JPS6278972A - Copying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To satisfactorily attain a desired copying operation by holding the image data stored at least in a page memory until it is recognized that the required sheets of papers are effectively printed out by the image data stored in the page memory. CONSTITUTION:When a printing operation on the first sheet of paper is completed normally, a control circuit 20 of a recorder 4 sets a page memory 21 to a mode for reading the digital image data stored in the page memory 21, together therewith, a switch 22 is changed over to the page memory 21 side, and the digital image data fed from the page memory 21 is used in a printer 23 to set so as to print. Then, progressing to an S213, the digital image data stored in the page memory 21 is used to instruct a printing operation of one sheet of paper to an LBP 23 and this is repeated until the completion.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a copying apparatus 6 that receives digital image signals, stores them in a page memory, and prints out on paper or the like based on the stored image signals.

[Prior art]

In recent years, advances in digital image processing technology have enabled CO
A so-called digital copying system has been put into practical use, in which the image is read by a solid-state image sensor such as D, and converted into a digital image signal, and then copied by a printer such as a laser beam printer (LBP).

These systems are not only used as copiers that handle digital image signals, but also as input/output devices for digital facsimiles, electronic file systems, etc., so they are modularized for each function. is common.

As such a digital copying system, a copying apparatus can be configured by an image generation device that generates image data, and an image recording device that receives a digital image signal and prints out the image on paper or the like.

The image generating device can be configured as an image reading device that converts a document image into a digital image signal, and the image recording device can be configured as a laser beam printer.

In this case, similar to the conventional copying machine, an error occurs in the image recording device 1, such as a paper jam or no print paper.

In particular, if the printer has a built-in sorting function that distributes printed paper, the paper path that the printed paper passes through becomes long, and many sheets of printed paper are present inside the recording device at the same time. Very difficult control is required to perform accurate error φ recovery processing when a blockage occurs.

[Purpose of the invention]

In order to improve the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present invention provides a copying machine with a page memory for storing digital image data, and retains the image data being printed until it is known that copying has been completed. To provide a copying apparatus that can satisfactorily achieve a desired copying operation even if an error such as a paper jam occurs.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail using the drawings.

3 and 4 surrounded by broken lines in FIG. 1 correspond to an image generating device that reads an original image and generates an image signal, and an image recording device that performs an image forming operation based on an input image signal, respectively.

In FIG. 1, a document 10 with a document table placed on the lath 11
An optical unit 12 consisting of a light source 13 and a close-contact line fist image sensor 14 sequentially converts the reading operation of one line into an electric signal without a needle. The optical unit 12 is moved by a drive system (not shown) in the sub-scanning direction shown, and reads the entire surface of the original 10.

The original image converted into an electrical signal is sent to the image processing circuit 15, where it is subjected to image processing such as shading correction, and then binarized and sent to the interface circuit (
I/F) ta.

The control circuit 16 uses, for example, a microcomputer to control an operation section 17 including a display circuit, switches for giving instructions to start an operation, etc., and an image processing circuit 15, and at the same time controls the recording device 4 via an interface circuit 18.
and exchange information regarding control. Therefore, the interface circuit 18 serves to simultaneously transmit digital image signals and control information signals.

On the other hand, in the recording device 4, a digital image signal and a control information signal are manually inputted via an interface circuit 19, and the digital image signal is sent to a page memory 21, a switch 22,
The control information signals are each connected to a control circuit 20.

The control circuit 20 controls, for example, the operation instructions of the micro convenience store 23, the operation mode switching of the page memory 21, the switching of the switch 22, and the like.

The page memory 21 is an image memory having a capacity to store at least one page of image data,
In this embodiment, the digital image signal transmitted from the image reading device 3 is recorded tα, and the stored image is read out and used when printing the second or subsequent sheets or during the printing operation after error recovery. It is. The switch 22 is a switch for selecting which digital image signal from the page memory 21 or the interface circuit 19 is to be used when printing is performed by the LB P 23.

Next, specific operations will be explained using flow charts shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 2 is an example of a control flow chart of the control circuit 15 of the image reading device 3. In FIG.

When the power is turned on, step SP initialization is first performed.

In step 5PIOI, the key pressure on the operation unit 17 is checked to determine whether there is an instruction to start the image reading operation. If there is an instruction to start operation, proceed to step 5P.
The process advances to step 102 to determine whether the copying apparatus 2 is capable of printing.

If printing is possible, the process proceeds to step 5P103, where an instruction is given to the recording device 2 regarding the number of copies to be made.

In step 5P104, the optical unit 12 is returned to the home position and scanning of the original is started, and the image processing circuit 15 is instructed to output an image signal to start sending out a digital image signal.

In step 5P105, it is determined whether or not the reading operation of the original 10 has been completed normally. If there is an error, error processing is performed in step 5P106.

In step 5P107, the page fist memory 2 of the recording device 4 is
Step 1: Determine whether the digital image has been stored normally. If there is an error, proceed to step S.
At 108, error processing is performed.

If the process proceeds to step 5P106 or step Sr108, the digital image is not normally transmitted to the recording device 4, so an error message is displayed on the operation unit 17, and after the error is removed, the document image is read again. It is necessary to do this.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 5P107 that the image has been successfully stored in the page memory 21, all subsequent print operations can be processed by the recording device 4, so it is only necessary to wait until the print operation is completed. .

Next, an example of a control flow chart of the control circuit 20 of the recording device 4 will be explained using FIG.

In FIG. 3(A), when the power is turned on, first, in step 5P200, the LBP 23, page memory 21, etc. are initialized.

Next, in steps 5P201 to 5P203, it is determined whether the recording device 4 is in a printable state or not, and the ready signal is turned on or off depending on the state. The ready signal is transmitted to the control circuit 16 via the interface circuit 19.18, and is used as one of the determination information in step 5P102 in FIG.

In step 5P204, it is determined whether there is an instruction for the number of prints sent from the one-image reading device 3, and if there is, the process proceeds to step 5P205 and the number of prints (2N) is input.

In step 5P206, the page memory 21 is set to a write mode (a mode for storing digital image data sent from the image reading device 3 in the page memory 21), and the switch 22 is set to the interface circuit 19 side for high-speed processing. The LBP 23 directly prints one sheet 11 using the sent digital image data.

In step 5P203, an instruction is given to print one sheet using the digital image data sent to the LBP 23.

Step 5P208 and step 5P209-t' are 1
The occurrence of an error such as a paper jam or no paper is monitored until the printing operation for the first sheet is completed. If the process ends normally, the process proceeds to step 5P210, and if an error occurs, the process proceeds to step 5P211.

In step 5P211, it is determined whether the digital image data sent from the image reading device 3 has been correctly stored in the page memory 2. If it is normal, the recording device 4 performs its own error recovery process. Since it is possible, the process proceeds to step SP216, and if there is an abnormality, it is necessary to input the digital image data from the image reading device 3 again, so the process proceeds to step SP202.

If the printing operation for the first page has been completed normally, the page memory 21 is set to the read mode (=read mode) for reading out the digital image data stored from the page memory 21 in step 5P210, and the switch 22 is accordingly set. is also switched to the page memory 21 side, and the LBP 23 is set so that printing can be performed using the digital image data sent from the page memory 21.

Next L: m Step S P 2124 in Figure 3 (B).
: Performs end judgment when printing multiple sheets.

Number of prints entered on Sten7'5P205 (=N)
If the image gets stuck, the process returns to step 5P201 to complete the copying operation for the same image. If not, the process proceeds to step SP213, and uses the digital image data stored in the page memory 21 to instruct the LBP 23 to print one sheet.

In steps 5P214 and 5P215, the occurrence of an error such as a paper jam or no paper is monitored until the printing operation for one sheet is completed. If the process ends normally, proceed to step SP212; if an error occurs, proceed to step SP212.
216 respectively.

In step SP216, the ready signal is turned off to notify the image reading device 3 of the occurrence of an error.

In step 5P217, it is determined whether the error that has occurred has been resolved. If the error is cleared, the process proceeds to step SP218, where the ready signal is turned on, and the process proceeds to step SP212, where printing continues for the insufficient number of sheets.

In this way, the image data in the page memory is held until the desired number of copies have been completed, so when an error occurs, the effort of having to read the original again to restart the copying operation is saved, and efficiency is improved. A good copy is made.

In addition, this error processing is also executed on the recording device side without applying a negative number to the reading side, so the control of the image generation device can be simplified, and the image generation device does not require a program for error processing operation. There's nothing left to do.

and.

In the above embodiment, in order to simplify the explanation, the flow chart is written as if the completion of printing by LBP23 is viewed one by one. It is also possible to perform control such that the printed paper exists inside the LBP 23. In this case, reprinting may be performed taking into consideration the number of sheets of print paper that remained inside the LBP 23 when the error occurred.

〔effect〕

From the following explanation, according to the present invention, a copying device is provided with a page memory for storing digital image data,
By retaining the image data being printed until the timing when it is known that the copying has been completed, it becomes easy to resume operations when an error occurs, and efficient copying operations can be performed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a specific example of the configuration of a digital copying system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an example of a control flow chart of the image reading device 3 shown in the first drawing, and FIGS. . 3 is an image reading device, 4 is an image recording device, and 14 is an image sensor. 15 is an image processing circuit, and 21 is a page memory. 23 is LBP.

Claims (1)

[Claims] An image stored in the page memory in a copying apparatus that has a page memory that stores at least one screen worth of input image data and is capable of printing multiple sheets of the same image using image data read from the page memory. A copying apparatus that retains at least the image data stored in the page memory until it is confirmed that the required number of prints according to the data have been surely printed out.