JPH11331453A - Image formation system, device and method and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To optimize output relating to image formation system, device and method and a recording medium for accelerating the output by connecting plural digital copying devices or the like. SOLUTION: Images are read in a reader part 101 and the read images are printed in printer parts 100, 103 and 106. The print job of the images read in the reader part 101 is specified and the operation conditions of the respective printer parts are recognized. Corresponding to the job specification and recognized result, the printer parts to be operated by the print job are selected and the print job is divided and optimally distributed to the printer parts 100, 103 and 106 corresponding to a selected result.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an image forming system,
The present invention relates to an apparatus, a method, and a recording medium, and more particularly, to an image forming system, an apparatus, a method, and a recording medium in which a plurality of digital copying apparatuses and the like are connected to increase the output speed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the digitization and speeding up of copying apparatuses, a plurality of digital copying apparatuses have been connected and image data of an image read by a reader unit of one digital copying apparatus, or image data from a computer. A print system has been proposed in which image data is transferred to a plurality of connected printer units to perform printing, thereby increasing the number of prints per unit time.

[0003]

However, in the above-described concatenated print system, the data read by the reader unit is transferred to a plurality of connected printer units and printed, so that the number of copies per unit time is increased. The main purpose is to increase

[0004] Therefore, in an overlapping state in which an image of a document read by one copying apparatus is transmitted to another copying apparatus and a plurality of printer sections simultaneously output the image of the document, the operation of the printer sections of all copying apparatuses is performed. Will be bound. Therefore, it becomes difficult to flexibly print out image data in accordance with the required number of copies, the priority of the print job, and the like.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an image forming system, an image forming apparatus, and an image forming apparatus which solve the above-mentioned problems.
It is an object to provide a method and a recording medium.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming system comprising: an image reading unit for reading an image; and a plurality of printing units for printing the read image. A system for designating a print job of the read image; a recognizing unit for recognizing an operation status of the plurality of printing units; and a job specification by the specifying unit and a recognition result by the recognizing unit. Job distributing means for selecting a printing means to be operated by the print job from the plurality of printing means, and dividing the print job in accordance with the selection result and optimally distributing the divided jobs to the plurality of printing means. It is characterized by the following.

Further, the system of the present invention according to claim 2 can further comprise a setting means for setting the number of printing means to be operated by the job distribution means according to the job designation.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the job distribution unit can perform an optimal distribution in accordance with a print capability of each of the plurality of printing units and the job designation. .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for reading an image, comprising: an image reading unit for reading an image; and a printing unit for printing the read image, and connected to another printing unit. Means for designating a print job of the read image, a recognizing means for recognizing an operation status of the printing means and the another printing means, a job specification by the specifying means and the recognizing means. A print unit to be operated in the print job in accordance with the recognition result by the print unit and the another print unit, and dividing the print job in accordance with the selection result to divide the print job into the print unit and the another print unit. And a job distributing means for optimally distributing to the printing means.

The device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention provides the device according to the fourth aspect.
, A setting unit for setting the number of printing units to be operated by the job distribution unit according to the job specification may be further provided.

[0011] The device according to claim 6 is the same as the device according to claim 4.
In the fifth or fifth aspect, the job distribution unit may perform an optimal distribution according to the print capabilities of the printing unit and the another printing unit and the job designation.

[0012] The device according to claim 7 of the present invention provides a device according to claim 4.
In any one of the first to sixth aspects, the recognizing unit may include a unit that requests a printing status from the another printing unit, and a unit that inputs the printing status from the another printing unit.

[0013] The device of the present invention according to claim 8 is a device according to claim 4.
In any one of the first to seventh aspects, the apparatus may further include a unit that transmits the job distributed by the job distribution unit to the another printing unit.

The device according to the ninth aspect of the present invention provides the device according to the fourth aspect.
In any one of the first to eighth aspects, a means for connecting a plurality of the different printing means may be further provided.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus including the another printing unit connected to the image forming apparatus according to any one of the fourth to ninth aspects. And a means for receiving the request for the printing status and a means for transmitting the operating status of the another printing device in response to the request.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming method for reading an image and printing the read image by a plurality of printing means. A designating step for designating the print job of the plurality of printing means, a recognition step for recognizing the operation status of the plurality of printing means, and a print to be operated by the print job in accordance with the job designation in the designation step and the recognition result in the recognition step. A job distributing step of selecting a unit from the plurality of printing units, dividing the print job according to the selection result, and optimally distributing the divided print jobs to the plurality of printing units.

The method according to the twelfth aspect of the present invention may further comprise, in the eleventh aspect, a setting step of setting the number of the printing units to be operated in the job distribution step according to the job designation.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the eleventh or twelfth aspect, in the job distributing step, an optimal distribution can be performed in accordance with a print capability of each of the plurality of printing means and the job designation. .

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium for recording a program for an image forming method, comprising the steps of any one of the eleventh to thirteenth aspects. did.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an image forming system configured according to the present embodiment.

As shown in the figure, three copying apparatuses are connected by a video interface (not shown). One copying apparatus includes a reader unit 101 that reads a document image, a printer unit 100 that prints a read image,
A station A is formed by three parts of the sorter unit 102 for sorting printed images. Similarly, the copying apparatus at station B includes a reader unit 104, a printer unit 103, and a sorter unit 105, and
Has a reader unit 107, a printer unit 106, and a sorter unit 108.

Each station transmits and receives commands and images through the video interface.

In this embodiment, the reading speed and the printing speed of the reader unit and the printer unit of each station need not be the same. However, the configurations of the reader unit and the printer unit are almost the same, only the operation speed is different, and the configuration of the reader unit will be described in detail below.

FIG. 2 specifically shows the configuration of the reader unit 101 and the printer unit 100 shown in FIG. In the figure, the originals fed from the automatic original feeder 242 are sequentially placed on the original platen glass 201 at predetermined positions.

The original placed on the original platen glass 201 is exposed by an original illumination lamp 202 composed of, for example, a halogen lamp.

The scanning mirrors 203, 204, and 205 are housed in an optical scanning unit (not shown), and guide the reflected light from the document to the CCD unit 206 while reciprocating.
A CCD unit 206 includes an imaging lens 207 that forms an image of reflected light from a document on the imaging device, for example, an imaging device 208 including a CCD image sensor, an imaging device 208.
And a CCD driver 209 for driving the CCD. The image signal output from the image sensor 208 is converted into, for example, 8-bit digital data, and then input to the controller unit 239, where various image processing is performed.

The photosensitive drum 210 is discharged by the pre-exposure lamp 212 in preparation for image formation. The primary charger 213 charges the photosensitive drum 210 uniformly. The exposure unit 217 is a laser unit composed of, for example, a semiconductor laser or the like, and exposes the photosensitive drum 210 based on image data processed by a controller unit 239 that performs image processing and overall control of the apparatus, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image. Form. The developing device 218 contains a black developer (toner). The pre-transfer charger 219 applies a high voltage before transferring the toner image developed on the photosensitive drum 210 to a sheet.

The paper feed units 220, 222, 224
The paper feed rollers 221, 223, and 225 are rotated to feed the transfer paper into the apparatus. The transfer sheet is temporarily stopped at the position where the registration roller 226 is disposed, and is re-fed at a timing of writing with the image formed on the photosensitive drum 210. The transfer charger 227 transfers the developed toner image on the photosensitive drum 210 to the fed transfer paper. The separation charger 228 separates the transfer paper, on which the transfer operation has been completed, from the photosensitive drum 210. The photosensitive drum 2 without being transferred
The toner remaining on 10 is collected by cleaner 211.

The conveying belt 229 conveys the transfer sheet after the transfer process to the fixing device 230, thereby performing, for example, thermal fixing. The conveyance path is controlled by the flapper 231, and the transfer sheet having undergone the fixing process is conveyed in either the staple sorter 232 or the intermediate tray 237 arrangement direction. The paper discharged to the staple sorter 232 is sorted into each bin, and
The stapling section 241 performs stapling in accordance with the instruction from.

When a bookbinding device (glue binder) 245 is mounted instead of the staple sorter 232, the spine and the paper bundle with glue are glued by the binder 243 in accordance with an instruction from the controller 239. Then, the bundle of sheets after bookbinding is stored in the stacker 244. The paper feed rollers 233 to 236 feed the transfer paper, for which the fixing process has been completed, once to the intermediate tray 237 by inversion (multiple copy) or non-inversion (double-sided copy). Re-feed roller 238
Transfers the transfer sheet placed on the intermediate tray 237 to the position where the registration roller 226 is disposed again.

The controller unit 239 includes a CPU described later,
Alternatively, a microcomputer, an image processing unit, and the like are provided, and the above-described image forming operation is performed according to an instruction from the operation panel 240.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the controller 239 in the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

The CPU 301 controls the entire image processing apparatus, sequentially reads and executes programs from a read-only memory 303 (ROM) that stores control procedures (control programs) for the apparatus main body. Address of CPU 301
The bus and data bus are connected to each load via a bus driver 302 and an address decoder. A random access memory (RAM) 304 is a main storage device, and is used as storage for input data, a work storage area, and the like.

The control program of the present invention read from the ROM 303 can be supplied from a network.
The data may be loaded by communicating with another device or the like via a network, or may be loaded from a nonvolatile memory element such as NVRAM to a RAM, a hard disk, or another readable / writable storage medium. further,
It is also possible to store the data in a detachable and portable recording medium such as a floppy disk in a disk storage device of a computer or the like and load it.

An I / O interface 305 is provided with an operation panel 240 for inputting a key by a user and displaying the state of the apparatus using liquid crystal and LEDs, and motors for driving a paper feeding system, a conveying system, and an optical system. 307, clutches 308,
The solenoids 309 are connected to loads of devices such as paper detection sensors 310 for detecting the paper being conveyed. The developing device 218 is provided with a toner remaining detection sensor 311 for detecting the remaining amount of toner in the developing device.
Eleven output signals are input to the I / O port 305. The high-pressure unit 315 performs high-pressure control.
According to the instruction 1, the high voltage is output to the primary charger 213, the developing unit 218, the pre-transfer charger 219, the transfer charger 227, and the separation charger 228.

The image processing unit 306 includes a reader image processing unit 340 and a printer image processing unit 345. C
An image signal output from the CD unit 206 is input, performs image processing described later, and outputs a control signal of the laser unit 217 according to the image data. The laser beam output from the laser unit 217 irradiates and exposes the photosensitive drum 210, and at the same time, the light emitting state is detected by a beam detecting sensor (light receiving sensor) 313 in a non-image area, and the output signal of the sensor 313 is output to an I / O port. 305 is input.

The station A has been described above as an example, but the other stations have the same configuration, and the description is omitted.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing in detail the configuration of the image processing section 306 in the controller section 239 in the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

The analog image signal converted into the electric signal by the CCD 208 is converted into digital data by the A / D converter 400 in the reader image processing unit 340. Next, after the variation between pixels is corrected by the shading correction circuit 401, the magnification change circuit 40
In 2, the data is thinned out at the time of reduced copy, and the data is interpolated at the time of enlarged copy. Next, in the edge enhancement circuit 403, second differentiation is performed in, for example, a 5 × 5 window to enhance the edges of the image.

Next, the output image data is stored in the image memory 407 via the memory controller 406. The image memory 407 is configured by a memory such as a DRAM or a hard disk, and can store a plurality of pages of images. Also, the memory controller 406
Controls the image memory 407, receives image data from the CCD 208, stores the image data in the image memory 407, reads the image from the image memory 407, transfers the image to the video interface controller 408, and transmits the image to the printer unit. Transfer. At this time, control of the image memory 407 is performed by high-speed access, and a memory is arranged in each interface unit, so that there is no standby time even if all external accesses overlap. .

As described above, the image data once stored in the image memory 407 is output to the video interface 410 via the video interface controller 408. A video interface 410 connects the present device to a printer unit of another device.

The output of the memory controller 406 is input to the brightness / density converter 404 of the printer image processor 345. Since this image data is luminance data, a γ conversion circuit (not shown) of the luminance / density conversion unit 404 performs data conversion by table search in order to convert the image data into density data to be output to the printer 405. The image data converted to the density data is input to a PWM circuit (not shown) in order to convert the image data into a signal of a laser emission intensity, and a signal of a pulse width according to the image density is sent to the laser unit 217 of the printer 405. Output to

The print sequence in the image forming system having such a configuration will be described below with reference to a flow chart.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that three copying apparatuses are connected via an interface. That is, three printer units are shared by one reader unit. The following flow chart is
This figure shows a job execution level of a copy job to be executed and a method of determining image transfer. The job level is lowest at level 1 and increases as the numerical value increases. Therefore, in this embodiment, level 3 is the highest.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing steps S51 to S59 showing the sequence of the reader section.

When the user sets the copy mode and the number of copies using the operation unit (not shown) and presses the start key, the reader unit starts reading the original (S5).
1). Next, the total number of prints is calculated from the number of read originals and the number of prints set in the operation unit, and the levels are classified according to the calculation results as follows (S52).

The total number of prints is 1001 or more and 2,000 or less. Level 3 The total number of prints is 101 or more and 1000 or less. Level 2 The total number of prints is 100 or less. The user can arbitrarily set the level in step S52, and the level divided in step S52 is changed according to the user's level setting (S5).
3).

That is, "auto" is selected on the operation unit.
You can choose from three modes, "high" and "low".
“Auto” is an automatic mode in accordance with the level determined in step S52, “high” is a mode in which the level is changed to one level higher than the level determined in step S52, and “low” is a mode determined in step S52. A mode for changing to a level one level lower than the current level is shown. if,
Now, in step S52, it is determined that level 2
For example, when the mode of “high” is selected and input in 53, the mode is changed to level 3 and output.

However, since the level 3 is the highest, if the mode is already determined to be level 3 in step S52, no change occurs even if the mode of "high" is selected and inputted. In addition, since the level 1 is the lowest, if the mode is already determined to be the level 1 in step S52, the mode does not change even if the mode of “low” is selected and input.

Next, in step S54, "setting change by all-units operation mode" is performed. The “all units operation mode” is a mode in which whether or not all units are operated for one job can be set by the operation unit. That is,
When operating all the units for one print job, even if only one print job is input later, it is necessary to wait until the print job being executed is completed. The process of step S54 is a process of changing the job level determined up to step S53 depending on whether or not the “all-units operation mode” for avoiding such a standby state is set.

That is, when the “all-units operation mode” is set, the job level determined up to step S53 is not changed. However, when the “all-units operation mode” is not set, the job is changed to the job of level 2 even if the judgment of level 3 is made. This eliminates the need to operate the entire number of printer units in one job. However, the job level is not changed even if a job of level 2 or level 1 is input.

Next, in step S55, information on the connected printer units 100, 103, and 106 is obtained and the operation status is grasped. Then, it waits until a usable number of printer units for the number of determined levels can be secured. That is, at level 1, the process waits until one usable printer unit can be secured, and at level 3, the process waits until three printer units can be used. In this way,
Determine available printer units.

Next, the allocation of the print job is determined from the print job and the operation status (S56). Details of this allocation will be described later.

In step S57, communication is performed with the printer unit to be operated, and the page to be printed of the determined print job, the print mode, and the like are transmitted. Subsequently, in step S58, the image is transferred from the image memory of the printer unit of the present apparatus to the image memory of the printer unit of another apparatus to be operated.

Next, the operation of each printer unit will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S61, it is determined whether or not a request for the operating status has been made by the reader unit. If there has been a request, the printing status is transmitted in step S62, and the process proceeds to step S62.
Go to 63. On the other hand, if there is no request in step S61, the process directly proceeds to step S63, and it is determined whether a print job has been sent from the reader unit. If a print job has been sent, the print job is sent in step S64.
The job is received, and in step S65, the image data is stored in the image memory 407 to which each printer unit is connected, and the flow advances to step S55.

On the other hand, if a print job has not been sent in step S63, the process directly proceeds to step S66,
Determine whether printing is complete. If the printer unit is in the middle of printing, printing is performed in step S67, and the print progress is transmitted to the reader unit in step S68.
The reader unit displays the print status on the operation unit. If printing is completed in step S66, the process returns to step S61.

As described above, even if the printer unit is in the middle of printing, the contents and image data of the next print job are received, and the printer unit prepares for the next print.

The operation of the operation unit in reading and printing a series of images will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the operation section is displayed in step S70, the reading status of the document is obtained in step S71, and the number of documents read is sequentially displayed according to the reading of the document from the reader section. In the subsequent step S72, when the step S56 in FIG. 5 is completed, the allocation of the print of the copy job is displayed. When the allocation is displayed, in step S73, the print status from each printer unit is obtained in order to display the print status of each printer unit.
It is displayed on the operation unit in step S74.

Next, the allocation of the print job in step S56 in FIG. 5, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts in FIGS.

First, in step S81, it is determined whether the determined job level is level 1. If the level is 1, printing is performed using one printer unit. At this time, the printer unit in the same station as the reader unit from which the document has been read is preferentially selected. Then, the process proceeds to step S82, and it is determined whether the printer unit to which the reader unit is connected is empty. If it is free, the process proceeds to step S87, where it is determined that the printer unit of the same station is to be used (the connected printer unit is selected), and the process proceeds to step S89.

On the other hand, if the printer unit to which the reader unit is connected is not empty at step S82 (the printer unit of the same station is printing), the process proceeds to step S83, and the printer units of other stations are on standby (usable). Or printing (unusable). If there is an available printer unit, the one with the slowest speed is selected from the available printer units in step S86, and the flow advances to step S89. In other words, when there is more than one, the one with the slowest print speed is selected,
For the same speed, print station A,
B and C are selected in this order.
If it is a stand, the printer unit is selected.

If all the printer units are in operation and there is no usable printer unit, the remaining print time of each printer unit is calculated in step S84. The remaining print time can be calculated from the number of remaining prints and the number of prints per unit time of each printer unit. From this calculation result, in step S85, the printer unit that finishes printing the earliest is selected, and the flow advances to step S89.

When the printer section is selected in this way, a print job is allocated to the selected printer section in step S89, and the flow advances to the determination in step S91 shown in FIG. Details of step S89 will be described later.

In step S91, it is determined whether the determined job level is level 2. Step S8
If it is determined in step 1 that the level is level 1, the processing ends after step S101.

In the case of level 2, printing is performed using two printer units. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S93,
It is determined whether two printer units can be used based on the operation status of each printer unit. Step S when two units are available
Go to 96, select two usable units, and then go to step S
Go to 99. That is, when two or more available printer units (standby) are detected, if the same printer unit as the station from which the document is read can be used, that printer unit is selected, and the other printer unit is selected. Print·
Stations that can be used are selected in the order of stations A, B, and C. When the printer unit of the same station is printing, the other two printer units are used.

If two usable (standby) printer units cannot be secured in step S93, the remaining print time of each printer unit is calculated in step S84. The remaining print time can be calculated from the number of remaining prints and the number of prints per unit time of each printer unit.
From the calculation result, in step S95, two printer units for which printing ends early are selected, and the flow advances to step S99.

When the printer unit is selected in this manner, a print job is allocated to the selected printer unit in step S99, and the flow advances to step S101. Details of step S99 will be described later.

Similarly to the above, in step S91, it is determined whether the determined job level is level 3, and if it is level 3, steps S103 to S105 and S
By executing step 109, three printer units are selected, and a print job is allocated according to the standby printer unit, the operating printer unit, and the like. In the above steps, step S103 is for determining whether or not the three printer units are on standby. When all three printer units are on standby, in step S106, the three on standby units are selected. If there is a printer section in the middle of printing, the remaining print time is calculated in step S104, and three printers including the one in the middle of printing are selected in step S105.

The following steps S89, S99, S109
Will be described in detail with reference to an example.

Here, for the sake of easy understanding, when sorting six pages of originals and outputting six copies, three printer units A, B, and C having the same print speed are used, and each printer unit uses 6 printers. FIG. 10 shows a case where pages are sorted and output individually (individual mode). Printer units A, B,
C is a printer unit 1 of stations A, B, and C, respectively.
00, 103 and 106. FIG. 11 shows a case where the pages output by the printer units A, B, and C are shared (group mode).

In FIG. 10, the printer units A, B, and C are
Each copy shall be printed. Each printer unit prints from page 1 to page 6 according to time t, and subsequently prints from page 1 to page 6.

In FIG. 11, at this time, the printer unit A
Prints six copies of one page and then prints six copies of two pages. At the same time, the printer unit B prints six copies of three pages and then prints six copies of four pages. At the same time, the printer unit C prints 6 copies of 5 pages and then prints 6 copies.
Print 6 copies of the page.

Next, a case where the printing speeds of the three printer units A, B, and C are different will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 12 shows the case of the individual mode, and FIG. 13 shows the case of the group mode.

At this time, assuming that the printer unit A has a print speed of 60 sheets per minute, the printer unit B has a print speed of 40 sheets per minute, and the printer unit C has a print speed of 20 sheets per minute, a document of 6 pages is printed. When 6 copies are sorted and output, the allocation amount differs according to the print speed, that is, the printing capacity. In the individual mode, the printer A prints out 3 copies, the printer B prints 2 copies, and the printer C prints 1 copy. I do.

In the group mode, the printer unit A
Prints three pages from page 1 to page three, the printer unit B prints two pages of four and five pages, and the printer unit C prints one page of six pages.

The number of print jobs distributed to the printer units A, B, and C can be represented by the following equation. That is, the number of printable sheets (print speed) of the printer units A, B, and C is X, Y,
Assuming that there are Z sheets and the number of print copies or pages of the print job is N, the numbers nA, nB and nC to be distributed to the printer units A, B and C are as shown in Equation 1.

[0080]

NA = X / (X + Y + Z) × N nB = Y / (X + Y + Z) × N nC = Z / (X + Y + Z) × N Therefore, X = 60, Y = 40, Z = 20, and 200
For zero (N = 2000) print jobs,

[0081]

NA = 60/120 × 2000 = 1000 nB = 40/120 × 2000 = 666.666 nC = 20/120 × 2000 = 333.333 Since the print priority order in the sort output is the printer section A, the printer section B, and the printer section C, the decimal places of the printer section B are moved up, and the decimal places of C are discarded.

Therefore, nA = 1000 and nB = 66
7. Allocate to print out nC = 333 copies.

Similarly, X = 60, Y = 40, Z =
In a print job for printing 20 copies of an original of 100 pages (N = 100) at 20,

[0084]

NA = 60/120 × 100 = 50 nB = 40/120 × 100 = 33.333 nC = 20/120 × 100 = 16.666 Since the print priority order when outputting in the group mode is the printer section C, the printer section B, and the printer section A, the decimal places of the printer section B are rounded down and the decimal places of C are rounded up.

Therefore, nA = 50, nB = 33, n
Allocate so that C = 17 parts. As a result, the printer unit A has pages 1 to 50, and the printer unit B has 5 pages.
The printer unit C prints 20 copies of each of pages 1 to 83 and the printer unit C from pages 84 to 100.

When the number of printers for distributing print jobs is two, X, Y or Z may be set to 0 according to the printers not used. When only one device is operated, it is natural that all the print jobs are executed by the one device operated.

Next, a case where there is a printer section in the middle of printing will be described with reference to FIG.

At time t0 in FIG.
Starts a print job while is waiting (printable). At t0, the printer unit B is executing printing, another print job being executed is scheduled to end after t1 minutes from t0, and the printer unit C is also executing printing at t0, and another printing job being executed is This shows a state in which it is scheduled to end after (t1 + t2) minutes from t0.

A description will now be given of the allocation of print jobs in the case of FIG. 14 in which a P-page document is sorted and output in Q-parts.

The printer unit A receives X * from the time t0 to the time t1.
Printing of the t1 copy is performed. During the following time t2, the printer unit A prints X * t2 copies, and during this time, the printer unit B prints Y * t2 copies. Thereafter, after elapse of (t1 + t2) minutes from t0, printing is performed using three printer units. The allocation at this time is calculated in the same manner as described above.

Since the original is output as P pages and Q copies, the number of jobs to be distributed to each printer unit until the time (t1 + t2) elapses from the start of the print job nA, nB,
nC is expressed by the following equation (4).

[0092]

(Equation 4)

For example, if the original has 100 pages (P = 10
0), output of 20 parts (Q = 20), t1 = 5 [minutes], t2
= 10 [minutes], the printing speed (printing capability) of each printer unit is X = 60, Y = 40, Z = 2.
Assuming 0

[0094]

NA = 12.5 nB = 6.33 nC = 1.11

Accordingly, the printer unit A allocates 13 copies, the printer unit B prints 6 copies, and the printer unit C prints 1 copy.

When the print job is equal to or less than X * t1 / P, print output is completed by only one printer unit A. When the total amount of the print job is smaller than {(X * t1 + X * t2) / P} + {Y * t2 / P}, all the print jobs are completed before the printer unit C is operated.

When two printer units are operated, X, Y, or Z may be set to 0 according to the printer units not operated.

Also, in the case of the group mode, since the job allocation amount can be easily calculated from the above equation (4), detailed description will be omitted here.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of one device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus. In this case, by reading out a recording medium storing a program represented by software for achieving the present invention to the system or the apparatus, the system or the apparatus can enjoy the effects of the present invention. become.

[0100]

As described above, according to the image forming system, apparatus, method, and recording medium of the present invention, a plurality of copying apparatuses having image reading means and printing means are connected and connected via an interface. The print job is shared, the priority is determined from the mode of the designated print job, etc., the printing capability and operation status of each print job are determined, the print job to be operated is determined, and the print job is executed. Is divided and distributed optimally, so that output can be performed according to the required number of outputs, the priority of print jobs, etc., and the print output performance of the entire image forming system is dramatically improved. There is an effect that can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a connection form of an image forming apparatus (image forming system) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view specifically illustrating a configuration example of a reader unit and a printer unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a controller unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing unit according to the embodiment of the present invention in detail.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a print job sequence of a reader unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a print job sequence of the printer unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the operation unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing print job allocation according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing print job allocation according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an output operation when the printing speed of each printer unit according to the embodiment of the present invention is the same.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an output operation when the print speeds of the respective printer units according to the embodiment of the present invention are the same.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an output operation when the printing speed of each printer unit is different according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an output operation when the printing speed of each printer unit is different according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a timing chart showing execution progress of each print job according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100, 103, 106 Printer unit 101, 104, 107 Leader unit 102, 105, 108 Sorter unit 208 Image sensor 210 Photosensitive drum 212 Pre-exposure lamp 213 Primary charger 217 Laser unit (exposure means) 218 Developing device 219 Before transfer Charger 227 Transfer charger 239 Controller unit 240 Operation panel 301 CPU 303 ROM 304 RAM 340 Reader image processing unit 345 Printer image processing unit

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. An image forming system comprising: an image reading unit that reads an image; and a plurality of printing units that prints the read image, wherein the specifying unit specifies a print job of the read image; A recognition unit for recognizing an operation status of the plurality of printing units; and a printing unit to be operated in the print job in accordance with a job specification by the specifying unit and a recognition result by the recognition unit. An image forming system comprising: a job distribution unit that divides the print job according to a selection result and optimally distributes the divided print jobs to the plurality of printing units. 2. The image forming system according to claim 1, further comprising a setting unit configured to set the number of the printing units to be operated by the job distribution unit according to the job specification. 3. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the job distribution unit performs optimal distribution in accordance with print capabilities of each of the plurality of printing units and the job designation. 4. An image forming apparatus comprising an image reading means for reading an image and a printing means for printing the read image, wherein a print job of the read image is designated in an image forming apparatus connected to another printing means. Designating means; recognizing means for recognizing the operation status of the printing means and the another printing means; and printing means for operating the print job in accordance with a job specification by the specifying means and a recognition result by the recognizing means. A job distributing unit that selects from a printing unit and the another printing unit, and that divides the print job according to a result of the selection to distribute the printing job optimally to the printing unit and the another printing unit. Image forming apparatus. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a setting unit that sets the number of printing units to be operated by the job distribution unit according to the job specification. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the job distribution unit performs optimal distribution according to print capabilities of the printing unit and the another printing unit and the job designation. apparatus. 7. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said recognizing means includes means for requesting said another printing means for a printing status, and means for inputting said printing status from said another printing means. The image forming apparatus according to any one of the above. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: means for transmitting the job distributed by said job distribution means to said another printing means. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a unit that connects a plurality of said different printing units. 10. An image forming apparatus comprising: the another printing unit connected to the image forming apparatus according to claim 4; and a unit that receives the print status request; An image forming apparatus, comprising: means for transmitting an operation status of the another printing means in accordance with the image forming apparatus. 11. An image forming method for reading an image and printing the read image by a plurality of printing means, comprising: a specifying step of specifying a print job of the read image; A recognition step of recognizing an operation status; selecting a printing unit to be operated in the print job from the plurality of printing units in accordance with the job specification in the specification step and the recognition result in the recognition step; A job distribution step of dividing the print job and optimally distributing the divided print jobs to the plurality of printing units. 12. The image forming method according to claim 11, further comprising a setting step of setting the number of printing units to be operated in the job distribution step according to the job designation. 13. The image forming method according to claim 11, wherein in the job distribution step, optimal distribution is performed in accordance with print capabilities of the plurality of printing units and the job designation. 14. A recording medium on which is recorded a program for an image forming method, comprising the steps of claim 11.