(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique to perform a processing in an image forming system including plural devices.
(2) Description of the Related Art
A processing performed after an image is formed on a recording sheet by an image forming device such as a printer or a copying machine is generically called a “post-processing”. The specific content of the processing is such a specified processing that the recording sheet is fastened with a staple, the recording sheet is discharged to a specified paper output tray among plural paper output trays, or a discharge position in a paper output tray is offset. The user can specify the kinds of these post-processings in image formation job units. For example, a related art proposes an image forming system in which an image forming device and a post-processing device are connected through a communication unit, and data are mutually exchanged, so that various post-processings can be performed. Besides, another related art proposes a technique to judge a connection state of an image forming device main body and various post-processing devices. According to this technique, it is possible to judge how many post-processing devices are connected in what order when viewed from the image forming device.
As a data communication system between an image forming device and a post-processing device, although a parallel communication system was common in the past, thereafter, it shifted to a serial communication system, and more recently, it has been changed to a multi-node serial communication called CAN (Controller Area Network) in which high speed communication can be performed among plural devices. From the circumstances as stated above, although there are image forming devices of various data communication systems and post-processing devices, since there is no mutual communication compatibility, there has been a problem that only a specific post-processing device can be connected to a specific image forming device.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and provides an image forming.
According to an aspect of the invention, an image forming system comprises an image forming device to form an image on a recording medium; a peripheral device that transmits and receives data in a data communication system, the data communication system of the peripheral device is different from a data communication system of the image forming device; and a conversion module device that receives a request transmitted from the image forming device to the peripheral device in a specified data communication system, and creates a response to the request in accordance with the specified data communication system of the image forming device, and transmits the response to the image forming device, the convention module device connected to the image forming device and the peripheral device.
Embodiments of the invention will be described in detail based on the following figures, wherein:
An embodiment for carrying out the invention will be described.
(1) Structure
The IOT 3 is, for example, a printer of an electrophotographic system or a copying machine, and forms an image on a recording sheet based on image data received from the client terminal 1a, 1b through the network 2, or forms an image on a recording sheet based on image data read out by the IIT. This IOT 3 includes a conversion module device (Finishing Interface Unit: hereinafter simply referred to as FIU) 7 to perform, instead of the DFA 6, data communication with a controller of the IOT 3. The FIU 7 may be incorporated in the IOT 3 or may be a device separate from the IOT 3. The HCF 4 stores a large number of recording sheets and supplies these one by one to the IOT 3. The HCF 4 is connected to the upstream side in the transport direction of the recording sheet when viewed from the IOT 3. The HCS 5 is connected to the downstream side of the IOT 3 and stores a large number of recording sheets on which images have been formed by the IOT 3. The DFA 6 is similarly connected to the downstream side of the IOT 3, and performs, to the recording sheet on which the image has been formed by the IOT 3, a staple processing, a recording sheet cut processing or a folding processing, and stores it.
Next,
Here,
Next,
When receiving a request command transmitted from the IOT 3 to the DFA 6 in the serial communication system, the controller 71 of the FIU 7 creates a response command to the request command in accordance with the serial communication system and transmits it to the IOT 3, so that the IOT 3 and the post-processing device different from each other in the data communication system can be seemingly communication connected. Specifically, when detecting that the DFA 6 as a device of the parallel communication system is connected, the controller 71 of the FIU 7 seemingly creates connection information to indicate the state where the DFA 6 is connected as if the device of the serial communication system is connected to the IOT 3, and device information of the DFA 6 including a device ID, a processing capability and the like, and transmits it as data of the serial communication system to the controller 31 of the IOT 3. By this, the IOT 3 can control the post-processing device irrespective of the data communication system of the connected post-processing device. Besides, the controller 31 of the IOT stores information (in this embodiment, the information is regarded as the information indicating the constraint of the post-processing and is referred to as “constraint conditions”) to indicate what kind of post-processing can be performed by the post-processing device or what kind of post-processing can not be performed. When a constraint condition to be used among the constraint conditions is selected by an upper rank module device (for example, the client terminal 1a, 1b) connected to the IOT 3, the controller 31 compares the content of the job with the selected constraint condition at the time of start of the job, and as a result of the comparison, in the case where the job can not be performed, a setting operation of the job in the IOT 3 or an image formation operation is inhibited. By this, the detailed constraint conditions of the DFA 6 connected in the parallel communication system can be set, and it may become possible to accurately control the DFA 6.
(2) Operation
Next, an operation of this embodiment will be described.
Next, the FIU 7 causes a Power enable line, which is a signal line of hardware to instruct the HCS 5 connected to the downstream side to turn on the power, to be put into an active state. The HCS 5 having received this signal sends a Connection Request command for making a connection request to the FIU 7. In response to this, the FIU 7 sends a Connected message for notifying that the connection has been made to the HCS 5. This command includes device ID=81 assigned to the HCS 5 by the FIU 7, and by this, the HCS 5 can know its own device ID.
Next, when detecting that the peripheral device (DFA 6) of a data communication system different from the data communication system of the IOT 3 is connected, the FIU 7 assigns device ID=82 to the DFA 6. The FIU 7 sends a Network Available message to the IOT 3 (controller 31). This Network Available message includes the device ID=81 assigned to the HCS 5 by the FIU 7 and the device ID=82 (portion surrounded by a solid line A in the drawing) assigned to the DFA 6 by the FIU 7. In response to this, the IOT 3 sends an Information Request command for requesting information relating to the respective post-processing devices of the device ID=81, 82. The FIU 7 transfers the Information Request command for requesting the information of the post-processing device (the HCS 5) of the device ID=81 to the HCS 5, and when receiving Device Information including the device information from the HCS 5, the FIU 7 sends it to the IOT 3.
On the other hand, when receiving the Information Request command for requesting the information of the post-processing device (the DFA 6) of the device ID=82, the FIU 7 sends Device Information (portion surrounded by a solid line B in the drawing) including the device information of the DFA 6 stored in itself to the IOT 3. When receiving the Device Information, the IOT 3 sends an initialize command for instructing initialization to the HCS 5. When receiving the initialize command, the HCS 5 sends State Information (here, message meaning that initialization is started) for notifying the state of its own device to the IOT 3. When receiving this, the FIU 7 transfers it to the IOT 3. Further, instead of the DFA 6, the FIU 7 sends State Information (portion surrounded by a solid line C in the drawing) meaning that the DFA 6 is initialized to the IOT 3.
Next, the HCS 5 sends Service Availability for notifying constraint conditions as to what post-processing can be performed to the IOT 3 (controller 31) via the FIU 7. For example, the content of Service Availability sent from the HCS 5 is information as to whether a service (function) which can be provided by the DFA 6, such as a top tray discharge function, stack tray discharge function, bypass discharge function or offset discharge function, can be used or not. Besides, the content of Service Availability sent from the DFA 6 is information as to whether a service (function), such as a trim (cut) function, striping function, front stable function, rear staple function, dual staple function, folding function, sample tray discharge function, stack tray discharge function, or offset discharge function, can be used or not.
Besides, the FIU 7 previously stores the constraint conditions as to what post-processing can be performed by the DFA 6, and sends Service Availability (portion surrounded by a solid line D in the drawing) for notifying these constraint conditions to the IOT 3 (controller 31). The IOT 3 displays job setting screens as shown in
According to the embodiment described above, the FIU 7 creates the connection information relating to the state where the post-processing device is connected or the device information relating to the processing capability of the peripheral device in accordance with the data communication system (serial communication system) of the IOT 3, and transmits the created connection information or device information to the controller 31 of the IOT 3. By this, it becomes possible to perform the processing even if the data communication system is different between the IOT 3 and the DFA 6. Besides, since the detailed constraint conditions of the DFA 6 connected in the parallel communication system can be set, it may become possible to accurately control the DFA 6.
(3) Modified Example
The foregoing embodiment can be modified as described below.
In the case where the size of a recording sheet varies in one job, there is a following problem. In
Besides, in the embodiment, although the description has been made while the recording sheet is named as an example of the recording medium on which an image is formed, in addition to this, various recording mediums such as plastic, for example, an OHP film, and a cloth can be used. Incidentally, a program executed by the controller 32 described in the embodiment can be provided in a state where it is recorded on a recording medium such as a magnetic tape, magnetic disk, floppy (registered trademark) disk, optical recording medium, magneto-optical recording medium, CD (Compact Disk)-ROM, DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) or RAM.
As described above, some embodiments of the invention are outlined below.
According to an aspect of the invention, the image forming system includes an image forming device to form an image on a recording medium, a peripheral device to transmit/receive data in a data communication system different from the image forming device, and a conversion module device that is connected to the image forming device and the peripheral device, creates, when receiving a request transmitted from the image forming device to the peripheral device in a specified data communication system, a response to the request in accordance with the specified data communication system of the image forming device, and transmits it to the image forming device.
In the image forming system, the image forming device may perform communication in a serial communication system, and the peripheral device may perform communication in a parallel communication system.
The peripheral device may be a post-processing device to perform a specified processing to a recording sheet after an image is formed.
Besides, in the image forming system, the conversion module device may include a detection unit to detect that the peripheral device of the data communication system different from the specified data communication system of the image forming device is connected, a creation unit to create, in accordance with the specified data communication system of the image forming device, connection information to indicate a state where the peripheral device is connected or device information to indicate processing capability of the peripheral device, and a transmission unit to transmit the created connection information or device information to the image forming device.
Besides, the image forming device may include a constraint condition memory to store constraint conditions indicating constrains of processing of plural peripheral devices to perform data communication in the parallel communication system, and an inhibition unit that compares, when a constraint condition to be used in a job is selected by an upper rank module device connected to the image forming device, content of the job with the selected constraint condition at a start of the job, and inhibits, in a case where as a result of the comparison, the job can not be performed, a setting operation of the job in the image forming device or an image formation operation.
Besides, the image forming device may include a required time memory to store a time required to change a discharge destination of the recording medium or content of a post-processing in a post-processing device to perform data communication in a parallel communication system, and a controller that controls, in a case where the discharge destination of the recording medium or the content of the post-processing is changed, transport of the recording medium to lengthen a discharge interval of the recording medium by the time stored in the required time memory.
The controller may calculate, from a length of the recording medium, an active time of a signal when data pursuant to a serial communication system is converted into data pursuant to the parallel communication system, and may perform the transport control to lengthen the discharge interval of the recording medium by a transport pitch of the recording medium.
According to another aspect of the invention, a conversion module device includes a detection unit to detect that a peripheral device of a data communication system different from a data communication system of an image forming device is connected, a creation unit to create, in accordance with the data communication system of the image forming device, connection information as to a state where the peripheral device is connected or device information as to an attribute of the peripheral device itself, and a transmission unit to transmit the created connection information or device information to the image forming device.
The foregoing description of the embodiments of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.
The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-179788 filed on Jun. 20, 2005 including specification, claims, drawings and abstract is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2005-179788 | Jun 2005 | JP | national |