JPH09261378A - Composite-type image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain reception original in a state where pages are arranged in order from the first one and also to shorten a printer occupying time by executing printing from the page finally received after the reception of image data in the whole pages is completed. SOLUTION: When an incoming call is recognized, a FAX communication control part returns the recording possible size, encoding ability and performance such as communication speed, etc., of a reception terminal to a caller terminal. Then, the transmission conditions of opposite station transmission are obtained, a main CPU 30 indicates a required parameter to the FAX CPU 78 of a FAX C part 58, MODEM training such as line control and image encoding, etc., is executed and, after that, image data reception is started. The FAX communication control part receives a reception image filing preparation end report from the C part 58, recognizes the residual quantity of a file memory 68 and gives a memory full-message to a whole control part at the time of residual quantity being equal to below a previously set threshold value. At the time of more than the value, it is stored in the memory 68. The procedure is repeated till the final page so as to complete reception. The whole control part permits a printing surface to face upwards and printing and outputting a received image in a state where the pages are arranged in order from the first one.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a composite type image forming apparatus having a plurality of functions such as a FAX (facsimile) function, a printer function and a copy function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a digital composite apparatus which is configured by integrating various image processing devices such as an image processing device such as a scanner, an image storage device such as a hard disk or an optical disk, a communication device using a FAX or a network, and a printing device. Type image processing devices, commonly known as multifunctional copying devices, are being actively developed.

In these image processing apparatuses, one scanner (original table), printer (tray unit), etc. are commonly used by a plurality of functions such as a copying function, a FAX function, and a printer function.

[0004]

A problem in the composite type image processing apparatus as described above is the collision of operation requests of a plurality of functions and the difference in the conventional control method of each function.

[0007] For example, in the former case, when a copy request is made during reception printing or during printer operation, if a job being executed in document units is continued, it cannot be used as a copying machine during that time.

However, in general, from the user's point of view, copying in which an operation is performed while standing in front of the apparatus is more urgent than printing a FAX received image or image data accepted as a printer. . Therefore, in general, even when the FAX received image or the image data received by the printer is being printed, if a request for copying is made, the FAX received image is printed or the printer function is interrupted and the copy function is given priority. It is usually done. In this case, the recording papers for copying are stacked on the recording papers that have been ejected so far, and there is a problem that the boundaries between them are unclear from the user's point of view. It was In addition, even if the printing of the received image is interrupted, such as during FAX reception, reception may continue, and in this case, the FAX reception and storage memory cannot be released and the memory capacity is exceeded. In some cases, the reception may be terminated midway when it is received.

With respect to the latter, that is, the difference in the conventional operation method of each function, for example, in a conventional copying machine, the recording paper is discharged with the printing surface facing upward in the order of input. At this time, the copying operations of the same related documents are usually performed collectively, so that the intervals at which the pages of the document are discharged are relatively short.

However, in the FAX transmitted from the first page, the printing surface is faced down so that the page order is not disturbed and the F order is received.
The AX received image is discharged. At this time, normally, the printing operation is performed in the order of the received pages in parallel with the reception, so that the interval for discharging each page of the document is several seconds to several tens of seconds, which is relatively long before the entire document is printed. Time is needed. That is, there is a possibility that completely different copy printing or print data may be interrupted during this period.

One means for solving these problems is, for example, a method of installing a discharge tray for each function, or a large-capacity external storage device such as a hard disk for storing received images, and further increasing the printing speed. It is also conceivable to use such a method. However, this makes the entire apparatus expensive.

An object of the present invention is made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and provides a composite image forming apparatus capable of preventing a decrease in work efficiency when a plurality of apparatuses perform processing in duplicate. To do.

[0011]

The present invention has been made on the basis of the above problems, and a composite type image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises image data acquisition means for acquiring image data; Image data transmission / reception means for transmitting the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means and reception of image data sent from an external device; image data acquired by the image data acquisition means, and the image data transmission / reception means Image forming means for forming an image based on the image data received by the image data; image data storage for storing the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means, and the image data received by the image data transmission / reception means Means for receiving all of a series of image data consisting of a plurality of pages received by the image data transmitting / receiving means First mode executing means for executing a first mode for forming an image by the image forming means in order from the last received page; a page on which a series of image data including a plurality of pages received by the image data transmitting / receiving means is received Second mode executing means for realizing a second mode for performing image formation by the image forming means in order is provided.

The composite type image forming apparatus of the present invention includes image data acquisition means for acquiring image data; transmission of the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means via a public line, and transmission from an external device. Image data transmission / reception means for receiving image data; based on the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means, and the image data received by the image data transmission / reception means,
Image forming means for forming an image; image data storage means for storing the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means and image data received by the image data transmission / reception means; received by the image data transmission / reception means A first mode executing means for executing a first mode in which the image forming means forms an image in order from the last received page after all the series of image data consisting of a plurality of pages are received; Second mode executing means for executing a second mode of performing image formation by the image forming means in the order of received pages of a series of received image data consisting of a plurality of pages; and remaining storage capacity of the image data storage means There is provided a mode switching means for switching between the first mode and the second mode according to the amount.

The composite type image forming apparatus of the present invention includes image data acquisition means for acquiring image data; transmission of the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means via a public line, and transmission from an external device. Image data transmission / reception means for receiving image data; based on the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means, and the image data received by the image data transmission / reception means,
Image forming means for forming an image; image data storage means for storing the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means and image data received by the image data transmission / reception means; received by the image data transmission / reception means A first mode executing means for executing a first mode in which the image forming means forms an image in order from the last received page after all the series of image data consisting of a plurality of pages are received; A second mode executing means for executing a second mode for forming an image by the image forming means in the order of pages in which a series of received image data consisting of a plurality of pages is received; storage capacity of the image data storage means The image forming operation in the first mode is divided into a plurality of times according to the remaining amount.

The composite type image forming apparatus of the present invention includes image data acquisition means for acquiring image data; transmission of the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means via a public line, and transmission from an external device. Image data transmission / reception means for receiving image data; based on the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means, and the image data received by the image data transmission / reception means,
Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium and discharging it to a discharging portion; image data storing means for storing the image data acquired by the image data acquiring means and the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving means. A recording medium accommodating means for accommodating the recording medium having the same size in the first direction and a second direction orthogonal to the first direction; and an image of the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving means. When one image forming process overlaps with the other image forming process in the image forming process of the image data acquired by the forming process and the image data acquiring unit, the image of the one image data is stored in the recording medium storing unit. Is formed on the recording medium in the first direction,
Recording medium direction designating means for ejecting the image of the other image data on the recording medium in the second direction and ejecting the image in the second direction to the sheet ejection unit. It has and.

The composite type image forming apparatus of the present invention includes image data acquisition means for acquiring image data; transmission of image data acquired by the image data acquisition means via a public line, and transmission from an external device. Image data transmission / reception means for receiving image data; based on the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means, and the image data received by the image data transmission / reception means,
An image forming unit for forming an image on a recording medium and discharging the image to a sheet discharging unit according to the situation; storing image data acquired by the image data acquiring unit and image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving unit Image data storage means; an image recording surface on which an image of the recording medium is recorded and an image recording surface on the back surface of the image recording surface, which is not recorded, are reversed depending on the situation and are discharged to the paper discharge unit. Paper reversing means; image forming processing of the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving means, and image forming processing of the image data acquired by the image data acquiring means, one image forming processing being the other image forming processing If one of the image forming processes overlaps with the image recording surface on the upper side, the other image forming process outputs the non-image recording surface on the upper side. And an image recording plane direction designating means for discharging the Sharing, ABS sheet portion.

The composite type image forming apparatus of the present invention includes image data acquisition means for acquiring image data; transmission of the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means via a public line, and transmission from an external device. Image data transmission / reception means for receiving image data; based on the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means, and the image data received by the image data transmission / reception means,
Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium and discharging it to a discharging portion; image data storing means for storing the image data acquired by the image data acquiring means and the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving means. A recording medium housing means for housing the recording media of the same size in a first direction and a second direction orthogonal to the first direction; and an image recording surface on which an image of the recording medium is recorded. Inverting means for reversing the image recording surface on which the image corresponding to the back side of the image recording surface is not recorded and discharging the image to the paper discharge section; and an image of the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving means. When one image forming process overlaps with the other image forming process in the image forming process of the image data acquired by the forming process and the image data acquiring unit, one image is formed. Image of the data is formed on the recording medium in the first direction stored in the recording medium storage unit, and is discharged to the paper discharge unit in the first direction, and the image of the other image data is recorded. Recording medium direction designating means for forming on a recording medium in a second direction and discharging to the paper discharging portion in the second direction; image forming processing of image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving means, and image In the image forming process of the image data acquired by the data acquiring means, when one image forming process overlaps with the other image forming process,
Image recording surface direction designating means for ejecting the image recording surface to the paper ejection portion with the image recording surface upward in one image forming process, and ejecting the image to the paper ejection portion with the non-image recording surface upward in the other image forming processing And; selection means for selecting the recording medium direction designating means and the image recording surface direction designating means according to the situation.

The composite type image forming apparatus of the present invention includes image data acquisition means for acquiring image data; transmission of the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means via a public line, and transmission from an external device. Image data transmission / reception means for receiving image data; based on the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means, and the image data received by the image data transmission / reception means,
Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium and discharging it to a paper discharging portion; Image data storage for storing the image data acquired by the image data acquiring means, and the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving means Means for managing the storage capacity of the image data storage means, and priority means for preferentially handling the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving means.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes image data acquisition means for acquiring image data; transmission of image data acquired by the image data acquisition means via a public line, and image data sent from an external device. Image data transmission / reception means for receiving the image data; and an image data acquired by the image data acquisition means and an image data received by the image data transmission / reception means. Image forming means for discharging the sheet to
Image data obtained by the image data obtaining means,
And image data storage means for storing the image data received by the image data transmission / reception means; capacity guide means for indicating by display and / or a warning sound if the remaining storage capacity of the image data storage means is insufficient; While enabling various operations other than the image forming operation of the image data received by the image data receiving means, depending on the remaining capacity of the storage capacity of the image data storing means while the image data transmitting / receiving means is receiving the image data. Interrupting guide means for guiding the user to interrupt operations other than the image forming operation of the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving means.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes image data acquisition means for acquiring image data; transmission of image data acquired by the image data acquisition means via a public line, and image data sent from an external device. Image data transmission / reception means for receiving the image data; and an image data acquired by the image data acquisition means and an image data received by the image data transmission / reception means. Image forming means for discharging the sheet to
Image data obtained by the image data obtaining means,
And image data storage means for storing the image data received by the image data transmission / reception means; capacity guide means for indicating by display and / or a warning sound if the remaining storage capacity of the image data storage means is insufficient; According to the remaining capacity of the storage capacity of the image data storage means while the image data transmission / reception means is receiving the image data, the image data of the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means is allowed to continue, And an interruption guide means for guiding the interruption of the image forming operation of the image data acquired by the acquisition means.

The composite type image forming apparatus of the present invention includes image data acquisition means for acquiring image data; transmission of the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means via a public line, and transmission from an external device. Image data transmission / reception means for receiving image data; based on the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means, and the image data received by the image data transmission / reception means,
Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium and discharging it to a paper discharging portion; Image data storage for storing the image data acquired by the image data acquiring means, and the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving means And a capacity guide means for guiding a shortage of the remaining capacity when the remaining capacity of the storage capacity of the image data storage means becomes less than or equal to a predetermined amount, and the predetermined amount is the remaining capacity of the storage capacity of the image data storage means. The amount is equal to or larger than the amount capable of accumulating the image data being received when the amount reaches the predetermined amount.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a composite image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

An automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as an ADF) 207 also serving as a document cover is provided on the upper portion of the apparatus main body 10.
Are provided to be freely opened and closed. An operation panel 10 provided with various operation keys for instructing copy conditions and copy start, various display devices, and the like is provided on the front portion of the upper surface of the apparatus body. The operation panel 10 will be described in detail later.

On the right side of the main body of the apparatus, a paper feed cassette 257 capable of accommodating a small amount of paper and a large capacity paper feed cassette 255 capable of accommodating a large amount of paper are detachably provided. The paper feed cassette 257 includes a manual feed tray 256 for manually feeding paper.

At the bottom of the main body of the apparatus, a paper feed cassette 25
2, 253 and 254 are detachably provided. Papers of the same size are stored in these paper feed cassettes in the horizontal and vertical directions, and are selected as needed. It should be noted that the method of selecting paper of the same size is one of the points of the present invention and will be described in detail later. A paper discharge tray 262 for receiving the copied paper is provided on the left side of the apparatus main body.

On the lower part of the operation panel 10 on the entire surface of the apparatus main body,
An insertion opening 200 for inserting a magneto-optical disk as a storage medium for storing image data and the like is provided, and a magneto-optical disk device is set inside the main body (not shown).

Although not shown, a parallel port for connecting to a PC (personal computer) when the apparatus operates as a printer, read internal management information at the time of maintenance of the apparatus, and the apparatus are provided on the back of the apparatus body. Port for connecting to external devices such as PC for function setting of the above, SCSI for performing command / data communication with external controller acting as master
It has an interface.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the internal structure of the composite image forming apparatus of FIG.

A scanner section 50 as an image reading apparatus and a printer section 52 for forming an image are provided in the apparatus main body.

On the upper surface of the main body of the apparatus, an original placing table 2 made of transparent glass on which an object to be read, that is, an original D is placed.
12 and an ADF 207 for automatically feeding a document on the document table 212. This ADF207
Is also arranged so as to be openable and closable with respect to the document placing table 212, and also functions as a document retainer that brings the document D placed on the document placing table into close contact with the document placing table 212.

The ADF 207 includes a document tray 208 on which a document D is set, an empty sensor 209 for detecting the presence / absence of a document, a pickup roller 214 for taking out the document from the document tray one by one, and a feeding unit for feeding the taken-out document. Paper roller 215, aligning roller pair 216 that aligns the leading edge of the document, and aligning roller pair 216
An alignment sensor 286 provided on the upstream side for detecting arrival of the document, a size sensor 287 for detecting the size of the document D, and a transport belt 218 disposed so as to cover substantially the entire document table 212 are provided. Have. And
The plurality of originals set upward on the original tray 208 are sequentially taken out from the bottom page, that is, the last page, and are aligned by the aligning roller pair 216.
The transport belt 218 transports the document to a predetermined position on the document table 212.

In the ADF 207, the conveyor belt 218
A reversing roller 220, a non-reversing sensor 221, a flapper 222, and a paper discharge roller 223 are disposed at an end opposite to the aligning roller pair 216 with the interposition of the reversing roller 220.
The document D whose image information is read by the scanner unit 50 described below is sent out from the document table 212 by the transport belt 218, and is turned over by the reversing roller 220, the flapper 221, and the like.
Then, the sheet is ejected onto the original sheet ejection section 224 on the upper surface of the ADF 207 via the sheet ejection roller 222.

When the back side of the document D is read, the document D conveyed by the conveyor belt 218 is reversed by the reversing roller 220 by switching the flapper 222, and then the document placing table 212 is again conveyed by the conveyor belt 218. It is sent to the predetermined position above.

The ADF 207 includes a paper feed motor for driving the pickup roller 214, the paper feed roller 215, and the aligning roller pair 216, and the conveyor belt 21.
8, a reversing roller 220, and a conveyance motor that drives the discharge roller 223.

Scanner unit 50 provided in the apparatus main body
Has a light source 225 such as a fluorescent lamp that illuminates the document D placed on the document table 212, and a first mirror 226 that deflects the reflected light from the document D in a predetermined direction.
The light source 225 and the first mirror 226 are provided on the first carriage 22 disposed below the document table 212.
7 is attached. This first carriage 216
A size sensor 217 for detecting the size of the original placed on the original placing table 212 is attached on the upper side.
The first carriage 227 is disposed so as to be movable in parallel with the document placing table 212, and is reciprocated below the document placing table by a drive motor via a not-shown toothed belt or the like.

A second carriage 228, which is movable in parallel with the document placing table, is disposed below the document placing table 212. On the second carriage 228, second and third mirrors 230 and 231 that sequentially deflect the reflected light from the document D deflected by the first mirror 226 are attached at right angles to each other. Second carriage 228
Is driven by the first carriage 227 by a toothed belt or the like for driving the first carriage 227, and is parallel to the first carriage 227 along the document table 212 at a half speed. Moved to

Below the document table 212, there is a second
Imaging lens 232 for converging the reflected light from the third mirror 231 on the carriage 228, and a CCD sensor 2 for receiving the reflected light condensed by the imaging lens and performing photoelectric conversion
And 34 are provided. The imaging lens 232 is located on a plane including the optical axis of the light deflected by the third mirror 231.
It is movably disposed via a drive mechanism, and forms an image of the reflected light at a desired magnification by moving itself. And CCD
The sensor 234 photoelectrically converts the incident reflected light and outputs an electric signal corresponding to the read original D.

On the other hand, the printer section 52 is provided with a laser exposure device 240 which functions as an exposure means. The laser exposure device 240 includes a semiconductor laser 241 as a light source,
A polygon mirror 236 as a scanning member for continuously deflecting the laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser 241; a polygon motor 237 as a scanning motor for rotating and driving the polygon mirror at a predetermined number of rotations described later; An optical system 242 for deflecting the laser light and guiding it to a photosensitive drum described later. The laser exposure apparatus 240 having such a configuration is fixed and supported by a support frame of the apparatus body, which will be described later.

The semiconductor laser 241 is on / off controlled according to the image information of the document D read by the scanner section 50, and this laser light is directed to the photosensitive drum via the polygon mirror 236 and the optical system 242. By scanning the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the peripheral surface of the drum.

Further, the image forming section 52 has a rotatable photosensitive drum 244 as an image bearing member disposed substantially in the center of the apparatus main body, and a laser exposure device is provided on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 244. A desired electrostatic latent image is formed by exposure with laser light from 240.

Around the photosensitive drum 244, a charging charger 245 for charging the peripheral surface of the drum to a predetermined electric charge,
A developing device 246 for supplying toner as a developer to the electrostatic latent image formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 244 to develop the electrostatic latent image at a desired image density; and a paper feed cassette 252, 253, 25
Transfer materials fed from 4, 255, 257 and the like, that is, a peeling charger 247 for separating the copy paper P from the photoconductor drum 244, and a toner image formed on the photoconductor drum 244 on the paper P. A transfer charger 248 for transferring, a peeling claw 249 for peeling the copy sheet from the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 244, and the photosensitive drum 24.
Cleaning device 250 for cleaning the toner remaining on the peripheral surface of No. 4
And a static eliminator 251 that neutralizes the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 244.
And are arranged in order.

Paper feed cassettes 252, 253, and 254 that can be pulled out from the apparatus body are provided at the bottoms of the apparatus body.
Are arranged in a stacked state, and copy papers of different sizes are loaded in each cassette. A large-capacity paper cassette 255 is provided beside these cassettes, and the large-capacity paper cassette 255 stores approximately 3,000 copy sheets of a frequently used size, for example, A4 size copy sheets. ing. Above the large-capacity paper cassette 255, a paper cassette 257 serving also as a manual feed tray 256 is detachably mounted.

A transport path 258 extending from each cassette through the transfer portion located between the photosensitive drum 244 and the transfer charger 248 is formed in the main body of the apparatus, and a fixing device 260 is provided at the end of the transport path. Has been.

Paper feed cassettes 252, 253, 254, 2
Pickup rollers 263 for picking up the sheets one by one from the cassette are provided near 55 and 257, respectively. The transport path 258 is provided with a large number of paper feed roller pairs 264 for transporting the copy paper P taken out by the pickup roller 263 through the transport path 258.

The photosensitive drum 244 in the transport path 258.
A registration roller pair 265 is provided upstream of the pair. The registration roller pair 265 corrects the inclination of the taken out copy sheet P, and aligns the leading end of the toner image on the photosensitive drum 244 with the leading end of the copy sheet P,
Copy paper P at the same speed as the moving speed of the photosensitive drum peripheral surface
To the transfer unit. Before the pair of registration rollers 265,
That is, the aligning sensor 266 that detects the arrival of the copy sheet P is provided on the sheet feed roller 264 side.

The copy sheets P picked up one by one from each cassette by the pickup roller 263 are sent to the registration roller pair 265 by the paper feed roller pair 264.
Then, the copy sheet P is sent to the transfer section after the leading end is aligned by the pair of registration rollers 265. In the transfer unit, the developer image formed on the photosensitive drum 244, that is, the toner image is transferred by the transfer charger 248 to the sheet P.
Transcribed above. Copy paper P on which toner image has been transferred
Is peeled from the peripheral surface of the photoconductor drum 244 by the action of the peeling charger 247 and the peeling claw 249, and the conveying path 25
The sheet is conveyed to the fixing device 260 via the conveyor belt 267 that forms a part of the second sheet. Then, after the developer image is melted and fixed on the copy paper P by the fixing device 260, the copy paper P is discharged from the discharge port 261 to the discharge tray 262 by the paper feed roller pair 268 and the discharge roller pair 269.

Below the transport path 258, a fixing device 260 is provided.
An automatic double-sided device 270 is provided for reversing the copy paper P that has passed through and feeding it again to the registration roller pair 265.
The automatic double-sided device 270 reverses the copy sheet P, which branches from the temporary stacking unit 271 for temporarily stacking the copy sheets P and the transport path 258 and passes through the fixing device 260, and guides the copy sheet P to the temporary stacking unit 271. A pickup roller 273 for picking up the copy sheets P stacked in the temporary stacking unit one by one, and a sheet feeding roller 275 for feeding the picked-up sheets to the registration roller pair 265 through the transport path 274.

A distribution gate 276 for selectively distributing the copy paper P to the discharge port 261 or the reversal path 272 is provided at a branch portion between the transport path 258 and the reversal path 272.

When performing double-sided copying, the fixing device 260
Is passed to the reversing path 272 by the sorting gate 276, and is temporarily reversed in the reversed state.
After being temporarily accumulated on the pickup roller 27, the pickup roller 27
3 and the sheet feeding roller pair 275, the sheet is sent to the registration roller pair 265 through the conveying path 274. Then, the copy sheet P is aligned by the pair of registration rollers 265 and then sent to the transfer section again, and the toner image is transferred to the back surface of the copy sheet P. After that, the copy paper P is conveyed to the transport path 25.
8, the sheet is ejected to the sheet ejection tray 262 via the fixing device 260 and the sheet ejection roller 269.

Further, by using the automatic double-sided device 270, it is possible to discharge the sheet with the printed side of the sheet facing down.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the composite image forming apparatus.

This device comprises a main CPU 30 and various ROMs.
(For program storage, for database) 32, NVRA
It has an M34 and a DRAM (for work and data storage) 36. The main CPU 30 in FIG. 3 controls the entire apparatus, and here controls each function according to an instruction from the operation panel 10, a signal input from the communication line, and an input signal from various external interfaces. . When handling a large amount of image data, a hard disk drive HDD37, an optical disk drive ODD3
8 may be provided.

The SIF 40 is a scanner interface for receiving image data from the scanner section 50, and the IPU 42 is for image editing such as image quality enhancement processing, enlargement / reduction processing, pixel thinning processing, whitening processing of a specified area by marker detection, etc., according to the recording apparatus. An image processing unit for processing, PM44 is a multi-valued page memory unit having a multi-valued bit number per pixel, QN
T / PM (QNT: quantization, PM: page memory) 46
Is a part including a binarized page memory for storing multi-valued data for storage and storing it, a compression / expansion circuit, and various image processing ASICs, and a PIF 48 is a printer interface for transferring image data to the printer unit 52 LANC54
Is a network control circuit including a connection interface with the Ethernet and a CPU for controlling the N company network protocol.

It should be noted that one end of the cable of the LANC 54 is connected to a device such as a router / repeater that constitutes a network. SCSI 56 indicates a SCSI chip control chip set for controlling communication commands with an external device such as a PC. For example, when receiving a control command from the main CPU 30, it interprets the command and sends the command to a target device. On the contrary, when the signal is received, the signal is passed to the main CPU 30 as it is. The main CPU 30 interprets the signal, returns a response as appropriate, and controls the entire apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 4, the FAXC section 58 is a so-called MODEM 76 forming a connection IF with a public line according to a facsimile procedure, a transmission / reception buffer 74, a file memory 68 for storing FAX image data, and image encoding / coding.
CODEC (CODER-) that performs decoding, resolution conversion, etc.
DECODER) 66 and 72, and a FAX CPU 78 that controls these and communicates with the main CPU 30.

The PRNC 60 is a control circuit for performing protocol control for receiving print data from an external device such as a PC and data transfer / compression / expansion control. These devices are connected via an image bus 62, and control signals between the main CPU 30 and each device are exchanged at high speed by a system bus 64. The image bus 62 is a unique one provided for this controller to operate as a copying machine.
0 is received by the SIF 40,
The PU 42 performs high image quality processing, enlargement / reduction processing, and various editing processing, and the PIF 48 outputs the printer unit 52 in parallel. Of the boards connected to the image bus 62, processing boards that are unnecessary for the operation at that time are in a passing state. For example, in the case of a simple copy operation, QNT / PM
Since 46 is unnecessary, it is passed, and when a plurality of copy images are edited using the memory, this binarized page memory is required.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the FAXC section 58.

In FIG. 4, the dotted line shows the system bus 64 in FIG. 3, and the double line shows the image bus 62. For example, in the composite image forming apparatus having the configuration described in this embodiment, under certain operating conditions, FA
After the transmission data for X is input from the scanner unit 50, it is stored in the input / output buffer of the FAXC unit 58 from the image bus 62. The accumulated data is coded / compressed by the CODEC 66 and is stored in the file memory (FILEMEMO).
RY) 68.

NCU (NETWORK CONTROL
After the line is selected by the NIT) 70, the transmission data for FAX is converted by the CODEC 72 into a coding system / resolution that matches the capability of the partner station, and is transmitted from the MODEM 76 via the transmission / reception buffer 74. At this time, FAX
A transmission header for the CODEC 66 is also added.

The command for FAX communication control is transmitted from the main CPU 30 of the system to the FAX C unit 5 by DMA transfer.
8 The FAX CPU 78 of the FAX C unit 58
The command contents are executed, and the status or request is transmitted to the main CPU 30 side by DMA transfer. This command causes the FAX CPU 78 to
A control signal (compliant with ITU-T / T.30) based on a standard protocol is transmitted to the line via the line. Further, the main CPU 30 sends out the next instruction according to the status or the content of the request.

In the case of reception, the received data is once FAXC.
After being stored in the transmission / reception buffer 74 of the unit 58 and performing an error check and the like, the codec 66 converts the data into a specified encoding method and the like, and stores the converted data in the file memory 68 of the FAXC unit 58. The accumulated image data is converted into H shown in FIG.
When storing in the DD37, once the image data is FAXC
After being expanded in the input / output buffer 80 of the unit 58, reception header addition processing, page division processing at the time of receiving a long image, resolution conversion processing, etc. are performed, and then recompressed by the CODEC 72 to the HDD 37 shown in FIG. DMA transfer is performed.

When printing a received image stored and stored in the file memory 68 of the FAXC section 58, the stored received data is expanded by the CODEC 72, and the input / output buffer 80
After that, the image is printed out to the PIF 48 from the image bus 62 side. When printing the image data stored in the HDD 37 in FIG. 3, the image is developed in the QNT / PM 46 in FIG. 3 and printed out from the image bus 62 to the PIF 48.

The image input / output buffer 80 of the FAXC section 58 can rotate image data. For example,
When an A4 image is received, by performing the 90-degree rotation processing here, both the A4 landscape and A4 portrait cassette recording sheets can be used, and at the same time, the document can be input in the portrait direction and the landscape direction. . Further, using the 180-degree rotation process, for example, ADF207
All the directions of the image data input from are corrected to the forward direction. Further, in the case where the automatic double-sided device 270 is provided, for example, after the received document is rotated by 180 degrees alternately, the printing process is performed on both sides of the recording paper.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the operation panel 10.

As shown in FIG. 3, the operation panel 10 has a touch panel display 82 as a display unit 10a, a start key 84, a stop key 86, a clear key 88,
A numeric keypad 90 for setting numbers, a size key 92 for selecting a document size, a cassette key 94 for selecting a cassette,
LED9 that displays the selected document size and cassette
6, copy magnification setting key 98, image mode selection key 10
0, a speaker 101 that emits a warning sound, and the like are provided. In addition, this numeric keypad 90 can be used for fax (F
It is arranged in the same manner as the ten-key layout of the key telephone device so that it can be shared even by inputting the AX number).

For example, when copying five copies, the menu on the touch panel display 82 is switched to copy, a desired process (double-sided copy, etc.) is selected, and then the ten key "5" is pressed. Then, this number is displayed in a specific area on the touch panel display 82. After the user confirms this, the document is set and the start key 84 is pressed to start the copying operation.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the structure of the touch panel display 82.

The touch panel display 82 is constructed by stacking the touch panel 102 on the liquid crystal display 104. The touch panel 102 has a transparent substrate uniformly coated with a transparent resistor, and a transparent electrode group is arranged in parallel at a predetermined distance in the X / Y directions. Under the control of the touch panel control unit 106, a voltage is sequentially applied to each transparent electrode in the X / Y direction in a fixed direction. Touch panel 1
The position pointing operation for 02 is performed using a dedicated conductive pen or finger. Touch panel control unit 106 is X
The resistance value between the electrodes in the / Y direction is monitored, and the position where the resistance value is locally reduced by the instruction of the conductive pen or the finger is detected by calculation from the resistance value between the electrodes.

The liquid crystal display 104 has a display control unit 108 for driving the display and a display RAM (VRA) for storing display data in display pixel units.
M) 110 are connected.

In the touch panel display 82 having the above structure, the position data obtained by the touch panel control unit 106 is the main CPU 3 in the main control unit.
0, and a process corresponding to the position data is executed by the main CPU 30. For example, when performing a handwriting input, the data on the VRAM 110 corresponding to the position designated on the touch panel 102 is inverted from the non-display state to the display state, and the data is displayed on the keyboard display and various setting buttons group displayed on the liquid crystal display 104. The touch panel display 82 can be used for a wide range of applications, such as inputting an operation parameter by selecting from the above.

7 to 9 are diagrams showing the flow of a standard G3 facsimile communication protocol used in this composite type image forming apparatus. Here, all examples of the non-error correction mode are shown, but the flow of the communication protocol is basically the same in the case of the error correction mode.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example in which only one page of transmission data is transmitted. As shown in FIG. 7, the FAX communication protocol is divided into five phases A to E, where A: call setup, B: initial recognition, C: data transmission, D: transmission data confirmation, and E: transmission data confirmation. Divided into cutting.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example when there is a subsequent page and the transmission condition is not changed. In the case of FIG. 8, the called terminal is informed of the multipage in phase D (MPS), and then the phase C and subsequent steps are repeated.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example in which there is a subsequent page and the transmission condition is changed. In the case of FIG. 9, in the phase D, the change of the communication condition is notified to the called terminal side (EOM), and then the phase B and the subsequent steps are repeated. In phase B (initial recognition) of each communication procedure, the called terminal (receiving terminal) first sends the NSF.
(Not Standard Facsimile) signal is transmitted. In this signal, ITU-T / T. 35
It is stipulated that the country code and the manufacturer code be presented. Usually, in communication between facsimile machines of the same manufacturer, each model is identified by this signal, and the ITU-T / T. Communication is performed according to a procedure unique to each company, which is different from the rule of 30.

Next, the operation of network transmission in this composite image forming apparatus will be described.

In this case, first, the mode of network transmission is set on the operation panel 10. Next, transmission destination information (network address, user ID, etc.) is set. Then, the transmission image data is set. The set destination information is set in the transmission queue under the control of the main control unit.
Further, after the transmission data is edited based on the transmission conditions, encoding / compression processing is performed, and a line connection to the transmission destination is performed according to a protocol corresponding to the network. When transmission of all pages is completed, a line disconnection process is performed.

During the above operation, the main control unit operates the operation panel 1
Manages destination information from 0, SIF40, QNT / PM
In 46, parameters such as image size and compression method are set. If there is a start instruction, the scanner unit 50 is driven to perform resolution conversion, binarization, and compression processing on the input image data, and then hold these in the QNT / PM 46 until the final page. To do.

Next, the facsimile transmission operation of the input original in this composite type image forming apparatus will be described.

First, the facsimile transmission mode is set after switching the menu on the touch panel display 82 to the FAX menu on the operation panel 10 described above. Alternatively, the transmission mode is set from a terminal device such as a PC via a network or a serial interface such as 232C. When setting this mode from the operation panel 10, the setting is performed by pressing the instruction of the mode selection switch displayed on the touch panel display 82 and the hard key corresponding to the desired condition.

When the mode is set from the terminal device such as a PC, the facsimile transmission mode is selected from the menu on the screen. At this time, on the facsimile transmission mode setting screen, destination information (telephone number, speed dial number etc.), transmission size information, scaling information such as enlargement / reduction, desired resolution, presence / absence of rotation, and contents with high security are included. A transmission condition such as whether or not the document is a private document (confidential) is set.

After the transmission data is input by the scanner section 50,
Enlargement / specified on the operation panel 10 in the IPU42
After performing image processing such as reduction and halftone processing, FA of FIG.
It is expanded as binary data using the input / output buffer 80 of the XC unit 58. Then, the CODEC 6 shown in FIG.
6 performs encoding / compression processing, and if necessary, rotation processing / resolution conversion processing of the input image, and FA
It is stored / stored in the file memory 68 of the XC unit 58.

When the HDD 37 is installed, the process shown in FIG.
After performing image processing designated by the user, the image data is stored in the HDD 37. The image processing specified by the user at this time is, for example, a so-called “Nin1” processing (also referred to as reduced connection processing) such as storing a plurality of originals in a reduced size and transmitting them as one original. Applicable

In the case of performing the memory accumulation transmission, it is set in the transmission queue after the completion of the document input. If the transmission time is specified, the transmission is not performed until the time specified by the user. However, if it is not specified and there is no state file waiting to be transmitted, the transmission procedure is started immediately.

When the transmission process is started, the FAXC section 58
The image data stored in the file memory 68 of
After performing resolution conversion processing and size conversion processing in accordance with the reception performance of the receiving terminal using the CODEC 72, it transmits to the partner station. When performing direct transmission, the NCU 70 controls the line connection based on the destination information. At the stage when the line connection is established, image data is input from the scanner unit 50, and the image processing unit converts the image data into a resolution suitable for the capability of the partner station. At this time, the partner station capability has priority over the resolution and image size desired by the user. Subsequently, FIG.
The data is transferred to the input / output buffer 80 of the FAXC section 58 shown in FIG. After the transmission of the transmission data of all pages is completed, a line disconnection process is performed.

Next, Q in this composite type image forming apparatus
A copy image memory editing function using the NT / PM 46 will be described.

The image input from the scanner section 50 is subjected to resolution conversion and binarization processing according to the function selected by the user in the image processing section, and then stored in the QNT / PM 46. Resolution conversion according to the function selected by the user
For example, 71% reduction in case of selecting the 2 inl function of reducing two originals and storing them in one sheet is applicable. 2 inl
In the case of processing, the QNT / PM 46 has about 71
The image in which the% reduction has been expanded is read. After the 90-degree rotation process is further performed, two sheets are printed out as one sheet.

FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing the overall structure of the composite image forming apparatus.

In FIG. 10, the input / output control unit 112
Is an engine control that performs scanner drive control at the time of image input, ADF control, printer control at the time of printing, paper conveyance control, an image processing unit that changes the resolution and size of an image, and performs high-quality processing; and It is composed of an input / output image processing unit for performing rotation processing of input or output images, modification processing such as image synthesis, and the like, and an image memory for expanding / encoding / compressing input images.

Here, in the image processing unit, for example, at the time of copying, size conversion processing specified by the user and image quality improvement processing such as error diffusion processing are performed, and at the time of FAX image input, the resolution specified by the user is used. It performs conversion processing, size conversion processing that matches the performance of the receiver, and image quality improvement processing. At this time, the image data input to the image memory is subjected to a modification process such as a rotation process and an image synthesis according to the contents set by the user.

Further, at the time of FAX printing, the FAX received data is subjected to resolution expansion processing (interpolation processing) according to the resolution of the printer, high image quality processing such as smoothing, and further, according to the user's setting Rotation processing,
Reduction processing or page division processing when a long document is received is performed. These scanners / printers are directly controlled by a CPU for mechanical mechanism control, and the main CPU 30 in FIG. 3 performs control by sending a message to them.

The copy controller 114 is an input / output controller 112.
The control of the copying function is performed by controlling the drive timing and setting the parameters for image processing. The timing control means, for example, ADF drive timing, scanner drive timing, modification processing of an image expanded in a memory, designation of print start timing, designation of input start timing of the next document, and the like.

The operation panel control section 116 is composed of the operation panel 10 of the composite type image forming apparatus described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, a serial port, a SCSI controller and the like. For example, when FAX transmission is instructed from the operation panel 10, the information is transmitted to the overall control unit 118. Conversely, when FAX communication is started using a communication line, such information is notified via the overall control unit 118, and the LED on the operation panel 10 is turned on and a message is displayed on the LCD.

When control information such as data and FAX transmission conditions is received from an external PC via the serial port or SCSI controller, the FAX transmission is selected by the user setting from the control panel.
These conditions are transmitted to the overall control unit 118. The overall control unit 118 checks the availability of the scanner unit 50 and the printer unit 52, and then changes the setting contents to the FAX communication control unit 12.
Tell 0.

The overall control unit 118 also constantly monitors the remaining memory capacity and the operating state of the entire apparatus, and executes exclusive control of resources shared by a plurality of functions such as the scanner unit 50 and the printer unit 52 and priority operation. . In addition, time control such as timer monitoring is also performed, and depending on the state, the operation panel control unit 116 performs menu switching and job start control such as a facsimile time designation transmission function.

The FAX communication control unit 120 is composed of the FAXC unit 58 and FAX control software described in FIG. The FAX control software is, for example, FAX
A command is sent to the FAX CPU 78 of the C section 58,
In addition to realizing the FAX communication function, it performs processing such as list / report creation and power failure recovery processing.

The print controller 122 uses the PRNC shown in FIG.
60, and data control software connected to the PC for printing image data. As shown in FIG. 11, the PRNC 60 is composed of an interface such as Centronics, an interface to the system bus 64 in FIG. 3, a CPU that controls the protocols thereof, and an ASIC that controls data at high speed. For example, a document created by application software on a PC is expanded into image data on the PC, encoded / compressed, and stored in the memory of the PC.

The encoded data is transferred at high speed to the PRNC 60 according to a predetermined protocol. The PRNC 60 DMA-transfers the received image data to the QNT / PM 46 or HDD 37 in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the overall control in the composite image forming apparatus.

First, when an incoming call is detected, the overall control unit 11
8 requests the operation panel control unit 116 to display that it is being received. An example of a method of realizing this display and a means of realizing the content notification instructed by the operator from the operation panel 10 is shown in FIG. The operation panel display is
On the operation panel 10, an LED or a message on the LCD indicating that it is being received is displayed.

Next, the overall control unit 118 instructs the FAX communication control unit 120 to start the reception process. When the FAX communication control unit 120 receives the instruction, the FAX communication control unit 120 shown in FIG.
While communicating with the FAX CPU 78 of the C section 58, FIG.
~ Reception control is performed according to the FAX protocol shown in FIG. However, as shown in FIG.
The communication rules between the main CPUs 30 are only basic ones such as transmission / reception start / end operation, data transfer operation, communication condition setting, line status notification, and the like. Direct control based on.

When the capacity of the file memory 68 reaches the specified remaining amount, the FAXC section 58 causes the overall control section 118 to operate.
File memory full is notified to. The specific remaining amount at this time can be basically set in advance in the FAXC unit 58, but is normally used with a memory size equal to or larger than the partial page size in ECM (error correction mode). .

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the concept of the notification procedure when the file memory is full in the FAXC section 58.

The received image data is temporarily stored in the transmission / reception buffer 74 and transferred to the file memory 68 in the unit of an appropriate data block. In FIG. 13, the transmission / reception buffer 74 is reserved for two pages. This is for accumulating data for one block and for accumulating subsequent data in parallel when performing processing such as transfer. It is a thing.

If it is detected during the reception that the remaining memory capacity of the file memory 68 is less than or equal to the set threshold value, F
The FAX CPU 78 of the AXC unit 58 notifies the main CPU 30 that the memory is full (ST1). In the example shown in FIG. 13, the time point when the remaining memory capacity of the file memory 68 becomes 64 KB or less is shown as the threshold value for notifying the memory full. For example, if the threshold value for this notification is set to be equal to or larger than the data block unit transferred from the transmission / reception buffer 74 to the file memory 68, the data block at the time of detection of the memory full occurrence is the file memory 68
Is certainly accumulated in. In FIG. 13, the memory full is detected at the reception stage of the nth page, and the memory full is notified to the main CPU 30. In the file memory management block 124 in FIG. 13, "-1" means an unused area. When data is stored in the file memory 68 in units of data blocks to be written in the file memory 68 from the transmission / reception buffer 74, at least until the communication line is disconnected because a memory area for storing received data cannot be secured. The reception time for one image data block can be guaranteed. For example, the threshold value is E
If it is set to be equivalent to the size of one part page of CM (about 64 KB), a time of at least about 35 to 40 seconds can be guaranteed.

By increasing the value of the notification threshold, the possibility of communication line disconnection due to memory shortage can be reduced, but in that case, the memory full detection frequency increases.
For this reason, there is a high possibility that the operations of other jobs such as copying that may occur in parallel will be restricted, and it will not always be possible to guarantee optimum operations for the entire apparatus. Using this time, the main CPU 30 sends a fax
The FAX CPU 78 of the C section 58 is instructed to expand the printable data to the input / output buffer 80 (ST2, ST
3) Start printing procedure of printable data (ST
4). Further, even when the print control unit 122 is used for a function other than FAX printing, such as copying, it is possible to switch to printing FAX reception data by allowing this time.

According to the present invention, when the memory full occurrence is a trigger, the overall control unit 118 instructs the operation panel control unit 116 to notify the operation panel 10 that the memory is full, and the operation panel 10 is operated.
The occurrence of memory full is displayed above. Further, a warning sound is emitted from the speaker on the operation panel 10 to inform the user that the memory is full. For this display, the LED or the message display area in the touch panel display 82 is used as shown in FIG. 14 so as not to interfere with the setting of the operation panel 10 such as a copy function which can be executed in parallel. Furthermore, the user is notified of the occurrence of the memory full with a voice such as a warning sound emitted from the speaker 101, and the release of the print control unit 122 is prompted.

For example, when the message area is the touch panel area 126a in FIG. 15 as will be described later, the FAX_UI control unit 128 acquires the ID_LCD2 for obtaining the control right of this area and outputs the message to this area. To do. At this time, the ID_LCD1 is acquired by the copy_UI control unit 130, and the copy menu controlled by the ID_LCD1 is not restricted in operation by this state display.

For example, when the start of memory full printing is interrupted by the pressing of a specific key due to the occurrence of the memory full, the FAX_UI control unit 128 monitors the pressing of the specific key, and if the pressing is recognized, the FAX_UI control unit 128 controls the entire system. The FAX job management unit 132 of the unit 118 is notified.
The FAX job management unit 132 notifies the overall job management unit 134 of that fact, and stops printing the FAX received image due to memory full.

As shown in the example of FIG. 14, if the job that was being executed when the file memory was full has normally completed the ejection of recording paper during printing and is in the job switchable state,
Move to reception print procedure. If print data created by a PC or the like is being received, the last received image is printed, and if the job can be switched, the process proceeds to the FAX received image printing procedure. Further, if it is desired to continue copying, it is possible to continue copying as it is by instructing the interruption of printing. At this time, if a condition such as a paper jam occurs and it takes a long time before the job can be switched, and the communication line is disconnected because the memory cannot be stored, the operation panel control unit 116 is notified. Notify that the line has been disconnected due to memory full.
Then, the presence or absence of a printable page is confirmed, and the process proceeds to the printing procedure.

If another job is not using the print control unit 122 and there is a printable page, the process proceeds to the printing procedure. In the printing procedure, the reception / printing method is selected according to the user setting, and the printing output is started. The user setting in this case means the receiving / printing method 1 (first mode) described in the flowchart of FIG. 17 or the receiving / printing method 2 (second mode) described in the flowchart of FIG. To do. For example, when the receiving / printing method 1 is selected, the received data that has already been received is printed out in reverse order from the last received page, and when all printing is completed, the printing process is stopped and reception is completed or the file memory is full. Wait until it occurs. When printed by this method, the user can receive the FAX received images in a state where the printing surface is facing upward and the pages are arranged in order from the first page.

When the receiving / printing method 2 is selected and there is no unprinted document that has been received, the received data that has already been received is received from the first page until the end of reception.
Printing is performed each time 1-page data is received. in this case,
From the user's point of view, the FAX received images arranged in order from the last page are received.

If there is a received unprinted document, it is received /
Printing is performed according to the printing method 1. When the printing of the unprinted document is completed, it waits until the reception is completed or the memory full state occurs. If it is in the printable state and there is no printable page, it is confirmed whether or not the reception is continued. If it is, the reception / printing method 2 is unconditionally executed.

Further, in the receiving / printing method 1, the same received document may be printed by dividing it into plural times according to the remaining memory. That is, when all the series of documents cannot be stored in memory, a predetermined page of the series of documents is stored in the memory according to the remaining memory capacity, and only the stored pages are continuously printed. By repeating this a plurality of times, the reception / printing method 1 is divided into a plurality of times and executed. Of course, the remaining memory capacity is taken into consideration so that the memory becomes full on the way and the reception is not interrupted.

If the reception is not continued, the process ends at that point. When it is determined that the recording paper of the printable size runs out at the time of printing, the fact is notified to the operation panel control unit, and the LED or message on the operation panel 10 is displayed.

FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram showing means for realizing the operation panel control in the present invention. The example of FIG. 15 shows the case of a composite type image forming apparatus having a copying function and a FAX function. For example, when the display / switching control of the FAX menu is performed, the FAX_UI control unit 1 of the operation panel control unit 116 is selected when the FAX menu is selected.
28 indicates to the display management unit 136 that the hard keys to be used, the LEDs, and the touch panel display 82 are used.
Secure the area of. Then, when message switching is actually performed, the ID of the display screen data, the ID of the blinking LED, and the ID of the message data desired to be displayed are notified. The display management unit 136 reads the screen data based on the instructed ID, blinks the LED, and sets the speaker 10.
1 Control, screen data switching and message display. ID _ *** in the drawing indicates the corresponding ID of each component of the operation panel 10.

On the contrary, when a specific menu is selected on the touch panel display 82 and a hard key is pressed, an interrupt is generated from the operation panel control driver 140 such as a key scan driver, and the ID of the hard key or the pressed key is pressed. The key scan control unit 138 is notified of the touch panel coordinates thus selected. The key scan control unit 138 notifies the FAX_UI unit 128 of the content, and the FAX-UI unit 128 interprets the content and transmits it to the overall control unit 118, which is reflected in the control of the entire apparatus.

In addition, when the FAX reception / storage area memory is full during the copy menu control, FAX_
The UI control unit 128 is the touch panel display 8 in the figure.
The control ID is acquired only for the area 126b on the upper part 2 and the ID of the display message is passed to the display management unit 136.
In addition, when a hard key or LED is required for controlling the occurrence event in such a background job,
When the hard key IDs are acquired and they are pressed, a message is notified from the key scan control unit 138 to the control unit that has acquired the ID.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing the FAX reception procedure in the FAX communication control unit 120.

When the incoming call is recognized, the FAX communication control unit 12
0 returns the performance of the local station to the calling terminal side. This performance refers to ITU-T / T. The signal is defined by the information field of the DIS signal in 30, and specifically, the recordable size, the coding capability, the communication speed, and the like are applicable. Next, the transmission conditions sent from the partner station are acquired, and the modem trace
After the training, reception of image data will start. At this time, the ITU-T / T. 30, T.I.
4, T. It is the FAX CPU 78 of the FAXC section 58 in FIG. 4 that directly performs the line control and the image coding based on FIG.
The main CPU 30 only instructs the FAX CPU 78 of the parameters necessary for these controls. For this reason,
Here, the procedure showing the direct line control is omitted.

When the FAXC unit 58 is notified that the file preparation of the received image is completed, the FAX communication control unit 120 confirms the remaining amount of the file memory 68. When the remaining memory amount is equal to or less than the preset threshold value, the memory full message is notified to the overall control unit 118. Further, when the remaining amount of the file memory 68 which is equal to or more than the threshold value is confirmed, it is stored in the file memory 68 as it is. When the above procedure is repeated up to the final page, the overall control unit 118 is notified of the end of the reception procedure. Upon receiving the reception completion, the overall control unit 118 prints out the received image based on the reception / printing method 1.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the control of the receiving / printing method 1.

In the case of normal printing that does not depend on the occurrence of the memory full, the fact that printing is started from the last page received is registered in the FAX input / output management table. Input / output control unit 1
In 12, the job is registered as a print job at the end of the print waiting queue. In this case, the overall control unit 118 side
With respect to printing, a standby state is entered until a print completion notification is received in page units from the input / output control unit 112. This printing procedure will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the input / output control unit 112 notifies the end of printing one page, the overall control unit 118 updates the print end page information in the job management table managed by itself.
When a recording paper shortage or the like is recognized, it is confirmed whether or not a recording paper cassette of a printable size exists, and if it exists, the recording paper cassette is designated in the FAX input / output management table and a print job is registered. I do. When there is no printable recording paper, the overall control unit 118 notifies the operation panel control unit 116 of that fact, and the operation panel control unit 116 displays the fact on the operation panel 10.

When the registration of the priority job such as copying occurs and the memory is not full, the job is registered in the input / output management table of the job and the reception print job in execution is interrupted. The input / output control unit 112 prints the job according to the priority, and when the priority job printing is completed, the interrupted received print job is restarted. In the case of the reception print processing when the memory is full and when there is another job being executed, the input / output control unit 112 is instructed to suspend the job being executed.

Next, the image sizes of the interrupted job and the image to be received and printed are compared, and if they are found to be the same size, in order to clarify the boundaries of the jobs, the direction of the recording paper or the printing surface is changed. Make a change. For example, the interrupted job is printing using A4 vertical recording paper,
If the image to be newly printed is also A4 in size, a recording paper cassette having the same size and different direction, such as A4 landscape, is checked. When the image to be received and printed and the interrupted job use recording papers of different sizes, the boundary job is not clarified, and the print job is registered in the input / output control unit 112 from the first page. If such recording sheets having the same size and different directions are provided, the recording process is registered in the input / output control unit 112 by designating the recording sheets having different directions from those of the previous job.

If there are no recording sheets of the same size but in different directions, the presence or absence of the automatic duplexer 270 is checked. When the automatic double-sided device 270 is provided, in the FAX input / output management table, after printing, the automatic double-sided device 270 is used to reverse the recording paper and then register the print job. If the automatic double-sided device 270 is not included, the process shifts to normal printing processing. When the printing is performed up to the last page by the above procedure, the printing procedure ends. At this time, if there is a previous job that was suspended, that job is restarted.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart showing the printing procedure in the input / output control unit 112. Input / output control unit 112
Upon receipt of a print instruction from the overall control unit 118, the designated image file is designated and developed on the image memory. The image memory at this time corresponds to the input / output buffer 80 of the FAXC unit 58 in FIG. If the memory full state occurs during reception of the first page and the reception of the image data to be expanded is not actually completed, the FAXC unit 58 controls the expansion of the image data in parallel with the reception. I do. In this case, although there is a possibility that the end of the received image development may be later than usual, the FAX CPU 78 controls so that the print control is performed in the same procedure as the normal control sequence. Further, in this case, the input / output control unit 112 performs the following procedure after it is confirmed that the image development is completed.

Then, it is confirmed whether or not the designated recording paper is present,
If the designated recording paper is out of recording paper, the fact is notified to the overall control unit 118, and the input / output procedure is ended. If the designated recording paper exists, the feeding of the recording paper is instructed. It is confirmed whether the developed image data is in the same direction as the recording paper, and if necessary, 90-degree rotation processing is performed on the memory. The method of this rotation processing will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

Subsequently, at the time of printing, the parameters for image processing performed by the IPU 42 of FIG. 3 are set, and the printer section (FIG. 3) is set.
The data is discharged to the PIF 48 according to the synchronization signal of the PIF 48). The image processing at this time corresponds to resolution conversion processing according to the printer resolution, smoothing processing for expanding the resolution, and the like.

Further, when the reverse discharge of the recording paper is designated, the recording paper is once reversed through the automatic double-sided device 270, and no printing is performed on the reversed printing surface, and the recording paper is discharged. To do. If a trouble such as a paper jam occurs when ejecting the recording paper, interrupt the process on the spot,
After performing the recovery processing, the processing is restarted. Since the recovery process at this time is not directly related to the present invention, detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

When the discharge of one page is completed, the entire control unit 118 is notified of the completion of the one-page printing, and the procedure proceeds to the printing procedure for the subsequent page. When the printing process of all pages is completed, the overall control unit 118 is notified of the end of printing, and the printing procedure is ended. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of the realizing means when the image is rotated.

FIG. 19 shows a case where one character is a block of 16 × 16 dots and is rotated by 90 ° to the left. For example, as shown in FIG. 19A, the image data to be rotated is divided into matrix units of 8 characters × 8 characters. Each matrix is vertically / horizontally converted row by row as shown in FIG. 19B using a 16-bit × 16-word vertical / horizontal conversion register.

The matrix thus vertically / horizontally converted is repeatedly pasted on the memory for storing image data after the rotation processing. At this time, the memory uses the same size as the image to be rotated.

Each pasting position is converted into an appropriate position by the address. In the case of FIG. 19, the counters 1, 2, and 3 perform addition, and the counter 4 performs subtraction. By repeating this, FIG.
The rotation processing in matrix units shown in (b) is realized. This is repeated for the entire image, and the rotation process of the developed image is performed. In FIG. 19, only an example of 90 ° left rotation is shown, but if the address conversion method is changed, 90 ° right rotation,
Conversion of 180 degrees or the like can be realized by the same procedure.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart showing the control of the reception / printing method 2.

When there is no other job that is executing a printing procedure such as copying, the overall control unit 118 performs job registration in the FAX input / output management table to start printing with the highest priority from the received first page. Input / output control unit 112
Then, the job is registered at the head of the print queue as the highest priority print job. In this case, the overall control unit 118 side is in a standby state until it receives a print end notification on a page-by-page basis from the input / output control unit 112 regarding printing. This printing procedure will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the input / output control unit 112 notifies the end of printing the I page, the overall control unit 118 updates the print end page information in the job management table managed by itself.
When a recording paper shortage or the like is recognized, it is confirmed whether or not a recording paper cassette of a printable size exists, and if it exists, the recording paper cassette is designated in the FAX input / output management table and a print job is registered. I do. When there is no printable recording paper, the fact is notified to the operation panel control unit 116 and displayed on the operation panel 10.
If there is another job being executed, such as a printout of a copy, the input / output control unit 112 is instructed to suspend the job being executed.

Next, the image sizes of the interrupted job and the image to be received and printed are compared, and if they are found to be the same size, in order to clarify the boundaries of the jobs, the direction of the recording paper or the printing surface is changed. Make a change. For example, the interrupted job is printing using A4 vertical recording paper,
If the image to be newly printed is also A4 in size, a recording paper cassette having the same size and different direction, such as A4 landscape, is checked. When the image to be received and printed and the interrupted job use recording papers of different sizes, the boundary job is not clarified, and the print job is registered in the input / output control unit 112 from the first page. If such recording sheets having the same size and different directions are provided, the recording process is registered in the input / output control unit 112 by designating the recording sheets having different directions from those of the previous job.

If there are no recording sheets of the same size but in different directions, the presence or absence of the automatic double-sided device 270 is confirmed. When the automatic double-sided device 270 is provided, the input / output control unit 112 is registered so that after printing, the automatic double-sided device 270 is used to reverse the recording paper before a print job is performed. If the automatic double-sided device 270 is not included, the process shifts to normal printing processing.

When the printing up to the final page is performed by the above procedure, the printing procedure ends. At this time, if there is a previous job that was suspended, that job is restarted.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an outline of the whole job management of the present invention, and in particular, an outline of the job management relating to the input / output jobs of each function.

The table shown on the upper side shows an example of a job management table for managing all the jobs generated in the entire composite image forming apparatus. Here, the maximum number of jobs that can be registered and job execution waiting management are performed.

For example, the head job ID indicates the head job ID waiting for execution. The job list on the lower side means individual job information. For example, the next job ID is a succeeding job, the job type is a copy,
Job types such as FAX transmission / reception, polling, and print jobs for data created on a PC. The job status means a status such as sending or printing. This job list can be registered up to the maximum manageable number of receptions, and this value is shown as N in FIG. By referring to this table, it is possible to grasp the outline of the execution state of the entire apparatus.

The copy input / output management table on the lower side, F
The AX input / output management table and the printer job registration table are examples of management tables that manage detailed information regarding input / output jobs of each function among the jobs registered in the overall job management table. This table is for the overall control unit 1
18 and the input / output management table. For example, at the same time as registering a job in the overall job management table, the overall control unit 118 registers detailed information in the input / output management table for each function. At that time, the priority of the job is changed according to the conditions. Further, not only the file name and the image attribute, but also the use of the automatic double-sided device 270 and the recording paper size are designated. These specifications are made by the input / output attributes. As for the status, an unprinted status or the like is set at the time of registration.

When executing a job, the input / output control unit 112 refers to this table, confirms the priority, and executes the print job related to the highest priority job. During the job execution, the input / output control unit 112 writes the transition state as needed.
For example, the number of pages being executed and events such as paper jam occurrence are also entered in this table. The overall control unit 118 not only performs message communication with the input / output control unit 112 but also periodically refers to this table to grasp the status and updates the overall job management table as needed.

The state management table under the overall job management table as described above is provided in all execution units such as FAX communication in addition to this, and the overall control unit 1
Reference numeral 18 makes it possible to manage the entire job.

[0147]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a composite type image forming apparatus having the following effects.

(1) When printing the FAX received image, by printing from the last received page after receiving the image data of all pages (reception / printing method 1), it is received by the user in an ascending order from the first page. The original can be delivered and the printer function occupying time can be shortened (the printer function occupying time becomes relatively long when the printing process is performed in parallel with the image data receiving process). In other words, printing processing of other jobs can be performed even while receiving image data.
It is possible to prevent a decrease in work efficiency.

(2) By adopting the control method (reception / printing method 2) of starting printing from the already received printable page in one reception procedure, even when the remaining amount of the memory for receiving and accumulating is small. , It becomes possible to release the memory for storing the received image being executed and continue the reception. Therefore, the reliability of the work can be improved without interruption of the reception process.

(3) When a job being executed such as copying is interrupted due to a memory full condition or the like, and a plurality of jobs are printed on the same paper discharge tray, the orientation of the recording paper and the printing surface are changed. By outputting the printout, the possibility that another person's manuscript is mistakenly taken away when the document is mixed is improved, and the operability as a multi-function is improved.

(4) FA is notified by notifying that the memory is full before the remaining memory for receiving and accumulating is completely "0".
When a job other than X reception is in operation, the user can be provided with a margin for performing the minimum operation of the job being executed, and the possibility of line disconnection due to insufficient memory remaining can be suppressed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a composite image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of a composite image forming apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of a composite image processing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a FAXC unit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an outline of an operation panel.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a touch panel display on the operation panel.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a control procedure of a standard G3 facsimile communication protocol.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a control procedure of a standard G3 facsimile communication protocol.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a control procedure of a standard G3 facsimile communication protocol.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a control block of the composite image forming apparatus.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a PRNC unit.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the procedure of overall control of the composite image forming apparatus.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an outline of file memory management and an outline of a communication procedure between a FAX CPU and a main CPU when a memory full occurs.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of an operation panel display when a memory full occurs.

FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram showing a means for realizing operation panel control.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a standard reception processing procedure.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a control flow of reception / printing method 1.

FIG. 18 is a process flowchart illustrating a printing procedure of the input / output control unit.

FIG. 19 is a conceptual diagram showing a means for realizing image rotation.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a control flow of reception / printing method 2.

FIG. 21 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a management method for managing jobs.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Operation panel 30 ... Main CPU 32 ... ROM 44 ... PM (image data storage means) 46 ... QNT / PM (image data storage means) 50 ... Scanner section (image data acquisition means) 52 ... Printer section (image forming means) 56 ... SCSI (image data acquisition means) 58 ... FAXC section (image data transmission / reception means) 76 ... MODEM (image data transmission / reception means) 82 ... Touch panel display (capacity guide means, interruption guide means) 101 ... Speaker (capacity guide means) 112 Input / output control unit (image data acquisition unit) 114 ... Copy control unit 116 ... Operation panel control unit 118 ... Overall control unit (first mode execution unit, second mode execution unit, mode switching unit, recording medium direction designation) Means, image recording surface direction designation means, selection means, priority means) 120 ... FAX communication control unit (image Data transmission / reception unit 122 ... Print control unit (image forming unit) 252 to 255 ... Paper feed cassette (recording medium storage unit)

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. Image data acquisition means for acquiring image data; image data for transmitting image data acquired by the image data acquisition means and receiving image data sent from an external device via a public line. Transmitting and receiving means;
Image data obtained by the image data obtaining means,
And image forming means for forming an image based on the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving means; image data acquired by the image data acquiring means, and image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving means A first mode in which image formation is performed by the image forming means in order from the last received page after all the series of image data consisting of a plurality of pages received by the image data transmitting / receiving means are received. A first mode executing means for executing the above; a second mode for performing image formation by the image forming means in the order of pages in which a series of image data consisting of a plurality of pages received by the image data transmitting / receiving means is received.
And a second mode executing means for realizing the above mode. 2. Image data acquisition means for acquiring image data; image data for transmitting image data acquired by the image data acquisition means via a public line and for receiving image data sent from an external device. Transmitting and receiving means;
Image data obtained by the image data obtaining means,
And image forming means for forming an image based on the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving means; image data acquired by the image data acquiring means, and image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving means A first mode in which image formation is performed by the image forming means in order from the last received page after all the series of image data consisting of a plurality of pages received by the image data transmitting / receiving means are received. A first mode executing means for executing the above; a second mode for performing image formation by the image forming means in the order of pages in which a series of image data consisting of a plurality of pages received by the image data transmitting / receiving means is received.
Second mode executing means for executing the above mode; and mode switching means for switching between the first mode and the second mode according to the remaining capacity of the image data storage means. A composite image forming apparatus characterized by the above. 3. Image data acquisition means for acquiring image data; image data for transmitting image data acquired by the image data acquisition means and receiving image data sent from an external device via a public line. Transmitting and receiving means;
Image data obtained by the image data obtaining means,
And image forming means for forming an image based on the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving means; image data acquired by the image data acquiring means, and image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving means A first mode in which image formation is performed by the image forming means in order from the last received page after all the series of image data consisting of a plurality of pages received by the image data transmitting / receiving means are received. A first mode executing means for executing the above; a second mode for performing image formation by the image forming means in the order of pages in which a series of image data consisting of a plurality of pages received by the image data transmitting / receiving means is received.
And a second mode executing means for executing the above mode; the image forming operation in the first mode is divided into a plurality of times according to the remaining capacity of the storage capacity of the image data storing means. Composite image forming apparatus. 4. Image data acquisition means for acquiring image data; image data for transmitting image data acquired by the image data acquisition means and receiving image data sent from an external device via a public line. Transmitting and receiving means;
Image data obtained by the image data obtaining means,
And an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium based on the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving unit and discharges the image to a sheet discharge unit; the image data acquired by the image data acquiring unit; Image data storage means for storing image data received by the image data transmission / reception means; a recording medium for accommodating the recording medium of the same size in a first direction and a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. A storing means; an image forming process of the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving means and an image forming process of the image data acquired by the image data acquiring means, one image forming process overlaps with the other image forming process. In this case, an image of one of the image data is formed on the recording medium in the first direction stored in the recording medium storage means, Recording medium direction designating means for ejecting the image of the other image data on the recording medium in the second direction and ejecting the image in the second direction to the sheet ejection unit. And a combination type image forming apparatus. 5. Image data acquisition means for acquiring image data; image data for transmitting the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means and receiving image data sent from an external device via a public line. Transmitting and receiving means;
Image data obtained by the image data obtaining means,
And an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium based on the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving unit and discharges the image onto a discharge unit according to the situation; the image acquired by the image data acquiring unit Image data storing means for storing data and image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving means; image recording surface on which an image of the recording medium is recorded and an image corresponding to the back surface of the image recording surface A reversing unit for reversing the surface according to the situation and discharging the image to the paper discharging unit; an image forming process of the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving unit, and an image data acquired by the image data acquiring unit. When one image forming process overlaps with the other image forming process, the image recording surface is set to the upper side in one image forming process. Image recording surface direction designating means for discharging to the paper discharge portion and discharging to the paper discharge portion with the non-image recording surface facing upward in the other image forming process; Forming equipment. 6. Image data acquisition means for acquiring image data; image data for transmitting image data acquired by the image data acquisition means and receiving image data sent from an external device via a public line. Transmitting and receiving means;
Image data obtained by the image data obtaining means,
And an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium based on the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving unit and discharges the image to a sheet discharge unit; the image data acquired by the image data acquiring unit; Image data storage means for storing image data received by the image data transmission / reception means; a recording medium for accommodating the recording medium of the same size in a first direction and a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. A storing means; an image recording surface on which an image of the recording medium is recorded and an image recording surface on the back surface of the image recording surface on which no image is recorded are reversed depending on the situation, and are discharged to the paper discharge unit. An inverting means; an image forming process of the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving means, and an image forming process of the image data acquired by the image data acquiring means. When one image forming process overlaps with the other image forming process, an image of one image data is formed on the recording medium in the first direction stored in the recording medium storing means, and the first image data is formed. A recording medium direction designating unit that discharges the image of the other image data on the recording medium in the second direction and discharges the image of the other image data to the sheet discharging unit in the second direction. In the image forming process of the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving unit and the image forming process of the image data acquired by the image data acquiring unit, when one image forming process overlaps with the other image forming process, Image recording surface direction designating means for ejecting the image recording surface to the paper ejection portion with the image recording surface upward in one image forming process, and ejecting the image to the paper ejection portion with the non-image recording surface upward in the other image forming processing And; the recording medium Composite type image forming apparatus characterized by comprising a; and selecting means for selecting in accordance with a direction designating means and said image recording surface direction designation means to the situation. 7. Image data acquisition means for acquiring image data; image data for transmitting image data acquired by the image data acquisition means via a public line and for receiving image data sent from an external device. Transmitting and receiving means;
Image data obtained by the image data obtaining means,
And an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium based on the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving unit and discharges the image to a paper discharge unit; and image data acquired by the image data acquiring unit, and Image data storage means for storing the image data received by the image data transmission / reception means; capacity guidance means for guiding the storage capacity condition of the image data storage means; and image data received by the image data transmission / reception means. A composite type image forming apparatus comprising: a priority unit that is preferentially handled; 8. Image data acquisition means for acquiring image data; image data for transmitting image data acquired by the image data acquisition means via a public line and for receiving image data sent from an external device. Transmitting and receiving means;
Image data obtained by the image data obtaining means,
And an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium based on the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving unit and discharges the image to a paper discharge unit; and image data acquired by the image data acquiring unit, and Image data storage means for storing the image data received by the image data transmission / reception means; capacity guide means for guiding, by at least one of a display and a warning sound, an insufficient remaining capacity of the storage capacity of the image data storage means; While enabling various operations other than the image forming operation of the image data received by the image data receiving means, according to the remaining capacity of the storage capacity of the image data storing means during the reception of the image data by the data transmitting / receiving means, Guidance for interrupting operations other than the image forming operation of the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving means Sectional guiding means and; complex type image forming apparatus characterized by comprising a. 9. Image data acquisition means for acquiring image data; image data for transmitting the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means and receiving image data sent from an external device via a public line. Transmitting and receiving means;
Image data obtained by the image data obtaining means,
And an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium based on the image data received by the image data transmitting / receiving unit and discharges the image to a paper discharge unit; and image data acquired by the image data acquiring unit, and Image data storage means for storing the image data received by the image data transmission / reception means; capacity guide means for guiding, by at least one of a display and a warning sound, an insufficient remaining capacity of the storage capacity of the image data storage means; The image data acquisition is performed while enabling the image forming operation of the image data acquired by the image data acquisition unit according to the remaining amount of the storage capacity of the image data storage unit during the reception of the image data by the data transmission / reception unit. Interruption guide means for guiding the interruption of the image forming operation of the image data acquired by the means. Composite type image forming apparatus according to claim. 10. Image data acquisition means for acquiring image data; image data for transmitting image data acquired by the image data acquisition means via a public line and for receiving image data sent from an external device. Transmitting and receiving means; image forming for forming an image on a recording medium based on the image data obtained by the image data obtaining means and the image data received by the image data transmitting and receiving means, and ejecting the image to a sheet ejection section Image data storage means for storing the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means and the image data received by the image data transmission / reception means; and the remaining storage capacity of the image data storage means is a predetermined amount. And a capacity guide means for guiding a shortage of the remaining amount when the amount becomes the following, the predetermined amount is the remaining capacity of the image data storage means. A composite image forming apparatus, wherein the amount is equal to or more than an amount capable of accumulating image data being received when the amount reaches the predetermined amount.