JPH05284262A - Image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the need for designation of a picture output destination for each job and to use each image forming device uniformly to the utmost in the image forming system provided with plural picture signal output means and plural image forming means. CONSTITUTION:Any of plural printers 10, 20 is selected according to a prescribed rule by a system controller 11 as an image forming means executing image forming relating to each picture signal from scanners 1-4 being plural picture signal output means. In this case, each of the printers 10, 20 is used uniformly by using a fuzzy rule to implement control to revise the prescribed rule depending on the state of each printer.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention comprises an image signal output means for outputting an image signal or a plurality of image reading means, and a plurality of image forming means for forming an image according to the image signals output by them. Image forming system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for various purposes, an image reading means such as an image scanner (reader) for outputting an image signal, an image signal outputting means such as a word processor, a personal computer and the like, and an image by each of these image signals, respectively. An image forming system has been proposed in which image forming means such as a plurality of printers for forming the image are combined.

For example, as disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 2-21190, a plurality of image signal output devices and a plurality of image forming devices are organically combined by each function such as recording, storing, and communication of image information. , An image forming system capable of freely accessing from another place to another place, and JP-A-61-20
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3779, there is an image forming system capable of simultaneously forming images by a plurality of image reading devices and a plurality of image forming devices, and performing composite reproduction of a plurality of image signals.

Alternatively, as seen in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-69775, there is also a copy work management system capable of performing an appropriate reservation process and management process suitable for the work situation at each work site.

[0005]

However, although the image forming system as described above enables the plurality of image signal output devices and the plurality of image forming devices to be accessed, an image is formed for each job. It was necessary to select the output destination of, and the operation was troublesome. Further, if the image forming means selected by the manual is biased, there is a problem that the efficiency becomes extremely poor as an image forming system having a plurality of image forming means.

Further, the above-mentioned copying work management system is
This is for efficiently allocating a plurality of jobs to a plurality of work sites, but not for directly causing the image forming means to perform the requested image forming operation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and even if the output destination of an image is not specified for each job, the most efficient image forming means of the output destination is automatically selected,
It is an object of the present invention to directly output an image based on an image signal from each image signal output means or image reading means, and to select a plurality of image forming means as uniformly as possible.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided image signal output means for outputting an image signal, and a plurality of image forming means for forming an image according to the image signal output by the means. In the image forming system, in order to achieve the above object, a selecting unit that selects an image forming unit that executes an image forming operation related to the image signal output by the image signal output unit based on a predetermined rule, and And a control unit for changing a predetermined rule of the selection unit according to the states of the plurality of image forming units.

According to a second aspect of the invention, a means for changing the predetermined rule by using a fuzzy rule is used as the control means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a plurality of image reading means for reading image information and outputting an image signal, and a plurality of image forming means for forming an image according to the image signal output by each of the image reading means. In the image forming system including the
(F) is provided.

(A) Priority setting means capable of setting output priority of image signals from each of the plurality of image reading means to each of the plurality of image forming means, and (b) conversion of the priority into priority time. Converting means for: (c) document number recognition means for recognizing the number of documents relating to a series of image forming operations provided corresponding to the image reading means,

(D) At the time of outputting an image forming request for the image signal, the end time of the image forming operation is calculated on the basis of the recognized number of originals for each of the image forming means executing another image forming operation. End time calculating means for setting the end time of the image forming means during non-execution of the image forming operation at the time of outputting the image forming request,

(E) At the time of outputting the image formation request, for each of the plurality of image forming means, the priority time converted by the converting means is subtracted from the end time calculated or set by the end time calculating means, Selection means for selecting the image forming means having the earliest subtraction result time and executing the requested image formation, (f) the conversion rule of the converting means is a fuzzy rule according to the states of the plurality of image forming means. Control means to change using

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, the following (g) to (e) are substituted for the above (c) to (e) in the image forming system.
(K) is provided. (G) Status detection means for detecting whether or not the image forming operation is possible for each of the plurality of image forming means,

(H) Cause recognizing means for recognizing an impossible cause of the image forming means in a state where the image forming operation is impossible.
(I) A recovery time storage means for storing an estimated recovery time to a state in which the image forming operation can be performed corresponding to the cause of the image forming operation being impossible,

(J) At the time of outputting an image formation request for the image signal, the detection result of the state detection means is the expected return time of the image formation means in the image formation operation impossible state to the image formation operation possible state. And a return time calculating means for performing an operation based on the stored data of the return time storing means and setting an estimated return time of the image forming means in a state capable of image forming operation at the time of outputting the image forming request,

(K) At the time of outputting the image forming request, the priority time converted by the converting means is subtracted from the estimated return time calculated or set by the estimated return time calculating means for each of the plurality of image forming means. And selecting means for executing the requested image formation by selecting the image forming means having the earliest subtraction result time,

[0018]

In the image forming system according to the present invention, the image forming means for executing the image forming operation relating to the image signal output by the image signal output means is selected based on a predetermined rule, and a plurality of image forming means are selected. Since the predetermined rule is changed according to the state of the image forming means, even if the output destination of the image is not specified for each job, the image forming means of the most efficient output destination is automatically selected and It is possible to directly output the image by the image signal from the image signal output means,
In addition, the plurality of image forming means can be used uniformly.

In the image forming system according to the second aspect of the present invention, when changing the rule for selecting the image forming means according to the state of the image forming means, factors to be considered for uniform use of the image forming means. There is a lot of ambiguous data, but fuzzy rules can be applied to the ambiguous data to optimize uniform use.

When selecting the image forming means, the one having the highest output priority is preferable in terms of convenience, and the one in which the requested image formation is started earliest is preferable in terms of productivity. In the image forming system according to the third aspect of the present invention, the set output priority order is converted into time to enable evaluation at the same level as productivity.

For the image forming means that is already executing the image forming operation, the end time thereof, that is, the time when the next image forming can be started is calculated in consideration of the number of originals, and the time corresponding to the output priority order is calculated. The result obtained by subtracting is the image formation start time in consideration of convenience, and the earliest time is automatically selected. Therefore, the optimum image forming means that achieves both productivity and convenience is selected.

Since the above selection is made for each output request,
Jobs are not concentrated on one image forming unit, and the efficiency of the entire system is improved. Furthermore, by changing the rule for converting the output priority into time by using a fuzzy rule, uniform use can be optimized.

Also in the image forming system according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to evaluate at the same level as the productivity by converting the output priority order into time. Then, the expected return time is calculated or set according to the state of whether or not the image forming operation of each image forming unit is possible or not, and the reason thereof, and the result obtained by subtracting the time corresponding to the priority from that is considered the convenience. This is the expected return time, and the earliest return time is automatically selected. Therefore, the optimum image forming means that achieves both productivity and convenience is selected.

Further, as in the third aspect of the invention, jobs are not concentrated on one image forming unit, the efficiency of the entire system is improved, and the uniform use of a plurality of image forming units can be optimized.

[0025]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming system showing an embodiment of the present invention, which comprises four small scanners 1 to 4 and two sets of printer systems 5 and 6 which are smaller in number than the scanners.

The printer system 5 can also be used as a digital copying machine, and includes a printer 10 (first printer), a system controller (hereinafter also referred to as "syscon") 11 for controlling the entire image forming system, and the printer 10. An automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as "ADF") 12, a large-sized scanner 13, and a limitless sorter stapler (hereinafter abbreviated as "limitless SS") 14 mounted as peripheral devices of the device. Although not shown, a double-sided unit, an operation panel, a FAX interface, etc. are also provided.

On the other hand, the printer system 6 includes the printer 2
0 (second printer), a paper bank 21 having a plurality of paper feed cassettes, and a 15-bin sorter (hereinafter also simply referred to as “sorter”) 22.

Each of the small scanners 1 to 4 comprises an operation section and a scanner section, and the operation section is detachable from the scanner section. The operation unit includes a display unit including an LCD display and various LEDs, various keys including a numeric keypad, a warning or key input acceptance buzzer, and a remote transmission / reception interface unit with the scanner unit. The power source is a rechargeable type, and is charged when it is attached to the scanner unit. The scanner unit is capable of reading an image with a maximum A4 size and a resolution of 200 dpi, and can be connected to a telephone line and a handset.

Each of the printers 10 and 20 is a laser printer and is provided with the same process unit (around the drum, conveyance, fixing, etc.), and each of the sheet pre / post-processing devices (ADF 12, limitless) shown in FIG. 1 as peripheral devices. SS1
4, paper bank 21, sorter 22, and double-sided unit (not shown) can be connected. Also, in order to make it usable as a digital copier, a resolution of 4
A large scanner 13, which is an image scanner capable of reading up to A3 size at 00 dpi, can be installed.

Further, it is possible to prioritize the use of the printers by making the printing speeds of the printers 10 and 20 different from each other. These printers 10, 20
Normally executes a print operation in accordance with a control command from the system controller 11, but can accept the print operation from a connected operation panel. In that case, the print operation is executed in the interrupt mode.

The system controller 11 receives the compressed image data from any one of the small scanners 1 to 4 and transmits / receives a control code indicating a device state and a command. Further, the received image data is sent to the printers 10 and 20, and control codes are transmitted and received as in the small scanner. Further, it stores and holds the setting modes of all scanners and printers and other RAM data. That is, the states of all scanners and printers can be detected, and command control for all scanners and printers is possible.

Hereinafter, each part of the image forming system will be described in more detail. Small Scanner FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views showing examples of appearances of the small scanners 1 to 4, FIG. 2 showing a non-use state, and FIG. 3 showing a use state.

This small scanner comprises a scanner section 30 which is a main body, and an operation section 3 which is attachable to and detachable from the scanner section 30.
1 and a handset 32. The operation unit 31 is an LCD
A display unit 311 including a display and the ten-key pad 312
Operation panel 310 including various keys including
And a remote transmission / reception interface unit (shown in FIG. 6) with the scanner unit 30, the details of which will be described later. The operation unit 31 has a built-in secondary battery, and when it is attached to the scanner unit 30 as shown in FIG. 2, it is connected to the connector 301 and charged.

The scanner section 30 has an openable document table 302 pivotally supported at the rear end of the upper surface thereof, and when not in use, as shown in FIG. It should be noted that, in use, as shown in FIG. 3, it is rotated to a standing state in which it is tilted slightly rearward so that the document insertion port 305 is opened and the document 7 inserted therein can be supported. Further, a pull-out type extension plate 303 is housed in the original table 302, and a long original can be supported by pulling the knob 304 by pulling it.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a part of the internal mechanism of this small scanner in a see-through manner. The operation of reading a document will be described with reference to this figure. When the document table 302 is raised from the state shown by the solid line to the state shown by the phantom line and a series of documents 7 are set with the image surface facing downward (direction facing the document table 302) to start reading, the feeding roller 330 causes the feeding roller 330 to move. A feeding roller 331 and a separating roller 33 that rotate in the direction of the arrow to feed the lowermost document and rotate in the direction of the arrow, respectively.
It is separated into one sheet through the space between two and fed into the document guide 333.

Then, the fed original 7 is transferred to the roller 335.
While pressing with, the image on the lower surface of the contact line sensor 334 is sequentially read and converted into an electric signal for each line. The original 7 that has passed through the close contact line sensor 334 is pinched and conveyed by the conveying roller pair 336, and is sent out from the original discharge port 306 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 in a substantially horizontal state.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing details of the operation panel 310 of the operation unit 31. The display unit 311 has a screen shown in FIG.
The states of the first printer 10 and the second printer 20 shown in (READY: available, BUSY: in use, WAIT:
While waiting, ERROR: Error and paper size that can be used are displayed on the liquid crystal (respectively selected parts are highlighted), and the available sheet pre / post processing functions (both sides, sort, finisher, stapler, etc.) are displayed by LED. The printer status display portions 313 and 314 for displaying are at the center.

On the left side of the printer status display sections 313 and 314, a character display section 315 of 10 characters × 2 lines,
There is a three-digit scaling ratio display section 316 for displaying the scaling ratio as a numerical value, and on the right side is a two-digit number display section 317 for displaying the count value of the number of scanned originals and a read density setting state. There is a reading density display section 318 for reading.

As various keys, ten keys 312 are used.
Besides, start key, stop key, clear / document stop key, number of documents key, shift key, TEL / copy / FAX key, mode clear key, printer selection key, paper size key, double-sided / staple key, sort / stack A key, a mail key, a scaling key, a density key, and a zoom key (the symbols are omitted for all) are provided.

The use of these keys will be briefly described. When the start key is pressed, the document reading operation is started, and when the stop key is pressed, the reading operation is stopped.
The number of originals can be entered by inputting a numerical value with the ten keys while pressing the number of originals key. Further, by inputting a specific numerical value with the ten keys 32 while pressing the shift key, it is possible to select a first priority printer setting mode, a second priority printer setting mode, and a recovery time setting mode, which will be described later.

When the zoom key is pressed by itself, it is 1% each time.
The scaling ratio increases with each press, and pressing the shift key while pressing 1
The scaling factor decreases by 1% each time. When the scaling key is pressed independently, it is 50 → 64 → 71 → 82 → 87 → 93 → once each time.
115 → 122 → 141 → 200 → 283 → 400 → 5
The scaling ratio setting changes in a stepwise and cyclical manner in the order of 0,
When the shift key is pressed together with the shift key, the setting of the variable magnification is changed in the opposite direction to that described above in a stepwise and cyclic manner. The set value of the scaling ratio by these operations is displayed in% on the scaling ratio display unit 316.

When the density key is pressed alone, the reference value of the read density is increased by one step each time it is pressed, and when it is pressed together with the shift key, the reference value of the read density is decreased by one step each time.
The read density setting state by this operation is displayed by the LED on the read density display portion 318.

When the selected printer is equipped with a mailbox, it can be designated and canceled each time the mail key is pressed. When the selected printer is equipped with the duplex unit and sorter stapler, the duplex print can be designated by pressing only the duplex / staple key, and the stapling can be designated by pressing the duplex key / staple key together with the shift key.

When the selected printer is equipped with a sorter, the sort / stack key alone can be pressed to specify the sort (collection) paper discharge, and the sort / stack key can be pressed together with the shift key to stack (sort). ) You can specify paper ejection. When you press the printer selection key, the first printer 1
0 and the second printer 20 can be selected alternately, and when three or more printers are connected, they can be cyclically selected. However, if a printer that preferentially outputs an image is set in advance as described later, it is not necessary to select the printer each time.

By pressing the paper size key, it is possible to cyclically select the paper size that can be used by the selected printer. By pressing the TEL / copy / FAX key, the telephone, copy, and FAX functions can be cyclically selected, and by pressing the mode clear key, the set mode can be cleared. Shift key, TEL / copy / F
The AX key, the start key, and the stop key have different functions in a first priority printer setting mode, a second priority printer setting mode, and a recovery time setting mode, which will be described later.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the internal structure of the small scanners 1 to 4, and the scanner unit is the document feeding unit 3.
3, image reading unit 34, image processing unit 35, main control unit 3
6, image data compression processing unit 37, interface unit 3
8, remote interface (remote I / F),
And a line connection unit 40 for connecting to the telephone line and the handset 32.

The document feeder 33 is provided for each roller 3 shown in FIG.
30 to 332, 335, 336, and motors for driving them, a rotation transmission mechanism thereof, and the like. The originals 7 set in the original No. 302 are fed one by one to the image reading unit 34 and then ejected.

The document reading unit 34 can read an image of a document up to A4 width (210 mm) at a maximum of 8 lines / mm by the contact line sensor 334 shown in FIG. 4, and the read image signal is A / D. It is converted into multi-valued image data by a converter and output. The contact line sensor 3
34 is composed of, for example, an LED array, a rod lens, a shift register, an analog switch, and an amplifier 34.

The image processing section 35 carries out various processing such as shading correction and scaling processing on the image data outputted from the image reading section 34, a timing control circuit, and the processed image data in binary form. It consists of a circuit to be converted. The main control unit 36 includes a CPU, a ROM,
It is composed of a microcomputer including a RAM and an input / output port, a plurality of serial transmission / reception elements, etc., and controls the document feeding speed of the document feeding unit 33 according to the image data compression speed of the image data compression unit 37.

In addition, the mode (number of copies, copy paper size, selected printer, paper discharge mode, etc.) input and specified from the operation panel 310 of the operation unit 31 is set to the remote I / F 319 on the operation unit side and 37 on the scanner unit side. It is received by optical communication via the interface unit 26, and is transmitted to the system controller 11 of FIG. 1 via the interface unit 38.

Further, the printer status (paper size, error, copying or printing, standby, etc.) received from the system controller 11 is sent to the operation unit 31 via the remote I / F 39, and the operation panel 3 is operated.
10 is displayed on the display unit 311. Furthermore, data transmission / reception with the handset 32 or a telephone line via the line connection unit 40, command setting for the image processing unit 35, and the like are performed.

The image data compressing section 37 includes a main control section 3
The image data is compressed by the image data and the command from 6. As the image data compression method at that time, a general MH method or HR method is used, and an average compression rate is about 1
/ 10.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation of this small scanner, which includes initial, wait, scan, and error states, data transmission in each state, data reception from the outside, and timer interruption. Portions denoted by symbols in the figure will be described.

After initializing the main controller 36,
Start serial communication with each unit (line connection unit 40, remote I / F 39, syscon 11). Operation unit 31
The status of each printer is displayed on the operation panel 310. Check the status of each unit. For example, when the status of each printer changes, the status is transmitted through the system controller 11, and the status is reported to the operation panel 310.
To display.

When a document is inserted and the start key is pressed, scanning starts. At this time, commands are set in the image processing unit 35 and the image data compression unit 37, and data is transmitted to the syscon 11. Since the received data from each unit is interrupted, real-time performance is guaranteed. Built-in timer for operation timing reference.

Next, the main routine of the operation of the small scanner and the operations of the first and second priority printer setting modes and the recovery time setting mode will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. In the following description of the flow chart, the first printer 10 and the second printer 20 shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a main routine. After the initial setting and various mode setting subroutines are executed, the job key input, start, original scan and display subroutines are repeatedly executed. The initial setting is a process that is always performed when the power is turned on, such as time adjustment of the clock. The various mode settings are processing performed when the user installs them in a place where they are used or when the usage environment changes. As modes according to the present invention, the first priority printer setting mode, the second priority printer setting mode, and the recovery time are set. There is a setting mode,
These will be described in detail later.

The job key input is a key input process (the number of originals, magnification, reading density, etc.) from the operation panel 310 of the operation unit 31 shown in FIG. Start is processing such as document feeding when the start key is pressed, document scanning is processing for scanning and reading a document, and display is the display unit 31 of the operation panel 310.
1 is a process of displaying various items.

FIG. 9 is a subroutine of the first priority printer setting mode. When the subroutine is started, it is first judged whether or not the shift key and the numeric keypad "001" are pressed. If not pressed, the process returns to the main routine of FIG. When the button is pressed, "Set First Priority Printer" is displayed on the character display portion 315 of the operation panel 310.

Then, it is judged whether or not the TEL / copy / FAX key is pressed. If not pressed, the process proceeds to the judgment of pressing the start key with the current selection state, and the TEL / copy / FAX key is pressed. Switch the printer selection state (printer 1 → printer 2, or printer 2
→ Printer 1) After displaying, proceed to the judgment of pressing the start key.

When the start key is pressed while the printer 1 is selected, the printer 1 is set as the first priority printer and backed up and stored, and "printer 1 is the first priority printer" is displayed. When the start key is pressed while the printer 2 is selected, the printer 2 is set as the first priority printer and backed up and stored, and "printer 2 is the first priority printer" is displayed. After that, when the stop key is pressed, the character display is extinguished and the process returns to the main routine. However, when the stop key is not pressed, the above selection process is repeated, and the first priority printer can be changed.

FIG. 10 is a subroutine of the second priority printer setting mode. When the subroutine is started, it is first judged whether or not the shift key and the numeric keypad "002" are pressed. If not pressed, the process returns to the main routine of FIG. ,
When it is pressed, "Set the second priority printer" is displayed on the character display area 315 of the operation panel 310.
Is displayed.

Subsequent processing is almost the same as in the case of the first priority printer setting mode described above. The printer selected when the start key is pressed is set and backed up as the second priority printer, and that printer is stored. The only difference is that it indicates that it is a second priority printer.

In this embodiment, two printers are used for the sake of simplicity of explanation, so that either one is set as the first priority printer and the other is set as the second priority printer, but it can be used. When the number of printers is increased, each of the printers can be sequentially and cyclically selected and displayed (rotate display) every time the TEL / copy / FAX key is pressed. In this way, the printer most convenient for outputting an image to each small scanner can be set in advance as the first priority printer, and the next most convenient printer can be set as the second priority printer.

FIG. 11 shows a reset time setting mode. When the mode is started, it is first judged whether or not the shift key and the numeric keypad "003" have been pressed. If not pressed, the process returns to the main routine of FIG. 8 but is pressed. “Set the recovery time” is displayed on the character display portion 315 of the operation panel 310.

Then, it is judged whether or not the TEL / copy / FAX key is pressed. If not pressed, the process proceeds to the judgment of pressing the start key, and the pressing of the TEL / copy / FAX key is effective until the start key is pressed. I have to. Then, when the TEL / copy / FAX key is pressed, the recovery time can be input using the numeric keypad. When the start key is pressed after the input, the input value is set as the recovery time data and stored in backup. To display it. After that, when the stop key is pressed, the character display of the return time is turned off and the process returns to the main routine. However, if the stop key is not pressed, the above process is repeated to enable the change of the return time.

The recovery time means that there is no paper in the printer,
When an image formation inoperable state such as a paper jam or toner end occurs, the initial value data of the expected recovery time required to restore it to the image formation ready state is supported by the cause of the inability of each printer. Then, the memory (ROM or NVRAM) in the system controller 11 shown in FIG.
However, the distance between each small scanner and each printer is different depending on the layout in which the small scanners 1 to 4 and the printer systems 5 and 6 are installed. There is a difference in the time to start the work of removing jammed paper, so
It must be set individually according to the usage.

The recovery time of plus α which is different for each combination of the small scanner and the printer is called the recovery time set here. Therefore, each time the small-sized scanner sets the above-mentioned first priority printer and second priority printer,
The recovery time setting mode is executed to set the recovery time for each printer in consideration of the distance to the printer.

Printer System Next, a specific example of the printer systems 5 and 6 in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 12 is a block diagram of the printer system 5, and FIG. 13 is a block diagram of the printer system 6. Corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

The parts common to both printer systems 5 and 6 are a main control section 50, an image processing section 51, a sequence control section 52, and an interface section 53. As an option of the printer system 5, a large scanner 13 and an operation panel are provided. 54, FAX interface 55, ADF1
2 and a post-processing device, a limitless SS 14, and an optional printer system 6 is a post-processing device, a 15-bin sorter 22. Further, FIG. 12 also shows a system controller 11 that controls the entire image forming system and an image interface unit 110 that forms a part thereof.

First, parts common to the quantity printer systems 5 and 6 will be described. <Image processing unit> The image processing unit 51 includes a plurality of GAs (dedicated LSs).
I), and exchanges image data with the frame memory 56 of the interface unit 53 (the image data stored in the frame memory is binary data, and the image data processed by the image processing unit 51 is multivalued data). Therefore, data mutual conversion processing is also included). It is also possible to input multi-valued data from the image reading section of the large-sized scanner 13, and the following processing is performed.

Light amount detection: AGC data of large scanner 13 is set Shading correction: Correction of light amount of large scanner 13 (amount of lens convergence, etc.) Timing control: Timing control of image signal by internal clock Command control: Various commands (magnification, Mode) G
Control A Edit data: Edit image data according to command Magnification: Set virtual sample points to enlarge and reduce image data

Binarization: Binarization of multi-valued data, MTF correction Halftone processing: Dither matrix processing in photo mode Character / photo separation: Depending on the amount of halftone for image data (same original) from the large scanner 13. Separation of text part and photo part Mark area: Detect specified mark area in image data from large scanner 13 (valid in various edit modes)

<Main Control Unit> The main control unit is basically composed of a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a non-volatile RAM and the like, and a serial interface. The sequence control unit 52 inside the printer and an optional operation. Panel 54, large scanner 13, ADF1
2 and serial command transmission / reception with the image processing unit 51 and command setting to the image processing unit 51, and the printer status (connection status of peripherals, presence / absence of transfer paper size and size,
The presence / absence of toner, door open, copy operation availability, failure mode, etc.) are transmitted by a predetermined command code.

Further, a command code indicating a copy job (paper feed port, paper ejection port, paper ejection mode, number of copies, copy density, various setting modes, etc.) is received from the system controller 11. When the operation panel 54 is connected to the printer, the key input of the operation panel 54 is accepted, and the copy job by this is processed and executed in the interrupt mode.

That is, the following processing is repeated. The sequence control unit 52, the large-sized scanner 13, and other peripheral devices always follow the respective status changes (fixing reload, sheet size data, door open, scan ready, ADF jam, staple jam, etc.) and the presence or absence of an abnormal serial code. It is transmitted to the main control unit 50.
The main control unit 50 which has grasped the printer status transmits serial codes indicating various printer statuses to the system controller 11.

Further, the nonvolatile RAM stores data relating to the timing of the printer (sub scanning resist, main scanning resist,
It is used to store the settings around the drum, scanner registration, etc.). When the operation panel 54 is connected as an option, the key input is similarly transmitted to the main control unit 50.

The main control section 50 determines the validity / invalidity of the key input and the display on the operation panel 54 based on all the received data. Actual copy operation (FAX
The start signal of (including transmission / reception of) is output from the syscon 11 or the operation panel 54, but in the case of the syscon 11, various data (number of sheets, paper feed / discharge port, mode) are also sent to the main controller 50. After that, the main control unit 50 sends a copy command to the image processing unit 51, the sequence control unit 52, and the like to start the copy operation.

<Sequence control section> Sequence section 52
Is basically composed of a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a non-volatile RAM, etc., an input / output port (AN port) and a serial interface, and the main control unit 50 controls the system controller 11 or the operation panel 5.
Sequential control (timing control of transfer paper feeding / conveying, ON / OFF control of each part around the drum forming the image forming system, etc.) is actually performed based on the copy job received from the No.

In addition, communication processing with the post-processing device (limitless SS14, 15-bin sorter 22, double-sided unit, etc.) is also performed at the timing of feeding and conveying the transfer paper. That is, the following control processing of each system is executed. Writing system control: APC (output control) of laser diode, polygon motor control, synchronous detection Drum surrounding control: high-voltage power supply, development bias output value switching and ON / OFF, toner replenishment control

Paper feed / conveyance system control: transfer paper size, end check, paper feed processing, conveyance path switching processing, jam detection processing Fixing heater control: AC zero cross detection, heater phase control Post-processing system control: stepping motor control of duplex unit , Limitless SS 14 or 15 serial transmission to bin sorter 22 in time with transfer paper

<Interface unit> Interface unit 5
3 is a 1 MB frame memory 56 and a compression / expansion processing unit 5.
7 and 2MB SAF memory (compressed image data storage) 5
8 and. It handles binary data of 8 lines / mm in the main scanning direction and 7.7 lines / mm in the sub-scanning direction, and is the same as the fine character mode of normal FAX, and the normal character mode (3.85 line / m).
In the case of m), the sub-scan is processed by ORing data every other line.

The image data transmitted from the small scanners 1 to 4 is already compressed in a predetermined format in order to shorten the data transfer time, and therefore the compression / expansion processing unit 57 expands and restores it. Processing is required. The image data in this interface unit 53 is all 2
It is value data, and the transfer of image data is as follows.

Syscon ---> Image processing unit Syscon ---> FAX interface unit Image processing unit ---> Syscon image processing unit ---> FAX interface unit FAX interface unit ---> Syscon FAX interface unit-> Image processing unit

At the time of input to the image processing unit 51 of the printer, the image data transmitted from the syscon 11 or the FAX interface unit 55 is stored in the SAF memory 58, and when the storage of the data is completed, the compression / expansion processing unit 57 expands it. When the expansion is completed, the data is sequentially transferred to the frame memory 56. When one page is finished, the printout is made. The image data from the syscon 11 and the FAX interface unit 55 are both compressed in the same direction, and both are DMA operations (direct processing without CPU intervention).

At the time of output from the image processing unit 51 of the printer, the image data converted into binary data by the image processing unit 51 is stored in the frame memory 56, transferred to the compression / decompression unit 57 and compressed, and compressed. When finished, the image data is transferred to the SAF memory 58. There are three patterns for inputting image data: small scanners 1 to 4, FAX (reception), and large scanner 13 (however, a floppy disk device, an optical disk device, or the like can also be connected). The image data is stored by the SAF memories 58 and 113 in the printers 10 and 20 and the system controller 11 (at three locations in this embodiment).

The image data from each of the small scanners 1 to 4 is transferred to the image data interface section 110 of the syscon 11.
8-bit parallel data is input to the SA 10 of the printer 10 through the syscon side SAF memory 112 via the selector buffer 111 or the syscon I / F 113.
It is sent to either the F memory 58 or the SAF memory 58 of the printer 20.

Further, the SAF memory 112 on the syscon side is
It is also used to store the image data of the next JOB when the printer of the image data output destination is executing another JOB. This is because another JOB is being executed by the data output from the SAF memory 58 on the printer side.
Also, the image data of the Syscon SAF memory 112 is
The data can be transferred to the SAF memories 58 of the printer 10 and the printer 20 via the selector buffer 111.

If the FAX function is connected, FA
Data received by the X interface unit 55 is stored in the SAF memory 112 on the syscon side. Then, the received data is sent to the selector buffer 111 and the system controller I / F 11
Since the data can be transferred to the SAF memories 58 of the printer 10 and the printer 20 via 3, the data can be output to any printer. Further, even if the printers 10 and 20 are executing the JOB, the JOB is not interrupted even if the FAX is received. By having the SAF memory 62 dedicated to FAX reception as in this embodiment, the JOB reservation is not affected by FAX reception.

The flow of image data will be shown as an example. (1) Small scanner → printer 10 Small scanner → Selector buffer → Syscon I / F → SAF memory of printer 10 → Output (2) Small scanner → Printer 20 Small scanner → Selector buffer → Syscon I / F → SAF memory of printer 20 → Output

(3) FAX reception → Printer 10 Modem I / F → FAX side SAF memory → Syscon side SA
F memory → selector buffer → syscon I / F → printer 10 SAF memory → output (4) small scanner (reservation JOB) → printer 20 small scanner → selector buffer → syscon side SAF memory → selector buffer → syscon I / F → printer Two
0 SAF memory → output

(5) Small scanner → FAX transmission Small scanner → Selector buffer → Syscon side SAF memory → FAX side SAF memory → Output According to this configuration, three JOB inputs (syscon, printer 10, printer 20) are provided. The configuration is such that it is received by the SAF memory and output by two printers (excluding FAX). Further, even when receiving a FAX, it is possible to set the output destination to any of a plurality of printers.

The above is the part common to the printer systems 5 and 6. Basically, in each of the printer systems 5 and 6, the main controller 50 of the first printer 10 and the second printer 20 controls its state. The main control units 50 are controlled by the syscon 11.

<Option section> The option section is the FAX interface section 55 of the printer system 5.
Is actually controlled by the syscon 11. Large scanner 13
The operation panel 54 is controlled by the main controller 50.
The post-processing devices 14 and 22 are configured such that the main control unit 50 and the system controller 11 control the operation mode-related and the sequence control unit 52 controls the operation timing-related.
Various modes can be selected.

Here, the outline of each option part will be described. The large-sized scanner 13 uses an A3 size document at 400 dpi.
The scanner motor control unit (scanner unit) 130, the image reading unit 131 equipped with a CCD line sensor, the read data amplifying unit, and the A / D conversion unit (not shown). The status is determined by serial communication (mode and status) with the main control unit 50.

Therefore, in the printer system 5 equipped with the large scanner 13, the small scanners 1 to
Image data from 4 (VIDEO signal) is compressed binary data and is sent from the syscon 11. The image data (VIDEO signal) from the large scanner 13 is multi-valued data, and the image processing unit 51 of the printer 10 directly.
Entered in.

The control mode of each scanner and printer is such that, even when image data is being output to the printer 10 from any of the small scanners 1 to 4, if there is a request from the large scanner 13 side, the job is interrupted and the large scanner is stopped. 1
The image forming operation by the image data from 3 is enabled.
That is, the interruption by the large scanner 13 is possible.

In this image forming system, since the small scanner is basically owned by each individual, it is not necessary for the operator to go to the place where the large scanner 13, that is, the printer system 5, is installed. Considering a case where a large amount of time is required, a case where the small scanner has an abnormality, or a case where all the small scanners 1 to 4 are in operation, the workability is surely improved with the above configuration. When a large scanner is used,
The more it is necessary for the operator to go to the place where the printer system 5 is installed, the interruption is made possible when it is judged that the degree of urgency or importance is high.

In other words, the system configuration is partially provided with a stand-alone configuration so that it can be used even when it is used irregularly. Although the flow chart is omitted, when using a large scanner, the printer 1
"Interrupt mode" regardless of whether 0 job is executed
Each mode can be selected after pressing the key meaning.
At this time, the printer 10 side transmits "printer busy" to the syscon 11 side.

The operation panel 54 includes a display unit (LED, LC
D and its driver), key input section, and main control section 50
And a serial communication unit for transmitting each key input with a corresponding code to the main control unit 50,
ON / OFF of the display is determined by the corresponding code from 0.

The FAX interface section 55 includes a line modem interface (I / F) 60, an image data compression / expansion processing section 61, a FAX side SAF memory 62,
It consists of a fax controller 63, and the operation mode is syscon 1
The main control unit 50 controls it via 1. Then, the format of the image data transferred from the SAF memory 112 on the syscon side to the SAF memory 62 on the FAX side is set to FAX.
It suits.

The ADF 12 is an automatic document feeder installed on the large-sized scanner 13, which feeds, discharges, and reverses the document, and determines whether or not the operation can be performed by serial communication with the main controller 50. To decide.

The limitless SS14, which is the post-processing device of the printer system 5, has 20 bins of sorting, stacking,
Staples can be selected, and after stapling, sheets can be transferred to the stack tray. The main controller 50 serially transmits the operation mode to the sequence controller 52, and the sequence controller 52 and the limitless SS 14 serially communicate various operation commands and states including operation timing.

1 which is the post-processing device of the printer system 6
The 5-bin sorter 22 is installed on the upper part of the printer 20,
It is possible to select 15 bins for sorting, stacking, bin specification, and mail correspondence. The bin designation is a mode in which the output destination is designated for each small scanner, and the mail correspondence is a mode in which a plurality of desired output bins is set in advance for each small scanner, and the sort bin number limit is set to less than 15. Then, it is possible to execute the bin designation mode and the like together with the sorting.

The main controller 50 is a sequence controller 52.
The operation mode is serially transmitted to the sequence controller 52.
And 15 bin sorter 22 serially communicates various operation commands and states including operation timing.

Each printer 1 of the printer systems 5 and 6
The double-sided units installed inside 0 and 20 are also included in the post-processing device, and various double-sided modes can be selected by combining with the ADF12. Unlike other options, the sequence control unit is the same as the transfer paper tray. CP in 52
The U is directly controlled. However, the presence / absence of execution of the double-sided mode is determined by the serial data from the main control unit 50.

<Operation of Printer System> FIG. 14 is an explanatory view of the operation of the printer system 10 by the main control unit 50 of FIG. 12, in which each state of initial, standby, copy, and abnormality check and data in each state. It consists of transmission, data reception interrupt from the outside, and timer interrupt. Portions denoted by symbols in the figure will be described.

After initializing the main control unit 50, serial communication with each unit (syscon 11, sequence control unit 52, etc.) is started, and various data (default data) is transmitted to the sequence control unit 52, etc. accordingly. Check whether the copy operation can be accepted on the printer side. (For example, whether the fixing heater is activated, the transfer sheet is present, the large scanner is activated, or an abnormal condition exists.) This information is always transmitted to the syscon 11.

When the copy command is received from the system controller 11 or the operation panel 54, the main control unit 50 also starts the execution of the copy job process after transmitting the copy conditions and the start command to the printer units (the sequence control unit 52 etc.). .. The data transmitted from each unit is taken in by the main control unit 50 in an interrupt process to shorten the transmission time. A timer for the operation timing reference of the main control unit 50. The command control system in this embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.

<Mechanical Unit of Printer System> Next, the mechanical unit of each printer system 5 and 6 will be outlined.
FIG. 16 is a mechanical diagram of the printer system 5, which includes a first printer 10, a system controller 11, an ADF 12, a large scanner 13, and a limitless SS.

The first printer 10 is composed of an image forming section 70, paper feed units 71 and 72, and a duplex unit 73. Each of the paper feed units 71 and 72 includes a paper tray 74, a pickup roller 75, a paper feed roller 76, and a double feed prevention reverse roller 77. The paper in the selected paper tray 74 is loaded from the uppermost side. The sheet is fed one by one, and in the case of the sheet feeding unit 72, is fed through the relay roller 78 until it abuts on the registration roller 80 in the image forming unit 70.

The double-sided unit 73 carries in a sheet having an image formed on its one side by the image forming section 70, and reverses the roller 779.
This is an optional unit for reversing the front and back sides and feeding again to the image forming unit 70 to form an image on the other side.

The image forming section 70 includes registration rollers 80,
The photoconductor drum 81, a charging charger 82, a laser writing unit 83, a developing unit 84, a developing tank 85, a transfer charger 86, a cleaning unit 87, a discharging lamp 88, a conveyor belt 89, a fixing device 90 and the like are provided. The laser writing unit 83 scans a laser beam generated by a laser diode (not shown) with a polygon mirror 92 rotated by a polygon motor 91, and a reflection mirror 93 causes the photosensitive drum 8 to rotate.
Reflect the light so that it illuminates the upper part.

In the image forming section 70, as in a general laser printer, the photosensitive drum 81 that rotates in the direction of the arrow is shown.
After the surface of the is charged uniformly by applying a positive charge by the charging charger 82, the laser beam modulated ON / OFF according to the image data (video signal) by the optical writing unit 84 is scanned in the main scanning direction (photoreceptor). (Axial direction of drum 81)
Irradiate while scanning to form an electrostatic latent image.

Then, the developing unit 84 attaches the negatively charged toner to make it visible, and the resist roller 8
The toner image on the surface of the photoconductor drum 81 is transferred by the transfer charger 86 onto the paper (transfer paper) fed to the transfer portion at a predetermined timing by 0.

After that, the transfer sheet is separated from the photosensitive drum 81 by curvature separation and is conveyed to the fixing device 90 by the conveyor belt 89. Since a part of the transfer voltage is also applied to the conveyor belt 89, the transfer sheet is transferred. The paper is transported stably. The fixing device 90 is heated and pressed by a fixing roller having a heater and a pressure roller, and the transferred toner image is fused to the transfer paper.

The residual toner is removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 81 after the transfer by the cleaning unit 87,
The residual charge is removed by the static elimination lamp 88 to prepare for the next image formation. The transfer sheet output from the fixing device 90 is conveyed upward by the conveying roller 91 of each unit along the sheet discharge path and is sent to the limitless SS.

The automatic document feeder (ADF) 12 sequentially feeds a series of documents set on the document table 120 one by one from the lower side, and conveys them on the contact glass 132 of the large scanner 13 by the conveyor belt 121. After the scanning by the scanner 13 is completed, the sheet is fed with the surface to be read at a predetermined position facing downward, and is reversed and discharged onto the document table 120 to be stacked in the same direction as when set.

In the case where the original is a double-sided original having images on both sides of the paper, after the scanning of one side is completed, the original is inverted by the reversing roller 122 and the other side is faced down again to contact glass 132. The image is sent to a predetermined position above, the image on the other side is read by the scanner 13, and after the image is finished, the image is discharged onto the document table 120.

The large scanner 13 is the contact glass 13
Close to the inner surface of 2, fluorescent lamp (lights at 40Hz,
The first scanner unit 134 composed of a first mirror (using a ballast as a power source) and a first mirror is moved at a constant speed in the direction of the arrow by a scanner motor (not shown), and the reflected light from the document surface is horizontally moved by the first mirror. To reflect.

At this time, the second scanner section 135 consisting of the second mirror and the third mirror is moved in the same direction as the first scanner section 134 at a speed of 1/2, and the reflected light of the first mirror is moved to the second mirror. The light is reflected twice at a right angle by the third mirror, folded, and reduced through the lens 137 (reduction ratio 1: 0.110).
2) Then, an image is formed on the CCD line sensor 138.

The CCD line sensor 138 converts the brightness of the image into an electric signal and outputs it. The scanner unit 130 shown in FIG. 12 is configured by the first and second scanner units 134 and 135, the scanner motor, its control circuit, and the like. Further, the lens 137, the CCD line sensor, the drive circuit thereof, the amplifier, the A / D conversion circuit, and the like constitute the image reading unit 131 shown in FIG.

Limitless SS14 is a 20-stage bin 1
40, a guide carriage 141 that can be moved up and down, a stapler 142 attached to the guide carriage 141, and the like, and when receiving the transfer paper discharged from the printer 10, guides it to a desired bin 140 by a plurality of conveying rollers and the guide carriage 141 and stacks it. .

In this case, if sort is designated, a series of printed transfer sheets are discharged onto each bin 140 in page order, and if stapling is also designated, printing of the required number of copies is completed. A stapler 142 that is moved up and down by a guide carriage 141 sequentially staples a predetermined portion of the plurality of transfer sheets sorted on each rear bin 140. When the stack mode is designated, the printed transfer sheet of the original document that is different for each bin 140 (the same for one bin) is ejected. The limitless SS14 also functions as a mail bin.

FIG. 17 is a mechanical diagram of the printer system 6, in which parts corresponding to those in FIG.
Descriptions thereof are omitted. In this printer system, the image forming unit 70, the sheet feeding unit 71, and the duplex unit 73 constitute the second printer 20, and a paper bank 21 in which three sheet feeding units 72 are stacked is provided above the second printer 20, and 15 is further provided thereon. The bin sorter 22 is arranged to save a large amount of space. The sorter 22 also has a stack function and a mail bin function in addition to the sorting function.

FIG. 18 further simplifies this to 15
By removing the bin sorter, the upper portion of the paper bank 21 is used as a paper discharge tray. Since the paper feed unit 71, the duplex unit 73, and the three-stage paper feed unit 72 forming the paper bank 21 are all removable units, they can be freely combined to form a printer system. Depending on the combination, a simpler configuration can be made.

Therefore, these printer systems can be installed in the space of installation place, system cost, copy speed, necessity of double-sided copying, necessity of post-processing, print quality, necessity of compositing / editing function, full color or single color. It will be configured according to the necessity of.

System Controller Next, the configuration and operation of the system controller (syscon) 11 shown in FIG. 12 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 19, the syscon 11 includes a CPU 114,
A ROM 115, a RAM 116, and a calendar IC 117 are connected by a data bus to an overall control unit of a microcomputer connected by a CPU bus, a serial interface unit including serial I / Fs 118a to 118g, and an image data interface unit 110. .

The image data interface unit 110 includes the selector buffer 111 and the system controller side SA shown in FIG.
The functions of the F memory 112 and the system control I / F 113 are fulfilled. The RAM 116 and the calendar IC (having a timer function and a calendar function) are backed up by the battery 119, and their functions are retained even when the power is turned off.

Serial interface serial I / O
F118f and 118g are the first printer 10 and
Serial transmission / reception is performed with the main control unit 50 of the second printer 20. The main-side transmission data of the printer is mainly the sequence control unit 52 that is transmitting and receiving in each printer, the scanner 13, the operation panel 54, and other status data, and the syscon-side transmission data is mainly command data ( Job order). An example of the transmission code from the printer to the syscon is shown in Table 1, and an example of the transmission code from the syscon to the printer is shown in Table 2.

The serial I / Fs 118a to 118e perform serial transmission / reception with each of the small-sized scanners 1 to 4 shown in FIG. 1, and the transmission data on the scanner side is a code mainly indicating the key input from the operator and the state of the scanner. This is data, and the syscon side sends the panel data, guidance, job code, etc. of the operation unit corresponding to it. Further, the serial I / F 118a is the FA shown in FIG.
It is in serial communication with the X control unit 63.

The image data interface unit fetches the image data read by each of the scanners 1 to 4 all together via the buffer, and the image is transferred to the corresponding printer 10 or 20 or the FAX interface unit 55 of FIG. 12 according to each mode. This is the part that transfers data.

The overall control section determines the operation mode based on the received data by serial communication with the main 50 of each printer 10 and 20 and the small scanners 1 to 4 and the data stored in the RAM 116. The data stored in the RAM 116 means the small scanners 1 as described above.
Data indicating preset output priorities (first priority printer and second priority printer) for each of 4 to 4, estimated return time set for each cause of image formation failure of each printer, and preset by each small scanner This is data such as the + α recovery time.

Further, the discharge destination printer and the job receiving order are determined by the states of each printer and its peripherals, various supply conditions, and all states such as input jobs and reserved jobs.

Here, the transmission / reception format will be described. First, the syscon 11 side sends a reset code to the printers 10 and 20 and the small scanners 1 to 4. As a result, the printers 10 and 20 and the small scanners 1 to 1
After being soft reset (initialized), 4 transmits various initial codes.

As shown in Tables 1 and 2, the transmission / reception code is a head code (1 byte) + data code (** H) +
It is structured as a data code (** H). The reset code is "10H", the data request code is "13H + 04H", and the printer ready is "21H + 02".
H ”and printer busy are“ 21H + 04H. ”Then, codes are exchanged according to the command of the syscon and the state of the printer.

The JOB management of the syscon is performed as follows on the syscon 11 side for the jobs from the small scanners 1 to 4. When the JOB can be started and executed with respect to the input JOB (the status of each printer is also checked), the JOB is immediately distributed to each printer (actually, once the R
The JOB is stored in AM116).

When the printer 10 or 20 receives a JOB (starts execution), the syscon 11 side adds a job code and manages the JOB. The entered J
If the JOB cannot be started and executed for the OB (if each printer is already executing another JOB or the JOB for which the completion time has been specified, etc.), the syscon side issues a save code for each JOB. It will be added in the order entered. This is for all unexecuted jobs.
This is so that it can be treated as B.

Save code (SV ***) Job code (JOB *****) * = 0 to 9 is shown. SV ***: Number added in order of input for reserved JOB input, number subtracted in order of input for reserved JOB execution JOB ***: 0001, 000 in order of job reception
2, ... 9999

The JOB to which the save code is added can be distributed to the printers at the time when the previous JOB end or the failure that the JOB cannot be executed (paper end, paper jam, time in the case of time designation) is removed. I am trying. FIG. 20 shows the format of the storage area of the unexecuted JOB in the RAM 116 shown in FIG.
Shown in.

As described above, the save code is attached to each of the operation mode data corresponding to a plurality of jobs and stored in a predetermined RAM area. After the execution of JOB is completed, the RAM area corresponding to the save code is cleared, and then another save code and its data are shifted by that area as shown in (a) to (b) of FIG.

To explain in accordance with the flow of the operation, when the JOB is inputted from each of the scanners 1 to 4, the system controller 1
Job to be executed immediately on the 1st side or JOB whose time is specified
Regardless of whether you attach the save code to the RAM 116
The data of the various conditions are stored in. Then, in the case of a job for which immediate execution is requested, it is checked whether it can be executed immediately, and if it is executable, it is executed immediately.
If it is not possible, just add the save code to RAM1
It remains stored in 16 along with various conditions.

The saved JOB (reserved JOB) is checked only at the timing of'JOB start flag = 0 ', and if there is an executable JOB,' JOB start flag = 1 'is newly set and printer selection processing is performed. To do. Check the saved JOB (reservation JOB)
The job sets are executed in the oldest order (smallest save code order), thereby preventing careless change of the order of execution jobs.

Further, the RAM 116 backed up by the battery 119 of the syscon 11 manages the following items. The RAM 116 itself may be a non-volatile RAM. 1: Mode data set for each of the small scanners 1 to 4 2: Management of system usage status 3: System data other than scanners 1 to 4

The small scanners 1 to 4 are highly likely to be used by a relatively small number of people because of their configuration. As a result, there is a high probability that a specific mode (double-sided, scaling, etc.) or print output from a specific printer will be used. for that reason,
In this embodiment, it is possible to specify a desired mode and a priority output destination printer for each of the small scanners 1 to 4.

These data are RA of the syscon 11 side.
The data is collectively stored in M116 for each scanner. In the case of mode data, when the mode clear key of each operation unit 31 shown in FIG. 5 of the small scanners 1 to 4 is turned on, when the scanner power is turned on and when the auto clear is performed, the panel display state and the previous JOB are displayed.
After clearing each flag used during operation, RAM1
The 16 pieces of stored information are checked, and the display and setting relating to the desired mode are performed.

In the case of this embodiment, the designation of the priority output destination printer is set as "first priority printer" for each scanner. As a result, the JOB is preferentially executed on the "first priority printer" side without specifying the output destination for each JOB. However, since the entire system manages all JOBs, the output destination designation status differs depending on the designation status of other JOBs.

The system usage status is managed by Syscon 1
It is done as follows in 1 batch. That is, R
According to the execution of each JOB, each counter on the AM 116 displays the number of copies and JOB-related data (input scanner,
Output printer etc.) and count up separately. R
Tables 3 and 4 show examples of the count data structure of each counter on the AM 116. Table 3 is count data of the number of copies (unit: sheets) of each printer based on image data from each scanner, etc., and Table 4 is count data of the number of JOB executions (unit: times) of each printer based on image data from each scanner etc. A configuration example of is shown.

A to D in these tables have the following meanings. A: The number of copies or J with any scanner and printer
Number of OBs B: Number of copies or number of JOBs (OT
HER is a large scanner) C: Number of copies or number of JOBs on arbitrary printer D: Total number of copies or number of JOBs These data are used at the time of maintenance and can be used for fuzzy reasoning described later.

Further, the paper feed size data, JAM data, and other data are also held in the same counter configuration. The actual count-up operation is performed by receiving serial code data from each of the scanners 1 to 4 and the printers 10 and 20.

As other respective data, each printer 1
The main controller 50 of 0 and 20 also has a non-volatile RAM, and the content of the stored data is the PW of the drum rotation condition.
M data, each default data, and the like, which are also used as an independent (stand-alone) image forming apparatus. In other words, the syscon 11 and the printers 10 and 20 have redundant data.

If the main control section 50 on the printer side does not have a non-volatile RAM, the syscon 11 side must always send all default data to the printer side, so that transmission of JOB-related data by serial communication becomes slow. ..
Further, as data held only by the main control unit 50 on the printer 10 side, optional operation panels 54, 4 are provided.
There are default data, mode data, etc. of the large-sized scanner 13 of 00 dpi.

The FAX control section 63 (FIG. 12) stores default data, destination data, and the like. In addition, in the syscon 11, secret code mode (secret code) data that permits use of the system by inputting a predetermined code,
It also holds data relating to the management of the entire system and JOB, data for designating the discharge destination (designating the discharge bin of the sorter connected to the printer), and the like.

The overall control unit of the CPU 114 of the system controller 11 also monitors the following system for abnormalities. (1) Small scanner error This is a hardware error of each scanner 1 to 4 due to self-diagnosis, and the syscon 11 side recognizes the error by serial reception. When this abnormality occurs, the syscon side determines that the corresponding scanner does not exist and controls other systems, and the scanner side displays the abnormality guidance only for the corresponding scanner.

(2) Syscon-scanner communication error If there is a sudden communication (protocol) error, it can be recovered by recovery by the protocol, but if there is a hardware-like one (communication cable defect), etc., it cannot be recovered. If it does not recover due to, the relevant scanner controls the other system because it does not exist on the syscon side. If the scanner can also detect a communication error, the error guidance will be displayed only for that scanner.

(3) Syscon Abnormality If there is a hardware abnormality in the syscon 11 due to self-diagnosis, the syscon abandons (stops) control of the system, and the scanners 1 to 4 and the printers 10 and 20.
Is in the following operating state. On the scanner side, all the scanners display an abnormality guidance. The printer detects the connection status of peripheral devices (operation panel, post-processing device, large-scale scanner, etc.) for each printer and determines whether or not it can operate as a stand-alone device. It can operate as a copy machine.

(4) Syscon-Printer Communication Abnormality If there is a sudden communication (protocol) abnormality, if there is a hardware thing (communication cable defect) that can be recovered by recovery by the protocol, it cannot be recovered, so recovery If the printer does not recover, the syscon side determines that the corresponding printer does not exist and controls other systems.

(5) Printer abnormality This is a hardware abnormality of the printer due to self-diagnosis, and the syscon side recognizes the abnormality by serial reception. When this abnormality occurs, the syscon side determines that there is no corresponding printer and controls the other system.

Explanation of Flowchart Next, the JOB by the image forming system of the above-mentioned embodiment is explained.
The operation from input to execution will be described with reference to a detailed flowchart. First, its outline will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, the first printer 10 shown in FIG. 1 and the like will be referred to as a printer 1 (P1), and the second printer 20 will be referred to as a printer 2 (P2).

According to this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The JOB input and set by each small scanner 1 to 4 is
When the input mode is checked on the syscon 11 side and it is determined that the job can be accepted, the JOB data is stored in the RAM 116 (FIG. 19) on the syscon 11 side together with the save code. In addition, JOB execution timing (time)
Is also stored in the RAM 116.

Then, the JOB execution check is started, the JOB execution timing is monitored by the real time clock (clock) of the calendar IC 117, the printer status check and the scanner status are also checked, and the predetermined timing is reached and the printer accepts the JOB. If it is possible, the JOB start flag for prompting the execution of JOB is set to "1".

After that, an input mode check is performed, which of a plurality of printers 1 and 2 is made to execute the job for which execution is urged, the printer status is checked again, and the printer in which another job is being executed is checked. When is specified, the reservation JOB corresponding to the printer is made. However, in consideration of the case where the printer goes down (JAM or the like occurs) during execution of each JOB, the reserved JOB corresponding to the printer is canceled after a predetermined time.

When the JOB input and reserved by each of the small scanners 1 to 4 is executed by the printer, there are the following restrictions. 1 The selected mode exists only in either printer. 2-1 Either printer is inoperable state (no paper, toner end, jam state) 2-2 Either printer is inoperable state (state with component failure)

In other words, if a printer is not selected in consideration of each of the above states when executing a JOB, the job that cannot be executed is
In some cases, B may be selected or a printer in an inoperable state may be selected, resulting in a great decrease in workability and many unexecuted jobs. Further, in this image forming system, since it is highly possible that the small scanners and the printers are dispersedly installed on the floor, the image forming system is closest to the small scanners 1 to 4 (the operator is most likely to get the item). So that you can select a printer
The printers of the first choice (first priority) and the second choice (second priority) can be set.

Further, when the processing speeds of the printers are different, the remaining time is calculated even when another JOB is being executed,
It is determined which printer can finish the job earliest and the printer that executes the job is selected. 3 above
The printer is selected for each JOB by comprehensively judging the items. Table 1 shows an explanation of each flag and Table 2 shows an explanation of each label in the flowcharts after FIG.

Flow 1 (FIGS. 26 and 27): Manual selection This is a case where a printer is selected (designated) for each JOB by the operation unit 31 of the small-sized scanners 1 to 4, and if the selected printer is ready, respectively. Printer 1 or printer 2
If the selected printer is executing another JOB (busy), the operation proceeds to P1 and P2.
Reservation P1 or JOB reservation P2 is processed and the process returns to the main routine.

Further, a serviceman call (SC flag = 1), power supply OFF (POWER flag = 1), jam occurrence (jam flag = 1), toner end (toner flag = 1), no paper ( When any one of the paper flags = 1) occurs, guidance is displayed on the operation unit 31 to prompt selection of another printer, and when all the printers have failed, a warning guidance display is displayed on each operation unit 31.

As shown in FIG. 28 for the process P1 for operating the printer 1 by printer selection and for FIG. 29 for the process P2 for operating the printer 2, the JOB start flag is set to "0", and the JOB mode data is transferred. Start each printer and clear each reservation timer.

Job reservations P1 and P2 are shown in FIGS.
As shown in each of the above, if each reservation flag is "1", it means that the reservation is already made, so that the process returns as it is.
After the OB start flag is set to "0" and each reservation flag is set to "1", the priority delay time Ta is set in each reservation timer which is a subtraction timer.

Here, when the JOB is reserved during the execution of the previous JOB, the P1 and P2 reservation flags indicating the reserved state are set as a timer for Ta (priority delay time). When the printer ready is transmitted from each printer at the timing of this reservation flag being “1” (previous JOB end), the syscon side causes the printer to execute the reservation job.

This Ta is the priority delay time shown in Table 2 and is changed for each system by fuzzy reasoning, but it is set in advance so that JOB is given priority to the first priority printer side. .. That is, JOB is executed on the first priority side even when the first priority printer side becomes ready after a delay of time Ta from other printers. Note that FIG.
The processes of the printers 1 and 2 and JOB reservations P1 and P2 shown in FIGS. 8 to 31 are also used in each of the following flowcharts.

Flow 2 (FIGS. 32 and 33): Both mode selection and printer status are OK. The status of the first priority printer is checked, if it is executable, it is selected, and another JOB is already being executed (busy). )
If so, the estimated remaining time of the job (P1TC or P
2TC), the first priority printer is selected if it is less than or equal to a predetermined value (Ta: default value is 30 seconds and will be changed by fuzzy inference thereafter), and if it is more than the predetermined value, another printer is selected. .

As a result, it is possible to reduce the waiting time for other JOBs without the unexecuted JOBs remaining. Ta is a different time for each printer. P1, P
The presence / absence of the 2 reservation JOB is determined to be present if the P1 reservation flag or the P2 reservation flag is “1”, and is absent if it is “0”. S * TC is the time required for each copy of scanners 1 to 4,
The expected remaining times P1TC and P2TC are values obtained by subtracting S * TC from the JOB execution start time point by the real-time clock.

Further, when the judgment of "P1 or P2 printer ready" in FIG. 33 is YES (both printers 1 and 2 are ready), the first desired printer is neither printer 1 nor printer 2, that is, the first priority printer. If no is set, the printer of the first choice (first priority) by all the small scanners 1 to 4 is obtained, the number of scanners whose first choice is the printer 1 is CNTPT1, and the first choice is the printer 2 Let CNTPT2 be the number of scanners, and if CNTPT1 ≧ CNTPT2, then printer P
2 to print, CNTPT1 <CNTPT2
If so, the printer 1 is caused to execute printing.

That is, the status of the output priority of each printer (image forming means) is evaluated to determine the priority, and the image forming operation is performed by the image signal from the scanner (image signal output means) for which the priority is not set. To the printer with the lower priority (the printer with the lowest priority when there are three or more printers). By controlling in this way, it is possible to leave a printer that is highly likely to be used preferentially and improve convenience. In addition, it also contributes to making the image forming amount of each printer uniform.

Flow 3 (FIGS. 34 to 36): NG for both mode selection and printer status In the JOB for which a mode (post-processing) that exists only in a part of a plurality of printers is selected, at least 1
If more than one printer is inoperable (can recover without paper, toner end, jam, etc.) or inoperable (cannot recover due to component failure), other than inoperable printer Whether the job can be executed is determined by determining whether the job can be executed by the printer.

Flow 4 (FIGS. 37 to 42): Mode selection OK, printer status NG In a JOB in which only modes that exist in all of a plurality of printers are selected, at least one or more printers are inoperable (paper If none, toner end, jammed state, etc.), or inoperable state (cannot be restored due to component failure), determine whether JOB can be executed by a printer other than an inoperable printer. Then, the printer that finishes the job first is selected.

After the "guidance display" in FIG. 41, the printer 1 is normal and the printer 2 is in the operation addition state in which the printer 2 can return.
After "guidance display" in FIG. 42, the printer 2 is normal and the printer 1 is in an inoperable state in which the printer 1 can return, and after "guidance display" in FIG.

ER in FIGS. 41 and 42 is the expected recovery time on the syscon side, and default values are set, for example, POWER flag: 2 minutes, jam flag: 2 minutes, supply flag: 30 seconds. However, when the event occurs, the average value with the actual measurement value is newly set as ER. For example, when a jam occurs n times, the average recovery time of n times and the default value (2 minutes) are newly set. Alternatively, similarly to the setting of the first priority printer, the operator can set an arbitrary value and always return with that value. EP is subtracted from this set value.

In the flowcharts 3 and 4, the inoperable state of the printer is divided into a recoverable state and a non-recoverable state. In the case of a recoverable failure, it is said to recover after a predetermined time depending on each state. According to the prediction, the printer that finishes JOB earliest (minimum waiting time) is selected. As a result, the loss due to downtime on the printer side is reduced as much as possible.

Flow 5 (FIGS. 43 to 48) This shows the process of setting / resetting each flag in Flows 1 to 4, and shows the following flags.

Mode Disable Flag: Flow 5-1 (FIGS. 43 and 4)
4) SC printer flag: Flow 5-2 (Fig. 45) Jam paper flag: Flow 5-3 (Fig. 46) Supply flag: Flow 5-4 (Fig. 47) Toner flag: Flow 5-4 (Fig. 47) Paper flag: Flow 5-4 (Fig. 47) POWER flag: Flow 5-5 (Fig. 48)

The judgment of each flowchart can be compared as follows. Usually, when an operator makes a copy, he or she goes to a place where a printer (image forming apparatus) is installed, holding an original or an FD (floppy disk). that time,
The possible situations are as follows.

1. The printer is in a job ready state and is in an empty state. The printer is in a JOB executable state and is in use. 3. The printer is in the JOB executable state, but there is no desired paper, etc. 4. 4. The printer is in a JOB unexecutable state (supply out, power OFF) The printer is in a JOB unexecutable state (fault state)

The above 1. ~ 5. In the case of, the operator judgment is generally as follows. 1. In the case of, JOB is naturally executed using the printer. 2. In this case, if the waiting time is short, the printer waits until it becomes empty, and if the waiting time is long, it moves to a place where another printer is installed. 3. In the case of 1, the desired paper or the like is set in the printer and then JOB is executed, or the printer is moved to a place where another printer is installed, whichever is earlier.

4. In the case of 1, the job is executed after supplying the supply, or the job is moved to a place where another printer is installed, whichever is earlier. 5. in the case of,
Immediately move to the place where another printer is installed. Above 1. ~ 5. The above case corresponds to each of the flows 1 to 4 described above.

<Print speed of each printer (CP
When M) is different> In the above-described selection of the printer, consideration was given based on the case where the print speeds of the printers 1 and 2 are almost the same, but hereinafter, the case where the print speeds are different will be described. The system side uses the serial format when the power of each printer is turned on to determine the connection status of the printer's peripheral devices and the print speed CP.
You can know M (CODE: 20H-).

The copying time is calculated based on this value (CPM), the number of originals count check result of the small scanner, and various mode setting states. That is, even if the same JOB is used, the processing time differs depending on the execution printer destination, so it is necessary to select the JOB in consideration of it.

Flow 6 (FIGS. 49 to 52): Both mode selection and printer status are OK. The status of the first desired (first priority) printer is checked,
If it is feasible, select it, and if another JOB is already being executed, calculate the remaining time of that JOB, and if it is below a predetermined value, select the first desired printer; Select a printer. The predetermined value includes the difference between the priority delay time and the JOB processing time in each printer. As a result, unexecuted jobs do not stay
The waiting time can be reduced.

In FIG. 50, "value on the printer 1 side ≥ value on the printer 2 side" is (time when the JOB is executed on the printer 1 + priority delay time) and (job being executed on the printer 2 side). The remaining time + the time when the JOB is executed by the printer 2 + the processing time of the JOB that has already been reserved) are compared with each other to decide which one is earlier. “The value on the printer 2 side ≧ the value on the printer 1 side” is only that the printers 1 and 2 are opposite to the above case.

In FIG. 52, “value on printer 1 side ≧ printer 2”
Side value "is the JOB being executed, the JOB already reserved
It is a judgment to select whichever is earlier, including the processing time of B and the job corresponding to the printer selection, and the delay time for priority. In this embodiment, the number of jobs that can be reserved in each printer is one (P1, P
(Judgment based only on the 2 reservation flag), the reservation of a plurality of JOBs is prohibited, and the JOB that has already been reserved is executed when the JOB under execution ends, and a new JOB can be reserved (P1, P2 reservation). The flag becomes "0").

Flow 7 (FIGS. 53 to 58): Mode selection OK, printer status NG In a JOB in which only the modes existing in all of the plurality of printers are selected, at least one printer is inoperable (no paper). , Toner end, jam status, etc.) or non-operation status (non-recoverable status due to component failure), determine whether JOB can be executed by a printer other than an inoperable printer. Then, the printer that finishes the job first is selected.

: J on a printer other than the inoperable printer
Whether or not JOB can be executed is determined, and whether or not JOB can be executed is determined. : When the printer is in the inoperable state in which recovery is possible and the JOB processing time in the inoperable printer is faster than the other printers, that printer is selected.

In the flow of FIGS. 56 to 57, the time until the printer 2 receives a new JOB is calculated.
58, the time until the printer 1 accepts a new JOB is calculated, and in the flow of FIG. 58, which printer is faster is determined by including the processing time of each printer and the priority delay time Ta. To do.

Flow 8 (FIGS. 59 and 60): Reservation flag reset processing Flow 8-1 in FIG. 59 shows the P1 reservation flag reset processing, and flow 8-2 in FIG. 60 shows the P2 reservation flag reset processing. When the reservation flag is reset to "0" by these processes, the end of the previous JOB is delayed due to some cause (for example, paper jam, paper end, etc.), and the P1 or P2 reservation timer times out (0 It became the case). In this case, the JOB start flag is set to "1" again for the JOB reserved once, and the JOB execution and the printer selection are checked.

Flow 9 to 11 (FIGS. 61 to 63): Error check FIG. 61 is a flow chart of syscon side reception error check. This process is performed on serial data for each printer. Therefore, there are two communication error flags for the printer 1 and the printer 2. FIG. 62 is a flow chart of error check processing performed for each printer on the syscon side, and * in the figure indicates “1, 2” of the printer 1 or 2.

FIG. 63 is a flow chart of printer-side reception error check. When the operation panel is connected and the scanner function is provided, the "ready to copy" state has a configuration as a stand-alone copier, so that the process proceeds from <Initial> to <Standby> in FIG. "To copy ready state" when the operation panel is not connected or does not have a scanner function does not have a configuration as a stand-alone copy machine, and is therefore set to <abnormality check state (EM)> in FIG.

By the way, in this embodiment, one JOB is not executed by a plurality of printers. In addition to the process (problem) of increasing the productivity of a plurality of jobs, it is important to manage the movable status of each printer. In the case of a system that is distributed and used on the floor, the following problems may occur.

When JOBs from each scanner are concentrated on only one of the plurality of printers, the printer has various driving parts in addition to consumable supplies such as supplies.
They will wear out early and cause failures. Specifically, frequent jams and the like occur due to abrasion of the paper feed and conveyance rollers. In addition, the life of the photoconductor drum and the process units arranged around the photoconductor drum is shortened due to overload, and the image quality is degraded due to use beyond the life of the photoconductor drum.

According to the present invention, such a problem can be prevented by the following two methods. (1) Job input from a small scanner that does not have a "first priority printer" setting that can be set for each small scanner
Check the data (priority) of the "first priority printer" that has already been set by all the small scanners 1 to 4,
The printer with the smaller number (selected) as the first priority printer is preferentially selected. Since the non-volatile data such as the data of the "first priority printer" are collectively stored in the non-volatile RAM on the side of the syscon 11, the above processing can be easily performed.

(2) Since the number of copies and the like can be stored for each scanner and printer by the non-volatile RAM of the system controller 11, when the first priority printer is executing another JOB, it is executed at predetermined time intervals. The remaining time of the JOB is obtained based on the number of copies for each printer, and if it is a predetermined time or less, the first priority printer is selected, and if it is more than the predetermined time, another printer is selected. The value of the predetermined value (counting timer) is changed using a fuzzy rule. This prevents deviation of JOB in the printer.

In this way, it is possible to prevent JOBs from the scanners from concentrating on only one of the plurality of printers and prevent early friction failure of various driving parts. Further, it is possible to prevent the life of the photoconductor drum and the process units arranged around the photoconductor drum from being shortened due to overload, and to prevent the photoconductor drum from being used beyond its life, so that stable image quality can be obtained for a long period of time. In addition, J
Since the OBs are distributed, the operator does not need to specify the printer for each JOB, and the JOB processing can be efficiently performed by effectively utilizing the processing function of each printer.

Description of Flowchart of Another Embodiment A method of selecting a printer by the syscon 11 according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIG. 64 and thereafter.

The image forming system of this embodiment is
As indicated by the phantom line in FIG. 25, the third printer 3 (P
3) is also connected so that three printers are provided, and in addition to the "first priority printer", the "second priority printer" can be designated for each small scanner 1 to 4. The “second priority printer setting” described in the flowchart of FIG. 10 is effective in this case. Further, in the following flow charts, explanations of flags additionally used are shown in Table 3, and explanations of labels are shown in Tables 4 and 5, respectively.

Flow 12 (FIGS. 64 to 68): Priority priority selection In this image forming system, it is possible to easily add a printer or a small scanner due to its configuration. Therefore, when trying to improve copy productivity, the most input JOB at that time
If JOB is assigned to a printer whose end is early, it will be printed out by JOB unit to many added printers scattered on the floor.

Then, since productivity and operability are rather deteriorated, in this embodiment, the input JOB is basically assigned to the "first priority printer" as shown in the flowchart in the upper part of FIG. .. However, if the “first priority printer” is not “printer ready”, as shown in the flow chart in the lower part of FIG. 64, the job cannot be executed by the first priority printer and the JOB is executed by the second priority printer.
Is displayed (guidance is changed) and the printer is assigned to the "second priority printer".

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 65, a guidance message indicating that JOB cannot be immediately executed is displayed, and the job is waited until the first priority printer is finished, or as shown in FIG.
66, a guidance message indicating that B is not executed is displayed, and the first priority printer waits until it finishes the preceding job, or
Reset the JOB start flag as shown in
Guidance is displayed to not execute (cancel) OB.

The process P3 for operating the printer 3 is shown in FIG.
Reset the JOB start flag as shown in
The B mode data is transferred, the printer 3 is started, and the P3 reservation timer is cleared.

The process of reserving a JOB to the printer 3 returns as it is if the P3 reservation flag is set as shown in FIG.
The start flag is reset and the P3 reservation flag is set, and the priority delay time Ta is set in the P3 reservation timer which is a subtraction timer. When the P3 reservation flag is "1" and "printer ready" is transmitted from the printer 3, the printer 3
And execute the JOB. The process P3 (FIG. 67) for operating the printer 3 and the process JOB reservation for the printer 3 (FIG. 68) are also used in the following flowchart.

Flow 13 (FIGS. 69 and 70): CPM priority selection Although it has already been explained that the print speeds of the printers are different, there are many inputs from the scanners 1 to 4 depending on the usage status of this system. When (CV is high), print speed and productivity are emphasized. Therefore, input JO
For B, always select the printer with the highest (highest) print speed (CPM).

This is also for shortening the printer occupation time occupied by each JOB. However, as an example, when the print speed of each printer is printer 1:33 CPM printer 2:31 CPM printer 3:20 CPM, printer 3 is C
The difference in the JOB required time is large due to the difference in PM, but the difference in the JOB required time between the printer 1 and the printer 2 is extremely small.

Therefore, the difference between the CPMs of all the printers in descending order is also compared, and if the CPM difference is large, the faster printer is selected, and if it is small, the total number of copies or the guaranteed life of the device is determined. The printer with the least usage is selected according to the usage of the printer. As a result, it is possible to prevent the deviation of the JOB to a specific printer without substantially reducing the productivity.

.DELTA.C in the flow of FIG. 69 is a threshold level for judging the magnitude of the CPM difference, and can be arbitrarily set by the same operation as in the flow of the first priority printer setting mode of FIG. In the flow of FIG. 69, even when there are a plurality of printers with the maximum CPM, the process proceeds to FIG.
Difference between M and total number of copies of each printer CV1, CV
Consider 2.

The determination of "maximum CPM = second CPM" is the same as the processing after the determination, but CV1 and CV
2 and CV3 may be replaced with a usage ratio of "total number of copies / number of device lifetimes" when the number of lifespan of the apparatus (total number of copies that can be guaranteed by the manufacturer) varies depending on CPM or the like. The judgment indicated by the broken line in the process from FIG. 69 is similar to this.

Flow 14 (FIGS. 71 to 73): Productivity priority selection 1 Although the description has already been given for the case where the print speeds of the respective printers are different, the input from each of the scanners 1 to 4 depends on the usage status of this system. When there is a large number (high CV), print speed and productivity are emphasized. That is, JOB
Depending on the amount of
The end time of the input JOB may be early due to the M difference.

Therefore, the old J already being executed when the JOB is input
The printer that finishes the earliest is selected based on the sum of the estimated remaining time of the OB and the required time of the input JOB. However, if the time difference is small, the printer with the least degree of use is selected depending on the degree of use with respect to the total number of copies (VC) or the guaranteed life of the apparatus. As a result, it is possible to prevent the deviation of the JOB to a specific printer without substantially reducing the productivity. ΔTC in the flow of FIG. 14 is a threshold level for determining the magnitude of the required time,
It can be arbitrarily set in the same manner as the setting of ΔC described above.

Flow 15 (FIGS. 74 and 75): Productivity priority selection 2 In this case as well, when there are many inputs from the scanners 1 to 4 (high CV), print speed and productivity are emphasized,
Depending on the amount of JOB, the end time of the input JOB may be early due to the CPM difference even in the printer that is executing the previous JOB. Therefore, when the JOB is input, the printer that finishes the earliest is selected by the sum of the estimated remaining time of the old JOB that is already being executed and the required time of the input JOB.

However, if the time difference is small, the old JOB
Select the printer with less expected remaining time. The remaining time is a value when the printer normally ends the old job, so if the paper end, jam, toner end, etc. occur during execution of the old job, the input job
This is because the execution start of B is greatly delayed.

Flow 16 (FIGS. 76 and 77): Productivity priority selection 3 Also in this case, when there are many inputs from each scanner 1 to 4 (high CV), flint speed and productivity are emphasized, and J
Depending on the amount of OB, the end time of the input JOB may be early due to the CPM difference even in the printer that is executing the previous JOB. Therefore, the printer that finishes the earliest is selected by the sum of the expected recovery time of the printer that can recover in the inoperable state at the time of JOB input and the required time of the input JOB. However, if the time difference is small, the printer with the shorter expected return time is selected.

Since the recovery time is a standard value, if the operator cannot recover from the paper end, the jam, the toner end, etc. without the supply replenishment or processing, the execution start of the input JOB will be greatly delayed. is there. ΔTE in the flow of FIG. 76 is a threshold level for determining the size of the required time, and can be arbitrarily set like the setting of ΔC described above.

Flow 17 (FIG. 78): JOB distribution priority selection “First priority printer” (first preference) and “second priority printer” (second preference) which can be set for each small scanner.
For JOB input from a small scanner that does not have the setting of, check the selection data of "first priority printer" and "second priority printer" that are already set in all small scanners.
The first and second settings are weighted to determine the priority, and printers are selected in ascending order of priority.

The nonvolatile data such as the setting data of the "first priority printer" and the "second priority printer" is stored in the system controller 11
Since the data is collectively stored in the nonvolatile RAM on the side, the above processing can be easily performed.

As shown in the flow of FIG. 78, the number of scanners CTP11, CTP12, CTP13 in which the printers 1, 2, 3 are set to the first priority, and the printer 1,
The number of scanners CT which set 2 and 3 to 2nd priority respectively
P21, CTP22, CTP23 are obtained, the first priority weighting value is K1, the second priority weighting value is K2,
Priority CTP1AD and CTP2 of printers 1, 2 and 3
AD and CTP3AD are calculated by the following equation 1, respectively.

[0224]

[Formula 1] CTP1AD = K1 · CTP11 + K2 · CTP21 CTP2AD = K1 · CTP12 + K2 · CTP22 CTP3AD = K1 · CTP13 + K2 · CTP23

Table 6 shows specific examples of the numerical values. In this example, K1 = 5 and K2 = 2, and it can be said that the printer 3 has the lowest priority. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the above-mentioned harmful effects caused by the concentration of JOBs from the scanners 1 to 4 only on a specific printer among the plurality of printers.

If the threshold level for judging the priority level is set and the time difference is small, the printer with the lower usage level may be selected depending on the usage level with respect to the total number of copies or the guaranteed life number of the apparatus. You can The operation mode check (mode disable flag) may be checked together with the determination of “printer ready” in the flow.

Description of Other Flowcharts Next, a flowchart in the case where the operator makes a reservation for the completion of copying with a plurality of small scanners 1 to 4, the document is counted by the document start key (see FIG. 5), and the copy J is performed.
A flow chart for setting the JOB start flag so that the OB can be selected by the printer will be described.

There are two methods for making a copy completion reservation: time setting for setting at what time and what time it will be completed, and time setting for setting how many hours or minutes later it will be completed.

As shown in the schematic flow chart of FIG. 79, when the shift key and the paper size key of the operation panel 310 shown in FIG. 5 are simultaneously pressed, the completion time setting mode is entered. When the shift key and the mode clear key are pressed simultaneously, the finished time setting mode is entered. In either mode, the time or time is entered with the ten keys 312. If there is an input error, the clear key is pressed to clear the input error, and then input again using the ten keys 312. Press the stop key to confirm the completed reservation.

Thereafter, when the originals are set on the small scanner and the start key of the operation panel 310 of the small scanner is depressed as shown in FIG. 80, the set originals are fed one by one without scanning. Count that number. Then, the time required for copying is calculated for each printer, and the scan start time is calculated for each printer from that time. On the syscon side, a save code is attached to each JOB and stored in the mode storage area, which is in the order of pressing the start key.

In the case of the small scanner shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, it is necessary for the operator to reset the discharged originals to the original table 302 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) again. is there. However, in this embodiment, when the document number key of the operation panel 310 shown in FIG.
You can enter the number of documents. Therefore, the above-described document number counting operation may be performed only when the start key is pressed without inputting the document number value.

Although the size of the scanner is increased, if a known circulation type automatic document feeder (RDH) is used, it is not necessary to reset the document on the document table. The job start flag is set when the scan is scheduled to start, but it is necessary to check the reservation and copy status of each printer. The scanning (reading) is started by the scan start flag.

Of the command communication errors between the small scanners 1 to 4 and the syscon 11, the small scanner reception error is checked by the reception error check routine. If the received data has a format error or undefined error data, the serial communication with the system controller 11 is stopped and a message is displayed. Then, the small scanner becomes unusable.

The small scanner is set to an arbitrary copy operation mode set by the user when the mode clear key is pressed. This is because the small scanner is personal and therefore in a mode convenient for the operator. When the mode clear key is pressed, the basic mode is normally sent from the syscon 11 to the small scanner, but if the user has a default mode set by the user, it is sent.

81 and 82 are flowcharts of the start key check and the number of originals count (reservation mode check) of the small scanner. FIG. 83 is a flow chart of scanner mode / save code allocation. 84 and 85 are flow charts of the JOB start flag setting, and "S *" in the drawings indicates S1 to S indicating the scanners 1 to 4, respectively.
Means 4. The operation flow of each of the small scanners 1 to 4 is common, and only the flag names are different. The flags used in these flow charts will be described below.

<Scanning flag>: “1” when one of the scanners is scanning the original document S1 Scanning flag: “1” when the scanner 1 is scanning the original document S2 Scanning flag: When the scanner 2 is scanning the original document When “1” S3 scanning flag: “1” when the scanner 3 is scanning a document “1” S4 Scan flag: “1” when the scanner 4 is scanning a document

<Original set flag>: “1” when the original is set on any scanner S1 original set flag: “1” when the original is set on scanner 1 S2 original set flag: On the scanner 2 When the original is set "1" S3 original set flag: "1" when the original is set on the scanner 3 "S4" original set flag: "1" when the original is set on the scanner 4

<Original Counting Flag>: “1” when one of the scanners is counting the originals S1 Original Counting Flag: “1” when the scanner S1 is counting the originals S2 Original Counting Flag: The scanner S2 is the originals Counting “1” S3 original counting flag: “1” when the scanner S3 is counting originals S4 Original counting flag: “1” when the scanner S4 is counting originals

<Original Counter>: O_cnt S1 Original Counter: Counter for Number of Originals of Scanner 1 S2 Original Counter: Counter for Number of Originals of Scanner 2 S3 Original Counter: Counter for Number of Originals of Scanner 3 S4 Original Counter: Scanner Counter for 4 manuscripts

<Set number counter>: C_cnt S1 Set number counter: Counter for inputting the number of copies (registered number) of the scanner 1 S2 Set number counter: Counter for inserting the number of copies (registered number) of the scanner S3 Set number counter: Scanner Counter for entering the number of copies (registered value) of 3 S4 Set number counter: Counter for entering the number of copies (registered value) of scanner 4

<Mode coefficient>: Coefficient indicating increase in required time for copying depending on mode S1 mode coefficient: Coefficient of required time depending on mode of scanner 1 S2 mode coefficient: Coefficient of required time depending on mode of scanner 2 S3 mode coefficient: Scanner 3 Coefficient of required time depending on mode of S4 mode coefficient: coefficient of required time depending on mode of scanner 4

<Copy Required Time>: Tc S1 Copy Required Time: Scanner 1 Required Time for Copying S2 Copy Required Time: Scanner 2 Required Time for Copying S3 Copy Required Time: Scanner 3 Required Time for Copying S4 Copy Required Time: Scanner 4 Time required for copying

<Completion Time Reservation Flag> S1 completion time reservation flag: Scanner 1 completion time reserved “1” S2 completion time reservation flag: Scanner 2 completion time reserved “1” S3 completion time reservation flag: Scanner 3 completed Time reserved, "1" S4 Ready time reserved flag: Scanner 4 Ready time reserved, "1"

<Completion time>: TB S1 Completion time: Include time until completion of scanner 1 S2 Preparation time: Include time until completion of scanner 2 S3 Preparation time: Include time until completion of scanner S4 Time until completion: Add time until the completion of scanner 4

<Completion time>: TEN S1 Completion time: Enter the completion time of the scanner 1 S2 Completion time: Enter the completion time of the scanner 2 S3 Completion time: Insert the completion time of the scanner 3 S4 Completion time: Completion time of the scanner 4 Enter the time

<Copy start time>: Ts S1 Copy start time: Insert copy start time of scanner 1 S2 Copy start time: Insert copy start time of scanner 2 S3 Copy start time: Insert copy start time of scanner 3 S4 Copy start time: Enter the copy start time of scanner 4.

<Original start reservation flag>: “1” when one of the scanners is reserved for starting the original after mode save S1 Original start reservation flag: “1” after the start is reserved after the end of the mode save of scanner 1 "S2 original start reservation flag:" 1 "after the start is reserved after the end of the mode save of the scanner 2 and" 1 "S3 original start reservation flag:" 1 "after the start is reserved after the end of the mode save of the scanner 3 and" 1 "S4 original start Reservation flag: "1" after the start is reserved after the mode save of the scanner 4 is completed

<Scanner mode save flag>: “1” until one of the scanners saves the mode after document count S1 mode save flag: “1” until the scanner saves the mode after document count of scanner 1 S2 mode save flag: "1" until the mode is saved after the document count of the scanner 2 is "1" S3 mode save flag: "1" until the mode after the document count of the scanner 3 is saved "S4 mode save flag: until the mode is saved after the document count of the scanner 4" 1 ”

In the above embodiment, four small scanners are used as the image signal output means for outputting the image signal, and two or three printers are used as the image forming means for forming an image in accordance with the image signal. Although the image forming system is configured in combination with the above, the image signal outputting unit such as the image reading unit and the image forming unit can use various devices without being limited thereto, and the number of units can be connected as needed. It is possible to

An image reading device such as a general image scanner, a scanner with an automatic document feeder, a scanner with an OCR function, or a word processor or a personal computer can be used as the image signal output means, and a laser printer is also used as the image forming means. , LED printers, other printers, digital copying machines, plain paper FAX, etc. can be used.

Regarding Change of Count Value for Printer Selection Next, change of the count value for printer selection in the above-mentioned embodiment will be described. Prior to that, how to understand each job (JOB) in this image forming system will be explained. To do.

The JOB output that is input and set for each of the small scanners 1 to 4 is ideally output from the "first priority printer" that has already been specified, and is specified for each small scanner. If the designated "first priority printers" are different printers, it is possible to output all from the "first priority printer" without overlapping of jobs.

However, as a method of using this system,
There may be cases where the first priority printers are concentrated on a specific printer, cases where the first priority printers are specified only by some small scanners, and other cases. In such a case, in order to prevent productivity drop due to overlapping JOBs, JOBs are allocated using count values, and the JOB allocation amount is changed by changing the count value, and the total number of copies Are the same, and the number of copies for each printer changes.

As described above, the number of copies of each of a plurality of printers (two in the embodiment) is collectively set to the nonvolatile RA.
The number of copies is counted and managed by M, and when the JOB ends when the total number of copies of each of the plurality of printers exceeds a predetermined value (for example, 4000 copies), the number of copies of each printer is compared to determine the difference in the number of copies. If is larger, the count value is changed so that the difference becomes smaller.

Even if the configuration of this embodiment (printer: 2 units, scanner: 4 units) is used, the fuzzy rule is used as the changing method, and the setting pattern of "first priority printer" is shown in Table 7. As described above, there are nine types, and the difference in the number of copies is considerably wide from 0 to the end of JOB, and the difference itself in the number of copies is also an ambiguous value (always different depending on the time of use).

Table 7 shows the number of scanners in which one printer (the printer 10 or 20) is designated as the first priority (the first priority number of one printer: P1) and the other printer is designated as the first priority. The number of designated scanners (first priority number of the other printer: P2), nine types of setting patterns depending on the number of scanners that do not designate a priority printer, and the difference between P1 and P2 in each pattern A value (| P1-P2 | / total number) divided by the total number is shown.

Therefore, the number of copies of each of the two printers is checked by the system controller 11, and the number of copies of the printer having the larger number of designations of "first priority" (always one if equal) is "PR1" and the copy number of the other printer. Set the number of copies to "PR
2 ", and the value of | P1-P2 | / total number shown in Table 7 is" 1ST ", and each set is divided as shown in the following example. This" 1ST "is the" first priority printer "in the entire system. "Indicates the degree of bias in selection.

PR 1: less than 2000 sheets NS about 2000 sheets ZR more than 2000 sheets PS

PR2: When less than 2000 sheets NS When around 2000 sheets ZR When more than 2000 sheets PS

1ST: When it is a little small NS When it is around 0.5 ZR When it is a little PS

The fuzzy rule example is 1 as shown in Table 8.
There are 5 ways. TMGAI of conclusion part in this Table 15
The meaning of each symbol of N is as follows. NL: Negative Large NM: Negative
Medium NS: Negative Small ZR: Zero PS: Positive Small PM: Positive
Medium PL: Positive Large

There are four types of membership functions as shown in FIG. 87 to 94 show examples of calculation simulations when PR1, PR2, and 1ST are different from each other.

The fuzzy inference output value (: TMGAIN) thus obtained is used to change the printer selection count value (: priority delay time) by the following calculation. (Count value for printer selection) = (Count value for previous selection)
X (TMGAIN) Further, the output value (TMGAIN) uses "MAX-MIN logical product" which is generally used in fuzzy inference. Outline of "MAX-MIN logical product"

[0264]

[Formula 2] B ′ (n) = a∩B (n) (∩: logical product)

Each symbol in Expression 2 has the following meaning. B '(n): output of conclusion part, a: goodness of fit of condition part B (n): MF of conclusion part, n: label of conclusion part

The fitness of the input signal is calculated for each rule (M
The disconnection according to the IN value) and the minimum conformity of each condition are the conformance of the entire condition part. Next, for each label of the conclusion section, the maximum value (MA
X value) is synthesized.

The processing timing of the above fuzzy inference is
The backup portion (timer, weekly timer portion) of the system controller may be used for every predetermined time, and in that case, the rule and the rule matrix may be changed slightly. There are various ways of using the fuzzy inference input section other than the above, and for example, the following methods are available.

(A) Number of copies of any one printer (A) Difference from the number of copies of another printer First priority of printer (A)

(B) Number of copies of any one printer (A) Difference from the number of copies of another printer The first priority of the printer (A) in the input JOB

(C) Number of copies of any one printer (A) Number of copies of another printer First priority of the printer (A) in the input JOB

(D) Number of copies of any one printer (A) Number of copies of other printers First priority of printer (A) in input JOB Quantity of copies in predetermined time

When the first priority of the printer is used as an input, assuming that each small scanner has a failure, by calculating all combinations shown in Table 7, the syscon can detect the failure of the small scanner. When it is detected, if the subsequent control is performed based on the corresponding value from the result calculated in advance, it is possible to prevent the deviation of the JOB during that time.

Further, the calculation timing of the fuzzy inference and the above-mentioned processing may be performed when the first priority setting of the small scanner is changed or when the small scanner is added in addition to the predetermined number of copies or every predetermined time. Good.

As a more specific example, the rules and the inference results when the fuzzy inference process is performed with the following three inputs to obtain the output value TMGAIN are shown. -Number of copies of any printer (A) -Difference from the number of copies of other printers-First priority of printer (A)

CV (input) ... number of copies of printer (A) CP (input) ... difference of number of copies from printer (A) of other printer 1ST (input) ... Selection of printer (A) as first priority printer Degree TMG (output) ... TMGAIN

The number of rules is 21 in the configuration shown in Table 9. Membership functions [CV], [CP], [TMGAI
N] is shown in FIG. As inference results, CV = 2000, CP = -400, 1ST = 0.7
The reasoning process and the result in case 5 are shown.

In the above case, there are six matching rules No. 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 20 shown in FIG.
The calculation process of the X-MIN method is shown in (A) and (B) of FIG. 97 for rule 20 and rule 4 of FIG. The inference result is shown in FIG. In this case, TMG =
It is 0.833.

Furthermore, as inference results, CV = 1800, CP = -400, 1ST = 0.2
The case of 5 is shown in FIG. 99. CV = 1800, CP = −400, 1ST = 0.2
The case of 5 is also shown in FIG.

In the former case, TMG = 0.624, and in the latter case, TMG = 1.116. In both cases, the product of the previous priority delay time and this TMG (TMGAIN) is the current priority delay time. Becomes Also, for each printer,
When the periodic inspection time and the life of built-in parts (photoconductor, parts around the drum, etc.) are different, the control rules and rule matrix can be the same, and the membership function can be changed according to the inspection time and life. Good. When the processing speeds of the printers are different, the above cases may occur.

Next, an example of actual JOB allocation will be shown. As shown in FIG. 101, each of the four small scanners SC
The first priority printer is set to two printers PRINT1 or PRINT1 by N1 to SCN4 (however, the small scanner SCN2 does not set the first priority printer), and each small scanner has a total of 12 printers. When there are one JOB (JOB01 to 12), TMGAIN is set to about 30 seconds and two printers PR are set.
FIG. 102 shows an example in which JOB is assigned to INT1 and PRINT1.

In FIG. 102, "C.0 to C.12"
Represents a check process at the end of a JOB and determines the next JOB. Table 10 shows the settings of each JOB, and Table 11 shows a list of check processes.

[0282]

[Table 1]

[0283]

[Table 2]

[0284]

[Table 3]

[0285]

[Table 4]

[0286]

[Table 5]

[0287]

[Table 6]

[0288]

[Table 7]

[0289]

[Table 8]

[0290]

[Table 9]

[0291]

[Table 10]

[0292]

[Table 11]

[0293]

According to the invention of claim 1, the image forming means for executing the image forming operation relating to the image signal outputted by the image signal outputting means is selected based on a predetermined rule, and a plurality of images are formed. Since the predetermined rule is changed according to the state of the forming means, the most efficient output destination image forming means is automatically selected without specifying the output destination of the image for each job, and each image signal An image based on the image signal from the output means can be directly output. Further, it is possible to make uniform use of a plurality of image forming means.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when changing the rule for selecting the image forming means according to the state of the image forming means, the factors to be considered in order to use each of the plurality of image forming means uniformly. Has a lot of ambiguous data, but it is possible to optimize uniform use by performing ambiguous processing using fuzzy rules.

When selecting the image forming means, the one having the highest output priority is preferable from the viewpoint of convenience, and the one which starts the requested image formation earliest is preferable from the viewpoint of productivity. According to the invention of Item 3, by converting the set output priority into time, it is possible to evaluate at the same level as the productivity.

For the image forming means that is already executing the image forming operation when the image forming output is requested, the end time thereof, that is, the time when the next image forming can be started is calculated in consideration of the number of originals, and then the output priority is given. Since the one with the earliest result after subtracting the time corresponding to the rank is automatically selected, it is possible to select the most suitable image forming means that achieves both productivity and convenience.

Also, since the above selection is made for each output request,
Jobs are not concentrated on one image forming unit, and the efficiency of the entire system is improved. Furthermore, by changing the rule for converting the output priority into time by using the fuzzy rule, uniform use can be optimized.

According to the invention of claim 4, by converting the output priority into time, it is possible to perform evaluation at the same level as the productivity. Then, the expected return time is calculated or set according to the state of whether or not the image forming operation of each image forming unit is possible and the cause thereof, and the earliest result obtained by subtracting the time corresponding to the priority from that is automatically set. Therefore, it is possible to select the most suitable image forming unit that achieves both productivity and convenience.

Further, as in the third aspect of the invention, jobs are not concentrated on one image forming unit, the efficiency of the entire system is improved, and the uniform use of a plurality of image forming units is optimized. be able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming system showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a non-use state showing an example of appearance of the small scanners 1 to 4 in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a usage state of the same.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a part of the internal mechanism of the small scanner as seen through.

5 is a plan view showing details of an operation panel 310 of the operation unit 31. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the small scanners 1 to 4 in FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of the same small scanner.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of a main routine of the operation of this small scanner.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the first priority printer setting mode.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the second priority printer setting mode of the same.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of the recovery time setting mode.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of the printer system 5 shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of the printer system 6 in the same manner.

14 is an explanatory diagram of a control operation of the printer system 10 by the main control unit 50 of FIG.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a system of command control in this embodiment.

16 is a mechanical diagram of the printer system 5. FIG.

FIG. 17 is a mechanical diagram of the printer system 6.

FIG. 18 is a mechanism diagram when the 15-bin sorter is not mounted.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of the system controller (syscon) 11 shown in FIG.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a transmission code from a printer to a syscon.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a transmission code from the syscon to the printer.

22 is an unexecuted JOB in the RAM 116 of FIG.
3 is an explanatory diagram of a storage area of FIG.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of count data of the number of copies of each printer based on image data from each scanner or the like.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of count data of the same JOB execution count.

FIG. 25 is a schematic explanatory view for explaining an operation from input of a JOB to execution according to this embodiment with a flowchart.

FIG. 26 is a flow chart in the case of manual selection in which a printer is selected for each JOB by the operation unit of each small scanner.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart of the same continuation.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart of the operation process P1 of the printer 1.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart of an operation process P2 of the printer 2.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart of reservation P1 of JOB.

FIG. 31 is a flow chart of JOB reservation P2.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing a case in which both mode selection and printer status are OK.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart of the same continuation.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing a case in which both mode selection and printer status are NG.

FIG. 35 is a flowchart of the same continuation.

FIG. 36 is a flowchart of the continuation of FIG. 34;

FIG. 37 is a flowchart in the case of mode selection OK and printer status NG.

FIG. 38 is a flowchart of the same continuation.

FIG. 39 is a flowchart of the continuation of FIG. 37;

FIG. 40 is a flowchart of the continuation of FIG. 37.

FIG. 41 is also a flowchart showing the continuation of FIG. 37;

FIG. 42 is a flowchart of the continuation of FIG. 40.

FIG. 43 is a flowchart showing the process of setting / resetting the mode inability flag.

FIG. 44 is a flowchart of the same continuation.

FIG. 45 is a flowchart showing processing for setting / resetting the SC printer flag.

FIG. 46 is a flowchart showing processing for setting / resetting a jammed paper flag.

FIG. 47 is a flowchart showing a process of setting / resetting a supply flag, a toner flag, and a paper flag.

FIG. 48 is a flowchart showing processing of setting / resetting a POWER flag.

FIG. 49 is a flowchart when the print speed (CPM) of each printer is different and both mode selection and printer status are OK.

FIG. 50 is a flowchart of the same continuation.

FIG. 51 is also a flowchart showing the continuation of FIG. 49;

FIG. 52 is a flowchart of the same continuation.

FIG. 53 is a flowchart when the print speed (CPM) of each printer is different, mode selection is OK, and printer status is NG.

FIG. 54 is also a flowchart showing the subsequent operation.

FIG. 55 is a flowchart showing a continuation of FIG. 53;

FIG. 56 is a flowchart of the continuation of FIG. 53;

FIG. 57 is a flowchart of the same continuation.

FIG. 58 is a flowchart of the same continuation.

FIG. 59 is a flowchart of P1 reservation flag reset processing.

FIG. 60 is a flowchart of P2 reservation flag reset processing.

[Fig. 61] Fig. 61 is a flowchart of reception error check on the syscon side.

FIG. 62 is a flowchart of error checking on the syscon side.

FIG. 63 is a flowchart of a printer-side reception error check.

FIG. 64 is a flowchart in the case of priority priority selection according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 65 is a continuation flow chart of the case of waiting until the end of JOB of the first priority printer.

FIG. 66 is a continuation flow chart of canceling JOB when the first priority printer cannot execute the job.

FIG. 67 is a flowchart of operation processing P3 of the printer 3.

[Fig. 68] Fig. 68 is a flowchart of reservation P3 of JOB.

FIG. 69 is a flow chart in the case of CPM priority selection according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 70 is a flowchart of the same continuation.

FIG. 71 is a flowchart for productivity priority selection 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 72 is a flowchart of the same continuation.

FIG. 73 is a flowchart of the same continuation.

FIG. 74 is a flowchart for productivity priority selection 2 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 75 is a flowchart of the same continuation.

FIG. 76 is a flowchart for productivity priority selection 3 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 77 is a flowchart of the same continuation.

FIG. 78 is a flow chart in the case of JOB allocation priority selection according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 79 is a flowchart showing an outline of operation for leaving reservation according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 80 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation of the scanner after the start key is pressed.

81 is a flow chart of start key check and document number counting (reservation mode check) of the small scanner according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

FIG. 82 is a flowchart of the same continuation.

FIG. 83 is a flowchart of scanner mode / save code allocation.

FIG. 84 is a flowchart showing the setting of a JOB start flag.

FIG. 85 is a flowchart of the same continuation.

FIG. 86 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a fuzzy rule membership function used in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 87: PR1: 3000, PR2: 1200, 1S
It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the calculation simulation by the fuzzy rule in case of T: 0.25.

FIG. 88: PR1: 3000, PR2: 1200,1S
It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the calculation simulation by the fuzzy rule in case of T: 0.75.

FIG. 89: PR1: 1000, PR2: 3500, 1S
It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the arithmetic simulation by the fuzzy rule in case of T: 0.0.

FIG. 90: PR1: 1000, PR2: 3500, 1S
It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the calculation simulation by the fuzzy rule in case of T: 1.0.

FIG. 91: PR1: 500, PR2: 3500, 1S
It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the calculation simulation by the fuzzy rule in case of T: 0.25.

FIG. 92: PR1: 2150, PR2: 1900, 1S
It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the calculation simulation by the fuzzy rule in case of T: 0.75.

FIG. 93: PR1: 3000, PR2: 1000, 1S
It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the arithmetic simulation by the fuzzy rule in case of T: 0.50.

FIG. 94: PR1: 1000, PR2: 3000, 1S
It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the arithmetic simulation by the fuzzy rule in case of T: 0.50.

95] Membership functions [CV], [CP], [TM]
Is a diagram showing a specific example of [GAIN].

FIG. 96 is also its CV = 2000, CP = −40
It is a figure which shows the kind of conformity rule at the time of 0,1ST = 0.75.

97 is a diagram showing the calculation process of the MAX-MIN method for the same rule 20 and rule 4 in (A) and (B). FIG.

FIG. 98 is a diagram showing an inference result thereof.

FIG. 99 is also CV = 1800, CP = −400,1
It is a figure which shows the inference result at the time of ST = 0.25.

FIG. 100 Similarly, CV = 1800, CP = −400,
It is a figure which shows the inference result at the time of 1ST = 0.25.

101 is an explanatory diagram showing a setting state of a first priority printer by four small scanners and the presence of each JOB. FIG.

FIG. 102 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of JOB allocation to two printers in the same case.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 to 4 small scanner 5,6 printer system 7 original 10 printer (first printer) 11 system controller (syscon) 12 automatic document feeder (ADF) 13 large scanner 14 limitless sorter stapler (limitless SS) 20 printer (Second Printer) 21 Paper Bank 22 15 Bin Sorter 30 Scanner Section 31 Operation Section 32 Handset 33 Original Feeding Section 34 Image Reading Section 35
Image processing unit 36 Main control unit 37 Image data compression processing unit 38 Interface unit 39 Remote I / F
40 line connection unit 50 main control unit 51 image processing unit 51
52 sequence control unit 53 interface unit 54 operation panel 55 FAX interface unit 56 frame memory 57 compression / expansion processing unit 58 printer side SAF memory 60 modem I / F 61 compression / expansion processing unit 62 FAX side SAF memory 70 image forming unit 71, 72 supply Paper unit
73 Duplex Unit 74 Paper Tray 75 Pickup Roller
76 Feeding Roller 77 Reverse Roller 78 Relay Roller 79
Reverse roller 80 Registration roller 81 Photosensitive drum
82 Charging Charger 83 Laser Writing Unit 84 Developing Unit
85 Development Tank 86 Transfer Charger 87 Cleaning Unit 88 Electrification Lamp 89 Conveyor Belt 90 Fixing Unit 91 Conveyor Roller 92 Polygon Motor 93 Polygon Mirror
94 Reflecting mirror 110 Image data interface unit 111 Selector buffer 112 Syscon side SAF memory 113 Syscon I / F 114 CPU 115 ROM 116 R
AM 117 Calendar IC 118a to 118g Serial I / F 120 Original plate 121 Conveyor belt 122
Reversing roller 130 Scanner motor control unit (scanner unit) 13
1 Image Reading Section 132 Contact Glass 134 First Scanner Section 135 Second Scanner Section 137 Lens 13
8 CCD line sensor 140 Bin 141 Guide carriage 14
2 Stapler 301 Connector 302 Original plate 303
Extension plate 304 Handle 305 Original insertion port 306 Original ejection port 310 Operation panel 311 Display
312 Numeric keys 313, 314 Printer status display section 315 Character display section 316 Variable magnification display section 317 Number of sheets display section
318 Reading density display section 319 Remote I / F 330 Feeding roller 331 Feeding roller 3
32 Separation roller 333 Document guide 334 Contact line sensor
335 roller 336 transport roller pair

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] June 21, 1993

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0031

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

The system controller 11 receives the compressed image data from any one of the small scanners 1 to 4 and transmits / receives a control code indicating a device state and a command. Further, the received image data is sent to the printers 10 and 20, and control codes are transmitted and received as in the small scanner. Further, it stores and holds the setting modes of all scanners and printers and other RAM data.
That is, the states of all scanners and printers can be detected, and command control for all scanners and printers is possible.

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0034

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

The scanner section 30 has an openable document table 302 pivotally supported at the rear end of the upper surface thereof, and when not in use, as shown in FIG. However, in use, as shown in FIG. 3, the document 7 is rotated to an upright state in which it is tilted slightly rearward so that the document insertion port 305 is opened and the document 7 inserted therein can be supported. Further, a pull-out type extension plate 303 is housed in the original table 302, and a long original can be supported by pulling the knob 304 by pulling it.

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0039

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

As various keys, ten keys 312 are used.
Besides, start key, stop key, clear / document stop key, number of documents key, shift key, TEL / copy / FAX key, mode clear key, printer selection key, paper size key, double-sided / staple key , sort /
A stack key, a mail key, a scaling key, a density key, and a zoom key (all symbols are omitted) are provided.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0054

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

After initializing the main controller 36,
Start serial communication with each unit (line connection unit 40, remote I / F 39, syscon 11). Operation unit 31
The status of each printer is displayed on the operation panel 310. Check the status of each unit. For example, when the status of each printer changes, the status is transmitted through the system controller 11 and displayed on the operation panel 310 .

[Procedure Amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0071

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

First, a part common to both printer systems 5 and 6 will be described. <Image processing unit> The image processing unit 51 includes a plurality of GAs (dedicated LSs).
I), and exchanges image data with the frame memory 56 of the interface unit 53 (the image data stored in the frame memory is binary data, and the image data processed by the image processing unit 51 is multivalued data). Therefore, data mutual conversion processing is also included). It is also possible to input multi-valued data from the image reading section of the large-sized scanner 13, and the following processing is performed.

[Procedure Amendment 6]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0108

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

After initializing the main control unit 50, serial communication with each unit (syscon 11, sequence control unit 52, etc.) is started, and various data (default data) is transmitted to the sequence control unit 52, etc. accordingly. Check whether the copy operation can be accepted on the printer side. (For example, whether the fixing heater has started up, the transfer sheet exists, the large scanner has started up, or an abnormal condition exists.) This information is always transmitted to the syscon 11.

[Procedure Amendment 7]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0130

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Serial interface serial I / O
F118f and 118g are the first printer 10 and
Serial transmission / reception is performed with the main control unit 50 of the second printer 20. The main-side transmission data of the printer is mainly the sequence control unit 52, the scanner 13, the operation panel 54, and other status data that are transmitted and received in each printer , and the syscon-side transmission data is mainly command data (job data). Command). An example of a transmission code from the printer to the syscon is shown in FIG. 20 , and an example of a transmission code from the syscon to the printer is shown in FIG .

[Procedure Amendment 8]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0136

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

The transmission / reception code is, as shown in FIGS. 20 and 21 , a head code (1 byte) + data code (**).
H) + data code (** H). Reset code is "10H", data request code is "13H + 04H", printer ready is "21H".
+ 02H ", printer busy is" 21H + 04H ", and codes are exchanged according to the command of the syscon and the printer status.

[Procedure Amendment 9]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0140

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

The JOB to which the save code is added can be distributed to the printers at the time when the previous JOB end or the failure that the JOB cannot be executed (paper end, paper jam, time in the case of time designation) is removed. I am trying. FIG. 22 shows the format of the storage area of the unexecuted JOB in the RAM 116 shown in FIG.
Shown in.

[Procedure Amendment 10]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0141

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

As described above, the save code is attached to each of the operation mode data corresponding to a plurality of jobs and stored in a predetermined RAM area. After the execution of JOB is completed, the RAM area corresponding to the save code is cleared, and then another save code and its data are shifted by that area as shown in (a) and (b) of FIG.

[Procedure Amendment 11]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0146

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

These data are RA of the syscon 11 side.
The data is collectively stored in M116 for each scanner. In the case of mode data, when the mode clear key of each operation unit 31 shown in FIG. 5 of the small scanners 1 to 4 is turned on, when the scanner power is turned on and when the auto clear is performed, the panel display state and the previous JOB are displayed.
After clearing each flag used during operation, RAM1
Check the 16 stored information and display the table related to the desired mode.
Show and set.

[Procedure Amendment 12]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0148

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

The system usage status is managed by Syscon 1
It is done as follows in 1 batch. That is, R
According to the execution of each JOB, each counter on the AM 116 displays the number of copies and JOB-related data (input scanner,
Output printer etc.) and count up separately. R
The figure shows an example of the count data structure of each counter on AM116 .
23 and 24 . FIG. 23 is count data of the number of copies (unit: sheets) of each printer based on image data from each scanner, and FIG. 24 is count data of the number of JOB executions (unit: times) of each printer based on image data from each scanner . A configuration example of is shown.

[Procedure Amendment 13]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0149

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

A to D in these figures have the following meanings. A: The number of copies or J with any scanner and printer
Number of OBs B: Number of copies or number of JOBs (OT
HER is a large-sized scanner.) C: number of copies or number of jobs in any printer D: total number of copies or number of jobs These data are used during maintenance.

[Procedure Amendment 14]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0178

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

After the "guidance display" in FIG. 41, the printer 1 is normal, and the printer 2 is in an inoperable state in which it can recover.
After "guidance display" in FIG. 42, the printer 2 is normal and the printer 1 is in an inoperable state in which the printer 1 can return, and after "guidance display" in FIG.

[Procedure Amendment 15]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0180

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

In the flowcharts 3 and 4, the inoperable state of the printer is divided into a recoverable state and a non-recoverable state, and in the case of a recoverable failure, it is said that the printer recovers after a predetermined time depending on each state. According to the prediction, the printer that finishes the JOB earliest (minimum waiting time) is selected . As a result, the loss due to downtime on the printer side is reduced as much as possible.

[Procedure 16]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0196

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Flow 9 to 11 (FIGS. 61 to 63): Error check FIG. 61 is a flow chart of syscon side reception error check. This process is performed on serial data for each printer. Therefore, there are two communication error flags for the printer 1 and the printer 2. Figure 62 is a flow diagram of an error check process performed for each printer system controller side, in the figure * indicates "1" of the printer 1 or 2.

[Procedure Amendment 17]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] Fig. 19

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

19 is a block diagram of a system controller (system controller) 11 shown in FIG. 12.

[Procedure 18]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 26

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

FIG. 26

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location // G03G 15/00 102 G06F 9/44 330 W 9193-5B (72) Inventor Takashi Hojima Shima 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku In Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masato Yanagita 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo In Ricoh Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image forming system comprising: an image signal output means for outputting an image signal; and a plurality of image forming means for forming an image in accordance with the image signal output by the means. The selection means for selecting the image forming means for executing the image forming operation related to the image signal output by the selection means based on a predetermined rule, and the predetermined rule for the selection means according to the states of the plurality of image forming means. An image forming system comprising: a control unit that changes the image forming system. 2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the control means is means for changing the predetermined rule by using a fuzzy rule. 3. An image comprising a plurality of image reading means for reading image information and outputting an image signal, and a plurality of image forming means for forming an image in accordance with the image signal output by each image reading means. In the forming system, priority setting means capable of setting output priority of image signals from the plurality of image reading means to the plurality of image forming means, and conversion means for converting the priority into a priority time. A document number recognition unit provided corresponding to the image reading unit for recognizing the number of documents relating to a series of image forming operations, and an image forming operation during execution of another image forming operation at the time of outputting an image formation request for the image signal. For each of the means, the end time of the image forming operation is calculated based on the recognized number of originals, and the end time of the image forming means during the non-execution of the image forming operation is calculated as the above-mentioned image. The end time calculation means set when the formation request is output, and the end time calculated or set by the end time calculation means for each of the plurality of image forming means when the image formation request is output are converted by the conversion means. The priority time is subtracted, the selecting means for executing the requested image formation by selecting the image forming means having the earliest subtraction result time, and the conversion rule of the converting means are set to the states of the plurality of image forming means. An image forming system, comprising: a control unit that changes according to a fuzzy rule. 4. An image comprising a plurality of image reading means for reading image information and outputting an image signal, and a plurality of image forming means for forming an image in accordance with the image signal output by each of the image reading means. In the forming system, a setting unit that sets an output priority of image signals from the plurality of image reading units to the plurality of image forming units, a conversion unit that converts the priority into a priority time, State detecting means for detecting whether or not the image forming operation is possible for each of the image forming means, and cause recognizing means for recognizing the impossible cause of the image forming means in the image forming operation impossible state, A recovery time storing means for storing a predicted recovery time to a state in which the image forming operation corresponding to the cause of the image forming operation impossible, and an image forming request output for the image signal, While calculating the expected return time of the image forming means in the image forming operation impossible state to the image forming operation possible state based on the detection result of the state detecting means and the stored data of the return time storing means, A return time calculation means for setting an estimated return time of the image forming means in the image forming operation possible state at the time of outputting the image formation request, and a return time for each of the plurality of image forming means at the time of outputting the image formation request. The priority time converted by the conversion unit is subtracted from the estimated return time calculated or set by the estimated time calculation unit, and the image forming unit having the earliest subtraction result time is selected to execute the requested image formation. A selection means and a control means for changing the conversion rule of the conversion means using a fuzzy rule according to the states of the plurality of image forming means. The image forming system according to claim Rukoto.