JP2005267069A - Image forming apparatus and controller to be used for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus for accurately stopping print operation when it is necessary to quickly stop the print processing due to various conditions such as a factor attributable to the conditions of a user or an image or a problem on hardware. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus is provided with: an image transfer request managing part for discriminating the presence/absence of a print stop instruction from a print stop instructing part when accepting an image transfer request, and for outputting a response of image transfer when there is not any print stopping instruction, and for not outputting the response of the image transfer when there is any print stopping instruction; and an image processing part for performing print processing or processing to stop the print processing according to an image transfer response from the image transfer request managing part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile, or a multifunction machine having these functions, to which an electrophotographic method is applied, and a control device used therefor, and in particular, executes a printing process in the printer or the copying machine. In particular, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus capable of executing processing for urgently stopping printing in addition to a print instruction from a controller to a printer, and a control device used therefor.

Japanese Patent No. 2840333

  Conventionally, image forming apparatuses such as printers, copiers, facsimiles, or multifunction machines having these functions, to which this type of electrophotographic method is applied, can be broadly divided into functional groups, a controller as a control device, and an image output. And a printer as a device. As shown in FIG. 15, when the preparation of the image of the page to be printed is completed (step 501), the controller sends a print instruction command to the printer (step 502). Thereafter, when the controller receives an image transfer request from the printer, the controller operates to transfer the requested image to the printer (step 503).

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 16, when the printer receives a print instruction command from the controller, the printer transmits a print start command to the controller (step 601). When image data is received from the controller, the printer executes print processing. (Step 602).

  In such an image forming apparatus, for example, Japanese Patent No. 2840333 discloses a technique that can increase the printing speed by efficiently performing serial communication between a controller and a printer.

  In the image forming apparatus according to Japanese Patent No. 2840333, an image forming apparatus connected to a host system converts a code transmitted from the host system into image data, and image data for one page is prepared. An image data processing unit that transmits a print start command each time using a serial communication method, and a memory that is connected to the image data processing unit and that can store the print start command for a plurality of pages. A sequence for receiving a print start command transmitted from the data processing unit, sequentially storing the received print start command in the memory, reading the stored print start command, and controlling an image forming operation in each unit of the image forming apparatus And a control unit.

  However, the conventional technique has the following problems. In other words, in the case of the image forming apparatus according to the above-mentioned Japanese Patent No. 2840333, when the user wants to stop the print processing designated by the page suddenly or the scanning of the document image is started immediately after scanning the image on the high-speed machine. However, if there is a need to stop print processing suddenly due to circumstances such as anti-counterfeiting checks, or a hardware problem is detected on the controller or printer side, image data cannot be transferred midway. Thus, there is a problem in that the print operation stop process cannot be performed accurately when it becomes necessary to stop the print process suddenly, such as when a blank image is output as it is.

  More specifically, in the case of the image forming apparatus according to the above-mentioned Japanese Patent No. 2840333, every time one page of image data is prepared on the controller side, a print start command is sent to the printer side, and the printer side prints. When the start command is received, the print processing is executed immediately. Therefore, when the preparation of the image data is completed on the controller side, the print processing is executed, and it is necessary to urgently stop the print processing. In this case, there is a problem that the printing operation stop processing cannot be performed accurately, particularly at a position desired by the user.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and the object of the present invention is various circumstances such as a user's situation, a cause caused by an image, or a hardware problem. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and a control device used therefor, which can accurately perform a print operation stop process when it is necessary to stop the print process suddenly.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the invention described in claim 1 is an image generation unit that generates image data to be output to an image output device based on input data, and an image generated by the image generation unit. An image storage unit for storing a plurality of data, a print instruction control unit for outputting a print instruction command to the image output device when at least one image data is stored in the image storage unit, and an output from the print instruction control unit A print processing queue unit that stores the received print instruction command, an image transfer request unit that outputs an image data transfer request with reference to the print instruction command stored in the print processing queue unit, and the print process should be stopped A print cancel instruction section for outputting an instruction to cancel printing when a situation occurs, and the above image When the print transfer request is received, it is determined whether or not there is a print cancel instruction from the print cancel instruction unit. If there is no print cancel instruction, an image transfer response is output. An image transfer request management unit that does not output a response; and an image processing unit that executes a print process or executes a process of canceling the print process in response to an image transfer response from the image transfer request management unit. The image forming apparatus is characterized.
Examples of the input data include code data such as image data and postscript.
Further, in the present invention, “stop” or “stop” means an act of stopping the print processing, which is not particularly used separately, and whether the print processing is restarted or not restarted thereafter. Is optional. The same applies to the term “cancel”.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, in the image processing unit, the image transfer response from the image transfer request management unit is a response to stop the print processing. In this case, the image forming apparatus is configured to output only a page designated by a response to cancel the print processing as a blank sheet.

  Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, in the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, in the image processing unit, the image transfer response from the image transfer request management unit is a response to stop the print processing. In this case, the image forming apparatus is configured to output only a page designated by a response to cancel the print processing as an image different from the original image.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the print instruction control unit is configured such that the image transfer response from the image transfer request management unit is a response to stop the print processing. In some cases, the image forming apparatus controls to output only a page designated by a response to cancel the print processing to an output tray different from the original output tray.

  Further, the invention described in claim 5 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the image processing unit, the image transfer response from the image transfer request management unit is a response to stop the print processing. The image transfer request unit is configured to output an image transfer request for the skipped image again. The image forming apparatus is characterized by the above.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, when the print instruction control unit performs double-sided printing in the image output apparatus, double-sided image data is stored in the image storage unit. At this point, the image forming apparatus outputs a print instruction command to the image output apparatus.

  Furthermore, the invention described in claim 7 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image generation unit has not completed storing image data in the image storage unit, but the print instruction control unit. The print instruction control unit is configured to receive a pseudo storage notification from the image generation unit and output a print instruction command to the image output device. An image forming apparatus.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the image transfer request unit transfers the image in an order different from the order of the print instruction commands sent from the print instruction control unit. An image forming apparatus configured to issue a request.

Furthermore, the invention described in claim 9 is a control device for controlling an image output device that performs print processing based on input data.
A print cancel instruction unit that outputs an instruction to cancel printing when circumstances for canceling the print processing occur;
An image transfer request management unit that controls transfer of image data to the image output device according to the presence or absence of a print stop instruction from the print stop instruction unit when an image data transfer request is received from the image output device; This is a control device characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, when there is a necessity to suspend printing processing suddenly due to various circumstances such as a user's situation or a cause caused by an image, or a hardware problem, the printing operation is appropriately stopped. An image forming apparatus that can be used and a control device used therefor can be provided.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1
FIG. 2 shows an external configuration of a digital multifunction machine (multifunction machine) as an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 shows the overall configuration of this digital multi-function peripheral.

  This digital multi-function peripheral reads a document image with a scanner, copies a copy of the document image read with the scanner, and a code such as PostScript sent from a host computer such as a personal computer. Each mode is switched to a print mode that prints based on data or image data, and a fax mode that scans and transmits original images with a scanner, or prints image data sent via a telephone line. It is comprised so that the operation | movement based on can be performed.

  2 and 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body of the digital multi-function peripheral, and an automatic document feeder that automatically conveys the original 2 in a state of being separated one by one at the top of the digital multi-function peripheral main body 1. (ADF) 3 and a scanner 4 for reading an image of the document 2 conveyed by the automatic document feeder 3 are provided. As shown in FIG. 3, the scanner 4 illuminates a document 2 placed on a platen glass 5 with a light source 6, and converts a reflected light image from the document 2 into a full-rate mirror 7 and half-rate mirrors 8, 9 and The image reading element 11 made up of a CCD or the like is scanned and exposed through a reduction optical system made up of the imaging lens 10 and read.

  The inside of the digital multi-function peripheral body 1 is mainly configured to function as the printer 50. However, the printer 50 is not limited to the print mode, and the image is printed on the paper not only in the copy mode but also in the fax mode. It functions as an image output device (IOT) to be formed. The printer 50 not only has a hardware configuration as an image output apparatus (IOT), but also communicates with a controller as described later, and performs an image output operation based on an instruction from the controller. It also has a function to control the above.

  The image data of the document 2 read by the scanner 4 is subjected to predetermined image processing by an IPS (Image Processing System) 12 as necessary and temporarily stored in an image storage unit described later. At this timing, it is sent to the printer 50 as image data. In addition, code data sent from a host computer such as a personal computer is converted into a format that can be output to the printer 50 by an image generation unit described later, and then sent to the printer 50 as image data at a predetermined timing.

  In the printer 50, image exposure is performed on the photosensitive drum 14 by a ROS (Raster Output Scanner) 13 based on the image data, and an electrostatic latent image is formed. The ROS 13 sensitizes a semiconductor laser 15 that emits a laser beam according to image information, a polygon mirror 16 that scans the laser beam emitted from the semiconductor laser 15, and a laser beam that is scanned by the polygon mirror 16. It comprises mirrors 17 and 18 for exposing on the body drum 14. Prior to image exposure by the ROS 13, the photosensitive drum 14 is uniformly charged to a predetermined potential having a predetermined polarity by a primary charger 19 composed of a charging roll, a scorotron, or the like, and then, as described above, by the ROS 13. The image of the original 2 is exposed to form an electrostatic latent image. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 14 is developed by the developing device 20 to become a toner image. The toner image is transferred onto a recording paper 22 as a recording medium by charging of the transfer corotron 21, and the recording paper 22 onto which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 14 by charge removal of the separation corotron 23. The The recording paper 22 onto which the toner image has been transferred from the photosensitive drum 14 is one of paper feed trays 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29 serving as paper feed means provided inside the copying machine main body 1. Accordingly, the paper is fed by the paper feed roll 30 and is once transported to the registration gate 33 via the transport roll 31 and the pre-registration roll 32 and then stopped. The recording paper 22 passes through a registration gate 33 that opens in synchronization with the toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 14, and is registered by a registration roll 34 disposed on the downstream side of the registration gate 33. As described above, the toner image formed on the surface of the photoconductive drum 14 is transferred to the surface of the photoconductive drum 14 and then separated from the surface of the photoconductive drum 14.

  In the digital copying machine, the paper transport path from the paper feed trays 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29 is formed as short as possible, and the recording paper 22 is transported at a high speed. (The number of copies per unit time) is realized

  The recording paper 22 separated from the surface of the photosensitive drum 14 is conveyed to a fixing device 35, and a toner image is fixed on the recording paper 22 by heat and pressure by the fixing device 35. In the case of normal single-sided copying, the recording paper 22 on which the toner image has been fixed is discharged as it is onto a discharge tray 38 outside the apparatus by a discharge roll 37 in the case of normal single-sided copying. In the case of double-sided copying, the recording paper 22 having a toner image fixed on one side is not discharged out of the apparatus by the discharge roll 37 as it is, but the conveyance direction is changed downward by the reversing gate 39 and the three rolls. Are temporarily conveyed to the reverse passage 42 by the tri-roll 40 and the reverse roll 41 which are in pressure contact with each other. Then, the recording paper 22 is transported to the double-sided passage 44 after being reversed by the reverse roll 41 and the double-sided roll 43 which are now reversed, and the registration gate 33 passes through the pre-registration roll 32 from the double-sided passage 44. And is conveyed in synchronism with the toner image on the photosensitive drum 14 by the resist gate 33 and the resist roll 34 as described above, and the toner image is transferred / fixed on the back surface of the recording paper 22. After the process is performed, the sheet is discharged onto a discharge tray 38 by a discharge roll 37.

  Residual toner, paper dust, and the like are removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 14 after the toner image transfer process is completed by the cleaning device 45, and the surface is prepared for the next image forming process.

  FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the image forming unit of the digital multi-function peripheral configured as described above.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the photosensitive drum 14 is uniformly charged to a predetermined potential having a predetermined polarity by a primary charger 19 composed of a charging roll or a scorotron. The image of the document 2 is scanned and exposed by the ROS 13 to form an electrostatic latent image. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 14 is developed by the developing device 20 to become a toner image. The toner image is subjected to auxiliary charging by the pre-transfer charger 46, and as described above, The recording paper 22 is transferred onto the recording paper 22 fed and conveyed from the desired paper feeding trays 24 to 29 by charging of the transfer corotron 21, and the recording paper 22 on which the toner image is transferred is removed by the charge removal of the separation corotron 23. It is separated from the photosensitive drum 14. The recording paper 22 separated from the photosensitive drum 14 is conveyed to a fixing device 35 where the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 35. In the case of single-sided copying, the recording paper 22 is directly discharged onto a discharge tray 38. In the case of duplex copying, the image forming process on the back side is repeated.

  The surface of the photosensitive drum 14 after the toner image transfer process is finished is subjected to exposure by an erase lamp 48 after residual toner, paper dust and the like are removed by the cleaning brush 47 of the cleaning device 45 and the like. The charges are erased, and the apparatus is configured to prepare for the next image forming process.

  FIG. 5 shows a control circuit of the digital multi-function peripheral according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In FIG. 5, reference numeral 51 denotes a controller as a control device for controlling the digital multi-function peripheral. The controller 51 controls the controller 51 itself and controls the operation of the digital multi-function peripheral, and the CPU 52 And a memory 54 connected via a bus bridge 53. The memory 54 includes a drawing memory 54a including a ROM that stores a program to be executed by the CPU 52, a RAM that functions as an image storage unit that can store image data obtained by expanding image data over a plurality of pages, and the like. It is comprised so that it may be provided.

  The CPU 52 is connected to a user interface (UI) 56, a scanner interface 57, a printer interface 58, and a fax interface 59 via a bus 55. The scanner interface 57 is connected to the scanner 4, and the printer interface 58 is connected to the printer 50. In addition, a fax (FAX) interface 59 is connected to a fax (FAX) 60. Note that the fax 60 is used for expanding the image data sent via the communication line or compressing the image data read by the scanner 4 and transmitting it via the communication line.

  Further, the CPU 52 can be connected to a personal computer (PC) 63, a workstation (WS) 64, and the like through a bus 55 and a network interface 61 through a network 62 such as a LAN, a telephone line, or the Internet. .

  The user interface (UI) 56 selects a print mode executed by the digital multi-function peripheral, a copy mode, a fax mode, or the like. In the print mode or the copy mode, a paper feed tray that feeds paper to be printed. , Selection of the number of prints, copy magnification, etc., and a start button is pressed to start a print operation or the like.

  In this embodiment, the user interface (UI) 56 is provided with a print cancel button 56a as a print cancel instruction means for instructing stop of the print processing when the user wants to stop the print processing suddenly. Yes. The print cancel button 56a can be instructed to cancel a page or paper for which the print process is to be stopped individually, or to cancel the print process for any number of pages.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, when a digital multi-function peripheral is connected to a personal computer (PC) 63 or the like and functions as a printer of the personal computer (PC) 63, a personal computer (with a printer driver installed) PC) 63 issues a print instruction, but it is also possible to instruct the print processing to be stopped by a print stop button provided on the icon of this personal computer (PC) 63.

  By the way, in this embodiment, an image generation unit that generates image data to be output to an image output device based on input data, an image storage unit that stores a plurality of image data generated by the image generation unit, When at least one image data is stored in the image storage unit, a print instruction control unit that outputs a print instruction command to the image output device, and a print process that stores a print instruction command output from the print instruction control unit A queue unit, an image transfer request unit that outputs a transfer request for image data with reference to a print instruction command stored in the print processing queue unit, a print cancel instruction unit that instructs to stop print processing, and the image transfer When the request is accepted, the print cancel instruction from the print cancel instruction If there is no print stop instruction, an image transfer response is output. If there is a print stop instruction, an image transfer request management unit that does not output an image transfer response is output from the image transfer request management unit. And an image processing unit for executing a print process or a process for canceling the print process according to the image transfer response.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the digital multi-function peripheral according to this embodiment is roughly composed of a controller 51 as a control device and a printer 50 as an image output device. The controller 51 and the printer 50 are communicably connected to each other via a communication line 65 that employs a serial communication method or a parallel communication method. In FIG. 1, the controller 51 and the printer 50 are connected by a plurality of lines, but this does not mean that the parallel communication system is used, and between the controller 51 and the printer 50. The command etc. which are communicated are shown only for convenience. For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the controller 51 and the printer 50 may be integrally assembled in the digital multi-function peripheral body 1. The controller 51 and the printer 50 may be configured separately from each other. For example, a personal computer (PC) 63 in which driver software for operating the printer 50 is installed is used as the controller 51. Also good.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the controller 51 includes an image generation unit 70, an image storage unit 71, a print instruction control unit 72, an image transfer request management unit 73, and a print cancellation instruction unit 74.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the image generation unit 70 includes code data and image data such as postscripts input from a personal computer (PC) 63 or the like, image data of a document read by the scanner 4, or a telephone line. This is for converting image data sent via a network 62 such as LAN or LAN into a format that can be output to the printer 50 to generate image data. As shown in FIG. 5, the image generation unit 70 is configured by software executed by the CPU 52 or hardware such as an image data development circuit (Video ASIC) (not shown), and input code data such as a postscript. The image data is converted into a format that can be output to the printer 50 to generate image data.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the image storage unit 71 is provided in the memory 54, for example, and is a drawing memory that can store the image data generated by the image generation unit 70 for a plurality of pages. 54a. The image storage unit 71 may be configured by a hard disk drive (HDD) or the like.

  Further, the print instruction control unit 72 starts a print operation in which a copy start button (not shown) provided on the user interface (UI) 56 is pressed or print processing displayed on the display of the personal computer 63 is started. When it is detected that at least one image data is stored in the image storage unit 71 after an icon or the like is operated, a print instruction command 83 is output to the printer 50. The print instruction command 83 is a command for instructing a print operation that is output in units of one page. Prior to the print instruction command 83, the print instruction control unit 72 also outputs a print attribute designation command 84 for instructing the size of paper to be printed, the font of characters, and the like.

  The print instruction control unit 72 detects the storage of the image data in response to the notification that at least one image data is stored in the image storage unit 71, and outputs a print instruction command 83 to the printer 50. However, the image generation unit 70 may be a signal for instructing image storage or a signal for starting generation of image data by the image generation unit 70 even if the storage of the image data in the image storage unit 71 is not completed. The pseudo storage notification may be regarded as having been stored in the image storage unit 71, and the pseudo storage notification may be output to the print instruction control unit 72. In this case, the print instruction control unit 72 is configured to receive a pseudo storage notification from the image generation unit 70 and output a print instruction command to the printer 50. By doing so, the print instruction command 83 can be output quickly, and the time until the start of printing can be shortened.

  Further, when the image transfer request management unit 73 receives the image request status 85 from the printer 50, the image transfer request management unit 73 determines whether the image data can be output to the printer 50, and cancels the print processing from the print cancel instruction unit 74. Is determined, and if it is determined that the image data can be output to the printer 50, a response command 86 for requesting transfer of the image data is transmitted to a command interpretation of the printer 50 which will be described later. This is issued to the image processing unit 80 via the unit 75. When the image transfer request management unit 73 receives the image request status 85 from the printer 50, the image transfer request management unit 73 receives a print processing stop instruction from the print stop instruction unit 74 and cannot output image data to the printer 50. Is determined, the image request response command 86 is issued to the image processing unit 80 via the command interpreting unit 75 of the printer 50 as a response to stop the printing process.

  On the other hand, the printer 50 includes a command interpretation unit 75, a dictionary unit 76, a print processing queue unit 77, an image transfer request unit 78, a status transmission unit 79, and an image processing unit 80, as shown in FIG. It is comprised so that it may be provided.

  The command interpreter 75 receives various commands such as the print instruction command 83 and the print attribute instruction command 84 from the controller 51, and interprets these various commands. In addition, when interpreting the print attribute instruction command 84 received from the controller 51, the command interpreting unit 75 temporarily stores the interpreted print attribute in the dictionary unit 76.

  The print processing queue unit 77 sequentially stores the print instruction command 83 output from the print instruction control unit 72 of the controller 51 for each page as print information 81 associated with the print attribute.

  Further, the image transfer request unit 78 is configured to output an image request status 85 to the controller 51 via the status transmission unit 79 with reference to the print instruction command 83 stored in the print processing queue unit 77. ing.

  The image processing unit 80 sends an image transfer request signal to the image transfer synchronization unit via the print processing queue unit 77 in response to an image request response command 86 sent from the image transfer request management unit 73 of the controller 51. If the image request response command 86 is an instruction to cancel the print process, the print process queue unit cancels all print processes after the specified image or only the specified image. The print information 81 stored in the printer 77 is processed.

  Further, when the image transfer response from the image transfer request management unit 73 is a response to cancel the print processing, the image processing unit 80 only blanks the page designated by the response to cancel the print processing. It may be configured to output in

  In addition, when the image transfer response from the image transfer request management unit 73 is a response to cancel the print processing, the image processing unit 80 originally extracts only the page specified by the response to stop the print processing. It may be configured to output an image different from the above image.

  Further, when the image transfer response from the image transfer request management unit 73 is a response to stop the print processing, the image processing unit 80 prints the page specified by the response to stop the print processing. The image transfer request unit 78 may be configured to output an image transfer request for the skipped image again.

  In the configuration described above, the digital multifunction peripheral according to this embodiment suddenly stops the printing process due to various circumstances such as the cause of the user, the cause caused by the image, or the hardware problem as follows. When the necessity arises, it is possible to accurately perform the stop processing of the printing operation.

  That is, in the digital multi-function peripheral according to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a copy mode in which the image of the original 2 is read by the scanner 4 and the image of the original 2 read by the scanner 4 is copied, and a personal computer (PC) A print mode for printing based on code data sent from a host computer or the like such as 63, and an image of the original 2 is read by the scanner 4 and transmitted, or sent via a network 62 such as a telephone line. Switching to the FAX mode for printing the coming image data is performed, and the printing operation based on each mode is executed.

  In this digital multi-function peripheral, when code data and image data are input to the controller 51, the code data and image data are received by a printer 50 by an image generation unit 70 of the controller 51 as shown in FIG. Is converted into a format that can be output, and image data 82 is generated. The image data 82 generated by the image generation unit 70 is stored in the image storage unit 71 for each page.

FIG. 6 shows a process of printing a first job for printing an image of 3 pages and a second job for printing an image of 4 pages on one side of a recording paper 22 of a predetermined size in the digital copying machine. The case where it does is shown typically.
The image data 82 generated by the image generation unit 70 is sequentially stored in the image storage unit 71 for each page as shown in FIG.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the controller 51 generates image data by the image generation unit 70, the image data 82 is stored in the image storage unit 71, and the preparation of the image data 82 of the page to be printed is completed. If it is determined by the print instruction control unit 72 (step 101), a print instruction command 83 is output (sent) from the print instruction control unit 72 to the printer 50 (step 102). Next, the controller 51 determines whether an image request status 85 as an image transfer request from the printer 50 has been sent by the image transfer request management unit 73, and an image as an image transfer request from the printer 50. If it is determined that the request status 85 has been sent, it is determined whether or not a situation has occurred in which print processing is canceled (cancelled) based on a signal from the print cancel instruction unit 74 (step 103).

  Here, the image transfer request management unit 73 determines whether or not a situation for canceling (cancelling) the print processing has occurred depending on whether or not the print cancel instruction unit 74 has instructed to cancel the print processing. To do. The determination by the image transfer request management unit 73 is performed every time an image request status 85 is sent from the printer 50. The print cancel instruction unit 74 sends an image transfer instruction to stop the print processing when the user presses the print cancel button 56a, for example, when the user wants to stop the print processing designated by the page suddenly. The request is output to the request management unit 73. The print cancel instruction unit 74 starts the printing process immediately after the image of the document 2 is scanned by the scanner 4 in a high-speed machine, for example, but the image data 82 stored in the image storage unit 71 is checked. When there is a need to stop the printing process suddenly due to circumstances caused by images such as anti-counterfeit checks, a hardware problem is detected on the controller 51 or the printer 50 side, and the image data 82 is transferred halfway. Even when it becomes necessary to suspend printing processing suddenly, such as when it becomes impossible, an instruction to stop printing processing is output to the image transfer request management unit 73.

  If the image transfer request management unit 73 determines that the situation for canceling the print processing has not occurred, the image transfer request management unit 73 sends an image request response command 86 indicating that the image transfer is to be performed to the printer 50 (step 104). Subsequently, the controller 51 receives a timing signal for transferring an image from the printer 50 and transfers the image data 82 of the first page of the first job to the printer 50 (step 105).

  On the other hand, the image transfer request management unit 73 sends an image request response command indicating that the image transfer request is canceled to the printer 50 when a situation in which the print processing is stopped occurs (step 106).

  In response to this, the command interpreter 75 in the printer 50 determines whether or not the print instruction command 83 is sent from the controller 51 as shown in FIG. 8 (step 201), and the print instruction command 83 is sent from the controller 51. Is not sent, the controller 51 waits until the print instruction command 83 is sent. Next, when the command interpreting unit 75 determines that the print instruction command 83 is sent from the controller 51, the command interpreting unit 75 is instructed by the print attribute instruction command 84 sent prior to the print instruction command 83, and is sent to the dictionary unit 76. The stored attribute information is added and stored as print information 81 in the print processing queue section 77 (step 202).

  FIG. 9 shows a state where the print processing of the first and second jobs in the printer 50 is progressing halfway. In FIG. 9, the first page of the first job has already been printed and the recording paper 22 has been discharged to the outside, and the second page and third page image data 82 of the first job includes the first page. With the print attribute of the second job 2 added, the image data 82 of the first page of the second job 2 is stored in the print processing queue unit 77 with the print attribute of the second job 2 added. It shows the state.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the image transfer request unit 78 of the printer 50 determines whether or not there is print information 82 in the print processing queue unit 77 (step 301), and in the print processing queue unit 77. If there is no print information 82, it waits until the print information is stored in the print processing queue section 77. Next, when the print information 82 is stored in the print processing queue unit 77, the image transfer request unit 78 refers to the print information 82 stored in the print processing queue unit 77 and sends an image to the controller 51. The request status 85 is sent (step 302), and when there are a plurality of print information 82 in the print processing queue section 77, the optimum image request status is transferred to the controller 51 in consideration of the mechanism of the printer 50. (Step 302).

  Here, “considering the mechanism of the printer 50” means that in the case of the printer 50 that prints the image of the front surface every other page instead of continuous pages in the case of double-sided printing or the like, 1 It means that the situation of the printer is taken into consideration, such as sending an image of the surface of every other page.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the image processing unit 80 in the printer 50 determines whether or not the image request status 85 has been output to the controller 51 (step 401), and outputs the image request status 85 to the controller 51. If not, it waits until the image request status 85 is output to the controller 51. Next, when determining that the image request status 85 has been output to the controller 51, the image processing unit 80 determines whether or not the controller 51 has responded to the print instruction command 83 within a specified time (step 402). If the response from 51 to the print instruction command 83 is not within the specified time, it is processed as a time-out error (step 403), and the printing operation is terminated.

  If the response from the controller 51 to the print instruction command 83 is within the specified time, the image processing unit 80 determines whether or not the response from the controller 51 is a response that permits image transfer (step S100). 404) If it is not a response permitting image transfer, a process for canceling printing of the canceled image is executed (step 405), and the printing operation is terminated.

  Further, when the response from the controller 51 is a response permitting image transfer, the image processing unit 80 transmits a timing signal for transferring the image to the controller 51, receives the image data 82, and performs print processing. Is executed (step 406), and the printing operation is terminated.

  By the way, in the digital multi-functional peripheral according to the above-described embodiment, an operation when the print processing is suddenly stopped will be described.

  As described above, the print cancel instruction unit 74 is used when the user presses the print cancel button 56a, for example, when the user wants to suddenly stop the page-designated print process depending on the user's circumstances, or when the digital multifunction peripheral is a high-speed machine. In this case, the printing process is started immediately after the image of the document 2 is scanned by the scanner 4, but as a result of checking the image data 82 stored in the image storage unit 71, the situation caused by the image such as the anti-counterfeit check If there is a need to stop the printing process suddenly, or a hardware problem is detected on the controller 51 or the printer 50 side during the printing operation, and the transfer of the image data 82 becomes impossible in the middle. If there is a need to stop printing immediately, such as An instruction to cancel, and outputs the image transfer request management unit 73.

  As shown in step 103 in FIG. 7, the image transfer request management unit 73 sends a print instruction command 83 from the controller 51 to the printer 50 and then receives an image request status 85 from the printer 50. It is determined whether or not an instruction for canceling the print processing from the print cancel instruction unit 74, that is, whether or not a print cancel situation has occurred.

  FIG. 12 shows an instruction to stop print processing from the print cancel instruction unit 74 in a state where the image data up to the first page of the second job has been sent to the print processing queue unit 77 of the printer 50. This shows a case where the transfer request management unit 73 accepts the request.

  In FIG. 12, after a print instruction command 83 for printing the second page of the second job is output to the printer 50, an instruction to stop the print processing is issued from the print stop instruction unit 74 to the image transfer request management. Part 73 is received. The image request status 85 is output from the printer 50 to the controller 51 after receiving an instruction to cancel the print processing.

  Therefore, when the image transfer request management unit 73 of the controller 51 receives the image request status 85 from the printer 50, as shown in step 103 of FIG. 7 described above, an instruction to cancel the print processing from the print cancel instruction unit 74. That is, it is determined whether or not a situation in which printing has been canceled has occurred. In this case, since an instruction to stop the printing process has been issued, the image transfer request management unit 73 cancels the image request response. A command 87 is output to the printer 50.

  Then, the image processing unit 80 of the printer 50 determines in step 404 of FIG. 11 that the response from the printer 50 is the image request response cancel command 87, and cancels the canceled image (the second page of the first job). ) Is canceled.

  At that time, the image processing unit 80 interprets the content of the image request response cancel command 87, and as shown in FIG. Stops the specified print operation depending on whether to stop printing only the page.

  In addition, when the image transfer response from the image transfer request management unit 73 is a response to cancel the print processing, the image processing unit 80 performs blank page printing only on the page specified by the response to cancel the print processing. Alternatively, only the page designated by the response to cancel the printing process may be output as an image different from the original image.

  Further, when the image transfer response from the image transfer request management unit 73 is a response to stop the print processing, the image processing unit 80 prints the page specified by the response to stop the print processing. The image transfer request unit 78 may output the image transfer request for the skipped image again and execute the print operation for all pages from the beginning.

  As described above, in the digital multi-function peripheral according to the above-described embodiment, when an image data transfer request is sent from the printer 50, it is determined whether there is a situation in which the print processing should be stopped. The image transfer request management unit 73 outputs a command that responds to an image transfer request to the printer 50 only when the management unit 73 determines that there is no circumstance to cancel the print processing. If there is a need to stop printing immediately due to various reasons such as the cause of the user, images, or hardware problems, The cancellation process can be performed accurately.

Embodiment 2
FIGS. 13 and 14 show the second embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those in the first embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals. In the second embodiment, the digital composite will be described. The printer is configured to stop the printing operation when performing double-sided printing in the machine.

  That is, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, the printing process is basically executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment described above. However, in step 302 of FIG. The image request status 85 is sent to the controller 51 with reference to the print information 82 stored in the print information 82, and when there are a plurality of print information 82 in the print processing queue section 77, the mechanism of the printer 50 is taken into consideration. The optimum image request status is transferred to the controller 51.

  At this time, in the second embodiment, since double-sided printing is instructed, when the printer 50 transfers the image request status 85 to the controller 51, the printer 50 considers the mechanism of the printer 50 and is optimal. The image request status 85 is transferred.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the printer 50 reverses the front and back of the recording paper 22 on which an image is printed on one side and transports the paper again when transported to the image forming unit as shown in FIG. In order to efficiently perform and increase the printing speed, the image is continuously printed on the back surface of the two recording papers 22 and then the image is continuously printed on the front surface of the two recording papers 22. ing. Therefore, in the printer 50, as shown in FIG. 13, after printing images on the back side of the second page of the first job and the back side of the first page of the second job, 2 of the first job is printed. The image request status 85 is transferred to the controller 51 so as to transfer the image data of the front surface of the page.

  By the way, when the controller 51 receives a transfer request for the image data on the front page of the second page of the first job, if an instruction to stop the print processing is issued from the print stop instruction unit 74, the controller 51 The image transfer request management unit 73 51 outputs an image request response cancel command 87 to the printer 50.

  In this way, as understood from the second embodiment, when the controller 51 receives an image transfer request from the printer 50, the controller 51 determines whether there is a situation in which the print processing should be stopped. There is no need to consider what state the printer 50 is in when there is a situation that the print processing should be stopped. The print stop processing is accurately performed without depending on the configuration of the printer 50. Can be executed.

  As a result, when creating a program for controlling the controller 51 and the printer 50, it is not necessary to consider the hardware configuration of the printer 50, so that the program can be easily created and versatile. It is possible to create a high control program.

  Since other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

1 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of a digital multi-function peripheral as an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an external appearance of a digital multi-function peripheral as an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a digital multi-function peripheral as an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an image forming unit of the digital multi-function peripheral as the image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the digital multi-function peripheral as the image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the digital multi-function peripheral as the image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the digital multi-function peripheral as the image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the digital multi-function peripheral as the image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the digital multi-function peripheral as the image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the digital multi-function peripheral as the image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the digital multi-function peripheral as the image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the digital multi-function peripheral as the image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the digital multi-function peripheral as the image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the digital multi-function peripheral as the image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the operation of the conventional image forming apparatus. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the operation of the conventional image forming apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

  50: Printer, 51: Controller, 70: Image generation unit, 71: Image storage unit, 73: Image transfer request management unit, 74: Print cancel instruction unit, 77: Print processing queue unit, 78: Image transfer request unit, 80 : Image processing unit.

Claims (9)

An image generation unit that generates image data to be output to the image output device based on the input data;
An image storage unit for storing a plurality of image data generated by the image generation unit;
A print instruction control unit that outputs a print instruction command to the image output device when at least one image data is stored in the image storage unit;
A print processing queue unit for storing a print instruction command output from the print instruction control unit;
An image transfer request unit that outputs a transfer request for image data with reference to a print instruction command stored in the print processing queue unit;
A print cancel instruction unit that outputs an instruction to cancel printing when circumstances for canceling the print processing occur;
When the image transfer request is received, it is determined whether or not there is a print cancel instruction from the print cancel instruction unit. If there is no print cancel instruction, an image transfer response is output, and if there is a print cancel instruction, image transfer is performed. An image transfer request management unit that does not output the response of
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image processing unit that executes a print process or performs a process of canceling a print process in response to an image transfer response from the image transfer request management unit. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the image transfer response from the image transfer request management unit is a response to stop the print processing, the image processing unit is a response to stop the print processing. An image forming apparatus configured to output only a designated page as a blank sheet. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the image transfer response from the image transfer request management unit is a response to stop the print processing, the image processing unit is a response to stop the print processing. An image forming apparatus configured to output only a designated page as an image different from an original image. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the image transfer response from the image transfer request management unit is a response to stop the print processing, the print instruction control unit responds to stop the print processing. An image forming apparatus that performs control so that only the page specified in (1) is output to an output tray different from an original output tray. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the image transfer response from the image transfer request management unit is a response to stop the print processing, the image processing unit is a response to stop the print processing. An image forming apparatus configured to skip printing of a specified page, and wherein the image transfer request unit is configured to output an image transfer request for an image skipped again. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the image output unit performs double-sided printing, the print instruction control unit sends a print instruction command to the image output unit when the image storage unit stores the double-sided image data. Is output. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image generation unit is configured to output a pseudo storage notification to the print instruction control unit, although storage of image data in the image storage unit is not completed. In addition, the print instruction control unit is configured to receive a pseudo storage notification from the image generation unit and to output a print instruction command to the image output device. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image transfer request unit is configured to issue image transfer requests in an order different from the order of print instruction commands sent from the print instruction control unit. An image forming apparatus. In a control device for controlling an image output device that performs print processing based on input data,
A print cancel instruction unit that outputs an instruction to cancel printing when circumstances for canceling the print processing occur;
An image transfer request management unit that controls transfer of image data to the image output device according to the presence or absence of a print stop instruction from the print stop instruction unit when an image data transfer request is received from the image output device; A control device characterized by that.

Images