Electrophotography – Remote monitoring
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-16
2001-02-20
Braun, Fred L. (Department: 2852)
Electrophotography
Remote monitoring
C399S082000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06192202
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image forming system for performing a tandem copying operation in which images are simultaneously formed and output by a plurality of image forming apparatuses on the basis of image data input by one image forming apparatus.
According to a prior-art technique, in an image forming system comprising two image forming apparatuses, image data input from an input section of one of the image forming apparatuses is stored in an image management section of this image forming apparatus and also transferred to and stored in an image management section of the other image forming apparatus via an external interface. On the basis of the image data, images are simultaneously formed and output by the two image forming apparatuses and thus the image formation performance of the whole image forming system is enhanced.
In addition, in the above image forming system, in order to control output numbers of the two image forming apparatuses, there is known a method of assigning initial output numbers to the two image forming apparatuses according to their image formation performances. In this case, if one of the apparatuses does not complete an assigned output number while the other has completed an assigned output number and the output number is not less than a predetermined minimum redistribution number, the output number is redistributed to the two apparatuses, thus forming and outputting images. Thereby, the performance (image formation performance) of the whole system is enhanced.
In this image forming system, however, where image data input from one of the two image forming apparatuses is simultaneously output from the two image forming apparatuses and another image formation output needs to be executed by one of the two image forming apparatuses, a control for said another image forming output is not executed until the output number assigned to said one image forming apparatus is completed. Thus, there arises a problem in that an immediate interrupt cannot be effected.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide an image forming system wherein where a plurality of image forming apparatuses are used to form and output images, a control for another image formation output can be quickly executed in the image forming apparatus.
In order to achieve the object, according to the present invention, there is provided an image forming system wherein a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected to a controller for controlling the image forming apparatuses, each of the image forming apparatuses comprising: setting means for setting image formation of a desired copy number with use of the plurality of image forming apparatuses, with an image on an original being read; read means for optically scanning the original and reading an image; first memory means for storing image data read by the read means or image data transmitted from the controller; and first transmission means for transmitting the image data read by the read means to the controller, the controller comprising: second memory means for storing the image data transmitted by the first transmission means; second transmission means for transmitting the image data stored in the second memory means to an image forming apparatus other than the image forming apparatus which has read the original; first control means for executing, when the reading by the read means has been finished, a control to distribute a predetermined minimum image formation copy number to the image forming apparatus to which the second transmission means has transmitted the image data, and to distribute a remainder image formation copy number, which is obtained by subtracting the minimum image formation copy number from a desired image formation copy number set by the setting means, to the image forming apparatus which has read the original; and second control means for executing a control to suspend image formation in the image forming apparatus which has read the original, when image formation of the predetermined minimum image formation copy number distributed by the first control means is finished, to redistribute the predetermined minimum image formation copy number to the image forming apparatus to which the second transmission means has transmitted the image data, and to redistribute a remainder image formation copy number, which is obtained by subtracting the minimum image formation copy number from the suspended image formation copy number, to the image forming apparatus which has read the original.
According to the present invention, there is also provided an image forming system wherein a first image forming apparatus and a second image forming apparatus are connected to a controller for controlling them, the first image forming apparatus comprising: setting means for setting image formation of a desired copy number with use of the first and second image forming apparatuses, with an image on an original being read; read means for optically scanning the original and reading an image; first memory means for storing image data read by the read means or image data transmitted from the controller; and first transmission means for transmitting the image data read by the read means to the controller, the controller comprising: second memory means for storing the image data transmitted by the first transmission means; second transmission means for transmitting the image data stored in the second memory means to the second image forming apparatus; first control means for executing, when the reading by the read means has been finished, a control to distribute a predetermined minimum image formation copy number to the second image forming apparatus, and to distribute a remainder image formation copy number, which is obtained by subtracting the minimum image formation copy number from a desired image formation copy number set by the setting means, to the first image forming apparatus; and second control means for executing a control to suspend image formation in the first image forming apparatus, when image formation in the second image forming apparatus of the predetermined minimum image formation copy number distributed by the first control means is finished, to redistribute the predetermined minimum image formation copy number to the second image forming apparatus, and to redistribute a remainder image formation copy number, which is obtained by subtracting the minimum image formation copy number from the suspended image formation copy number, to the first image forming apparatus.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5333286 (1994-07-01), Weinberger et al.
patent: 5809363 (1998-09-01), Kitamura et al.
patent: 6031631 (2000-02-01), Tahara et al.
Braun Fred L.
Foley & Lardner
Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
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