JP2006319644A - Image formation system, network identification information setting method and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a setting error by reducing the time and effort of a user setting network identification information when a plurality of image forming devices provided with a plurality of network devices perform data communication. <P>SOLUTION: According to this image formation system, the image forming device automatically allocates an IP address inherent to each network device to be used in accordance with n pieces of of image forming devices to be used for data communication and m pieces of network devices belonging to each image forming device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses each having a plurality of network devices, and each network device being connectable to each other in a corresponding relationship according to a predetermined rule. The present invention relates to a network identification information setting method and an image forming apparatus.

  In an image forming apparatus such as a digital copying machine, a plurality of units are connected via a network or a communication cable, and image data input to one image forming apparatus is transferred to another image forming apparatus. Some have a so-called tandem printing function that performs the printing operation in a shared manner. Conventionally, when tandem printing is performed by connecting a plurality of image forming apparatuses via a network, each image forming apparatus transmits and receives data using one network device. Due to improvements and colorization, the data size has expanded to exceed the bandwidth of a single network device. In view of this, it has been proposed to transfer image data with twice or more bandwidth by simultaneously using two or more network devices.

  Thus, when connecting a plurality of image forming apparatuses via a network, it is necessary to set an address for each network device. Here, the “address” is network device identification information on the network, and refers to an address corresponding to the network layer in the OSI reference model. For example, in an IP network, it is an IP address. This needs to be set uniquely without duplication in the target network.

Therefore, for example, in Patent Document 1, in a printing apparatus having a plurality of network I / Fs, information regarding network settings such as IP addresses and network I / F names of the plurality of network I / Fs is held in a network setting information table. When an IP address or the like is input from the user and a setting request is input, it is confirmed whether or not the setting request value such as the input IP address does not overlap with that stored in the network setting information table. What to do is described.
JP 2002-342041 A

  However, it is troublesome and troublesome for a user to assign a non-overlapping address to a plurality of network devices included in each of a plurality of image forming apparatuses, which causes problems such as input errors and setting errors. was there.

  An object of the present invention is to reduce a user's trouble of setting network identification information when performing data communication with a plurality of image forming apparatuses including a plurality of network devices, and to prevent setting errors.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention described in claim 1
In an image forming system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses each having a plurality of network devices and each network device being connectable to each other in a correspondence relationship according to a predetermined rule,
When two or more image forming apparatuses perform data communication using two or more corresponding network devices among the plurality of image forming apparatuses, the number of image forming apparatuses to be used and each of the image forming apparatuses According to the present invention, there is provided an identification information management means for assigning unique network identification information to each network device to be used according to the number of network devices to be used.

The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1,
The network identification information includes a network unit composed of a combination of numbers for identifying the network to which each network device belongs, and a host unit composed of a combination of numbers for identifying the image forming apparatus provided with each network device. Consists of
The identification information management means determines the network unit to be allocated to each network device to be used based on the number of network devices used by each image forming apparatus, and based on the number of the image forming apparatuses to be used, The host unit to be assigned to each network device to be used is determined.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 2,
When the number of network devices used by each image forming apparatus is m (m is a positive integer), the identification information management unit assigns the network to each of the m network device groups connected to the corresponding network. The number range is set to m consecutive ranges, the network units in the determined range are assigned to the m network device groups differently, and the number of image forming apparatuses to be used is set to n ( n is a positive integer), the numerical range of the host unit to be assigned to each image forming apparatus is determined as 1 to n, and 1 to n host units are assigned to the n image forming apparatuses differently. It is characterized by that.

The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Comprising a number input means for inputting the number of image forming apparatuses to be used;
The identification information management means determines network identification information to be assigned to each network device to be used according to the number input from the number input means.

The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A device number input means for inputting the number of network devices used by each of the image forming apparatuses;
The identification information managing means determines network identification information to be assigned to each network device to be used according to the number input from the device number input means.

The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to any one of claims 3 to 5,
Each of the image forming apparatuses has, for each network device included in the image forming apparatus, a network unit that is the same as the network unit of the network identification information assigned to the network device by the identification information management unit, and 1 to n Of these, the network device includes a transmission destination setting means for setting network identification information combining a host unit other than the host unit assigned to the network device as network identification information of a data transmission destination of the network device.

The invention described in claim 7
A network identification information setting method in an image forming system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses each having a plurality of network devices, and each network device being connectable to each other in a correspondence relationship according to a predetermined rule,
When two or more image forming apparatuses perform data communication using two or more corresponding network devices among the plurality of image forming apparatuses, the number of image forming apparatuses to be used and each of the image forming apparatuses According to the present invention, unique network identification information is assigned to each network device used according to the number of network devices used.

The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to claim 7,
The network identification information includes a network unit composed of a combination of numbers for identifying the network to which each network device belongs, and a host unit composed of a combination of numbers for identifying the image forming apparatus provided with each network device. Consists of
The identification information management means determines the network unit to be allocated to each network device to be used based on the number of network devices used by each image forming apparatus, and based on the number of the image forming apparatuses to be used, The host unit to be assigned to each network device to be used is determined.

The invention according to claim 9 is the invention according to claim 8,
When the number of network devices used by each image forming apparatus is m (m is a positive integer), the identification information management unit assigns the network to each of the m network device groups connected to the corresponding network. The number range is set to m consecutive ranges, the network units in the determined range are assigned to the m network device groups differently, and the number of image forming apparatuses to be used is set to n ( n is a positive integer), the numerical range of the host unit to be assigned to each image forming apparatus is determined as 1 to n, and 1 to n host units are assigned to the n image forming apparatuses differently. It is characterized by that.

The invention according to claim 10 is the invention according to any one of claims 7 to 9,
Comprising a number input means for inputting the number of image forming apparatuses to be used;
The identification information management means determines network identification information to be assigned to each network device to be used according to the number input from the number input means.

The invention according to claim 11 is the invention according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein
A device number input means for inputting the number of network devices used by each of the image forming apparatuses;
The identification information managing means determines network identification information to be assigned to each network device to be used according to the number input from the device number input means.

The invention according to claim 12 is the invention according to any one of claims 9 to 11,
Each of the image forming apparatuses has, for each network device included in the image forming apparatus, a network unit that is the same as the network unit of the network identification information assigned to the network device by the identification information management unit, and 1 to n Of these, the network device includes a transmission destination setting means for setting network identification information combining a host unit other than the host unit assigned to the network device as network identification information of a data transmission destination of the network device.

The invention according to claim 13
In an image forming apparatus having a plurality of network devices,
An image for performing data communication when data communication is performed by connecting network devices corresponding to each of the network devices of two or more network devices and one or more other image forming apparatuses among the plurality of network devices. For assigning unique network identification information to each network device of the other image forming apparatus used for the data communication according to the number of forming apparatuses and the number of network devices of the own image forming apparatus used for the data communication It is characterized by having identification information management means.

The invention according to claim 14 is the invention according to claim 13,
The network identification information includes a network unit composed of a combination of numbers for identifying the network to which each network device belongs, and a host unit composed of a combination of numbers for identifying the image forming apparatus provided with each network device. Consists of
The identification information managing means determines the network unit to be assigned to each network device based on the number of network devices of the image forming apparatus to be used, and based on the number of the other image forming apparatuses to be used. The host unit to be assigned to each network device is determined.

The invention according to claim 15 is the invention according to claim 14,
The identification information management unit assigns m to each of the m network device groups used corresponding to the data communication, where m is the number of network devices of the image forming apparatus to be used (m is a positive integer). The number range of the network units to be allocated is determined as m consecutive ranges, the network units in the determined range are allocated to the m network device groups differently, and the number of image forming apparatuses to be used Is n (n is a positive integer), the numerical range of the host unit to be assigned to the image forming apparatus to be used is determined to be 1 to n, and 1 to n host units are assigned to the image forming apparatuses. It is characterized by being assigned differently.

The invention according to claim 16 is the invention according to any one of claims 13 to 15,
Comprising a number input means for inputting the number of image forming apparatuses used for the data communication;
The identification information management means determines network identification information to be assigned to each network device to be used according to the number input from the number input means.

The invention according to claim 17 is the invention according to any one of claims 13 to 16,
A device number input means for inputting the number of network devices of the image forming apparatus to be used;
The identification information managing means determines network identification information to be assigned to each network device to be used according to the number input from the device number input means.

  According to the first, seventh, and thirteenth aspects, when data communication is performed by a plurality of image forming apparatuses including a plurality of network devices, the number of image forming apparatuses used for data communication and each image formation Since the network identification information unique to each network device to be used is automatically assigned according to the number of network devices that the apparatus has, it is possible to reduce the trouble of setting the network identification information by the user and prevent setting mistakes.

  According to the inventions described in claims 2, 3, 8, 9, 14, and 15, an image forming apparatus provided with a network unit composed of a combination of numbers for identifying a network to which each network device belongs and each network device. Network identification information composed of a host unit composed of a combination of numbers for identifying the network device is uniquely assigned to each network device based on the number of network devices used by each image forming apparatus and the number of image forming apparatuses used. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the trouble of setting the network identification information by the user and prevent setting mistakes.

  According to the fourth, tenth, and sixteenth aspects, the network identification information can be assigned according to the number of image forming apparatuses that the user wants to use for data communication.

  According to the invention described in claims 5, 11, and 17, it becomes possible to assign network identification information according to the number of network devices per image forming apparatus that the user wants to use for data communication.

  According to the invention described in claims 6 and 12, each image forming apparatus automatically sets the network identification information of the data transmission destination of each network device according to the network identification information assigned to each network device. It becomes possible.

  Hereinafter, the image forming system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the scope of the invention is not limited to the illustrated examples.

First, the configuration will be described.
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the overall configuration of the image forming system 100. The image forming system 100 is a system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected via a network in order to perform a tandem operation in which a printing operation is shared by the plurality of image forming apparatuses. In the image forming system 100, each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses 1 includes the same number of network devices, and corresponding network devices of each apparatus are connected to each other via a hub.

  In the present embodiment, the image forming system 100 includes three image forming apparatuses 1 (image forming apparatuses 11 to 13), and each image forming apparatus 1 includes four network devices 32C, 32M, 32Y, and 32K. The network devices 32C of the image forming apparatuses 11 to 13 via the hub HC, the network devices 32M via the hub HM, the network devices 32Y via the hub HY, and the network devices 32K to the hub. Although it is assumed that each network is connected via HK (networks NC, NM, NY, NK in FIG. 1), the number of image forming apparatuses 1 and the number of network devices are not limited to this. Of the three image forming apparatuses 11 to 13, the image forming apparatus 11 is described as a master unit and the image forming apparatuses 12 and 13 are described as slave units. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the master unit and the slave unit are interchanged. It is possible.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an electrical schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus 1. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21 that performs overall control of the operation of the apparatus. A storage unit 22, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 23, a reading unit 24, an input image processing unit 25, an image forming unit 26, and a bus bridge 27 are connected to the CPU 21 through a local bus 20.

  The storage unit 22 is configured by a nonvolatile semiconductor memory or the like, and stores various programs executed by the CPU 21 and fixed data. The storage unit 22 of the image forming apparatus 11 serving as the master unit includes an address assignment processing program for causing the CPU 21 to execute address assignment processing (see FIG. 3) described later, and the CPU 21 for each of the networks NC, NM, NY, and NK. A DHCP server processing program for each network for executing a function as a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server (see FIG. 5) is stored, and the storage unit 22 of the image forming apparatuses 12 and 13 as slave units is stored. Includes an address setting processing program for causing the CPU 21 to execute address setting processing (see FIG. 4) described later, and a function as a DHCP client in each of the networks NC, NM, NY, and NK (see FIG. 5). DHCP client processing program for execution Stores. The storage unit 22 of the image forming apparatuses 11 to 13 stores a program for executing the tandem printing function and a program for detecting the number of network devices of the own apparatus. The storage unit 22 of the image forming apparatus 11 serving as the master unit stores the IP address assigned to each network device of the master unit and the range of IP addresses that can be assigned to network devices other than the master unit in the address assignment process of FIG. An address range storage unit.

  Further, the storage unit 22 of the image forming apparatuses 11 to 13 includes a number storage unit that stores the number n when the number n is input by the number input unit of the operation display unit 31.

  The reading unit 24 has a function of reading a document in color and capturing image data. The reading unit 24 includes a light source that irradiates the document, a line image sensor that reads the document for one line in the width direction thereof, a moving unit that moves the reading position in units of lines in the length direction of the document, and reflected light from the document. This is configured as a scanner having an optical path composed of a lens and a mirror that guides the light to a line image sensor. The line image sensor is composed of, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device). The analog image signal output from the line image sensor is A / D converted and captured as digital image data.

 The input image processing unit 25 performs a function of appropriately processing the image data input from the reading unit 24 according to the characteristics of the input image data, such as shading correction, color conversion, and filter processing. The unit 24 captures image data obtained by optically reading the original into three colors of red (R), green (G), and blue (B), and these are captured as cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow Image data for each color converted into density data of four colors (Y) and black (K) is output.

  The image forming unit 26 functions to form and output an image corresponding to image data on a recording sheet by an electrophotographic process, and includes a recording sheet conveyance device, a photosensitive drum, a charging device, a laser unit, and a development unit. A printer engine having a device, a transfer separation device, a cleaning device, and a fixing device.

  The local bus 20 is connected to an expansion bus 30 constituted by a PCI bus via a bus bridge 27. Further, the expansion bus 30 has C, M, Y, and K colors for each color via the operation display unit 31, network devices 32C, 32M, 32Y, and 32K and bus bridges 33C, 33M, 33Y, and 33K. The image blocks 40C, 40M, 40Y, and 40K in charge are connected.

  The operation display unit 31 has a function of performing various guidance displays and status displays for the user and receiving various operations from the user. The operation display unit 31 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display having a touch panel on the surface, various operation switches, and an operation unit control CPU that controls these. In the present embodiment, the operation display unit 31 functions as a number input unit that inputs the number n (n is an integer of 2 or more) of the image forming apparatuses 1 that perform the tandem printing operation.

  The network devices 32C, 32M, 32Y, and 32K are configured by a LAN (Local Area Network) adapter or the like, and the network devices 32C, 32C, 32C, 32C, 32C, 32C, 32C, and 32C that correspond to other image forming apparatuses via network cables and hubs HC, HM, HY, and HK, 32M, 32Y, and 32K are connected to each other and perform data communication with other image forming apparatuses. When transferring a color image in the tandem printing operation, the C color image data is transmitted via the network device 32C, the M color image data is transmitted via the network device 32M, and the Y color image data is transmitted via the network device 32Y. Thus, the K-color image data is configured to be transferred via the network device 32K.

  The image blocks 40C, 40M, 40Y, and 40K are circuit blocks that handle image data for each color. The image block 40C is C color image data, the image block 40M is M color image data, and the image block 40Y is Y color. The image block 40K takes charge of the image data of K color. The image data is processed from the input to the output in a consistent manner for each color image block 40C, 40M, 40Y, 40K, thereby enabling simultaneous parallel processing and improving the processing capability of the image forming apparatus 1. Has been.

  The image block 40C includes an image bus 41C connected to the downstream side of the bus bridge 33C, and an HDD (Hard disk) 42C for storing image data and a memory control unit 43C are connected thereto. An image memory 44C and a compression / decompression unit 45C are connected under the memory control unit 43C.

  The C color image data Cin input from the reading unit 24 is input to the memory control unit 43C. The memory control unit 43C compresses this by the compression / decompression unit 45C, and then writes it in the image memory 44C. Further, the memory control unit 43C decompresses the compressed C color image data stored in the image memory 44C by the compression / decompression unit 45C and re-stores the decompressed C color image data in the image memory 44C. It has a function of reading and outputting it to the C color laser unit of the image forming unit 26 via an output image processing unit (not shown).

  Further, in response to access from the image bus 41C, the memory control unit 43C outputs the image data on the image bus 41C to the image memory 44C and outputs the image data read from the image memory 44C to the image bus 41C. Fulfills the function.

  The image blocks 40M, 40Y, and 40K operate in the same manner as the image block 40C except that the colors of the image data to be handled are different, and a detailed description thereof is omitted here. It should be noted that the same constituent elements as those of the image block 40C have the same numerals and are denoted by M, Y, K as subscripts instead of C.

  Each color HDD 42C, 42M, 42Y, 42K serves as a storage area for storing image data obtained by reading by the reading unit 24. The HDD 42C stores C color image data, and the HDD 42M The M color image data is stored, the HDD 42Y stores the Y color image data, and the HDD 42K stores the K color image data.

 The CPU 21 reads and executes various programs stored in the storage unit 22, drives and controls each unit of the image forming apparatus 1, and executes functions of image processing, image forming processing, and tandem printing.

  Further, the CPU 21 has a function as detection means for detecting the number of network devices that can be used by the CPU 21. For example, a response request is made to each network device of the own device, and the number of network devices of the own device is detected from the presence or absence of the response.

  Further, the CPU 21 of the image forming apparatus 11 executes an address assignment process (see FIG. 3) and a DHCP server process (see FIG. 5) described later according to a program stored in the storage unit 22. Further, the CPU 21 of the image forming apparatuses 12 and 13 executes an address setting process (see FIG. 4) and a DHCP client process (see FIG. 5), which will be described later, according to a program stored in the storage unit 22.

With the above configuration, the image forming apparatuses 11 to 13 can perform a tandem printing operation in cooperation with a plurality of units. In tandem printing in this embodiment, a plurality of image forming apparatuses share and process one print job.
In the tandem printing operation, first, in the image forming apparatus 1 on the transmission side, an image of a document is read by the reading unit 24, and R, B, and G color image data is input to the input image processing unit 25. . In the input image processing unit 25, image data of R color, B color, and G color is converted into image data of C color, M color, Y color, and K color, and image processing is performed. The processed image data of each color is output to the compression / decompression units 45C, 45M, 45Y, and 45K corresponding to the respective colors and compressed, and the compressed image data of each color is stored in the corresponding image memories 44C, 44M, and 44Y. , 44K. When the image data for one page is stored, the compressed image data of each color is output to the compression / decompression units 45C, 45M, 45Y, and 45K corresponding to the respective colors, and is transmitted to the image forming unit 26. Is printed out. The compressed C, Y, M, and K color image data is output to the network devices 32C, 32M, 32Y, and 32K corresponding to the respective colors, and the network devices 32C, 32M, 32Y, and 32K respectively. The input image data is transmitted to the address registered as the data transmission destination. Here, the address is identification information of the network device on the network as described above.

  On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus 1 on the receiving side, when image data of each color is received via each network device 32C, 32M, 32Y, 32K, the received image data is stored in an image memory 44C, 44M, 44Y, and 44K are sequentially stored. When the image data for one page is stored, it is output to the compression / decompression units 45C, 45M, 45Y and 45K, respectively, and decompressed. Then, the decompressed image data is sent to the image forming unit 26 and printed out.

As described above, when each image forming apparatus 1 includes a plurality of network devices and performs data communication such as transfer of image data in the tandem printing operation, each network device 32C, 32M, 32Y of each image forming apparatus 1 is used. , 32K must be set in advance. At this time, the following conditions 1 and 2 are involved.
・ All network device addresses must be assigned so that they do not overlap. ・ Destination address must be known.

  Conventionally, this address setting has been performed manually by the user. However, setting the address manually while taking into account the above conditions 1 and 2 is cumbersome and cumbersome. It is easy to make mistakes. In particular, this tendency increases as the number of network devices used in each image forming apparatus 1 increases as described above.

  Therefore, in the image forming system 100 according to the present embodiment, by performing the operation described below, the number of image forming apparatuses 1 used for data communication and the number of network devices provided in each image forming apparatus to be used are increased. The address is automatically set based on this.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an address assignment process executed by the CPU 21 when an instruction for setting an address is input via the operation display unit 31 in the image forming apparatus 11 as the master unit. The processing is realized by software processing in cooperation with the CPU 21 and the address assignment processing program and the DHCP server processing program stored in the storage unit 22, and realizes the identification information management means of the present invention.

  The image forming system 100 will be described as using a class C IP address in which the first three octets (octet = 8 bits) are the network part and the lowest one octet is the host part. The IP address consists of 32 bits (4 octets), and each octet is expressed in decimal.

  First, the number n (here, n = 3) of the image forming apparatuses 1 used for data communication stored in the number storage section of the storage section 22 is read out to the RAM 23 (step S1). By detecting the number of network devices m (m is an integer greater than or equal to 2, where m = 4), the number m of network devices installed in each image forming apparatus 1 is detected and stored in the RAM 23 ( Step S2).

  When the number n of image forming apparatuses 1 used for data communication and the number m of network devices mounted on each apparatus are acquired, the range of IP addresses assigned to each network device used for data communication is selected (step S3). ). The range of IP addresses assigned to each network device is recommended for use in the internal network in the RFC (Request For Comment) document formally issued by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), an organization that establishes technical standards related to the Internet. The IP address is automatically selected from the range of IP addresses (for example, 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.0). When the image forming system 100 is connected to another internal network group via any one of the hubs HC, HM, HC, and HK, the correct data is obtained when devices having the same IP address exist in the other internal network group. There is a possibility that transfer will not be performed. Therefore, in step S3, it is desirable to display a list of IP address ranges recommended for use in the internal network in the RFC on the operation display unit 31 so that the user can select. Further, in step S3, an IP address range assigned to each network device may be selected from other than IP addresses assigned to other internal network groups.

  Next, based on the number m of network devices, m network device groups connected to the corresponding network, that is, a network device group consisting of n network devices 32C connected via the hub HC, connected via the hub HM Network device group consisting of n network devices 32M, network device group consisting of n network devices 32Y connected via hub HY, and network device group consisting of n network devices 32K connected via hub HK The numerical range of the network part to be assigned to each is determined (step S4). Specifically, in the IP address range selected in step S3, the numerical range of the lowest octet of the network unit assigned to the m network device groups is determined to be 1 to m, and for each network device group, Network portions having different lowest octets are allocated. Here, the network device group of the network device 32C is 192.168.1.0, the network device group of the network device 32M is 192.168.2.0, the network device group of the network device 32Y is 192.168.3.0, and the network device 32K network Assume that 192.168.4.0 is assigned to the device group.

  Next, 1 is assigned as the host unit of the own device (image forming apparatus 11), and the range of host units to be assigned to each image forming apparatus 1 other than the own device is determined as 2 to n, and assigned to each network device of the own device. The IP address and the range of IP addresses that can be allocated to network devices other than the own device are stored in the allocated address range storage unit of the storage unit 22 (step S5).

  When steps S1 to S5 are completed, the DHCP server processing program for each network stored in the storage unit 22 is started (step S6), and in response to a request from another image forming apparatus 12, 13, that is, a slave unit. A DHCP server process is executed (step S7: see FIG. 5). When the assignment of the IP address to each network device of the other image forming apparatus 1 is completed, each of the network devices 32C, 32M, 32Y, 32K is assigned to the corresponding network device of the other image forming apparatus 12 or 13. The IP address is registered in the storage unit 22 as a data transmission destination in data communication such as tandem printing (step S8), and this process ends.

FIG. 4 is executed in the CPU 21 when an IP address setting instruction is input via the operation display unit 31 in each of the image forming apparatuses 1 (here, the image forming apparatuses 12 and 13) as slave units. 6 is a flowchart showing address setting processing. The processing is realized by software processing in cooperation with the CPU 21 of the image forming apparatus 1 as a slave unit and the address setting processing program and the DHCP client processing program stored in the storage unit 22. The transmission destination setting means is realized.
In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the address setting process is started when an IP address setting instruction is input via the operation display unit 31 of the image forming apparatus 1 as a slave unit. The present invention is not limited, and it may be automatically started after the slave unit is turned on. In addition, each operation instruction performed via the operation display unit 31 of the slave unit described below is remotely transmitted from the information processing apparatus that can communicate with the image forming apparatus 1 that is the slave unit to the image forming apparatus 1 that is the slave unit. An operation instruction may be given by.

  First, the number n (here, n = 3) of the image forming apparatuses 1 stored in the number storage unit of the storage unit 22 is read to the RAM 23 (step S11).

  Next, any one of the DHCP client processing programs in the networks NC, NM, NY, and NK stored in the storage unit 22 is activated (step S12), and the DHCP client processing is executed (step S13: see FIG. 5). . When the DHCP client processing program in each network is sequentially activated and the DHCP client processing is sequentially executed, and the DHCP client processing of all the networks NC, NM, NY, and NK is completed (step S14; YES), the network device of its own device Based on the IP address assigned to each of 32C, 32M, 32Y, and 32K and the number n read in step S11, an IP address that is a data transmission destination in data communication such as tandem printing is obtained in each network device. (Step S15). Specifically, an IP address in which the same network unit as the IP address assigned to the own network device 32C and a host unit other than the host unit assigned to the own network device 32C among 1 to n are combined. Is obtained as the IP address of the data transmission destination of the network device 32C. For example, when 192.168.1.2 is assigned as the IP address of the network device 32C of the own device, a destination other than 192.168.1.2 is obtained as a transmission destination address among 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.1. . Similarly, the IP addresses that are the data transmission destinations of the network devices 32M, 32Y, and 32K are obtained.

  Next, the obtained IP address is registered in each of the network devices 32C, 32M, 32Y, and 32K as a transmission destination address in the storage unit 22 of the slave unit (step S16), and this process ends.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an IP address allocation sequence executed by the DHCP server process and the DHCP client process for each of the networks NC, NM, NY, and NK. Hereinafter, the IP address assignment sequence will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, a sequence executed between the DHCP server process and the DHCP client process in the network NC will be described as an example. However, the same allocation is performed in the same sequence for each of the other networks NM, NY, and NK. Done. Communication in the following sequence is performed between network devices configuring each network NC, NM, NY, NK (for example, in the network NC, the network devices 32C on the DHCP server side and each DHCP client side).

  First, a DHCPDISCOVER message is broadcast on the client side, and an IP address assignment request is made (step T1).

  When DHCPDISCOVER is received on the server side, the address range storage unit of the storage unit 22 is referred to, and an IP address that is not locked is selected from the IP address range assigned to the slave unit in the network NC, and the selected IP address is selected. The use of the address is locked, and a DHCPOFFER message including this IP address information is returned (step T2).

  When the DHCPOFFER message is received on the client side, a DHCPREQUEST message including the received IP address is transmitted to the server side (step T3).

  On the server side, when a DHCPREQUEST message is received, a DHCPACK message is transmitted (step T4). Thereby, the client side is notified that the IP address may be used.

  The above sequence is executed by starting and executing all the DHCP client processing programs of the image forming apparatuses 12 and 13 of the slave units, whereby the network devices 32C, 32M, and 32Y of the image forming apparatuses 12 and 13 of the slave units are executed. , 32K IP address can be determined.

  As described above, according to the image forming system 100, the IP address unique to each network device to be used is determined according to the number n of image forming apparatuses used for data communication and the number m of network devices that each image forming apparatus has. Is automatically assigned and the destination address of each network device is automatically registered.

  Accordingly, it is necessary for the user to perform complicated processing such as assigning an IP address to each of a plurality of network devices of a plurality of image forming apparatuses and manually setting the IP address and the destination address of each network device. This eliminates the trouble of address setting and prevents setting errors such as input errors and duplication.

The description content in the above embodiment is a preferred example of the image forming system 100 according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where data communication is performed using all of the network devices 32C, 32M, 32Y, and 32K has been described as an example. However, any one of them may be selectively combined. In this case, the user can input the number of network devices used in each image forming apparatus together with the number of image forming apparatuses from the operation display unit 31 (device number input means). If an IP address is assigned according to the number of network devices and only the DHCP server processing of the network corresponding to the network device to be used is started, the IP address of the network device and the IP address of the destination are only sent to each network device to be used. Can be set.

In the above embodiment, the case where the number of network devices included in each image forming apparatus is the same has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
In this case, for example, after all the IP address settings are completed, the CPU 21 of the image forming apparatus 11 that is the parent device causes all network devices to transmit a response request signal to the child device. When the network device of the slave unit receives the response request signal, the CPU 21 of the slave unit causes the network device that has received the response request signal to transmit a response signal for the response request signal to the master unit. The CPU 21 of the parent device determines the number of network devices of each child device from the presence / absence of a response from each child device in each network device, and determines the number of network devices stored in step S2 in FIG. Compare the number of devices. As a result of the comparison, if m> the number of network devices of the slave units, the user should display an error on the operation display unit 31 and change the image forming apparatus used as the slave unit to another image forming apparatus. It is preferable to provide a warning means such as calling.

  In the above embodiment, an IP address is assigned according to the number of image forming apparatuses input by the user, and the number of image forming apparatuses used for data communication in a tandem printing operation or the like is taken into consideration. However, if the number of units to be used is fixed, the fixed number may be set in advance by a serviceman or the like, and the user input process may be omitted.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the image forming apparatus 11 that is a master unit has a function as a DHCP server, and the image forming apparatuses 12 and 13 that are slave units have a function as a DHCP client, and the DHCP server and the DHCP client. In this sequence, the IP address is assigned in response to a request from each slave unit from the determined IP address range, but the master unit assigns an IP address to each network device. If it goes and transmits to a subunit | mobile_unit, it will not be limited to the said sequence.

  In addition, the detailed configuration and detailed operation of the image forming system 100 and each of the devices constituting the image forming system 100 can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1 is a conceptual diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming system 100 according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic electrical configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 in FIG. 1. It is a flowchart which shows the address allocation process performed in CPU21 of a main | base station. It is a flowchart which shows the address setting process performed in CPU21 of a subunit | mobile_unit. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an IP address assignment sequence executed between the DHCP server process of FIG. 3 and the DHCP client process of FIG. 4.

Explanation of symbols

100 Image forming system 1 Image forming apparatus 20 Local bus 21 CPU
22 storage unit 23 RAM
24 Reading unit 25 Input image processing unit 26 Image forming unit 27 Bus bridge 30 Expansion bus 31 Operation display unit 32C Network device for C color 32M Network device for M color 32Y Network device for Y color 32K Network device for K color 40C For C color Image block 40M Image block for M color 40Y Image block for Y color 40K Image block for K color 41C Image bus for C color 41M Image bus for M color 41Y Image bus for Y color 41K Image bus for K color 42C HDD for C color
42M HDD for M color
42Y Y color HDD
42K HDD for K color
43C C color memory control unit 43M M color memory control unit 43Y Y color memory control unit 43K K color memory control unit 44C C color image memory 44M M color image memory 44Y Y color image memory 44K K color Image memory 45C C color compression / decompression unit 45M M color compression / decompression unit 45Y Y color compression / decompression unit 45K K color compression / decompression unit HC, HM, HY, HK Hub NC, NM, NY, NK Network

Claims (17)

In an image forming system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses each having a plurality of network devices and each network device being connectable to each other in a correspondence relationship according to a predetermined rule,
When two or more image forming apparatuses perform data communication using two or more corresponding network devices among the plurality of image forming apparatuses, the number of image forming apparatuses to be used and each of the image forming apparatuses An image forming system comprising: identification information management means for assigning unique network identification information to each network device used according to the number of network devices used by the computer. The network identification information includes a network unit composed of a combination of numbers for identifying the network to which each network device belongs, and a host unit composed of a combination of numbers for identifying the image forming apparatus provided with each network device. Consists of
The identification information management means determines the network unit to be allocated to each network device to be used based on the number of network devices used by each image forming apparatus, and based on the number of the image forming apparatuses to be used, The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the host unit assigned to each network device to be used is determined.   When the number of network devices used by each image forming apparatus is m (m is a positive integer), the identification information management unit assigns the network to each of the m network device groups connected to the corresponding network. The number range is set to m consecutive ranges, the network units in the determined range are assigned to the m network device groups differently, and the number of image forming apparatuses to be used is set to n ( n is a positive integer), the numerical range of the host unit to be assigned to each image forming apparatus is determined as 1 to n, and 1 to n host units are assigned to the n image forming apparatuses differently. The image forming system according to claim 2. Comprising a number input means for inputting the number of image forming apparatuses to be used;
The said identification information management means determines the network identification information allocated to each said network device to be used according to the number input from the said number input means, The Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. Image forming system. A device number input means for inputting the number of network devices used by each of the image forming apparatuses;
The said identification information management means determines the network identification information allocated to each said network device to be used according to the number input from the said device number input means, The Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. The image forming system described.   Each of the image forming apparatuses has, for each network device included in the image forming apparatus, a network unit that is the same as the network unit of the network identification information assigned to the network device by the identification information management unit, and 1 to n A transmission destination setting unit configured to set network identification information combining a host unit other than the host unit assigned to the network device as network identification information of a data transmission destination of the network device. The image forming system according to any one of 3 to 5. A network identification information setting method in an image forming system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses each having a plurality of network devices, and each network device being connectable to each other in a correspondence relationship according to a predetermined rule,
When two or more image forming apparatuses perform data communication using two or more corresponding network devices among the plurality of image forming apparatuses, the number of image forming apparatuses to be used and each of the image forming apparatuses A network identification information setting method, wherein unique network identification information is assigned to each network device to be used according to the number of network devices to be used. The network identification information includes a network unit composed of a combination of numbers for identifying the network to which each network device belongs, and a host unit composed of a combination of numbers for identifying the image forming apparatus provided with each network device. Consists of
The identification information management means determines the network unit to be allocated to each network device to be used based on the number of network devices used by each image forming apparatus, and based on the number of the image forming apparatuses to be used, The network identification information setting method according to claim 7, wherein the host unit to be assigned to each network device to be used is determined.   When the number of network devices used by each image forming apparatus is m (m is a positive integer), the identification information management unit assigns the network to each of the m network device groups connected to the corresponding network. The number range is set to m consecutive ranges, the network units in the determined range are assigned to the m network device groups differently, and the number of image forming apparatuses to be used is set to n ( n is a positive integer), the numerical range of the host unit to be assigned to each image forming apparatus is determined as 1 to n, and 1 to n host units are assigned to the n image forming apparatuses differently. The network identification information setting method according to claim 8, wherein: Comprising a number input means for inputting the number of image forming apparatuses to be used;
The said identification information management means determines the network identification information allocated to each said network device to be used according to the number input from the said number input means, The any one of Claims 7-9 characterized by the above-mentioned. Network identification information setting method. A device number input means for inputting the number of network devices used by each of the image forming apparatuses;
The said identification information management means determines the network identification information allocated to each said network device to be used according to the number input from the said device number input means, The said any one of Claims 7-10 characterized by the above-mentioned. The network identification information setting method described.   Each of the image forming apparatuses has, for each network device included in the image forming apparatus, a network unit that is the same as the network unit of the network identification information assigned to the network device by the identification information management unit, and 1 to n A transmission destination setting unit configured to set network identification information combining a host unit other than the host unit assigned to the network device as network identification information of a data transmission destination of the network device. The network identification information setting method according to any one of 9 to 11. In an image forming apparatus having a plurality of network devices,
An image for performing data communication when data communication is performed by connecting network devices corresponding to each of the network devices of two or more network devices and one or more other image forming apparatuses among the plurality of network devices. For assigning unique network identification information to each network device of the other image forming apparatus used for the data communication according to the number of forming apparatuses and the number of network devices of the own image forming apparatus used for the data communication An image forming apparatus comprising an identification information management unit. The network identification information includes a network unit composed of a combination of numbers for identifying the network to which each network device belongs, and a host unit composed of a combination of numbers for identifying the image forming apparatus provided with each network device. Consists of
The identification information managing means determines the network unit to be assigned to each network device based on the number of network devices of the image forming apparatus to be used, and based on the number of the other image forming apparatuses to be used. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the host unit to be assigned to each network device is determined.   The identification information management unit assigns m to each of the m network device groups used corresponding to the data communication, where m is the number of network devices of the image forming apparatus to be used (m is a positive integer). The number range of the network units to be allocated is determined as m consecutive ranges, the network units in the determined range are allocated to the m network device groups differently, and the number of image forming apparatuses to be used Is n (n is a positive integer), the numerical range of the host unit to be assigned to the image forming apparatus to be used is determined to be 1 to n, and 1 to n host units are assigned to the image forming apparatuses. The image forming apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the image forming apparatuses are assigned differently. Comprising a number input means for inputting the number of image forming apparatuses used for the data communication;
The said identification information management means determines the network identification information allocated to each said network device to be used according to the number input from the said number input means, The any one of Claims 13-15 characterized by the above-mentioned. Image forming apparatus. A device number input means for inputting the number of network devices of the image forming apparatus to be used;
The said identification information management means determines the network identification information allocated to each said network device to be used according to the number input from the said device number input means, The any one of Claims 13-16 characterized by the above-mentioned. The image forming apparatus described.

Images