JPH07322031A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an image forming device capable of completing a processing in short time without keeping the processing which is terminated in short time waiting for long time. CONSTITUTION:Print data transmitted through a network 8 is received by an interface means 13 and time required for recording is acquired in a print processing time acquirement means 15. On the other hand, an image input device 11 inputs image information in accordance with the control of an input control means 14. A copying processing time acquirement means 16 acquires time required for recording image information inputted from the image input device 11. A comparison means 17 compares print processing time and copy processing time, which are acquired in the print processing time acquirement means 15 and the copying processing time acquirement means 16. An output control means 18 selectively transfers print data received by the interface means 13 or image information inputted by the input control means 14 to an image output device 12 and executes a recording processing.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus usable at least as a digital copying machine and as a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been developed an image forming apparatus in which a digital copying machine used offline and a printer used online are integrated. In such an apparatus, an online print output instruction may arrive during copying. On the contrary, there are cases where it is desired to make a copy during online printing.

Conventionally, as a countermeasure against such two demands, for example, there is a technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-80461. This technique is provided with a first mode (A mode) in which it is not possible to shift to other processing and a second mode (B mode) in which it is possible to move to other processing even during processing due to switching request input. By arbitrarily switching between the two modes, the priority of processing being executed or the priority of interrupt processing is switched.

However, according to this technique, when a large amount of online processing such as printout that is being executed remains in the A mode, even if it is desired to perform an offline copy processing that is completed in a short time in a small amount. However, interrupt processing cannot be performed, and a large amount of waiting is required until the completion of a large amount of online processing during printout.
On the contrary, when it is desired to perform a small amount of offline processing that is completed in a short time during execution of a large amount of offline processing, the interrupt processing cannot be performed and a long waiting time is required.

In the B mode, when a large amount of online processing interrupts when the offline processing that is being executed ends in a short time, the online processing is kept waiting for a long time. On the contrary, when a large amount of offline processing is interrupted when the online processing being executed ends in a short time, there is a drawback that the offline processing waits for a long time.

It is possible to manually switch the mode to the B mode during the processing in the A mode and forcibly interrupt the processing, but it is necessary to perform such an operation, and at the same time as in the B mode described above. Will have drawbacks.

As described above, according to the above-mentioned conventional technique, regardless of the end time of the process being executed and the end time of the interrupt process, depending on the mode set at that time, the interrupt is impossible, or conversely. Since the interrupt process is forced to enter, the operator who finishes the process in a short time may have to wait for a long time.

As another technique for shortening the waiting time, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-80462, when an offline processing request is issued during execution of online processing, for example, a document is It is also considered that the offline processing time can be shortened by executing the processing that can be performed first of the offline processing during the online processing such as reading the image data first.

However, in this technique, the offline waiting time is slightly shortened, but since offline processing such as output processing cannot be performed until the online processing is completed, when a large amount of online processing is performed, the waiting time is still long. There was a drawback that

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an image forming method capable of completing a process in a short time without waiting for a process that completes in a short time for a long time. The purpose is to provide a device.

[0011]

According to the present invention, in an image forming apparatus capable of at least copying processing and printing processing, first processing time information acquiring means for acquiring processing time until the printing processing is completed, and copying. Second processing time information acquiring means for acquiring processing time until processing is completed, time acquired by the first processing time information acquiring means, and time acquired by the second processing time information acquiring means It is characterized in that it comprises a comparing means for comparing the above and the image forming means for performing a copying process or a printing process based on the result of comparison by the comparing means.

[0012]

According to the present invention, the time required until the print processing is completed is compared with the time required until the copy processing is completed, and the copy processing or the print processing is performed based on the comparison result. It is possible to give priority to the processing that ends in a short time. Therefore, it is possible to interrupt the processing when the copying processing that is completed in a short time is performed during the printing processing that requires a long time. On the contrary, it is possible to interrupt the printing process which is completed in a short time during the copying process which requires a long time. As described above, according to the present invention, the operator of the process that is completed in a short time can complete the process in a short time without waiting even if another process is being executed.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a system configuration using an image forming apparatus of the present invention. In the figure, 1 to 4 are workstations, 5 and 6 are personal computers, 7 is an image forming apparatus, and 8 is a network.
The workstations 1 to 4, the personal computers 5 and 6, and the image forming apparatus 7 are connected to a network 8 and can transfer data to each other. The image forming apparatus 7 receives print data sent from each of the workstations 1 to 4 and the personal computers 5 and 6 via the network 8 and prints it out, as described below. The image forming apparatus 7 also has a copy function and can operate independently. Further, the image input function of the image forming apparatus 7 can be used to transfer image information to each of the workstations 1 to 4 and the personal computers 5 and 6. In FIG. 1, the data flow when the print data is transferred from the workstation 1 to the image forming apparatus 7 is indicated by a thin line.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. In the figure, 11 is an image input device, 12 is an image output device, 13 is interface means, 14 is input control means, 15 is print processing time acquisition means, 16 is copy processing time acquisition means, 17 is comparison means,
Reference numeral 18 is an output control means. The print data sent via the network 8 of FIG. 1 is received by the interface means 13. In the print data sent, in addition to the information actually recorded by the image output device 12,
Various control information is also included. The print processing time acquisition unit 15 acquires the time required for printing based on the print data received by the interface unit 13.

On the other hand, the image forming apparatus is the image input apparatus 11
have. This image input device 11 is at least
It is used as an image input means for copy processing. Of course, the input image may be configured to be transferable via the network 8, for example. The image input device 11 inputs image information under the control of the input control means 14. The copy processing time acquisition unit 16 acquires the time required to print the image information input from the image input device 11.

The comparison means 17 compares the print processing time acquired by the print processing time acquisition means 15 and the copy processing time acquisition means 16 with the copy processing time, and passes the comparison result to the output control means 18. In the output control means 18, the print data received by the interface means 13 or the image data input by the input control means 14 is selectively passed to the image output device 12 based on the comparison result passed from the comparison means 17, and the image is output. Recording processing is performed by the output device 12. The output control unit 18 performs, for example, a print process that can be completed in a short time during a large number of copying processes by the interface unit 13.
When it is received, the comparison result to that effect is received from the comparison means 17, and it is possible to control so as to interrupt the printing process even during the copying process. Also, for example,
When a copy process which requires only a short time during a large amount of print processing is performed by the input control means 14, a comparison result to that effect is received from the comparison means 17 and the copy processing is interrupted even during the print processing. Can be controlled.
Further, when a print process arrives during the copy process, which requires a little shorter time than the remaining process time, the copy process in progress is executed with priority, or conversely, the print process in progress is shorter than the remaining time. If a copy process that requires only a short time is requested, fine control is possible such as giving priority to the print process.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the construction of an embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. In the figure, 21 is a CPU, 22 is a memory, 23 is a print information processing unit, 2
4 is a line interface unit, 25 is an image memory, 26
Is a DMA control device, 27 is a scanner, 28 is an input / output control unit, 29 is a printer, 30 is a command input device, 31 is a display control device, 32 is a display device, and 33 is a bus. C
PU 21, memory 22, line interface unit 24,
Image memory 25, DMA controller 26, input / output controller 2
8, the command input device 30, and the display control device 31 are connected to the bus 33.

The CPU 21 controls the whole while using the memory 22. Further, the CPU 21 acquires the time required for recording the print data received by the line interface unit 24 and the time required for the copying process using the scanner 27 and the printer 29 by using a lookup table in the memory 22, Compare and input / output control unit 2
8 to control print processing and copy processing. The memory 22 is used for the work of the CPU 21, and also has a lookup table for acquiring the processing time. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the lookup table. In the lookup table shown in FIG. 4, the processing time per sheet is stored in correspondence with the sheet size and the sheet direction. For example, the time required to copy one sheet of B5 plate horizontally is TcopyB5.
You can find out by getting the value entered in the horizontal field. Similarly, the time required to print one sheet of A4 size portrait paper can be known by obtaining the numerical value entered in the TprA4 portrait field. The values of the processing time Tcopy per sheet during copy processing and the processing time Tpr per sheet during printing processing are input in advance. For example, it can be set at the time of shipping the device or at the time of maintenance. These values can be set based on the average processing time of the image forming apparatus.

The print information processing unit 23 performs various image processes for print processing on print data sent from a workstation or a personal computer via the network 8. The line interface unit 24 receives the print data processed by the print information processing unit 23.

The image memory 25 temporarily stores print data received by the line interface unit 24 or copy data input from the scanner 27. D
The MA control device 26 performs transfer of print data from the line interface unit 24 to the image memory 25 or the input / output control unit 28, transfer of copy data or recording data between the input / output control unit 28 and the image memory 25, and the like. To do.

The scanner 27 reads an image from the record carrier. When performing a copy process, the original is read by the scanner 27. The printer 29 records on the recording medium based on the recording data. Input / output control unit 28
Controls the operations of the scanner 27 and the printer 29.

The command input device 30 receives commands from the operator. The commands input by the operator include, for example, the size, direction, number of colors (color or black and white) of the paper to be used, magnification, number of copies, and the like. When performing a copying process, the operator gives an instruction to start copying from the command input device 30. The display control device 31 controls the display device 32. The display device 32 displays the state of the inside of the image forming apparatus, the input information from the command input device 30, the message to the operator, and the like.

An example of the operation in one embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described. First, online print processing will be described. The online operator transfers data from the workstations 1 to 4 of FIG. 1 or the personal computers 5, 6 and the like to the image forming apparatus through the network 8 to perform online print operation. The print data input to the image forming apparatus is received by the line interface unit 24 from the network 8 via the print information processing unit 23, and is printed out from the printer 29 via the bus 33 and the input / output control unit 28.

The off-line copying process will be described. The offline operator uses the command input device 30 to
Enter the size, orientation, number of colors (color or black and white), magnification, number of copies, etc. of the paper to be used. When these are not input, for example, the document is scanned by the scanner 27, the size, direction and color of the document are detected, and the size, direction and color of the paper to be used are determined. Alternatively, preset information is set. The number of copies is automatically set to one. When a start start command is input from the command input device 30 by the offline operator,
Under the control of the input / output control unit 28, the scanner 27 scans the original document, takes in the image data, and outputs it from the printer 29.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an example of an interrupt operation of a copying process by an offline operation while a print process is being executed by an online operation. Now, it is assumed that the print processing is being executed by the online operation. The control when interruption and copy processing are performed by an off-line operation during this print processing is shown.

In S41, as in the case of the normal offline copying process, the offline operator uses the command input device 30 to select the size, direction, number of colors (color or black and white), magnification, number of copies, etc. And the start start command.

In S42, it is determined whether or not the document to be copied is set in the automatic document feeder or the like.
If the original is set on the automatic document feeder,
Since the image forming apparatus cannot detect how many originals are set, it is impossible to know how many copies are made in total. Therefore, the time required for the interrupt processing cannot be detected and cannot be compared with the time until the online processing ends.
The interrupt process is not performed and the online process is waited until the online process is completed, and then the offline process is performed. Of course, the number of originals can be set, the value of the number of originals can be set by the offline operator, or
If the number of originals can be detected by the automatic document feeder, the process of S42 is unnecessary.

In step S43, the number M of sheets remaining in the online printing process is obtained. Further, in S44, the processing time Tpr per sheet is obtained from the size, direction, and the number of colors (color or black and white) of the sheet currently used for the print processing by using the lookup table in the memory 22. In S45, the number of remaining sheets M of the print processing obtained in S43 and the processing time Tpr per sheet obtained in S44 to the time T until the online processing ends
ask for on. It is assumed that the look-up table is set in the memory 22 in advance. The value of the lookup table can be input at the time of factory shipment, for example.

In S46, it is determined whether or not the size, direction, and color number of the paper used in the off-line copying process are set. If not set, in S47, the document is scanned by the scanner, Detects the size, orientation, and number of colors of paper from the set magnification and sets it.

In step S48, the lookup table in the memory 22 is used to determine the processing time Tcopy per copy number from the size, direction, number of colors, etc. of the paper used in the offline copying process. At S49, the time Toff required until the copying process is completed is obtained from the set number N of sheets to be copied and the processing time Tcopy per sheet obtained at S48.

In S50, the time Ton required to complete the print process obtained in S45 is compared with the time Toff required in the copy process obtained in S49, and Ton is compared.
It is determined whether or not> Toff + α (α ≧ 0). Ton>
If Toff + α, in S51, the online print process is interrupted and the offline copy process is executed. After that, the online printing process is restarted. Otherwise, in S52, wait until the online print processing is completed, and then
Perform offline copy processing.

The value of α is a value for giving priority to the process being executed to some extent. The larger α is, the higher priority is given to the online print processing currently being executed. For example, in the case of α = 0, either one is preferentially processed depending on the comparison result of the time required until the print processing is completed and the time required for the copy processing. Therefore, when the printing process is finished in 10 seconds, for example, and when the copying process that is finished in 9 seconds is started, the copying process is interrupted and processed. For example, if α = 30 seconds, when the print processing ends in 50 seconds, the interrupt processing is not performed even for the copy processing that ends in 20 seconds, and the print processing can be continued. α
The value of is stored in the memory 22 and is input at the time of factory shipment or maintenance, for example. After that, it can be configured so that the user can input any value.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of an interrupt operation of a print process by an online operation during a copy process by an offline operation. Now, consider a case where an interrupt print process is requested by an online operation from a workstation or a personal computer or the like via a network while a copy process is being performed by an offline operation.

In step S61, the online operator uses the workstation, the personal computer, or the like to control the print data such as the image information and the control information for setting the information such as the size, the direction, the number of colors, and the number M of the sheets to be printed. To the image forming apparatus to start the printing process.

In step S62, it is determined whether or not the copying process being executed offline uses an automatic document feeder or the like. When the copy process in progress is using the automatic document feeder or the like, it is not possible to detect how many documents remain to be copied. Therefore, the process proceeds to S71, and the automatic document feeder or the like is used. Is processed. If the number of remaining copies can be detected with an automatic document feeder, etc.,
Case classification in S62 is not necessary.

If it is determined in S62 that the copying process being executed does not use the automatic document feeder or the like, in S63,
The remaining copy number N of the offline copy process is obtained. Further, in S64, the processing time Tcop per sheet is calculated from the size, direction, number of colors, etc. of the sheet currently being copied.
y is obtained from the look-up table in the memory 22. In S65, the remaining number N of copies obtained in S63 and the processing time Tcopy per sheet obtained in S64
Is used to determine the time Toff until the off-line copying process is completed.

On the other hand, in S66, the look-up table in the memory 22 is referred to from the size, direction, number of colors, etc. of the paper used in the online print processing.
The processing time Tpr per sheet is calculated. In S67, the number of prints M of the print processing designated in S61
And the processing time per sheet Tpr of the print processing obtained in S66, the time Ton required for the online print processing is obtained.

In step S68, the remaining required time Toff of the copying process obtained in step S65 is compared with the required time Ton of the printing process obtained in step S67, and Toff>
It is determined whether Ton + β (β ≧ 0). Toff> T
When it is on + β, in S69, the offline copying process is interrupted and the online printing process is executed. After that, the offline copying process is restarted. In other cases, in S70, the process waits until the offline copying process is completed, and then the online printing process is performed.

When it is determined in S62 that the automatic document feeder is being used, the time until the completion of all copying processes is unknown. Therefore, steps S71 through S80 are performed to copy one document. Processing time Toff
And the time Ton until the online processing is completed are compared, and the shorter one is preferentially processed.

In S71, the number of copies per original is set to N. This value is set by the offline operator using the command input device 30 at the start of the copying process. Alternatively, the device has set a default value. In S72, the processing time Tcopy per sheet is obtained from the look-up table in the memory 22 from the size, direction, number of colors, etc. of the sheet currently being copied. In S73,
The number of copies N per original obtained in S71 and S7
Using the processing time Tcopy per sheet obtained in 2,
Time to complete copy processing for each original document Tof
Find f.

On the other hand, in S74, the look-up table in the memory 22 is referred to from the size, direction, number of colors, etc. of the paper used in the online print processing.
The processing time Tpr per sheet is calculated. In S75, the number of prints M of the print processing designated in S61
And the processing time per sheet Tpr of the print processing obtained in S74, the time Ton required for the online print processing is obtained.

In step S76, the required time Toff of the copy process per original sheet obtained in step S73 is compared with the required time Ton of the print process obtained in step S75.
It is determined whether Toff ≧ Ton. Toff ≧ Ton
In this case, in S70, the offline copying process is interrupted and the online printing process is executed. After that, the offline copying process is restarted.

When Toff ≧ Ton is not satisfied in S76, the remaining copy number N ′ of the document currently copied is obtained in S77. Then, in S78, S7
The time Toff ′ required for the remaining copy processing of the original document currently being copied is calculated from the remaining copy number N ′ obtained in step S7 and the processing time Tcopy per sheet obtained in step S72.

In step S79, the time required Ton for the printing process obtained in step S75 is compared with the time Toff 'required for the remaining copying process obtained in step S78, and Toff'>
It is determined whether it is Ton + β. Toff '> Ton + β
In this case, in S69, the offline copying process is immediately interrupted and the online printing process is executed. After that, the offline copying process is restarted.
Otherwise, in S80, the process of waiting for the copy process of the document currently being copied to be completed is followed by S69, in which the offline copy process is interrupted and the online print process is executed. After that, the offline copying process is restarted.

Like the value of α described above, the value of β described above is a value for giving priority to the process being executed to some extent. The larger β is, the higher priority is given to the off-line copying process currently being executed. The value of β is stored in the memory 22, and is input at the time of factory shipment or maintenance, for example. After that, it can be configured so that the user can input any value.

As described above, by using the values of α and β, it is possible to give priority to the process being executed to some extent. Of course, the values of α and β can be set to different values, and either one can be prioritized. If you are dissatisfied with the difficulty of interrupt processing, set the values of α and β to a smaller value, and conversely, if you are dissatisfied with the immediate interruption, use α, β.
It suffices to set β to a large value. It is also possible to provide a plurality of values of α and β, and switch and use them according to the priority of the process being executed.

Further, as in the prior art, it is possible to add a mode in which the copying process or the printing process is always prioritized. Further, when the off-line copying process is in a standby state, the copying information input operation by the scanner 27 can be performed in parallel with the online printing process. The image information input at this time can be temporarily stored in the image memory 25, for example. After that, the image memory 25
The image information can be transferred from the printer to the printer 29 and printed out.

In the above-described operation example, when the automatic document feeder is used, the online print process is prioritized as much as possible, but conversely, the copy process using the automatic document feeder is performed. It is also possible to configure so that it is prioritized. Further, as described above, when the automatic document feeder can detect the number of documents, the same processing as when the number of documents is set can be performed.

In the above embodiment, the time required for the printing process and the time required for the copying process are determined by the size and direction of the paper to be printed out, but they may be determined by other factors. For example, in the print processing, the time required for the print processing may be calculated based on the data amount of print data sent via the network. Also in the copying process, if the document to be copied is read in advance and once stored in, for example, the image memory 25 or a large-capacity auxiliary storage device, the time required for the copying process is determined based on the amount of information to be copied. You can also ask. The time required for the print processing and the time required for the copy processing may be calculated by using a predetermined calculation formula without using the lookup table.

[0050]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, when the copying process and the printing process compete with each other,
By comparing the time required to complete the process being executed and the time required to perform the interrupt process, and prioritizing the process that completes in a short time, the operator of the process that completes in a short time There is an effect that processing can be executed without waiting for a long time. At this time, the operator does not need to perform a key operation for performing interrupt processing. The interrupt processing can be performed both for interrupting the print processing during the copy processing and for interrupting the copy processing during the print processing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a system configuration using an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block configuration diagram for realizing an embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a lookup table.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of an interrupt operation of a copying process by an offline operation during execution of a printing process by an online operation.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of an interrupt operation of a print process by an online operation during a copy process by an offline operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

1-4: workstation, 5, 6 ... personal computer, 7 ... image forming apparatus, 8 ... network, 11
... image input device, 12 ... image output device, 13 ... interface means, 14 ... input control means, 15 ... print processing time acquisition means, 16 ... copy processing time acquisition means, 17 ... comparison means, 18 ... output control means, 21 ... CPU, 22 ... Memory, 23 ... Print information processing section, 24 ... Line interface section, 25 ... Image memory, 26 ... DMA control device, 27 ... Scanner, 28 ... Input / output control section, 29 ... Printer, 30 ... Command input Device, 31 ... Display control device,
32 ... Display device, 33 ... Bus.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus capable of performing at least copy processing and print processing, and first processing time information acquisition means for acquiring a processing time until the print processing is completed, and processing time until the copy processing is completed. Second processing time information acquiring means for acquiring, and comparison means for comparing the time acquired by the first processing time information acquiring means with the time acquired by the second processing time information acquiring means, An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that performs a copying process or a printing process based on a result of comparison by the comparison unit.