JP5652071B2 - Image forming system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system for forming an image on a recording medium.

  For example, FIGS. 28 to 30 are diagrams for explaining the image forming system described in Patent Document 1. FIG. The image forming system described in Patent Document 1 performs double-sided printing on paper. 28 to 30, the image data of odd-numbered pages (first, third, and fifth pages) is image data about an image to be printed on the surface of the paper, and the images of even-numbered pages (second, fourth, and sixth pages). The data is image data regarding an image to be printed on the back side of the paper.

  As illustrated in FIG. 28, the host device 1000 transmits image data of all pages (first to sixth pages) to the first controller 1100. Then, as shown in FIG. 29, the first controller 1100 transmits image data of even-numbered pages (2nd, 4th, and 6th pages) (image data for printing on the back side of the paper) to the second controller 1200. Then, as shown in FIG. 30, the first controller 1100 transmits image data of odd pages (first, third, and fifth pages) to the first printer engine 2100. The second controller 1200 transmits image data of even-numbered pages (second, fourth, and sixth pages) to the second printer engine 2200.

  Thereafter, the first printer engine 2100 prints an image of the odd page (first, third, fifth page) image data on the surface of the paper. The second printer engine 2200 prints an image of the image data of even-numbered pages (second, fourth, and sixth pages) on the back side of the paper. Printing is performed on both sides of the paper by the first printer engine 2100 and the second printer engine 2200.

  However, the image forming system described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that it takes a long time to transmit the first to sixth pages of image data transmitted from the host apparatus 1000 to the first controller 1100. As a result, the time (hereinafter referred to as “total transmission time”) from D1 when the host apparatus 1000 transmits image data to D2 when the first printer engine 2100 and the second printer engine 2200 start printing processing is long. There was a problem of becoming.

  In view of these problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming system that shortens the total transmission time.

In order to achieve the above object, a control device, a first storage device, a second storage device, a first image forming device, and a second image forming device,
The controller is
An acquisition unit for acquiring a plurality of front surface image data and one back surface image data;
The plurality of front surface image data and the one back surface image data are first image data so that a transmission time to the first storage device and a transmission time to the second storage device are substantially the same or the same. A sorting unit for sorting the group and the second image data group;
A transmission unit for transmitting the first image data group to the first storage device and transmitting the second image data group to the second storage device;
A transmission path is provided between the first storage device and the second storage device for transmitting all surface image data in the second image data group transmitted to the second storage device to the first storage device ,
The first image forming apparatus, the first storage device is transmitted from the transmission path at the transmission surface of the plurality of surface image data recording medium each surface a surface image of the multiple for including the image data Forming,
The second image forming apparatus, provides images forming system that forms the rear surface image of said one of the back side image data sent to the back surface of each of the plurality of recording media from said second storage device.

  According to the image forming system of the present invention, the total transmission time can be shortened.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of an image forming system according to an exemplary embodiment. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the process of the image forming system of a present Example (the 1). It is a block diagram for demonstrating the process of the image forming system of a present Example (the 2). FIG. 6 is a block diagram for explaining processing of the image forming system according to the present exemplary embodiment (No. 3). FIG. 6 is a block diagram for explaining processing of the image forming system according to the present exemplary embodiment (No. 4). FIG. 10 is a block diagram for explaining processing of the image forming system according to the present exemplary embodiment (No. 5). It is the figure which showed the back surface image information typically. It is the figure which showed 1st surface image information typically. It is the figure which showed the 2nd surface image information typically. It is the processing flow which showed the flow of the process of a 2nd memory | storage part. It is a processing flow of an analysis process. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a repetition list. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a transmission list. It is a processing flow of a transmission process. It is a processing flow of a printing process. It is a figure for demonstrating transmission total time etc. (the 1). It is a figure for demonstrating transmission total time etc. (the 2). It is a figure for demonstrating transmission total time etc. (the 3). It is a figure for demonstrating transmission total time etc. (the 4). It is a figure for demonstrating transmission total time etc. (the 5). It is a figure for demonstrating transmission total time etc. (the 6). It is a figure for demonstrating transmission total time etc. (the 7). It is a figure for demonstrating transmission total time etc. (the 8). It is a figure for demonstrating transmission total time etc. (the 9). It is a figure for demonstrating transmission total time etc. (the 10). It is the block diagram which showed the function structural example of the image forming system of another embodiment (the 1). FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an image forming system according to another embodiment (part 2). The figure for demonstrating a prior art (the 1). The figure for demonstrating a prior art (the 2). The figure for demonstrating a prior art (the 3).

  Prior to the description of the embodiments, terms will be described. Examples of the image forming apparatus include a printer, a facsimile, a copying apparatus, a plotter, and a complex machine of these. The recording medium is, for example, a substrate, paper, continuous paper, thread, fiber, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, or the like. Image formation includes applying an image such as a character, a figure, or a pattern to a recording medium, or causing a droplet to land on the recording medium.

  In the following description, the recording medium is “paper”, the image formation is “printing”, and the paper on which the image desired by the user is printed is called printing paper.

  In addition, the user creates a plurality of printing sheets (N sheets, where N is an integer equal to or greater than 2). When all the back surfaces of the N printing sheets are the same, the image formation of this embodiment is performed. The system is effective. For example, the user prints N New Year's cards. In general, the same image (for example, characters and designs such as “Happy New Year”) is printed on the back side of the New Year's card, and an image such as the name and address of the destination is printed on the front side of the New Year's card. As described above, the image forming system of this embodiment is a job for double-sided printing of a plurality of pages, and is effective when printing all the same images on the back side.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described. In addition, the same number is attached | subjected to the process which performs the structure part which has the same function, and the same process, and duplication description is abbreviate | omitted.
[Embodiment 1]
<System configuration example>
FIG. 1 shows a system configuration example of the first embodiment. 1 includes a control device 50, a first storage device 100, a second storage device 200, and an image forming apparatus 300.

  The control device 50 includes an acquisition unit 52, a distribution unit 54, a transmission unit 56, a measurement unit 58, a storage unit 60, and a command addition unit 62.

  The first storage device 100 includes a first buffer unit 102, a first analysis unit 104, and a first transmission unit 106. The second storage device 200 includes a second buffer unit 202, a second analysis unit 204, a second transmission unit 206, a repetition list 208, and a transmission list 210.

  The image forming apparatus 300 includes a head control unit 322, a head unit 324, and a third buffer unit 326.

  The control device 50 and the first storage device 100 are connected by a first transmission path 401. The control device 50 and the second storage device 200 are connected by a second transmission path 402. The first storage device 100 and the image forming apparatus 300 are connected by a third transmission path 403. The second storage device 200 and the image forming apparatus 300 are connected by a fourth transmission path 404. The first storage device 100 and the second storage device 200 are connected by a fifth transmission path 405. These transmission paths 401 to 405 are for transmitting image data. These transmission paths 401 to 405 may be configured with a LAN cable or the like, or may be configured with a network.

  In this embodiment, a case will be described in which images are printed on both surfaces (front and back surfaces) of N sheets. Also, an image printed on the front side of the paper is referred to as a front side image, and an image printed on the back side is referred to as a back side image. Further, the image data for the front image is the front image data, and the image data for the back image is the back image data. Also, the front image data and the back image data are simply referred to as image data. In this embodiment, it is assumed that all back image and back image data are the same.

  Further, the front and back surfaces of N sheets are each set as one page. That is, when duplex printing is performed on N sheets, there are 2N pages of image data. In the following description, a case where images are printed on both surfaces of five sheets will be described for the sake of simplicity. That is, there are 10 pages of image data in the 5 originals, but as described above, the back images of the 5 originals are all the same. The sum of the front image data for the image (in the case of New Year's cards, the address and name of the destination) and the back image data for one back image (in the case of New Year's cards, the characters and designs of “Happy New Year”) There are six pieces of image data. Double-sided printing is performed based on the six image data.

Hereinafter, the flow of processing of the image forming system according to the present exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
[About the control device 50]
First, the control device 50 will be described. An acquisition unit 52 in the control device 50 acquires front side image data and one back side image data for the number N (= 5) of sheets to be printed. As for the acquisition method of the front surface image data or the back surface image data of the acquisition unit 52, for example, the user may input the front surface image data and the back surface image data from an input unit (not shown) of the control device 50. Further, the user may transmit the front surface image data and the back surface image data to the control device 50 from a client terminal (not illustrated) via a network (not illustrated).

  Next, the distribution unit 54 distributes the five pieces of front surface image data and back surface image data into the first image data group and the second image data group A2. Then, the transmission unit 56 transmits the first image data group A1 to the first storage unit 100, and transmits the second image data group A2 to the second storage unit 200.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the distribution unit 54 makes the first transmission time T1 to the first storage device 100 and the second transmission time T2 to the second storage device 200 substantially the same or the same. In addition, five front surface image data and one back surface image data are distributed.

  An example of this distribution method will be described. The measurement unit 58 in the control device 50 has the data amount of all (five) front surface image data and one back surface image data, and the total data of the five front surface image data and one back surface image data. The quantity S (eg number of bits) is measured. The storage unit 60 stores in advance the first transmission speed V1 (bit / s) of the first transmission path 401 and the second transmission speed V2 (bit / s) of the second transmission path 402.

  Then, the distribution unit 54 divides the total data amount S so that the ratio V1: V2 between the first transmission rate V1 and the second transmission rate V2 is obtained.

That is, the total data amount S1 of the first image data group A1 and the total data amount S2 of the second image data group A2 are:
S1 = S · V1 / (V1 + V2)
S2 = S · V2 / (V1 + V2)
It becomes.

  Then, the distribution unit 54 sets the group of image data combined to be the total data amount S1 as the first image data group A1, and sets the group of image data combined to be the total data amount S2 to the second image. The front surface image data and the back surface image data are distributed so as to be the data group A2. Note that it is usually preferable to assign the second image data group A2 with priority given to the back surface image data and the front surface image data as appropriate.

  Further, the first communication time T1 may be the second communication time depending on the data amount of each of the five front surface image data, the amount of one back surface image data, the transmission speed of the first transmission path 401, and the transmission speed of the second transmission path 402. It may be slightly larger or slightly smaller than T2.

  In the example of FIG. 2, for simplicity of explanation, five front surface image data (front surface image data on the first, third, fifth, seventh, and ninth pages), one back surface image data, and the data amount are respectively A case where the transmission speeds of the first transmission path 401 and the second transmission path 402 are the same is shown. That is, the distribution unit 54 sets the first image data group A1 as the front image data of the first, third, and fifth pages, the second image data group A2 as one back surface image data, and the front surface images of the seventh and ninth pages. Sort as data.

Then, the transmission unit 56 transmits the first image data group A1 to the first storage device 100, and transmits the second image data group A2 to the second storage device 200, respectively.
[About the first storage device 100 and the second storage device 200]
Next, the first storage device 100 and the second storage device 200 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the first image data group A1 is temporarily stored in the first buffer unit 102 in the first storage device 100 and temporarily stored in the second buffer unit 202 in the second storage device 200. Two image data groups A2 are stored. Note that the image forming apparatus 300 can simultaneously print a front image and a back image on the same paper (in the case of continuous paper, the front and back of a certain printing area) (for example, the front head and the back head are paper sheets). 1 (for example, FIG. 6 of JP 2001-347488 A), the first buffer unit 102 and the second buffer unit 202 can be configured with the same capacity. On the other hand, in the case of the SED configuration and the tandem configuration, which will be described later, in the front image and the back image on the same sheet, the back image is printed several pages to several tens of pages after the print timing of the front image. The buffer capacity is required as much as the print time difference with respect to the first buffer unit 102.

  Incidentally, the head unit 324 in the image forming apparatus 300 according to the present embodiment prints on the front surface of the paper based on the front surface image data and prints on the back surface of the paper based on the back surface image data under the control of the head control unit 322. To do. That is, in the present embodiment, one head unit 324 can print images on both sides of a sheet (SED configuration described later). The head control unit 322 needs to distinguish whether the transmitted image data is front surface image data or back surface image data. In order to make the distinction, it is considered that surface identification information indicating that the image data is front surface image data is added to the surface image data, or back surface identification information indicating that the image data is back surface image data is added to the surface image data. It is done. However, adding the front surface identification information and the back surface identification information increases the amount of data and leads to a delay in transmission of the front surface image data and the back surface image data.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the head control unit 322 recognizes the image data transmitted from the first storage device 100 as front surface image data, and the image data transmitted from the second storage device 200 is back surface image data. It is set as the structure which recognizes. With such a configuration, it is not necessary to add front surface identification information or back surface identification information.

  In addition, the second image data group transmitted to the second storage device 200 may include surface image data. In the example of FIG. 2, the second image data group A2 includes the surface image data of the seventh page and the ninth page. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the table image data in the second image data group A2 stored in the second buffer unit 202 is transmitted to the first storage device 100. More specifically, the second analysis unit 204 (described later) analyzes the second image data group A2 and recognizes the surface image data. Then, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the second transmission unit 206 (see FIG. 1) transmits the recognized surface image data to the first storage device 100 through the fifth transmission path 405. In this example, the second analysis unit 204 recognizes the surface image data of the seventh and ninth pages from the second image data group A2. The second transmission unit 206 (see FIG. 1) transmits the recognized surface image data of the seventh and ninth pages to the first storage device 100 through the fifth transmission path 405. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, all the surface image data (in this example, the surface image data of the first, third, fifth, seventh, and ninth pages) are newly stored in the first storage device 100. Remembered as'. Further, one back image data is stored in the second storage device 200 as a new second image data group A2 ′.

  The new first image data group A1 ′ is all the front surface image data acquired by the acquisition unit 52, and the new second image data group A2 ′ is a piece of back surface image data acquired by the acquisition unit 52. Become.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the first transmission unit 106 of the first storage device 100 transmits the new first image data group A1 ′ to the image forming apparatus 300 through the third transmission path 403. The second transmission unit 206 of the second storage device 200 transmits the new second image data group A2 ′ to the image forming apparatus 300 through the fourth transmission path 404 through the fourth transmission path 404.
[Image forming apparatus 300]
The head control unit 322 of the image forming apparatus 300 receives all the front surface image data (new first image data group A1 ′) from the first storage device 100, and the back surface image data from the second storage device 200. Receive. Then, the head control unit 322 causes the head unit 324 to print the front surface image for the received front surface image data on the front surface of the paper and print the back surface image for the received back surface image data on the back surface of the paper.

That is, the image forming apparatus 300 performs printing on the surface of each of the N sheets based on each of the received plurality of surface image data. Further, the same back image is printed on the back surface of each of the N sheets by repeatedly using one received back image data. In the example of FIG. 2, the number of repetitions is five.
<Backside image data>
Next, back surface image data will be described in detail. FIG. 7 schematically shows the back surface image information 500. In the example of FIG. 7, the back image information 500 mainly includes a repeat command 502 and back image data 504. The back image data 504 is, for example, bitmap data. The repeat command 502 is information that instructs to repeatedly print (use) the back surface image data 504. In the example of FIGS. 2 to 6, the second analysis unit 204 analyzes the back image information 500 and causes the image forming apparatus 300 to repeatedly use the back image data 504 according to the repeat command 502. The repeat command includes information on the number of repetitions M. The number of repetitions M is the number of times the back surface image data 504 is used repeatedly. In the example of FIGS. 2 to 6, M = 5.
<About surface image data>
Next, the surface image data will be described in detail. Hereinafter, the front surface image data (that is, the front surface image data in the first image data group A1) transmitted to the first storage device 100 after the distribution unit 54 distributes the front surface image data and the back surface image data is the first. The surface image data 604 is called surface image data (that is, surface image data in the second image data group A2) transmitted to the second storage device 200 is called second surface image data 704.

  FIG. 8 schematically shows the first surface image information 600. The first surface image information 600 mainly includes first surface image data 604. The first surface image data 604 is, for example, bitmap data.

  FIG. 9 schematically shows the second surface image information 700. The second surface image information 700 mainly includes a transmission command 702 and second surface image data 704. The second surface image data 704 is, for example, bitmap data. The transmission command 702 is information that instructs the second transmission unit 206 in the second storage device 200 to transmit the second surface image data 704 to the first storage device 100.

Further, after the distribution unit 54 distributes the data to the first image data group A1 and the second image data group A2, the command addition unit 62 transmits a transmission command 702 to the second surface image data 704 in the second image data group A2. And the command 502 is repeatedly added to the back image data 504 in the second image data group A2.
<Regarding Second Analysis Unit 204 in Second Storage Device 200>
Next, the second analysis unit 204 in the second storage device 200 will be described in detail. FIG. 10 shows a processing flow of the second analysis unit 204. First, the second analysis unit 204 analyzes the transmitted image data (step S101). FIG. 11 shows a detailed processing flow of the analysis processing in step S101.

  First, the second analysis unit 204 analyzes whether or not a command exists in the image data (step S201). When the second analysis unit 204 determines that there is no command (No in step S201), the analysis process ends. When the second analysis unit 204 determines that a command exists (Yes in step S201), the process proceeds to step S202.

  Next, the second analysis unit 204 determines whether or not the existing command is a repeated command (step S202). If the second analysis unit 204 determines that the existing command is a repetitive command (Yes in step S202), the process proceeds to step S203. If the second analysis unit 204 determines that the existing command is not a repetitive command (No in step S202), the process proceeds to step S204.

  When the process proceeds to step S203 (that is, when the command is a repetition command), the second analysis unit 204 registers the contents of the repetition command (for example, the number of repetitions M) in the repetition list 208 (see FIG. 1). (Step S203). Then, the process ends.

  When the process proceeds to step S204, the second analysis unit 204 determines whether or not the existing command is a transmission command (step S204). When the second analysis unit 204 determines that the existing command is a transmission command (Yes in step S204), the process proceeds to step S205. If the second analysis unit 204 determines that the existing command is not a transmission command (No in step S204), the process ends.

  When the process proceeds to step S205 (that is, when the command is a transmission command), the second analysis unit 204 registers the content of the transmission command in the transmission list 210 (see FIG. 1) (step S205). Then, the process ends.

  FIG. 12 schematically shows the repetition list 208. In the example of FIG. 12, the repetition list 208 includes a pointer 2082 to the next element, a repetition count M2084, and a pointer 2086 to the back image data 504. In the example of FIG. 12, since there is only one back image data, the pointer to the next element is “NULL”. The number of repetitions M2084 is M = 5 in the examples of FIGS. The back image data pointer 2086 is information indicating the address of the back image data 504 stored in the second buffer unit 202. Further, the pointer 2082 to the next element, the number of repetitions M2084, and the pointer 2086 to the back image data 504 are collectively referred to as “elements of the repetition list 208”. In the example of FIG. 12, the repetition list 208 has one element.

  FIG. 13 schematically shows the transmission list 210. In the example of FIG. 13, the transmission list 210 includes pointers 2102 and 2106 to the next element, and pointers 2104 and 2108 of surface image information. One “pointer to the next element” and one “pointer of the surface image information” are collectively referred to as “elements of the transmission list 210”. There are as many elements of the transmission list 210 as the number of second surface image data transmitted to the second storage device 200. In the example of FIGS. 2 to 6, the number of the second surface image data is two (surface image data of the 7th page and the 9th page). Therefore, in the example of FIG. To do.

  Returning to FIG. After the process of step S101 is completed, the second analysis unit 204 performs a process of transmitting the surface image data from the second storage device 200 to the first storage device 100 (step S102). FIG. 14 shows a processing flow of surface image data transmission processing. The transmission list shown in FIG. 13 will be described as an example with reference to FIG.

  First, the second analysis unit 204 determines whether there is an element in the transmission list 210 (step S301). In the example of FIG. 13, since there are two elements in the transmission list 210, the second analysis unit 204 determines Yes and proceeds to step S302. If the second analysis unit 204 determines that there is no element (No in step S301), the process ends.

  Next, the second transmission unit 206 (see FIG. 1) stores the surface image data 704 (the surface image data of the seventh page in the example of FIG. 13) for the elements of the first transmission list 210 in the first storage device. 100 (step S302). Then, the second analysis unit 204 determines whether or not the transmission process has been completed (step S303). When the transmission process is properly completed (Yes in step S303), the process proceeds to step S304. If the second analysis unit 204 determines that the transmission process is not properly completed (No in step S303), the process returns to step S302 and continues the transmission process until the transmission process is properly completed. If it is determined that the transmission process is not properly completed, the process may be terminated because it is an error.

  When the transmission process of the surface image data is completed (Yes in step S303), elements are deleted from the transmitted surface image data (step S304). In this example, the “elements of the transmission list 210” for the surface image data of the seventh page are deleted (step S304), and the transmitted surface image data of the seventh page (surface image data in this example) is deleted (S305). ).

  Next, the second analysis unit 204 determines whether all elements of the transmission list 210 in the transmission list 210 have been deleted (step S306). In this example, since the elements for the surface image data 704 of the ninth page remain, the second analysis unit 204 determines No (No in step S306). Then, the process returns to step S302.

  Thereafter, the processes of S302, S303, S304, S305, and S306 are repeated. If the second analysis unit 204 determines in step S306 that all elements have been deleted (Yes in step S305), it means that all surface image data has been transmitted to the first image device 100, and therefore transmission processing is performed. finish.

  Returning to FIG. When the transmission process in step S102 ends, the second analysis unit 204 performs a printing process (step S103). FIG. 15 shows a processing flow of the printing process of the second analysis unit 204. Further, FIG. 15 will be described using the repetition list shown in FIG. 12 as an example.

  First, the second analysis unit 204 determines whether there is an element in the repetition list 208 (step S401). In the example of FIG. 15, since there are elements in the repetition list 208, the second analysis unit 204 determines Yes. Next, the second analysis unit 204 performs a printing process based on the back surface image data (S402). Specifically, the second storage device 200 transmits the back image data to the image forming apparatus 300, and prints the back image based on the back image data on the back side of the first sheet (step S402). .

  Then, the second analysis unit 204 decrements the repetition count M by “1” (step S404). 2 to 6, the value of M before decrementing is “5”. Next, the second analysis unit 204 determines whether or not M = 0 (step S404). Since M = 4 at the present time, the second analysis unit 204 determines No and returns to step S402. Then, the processes of steps S402, S404, and S405 are repeated. When the second analysis unit 204 determines that M = 0 (Yes in step S405), the process proceeds to step S406. The fact that the second analysis unit 204 determines that M = 0 means that the back image has been printed on the back surface of all (five sheets) paper.

  Then, the second analysis unit 204 deletes the element from the repetition list 208 (step S406), and deletes the back surface image data from the second buffer unit 202 (step S407). Thereafter, the process ends.

  On the other hand, when the second analysis unit 204 determines in step S401 that there are no elements in the repetition list 208 (No in step S401), the image forming apparatus 300 is caused to perform normal printing (step S403). Here, normal printing is printing different back images on the back of one or more sheets.

  As described above, the first storage device 100 and the second storage device 200 cause the image forming apparatus 300 to print images on both sides of the sheet based on the control of the control device 50.

  For example, a DFE (Digital Front End) device may be used as the control device 50. The DFE device has a drawing function and a printer controller (printing control device) function. For example, image data described in a page description language (PDL) is sequentially received from a client terminal (not shown), and the image data is converted into a raster image (RIP processing; Raster Image Process). Then, the RIP-processed image data and print control information (job ticket) such as the number of printed sheets and the paper size are transmitted to the image forming apparatus 300, and the head unit 324 and the paper transport system of the image forming apparatus 300 are controlled so that the image Printing is performed by the forming apparatus 300. That is, the printing operation of the image forming apparatus 300 is controlled by the printer controller by the DFE apparatus. Details of the DFE device are described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-246244.

  The first storage device 100 may use a front surface MIC (Mechanism Interface Controller), and the second storage device 200 may use a back surface MIC.

  The image forming apparatus 300 may use, for example, an SED (Single Engine Duplex). The SED is described in JP-A-8-2017.

  In the image forming system according to the first embodiment, the distribution unit 54 has a plurality of transmission times T1 to the first storage device 100 and a plurality of transmission times T2 to the second storage device 200 so as to be substantially the same. The front image data and the same back image data are distributed to the first image data group A1 and the second image data group A2. Then, the transmission unit 56 transmits the first image data group A1 to the first storage device 100, and transmits the second image data group A2 to the second storage device 200. Therefore, the transmission time (= first transmission time T1, second transmission time T2) of image data from the control device 50 to the first storage device 100 and the second storage device 200 can be shortened. As a result, the total transmission time from the time D1 when image data is transmitted from the control device 50 to the start time D2 of the printing process by the image forming apparatus 300 can be shortened.

In addition, after transmitting the first image data group A1 and the second image data group A2 to the first storage device 100 and the second storage device 200, all the surface image data in the second image data group A2 are stored in the first storage device. 100 (see FIG. 4). Thus, the first image data group A1 is all front surface image data, and the second image data group A2 is one back surface image data. The head controller 322 of the image forming apparatus 300 receives the first image data group A1 (all surface image data) from the first storage device 100, and receives the second image data group A2 from the second storage device 200. (One back side image data) is received. Therefore, the head control unit 322 can recognize the front surface image data and the back surface image data without adding the front surface identification information to the front surface image data or adding the back surface identification information to the back surface image data. .
[Embodiment 2]
In the second to sixth embodiments described below, the first embodiment is mainly performed when the first storage device 100 and the second storage device 200 are configured by a separate housing from the image forming apparatus 300. The image forming system further reduces the total transmission time. First, the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 16 schematically shows the transmission time of the front surface image data and the back surface image data of the image forming system according to the first embodiment.

  As described above, the first transmission time T1 is the time during which the first image data group A1 is transmitted through the first transmission path 401, and the second transmission time T2 is the second image data group through the second transmission path 402. A2 is the time for transmission. A transmission time of a plurality of surface image data from the first storage device 100 to the image forming apparatus 300 through the third transmission path 403 is defined as a third transmission time T3. A transmission time of one back side image data from the second storage device 200 to the image forming apparatus 300 through the fourth transmission path 404 is defined as a fourth transmission time T4. The transmission time of the surface image data from the second storage device 200 to the first storage device 100 through the fifth transmission path 405 is defined as a fifth transmission time T5. Also, from the time when the control device 50 transmits the first image data group A1 and the second image data group A2 to the time when the image forming device 300 receives all the front surface image data and one back surface image data. Let the time be the total transmission time Ts1. In the example of FIG. 16, it is assumed that T1 = T2 and T3> T4.

  In the example of FIG. 16, the total transmission time Ts1 = T1 + T5 + T3. In the image forming system of Embodiment 2, the total transmission time Ts1 can be further shortened.

  FIG. 17 schematically shows the total transmission time Ts2 and the like of the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, at least one surface image data (for example, surface image data on the seventh page) in the second image data group A2 transmitted to the second storage device 200 is transmitted through the fifth transmission path 405 to the first. While being transmitted to the storage device (during the fifth transmission time T5), at least one surface image data (for example, the first page) in the first image data group A1 transmitted to the first storage device 100 Surface image data) is transmitted to the first image forming apparatus 100.

  That is, the first transmission unit 206 of the second storage device 200 transmits the first storage device 100 to the first storage device 100 while transmitting at least one surface image data (during the fifth transmission time T5). The first transmission unit 106 of the storage device 100 transmits at least one surface image data to the image forming apparatus 300. In this way, as shown in FIG. 17, the start of the transmission process of the surface image data to the image forming apparatus 300 by the first transmission unit 106 can be accelerated. Therefore, the overlap time α2 occurs between the fifth transmission time T5 and the third transmission time T3.

According to the image forming system of the third embodiment, the total transmission time is the total transmission time Ts2 = T1 + T5 + T3-α2 in the example of FIG. 17, and can be shorter than the total transmission time Ts1 of the image forming system of the first embodiment.
[Embodiment 3]
Next, the image forming system of Embodiment 3 will be described. FIG. 18 schematically shows the total transmission time Ts3 and the like of the image forming system according to the third embodiment.

  In the image forming system according to the third embodiment, when the first surface image data in the second image data group A2 transmitted to the second storage device 200 is transmitted to the first storage device 100 through the fifth transmission path 405, The first surface image data in the first image data group A1 transmitted to the first storage device is transmitted to the first image forming apparatus.

  Further details will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 19, the first transmission device 206 of the second storage device 200 transmits the first surface image data to the first storage device 100 as the surface image data of the seventh page, and the first storage device 100. The first transmission unit 106 first transmits back image data to be transmitted to the image forming apparatus 300 as front image data of the first page. Then, at the same time when the second transmission unit 206 transmits the surface image data of the seventh page, the first transmission unit 106 transmits the surface image data of the first page. In this way, as shown in FIG. 18, the start of the transmission process of the surface image data to the image forming apparatus 300 by the first transmission unit 106 can be further accelerated compared to the second embodiment. Accordingly, an overlap time α3 occurs between the fifth transmission time T5 and the third transmission time T3.

  Further, when T3> T5, α3 = T5, when T3 <T5, α3 = T3, and when T3 = T5, α3 = T3 = T5.

According to the image forming system of the third embodiment, the total transmission time is Ts3 = T1 + T5 + T4 in the example of FIG. 18, and can be shorter than the total transmission time Ts2 of the image forming system of the second embodiment.
[Embodiment 4]
Next, the image forming system of Embodiment 4 will be described. For example, when the data amount of one back surface image data is larger than the total value of the data amounts of the plurality of front surface image data, T4> T3 may be satisfied as shown in FIG. The image forming system according to the fourth and fifth embodiments is effective when T4> T3.

  FIG. 21 schematically shows the total transmission time Ts4 and the like of the fourth embodiment. In the fourth embodiment, at least one surface image data (for example, surface image data of the seventh page) in the second image data group A2 transmitted to the second storage device 200 is first stored by the fifth transmission path 405. While being transmitted to the apparatus 100 (during the fifth transmission time T5), one back surface image data in the second image data group A2 transmitted to the second storage device 200 is transmitted to the second image forming apparatus 200. Sent.

  That is, the second transmission unit 206 of the second storage device 200 transmits the second storage device 100 to the first storage device 100 while transmitting at least one surface image data (during the fifth transmission time T5). The second transmission unit 206 of the storage device 200 transmits one piece of back surface image data to the image forming apparatus 300. In this way, as shown in FIG. 21, the start of the transmission process of the back surface image data to the image forming apparatus 300 by the second transmission unit 206 can be accelerated. Therefore, the overlap time α4 occurs between the fifth transmission time T5 and the fourth transmission time T4.

According to the image forming system of the fourth embodiment, the total transmission time is the total transmission time Ts4 = T1 + T5 + T4-α4 in the example of FIG. 20, which is shorter than the total transmission time Ts1 of the image forming system of the first embodiment shown in FIG. it can.
[Embodiment 5]
Next, an image forming system of Embodiment 5 will be described. FIG. 22 schematically shows the total transmission time Ts3 and the like of the image forming system according to the third embodiment.

  In the image forming system of Embodiment 5, when the first surface image data in the second image data group A2 transmitted to the second storage device 200 is transmitted to the first storage device 100 via the fifth transmission path 405, One back image data in the second image data group A2 transmitted to the second storage device 200 is transmitted to the second image forming device 200.

  Further details will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 23, the surface image data that the second transmission unit 206 of the second storage device 200 first transmits to the first storage device 100 is the surface image data of the seventh page. Then, when the second transmission unit 206 transmits the front image data of the seventh page, the second transmission unit 206 transmits one back surface image data. In other words, the second transmission unit 206 transmits the front image data of the seventh page and one back image data at the same time. In this way, as shown in FIG. 22, the start of the transmission process of the back surface image data to the image forming apparatus 300 by the second transmission unit 206 can be accelerated. Therefore, the overlap time α5 occurs between the fifth transmission time T5 and the fourth transmission time T4.

  Also, α4 = T5 when T4> T5, α4 = T4 when T4 <T5, and α4 = T4 = T5 when T4 = T5.

  According to the image forming system of the fifth embodiment, the total transmission time is Ts5 = T1 + T5 + T3 in the example of FIG. 20, and can be shorter than the total transmission time Ts4 of the image forming system of the fourth embodiment.

  Next, a first modification will be described. As a first modification, the image forming apparatus according to the above-described embodiment, particularly, the embodiments 4 and 5, is an image forming apparatus 300-1 (or first image forming apparatus 340, second image forming apparatus 360) described later. In addition, it is preferable to use an image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as “image forming apparatus A”) that prints the image of the front surface image data and the image of the back surface image data on both sides of the same sheet substantially simultaneously or simultaneously. This is because the image forming apparatus A can reduce the printing time because the image of the front surface image data and the image of the back surface image data can be printed almost simultaneously or simultaneously on both sides of the same sheet. The detailed reason will be described below.

  The image forming apparatus A needs to acquire the front image data and the back image data of the first page substantially simultaneously or simultaneously. As shown in FIGS. 20 to 22, in the fourth and fifth embodiments, the transmission time of the back surface image data from the second storage device 200 to the image forming apparatus A can be adjusted. Image data and backside image data can be acquired substantially simultaneously or simultaneously. Therefore, the image forming apparatus A can be used as the image forming apparatus of the fourth and fifth embodiments, and the time required for the printing process by the image forming apparatus A can be reduced. Normally, in the SED system or the tandem configuration, the back side image data is not printed at the same time as the front side image data of the same page, and therefore it is not necessary to transmit data at the same timing.

  Next, a second modification will be described. As shown in FIGS. 20 to 22 and the like described above, the fourth transmission time T4 may be extremely longer (longer than a predetermined value) than the third transmission time T3, and the back surface image data may be In some cases, the head control unit 322 may be reached earlier than the surface image data of the first page. In this case, it is preferable to provide the third buffer unit 326 in the image forming apparatus 300. Then, the back side image data that has reached the image forming apparatus 300 earlier is stored in the third buffer unit 326. When the front image data of the first page reaches the image forming apparatus 300, the head control unit 322 takes out the back image data from the third buffer unit, and stores the image about the front image data of the first page in the head unit 324. Then, the image of the back side image data is printed on both sides of the paper. In addition, when the back side image data is not changed, when printing the front side image data for the third and subsequent pages, the back side image data stored in the third buffer unit is taken out and the front side images for the third and subsequent pages are retrieved. Print on both sides of the paper at the same time as the data. Note that when the back image data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 300 in step S <b> 402 illustrated in FIG. 15, the back image data may be stored in the third buffer unit 326.

  If the third buffer unit 326 is not provided, the image forming apparatus 300 cannot hold the back surface image data, and when the front image data of the first page arrives, the image forming apparatus 300 again performs the back surface image data. Data needs to be obtained from the second buffer 202. As described above, since the fourth transmission time T4 is extremely longer than the third transmission time, a long time lag occurs and the printing time also becomes long. By providing the third buffer unit 326, the back surface image data can be held (stored), so that the head control unit 322 can freely extract and use the back surface image data. Therefore, the head control unit 322 can use the back image data at a convenient timing (timing for printing the front image data of the first page), and has the effect of shortening the printing time.

  Further, the third buffer unit 326 is not limited to the case where the fourth transmission time T4 is extremely longer than the third transmission time T3, but it is clear that the back surface image data arrives earlier than the front image data of the first page. In case, it is effective.

Further, when the front surface image data reaches the image forming apparatus 300 earlier than the back surface image data, the front surface image data may be stored in the third buffer unit 326. Even in this case, the same effect is exhibited.
[Embodiment 6]
Next, an image forming system of Embodiment 6 will be described. FIG. 24 schematically shows the total transmission time Ts6 and the like of the image forming system according to the sixth embodiment.

  In the image forming system according to the sixth embodiment, while the transmission unit 56 of the control device 50 transmits at least one surface image data in the first image data group A1 to the first storage device 100, the second storage device. At least one surface image in the second image data group A <b> 2 transmitted to 200 is transmitted to the first storage device 100 via the fifth transmission path 405.

  Further details will be described. In the image forming system according to the sixth embodiment, the transmission unit 56 transmits at least one surface image data to the second storage device 200 prior to one back surface image data. In the example of FIG. 25, the transmission unit 56 transmits two front surface image data (front surface image data of the seventh and ninth pages) to the second storage device 200 prior to one back surface image data. Yes.

  While the transmission unit 56 is transmitting at least one surface image data in the first image data group A1 (surface image data of the fifth page in the example of FIG. 25), the first transmission unit 106 The surface image data of the seventh page is transmitted to the first storage device 100. In this way, as shown in FIG. 24, the start of the transmission process of the surface image data to the first storage device 100 by the second transmission unit 206 can be accelerated. Accordingly, an overlap time α6 occurs between the first transmission times T1 and T2 and the fifth transmission time T5.

According to the image forming system of the sixth embodiment, the total transmission time is Ts6 = T1 + T5 + T3−α6 in the example of FIG. 24, which can be shorter than the total transmission time Ts1 of the image forming system of the first embodiment.
[Embodiment 7]
Next, Embodiment 7 will be described. The image forming apparatus 300 according to the first embodiment performs double-sided printing on a sheet with one head unit 324. FIG. 26 shows a functional configuration example of the image forming system according to the seventh embodiment. 26 differs from FIG. 1 in that the image forming apparatus 300 is replaced with an image forming apparatus 300-1. As illustrated in FIG. 26, the image forming apparatus 300-1 of the image forming system according to the seventh embodiment includes the first image forming apparatus 340 as the first image forming unit 340, and the second image forming apparatus 360 as the second image forming apparatus. Part 360 is included. The image forming apparatus 300-1 includes a first head control unit 342, a first head unit 344, a second head control unit 362, and a second head unit 364.

  The first storage device 100 and the first image forming unit 340 are connected by a third transmission path 403. The second storage device 200 and the second image forming unit 360 are connected by a fourth transmission path 404.

  The first head control unit 342 receives the plurality of surface images transmitted from the first storage device 100 through the third transmission path 403. The second head control unit 362 receives one piece of back surface image data transmitted from the second storage device 200 through the fourth transmission path 404.

  The first head unit 344 prints the surface images based on the N surface image data on the surfaces of the N sheets based on the control of the first head control unit 342, respectively. Also, the second head unit 364 prints the same back image based on the back image data on each of the back surfaces of the N sheets based on the control of the second head control unit 362.

  The head control unit 322 in FIG. 1 integrates the function of the first head control unit 342 and the function of the second head control unit 362. The head unit 324 is a combination of the function of the first head unit 344 and the function of the second head unit 364.

As described above, the processing costs can be divided by dividing the processing of the head control unit 322 and the head unit 324.
[Embodiment 8]
FIG. 27 shows a functional configuration example of the image forming system of the eighth embodiment. 27 differs from FIG. 1 in that the image forming apparatus 300 is replaced with a first image forming apparatus 340 and a second image forming apparatus 360. In the image forming system of the eighth embodiment, the first image forming apparatus 340 and the second image forming apparatus 360 are configured in tandem. The first image forming apparatus 340 and the second image forming apparatus 360 are as described in the seventh embodiment.

In addition, when the first to eighth embodiments are combined, the image forming system according to the present embodiment can be configured by including the control device 50 and the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus includes at least a first image forming apparatus 340 and a second image forming apparatus 360. Further, at least one of the first storage device 100 and the second storage device 200 may be included in the image forming apparatus.
[Embodiment 9]
A first transmission path 401 (transmission path for transmitting the first image data group from the control device 50 to the first storage device 100), and a second transmission path 402 (second image data group from the control device to the second storage device) And a fifth transmission path 405 (transmission path for transmitting surface image data from the second storage device 200 to the first storage device 100), and at least one of them is PCI-Express. It is preferable to comprise. This is because the transmission time of image data can be further shortened.

  In the first to sixth embodiments, the first storage device 100 and / or the second storage device 200 may be included in the image forming apparatus 300. In the seventh embodiment, the first storage device 100 and / or the second storage device 200 may be included in the image forming apparatus 300-1. In the eighth embodiment, the first image forming apparatus 340 may include the first storage device 100, and the second image forming apparatus 360 may include the second storage device 200.

50 ... Control device 52 ... Acquisition unit 54 ... Distribution unit 56 ... Transmission unit 100 ... First storage device 102 ... First buffer unit 104 ... First analysis unit 106 First transmission unit 200 Second storage device 202 Second buffer unit 204 Second analysis unit 206 Second transmission unit 300 Image forming device 322 .Head control unit 324... Head unit

JP 2009-66937 A

Claims (10)

A control device, a first storage device, a second storage device, a first image forming device, and a second image forming device;
The controller is
An acquisition unit for acquiring a plurality of front surface image data and one back surface image data;
The plurality of front surface image data and the one back surface image data are first image data so that a transmission time to the first storage device and a transmission time to the second storage device are substantially the same or the same. A sorting unit for sorting the group and the second image data group;
A transmission unit for transmitting the first image data group to the first storage device and transmitting the second image data group to the second storage device;
A transmission path is provided between the first storage device and the second storage device for transmitting all surface image data in the second image data group transmitted to the second storage device to the first storage device,
The first image forming device forms a surface image of the plurality of surface image data including the surface image data transmitted from the first storage device and transmitted on the transmission path on the surfaces of the plurality of recording media. And
The second image forming apparatus forms an image on the back surface of each of the plurality of recording media with respect to the one back image data transmitted from the second storage device.   2. The image according to claim 1, wherein an image forming apparatus including at least one of the first storage device and the second storage device, the first image forming device, and the second image forming device is configured. Forming system.   While at least one surface image data in the second image data group transmitted to the second storage device is being transmitted to the first storage device via the transmission path, it is transmitted to the first storage device. The image forming system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one surface image data in the first image data group is transmitted to the first image forming apparatus.   The first surface image data in the second image data group transmitted to the second storage device is transmitted to the first storage device when the first surface image data is transmitted to the first storage device through the transmission path. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the first surface image data in the image data group is transmitted to the first image forming apparatus.   The at least one surface image data in the second image data group transmitted to the second storage device is transmitted to the second storage device while being transmitted to the first storage device by the transmission path. 5. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the one back side image data in the second image data group is transmitted to the second image forming apparatus.   The first surface image data in the second image data group transmitted to the second storage device is transmitted to the second storage device when the first surface image data is transmitted to the first storage device through the transmission path. 6. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the one back image data in the image data group is transmitted to the second image forming apparatus.   While the transmission unit is transmitting at least one surface image data in the first image data group to the first storage device, the second image data in the second image data group transmitted to the second storage device The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein at least one surface image is transmitted to the first storage device through the transmission path. A transmission path for transmitting the first image data group from the control device to the first storage device;
A transmission path for transmitting the second image data group from the control device to the second storage device;
8. The transmission path for transmitting surface image data from the second storage device to the first storage device, at least one of which is PCI-Express. The image forming system described. A control device, a first storage device, a second storage device, and an image forming device;
The controller is
An acquisition unit for acquiring a plurality of front surface image data and one back surface image data;
The plurality of front surface image data and the one back surface image data are first image data so that a transmission time to the first storage device and a transmission time to the second storage device are substantially the same or the same. A sorting unit for sorting the group and the second image data group;
A transmission unit for transmitting the first image data group to the first storage device and transmitting the second image data group to the second storage device;
A transmission path is provided between the first storage device and the second storage device for transmitting all surface image data in the second image data group transmitted to the second storage device to the first storage device,
The image forming apparatus forms a surface image of the plurality of surface image data including the surface image data transmitted from the transmission path and transmitted from the first storage device on a surface of each of a plurality of recording media, Furthermore, the image forming system forms a back image of the one back image data transmitted from the second storage device on the back surface of each of the plurality of recording media. The image forming apparatus has a head portion,
It said head portion, said surface image is formed on the plurality of recording media each surface, further, the image forming system according to claim 9, wherein forming the back-side image on a back surface of each of the plurality of recording medium body.

Images