JP2005142609A - Image forming apparatus with automatic layout function and system thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming system capable of making output result in saddle stitching and folding good, and to provide a control method thereof, a storage medium thereof, an image forming apparatus, a control method thereof and a storage medium thereof. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus has an image storage means for storing an image in a storage means, and an image forming means for forming the image stored in the storage means on the recording medium. The apparatus is provided with an output condition detecting means for detecting output conditions, and an image layout means for laying out an image on the basis of the information detected by the output condition detecting means before forming the image by the image forming means. The output conditions are detected, and an image is laid out corresponding to the output conditions to form the image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system, a control method thereof, and a storage medium, and an image forming apparatus, a control method thereof, and a storage medium.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a bookbinding print function that performs booklet layout on an image forming apparatus or a host, prints a layout image, and outputs a saddle stitch is available (see Patent Document 1).

  The finisher's saddle stitching function connected to the image forming apparatus online is stapled to the center of the printed paper and then folded in half. For this reason, when the output result after saddle stitching is viewed, the outer side of the paper is held inside and may swell. Therefore, the inner side of the sheet is projected outward from the binding position. In order to solve this problem, it has been studied to cut an irregular portion on the side opposite to the binding position using a device called a trimmer (see Patent Document 2).

In addition, it has been studied to create an image shifted for each page in advance using utility software or the like that performs image position adjustment for each page on a host computer, and instruct the image forming apparatus to print (Patent Document 3). reference).
Japanese Patent No. 3368175 JP 2003-292230 A JP-A-11-099724

  However, as described above, even if the edge of the sheet is cut, the inner sheet and the outer sheet are not misaligned and bound, and the image position may be shifted. Although it may be possible to re-create and print an image that is shifted from the original image using utility software, install utility software on the host computer and re-create the image for each print. May be required, and the adjustment of the shift amount may be troublesome, so it is necessary to deal with it.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming system capable of automatically controlling the print position of an image according to an output condition in an image forming apparatus and improving the output result at the time of saddle stitching and folding. An object of the present invention is to provide a control method, a storage medium, an image forming apparatus, a control method, and a storage medium.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to claim 1 includes an image storage unit that stores an image in a storage unit, and an image formation unit that forms an image stored in the storage unit on a recording medium. The image forming apparatus includes: an output condition detecting unit that detects an output condition; and an image layout unit that lays out an image based on information detected by the output condition detecting unit before the image is formed by the image forming unit. Features.

  To achieve the above object, the image forming apparatus according to claim 2 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output condition detecting means is a recording medium characteristic detecting means for detecting a characteristic of the recording medium. It is characterized by.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the output condition detecting means is a post-processing machine characteristic detecting means for detecting a characteristic of the post-processing machine. It is characterized by being.

  To achieve the above object, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the output condition detecting means is a post-processing number detecting means for detecting a post-processing number. Features.

  In order to achieve the above object, the image forming apparatus according to claim 5 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output condition detecting means includes a recording medium characteristic detecting means for detecting a characteristic of the recording medium, It is a post-processor characteristic detection means for detecting the characteristic of the processor.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to a sixth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the output condition detecting means includes a recording medium characteristic detecting means for detecting a characteristic of the recording medium, It is a post-processing number detecting means for detecting the number of processed sheets.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the output condition detecting means includes a post-processor characteristic detecting means for detecting a characteristic of the post-processor. And a post-processing number detecting means for detecting the number of post-processing.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the output condition detecting means includes a recording medium characteristic detecting means for detecting a characteristic of the recording medium; It is characterized by a post-processor characteristic detecting means for detecting the characteristics of the processor and a post-process number detecting means for detecting the number of post-processes.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to a ninth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the third, fifth, seventh or eighth aspect, wherein the post-processing machine is a saddle stitcher.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the third, fifth, seventh or eighth aspect, the post-processing device is a half-folder.

  In order to achieve the above object, the image forming apparatus according to claim 10 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the number of sheets detected by the post-processing number detecting means is 1, the image layout means is provided. An image layout skip means for skipping is provided.

  As described in detail above, according to the image forming apparatus of the first to eleventh aspects, the apparatus automatically detects the output conditions such as the characteristics of the storage medium, the characteristics of the post-processing machine, the number of output sheets, and the image shift operation. Therefore, the output result at the time of saddle stitching and center folding can be improved without bothering the user of setting.

  Hereinafter, an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a workstation 11, a personal computer 12, a server computer 13 having a large-capacity storage, a fax machine 15 for transmitting and receiving images, a network scanner 16, a print server 20, a multi-function printer 21, a printer 22, and a scanner as an image input device. 100, a printer 120 as an image output apparatus (image forming apparatus), a multifunction controller 200 that controls the scanner 100 and the printer 120, and the like are connected to a LAN 10 such as Ethernet (registered trademark) to constitute the image forming system 1. ing. In this image forming system 1, each of the scanner 100 and the printer 120 is connected to the multi-function controller 200 by a dedicated bus (not shown).

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the multifunction controller 200 in FIG.

  In FIG. 2, a multifunction controller 200 is a controller that inputs and outputs image information and device information, and is connected to a scanner 100 and a printer 120 on the one hand, and connected to a LAN 10 and a public line (WAN) 50 on the other hand.

  A CPU 201 is a controller that controls the entire system. A RAM 202 is a system work memory for the CPU 201 to operate, and is also an image memory for temporarily storing image data. A ROM 203 is a boot ROM, and stores a system boot program. An HDD 204 is a hard disk drive and stores system software, image data, and the like.

  An operation unit I / F 206 is an interface unit for connecting to an operation unit (UI) 210, and outputs image data to the operation unit 210. An image is displayed on the operation unit 210 based on the image data. Also, it serves to convey information input from the operation unit 210 by the user of this system to the CPU 201.

  A network 209 is connected to the LAN 10 and inputs / outputs information. The Modem 220 is connected to the public line 50 and inputs / outputs information via the public line 50. The above devices are arranged on the system bus 207.

  The Image Bus I / F 205 is a bus bridge that connects an image bus 208 that transfers image data at high speed and a system bus 207 and converts a data structure. The image bus 208 is configured by a high-speed bus such as a PCI bus.

  The following various devices are arranged on the image bus 208. A raster image processor (RIP) 230 develops a PDL code into a bitmap image. The device I / F unit 240 connects the multifunction controller 200 to the scanner 100 and the printer 120, and performs synchronous / asynchronous conversion of image data. The scanner image processing unit 250 performs correction, processing, editing, and the like on input image data. The printer image processing unit 260 performs printer correction, resolution conversion, and the like on the print output image data. The image rotation unit 270 rotates image data. The image compression unit 280 compresses and decompresses multi-valued image data into JPEG and performs binary image data compression and decompression into JBIG, MMR, and MH.

  Further, the HDD 204 stores information such as image output speed and installation position related to nodes connected to the network (LAN 10) for each address.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing an outline of the scanner 100 in FIG.

  The scanner 100 irradiates light on an image of an original, scans it with a CCD licensor (not shown), reads image information from the original, and converts the read image information into raster signals 30 as electrical signals. The document is set on the tray 102 of the document feeder 101. When the user issues an instruction to start reading by operating the operation unit 210 (see FIG. 2), the CPU 201 of the multifunction controller 200 gives the instruction to the scanner 100. Upon receiving the instruction, the scanner 100 feeds the originals one by one by the original feeder 101 and reads an image on the original.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing an outline of the printer 120 in FIG.

  The printer 120 forms raster image data 40 (see FIG. 2) as an image on recording paper. This image forming method includes an electrophotographic method using a photosensitive drum and a photosensitive belt (both not shown) and an ink jet method in which an image is directly printed on a recording sheet by ejecting ink from a minute nozzle array. is there.

  The printing operation is started by an instruction (raster image data 40) from the CPU 201. Inside the printer 120, a plurality of paper feed stages are provided so that the size of the recording paper and the orientation of the recording paper can be selected, and a plurality of paper feed cassettes 122a, 122b, 122c, 122d corresponding to them are mounted. Has been. The paper discharge tray 123 receives the recording paper on which printing has been completed. When the finisher 124 is attached to the printer 120, the printed recording paper is conveyed to the finisher 124.

  When printing on both sides of the recording paper, the recording paper is reversed in the printer 120 after printing an image on one side. After that, according to the instruction 40 from the CPU 201, an image is printed on the surface not yet printed.

  When the finisher 124 has a saddle stitching or center folding function, the trimmer 125 can be attached to the lower left portion of the finisher 124. The trimmer 125 conveys the bookbinding output paper such as saddle stitching by the finisher 124, and trims the reverse side of the binding side. By this trimming operation, it is possible to obtain an output with the paper edges aligned.

  FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the finisher 124. In the figure, 141 is the first to third trays, 143 is the discharge roller, 144 is the swing guide, 145 is the second transport roller, 146 is the height sensor, 147 is the interrupt tray, 148 is the incoming call indicator lamp, 149 is Winding flapper, 150 is a buffer roller, 151 is an interrupt flapper, 152 is a buffer entrance flapper, 153 is a saddle stitcher flapper, 154 is a first conveying roller, 155 is a vertical path, 156 is a stapler, 157 is a knurled belt, and 158 is a tray A lifting motor 159 is a saddle stitcher.

  Paper discharged from the printer 120 is discharged to the tray 1 (first tray / second tray / third tray) by the buffer entrance flapper 152 according to the instruction of the multifunction controller 200, or the saddle stitcher unit 159. Switch what to do.

  First, when the multifunction controller 200 designates the paper discharge destination as the tray 1 (first tray / second tray / third tray), the first conveyance roller 154, the knurled belt 157, the second conveyance roller 145, the paper discharge roller. The sheet is conveyed by 143. On the other hand, when the multifunction controller 200 designates the paper discharge destination to the saddle stitcher unit 159, the paper is conveyed by the buffer entrance flapper 152 and the vertical path 155.

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of the saddle stitcher unit 159 (bookbinding processing unit) of the finisher 124 illustrated in FIG. When the multifunction controller 200 executes bookbinding output, the multi-function controller 200 prints on a recording sheet by the printer 120 and conveys it to the saddle stitcher unit 159 of the finisher 124.

  The paper sent from the printer 120 is sent from the paper carry-in unit 161 to the aligning unit 162. A plurality of sheets are held in the aligning unit 162, and all image data is output by the printer 120 and conveyed to the aligning unit 162 of the finisher 124, and then the center of the sheet is stapled by the stitch unit 163. Then, the stapled sheet bundle is carried into the bundle conveyance unit 164. The sheet is finally discharged to the folding / conveying unit 165 by the control of the thrust plate 170, the roller 171 and the like.

  Hereinafter, the bookbinding printing processing operation performed in the image forming system 1 of the present invention will be described on the assumption that the bookbinding function of the finisher 124 is performed on a sheet of a size such that the short side of the sheet such as A3 faces the sheet feeding direction. To do.

  First, the bookbinding process in the image forming system 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a bookbinding process in the image forming apparatus of the present invention. Reference numeral 701 denotes an example of an 8-page document. The bookbinding imposition layout work may be performed by the multifunction controller 200 or may be performed by the host side, for example, the personal computer 12. A schematic diagram 703 shows a case where a booklet layout is printed and then folded and saddle stitched. An example of trimming by the trimmer 125 after middle folding or saddle stitching is 704. A beautiful bookbinding output can be performed by cutting the edge of the paper.

  Next, image re-layout processing will be described with reference to FIG.

  This flowchart is executed when a print job occurs. First, in step 8001, it is checked whether a bookbinding layout is necessary. If necessary, go to Step 8002. If the booklet is a booklet layout-completed document on the host side or is not a bookbinding job, the booklet layout process is not necessary, and the process advances to step 8003. In step 8002, bookbinding layout processing as shown in FIG. 7 is performed. Next, the routine proceeds to step 8003.

  In step 8003, it is determined whether the job is a half-folding or saddle stitching job. If the job does not require center folding or saddle stitching, this flowchart is terminated. If necessary, go to Step 8004. In step 8004, the number of output sheets of this job is detected. For this reason, if the final page of the job is unknown, the process waits until the final page image is accumulated. The number of output sheets is substituted for variable M, and the process proceeds to step 8005. In step 8005, the number of output sheets is checked. When the number of output sheets is one, there is no need to shift the image, so this flowchart is exited. If there are two or more, the process proceeds to Step 8006.

  In step 8006, the storage medium of the output paper is checked. Since the thickness of the thick paper is different from that of normal plain paper, it affects the image shift amount at the subsequent image re-layout. In step 8007, the characteristics of the post-processor are checked. The performance of the post-processing machine that performs center folding and saddle stitching is checked and recorded as a coefficient. If a high-performance processor is used, the amount of deflection when the sheet is folded is reduced. However, if the processor is a simple processor, the amount of deflection is large, which affects the amount of image shift. Next, the routine proceeds to step 8008.

  In step 8008, a layout table is created based on the information so far. Based on this table, the image shift amount is determined. Next, in step 8009, 1 is substituted into a variable N indicating the number of sheets for a loop of image re-layout processing. Then, the process proceeds to Step 8010.

  In step 8010, the Nth image re-layout process is performed based on the layout table in step 8008. Since it is not necessary to shift the image on the blank paper surface, the processing is skipped. Then, the process proceeds to Step 8011. In step 8011, the variable N is incremented by 1 for the next paper processing, and the flow advances to step 8012. In step 8012, N is compared with M, and if N is larger than M, the image re-layout process is completed, and the process exits this flowchart. Otherwise, the process returns to step 8010.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating that the printing order of sheets changes depending on the type of post-processing machine.

  A description will be given of a case where the paper output direction is from right to left in FIG. In this case, there are two types of post-processing machines that can be mounted. There are 9001 type and 9101 type. The type 9001 is a type in which output sheets are stacked as they are on the folding unit 165 as shown in FIGS. Therefore, the first output sheet is 9002, and the last output sheet is 9003. When this is half-folded or saddle-stitched, the folding function is realized by protruding from the right to the left with the thrust plate 170 and sandwiching with the roller 171. 9004 is an example when there are two outputs.

  The type 9101 is a type opposite to the type 9101 and is a type in which the paper output from the printer 120 is once switched back and stacked on the folding unit. Therefore, the first output sheet is 9102 and the last output sheet is 9103. When this is half-folded or saddle-stitched, the folding function is realized by protruding from the right to the left with a thrust plate and sandwiching with a roller. 9104 is an example when there are two outputs. Therefore, even if the type 9001 and the output result are the same, the output order of the sheets for realizing it is different. In the 9001 type, the paper on which CDEF is printed needs to be output first, whereas in the 9101 type, the paper on which ABGH is printed needs to be output first. Therefore, the N-th image re-layout process in step 8010 is exactly the reverse process.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the amount of image shift depending on the thickness of the paper. 10001 represents the relationship between the sheet thickness of the outer portion of the corresponding sheet and the image shift amount. As the thickness of the outer portion of the sheet increases, the cutting amount of the corresponding sheet increases, so the image shift amount also increases.

  Reference numerals 10002 and 10003 denote trimming positions at the time of trimming 704 in FIG. Each of y1 and y2 is a shift amount obtained from the thickness of the outer sheet of the corresponding sheet, and the outer portions on both sides of the corresponding sheet are cut. In this example, since the sheet 10002 comes to the outermost side, y1 is 0.

  10004 is the original image of 10003, and 10005 and 10006 are images after the image shift of 10004. Image lines 10005 and 10006 are shifted by y2 inwardly symmetrically about the center line. By shifting the image inward in this way, the image is not cut even when the outer portion of the paper is cut.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the relationship of thickness for each paper type. The images are sequentially added from the outer sheet when folded, and the image shift amount of the corresponding sheet is calculated from FIG.

  Moreover, although the said process was demonstrated as what is performed in an image control apparatus, the control part (not shown) of an image forming apparatus may perform the said process.

  An arbitrary storage medium storing the processing method supplies a program for executing the processing method to the control unit of the image control apparatus or the image forming apparatus, and either one of the CPU of the image control apparatus or the MPU (not shown). One may execute the program. Alternatively, the storage medium may supply the program to the control unit of the image forming apparatus, and any one of the CPU or MPU (not illustrated) of the image forming apparatus may execute the program. Examples of the storage medium include a hard disk and a ROM.

  Further, instead of any one of the CPU and MPU of the image control apparatus, a circuit (not shown) that performs the same operation as these may implement the above-described embodiment. Alternatively, instead of any one of the CPU and MPU of the control unit of the image forming apparatus, a circuit (not shown) that performs the same operation may implement the above-described embodiment.

  Further, the program supplied by the storage medium is written in a memory (not shown) provided in a function extension board (not shown) inserted in the image control apparatus or a function extension unit (not shown) connected to the image control apparatus. A CPU or the like (not shown) provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit may execute part or all of the program. Alternatively, the program supplied by the storage medium is written in a memory (not shown) provided in a function extension board (not shown) inserted in the image forming apparatus or a function extension unit (not shown) connected to the image forming apparatus. A CPU or the like (not shown) provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit may execute part or all of the program.

1 is a block diagram showing an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the multifunction controller 200 in FIG. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the outline of the black-and-white scanner 100 in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing an outline of a low-speed monochrome printer 120 in FIG. 2. It is a figure which shows the detail of the finisher 124 in FIG. It is a figure which shows the detail of the saddle stitcher part 159 in FIG. It is a schematic diagram explaining an example of a bookbinding process. It is a flowchart of an image re-layout process. It is a figure which shows the paper stacking method to a saddle. It is a figure which shows the image shift amount by thickness. It is a table which shows the thickness for every paper type.

Explanation of symbols

1 Image forming system 10 Ethernet (registered trademark) (network)
100 scanner 120 printer (image forming apparatus)
124 Finisher 125 Stapler unit (post-processing unit)
200 Multi-function controller 210 Operation unit

Claims (11)

In an image forming apparatus comprising: an image storage unit that stores an image in a storage unit; and an image forming unit that forms an image stored in the storage unit on a recording medium.
An image forming apparatus comprising: output condition detecting means for detecting an output condition; and image layout means for laying out an image based on information detected by the output condition detecting means before image formation by the image forming means. .   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output condition detection unit is a recording medium characteristic detection unit that detects a characteristic of the recording medium.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output condition detection unit is a post-processor characteristic detection unit that detects a characteristic of the post-processor.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output condition detection unit is a post-processing number detection unit that detects a post-processing number.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output condition detecting means is a recording medium characteristic detecting means for detecting a characteristic of the recording medium and a post-processing machine characteristic detecting means for detecting the characteristic of the post-processing machine. .   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output condition detecting means is a recording medium characteristic detecting means for detecting characteristics of the recording medium, and a post-processed number detecting means for detecting the number of post-processed sheets.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output condition detection unit is a post-processing unit characteristic detection unit that detects a characteristic of the post-processing unit and a post-processing number detection unit that detects the number of post-processing units.   The output condition detection means is a recording medium characteristic detection means for detecting the characteristics of the recording medium, a post-processing machine characteristic detection means for detecting the characteristics of the post-processing machine, and a post-processing number detection means for detecting the number of post-processing sheets. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.   9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the post-processing device is a saddle stitcher.   9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the post-processing machine is a middle folding machine. 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an image layout skip unit that skips the image layout unit when the number of sheets detected by the post-processing number detection unit is one.

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