JP2011199419A - Image forming apparatus, image formation method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

When sequentially transferring the read original image data by DMA, the original processing completion time for each sheet is shortened, and it is possible to determine whether the data transfer ends normally or abnormally.
A scanner image processing unit 15 having DMACs 18 a to 18 c for DMA transfer of image data read by a scanner unit 14, receives image data from the scanner image processing unit 15, generates a memory address, and generates a memory 33. A controller processing unit 22 having a DMAC 29 for writing, a scanner image processing unit 15 and the controller processing unit 22 are connected to each other, and a general-purpose bus for exchanging address information and data information is provided. The scanner image processing unit 15 Is transferred to the controller processing unit 22 via the general-purpose bus, and when the transfer of the image data is completed, a transfer end signal indicating the end of data transfer is sent to the controller processing unit 22. finish.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that reads an original image with a scanner, an image forming method, and a program.

  In an image forming apparatus that reads a document by a conventional document moving method, when reading an irregular-size document, it is necessary to determine the document size in advance in order to prevent reading of an unnecessary image. As a method for determining a document size, a method is generally known in which a document length is detected by a document size detection sensor of a document transport unit of a DF (document feeder). In other words, since the length (number of sub-scan lines) in the document transport direction is detected by the document size detection sensor of the document transport unit, when scanning an irregular-size document, the scan is being executed or the scan has been completed. Only after that, the length in the document transport direction could not be determined.

  When reading an irregular-size document, the controller receives data from the scanner image processing unit via the general-purpose bus when transferring document data read by the scanner from the scanner image processing unit to the controller unit. The department did not know how much data it received before executing the scan.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1, in the case of a DMAC (DMA controller) of a controller unit that requires the setting of a data size for DMA (Direct Memory Access) transfer, a maximum transfer data size is set for a certain period of time. A technique is disclosed in which a time-out process is performed to end the processing if the data is not transferred from the scanner image processing unit even after elapse of time, and the controller unit completes the data transfer.

  However, in Patent Document 1, when data transfer is completed by the timeout process, it is necessary to elapse the timeout time in order to complete the processing of one original, so that the next original process is quickly activated. However, this has hindered high-speed processing in image forming apparatuses such as multifunction peripherals.

  Further, in the time-out process in the above-mentioned patent document 1, since it is impossible to discriminate between normal end of transfer and abnormal end due to jam or the like, the controller unit stores data less than the original size, an abnormal image or the like to the memory. There was a problem that there was a possibility of sending.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and when the read document image data is sequentially DMA-transferred, the document processing completion time for each sheet is shortened, and the data transfer is normally completed or abnormal. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, and a program capable of determining whether the processing has been completed and capable of realizing high-speed processing and high reliability.

  In order to solve the above-described problem and achieve the object, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus in which an engine unit and a controller unit are connected via a general-purpose bus, and the engine unit reads an image of a document. A transfer unit that transfers image data read by the image reading unit to the controller unit via the general-purpose bus, and a transfer end signal indicating the end of data transfer when the transfer of the image data is completed. A scanner image processing means for sending to the memory, the controller unit storing the image data, a controller for receiving image data of a predetermined size from the scanner image processing means, generating a memory address, and writing to the memory Processing means, wherein the controller processing means is transferred from the scanner image processing means. It writes to the memory of the image data, characterized by terminating the writing to the memory of the image data and receiving the transfer end signal.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention is an image forming method executed by an image forming apparatus in which an engine unit and a controller unit are connected via a general-purpose bus, The image forming apparatus includes an image reading unit, a scanner image processing unit, a memory, and a controller processing unit. The image reading unit of the engine unit reads a document image, and the scanner image processing of the engine unit. Means for transferring the read image data to the controller unit via the general-purpose bus and sending a transfer end signal indicating the end of data transfer to the controller unit when the transfer of the image data is completed; The memory of the controller unit stores the image data, and the controller processing means of the controller unit includes a scan unit. Receiving a predetermined size of image data from the image processing means, generating a memory address, and writing to the memory, wherein the controller processing unit transfers the image data transferred from the scanner image processing means to the memory. Writing is performed, and the writing of the image data to the memory is terminated when the transfer end signal is received.

  In order to solve the above-described problem and achieve the object, the present invention is a program mounted on an image forming apparatus in which an engine unit and a controller unit are connected via a general-purpose bus, The engine unit transfers image data read by the image reading unit and image data read by the image reading unit to the controller unit via the general-purpose bus, and performs data transfer when the transfer of the image data is completed. The controller unit functions as a scanner image processing unit that sends a transfer end signal indicating completion to the controller unit. The controller unit receives the image data of a predetermined size from the memory storing the image data and the scanner image processing unit. The controller processing means for generating a memory address and writing to the memory, The processing means writes the image data transferred from the scanner image processing means to the memory, and functions to end writing the image data to the memory upon receiving the transfer end signal. It is a program.

  According to the present invention, when the read document image data is sequentially DMA-transferred, it is possible to shorten the document processing completion time for each sheet and to determine whether the data transfer has been completed normally or abnormally. There is an effect that it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, and a program capable of realizing high-speed image processing and high reliability.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of the image reading unit in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the engine unit of FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the controller unit of FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing signals related to data transfer in the scanner image processing unit of FIG. FIG. 6 is a time chart showing data transfer between the output control unit of FIG. 1 and three DMACs. FIG. 7 is a time chart showing input / output data transfer of the DMAC (Ch0) of FIG. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the DMAC (Ch0) of FIG. FIG. 9 is a time chart showing input / output data transfer of the arbitration unit of FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an offset value from the base address of the PCIe root complex controller of FIG. FIG. 11A is a time chart illustrating data transfer between the scanner image processing unit and the controller processing unit in FIG. FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating addresses and write data included in the PCIe packet in FIG. 11A. FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a relationship between the end determination unit of FIG. 1 and peripheral components. FIG. 13 is a time chart showing input / output signals in the end determination unit of FIG.

  Exemplary embodiments of an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, and a program according to the present invention are explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modified embodiments are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. In the image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1, an engine unit 11 and a controller unit 21 are connected via a PCI Express as a general-purpose bus. A PCI bus or the like can also be used as this general-purpose bus.

  The engine unit 11 includes an image reading unit 12 as an image reading unit and a scanner image processing unit 15 as an image processing unit. The image reading unit 12 performs image input processing for reading an image of a document, and includes a document transport unit 13 and a scanner unit 14.

  The scanner image processing unit 15 includes a scanner characteristic correction unit 16, an output control unit 17, a DMAC (Ch0) 18a, a DMAC (Ch1) 18b, a DMAC (Ch2) 18c as a DMA controller, an arbitration unit 19, and a PCIe end. And a point controller 20.

  The scanner characteristic correction unit 16 performs processing for correcting the characteristics of the CCD used in the image reading unit 12.

  The output control unit 17 distributes the RGB data, which has been corrected according to the characteristics of the scanner, to the R, G, and B plates, and distributes them to the next three DMACs for output.

  The DMACs (Ch0 to Ch2) 18a to 18c transfer image data to the controller unit 21 via the PCIe end point controller 20, and when the transfer of the image data is completed, a transfer end signal indicating that the data transfer is completed. Forward.

  The arbitration unit 19 receives image inputs from the DMACs 18a to 18c in the order of DMAC (Ch0), (Ch1), and (Ch2), and passes the respective data to the PCIe end point controller 20.

  The PCIe end point controller 20 transmits and receives image data to and from the controller unit 21 connected via PCI Express.

  On the other hand, the controller unit 21 includes a controller processing unit 22, a chip set 31, a CPU 32, and a memory 33 as controller processing means.

  The controller processing unit 22 includes a PCIe route complex controller 23, an input control unit 24, an image input buffer 27, a compression processing unit 28, a DMAC 29, and a PCIe end point controller 30.

  The PCIe root complex controller 23 exchanges image data with the engine unit 11 connected via PCI Express.

  The input control unit 24 distributes the image data received from the PCIe route complex controller 23 to each of the R, G, and B image buffers, and ends the transmission of the received transfer end signal to the image input buffer 27. And a determination unit 26.

  The image input buffer 27 includes an R plate image buffer 27a, a G plate image buffer 27b, and a B plate image buffer 27c for temporarily storing R, G, and B plate image data.

  The compression processing unit 28 compresses the image data from the R plate image buffer 27a, the G plate image buffer 27b, and the B plate image buffer 27c of the image input buffer 27, respectively.

  The DMAC 29 writes the image data to the memory 33 on the chipset 31 side via the PCIe end point controller 30.

  The PCIe end point controller 30 exchanges image data with the chipset 31 connected via the PCI Express.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of the image reading unit in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the image reading unit 12 includes a document transport unit 13 that feeds a document 42 stacked on a document stacking unit of a document table 40 to a document reading position 48, and the fed document 42 reads a document. The scanner unit 14 optically reads an image passing through the position 48 and converts it into image data of an electrical signal.

  The document feeding unit 13 includes a document size detection sensor 44, and detects the time taken to detect the trailing edge of the document 42 by measuring the length of the document 44 in the transport direction (length of the document). Thus, the normal document size can be specified. However, since the rear end of the original of the irregular size document does not pass through the document detection sensor 10a when the document is drawn to the document standby position a in FIG. 2, the document size cannot be specified at the document drawing stage.

  The document 42 drawn into the document standby position a passes through the document reading position 48 through the transport path b by the transport drum 46, and is discharged from the transport path c to the paper discharge tray 50 through the transport path d.

  The scanner unit 14 illuminates the image of the document 42 passing through the document reading position 48 with a xenon lamp 52, reflects the reflected image with a mirror 54 and the like, and reads it with a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) through a lens (not shown). As a result, the image data is converted into image data of an electrical signal.

  The program executed by the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment is provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like (not shown). Further, the program executed in the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment can be installed in a file in an installable format or an executable format, a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). For example, the program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.

  Further, the program executed by the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment may be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. Further, the program executed by the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment may be configured to be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  The program executed by the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment has a module configuration including the above-described units (image reading unit, scanner image processing unit, memory, controller processing unit, and the like). As the wear, the CPU (processor) 32 reads out the program from the ROM and executes it, whereby the above-described units are loaded onto the main storage device, and the image reading unit, the scanner image processing unit, the memory, the controller processing unit, and the like are the main storage device. It is supposed to be generated above.

  Examples of the program include a copy operation process program (copy application), a scanner distribution process program (scanner distribution application), and a fax transmission process program (fax application).

  The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment is configured as described above. The operation will be described below with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the engine unit of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the controller unit of FIG. First, when there is a document image reading start request from the controller unit 21 in FIG. 1 (step S200 in FIG. 4), the document transport unit 13 of the image reading unit 12 in the engine unit 11 is loaded on the document table 40 in FIG. The document 42 is pulled to the document standby position a (step S100 in FIG. 3). When the image reader 12 pulls the document 42 to the document standby position a, the document size can be specified by the document size detection sensor 44 if the document size is a normal document size. It cannot be specified.

  When the drawing of the original is completed, a scan start instruction is waited (step S102 in FIG. 3). Normally, if there is a document image reading start request from the controller unit 21 (step S200 in FIG. 4), it is determined that there is a scan start instruction (Yes in step S102 in FIG. 3). The document transport unit 13 transports the document 42 drawn to the document standby position a from the transport path b through the document reading position 48 from the transport path c to the transport path d by the transport drum 46. When the scanner unit 14 passes the document reading position 48, the scanner unit 14 starts scanning the document image (step S104 in FIG. 3).

  If the document 42 has already been pulled into the document standby position a in step S100, the process waits until there is a scan start instruction (No in step S102 in FIG. 3), and an image reading start request from the controller unit 21. If there is any (step S200 in FIG. 4), a scan start instruction is given (Yes in step S102 in FIG. 3), and scanning is started by the scanner unit 14 (step S104 in FIG. 3).

  The document size detection sensor 44 detects the trailing edge of the document 42 when the trailing edge of the document 42 passes the document size detection sensor 44 of the document feeding unit 13 after the reading of the document 42 is completed. Even in this case, the length of the document 42 in the conveyance direction can be determined.

  The image data read by the scanner unit 14 of the image reading unit 12 is sent to the scanner image processing unit 15 shown in FIG. The characteristics of data input to the scanner image processing unit 15 differ depending on the characteristics of the CCD used in the scanner unit 14. The scanner characteristic correction unit 16 of the scanner image processing unit 15 performs correction processing corresponding to the characteristics of this data (step S106 in FIG. 3).

  The image data corrected by the scanner characteristic correction unit 16 is divided into R, G, and B plates by the output control unit 17 (step S108 in FIG. 3), and three channels (Ch0 to Ch0) for each plate. To the DMACs 18a to 18c of Ch2). The three DMACs 18a to 18c output image data of each plate to the arbitration unit 17 at the subsequent stage. The arbitration unit 17 receives image inputs from the DMACs 18a to 18c in the order of DMAC (Ch0), (Ch1), and (Ch2). First, when a transfer request for the R version data of the DMAC (Ch0) 18a is received, the DMA transfer is performed to the controller unit 21 via the PCIe end point controller 20 (step S110 in FIG. 3). Next, when the transfer request for the G version data of the DMAC (Ch1) 18b is received, the DMA transfer is performed to the controller unit 21 via the PCIe end point controller 20 (step S112 in FIG. 3). Next, when a transfer request for the B version data of the DMAC (Ch2) 18c is received, the DMA transfer is performed to the controller unit 21 via the PCIe end point controller 20 (step S11 in FIG. 3). Steps S110 to S114 in FIG. 3 are repeated until the scan for one page is finished and the transfer of the image data is finished (No in step S116).

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing signals related to data transfer in the scanner image processing unit of FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is a time chart showing data transfer between the output control unit of FIG. 1 and three DMACs. As shown in FIG. 5, the scanner image processing unit 15 performs image data transfer by a handshake method using a write command on the transmission side and a command accept signal on the reception side. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the output control unit 17 issues a write command simultaneously with the RGB image data, and sets the command accept signal to “1” if the DMACs 18 a to 18 c can receive the command. The output control unit 17 sets the end of page signal to “1” simultaneously with the Write command and the final RGB image data only for the final RGB image data of the page. In this embodiment, only the DMAC (Ch0) 18a outputs the transfer end address (30h) to the arbitration unit 19 together with the write command using the end of page signal received from the output control unit 17 as a trigger.

  FIG. 7 is a time chart showing input / output data transfer of the DMAC (Ch0) of FIG. The DMAC (Ch0) 18a issues a Write command at the same time as the R image data and the transfer address, and the arbitration unit 19 sets the command accept signal to “1” if the command can be received. The transfer address transmitted by the DMAC (Ch0) 18a is fixed to “00h”.

  However, only after the end of page signal received from the output control unit 17 becomes “1” and the last R data of the page is transmitted, “30h” that is the transfer end address is transmitted together with the write command. Note that the data output value at this time is Don't Care.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the DMAC (Ch0) of FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the DMAC (Ch0) 18 a performs the transfer handshake between the input unit 34 on the image data receiving side that performs the transfer handshake with the output control unit 17 and the arbitration unit 19. An output unit 36 that is a transmission side of image data to be performed and a transfer end address generation unit 35 are provided. The transfer end address generation unit 35 transmits end command and end address to the output unit 36 after transmitting the final data of the page. When this is seen in the time chart of FIG. 7, an end command and an end address are generated on the condition that the end of page is asserted and the command accept is asserted.

  FIG. 9 is a time chart showing input / output data transfer of the arbitration unit of FIG. FIG. 9 shows a data transfer timing between the three DMACs (Ch0) 18a to (Ch2) 18c and the arbitrating unit 19, and a data transfer time chart between the arbitrating unit 19 and the PCIe endpoint controller 20. Has been. With reference to FIG. 9, the operation of performing data transfer by the handshake method using the write command signal on the transmitting side and the command accept signal on the receiving side will be described.

  First, a description will be given between the DMAC (Ch0) 18a and the arbitrating unit 19. The DMAC (Ch0) 18a issues a Write command at the same time as the R image data and the transfer address, and the arbitration unit 19 sets the command accept signal to “1” if the command can be received. As in FIG. 7, the DMAC (Ch0) 18a transmits 30h as a transfer end address together with the write command only after transmitting the final R data of the page.

  Next, a description will be given between the DMAC (Ch1) 18b and the arbitrating unit 19. The DMAC (Ch1) 18b issues a Write command at the same time as the G version image data and the transfer address, and the arbitration unit 19 sets the command accept signal to “1” if the command can be received. The transfer address transmitted by the DMAC (Ch1) 18b is fixed at 10h.

  Next, a description will be given between the DMAC (Ch2) 18c and the arbitrating unit 19. The DMAC (Ch2) 18c issues a Write command simultaneously with the B-plate image data and the transfer address, and the arbitration unit 19 sets the command accept signal to “1” if the command can be received. The transfer address transmitted by the DMAC (Ch2) 18c is fixed to 20h.

  Thus, of the three DMACs (Ch0) 18a to (Ch2) 18c, the only DMAC having a mechanism for generating the transfer end address is Ch0. This is because the DMAC (Ch0) 18a is always used regardless of the image format handled by the scanner image processing unit 15. In the present embodiment, three DMACs are used because the image data handled by the scanner image processing unit 15 is composed of three versions of the RGB format. As another example, there is a case of a gray scale (hereinafter referred to as Gs) format of only one version. In this case, only one DMAC is used, and DMAC (Ch0) is used.

  As will be described later, in the RGB format, the page final image data is output from the DMAC (Ch2) 18c among the three DMACs, and the request reception order of the arbitration unit 19 for transmitting the transfer end address is DMAC (Ch0). ) 18a. In the case of the Gs format, the request reception order of the arbitration unit 19 for transmitting the transfer end address is DMAC (Ch0) 18a, which is output from the DMAC (Ch1) 18b. From the above, the DMAC having a mechanism for generating the transfer end address is only Ch0.

  Next, a description will be given between the arbitrating unit 19 and the PCIe end point controller 20. The arbitration unit 19 receives the write command requests received from the three DMACs in the round robin method in the order of the DMAC Ch0, Ch1, and Ch2. Data transfer to the PCIe endpoint controller 20 is performed by a handshake method using a write command on the transmitting side and a command accept signal on the receiving side. The arbitration unit 19 issues the transfer address and image data received from each of the three DMACs at the same time as the Write command, and sets the command accept signal to “1” if the PCIe endpoint controller 20 can receive the command.

  Since the amount of image data transferred from the DMAC to the arbitration unit 19 is the same for each of the R, G, and B versions, requests are received in the order of DMAC in the order of Ch0, Ch1, and Ch2, and the arbitration is performed. The unit 19 receives the final image data of the page from the DMAC (Ch2) 18c. After receiving the final image data of the page from the DMAC (Ch2) 18c, the arbitration unit 19 receives a transfer address of 30h indicating the end of the data transfer of the DMAC (Ch0) 18a, and transfers the 30h to the PCIe endpoint controller 20 Send the address with the Write command. Note that the value of the data output when the transfer address of 30h is output is Don't Care.

  The image data output from the arbitration unit 19 is output to the controller processing unit 22 via the PCIe end point controller 20. Data transfer from the scanner image processing unit 15 to the controller processing unit 22 is a fixed address transfer method in which transfer is performed by outputting a certain address on the PCI Express.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an offset value from the base address of the PCIe root complex controller of FIG. The PCIe route complex controller 23 of the controller processing unit 22 shown in FIG. 1 has one base address resource, and a fixed address resource is allocated according to an offset value. That is, the image input channel 1, the image input channel 2, the image input channel 3, and the transfer end channel are arranged at positions of + 00h, + 10h, + 20h, and + 30h that are offset values from the base address as shown in FIG.

  The DMAC of the scanner image processing unit 15 performs image data transfer by performing write access to the image input resource of the PCIe route complex controller 23 of the controller processing unit 22 via the PCIe end point controller 20. When the image data format is color RGB, the image input resource is assigned to the image input channel 1 at address + 00h for R data, the image input channel 2 at address + 10h, and the image input channel 3 at address + 20h for B data. .

  During the color RGB data transfer from the scanner image processing unit 15 to the controller processing unit 22, the address transmitted by the scanner image processing unit 15 is any one of the addresses + 00h, + 10h, and + 20h. However, the scanner image processing unit 15 waits for the end of document reading (scan end) in step S116 of FIG. 3, and when reading of the document is completed (Yes in step S116 of FIG. 3), the scanner image processing unit 15 Then, the address at address + 30h is transmitted (step S118 in FIG. 3).

  11A is a time chart illustrating data transfer between the scanner image processing unit and the controller processing unit in FIG. 1, and FIG. 11B is an address and write data included in the PCIe packet in FIG. FIG. As shown in FIG. 11A, the address information is + 00h address R data, the address information is + 10h address G data, the address information is + 20h address B data, and the address information is + 30h address is arbitrary data. It is transferred as write data.

  The image data output by the scanner image processing unit 15 is transferred to the input control unit 24 via the PCIe route complex controller 23 of the controller processing unit 22 (Yes in step S202 in FIG. 4). The PCIe I / F 25 in the input control unit 24 sends the R, G, and B image data sent in units of packets from the PCIe route complex controller 23 to the image input buffer 27 for each version according to the address information. Distributed and stored sequentially (Yes in step S204 in FIG. 4). When the image data for 8 lines is stored in the image input buffer 27, it is read out in parallel from the R, G, and B image buffers 27 a to 27 c in units of 8 × 8 blocks, and is sent to the compression processing unit 28. The data is transferred and compressed (step S206 in FIG. 4). The DMAC 29 of the controller processing unit 22 reads the data after the compression processing and writes it on the memory 33 on the chipset 31 side (step S208 in FIG. 4).

  12 is a block diagram showing the relationship between the end determination unit of FIG. 1 and the peripheral components, and FIG. 13 is a time chart showing input / output signals in the end determination unit of FIG. In the input control unit 24 of the controller processing unit 22 illustrated in FIG. 1, an end determination unit 26 that monitors the received transfer address and generates an end of page signal is prepared. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the end determination unit 26 receives the address and command from the PCIe root complex controller 23 and the command accept from the PCIe I / F 25, and transfers the write command and the command accept = 1. The address is latched at the establishment timing. The latched address is compared with the transfer end address (30h in this embodiment), and if the comparison result is “equal”, it is determined that the transfer has ended (step S210 in FIG. 4), and an end of page signal indicating the transfer end Is generated.

  When the end determination unit 26 determines the end of transfer, an end of page signal indicating the end of transfer is transmitted to the image input buffer 27. If the stored image data is less than 8 lines, the image input buffer 27 performs a process of filling zero data (end process) (step S212 in FIG. 4). The edge-processed data is compressed (step S214 in FIG. 4), written to the memory 33 on the chipset 31 side by the DMAC 29 (step S216 in FIG. 4), and a transfer completion interrupt to the CPU 32 is issued. (Step S218 in FIG. 4). This transfer end signal transmits an interrupt packet called MSI (Message Signaled Interrupt). Thereby, the CPU 32 of the controller unit 21 can detect the end of the data transfer. After detecting the interrupt, the CPU 32 starts preparation for processing of the next page (parameter setting, etc.) (step S220 in FIG. 4).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to quickly start the next document processing after one document processing is completed, and the normal termination of transfer and abnormal termination due to a jam or the like. Since it is possible to perform segmentation, high-speed image processing and high reliability in a multifunction peripheral or the like can be realized.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to perform transfer completion notification between chips without adding a dedicated signal line for completion of transfer, and therefore, a general-purpose interface such as PCI Express can be used.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, in a configuration using a PCI bus or PCI Express as an interface between the scanner image processing unit and the controller unit, the next document processing is started after one document processing is completed. Since it is possible to perform promptly and to distinguish between normal termination of transfer and abnormal termination due to jam etc., it is possible to realize high-speed image processing and high reliability in a multifunction device or the like. .

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the next document processing is started immediately after one document processing is completed, regardless of the color RGB or monochrome Gs image format handled by the scanner image processing unit. Therefore, it is possible to realize high-speed image processing and high reliability in a multifunction machine or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 11 Engine part 12 Image reading part 13 Document conveyance unit 14 Scanner unit 15 Scanner image processing part 16 Scanner characteristic correction part 17 Output control part 18a DMAC (Ch0)
18b DMAC (Ch1)
18c DMAC (Ch2)
19 Arbitration unit 20 PCIe endpoint controller 21 Controller unit 22 Controller processing unit 23 PCIe route complex controller 24 Input control unit 25 PCIe I / F
26 End determination unit 26a Address latch 26b Comparator 27 Image input buffer 27a R image buffer 27b G image buffer 27c B image buffer 28 Compression processing unit 29 DMAC
30 PCIe endpoint controller 31 chipset 32 CPU
33 Memory 34 Input section 35 Transfer end address 36 Output section 44 Document size detection sensor

Japanese Patent No. 3730586

Claims (9)

An image forming apparatus in which an engine unit and a controller unit are connected via a general-purpose bus,
The engine part is
Image reading means for reading a document image;
A scanner image that transfers image data read by the image reading unit to the controller unit via the general-purpose bus and sends a transfer end signal indicating the end of data transfer to the controller unit when the transfer of the image data is completed. Processing means;
With
The controller unit is
A memory for storing the image data;
Controller processing means for receiving a predetermined size of image data from the scanner image processing means, generating a memory address, and writing to the memory;
With
The controller processing unit writes the image data transferred from the scanner image processing unit to the memory, and ends the writing of the image data to the memory when receiving the transfer end signal. Image forming apparatus. The data transfer from the scanner image processing means to the controller processing means is a fixed address transfer method in which image data transfer address information on the general-purpose bus is output and transferred.
2. The image according to claim 1, wherein the image data transfer address information and the transfer end signal address information are individually provided, and the controller processing unit determines the type of data based on the address information. Forming equipment.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the general-purpose bus is a PCI bus or a PCI Express.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the scanner image processing unit includes one or a plurality of DMA controllers that transfer the image data.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller processing unit issues a transfer completion interrupt when receiving the transfer end signal.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image data is transferred in a compressed state. The general purpose bus is PCI Express,
The data transfer from the scanner image processing means to the controller processing means is a fixed address transfer method in which certain address information on the PCI Express is output and transferred.
The controller processing means determines the type of data based on address information for image data transfer, and the controller processing means detects the end of data transfer by transmitting an interrupt packet as the transfer end signal. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. An image forming method executed by an image forming apparatus in which an engine unit and a controller unit are connected via a general-purpose bus,
The image forming apparatus includes an image reading unit, a scanner image processing unit, a memory, and a controller processing unit,
The image reading means of the engine unit reads a document image;
The scanner image processing means of the engine unit transfers the read image data to the controller unit via the general-purpose bus, and a transfer end signal indicating the end of data transfer when the transfer of the image data is completed. Sending to the controller unit;
The memory of the controller unit storing the image data;
The controller processing means of the controller unit receiving image data of a predetermined size from the scanner image processing means, generating a memory address, and writing to the memory;
The controller processing unit writes the image data transferred from the scanner image processing means to the memory, and ends the writing of the image data to the memory when receiving the transfer end signal. An image forming method. A program installed in an image forming apparatus in which an engine unit and a controller unit are connected via a general-purpose bus,
Computer
The engine part is
Image reading means for reading a document image;
A scanner image that transfers image data read by the image reading unit to the controller unit via the general-purpose bus and sends a transfer end signal indicating the end of data transfer to the controller unit when the transfer of the image data is completed. Processing means;
To function,
The controller unit is
A memory for storing the image data;
Controller processing means for receiving a predetermined size of image data from the scanner image processing means, generating a memory address, and writing to the memory;
To function,
The controller processing means writes the image data transferred from the scanner image processing means to the memory, and functions to end the writing of the image data to the memory when receiving the transfer end signal. Program for.

Images