JPH05176138A - Copy control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accelerate a copy speed by recognizing an increase of memories and reducing the number of times for scanning. CONSTITUTION:When a power source is turned on, a software mode is started in an initial processing so as to identify whether a memory is mounted or not, arbitrary detecting data are written from the side of a main body to the specified address of the memory, the data are read by accessing the memory address temporarily writing the data, both written and read data are compared, when they are not equal, it is recognized that the memory is not mounted yet, when they are equal, it is recognized that the memory is completely mounted, the copy process of one-scan/four-read/four color development is started, the image data are written in the memory by executing the first scan of original images, the image data are read from the memory without executing scanning for remaining three colors, and the copy process of four color development is executed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a copy control method for a digital copying machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the conventional expansion memory insertion detection, manual control is used to notify the main body of the presence or absence of a memory expansion unit by dip SW switching and simulation setting when the memory expansion unit is installed, and the copy process does not change regardless of the presence or absence of memory expansion. Met.

[0003]

However, in the conventional technique, the recognition of the mounting of the memory expansion unit must be performed by manual control, and since it cannot be recognized automatically, a troublesome procedure is required.

Further, in the case of the conventional normal process, since the reading process of the original document of the scanner corresponding to the four full-color colors follows the copy process of 4 scan / 4 color development, the copy speed is inevitably slowed down, and the scan / developing process is inevitable. There is a problem that the number of times increases and the first and nth copies cause a density change due to a difference in characteristics of the laser driver unit and process data conditions.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and automatically detects the mounting of a memory expansion unit to reduce the number of scans, eliminate the uneven density due to the number of multi-copy sheets, and increase the copy speed. It is intended to provide copy control for digital copiers.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention detects whether or not an additional memory is installed during an initial operation, and performs predetermined scanning and development processing when it is detected that the additional memory has not been installed. This is achieved by a copy control method in which image data for a scan is written to the additional memory when the mounting of the memory is detected, and the image data written in the additional memory is read and developed in a predetermined manner.

[0007]

In the initial state, the presence / absence of the additional memory is detected, and if it is detected that the additional memory is not installed based on the detection result, predetermined scanning and development processing is performed. Further, if it is detected that the additional memory is attached based on the detection result, the image data for a specific scan is written in the additional memory, and the image data written in the additional memory is read and read in a predetermined manner. Perform development processing.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a digital copying machine using the copy control method of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a memory expansion automatic detection process of copy control of a digital copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of copy process switching processing of copy control of the digital copying machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the overall structure of a digital copying machine to which the copy control of the present invention is applied.

First, the digital copying machine shown in FIG. 3 will be described.

In FIG. 3, an original table 11 made of hard transparent glass is arranged at the upper end of the copying machine 10.
The original document (not shown) placed on the original document table 11 is illuminated by the lamp unit 12, and the reflected light from the original document is
It is guided to the light receiving surface of the CCD sensor 17 via the mirrors 13, 14, 15 and the lens unit 16 and is taken in as an electric signal. The lamp unit 12, the mirror 13, the CCD sensor 17
A scanner is composed of the above.

The image data taken in by the CCD sensor 17 is sent to the laser driver unit 18 via an image processing section described later. Then, the laser light is output from there, and an electrostatic latent image pattern is formed on the photosensitive drum 21 which is rotatable in the direction of arrow A through the mirrors 19 and 20 (exposure process).

Photosensitive drum 21 rotatable in the direction of arrow A
A charging charger 22 is provided in the rotation range of the above to uniformly charge the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 prior to exposure.
The output light forms an electrostatic latent image on the exposed portion. Also,
A black developing tank 23, a yellow developing tank 24, a magenta developing tank 25, and a cyan developing tank are provided downstream of the charging charger 22.
Developing device 27 including 26, transfer belt 28, cleaning unit
29 and the static elimination lamp 30 are arranged in this order. The developing tanks 23 to 26 of the developing device store the toner of the corresponding color.

In the above arrangement, color copying (three color copying) is performed by the following operation procedure.

First, the charger 22 is connected to the photosensitive drum 21.
When the surface of the is uniformly charged, the first scan is performed by the previous scanner, and the image data (R, G, B) taken in by the CCD sensor 17 is processed by the image processing unit described later to generate yellow data and laser light. The surface of the photoreceptor drum 21 is exposed as laser light from the driver unit 18,
A yellow electrostatic latent image is formed on the exposed portion.

Next, yellow toner is supplied from the yellow developing tank 24 to the electrostatic latent image in the image area, and a toner image of the same color is formed.

Then, the toner image is moved in the direction of arrow A and is partially transferred onto the transfer belt 28 which is pressed against the surface of the photosensitive drum 21. At this time, a part of the toner that does not contribute to the transfer remains on the surface of the photoconductor drum 21,
The cleaning unit 29 scrapes off the residual toner.

Next, the static elimination lamp 30 eliminates the residual charge on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21.

When the above steps are completed, the charging charger 22
Again uniformly charges the surface of the photoconductor drum 21, and the data from the original obtained by the second scan is exposed by the laser beam through the image processing section described later to form a magenta electrostatic latent image. ..

In the same manner, magenta toner is supplied to the electrostatic latent image from the magenta developing tank 25 to form toner images of the same color. Then, this toner image is transferred to the transfer belt 28, and the images are superimposed. After that, when the same processing as above is performed, the charging charger 22 charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 uniformly again.

Similarly, cyan toner is supplied from the cyan developing tank 26 to the photosensitive drum 21 to form a toner image of the same color. This toner image is transferred to the transfer belt 28, and final image superposition is performed. After that, the toner image on the transfer belt 28 on which the images are superimposed is transferred to the copy sheet, passes through the fixing section 31, and is then ejected outside the apparatus by the ejection roller 32.

Further, the above process is a process for three colors, and in the case of a four colors process, black processing is added thereto. On the other hand, black and white copying is performed by supplying black toner to the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor drum 21 from the black developing tank 23 and transferring the toner image onto a copy sheet via the transfer belt 28.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image processing section of a digital copying machine to which the copy control device of the digital copying machine of this embodiment is applied.

The image processing unit shown in FIG. 4 includes a CCD unit 33 and a CCD unit for generating R, G and B color image signals.
R / G / B level matching amplifier (AMP) connected to 33
34, R / G / B level matching AMP34 connected to C
A shading correction unit 36 that is connected to an A / D conversion unit 35 that converts the analog R, G, and B signals of the CD unit 33 into a digital signal, and an A / D conversion unit 35 that corrects the light-dark distortion due to shading, shading correction Document position recognition unit 37 and shading correction unit 36 connected to the unit 36
And the document position recognition unit 37, which is connected to the document position recognition unit 37.
Alignment unit 38 that aligns with the data from 37,
Black original detection unit 39 connected to the alignment unit 38, alignment unit
Gamma correction unit 40, which is connected to 38 and performs gamma correction of the color signal output current of the CCD unit 33, and a gamma correction unit
A masking section 41 which is connected to 40 and converts color R, G, and B signals into C, M, and Y by color correction masking, and an undercolor removal bandpass filter (UCR) connected to the masking section 41.
· BP) 42, sharpness filter 43 connected to UCR · BP 42, connected to the sharpness filter 43 and connected to the scaling unit 44 and the scaling unit 44 for performing processing such as enlargement and reduction on digital image data A density processing unit 45 that operates according to a user's specification or a histogram, a color balance unit 46 connected to the density processing unit 45, and a floor connected to the color balance unit 46 to perform gradation data processing for laser driving by gradation processing. The adjustment processing unit 47 is configured.

Next, the processing operation of the image processing unit of FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG.
2 and the flow chart of FIG.

The memory expansion unit is attached to a predetermined position (not shown, regardless of the position) of the digital copying machine of FIG. 3 and the process of FIG. 1 is performed.

First, the power is turned on (step S1), the initial processing of the main body is started (step S2), and the mode for identifying and detecting the presence / absence of memory installation is started during the processing (step S3). Any detection data is written to a specific address of the memory (step S4), the memory address once written is accessed to read and read the data (step S5), and the written data and the read data are compared. If the data are not equal (step S6), it is determined that the memory is not mounted (step S7), and if they are equal, it is recognized that the memory is mounted (step S8). Steps S4 to S above
In the processes up to 8, the detection reliability can be increased by changing and checking the data pattern once to several times.

Next, it is confirmed that all other initial processing (step S9) is completed (step S10),
The initial process is completed (step S11) and the copy ready state (step S12) is set.

When copying is started from the copy ready state, the copy process proceeds through the processing shown in the flow chart of FIG.

First, when copying is started, the presence / absence of memory installation is checked based on the result recognized at the initial stage (step T1). If not installed, the normal process (step T2) is performed. If installed, the CCD sensor detects the CCD. The first scan of the unit is started (step T3), and the data (R, G, B) read from the original by this first scan is written into the mounted memory (step T4), and at the same time the data of the first color is displayed. The image processing unit shown in FIG. 4 performs color signal correction and image data processing as digital data to generate digital data, and an electrostatic latent image is formed by the laser driver unit shown in FIG.
Develop (step T5). Next, since the scanning operation itself is the same for all four colors, repeating the same scanning four times for each color is wasteful processing time. Therefore, from the second color, the scanning operation is not performed and the image data in the memory is sequentially accessed. 4, the image processing shown in FIG. 4 is performed, and exposure / development is performed by a laser driver to transfer to the transfer belt (steps T6 to T11), and the toner image on the transfer belt is transferred to paper (step T12), and the fixing unit is performed. Then, the fixing process is performed (step T13), the sheet is discharged by the discharge roller (step T14), and the copy process ends.

As described above, the presence or absence of the additional memory is automatically identified, and the operation by switching the copy process is executed.

[0034]

According to the copy control method of the present invention, it is detected whether or not the additional memory is mounted during the initial operation, and when the non-mounting of the additional memory is detected, predetermined scanning and developing processing are performed. When the installation of the additional memory is detected, the image data for the scan is written to the additional memory, and the image data written in the additional memory is read out and processed in a predetermined manner. When the mounting process is recognized by the software processing at the time, and when the mounting is recognized, the copying process is performed to effectively use the memory, the copying speed can be increased, and the density change due to the reading condition of the multi-copy can be eliminated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart for explaining a memory expansion automatic detection process of a copy control method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining a copy process switching process of the copy control method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the overall structure of a digital copying machine to which the processes of FIGS. 1 and 2 are applied.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an image processing unit of a digital copying machine to which the processes of FIGS. 1 and 2 are applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 S1 Power on S2 Start of initial processing S3 Detection of additional memory S4 Writing of data S5 Reading of data S6 Judgment of equivalence of writing and reading data S7 Recognition of non-mounting of memory S8 Recognition of mounting of memory S9 Initial processing S10 Judgment of end of all initial processing S11 End of initial processing

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An initial memory is detected whether or not an additional memory has been installed, and when it is detected that the additional memory has not been installed, predetermined scanning and development processing is performed to detect the installation of the additional memory. A copy control method comprising: writing image data for a scan to the additional memory at the time of scanning, and subjecting the image data written in the additional memory to predetermined reading and development processing.