JP5166342B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a printing function and a preview function for displaying a finished image of the printed material on a display screen in advance prior to output of the printed material obtained by executing the printing function. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus capable of maintaining the usage efficiency of the apparatus at a high level without wasting valuable user time by narrowing down the functions that have a high probability of setting errors to perform preview display.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus having a printing function, multifunctional functions such as a booklet creation function, a stapling function, or a page aggregation function are rapidly progressing to meet various needs of users.

  In order to obtain a desired printed matter by such an image forming apparatus, the user selectively sets items related to the function that meets his / her requirements from among various functions related to image forming processing provided in the apparatus. The details of the function items will be set.

  Depending on the setting operation, it is determined whether or not a printed matter meeting the user's request can be obtained. Therefore, in order to obtain a required printed matter, how to proceed with the setting operation while accurately reflecting the user's request in detail is a very important key.

  In particular, in recent image forming apparatuses, the setting operation thereof is considerably complicated with the progress of further multifunctionalization. For this reason, even if you intend to make the correct settings yourself, there are many cases in which the settings are actually incorrect and the resulting printed matter will have an unexpected finish.

  As one approach for solving such a problem, a preview original image creating unit that creates a preview original image based on print data, a preview component image creating unit that creates a device-specific preview component image, and a preview An image processing apparatus has been proposed that includes a preview image composition unit that synthesizes a preview image from a source image and a preview component image, and a preview image holding unit that holds a preview image (see Patent Document 1).

  According to the preview function according to Patent Document 1, a preview image that accurately represents a finished image of a printed matter is displayed. Even if there is an error in the setting contents, the error is corrected by viewing the preview image. However, by performing the setting work, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the obtained printed matter has an unexpected finish.

  However, the preview function according to Patent Document 1 is configured to uniformly display a finished image of a print target that has been set in some way, regardless of whether the probability of a setting error is high. For this reason, for example, there is a case in which the finished image is displayed in a meaningless preview even though the function is frequently used and the probability of the setting error is extremely low. Such unnecessary preview display not only wastes precious time of the user but also causes a reduction in the efficiency of use of the apparatus.

JP 2007-111906 A

  The problem to be solved is that the prior art that performs unnecessary preview display not only wastes valuable time of the user but also may cause a reduction in the use efficiency of the apparatus.

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus capable of maintaining the use efficiency of the apparatus at a high level without wasting precious time of the user by narrowing down to a function having a high probability of setting error and performing preview display. A display unit for displaying various kinds of information for the purpose of obtaining a print function and a printed image obtained by executing the print function before the output of the printed product is displayed on the display unit. An image forming apparatus having a preview function to be displayed on the display screen of the image forming apparatus, an operation information acquiring unit for acquiring operation information for selecting or setting items related to various functions related to image formation, and various functions related to image formation A setting error information collecting unit that collects setting error information related to whether or not the probability of setting errors is high, and the setting error information collection A preview candidate storage unit that stores, as a candidate for the preview function, a function that has been determined that the probability of a setting error among the various functions is high based on setting error information collected by the unit, and the operation Based on the operation information acquired by the information acquisition unit and the stored content of the preview candidate storage unit, it is determined whether or not the function related to the operation information corresponds to a preview candidate. A display control unit that displays a finished image screen of a printed matter that embodies the function related to the operation information on the display screen in the display unit when it is determined that the function related to the operation information corresponds to a preview candidate; The most important feature is that

  In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the display control unit corresponds to the preview candidate for the function related to the operation information based on the operation information acquired by the operation information acquisition unit and the stored content of the preview candidate storage unit. When the determination is made that the function related to the operation information corresponds to a preview candidate with a high probability of setting error, the function related to the operation information is embodied. The finished printed image screen is displayed on the display screen of the display unit.

  Therefore, it is possible to narrow down to functions that have a high probability of setting mistakes, and as a result, it is possible to maintain the device utilization efficiency at a high level without wasting valuable user time. An image forming apparatus can be obtained.

1 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an external view of an operation panel unit in the image forming apparatus. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation when setting error information is collected in the image forming apparatus. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus.

  For the purpose of obtaining an image forming apparatus that can maintain the efficiency of use of the apparatus at a high level without wasting valuable user time, the operation information acquired by the operation information acquisition unit and the preview candidate storage unit Based on the stored content, it is determined whether or not the function related to the operation information corresponds to a preview candidate. As a result of the determination, the function related to the operation information becomes a preview candidate having a high probability of setting error. When the determination is made, the display control unit displays the finished image screen of the printed material that realizes the function related to the operation information on the display screen of the display unit.

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

[Schematic configuration around the image forming apparatus]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an external view of an operation panel unit in the image forming apparatus.

  This device can use various functions including, for example, a copy job, a fax transmission job, a print job, or a network transmission (email transmission or data transmission) job, and includes a microcomputer and a dedicated hardware circuit. It is controlled by the main control unit 11. As an input / output device connected to the main control unit 11 and responsible for various functions, this apparatus includes a scanner unit 21, an image processing unit 31, an engine unit 41, an operation panel unit 51, a facsimile communication unit 61, and an HDD (hard disk drive) 63. A network I / F (interface) unit 65, and an IC card communication unit 67.

  The main control unit 11 includes a scanner controller 13 that performs operation control for realizing a scanner function, a facsimile controller 15 that performs operation control for realizing a facsimile function, and a printer controller that performs operation control for realizing a printer function. 17 and a copy controller 19 for controlling the operation for realizing the copy function are incorporated, and the overall operation of the apparatus is controlled.

  The scanner unit 21 includes an image irradiation lamp 23 and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor 25 constituting a scanner (not shown). The scanner unit 21 irradiates the document with the image irradiation lamp 23, receives the reflected light with the CCD sensor 25, reads an image from the document, and outputs image data corresponding to the read image to the image processing unit 31. .

  The image processing unit 31 includes a correction unit 33, an image processing unit 35, and an image memory 37. The image processing unit 31 processes the image data read by the scanner unit 21 with the correction unit 33 and the image processing unit 35 as necessary, and stores the processed image data in the image memory 37, the engine unit 41, Output to the facsimile communication unit 61 or the like. The correction unit 33 performs predetermined correction processing such as level correction and gamma correction on the image data read by the scanner unit 21. The image processing unit 35 performs various types of processing such as image data compression or expansion processing and enlargement or reduction processing.

  The engine unit 41 includes a sheet conveying unit 43 including a sheet feeding cassette and a sheet feeding roller (not illustrated), an image forming unit 45 including a photosensitive drum, an exposure device, a developing device, and the like (not illustrated), a transfer roller (not illustrated), and the like. And a fixing unit 49 including a fixing roller (not shown). The engine unit 41 stores image data read by the scanner unit 21, image data transmitted from a client PC (personal computer) or the like via a network I / F unit 65 via a local area network (LAN), and a facsimile communication unit 61. The image is printed on a sheet using image data such as fax data received from an external facsimile machine. Specifically, the paper transport unit 43 transports the paper to the image forming unit 45, the image forming unit 45 forms a toner image corresponding to the image data, the transfer unit 47 transfers the toner image to the paper, The fixing unit 49 fixes the toner image on a sheet to form an image.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the operation panel unit 51 includes a touch panel unit 53 and a function key unit 55. The operation panel unit 51 is used for a user to perform operations related to a scanner function, a facsimile function, a printer function, a copy function, and the like, and gives an operation command and the like by the user to the main control unit 11.

  The touch panel unit 53 functioning as a display unit in the present invention includes a touch panel unit that combines a touch panel and a color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and the like. When executing various operation screens, for example, a copy function, the document size and the copy size In addition to displaying information relating to the number of copies, etc., operation buttons for inputting various operation commands when the user touches the corresponding part are displayed. The touch panel unit 53 is used when a finished image of the printed material is previewed on the display screen prior to output of the printed material obtained by executing the printing function. Furthermore, the touch panel unit 53 is used when a prompting screen for prompting the user to input a finished evaluation result is displayed on the display screen when setting error information to be described later is collected.

  The function key unit 55 includes a plurality of function keys that are operated when items related to various functions relating to image formation are selected or set. For example, main functions such as a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function From various functions including sub-functions such as page aggregation, stapling, booklet creation, punch punching, etc., when the user selectively executes key input operations related to required function items, or This is used when the user inputs the number of copies, a copy execution command, or the like.

  The facsimile communication unit 61 includes an encoding / decoding unit (not shown), a modem unit (not shown), and an NCU (Network Control Unit) (not shown). The facsimile communication unit 61 transmits image data of a document read by the scanner unit 21 to a facsimile apparatus or the like via a telephone line, or receives image data transmitted from the facsimile apparatus or the like.

  The HDD (hard disk drive) 63 stores image data read by the scanner unit 21 and various data such as an output format set in the image data. The image data stored in the HDD is not only used inside the image forming apparatus, the program, and the recording medium, but also can be confirmed from a client PC or the like via the network I / F unit 65 if necessary. It is transferred to a predetermined folder such as a PC or FTP server.

  The network I / F unit 65 uses a network interface (10 / 100Base-TX) or the like to control transmission / reception of various data to / from a user terminal 67 such as a client PC connected via a LAN.

  The IC card communication unit 67 has a function of detecting the access of the card key 69 such as an IC tag possessed by the user, reading the user identification information stored in the card key 69, and transferring it to the main control unit 11. I have.

  In order to maintain a high level of device usage efficiency without wasting the user's precious time by narrowing down the functions that have a high probability of setting errors and displaying the preview, main control is possible. The unit 11 includes a user authentication unit 70 that performs user authentication regarding whether or not the user is a regular user each time the user accesses, and operation information for selecting or setting items related to various functions related to image formation. A setting error related to whether or not there is a high probability of a setting error in association with each of the operation information acquisition unit 71 that acquires the image and various functions relating to image formation (for example, a page aggregation function, a stapling function, a booklet creation function, etc.) Based on the setting error information collected by the setting error information collecting unit 73 that collects information and the setting error information collecting unit 73, the setting error of the various functions is detected. The preview candidate storage unit 75 that stores the function determined to be highly likely as a candidate for the preview function, the operation information acquired by the operation information acquisition unit 71, and the storage content of the preview candidate storage unit 75 , Based on the above, it is determined whether or not the function related to the operation information corresponds to a preview candidate, and as a result of the determination, it is determined that the function related to the operation information corresponds to a preview candidate , And a display control unit 77 that displays a finished image screen of a printed material that realizes the function related to the operation information on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53.

[Operation of Image Forming Apparatus According to Embodiment of Present Invention]
Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation when collecting setting error information in the image forming apparatus, and FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart of the image forming apparatus.

  Prior to the description of this operation, the presupposed configuration of the image forming apparatus will be described. The image forming apparatus includes a card key authentication mode for permitting use of the apparatus through data exchange related to authentication information with a card key 69 possessed by the user, and key input operation for user identification information and a personal identification number (authentication information). There are two panel authentication modes that permit the use of the device by requesting the user, and in principle, it operates in the card key authentication mode. In the following embodiment, the operation of the image forming apparatus in the card key authentication mode, which is a process according to the principle, will be described.

  First, the operation at the time of setting error information collection will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the IC card communication unit 67 constantly monitors the access of the IC card key 69. At this time, when the user sets the IC card key 69 to an IC card reader / writer (not shown) in the image forming apparatus, the IC card communication unit 67 detects the access of the IC card key 69 (step S11) and the IC card The user identification information stored in the card key 69 is read, and the read user identification information of the IC card key 69 is transferred to the user authentication unit 70.

  The user authentication unit 70 accesses through card key authentication by collating the user identification information transferred from the IC card communication unit 67 with the user identification information registered in the preview candidate storage unit 75 in advance. User authentication relating to whether or not the user who has done so is a regular user is performed (step S12). Note that a login management function based on a password may be added for user authentication.

  As a result of the user authentication in step S12, if the access user is approved as an authorized user, the operation information acquisition unit 71 acquires operation information related to the access user (step S13), and uses the acquired operation information as the main information. It passes to the control unit 11.

  In response to this, the main control unit 11 performs control to execute a required job based on the acquired operation information (step S14). Here, for example, it is assumed that a print job using the page aggregation function has been performed.

  When a required job is executed in step S14, the display control unit 77 displays a prompt screen for prompting input of a finished evaluation result regarding whether or not the finished state of the print job using the page aggregation function is satisfactory. It is displayed on the display screen at 53 (step S15). At this time, the user inputs “OK” when the finish is satisfactory, and “NG” according to the evaluation result when dissatisfied.

  Finished evaluation results for the page aggregation function relating to the user input in this way are collected by the setting error information collecting unit 73 and stored and registered in the preview candidate storage unit 75 as setting error information (step S16).

  It should be noted that it is preferable to obtain as detailed information as possible when collecting the finished evaluation results for a certain function. If specific information related to setting mistakes can be obtained, detailed preview display such as enlargement display of an image screen focusing on the specific part can be performed, which contributes to improvement of user convenience. Because it can.

  As a specific mode for collecting the finish evaluation results for a certain function, for example, it is considered that there is a high probability of mistake setting among a plurality of settings (set by the administrator). It can be configured to allow the user to select an item that causes a setting, or to consider that all of the mistake setting candidates cause a mistake setting.

  Based on the error setting information collected in this way, for each of a plurality of settings, by calculating the number or probability of the actual error setting, for example, associating the page aggregation function as a preview candidate, etc. Associations as preview candidates for various functions are performed.

  Next, the operation during normal use will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the IC card communication unit 67 constantly monitors the access of the IC card key 69. At this time, when the user sets the IC card key 69 on the IC card reader / writer in the image forming apparatus, the IC card communication unit 67 detects the access of the IC card key 69 (step S21), and at the IC card key 69, The stored user identification information is read, and the read user identification information of the IC card key 69 is transferred to the user authentication unit 70.

  The user authentication unit 70 accesses through card key authentication by collating the user identification information transferred from the IC card communication unit 67 with the user identification information registered in the preview candidate storage unit 75 in advance. The user authentication relating to whether or not the user who has performed is a regular user is performed (step S22). Note that a login management function based on a password may be added for user authentication.

  As a result of the user authentication in step S22, if the access user is approved as an authorized user, the operation information acquisition unit 71 acquires operation information related to the access user (step S23) and displays the acquired operation information. It passes to the control unit 77.

  In response to this, the display control unit 77 has a function related to the operation information based on the operation information related to the access user and the preview candidate function related to the user read from the stored content of the preview candidate storage unit 75. It is determined whether or not it corresponds to a preview candidate (step S24).

  As a result of the determination in step S24, when it is determined that the function related to the operation information does not correspond to the preview candidate related to the user ("No" in step S24), the display control unit 77 acquires in step S23. A normal screen according to the operated information is displayed on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53 (step S25).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S24 that the function related to the operation information corresponds to the preview candidate related to the user (“Yes” in step S24), the display control unit 77 performs the operation The finished image screen of the printed material that embodies the information-related functions is forcibly displayed on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53 (step S26).

  Next, the operation information acquisition unit 71 acquires operation information related to the user's intention display regarding whether or not the preview has been confirmed, and passes the acquired operation information to the main control unit 11.

  In response to this, the main control unit 11 determines whether or not the preview has been confirmed (step S27), and when it is determined that the preview has been confirmed as a result of the determination (step S27). “Yes”), the execution of the printing process according to the operation information acquired in step S23 is permitted (step S28). As a result, a print job whose preview has been confirmed by the user is executed.

[Effect of Example]
As described above, according to the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the display control unit 77 is based on the operation information acquired by the operation information acquisition unit 71 and the stored contents of the preview candidate storage unit 75. And determining whether or not the function related to the operation information corresponds to a preview candidate. As a result of the determination, it is determined that the function related to the operation information corresponds to a preview candidate having a high probability of setting error. When this is done, a finished image screen of the printed material that embodies the function related to the operation information is displayed on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53.

  Therefore, it is possible to narrow down to functions that have a high probability of setting mistakes, and as a result, it is possible to maintain the device utilization efficiency at a high level without wasting valuable user time. An image forming apparatus can be obtained.

  In addition, the setting error information collection unit 73 is configured to collect setting error information based on the user's evaluation result for the printed material in which various functions are actually embodied, so that the setting error information reflecting the user's intention is set. As a result of enabling the association of preview candidates with various functions based on the above, a user-friendly image forming apparatus can be provided.

  Further, each time the user accesses the display control unit 77, the operation information acquired by the operation information acquisition unit 71 and the preview candidate function related to the user read from the stored content of the preview candidate storage unit 75 are displayed. Based on this, it is determined whether or not the function related to the operation information corresponds to a preview candidate. As a result of the determination, the function related to the operation information corresponds to a preview candidate having a high probability of setting error related to the user. When it is determined that the operation is to be performed, a finished image screen of a printed material that embodies the function related to the operation information is displayed on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53.

  For example, even if a function having a high probability of setting error for user A and a function having a high probability of setting error for user B are significantly different from each other, a function suitable for each user is registered as a preview candidate. Appropriate preview display according to each registered content is performed. Therefore, as a result of the user having an impression as if customized for himself / herself, the image forming apparatus capable of realizing affinity, operability, and convenience for the user is provided. Can be obtained.

  In addition, the printing process of the function related to the operation information in step S23 is executed after waiting for the input of the operation information related to the confirmation on the finished image screen of the printed material that embodies the function related to the operation information, that is, previewed by the user. As a result of execution of only print jobs that have been confirmed, printing errors can be drastically reduced.

  By the way, for example, even if functions such as aggregation and zooming are executed independently, the probability of setting mistakes is low. However, if these functions are executed simultaneously, the probability of setting errors increases.

  From such a viewpoint, the function relating to the operation information can employ a configuration that is a combination of a plurality of functions. When such a configuration is adopted, a truly user-friendly image is obtained as a result of being registered as a preview candidate for a combination of a plurality of functions in accordance with the use situation of the actual functions and performing a very realistic preview display. A forming apparatus can be provided.

[Others]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the invention read from the claims and the entire specification or the technical idea, and image formation accompanied by such changes The apparatus is also included in the scope of the technical scope of the present invention.

  That is, in the embodiment of the present invention, the image forming apparatus operating in the card key authentication mode has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, the user identification information and the password The present invention is also applicable to an image forming apparatus that is operating in a panel authentication mode that permits use of the apparatus by requesting a user to perform a key input operation.

  Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the page aggregation function, the stapling function, and the booklet creation function have been exemplified as the functions to be registered for the setting error information. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. In addition to the above-described example, any function can be registered as setting error information as long as it is a function installed in the image forming apparatus.

  Finally, the “user” in the present invention naturally includes an individual user, and it is needless to say that, for example, a department user that comprehensively means a member of a certain department is included in the concept.

11 Main control unit 53 Touch panel unit (display unit)
70 User Authentication Unit 71 Operation Information Acquisition Unit 73 Setting Error Information Collection Unit 75 Preview Candidate Storage Unit 77 Display Control Unit

Claims (5)

While having a display unit for displaying various information,
An image forming apparatus having a printing function and a preview function for displaying a finished image of the printed matter on a display screen in the display unit prior to output of the printed matter obtained by executing the printing function,
An operation information acquisition unit for acquiring operation information for selecting or setting items relating to various functions relating to image formation;
A setting error information collecting unit that collects setting error information related to whether or not the probability of setting errors is high in association with each of various functions related to image formation;
A preview candidate storage that stores, as a candidate for the preview function, a function that is determined to have a high probability of a setting error among the various functions based on the setting error information collected by the setting error information collecting unit. And
Based on the operation information acquired by the operation information acquisition unit and the stored contents of the preview candidate storage unit, it is determined whether or not the function related to the operation information corresponds to a preview candidate, and the result of the determination When the determination that the function related to the operation information corresponds to the preview candidate is made, display control for displaying the finished image screen of the printed material that embodies the function related to the operation information on the display screen in the display unit And
An image forming apparatus comprising: The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The setting error information collecting unit collects the setting error information based on a user evaluation result for a printed matter in which the various functions are actually embodied.
An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The preview candidate storage unit is a function for which each of a plurality of users is determined to have a high probability of a setting error among the various functions based on the setting error information collected by the setting error information collecting unit. Are stored as the preview candidate function in association with each of a plurality of users,
Each time the user accesses the display control unit, based on the operation information acquired by the operation information acquisition unit and the preview candidate function related to the user read from the stored content of the preview candidate storage unit When it is determined whether or not the function related to the operation information corresponds to a preview candidate, and as a result of the determination, it is determined that the function related to the operation information corresponds to a preview candidate related to the user , Displaying a finished image screen of a printed material that embodies the function related to the operation information on the display screen in the display unit,
An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The printing process of the function related to the operation information is executed after waiting for the input of the operation information related to the confirmation of the finished image screen of the printed material that realizes the function related to the operation information.
An image forming apparatus. An image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The function related to the operation information is a combination of a plurality of functions.
An image forming apparatus.