JP7040249B2 - Image forming device and printing start time adjustment method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a printing start time adjusting method.

Conventionally, an image forming apparatus equipped with an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) has become widespread. Such an image forming apparatus usually has functions such as printing (printing), copying (copying), reading (scanning), and network communication.

In this image forming apparatus, when the user presses the copy start button, the execution of the copy job starts. At this time, the ADF automatically transports the documents placed on the document placing table one by one to the scanner. Then, the scanner optically sequentially scans the images printed on the document conveyed to the scanning position to obtain image data (hereinafter, referred to as "document scanning process"). Then, the printing unit prints an image on paper based on the image data (hereinafter, referred to as "printing process"), and ejects the paper to the output tray. Normally, the document scanning process and the printing process are performed until the documents placed on the document mounting table are exhausted. When scanning an image printed on a document at a high resolution, the document scanning process takes time. Therefore, the printing unit waits in the driven state until the document scanning process is completed. Then, after the original document scanning process of the original is completed, printing by the printing unit is resumed.

In recent image forming apparatus equipped with ADF, it has been required to shorten FCOT (First Copy Output Time) when executing a copy job. FCOT is the time required for the user to place a document on the ADF document mounting table, press the copy start button, and then eject the first sheet of paper on which the scanned image is printed to the output tray. That is.

Further, even when the printing unit does not print the image on the paper, it may stand by for some reason. In this case, the printing unit is in a driven state even during non-printing time. However, the replacement time of the components and the like of the printing unit is determined according to the driving time of the printing unit. For this reason, recent image forming apparatus is also required to shorten the driving time of the printing unit in order to suppress CPP (Cost Per Print: charge per sheet of paper at the time of printing).

Conventionally, when an image forming apparatus executes a copy job on a plurality of original sheets, when the image of the first original sheet is read, the scanned image is printed immediately. That is, every time the document reading process is completed, the printing process for the document is started.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a relationship between a document reading process and a print process of a copy job executed by a conventional image forming apparatus. The chart (A) of FIG. 1 and the chart (B) of FIG. 1 represent an example in which images printed on eight original sheets are printed one by one on paper by executing a copy job. In the following figures, time is represented by [s], but in the present specification, it is described as seconds.

The document scanning process Cn (n = 1 to 8) shown in the figure represents a process in which the scanner scans the image printed on the nth document. Further, the printing process Pn (n = 1 to 8) shown in the figure represents a process in which the printing unit prints an image read by the document scanning process Cn on paper. For example, the process of reading the image printed on the first original is described as "original reading process C1", and the process of printing the image read by the original reading process C1 on paper is described as "printing process P1". The same applies to the document scanning process for the second and subsequent documents and the printing process for printing an image on paper. Here, in order to start the print process Pn, it is necessary that the document reading process Cn corresponding to the print process Pn has been completed.
In the example in the figure, the time required for each document reading process Cn is 5 seconds. Similarly, the time required for each printing process Pn is 3 seconds.

The chart (A) of FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram regarding a copy job of a conventional image forming apparatus whose printing time is shorter than the original reading time. There is a time difference between the document scanning time and the printing time. The reason for this is that, for example, when the user requests to read the original at a high resolution, the original reading time becomes longer than the printing time.

This image forming apparatus starts the printing process P1 at the end of the document reading process C1. At this time, the printing unit is driven 5 seconds after the start of the document reading process C1 (described as "waiting time for the printing unit (5 seconds)" in the figure). Then, the print process P1 ends before the end of the document reading process C2. Therefore, even if the print process P1 is completed, the document reading process C2 is not completed, so that the print process P2 cannot be executed. Therefore, the printing unit must stand by while being driven (in the figure, it is described as "waiting time for completion of next document reading process (2 seconds)").

The drive time of the printing unit is 38 seconds.
Driving time of the printing unit (38 seconds) = Total time of printing processes P1 to P7 (21 seconds) + Total waiting time until the end of document scanning processes C2 to C8 (14 seconds) + Time of printing processing P8 (3 seconds) )
Therefore, the user waiting time of the copy job by this image forming apparatus is 43 seconds by adding the printing unit waiting time (5 seconds) and the printing unit driving time (38 seconds).

Here, in Patent Document 1, the time required to finish reading the original and the time required to finish printing the image data by the printing function are predicted, and the time required to finish reading the unread original is the image data. A technique for delaying the start of printing of image data is disclosed until the time required for printing is less than or equal to the time required for printing. The chart (B) of FIG. 1 shows an example of a process of delaying the start of the print process P1 because the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 continuously drives the printing unit.

The image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 is also controlled to start the printing process P8 at the end of the document reading process C8. The user waiting time of the copy job executed by this image forming apparatus is the total time (40 seconds) of the document reading processes C1 to C8 and the time of the print process P8 (3 seconds) as in the chart (A) of FIG. Is added, and it is 43 seconds. However, since the printing unit is controlled to execute the printing processes P1 to P8 without waiting, the total time (24 seconds) of the printing processes P1 to P8 becomes the driving time of the printing unit.

Therefore, the waiting time for the printing unit for executing the printing processes P1 to P8 without waiting for the printing unit is 19 seconds after subtracting the printing unit driving time (24 seconds) from the user waiting time (43 seconds). That is, the printing unit is driven 19 seconds after the start of the document reading process C1.

Further, in Patent Document 2, one predetermined number of sheets is determined so that the continuous printing time is equal to or less than the continuous reading time by comparing the continuous reading time for continuously scanning a predetermined number of documents with a scanner and the continuous printing time. A technique for controlling a printing unit by using it as a group unit is disclosed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-151972 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-103275

In recent image forming apparatus, correction processing and cleaning processing can be automatically performed irregularly in order to maintain mechanical performance according to the number of times of document reading processing and printing processing. When the correction process and the cleaning process are performed, the document reading process or the printing process is interrupted. Therefore, in the following description, "correction processing" and "cleaning processing" may be collectively referred to as "interruption processing".

The interruption process is executed by interrupting the document reading process and the printing process. For example, in the case of "cleaning the glass surface of the image reading unit", which is classified as a cleaning process, the glass surface of the image reading unit is cleaned by interrupting the document scanning process. Further, in the case of "image stabilization correction" classified as correction processing, the correction processing for stabilizing the image to be printed is performed by interrupting the printing process.

By the way, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, in an image forming apparatus operated by a copy job, the driving time of the printing unit is controlled to be the shortest. Further, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the case where the interruption process or the like interrupts during the execution of the manuscript reading process and the printing process is not considered. Therefore, if the interruption process is interrupted while the document reading process and the printing process are being executed, the printing unit driving time becomes long, and as a result, the printing unit usage period becomes short.

In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, a predetermined number of sheets for continuously printing at the minimum interval of printing for each sheet is determined for each group so that the continuous printing time is equal to or less than the continuous reading time. ing. Further, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, the case where the interruption process or the like interrupts during the reading and printing of the original is not considered. Therefore, even if the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2 is used, it is difficult to shorten the time required to complete all the processes.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the influence of the interruption processing that occurs during the execution of the copy job until the end of the processing of the entire copy job.

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention performs a document reading process for reading an image printed on a document and a printing process for printing an image read by the image reading unit on a recording medium by executing a copy job. Based on the print unit, the operation unit that instructs the execution of the copy job, and the operation unit to execute the copy job, the time required from the start of the document reading process to the end of the print process is determined according to the number of documents. A control unit that adjusts the print start time for starting the print process for the image read by the first document scan process in response to the interrupt of the interrupt process that calculates and interrupts at least one of the document scan process or the print process. The control unit adjusts the printing start time so as to start the printing process for the image read by the last document scanning process in accordance with the end of the last document scanning process, and immediately before the interruption process is interrupted. If the image printed by the print process is not scanned by the original scanning process at the time of the print process, the timing at which the interrupt process interrupts and the print start time are changed, and the interrupt process is interrupted during the execution of the print process. By inserting, if the start of the printing process for the image scanned by the last document scanning process is delayed from the end of the last document scanning process, the timing for executing the interruption process is changed .
Further, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention has an image reading unit that performs a document reading process for reading an image printed on a document and a printing process that prints an image read by the image reading unit by executing a copy job on a recording medium. Based on the printing unit that performs printing, the operation unit that instructs the execution of the copy job, and the instruction to execute the copy job from the operation unit, the time required from the start of the document scanning process to the end of the printing process is set to the number of documents. The print start time for starting the printing process for the image read by the first document scanning process is adjusted in response to the interruption of the interrupt process that interrupts at least one of the document scanning process or the printing process. A control unit is provided, and the control unit adjusts the print start time so as to start the print process for the image read by the final document scanning process in accordance with the end of the final document scanning process, and executes the printing process. Even if the interruption process is interrupted, if the print process for the image scanned by the last document scanning process can be started at the end of the last document scanning process, the timing for executing the interruption process is not changed.

According to the present invention, even if the interruption process is interrupted in the copy job to be executed, the print start time of the print process for the image read by the first document reading process is adjusted in response to the interruption of the interruption process. be able to. Therefore, the time required to complete the processing of the entire copy job can be shortened.
Issues, configurations and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the following description of the embodiments.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the relation example of the document reading process and the printing process of the copy job executed by the conventional image forming apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the appearance example of the image forming apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a hardware block diagram which shows the structural example of the main part of the image forming apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the processing example in the case where the interruption processing occurs while the conventional image forming apparatus is executing a copy job. It is explanatory drawing which shows the processing example of the image forming apparatus when the interruption processing occurs in the document reading processing which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 1st processing example of the image forming apparatus in the case where the interruption processing occurs in the document reading processing and printing processing which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 2nd processing example of the image forming apparatus in the case where the interruption processing occurs in the document reading processing and printing processing which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the processing example when the number of originals input by a user and the actual number of originals are different in the copy job executed by the image forming apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structural example of the mechanism which detects a document thickness and a document bundle. It is a flowchart which shows the processing example (operation before the start of printing) of the copy job executed by the image forming apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the processing example (operation after the start of printing) of the copy job executed by the image forming apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, examples of embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same function or configuration are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

<Example of appearance of image forming apparatus>
First, a configuration example of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the image forming apparatus 100.
The image forming apparatus 100 is a multifunction device (MFP: Mutli Function Peripheral) having functions such as printing (printing), copying (copying), reading (scanning), and network communication such as facsimile.

The image forming apparatus 100 has an operation panel 150 (an example of an operation unit) instructing execution of a copy job on the upper front surface of the image forming apparatus 100. In the operation panel 150, there is an operation input unit 110 and an operation display 120. The operation input unit 110 receives various instructions and the like from the user input through the key 160. The key 160 is provided with, for example, a numeric keypad for the user to input a numerical value such as the number of prints, a start key for inputting a start instruction for printing processing, and the like. The operation display 120 is, for example, a touch panel provided with a transparent pressure-sensitive sensor on the surface of a liquid crystal display panel, an instruction menu for the user, display of information on image data acquired by a scanner 130 (an example of an image reading unit), and the like. I do.

A scanner 130 and an ADF 170 are provided on the upper surface of the image forming apparatus 100. The ADF 170 passes the documents M picked up from the bundle of a plurality of documents M placed on the document placing table 171 one by one to the reading position of the scanner 130.

The scanner 130 irradiates the document M conveyed by the ADF 170 with light, receives the reflected light or the like from the document M, and performs a document scanning process to read the image printed on the document M. A printing unit 140 is provided below the scanner 130. There is a gap between the scanner 130 and the printing unit 140, and the upper surface of the printing unit 140 is the output tray 190. A paper feeding unit 180 is provided below the printing unit 140.

The paper feeding unit 180 supplies paper to the printing unit 140. The printing unit 140 performs a printing process of printing an image read by the scanner 130 on a recording medium by executing a copy job instructed by the operation panel 150. The printing unit 140 is provided with a plurality of image forming units. Each image forming unit forms a latent image on the surface of the photoconductor drum, forms an image using the latent image as a toner image with toner, and transfers the toner image from the photoconductor drum to paper. Then, the paper on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to the output tray 190.

Paper or a sheet (an example of a recording medium) on which an image is printed by the printing unit 140 is ejected to the output tray 190. As a recording medium on which an image is printed by the printing unit 140, there is a sheet as well as paper.

<Structure example of the main part of the image forming apparatus>
Next, a configuration example of the main part of the image forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram showing a configuration example of a main part of the image forming apparatus 100.

The image forming apparatus 100 includes a control unit 200, a storage unit 201, and a communication I / F (Interface) 202 in addition to the scanner 130, the printing unit 140, the operation panel 150, and the ADF 170 described above. Each part in the image forming apparatus 100 is connected via a bus and exchanges data with each other.

The control unit 200 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 200a, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 200b, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 200c. The control unit 200 is a computer that controls the operation of each unit in the image forming apparatus 100. The CPU 200a reads out the program code of the software that realizes each function according to the present embodiment from the ROM 200b and executes it.

The ROM 200b is a non-volatile memory, and the ROM 200b stores programs, data, and the like necessary for the CPU 200a to operate.
The RAM 200c is a volatile memory, and the RAM 200c temporarily stores information (data) necessary for each process performed by the CPU 200a.

The control unit 200 calculates the time required from the start of the document reading process to the end of the print process according to the number of sheets of the document M, based on the instruction from the operation panel 150 to execute the copy job. Further, the control unit 200 sets a printing start time for starting the printing process for the image read by the first document scanning process in response to the interrupt of the interrupt process that interrupts at least one of the document scanning process or the printing process. adjust.

The storage unit 201 is composed of, for example, an HDD. The storage unit 201 stores a program for the CPU 200a to control each unit, a program such as an OS and a controller, and data. A part of the program and data stored in the storage unit 201 is also stored in the ROM 200b. The storage unit 201 is a computer-readable non-transient recording medium that stores a program executed by the CPU 200a. The storage unit 201 is not limited to the HDD. For example, a recording medium such as an SSD (Solid State Drive), a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory), or a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disk Read Only Memory) may be used. Further, the storage unit 201 also stores the image data of the document M acquired by the scanner 130.

The communication I / F 202 is an interface composed of a NIC (Network Interface Card), a modem, or the like, and connected to an external LAN (Local Area Network) or the like. The communication I / F 202 establishes a connection with a PC (Personal Computer) terminal (not shown) and a print controller, and executes transmission / reception of various data.

For example, the printing unit 140 reads the image printed on the original M conveyed from the ADF 170 with the scanner 130, and prints the image on paper. Further, the printing unit 140 controls an engine for controlling a photoconductor drum to be driven when executing a printing process, a charging unit arranged around the photoconductor drum, an optical writing unit having a laser diode, a developing device, a drum cleaner, and the like. Includes part 145.

The operation panel 150 accepts various operation inputs by the user and displays various setting information. For example, when a user stands in front of an image forming apparatus 100 and instructs to copy an image printed on a document M, a copy job is set via an operation panel 150, and then a start key provided as a key 160 is provided. Press. This will start the copy job. Here, the setting of the copy job means that the user inputs the number of documents M placed on the document placing table 171 with the numeric keypad, or sets the number of images to be allocated to one sheet of paper.

<Example of copy job processing>
Next, a processing example of the copy job will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7.
4 to 7 are explanatory views showing the processing of a copy job of the image forming apparatus 100 in which the printing processing Pn time is shorter than the document reading processing Cn time. For example, FIGS. 4 to 7 show a copy job process when the user inputs the number of documents M placed on the document placing table 171 as eight using the numeric keypad of the operation panel 150. In the copy job processing shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the images printed on the eight original sheets M are printed on the paper, respectively.

In the following description, the document scanning process Cn (n = 1 to 8) represents a process in which the scanner scans the image printed on the nth document. The printing process Pn (n = 1 to 8) shown in the figure represents a process in which the printing unit prints an image read by the document scanning process Cn on paper. For example, the process of reading the image printed on the first original is described as "original reading process C1", and the process of printing the image read by the original reading process C1 on paper is described as "printing process P1". The same applies to the document scanning process for the second and subsequent documents and the printing process for printing an image on paper. Here, in order to start the print process Pn, it is necessary that the document reading process Cn corresponding to the print process Pn has been completed.
In the example in the figure, the time required for each document reading process Cn is 5 seconds. Similarly, the time required for each printing process Pn is 3 seconds.

Further, as will be described later in FIG. 4, the interruption process T0 represents, for example, a correction process for stabilizing an image, and interrupts the print process Pn being executed. The interruption process T1 represents, for example, a cleaning process for cleaning the glass surface of the image reading unit, and interrupts the document reading process Cn being executed.

Here, in the process shown in the chart (B) of FIG. 1 described above, the shortest time for reading the images printed on the eight original sheets M in which the interruption processes T0 and T1 are not interrupted and printing those images is set. This is an example shown. That is, it is shown that the time required from the start of the document reading process C1 to the end of the print process P8 shown in the chart (B) of FIG. 1 is the shortest user waiting time. The user waiting time is 43 seconds, which is the sum of the total time (40 seconds) of the document reading processes C1 to C8 and the time (3 seconds) of the printing process P8.

At this time, the printing unit drive time is 24 seconds, which is the total time of the printing processes P1 to P8. The print unit waiting time is 19 seconds by subtracting the printing unit driving time (24 seconds) from the user waiting time (43 seconds).

<Processing example when interruption processing occurs during copy job execution using a conventional image forming device>
Next, the processing performed by the conventional image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of processing when interruption processing T0 and T1 occur while a conventional image forming apparatus is executing a copy job.

The chart (A) of FIG. 4 shows a processing example relating to a copy job when the interruption processing T1 interrupts after the document reading processing C1 in the conventional image forming apparatus. The time required for the interruption process T1 in the chart (A) of FIG. 4 is 5 seconds. In the conventional image forming apparatus shown in the chart (A) of FIG. 4, the document reading process C1 is started and the printing unit is driven after 19 seconds after the waiting time of the printing unit is 19 seconds, as in the chart (B) of FIG. In this case, since the print process P5 ends before the document reading process C6 ends, the print process P6 cannot be performed until the document reading process C6 ends. For this reason, the printing unit has to wait while being driven. The same applies to the subsequent processing.

The printing unit drive time from the start of the print process P1 to the end of the print process P8 is 29 seconds.
Printing unit drive time (29 seconds) = total time of print processes P1 to P7 (21 seconds) + waiting time until the end of document reading process C6 (1 second) + waiting time until the end of document reading process C7 (2 seconds) ) + Waiting time until the end of document scanning process C8 (2 seconds) + Time for print process P8 (3 seconds)

Therefore, the user waiting time of the copy job by the conventional image forming apparatus is 48 seconds by adding the printing unit waiting time (19 seconds) and the printing unit driving time (29 seconds). For this reason, in the conventional image forming apparatus, when the interruption process T1 is interrupted, the printing unit drive time becomes long, and the user waiting time becomes long accordingly.

The chart (B) of FIG. 4 shows a processing example relating to a copy job when the interruption processing T0 interrupts after the printing processing P2 in the conventional image forming apparatus. The time required for the interruption process T0 in the chart (B) of FIG. 4 is 9 seconds. In the conventional image forming apparatus, as in the chart (B) of FIG. 1, the document reading process C1 is started, and the printing unit is driven 19 seconds after the waiting time of the printing unit. However, in this case, since the interruption process T0 is interrupted and executed after the print process P2 is completed, the time 9 seconds of the interruption process T0 affects the subsequent print processes P3 to P8, and the printing unit drive time is long. Become.

In this copy job, the print unit drive time is 33 seconds by adding the total time (24 seconds) of the print processes P1 to P8 and the time (9 seconds) of the interruption process T0. The user waiting time of the copy job by the conventional image forming apparatus is 52 seconds by adding the total time of the document reading processes C1 to C8 (40 seconds) and the time of the print processes P5 to P8 (12 seconds). For this reason, in the conventional image forming apparatus, if the interruption process T0 is interrupted, the printing unit drive time becomes long, and the user waiting time becomes long accordingly.

<Processing example when interruption processing occurs during document scanning processing>
Next, the process performed by the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of processing when the interruption processing T1 occurs in the document reading processing Cn during the execution of the copy job of the image forming apparatus 100.
Here, the time required for the interruption process T1 that interrupts after the document reading process C1 in FIG. 5 is 5 seconds. Further, in the image forming apparatus 100, the printing process P8 is controlled to start at the end of the document reading process C8.

Since the interruption process T1 interrupts the copy job shown in FIG. 5, the document reading process C8 is longer than the waiting time of 19 seconds in the printing section of the copy job in which the interruption process T1 shown in the chart (B) of FIG. 1 does not interrupt. The end of is delayed by 5 seconds of the time of the interruption process T1. Therefore, the printing unit 140 is driven after 24 seconds, which is the waiting time of the printing unit, from the start of the document reading process C1.
Printing unit waiting time (24 seconds) = Printing unit waiting time (19 seconds) shown in the chart (B) of FIG. 1 + time of interruption processing T1 (5 seconds).
Then, the printing process P8 starts at the end of the document reading process C8.

Further, in the copy job shown in FIG. 5, since the printing unit 140 is continuously driven, the printing unit driving time is the total time (24 seconds) of the printing processes P1 to P8. Therefore, the user waiting time is 48 seconds, which is the sum of the printing unit waiting time (24 seconds) and the printing unit driving time (24 seconds). Therefore, the user waiting time shown in FIG. 5 is longer than the user waiting time shown in the chart (B) of FIG. 1 by the time of the interruption process T1.

<First processing example when interruption processing occurs during document scanning processing and printing processing>
Next, the first process of the image forming apparatus 100 when the interruption process occurs during the document reading process and the print process will be described with reference to FIG. 6, and the second process will be described in order with reference to FIG. 7. ..

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a first processing example of the image forming apparatus 100 when the interruption processing T1 occurs in the document reading processing Cn and the interruption processing T0 occurs in the printing processing Pn.
Here, the time required for the interruption process T0 that interrupts after the print process P2 in FIG. 6 is 9 seconds. Further, the time required for the interruption process T1 to interrupt after the document reading process C1 in FIG. 6 is 5 seconds.

In the copy job shown in FIG. 6, the interruption process T1 interrupts after the document reading process C1. Therefore, the end time of the document reading process C8 is delayed by 5 seconds of the interruption process T1 from the end time of the document reading process C8 of the copy job in which the interruption process T1 shown in the chart (B) of FIG. 1 does not interrupt. ..

Further, the copy job shown in FIG. 6 is interrupted by the interruption process T0 after the print process P2. Therefore, the end time of the print unit drive time is only 9 seconds for the interruption process T0, rather than 24 seconds for the print unit drive time of the copy job in which the interruption process T0 is not interrupted as shown in the chart (B) of FIG. become longer. That is, the printing unit drive time shown in FIG. 6 is 33 seconds, which is the sum of the total time (24 seconds) of the print processes P1 to P8 and the time (9 seconds) of the interruption process T0.

That is, the time until the document reading process C8 is completed is increased by 5 seconds due to the interruption process T1, and the printing unit drive time is increased by 9 seconds due to the interruption process T0. It is necessary to advance the start time of the print process P1. That is, the printing unit 140 is driven 15 seconds after the start of the document reading process C1.
Printing section waiting time (15 seconds) = Printing section waiting time (19 seconds) in chart (B) of FIG. 1 + time of interruption processing T1 (5 seconds) -time of interruption processing T0 (9 seconds)
As a result, the control unit 200 can start the printing process P8 at the end of the document reading process C8.

The user waiting time of this copy job is 48 seconds, which is the sum of the printing unit waiting time (15 seconds) and the printing unit driving time (33 seconds). Therefore, the user waiting time in the copy job executed by the image forming apparatus 100 is longer than the user waiting time shown in the chart (B) of FIG. 1 by the time of the interruption process T1. However, the printing unit driving time is set to the shortest time continuously as much as possible, and the printing process P8 can be started at the end of the document reading process C8.

<Second processing example when interruption processing occurs during document scanning processing and printing processing>
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a second processing example of the image forming apparatus 100 when the interruption processing T1 occurs in the document reading processing Cn and the interruption processing T0 occurs in the printing processing Pn.

The time required for the interruption process T1 to interrupt after the document reading process C1 shown in the figure is 5 seconds. Further, the time required for the interruption process T0 to interrupt after the print process P2 is 15 seconds.

The time of the interruption process T0 in FIG. 7 is 15 seconds, which is 6 seconds longer than the time of the interruption process T0 in FIG. On the other hand, in FIGS. 6 and 7, the time of the interruption process T1 is the same. Therefore, the waiting time of the printing unit of the image forming apparatus 100 may be 9 seconds, which is 6 seconds shorter than the waiting time of the printing unit of FIG. 6 of 15 seconds. However, if the waiting time of the printing unit is 9 seconds, the printing process P1 ends before the end of the document reading process C2 as shown in the chart (A) of FIG. 7. Then, since the print process P2 cannot be performed until the document reading process C2 is completed, the print unit 140 has to wait for an extra 3 seconds while being driven.

Therefore, as shown in the chart (B) of FIG. 7, the control unit 200 adds 3 seconds, which is the waiting time of the printing unit 140, to the waiting time of the printing unit of the chart (A) of FIG. 7, thereby printing the printing unit. Change the waiting time to 12 seconds. As a result, even if the interruption process T0 interrupts the document reading process Cn during the execution of the printing processes P1 to P8, the printing unit 140 can suppress the influence of the delay of the document reading processes C1 to C8.

However, if the waiting time of the printing unit is set to 12 seconds, the printing process P7 starts at the end of the document reading process C8, so that the user waiting time becomes as long as 51 seconds.
User waiting time (51 seconds) = Printing unit waiting time (12 seconds) + Total time of print processing P1 to P8 (24 seconds) + Time of interruption processing T0 (15 seconds)

Therefore, in the chart (B) of FIG. 7, the printing process P8 cannot be started at the end of the document reading process C8. However, the printing unit drive time still requires 39 seconds, which is the sum of the total time of the print processes P1 to P8 (24 seconds) and the time of the interruption process T0 (15 seconds).

If the interruption process T0 interrupts during the execution of the print process Pn, the start of the print process P8 for the image read by the last document scanning process C8 may be delayed from the end of the final document scanning process C8. be. In such a case, the control unit 200 should execute the interruption process T0 before starting the print process P1.

The chart (C) of FIG. 7 shows an example in which the execution timing of the interruption process T0 is changed before the start of the print process P1. Since the control unit 200 performs the interruption process T0 whose execution timing is changed before the start of the print process P1, the print unit 140 can continuously perform the print processes P1 to P8. At this time, the printing unit 140 can start the printing process P8 at the end of the document reading process C8.

The waiting time of the printing unit shown in the chart (C) of FIG. 7 is 9 seconds.
Printing unit waiting time (9 seconds) = total time of document reading processes C1 to C8 (40 seconds) + time of interruption process T1 (5 seconds) -total time of print processes P1 to P7 (21 seconds) -interruption process T0 Time (15 seconds)

The user waiting time shown in the chart (C) of FIG. 7 is 48 seconds.
User waiting time (48 seconds) = total time of document scanning processes C1 to C8 (40 seconds) + time of interruption process T1 (5 seconds) + time of print process P8 (3 seconds)

If the interruption process T0 interrupts during the execution of the print process Pn, the start of the print process P8 for the image read by the last document scanning process C8 may be delayed from the end of the final document scanning process C8. be. In this case, the control unit 200 may execute the interruption process T0 at the changed timing after the print process P8 is finished.

The chart (D) of FIG. 7 shows an example in which the execution timing of the interruption process T0 is changed after the end of the print process P8. Since the control unit 200 performs the interruption process T0 whose execution timing is changed after the end of the print process P8, the print unit 140 can continuously perform the print processes P1 to P8. At this time, the printing unit 140 can start the printing process P8 at the end of the document reading process C8.

The waiting time of the printing unit shown in the chart (D) of FIG. 7 is 24 seconds.
Printing section waiting time (24 seconds) = Total time of document reading processes C1 to C8 (40 seconds) + Time of interruption processing T1 (5 seconds) -Total time of printing processes P1 to P7 (21 seconds)

The user waiting time shown in the chart (D) of FIG. 7 is 48 seconds.
User waiting time (48 seconds) = total time of document scanning processes C1 to C8 (40 seconds) + time of interruption process T1 (5 seconds) + time of print process P8 (3 seconds)

From this, the user waiting time (48 seconds) of the chart (C) of FIG. 7 and the chart (D) of FIG. 7 is compared with the user waiting time (43 seconds) of the chart (B) of FIG. It will be longer by the time of. However, the printing unit 140 performs the printing processing Pn as continuously as possible, and can start the printing processing P8 at the end of the document reading processing C8. Therefore, the printing unit drive time excluding the interruption process T0 can be minimized.

<Processing example when the number of originals input by the user differs from the actual number of originals>
Next, processing when the number of originals input by the user differs from the actual number of originals will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 8 is a time chart showing an example in which the number of originals input by the user differs from the actual number of originals. Here, processing is shown when there is a difference in the number of originals M actually read and printed with respect to the number of originals M previously input by the user using the numeric keypad.

In the chart (A) of FIG. 8, while the user inputs eight documents M, the number of documents M actually placed on the document mounting table 171 and processed for reading and printing the documents is nine. Shows a case. Here, the process of reading the image printed on the ninth sheet of paper is referred to as "manuscript reading process C9", and the process of printing the image of the ninth sheet on paper is described as "printing process P9".

Since the user has input eight documents M, the image forming apparatus 100 processes the copy job assuming that the number of documents M placed on the document mounting table 171 is eight. Therefore, the start time of the print process P1 is set so as to start the print process P8 at the end of the document reading process C8.

The chart (A) of FIG. 8 shows an example in which the interruption process T1 interrupts after the document reading process C1. The time required for the interruption process T1 is 5 seconds. Since the interruption process T1 is interrupted after the document reading process C1, the document reading process C8 has a waiting time of 19 seconds for the printing unit of the copy job in which the interruption process T1 shown in the chart (B) of FIG. 1 is not interrupted. The end is delayed by 5 seconds of the time of the interruption process T1.

This is similar to the copy job shown in FIG. That is, in the image forming apparatus 100 of the chart (A) of FIG. 8, the printing unit 140 starts driving 24 seconds after the document reading process C1 starts, so that the printing process P8 coincides with the end of the document reading process C8. Can be started.

However, the number of original documents M actually placed on the original document placing table 171 is nine, which is larger than the number of sheets input by the user. Therefore, the print process P8 ends before the end of the document reading process C9. Then, even if the printing process P8 is completed, the printing process P9 cannot be performed until the document scanning process C9 is completed. Therefore, the printing unit 140 is kept driven and waits for an extra 2 seconds (the chart of FIG. 8 (Chart of FIG. 8). In A), it is described as "waiting time for completion of next document scanning process (2 seconds)").

As a result, the printing unit drive time is 29 seconds.
Printing unit drive time (29 seconds) = Total time of print processing P1 to P8 (24 seconds) + Waiting time until the end of document scanning processing C9 (2 seconds) + Time of printing processing P9 (3 seconds)
Therefore, the user waiting time of the copy job by the image forming apparatus 100 is 53 seconds, which is the sum of the printing unit waiting time (24 seconds) and the printing unit driving time (29 seconds).

From this, compared with the user waiting time of the chart (B) of FIG. 1, the user waiting time of the printing unit 140 of the chart (A) of FIG. 8 is only the waiting time (2 seconds) until the end of the document reading process C9. become longer. However, since the print process P9 is started in accordance with the document reading process C9, the user does not recognize the excess of the user waiting time. On the other hand, the print unit drive time is increased by the waiting time (2 seconds) from the end of the print process P8 to the end of the document reading process C9, so that the print unit drive time cannot be minimized.

In the chart (B) of FIG. 8, while the user inputs eight documents M, the number of documents M actually placed on the document mounting table 171 and processed for reading and printing the documents is seven. Shows a case.

Since the user has input the document M as eight sheets, the image forming apparatus 100 processes the copy job assuming that the number of document M is eight. Therefore, the printing unit 140 is driven 24 seconds after the document scanning process C1 is started, but the printing process P6 is not completed after the document scanning process C7 is completed. Then, even if the document reading process C7 is completed, the print process P6 is not completed, so that the print process P7 cannot be executed (in the chart (B) of FIG. 8, "time until the next print process (2 seconds)). ").

The printing unit drive time is 21 seconds, which is the total time of the printing processes P1 to P7. Therefore, the user waiting time of the copy job by the image forming apparatus 100 is 45 seconds, which is the sum of the printing unit waiting time (24 seconds) and the printing unit driving time (21 seconds).

From this, even if the time of the interruption process T1 is taken into consideration, the user waiting time is shorter than when the number of documents M is eight, but the print process P6 after the document reading process C7 is completed. The user has to wait unnecessarily for the time (2 seconds) until the next printing process until the end of. On the other hand, the print unit drive time can be processed continuously as much as possible.

<Example of detecting original thickness and original bundle>
As shown in the chart (A) of FIG. 8 and the chart (B) of FIG. 8, if there is a difference between the number of documents M input by the user and the number of documents M actually subjected to the document reading process and the print process, User waiting time and printing unit drive time are likely to be wasted. Therefore, the control unit 200 needs to determine the exact drive start time of the printing unit 140. In order for the control unit 200 to determine the drive start time of the printing unit 140, it suffices if the number of documents M mounted on the document mounting table 171 can be accurately recognized before the start of the copy job. Therefore, the ADF 170 is configured to include the mechanism shown in FIG. 9 so that the control unit 200 can accurately specify the number of documents M mounted on the document mounting table 171.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a mechanism for detecting a document thickness and a document bundle.
The ADF 170 includes a document mounting table 171, a document detection sensor 172, a document bundle thickness detection sensor 173, a stopper 174, a paper feed roller pair 175, and a document paper thickness detection sensor 176. The document bundle thickness detection sensor 173 includes a bundle thickness detection roller 173a and a roller shaft 173b. The manuscript paper thickness detection sensor 176 includes a paper thickness detection lever 176a and a lever shaft 176b.

As described above, the document mounting table 171 can mount a plurality of documents M. The document mounting table 171 in FIG. 9 is configured to be inclined so that the front side of the document M in the transport direction is slightly lower than the rear side in the transport direction.

The document detection sensor 172 detects that the document M is placed on the document mounting table 171 when the user presses the copy start button and receives an instruction from the copy job.
The bundle thickness detection roller 173a of the document bundle thickness detection sensor 173 operates when the document detection sensor 172 detects that the document M is mounted on the document mounting table 171 and detects that the document M is not mounted. Does not work in some cases.

The bundle thickness detection roller 173a is movable and takes two states, state st1 and state st2. The bundle thickness detection roller 173a is movable in the vertical direction about the roller shaft 173b.
The state st1 representing the standby state indicates the position of the bundle thickness detection roller 173a when the document M is not placed on the document mounting table 171.
In the state st2 representing the bundle thickness detection state, when the document mounting table 171 detects that the document M is placed on the document mounting table 172, the bundle thickness detection roller 173a rotated from the state st1 is the top document. The position where it abuts on M is shown. At this time, the document bundle thickness detection sensor 173 detects the thickness of the bundle of documents M according to the displacement angle of the bundle thickness detection roller 173a centered on the roller shaft 173b.

The stopper 174 provided at the left end of the document mounting table 171 is a member for holding the tip position of the document M mounted on the document mounting table 171. The stopper 174 is movable and takes two states, state st11 and state st12.
The state st11 indicating the paper holding state indicates the position of the stopper 174 that holds the front side of the document M placed on the document placing table 171 in the transport direction.
The state st12 representing the paper feed state indicates the position of the stopper 174 rotated from st11 when the document M is conveyed from the document mounting table 171. At this time, the document M is conveyed one by one to the paper feed roller pair 175 by a pickup roller (not shown).

The paper feed roller pair 175 includes an upper roller and a lower roller, and sandwiches the document M conveyed by the pickup roller and conveys it to the next process. On the rotation axis of the upper roller of the paper feed roller pair 175, a paper thickness detection lever 176a of the document paper thickness detection sensor 176 that detects the thickness of the transmitted document M one by one is provided on the rotation axis of the paper feed roller pair 175. They are connected so as not to interfere with the rotation of the 175a.

The document thickness detection sensor 176 detects the thickness of the document M according to the displacement angle centered on the lever shaft 176b by moving the paper thickness detection lever 176a in the vertical direction around the lever shaft 176b. For example, when the document M is conveyed to the paper feed roller pair 175, the rotation shaft 175a of the upper roller of the paper feed roller pair 175 is displaced upward due to the thickness of the document M. The original paper thickness detection sensor 176 detects the thickness of the paper of the original M by the displacement angle of the paper thickness detecting lever 176a accompanying this displacement.

The ADF170 equipped with the document bundle thickness detection sensor 173 and the document paper thickness detection sensor 176 described above can automatically detect the number of documents M placed on the document mounting table 171. For example, the document bundle thickness detection sensor 173 detects the thickness of the bundle of documents M placed on the document mounting table 171 and a pickup roller (not shown) conveys the uppermost document M to the paper feed roller pair 175. Let me. Then, the original paper thickness detection sensor 176 detects the thickness of the paper of the original M conveyed to the paper feed roller pair 175. After that, the control unit 200 divides the thickness of the bundle of original documents M detected by the original document bundle thickness detection sensor 173 by the thickness of the original paper M detected by the original paper thickness detection sensor 176, thereby dividing the original document. The number of original documents M placed on the mounting table 171 can be specified.

By such a method, even if the user inputs the number of documents placed on the document mounting table 171 from the operation panel 150 to eight, the control unit 200 will display nine sheets in the case of the chart (A) of FIG. In the case of the chart (B) of FIG. 8, it is possible to specify 7 sheets. Therefore, even in the copy job shown in the chart (A) of FIG. 8 and the chart (B) of FIG. 8, the copy job can be executed by changing the waiting time of the printing unit as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7. Can be.

An electrostatic sensor is configured instead of the mechanism of the ADF 170 shown in FIG. 9, and the control unit 200 determines the paper thickness of each sheet of the original M and the bundle thickness of the original M detected by the electrostatic sensor. Based on this, the number of original sheets M may be calculated.

<Example of copy job processing>
Next, a processing example of the copy job executed by the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. The continuous processing shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 will be described as an example of the printing start time adjusting method.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the pre-printing operation executed by the image forming apparatus 100.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the post-printing operation executed by the image forming apparatus 100.
Here, an example of a copy job in which an image printed on eight original sheets M is printed on paper one by one will be described. In this copy job, the time required for the print process Pn is shorter than the time required for the document reading process Cn. In FIGS. 10 and 11, "manuscript scanning Cn" is "manuscript scanning Cn", "printing processing Pn" is "printing Pn", "interruption processing T1" is "interruption T1", and "interruption processing T0" is "interruption". "T0" and "printing unit waiting time" are abbreviated as "waiting time", and "printing unit driving time" is abbreviated as "driving time".

The user stands in front of the image forming apparatus 100, places the document M on the document mounting table 171 and sets the copy job via the operation panel 150, and then presses the start key provided as the key 160. As a result, the control unit 200 starts processing the copy job.

The control unit 200 calculates the time required from the start of the document reading process C1 to the end of the print process P8 according to the number of documents M input by the user from the operation panel 150. At this time, the control unit 200 specifies the number of documents M based on the detection values output from the document bundle thickness detection sensor 173 for detecting the document bundle shown in FIG. 9 and the document thickness detection sensor 176 for detecting the paper thickness. You may. Further, the number of documents M may be specified by the detection value output from the sensor that detects the basis weight of the document M.

First, the control unit 200 calculates the time required for the document reading process Cn based on the copy job settings (S1). The settings referred to for calculating the time required for the document scanning process Cn include, for example, the number of documents of the document M input by the user, the resolution of the scanned image, the document size, the scanning mode, and the designation of the scanning surface. ..

Next, the control unit 200 calculates the time required for the print process Pn based on the copy job settings (S2). As the settings referred to for calculating the time required for the print processing Pn, for example, there are paper size, paper type, basis weight, mode (part aggregation, page aggregation) and the like.

The control unit 200 prints the first scanned image so as to start the printing process P8 for the image scanned by the last document scanning process C8 at the end of the final document scanning process Cn (for example, C8). The print start time of the process Pn (for example, P1) is adjusted. Then, the control unit 200 calculates the waiting time of the printing unit, and further calculates the driving start time of the printing unit 140 (S3). The print unit waiting time calculated in step S3 is the time when the interruption process T0 is not interrupted during the execution of the print process Pn and the interruption process T1 is not interrupted during the execution of the document reading process Cn. ..

When the interruption processes T0 and T1 interrupt the control unit 200, the start of the print process P8 for the image read by the last document reading process C8 is delayed from the end of the last document reading process C8, which will be described later. After the processes of steps S4 to S17, the timing for executing the interruption processes T0 and T1 is changed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 200 determines whether or not the interruption process T1 interrupts during the execution of the document reading process Cn (S4). When the control unit 200 determines that the interruption process T1 interrupts during the execution of the document reading process Cn (YES in S4), the time of the interruption process T1 is reflected in the waiting time of the printing unit (S5), and the process proceeds to step S6. ..

When the control unit 200 determines that the interruption process T1 does not interrupt during the execution of the document reading process Cn (NO in S4), the control unit 200 determines whether or not the interruption process T0 interrupts during the execution of the print process Pn (NO in S4). S6). When the control unit 200 determines that the interruption process T0 is not interrupted during the execution of the print process Pn (NO in S6), the interruption process T0 is set not to be interrupted during the execution of the print process Pn (S7). Proceed to S18.
On the other hand, when the control unit 200 determines that the interruption process T0 interrupts during the execution of the print process Pn (YES in S6), the time of the interruption process T0 is reflected in the waiting time of the print unit (S8), and in step S9. move on.

Next, as shown in the chart (A) of FIG. 7, in the control unit 200, the image printed by the print process Pn (for example, P2) immediately before the interruption process T0 interrupts is printed at the time of the print process Pn. It is determined whether or not the document is scanned by the document scanning process Cn (for example, C2) (S9).

When the control unit 200 determines that the image printed by the print process Pn immediately before the interruption process T0 interrupts is read by the document scanning process Cn at the time of the print process Pn (YES in S9). It is set that the interruption process T0 interrupts during the execution of the print process Pn (S10). Then, even if the interruption process T0 interrupts while the print process Pn is being executed, the control unit 200 performs the print process P8 on the image read by the final document reading process C8 in accordance with the end of the final document scanning process C8. If it can be started, the process proceeds to step S18 as it is without changing the timing for executing the interruption process T0.

When the control unit 200 determines that the image printed by the print process Pn immediately before the interruption process T0 interrupts is not read by the document scanning process Cn at the time of the print process Pn (NO in S9). The timing at which the interruption process T0 interrupts and the print start time are changed. Then, the control unit 200 divides the print processes P1 to P8 according to the number of sheets (8 sheets) of the original M into halves as the timing at which the interruption process T0 interrupts during the execution of the print process Pn, and the print process of the first half. It is determined in P1 to P4 whether or not the interruption process T0 interrupts (S11).

When the control unit 200 determines that the interruption process T0 interrupts the print processes P5 to P8 in the latter half of the print processes P1 to P8 according to the number of sheets (8 sheets) of the document M (NO in S11). , The interruption process T0 is set to be executed at the changed timing after the print process P8 is finished (S13), and the process proceeds to step 18.
When the control unit 200 determines that the interruption process T0 interrupts the print processes P1 to P4 in the first half of the print processes P1 to P8 according to the number of sheets (8 sheets) of the document M (YES in S11). ), It is set to execute the interruption process T0 at the changed timing before starting the print process P1. Then, the control unit 200 determines whether or not the waiting time of the printing unit is longer than the time of the interruption process T0 (S12).

Supplementally, in step S12, the interruption process T0 interrupts before the control unit 200 starts the print process P1, so that the start of the print process P8 for the image read by the last document read process C8 is the last. It is determined whether or not the document reading process C8 is delayed from the end.

When the control unit 200 determines that the waiting time of the printing unit is not longer than the time of the interruption processing T0 (NO in S12), the interruption processing T0 cannot be executed before the start of the printing processing P1. It is set to execute the interruption process T0 at the changed timing, and the process proceeds to step 18.
When the control unit 200 determines that the waiting time of the printing unit is longer than the time of the interruption process T0 (YES in S12), the printing process P8 for the last scanned image can be started at the end of the document reading process C8. Therefore, it is set to execute the interruption process T0 before the print process P1 starts.

Next, the control unit 200 determines whether or not the time obtained by subtracting the time of the interruption process T0 from the waiting time of the printing unit elapses from the start time of the document reading process C1 (S14).
Here, the control unit 200 starts the document reading process Cn (for example, C1) of the image printed on the first document.

When the control unit 200 determines that the time obtained by subtracting the time of the interruption process T0 from the waiting time of the printing unit does not elapse from the start time of the document reading process C1 (NO in S14), the process returns to step S14. When the control unit 200 determines that the time obtained by subtracting the time of the interruption process T0 from the waiting time of the printing unit elapses from the start time of the document reading process C1 (YES in S14), the process of the interruption process T0 is started (S15). ).

Next, the control unit 200 determines whether or not the processing of the interruption processing T0 is completed (S16). When the control unit 200 determines that the processing of the interruption processing T0 is not completed (NO in S16), the process returns to step S16. On the other hand, when the control unit 200 determines that the processing of the interruption processing T0 is completed (YES in S16), the interruption processing T0 ends before the start of printing (S17).

Next, the control unit 200 determines whether or not the waiting time of the printing unit has elapsed the start time of the printing process P1 (S18).
When the control unit 200 determines that the waiting time of the printing unit has not elapsed the start time of the printing process P1 (NO in S18), the control unit 200 returns to step S18 and repeats the determination.
When the control unit 200 determines that the waiting time of the printing unit has elapsed the start time of the printing process P1 (YES in S18), the printing unit 140 starts the printing process P1 (S19).

Next, the control unit 200 determines whether or not an interrupt for the interruption process T0 is set for the print process Pn being executed (S20). When the control unit 200 determines that the interrupt processing T0 is interrupted in the printing process Pn being executed (YES in S20), is the current time the timing at which the interruption process T0 is interrupted and executed? It is determined whether or not (S22).

When the control unit 200 determines that the current time is not the timing when the interruption process T0 is interrupted and executed (NO in S22), the control unit 200 proceeds to step S21. On the other hand, when the control unit 200 determines that the current time is the timing when the interruption process T0 is interrupted and executed (YES in S22), the interruption process T0 is interrupted and executed (S23), and the process proceeds to step S21. ..

Next, the control unit 200 determines whether or not all the print processes P1 to P8 have been completed (S21). When the control unit 200 determines that all the print processes P1 to P8 have not been completed (NO in S21), the control unit 200 returns to step S20. On the other hand, when it is determined that all the print processes P1 to P8 have been completed (YES in S21), the control unit 200 determines whether or not the interruption process T0 performed after the completed print process Pn is set (YES). S24).

When the control unit 200 determines that the interruption process T0 to be performed after the finished print process Pn is set (YES in S24), the control unit 200 executes the interruption process T0 after the print process P8 (S25). On the other hand, when the control unit 200 determines that the interruption process T0 performed after the finished print process Pn is not set (NO in S24), the control unit 200 ends this process.

In the image forming apparatus 100 according to the above-described embodiment, when the interruption processes T0 and T1 that interrupt at least one of the document reading process Cn and the print process Pn interrupt in the copy job, the first document M The print start time of the print processing Pn of the image printed on is adjusted. The image forming apparatus 100 starts the printing process Pn on the image read from the last document M at the end of the document reading process Cn of the image printed on the last document M. Then, the image forming apparatus 100 adjusts the print start time of the print process Pn so that the user waiting time and the print unit drive time are not wasted, so that the print process Pn is being executed before the start of execution, after the execution is completed, and so on. Is interrupted by the interruption process T0. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the influence of the interruption processing that occurs during the execution of the copy job by the end of the processing of the entire copy job.

Here, the user waiting time may be the sum of the time required for the interruption process T1, the time required for the document reading process Cn according to the number of documents M, and the time required for the print process Pn for the last scanned image. can. Further, the printing unit drive time can be the total of the time required for the image forming process Pn according to the number of sheets of the document M and the time required for the interruption process T0. As a result, the user can reduce the minimum user waiting time required for the copy job, and the printing unit 140 can allocate unnecessary driving time, so that the life of the component can be extended.

100 ... Image forming unit, 130 ... Scanner, 140 ... Printing unit, 150 ... Operation panel, Cn (n = 1 to 8) ... Original reading processing, Pn (n = 1 to 8) ... Printing processing, T0 ... Interruption processing, T1 ... interruption processing, M ... manuscript

Claims (11)

An image scanning unit that performs document scanning processing to read the image printed on the document, and
A printing unit that performs a printing process for printing the image read by the image reading unit on a recording medium by executing a copy job, and a printing unit.
An operation unit that instructs the execution of the copy job, and
Based on the instruction from the operation unit to execute the copy job, the time required from the start of the document reading process to the end of the printing process is calculated according to the number of sheets of the document, and the document scanning process or the printing is performed. A control unit for adjusting a printing start time for starting the printing process for the image read by the first document scanning process in response to an interrupt of the interruption process that interrupts at least one of the processes is provided .
The control unit
The printing start time is adjusted so as to start the printing process for the image read by the last document scanning process in accordance with the end of the final document scanning process.
When the image printed by the printing process immediately before the interruption process is interrupted is not read by the document scanning process at the time of the printing process, the timing at which the interruption process interrupts and the printing start time are set. change,
When the interruption process is interrupted during the execution of the print process, the start of the print process for the image read by the last document scanning process is delayed from the end of the final document scanning process. Change the timing to execute the suspension process
Image forming device. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit changes the timing of executing the interruption process before starting the printing process to execute the interruption process. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit changes the timing of executing the interruption process after the printing process is completed to execute the interruption process. When the timing at which the interruption process is interrupted during the execution of the print process is the first half of the print process divided into halves according to the number of sheets of the original, the control unit is before starting the print process. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the interruption process is executed. When the timing at which the interruption process interrupts during the execution of the print process is the latter half of the print process divided into halves according to the number of sheets of the original, the control unit finishes the print process. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 3 , wherein the interruption process is executed at the changed timing. The control unit interrupts the interruption process before starting the print process, so that the start of the print process for the image read by the last document scanning process ends the final document scanning process. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the interruption process is executed at a changed timing after the print process is completed. An image scanning unit that performs document scanning processing to read the image printed on the document, and
A printing unit that performs a printing process for printing the image read by the image reading unit on a recording medium by executing a copy job, and a printing unit.
An operation unit that instructs the execution of the copy job, and
Based on the instruction from the operation unit to execute the copy job, the time required from the start of the document reading process to the end of the printing process is calculated according to the number of sheets of the document, and the document scanning process or the printing is performed. A control unit for adjusting a printing start time for starting the printing process for the image read by the first document scanning process in response to an interrupt of the interruption process that interrupts at least one of the processes is provided.
The control unit
The printing start time is adjusted so as to start the printing process for the image read by the last document scanning process in accordance with the end of the final document scanning process.
Even if the interruption process is interrupted during the execution of the print process, if the print process for the image read by the last document scanning process can be started at the end of the last document scanning process, the interruption process is performed. Do not change the timing to execute the process
Image forming device. The control unit responds to the number of the originals input from the operation unit, or the number of the originals specified by the detection value output from the sensor for detecting the basis weight, the paper thickness, or the original bundle of the originals. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein the time required from the start of the document scanning process to the end of the printing process is calculated. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , wherein the time required for the printing process is shorter than the time required for the document scanning process. The time required from the start of the document scanning process for reading the image printed on the document to the end of the printing process for printing the image scanned by the execution of the copy job on the recording medium based on the instruction to execute the copy job. With the step of calculating according to the number of the above-mentioned manuscripts,
The printing start time for starting the printing process for the image read by the first document scanning process is adjusted in response to the interruption of the interrupting process that interrupts at least one of the document scanning process or the printing process. Including steps and
In the step of adjusting the printing start time for starting the printing process for the image read by the first document scanning process.
The printing start time is adjusted so as to start the printing process for the image read by the last document scanning process in accordance with the end of the final document scanning process.
When the image printed by the printing process immediately before the interruption process is interrupted is not read by the document scanning process at the time of the printing process, the timing at which the interruption process interrupts and the printing start time are set. change,
When the interruption process is interrupted during the execution of the print process, the start of the print process for the image read by the last document scanning process is delayed from the end of the final document scanning process. Change the timing to execute the suspension process
How to adjust the print start time. The time required from the start of the document scanning process for reading the image printed on the document to the end of the printing process for printing the image scanned by the execution of the copy job on the recording medium based on the instruction to execute the copy job. With the step of calculating according to the number of the above-mentioned manuscripts,
The printing start time for starting the printing process for the image read by the first document scanning process is adjusted in response to the interruption of the interrupting process that interrupts at least one of the document scanning process or the printing process. Including steps and
In the step of adjusting the printing start time for starting the printing process for the image read by the first document scanning process.
The printing start time is adjusted so as to start the printing process for the image read by the last document scanning process in accordance with the end of the final document scanning process.
Even if the interruption process is interrupted during the execution of the print process, if the print process for the image read by the last document scanning process can be started at the end of the last document scanning process, the interruption process is performed. Do not change the timing to execute the process
How to adjust the print start time.

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