JPH0746361A - Composite image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a composite image forming device capable of easily add a new function and an ancillary device to the device itself. CONSTITUTION:A CPU 104 in the composite image forming device 1 stores a control program for the ancillary device 2 to be added which is transferred from the device 2 through communication interface (I/F) parts 201, 107 in a rewritable area 106a of a ROM 106 and controls the added device 2 in accordance with the stored control program for the device 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a composite image forming apparatus which can be used as a scanner such as a digital copying machine and can be used as a scanner or a printer by connecting an auxiliary device, and which can have a composite function. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a composite image forming apparatus has a communication means for communicating with an accessory device for realizing a composite function and a control program for the accessory device in advance.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, since the control program for the accessory device is incorporated from the beginning, the composite image is added when an additional function or a new accessory device is added later. There is a problem that the work of replacing the program ROM in the forming apparatus is required.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a composite image forming apparatus capable of easily adding a new function and an auxiliary device to the composite image forming apparatus.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a composite image forming apparatus of the present invention has the following constitution.
That is, in a composite image forming apparatus to which an accessory device can be connected, communication means for communicating between the accessory device and the composite image forming apparatus, and control of the accessory device to be added transferred from the accessory device by the communication means. The storage device stores the program, and the control device controls the added auxiliary device according to the program of the additional device to be stored stored in the storage device.

[0006]

In such a configuration, the control program for the accessory device to be added, which is transferred from the accessory device by the communication means, is stored, and the added accessory device is controlled in accordance with the stored control program for the accessory device to be stored. Works like.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the composite image forming apparatus in this embodiment. This embodiment is a composite image forming system in which an auxiliary device 2 that can issue a scan instruction or a print instruction to the composite image forming apparatus 1 and store image data according to a command instructed by the host computer 3 is connected. This is an adapted example.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a composite image forming apparatus of the present embodiment, which includes a scanner section 101, an image processing section 102,
Printer unit 103, CPU 104, RAM 105, RO
The M 106 and the communication interface (I / F) unit 107. Reference numeral 2 denotes an auxiliary device connected to the composite image forming apparatus 1, and a communication interface (I / F) unit 2
01, image memory 202, image processing unit 203, CPU2
04, RAM 205, ROM 206, FDD 207, and computer interface (I / F) unit 208. Reference numeral 3 is a host computer that gives instructions to the accessory device 2 for image processing.

In the following description, the process of connecting the accessory device 2 to the composite image forming apparatus 1 and giving a command from the computer 3 to the accessory device 2 to make the composite image forming apparatus 1 controllable will be described as an example. . First, when the power of the composite image forming apparatus 1 is turned on, the CPU 104 accesses the ROM 106 and starts executing the control program. Where ROM1
Reference numeral 06 denotes a boot program and communication I as shown in FIG.
A non-rewritable area 106 that stores a system program that does not change, such as a control program of the / F unit 107.
b and a rewritable area 106a for storing the overall control program of the composite image forming apparatus 1. Specifically, when the composite image forming apparatus 1 is used standalone, the rewritable area 106a in the ROM 106 is stored in the step S of the flowchart shown in FIG.
It may be considered that the portions 2 to S17 include the portions S1, S18 and S19 in the non-rewritable area 106b. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, instead of the ROM 106, the contents of the ROM are transferred to the RAM at the time of booting,
After that, it is of course possible to use a so-called "shadow RAM" in which the RAM is used as a ROM.

The composite image forming apparatus 1, which has started to execute the control program, carries out the initial setting of step S1 shown in FIG. 4 and then executes steps S2 to S18 until an input is made.
The judgment loop up to is executed, and the system enters the waiting state. here,
When the accessory device 2 is started up, the accessory device 2 confirms whether or not the composite image forming apparatus 1 is connected in step S202 after initial setting in step S201 shown in FIG. Here, it is assumed that it is also confirmed whether the composite image forming apparatus 1 is up. if,
If connected, the accessory device 2 proceeds to step S203 and outputs a communication request signal to the composite image forming apparatus 1. On the other hand, when the composite image forming apparatus 1 recognizes the communication request signal output from the accessory device 2 in step S18 of FIG. 4, the process proceeds to step S19, and the external device communication processing routine shown in FIG. 5 is executed.

In step S101 shown in FIG. 5, first, the composite image forming apparatus 1 outputs an external device mode response signal indicating that the external device mode has been entered to the accessory device 2 and turns on the LED in the external device mode. To do. On the other hand, when the external device mode response signal is received, the accessory device 2 proceeds from step S202 to step S203 of FIG. 6 and makes an upload request to the composite image forming apparatus 1 to transfer the program for the additional function. When the composite image forming apparatus 1 waits for a command executing the determination loop of steps S102 to S110 of FIG.
It is recognized in step 6 and a response signal is output to the auxiliary device 2 and step S
Proceed to 107. Then, in the auxiliary device 2 which receives the response signal from the composite image forming apparatus 1, step S20 in FIG.
In step S205, the additional function program is uploaded to the composite image forming apparatus 1. On the other hand, the composite image forming apparatus 1 has the auxiliary device 2 in step S107 of FIG.
Enter the operation to download the additional function program sent from.

After the above steps S205 and S107 are executed, a new program is added to the rewritable area 106a of the ROM 106 in the composite image forming apparatus 1, and the external device communication processing routine shown in FIG. 5 is switched as shown in FIG. Replace When the accessory device 2 finishes uploading the additional function program, the process advances to step S206 in FIG. 6 to output a status signal indicating that one external device process has been completed for the time being. The process moves to the main routine of the processing program (step S207). In response to this, the composite image forming apparatus 1
In step S108 of FIG. 7, the external device processing end status is recognized, the external device mode LED is turned off (step S111), the process returns to the main routine of FIG.
The loop from 2 to step S18 is executed to enter the input waiting state.

After the above steps are completed, the composite image forming apparatus 1 has a function of a connected external device (attached device 2) in addition to a stand-alone function, and the attached device 2 is ready to be used as an external device. Become. Here, when a scan command is given from the host computer 3 connected to the other side of the accessory device 2 to the accessory device 2, the accessory device 2 first issues an external device communication request to the composite image forming apparatus 1. Here, the composite image forming apparatus 1 executes the step S18 of FIG.
When the external device request is recognized in step S19, the process proceeds to step S19, jumps to the new external device communication processing routine shown in FIG. 7, the external device mode response signal is output to the accessory device 2 in step S101, and the external device mode LED is turned on. To do. Then, after passing through the determination processing in steps S102 to S110, the auxiliary device 2 is operated in step S112.
In response to the scan command from, the process proceeds to step S113. As a result, a process of operating the scanner 102 of the composite image forming apparatus 1 which is a function of an external device and reading image data into the image memory 202 in the external device through the communication I / F units 107 and 201 can be realized. Like

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to easily add a new function or a new auxiliary device to the composite image forming apparatus. <Modification> In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the additional program to be transferred to the composite image forming apparatus is stored in the ROM in the auxiliary device has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to waiting for an additional program in the auxiliary device, and it goes without saying that an additional program outside the auxiliary device can also be transferred through the auxiliary device.

As a modified example, the transfer in the case where the auxiliary device does not have the additional program to be transferred to the composite image forming apparatus will be described below. The basic block configuration of the modified example is the same as that shown in FIG. 1 described above, and a description thereof will be omitted. In the auxiliary device 2, the computer I / F unit 208 and the floppy disk drive (FDD) 207 are provided as input means for inputting an additional program to be transferred to the composite image forming apparatus 1 from the outside. Then, the additional program that cannot be stored in the ROM 206 of the accessory device 2 can be sent to the composite image forming apparatus 1 from these input means. That is, the specific transfer procedure is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, and the additional function program upload in step S203 of FIG.
If there is an instruction to transfer the additional function program from the host computer 3 via the computer I / F unit 208, the contents of the file sent from the host computer 3 may be transferred to the composite image forming apparatus 1.

If a signal indicating that the floppy disk containing the additional function program is set is output from the floppy disk drive (FDD) 207, the file of the additional function program is read, and as described above, the composite function program is read. It may be transferred to the image forming apparatus 1. The other parts are the same as those in the above-mentioned embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, even if the additional function program is not included in the auxiliary device, the additional function program can be transferred to the composite image forming apparatus only by the input means. The present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices or an apparatus including a single device. Also,
It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention,
New functions and auxiliary devices can be easily added to the composite image forming apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a composite image forming apparatus in this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of a ROM 106 shown in FIG.

3 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of a shadow RAM that can be replaced with the ROM 106 shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a main routine of a control program of the composite image forming apparatus in this embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an external device communication processing routine of a control program of the composite image forming apparatus in this embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an initial execution routine of an accessory device in the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an external device communication processing routine after adding a function of a control program of the composite image forming apparatus in the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 104 CPU of compound image forming apparatus 105 RAM of compound image forming apparatus 106 ROM of compound image forming apparatus 107 Communication I / F section of compound image forming apparatus 204 CPU of accessory device 205 RAM of accessory device ROM 201 of accessory device Ancillary device Communication I / F part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A composite image forming apparatus to which an accessory device can be connected, a communication means for communicating between the accessory device and the composite image forming apparatus, and an accessory to be added transferred from the accessory device by the communication means. A composite image forming apparatus comprising: a storage unit that stores a control program for the apparatus; and a control unit that controls an added auxiliary device according to a program to be stored that is stored in the storage unit.