JP3522058B2 - Processing unit connection system - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention uses a controller device such as a computer to copy a copier, a printer,
The present invention relates to a processing device connecting system in which a plurality of independent processing devices such as a facsimile device are connected and operated.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, in offices and the like, a plurality of processing devices for performing image forming processing such as copying and printing by electrophotography are often installed, such as copying machines, printers, and facsimiles. In this type of processing apparatus, for example, as in the image forming apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-44780, a plurality of developing devices of the same color are set, and the developer in the hopper of the developing device is empty. In some cases, by changing to another developing device of the same color, the replacement cycle of the consumable item of the developing device that is frequently used is extended. In addition, recently, when consumables such as toner cartridges and process cartridges installed in the processing device have reached or reached the replacement life, they are automatically notified via a communication line. Some are equipped with the function of notifying the service center and prompting the service person to replace the cartridge.

[0003]

However, when a plurality of processing devices having the above-mentioned functions are installed in an office, a replacement request is issued from each processing device each time each toner cartridge or process cartridge reaches the replacement life. Therefore, a service person must visit the office each time, which is very troublesome. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in claim 1, various processing devices that use consumable items such as toner cartridges and process cartridges, and various terminal devices that give processing execution instructions to these processing devices. It is an object of the present invention to make it possible to efficiently replace consumables in a processing device coupling system in which the consumables are replaced by a plurality of processing devices at the same time. Further, the second object of the present invention is to make sure that the consumable parts of a plurality of processing devices are replaced at the same time, and to further improve the effectiveness. Further, in claim 3, the consumables of the plurality of processing devices are replaced at the same time, and the user of the terminal device is notified that the plurality of processing devices are at the time of replacement of the consumables, so that the consumables can be more reliably consumed. The purpose is to allow the exchange of goods.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the invention described in claim 1, various processing devices that use consumables and various terminal devices that give processing execution instructions to these processing devices are provided. In a processing device connection system that is connected by a controller device, when any of the consumables used in the processing device is near the end of its life,
The controller device detects this and distributes the process execution instruction output from the various terminal devices to any of the processing devices other than the processing device whose consumable item has a short life. . Further, in the invention according to claim 2, in the processing device connection system according to claim 1, when there are a plurality of processing devices whose consumables are nearing the end of life, the controller device is controlled by the various terminal devices. It is characterized in that the output process execution instructions are concentrated on a plurality of processing devices whose consumables are nearing the end of their lives. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the processing device coupling system according to the first or second aspect, the controller device is used when a plurality of the processing devices whose consumables have reached the end of their lives or have reached the end of their lives at the same time. Is
It is characterized in that the fact is displayed on one or more of the terminal devices connected thereto.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. << Explanation of Device Configuration Commonly Used in Each Embodiment >> FIG. 1
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of an embodiment of a processing device connection system according to the present invention. A processing device connection system 1 shown in this figure includes a controller device 2, a printer device (processing device) 3, and two digital copying machines (processing devices) 4, 5.
, Scanner device 6 (terminal device), and word processor device 7
(Terminal device), three computer devices 8 to 10 (terminal device), and a connecting line 11, and the printer device 3 to the computer device 10 by the controller device 2.
Are operated in cooperation with each other to perform image data acquisition processing, image data processing processing, document creation processing of various data formats, printout processing, and the like. At this time, when any one of the consumable toner cartridges 14 and 16 and the process cartridge 22 set in the printer device 3 and the digital copying machines 4 and 5 is close to its durable life, the scanner device 6 and the word processor The print instruction (processing execution instruction) from the apparatus 7, the computer apparatuses 8 to 10 and the like is distributed to any of the processing apparatuses other than the processing apparatus whose expendable life of the expendable item is near, and the exchanging time of the expendable item is matched. In this case, the controller device 2 is
A disk device 12 used as a storage device and a server 13 that is a source of information and commands for each part of the system are provided, and are connected to the printer device 3 to the computer device 10 by a connecting line 11 such as a cable. The printer device 3 to the computer device 10 are operated in cooperation with each other.

Further, when the printer device 3 issues a print instruction from the controller device 2 through the connection line 11 with the toner cartridge 14 set, based on the print information supplied together with the print instruction. , Print, and toner cartridge 14
Detection result of the piezoelectric sensor (toner detection sensor) set in, and the reflection type sensor (P
When the toner amount in the toner cartridge 14 is detected based on the detection result of a sensor or the like and the toner in the toner cartridge 14 is low (toner near end) or the toner in the toner cartridge 14 is exhausted. (Toner end) or the like is detected and notified to the controller device 2.

The digital copying machine 4 includes a developing device 15
When the target document is set and the print instruction is input or the print instruction is issued from the controller device 2 through the connection line 11 with the toner cartridge 16 set in the image of the document, The printing is performed based on the print information obtained by reading the print information and the print information supplied together with the print instruction. Further, when the facsimile transmission instruction is supplied, the contents of the transmission document supplied together with the facsimile transmission instruction are fetched and the facsimile transmission is performed to the transmission destination connected to the facsimile line 17 (see FIG. 2). Further, in parallel with this operation, based on the detection result of the piezoelectric sensor (toner detection sensor) set in the toner cartridge 16 or the detection result of the reflection type sensor (P sensor) attached near the photoconductor, The amount of toner in the toner cartridge 16 is detected, and this is detected when the toner in the toner cartridge 16 is low (toner near end) or when the toner in the toner cartridge 16 is exhausted (toner end). Then, the controller device 2 is notified.

The digital copying machine 5 has a
A process cartridge 2 in which a charging device 18, a developing device 19, a photoconductor 20, a cleaning device 21 and the like are integrated.
2 is equipped with the original to be copied,
When a print instruction is input or a print instruction is issued from the controller device 2 via the connection line 11, based on print information obtained by reading an image of a document and print information supplied together with the print instruction. , Print. Further, in parallel with this operation, based on the detection result of the piezoelectric sensor (toner detection sensor) set in the process cartridge 22 and the detection result of the reflection type sensor (P sensor) attached in the vicinity of the photoconductor 20, etc. When the toner amount in the process cartridge 22 is detected and the toner in the process cartridge 22 is low (toner near end), the toner in the process cartridge 22 is exhausted (toner end), the developer is When it disappears, this is detected and the controller device 2 is notified. Further, the number of used sheets is counted every time the printing operation is performed, and the charging device 1 is based on the count result.
8, developing device 19, photoconductor 20, cleaning device 21
When the life of the device has reached the end, this is detected and the controller device 2 is notified.

In the scanner device 6, a document to be read is set and a reading instruction is input,
When a reading instruction is supplied via the connection line 11,
The image of the set original is read, and the image information obtained by this is supplied to the controller device 2. Further, the word processing device 7 creates a document based on the operation contents of the keyboard, and supplies the stored document information to the controller device 2 when a high-speed embossing instruction of the document is input. In addition, each computer device 8
Numerals 10 to 10 are each connected to the controller device 2 via a connection line 11, perform processing for creating a document, processing data, and the like based on the operation content of the keyboard, and input a high-speed document ejection instruction. Then, the stored document information is supplied to the controller device 2.

<< Explanation of Operation of First Embodiment >> Next, referring to the schematic configuration diagram shown in FIG. 1, the block diagram shown in FIG. 2 and the flow chart shown in FIG. The operation of the first embodiment will be described. First, the amount of toner in the printer device 3 or each of the digital copying machines 4 and 5, for example, the printer device 3, becomes low, and this is detected by the control unit 23 provided in the printer device 3 as shown in FIG. (Step ST
1) When a toner near-end detection signal, that is, a signal indicating that the toner cartridge 14 has reached the replacement life is transmitted to the controller device 2, this is taken in by the controller device 2 (step ST
2) The information that the printer device 3 is in the toner near end is registered in the disk device 12 (step ST3). After that, if a print command is output from any of the scanner device 6, the word processor device 7 and each of the computer devices 8 to 10, for example, the computer device 8, the controller device 2 captures the print command (step ST4), and the output destination is Whether it is forcibly designated is checked (step ST5), and if there is no such designation (No in step ST5), it is determined that the toner is not near end based on the contents registered in the disk device 12. 2 is the toner near end of the processing device, that is, the printer device 3 in this case, 2
The print command is transferred to one of the two digital copying machines 4 and 5, and printing is performed (steps ST7 and ST8).

At this time, if the output destination is forcibly designated (Yes in step ST5), the controller device 2
The print command is transferred to the image forming apparatus forcibly designated by, for example, the digital copying machine 4, printing is performed (step ST6), and if there is no image forming apparatus at the toner near end ( Step ST7
No.), a preset priority order, for example, a procedure of selecting the image forming apparatus in the order of being closer to the apparatus that has issued the print instruction, the image forming apparatus to be the print processing target is selected, and this image forming apparatus is selected. On the other hand, the print command is transferred and printing is performed (step ST9). Thereafter, the controller device 2 supplies the status display information to the computer device 8 which has issued the print instruction, and the status display information is displayed on the display unit 24 of the computer device 8.
Information such as "currently being output by the printer" is displayed to inform the user of the output destination (step ST10). This allows the user to know to which processing apparatus the print instruction issued by the user has been output. Therefore, when a print instruction is issued without designating an output destination, for example, the print instruction is given to the digital copying machine 4 or 5 even though the printer device 3 is located closest to the device that issued the print instruction. When it is output, it can be known that the toner of the printer device 3 is running low. As a result, the image output by designating the printer device 3 as the output destination is avoided as much as possible, and the period until the replacement life of the toner cartridge 14 of the printer device 3 is extended. On the contrary, in other image forming apparatuses in which the output signal is increased more than usual, that is, in the digital copying machines 4 and 5, the period until the replacement life of the toner cartridge 16 and the process cartridge 22 mounted in each is shortened. As a result, the replacement life time of the toner cartridge 14 of the printer device 3 and the replacement life time of the other processing devices, that is, the toner cartridge 16 and the process cartridge 22 of the digital copying machines 4, 5 are almost the same. Therefore, in an office that employs the processing device connection system of this embodiment, a service person can make consumables of a plurality of processing devices, such as the printer device 3 and the digital processing devices 4 and 5, by one visit to the office. Since the toner cartridges 14, 16 and the process cartridge 22 can be replaced, the consumable goods replacement service can be efficiently performed.

<< Description of Operation of Second Embodiment >> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 4. It is assumed that the toner cartridge 14 of the printer device 3 has reached the end of its life as in the first embodiment and the print instruction is distributed to the processing devices other than the printer device 3. At this time, in the processing device to which the print instruction is distributed, for example, in the digital copying machine 4, the number of output sheets increases as described above, and finally the toner cartridge 16 mounted in the digital copying machine 4 also increases. Approaching the end of life. As a result, the controller device 2 simultaneously receives the toner cartridges 14 and 16 which are consumables from the two processing devices of the printer device 3 and the digital copying machine 4.
Will receive a signal that is nearing the end of its life. In the second embodiment, when the plurality of processing devices simultaneously output signals that the consumables are near the end of their lives as described above, the controller device 2 issues a notification signal that the consumables are near the end of their lives. The distribution of print instructions to other than the apparatus is stopped, and the print instructions are concentrated on the processing device that is issuing the notification signal, that is, the printer device 3 and the digital copying machine 4 in the above example.

The operation of the second embodiment will be described below with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. First, the toner cartridge 14 is replaced based on the information of the number-of-uses counter set in the printer device 3, each of the digital copying machines 4 and 5, for example, the printer device 3 in which the toner cartridge 14 is built. The number of prints of is close to the preset life number (for example,
When, for example, about 100 sheets remain until the set life, this is detected by the control unit 23 provided in the printer device 3 as shown in FIG. 2 (step ST11),
When a detection signal indicating that the life is near is transmitted to the controller device 2, the controller device 2 takes in the detection signal (step ST12), and the information that the life of the toner cartridge 14 provided in the printer device 3 is near. Is registered in the disk device 12 (step ST13). After this, if a print instruction is output from any of the scanner device 6, the word processor device 7, and each of the computer devices 8 to 10, for example, the computer device 8 (Yes in step ST14), the controller device 2
This is taken in by and is checked whether the output destination is forcibly specified (step S
T15), if there is no such designation (step ST1)
(No in 5), based on the contents registered in the disk device 12, it is checked whether or not there is a processing device which is near toner end (step ST17). In this case, since the printer device 3 is in the toner near end, it is determined that there is toner near end (Yes in step ST17).
s) Next, it is checked whether or not there are two or more processing devices that are in the toner near end (step ST18).

As a result, there is only one processing device at the toner near end, that is, the printer device 3 in this case.
If it is only (No in step ST18), any one of the remaining two digital copying machines 4 and 5 since the arbitrary processing device which is not in the toner near end, that is, the printer device 3 in this case is in the toner near end. The print instruction is transferred to one of them, and printing is performed (step ST20). On the other hand, if there are two or more processing devices at the toner near end (step ST1
8), the process of step ST20 is stopped,
If the processing device which is currently in the toner near end, for example, the digital copying machine 4 is in the toner near end, the printer device 3 and the digital copying machine 4 are provided, and the digital copying machine 5 is provided before the digital copying machine 4. When the toner is near the end, print instructions are concentrated and distributed to the printer device 3 and the digital copying machine 5 (step ST19). As a result, the two processing devices in which print instructions are concentrated are separated from the other processing devices at substantially the same time, and the toner cartridge or the process cartridge, which is a consumable item mounted inside the two processing devices, reaches the end of its life. It will be.

Even if the print instructions in step ST19 are sequentially concentrated on a plurality of toner-end processing devices in accordance with a preset priority order, they are equally distributed to the plurality of processing devices. Good. At this time, if the output destination is forcibly designated (step ST15), the controller device 2
If the above-mentioned print instruction is transferred to the image forming apparatus forcibly designated by the printer, for example, the printer apparatus 3 (step ST16), and if there is no apparatus at the toner near end (No in step ST17), preset. In the order of priority set, for example, in the procedure of selecting the processing device in the order closer to the device that issued the print instruction, the processing device that executes the print processing is selected, and the print instruction is transferred to the processing device to print. It is performed (step ST21). After that, the controller device 2 transmits the information of the device that executes the print output to the computer device 8 that issued the print instruction (step ST22), and the display unit 2 of the computer device 8 is transmitted.
On the screen 4, information such as "currently being output by the printer device" is displayed. Thus, in the second embodiment,
Since print instructions are concentrated and distributed to a plurality of processing devices whose consumables such as toner cartridges have a short service life, the consumables of a plurality of processing devices have the same service life more reliably than in the case of the first embodiment. Can be reached.

<< Description of Operation of Third Embodiment >> Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a third embodiment of the present invention, and steps ST31 to ST42 of the flow chart shown in FIG.
Each step S in FIG. 4 used in the description of the second embodiment
It corresponds to T11 to ST22. In the third embodiment, after the information of the processing device that executes the print output is transmitted to the terminal device that issued the print instruction (step ST42), two or more processing devices are in the toner near end state. If there is (Yes in step ST43
s), the controller device 2 sends a consumables replacement request signal to at least two terminal devices, for example, the computer devices 8 and 9 (step ST44). As a result, message information such as "Please replace the toner cartridges of the printer device 3 and the digital copying machine 4" is displayed on the display portions 24 and 27 of the computer devices 8 and 9. As described above, in the third embodiment, when a plurality of processing devices simultaneously output signals indicating that the consumables are about to reach the end of their life, the controller device 2 causes at least one of the terminal devices in the processing device connection system. By sending the consumables replacement request signal as described above and displaying the message prompting the replacement of the consumables such as the toner cartridge, it is possible for an unspecified number of workers to replace the consumables of a plurality of specific processing devices with each other. Can let you know. By encouraging an unspecified number of workers to replace consumables, it is possible to promptly take measures such as inviting a serviceman to the service company and exchanging spare consumables.
The greater the number of devices that receive the consumable goods replacement request signal from the controller device 2, the higher the awareness that the consumable goods of the plurality of processing devices are in the replacement time, and the quicker the handling such as urging a service person to visit. Will be done in. The consumable item replacement request signal may be issued when a consumable item such as a process cartridge reaches the end of its life. In addition,
In the above-described embodiment, various image forming processing apparatuses such as printers and copiers that use consumable items such as toner cartridges and process cartridges, and word processing apparatuses and computer apparatuses that give print instructions to these image forming processing apparatuses. Although the case where the present invention is applied to the processing device connection system in which various terminal devices are connected by the controller device is shown, the present invention is not limited to this, and various processing devices using other consumables and these processing devices The present invention can also be applied to a processing device connection system in which various other terminal devices that give processing execution instructions are connected by a controller device.

[0017]

As described above, the present invention has the following excellent effects. According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a processing device connecting system in which various processing devices that use consumables and various terminal devices that give processing execution instructions to these processing devices are connected by a controller device. When one of the consumables used is nearing the end of its life, the controller device detects this and the process execution instruction output from the above various terminal devices is output when the consumable is near the end of its life. Since it is arranged to distribute to any of the image forming devices other than the image forming device, the consumable parts of the plurality of processing devices will reach the end of their lives at almost the same time. Therefore, the replacement work can be efficiently performed. Further, in the invention according to claim 2, in the processing device coupling system according to claim 1, when there are a plurality of processing devices whose consumables are near in service life, the controller device causes the various terminal devices to operate. By concentrating the process execution instructions that are output to multiple processing devices whose consumables have reached the end of their lives, it is possible to ensure that the replacement times of consumables for multiple processing devices are the same, and to improve effectiveness. Further, in the invention according to claim 3, in the processing device connecting system according to claim 1 or 2, when a plurality of the processing devices whose consumables have reached the end of their lives or have reached the end of their lives are present, The controller device causes one or more of the terminal devices connected to the controller device to display a message to that effect, thereby allowing an unspecified number of workers to identify the plurality of processing devices specified. Can inform that it is in the 耗品 exchange time, or promote the service man of the visit to the service company, it can be done to deal with such as replacing a spare consumables quickly and reliably.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of an embodiment of a processing device connection system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration example of the processing device connection system shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the first embodiment of the processing device connection system according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the second embodiment of the processing device connection system according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the third embodiment of the processing device coupling system according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Processor connection system, 2 ... Controller device, 3
... printer device (processing device), 4, 5 ... digital copying machine (processing device), 6 ... scanner device (terminal device), 7 ...
Word processor device (terminal device), 8 to 10 ... Computer device (terminal device), 14, 16 ... Toner cartridge (consumable), 22 ... Process cartridge, 24, 27 ... Display unit.

Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 21/00 370-540 G03G 21/02-21/04 H04N 1/00-1/00 108 B41J 29/00-29 / 70 G06F 3/09-3/12

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A processing device connection system comprising a controller device connecting various processing devices that use consumables and various terminal devices that give a processing execution instruction to these processing devices. When any one of the consumables that is near the end of its life, the controller device detects it and sends the processing execution instruction output from the above various terminal devices to the other than the processing device whose consumables are nearing the end of life. A processing device connecting system, wherein the processing device is connected to any one of the processing devices. 2. The processing device connection system according to claim 1, wherein when there are a plurality of processing devices whose consumables are nearing the end of life, the controller device executes the process output from the various terminal devices. A processing device connecting system, wherein instructions are concentrated on a plurality of processing devices whose consumables are nearing the end of their lives. 3. The processing device connection system according to claim 1, wherein the consumables have a short life or there are a plurality of processing devices that have reached the end of life.
The processing device connection system, wherein the controller device causes one or more of the terminal devices connected to the controller device to display a message to that effect.