JPH0844515A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To minimize the waiting time even if a job having a small number of output sheets of data occures after a job having a large number of output sheets of data by storing the input image data for each job and recognizing the quantity of jobs to decide the processing order. CONSTITUTION:A print processing order management means 4 stores the spool file capacity stored in a spool means 3 as the information on the job quantity for each print job and also decides and stores the print processing order in response to the job quantity. If another spool file A is stored in a print processing order of B, C and D, for example, the quantity of the present job is compared with the information on the quantity of the job which is already stored. Then the print processing order of jobs is changed based on the result of the preceding comparison. Then a management information changing means 5 changes the information on a print processing order table which is managed by the means 4 when the print processing order is changed.

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 capable of executing image data processing, particularly output processing, by a plurality of functions such as a copying function, a facsimile function and a printing function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a digital copying machine capable of executing a plurality of functions such as a copying function, a facsimile function, a printing function, etc., in what order is image data obtained from a plurality of functions processed? Various proposals have been made. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-130311 discloses that each function is processed according to a predetermined priority order. Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-136934 discloses that the processing order of a plurality of competing functions is determined under the condition designated by the user.

Further, paying attention to the printer function, a similar proposal has been made as to what kind of output processing order the output processing is performed. In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-256013, a job is divided into a plurality of spool files, an output process is started for each divided spool file, and after the output process of the job is finished, the output process of the next job is started. Is disclosed. Also, JP-A-2-22506
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7 discloses a device that includes a unit that switches the priority of output processing to switch the interface unit for output processing data and perform output processing. or,
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-233028 discloses a printer device which gives a predetermined priority to information stored in a spool means and performs an output process in accordance with the priority. or,
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-113327 discloses a device which includes a unit for selecting an interface unit and preferentially processes data from the interface unit designated by an interrupting unit to the selecting unit.

[0004]

However, these conventional techniques have the following problems. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-
According to the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 130311, the image input / output unit of the digital copying machine can be shared and used by the respective functions, but when jobs concentrate on the functions with high priority, the priority is low. There is a problem that the job of the function is never processed. Further, since the priority order is fixed, there is a problem that when the usage condition of the user does not match the priority order, the job of the function to be prioritized is postponed. According to the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-136934, the user can specify the processing order of a plurality of functions of the digital copying machine. However, for a function with a high priority, for example, a job with a large number of output sheets is used. When concentrated, there is a problem in that processing is delayed even for a job in which the number of output sheets of a function having a low priority is small.

In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-256013, it is possible to perform spooling and output processing in parallel by dividing a job into a plurality of spool files, but once output processing is started. Then, the output process of another job cannot be performed until the job is completed. Therefore, for example, once the output processing of a large job of about 1000 sheets is started, there is a problem that even a small job of about one sheet will be printed out after the output of 1000 sheets is completed. In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-225067, priority processing is possible, but since the priority order is set for each interface unit, when a plurality of jobs are received by the same interface unit, the above-mentioned example As described above, there is a similar problem that the output processing of another job cannot be performed until the job is completed. In the technique disclosed in JP-A-2-233028, since there is no means for changing the priority order of the information stored in the spool means, only the output processing of a plurality of jobs having a high priority order is executed, In addition, there is a problem that the output process of the job with the low priority stored in the spool means is not started forever. In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-113327, it is possible to change the selection of the interface means. However, when a plurality of jobs are received by the same interface means, the jobs are terminated as in the example described above. Until that is done, there is a similar problem that the output processing of other jobs cannot be performed. Moreover, since the user has to change the selection of the interface means, a troublesome operation is required.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. Even if a job having a large processing amount is being processed on a first-come-first-served basis, a small amount of job can be processed. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus such as a digital copying apparatus or a printer apparatus capable of processing a job while keeping the waiting time of the job to a necessary minimum.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a situation. In the invention of claim 1, image data input means for inputting image data of a job requiring image formation, and the image data input. Image data storage means for storing the image data input by the means in units of jobs requiring image formation; job amount recognition means for recognizing the job amount of the image data stored in the image data storage means in units of jobs; And a processing order determination unit that determines a job processing order of the image data stored in the image data storage unit based on the job amount recognized by the job amount recognition unit. According to a second aspect of the invention, the image data input means has a plurality of interfaces for receiving print data from an external device. According to a third aspect of the invention, the job amount recognition unit recognizes the job amount based on a predicted time required for processing based on the storage information of the image data stored in the image data storage unit. In the invention of claim 4, the processing order determination unit sets a new job amount for a job whose processing order has already been changed, with respect to the job amount of the job recognized by the job amount recognition unit. Characterized by determining the ranking. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided function information recognition means for recognizing the function information of the job input by the image data input means, and the processing order determination means is the function information of the job recognized by the function information recognition means. It is characterized in that the processing order is determined based on. According to the invention of claim 6, the output processing means for performing the output processing in accordance with the processing order determined by the processing order determining means, and the processing of the priority job are interrupted to the job performing the output processing by the output processing means. And an interrupt control means. According to the invention of claim 7, there is provided a job amount measuring means for measuring the processed job amount of the job which is performing the output processing,
The interrupt control unit is characterized in that it determines an interruption in processing of a priority job according to the processed job amount measured by the job amount measuring unit. Claim 8
In the invention, the unprocessed job amount measuring means for measuring the unprocessed job amount of the job which is performing the output processing is provided, and the interrupt control means is the unprocessed job amount measured by the unprocessed job amount measuring means. It is characterized in that the interruption in the processing of the priority job is determined according to the amount. Claim 9
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a sorting device for sorting the recording sheets output processed by the output processing means, and sorting the recording sheets of the priority job interrupted by the interrupt control means by the sorting device. In the invention of claim 10, the selection of the priority job to be interrupted by the interrupt control means is determined based on the job amount of the priority job. According to the invention of claim 11, an unprocessed job amount measuring means for measuring the unprocessed job amount of the job which is performing the output process is provided, and the priority job to be interrupted by the interrupt control means is selected by the job amount of the priority job. And the unprocessed job amount measured by the unprocessed job amount measuring means. According to the invention of claim 12, there is provided a function information recognition means for recognizing the function information of the job inputted by the image data input means, and the selection of the priority job to be interrupted by the interrupt control means is carried out by the function information recognition means. It is characterized in that it is determined based on the function information of the recognized job.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the image data input from the image data input means is stored in the image data storage means for each job, and the job amount recognition means recognizes the job amount,
Based on the recognized job amount, the processing order determination unit determines the job processing order of the stored image data, and the job processing order is sequentially processed according to the determined processing order. In the invention of claim 2, the image data input means is a host computer,
It has multiple interfaces that receive print data from external devices such as host computers connected to the network, receive these print data and store them in the image data storage unit in units of jobs, and based on the amount of jobs. The print order is sequentially output in the determined processing order. Claim 3
In the invention, the job amount is recognized by the job amount recognizing unit based on the processing estimated time based on the stored information of the stored image data. According to the invention of claim 4, a new job amount is set for the job whose processing order has been changed by the processing order determining means to determine the processing order. According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the print function for the input job,
The function information indicating the copy function, the facsimile function, or the like is recognized, and the function information of the recognized job is used as a factor in determining the processing order. According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, even when the output processing unit performs the output processing in accordance with the processing order determined by the processing order determining unit,
Interrupt the processing of priority jobs. Claim 7, Claim 8
In the invention, the processed job amount or unprocessed job amount of the job that is performing the output process is obtained, and the interruption in the processing of the priority job is determined according to the processed job amount or the unprocessed job amount. According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the sorting device for sorting the output-processed recording sheets sorts the interrupted recording sheets of the priority job from the recording sheets of the jobs that have been output-processed until then. In the invention of claim 10, the selection of the priority job to be interrupted is determined by the quantity of the job. According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, it is determined whether or not to interrupt by comparing the unprocessed job amount of the job that is performing the output process with the interrupt job amount. According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, when the function information indicating whether the input job is the print function, the copy function, the facsimile function, or the like is recognized, and the function information of the recognized job is interrupted and determined. As a factor.

[0009]

The present invention will be described below with reference to examples. FIG.
1 is a block diagram of a printer device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the interface means 21-24
A spool unit 3, a print processing order management unit 4, a management information changing unit 5, a print processing control unit 6, a storage unit 7, a printing unit 8, an interrupt unit 9, and a system bus.
Composed of 10 and. The operation of each constituent block will be described below. The interface units 21 to 24 are connected to the host computer according to the instruction of the print processing control unit 6,
Alternatively, print data is received from an external device such as a host computer connected to the network. The spool means 3 temporarily stores the print data received from the interface means 21 to 24 in units of jobs divided by the print processing order management means 4 according to an instruction from the print processing control means 6. The print processing order management unit 4 stores the spool file capacity stored in the spool unit 3 as information regarding the job amount in units of print jobs, and at the same time determines and stores the print processing order according to the job amount. For example, FIG. 2 (a)
The stored spool file, its job information amount, and print processing order are stored as a print processing order table as shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 2A, the information amount of the spool file B is 30 KB and the information amount of the spool file C is 200 K.
The information amount of B and the spool file D is 2 MB, and the print processing order is B, C, and D in this order. At this time, if another spool file A is newly stored, this job is compared with the information regarding the job amount of the already stored job, and the print processing order of the job is changed based on the comparison result. To do. In this example, as shown in FIG. 2B, since the information amount of the spool file A is 3 KB, this is the first rank in the print processing order. The management information changing unit 5 changes the information in the print processing order table managed by the print processing order management unit when the print processing order is changed. This is because the job amount information of the spool files B, C, and D is shared by the spool file A, as shown in FIG. 2B, for example, in order to prevent the situation where the print processing is not started even if the priority is lowered. Just reduce it. If such a change results in a predetermined condition, changing the print processing order for each job is prohibited. The print processing control unit 6 performs overall control for performing print processing according to the print processing order. Storage means 7
Stores the image data recorded and output by the printing unit 8 according to the print processing control unit 6. The printing unit 8 prints out the image data of the storage unit 7 expanded into the image data on the recording paper according to the print processing control unit 6. In the interrupting means 9, the print processing order is changed by the print processing order managing means 4, and the print processing order of the job waiting to be printed becomes higher than the print processing order of the job being printed.
When the highest processing rank is reached, the print processing control means 6 is interrupted.

FIG. 3 is a connection configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. The printer device 1 is connected to an external device via an interface means, and the connection is made by the HST1,
There are network connections by Ethernet such as HST2, HST5, and HST6, personal computer (HST3) connections by RS232C, and personal computers (HST4) by SCSI.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of this embodiment. The printing process order changing operation of the printer device will be described with reference to FIG. Interface means 21-24
When print data is received from the spool means 3
Is temporarily stored for each job (step S1). At this time, the size of the spool file is set as the job amount information A,
It is stored in the print processing order management means 4 (step S2). The print processing order management unit 4 refers to the print processing order table as shown in FIG. 2 and determines whether or not there is a job waiting for printing (step S3). If there is no job waiting for printing, the printing process is started (step S12). If there is already a job waiting to be printed, the job amount information B of the job with the lowest print processing order is read (step S4), the difference between the job amount information B and the job amount information A is determined, and the specified value is obtained. Is compared with (step S5). Here, the specified value is a parameter for considering the spooled rank, and is set as, for example, a predetermined job amount. If the comparison result is smaller than the specified value, the printing process order is not changed and the printing wait state is entered as the lowest processing order (step S10). The job in the print waiting state waits until the print processing of another job having a higher processing order is completed (step S11), and the print processing is started after the completion (step S12). When the comparison result is larger than the specified value, the print processing order is changed (step S6). At this time, the difference between the job amount information of the job whose print processing rank is lowered due to the change and the job amount information of the job whose print processing rank is increased is calculated,
The management information changing unit 5 changes the job amount information managed by the print processing order managing unit 4 so that it becomes the job amount information of the job whose print processing order is lowered by changing the value (step S7). If the job amount information of the job whose print processing order is lowered is smaller than the specified value as a result of calculating the difference in step 1, the management information changing unit 5 instructs the print processing order managing unit 4 to perform the print processing of the corresponding job. Prohibit changing the ranking. This change prevents a situation in which the priority is lowered and the print processing is not started forever, and the print processing start point is guaranteed. When the print processing order is changed, it is determined whether or not it is the highest processing order (step S8). If it is not the highest processing order,
Further, processing for determining whether to change the print processing order is performed. Here, the job amount information having the next lowest processing order is set as the job amount information of the job to be compared (step S9). When the print processing order is changed, the print processing order of the job being printed is changed, and when the print processing order is the highest, the print processing is started (step S12). At this time, the interrupt means 9 interrupts the print processing control means 6. When the print processing is started, the print processing is started after the job being printed is finished, an interrupt from the interrupting unit 9 is received, and the page unit processing of the job being printed is waited for to finish the job being printed. It is possible to select either a method of starting the print processing after interrupting the job or a method of receiving the interrupt from the interrupt means 9 and immediately interrupting the job being processed to start the print processing. The printing unit 8 prints the job whose order has been changed according to the selected method.

In this embodiment, when the difference in the job amount information is calculated by changing the print processing order, and the job amount information of the job whose print processing order is lowered is smaller than the specified value, the print processing order of the job is changed. Although the change is prohibited, the management information changing unit 5 manages the number of interruptions due to the change of the print processing order (the number of times the order has been changed), so that the job of the job is interrupted when a predetermined number of interruptions are made. It is also possible to prohibit changing the print processing order.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a printer device 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the interface means 21 ...
24, spool means 3, print processing order management means 4,
The management information changing unit 5, the print processing control unit 6, the storage unit 7, the printing unit 8, the interrupting unit 9, the system bus 10, and the processing time predicting unit 11 are included. The operations of the print processing order management unit 4 and the processing time prediction unit 11 will be described below. The operation of the other constituent means is the same as that of the above-mentioned embodiment. The processing time predicting means 11 reads the spool file for each job stored in the spool means 3, predicts the time for developing the print data received from the interface means 21 to 24 into image data, and manages the print processing order. Notify the means 4. Print processing order management unit 4
Stores the predicted processing time information notified from the processing time prediction means 11 for the spool file stored in the spool means 3 for each print job. If another spool file is newly stored, the estimated processing time information of the already stored job is compared, and the print processing order of the job is changed based on the comparison result. The print processing order determination operation of the printer device according to the present embodiment is the same as that of the above-described embodiment except that the determination information is not the spool file capacity but the job estimated processing time.

Next, a description will be given of another embodiment of the present invention in an image forming apparatus having a plurality of functions such as a facsimile and a copying machine in addition to a printer. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus of this embodiment. The operation display unit 31 is composed of a display, a control panel, and the like, and has various functions such as various settings relating to the copying function such as the number of copies and the copying magnification, and various settings relating to the facsimile function such as the destination and the transmission mode. This block is used to issue a processing instruction regarding the above, or to display an error message or an operation guide. Image input unit 33
Illuminates the original placed on the platen with a fluorescent lamp, etc., optically reads the reflected light with, for example, a CCD sensor, adjusts the read signal offset and gain, and then converts the analog image data into a digital image. It is a block that is converted into data. In this block, so-called shading correction or the like for correcting the sensitivity variation of each element of the CCD sensor may be performed. The image output section 34 selectively exposes the photosensitive drum with a laser beam or an LED head to form a latent image, and visualizes this latent image with a developer composed of toner or carrier and prints it on recording paper. It is a printer block such as a so-called laser or LED that transfers and heat-fixes.

The encoding / decoding unit 35 has a predetermined encoding format (MH, MR,
This block restores the original image data to the facsimile information received through the telephone line 43 or compressed into MMR). The code data expansion unit 41 is a block that expands print data coded in PDL such as Postscript received via the network line 42 into bitmap image data. The network interface unit 38 is a block for performing communication control between other workstations such as a work printer and a personal printer via a network line and receiving print data.
The communication control unit 40 modem-modulates the coded data generated by the encoding / decoding unit 35 and transmits the coded data to another facsimile device or a multifunction peripheral via a telephone line, or conversely a signal received from another facsimile device or the like. Is a block for performing modem demodulation to convert the data into digital code data and for controlling connection of communication lines.

The image data storage section 36 is an image input section 33.
The digital image data read by, the print data received by the network interface unit 38, and the facsimile data received by the communication control unit 40 are temporarily stored, and the code data expansion unit 41 expands the code data into bitmap image data. This block is used as a working memory when the image data is compressed into code data or the code data is expanded into image data in the encoding / decoding unit 35. Of course, the data received by the network interface unit 38 and the communication control unit 40,
The image data read by the image input unit 33 may be stored in the image data storage unit 36 as file data. Further, in this embodiment, the image data storage unit 36 is used as a memory for temporarily storing image data, but a memory may be individually arranged in each block. The image data processing unit 37 performs a rotation process for aligning the direction of the image data with the direction of the recording paper that can be used in the image output unit 34, and a facsimile of the other party when transmitting the image data read by the image input unit 33 by facsimile. This block is for performing a smoothing process for changing the resolution of the read image data according to the resolution of the recording unit, and for removing the jaggedness generated in the thin line portion of the bitmap image generated by the code data expanding unit 41.

The job amount measuring section 39 is an image output section 34 commonly used for various functions of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, that is, a facsimile function, a print function and a copying function.
This is a block for measuring the job amount in. In the following description, the job amount refers to the number of sheets of image data that the image output unit 34 actually outputs to the recording paper. For example,
The image input unit 33 reads 10 A4 size originals,
If 5 copies are made, the job amount is 50. However, in the present invention, the definition of the job amount is not limited to this. For example, it may be expressed by the processing time in the image output unit, or may be expressed by the total amount of image data output by the image output unit. . In addition to the processing amount in the image output unit 34, the job amount is also the processing amount in the image input unit 33, such as the time required for image reading, the amount of read image data, and the image data storage unit 36. It may be associated with the processing amount, for example, the time required for accumulation, the amount of accumulated data, and the like. The control unit 32 is a block that controls the operation mode and operation timing of each block according to various functions. In particular, in the present embodiment, as will be described later, the processing order in the image output unit 34 of each job is determined according to the job amount measured by the job amount measuring unit 39,
The operation timing of each block is controlled so that jobs of each function are sequentially output processed by the image output unit according to the order.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a schematic structure of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. An image forming section M1 that forms a copy by forming a toner image corresponding to the original image on a recording sheet, and an automatic original that automatically sends the original to the original placement surface of the image forming section M1 Feeding unit M2
And a post-processing unit M that performs post-processing such as sorting and stapling on the recording paper discharged from the image forming unit M1.
Consists of three. Inside the image forming unit M1, an image reading unit M5 that reads an original image by scanning an original placed on a platen glass M4, which is an original placement surface, from the upper side,
A printing unit M6 that forms a toner image corresponding to the original image on the recording paper based on the image information obtained by the image reading unit M5 or the image information transmitted from the terminal device on the LAN or the public line, and the printing unit M6. A paper feed unit M7 that supplies recording paper to M6 is provided. The automatic document feeder M2 is provided so as to cover the platen glass M4 provided at the top of the image forming apparatus so as to be openable and closable, and the documents stacked on the document tray M8 are fed by a feed roller (not shown) and The originals are read one by one by the conveyor belt M9 onto the platen glass M4, and then the original image is read, and then the originals are discharged to the original discharge tray M10 by the conveyor belt M9 and discharge rollers (not shown). The image reading unit M5 includes an exposure lamp M11, a plurality of reflection mirrors M12, a lens M13, an image sensor M14, and the like as an optical system.
The reflection mirror M12 is moved along the platen glass M4, the reflected light from the document is converged on the image sensor M14, and the light and shade of the image of the document is converted into an electric image signal.
This image signal is converted into digital image data by an A / D conversion circuit or the like provided as an electric system inside the image reading section M5.

The printing unit M6 forms a toner image on a recording sheet by a well-known electrophotographic method according to the digital image data from the processing unit, and the surface of the photosensitive drum M16 uniformly charged by the charging device M15. Is exposed by laser light from the laser exposure device M17 to form an electrostatic latent image. The laser exposure device M17 is a laser element (not shown) such as a semiconductor laser whose drive current is modulated based on the image data from the image reading section M5, and a laser beam from the laser element is moved on the surface of the photoconductor drum M16. A rotating polygon mirror M18 that periodically deflects in a direction orthogonal to the direction,
It is composed of a reflecting mirror M19 and the like. The electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor drum M16 is developed by the developing device M20 or M21 to form a toner image of a desired color on the photoconductor drum M16. This toner image is transferred to the paper feed unit M7 by the transfer unit M22. It is transferred onto the recording paper sent along the path A from any one of the plurality of trays M7a to 7e. In addition,
The trays M7a to 7c store paper sheets of different sizes, the tray M7d stores an intermediate tray for temporarily storing the recording paper sheets for double-sided copying, and the M7e stores hundreds of recording paper sheets. It is a large capacity tray. The residual toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor drum M16 after the transfer is removed by the cleaning unit M23. The recording sheet after the transfer is peeled from the photoconductor drum M16 by the peeling section M24, is conveyed to the fixing section M26 by the conveyor M25, and undergoes the fixing process. The path of the recording paper after fixing is switched by the switching gate M27 to either the path B which goes to the post-processing section M3 or the path C which goes to the intermediate tray M7d through the reversing section M28 for double-sided copying. In the case of double-sided copying, the front and back sides of the recording paper are reversed at the reversing unit M28 and are supplied again to the printing unit M6 along the path A via the intermediate tray M7d, and a toner image is formed on the back surface of the recording paper this time. After that, it is sent to the post-processing unit M3.

The recording paper discharged from the printing unit M6 to the post-processing unit M3 is switched to either the route D or the route E by the switching gate M29. The recording paper that has proceeded to the route D is sent to the route F with the image side facing up, and the recording paper that has proceeded to the route E has its front and back sides reversed by the reversing unit M30.
Sent to The recording paper traveling on the path F is a switching gate M.
By means of 31, the route G is directed to the top tray M32, and the route H is subjected to various types of post-processing. The recording paper that has proceeded to the path H is conveyed downward along the path I by the vertical conveyor belt M33, and is sorted by the switching gate M34 into the path J that undergoes stapling processing and the path K that directly goes to the sorter bin M35. The recording paper that has advanced to the route J is discharged into the special tray M36,
When the required number of recording sheets are collected, the stapler M37 staples them. The stapled recording paper is again conveyed downward by the vertical conveyance belt M33 and discharged to a predetermined position in the sorter bin M35.

The operation of each block in each function will be further described with reference to FIG. (1) Copy Function Image data is read from the image input unit 33 and temporarily stored in the image data storage unit 36. At this time, in order to reduce the data amount, the image data may be once compressed into coded data via the coding / decoding unit 35 and stored. In parallel with this storage operation, the code data temporarily stored in the image data storage unit 36 is sequentially read out according to the conditions set in the operation display unit 31, and expanded into image data in the encoding / decoding unit 35. , And is output by the image output unit 34. At this time, the direction of the image data read by the image input unit 33 and the operation display unit 3
If the recording paper directions selected in 1 do not match, or if the recording paper tray on which the recording paper in the desired direction is set is emptied, it is read from the image data storage unit 36 and encoded / decoded. The image data decompressed by the conversion unit 35 is sent to the image data processing unit 37 and subjected to rotation processing,
After that, the image is output by the image output unit 34.

(2) Facsimile Function When transmitting image data to another facsimile device, the transmission original is read from the image input unit 33, compressed by the encoding / decoding unit 25 into encoded data, and stored in the image data storage unit 36. Accumulate once. On the operation display unit 31, the destination telephone number is input and the transmission mode is designated, and the communication control unit 40 connects to the telephone line 43 and calls the partner station to confirm the call. Information such as the destination facsimile class is obtained from the communication control unit 40, and the transmission data is the image data storage unit 3.
6 and the image data processing unit 37 so that the resolution matches the resolution of the partner facsimile recording unit, if necessary.
Then, the image data is re-encoded by the encoding / decoding unit 35 by the encoding method according to the determined transmission mode, and is sent to the communication control unit 40. Then, the digital code data is modem-modulated and transmitted to the facsimile apparatus of the other party. When the transmission is completed, the communication control unit 4
0 ends the connection with the telephone line 43.

When the image data is received from another facsimile apparatus, the communication control unit 40 receives the coded data modulated by the modem from the telephone line 43, demodulates the coded data into the digital coded data, and stores the imaged data. Part 36
To temporarily store. The coded data stored in the image data storage unit 36 is expanded into image data by the encoding / decoding unit 35 and output by the image output unit 34. At this time, the resolution of the received image data is converted into the resolution of the image output unit 34 by the image data processing unit 37, if necessary. or,
As described in the copying function, when there is no recording paper corresponding to the direction of the received image data, the image data processing unit 37 performs rotation processing and then outputs the image output unit 34.

(3) Print Function The print data transmitted via the network line 42 is received by the network interface section 38. The coded print data is converted into bitmap image data by the code data expansion unit 41. The bitmap image data is compressed into coded data by the encoding / decoding unit 35 and is temporarily stored in the image data storage unit 36. Then, according to the print control command sent together with the code data, the image data is read from the image data storage unit 36, decompressed into image data by the encoding / decoding unit 35, and output by the image output unit 34. The bitmap image data may be subjected to edge smoothing processing by the image data processing unit 37 as needed.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the job amount measuring unit 39. The job amount measuring unit 39 includes a scan number counting unit 51, an RTC / EOFB code counting unit 52, a page division symbol counting unit 53, a calculation unit 54, and an output operation number unit 55.
It consists of In the present embodiment, the job amount is defined as the number of sheets of image data actually output on the recording paper by the image output unit 34 as described above. Since there are "N-up copy" mode in which multiple originals are reduced and output on one sheet of recording paper, and "double-sided copy" mode in which image data is recorded on both sides of the recording sheet, there is one page The image data is not always output on one sheet of recording paper. In consideration of this point, the job amount can be defined as in (Equation 1).

[Equation 1] (Job amount) = (Number of originals) × (Number of output copies) / (Number of originals per recording paper) In (Equation 1), output copy number information and original number information per recording paper are: It can be known from the output information set on the operation display unit 31 and the output control information sent together with the print data in the print function. On the other hand, the method of obtaining the number-of-documents information differs depending on each function.

The number-of-documents information relating to the copying function can be obtained by counting the number of times the scanner has operated to read the document in the image input section 33 by the scanning number counting section 51. However, as a precondition here, even when a plurality of copies are made for one set of originals, the scanner scans each original only once, and the read image data is stored in the image data storage unit. The image data is stored in the image data storage unit 36, and the second and subsequent copies read the data stored in the image data storage unit 36, and the image output unit 34 performs output processing. still,
If the number of documents is known in advance, the operation display unit 31
Alternatively, the number of originals may be keyed in. The scan number counting unit 51 is initialized for each copy function job.

The number-of-documents information relating to the facsimile function is the RTC code (return to control) indicating the end of one page in the encoding / decoding section 35 from digital code data obtained by modem demodulating the facsimile data received by the communication control section 40. Symbol: applied to G3 machine) or EOFB code (facsimile block termination code: applied to G4 machine), and R
It can be obtained by counting with the TC / EOFB code counting section 52. RTC / EOFB code counting unit 52
Is initialized for each facsimile function (print output) job.

As for the number-of-documents information relating to the print function, the code data expansion unit 41 detects a predetermined page division symbol from the print data coded in PDL such as Postscript received by the network interface unit 38. This can be obtained by counting this with the page division counting unit 53. However, the page division symbol is not always inserted in the print data described in PDL. In such a case, the code data expansion unit 41 expands the code data into bitmap image data, and one page is recognized when the number of lines or lines per recording sheet is reached. The page division symbol counting unit 53 is initialized for each print function job. The number-of-documents information for each function thus obtained is combined with the output information of the operation display unit 31 to be calculated by the calculation unit 54 according to (Equation 1), and converted into job amount information for each function. Converted. The output processed job amount information is the number of output recording sheets discharged from the printing unit M6 of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment to the post-processing unit M3 for the job currently being output by the image output unit 34, It is defined by the sum of the number of recording sheets that are currently output inside the printing unit M6 and are being output, and can be obtained by counting both by the output operation number counting unit 55. The output operation number counting unit 55 is initialized every time the job to be output processed by the image output unit is switched.

The control of the processing order of each job in the control unit 32 will be described. The control unit 32 creates a job management table as shown in FIG. 9 according to the job amount for each function obtained by the job amount measuring unit 39. In FIG. 9, the reception number indicates the order in which the job amount for each job of each function is determined and the output processing is requested by the image output unit 34. In the example of FIG. 9A, a facsimile function job with a job amount of 5 requests output processing first, and then a copy function job with a job amount of 30, a print function job with a job amount of 50, and a print function job with a job amount of 1000 are output. It indicates that an output processing request has occurred. At this time, since the size of the job amount of each functional job is in the order of the output processing request, the output processing in the image output unit 34 is performed in this order. After that, as shown in FIG. 9B, the output processing request for the copy function job with the job amount of 10 is newly generated. However, since this job amount is smaller than the job amount 30 of the second copying function, the control unit 32 controls the receipt numbers 2-4.
The output processing order of the No. job is lowered by one, and the output order of the job having the reception number 5 is set to the second. At this time, the number of interrupts by other jobs is updated for each job at the same time. In the case of FIG. 9B, since the jobs with the reception numbers 2 to 4 are the targets of interruption, the number of interruptions of each is set to 1. The interrupt count is managed in order to prevent output processing from being performed on a job with a large job amount as long as an output processing request for a job with a smaller job amount is issued. A job in which the number of interruptions reaches a predetermined value (a value set in advance on the device side or a value set by the user via the operation display unit 31) is
After that, the output processing order is not changed by the interruption by the job that causes the output request.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the processing flow of the job processing order changing operation of the control unit 32. When a job relating to the output processing in the image output unit 33 in an arbitrary function occurs, the job amount measuring unit 39 calculates the job amount according to the function and sets the value as A (step S21). The job amount is confirmed and an output request is generated (step S22), and the acceptance number N for the functional job is obtained (step S23). It is assumed that the output processing order P _A at the time when the output request is issued is equal to the reception number N (step S24). Further, the interrupt count N _A for the job is set to 0 (step S25). Next, referring to the job management table as shown in FIG. 9, it is determined whether or not there is a job waiting for output (step S2).
6). If there is no job waiting for output, output processing is started (step S37). If there is already a job in the output waiting state, the job amount information B and the interrupt count N of the job having the lowest output processing rank at the present time, that is, the job having the output processing rank P _B = P _A −1 are set in the job management table. Is read from (steps S27, S28).
The number of interruptions N is compared with a predetermined prescribed value (step S29), and if N has reached the prescribed value, it is not possible to prioritize other jobs prior to the job whose output waiting order is P _B. Enter output waiting state (step S3)
1). The job in the output waiting state is kept waiting until the output processing of another job having a high processing order is completed (step S32), and the output processing is started after the completion (step S32).
37). If N is less than the specified value, the sizes of the job amount information A and the job amount information B are compared (step S3).
0). If the job amount information A is greater than or equal to the job amount information B, the output processing order P _A is determined and the output waiting state is entered (step S31). Job amount information A is job amount information B
If less than, the output processing order is changed. By setting the output processing order of the job whose output processing order was P _B until now to P _A , the processing order is lowered by 1 (step S33), 1
Since the interruption of one job has occurred, the interruption number N is incremented by 1 (step S34). Instead, the processing order of the job whose output processing order has been P _A is increased by 1 (step S35). When the output processing order is changed, it is determined whether or not it is the highest processing order (step S
36) If it is not the highest processing order, a process for determining whether to further change the output processing order is performed. Here, it is determined whether or not the job having the next lowest processing priority can be interrupted. (Steps S27, S28). When such an operation is repeated and the output processing rank reaches the highest processing rank, the output processing is started (step S37). As the target of changing the output processing order, not only the job currently in the output waiting state but also the job currently undergoing the output processing can be included in the target. In the latter case, with respect to the job currently being processed, the job newly placed in the highest processing order may be processed in the form of interrupt processing. When the interrupt process for the job currently being processed occurs, the recording paper remaining in the printing unit M6 in FIG. 7 and being output is finished the predetermined output processing, and the recording paper remains in the printing unit M6. It is desirable not to. Further, in the case where the interrupting process is performed for the job currently being processed, the post-processing unit M that can perform the post-processing for sorting on the recording paper discharged from the image forming unit M1 as shown in FIG.
An image processing apparatus including 3 is desirable. In this case, use a different bin than the sorter bin that was used for the jobs that were used for output processing as the output destination of the recording paper for interrupt output processing, to prevent the jobs that have been processed so far from being mixed. You can As described above, by providing the sorting device for sorting the recording paper being processed for output and the recording paper of the interrupted priority job, the handling of the output recording paper by interruption becomes extremely convenient.

In the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, unlike the prior art in which the output processing order in the image output section 34 is determined by the copy function, the facsimile function, and the print function, the function is fair regardless of the function. The output processing order of each job was determined according to the size of the job amount. However, when there is a bias in the job amount of each function, for example, when the job amount of the print function job is always larger than the job amounts of other function jobs on average, the print function job requests the output processing earlier. Even if it is issued at a certain time, there is a high probability that another functional job for which an output processing request has been generated later will be interrupted, and a situation may occur in which the output processing of the print functional job cannot be completed smoothly. In such a case, it is desirable to give a weight to each function as the function information and determine the processing order in consideration of the weighted value in the job amount.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a method of determining the output processing order in consideration of the function information. Figure 11
(A) is a diagram for explaining the output processing order control according to the job amount when the function information is not taken into consideration. First, the print function job with the job amount of 200 issues the output processing request, but it arrives after that. The number of interrupts is 5 because all the function jobs are processed earlier because the job amount is smaller than the first print function job. In this example, the output job of the first print function job is executed at a timing when the output processing of the job that arrives later is completed or the number of interrupts reaches a predetermined specified value, whichever comes first. On the other hand, FIG. 11 (b)
6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating output processing sequence control according to a job amount when function information is taken into consideration, where a weighting value of α = 1 for a copy function and a facsimile function and α = 0. A weighting value of 1 is given to each, and the output processing order is determined using a value obtained by multiplying the job amount J obtained for each functional job by the weighting value α. In this example, the job interrupting the print function job with the receipt number 1 is suppressed to the three function jobs with the receipt numbers 2, 3, and 6. As the weighting value, a value preset on the device side or a value set by the user via the operation display unit 1 is used. The output processing job amount received for each function may be stored in the apparatus, and the weighted value may be calculated from the value.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow in the case where the weighting value for each function is calculated from the operation history of the apparatus until then. First, the type of function is determined as to which function job generated the output processing request in the image output unit 34 (step S41). Here, the print function, the copy function, and the facsimile function are given as examples of the types of functions, and these functions are represented by the subscripts P, C, and F. The latest job amount information J _p , J _c , J _F of each function is updated according to the determination result (steps S42 to S4).
4). And the number of receptions N _p of each functional job up to that point,
N _c and N _F are multiplied by the job amount average values A _p , A _c and _AF , and the latest job amount information J _p , J _c and J _F are added, and the job amount cumulative value S _{p of} each functional job is added. S _c and S _F are updated (steps S45 to S47), and the number of times N _p , N _c and N _F of acceptance of each functional job are updated (steps S48 to S48).
S50). Then, the number of received jobs after updating N _p , N _c ,
The latest job amount average value is obtained from N _F and the job amount cumulative values S _p , S _c , and S _F (steps S51 to S53).
Then, the minimum value MIN of the average value of the job amount of each function job
(A _p , A _c , A _F ) is _calculated (step S54), and the weighted values α _p , α _c , and α _F are calculated by dividing this value by the job amount average value of each functional job (step S5).
5). That is, according to the flowchart shown in FIG.
The ratio of the job amount average value per function is calculated and used as the weighting value.

As shown in FIG. 11B, when the weighting value is uniquely determined for the function job, in the example of FIG. 11, the print function job is requested to output the job amount of 10 or less. And it will always be processed faster than other functional jobs. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, if the weighting value is determined according to the type of function and the job amount, the output processing job amount in the most concentrated range can be preferentially processed for each function. In the example of FIG. 13, in a range in which the job amount is relatively small (job amounts 1 to 19), the jobs are processed on a first-come-first-served basis without prioritizing the jobs by function. In the area where the job amount exceeds 20, the copy function job is prioritized. Job amount 50 to 5
In the range of 9, the weighting value of the facsimile function is 0.02. For example, the number of facsimile transmission of the sales settlement report sent to the head office at the end of the month is always within the range of 50 to 59. In the case where it is desired to print out immediately upon receiving a call, if such settings are made, priority output processing can be performed. In the area where the print function jobs are concentrated and the job amount is 100 or more, the print function jobs are set to be prioritized.

By the way, when another job is to be interrupted with respect to the job currently undergoing output processing, it is desirable to consider the processing amount of the job. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, for a print function job X having a job amount of 100, when the interrupt confirmation timing of another job Y having a job amount of 10 is a time point when the output process of 10 sheets of the job X is finished, X
When the output processing of 95 sheets is finished, the completion time of the job X is the same in both cases as shown in FIG. However, in the former case, the degree of completion of the job X is 10% at the time when the interruption occurs, whereas in the latter case, it is 95% which is almost completed. That is, in an output process with a large amount of jobs, there is a possibility that another job will be interrupted one after another even when the completion of the output process is near, and thus the end time of the output process may be delayed.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the processing flow of the job processing order changing operation of the control unit 32 when the job processing amount of the job currently being output is taken into consideration. In the figure, steps S21 to S32 are the same process steps as the process flow shown in FIG. FIG.
In step S30, the sizes of the job amount information A and the job amount information B are compared, and if the job amount information A is smaller than the job amount information B, the output processing order P _B
Is the highest processing order (step S6)
1). If the output processing order P _B is not the highest processing order,
The output processing order of job B whose output processing order was P _B until now is set to P _A , and the processing order is lowered by one (step S6).
2) Since one job A interrupt has occurred in job B, the interrupt count N is increased by one (step S6).
3). The processing order of the job A whose output processing order has been P _A has been increased by 1 (step S64), and a process for determining whether to change the output processing order is performed. On the other hand, in step 61, when the output processing order P _B is the highest processing order, the job B is the job currently undergoing output processing. In this case, the output-processed job amount information E of the job currently being output is read from the job amount measuring unit 39 shown in FIG. 6 (step S65), and the previous output processing amount of the job is added to the total output. The processing amount F is obtained (step S66). Then, the current completion rate η of the job is calculated by calculating the ratio F / B of the total output processing amount F to the job amount information B (step S67), and this is compared with a predetermined prescribed value (step S68). . As the predetermined specified value, a value set in advance on the device side or a value set by the user via the operation display unit 31 can be used. In the image output unit 34, when the completion rate η of the job currently being processed does not exceed the specified value, the interrupt output processing of the job A whose output processing order has been updated is started (step S6).
9). If the completion rate η of the job currently being processed exceeds the specified value, interruption of the job currently being output is prohibited and the output waiting state is entered until the output processing is completed (step S31). When the output processing of the job currently being processed ends and the output processing priority P _A of the job waiting for interruption reaches the highest rank (step S32), the output processing of this job is started (step S69). In the example of FIG. 15, the interrupt processing is performed by paying attention to the processed job amount of the job that is currently undergoing output processing. However, the control unit 32 calculates the unprocessed job amount and sets it as the unprocessed job amount. It may be possible to make a decision as to whether or not to interrupt.
Also, depending on the amount of jobs, it may be possible to prioritize whether or not to make an interrupt. In this way,
For example, the interrupt can be determined simply by the output number, such as when the output number is 10 or less.

In the example described with reference to FIG. 15, whether or not to interrupt the currently processed job is determined by the job completion rate η. However, the remaining amount of the currently processed job, that is, the unprocessed job amount. (BF) is compared with the interrupt job amount A to determine whether or not to interrupt, for example, if the interrupt job amount A is smaller than the unprocessed job amount (BF), the interrupt is permitted. Good. Further, the completion rate η is equal to or less than a predetermined specified value and the unprocessed job amount (B−
Only when F) is larger than the interrupt job amount A, it may be determined whether or not to execute the interrupt, that is, based on three pieces of information of the completion rate, the unprocessed job amount, and the interrupt job amount.

Next, the control of the job being processed by the control unit 32 when an interrupt occurs for the job being output will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When an output process interrupt of another job occurs with respect to the job currently being output, it is first confirmed that all the recording paper sheets subjected to the output process inside the printing unit M6 in FIG. 7 are discharged to the outside. Yes (step S7
1). Then, the output processing for the job currently being output is stopped (step S72), and the processed job amount E of this time is stopped.
Is read from the job amount measuring unit 39 in FIG. 6 (step S73), and the total output processing amount F of the job is updated (step S74). Then, the output processing order of the job is lowered by 1 (step S75), and the interrupt count N is increased by 1 (step S76). After the interrupt output job is completed, the output management information necessary for restarting the job from the page whose processing is interrupted by the interrupt is saved (step S77).

As is apparent from the above description, in the present embodiment, the processing order is changed including the currently processed job based on the information regarding the job amount, and the interrupt processing is performed especially for the currently processed job. The processing of other jobs is prioritized. Unlike the normal interrupt operation, this interrupt processing is executed without the intervention of the operator, and the return from the interrupt does not involve the operator.

[0042]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, the input image data is stored for each job, and the job amount is recognized to determine the processing order.
It is possible to determine the processing order in the control unit simply based on the job amount regardless of the type of image data, the operator does not need to perform a troublesome operation related to changing the output order, and the number of output sheets is large. Even if a job with a small number of output sheets occurs after the job, the waiting time can be minimized. According to the invention of claim 2,
The print data is received from the host computer, a host computer connected to the network, etc., and the print data is output sequentially in the processing order determined based on the received job amount. It becomes possible to start the print processing of the job. According to the invention of claim 3, since the job amount is recognized based on the estimated processing time based on the stored information of the stored image data, the job that can be processed in a short time is postponed to the job that takes a long time to process. Can be avoided, and a practical output processing order can be obtained without operator's operation. According to the invention of claim 4, when the processing order is changed, a new job amount is set and the processing order is determined, so that a situation occurs in which the job amount is too long to be processed. It can be avoided. According to the invention of claim 5, the processing order is determined from the information about the job amount in consideration of the function information about each function such as the copy function job, the facsimile function job, and the print function job. Therefore, the job amount is large. Therefore, it is possible to avoid always delaying the output processing of a specific function, and since the output processing of a specific function can be prioritized over the output processing of other functions, perform processing that matches the peculiarities of each function. Is possible. According to the invention of claim 6, even when the output processing is performed, the processing of the priority job can be interrupted. Therefore, even if the job output processing of the large job amount is started, the small job amount that occurs thereafter is generated. It is possible to minimize the waiting time of the job. According to the inventions of claims 7 and 8,
Since the priority job interrupt is determined according to the processed job amount or unprocessed job amount of the job that is performing the output process, the completion of the output process is imminent because the job amount is large. Instead, it is possible to prevent the priority job from being kept waiting for a long time due to the interruption time being delayed one after another and the end time being delayed, or the job having a large job amount near the start of the output process. According to the ninth aspect of the invention, the output-processed recording sheets and the interrupted priority-job recording sheets are sorted, so that the priority-job recording sheets are mixed with the jobs that have been output-processed up to that point. Can be prevented. According to the tenth aspect of the invention, the priority job to be interrupted is selected according to the amount of the job amount, so that the interrupt can be simply made in the case of the job having the small job amount. According to the invention of claim 11, it is determined whether or not to interrupt by comparing the unprocessed job amount of the job that is performing the output processing with the interrupt job amount. If the number of jobs is smaller than the above, interrupts are permitted, and waiting for a job with a small job amount is avoided. According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, since the presence or absence of interruption is determined from the information regarding the job amount in consideration of the function information regarding each function such as the copy function job, the facsimile function job, and the print function job, the job amount is large. Therefore, it is possible to avoid always delaying the output processing of a specific function, and because the output processing of a specific function can be performed with priority over the output processing of other functions, processing that matches the peculiarities of each function is performed. It becomes possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a print processing order table.

FIG. 3 is a connection configuration diagram of an interface unit and an external device.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of another embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of another embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

7 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a job amount measuring unit.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a job management table.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow for explaining a job processing order changing operation of the control unit.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a method for determining an output processing order in consideration of function information.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a processing flow in a case where a weighting value for each function is calculated from the operation history of the apparatus up to that time.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of determining a weighting value for each function according to a job amount.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the completion degree of a job when another job interrupts the job currently being processed.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow for explaining a job processing order changing operation of the control unit when the job processing amount of a job currently being output is taken into consideration.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow for explaining control of a job being processed when an interrupt occurs in the job being output.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Printer device, 21-24 ... Interface means, 3
... spool means, 4 ... print processing order management means, 5 ... management information changing means, 6 ... print processing control means, 7 ... storage means,
8 ... printing means, 9 ... interrupting means, 10 ... system bus,
11 ... Processing time predicting means, HST1 to HST6 ... Host computer, 31 ... Operation display section, 32 ... Control section, 33 ... Image input section, 34 ... Image output section, 35 ... Encoding / decoding section, 36 ...
Image data storage unit, 37 ... Image data processing unit, 38 ... Network interface unit, 39 ... Job amount measuring unit,
40 ... Communication control unit, 41 ... Code data expansion unit, 42 ...
Network line, 43 ... Telephone line, 51 ... Scan number counting unit, 52 ... RTC / EOFB code counting unit, 53 ...
Page division symbol counting section, 54 ... Calculation section, 55 ... Output operation number counting section, M1 ... Image forming section, M2 ... Automatic document feeding section, M3 ... Post-processing section, M4 ... Platen glass, M5 ... Image reading section, M6 ... Printing unit, M7 ... Paper feeding unit, M7a-
M7e ... tray, M8 ... document loading tray, M9 ... conveying belt, M10 ... document discharging tray, M11 ... exposure lamp,
M12 ... Reflective mirror, M13 ... Lens, M14 ... Image sensor, M15 ... Charging device, M16 ... Photosensitive drum,
M17 ... Laser exposure device, M18 ... Rotating polygon mirror, M1
9 reflection mirror, M20, M21 ... Developing device, M22 ... Transfer part, M23 ... Cleaning part, M24 ... Peeling part, M25
... Conveyor, M26 ... Fixing unit, M27, M29, M3
1, M34 ... Switching gate, M28, M30 ... Reflector, M32 ... Top tray, M33 ... Vertical transport belt, M
35 ... Sorter bin, M36 ... Holding tray, M37 ... Stapler.

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An image data input unit for inputting image data of a job requiring image formation; an image data storage unit for storing the image data input by the image data input unit in units of jobs requiring image formation; Job amount recognition means for recognizing a job amount of each job of the image data stored in the image data storage means, and image data stored in the image data storage means based on the job amount recognized by the job amount recognition means And a processing order determination unit that determines the job processing order of the image forming apparatus. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image data input unit has a plurality of interfaces for receiving print data from an external device. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the job amount recognition unit recognizes the job amount based on a predicted time required for processing based on the storage information of the image data stored in the image data storage unit. An image forming apparatus characterized by the above. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing order determination unit adds a new job to the job amount of the job recognized by the job amount recognition unit for a job whose processing order has already been changed. An image forming apparatus characterized by setting various job amounts and determining a processing order. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising function information recognition means for recognizing the function information of the job input by the image data input means, wherein the processing order determination means is the function information recognition means. An image forming apparatus, wherein the processing order is determined based on the function information of the job recognized by. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an output processing unit that performs output processing according to the processing order determined by the processing order determination unit, and a job that performs output processing by the output processing unit. An image forming apparatus, comprising: an interrupt control unit that interrupts the processing of a priority job. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising job amount measuring means for measuring a processed job amount of a job which is performing output processing, wherein the interrupt control means is configured to operate by the job amount measuring means. An image forming apparatus, which determines interruption in processing of a priority job according to the measured amount of processed jobs. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising an unprocessed job amount measuring unit that measures an unprocessed job amount of a job that is performing output processing, and the interrupt control unit is the unprocessed job. An image forming apparatus, characterized in that an interrupt in processing of a priority job is determined according to the unprocessed job amount measured by the amount measuring means. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a sorting device that sorts the recording sheets output processed by the output processing unit, and sorts the recording sheets of the priority job interrupted by the interrupt control unit. An image forming apparatus characterized by being sorted by an apparatus. 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the selection of the priority job to be interrupted by the interrupt control unit is determined based on the job amount of the priority job. 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising an unprocessed job amount measuring unit for measuring an unprocessed job amount of a job which is performing output processing, and a priority job of the priority job to be interrupted by the interrupt control unit. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the selection is determined based on a comparison between the job amount of the priority job and the unprocessed job amount measured by the unprocessed job amount measuring means. 12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising function information recognition means for recognizing the function information of the job input by the image data input means, and selecting the priority job to be interrupted by the interrupt control means. Is determined based on the function information of the job recognized by the function information recognition means.