CN1185595A - image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention controls that when a key other than the start key (101) on the operation panel (114) is pressed after background work is started from the ready state, the system CPU (100) that controls the overall system sets a state flag indicating that the operation of the foreground job starts. , even if an obstacle occurs in the background operation, the error is only displayed on the information display (93) for a certain period of time, and then the operation of the foreground operation is continued, and when the operation of the foreground operation ends, it is displayed again on the information display (93). A blockage of background jobs occurs.

Description

image forming device

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a digital copying machine having a copying function, a scanning function, a printing function, a facsimile transceiver function, an image processing function, and an image communication function for communicating image information with an external device.

Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as a digital copying machine has a reading unit (scanner) and an image forming unit (printer), and the reading unit and the image forming unit can operate at independent timings.

A digital copier reads an original document optically, converts the image into an electrical signal, performs various image processing, stores or processes the image data on the memory, and uses a laser electronic copying process (laser engine) to image it again. The structure and function of forming (printing) copiers.

Since the digital copying machine has the above-mentioned structure and functions, in addition to the same copying function as the existing analog copying machine, it also has a facsimile function for sending images or printing received images through a connection with a public line, and an image communication unit with a host computer. , In this way, the printing function of receiving and printing print data can also be realized by using one laser engine.

In other words, a single machine (digital copier) can have various functions (image transmission, receiving and printing, etc.) by using a common laser engine. In addition, since it is unnecessary to make the image reading unit and the laser engine unit operate synchronously like a conventional analog copier, for example, the image read by the image reading unit can be converted into an electrical signal and transmitted using a public line while simultaneously By using the laser engine to print the print data received from the host computer, it is possible to realize "parallel operation" in which different jobs are performed at the same time. At this time, image reading, facsimile transmission, and print data printing are processed as if these job requests were generated individually.

In this way, in the prior digital copying machine, there is a great advantage of having the same laser engine in common so as to have a device capable of performing different operations of recipient resources such as facsimile reception printing and printing of print data. However, the opposite is due to Since the laser engine is shared, when a certain obstacle occurs in a certain operation, as long as the obstacle is not removed, even if a request for another subsequent operation occurs, there is a major disadvantage that the operation cannot be responded to.

In particular, when operating a digital copying machine including certain job requirements on the premise of parallel operation, sometimes the operation itself is unexpectedly interrupted (or canceled) due to obstacles such as copy paper jams, copy paper run out, or toner run out. ). At this time, no operation is permitted until the obstacle is removed. The trouble that occurred here is not likely to be the job requested by the user who operates the digital copying machine at that moment. Therefore, from the standpoint of the user who is doing the operation, because the laser engine is shared, other people cannot be executed when the trouble occurs. For the work that can be understood, the obstacle that occurred in the work that was not set or requested by oneself not only interrupts (or cancels) one's own operation (including job reservations), but actually requires the removal of the obstacle, It was also very embarrassing.

First, conventionally, parallel operations can only occur under the following conditions.

(1) During print data reception as a background job, an operation of facsimile transmission as a print job is performed;

(2) While printing the received print data (background job), perform fax sending operation (foreground job);

(3) During the printing of the received fax document (background operation), perform the operation of fax sending (foreground operation);

(4) In the process of fax sending (background job), copy operation (foreground job);

(5) When performing a fax transmission operation (foreground operation), start printing of print data (background operation);

(6) When performing fax sending operation (foreground operation), start printing of fax receiving documents (background operation);

(7) When performing a fax sending operation (foreground operation), start receiving a fax (background operation);

(8) Fax reception is started (background job) while copying is being performed (foreground job).

Among these conditions, conventionally, there has been a disadvantage of "prohibiting the operation itself even when a failure occurs".

As long as the obstacle is not removed, the job request currently being set cannot be executed, and the operation is prohibited when the obstacle occurs, resulting in deterioration of operability. In addition, even if the operation itself is not prohibited, if the continuation of the display is blocked, the display of required information will be hindered, thereby affecting the operation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of improving operability by preventing deterioration of operability even if another job being operated fails during a setting operation of a new job.

The present invention provides an image forming apparatus characterized by comprising: a reading unit (2) for reading an image of a document, and a storage unit for storing image information read by the reading unit and image information sent from outside (323), an image forming unit that reads the image information stored in the storage unit and forms an image on an image forming medium (3), a setting unit that sets a second job in the operation of the first job of the image forming unit (114) A display unit for displaying information indicating that a failure occurs when a failure occurs in the first job in the image forming unit (93), displaying on the display unit when a failure occurs and in the second operation of the setting unit The first control unit (100) performs control to delete the display of the above-mentioned display unit at a specified time when the setting of the job is not completed, and performs the display again on the above-mentioned display unit when the setting of the second job of the above-mentioned setting unit is completed. A second control unit (100) for controlling the occurrence of the above-mentioned obstacle.

The present invention provides an image forming apparatus, characterized in that it has a reading unit (2) for reading an image of a document, and a first device for storing image information read by the reading unit and image information sent from outside. A storage unit (323), an image forming unit (3) that reads image information stored in the first storage unit and forms an image on an image forming medium, and sets a second job in the operation of the first job of the image forming unit A setting unit (114), a control unit (100) for controlling the continuation of setting when a failure occurs in the first job in the image forming unit and when the setting operation of the second job of the setting unit is not completed , the second storage unit (104) storing the second job when the setting of the second job by the setting unit continued by the control unit is completed, and displaying when the second job is stored in the second storage unit A display unit (93) for information indicating that a failure occurred in the first job in the image forming unit.

The present invention provides an image forming apparatus characterized by comprising: a reading unit (2) for reading an image of a document, and a storage unit for storing image information read by the reading unit and image information sent from outside (323), an image forming unit that reads the image information stored in the storage unit and forms an image on an image forming medium (3), a setting unit that sets a second job in the operation of the first job of the image forming unit (114) A display unit for displaying the setting content of the setting unit and the progress status of the first job of the image forming unit (93), in the setting of the second job of the setting unit, in the image forming unit When an obstacle occurs in the first operation of the above-mentioned first operation, the selection unit (100) selects whether to continue the setting operation of the second operation of the above-mentioned setting unit according to the failure content of the first operation. A first control unit (100) for displaying on the display unit only for a specified time the information that a failure occurred in the first job of the image forming unit and for continuing the setting operation of the second job of the setting unit. and a second control unit (100) for redisplaying on the display unit information of failure in the first job of the image forming unit when the setting of the second job by the setting unit is completed.

The present invention provides an image forming apparatus characterized by comprising: a reading unit (2) for reading an image of a document, and a storage unit for storing image information read by the reading unit and image information sent from outside (323), an image forming unit (3) that reads out the image information stored in the storage unit and forms an image on an image forming medium, and a setting unit (114) that sets a foreground job in the background job operation of the image forming unit ), a display unit (93) for displaying information indicating that a failure occurs in the image forming unit when a failure occurs in a background job, and setting the foreground job in the setting unit when a failure occurs on the display unit A first control unit (100) that performs control to delete the display of the above-mentioned display unit at a specified time when it is not completed, and redisplays the occurrence of the above-mentioned failure on the above-mentioned display unit when the setting of the foreground job of the above-mentioned setting unit is completed. Controlled by the 2nd control unit (100).

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a digital copying machine of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the structure of the scanner.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a basic CPU.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the printer.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a facsimile machine.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of an operation panel.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the operating system in the first embodiment.

Fig. 9A is a diagram showing a display example of an information display.

FIG. 9B is a diagram showing a display example of the information display.

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing a display example of an information display.

FIG. 11 is a time chart for explaining an example of operation when a failure occurs.

FIG. 12 is a time chart for explaining an example of operation when a failure occurs.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the operating system of the second embodiment.

Fig. 14 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the operating system of the third embodiment.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. -

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a digital copying machine as an image forming apparatus of the present invention. This digital copier 1 has a scanner 2 and a printer (laser engine) 3, and an automatic document feeder (ADF) 4 is mounted on the upper part.

The automatic document feeding device 4 installs the rear end edge of the cover body 21 as a frame on the upper rear edge of the device body through a hinge device not shown in the figure, which can be opened and closed freely. The entire document feeding device 4 is rotated and displaced to open the upper surface of the document table 5 to the outside. A document feeding table 22 capable of holding a plurality of documents together is provided on the upper right side of the cover body 21 . A paper feeding unit 23 for taking out and feeding originals one by one to one end (left end in the drawing) of the original table 5 is provided at one end of the apparatus. The paper feeding unit 23 includes a pickup roller 27 for taking out an original, a pressing plate 28 for pressing the original against the pickup roller 27, and a blank as an original detection sensor for detecting the setting state of the original on the original feeding table 22. Sensor 29 etc. In addition, the feed roller 32 is provided in the direction in which the original is taken out by the pickup roller 27, and reliably feeds the original one by one. On the upper surface of the original table 5, an original conveyance belt 37 covering it is provided. The original conveyor belt 37 is composed of a wide endless endless belt with a white outer surface that goes around a pair of conveyor belt rollers 40, 40, and can run in both forward and reverse directions driven by the conveyor belt drive mechanism (not shown in the figure). Structure. In addition, a plurality of belt pressure rollers 41 for pressing the surface of the belt onto the document table 5 and a setting switch (not shown) for detecting the switching state of the automatic document feeder are provided on the inner periphery of the document conveyor 37. the opposite side of the department. Then, the document fed by the paper feeding unit 23 is conveyed from one end (left end) to the other end (right end) of the document table 5 . The paper output unit 38 is arranged on the right side of the device, and the paper output unit 38 includes a conveying roller 44, a pinch roller 45 that presses the original against the conveying roller 44, and an original document that detects the rear end of the original document conveyed in the paper ejecting direction. The paper output sensor 46 of the detection unit, etc. The discharge roller 48 is provided on the downstream side of the document discharge path. In addition, a gate 49 is provided on the document discharge path to guide the document to the document table 5 after the front and back sides of the document are reversed, so that both sides of the document can be copied.

The scanner 2 as a reading unit consists of an exposure lamp 6 as a light source, a first carriage 7 provided with a reflector 15, a second carriage 9 provided with reflectors 8a and 8b that bend the optical path, a lens 10, and a reflective light receiving unit. CCD sensor 11, a driving system (not shown in the figure) for changing the position of each part thereof, and an A/D conversion part (not shown in the figure) for converting the output of the CCD sensor 11, that is, image data (information) from analog data to digital data not shown) form. The above-mentioned first and second brackets 7 and 9 are connected to each other by a timing belt (not shown), and the second bracket 9 moves in the same direction at 1/2 speed of the first bracket 7 . In this way, scanning can be performed with a constant optical path length to the lens 10 . The focal length of the above-mentioned lens 10 is fixed, and moves in the direction of the optical axis when the magnification is changed. The CCD sensor 11 corresponds one pixel of the document to one element of the CCD sensor. The output of the CCD sensor 11 is output to the A/D converter. The movement of the first and second carriages 7 and 9, and the mirrors 12a and 12b are respectively driven by stepping motors (not shown in the figure). Above-mentioned the 1st, the 2nd bracket 7 and 9 are according to the synchronous belt (not shown in the figure) between the driving wheel (not shown in the figure) that is connected with the rotating shaft of above-mentioned stepper motor and driven wheel (not shown in the figure). not shown) to move. The above lens 10 is driven by a corresponding stepping motor (not shown in the figure), the screw shaft (not shown in the figure) rotates, and moves toward the optical axis along with the screw motion.

60 is a laser diode. A collimator lens 62 , a polygon mirror 64 , a lens 66 , mirrors 68 and 70 , and a lens 72 are provided corresponding to the laser diode 60 , and the photosensitive drum 50 is irradiated with laser light from the exposure device 52 .

The printer 3 as an image forming unit is combined with, for example, a laser optical system into an electrophotography system that can form an image on transfer paper. That is, the printer 3 has a photosensitive drum 50 as an image carrier rotatably supported in the approximate center of the device by a rotating shaft, an exposure device 52, a developing device 54, a transfer charger 55, a stripping charger 56, and an eraser before cleaning 57. , a cleaner 58 , an erasing lamp 59 and a generator 61 are sequentially arranged around the photosensitive drum 50 . When the photosensitive drum 50 is uniformly charged by the charger 61, laser light is output from the scanner 2, and an image of a document is formed on the photosensitive drum 50 to form an electrostatic latent image.

And, the electrostatic latent image formed on the above-mentioned photosensitive drum 50 is developed by the developing device 54, and transferred by the transfer generator 55 to the paper supply unit as the paper supply unit described later through the paper feed roller 20 and registration roller 25. On the copy paper (image formation medium) P conveyed from the paper cassette 30 . The copy paper P transferred by the transfer generator 55 is peeled off by the AC corona discharge of the peeling generator 56, and is conveyed to the fixing device 71 through the conveyor belt, and the copy paper P on which the developed image is fused and fixed by the fixing device 71 is discharged from the outlet. The paper roll pair 73 is discharged into a unit 74 having a paper discharge tray 74a. This unit 74 has a pair of rollers 74b that reverses the copy paper P discharged from the pair of paper discharge rollers 73, and further, on the upper part of the unit 74, there is a sorter for sorting each copy in the sorting mode. device 74c.

On the other hand, the developer remaining on the photosensitive drum 50 after the transfer of the developed image to the above-mentioned copy paper P and peeling off is pre-eliminated by the pre-cleaning eliminator 57, then cleaned by the cleaner 58, and discharged by the eraser lamp. When the potential on the photosensitive drum 50 falls below a certain level, the next copying operation can be performed.

In double-sided copying in which printing is performed on both sides of the copy paper P, the copy paper P on which the developed image has been fused and fixed by the fuser 71 is transported through the transport path 75a and stored in the tray 75b. The copy paper P on which one side has been printed stored in the tray 75b is transported to the above-mentioned transfer generator 55 through the transport path 75c, and the developed image is transferred to the other side which is not printed. In addition, a light-reflective paper sensor 75d is provided below the tray 75b, and detects the presence or absence of copy paper stacked on the tray 75b.

In addition, an automatic duplex device (ADD) 75 as an automatic double-sided reversing mechanism is constituted by the transport path 75a, the tray 75b, the transport path 75c, and the paper sensor 75d.

In addition, in the figure, 30 is a paper feeding cassette as a paper feeding unit assembled up and down in multiple stages from the front side of the apparatus main body 1, and can be freely attached and detached. The sheet feeding cassette 30 is composed of a cassette 31 which is a frame for storing the copy paper P, and the draw-out end of the cassette 31 has a structure inclined in a direction in which the copy paper is taken out. Then, the copy paper P contained in the cassette 31 of the paper feeding cassette 30 is picked up from the uppermost layer by the pick-up roller 81 . The copy paper P that is taken out and sent to the extraction end of the above-mentioned cassette 31 by the pick-up roller 81 is taken out by the paper feed roller 84 and the separation roller (or separation sheet) that are arranged on the inner side of the extraction end of the above-mentioned cassette 31. ) 85 constitutes a copy paper separating unit to separate one by one, and convey to the printer 3.

In addition, on the right side of the apparatus main body, a detachable paper feed cassette 43 and a large capacity paper feed cassette (LCF) 47 are provided. The copy paper P contained in the paper feed cassette 43 is picked up from the uppermost layer by the pick-up roller 43a. The copy paper P fed into the draw-out end of the paper feed cassette 43 is taken out by the pick-up roller 43a. The paper separating unit separates the sheets one by one and sends them to the printer 3 . The copy paper P contained in the LCF 47 is picked up from the uppermost layer by the pick-up roller 47a. The copy paper P sent to the output end of the LCF 47 is taken out by the pick-up roller 47a, and the copy paper separation section composed of the paper feed roller 47b and the separation roller 47c provided on the inside and above the output end of the LCF 47 is one by one. separated from each other and sent to the printer 3.

Next, the control system of the digital copier 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6 . 2 shows the general structure of the control system of the digital copying machine 1 with facsimile function and printing function, FIG. 3 shows the scanner 2, FIG. 4 shows the basic CPU 311, FIG. 5 shows the printer 3, and FIG.

The control system of the above-mentioned digital copying machine 1 is generally composed of two blocks, and consists of a basic part 301 of the digital copying machine 1 which is connected between the scanner 2 and the printer 3 by an image processing part 314 and has a facsimile (FAX) 312 as a facsimile function. It is constituted with a page memory unit 302 as a storage means for receiving and storing image data output from the base unit 301 and retransmitting the stored image data to the base unit 301 to realize memory copying.

The base unit 301 and the page memory unit 302 are connected by a base unit system interface 316 for transmitting and receiving control data and a base unit image interface 317 for transmitting and receiving image data.

Next, the basic unit 301 is composed of a scanner 2 as an input unit, a printer 3 as an output unit, an image processing unit (image processing unit) 314, a facsimile 312, and a control unit (basic unit CPU) 311 for controlling them.

4, ROM 102, RAM 104, image memory 106, timer memory 108, password memory 110, timer 112, internal interface 122 and external interface 124 are connected to the system CPU 100 of the control unit (basic part CPU) 311.

The operation panel 114 is connected to the internal interface 122, and the unit 74 is connected to the external interface 124. On the operation panel 114, the information display 93, the number keys 105 and the start key 101 lights are arranged. In addition, an external device (such as a microcomputer) is connected to the external interface 124 .

In addition, engine CPU 190 and facsimile (FAX) 312 are connected to system CPU 100 . The engine CPU 190 controls the scanner 2 and the printer 3 .

Next, the detailed configuration of the scanner 2 will be described with reference to FIG. 3 . The engine CPU 190 is connected to a lamp control unit 164 for controlling the exposure lamp 6 of the scanner 2, a motor driver 168 for controlling the scanning motor 166, and a driving unit 172 for driving and controlling a sensor including a document size detection sensor 169, a switch, and a solenoid 170, These components are controlled, and also communicate with the A/D converter 176, resolution conversion circuit 178, spurious signal correction circuit 179, image quality improvement circuit 180 and The binarization circuit 182 is connected to control these circuits.

Next, the printer 3 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5 . The main motor driver 194 that drives the main motor 192 of the printer 3 , the drive unit 198 that drives and controls sensors including the paper size detection sensor 195 , switches, and solenoids 196 , and the fixing lamp control unit 202 that controls the fixing lamp 200 of the fixing unit 71 , the high-voltage output control unit 212 that controls the generator 59, the transfer generator 55, the peeling generator 56 and the PCC generator 57, the erasing lamp control unit 216 that controls the erasing lamp 58, controls the paper feed roller 20, and picks up the roller 81 The paper feeding control unit 224 of the paper feeding motor 222 for use and the modulation circuit 232 of the laser driving circuit 230 for controlling the laser diode 60 and the multipole motor 228 are connected to the engine CPU 190 . Engine CPU 190 controls the respective connected control units. High-voltage transformers 59 a , 55 a , 56 a , and 57 a are respectively provided between the high-voltage output control unit 212 and the generator 59 , the transfer generator 55 , the peeling generator 56 , and the PCC generator 57 .

Next, the page memory unit 302 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 . The page memory unit 302 is controlled by a system control unit 304 that controls access from the base unit 301 to the page memory 323 and has a built-in communication memory, a memory unit (PM: page memory) 323 that temporarily stores image data, and an address that generates an address of the page memory 323 part 306, the image bus 320 for data transmission between the components in the page memory part 302, the control bus 321 for transmitting control signals between the components in the page memory part 302 and the system control unit 304, and the control pass image Bus 320 Data control unit 307 for data transfer during data transfer between page memory 323 and other components, Image data interface (I/F) unit for interfacing image data when transferring image data with base unit 301 via base unit image interface 317 308. When sending image data to a machine with a different resolution, convert the image data to the resolution of another machine or convert the image data received from a machine with a different resolution to the resolution of the printer 3 of the base unit 301 and perform a binary image Resolution conversion/binary rotation unit 325 for 90-degree rotation processing of data, compression of image data for transmission or storage of image data in order to realize facsimile transmission and optical disk storage, and compression of compressed image data Compression/decompression unit 324 for visual printing and decompression, and image data I/F unit 308 connected to image data I/F unit 308 constitute multi-valued rotation memory 309 used for outputting image data rotated 90 degrees or -90 degrees when outputting image data from printer 3 .

Next, the facsimile machine 312 as the sending unit and the receiving unit of the facsimile will be described with reference to FIG. 6 . The facsimile machine 312 is composed of a modem 242, which is a modem device for analog line connection connected to a public line, CODEC 244 and 246, which are encoding/decoding devices for binary image data, and an EPROM 248 for a communication control program, as a storage device for image data. The unit consists of an analog SRAM 252 backed up by a battery 250 , a work RAM 254 used for various processing of image data, an additional memory 256 , and an interface ASIC 258 for outputting facsimile reception data to the image processing unit 314 .

FIG. 7 shows the structure of the operation panel 114 as an operation power source. That is, the operation panel 114 is composed of a sort key 82, a status display 83, a paper cassette selection key 86 as a selection unit for the paper cassette 30, a HELP key 87, an automatic copy paper selection key 88, an automatic magnification selection key 89, zoom/100 % Key 90, Original Size Key 91, Copy Paper Size Key 92, Information Display 93, Auto Density Key 94, Manual Density Key 95, Preheating Key 96, Interrupt Key 97, All Clear Key 98, Clear/Stop Key 99, Start Key 101, timer key 103, number key 105 and function switching key 120 constitute.

The sorting key 82 is used when selecting a sorting mode, a grouping mode, or a sorting mode.

The status display 83 blinks and displays various graphic characters to indicate the status of the copier.

Paper feeding cassette selection key 86: When the selected paper feeding cassette is not the desired size, press this key to select another paper feeding cassette.

HELP key 87: When pressed as an operation guide key, information indicating the operation sequence is displayed, and when pressed after function setting, the setting content can be confirmed.

Automatic copy paper selection key 88 : usually an automatic copy paper selection mode. The size of the document set on the document table (glass) 5 is automatically detected, and copy paper of the same size is automatically selected (only equal-size copying is performed).

Automatic magnification selection key 89: When this key is pressed to select the automatic magnification selection mode and specify a desired copy paper size, the size of the original document set on the document table (glass) 5 is detected, and the copy magnification is automatically calculated.

Zoom/100% key 90: When the "25%<" key is pressed, the copy ratio is reduced to 25% at 1% intervals. When the ">800%" key is pressed, the copy ratio increases to 800% at 1% intervals. When the "100%" key is pressed, it will return to the same scale (100%).

Document size key 91: used for setting the document size. When the copy paper size is selected and the document size is specified, the copy ratio is automatically set.

Copy paper size key 92: used when selecting the copy paper size.

Information display 93: Displays the status of the digital copying machine 1, operation procedures, and various instructions to the user in text and diagrams. The information display 93 as a display unit has a built-in touch panel, and can also set functions.

Auto Density key 94: When Auto Density is selected, the digital copier 1 automatically detects the density of the original document and selects the optimum copy density.

Manual density key 95: A desired copy density can be selected with manual density. Press the "Light" button to make the density lighter in 5 steps, and press the "Dark" button to make it thicker in 5 steps.

Preheating key 96: when this key is pressed, it will enter the preheating (power saving) state, and all display lights will go out. When copying again, just press this key again.

Interrupt key 97: used when wanting to interrupt copying in the middle of continuous copying.

All clear key 98: used when correcting the number of copies or stopping the copying operation.

Start key 101: Press this key to start copying.

Timer key 103: when this key is pressed, when the power of the digital copier 1 is turned on and off (when the weekly timer is set) is displayed.

Number key 105: used when setting the number of sheets to be copied. The number of copies can be set from 1 to 999.

Function switching key 120 : a key for switching functions such as the facsimile function and the printing function of the digital copier 1 .

The present invention is to provide an operation when starting to execute another operation (second operation) during a certain operation (the first operation) or starting to perform another operation during the operation of a certain operation (the third operation). Even if an obstacle occurs in an unoperated operation during the operation (fourth operation), the operation of the operation in operation will not be hindered and the operation can continue.

In order to solve this problem, when a certain job (first job: background job) is in progress and another job (second job: foreground job) is requested to execute, or in other cases, a certain job (second job: foreground job) is executed When starting another job (4th job: background job) during the operation of 3 kinds of jobs: foreground job), even if an obstacle occurs in the ongoing job (1st job or 4th job), the operation of the job is not prohibited, for example , the use is limited to displaying information indicating that an obstacle has occurred for a certain period of time. Then, when it is determined that the operation of the second job or the third job is completed, the occurrence of a failure is displayed again.

The obstacles to the ongoing work include "copy paper jam", "copy paper end", "toner end", and the like. On the other hand, when an obstacle such as "service call" or "opening of the front cover" occurs, the operation itself will of course prohibit the operation immediately regardless of the conditions. According to these obstacles, the system CPU 100 selects the continuation, prohibition or stop of the operation.

Here, the so-called foreground job basically refers to a user's operation or a job that instructs an action based on the operation. Note that a background job is not a job in which the user directly operates the digital copier 1 , but a job instructing an operation based on an external trigger (data reception, etc.). In communication of memory transmission by facsimile, since the communication itself is judged and started by the facsimile machine 312 of the digital copying machine 1, it is a background job.

Next, the operation of the operating system of the first embodiment of the digital copying machine 1 according to the present invention in such a configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 8 .

First, in the ready state, the printing of the background job is started (ST1), and when a key other than the start key 101 of the operation panel 114 is pressed (ST2), the system CPU 100 sets the flag indicating that the operation (foreground job) in the background printing is started. Status flag (ST3). Here, it is assumed that the facsimile transmission mode operation is performed as a foreground job.

When a "copied paper jam during sorting" occurs in the background job started at ST1 (ST4), as shown in FIG. 9A , the system CPU 100 displays "copied paper jam during sorting" ( ST5), setting the status flag indicating background printing is an operation during background printing (ST6), so after a certain period of time, for example, after 3 seconds, as shown in FIG. "Facsimile transmission can be performed", and the operation is continued (ST7).

When the operation is finished (ST8), as shown in FIG. 10, the system CPU 100 displays again on the message display 93 the obstacle "copied paper jam during sorting" which occurred in ST4 (ST9).

When the operation is finished, the start key 101 is pressed to instruct the execution of the foreground job, or the system CPU 100 makes a judgment when no operation has been performed for a certain period of time.

Next, an example of operation when an obstacle occurs in a background job will be described with reference to the time chart of FIG. 11 .

In the printer 3, by pressing the function switching key 120 of the operation panel 114 (ST12) while the background job (the original job) is in progress (ST11), the system CPU 100 sets a status flag indicating that the operation (foreground job) has started, and the operation starts. The function is set on the panel 114 (ST13). Here, it is assumed that the set function is fax transmission.

After the function setting operation is completed, by pressing the start key 101 (ST14), the document is read by the scanner 2, and facsimile transmission starts.

Next, in the operation of function setting (ST15), when some kind of failure occurs in the background operation (original operation: ST16) (ST17), the system CPU 100 will perform the operation on the information display 93 of the operation panel 114 for about 3 seconds. After 3 seconds, the display of the occurrence of the obstacle will be cleared, and the operation can be continued.

However, job start is prohibited. As long as the start key 101 is pressed, the system CPU 100 judges that the operation is complete, and displays the failure again on the information display 93 of the operation panel 114 (notification of failure: ST18). If the failure is removed, it can be started (ST19).

If the front cover is opened (in this embodiment, the automatic document feeder 4 is provided), the action stops immediately. The reason for this is to prevent dangers associated with the abnormal release operation. Conversely, operation continues until the front cover is opened.

When the start key 101 of the operation panel 114 is pressed after the obstacle is removed (ST20), the list/report is printed from the printer 3 (ST21). In the operation of facsimile transmission (ST22), the document is read by the scanner 2, and facsimile transmission is performed. In addition, since the printer 3 has cleared the obstacle after the printing of the list/report is completed, a background job (original job) is performed (ST23).

Next, an operation example when an obstacle occurs in a background job before the operation of the foreground job is performed will be described with reference to the time chart of FIG. 12 .

When some kind of failure occurs in the printer 3 (ST31) while the background job (original job) is in progress (ST32), the operation (setting) cannot be performed again unless the failure is removed. However, this restriction does not apply when the obstacle is "no toner".

That is, even if the function switching key 120 of the operation panel 114 is pressed, the operation cannot be performed (ST33), and the occurrence of a failure is displayed on the information display 93 of the operation panel 114 (failure notification: ST34).

After the obstacle is removed (ST35), the printer 3 restarts the background job (original job) when the warm-up (W.UP) ends (ST36) (ST37).

In addition, after the warm-up of the printer 3 is completed, by pressing the function switching key 120 of the operation panel 114 (ST38), the system CPU 100 sets the status flag indicating that the operation (foreground job) has started, and the function is set from the operation panel 114 (ST39 ).

After the function setting operation is completed, by pressing the start key 101 (ST40), the document is read by the scanner 2, and facsimile transmission starts.

Next, the operation of the operating system of the second embodiment of the digital copying machine 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 13 .

First, in the ready state, the printing of the background job is started (ST51), and when a key other than the start key 101 of the operation panel 114 is pressed (ST52), the system CPU 100 sets the flag indicating that the operation (foreground job) in the background printing is started. Status flag (ST53). Here, it is assumed that an operation in the facsimile transmission mode is performed as a foreground job.

When the obstacle of "copied paper jam during sorting" occurs in the background job started in ST51 (ST54), since the system CPU 100 sets the status flag in ST53, it is regarded as the foreground job operation in the background printing, The foreground job operation is thus continued (ST55).

When the start key 101 is pressed after the operation of the foreground job is completed (ST56), the system CPU 100 stores the job content of the foreground job operation in the RAM 104 as a file (ST57).

After the processing of ST57 is completed, as shown in FIG. 10 , the system CPU 100 displays on the message display 93 the failure of the background job "copied paper jam during sorting" which occurred in ST54 (ST58).

Next, the operation of the operating system of the third embodiment of the digital copying machine 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 14 .

First, in the ready state, printing of a background job is started (ST61), and when a key other than the start key 101 of the operation panel 114 is pressed (ST62), the system CPU 100 sets an operation (foreground job) indicating that background printing is in progress. Start status flag (ST63). Here, it is assumed that an operation in the facsimile transmission mode is performed as a foreground job.

When the obstacle of "copied paper jam during sorting" occurs in the background job started in ST61 (ST64), since the system CPU 100 sets the status flag in ST63, it is regarded as the foreground job operation in the background printing, The foreground job operation is thus continued (ST65).

After the operation of the foreground job is completed (ST66), by pressing the start key 101, as shown in FIG. ). At this time, in order to prevent the operator from mistakenly identifying the failure as a work performed by the operator himself, it may be displayed that the failure is a background work failure.

As described above, according to the embodiments of the above invention, even if an obstacle occurs in the background job, the operation of the foreground job is not interrupted, and the operation can be continued smoothly.

Claims (14)

1, a kind of image processing system is characterized in that: the reading unit (2) with the image that reads original copy, the storage unit (323) of image information that storage is read by this reading unit and the image information of sending from the outside, read the image information of this cell stores and form the image formation unit (3) that forms image on the medium at image, in the action of the 1st operation of this image formation unit, set the setup unit (114) of the 2nd operation, show that the display unit (93) of the information of obstacle has taken place in expression when in above-mentioned image formation unit, in the 1st operation, obstacle taking place, when this display unit shows the generation of obstacle and the 1st control module (100) and when the setting of the 2nd operation of above-mentioned setup unit finishes, carrying out of control of when the setting of the 2nd operation of above-mentioned setup unit does not finish, at the appointed time deleting the demonstration of above-mentioned display unit on above-mentioned display unit, show the 2nd control module (100) of control of the generation of above-mentioned obstacle once more.

2, by the described image processing system of claim 1, it is characterized in that: above-mentioned setup unit is set the sign of representing to begin to carry out the setting of the 2nd operation in the action of the 1st operation.

3. by the described image processing system of claim 1, it is characterized in that: the end of the setting of above-mentioned setup unit is judged according to the setting that the action of whether having carried out the 2nd operation begins.

4. by the described image processing system of claim 1, it is characterized in that: the end of the setting of above-mentioned setup unit is according to judging with interior certain setting operation that whether carried out at certain hour.

5. by the described image processing system of claim 1, it is characterized in that: the fixed time of being deleted the demonstration of above-mentioned display unit by above-mentioned the 1st control module can be adjusted.

6. by the described image processing system of claim 1, it is characterized in that: above-mentioned the 1st control module only shows on above-mentioned display unit that by the detecting unit of the obstacle that detects the 1st operation in the action and the obstacle that carries out being detected by this detecting unit the 1st indicative control unit of the control of fixed time constitutes.

7. by the described image processing system of claim 1, it is characterized in that: the 2nd indicative control unit of the control that judging unit that above-mentioned the 2nd control module is finished by the setting of the 2nd operation of judging above-mentioned setup unit and the information of carrying out to obstacle to have taken place in above-mentioned the 1st operation show on above-mentioned display unit constitutes.

8. an image processing system is characterized in that: the reading unit (2) with the image that reads original copy, the 1st storage unit (323) of image information that storage is read by this reading unit and the image information of sending from the outside, read the image information of the 1st cell stores and form the image formation unit (3) that forms image on the medium at image, in the action of the 1st operation of this image formation unit, set the setup unit (114) of the 2nd operation, the control module (100) that continues is not set in control when in the 1st operation obstacle having taken place in above-mentioned image formation unit and when the setting operation of the 2nd operation of above-mentioned setup unit finishes, when the setting of the 2nd operation of the above-mentioned setup unit that is continued by this control module finishes, store the 2nd storage unit (104) of above-mentioned the 2nd operation and when above-mentioned the 2nd job storage is in the 2nd storage unit, be presented at the display unit (93) that the information of obstacle takes place in the above-mentioned image formation unit in the 1st operation.

9. by the described image processing system of claim 8, it is characterized in that: above-mentioned control module by the detecting unit of the obstacle that detects the 1st operation in the action, judge judging unit that the setting operation of the 2nd operation of above-mentioned setup unit finishes and continue the unit and constitute in the setting of judging the control that the setting operation that makes above-mentioned setup unit when not finishing continues by this judging unit.

10. an image processing system is characterized in that: the reading unit (2) with the image that reads original copy, the storage unit (323) of image information that storage is read by this reading unit and the image information of sending from the outside, read the image information of this cell stores and form the image formation unit (3) that forms image on the medium at image, in the action of the 1st operation of this image formation unit, set the setup unit (114) of the 2nd operation, control is not set the control module (100) that continues and be presented at the display unit (93) that the information of obstacle takes place in the above-mentioned image formation unit when the setting of the 2nd operation of the above-mentioned setup unit that is continued by this control module finishes in the 1st operation when in the 1st operation obstacle having taken place in above-mentioned image formation unit and when the setting operation of the 2nd operation of above-mentioned setup unit finishes.

11. an image processing system is characterized in that: reading unit (2) with the image that reads original copy, the storage unit (323) of image information that storage is read by this reading unit and the image information of sending from the outside, read the image information of this cell stores and form the image formation unit (3) that forms image on the medium at image, in the action of the 1st operation of this image formation unit, set the setup unit (114) of the 2nd operation, the display unit (93) of progress situation that shows the 1st operation of the setting content of this setup unit and above-mentioned image formation unit, whether proceed the selected cell (100) of setting operation of the 2nd operation of above-mentioned setup unit when in the 1st operation at above-mentioned image formation unit in the setting of the 2nd operation of above-mentioned setup unit obstacle taking place according to the obstacle content choice of above-mentioned the 1st operation, the 2nd control module (100) of the control that the information of obstacle shows on above-mentioned display unit once more in only at the appointed time showing the 1st control module (100) of the control that the setting operation of the 2nd operation of exercising above-mentioned setup unit of going forward side by side is proceeded and carry out the 1st operation of above-mentioned image formation unit when the setting of the 2nd operation of above-mentioned setup unit finishes on above-mentioned display unit, the information of being selected when proceeding to take place in will the 1st operation at above-mentioned image formation unit obstacle by this selected cell takes place.

12. by the described image processing system of claim 11, it is characterized in that: above-mentioned selected cell by discern according to above-mentioned setup unit the 2nd operation be the recognition unit in setting and when in above-mentioned the 1st operation obstacle taking place in the 2nd operation of being carried out according to above-mentioned setup unit by this recognition unit is identification in setting the content according to the obstacle of above-mentioned the 1st operation judge whether that the judging unit that can carry out the setting operation of above-mentioned setup unit constitutes.

13. an image processing system is characterized in that: reading unit (2) with the image that reads original copy, the storage unit (323) of image information that storage is read by this reading unit and the image information of sending from the outside, read the image information of this cell stores and form the image formation unit (3) that forms image on the medium at image, in the action of the background job of this image formation unit, set the setup unit (114) of foreground job, show that the display unit (93) of the information of obstacle has taken place in expression when in above-mentioned image formation unit, in background job, obstacle taking place, when this display unit shows the generation of obstacle and the 1st control module (100) and when the setting of the foreground job of above-mentioned setup unit finishes, carrying out of control of when the setting of the foreground job of above-mentioned setup unit does not finish, at the appointed time deleting the demonstration of above-mentioned display unit on above-mentioned display unit, show the 2nd control module (100) of control of the generation of above-mentioned obstacle once more.

14. by the described image processing system of claim 13, it is characterized in that: above-mentioned background job is the action operation of indicating by the triggering of outside, above-mentioned foreground job is the operation of being set by above-mentioned setup unit.

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