing order is read out (step S4), and the difference between the job amount information B and the job amount information A is determined to obtain a specified value. Is compared with (step S5). Here, the specified value is a parameter for considering the order of spooling, and is set, for example, as a predetermined job amount. If the comparison result is smaller than the specified value, the print processing order is not changed, and the process enters the print waiting state as the lowest processing order (step S10). The job in the print waiting state is waited until the printing process of another job with a higher processing order is completed (step S11), and the printing process is started after the completion (step S12). If the comparison result is larger than the specified value, the print processing order is changed (step S6). At this time, the difference between the job amount information of the job whose print processing order is lowered due to the change and the job amount information of the job whose print processing order is raised is calculated,
The management information changing unit 5 changes the job amount information managed by the print processing order management unit 4 (step S7) so that the job amount information of the job whose print processing order is lowered by changing the value is changed (step S7). As a result of calculating the difference, if the job amount information of the job whose print processing order is lowered is smaller than the specified value, the management information changing means 5 instructs the print processing order management means 4 to print the job Change of ranking is prohibited. This change prevents a situation in which the priority is lowered and the print processing is not started forever, and guarantees the print processing start point. If the print processing order has been changed, it is determined whether or not it is the highest processing order (step S8).
Further, a process for determining whether or not to change the print processing order is performed. Here, the job amount information having the next lowest processing order is set as the job amount information of the job to be compared (step S9). When the print processing order is changed, the print processing order of the job being printed is changed, and if the print processing order becomes the highest, the print processing is started (step S12). At this time, the interrupt unit 9 interrupts the print processing control unit 6. At the start of the print processing, a method of starting the print processing after the end of the print processing job, an interrupt from the interrupt unit 9, waiting for the end of the page processing of the print processing job, and Can be selected from a method of starting the print processing after interrupting the job, and a method of starting the print processing by immediately interrupting the job being processed in response to an interrupt from the interrupt unit 9. The printing unit 8 performs a printing process of the job whose order has been changed according to the selected method.

In this embodiment, as a result of calculating the difference in the job amount information by changing the print processing order, if the job amount information of the job whose print processing order is lowered is smaller than the specified value, the job print information order is changed. Although the change is prohibited, the management information changing unit 5 manages the number of interruptions (the number of times the order is changed) due to the change of the print processing order, so that the job can be deleted when the specified number of interruptions are performed. It is also possible to prohibit the change of the print processing order.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a printer 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the interface means 21 to
24, spool means 3, print processing order management means 4,
It comprises a management information changing means 5, a print processing control means 6, a storage means 7, a printing means 8, an interrupt means 9, a system bus 10, and a processing time estimating means 11. Hereinafter, the operations of the print order management unit 4 and the processing time prediction unit 11 will be described. The operation of the other components is the same as in the above-described embodiment. The processing time estimating means 11 reads the spool file for each job stored in the spooling means 3, estimates the time required for developing the print data received from the interface means 21 to 24 into image data, and manages the print processing order. Notify the means 4. Print processing order management means 4
Stores the predicted processing time information notified from the processing time prediction means 11 for the spool file stored in the spool means 3 for each print job. When another spool file is newly stored, the job is compared with the estimated processing time information of the already stored job, and the print processing order of the job is changed based on the comparison result. The print processing order determination operation of the printer in this embodiment is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, except that the information for determination is not the spool file capacity but the estimated processing time of the job.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention in an image forming apparatus having a plurality of functions, such as a facsimile machine and a copying machine, in addition to a printer, will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. The operation display unit 31 includes a display and a control panel, and has various functions such as various settings relating to a copy function such as the number of copies and a copy magnification, and various settings relating to a facsimile function such as a destination and a transmission mode. This is a block for instructing a process related to, or displaying an error message, an operation guide, or the like. Image input unit 33
Irradiates the original placed on the platen with a fluorescent lamp, etc., reads the reflected light optically with, for example, a CCD sensor, adjusts the read signal offset and gain, and then converts the analog image data into a digital image. This is the block to be converted into data. In this block, so-called shading correction or the like for correcting the sensitivity variation of each element of the CCD sensor may be performed. The image output unit 34 forms a latent image by selectively exposing the photosensitive drum with a laser beam, an LED head, or the like, and developing a latent image of this latent image with a developer composed of toner or carrier onto recording paper. It is a printer block such as a so-called laser or LED that transfers and thermally fixes.

The encoding / decoding unit 35 transmits a predetermined encoding format (MH, MR,
(MMR) or a block for restoring facsimile information received via the telephone line 43 to original image data. The code data expanding unit 41 is a block that expands print data described in PDL such as PostScript received through the network line 42 into bitmap image data. The network interface unit 38 is a block that controls communication between hosts such as other work stations and personal printers via a network line and receives print data.
The communication control unit 40 modulates the coded data generated by the encoding / decoding unit 35 by modem and transmits the modulated data to another facsimile apparatus or multifunction device via a telephone line, or a signal received from another facsimile or the like. Is a block which demodulates the data into digital code data and further controls the connection of a communication line.

The image data storage unit 36 includes an image input unit 33
, The facsimile data received by the communication control unit 40, and the code data expansion unit 41 expands the code data into bitmap image data. This block is used as a working memory when the image data is compressed into code data by the encoding / decoding unit 35 or when the code data is expanded into image data. Of course, the data received by the network interface unit 38 and the communication control unit 40,
The image data read by the image input unit 33 may be stored in the image data storage unit 36 as file data. Further, in this embodiment, the image data storage unit 36 is used as a memory for temporarily storing image data, but a memory may be individually arranged for each block. The image data processing unit 37 performs a rotation process for adjusting the direction of the image data to the direction of the recording paper that can be used by the image output unit 34, and performs facsimile transmission of the image data read by the image input unit 33. It is a block for changing the resolution of the read image data in accordance with the resolution of the recording unit, performing smoothing processing for removing jaggedness generated in the thin line portion of the bitmap image generated by the code data developing unit 41, and the like.

The job amount measuring unit 39 is an image output unit 34 commonly used for various functions of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, that is, a facsimile function, a print function, and a copy function.
This is a block for measuring the amount of job in. In the following description, the job amount indicates the number of sheets of image data actually output on the recording paper by the image output unit 34. For example,
The image input unit 33 reads ten A4 size documents,
If five copies are made, the job amount is 50. However, in the present invention, the definition of the job amount is not limited to this, and may be expressed by, for example, the processing time in the image output unit, or the total amount of image data output by the image output unit. . In addition to the amount of processing in the image output unit 34, the amount of job is the amount of processing in the image input unit 33, such as the time required for image reading, the amount of image data read, and the like. It may be related to the processing amount, for example, the time required for storage, the amount of stored data, and the like. The control unit 32 is a block that controls the operation mode and operation timing of each block according to various functions. In particular, in the present embodiment, as described later, the processing order of each job in the image output unit 34 is determined according to the job amount measured by the job amount measurement unit 39,
The operation timing of each block is controlled so that the job of each function is sequentially output by the image output unit according to the order.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. The whole is roughly divided into an image forming unit M1 for forming a copy by forming a toner image corresponding to a document image on a recording sheet, and an automatic document for automatically sending a document to a document mounting surface of the image forming unit M1. Feed unit M2
And a post-processing unit M that performs post-processing such as sorting and stapling on the recording paper discharged from the image forming unit M1.
Consists of three. Inside the image forming unit M1, an image reading unit M5 that scans a document placed on a platen glass M4 serving as a document placing surface and reads a document image from above,
A printing unit M6 for forming a toner image corresponding to a document image on recording paper based on image information obtained by the image reading unit M5 or image information transmitted from a terminal device on a LAN or a public line; A paper supply unit M7 for supplying recording paper to M6 is provided. The automatic document feeder M2 is provided so as to open and close a platen glass M4 provided on an upper portion of the image forming apparatus, and feeds a document loaded on a document placing tray M8 with a feed roller (not shown). Documents are sequentially read one by one on a platen glass M4 by a transport belt M9 to read a document image, and then the document is discharged to a document discharge tray M10 by a transport belt M9 and discharge rollers (not shown). The image reading unit M5 includes an exposure lamp M11, a plurality of reflection mirrors M12, a lens M13, an image sensor M14, and the like as an optical system.
The reflection mirror M12 is moved along the platen glass M4, the light reflected from the document is converged on the image sensor M14, and the density of the document image is converted into an electric image signal.
This image signal is converted into digital image data by an A / D conversion circuit or the like provided as an electrical system inside the image reading unit M5.

The printing unit M6 forms a toner image on recording paper by a well-known electrophotographic method in accordance with digital image data from the processing unit. The surface of the photosensitive drum M16 is charged uniformly by the charging device M15. Is exposed to laser light from a laser exposure device M17 to form an electrostatic latent image. The laser exposure device M17 is a laser device (not shown) such as a semiconductor laser whose drive current is modulated based on image data from the image reading unit M5, and moves laser light from the laser device on the surface of the photosensitive drum M16. Rotating polygon mirror M18 that periodically deflects in a direction perpendicular to the direction,
It is composed of a reflection mirror M19 and the like. The electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor drum M16 is developed by the developing device M20 or M21 to form a toner image of a desired color on the photoconductor drum M16. This toner image is transferred to the paper feed unit M7 by the transfer unit M22. The image is transferred onto the recording sheet sent along the path A from any of the plurality of trays M7a to 7e. In addition,
The trays M7a to 7c are paper feed trays for storing recording papers of different sizes, the tray M7d is an intermediate tray for temporarily storing recording paper for double-sided copying, and the M7e is for storing hundreds of recording papers. Large capacity tray. The residual toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum M16 after the transfer is removed by the cleaning unit M23. The recording paper after the transfer is separated from the photosensitive drum M16 by the separation unit M24, transported to the fixing unit M26 by the conveyor M25, and subjected to a fixing process. The path of the recording paper after the fixing is switched by the switching gate M27 to one of a path B to the post-processing section M3 and a path C to the intermediate tray M7d via the reversing section M28 for duplex copying. In the case of double-sided copying, the front and back of the recording paper are reversed by the reversing unit M28, supplied again to the printing unit M6 along the path A via the intermediate tray M7d, and a toner image is formed on the back of the recording paper this time. Thereafter, it is sent to the post-processing unit M3.

The recording paper discharged from the printing section M6 to the post-processing section M3 is switched to one of the paths D and E by the switching gate M29. The recording paper that has proceeded to the path D is sent to the path F with the image side up as it is, and the recording paper that has proceeded to the path E is turned over by the reversing unit M30.
Sent to The recording paper that travels on the path F
By 31, the route is divided into a route G toward the top tray M32 and a route H receiving various post-processing. The recording paper that has proceeded to the path H is conveyed downward along the path I by the vertical conveyance belt M33, and is sorted by the switching gate M34 into a path J for stapling and a path K to the sorter bin M35. The recording paper that has proceeded to the path J is discharged into the special tray M36,
When the required number of recording papers have been accumulated, they are stapled by the stapler M37. The stapled recording paper is conveyed downward again by the vertical conveyance belt M33 and discharged to a predetermined position in the sorter bin M35.

The operation of each block in each function will be further described with reference to FIG. (1) Copy Function Image data is read from the image input unit 33 and temporarily stored in the image data storage unit 36. At this time, in order to reduce the data amount, the image data may be temporarily compressed into code data via the coding / decoding unit 35 and accumulated. In parallel with this storage operation, the code data temporarily stored in the image data storage unit 36 is sequentially read out according to the conditions set in the operation display unit 31, and is expanded into image data by the coding / decoding unit 35. Are output by the image output unit 34. At this time, the direction of the image data read by the image input unit 33 and the operation display unit 3
If the direction of the recording paper selected in step 1 does not match, or if the recording paper tray on which the recording paper in the desired direction has been emptied, the recording paper is read from the image data storage unit 36 and encoded and decoded. The image data expanded by the converting unit 35 is sent to an image data processing unit 37 and subjected to a rotation process.
Thereafter, the image is output by the image output unit 34.

(2) Facsimile Function When transmitting image data to another facsimile apparatus, the original to be transmitted is read from the image input unit 33, compressed by the encoding / decoding unit 25 into encoded data, and transmitted to the image data storage unit 36. Once accumulate. In the operation display section 31, the input of the telephone number of the transmission destination and the specification of the transmission mode are performed, and the communication control section 40 connects to the telephone line 43, calls the partner station, and determines the call. Information such as the class of the destination facsimile is obtained from the communication control unit 40, and the transmission data is stored in the image data storage unit 3.
6 and, if necessary, the image data processing unit 37 so that the resolution matches the resolution of the other party facsimile recording unit.
Then, the image data is re-encoded by the encoding / decoding unit 35 using an encoding method corresponding to the determined transmission mode, and sent to the communication control unit 40. Then, the digital code data is modulated by a modem and transmitted to the other party facsimile apparatus. When the transmission is completed, the communication control unit 4
0 ends the connection with the telephone line 43.

When image data is received from another facsimile apparatus, the communication control unit 40 receives the modem-modulated code data from the telephone line 43, demodulates it and converts it into digital code data to store the image data. Part 36
To temporarily store. The code data stored in the image data storage unit 36 is expanded into image data by the coding / decoding unit 35 and output by the image output unit 34. At this time, the resolution of the received image data is converted into the resolution of the image output unit 34 by the image data processing unit 37 as necessary. or,
As described in the copy function, when there is no recording paper corresponding to the direction of the received image data, the image data is processed by the image data processing unit 37 and then output by the image output unit 34.

(3) Print Function The print data transmitted via the network line 42 is received by the network interface unit 38. The print data in which the code is described is converted into bitmap image data by the code data developing unit 41. The bitmap image data is compressed into code data by the encoding / decoding unit 35 and is temporarily stored in the image data storage unit 36. The image data is read from the image data storage unit 36 in accordance with the print control command sent together with the code data, decompressed into image data by the encoding / decoding unit 35, and output by the image output unit 34. The bitmap image data may be subjected to edge smoothing processing by the image data processing unit 37 as needed.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the job amount measuring unit 39. The job amount measuring unit 39 includes a scan number counting unit 51, an RTC / EOFB code counting unit 52, a page division symbol counting unit 53, a calculation unit 54, and an output operation number unit 55.
It is composed of In this embodiment, the job amount is defined as the number of image data actually output on the recording paper in the image output unit 34 in the present embodiment. Since there are an "N-up copy" mode in which a plurality of originals are reduced and output on one sheet of recording paper, and a "double-sided copying" mode in which image data is recorded on both sides of the recording sheet, etc. Image data is not always output on one sheet of recording paper. Taking this point into account, the job amount can be defined as in (Equation 1).

[Equation 1] (job amount) = (number of originals) × (number of output copies) / (number of originals per recording sheet) In (Equation 1), information on the number of output copies and information on the number of originals per recording sheet are: The output information can be known from the output information set on the operation display unit 31 or the output control information sent together with the print data in the print function. On the other hand, how to obtain the document number information differs depending on each function.

The number-of-documents information relating to the copying function can be obtained by counting the number of times that the scanner has operated to read the original by the image input unit 33 by the scan number counting unit 51. However, as a prerequisite, even when a plurality of copies are made for one set of documents, the scanner scans each document only once, and the read image data is stored in the image data storage unit. In the second and subsequent copies, data stored in the image data storage unit 36 is read and output processing is performed in the image output unit 34. still,
If the number of documents is known in advance, the operation display unit 31
The number of originals may be input by key. The scan count unit 51 is initialized for each copy function job.

The information on the number of originals relating to the facsimile function is obtained from the digital code data obtained by modem demodulation of the facsimile data received by the communication control unit 40, by an encoding / decoding unit 35 by an RTC code (control return) indicating the end of one page. Symbol: Applied to G3 machine) and EOFB code (Facsimile block end code: Applied to G4 machine)
It can be obtained by counting in the TC / EOFB code counting section 52. RTC / EOFB code counting section 52
Is initialized for each facsimile function (print output) job.

The information on the number of originals relating to the print function is obtained by detecting a predetermined page division symbol in a code data developing unit 41 from print data described in PDL such as a postscript received by a network interface unit 38. This can be obtained by counting this by the page division counting unit 53. However, page division symbols are not always inserted in PDL-described print data. In such a case, the code data developing unit 41 develops the code data into bitmap image data, and recognizes one page when the number of lines per recording paper or the number of lines is reached. The page division symbol counting unit 53 is initialized for each print function job. The information on the number of documents for each function obtained in this way is calculated by the calculation unit 54 in accordance with (Equation 1) together with the output information of the operation display unit 31, and is converted into job amount information for each function. Converted. The output processed job amount information indicates the number of output recording sheets discharged from the printing unit M6 of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment to the post-processing unit M3 for the job currently being output by the image output unit 34, It is defined by the sum of the number of sheets of recording paper currently staying inside the printing unit M6 and being subjected to the output process, and can be obtained by counting the both by the output operation number counting unit 55. The output operation number counting section 55 is initialized each time a job to be output-processed by the image output section is switched.

The control of the processing order of each job in the control unit 32 will be described. The control unit 32 creates a job management table as shown in FIG. 9 according to the job amount for each function obtained by the job amount measurement unit 39. In FIG. 9, the reception number indicates the order in which the job amount for each job of each function is determined and the output processing in the image output unit 34 is requested. In the example of FIG. 9A, a facsimile function job with a job amount of 5 requests output processing first, and then a copy function job with a job amount of 30, a print function job with a job amount of 50, and a print function job with a job amount of 1000. Indicates that an output processing request has occurred. At this time, since the size of the job amount of each functional job is in the order of the output processing request, the output processing in the image output unit 34 is performed in this order. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9B, a fifth output request for a copy function job having a job amount of 10 is issued. However, since this job amount is smaller than the job amount 30 of the second copy function, the control unit 32
The output processing order of the job No. 5 is lowered by one, and the output order of the job No. 5 is set to the second. At this time, the number of interruptions by other jobs is updated for each job at the same time. In the case of FIG. 9B, since the jobs of the reception numbers 2 to 4 are to be interrupted, the number of interruptions is set to 1. The reason why the number of interrupts is managed is to prevent a job having a large job amount from being output as long as an output processing request for a job having a smaller job amount occurs. The job for which the number of interruptions has reached a predetermined value (a value set in advance on the device side or a value set by the user via the operation display unit 31)
After that, the output processing order is not changed by the interruption by the job in which the output request occurs.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the processing flow of the job processing order changing operation of the control unit 32. When a job relating to the output processing of the image output unit 33 in an arbitrary function occurs, the job amount measuring unit 39 calculates the job amount according to the function, and sets the value to A (step S21). After the job amount is determined, an output request is issued (step S22), and a reception number N for the function job is obtained (step S23). Output processing priority P _A at the time the output request is generated is equal to the reception number N (step S24). Furthermore the number of interrupts N _A with respect to the job is set to 0 (step S25). Next, with reference to the job management table as shown in FIG. 9, it is determined whether or not there is a job waiting for output (step S2).
6). If there is no job waiting for output, the output process is started (step S37). Already, when a job output wait state exists, currently the most output processing priority lower job, that is, the output processing priority P _B = P _A -1 becomes job with job amount information B and interrupt count N a job management table (Steps S27 and S28).
The number of interruptions N is compared with a prescribed value (step S29). If N has reached the prescribed value, other jobs cannot be prioritized prior to the job whose output waiting order is P _B. Enter output wait state (step S3
1). The job in the output waiting state is waited until the output processing of another job with a higher processing order ends (step S32), and the output processing is started after the end (step S32).
37). If N is less than the specified value, the sizes of the job amount information A and the job amount information B are compared (step S3).
0). If the job amount information A was job amount information B above, to confirm the output processing priority P _A enters the output wait state (step S31). Job amount information A is job amount information B
If it is less than the above, the output processing order is changed. By setting the output processing order of the job whose output processing order was P _B to P _A , the processing order is lowered by one (step S33),
Since the interruption of one job has occurred, the number of interruptions N is increased by one (step S34). Job processing priority output processing priority so far was P _A instead rises one (step S35). If the output processing order has been changed, it is determined whether or not the output processing order is the highest (step S).
36) If it is not the highest processing order, processing is further performed to determine whether or not to change the output processing order. Here, it is determined whether or not the job with the next lowest processing order can be interrupted. (Steps S27 and S28). Such an operation is repeated, and the output processing is started when the output processing rank becomes the highest processing rank (step S37). The targets of the change of the output processing order include not only the job currently in the output waiting state but also the job currently being output processed. In the latter case, the job that is newly processed in the highest processing order for the job currently being processed may be processed in the form of interrupt processing. When an interrupt process occurs for the job currently being processed, all the recording papers that have been subjected to the output process while remaining inside the printing unit M6 in FIG. 7 complete the predetermined output process, and the recording paper remains in the printing unit M6. It is desirable not to do so. Further, in a case where an interrupt process is performed for a job currently being processed, a post-processing unit M capable of performing a post-sorting process on the recording paper discharged from the image forming unit M1 as shown in FIG.
3 is desirable. In this case, the output destination of the recording paper in the interrupt output process is to use a bin different from the sorter bin used for the job that was processing until then, so that it is not mixed with the job that was processed before. Can be. As described above, by providing the sorting device for sorting the recording paper under the output process and the recording paper of the interrupted priority job, the handling of the output recording paper by the interruption becomes extremely convenient.

In the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, unlike the prior art in which the output processing order in the image output unit 34 is determined by the copying function, the facsimile function, and the printing function, the functions are fair regardless of the function. The output processing order of each job was determined according to the size of the job amount. However, when there is a bias in the size of the job amount of each function, for example, when the job amount of the print function job is always larger than the job amount of the other function jobs on average, the print function job sends the output processing request earlier. Even if the timing is issued, there is a high probability that another function job for which an output processing request has been issued later will be interrupted, and a situation may occur in which the output processing of the print function job cannot be completed smoothly. In such a case, it is desirable to assign a weight to each function as function information, and determine the processing order in consideration of the weight value in consideration of the job amount.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a method of determining the output processing order in consideration of the function information. FIG.
(A) is a diagram for explaining output processing order control according to the job amount when function information is not taken into consideration. First, a print function job with a job amount of 200 issues an output processing request, and then arrives. The number of interrupts is 5 since all of the three function jobs are processed first because the job amount is smaller than the first print function job. In this example, for the first print function job, the output processing is executed at the earlier timing, either when the output processing of the job that arrives later ends or when the number of interrupts reaches a predetermined specified value. On the other hand, FIG.
Is a diagram for explaining output processing order control according to the job amount in consideration of the function information, where a weighting value of α = 1 for the copy function and the facsimile function and α = 0. A weight value of 1 is given, and the output processing order is determined using a value obtained by multiplying the job amount J obtained for each functional job by the weight value α. In this example, the number of jobs interrupted by the print function job of the reception number 1 is reduced to three function jobs of the reception numbers 2, 3, and 6. As the weighting value, a value set in advance on the device side or a value set by the user via the operation display unit 1 is used. The output processing job amount received for each function may be stored in the apparatus, and the weighting value may be obtained from the value.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow in the case where the weighting value for each function is obtained by calculating from the operation history of the apparatus up to that time. First, the type of function is determined as to which function job generated the output processing request in the image output unit 34 (step S41). Here, a print function, a copy function, and a facsimile function are taken as examples of the types of functions, and these functions are represented by subscripts P, C, and F. Job amount information J _p of the latest respective functions in accordance with the determination result, J _c, to update the J _F (step S42~S4
4). And the number of receptions of each functional job until then, N _p ,
N _c, job volume average the N _F A _p, A _c, the latest job volume information it is multiplied by the A _F J _p, J _c, the job amount cumulative value of each function job by adding the J _F S _p, S _c and S _F are updated (steps S 45 to S 47), and the number of receptions N _p , N _c , and N _{F of} each functional job are also updated (steps S 48 to S 48).
S50). And accepted the job number of the updated N _p, N _c,
N _F and job amount cumulative value S _p, S _c, the latest job volume average obtained from S _F (step S51 to S53).
Then, the minimum value MIN of the job amount average value of each function job
(A _p , A _c , A _F ) are obtained (step S54), and the weights α _p , α _c , α _F are obtained by dividing this value by the average job amount of each functional job (step S5).
5). That is, according to the flowchart shown in FIG.
The ratio of the average value of the job amount per operation for each function is obtained and is used as the weight value.

As shown in FIG. 11B, when a weight value is uniquely determined for a function job, in the example of FIG. 11, a request for output processing with a job amount of 10 or less is input to the print function job. Will always be processed faster than other function jobs. Thus, as shown in FIG. 13, when the weighting value is determined according to the type of the function and the job amount, the output processing job amount in the range in which the function is most concentrated can be preferentially processed for each function. In the example of FIG. 13, in the range where the job amount is relatively small (job amount 1 to 19), the jobs are processed in a first-come-first-served order without prioritizing the jobs by function. In a region where the job amount exceeds 20, the copy function job is given priority. Job volume 50-5
The reason why the weight value of the facsimile function is set to 0.02 in the range of 9 is that, for example, the number of facsimile transmissions of the sales settlement report sent to the head office at the end of the month always falls within the range of 50 to 59 sheets. In a case where it is desired to print out immediately upon receipt of an incoming call, such a setting enables priority output processing. In a region where the print function job is concentrated and the job amount is 100 or more, the setting is made such that the print function job is prioritized.

In the case where another job is interrupted by a job currently being output, it is desirable to consider the processing amount of the job. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, for a print function job X having a job amount of 100, the interruption determination time of another job Y having a job amount of 10 is the time when the output processing of 10 sheets of the job X is completed. X
14, when the output processing of 95 sheets is completed, the completion time of the job X is the same in any case as shown in FIG. However, in the former case, the completion degree of the job X is 10% when the interruption occurs, whereas in the latter case, it is 95% that the job X is almost completed. That is, in the output processing with a large job amount, there is a possibility that another job may be interrupted one after another even if the job is almost completed, so the end time of the output processing may be delayed.

FIG. 15 is a view for explaining the processing flow of the job processing order changing operation of the control unit 32 in consideration of the job processing amount of the job currently being output. In the figure, steps S21 to S32 are the same processing steps as the processing flow shown in FIG. FIG.
In step S30, the size of the job amount information A and the size of the job amount information B are compared, and if the job amount information A is smaller than the job amount information B, the output processing order P _B
Is the highest processing order (step S6).
1). If the output processing order P _B is not the highest processing order,
Until now output processing order is one processing priority output processing order of the job B was P _B as P _A decrease (step S6
2) Since the interruption of one job A has occurred in job B, the number of interruptions N is increased by one (step S6).
3). The processing order of job _A , whose output processing order was PA before, is increased by one (step S64), and processing for determining whether or not to change the output processing order is performed. On the other hand, in step 61, when the output processing priority P _B was the highest processing priority, job B is a job currently being output processing. In this case, the output processed job amount information E of the job currently being output is read from the job amount measuring unit 39 shown in FIG. 6 (step S65), and the total output is obtained by adding the previous output processing amount of the job to this. The processing amount F is obtained (step S66). Then, the current completion rate η of the job is calculated by calculating the ratio F / B of the total output processing amount F to the job amount information B (step S67), and is compared with a predetermined specified value (step S68). . As the predetermined specified value, a value set in advance on the device side or a value set by the user via the operation display unit 31 can be used. If the completion rate η of the job currently being processed does not exceed the specified value, the image output unit 34 starts the interrupt output processing of the job A whose output processing order has been updated (step S6).
9). If the completion rate η of the job currently being processed exceeds the specified value, interruption is prohibited for the job currently being output, and the process enters an output waiting state until the output process is completed (step S31). When the output processing of the job currently being processed is output processing priority P _A job wait for interrupt ends it is highest priority (step S32), and starts the output processing of the job (step S69). In the example of FIG. 15, the interrupt processing is performed by paying attention to the processed job amount of the job currently being output. However, the control unit 32 calculates the unprocessed job amount, and A determination as to whether or not to interrupt may be made based on the determination.
Also, it may be determined whether or not to give priority to the interruption depending on the amount of the job, and in this case,
For example, an interrupt can be determined simply by the number of output sheets, such as when the number of output sheets is 10 or less.

In the example described with reference to FIG. 15, whether or not to interrupt the currently processed job is determined based on the job completion rate η. However, the remaining amount of the currently output job, ie, the unprocessed job amount (BF) is compared with the interrupt job amount A to determine whether or not to perform an interrupt. For example, if the interrupt job amount A is smaller than the unprocessed job amount (BF), the interrupt may be permitted. Good. Further, the completion rate η is equal to or less than a predetermined specified value and the unprocessed job amount (B−
Only when F) is greater than the interrupt job amount A, an interrupt may be performed, that is, whether or not to execute an interrupt may be determined based on three pieces of information of a completion rate, an unprocessed job amount, and an interrupt job amount.

Next, the control for the job being processed by the control unit 32 when an interrupt occurs for the job being output will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When an output processing interrupt of another job occurs for the job currently being output, it is first confirmed that all the recording papers that have been subjected to the output processing in the printing unit M6 in FIG. 7 have been discharged to the outside. (Step S7
1). Then, the output processing for the job currently being output is stopped (step S72), and the current processed job amount E
Is read from the job amount measurement unit 39 in FIG. 6 (step S73), and the total output processing amount F of the job is updated (step S74). Then, the output processing order of the job is lowered by one (step S75), and the number of interrupts N is increased by one (step S76). Then, after the interrupt output job is completed, output management information necessary when the job is restarted from the page after the page where the process was interrupted by the interrupt is saved (step S77).

As is clear from the above description, in this embodiment, the processing order is changed including the job currently being processed based on the information on the job amount. In this way, the priority is given to the processing of other jobs. This interrupt processing is performed without the intervention of an operator, unlike a normal interruption operation, and the operator does not intervene to return from the interruption.

[0042]

As described above, according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the interruption of the priority job is performed in accordance with the processed job amount and the unprocessed job amount of the job that is performing the output process. Since the job amount is large, the completion of the output process is almost completed, but the end time is delayed due to interruption one after another or the job having a large job amount near the start of the output process due to the large job amount. It is possible to avoid waiting for a priority job for a long time. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the selection of the priority job to be interrupted is determined by the amount of the job, so that a job with a small job amount can be simply interrupted. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, whether or not to interrupt the job is determined by comparing the unprocessed job amount of the job that is performing output processing with the interrupted job amount. If it is smaller than the above, the interruption is permitted, and waiting of a job with a small job amount is avoided. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the presence / absence of interruption is determined from the information on the job amount in consideration of the function information on each function such as the copy function job, the facsimile function job, and the print function job.
Because the job volume is large, output processing of a specific function can be prevented from always being delayed, and output processing of a specific function can be given priority over output processing of other functions. It is possible to carry out the processing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a print processing order table.

FIG. 3 is a connection configuration diagram of an interface unit and an external device.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of another embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of another embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a job amount measurement unit.

FIG. 9 illustrates a job management table.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow for explaining a job processing order changing operation of the control unit.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a method of determining an output processing order in consideration of function information.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a processing flow in a case where a weighting value for each function is calculated from the operation history of the apparatus up to that time.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a weight value for each function is determined according to a job amount.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the degree of completion of a job when another job interrupts a job currently being processed.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow for explaining a job processing order changing operation of the control unit in consideration of a job processing amount of a job currently being output;

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow for explaining control of a job being processed when an interrupt occurs for a job being output;

[Explanation of symbols]

1: printer device, 21 to 24: interface means, 3
... Spool means, 4 ... Print processing order management means, 5 ... Management information change means, 6 ... Print processing control means, 7 ... Storage means,
8 printing means, 9 interrupt means, 10 system bus,
11: Processing time prediction means, HST1 to HST6: Host computer, 31: Operation display unit, 32: Control unit, 33: Image input unit, 34: Image output unit, 35: Encoding / decoding unit, 36 ...
Image data storage unit, 37 image data processing unit, 38 network interface unit, 39 job amount measurement unit,
40: communication control unit, 41: code data development unit, 42:
Network line 43 telephone line 51 scan number counting unit 52 RTC / EOFB code counting unit 53
Page division symbol counting section, 54 arithmetic section, 55 output operation count section, M1 image forming section, M2 automatic document feeding section, M3 post-processing section, M4 platen glass, M5 image reading section, M6 ... Printing section, M7 ... Paper feeding section, M7a-
M7e: tray, M8: document placement tray, M9: transport belt, M10: document discharge tray, M11: exposure lamp,
M12: reflection mirror, M13: lens, M14: image sensor, M15: charging device, M16: photosensitive drum,
M17: Laser exposure apparatus, M18: Rotating polygon mirror, M1
9 reflection mirror, M20, M21: developing unit, M22: transfer unit, M23: cleaning unit, M24: peeling unit, M25
... Conveyor, M26 ... Fusing unit, M27, M29, M3
1, M34: switching gate, M28, M30: reflector, M32: top tray, M33: vertical transport belt, M
35: sorter bin, M36: holding tray, M37: stapler.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-252333 (JP, A) JP-A-3-75861 (JP, A) JP-A-6-59834 (JP, A) JP-A-5-59834 208539 (JP, A) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 3/12

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. An image data input unit for inputting image data of a job requiring image formation, an output processing unit for outputting image data input by the image data input unit, and an output process by the output processing unit A job amount measuring unit that measures the processed job amount of the job performing the job, and a job that is performing output processing by the output processing unit according to the processed job amount measured by the job amount measuring unit. Interrupt control means for determining whether or not to interrupt the processing of a priority job, and for interrupting the priority job to the job performing the output processing when an interrupt is determined. Image forming device. 2. An image data input unit for inputting image data of a job requiring image formation, an output processing unit for performing an output process of the image data input by the image data input unit, and an output process by the output processing unit An unprocessed job amount measuring unit that measures the unprocessed job amount of the job performing the job, and performing an output process by the output processing unit according to the unprocessed job amount measured by the unprocessed job amount measuring unit. Interrupt control means for deciding whether or not to interrupt the processing of the priority job with respect to the current job, and for interrupting the priority job with the job performing the output processing when the interruption is determined. Characteristic image forming apparatus. 3. An image data input unit for inputting image data of a job requiring image formation, an output processing unit for performing an output process of the image data input by the image data input unit, and a job amount of the interrupted job. A priority job to be interrupted by the output processing means based on the job quantity measured by the job quantity measurement means and the job quantity measured by the job quantity measurement means; And an interrupt control means for interrupting the priority job with the job performing the output processing. 4. An image data input unit for inputting image data of a job requiring image formation, an output processing unit for performing an output process of the image data input by the image data input unit, and a job amount of the interrupted job. A job amount measuring unit for measuring, an unprocessed job amount measuring unit for measuring an unprocessed job amount of a job that is performing output processing by the output processing unit, a job amount measured by the job amount measuring unit, Based on a comparison with the unprocessed job amount measured by the unprocessed job amount measuring unit, a priority job to be interrupted by the output processing unit with respect to the job that is performing output processing is determined, and the priority determined by the interrupt is determined. An image forming apparatus comprising: interrupt control means for interrupting a job to a job which is performing the output processing. 5. An image data input unit for inputting image data of a job requiring image formation, an output processing unit for performing output processing of image data input by the image data input unit, and function information of a job to be interrupted. Based on the function information of the job recognized by the function information recognizing unit, a priority job to be interrupted by the output processing unit is determined based on the function information of the job recognized by the function information recognizing unit. An image forming apparatus, comprising: interrupt control means for interrupting the determined priority job with the job performing the output processing.