JP2006308774A - Image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor capable of utilizing an interruption function by facilitating user's operation for performing the interruption of a job. <P>SOLUTION: Whether or not a second job produced by operating a start key (S1) in the midst of performing a first job requires the break of the first job is judged (S2). When judging that the second job requires the break of the first job (Yes side in S2), whether or not the interruption of the second job is permitted is confirmed (S3 to S4). When the interruption of the second job is permitted (Yes side in S4), the interruption of the second job is performed (S5 to S7), and when the interruption of the second job is not permitted (No side in S4), the reservation of the second job is performed (S8). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that executes various jobs such as a copying job and a printer job with predetermined image processing, and in particular, an interrupt function that temporarily interrupts a job being executed and interrupts another job to execute the job. It is about.

Conventionally, a copying machine (an example of an image processing apparatus) equipped with a job interrupt function is provided with various setting keys for setting the number of printed sheets, paper size, density, etc., and a start key for starting a job. An interrupt key for generating a job interrupt is provided separately from the setting key and the start key (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In such a copying machine, for example, when the user operates the interrupt key during a job of copying 100 copies of an original image, the job being executed is temporarily interrupted. As a result, the user can cause the copying machine to execute another job. Thereafter, in the copying machine, when the interrupted job is completed, the temporarily suspended job is resumed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-41759

However, a user who does not know the operation method of the copying machine and does not know that the interrupt function is executed by operating the interrupt key cannot use the interrupt function. Even if the user is encouraged to use the interrupt function by operating the interrupt key, he / she finds it difficult to operate the interrupt key provided separately from the start key operated during normal copying. There is also concern about being shunned.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image processing that can utilize an interrupt function by facilitating a user operation for executing a job interrupt. To provide an apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is applied to an image processing apparatus that executes a job with predetermined image processing, and is caused by operating a start key during execution of the first job. It is determined whether the second job requires interruption of the first job, and it is determined that the second job is determined to require interruption of the first job. The second job is interrupted.
According to the present invention, the user does not perform an operation different from the normal operation for executing the second job in the image processing apparatus, that is, by operating the start key. An interrupt can be executed. As a result, an operation for executing an interrupt in the image processing apparatus can be facilitated, so that even a user who is not familiar with the operation method of the image processing apparatus can easily use the interrupt function. be able to. Further, the hardware configuration of the interrupt key is different from the conventional configuration (for example, Patent Document 1) in which an interrupt key is independently provided as a dedicated hardware configuration for causing the interrupt of the second job. This can be omitted, and the device configuration can be simplified.
Here, whether or not the second job needs to interrupt the first job is determined based on, for example, whether or not the first job and the second job compete with each other. Can be considered. More specifically, the components used in the second job in the image processing apparatus, for example, a printer device or a scanner device provided in the image processing apparatus, execute an instruction for executing the second job (that is, a start key). When used by the first job after the operation) time point, the first job and the second job compete. It may be determined that the second job needs to interrupt the first job based on the competition between the first job and the second job.

Further, when the start key is operated during the execution of the first job, it is not always a user-desired operation to interrupt the second job into the first job. Therefore, when the start key is operated during the execution of the first job, it is desirable to inquire the user about the necessity of interruption of the second job and confirm it. Specifically, when it is determined that the second job generated by the operation of the start key needs to interrupt the first job, the user is permitted or not permitted to interrupt the second job. Let them enter. Then, it is conceivable that the second job interrupt is executed on the condition that the input permits the second job interrupt. Thus, the user can determine whether the second job interrupt is permitted or not permitted, that is, whether the first job interruption is permitted or not permitted. Note that the permission or non-permission input by the user is merely a response to an inquiry from the image processing apparatus side, and the operation is less than when the user actively performs an interrupt operation as in the conventional case. Easy.
Even if it is determined that the second job needs to interrupt the first job, if the second job interrupt disapproval is input, the second job is conditional on that. Needless to say, the configuration may be such that the execution of the job is canceled. However, when the non-permission of interruption of the second job is inputted, the convenience of the second job can be further improved by executing the reservation of the second job on the condition. Note that the second job reserved here is executed after the end of the first job.
Here, the input means (execution permission input means) used when inputting permission or non-permission of interrupt of the second job is to permit or non-permit of interrupt of the second job in the image processing apparatus. A configuration that also serves as an instruction input unit for inputting other instructions (for example, a setting instruction for density and paper size), that is, a configuration that also serves as the execution permission input unit and the instruction input unit simplifies the image processing apparatus. From the viewpoint of.

According to the present invention, the user does not perform an operation different from the normal operation for executing the second job in the image processing apparatus, that is, by operating the start key. An interrupt can be executed. As a result, an operation for executing an interrupt in the image processing apparatus can be facilitated, so that even a user who is not familiar with the operation method of the image processing apparatus can easily use the interrupt function. be able to. Further, the hardware configuration of the interrupt key is different from the conventional configuration (for example, Patent Document 1) in which an interrupt key is independently provided as a dedicated hardware configuration for causing the interrupt of the second job. This can be omitted, and the device configuration can be simplified.
Further, on the condition that interrupt permission of the second job is input, the interrupt of the second job is executed, and on the condition that non-permission of interrupt of the second job is input, The convenience can be improved by executing the reservation of the second job. Also, an input unit (execution permission input unit) used when inputting permission or non-permission of interrupt for the second job, and permission or non-permission of interrupt for the second job in the image processing apparatus are excluded. It can also be used as an instruction input means for inputting other instructions (for example, an instruction for setting density and paper size).

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings so that the present invention can be understood. The following embodiment is an example embodying the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the multi-function device X according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining an example of an interrupt processing procedure executed by the control unit 7 of the multi-function device X. It is.
The multi-function device X according to the embodiment of the present invention includes various jobs (hereinafter referred to as “copy job, printer job, The image processing apparatus is an example of an image processing apparatus that executes “facsimile job, scan job”, and has an interrupt function for temporarily interrupting execution of a certain job and executing another job. Note that, for example, a copying machine, a printer device, a facsimile device, and a scanner device also correspond to an example of an image processing device to which the present invention is applied.
First, a schematic configuration of the multifunction machine X according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 1, the multifunction machine X includes an operation / display unit 1, a scanner unit 2, an image processing unit 3, an image forming unit 4, a facsimile communication unit 5, and a LAN communication unit 6. And a control unit 7. The multi-function device X is connected to the facsimile apparatus A via the telephone line 8 and is connected to the information processing apparatus B such as a personal computer via the LAN 9.
The facsimile communication unit 5 performs processing for receiving image data transmitted from the facsimile apparatus A via the telephone line 8 or transmitting image data to the facsimile apparatus A. A typical example is a modem. The LAN communication unit 6 includes a wired or wireless communication medium or communication device compliant with the IEEE 802.3 standard or the IEEE 802.11b standard, and enables communication with the information processing apparatus B via the LAN 9. Is.

The operation / display unit 1 includes a liquid crystal display 11 for displaying various kinds of information, a touch panel 12 disposed on the liquid crystal display 11, a start key 13 for inputting a job execution instruction by a user, and the like. Has been. The start key 13 may be a hardware configuration such as a push switch provided separately from the touch panel 12, but may be a touch key provided on the touch panel 12.
The MFP X according to the embodiment of the present invention has the above-described interrupt function, but is not provided with an interrupt key for instructing execution of job interrupt. For example, the configuration is different from that of Patent Document 1). This will be described in detail later.

The scanner unit 2 includes an image sensor such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a contact image sensor (CIS), and scans a document set on a document table to obtain image information of the document for each line. It is read and converted into electronic data.
The image processing unit 3 performs predetermined image processing (compression processing, density correction processing, etc.) on image data read by the scanner unit 2 or image data received from the facsimile apparatus A or the information processing apparatus B. It is something to apply.
The image forming unit 4 transfers and fixes a visible image (for example, a toner image) corresponding to the image data subjected to the predetermined image processing by the image processing unit 3 on a recording sheet. , A charging device for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum to a predetermined potential, LSU for exposing and scanning the surface of the photosensitive drum to form an electrostatic latent image, and attaching toner to the electrostatic latent image The image forming apparatus includes various known devices such as a developing device for developing, a transfer device for transferring the developed toner image onto the recording paper, and a fixing device for fixing the transferred toner image onto the recording paper.

The control unit 7 includes a CPU and other peripheral devices (ROM, RAM, etc.), and controls the multi-function device X in an integrated manner, and executes processing according to a predetermined program stored in the ROM. As a result, various jobs such as a copy job, a printer job, a facsimile job, and a scan job are realized. Here, the contents of each job executed by the control unit 7 will be described.
The copy job in the multi-function machine X is made by the user placing a document on the document table of the scanner unit 2 and making various settings related to the copy job for copying the document on the touch panel 12, and then the start key 13 It is executed by performing the operation. In the copying job, the image data read by the scanner unit 2 is subjected to image processing by the image processing unit 3 and then printed out by the image forming unit 4.
The print job in the multifunction machine X is executed when image data is received from the information processing apparatus B. In the print job, the received image data is subjected to image processing by the image processing unit 3 and then printed out by the image forming unit 4.
The facsimile job in the multifunction machine X is instructed by receiving image data from the facsimile apparatus A, or instructing transmission of the image data to the facsimile apparatus A by a user operation of the operation / display unit 1 It is executed by. In the facsimile job, when image data is received from the facsimile apparatus A, the received image data is subjected to image processing by the image processing unit 3 and then printed out by the image forming unit 4 (facsimile reception job). ). On the other hand, when the transmission of image data to the facsimile apparatus A is instructed, the image data read by the scanner unit 2 is subjected to image processing by the image processing unit 3 and then sent from the facsimile communication unit 8. It is transmitted to the facsimile apparatus A (facsimile transmission job).
The scan job in the multifunction machine X is started after the user places a document on the document table of the scanner unit 2 and various settings related to the scan job for reading image data of the document are made on the touch panel 12. This is executed by operating the key 13. In the scan job, the image data read by the scanner unit 2 is subjected to image processing by the image processing unit 3 and then stored in a storage unit (not shown) such as a predetermined image memory or HDD.

In the multi-function device X configured as described above, the interrupt function is implemented by executing the interrupt process by the control unit 7 according to the following procedure (see the flowchart of FIG. 2). Hereinafter, an example of an interrupt processing procedure executed by the control unit 7 in the multi-function machine X will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the figure, S1, S2,... Represent processing procedure (step) numbers.
Here, the print job (an example of a first job) is executed in accordance with an instruction from the information processing apparatus B, and the start key 13 is operated by the user during the execution, whereby the print job (an example of the first job) is executed as another job. An example of processing executed by the control unit 7 when an instruction to execute a copy job (an example of a second job) is given will be described. Therefore, the description will be continued here assuming that the print job is being executed in the multifunction device X.
As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2, first, in step S1, the control unit 7 determines whether or not the start key 13 is operated by the user, that is, whether or not execution of the copy job is instructed. If it is determined that the start key 13 has been operated (Yes in S1), the process proceeds to step S2. The process of step S1 is continuously executed until the start key 13 is operated (No side of S1).

In step S2, the control unit 7 determines whether the copy job generated by operating the start key 13 is a job that requires interruption of the print job. Here, the control unit 7 for determining whether or not the copy job requires interruption of the print job corresponds to job determination means.
As described above, both the printer job and the copy job are jobs that use the image forming unit 4 and cannot be executed at the same time because the printer job and the copy job conflict. For this reason, it is determined here that the copy job requires interruption of the printer job (Yes side of S2), and the process proceeds to step S3. In this embodiment, the conflict between the printer job and the copy job will be described as an example. However, a conflict also occurs between the same job and between other jobs. For example, the copy job, the printer job, and the facsimile reception job compete with each other in that print output by the image forming unit 4 is executed, and the scan job and the facsimile transmission job include image data by the scanner unit 2. Conflicts in performing read of.
On the other hand, if the copy job is a non-contention job that does not conflict with the printer job, such as the facsimile transmission job or the scan job, it is determined that the non-contention job does not require interruption of the printer job. Therefore (No in S2), the process proceeds to step S7, and the non-contention job is executed substantially in parallel with the printer job. In each job, the image processing unit 3 is used in common. However, the image processing by the image processing unit 3 can be time-divisionally processed or processed in parallel. Needless to say, it doesn't happen.

  On the other hand, when the process proceeds to step S3, here, it is determined whether to permit or prohibit the interruption of the copy job to the printer job, that is, the printer job is interrupted and the copy job is given priority. For example, a message such as “Do you want to execute an interrupt” or “Do you want to start copying now” is displayed on the liquid crystal display 11 of the operation / display unit 1. Is done. Thus, a user who is familiar with the interrupt function recognizes that the printer job needs to be interrupted in order to immediately execute the copy job, and inputs a further instruction to a user who is not familiar with the interrupt function. Otherwise, it recognizes that the copy job cannot be started.

In the subsequent step S4, the process branches based on a user input indicating whether to permit or disallow interruption of the copy job to the printer job. At this time, the permission or non-permission input by the user is made on the touch panel 12 of the operation / display unit 1. Here, the operation / display unit 1 when the permission or non-permission by the user is input corresponds to the execution permission input means. If the multifunction device X includes a push switch or the like (an example of an operation input unit) corresponding to each input content such as density setting and paper size setting instead of the touch panel 12, the execution is performed. Similarly, there is a concern that the permission input means needs to be separately provided as a hardware configuration. However, any one of the push switches operates as the execution permission input means when the user responds to the inquiry from the multifunction machine X, that is, while the inquiry (message display) in step S3 is being performed. Thus, by controlling by the control unit 7, the push switch and the execution permission input means can be used together. It is also conceivable to use the start key 13 as the execution permission input means.
In step S4, when permission for interrupting the copy job to the printer job is input by the user (Yes side of S4), the process proceeds to step S5, and the currently executing printer job is temporarily interrupted. In the subsequent step S6, the aforementioned copying job is interrupted and executed. Here, the control unit 7 when executing the interrupt corresponds to an interrupt execution means. In this case, the printer job interrupted in step S5 is resumed after the copying job is completed (S7).
On the other hand, when the non-permission of interruption of the copy job to the printer job is input by the user (No in S4), the process proceeds to step S8. In step S8, the controller 7 executes a reservation process for reserving the copy job to be executed after the end of the printer job without interrupting the printer job, and the interrupt process is ended. Here, the control unit 7 when executing the reservation processing corresponds to reservation execution means. In step S8, the controller 7 executes a canceling process for canceling the copy job and a selection process for allowing the user to select either the reservation process or the canceling process. Is considered.

  As described above, in the multi-function device X, the user can easily operate the start key 13, that is, without performing a special operation with difficulty separately from the normal operation for executing the copy job. Therefore, the copy job can be interrupted by a simple operation, so that the operability is improved and the interrupt function can be utilized. Further, in the MFP X, the copying job interrupt is executed on the condition that the copying job interruption permission is input, and the copying job interruption is not input on the condition that the copying job interruption permission is input. Convenience is improved because job reservation is executed. Of course, there is no difficulty in operation related to the reservation.

In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the copy job is executed when interruption of the copy job is permitted by the user after the start key 13 is operated during execution of the printer job by the user. . However, since the scanner unit 2 is not used in the printer job, the image data of the original is read by the scanner unit 2 in the copy job when the start key 13 is operated (Yes side of S1). Can be considered as another example. Furthermore, it is conceivable that the reading of the image data of the original and the confirmation of whether or not to interrupt the copying job (S2 to S4) are executed substantially simultaneously.
As a result, the scanner unit 2 reads the image data while considering whether or not the user interrupts the copy job. Thus, it is possible to quickly shift to image processing by the image processing unit 3 and image formation by the image forming unit 4 in the copy job. When the copy job is reserved, it is possible to quickly start image processing by the image processing unit 3 and image formation by the image forming unit 4 after completion of the printer job.
Even if the job being executed is another job different from the printer job, if the job being executed is not a job used by the scanner unit 2 after the operation of the start key 13, the same applies. In addition, it is possible to execute reading of the image data of the original by the scanner unit 2 in the copy job from the operation point of the start key 13.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a multifunction machine X according to an embodiment of the present invention. 8 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a procedure of interrupt processing executed by the control unit 7 of the multifunction machine X according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Operation / display part 2 ... Scanner part 3 ... Image processing part 4 ... Image forming part 5 ... Facsimile communication part 6 ... LAN communication part 7 ... Control part 8 ... Telephone line 9 ... LAN
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Liquid crystal display 12 ... Touch panel 13 ... Start key A ... Facsimile apparatus B ... Information processing apparatus X ... Multifunction machine (an example of image processing apparatus)
S1, S2,... Processing procedure (step) number

Claims (5)

An image processing apparatus that executes a job with predetermined image processing,
Job determination means for determining whether or not a second job generated by operating a start key during execution of the first job requires interruption of the first job;
Interrupt execution means for interrupting the second job on condition that the job determination means determines that the second job requires interruption of the first job;
An image processing apparatus comprising:   2. The job determining means determines that the second job needs to interrupt the first job when the first job and the second job compete with each other. An image processing apparatus according to 1. An execution permission input means for inputting permission or non-permission of the interruption of the second job by the interrupt execution means;
The interrupt execution means determines that the second job needs to interrupt the first job by the job determination means, and the interrupt permission for the second job is input by the execution permission input means. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an interrupt for the second job is executed on the condition.   On condition that the second job is determined to require the interruption of the first job by the job determination means, and that the interruption permission of the second job is input by the execution permission input means, The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising reservation execution means for executing a reservation for the second job.   5. The execution permission input unit according to claim 3, wherein the execution permission input unit also serves as an instruction input unit that inputs other instructions excluding permission or non-permission of interruption of the second job in the image processing apparatus. Image processing device.

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