JPH1134450A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable restoration work after the re-start of a power supply even at the time when trouble such as the sudden cutting-off of a power supply or the like is generated without using a large capacity non-volatile memory. SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus has a manuscript reading apparatus 20 reading image data from a manuscript, an operation/display part 22 inputting set data at a time of the copying of the manuscript to display the same, a printing part 24 recording an image on a recording medium on the basis of the image data read by the manuscript reading apparatus 20, a non-voltatile memory apparatus 26 and a CPU 50 registering all of data necessary for copying the manuscript other than image data when copy operation is started in the non-volatile memory apparatus 26 and renewing all of data necessary for the copying of the manuscript other than the image data with the advance of copy operation and displaying the data on the operation/display part 22 when there is data showing the midway of copying in the non-volatile memory apparatus 26 in predetermined timing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus that can easily recover from a trouble during recording.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional apparatus of this kind is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
There is an image forming apparatus described in Japanese Patent No. 24105. When a trouble occurs during recording, the image forming apparatus saves all recorded and unrecorded print data stored in the input / output buffer, the page memory, and the bitmap memory to the hard disk, and informs that printing is in progress. Is also stored, and it is determined from the information stored in the hard disk whether or not printing is in progress when the power is next turned on,
During printing, the print data saved on the hard disk is restored and printing is performed.

[0003]

As described above, in the conventional image forming apparatus, when a trouble occurs during printing, printing during printing and unprinted data stored in an input / output buffer, a page memory, and a bit map memory are performed. This method saves all data to the hard disk, stores information indicating that printing is in progress, and determines whether or not printing is in progress based on the information stored in the hard disk when the power is turned on next time and restores the data. For this reason, there is a problem that if power is cut off while various data is being saved to the hard disk, recovery becomes impossible.

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional image forming apparatus, all the print data being recorded and unrecorded are evacuated to the memory when a trouble occurs. There is also the problem of being up.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and enables the latest job execution state to be saved even when a trouble such as a sudden power stop occurs without using a large-capacity nonvolatile memory. It is another object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of performing a recovery operation after restarting the power supply.

[0006]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reading means for reading image information from a document, an operation for inputting and displaying setting information for copying the document. The image forming apparatus includes a display unit, a printing unit that records an image on a recording medium based on the image information read by the reading unit, and a control unit that controls each unit. When the copying operation is started, the control unit registers all the information necessary for copying the document other than the image information in the storage unit, and as the copying operation proceeds, the control unit registers the information necessary for copying the document other than the image information. If information indicating that copying is in progress remains in the storage means at a predetermined timing, the information indicating that copying is in progress is displayed on the operation / display means. It is characterized in.

In the image forming apparatus having the above-described configuration, the control unit registers all information necessary for copying a document other than the image information in the nonvolatile storage unit when starting the copying operation, and registers the information together with the progress of the copying operation. Updating all information necessary for copying a document other than the image information, and when information indicating that copying is in progress remains in the storage unit at a predetermined timing, indicates that copying is in progress. Information is displayed on the operation / display means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image information input means for inputting image information from an external device, a display means for displaying a printing state, and recording based on the image information input by the image information input means. In an image forming apparatus including a printing unit that records an image on a medium and a control unit that controls each unit in a comprehensive manner, the image forming apparatus includes a non-volatile storage unit, and the control unit is configured to start printing when the printing operation is started. All information necessary for printing other than information is registered in the storage unit, and all information necessary for printing other than the image information is updated with the progress of the printing operation. In the case where the information indicating that there is any information remains, the response information created based on the information indicating that the printing is being performed is notified to the external device.

In the image forming apparatus having the above-described configuration, the control unit registers all information necessary for printing other than the image information in the non-volatile storage unit when starting the printing operation. Update all the information necessary for printing other than the information, and if information indicating that printing is in progress remains in the storage unit at a predetermined timing, based on the information indicating that printing is in progress. Notify the created response information to the external device.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect, further comprising a display unit for displaying a printing state, wherein the control unit is in the middle of printing in the storage unit. If information indicating that the printing is in progress remains, information indicating that printing is in progress is displayed on the display means.

In the image forming apparatus having the above-mentioned structure, in the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect, when information indicating that printing is in progress remains in the storage means, the printing is in progress. Is displayed on the display means.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reading unit for reading image information from a document, an image information inputting unit for inputting image information from an external device, and inputting and displaying setting information for copying a document. Or an operation / display unit for displaying a printing state, and recording an image on a recording medium based on the image information read by the reading unit, or on a recording medium based on the image information input by the image information input unit. In an image forming apparatus having a printing unit for recording an image and a control unit for controlling each unit in a comprehensive manner, the image forming apparatus includes a non-volatile storage unit, and the control unit may be any one of the reading unit or the image information input unit. When the image information is fetched from either one of them and the image information is fetched from the reading means, all the information necessary for copying a document other than the image information when starting the copying operation. Is registered in the storage means, and all information necessary for copying the original except the image information is updated with the progress of the copying operation, and information indicating that copying is in progress remains in the storage means at a predetermined timing. If the image information is being copied, the information indicating that the copying is in progress is displayed on the operation / display means. Registering all necessary information in the storage unit, updating all information required for printing other than the image information with the progress of the printing operation, and information indicating that printing is being performed in the storage unit at a predetermined timing. In the case where is left, response information created based on the information indicating that printing is in progress is notified to an external device.

In the image forming apparatus having the above configuration, the control means takes in the image information from either one of the reading means for reading the image information from the original or the image information input means for inputting the image information from the external device. When taking in the image information, at the start of the copying operation, all the information necessary for copying the document other than the image information is registered in the non-volatile storage means, and as the copying operation proceeds, the copying of the document other than the image information is performed. When the information indicating that copying is in progress remains in the storage unit at a predetermined timing, the information indicating that copying is in progress is displayed on the operation / display unit. When image information is taken in from the image information input means, all information necessary for printing other than the image information is registered in the storage means at the start of the printing operation, and the printing operation is started. With the progress of the process, all information necessary for printing other than the image information is updated, and if information indicating that printing is in progress remains in the storage unit at a predetermined timing, it is determined that printing is in progress. The response information created based on the indicated information is notified to the external device.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fourth aspect, when the control unit captures image information from the image information input unit, the control unit determines that printing is being performed on the storage unit. When the information to be displayed remains, information indicating that the printing is being performed is displayed on the operation / display unit.

In the image forming apparatus having the above configuration, in the image forming apparatus according to the fourth aspect, when the image information is fetched from the image information input means, information indicating that printing is in progress remains in the storage means. If so, the information indicating that the printing is in progress is displayed on the operation / display means.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first and fourth aspects, the control means displays information indicating that copying is in progress on the operation / display section. In addition, information necessary for a copying operation is automatically set in the operation / display unit based on the oldest information among the information indicating that copying is in progress.

In the above-described image forming apparatus, the control means displays the information indicating that the copying is in progress on the operation / display unit, and displays the information indicating that the copying is in progress as the oldest information. The information necessary for the copying operation is automatically set in the operation / display unit based on the information.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the storage means is a random access memory (RAM) backed up by a battery. And

In the above-described image forming apparatus, the non-volatile storage means is constituted by a random access memory (RAM) backed up by a battery.

According to the first to seventh aspects of the present invention, since the information indicating the latest job execution state is always stored in the nonvolatile storage means, even when a trouble such as unexpected power shutoff occurs. Optimal information can be provided for restoration of the host device after the power is restored, and unnecessary re-output is eliminated.

According to the first to seventh aspects of the present invention, since the image information is not stored in the non-volatile storage means, a non-volatile memory such as a large-capacity hard disk is not required as the non-volatile storage means. In addition, since a small-capacity nonvolatile memory is sufficient, the cost of the apparatus can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, since the latest information necessary for restoration is displayed and set on the display unit, it is easy to perform the printing and copying operations again after the power is restored. be able to.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a system configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 10 includes a document reading device 20 for reading image information from a document, an operation / display unit 22 for inputting and displaying setting information when copying a document, or displaying a printing state, and a document reading device. A printing unit 24 that records an image on a recording medium based on image information read from the apparatus 20 or image information input via the external device interface 30; and a nonvolatile unit in which job information of a print job or a copy job is registered and updated. A storage device 26, an external device interface 30 connected to an external device (for example, a host computer) 28 for interfacing with the external device 28, and a control unit 40.

The original reading device 20 is used as the reading means of the present invention, the operation / display section 22 is used as the operating / display means or display means of the present invention, the printing section 24 is used as the printing means of the present invention, and the non-volatile storage device is used. 26 corresponds to the non-volatile storage means of the present invention, and the external device interface 30 corresponds to the image information input means of the present invention.

The control unit 40 includes a CPU 50, a page memory 60 for storing image information in page units, and an internal memory 70 for storing control information transferred by the control unit 40. The CPU 50 corresponds to the control means of the present invention. In the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, the nonvolatile storage device 26 is configured by a RAM that is backed up by a battery (for example, a secondary battery), but the nonvolatile storage device 26 stores a part of the internal memory 70. The area may be backed up by a battery.

The document reading device 20, the operation / display unit 22, the printing unit 24, the non-volatile storage device 26, the external device interface 30, the CPU 50, the page memory 60 and the internal memory 70 are interconnected via a bus 80. .

The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment having the above-described configuration copies an image of a document read by the document reading device 20 and prints an image based on image information sent from the external device 28 on a recording medium. You can do it. When copying a document, predetermined settings are made by the operation / display unit 22, and when a copying operation is instructed, image information read from the document by the document reading device 20 under the control of the CPU 50 is stored in the page memory 60. The stored image information is transferred to the printing unit 24 and printed out by the printing unit 24 so that copying is performed.

When a print instruction is issued from the external device 28 via the external device interface 30, one page of image information is received from the external device 28, and when the accumulation of the image information in the page memory 60 is completed, The image information is transferred to the printing unit 24 and printed out to the printing unit 24, whereby the image indicated by the image information sent from the external device 28 is printed. When the copying or printing of a plurality of originals is instructed, the copying or printing is realized by repeatedly transferring the specified number of pieces of image information from the page memory 60 to the printing unit 24.

Next, C of the image forming apparatus according to this embodiment
FIG. 2 shows the processing contents at the time of executing the printing operation executed by the PU 50. In the figure, in step 100, the external device 28 receives the command C via the external device interface 30.
It is determined whether or not the PU 50 has received a print instruction. The print instruction is issued by notifying the CPU 50 of the image forming apparatus 10 of the job information (job number, paper size, paper quality, number of copies, paper folding information, stamp information, etc.) created by the external device 28 and the output instruction.

If it is determined in step 100 that a print instruction has been issued, in the next step 102, information of "output number = 0" is added to the job information received from the external device 28 and registered in the nonvolatile storage device 26. I do. Then step 10
In step 4, the image information sent from the external device 28 is stored in the page memory 60, and when the storage of the image information is completed, the image information is transferred to the printing unit 24 and instructs the start of the printing operation. When the number of prints is plural, if specified, data transfer from the page memory 60 to the printing unit 24 is performed for the specified number of prints.
repeat. In the next step 106, it is determined whether or not the ejection of the printed sheet has been completed. If completed, the data of the output number of the job information is updated in step 108, and in step 110, it is determined whether or not the printing has been completed. judge. If this determination is denied, that is, if the printing has not been completed, the process returns to step 106 and steps 106 to 110
Is repeated. Here, the printing unit 24 finishes printing for one page, and notifies the CPU 50 of the corresponding job number and the number of completed sheets after each ejection of the sheet.

On the other hand, if the determination in step 110 is affirmative, that is, if it is determined that printing has been completed for the designated number of sheets, the process proceeds to step 112. Then, in step 112, the job status, that is, the end of the job is notified to the external device 28 via the external device interface 30, and the job information of the completed job is deleted from the nonvolatile storage device 26 in the next step 114. Step 1
Through the processing of 08 and step 14, all information other than image information necessary for printing is updated as the printing operation proceeds. The CPU 50 executes the processing of steps 102 to 114 each time a print instruction is received from the external device 28.
Accordingly, if the power is shut off halfway before all the printing operations are completed during the execution of the printing operation, the latest job status, that is, information indicating the job execution status (information indicating that printing is being performed) is non-volatile. Is stored in the sex storage device 26.

FIG. 3 shows the contents of processing executed by the CPU 50 when the power is turned on. In the figure, an image forming apparatus 1
When the power is turned on to 0, it is determined in step 200 whether or not job information remains in the nonvolatile storage device 26.
If this determination is denied, that is, if it is determined that no job information remains in the non-volatile storage device 26, it indicates that there is no uncompleted job, and the execution of this processing is terminated. It is in a state of waiting for an instruction to copy a document or print from the external device 28.

If the determination in step 200 is affirmative, that is, if it is determined that job information (information indicating that printing is in progress) remains in the nonvolatile storage device 26, an uncompleted job is determined. Since it indicates that the power supply is present when the power is turned off, the process proceeds to step 202. In step 202, the oldest job information among the remaining job information is read from the nonvolatile storage device 26, and in the next step 204, the setting information necessary for the printing operation is obtained from the job information read from the nonvolatile storage device 26 in step 202. (Paper size, paper quality, number of copies, paper folding information, stamp information, etc.) are reconfigured and set again in the operation / display unit 22.

Next, at step 206, the operation / display unit 2
The operation and display unit 2 displays the setting contents and job information set in
It is shown in FIG. FIG. 4 shows a display example displayed on the operation / display unit 22 at this time. This display example shows that there are two uncompleted jobs. Further, in step 208, response information (job number, designated number, output completed number, error information, etc.) indicating the execution state of the job is created from the job information and notified to the external device 28. The stored job information is deleted, and the process proceeds to step 212. Here, multiple job information
If it exists, the contents of the job information are sequentially displayed following the job information previously displayed on the operation / display unit 22, and the response information is created and notified to the external device 28. The corresponding job information is stored in the nonvolatile storage device 2
Delete sequentially from 6.

On the other hand, the external device 28 creates recovery job information based on the response information indicating the execution state of the job, and sends the recovery job information and reprint to the image forming apparatus 10 via the external device interface 30. Output instructions. If there is a reprint instruction from the external device 28 in step 212, the recovery job information (job number, number of copies, output number = 0, paper size, paper folding information, stamp information, etc.) is stored in a nonvolatile manner in step 214. Registered in the device 26, and instructs the printing unit 24 to start a printing operation in step 216.

With the above processing, all the print jobs that have not been completed when the power is turned off are restored. In this embodiment, job information of a job that has not been completed when the power is turned on is searched, response information indicating the execution state of the job is created based on the job information, the response information is notified to the external device 28, and operation and Although the display on the display unit 22 facilitates the recovery of the image forming apparatus 10, this series of processing is performed after the communication with the external device 28 is disconnected and the image forming device 10 and the external device 28 are reconnected. It may be executed at the time.

In the present embodiment, FIG.
4, the control information is not exchanged between the image forming apparatus 10 and the external device 28.
The same applies to the copy operation except that a copy job is executed instead of the print job.

[0038]

As described above, according to the first to seventh aspects of the present invention, since the information indicating the latest job execution state is always stored in the non-volatile storage means, the power supply is unexpectedly shut down. In the event of troubles such as those described above, it is possible to provide optimal information for restoration processing of a higher-level device after power is restored, and to eliminate unnecessary re-output.

According to the first to seventh aspects of the present invention, since image information is not stored in the nonvolatile storage means, a nonvolatile memory such as a large-capacity hard disk is not required as the nonvolatile storage means. In addition, since a small-capacity nonvolatile memory is sufficient, the cost of the apparatus can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, since the latest information necessary for restoration is displayed and set on the display unit, it is easy to perform the printing and copying operations again after the power is restored. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing contents at the time of executing a printing operation executed by a CPU of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing at power-on executed by a CPU of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of an operation / display unit when there is an uncompleted job in the power-on process shown in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 20 Document reading device 22 Operation / display part 24 Printing part 26 Non-volatile storage device 28 External equipment 30 External equipment interface 40 Control part 50 CPU 60 Page memory 70 Internal memory 80 Bus

Claims (7)

[Claims] A reading means for reading image information from a document, an operation / display means for inputting and displaying setting information for copying the document, and an image on a recording medium based on the image information read by the reading means. An image forming apparatus comprising: a printing unit for recording; and a control unit for controlling each unit in a comprehensive manner. The image forming apparatus includes a non-volatile storage unit. All the information necessary for copying is registered in the storage means, and all the information necessary for copying the document other than the image information is updated with the progress of the copying operation, and is being copied to the storage means at a predetermined timing. An image forming apparatus that displays information indicating that copying is in progress on the operation / display unit when information indicating that the copying is in progress. 2. An image information input means for inputting image information from an external device, a display means for displaying a printing state, and a print for recording an image on a recording medium based on the image information input by the image information input means. And an image forming apparatus having a control unit for controlling each unit in a comprehensive manner. The image forming apparatus includes a non-volatile storage unit, wherein the control unit is configured to perform all necessary printing except image information when starting a printing operation. Is registered in the storage unit, and all information necessary for printing other than the image information is updated with the progress of the printing operation, and information indicating that printing is in progress remains in the storage unit at a predetermined timing. The response information created based on the information indicating that printing is in progress, to an external device. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a display unit for displaying a printing state, wherein said control unit stores information indicating that printing is in progress in said storage unit. In this case, the image forming apparatus displays information indicating that the printing is in progress on the display unit. Reading means for reading image information from a document, image information input means for inputting image information from an external device, and operation for inputting and displaying setting information for copying a document, or displaying a printing state Display means, printing means for recording an image on a recording medium based on image information read by the reading means, or recording an image on a recording medium based on image information input by the image information input means, An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls each unit in a comprehensive manner; and a nonvolatile storage unit. The control unit captures image information from one of the reading unit and the image information input unit. When taking in the image information from the reading means, when starting the copying operation, register all the information necessary for copying a document other than the image information in the storage means, With the progress of the copying operation, all information necessary for copying the original other than the image information is updated. If information indicating that copying is in progress remains in the storage means at a predetermined timing, the copying is stopped. Is displayed on the operation / display unit, and when the image information is input from the image information input unit, all the information necessary for printing other than the image information is stored when the printing operation is started. If all information necessary for printing other than the image information is updated with the progress of the printing operation, and information indicating that printing is in progress remains in the storage means at a predetermined timing, An image forming apparatus for notifying an external device of response information created based on the information indicating that printing is in progress. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein when the control unit captures image information from the image information input unit, information indicating that printing is in progress remains in the storage unit. Wherein the operation / display means displays information indicating that the printing is in progress. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit displays information indicating that the copying is being performed on the operation / display unit and is performing the copying. An image forming apparatus for automatically setting information necessary for a copying operation on the operation / display unit based on the oldest information among the information indicating the above. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit is a random access memory (RAM) backed up by a battery.