JP3155192B2 - Image forming system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming system provided with a plurality of image forming apparatuses such as a digital copying machine, and these image forming apparatuses are connected to each other via a communication device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a digital copying machine as an image forming apparatus that is currently commercialized reads an original image by an image reading section when copying an original image, and designates the read original image. The image processing is performed by the image processing unit, and the image information is printed out by the recording unit. Therefore, in such a digital copying machine, an image is obtained on a sheet using only the image processing function of the digital copying machine.

On the other hand, in recent years, networking of a plurality of image recording apparatuses and the like has been proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 53-116834 discloses a configuration in which a plurality of image reading devices and a plurality of image recording devices are connected via one control unit.

In this configuration, a document image read by any image reading device is printed out by any image recording device. With such a configuration, the standby time of the image recording apparatus can be reduced by exchanging a document in the image reading apparatus.

[0005] Also, Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-36592 discloses that
In an image forming system in which a plurality of copiers each including an image reading unit and an image recording unit are provided, and each of these copiers is connected to one control device, recording is performed in accordance with a set original copy mode. It is disclosed that an image signal to be supplied is distributed to a plurality of copying machines, and the copying operations are performed in parallel by these copying machines.

[0006]

However, the conventional image forming system has the following problems. That is, for example, while various image processing functions in a digital copying machine depend on software, the development of the software in recent years is remarkable, and in a digital copying machine, the image processing function is highly functional in a short time. Copiers with new functions and new functions have been commercialized. For this reason, for example, when a digital copying machine having a desired image processing function is purchased, even if the digital copying machine has the best image processing function at the time of purchase, the digital copying machine has a relatively short period of time. It will be of low function.

[0007] In this case, if the purchased digital copier cannot provide the copier with more functions than the functions provided by the copier, and if a higher function or a new function is required, , A replacement copy machine is required. This imposes a heavy financial burden on the user, and has always been a problem for manufacturers since they provide products that meet the needs of the times.

Therefore, in order to cope with the above-mentioned problem, for example, when reading is performed by any one of the copying machines and the storage capacity of the copying machine that has performed the reading is small, the data is stored in the storage unit of another copying machine. It is ideal to leave it temporarily, return it to the copying machine etc. that read it when necessary, and print out with the copying machine etc. that read it, so that it is not necessary to replace the copying machine, which is ideal. The image information can be printed out by another copying machine, but the image information cannot be returned to the copying machine or the like which has read the image information and printed out again.

Further, when a request for storage of image information is made to another copying machine, if there is no return request from the requesting source, the copying machine requested to store the image information for a long time. There is a problem in that the image information is accumulated over the memory and the memory is occupied, thereby burdening the copying process of the copying machine that has received the storage request.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has as its object to increase the storage capacity of image information.
Even if the image forming apparatus that the operator intends to use is small, the image information read by one image forming apparatus is transferred to another image forming apparatus and temporarily transferred to the other image forming apparatus. And the image information requested to be stored can be returned to the original image forming apparatus or the like, and if there is no communication from the requesting image forming apparatus for a long period of time, the image forming apparatus that has received the request It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming system capable of reducing the load on the storage capacity of the image forming apparatus.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an image forming system according to the present invention has a main image forming apparatus such as a digital copying machine and a sub-image forming apparatus such as a digital copying machine. Device, and a communication device that connects the main image forming device and the sub-image forming device to mutually transmit and receive image information. The sub-image forming device includes, for example, a scanner unit or the like that inputs image information. An image input unit,
A sub-image information storage unit for storing image information, an image recording unit such as a laser printer unit for forming a visible image based on the image information stored in the image information storage unit, and a storage request to the main image forming apparatus An input unit such as an operation panel for inputting a command to perform the image information stored in the sub-image information storage unit on the basis of a command for requesting storage of image information from the input unit. A main control unit for transferring image information to the main image information storage unit; and a main image information storage unit for storing image information, and temporarily storing the image information transferred via the communication device in the main image information storage unit. Storage
A main control unit that waits for a return request from the sub-image forming apparatus and returns the image information to the sub-image information storage unit of the sub-image forming apparatus via the communication device. In the main image forming apparatus, since the image information transferred from the sub image forming apparatus is stored in the main image information storage unit, for example, the number of times image information is returned, and finally the image information is returned. It is characterized in that transfer history information management means for managing transfer history information such as the elapsed time from the transfer or the cycle when image information is returned is further provided.

According to the above configuration, in the sub-image forming apparatus, a document image is read from an image input unit such as a scanner unit, and the read image information is stored in the sub-image information storage unit. Then, the image information stored in the sub-image information storage unit is recorded and output as a visible image by an image recording unit such as a laser printer unit.

When a plurality of originals are read by, for example, an electronic RDH as an image input unit, the image information of all the originals may be reduced due to the small capacity of the sub-image information storage unit depending on the sub-image forming apparatus. May not be remembered.

In such a case, in the image forming system of the present invention, the operator operates the input unit such as the operation panel to input a command for requesting storage to a main image forming apparatus different from the sub image forming apparatus. Can be entered. When a command to request storage of image information is issued from the input unit, the sub-control unit transmits the image information stored in the sub-image information storage unit to the main image forming apparatus based on the command to request storage of image information. Transfer to The transfer may be partial image information or all image information.

Next, the main image forming apparatus temporarily stores the image information transferred via the communication device in the main image information storage unit. Then, the main control unit of the main image forming apparatus waits for a return request from the sub image forming apparatus, and when there is a return request, transmits the image information via the communication device to the sub image information of the sub image forming apparatus. Return it to the storage unit.

The sub-image forming apparatus takes out the returned image information stored in the sub-image forming apparatus, inputs the information to the image recording unit, and records and outputs the visible image in the image recording unit.

Accordingly, even if the storage capacity of the image information is small in the sub-image forming apparatus which the operator intends to use, the image information read by the sub-image forming apparatus is transferred to another main image forming apparatus. The main image forming apparatus can transfer the image information, temporarily store the image information, and return the requested image information to the original sub image forming apparatus.

Here, the main control section of the main image forming apparatus returns the temporarily stored image information to the sub image information storage section of the sub image forming apparatus after waiting for a return request from the sub image forming apparatus. During the period, when there is no notification of the return request from the requesting sub-image forming apparatus, when there is no information regarding the return, even if the storage of the image information in the main image forming apparatus becomes a burden, It is difficult to erase information.

However, in the present invention, the number of times image information is returned after the time when the image information transferred from the sub-image forming apparatus is stored in the main image information storage unit is stored in the main image forming apparatus. There is provided transfer history information management means for managing transfer history information such as the time elapsed since the image information was finally returned or the cycle at which the image information was returned.

Therefore, in the main image forming apparatus, if there is no notification of the return request from the requesting sub-image forming apparatus for a long time, the transfer history information management means uses the image transferred from the sub-image forming apparatus. By confirming the transfer history information in the information after being stored in the main image information storage unit, it is possible to take measures such as erasing to reduce the load on the storage capacity of the main image information storage unit. Become.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming system according to the first aspect, wherein said main image forming apparatus is provided with a transfer history of said transfer history information managing means. An erasing means for erasing the image information stored in the main image information storage section based on the information is provided.

According to the above configuration, the transfer history information of the transfer history information management means is confirmed, and if it is determined from the transfer history information that erasing is possible, the erasing means stores the main image information in the main image information storage unit. Erase the stored image information.

Therefore, when the image information requested to be stored is stored in the main image information storage unit of the main image forming apparatus for a long time, the load on the storage capacity of the image forming apparatus on the requested side is reduced. Therefore, since this image information is deleted, the main image information storage section of the main image forming apparatus can be effectively used.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming system according to the second aspect, wherein the main image forming apparatus has a main image information storage unit. A remaining amount detecting unit for detecting the remaining amount region is provided, and the erasing unit is configured to perform the transfer when the remaining amount region that can be stored in the main image information storage unit by the remaining amount detecting unit becomes a predetermined amount or less. The image information stored in the main image information storage section is deleted based on the transfer history information of the history information management means.

According to the above arrangement, when erasing the image information stored in the main image information storage section, the erasing means comprises:
The remaining amount detecting means determines whether or not the remaining area that can be stored in the main image information storage unit is equal to or smaller than a predetermined amount, and erases the image information when the remaining area is equal to or smaller than the predetermined amount.

Therefore, the main image forming apparatus does not allow the image information stored in the main image information storage unit to be used until the predetermined amount of free space for using the main image information storage unit for other purposes is exhausted. Can be erased.

As a result, while the main image forming apparatus secures the storage capacity required for its own processing, the image information is stored in the main image information storage unit. By keeping the image information that does not need to be lost, for example, there is a possibility that there is a possibility that a return request may be made again after a delay, it is possible to prevent the image information from being erased by mistake.

[0028]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[Embodiment 1] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the present image forming system, a plurality of digital copying machines as image forming apparatuses are connected via a communication device. FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the overall configuration of a digital copying machine 30 as an example of the digital copying machine. In FIG. 1, the digital copying machine 30 includes a scanner unit 31 as an image input unit, a laser printer unit 32 as an image recording unit, and a post-processing device 34 including a sorter.

The scanner unit 31 includes a document table 35 made of transparent glass, and a double-sided automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as "R") for automatically feeding and conveying the document onto the document table 35.
ADF (Recirculating Automatic Document Feeder) "
), And a document image reading unit for scanning and reading an image of a document placed on the document table 35, that is, a scanner unit 40. The document image read by the scanner unit 40 is sent as image information, that is, image data, to an image processing unit described later, where predetermined image processing is performed.

The RADF 36 is a device that automatically feeds a plurality of documents set at once on a predetermined document tray onto the document mounting table 35 of the scanner unit 40 one by one. The RADF 36 has a transport path for a one-sided original, a transport path for a two-sided original, a transport path switching mechanism, and the like so that the scanner unit 40 reads one or both sides of the original according to an operator's selection. ing.

The scanner unit 40 includes a first scanning unit 40a, a second scanning unit 40b, and an optical lens body 43.
And a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) 44. The first scanning unit 40a includes a lamp reflector assembly 41 that irradiates a surface of a document on the document table 35 with light to scan the document, and a second reflection mirror 42a.

The second scanning unit 40b includes a second reflection mirror 42b and a third reflection mirror 42c. The first
The third reflection mirrors 42a to 42c are for guiding the reflected light from the document to the CCD 44. The optical lens body 43 forms a reflected light image from the document on the CCD 44. The CCD 44 is an element that converts a reflected light image from a document into an electric image signal.

The scanner section 31 operates in cooperation with the RADF 36 and the scanner unit 40 to operate the document table 3
The scanner unit 40 is moved along the lower surface of the document table 35 to read a document image and convert the image data into image data while sequentially placing the documents on the document 5.

The image data obtained from the scanner unit 31 is sent to an image processing unit to be described later, and after being subjected to various image processing, is temporarily stored in a memory 73 of the image processing unit to be described later. Thereafter, the image data is provided to the laser printer unit 32 in response to the output instruction, and is recorded as an image on a sheet.

The laser printer unit 32 has a laser writing unit 46 and an electrophotographic processing unit 47 for forming an image at the upper part, and a paper storage / transport unit 55 at the lower part. The laser writing unit 46 includes a semiconductor laser that emits laser light corresponding to image data from the memory 73, a polygon mirror that deflects the laser light at an equal angular velocity, and a laser light that is It has an f-θ lens and the like for correcting so that it is deflected at a constant speed on the body drum 48.

The electrophotographic process unit 47 includes a photosensitive drum 48, a charging unit, a developing unit, a transfer unit, a peeling unit, a cleaning unit, a fixing unit 49, and the like disposed around the photosensitive drum 48 in a known manner. It consists of. A transport path 50 is provided downstream of the fixing device 49 in the transport direction of a sheet on which an image is to be formed. The transport path 50 branches into a transport path 57 leading to the post-processing device 34 and a transport path 58 leading to the sheet storage / transport section 55.

The paper storage / conveyance unit 55 includes the first cassette 5
1, a second cassette 52, a double-sided copying unit 53, and a multi-bypass tray 54 are provided. The first cassette 51 and the second cassette 52 accommodate a bundle of sheets,
When the operator selects a cassette containing sheets of a desired size, the sheets are sent out one by one from the sheet bundle in the cassette, and are sequentially conveyed to the electrophotographic process unit 47. The double-sided copying unit 53 is for supplying the paper on which the image has been formed in the electrophotographic processing unit 47 to the electrophotographic processing unit 47 again without being turned upside down or without being turned upside down.

In the laser printer section 32, the image data read from the above-mentioned memory 73 is emitted as a laser beam from the laser writing unit 46, and the electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 48 of the electrophotographic process section 47. Is formed as This electrostatic latent image is visualized to become a toner image. This toner image is electrostatically transferred onto the paper conveyed from the paper storage / conveyance unit 55, and then fixed on the paper by the fixing unit 49. You.

The sheet on which the image is formed in this manner is
The sheet is sent from the fixing device 49 to the post-processing device 34 via the conveyance path 50,
Is supplied again to the electrophotographic processing unit 47 via the.

Next, the image processing section provided in the digital copying machine 30 will be described. The image processing unit performs image processing on image data of a document obtained from the scanner unit 31. As shown in FIG. 3, the image processing unit includes an image data input unit 70, an image data processing unit 71, an image data output unit 72, a memory 73 serving as a main image information storage unit and a sub image information storage unit, and a main control unit. And a print control unit (hereinafter, referred to as “PCU”) 74 as a sub control unit.

The PCU 74 controls the operation of the digital copier 30 as a whole, and has a CPU (Central Processor).
ssing Unit). The memory 73 stores image data, and is a RAM (Random Access
Memory) and a hard disk.

The image data input unit 70 is a CCD unit 70
a, histogram processing unit 70b and error diffusion processing unit 70
c. This image data input unit 70 is a CCD
The image data of the original read from the document 44 is binarized and processed by the error diffusion method while obtaining a histogram as a binary digital amount.
3 is stored once.

In the CCD section 70a, after an analog signal corresponding to each pixel density of the image data is A / D converted,
MTF correction, black-and-white correction or gamma correction is performed and output to the histogram processing unit 70b as a digital signal of 256 gradations (8 bits).

In the histogram processing section 70b, density information (histogram data) is obtained by adding the digital signal output from the CCD section 70a for each pixel density of 256 gradations. This histogram data is sent to the error diffusion processing unit 70c as pixel data, and is sent to the PCU 74 as needed.

The error diffusion processing unit 70c uses the error diffusion method, which is a kind of pseudo intermediate processing, that is, the method in which the binarization error is reflected in the binarization determination of adjacent pixels.
The digital signal of 8 bits / pixel output from the CD unit 70a is converted into 1 bit (binarized), and a redistribution calculation for faithfully reproducing the local area density in the document is performed.

The image data processing section 71 includes a multi-value processing section 7
1a / 71b, synthesis processing section 71c, density conversion processing section 71
d, a scaling unit 71e, an image processing unit 71f, an error diffusion processing unit 71g, and a compression processing unit 71h. The image data processing unit 71 is a processing unit that converts input image data into image data desired by an operator. Therefore, the final output image data is stored in the memory 73.
Until the image data is stored in the image data processing section 71, the processing is performed. However, the above-described processing units included in the image data processing unit 71 function as needed, and may not function.

In the multi-value processing sections 71a and 71b, the image data binarized by the error diffusion processing section 70c is converted again into 256 gradations. The synthesis processing unit 71c selectively performs a logical operation for each pixel, that is, an operation of a logical sum, a logical product, or an exclusive logical sum. The data to be subjected to this calculation is the pixel data stored in the memory 73 and the bit data from the pattern generator (PG).

The density conversion processing section 71d arbitrarily sets the relationship between the input density and the output density for the data of 256 tones based on a predetermined tone conversion table. The scaling unit 71e performs an interpolation process based on the input known data in accordance with the designated scaling ratio,
Pixel data (density value) for the target pixel after scaling is obtained. After that, the magnification in the sub-scanning direction is changed based on the pixel data, and then the magnification in the main scanning direction is changed.

The image processing section 71f performs various image processing on the input pixel data. In addition, information collection for a data string, such as feature extraction, is performed. The error diffusion processing unit 71g performs the same processing as the error diffusion processing unit 70c of the image data input unit 70. The compression processing unit 71h compresses the binary data by encoding called run length. As for the compression of the image data, the compression functions in the final processing loop when the final output image data is completed.

The image data output section 72 includes a restoration section 72a,
It includes a multi-value processing section 72b, an error diffusion processing section 72c, and a laser output section 72d. The image data output unit 72
The image data stored in the memory 73 is restored in a compressed state and converted again to the original 256 gradations, and then error diffusion of quaternary data that is a smoother halftone representation than the binary data is performed. The data is transferred to 72d.

In the decompression unit 72a, a compression processing unit 71h
The compressed image data is restored. The multi-value processing section 72b performs the same processing as the multi-value processing sections 71a and 71b of the image data processing section 71. The error diffusion processing unit 72c performs the same processing as the error diffusion processing unit 70c of the image data input unit 70.

The laser output section 72d converts digital pixel data into a laser on / off signal based on a control signal from a sequence controller (not shown). The semiconductor laser in the laser writing unit 46 is turned on / off based on the on / off signal, and an electrostatic latent image is written on the photosensitive drum 48.

The data handled by the image data input unit 70 and the image data output unit 72 is basically stored in the memory 73 in the form of binary data in order to reduce the capacity of the memory 73. It is also possible to perform processing in the form of quaternary data in consideration of the deterioration of image data.

The operation of the digital copier 30 is based on the PCU7.
4 and the configuration of the control system by the PCU 74 is as shown in FIG.

In the figure, a PCU 74 is connected to a desk-related load 75, a RADF-related load 76, an operation board unit 77, a sorter control unit 78, a scanner-related load 79, a printer-related load 80, and the image data processing unit 71. ing.

The PCU 74 manages each of the above units by sequence control, and outputs a control signal to each unit at the time of control. The desk-related load 75 is a load of a motor, a clutch, and the like in the sorter of the post-processing device 34 other than the digital copying machine 30. The RADF-related load 76 is
36 is the load of the motor, clutch, switch, and the like. The scanner-related load 79 is connected to the scanner unit 40.
, The load of the motor and solenoid. The printer-related load 80 is a load such as a motor, a solenoid, and a high-voltage power supply in the electrophotographic process unit 47. The sorter control unit 78 includes a CPU,
The operation of the sorter is controlled based on the control signal from the control unit 4.

The operation board unit 77 is an input section for inputting various settings such as a copy mode and instructions to the digital copier 30 by an operator, and includes a CPU. The operation board unit 77 transfers a control signal corresponding to, for example, a copy mode set by the operator to the PCU 74. The PCU 74 operates the digital copying machine 30 according to the mode based on the control signal. Meanwhile, PC
U74 sends the digital copier 30 to the operation board unit 77.
Is transferred. The operation board unit 77 operates the digital copier 30 based on the control signal.
Is displayed on the display unit in order to show the operator what operation state is currently in operation.

The memory 73 connected to the image data processing section 71 is composed of a main memory 73a composed of, for example, a semiconductor memory and a hard disk 73b. The image data communication unit 81 is connected to the main memory 73a. This image data communication unit 8
Reference numeral 1 is provided to enable information communication such as image data and image control signals with another digital information device. The image data communication unit 81 is, for example, as shown in FIG.
In the digital copying machine 93 shown in FIG.
3a, or the interface 93a and the modem 98.

The operation board unit 77 has an operation panel 90 as an input unit shown in FIG. The liquid crystal display device 1 which is a touch panel type display unit is disposed in the center of the operation panel 90. On a part of the screen of the liquid crystal display device 1, a screen switching instruction area 1a is provided. The screen switching instruction area 1a is for inputting an instruction to switch the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 1 to a screen for selecting an image editing function. When the operator directly presses the area 1a with a finger, various editing functions are listed on the screen of the liquid crystal display device 1 so that a desired function can be selected, as described later. At this time, when the operator presses a desired editing function area among the displayed display areas of the various editing functions with a finger, the editing function is set.

On the operation panel 90, a brightness adjustment dial 2 for adjusting the brightness of the screen of the liquid crystal display device 1 is provided at the left end position in FIG. Between the dial 2 and the liquid crystal display device 1, an automatic magnification setting key 3, a zoom key 4, fixed magnification keys 5.6 and an equal magnification key 7 are provided. The automatic magnification setting key 3 is used to set a mode for automatically selecting a copy magnification.
The zoom key 4 is used to set the copy magnification in increments of 1%. The fixed magnification keys 5 and 6 are for selecting a fixed magnification, and the same magnification key 7 is for returning the copy magnification to a standard magnification (same magnification).

At the right side of the liquid crystal display device 1 in the figure, the number setting key 13, clear key 14, start key 15, all release key 16, interrupt key 17, operation guide key 18, message forward key 19, memory Transmission mode key 20, copy / fax mode switching key 2
1. One-touch dial keys 22 are provided.

The copy number setting key 13 is used to set the number of copies, and the clear key 14 is used to clear the number of copies or to stop continuous copying halfway. The start key 15 is for instructing the start of copying, and the all release key 16 is for releasing all of the currently set modes and returning to the standard state. The interrupt key 17 is operated when the user wants to copy another document during continuous copying. The operation guide key 18 is operated when the operation of the digital copier 30 is not known.
The operation method of the digital copying machine 30 is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1. The message forward key 19 is for switching the display of the message displayed by the operation of the operation guide key 18 while sequentially forwarding the message.

The memory transmission mode key 20, the copy / fax mode switching key 21, and the one-touch dial key 22 are setting keys for the facsimile mode.
The memory transmission mode key 20 is used to specify that a document to be transmitted is temporarily stored in a memory and then transmitted.
The fax mode switching key 21 is a digital copier 30
Mode for switching between copy and fax. The one-touch dial key 22 is for making a one-touch operation to make a call to a destination whose telephone number is stored in the digital copying machine 30 in advance.

The configuration of the operation panel 90 relating to the type and arrangement of the various keys is merely an example, and differs depending on the various functions mounted on the digital copier 30.

In the liquid crystal display device 1, for example, FIG.
FIG. 7A shows a basic screen shown in FIG. 7A, a first function setting screen shown in FIG. 7B, a second function setting screen shown in FIG.
, A post-processing setting screen shown in FIG. 8B, an initial setting screen shown in FIG. 8A, a fingerprint registration screen shown in FIG. 8B, and a department management setting shown in FIG. The screen, the limiter setting screen shown in FIG. 9A, the simulation screen shown in FIG. 9B, and each screen described later can be displayed.

On the basic screen, a function setting area, an image quality setting area, a post-processing setting area, an initial setting area, a setting function confirmation operation area, and a cassette setting area are provided. These areas serve as setting keys 101a to 101d. Further, on the basic screen, a set cassette display, a density display, a copy number display, and a magnification display are performed. When the setting function confirmation operation area is operated, the function set in the image forming system is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1.

On the first function setting screen, areas for setting each of the editing functions of mirror image, italic, inversion, shadowing, trimming and masking are provided. These areas are the setting keys 102a to 102f. Further, each operation area for transition to the basic screen and transition to the next page screen is set. When the next page key is pressed, a second function setting screen is displayed.

On the second function setting screen, there are an area for setting each editing function of combining and independent scaling, an area for setting a sharpness function for enhancing an image, and an area for setting a translation function. Provided. These areas serve as setting keys 103a to 103d. further,
Each operation area for transition to the basic screen and transition to the previous page screen is set.

On the image quality setting screen, the density, HI-F
I (high-quality copy mode), background removal mode,
Auto scaling mode, text mode, text / photo mixed mode,
Each setting area for setting a photograph mode and a magnification is provided. Further, the display of the density and the magnification is performed.

The post-processing setting screen is provided with an input area for determining whether the original is single-sided or double-sided, an input area for determining whether the original is single-sided or double-sided, and a setting area for the bookbinding function. Furthermore, the setting area of the post-processing function of the staple sorter, the sorter and the finish, and the electronic RDH (Rec
ycle Document Handler) setting area is provided.

On the initial setting screen, fingerprint registration, department management, simulation, maintenance management, new function registration,
A setting area for each mode for selecting an output device and an operation area for transition to a basic screen are set.

In the fingerprint registration screen, an input area for the department code and name is provided, and the input department code and name are displayed.

On the department management setting screen, a setting input area for a department code, the number of persons, etc. is provided, and the entered department code, the number of people, etc. are displayed.

The transition of each screen is performed in the order shown in FIG. That is, in the liquid crystal display device 1, first, a basic screen is displayed. When any one of the function setting area, the image quality setting area, the post-processing setting area, and the initial setting area is pressed on this display screen, the display is performed. The screen changes to a screen corresponding to the area.

For example, when the function setting area is pressed, the screen is switched to the first function setting screen. When the operation area for transition to the next page screen is pressed on this screen, the screen is switched to the second function setting screen. The screen transits to a function setting screen (NEXT function setting screen). On the other hand, when the operation area for transition to the basic screen is pressed, the screen returns to the basic screen. Further, for example, in the first function setting screen, when the italic function setting area and the inversion function setting area are pressed, the screen is inverted as shown in FIG. 12A. After that, the screen transits to the screen of FIG. Next, on the screen of FIG.
When the user presses the button 12a, the screen changes to an italic setting screen shown in FIG. In the italic setting screen, an angle input key 106a as a setting area for an oblique angle and a setting completion key 106b as a setting completion input area are provided. Further, the display of the italic angle is performed.

When a predetermined function setting area is pressed on the first and second function setting screens, the screen of the liquid crystal display device 1 is correspondingly set like the above-mentioned italic setting screen in response to the pressing operation. Screen.

Table 1 shows examples of image editing functions of the image forming system which can be set by operating the function setting area and processing operations thereof. The image editing function set in the image forming system is not limited to these functions. As other things, for example, a function of copying handwritten characters and images can be considered.

[0078]

[Table 1]

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11, the present image forming system includes digital copiers 91 to 93 as image forming apparatuses provided in an office, a scanner 94 and a printer 95 as an image forming apparatus. It has a large host computer 96 as an image processing device provided in a service center outside the office. The service center is where various information services including advanced image processing are performed.

The digital copying machine 91 is a low-cost, low-function, memory-less digital copying machine, and has a basic editing function. In addition, the memoryless here means that although there is no page memory capable of storing a large amount of image data,
This indicates that a line memory necessary for performing a normal operation on image data in the digital copying machine is provided at a minimum. The basic editing function is a function that can be executed without a page memory, such as black and white inversion. The digital copying machine 91 has a scanner function of the scanner unit 40 shown in FIG.
It is DPI. Also, copy speed is 20 CPM
(20 sheets / min), which is of a low-speed class. Further, the digital copying machine 91 is provided with the laser printer unit 32.
Printer function is monochrome and has a resolution of 400 DPI, and has an interface (I / F) 91a.

The digital copier 92 has a scanner function of monochrome and a resolution of 400 DPI, a printer function of monochrome and a resolution of 400 DPI, and has a copy speed of 40 CPM of an intermediate class. Also, 64 Mbytes (400 dpi, 8b resolution) as various editing functions and page memory
It is provided with a memory of (it / pixel and a capacity equivalent to 4 pages of A4 size) and an interface 92a. The memory corresponds to the main memory 73a shown in FIG.

The digital copier 93 has a scanner function of monochrome and a resolution of 400 DPI, a printer function of monochrome and a resolution of 400 DPI, and a high copy speed of 60 DPI.
CPM. In addition, various editing functions, character recognition function,
5 bit coding function and page memory
Large capacity of 00M bytes (resolution 400DPI, 8bit
/ Pixel, a compression rate of 1/4 and a capacity of 100 pages of A4 size), which is of an advanced class. Therefore, it is also possible to change the page order of the image data and store document data in various formats. The memory corresponds to the one including the main memory 73a and the hard disk 73b shown in FIG. Further, the digital copying machine 93 has an interface 93a.
It has.

The scanner 94 can read a color image and has a resolution of 600 DPI. The printer 95 is capable of printing a color image, and has a recording density of 600 DPI. The scanner 94 and the printer 95 are connected to a digital copying machine 93 by respective interfaces 94a and 95a, and can transmit and receive image data to and from the digital copying machine 93.

The host computer 96 has a CPU for high-speed data processing, an algorithm for high-speed data editing, a high-speed information recognition algorithm, a large-capacity memory having a much larger capacity than the memory 73 of the digital copier 93, and a banknote recognition device. Various databases and an interface 96a are provided.

The digital copying machine 93 and the host computer 96 are provided with respective interfaces 93a and 96.
For example, it is connected by a telephone line 97 through a.
The connection between the two is not limited to the telephone line 97, but may be any other appropriate communication line 97a such as an optical communication network. For example, ISDN (integrated servicing) is provided on the digital copying machine 93 side and the host computer 96 side.
A general-purpose modem (modulator) 98 corresponding to a vices digital network) is provided. The modem 98 is a device for converting a digitized electric signal into a signal suitable for transmission and reception through the telephone line 97. As a modulation method in the modem 98, there are PM (phase modulation), AM (amplitude modulation), FM (frequency modulation), and the like. The above interfaces 91a to 96a, communication line 97a, telephone line 9
7 and the modems 98 constitute a communication device.

The types of data handled by this communication device are, for example, bit data such as image data (gradation data per pixel, for example, 8 bits; 256 gradations) and command codes. The communication device can transmit a high gradation image such as a natural image with high definition. In addition, the communication device reduces the amount of text data such as characters to a small data amount by encoding,
High-speed transmission is also possible. In particular, image data having a gradation such as a natural image may be transferred after being processed by a dither method or an error diffusion method, which is one of the area gradation methods generally used for compressing the data amount. . The processing by the error diffusion method is performed in advance in each device. The format of the transmission data is set according to a format that can be processed by each of the digital copying machines 91 to 93 or the printer 95. Therefore, for example, in a digital copying machine that has received image data to be output on paper, the image data is input to the laser printer unit 32 and converted into a data string required for writing by the image processing unit. Is output.

Each of the interfaces 91a to 95a
Is defined by a protocol and a communication speed specified in each of them, and an appropriate standard is selected according to the content of data to be transmitted, for example, a data amount, a positional relationship between respective devices, for example, a distance, and the like. Furthermore, in the present image forming system, not only is the device connected one-to-one, but also the daisy chain (Daisy Ch.
There is also a state where a plurality of devices are connected to a common communication line 97a as in ain). Therefore, each device has
An address is set so that each of the interfaces 91a to 95a can determine the transmission destination of the image data.
The standard of the interfaces 91a to 95a is, for example, Ethernet (registered trademark) , which is a network capable of transferring image data at high speed. In addition, interface 9
1a to 95a are SCSI (Small Computer System Int.)
erface) and RS-232C.

The digital copying machines 91 to 93 and the host computer 96 can transmit and receive various data via the telephone line 97. The content of the data is, for example, a command code for control or bit data such as image density data. In addition, the digital copying machine 9
Each of the printers 1 to 93 has a FAX function capable of transmitting and receiving data via the telephone line 97 and a printer mode for printing out document data from a personal computer, a word processor or the like.

In FIG. 11, one office is connected to the service center, but in practice, offices of many users nationwide are connected. In general, the functions of digital copiers provided in each office are greatly affected by price problems, image memory capacity, and the like.
Further, there are various types according to the purpose of use in each office and the degree of demand for functions. Therefore, the digital copying machine provided in the office is not limited to the above-described digital copying machines 91 to 93, and a large number of product lineups can be considered.

The host computer 96 aims at providing a high image processing function including an image editing function and a high speed image processing. At least a function normally provided in a digital copying machine is provided. ing.
However, basic functions that are included in low-cost models may be omitted. That is, the host computer 96 takes into consideration the suitability of the function provided by the service center,
A predetermined function is mounted.

Further, as for the image processing function, new ones are sequentially developed in accordance with a demand for maintenance of infrastructure and improvement of work efficiency in the information society. Therefore, as for the image processing functions mounted on the host computer 96, new ones are added or replaced with conventional ones whose use value is relatively reduced in accordance with the development of new image processing functions.

Here, in the embodiment of the present invention, the digital copying machines 91 to 93 and the host computer 9 are used.
Table 2 below shows an example of the image editing function provided in No. 6.

[0093]

[Table 2]

The function information is stored in each digital copying machine 91.
９３93 are stored in the memories 73, respectively, and can be referred to at any time by each PCU 74.

In this image forming system, as shown in FIG. 11, a digital copying machine 93 having the most image processing functions and having a large capacity memory 73 is used as a main digital copying machine. The other digital copiers 91 and 92 are connected to a scanner 94 and a printer 95. Further, another digital copying machine 91/92 can use the image processing function of the digital copying machine 93 and the memory 73, for example. When the image processing function is used, the digital copier 91.9 is used.
2, the image data is transmitted to the digital copying machine 93, the image data is subjected to predetermined image processing by the digital copying machine 93, and the processed image data is returned to the original digital copying machine, for example. Is output as an image on paper. When the memory 73 is used, image data is transmitted from one of the digital copying machines 91 and 92 to the digital copying machine 93, and the image data is stored in the memory 73 of the digital copying machine 93. It will be returned to the original digital copier.

With the above configuration, the image processing operation of the present image forming system will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Here, a description will be given assuming that the digital copying machine 91 selects a "sharpness" function for emphasizing images for each of a plurality of document images as image processing on a document image, and performs distributed processing on the digital copying machines 92 and 93. . Note that the function setting screen of the liquid crystal display device 1 in the digital copying machines 91 and 92 also
3 are displayed.

First, when the function setting key 101a is pressed on the basic screen of the liquid crystal display device 1 shown in FIG. 6A, the screen of the liquid crystal display device 1 is changed to the first screen shown in FIG.
Move to Function setting screen. When the next page key is pressed in this state, the screen of the liquid crystal display device 1 transits to the second function setting screen shown in FIG. When the sharpness key 103c is pressed to select the "sharpness" function on this screen (S1), the sharpness function setting area is highlighted as shown in FIG. It can be seen that the function has been selected.

Next, the PCU 74 of the digital copying machine 92
Are provided with an image forming system having a "sharpness" function and each digital copying machine 91/92/93.
Is determined (S2).

Next, the PCU 74 determines whether or not the "sharpness" function is provided in the digital copying machine 91 performing the operation (S3). In this case, as shown in Table 2, the digital copying machine 91 does not have the “sharpness” function. Therefore, the determination result in S3 is NO
Becomes Therefore, in the liquid crystal display device 1, "sharpness"
In addition to displaying that the function is not available in the machine, the user is also prompted to select whether to process the external device in the system other than the machine (S
4). The display screen for this selection is as shown in FIG.

As described above, since the digital copying machine 91 does not have the “sharpness” function, it is inevitable to request the copying machine in the system to execute the “sharpness” function. In the embodiment, the intention of the operator is confirmed by displaying the display screen for the purpose of confirmation. Therefore, when the operator does not perform the processing by the digital copiers 92 and 93 in the system, the operator presses the cancel key 122b to perform the operation.
The PCU 74 determines that (S5), and can cancel the setting mode (S6).

When the system selection key 122a is pressed on the above display screen, the PCU 74 determines that the key is pressed (S5), and the digital copying machine having the "sharpness" function among the digital copying machines in the system. When the devices 92 and 93 are selected, the screen of the liquid crystal display device 1 transits to the sharpness function setting screen shown in FIG.

Next, the user inputs a sharpness level of "sharpness" using the sharpness input key 116a displayed on the display screen. When the setting is completed, the setting completion key 11
By pressing the button 6b, the PCU 74 of the digital copying machine 91 determines the request destination of the image processing of each document information including this machine (S7). The details of the determination method will be described later. Next, function control information is added to each image, and after scrambling processing described later is performed, the image data is transferred to the digital copying machines 92 and 93 (S8).

The above image data is transmitted from the main memory 73a shown in FIG. 4 via the image data communication unit 81 and a modem (not shown). At this time, as the content to be transmitted, in addition to the image data, the requested processing content, that is, the function control information including the processing code indicating the "sharpness" process is also transmitted. The transmission image data is input to each digital copying machine 92/93 via the interface 91a, the communication line 97a, and the interfaces 92a / 93a as shown in FIG.

Here, the image data to be processed is
For example, it is data of a document image read by the scanner unit 31. The digital copying machine 91 does not include a page memory, but includes only a line memory. Therefore, the read image data for each line is sequentially transferred for each line.

Further, when a general-purpose network is used for the above transfer, image data may leak to the outside. For this reason, when the image data is an image of a very important document and includes confidential matters, it is necessary to take sufficient care not to leak the contents.

However, in the case of a general-purpose network, an unspecified number of people can arbitrarily access the network.
There is a possibility that someone who snoops on data running on the network, such as a crime such as cker), may appear. Therefore, it is preferable to perform data conversion such as scramble (Scramble) processing on the data to be sent to the network so that the contents cannot be recognized even if the eavesdropping is performed. This scrambling process is also performed in the present embodiment.

The digital copiers 92 and 93 that have received the image data cancel the scramble processing and
Check the image data and the requested function control information. Then, the received data is processed in accordance with the request content, that is, the “sharpness” processing (S9).

Here, in the present embodiment, each of the digital copying machines 92 and 93 performs digital copying of the processed image information immediately when predetermined image processing is completed and returnable image data is completed. When the digital copying machine 91 is ready to output the image instead of transferring it to the
In other words, when the return of the image subjected to the predetermined image processing is requested, the image is returned (S10).

That is, it is conceivable that the digital copying machine 91 that has requested the image processing does not have sufficient memory for storing the image information returned from each of the digital copying machines 92 and 93.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, as a countermeasure against such a case, when the laser printer section 32 of the digital copying machine 91 outputs an image, the digital copying machines 92 and 93 perform image processing. The image information is transferred to the digital copying machine 9 immediately after the image processing is completed.
When the digital copying machine 91 is in the stage of outputting the image instead of returning to step 1, it is determined whether or not the image data is requested to be returned (S10). And then return it.

In step S10, when there is an image return request from the digital copying machine 91, the digital copying machines 92 and 93 perform scramble processing again, and send the image data to the digital copying machine 91, which is the image data sending source, via the reverse route. Return (S1
1).

In the digital copying machine 91, the scramble processing of the received data is canceled (S12). The image-processed image data that has been released from the scramble processing is temporarily stored in an image memory for each page, and thereafter, after a series of other processing described above is performed, the laser printer unit 32
When printing is enabled, the image data is sequentially output to the laser as serial image data, whereby the image data is output as an image on paper (S13). The recording operation in this case is as described for the digital copying machine 30 described above.

On the other hand, if the result of S3 is YES, that is, if the digital copying machine being operated has the “sharpness” function, as shown in FIG. Is displayed, and a selection is made as to whether the processing is performed by utilizing the digital copier 93 in a system other than the main unit (S
14).

In such a case, for example, it is assumed that the present apparatus is a digital copying machine 92 and the image data processing section 71 of the digital copying machine 93 performs "sharpness" processing.

At this time, the PCU 74 determines whether or not to perform the processing in the system (S15).
7, the document image is transferred to the digital copier 93,
While the image data processed by the digital copier 93 is output by the laser printer unit 32, when the image data is processed only by the machine, the "sharpness" process is performed by the machine (S16).
Then, the process proceeds to step S13, and the output is performed.

As described above, in the present image forming system,
When an image editing function not provided in the digital copying machine 91 is selected, the image editing can be performed by requesting the digital copying machines 92 and 93 to be distributed. Therefore, the digital copying machine 91 is not necessarily a digital copying machine 92/93.
It is not necessary to provide the same high image editing function as that described above.

In the example shown in FIG. 13, in S11, the image data processed by the digital copying machines 92 and 93 is returned to the requesting digital copying machine 91, and the digital copying machine 91 converts the image. Alternatively, the return destination of the processed image data may be selected according to various conditions, and the image may be output by the selected digital copying machine or printer.

Although the above description has been directed to the digital copying machines 91 to 93, a combination of the scanner 94 and the printer 95 can also have a function as a digital copying machine. It can be the same object as a digital copying machine. In this case, for example, the resolution 60 obtained by reading with the scanner 94 is
The color image data of 0 DPI is transferred to the digital copying machine 93 to perform image processing, and the processed image data is returned to the printer 95 of 600 DPI for printing. Thereby, the same operation as the above-described digital copying machine can be performed.

Further, in the present image forming system, another digital copying machine can copy using the memory 73 of the digital copying machine 93. Here, the operation of the present image forming system will be described with reference to a communication operation between a digital copying machine 92 as a sub image forming apparatus and a digital copying machine 93 as a main image forming apparatus. In this case, the digital copying machine 92
It has a DH function. The electronic RDH means that, for example, all image data of a document of, for example, 10 pages are temporarily stored in the memory 73, the image data of each page is sequentially read from the memory 73, and this is repeated, for example, to 2 pages.
That is, 0 copies are made. The electronic RDH can be selected by operating the function setting key 101a shown in FIG. In this case, by operating the function setting key 101a, for example, the electronic RDH setting key is displayed on the second function setting screen shown in FIG.

The digital copying machine 92 is equipped with a 64 Mbyte page memory as the memory 73 as a sub-image information storage unit. Therefore, the page memory can continuously read four pages, for example, assuming that an A4 size document has 256 gradations of image data. This capacity is sufficient when copying is performed by temporarily storing a document image in a normal copying process. However, for example, when a plurality of copies of a document image of 10 pages are made by the electronic RDH, the page memory for 6 sheets becomes insufficient. Therefore, in this case, the electronic RDH is executed using the memory 73 as the main image information storage unit of the digital copying machine 93. Hereinafter, the operation in this case will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

When the digital RDH is selected in the digital copying machine 92, the original is set on the RADF 36 shown in FIG. 2 (S31), and the start key 15 shown in FIG. 5 is turned on (S32). The document is sequentially conveyed, and the image of the document is read by the scanner unit 40. The image data thus obtained is sequentially stored in the memory 73 (S33). The image data is sequentially processed by the image data processing unit 71.
Processing such as density conversion and scaling based on the setting is performed (S
34). When the electronic RDH setting key is operated, an external memory selection key 121a shown in FIG. 17A is provided in the liquid crystal display device 1, and the memory capacity is displayed by the memory remaining amount display section 121b.

Thereafter, while the scanner unit 40 is reading a document, the free space in the memory 73 becomes smaller than the memory capacity required for reading the remaining documents (S3).
5) If the external memory selection key 121a has not been previously pressed (S36), a message to the effect that the external memory needs to be used is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1 as shown in FIG. (S37).

Thereafter, when the user presses the external memory selection key 121a (S38), the liquid crystal display device 1 displays a message display screen shown in FIG. 17B. In this screen, the external memory selection key 12
1a is an inverted display indicating that the pressing operation has been performed, and the display on the memory remaining amount display section 121b is
Is obtained by adding the capacity of the memory 73 of FIG.

Next, when the continuation key 121c is pressed by the user in accordance with the message shown in FIG. 13B (S39), the image data is converted to digital data because the memory 73 of the digital copying machine 93 is used as an external memory. The data is transferred to the copying machine 93 (S40).

At this time, the screen of the liquid crystal display device 1 is as shown in FIG. In this case, the image data to be transferred is one of the image data that is subsequently read in sequence and the image data that has already been read and stored in the memory 73. The image data transfer operation is performed in the same manner as the image data sending operation described above. The digital copier 93 stores the received image data in its memory 73.

The operations of S33 to S40 are repeated until there are no more documents waiting to be read (S4
1). Thereafter, when reading of all the originals is completed, if the external memory is used (S42),
In accordance with the output order, the image data is transferred from the digital copying machine 93 to the digital copying machine 92 and output as an image on a sheet (S43). In this case, the document is sequentially output from the last page of the document.

As in the case of writing, reading of image data from each memory is performed via a data line in the digital copying machine 93 when reading from the memory 73 of the digital copying machine 92. Is read through the communication line 97a.

On the other hand, in S35, the digital copier 9
If the free space of the second memory 73 is larger than the memory capacity required for reading the remaining originals, the image data is continuously stored in the memory 73 (S44), and the process proceeds to S41. After that, the memory 73 goes through S41 and S42.
Are output on paper in accordance with the output order (S46).

If the specified time has elapsed before the external memory selection key 121a is pressed in S38 (S45), the process proceeds to S42, and in S46, the image data stored in the memory 73 up to that point is deleted. Output on paper in the output order.

In the above description, the digital copying machine 9
The page memory No. 2 is used for storing image data read from the original image, but an area corresponding to several sheets is always reserved for the control operation of the digital copying machine 92. It may be configured.

Further, in the present image forming system,
If another digital copying machine requests the digital copying machine 93 to perform processing such as image processing or storage that exceeds the processing capability of the digital copying machine 93, the processing cannot be performed by the digital copying machine 93. Is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1 of the digital copier of the processing request source. The operation in this case is as follows.
That is, the PCU 74 of the digital copying machine 93 confirms the contents requested by another digital copying machine.

Next, the digital copier 93 performs the processing if it can execute the requested processing.
If it cannot be executed, data indicating that fact is transmitted to the requesting digital copying machine. Upon receiving the data, the requesting digital copying machine displays the data on the liquid crystal display device 1.
To be displayed.

Next, in the present image forming system, the memory 73 as the main image information storage section in the digital copying machine 93 as the main image forming apparatus which has received a storage request from the digital copying machine 92 as the sub image forming apparatus. The erasing of the stored contents will be described.

In the image forming system of this embodiment, when there is no image return request from the requesting digital copying machine 92 for a long time in the digital copying machine 93 that has received the request, the load on the storage capacity is reduced. Therefore, based on the transfer history information from the time when the storage request is received, the storage of the image information related to the request from the digital copying machine 92 and the additional information related to the image information is deleted.

That is, in the image forming system of this embodiment, the memory 73 is occupied by the image data for a long time in the digital copying machine 93 that has received the request, and the burden of the copying process of the digital copying machine 93 itself is reduced. If there is no return request from the requester for a long time, the image data will be erased based on the transfer history information from the time when the storage request was received The occupation of the memory 73 is eliminated.

The transfer history information is secured as a management table in a dedicated storage area in the memory 73 of the digital copier 93, and is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1 of the operation panel 90.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 18, on the display screen, “NO.” Indicating the number of requested items, “paper” indicating size information of the document, and , “Request source” indicating the digital copier of the requester who has requested the storage of the image data, “reception time” indicating the time when the image data was transferred and stored in the memory 73, and finally "Return time" indicating the time when the image data was returned, and "Number of times" indicating the number of times the image was returned
Is displayed.

In the above example, the "return time" indicates only the last one return time. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to display all return times, which allows you to know the return cycle and
A management method using other information described later becomes possible.

[0139] Of the display contents described above, for example, the reception time, the final return time, the cycle, and the number of times constitute the transfer history information. However, the transfer history information is not necessarily limited to this, and may be other information, which can be displayed by scrolling the display screen.

In the area below the display in the table format,
The current state of the memory 73 is displayed on the memory remaining amount display unit 131 so that the usage state and the remaining amount of the memory 73 can be confirmed. Further, an up key 132a and a down key 132b are provided in an area on the right side of the display screen, and the up key 132a and the down key 132b are provided.
By pressing, the arrow cursor 133 provided on the left side of the tabular display can be moved up and down. Therefore, after selecting “NO.” Of the image data with the arrow cursor 133 and pressing the clear key 134, the desired image data is stored in the memory 7.
3 can be deleted.

With the above configuration, the return status after the image data is requested to be stored can be grasped. Therefore, based on the transfer history information, the image data requested to be stored is manually or automatically erased as necessary. It is possible to

Hereinafter, as a case of erasing the image data based on the transfer history information, first, the "number of times" in the transfer history information will be described in detail. The operation in this case is shown in FIG.
9 will be described. This operation will also be described by exemplifying a case where the page memory of the digital copying machine 93 as an external memory is used for the processing of the digital copying machine 92 as described above.

First, in the digital copying machine 93, it is determined whether or not the copy switch is turned on by pressing the start key 15 (S51). If YES, a copying operation is performed (S52), and it is determined whether or not a predetermined number of copies have been completed (S53), and the process ends.

On the other hand, if the copy switch has not been turned ON in S51, it is determined whether or not an image storage request has been made (S54). When there is an image storage request, a memory process described in detail by a subroutine described later is performed (S55).

If there is no image storage request in S54, it is determined whether there is an image return request from the digital copying machine 92 (S56). Then, when there is an image return request, the image data is read from the memory 73 and returned to the digital copying machine 92 (S57). Thereafter, the return image management counter is incremented by one (S5).
8).

On the other hand, if there is no image return request in S56, the flow returns to S51.

Next, the above-described memory processing as a subroutine will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In the memory processing upon receiving a request for storing image data, first, the data size is checked (S61), and it is determined whether image storage is possible (S6).
2).

If the image can be stored, the digital copier 92 is notified that the image can be stored (S63), and the image data is transferred from the digital copier 92 and stored and managed (S64).

If the data cannot be stored in S62,
Based on the transfer history information, the presence or absence of erasable image data is confirmed (S65), and it is determined whether or not there is erasable image data (S66).

That is, at this time, the digital copier 93
PCU 74 refers to the number of returns in the transfer history information. If the number of returns is 0, the image data cannot be erased from the memory 73 because there is no return request yet. If the number of returns is 1, the data is returned once to the requesting digital copying machine 92 and is recorded and output by the digital copying machine 92. This is the target of the image data to be deleted. However, when the number of times of return in response to the return request becomes two or three, the digital copier 92 which has requested the storage of the image data is in a state (mode) in which the image data is required many times. Therefore, it is preferable to manage such image data so as not to be deleted.

When it is determined that there is erasable image data, the image data is erased from the memory 73 of the digital copying machine 93 (S67). On the other hand, S
If there is no erasable image data at 66, it notifies the requesting digital copying machine 92 that storage is not possible (S68).

In this embodiment, in S66 of the subroutine shown in FIG. 1, whether or not image data can be erased is determined based on the number of times of return as transfer history information. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is possible to determine whether or not image data can be erased based on “return time” as transfer history information, that is, the elapsed time since the image was finally returned.

More specifically, if there is no return request even after a predetermined time has elapsed after a return request has been made and returned, it can be determined that there is no return request thereafter. However, the predetermined time differs depending on the image processing capability of each digital copying machine in the image forming system that has requested the storage of the image data. Can be arbitrarily set according to the level of image processing capability of each digital copying machine in the system.

Further, regarding the “return time”, FIG.
As shown in, the return time is stored for each return of the image data, the return request cycle of the image data repeatedly requested is obtained from the information, and if there is no return request after the last return request, It is also possible to determine that the image data can be erased, assuming that the probability of a later return request has decreased. In the example shown in the figure, even though the last five return requests were made every minute, there is no return request after the last return request. The data can be determined to be erasable image data.

Further, the digital copying machine 93 can constantly exchange information with the requesting digital copying machine 92 via the communication device, but when the image data is returned,
The return condition of the signal indicating that the return data has been received from the digital copying machine 92 or the return of the signal indicating that the recording and output of the image data has been completed is determined based on the determination conditions for erasing the image data. It is also possible to use

As described above, in the image forming system according to the present embodiment, in the digital copying machine 92, the scanner unit 3
A document image is read from an image input unit such as 1 and the read image information is stored in a memory 73 as a sub-image information storage unit. The image information stored in the memory 73 is recorded and output by the laser printer unit 32 as a visible image.

By the way, when a plurality of originals are read by, for example, the electronic RDH as the scanner unit 31, some digital copiers 92 store image information of all the originals because the memory 73 has a small capacity. It may not be possible.

In such a case, in the image forming system of the present embodiment, the operation panel 90 as an input unit for the operator is used.
By inputting the command to, it is possible to input a command for requesting storage to a digital copying machine 93 different from the digital copying machine 92. When a command to request storage of image information is issued from the operation panel 90, the PCU 74 as a sub-control unit is
Transfers the image information stored in the memory 73 to the digital copying machine 93 based on the instruction to request the storage of the image information. The transfer may be partial image information or all image information.

Next, the digital copying machine 93 temporarily stores the image information transferred via the communication device in the memory 73 as a main image information storage unit. The PCU 74 as the main control unit of the digital copier 93 waits for a return request from the digital copier 92, and when the return request is made, the PCU 74 transmits this image information to the digital copier 92 via the communication device. It is returned to the memory 73.

The digital copier 92 is a digital copier 9
The returned image information stored in 2 is taken out, input to the laser printer unit 32, and recorded and output as a visible image by the laser printer unit 32.

Thus, even if the storage capacity of the image information is small in the digital copying machine 92 that the operator intends to use, the image information read by the digital copying machine 92 is transferred to another digital copying machine 93. The digital copying machine 93 temporarily transfers the image information, and the image information requested to be stored can be returned to the original digital copying machine 92.

Here, the PCU 74 of the digital copying machine 93
Waits for a return request from the digital copying machine 92, and stores the temporarily stored image data in the memory 73 of the digital copying machine 92.
However, if there is no notification of the return request from the requesting digital copying machine 92 for a long time, and if there is no information regarding the return, the storage of the image information in the digital copying machine 93 becomes a burden. Even in such a case, it is difficult to delete the image information.

However, in the present embodiment, for example, image data after the image information data transferred from the digital copying machine 92 is stored in the memory 73 of the digital copying machine 93 is returned to the digital copying machine 93. A PCU 74 is provided as transfer history information management means for managing transfer history information such as the number of times the image data has been returned, the elapsed time since the image data was finally returned, or the cycle at which the image information data was returned.

Therefore, in the digital copying machine 93, if there is no notification of the return request from the requesting digital copying machine 92 for a long time, the image data transferred from the digital copying machine 92 is stored in the memory 73. By confirming the transfer history information thereafter, it is possible to take measures such as erasing to reduce the load on the storage capacity of the digital copying machine 93.

In particular, when the number of times image data is returned is employed as the transfer history information, it is possible to confirm how many times the image data has actually been returned in response to the return request. If there is storage request image data, the priority order can be changed and the image data can be deleted based on the number of returns.

That is, when the number of returns is zero, the priority of erasure is lowered, and when the number of returns is two or more, the priority of erasure is increased, thereby improving the accuracy of image data erasure. it can.

When the elapsed time since the image data was finally returned is adopted as the transfer history information,
It becomes possible to reliably delete unnecessary image data.

In particular, the predetermined time can be arbitrarily set according to the level of the image processing capability of each digital copying machine in the image forming system which has requested the storage of the image data.

As a result, it is possible to cope with the case where the time until the image data is required again differs.

Further, when the cycle at the time of returning the image information data is adopted as the transfer history information, when a return request is repeatedly made at a predetermined cycle, a predetermined number of times after the last return request is received. If there is no return request in the cycle of, it can be regarded that there is no subsequent return request, so that the image data can be erased with high accuracy when erasing.

Further, the image forming system according to the present embodiment checks the transfer history information and judges from the transfer history information that the erasure is possible. Memory 73
Deletes the image information stored in the.

Therefore, when the image information requested to be stored is stored in the memory 73 of the digital copying machine 93 for a long time, the load of the storage capacity of the digital copying machine 93 on the requesting side is reduced. Since this image information is deleted, the memory 73 of the digital copying machine 93 can be effectively used.

Further, in the above-mentioned erasing, when a plurality of digital copying machines request storage of image data,
Image data of a specific digital copying machine can be selected and deleted.

Therefore, instead of erasing all the images requested to be stored from each digital copying machine in the memory 73, only the image data of the unnecessary digital copying machine can be erased. As a result, only the minimum necessary image data can be erased, and the image data that is desired to be continuously stored can be kept stored.

In the image forming system according to the present embodiment, when erasing the image data stored in the memory 73 of the digital copying machine 93, the PCU 74 as the remaining amount detecting means uses the memory 73 of the digital copying machine 93.
It is determined whether or not the remaining storable area is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, and the image data is erased when the remaining area becomes equal to or less than the predetermined amount.

Therefore, the digital copier 93 can erase the image information stored in the memory 73 only when the predetermined amount of free space for using the memory 73 for another purpose is exhausted. Becomes

As a result, the image data is stored in the memory 73 in a state where the digital copying machine 93 secures the storage capacity required for processing of the digital copying machine 93, but it is not necessary to return the image data once. By retaining the image information which is not a thing, for example, there is a possibility that a return request may be made later, until the limit is reached, it is possible to prevent the image information from being accidentally erased.

Further, in the image forming system of the present embodiment, when the image data is returned to digital copier 92, a signal indicating that the return data has been received from digital copier 92 is returned, or the image is returned. After confirming that the signal indicating that the recording and outputting of the data has been completed has returned, the image data in the memory 73 of the digital copying machine 93 can be erased.

Thus, it is possible to reliably determine whether or not the image data can be erased. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent unnecessary image data from remaining in the memory 73 of the digital copying machine 93 forever. it can.

[Second Embodiment] The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. For the sake of convenience, members having the same functions as those shown in the drawings of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 20, this image forming system includes, for example, six digital copying machines 201 to 206, and these digital copying machines 201 to 206 have interfaces 201a to 206a for communicating with each other. are doing. The digital copying machine 201 having the largest capacity memory 73 and the digital copying machine 202 having the largest number of image processing functions are main digital copying machines as main image forming apparatuses in the present image forming system.

The digital copying machine 201 as the second main image forming apparatus and the digital copying machine 202 as the first main image forming apparatus are provided with interfaces 201a and 202a thereof.
And the communication lines 97a are communicably connected to each other.
01a and 203a to 206a and a communication line 97a are communicably connected to the digital copying machine 201, respectively. The digital copying machines 202 to 206 can communicate with other digital copying machines other than the digital copying machine 201 via the digital copying machine 201.

In this image forming system, the digital copier 201 and the digital copier 202 constitute the main digital copier, and the main digital copier can perform the operations described in the first embodiment. It has become. For example, the function of the digital copying machine 202 corresponds to the digital copying machine 93 shown in FIG. 11, and the function of the digital copying machine 201 has fewer image processing functions and a larger memory capacity than the digital copying machine 93. The functions of the digital copying machines 203 and 204 correspond to the digital copying machine 92, and the functions of the digital copying machines 205 and 206 correspond to the digital copying machine 91.

In digital copiers 201 and 202 constituting the main digital copier, digital copier 201
However, they are mainly in charge of management of image data requiring a large-capacity memory 73, and the digital copying machine 202 is in charge of image processing. That is,
For example, when image processing is requested from the digital copying machine 203, image data transmitted from the digital copying machine 202 is stored in the memory 73 of the digital copying machine 201, and is sequentially sent to the digital copying machine 202 for image processing. .

The processed image data is stored again in the memory 73 of the digital copying machine 201, and then returned from the digital copying machine 201 to the digital copying machine 203. Such control is performed by, for example, the PCU 74 of the digital copying machine 201.
It is performed in.

By configuring the main digital copier by sharing the roles of the plurality of digital copiers, a comparison can be made with the case where the main digital copier requiring high functions is constituted by one digital copier. As a result, the cost can be reduced and the efficiency of the image forming system can be improved.

The image forming system according to the present embodiment can be configured as follows.

That is, as shown in FIG.
Digital copiers 211 to 215, and these digital copiers 211 to 215 have interfaces 211a to 215a for communicating with each other. These digital copiers 211 to 215 are connected to a loop network. As configured, each interface 211a-
215a and the communication line 97a. Each of the digital copying machines 211 to 215 has a configuration corresponding to, for example, the digital copying machine 30.

In the present image forming system, when each of the digital copying machines 211 to 215 does not have a desired image processing function, it requests another digital copying machine to perform image processing on image data. I have. For this purpose, each of the digital copying machines 211 to 215 holds information such as an image processing function and a memory capacity of another digital copying machine. In the above-described image processing request operation, each digital copying machine automatically selects a digital copying machine to which the request is made, or a digital copying machine that can be processed is displayed on each liquid crystal display device 1, and the operator selects the digital copying machine. You can do it.

In this image forming system, each operation similar to that of the image forming system shown in the first embodiment can be performed. In this case, the digital copier requested to perform image processing by the digital copier of the image processing requester is not the main digital copier but another digital copier having the image processing function.

The configuration of the image forming system that does not specify the main digital copying machine is similar to that of each digital copying machine 2.
This is effective when 11 to 215 have different image processing functions.

[0193]

As described above, the image forming system according to the first aspect of the present invention connects the main image forming apparatus, the sub image forming apparatus, the main image forming apparatus and the sub image forming apparatus, and A communication device for transmitting / receiving image information to the sub image forming apparatus, wherein the sub image forming apparatus stores an image input unit for inputting image information, a sub image information storage unit for storing image information, and the image information storage unit. An image recording unit for forming a visible image based on the received image information, an input unit for inputting a command for requesting storage to the main image forming apparatus, and a command for requesting storage of image information from the input unit A sub-control unit that transfers the image information stored in the sub-image information storage unit to the main image forming apparatus, the main image forming apparatus stores a main image information storage unit that stores image information, Image transferred via the above communication device The broadcast temporarily stored in the main image information storage unit, waiting for the return request from the sub-image forming apparatus,
A main control unit for returning the image information to the sub-image information storage unit of the sub-image forming apparatus via the communication device. In this configuration, transfer history information management means for managing transfer history information after the image information transferred from the device is stored in the main image information storage unit is further provided.

Therefore, even if the storage capacity of the image information is small in the sub-image forming apparatus that the operator intends to use, the image information read by the sub-image forming apparatus is transferred to another main image forming apparatus. The main image forming apparatus can transfer the image information, temporarily store the image information, and return the requested image information to the original sub image forming apparatus.

The main image forming apparatus stores the image information transferred from the sub image forming apparatus in the main image information storage unit, for example, the number of times the image information is returned, and finally the image information. There is provided transfer history information management means for managing transfer history information such as the elapsed time since the return or the cycle when the image information is returned.

Therefore, in the main image forming apparatus, if there is no notification of the return request from the requesting sub image forming apparatus for a long period of time, the transfer history information management means uses the image transferred from the sub image forming apparatus. By confirming the transfer history information in the information after being stored in the main image information storage unit, it is possible to take measures such as erasing to reduce the load on the storage capacity of the main image information storage unit. It has the effect of becoming.

According to the image forming system of the second aspect of the present invention, as described above, in the image forming system of the first aspect, the main image forming apparatus is based on the transfer history information of the transfer history information managing means. In this configuration, an erasing unit for erasing image information stored in the main image information storage unit is provided.

Therefore, when the image information requested to be stored is stored in the main image information storage unit of the main image forming apparatus for a long time, the load on the storage capacity of the image forming apparatus on the requested side is reduced. Since the image information is erased in order to effectively use the main image information storage unit of the main image forming apparatus, the effect is obtained.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, as described above, in the image forming system according to the second aspect, the main image forming apparatus is provided with a remaining capacity area that can be stored in a main image information storage unit. Is provided, and the erasing means is configured to control the transfer history information management when the remaining amount area in the main image information storage unit by the remaining amount detecting means becomes a predetermined amount or less. The image information stored in the main image information storage unit is deleted based on the transfer history information of the means.

Therefore, the main image forming apparatus does not allow the image stored in the main image information storage unit to be used until the predetermined amount of free space for using the main image information storage unit for other purposes is exhausted. Information can be erased.

Therefore, while the main image forming apparatus secures the storage capacity required for its own processing, the image information is stored in the main image information storage unit, but once returned, it is absolutely necessary. The effect of preventing image information from being accidentally erased can be prevented by retaining image information that may be requested to be returned again with a delay until the limit is reached, for example. To play.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a memory process in an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a digital copying machine provided in the image forming system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing unit provided in the digital copying machine.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system provided in the digital copying machine.

FIG. 5 is a front view of an operation panel provided in the digital copying machine.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are front views showing the display contents of the operation panel, wherein FIG. 6A shows a basic screen of the liquid crystal display device of the operation panel, FIG. 6B shows a first function setting screen of the operation panel, and FIG. () Shows the second function setting screen.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are front views showing display contents of the operation panel. FIG. 7A shows an image quality setting screen on the liquid crystal display device of the operation panel, and FIG. 7B shows a post-processing setting screen. .

8A and 8B are front views showing display contents of the operation panel, FIG. 8A shows an initial setting screen of the liquid crystal display device of the operation panel, FIG. 8B shows a fingerprint registration screen of the operation panel, and FIG. ) Shows a department management setting screen.

9A and 9B are front views showing display contents of the operation panel, wherein FIG. 9A shows a limiter setting screen in a liquid crystal display device of the operation panel, and FIG. 9B shows the simulation screen.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a process of transitioning each screen in the liquid crystal display device of the operation panel.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the image forming system.

12A and 12B are front views showing display contents of the operation panel, wherein FIG. 12A shows a selection state of an image editing function on the first function setting screen shown in FIG. 6B, and FIG. Indicating the display state of the liquid crystal display device corresponding to the italic function operation,
(C) shows the same italic setting screen.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when an image processing request is made in the image forming system.

14A and 14B are front views showing display contents of the operation panel, wherein FIG. 14A shows a selection state of an image editing function on the second function setting screen shown in FIG. 6C, and FIG. FIG. 13 shows a display state of the liquid crystal display device corresponding to the operation of S4 shown in FIG. 13, and (c) shows the same sharpness setting screen.

FIG. 15 shows an operation panel S1 shown in FIG.
FIG. 14 is a front view showing a display state of the liquid crystal display device corresponding to the operation of No. 4.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when a storage request is made in the image forming system.

17A and 17B are front views showing display contents of the operation panel, wherein FIG. 17A shows a display state of the liquid crystal display device corresponding to the operation of S37 shown in FIG. 16, and FIG. FIG. 4C shows a display state when the memory key is pressed, and FIG. 4C shows a display state when the continuation key is pressed in FIG.

FIG. 18 is a front view showing display contents of the operation panel, showing a display state of transfer history information on the liquid crystal display device.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an operation of a main routine in a control operation of the image forming system.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming system according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming system according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 1 liquid crystal display device 31 scanner unit (image input unit) 32 laser printer unit (image recording unit) 71 image data processing unit 73 memory (main image information storage unit, sub image information storage unit) 74 PCU (main control unit, sub control) Unit, transfer history information managing means, erasing means, remaining amount detecting means) 90 operation panel (input unit) 91 digital copying machine 92 digital copying machine (sub image forming apparatus) 93 digital copying machine (main image forming apparatus) 91a to 96a Interface (communication device) 97a Communication line (communication device)

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-9-238215 (JP, A) JP-A-9-91103 (JP, A) JP-A-8-274928 (JP, A) JP-A-8-251321 (JP) , A) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 1/00-1/00 108 H04N 1/21

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A main image forming apparatus, a sub image forming apparatus, and a communication device for connecting the main image forming apparatus and the sub image forming apparatus and mutually transmitting and receiving image information; An image input unit for inputting image information, a sub-image information storage unit for storing image information, and an image recording unit for forming a visible image based on the image information stored in the image information storage unit. An input unit for inputting a command to request the main image forming apparatus to store the image information stored in the sub-image information storage unit based on a command to request storage of image information from the input unit; A sub-control unit that transfers the image information to the main image forming apparatus; the main image forming apparatus stores a main image information storage unit that stores image information; and the main image information storage that stores the image information transferred via the communication device. And temporarily store the secondary image A main control unit that waits for a return request from the forming apparatus and returns the image information to the sub-image information storage unit of the sub-image forming apparatus via the communication device. The main image forming apparatus further includes transfer history information management means for managing transfer history information after the image information transferred from the sub image forming apparatus is stored in the main image information storage unit. Image forming system. 2. The main image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an erasing unit for erasing the image information stored in the main image information storage unit based on the transfer history information of the transfer history information managing unit. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The main image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a remaining amount detecting means for detecting a remaining amount area that can be stored in the main image information storage unit; The image information stored in the main image information storage unit is erased based on the transfer history information of the transfer history information management means when the remaining storage area in the information storage unit becomes equal to or less than a predetermined amount. The image forming system according to claim 2, wherein