JP7147297B2 - image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus has been disclosed that reduces the trouble of creating a plurality of printed materials. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus for creating a plurality of printed materials, such as certificates, which have different descriptions of name portions and have common descriptions of other portions. Specifically, the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes an image reading section, a data storage section, and a control section. The image reading unit reads a document that is a template. The control unit functions as a data conversion unit, a document image reception unit, a composite area reception unit, and an image creation unit by executing a control program stored in the data storage unit.

A data converter generates information indicating a plurality of objects. An object is, for example, a name. Information indicative of the object is entered by the user. The document image accepting unit accepts specification of a template. The compositing area reception unit receives designation of an object compositing area in the template. The image creation unit creates a plurality of composite images for output. The composite image for output indicates an image in which the object image is composited with the object compositing area. An object image is generated from object information corresponding to each of a plurality of objects. The image forming section prints each of the plurality of composite images for output created by the image creating section on a plurality of recording sheets.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2018-38007

However, in the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, the user needs to operate the personal computer and input a plurality of objects (names) one by one. Therefore, the efficiency of the work of creating a plurality of prints is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of improving work efficiency for creating a plurality of printed materials.

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention is connected to an external device. The external device associates and stores first face information indicating facial features of a plurality of first users and attribute information indicating attributes of the plurality of first users. The image forming apparatus includes a printing section, a control section, and a storage section. The printing unit prints on each of a plurality of sheets. The control unit acquires second face information indicating facial features of a plurality of second users. The storage unit stores template image data representing an image of a template. The control unit searches the first face information for the first face information that matches the second face information. The control unit acquires the attribute information associated with the first face information that matches the second face information. The control unit generates composite image data indicating a composite image obtained by combining an attribute information image indicating the attribute information and the template image for each of the plurality of second users. The printing unit prints the synthesized image synthesized for each of the plurality of second users on each of a plurality of sheets based on the synthesized image data.

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to improve the working efficiency of creating a plurality of prints.

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the template which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing document creation processing according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a flow chart which shows information gathering processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a composite document according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a modified example of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention;

An embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated.

First, the configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 is connected to an external device G via a network N such as the Internet. In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 is connected to a plurality of external devices G. FIG. In this embodiment, each of the plurality of external devices G is a server. Each external device G is, for example, a server that constitutes an SNS (Social Networking Service).

A storage area of each external device G stores information about a plurality of users who use services provided by the external device G. FIG. Information about the user includes face information and attribute information. Face information and attribute information are stored in association with each other.

Face information indicates the user's facial features. The attribute information indicates user attributes. Specifically, the attribute information includes information corresponding to multiple items. The multiple items are, for example, name, date of birth, and gender. Hereinafter, a user whose face information and attribute information are stored in the external device G is referred to as a "first user". Also, the face information of the first user is described as "first face information".

The image forming apparatus 100 creates a plurality of composite documents based on the attribute information of the first user who satisfies a predetermined condition among the first users. The image forming apparatus 100 creates multiple composite documents based on the same template. The composite document is composed of a composite image obtained by combining the image of the template and the image indicating the attribute information of the first user that satisfies a predetermined condition. In this embodiment, the composite document is, for example, a certificate of completion, a certificate, a slip, and a contract, and the templates are, for example, a certificate of completion, a certificate, a slip, and a contract. be.

Next, a model H according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the template H according to this embodiment. In FIG. 2, a model of a certificate of completion will be described as an example. In addition, in FIG. 2, each information combining area is indicated by a dashed line for easy understanding. Each information compositing region indicates a region where an image representing information is composited. An image indicating the user's face information or an image indicating the user's attribute information is synthesized in each information synthesis area.

As shown in FIG. 2, the model H is composed of a model image HG. The template image HG includes a common description image C showing common description items. Common description items indicate items that are commonly described among each of the composite documents among the items that are described in each of a plurality of composite documents created based on the same template. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the common writing image C includes a first common writing image C1 and a second common writing image C2. The first common description image C1 is a character image indicating "Certificate of Completion", and the second common description image C2 is a character image indicating "You certify that you have completed the entire course of XX training." be.

Also, the template image HG includes a plurality of information combining areas. Specifically, the template image HG includes a face information combining area F1, a name information combining area F2, a date of birth information combining area F3, and a gender information combining area F4. An image representing face information is synthesized in the face information synthesis area F1. An image representing the name information is synthesized in the name information synthesis area F2. An image indicating the date of birth is synthesized in the date of birth information synthesis area F3. An image indicating gender information is synthesized in the gender information synthesis area F4.

Next, the configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 is a multifunction machine.

As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a housing 1, an operation unit 2, a document conveying device 3, a document reading device 4, a paper feeding unit 5, a sheet conveying unit 6, a printing unit 7, a discharging unit 8, and A discharge tray 1t is provided. The housing 1 accommodates a paper feeding section 5 , a sheet conveying section 6 and a printing section 7 . Note that the document reading device 4 is an example of a reading device.

The operation unit 2 receives instructions (inputs) to the image forming apparatus 100 from the operator. Upon receiving an instruction from the operator, the operation unit 2 outputs a signal indicating the instruction from the operator. In this embodiment, the operation unit 2 receives an instruction to create a composite document from the operator.

The operation unit 2 includes a touch display 21 and multiple operation keys 22 . A touch display 21 includes a display and a touch sensor. The display displays various screens. Various screens include a home screen. The home screen includes, for example, menu buttons for instructing execution of various processes. Various types of processing include document creation processing. The display is, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display (Organic Electro Luminescence Display). A touch sensor detects a touch by an object to be detected. A touch sensor outputs a detection signal indicating a position where a touch by an object to be detected is detected. The object to be detected is, for example, a finger of the user. The touch sensor is, for example, a resistive touch sensor. The plurality of operation keys 22 include, for example, ten keys, a start key, and a cancel key.

The document conveying device 3 conveys the document D. As shown in FIG. The document conveying device 3 includes a document placing tray 31 , a document conveying section 32 and a document discharge tray 33 . The document transport unit 32 transports the document D placed on the document placement tray 31 one by one to the document discharge tray 33 via the reading position R. As shown in FIG. The reading position R is a position where the image of the document D can be read by the document reading device 4 .

The document reading device 4 reads images of a plurality of documents D and generates data indicating the images of the plurality of documents D. FIG. In this embodiment, the document reading device 4 reads a facial image representing the user's facial features and generates data representing the facial image. A face image is, for example, a photograph showing a user's facial features taken with a camera. The photograph is, for example, a photograph of the user's face taken from the front with a camera. Hereinafter, the user whose face image is read by the document reading device 4 will be referred to as a "second user". A second user is designated by the operator. The second user is, for example, a user to whom the created composite document is distributed.

The document reading device 4 includes a contact glass 41 and a reading mechanism 42 . The reading mechanism 42 includes a light source 421 , a carriage 422 , an optical system 423 and a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) image sensor 424 . A light source 421 is supported by a carriage 422 . The carriage 422 moves in the sub-scanning direction S1. The light source 421 irradiates the document D placed on the contact glass 41 with light while moving in the sub-scanning direction S1. The optical system 423 guides light reflected from the document D to the CCD image sensor 424 . The CCD image sensor 424 converts the light guided by the optical system 423 into an electrical signal and outputs the electrical signal. Specifically, the CCD image sensor 424 outputs a signal representing the image of the document D. FIG. When the document reading device 4 reads the image of the document D conveyed by the document conveying device 3, the light source 421 illuminates the reading position R. FIG. The document reading device 4 is, for example, a scanner.

The sheet feeding unit 5 accommodates a plurality of sheets S and feeds the accommodated sheets S one by one. The sheet conveying portion 6 conveys the fed sheet S to the discharging portion 8 . The sheet S is, for example, paper.

The sheet conveying section 6 includes rollers and guide members. The sheet conveying portion 6 conveys the sheet S from the sheet feeding portion 5 to the discharging portion 8 . The sheet S is conveyed so as to pass through the printing section 7 .

The printing unit 7 executes printing on each of the plurality of sheets S. FIG. Specifically, the printing unit 7 forms an image on each of the plurality of sheets S. As shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the printing unit 7 includes an exposure device 71, a charging device 72, a developing device 73, a photosensitive drum 74, a transfer device 75, and a fixing device 76, and forms an image by electrophotography. The exposure device 71 forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 74 based on image data. The charging device 72 uniformly charges the photosensitive drum 74 to a predetermined potential. The developing device 73 supplies toner to the photoreceptor drum 74 to develop the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor drum 74 . The fixing device 76 fixes the toner image transferred onto the sheet S onto the sheet S. As shown in FIG.

The discharge section 8 discharges the sheet S on which the image is formed to the discharge tray 1t. The discharge tray 1 t is provided outside the housing 1 .

Next, the configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be further described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the image forming apparatus 100 further includes a first communication device 9 , a storage section 20 and a control section 30 .

The first communication device 9 can communicate with an electronic device on which a communication device using the same communication method is mounted. In this embodiment, the first communication device 9 is a LAN (Local Area Network) adapter. The first communication device 9 connects with a plurality of external devices G via a network N such as the Internet (see FIG. 1).

The storage unit 20 stores various data. The storage unit 20 is composed of a storage device and a semiconductor memory. The storage device is configured by, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and/or an SSD (Solid State Drive). The semiconductor memory constitutes, for example, RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory).

The storage unit 20 stores template image data 201 representing the template image HG. The template image data 201 is generated, for example, by reading the image of the document D as the template image HG by the document reading device 4 described with reference to FIG.

In the present embodiment, the template image data 201 is associated with compositing position information indicating the position of each information compositing area described with reference to FIG. and stored in the storage unit 20. The combining position information is information indicating the range of each of the plurality of information combining areas (face information combining area F1, name information combining area F2, date of birth information combining area F3, and gender information combining area F4) in the template image HG. be. Specifically, the compositing position information is information indicating the coordinates of the starting point and the coordinate of the end point of each of the plurality of information compositing areas in the template image HG. In this embodiment, in the template image HG, the starting point of each information combining area indicates the upper left corner of each information combining area, and the end point of each information combining area indicates the lower right corner of each information combining area. The association between the combining position information and the combining item information is set by the operator, for example, by operating the operating section 2 .

The control unit 30 is configured by a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 30 also includes an integrated circuit for image forming processing. An integrated circuit for image forming processing is configured by, for example, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Control unit 30 controls the operation of each unit of image forming apparatus 100 by executing a control program stored in storage unit 20 .

The control unit 30 executes document creation processing. In document creation processing, the control unit 30 generates composite document image data representing a composite document. Specifically, the control unit 30 acquires data representing the face image generated by the document reading device 4 as the second face information. The control unit 30 searches the first face information for the first face information that matches the second face information. When detecting the first face information that matches the second face information from the first face information, the control unit 30 acquires the attribute information associated with the first face information that matches the second face information.

When acquiring the attribute information associated with the first face information that matches the second face information, the control unit 30 generates composite image data. The synthesized image data indicates a synthesized image obtained by synthesizing the attribute information image indicating the acquired attribute information and the model image HG. In this embodiment, the operator causes the document reading device 4 to read face images of a plurality of second users. The control unit 30 generates composite image data representing a composite image for each of the plurality of second users. The control unit 30 causes the printing unit 7 to print based on the generated composite image data. As a result, a plurality of composite images for each of the second users are formed on each of the plurality of sheets S to create a plurality of composite documents.

Next, document creation processing according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing document creation processing according to this embodiment. The document creation process is started when a menu button indicating execution of the document creation process is selected on the home screen described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 30 acquires the template image data 201 (step S101). In this embodiment, the control unit 30 causes the touch display 21 to display a template selection screen. The template selection screen includes menu buttons for selecting template image data 201 corresponding to a desired template H from template image data 201 stored in storage unit 20 . The operator selects a desired template H by touching a menu button corresponding to the desired template H from among a plurality of menu buttons included in the template selection screen. When the operator selects the template H, the control unit 30 receives from the operation unit 2 a signal indicating the template image data 201 corresponding to the template H selected by the operator. The control unit 30 acquires the model image data 201 corresponding to the model H selected by the operator from the storage unit 20 based on the signal received from the operation unit 2 .

Further, when obtaining the template image data 201 , the control unit 30 obtains the composition item information and the composition position information associated with the template image data 201 from the storage unit 20 . When the model corresponding to the certificate of completion (see FIG. 2) is selected as the model H, the composite item information includes face information, name information, date of birth information, and gender information. The combining position information includes information indicating respective ranges of the face information combining area F1, the name information combining area F2, the date of birth information combining area F3, and the gender information combining area F4.

Next, the control unit 30 acquires second face information (step S102). Specifically, the control unit 30 acquires the second face information by causing the document reading device 4 to read a facial image representing the facial features of the second user. The control unit 30 causes the storage unit 20 to store the acquired second face information.

Next, the control unit 30 executes information collection processing (step S103). Specifically, the control unit 30 collects the attribute information of the second user who acquired the second face information. The attribute information of the second user is used for creating the composite document. Details of the information collection processing will be described later with reference to FIG.

Next, the control unit 30 determines whether or not the information collection process has ended normally (step S104). The control unit 30 refers to the value of the information collection flag stored in the storage unit 20 to determine whether the information collection process has ended normally. The value of the information collection flag indicates "0" when the information collection process ends normally, and the value of the information collection flag indicates "1" when the information collection process does not end normally. For example, if the control unit 30 cannot detect the first face information that matches the acquired second face information from among the first face information stored in the external device G, the control unit 30 sets the value of the information collection flag to "1". set to Note that the value of the information collection flag is reset to "0" when the document creation process is completed.

When the control unit 30 determines that the information collection process has ended normally (step S104: Yes), it generates composite image data (step S105). The document creation process then proceeds to step S108.

On the other hand, if the control unit 30 determines that the information collection process has not ended normally (step S104: No), it notifies the worker of a message (step S106). The message includes an error message indicating that the information could not be collected normally and a selection message allowing the operator to select whether or not to redo the face information acquisition process. In this embodiment, the message is displayed on the touch display 21 to notify the operator.

The control unit 30 determines whether or not the operator has selected to redo the face information acquisition process (step S107). When the control unit 30 determines that the operator has selected to restart the face information acquisition process (step S107: Yes), the document creation process returns to step S102. On the other hand, if the control unit 30 determines that the operator did not select to restart the face information acquisition process (step S107: No), the document creation process proceeds to step S108.

In step S108, the control unit 30 determines whether or not the processing for all the second users has been completed. The control unit 30 causes the touch display 21 to display a process selection screen, for example. The process selection screen includes a complete menu button and a continue menu button. A completion menu button indicates that processing for all second users has been completed. The continuation menu button indicates that processing for all second users has not been completed and processing for another second user is to be continued. The control unit 30 determines whether the process for all the second users has been completed by determining whether the worker has selected the completion menu button or the continuation menu button on the process selection screen. .

If the control unit 30 determines that the process for all the second users has not been completed (step S108; No), the document creation process returns to step S102.

On the other hand, when determining that the processing for all the second users is completed (step S108; Yes), the control unit 30 causes the printing unit 7 to execute printing based on the generated composite image data (step S109). End the creation process. Note that in the present embodiment, the control unit 30 does not generate synthetic image data corresponding to the second user for whom information could not be collected normally. Therefore, the printing section 7 prints only the printed materials distributed to the second users who have successfully collected the information.

The control unit 30 forms on each of the plurality of sheets S a synthesized image synthesized for each second user by repeatedly executing steps S102 to S108. As a result, a composite document is created for each second user.

Subsequently, information collection processing according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing information collection processing according to this embodiment. Note that the value of the information collection flag is "0" at the start of the information collection process.

As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 30 searches for first face information that matches the second face information (step S201). Specifically, the control unit 30 determines, from among the plurality of external devices G, an external device G to be searched for the first face information that matches the second face information. Hereinafter, the external device G to be searched for the first face information that matches the second face information is referred to as a "search target external device G". After determining the search target external device G, the control unit 30 searches the first face information stored in the storage area of the search target external device G for the first face information that matches the second face information. The control unit 30 searches for first face information that matches the second face information by matching the first face information and the second face information using a known face authentication technique.

Next, the control unit 30 acquires attribute information associated with the first face information that matches the second face information (step S202). More specifically, the control unit 30 acquires information on an item that matches an item of information included in the composite item information, among the items of information included in the attribute information. For example, when the information items included in the attribute information are name, age, sex, and place of birth, while the information items included in the combined item information are name, date of birth, and sex, the control unit 30 acquires information indicating the name and information indicating the gender as collected information. When acquiring the collected information, the control unit 30 causes the storage unit 20 to store the collected information.

Next, the control unit 30 acquires external device identification information (step S203). The external device identification information indicates information identifying the external device G that stores the first face information that matches the second face information. The external device identification information is stored in the storage unit 20 in association with the collected information. It should be noted that the external device identification information and the collected information are deleted from the storage section 20 when the document creation process is completed.

Next, the control unit 30 determines whether or not all item information included in the combined item information has been acquired (step S204). Specifically, the control unit 30 determines whether or not the information items included in the collected information match all the information items included in the combined item information, thereby determining whether or not the items of the items included in the combined item information. Determine whether or not all have been acquired. For example, when the information items included in the combined item information are name, date of birth, and gender, whereas the information items included in the collected information are name and gender, the control unit 30 It is determined that all item information included in the combined item information has not been acquired (step S204; No). On the other hand, if the items of information included in the combined item information are name, date of birth, and gender, and the items of information included in the collected information are name, date of birth, and gender, , the control unit 30 determines that all item information included in the combined item information has been acquired (step S204; Yes).

When the control unit 30 determines that all the item information included in the combined item information has been acquired (step S204; Yes), the information collection process ends.

On the other hand, since the control unit 30 has not acquired at least one of the item information included in the combined item information, it determines that all item information included in the combined item information has not been acquired (step S204; No), it is determined whether or not all of the plurality of external devices G have been determined as search targets (step S205). Specifically, the control unit 30 refers to the external device identification information stored in the storage unit 20 to determine whether or not all of the plurality of external devices G have been determined as search targets.

If the control unit 30 determines that all of the plurality of external devices G have not been determined as search targets (step S205; No), it determines a new search target external device G (step S206). Specifically, by referring to the external device identification information stored in the storage unit 20, the control unit 30 selects an external device G, which has not yet been determined as a search target, from among the plurality of external devices G as a new search target. Determined as the external device G. When the new search target external device G is determined, the information collection process returns to step S201.

On the other hand, when determining that all of the plurality of external devices G have been determined as search targets (step S205: Yes), the control unit 30 changes the value of the information collection flag to "1" (step S207), End the process.

Next, a composite document P according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a composite document P according to this embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 7 shows a composite document P corresponding to the template H shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7, the composite document P is composed of a composite image PG. The synthesized image PG is an image in which the common description image C and the attribute information image Z are synthesized.

As described with reference to FIG. 4, the common description image C includes a first common description image C1 and a second common description image C2. The first common description image C1 is a character image indicating "Certificate of Completion", and the second common description image C2 is a character image indicating "You certify that you have completed the entire course of XX training." be.

The attribute information image Z includes a face image Z1 representing face information, a name image Z2 representing name information, a date of birth image Z3 representing date of birth information, and a gender image Z4 representing gender information.

The face image Z1 is a face image read by the document reader 4 by the operator. The face image Z1 is synthesized (formed) in the face information synthesis area F1. The name image Z2 is an image showing name information included in the collected information. The name image Z2 is combined (formed) in the name information combining area F2. The date of birth image Z3 is an image showing the date of birth information included in the collected information. The date of birth image Z3 is synthesized (formed) in the date of birth information synthesis area F3. The gender image Z4 is an image showing gender information included in the collected information. The gender image Z4 is synthesized (formed) in the gender information synthesis area F4. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the name image Z2 is an image indicating "Taro Tokkyo", the date of birth image Z3 is an image indicating "YYYY, XX month, XX day", and a gender image. Z4 is an image representing "male".

The present embodiment has been described above. According to this embodiment, when the facial image representing the facial features of the second user is acquired as the second facial information, the control unit 30 selects the first facial image that matches the second facial information from among the plurality of external devices G. A search is performed to obtain attribute information associated with the first face information that matches the second face information. The attribute information is used for creating the compound document P. FIG. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the operator can acquire the second user's attribute information simply by causing the document reading device 4 to read the facial image representing the facial features of the second user. As a result, the worker can omit the task of inputting the attribute information via an input device such as a keyboard. Therefore, the working efficiency of creating a plurality of composite documents P (printed matter) is improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, the face image Z1 is combined (formed) in the face information combining area F1. That is, the second face information (face image representing the facial features of the second user) is used not only for acquiring attribute information from a plurality of external devices G, but also for creating the composite document P. That is, the second face information is effectively used. Therefore, the operator does not need to attach the photograph of the face of the user to whom the composite document P is to be distributed to the composite document P, for example. Therefore, it is possible to improve the work efficiency of creating a plurality of composite documents P (printed materials) attached with facial photographs of users to whom the composite document P such as a certificate of completion is to be distributed.

Although the image forming apparatus 100 is connected to a plurality of external apparatuses G in the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 may be connected to only one external apparatus G. FIG.

Further, in the present embodiment, the operator may set in advance the range of external devices G to be searched by the image forming apparatus 100 . In this case, the image forming apparatus 100 determines the search target external device G within a preset range.

Further, in this embodiment, the case where the reading device is the document reading device 4 has been described, but the reading device may be, for example, a camera.

Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the face image of the second user is obtained via the document reading device 4 has been described as an example, but the face image of the second user is obtained via the first communication device 9. You may Specifically, the face image of the second user may be received from a terminal such as a personal computer connected to the network N (see FIG. 1) connecting the first communication device 9 and the external device G.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8, the image forming apparatus 100 may further include a second communication device 10, and the control unit 30 may acquire the facial image of the second user via the second communication device 10. . FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a modification of the image forming apparatus 100 according to this embodiment.

The second communication device 10 can communicate with an electronic device on which a communication device using the same communication method is mounted. The electronic device is, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory. In this embodiment, the second communication device 10 has a USB terminal. The control unit 30 acquires the face image of the second user from the electronic device using the USB communication method.

Further, in the present embodiment, the configuration in which the template image data 201 is obtained via the document reading device 4 has been described, but the template image data 201 is obtained via the first communication device 9 or the second communication device 10. may

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings (FIGS. 1 to 8). However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various aspects without departing from the gist of the present invention. Also, the configurations and numerical values shown in the above embodiment are examples and are not particularly limited, and various modifications are possible within a range that does not substantially deviate from the effects of the present invention.

For example, in the embodiment of the present invention, the image forming apparatus 100 is a multifunction machine, but the image forming apparatus 100 may be a copier or a printer.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the case where the present invention is applied to the electrophotographic image forming apparatus 100 has been described as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to, for example, an inkjet image forming apparatus. .

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful in the field of image forming apparatuses.

7 printing unit 20 storage unit 30 control unit 100 image forming apparatus

Claims (6)

An image forming apparatus connected to an external device that associates and stores first face information indicating facial features of a plurality of first users and attribute information indicating attributes of the plurality of first users,
a printing unit that prints on each of a plurality of sheets;
a control unit that acquires second facial information indicating facial features of a plurality of second users;
a storage unit for storing model image data showing the model image,
The control unit searches the first face information for the first face information that matches the second face information, and searches for the first face information that matches the second face information, and the attribute associated with the first face information that matches the second face information. showing a composite image obtained by synthesizing an attribute information image indicating the attribute information associated with the first face information that is acquired and matched with the second face information and the model image for each of the plurality of second users; Generate synthetic image data,
the printing unit prints the synthesized image synthesized for each of the plurality of second users on each of the plurality of sheets based on the synthesized image data;
The storage unit associates and stores compositing position information indicating the position of each information compositing area in the template image and compositing item information indicating the item of the image to be composited with the information composing area,
The compositing position information is information indicating the range of each of the plurality of information compositing regions in the template image,
When acquiring the attribute information, the control unit acquires information of an item that matches an item included in the combined item information among items included in the attribute information, and acquires information of the item that is included in the combined item information. determining whether or not all of the information of the item has been acquired, and if it is determined that all of the information of the item included in the combined item information has not been acquired, one of the plurality of external devices is selected as a search target; An image forming apparatus that determines an external device that has not yet been determined as a new search target external device. The attribute information includes information corresponding to a plurality of items,
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said composite image includes an image showing information corresponding to said plurality of items. further comprising a reading device that reads an image and generates data of the image;
the reading device reads a facial image representing the facial features of the second user to generate data of the facial image;
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control unit acquires data of said face image as said second face information. further comprising a communication device for receiving data,
The communication device receives facial image data representing the facial features of the second user,
4. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said control unit acquires data of a face image representing said second user as said second face information. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control unit acquires said attribute information from said external device via the Internet. The external device is a server that provides SNS (Social Networking Service),
Claims 1 to 5, wherein the storage area of the external device stores the first face information and the attribute information relating to the plurality of first users who use the SNS provided by the external device. The image forming apparatus according to any one of .

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