JPH0750749A - Multipicture processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the operator's processing preferential and to easily recognize the coexistence of outputs by plural applications by rotating picture information in a page unit on dissimilar applications at the time of outputting the information in parallel and printing the information out on vertical or horizontal forms, thereby reducing the waiting time of the operator at the time of parallel processing. CONSTITUTION:When a digital copying machine 1 accepts the output requests from applications 4-6 at the parallel output, the picture information is rotated in a page unit. For example, when the copied original is put by A4 vertical form, the paper sheet thereof is outputted in the vertical direction to a paper discharging port. In this case, the reception output of the facsimile is generated, and when the size and direction of the paper sheet are the A4 vertical, the output of printing is designated by A4 horizontal form to the facsimile application 4 required for printing. Then the application 4 requests printing again in the form that the page memory information is rotated by 90 deg. or by 270 deg..

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-image processing system such as a digital copying machine or a facsimile machine, and more particularly to a multi-image processing system which gives priority to operator processing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A digital copying machine has a facsimile function,
Multi-function peripherals equipped with online printer functions and the like are becoming popular. In this case, a product has been put on the market that can save space together with the combined function and can copy at the same time as the fax communication.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned prior art, since various functions try to operate in parallel because it is a multifunction peripheral, batting in use of resources (scanner, plotter, etc.) is unavoidable. However, for example, when the user is using as a copy, there are restrictions such as waiting for the fax reception output until the copy is completed, and the use as a copy is not permitted while the online printer is controlling the output. Furthermore, due to these restrictions, the host machine (personal computer, etc.) will not be able to send data as a result of waiting for the print output of the online printer, and the device will time out and disconnect, or the facsimile function without a hard disk will receive data. As a result of waiting for the output, the RAM disk becomes full and reception is not permitted, and the sender is made to wait until the memory becomes empty. Therefore, when print requests from the applications and the copy function occur in parallel, the print requests are basically received in the order of request generation.
However, it is clear that it is better to give priority to the copy that the operator visits and operates, as compared with the reception output of the facsimile and the output of the online printer. In the case of an online printer, depending on the print contents, the processing time on the host side may take about 10 minutes per sheet, or the processing time may be long due to the enormous amount of data (in the case of image data). The reception output of the facsimile needs to be preferentially output depending on the usage of the RAM disk. In this case, the problem is that the fax reception output without an operator basically mixes with the online printer output, and there are special reasons (device timeout, RAM
In the case of disk over, etc., the output paper of the application is mixed with the output, and it is accidentally taken away by the operator, or even if he notices it later and returns it, the order is different. Further, when a facsimile function is added to the digital copying machine, at the time of facsimile transmission, a transmission original is once scanned and written in a page memory, and then compressed and stored (memory transmission) or transmitted (immediate transmission). Therefore, if transmission and reception output can be executed at the same time, page memories must be prepared respectively, and if A3 fine character (equivalent to 400 dpi) transmission and A3 output occur simultaneously, a total of 8 Mbytes of memory is required.
Since this causes a problem in cost, conventionally, when the key operation is started so that the transmission and the reception output do not occur at the same time, the reception output is kept waiting, and conversely, immediately before the operator tries to start the transmission operation. When receiving output is activated,
The message "Receiving and outputting. Please wait." Appears on the screen, the key is locked, and the operator has to wait until the output is completed. Further, in a multi-function peripheral equipped with various applications in a digital copying machine, since priority is given to print output, it is expected that facsimile original documents will be accumulated (especially when a hard disk is attached). The purpose of the present invention is to improve such problems, reduce the waiting time of the operator in parallel processing, prioritize the processing of the operator,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a multi-image processing system capable of easily recognizing mixed output by a plurality of applications.

[0004]

To achieve the above object, a multi-image processing system of the present invention visualizes an input image data on a medium and an image reading device for reading an image and converting it into a digital signal. In a multi-image processing system including a recording device for recording as an image and a plurality of applications including a printer function and a facsimile function, the recording device receives output requests from a plurality of applications and outputs in parallel (interleave).
In this case, different applications are characterized in that the image information is rotated page by page and control is performed so that the image information is printed out on the vertical or horizontal paper. It is also characterized by specifying the output tray and output direction during interleaving, and by selecting automatically. It is also characterized by setting / changing the priority of each application. Further, it is characterized in that the received document waiting to be printed is displayed and the designated document is output.

[0005]

According to the present invention, when parallel processing (mainly print output) between the application and the copy function is possible, even if output sheets are mixed and printed on sheets of the same size, for example,
By rotating the output direction under the control of the main body controller, it is possible to prevent the user from mistakenly bringing back another person's output paper. Also, on the operation screen of the facsimile,
By displaying the list of received originals and unoutputted ones on the screen, and specifying the original that you want to retrieve quickly,
Print output with priority. For example, a document received by requesting the other party to send a facsimile immediately is taken out without waiting until the completion of printing of the document stored in the memory before that. Also, as in the past, if it is not possible to perform transmission processing and reception output in parallel in terms of cost, the approach of the operator is detected, the reception output is temporarily held from that point, and reception is performed immediately before key operation for transmission. Prevent the output from starting.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a multi-image processing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1
Is a main body of a digital copying machine, and is composed of a scanner, an engine (plotter), and a controller for controlling them. Reference numerals 2a and 2b denote two systems of image data buses. This is because, for example, while scanning a document for facsimile communication and taking it in the page memory for fax, the online printer can print out to the engine via the image bus of another system. Reference numeral 3a is a command line, and 3b is a serial communication line for control commands, which is used for managing resources (scanner, engine, display unit). Control commands are exchanged between the controller of the main body 1, the various applications 4 to 6 and the display unit by the command line 3a. Further, the display unit 7 is controlled by the serial communication line 3b. Reference numeral 7 denotes an LCD display unit of 400 × 256 dots, which is switched by receiving a notification of which application screen (touch button, icon, etc.) is displayed from the controller of the main body 1. 8 is SC
Since it is an SI bus and one display unit is shared by a plurality of applications, the display unit 7 and the applications 4 to 4
It is an interface for exchanging touch key information and a screen display code between the six. Reference numerals 4 to 6 are various applications (for facsimile, online printer, and other units), each of which has a page memory (not shown) so that parallel printing processing (interleave) can be performed. Then, when the preparation for printing is completed, a print request is issued to the controller section of the main body 1 through the command line 3. The controller receives the print request according to the priority in a state where the engine READY is received in response to these requests.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a printing method at the time of interleave output of the same paper size in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a method of changing the output paper direction in the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart. In this embodiment, the output direction is set in advance for a specific application output (for example, facsimile reception output), and if there is an interleaved output of the application during copy use, the output direction is automatically changed. For example, when a document to be copied is placed in A4 portrait mode, it is naturally fed from an A4 portrait paper feed cassette and output vertically to the paper exit. At this time, when the reception output of the facsimile is generated and the size and the direction are A4 portrait, the A4 is sent to the application 4 for the facsimile for which the print request is made.
Instruct to output horizontally. In response to this, the application 4 issues a print request again with the information in the page memory rotated 90 degrees (or 270 degrees). As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the output order during interleaving is
Copy (A4 portrait), facsimile reception output (A4
Landscape) and copy (A4 portrait). The flow of this process is
As shown in FIG. 3, when there is an output request from another application during copying (step 301), it is confirmed that the output is a facsimile reception output (step 302).
The output is changed to horizontal output (step 303). The copying operation can be continued during the rotation process on the facsimile side. In this way, even if the same paper size is mixed in the interleaved output, it is possible to prevent the user from erroneously taking away the output paper of another person. In addition,
The fact that the received output of the facsimile is interleaved output can be easily determined by the controller of the main body 1 if a document is left on the ADF in a copying machine equipped with an ADF (auto document feeder).

Further, when the output of the online printer and the output of the facsimile are interleaved with each other,
Since the original does not remain on the ADF as in the present embodiment, it is not clear whether or not the rotation output should be performed. In this case, basically, a timer is provided from the output time of another application that was ejected at the end, and by checking this, it is used as a basis for determining whether the operator has already taken away the output result, and whether to output the rotation or not. Instruct from the main body controller. Alternatively, the A4 size output may be set to A4 portrait in the online printer, and the facsimile reception output may be set to rotate in A4 landscape.

Further, the digital multi-function peripheral of this embodiment is equipped with a multi-output tray (multi-stage tray), the first stage is dedicated to copying, the second stage is dedicated to facsimile, and the third stage is dedicated to online printer. By doing so, it is possible to avoid mixing output during interleaving. In this case, the interleave output function is valid only when the multi-paper discharge tray is installed.

When setting the output direction, a method of setting the direction of the discharged paper (for example, A4 vertical output, A4 horizontal output) by using a memory switch, a DIP switch or the like can be considered. For example, if the facsimile is set to output in A4 portrait and the online printer is set to output in A4 landscape, it is possible to determine whether or not there is a mixture of outputs in the output tray even if interleaved output. It is possible to avoid taking away the output of others. Further, at the time of output, the application type, the paper size, and the output direction (vertical and horizontal) are stored and managed, and when another application tries to interleave output with the same size, the image is rotated in a direction different from the immediately previous output direction (90 degrees or 270 degrees). It is also possible to print out.

Further, the paper feed cassette or the paper discharge tray itself can be rotatably constructed by a known technique, and by utilizing this, it is possible to inform the user that the discharged papers of the same size are mixed. For example, 90 degrees (or 2
If a paper feed cassette rotatable by 70 degrees is provided, one cassette can be transformed into, for example, A4 portrait and A4 landscape at the time of paper feeding, so it is not necessary to separately prepare cassettes for A4 portrait and A4 landscape. Further, if the tray is configured to be rotatable in the paper discharge stage, the paper discharge direction can be changed even if the paper feed cassette is only A4 portrait or A4 landscape.

Next, a method of statically or dynamically setting the priority at the time of interleave output will be described. The static output priority setting is that the service person or the like listens to the user's usage pattern, wishes, etc. before delivery to the user, and sets the optimum priority. In this case, the memory switch,
It can be set with a DIP switch, etc., and is valid until the next change. By making the priority variable in this way, a user who makes a large amount of copies may have to wait for the facsimile reception output, or the reception capacity is small and the memory is likely to be full.
In the AM disk version of the facsimile, it is possible to avoid a situation in which a communication error occurs due to a memory full occurrence and the other party retransmits because a copy or the like is used for a long time. On the other hand, dynamic output priority setting means that the priority can be temporarily changed for each output request, for example, when the user specifies output such as summary sheet and communication management report by panel operation. In addition, even if the reception output of the facsimile or the print request of the online printer is batting,
By temporarily raising the print priority of these manual output requests, the user in front of the machine does not have to wait. Further, in the case of a facsimile, in order to avoid the occurrence of the memory full of the RAM disk described above, it is possible to control so that the received output of the facsimile is temporarily increased when the memory becomes full.

Next, a method will be described in which, when an operator approaches the front of the apparatus, this is detected, the application being executed is temporarily stopped, and the operator's processing is prioritized. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an interleaved output method according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The multi-image processing system of the present embodiment is provided with a sensor for detecting the approach of an operator in the configuration shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, when it is detected that the operator is approaching (step 401), the print control unit of the facsimile waits for a certain period of time, and prioritizes the transmission processing of the operator (steps 402, 403, 406), If the operator does not approach, normal operation is performed (step 40).
7). This is because page memory contention occurs even if an attempt is made to perform a send operation during reception output of a facsimile (it is ideal to have separate page memories to enable dual access, but this is costly). , Because it makes the user coming in front of the machine wait. If no key operation is performed for a certain period of time after the approach of the operator is detected, it is considered that the sensor is erroneously detected, and the reception output is restarted (steps 403 to 405). In addition,
The detection of the sensor is restarted after a certain period of time has elapsed since no key operation was performed, or the sensor was turned off.
The timing is F. Further, when a mode other than the facsimile is selected, the print output according to the priority may be performed as usual.

Further, in the present embodiment, the reception output waiting report is displayed in order to prevent the reception original of the facsimile from waiting for output while being stored in the memory due to competition of a plurality of applications. In this case, a large screen LCD
If it is a machine equipped with (full dot LCD), select on the screen display. If it is a machine equipped with a 2-line LCD display unit, it should have a function to print out the reception output waiting report. The corresponding No. The desired received document is preferentially output by inputting, etc. by key operation or the like.

[0015]

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the waiting time of the operator during interleaving, give priority to the processing of the operator, and easily recognize the mixture of outputs by a plurality of applications. That is, in response to a print request from a plurality of applications, even if output is interleaved, even if the same paper size is output, since the output is rotated, the output paper is output vertically and horizontally, so that the user mistakenly outputs another application. The output result is never carried away. At this time, it is not necessary to prepare cassettes having the same paper size but different directions by changing the direction of the paper direction on the side of the paper feeding cassette or changing the direction at the paper discharging stage. Further, in a device provided with a multi (multi-stage) discharge tray, the discharge stage can be designated for each application, so that the problem of mixing output sheets for interleaved output is eliminated. In addition, it is possible to notify the user of interleaved output mixing by outputting to a specific or arbitrary empty tray only when there is an application that interrupts and outputs to other applications, and other trays are enabled (by sort function etc.) Can be used for Further, by providing the output priority for each application, it is possible to realize interleaved output suitable for the usage environment of the user. Also,
Since the priority can be changed on a page-by-page basis, for example, when the status nears memory full, such as facsimile reception,
You can temporarily increase the priority to avoid a memory full. In addition, since the approach of the operator is detected in advance and the facsimile reception output is temporarily suspended, the reception output starts immediately before the user goes to the machine and uses it, and it is possible to avoid waiting for the user to complete the output. Don't feel inconvenient. Further, by having a function of predetermining the output direction (for example, A4 or smaller vertical / horizontal output) for each application, it is possible that output results will be mixed when interleaved output of the same size and output results of another application will be erroneously taken away. It can be avoided. Also, by storing the type, paper size, and direction of the application that was output immediately before, you can change the output direction automatically when outputting the same size by another application, so you can avoid taking output paper by mistake. it can. Further, by preferentially outputting an arbitrary received file, it is possible to deal with the fact that the digital multi-function peripheral tends to retain reception due to the output of another application, as compared with the dedicated facsimile machine.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a multi-image processing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a printing method at the time of interleave output of the same paper size in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a method of changing the output paper direction in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an interleaved output method according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Digital copier body 2a Image control signal input bus 2b Image control signal output bus 3a Command line 3b Serial communication line 4 Facsimile application 5 Online printer application 6 Separate unit application 7 Display 8 Internal SCSI bus

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An image reading apparatus for reading an image and converting it into a digital signal, a recording apparatus for recording input image data as a visualized image on a medium, and a plurality of applications including a printer function and a facsimile function. In the provided multi-image processing system, when the recording apparatus receives output requests from a plurality of applications and outputs them in parallel, image information is rotated page by page for different applications, and either vertical paper or horizontal paper is used. A multi-image processing system including means for controlling to print out on 2. An image reading device for reading an image and converting it into a digital signal, a recording device for recording input image data as a visualized image on a medium, a multi-stage tray for discharging paper, a printer function and a facsimile. In a multi-image processing system having a plurality of applications including functions, a means for setting an output tray for each application and a preset method when the recording device outputs in parallel in response to output requests from a plurality of applications A multi-image processing system, comprising: a means for selecting an output tray and controlling to print out. 3. An image reading apparatus for reading an image and converting it into a digital signal, a recording apparatus for recording input image data as a visualized image on a medium, and a plurality of applications including a printer function and a facsimile function. In the equipped multi-image processing system, change the priority of each application during parallel output /
A multi-image comprising: a setting unit and a control unit that, when an output of a specific process is designated, prioritizes the process on a job basis regardless of a preset priority. Processing system. 4. An image reading apparatus for reading an image and converting it into a digital signal, a recording apparatus for recording input image data as a visualized image on a medium, and a plurality of applications including a printer function and a facsimile function. In a multi-image processing system provided, a sensor for detecting the approach of an operator, and a means for controlling the reception output start for a certain period when the operator approach is detected during facsimile reception output processing, Multi image processing system. 5. An image reading device for reading an image and converting it into a digital signal, a recording device for recording input image data as a visualized image on a medium, and a plurality of applications including a printer function and a facsimile function. In the provided multi-image processing system, means for setting the output direction of the ejected paper for each application in advance, and when the output of different applications of the same size during parallel output is within a predetermined time, a direction different from the immediately preceding output direction And a means for controlling so as to set the output direction of the discharged paper. 6. An image reading device for reading an image and converting it into a digital signal, a recording device for recording input image data as a visualized image on a medium, a storage memory, and a plurality of printer functions and facsimile functions. And a means for displaying a list of facsimile received originals stored in the memory and waiting to be printed, in a multi-image processing system including the application of
A multi-image processing system comprising: means for designating a received document in the list; and means for controlling the designated received document to be preferentially output.