JPH1098600A - Multi-function peripheral equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multi-function peripheral equipment in which one CPU uses a common printer to execute print processing of facsimile data and print data without defects. SOLUTION: When a printer operation flag is set (S11), since it means that print data or the like are printed, the print processing is awaited till the flag is cleared. When the cleared flag is confirmed, the flag is immediately set to occupy the printer (S12). Till the flag is cleared by the processing of S18, the use of the printer by other processing is inhibited. After the flag is set, facsimile data are read from a reception memory and expanded into bit image and written in a print memory (S13). When data by one page are written in the print memory (S14), the data are outputted to a printer, where the data are printed out (S15). When all facsimile data are printed out (S17), the printer operation flag is cleared (S18) and the printer is released and the processing is finished.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a multi-task process and a parallel process such as an interrupt process by a single CPU.
The present invention relates to a multifunctional peripheral device capable of printing, using a common printer, facsimile data transmitted from another facsimile device or the like and print data output from an external device such as a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, multifunctional peripheral devices having a plurality of functions as computer peripheral devices have been developed.
As an example of the multifunctional peripheral device, there is a facsimile device with a printer function in which a function as a printer is added to the facsimile device. This facsimile apparatus with a printer function is configured so that print data output from an external device such as a personal computer or a word processor can be printed using a printer that the facsimile apparatus originally has for printing facsimile data. Things. When a facsimile machine with a printer function receives facsimile data transmitted from another facsimile machine or the like via a communication line, the facsimile machine prints the facsimile data and, on the other hand, prints print data output from an external device such as a personal computer. When input, the print data is printed.

In such a facsimile apparatus with a printer function (multifunctional peripheral apparatus), since a facsimile apparatus is provided with a printer (printing apparatus), two C / Cs, a facsimile control CPU and a printer control CPU, are used.
It had a PU. The reception of facsimile data and the input of print data may be performed at the same time, but since individual CPUs are provided for each control, the reception print processing of facsimile data and the input print processing of print data are: It was able to run in parallel without any problems.

However, in such a configuration, since two CPUs are used, it is absolutely difficult to reduce the cost of the product. Therefore, a multitasking process that switches and controls facsimile-related control and printer-related control in a time-sharing manner at 1/60 second intervals is adopted, and both controls can be executed simultaneously (in parallel) by one CPU. And tried to.

[0005]

However, facsimile data and print data are printed using a single (common) printer. Therefore, if the facsimile data printing process and the print data printing process are performed simultaneously (in parallel), data may be output to one printer simultaneously from the two processes. That is, there are cases where print data is further output while facsimile data is being output to the printer, and vice versa. In these cases, facsimile data and print data are mixed and output to the printer,
There is a problem that a problem occurs in the printing result.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and prints facsimile data and print data in parallel by a single CPU using common printing means without any problem. It is an object of the present invention to provide a multi-functional peripheral device capable of performing such operations.

[0007]

In order to achieve this object, a multi-function peripheral device according to claim 1 includes a receiving unit that receives facsimile data transmitted from another facsimile device or the like via a communication line. Input means for inputting print data output from an external device such as a computer, and printing means for printing facsimile data and print data on recording paper, and further comprising a printing state detection means for detecting a printing state of the printing means. And a facsimile which causes the printing unit to execute printing of the facsimile data received by the receiving unit when the printing state detecting unit detects that the printing unit is not printing or printing facsimile data. Data printing executing means and the same CP as the facsimile data printing executing means
U, the printing of the print data input by the input means is performed when the print state detection means detects that the printing means is not printing or printing of print data. Means for executing print data to be executed by the means.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the facsimile data received by the receiving means via the communication line is printed on the recording paper by the printing means by executing the facsimile data print executing means. . The facsimile data print executing means detects the state of the printing means by the print state detecting means before executing the printing, and executes the facsimile data printing only when it is detected that the printing means is not printing or the facsimile data is being printed. Execute printing. On the other hand, print data inputted from an external device such as a computer by the input means is printed on recording paper by the printing means by execution of the print data print executing means. The print data print execution means detects the state of the print means by the print state detection means before the execution of the print, and executes the print data only when the print means is detected as not printing or printing the print data. Execute printing. Therefore, the facsimile data print execution unit and the print data print execution unit
It can be executed in parallel by the PU, and facsimile data and print data can be printed by a common printing unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the multi-function peripheral device according to the first aspect, the print data print execution unit is configured to execute the print data printing for one page after the input unit inputs one page of print data. The state of the printing unit is detected by a printing state detection unit, and the facsimile data print execution unit executes the printing by the printing state detection unit before the facsimile data received by the reception unit is expanded into a bit image. This is to detect the state of the means.

According to the multi-function peripheral device of the second aspect, the multi-function peripheral device operates in the same manner as the multi-function peripheral device of the first aspect, and print data is input in a printable state, and the print is performed in page units Done in Therefore, the print data print execution unit detects the state of the print unit after inputting the print data for one page, and executes the print data print only when the print unit can be used to print the print data.

On the other hand, printing of facsimile data expands the received facsimile data into a bit image,
This is done using the expanded data. Facsimile data expanded to a bit image has a larger capacity than data before expansion. For this reason, the facsimile data print execution means detects the state of the print means before the processing of developing the facsimile data into the bit image, and only when the print means can be used for printing the facsimile data,
The developing process and the printing process of the developed facsimile data are executed. Therefore, the facsimile data can be stored in a small capacity until the printing means is ready to use for printing the facsimile data, and the memory for storing the print data used for printing and the facsimile data is effectively used. Can be used.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the multifunction peripheral device according to the first or second aspect, the facsimile data print execution unit and the print data print execution unit are configured to execute the printing by the print state detection unit. If it is detected that the means is not printing, the status of the printing means is changed to printing, and then printing of facsimile data or print data is executed.

After detecting that the printing means is not printing, it takes some time until the data is output to the printing means and printing is actually started (pre-processing of printing). Since the facsimile data print execution unit and the print data print execution unit are executed in parallel by one CPU, one of the print execution units detects that the printing unit is not printing and outputs the print data to actually print. Is started, that is, during the pre-processing of printing, the other print execution unit is executed,
The non-printing state of the printing unit may be detected. In such a case, since the other print execution unit also outputs the print data to the print unit, similarly to the one print execution unit, the facsimile data and the print data are output to the print unit in a mixed manner.

However, according to the multi-function peripheral device of the third aspect, the multi-function peripheral device operates in the same manner as the multi-function peripheral device of the first or second aspect, and the facsimile data print execution means and the print data print execution means If it is detected that the printing unit is not printing, the printing unit changes the state of the printing unit to printing, performs pre-processing of printing, and then outputs data to the printing unit to actually perform the printing process. Is executed. Therefore, even if it takes a long time to perform the pre-processing of printing when the printing unit is not printing, the facsimile data and the print data are not copied because the two printing execution units do not execute the printing at the same time. It is possible to prevent mixed output to the printing unit.

[0015]

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment,
A description will be given using a facsimile apparatus with a printer function, which is one form of a multifunctional peripheral device. This facsimile apparatus with a printer function is an apparatus obtained by adding a function as a printer to a facsimile apparatus, and has both a function as a facsimile apparatus and a function as a printer. That is, the facsimile machine with a printer function is a multifunctional peripheral device that can print not only received facsimile data but also print data input from a personal computer.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the facsimile machine 1 to which a personal computer 50 is connected. A handset 3 is attached to a side of the main body 2 of the facsimile machine 1. The receiver 3 is placed on a hook (not shown) provided on the main body 2 during a non-call, and is picked up and used during a call. The former is called an on-hook state, and the latter is called an off-hook state. An operation panel 4 having a plurality of buttons is provided on a front portion of an upper surface of the main body 2. A liquid crystal display (L) is provided on a left rear portion of the operation panel 4.
CD) 5 is provided. The facsimile machine 1 is operated by pressing a button provided on the operation panel 4, and the operated state and operation procedure are LC
Displayed at D5.

A document insertion slot 6 is provided at the rear of the operation panel 4 and the LCD 5. An original to be transmitted by facsimile is inserted into the original insertion slot 6 with the original surface facing down, and after reading is performed, the original is discharged from an original outlet 7 provided below the operation panel 4 on the front surface of the main body 2. Is done. At the rear of the document insertion slot 6, a recording paper tray mounting section 9 is provided.
Is provided. A recording paper tray 10 capable of stacking and storing a plurality of recording papers is detachably attached to the recording paper tray mounting section 9. The recording paper supplied from the recording paper tray 10 and used for printing is discharged from a recording paper discharge port 8 provided below the document discharge port 7.

A connector for a personal computer interface 14 is provided on the back of the main body 2 (see FIG. 2).
The facsimile machine 1 is connected to a personal computer 50 as an external device via a cable 15 connected to the personal computer interface 14. The facsimile machine 1 and the personal computer 50
Is not limited to the cable 15, but may be connected by an optical signal such as infrared light.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the facsimile machine 1. The facsimile apparatus 1 includes a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a personal computer interface 14, an audio LSI 17, a network control unit (hereinafter referred to as "NCU") 19, a modem 20, a buffer 21, a scanner 22,
An encoder 23, a decoder 24, a printer 25, an operation panel 4, and an amplifier 27 are provided.
Connected to each other.

The CPU 11 controls each unit connected to the bus line 29 based on various signals transmitted and received via the NCU 19, and executes a facsimile operation, a printer operation, and the like. The ROM 12 is a non-rewritable memory storing a control program 12a and the like executed by the facsimile machine 1, and the programs of the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 are stored in the ROM 12.

The RAM 13 is a memory for storing various data, and includes a reception memory 13a, a print memory 13
b, a printer operation flag 13c and the like. The reception memory 13a is a memory for storing facsimile data received from another facsimile apparatus via the telephone line 30. The facsimile data stored in the receiving memory 13a is developed into a bit image by the decoding unit 24, and then output to the printer 25 for printing. The print memory 13b is a memory for storing facsimile data developed into the bit image and print data output from the personal computer 50 connected to the personal computer interface 14 via the cable 15. That is, data output to the printer 25 and printed is stored in the print memory 13b. When printing the scanner data read by the scanner 22, the data is also stored in the print memory 13b.

The printer operation flag 13c is a flag indicating whether or not the printer 25 is printing. The printer operation flag 13c is turned on before execution of the pre-processing for each print, and is turned off after the end of printing. Accordingly, each printing process (FIGS. 4 and 6) is performed by the printer operation flag 13c.
By confirming that the printer is turned off, each print is executed, thereby preventing simultaneous output of data to one printer 25.

The personal computer interface 14 is an interface of the Centronics specification, and includes an input register 14a, an interrupt generation circuit 14c, and the like. The input register 14a has a size of 1 byte (or 2 bytes), and print data output from the personal computer 50 is input to the input register 14a in units of 1 byte (or 2 bytes). Interrupt generation circuit 14
Reference numeral b denotes a circuit that causes the CPU 11 to generate an interrupt when print data is input to the input register 14a. When an interrupt is generated by the interrupt generation circuit 14b, the CPU 1
1 executes the print data input interrupt processing of FIG.
In this interrupt processing, the CPU 11 reads the print data from the input register and writes the data to the print memory 13b of the RAM 13.

The audio LSI 17 converts an analog audio signal received by the NCU 19 into a digital audio signal, and converts a digital audio signal generated inside the facsimile apparatus 1 into an analog audio signal to convert it into an NCU.
19 is output. The modem 20 modulates and demodulates image data and transmits the data, and also transmits and receives various procedure signals for transmission control. The buffer 21 temporarily stores encoded facsimile data transmitted / received to / from a partner facsimile apparatus and image data of a document read by the scanner 22. The received facsimile data is stored in the reception memory 13a via the buffer 21.

The scanner 22 is for reading an image of a document inserted into the document insertion slot 6 and includes an encoding unit 23.
Performs encoding of a document image read by the scanner 22. The decoding unit 24 reads out the facsimile data stored in the reception memory 13a and decodes it. That is, the facsimile data stored in the reception memory 13a is developed into a bit image by the decoding unit 24. The facsimile data developed into the bit image is written to the print memory 13b, and thereafter output to the printer 25 and printed on a recording sheet.

The operation panel 4 is used by an operator to perform various operations such as setting of the facsimile machine 1. The amplifier 27 sounds a speaker 28 connected to the amplifier 27 to output a ringing tone or the like. The facsimile apparatus 1 configured as described above has N
It is connected to the telephone line 30 via the CU 19.

Next, each process of the facsimile machine 1 with a printer function configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 and 4,
Each process in FIG. 6 is performed by time-division multitask processing at 1/60 second intervals, and the process in FIG.
It is executed in parallel by U11.

FIG. 3 shows a process of receiving facsimile data. In this process, when there is an incoming call request from another facsimile machine (S1: Yes), first, the telephone line 30 is closed (S2). Next, it is checked whether there is a free space in the reception memory 13a (S3).
Facsimile data transmitted from another facsimile apparatus via the telephone line 30 is received, and the data is written to the reception memory 13a via the buffer 21 (S
4). If the reception of the facsimile data is continued (S5: No), the process proceeds to S3, and the processing from S3 to S5 is repeated until the reception of the facsimile data is completed. When the reception of the facsimile data is completed (S5:
Yes), the telephone line 30 is released (S6), and the facsimile data receiving process ends. In the process of S3, if there is no free space in the reception memory 13a (S3: N
o), an error process is performed (S7), the telephone line 30 is released (S6), and this process ends.

FIG. 4 shows a printing process of facsimile data. The facsimile data written in the reception memory 13a by the facsimile data receiving process of FIG. 3 is developed into a bit image by the facsimile data printing process, and then output to the printer 25 and printed on recording paper.

In the facsimile data printing process, first,
It is determined whether the printer operation flag 13c is on or off (S11). If the printer operation flag 13c is on (S11: Yes), the printer 25 is printing the print data output from the personal computer 50 or the like or the scanner data read by the scanner 22, so that the flag 13c is set. Until the printer 25 is turned off and the printer 25 is released. When it is confirmed that the printer operation flag 13c is turned off (S11: N
o), immediately turns on the flag 13c (S12),
The printer 25 is exclusively used for the facsimile data print processing. Thereafter, until the printer operation flag 13c is turned off by the processing of S18, the printer 2 in the print data print processing and the scanner data print processing of FIG.
5 is forbidden.

After the printer operation flag 13c is turned on (S
12), the CPU 11 starts pre-processing for printing facsimile data. That is, the CPU 11 sets the reception memory 13a
The facsimile data is read out from the memory, and is decoded into a bit image by the decoding unit 24, and the expanded data is written to the print memory 13b (S13). CPU11
Repeats the process of S13 until one page of facsimile data is written to the print memory 13b (S14: No). Note that the processes in S13 and S14 are pre-processes for facsimile data printing.

When one page of facsimile data developed into a bit image is written to the print memory 13b (S14: Yes), the data is output to the printer 25, and one page of facsimile data is printed. (S15). The printed facsimile data is deleted from the receiving memory 13a and the printing memory 13b (S16), and the corresponding memory is released.

Until all the facsimile data stored in the reception memory 13a is printed (S17: No), S1
The processes from 3 to S16 are repeatedly executed. Reception memory 1
When all the facsimile data stored in 3a is printed (S17: Yes), the printer operation flag 13c is printed.
Is turned off (S18), the printer 25 that has been occupied is released for use by other processes, and the facsimile data printing process ends.

FIG. 5 shows an input interrupt process for print data. When the print data output from the personal computer 50 is captured (input) into the input register 14a, an interrupt is generated by the interrupt generation circuit 14b, and the CPU 11 executes this processing. In the print data input interrupt process, the CPU 11 reads data from the input register 14a (S21), and writes the read data to the print memory 13b of the RAM 13 (S21).
22). That is, a process of writing the print data to the print memory 13b one byte (or two bytes) is performed.

FIG. 6 shows print data printing processing. The print data written in the print memory 13b by the print data input interruption process of FIG. 5 is printed on recording paper by the print data printing process.

In the print data printing process, the execution of the printing process is on standby until one page of print data is prepared in the print memory 13b (S31: No). Print memory 13b
(S31: Ye)
s) The on / off state of the printer operation flag 13c is determined (S32). If the printer operation flag 13c is on (S32: Yes), the printer 25 is in the process of printing facsimile data or scanner data. Therefore, the printer 25 waits until the flag 13c is turned off and the printer 25 is released. I do. Printer operation flag 13
When it is confirmed that c is off (S32: No), the flag 13c is immediately turned on (S33), and the printer 25 is exclusively used in this print data printing process. After that, S36
Until the printer-in-operation flag 13c is turned off in the process (1), the use of the printer 25 in the facsimile data printing process and the scanner data printing process in FIG. 4 is prohibited.

After the printer operation flag 13c is turned on (S
33), the CPU 11 reads the print data for one page written in the print memory 13b, outputs the read data to the printer 25, and causes the printer 25 to print the data (S34). After printing,
The printed print data is deleted from the print memory 13b (S35), and the corresponding print memory 13c is released.
Then, the printer operation flag 13c is turned off (S3).
6) After releasing the occupied printer 25 so that other processes can use it, the print data printing process ends.

As described above, according to the facsimile apparatus 1 with a printer function, which is one form of the multi-function peripheral device of the present embodiment, one CPU 11 uses one printer 25, and FIG. The facsimile data print processing of FIG. 6 and the print data print processing of FIG. 6 can be performed in parallel without any problem.

In the facsimile data printing process, after confirming that the printer operation flag 13c is off (S11), the facsimile data stored in the reception memory 13a is expanded into a bit image (S13). The print memory 13b in which the bit image is written can be effectively used. Although the data expanded into the bit image has a large capacity, the expansion processing into the bit image is performed after it is confirmed that the printer 25 can be used (S11, S13). Since the bit image data written in 13b is erased immediately after printing, (S1
6) It is possible to shorten the time in which the data developed into the bit image is stored in the print memory 13b. That is, since the data developed into the bit image is erased in a short time, the print memory 13b can be used effectively.

In the facsimile data printing process,
Before such a bit image expansion process (S13),
The printer operation flag 13c is turned on (S12), so that the printer 25 is exclusively used in the facsimile data printing process. Therefore, after confirming that the printer 25 is not printing (S11: No), it is possible to prevent the printer 25 from being occupied by other processes during execution of the pre-processing of facsimile data printing (S13, S14). Can be. During execution of pre-processing of facsimile data printing (S13, S14), the printer 25 performs other processing,
For example, if exclusive by print data print processing,
Since the facsimile data print process and the print data print process are executed in parallel by the multitask process, the facsimile data and the print data are mixedly output to the printer 25, which causes a problem in the print result. It becomes.

In the multifunctional peripheral device according to the first to third aspects, the facsimile data print execution means corresponds to the facsimile data print processing of FIG. 4, and the print data print execution means corresponds to the print data print processing of FIG. Processing is applicable.

Although the present invention has been described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Can easily be inferred.

For example, in the present embodiment, the printer operating flag 13c is used as a means for indicating whether or not the printer 25 is printing, but this flag can be changed to a counter. In this case, each state of the printer 25 is represented by the value of the counter. Specifically, “0” of the counter indicates that printing is not being performed, “1” indicates that facsimile data is being printed, “2” indicates that printing of print data is being performed,
“3” indicates that the scanner data is being printed. By expressing the state of the printer 25 in detail in this manner, for example, it is possible to configure so that printing of print data and scanner data is prohibited while printing of facsimile data, but printing of facsimile data is permitted. Thus, each printing process can be made more efficient.

Further, the facsimile apparatus 1 of the present embodiment
Although connected to the personal computer 50 by the interface 14 of the Centronics specification, the RS-232
The connection may be made by an interface of the C standard.

[0045]

According to the multifunctional peripheral device of the present invention, the printing process of the facsimile data and the print data can be executed in parallel without any trouble by using a common printing means by one CPU. There is an effect that can be.

According to the multifunctional peripheral device of the second aspect,
In addition to the effects of the multifunctional peripheral device according to claim 1,
Further, the processing for expanding the received facsimile data into a large-capacity bit image is performed after it is detected that the printing means can be used for printing the facsimile data. Therefore, the facsimile data can be stored in a small capacity until the printing unit is ready to use the facsimile data for printing, and the memory for storing the print data used for printing and the facsimile data is effectively used. There is an effect that it can be used.

According to the multifunctional peripheral device of the third aspect,
In addition to the effects of the multifunctional peripheral device according to claim 1 or 2, furthermore, the facsimile data print execution unit and the print data print execution unit, when it is detected that the printing unit is not printing, Before the printing pre-processing, the state of the printing unit is changed to printing. Therefore, when the printing unit is not printing, the printing process is not executed by the other printing unit during the pre-processing of printing by the one printing unit. Therefore, even when the printing unit is not printing, both print execution units can be executed in parallel by a single CPU without mixing and outputting facsimile data and print data to the printing unit. This has the effect.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a facsimile apparatus with a printer function according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the facsimile apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating facsimile data reception processing.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating facsimile data printing processing.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a print data input interruption process.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating print data printing processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 facsimile machine with printer function (multifunctional peripheral device) 11 CPU 12 ROM 13 RAM 13a reception memory 13b print memory 13c printer operation flag (print state detection means) 14 PC interface 14a input register (input means) 14b interrupt occurrence Circuit 19 NCU (part of receiving means) 20 Modem (part of receiving means) 21 Buffer (part of receiving means) 25 Printer (printing means) 30 Telephone line (communication line) 50 Personal computer (external device)

Claims (3)

[Claims] A receiving means for receiving facsimile data transmitted from another facsimile apparatus via a communication line; an input means for inputting print data output from an external apparatus such as a computer; A multifunction peripheral device comprising: a printing unit that prints data on a recording sheet; a printing state detection unit that detects a printing state of the printing unit; Facsimile data printing executing means for causing the printing means to execute printing of facsimile data received by the receiving means when it is detected that the facsimile data printing is being performed by the same CPU. The printing means is not printing by the printing state detecting means. A multi-function peripheral comprising print data printing execution means for causing the printing means to print the print data input by the input means when it is detected that printing of the print data is being performed. apparatus. 2. The facsimile data print execution means, wherein after the print data for one page is input by the input means, the print state detection means detects the state of the print means. 2. The multi-function peripheral device according to claim 1, wherein before printing of the facsimile data received by the receiving unit into a bit image, the state of the printing unit is detected by the printing state detecting unit. . 3. The facsimile data print execution unit and the print data print execution unit, when the printing state detection unit detects that the printing unit is not printing, is printing the state of the printing unit. The multifunctional peripheral device according to claim 1, wherein after changing to (f), printing of facsimile data or print data is executed.