JP2013088867A - Image processing device, image scanner, image forming apparatus, control method of image processing device, and control program of image processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing device capable of surely outputting electronic document data requiring a short time for printing.SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus functioned as the image processing device outputs PDF data (examples of electronic document data) requiring a short time for printing, as follows. The image forming apparatus: generates, for the input data, a plurality of pieces of PDF data with different generation conditions (S101); analyses the structure of the PDF data on each of the plurality of generated PDF data and calculates a printing time required for printing for each of the plurality of PDF data on the basis of the analysis result (S102 and S103); compares the calculated printing times (S104); determines generation conditions where the printing time becomes a shortest (S105); and applies the determined generation conditions to output the PDF data requiring a short printing time (S106).

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image reading apparatus, an image forming apparatus, an image processing apparatus control method, and an image processing apparatus control program, and in particular, an electronic document such as a PDF (Portable Document Format) format based on image data. The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that outputs data, an image reading apparatus, an image forming apparatus, a control method for the image processing apparatus, and a control program for the image processing apparatus.

  In an image forming apparatus (scanner function, facsimile function, copying function, printer function, data communication function, and MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) having a server function, facsimile apparatus, copying machine, printer, etc.), image reading apparatus, etc. An image processing apparatus that generates and outputs electronic document data of an electronic document based on image data is used. The electronic document data includes, for example, PDF file data in PDF format. Such an image processing apparatus, for example, scans and reads electronic data documents or documents described on paper, receives data, converts the documents into PDF format, and converts them into PDF data. Provide to users.

  Here, there is a case where it is required to reduce the file size of the electronic document data output from the image processing apparatus depending on the usage.

  In general, the user can specify several generation conditions for the electronic document data generation function. Accordingly, the user can generate electronic document data having a small file size, for example, in view of the image quality and the file size. For example, when generating PDF data, the user can specify generation conditions related to resolution and color mode. Specifically, the user can lower the resolution of the PDF file from 600 dpi to 300 dpi, or change the color mode of the PDF file to gray scale instead of color.

  In recent years, as a technique for creating PDF data having a smaller data size, a function for creating PDF data in a high compression format, such as a function for generating “compact PDF”, has been put into practical use. With such a function of creating high-compression PDF data, each object in the image constituting the PDF data is appropriately compressed in accordance with the attribute. This makes it possible to create PDF data with a small file size.

  In Patent Document 1 below, for two character areas to be integrated, both areas are actually determined depending on whether the ratio of the total number of pixels before integration to the number of pixels in the area after integration is less than a predetermined threshold. An image processing apparatus that balances the printing time of PDF data and the file size by integrating them is disclosed.

  In Patent Document 2 below, single page PDF file data is generated based on a scanned image for one page when a document is read, and the printer starts print processing for the page when the data is input. An image forming apparatus that shortens the first copy output time is disclosed.

JP 2007-318520 A JP 2007-60505 A

  By the way, when creating the electronic document data by selecting a generation condition that tends to be small as described above, or creating electronic document data with a small file size, such as high-compression PDF data In this case, when the created electronic document data is printed, the time (printing time) required for the printing may become long. That is, when electronic document data is generated, electronic document data corresponding to conditions inherent in the image forming apparatus (for example, conditions such as the size of layers and the number of objects for configuring a PDF file) is generated. The The printing time is affected by the contents of the electronic document data. For example, depending on the structure of the electronic document data, such as when the number of objects constituting the electronic document data is very large, a long calculation time is required in the process of converting the electronic document data into data for printing. There is a case. When such a long calculation time is required, the printing time may be unintended by the user, and the convenience for the user may be reduced. In other words, the created electronic document data may be difficult to handle depending on the application.

  On the other hand, the image processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 can output PDF data so that the printing time is shortened depending on the threshold setting. However, in this image processing apparatus, depending on the structure of the PDF data (for example, when the number of objects included in the PDF data is large), the printing time may not necessarily be shortened.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and can reliably output electronic document data having a short time required for printing, an image processing apparatus, an image reading apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and an image processing apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide a control method and an image processing apparatus control program.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, an image processing apparatus having a function of outputting electronic document data based on acquired input data includes a plurality of electronic document data having different generation conditions for the input data. Generating means for generating, analyzing means for analyzing the structure of the electronic document data for each of the plurality of electronic document data generated by the generating means, and each of the plurality of electronic document data based on the analysis result of the analyzing means For the electronic document, the calculation means for calculating the printing time required for printing and the printing time for each of the plurality of electronic document data calculated by the calculation means are compared, and the electronic document having the shortest printing time among the plurality of electronic document data A determination unit that determines a generation condition corresponding to data, and a generation condition that is determined by the determination unit And an output means for outputting the electronic document data.

  Preferably, the electronic document data is PDF data in a PDF (Portable Document Format) format.

  Preferably, the calculation means acquires information on the type and data size of each object constituting the electronic document data based on the analysis result of the analysis means for each of the plurality of electronic document data, and based on the acquired information, The time required for converting each object into print data is calculated, and the print time is calculated using the total time required for the conversion calculated for each object.

  Preferably, the calculation unit further generates shape information of each object constituting the electronic document data based on the analysis result of the analysis unit for each of the plurality of electronic document data, and based on the generation result of the shape of each object. The overlapping area where the objects overlap each other is determined, and based on the overlapping area determination result, the time required for the predetermined processing performed for the overlapping area when the electronic document data is printed is calculated, and the predetermined area calculated for the overlapping area is calculated. The total time required for the process is calculated, and the total time required for the conversion and the total time required for the predetermined process are added to calculate the printing time.

  Preferably, the calculation unit performs the expansion process of the electronic document data for each of the plurality of electronic document data based on the analysis result of the analysis unit in the same manner as performed at the time of printing, and calculates the processing time required for the expansion process. Counting is performed, and the printing time of the electronic document data is calculated based on the processing time count result.

  Preferably, the calculation means performs a development process using the contents to be developed as color image data at the time of printing as grayscale image data.

  Preferably, the calculation means performs the expansion process at a resolution lower than the resolution at the time of printing.

  Preferably, the image processing apparatus receives an instruction regarding whether or not to generate electronic document data giving priority to the printing speed from the user, and based on the instruction received by the receiving means, the generating means, the analyzing means, and the calculation Switching means for switching whether or not to execute processing performed by at least one of the means, the determination means, and the output means.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, the image reading apparatus includes a reading unit that reads a document as image data, and outputs electronic document data using the image data read by the reading unit as input data. Image processing apparatus.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus includes: the image processing apparatus according to any one of the above; and an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet based on electronic document data output from the image processing apparatus. Is provided.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, an image processing apparatus control method having a function of outputting electronic document data based on acquired input data generates a plurality of electronic document data having different generation conditions for the input data. Generating step, an analysis step for analyzing the structure of the electronic document data for each of the plurality of electronic document data generated by the generation step, and each of the plurality of electronic document data based on the analysis result of the analysis step The calculation step for calculating the printing time required for printing and the printing time for each of the plurality of electronic document data calculated by the calculation step are compared, and the electronic document data having the shortest printing time among the plurality of electronic document data And a determination step for determining a generation condition corresponding to the And an output step of outputting the electronic document data generated by applying the production conditions.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, a control program for an image processing apparatus having a function of outputting electronic document data based on acquired input data generates a plurality of electronic document data having different generation conditions for the input data. Generating step, an analysis step for analyzing the structure of the electronic document data for each of the plurality of electronic document data generated by the generation step, and each of the plurality of electronic document data based on the analysis result of the analysis step The calculation step for calculating the printing time required for printing and the printing time for each of the plurality of electronic document data calculated by the calculation step are compared, and the electronic document data having the shortest printing time among the plurality of electronic document data A determination step for determining a generation condition corresponding to the To execute an output step of outputting the electronic document data generated by applying the been generated conditions to the computer.

  According to these inventions, the print time is calculated for each of a plurality of electronic document data having different generation conditions, and the electronic document data is generated by applying the generation conditions corresponding to the electronic document data having the shortest print time. . Therefore, it is possible to reliably provide an image processing apparatus, an image reading apparatus, an image forming apparatus, an image processing apparatus control method, and an image processing apparatus control program capable of outputting electronic document data having a short time required for printing. .

1 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus in one embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of input data. It is a figure explaining the structural example of PDF data. It is a figure explaining the example of overlapping of the object in PDF data. It is a figure explaining the production | generation conditions example of PDF data. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the output process of PDF data in this Embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a printing time calculation process. It is a figure which shows the execution example of the output function of PDF data which gave priority to printing time. It is a figure which shows an example of PDF data with the overlapping area | region of objects. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a printing time calculation process when considering overlapping of objects. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a printing time calculation process in an image forming apparatus according to a variation of the present embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus provided with an image processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  The image forming apparatus is an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) having a scanner function, a copying function, a printer function, a facsimile function, a data communication function, and a server function. The scanner function is a function for reading an image of a set original and storing it in an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or the like. The copying function is a function of printing (printing) it on paper or the like. The function as a printer is a function for printing on a sheet based on an instruction received from an external terminal such as a PC. The facsimile function is a function for receiving facsimile data from an external facsimile machine or the like and storing it in an HDD or the like. The data communication function is a function for transmitting / receiving data to / from a connected external device. The server function is a function that allows a plurality of users to share data stored in the HDD or the like.

  The image forming apparatus functions as an image processing apparatus that performs image processing. The image forming apparatus reads a document as image data by a scanner, and outputs electronic document data using the read image data as input data. The electronic document data is output using the image data received by the image forming apparatus as input data. The output of the electronic document data includes various methods such as storage in an HDD in the image forming apparatus, an HDD of an external device that can communicate with the image forming apparatus, and transmission by a predetermined method such as e-mail. .

  Further, the image forming apparatus has a function of forming an image on a sheet based on the output electronic document data.

  The electronic document data is, for example, PDF data in a PDF (Portable Document Format) format.

  In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus can output PDF data having a short time required for printing as follows. That is, the image forming apparatus generates a plurality of electronic document data having different generation conditions for the input data, and analyzes the structure of the electronic document data for each of the generated plurality of electronic document data. Based on the analysis result, the printing time required for printing is calculated and compared for each of the plurality of electronic document data. That is, the image forming apparatus analyzes the structure of the electronic document file and predicts the printing time. The image generation apparatus can output electronic document data with a short printing time by determining a generation condition that minimizes the printing time and applying the generation condition.

  Specifically, the calculation of the printing time is performed, for example, by calculating and summing the time required for converting the object into printing data based on the type and data size of each object constituting the electronic document data. . For example, the calculation of the printing time is performed by performing a developing process similar to that performed at the time of printing for electronic document data, and counting the processing time required for the developing process.

  In this way, the generation condition that minimizes the printing time is determined, and the electronic document data is output by applying the generation condition. Therefore, electronic document data with a short printing time can be reliably output for various input data. Is done. In other words, by predicting the printing time of the electronic document data to be created inside the image forming apparatus, electronic document data with the shortest printing time is generated.

  [Embodiment]

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image forming apparatus 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus (MFP) 1 may be referred to as a paper feed cassette 3, a paper discharge tray 5, an operation unit 11, and an image data control unit 20 (hereinafter simply referred to as a control unit 20). ), An image forming unit (image output unit) 30, and an image reading unit 40. The control unit 20, the image forming unit 30, the image reading unit 40, the communication unit 50, and the like are disposed inside the housing of the image forming apparatus 1.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 further includes a storage unit 25 and a communication unit 50. The communication unit 50 has an interface for communicating with an external device, and controls communication between the external device and the image forming apparatus 1. The image forming apparatus 1 is connected to a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network), for example. The image forming apparatus 1 can communicate with an external device such as the PC 81 connected via the network. Note that the communication unit 50 has an interface such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus), for example, and the image forming apparatus 1 can communicate with an external device such as a PC 81 connected via a USB cable or the like. Good. The communication unit 50 may have a communication interface capable of wireless communication with an external device.

  The control unit 20 has, for example, a CPU, and controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 1. Each unit of the image forming apparatus 1 is connected to the control unit 20 and is controlled by the control unit 20 to operate. Further, the control unit 20 executes an image processing function as described later.

  The storage unit 25 is a memory such as a ROM or a RAM, and stores various data such as setting data of the image forming apparatus 1, read image data, and electronic document data. The storage unit 25 may be provided with various nonvolatile memories such as an HDD and a large-capacity flash memory.

  The storage unit 25 stores a control program 25a. The control unit 20 controls various operations of the image forming apparatus 1 by executing the control program 25a.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 has three paper feed cassettes 3 (paper feed cassettes 3a, 3b, 3c). Each paper feed cassette 3 is loaded with, for example, different sizes of paper (B5 size, A4 size, A3 size, etc.). The paper feed cassette 3 is disposed in the lower part of the image forming apparatus 1 so as to be detachable from the housing of the image forming apparatus 1. The paper loaded in each paper feed cassette 3 is fed one by one from the paper feed cassette 3 and sent to the image forming unit 30 at the time of printing. Note that the number of paper feed cassettes 3 is not limited to three, and may be more or less.

  The paper discharge tray 5 is disposed above the part of the housing of the image forming apparatus 1 where the image forming unit 30 is stored and below the part where the image reading unit 40 is disposed. The paper on which the image is formed by the image forming unit 30 is discharged from the inside of the housing to the paper discharge tray 5.

  The operation unit 11 is disposed on the upper front side (front side in FIG. 1) of the image forming apparatus 1. The operation unit 11 includes a plurality of operation buttons 11a that can be pressed by the user. In addition, the operation unit 11 is provided with a display panel 13 for displaying information to the user.

  The display panel 13 is a touch panel. The display panel 13 is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). The display panel 13 displays a guidance screen for the user or displays an operation button to accept a touch operation from the user. The display panel 13 performs various displays under the control of the control unit 20. The operation unit 11 accepts an operation input made by the user to the operation buttons 11 a and the display panel 13. When the operation button 11 a or the display panel 13 is operated by the user, the operation unit 11 transmits an operation signal or a predetermined command corresponding to the operation to the control unit 20. That is, the user can cause the image forming apparatus 1 to execute various operations by operating the operation buttons 11 a and the display panel 13.

  The image forming unit 30 roughly includes a toner image forming unit (not shown), a paper transport unit (not shown), and a fixing device (not shown). The image forming unit 30 forms an image on a sheet by, for example, electrophotography.

  The paper transport unit includes a paper feed roller, a transport solar, and a motor that drives them. The paper transport unit feeds paper from the paper feed cassette 3 and transports it inside the housing of the image forming apparatus 1. Further, the paper transport unit discharges the paper on which the image is formed from the housing of the image forming apparatus 1 to the paper discharge tray 5 or the like.

  The fixing device has a heating roller and a pressure roller. The fixing device conveys the sheet on which the toner image is formed between the heating roller and the pressure roller, and heats and presses the sheet. As a result, the fixing device melts the toner adhering to the paper and fixes it on the paper to form an image on the paper.

  The image reading unit 40 is disposed on the upper part of the housing of the image forming apparatus 1. The image reading unit 40 includes an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 41. The image reading unit 40 performs the above-described scanner function. The image reading unit 40 scans a document placed on a transparent document table with a contact image sensor and reads it as image data. The image reading unit 40 reads a plurality of documents set on the document tray one by one by the ADF 41 and reads the document by the contact image sensor to obtain image data.

  The image read by the image reading unit 40 is converted into a finished image by the control unit 20. The control unit 20 can transmit the image data of the generated finished image to an external device or the like, and can form an image on a sheet by the image forming unit 30 based on the finished image. Further, the control unit 20 transmits image data transmitted from an external device such as the PC 81 to another external device or the like, or causes the image forming unit 30 to form an image based on the image data on a sheet. May be.

  [Description of PDF data output function]

  The control unit 20 has a function of outputting PDF format PDF data (an example of electronic document data) based on the acquired input data. In this function, image data obtained by reading an original by the image reading unit 40, image data sent from an external device such as the PC 81, or the like can be used as input data. Note that PDF data generated by the image forming apparatus 1 or another apparatus may be used as input data.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of input data.

  In FIG. 3, a rectangular outer frame indicates a sheet. For example, the input data is roughly divided into a character area, a graphic area, and a background area. As shown in FIG. 3, the character area is a portion including characters. The graphic area is a part including a graphic. The background area is a portion including the background.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of the structure of PDF data.

  PDF data is electronic document data described using a predetermined description language. The PDF data has contents described in a predetermined grammar for one or more objects included in the PDF data. The PDF data includes, for example, a header portion and a description portion indicating the contents of each object.

  In FIG. 4, the structure of PDF data is conceptually shown for explanation. Actually, a description method different from this may be used, or the data may be encoded as a whole or binary data.

  In the example shown in FIG. 4, the PDF data includes, for example, “object 1”, “object 2”, “object 3”,. In the PDF data, “object 1” is a text object whose content is “ABCDEF”, the character size is 12 points, and it is indicated that the object is located at positions X1 and Y1. Similarly, “object 2” is a text object whose content is “aiueo”, has a character size of 14 points, and is shown to be located at positions X2 and Y2. The “object 3” is an image (graphic) object indicated by the data described in the “content” part, and the size, resolution, and position are as described. When reading the PDF data, the control unit 20 analyzes such description contents and constructs a document based on the PDF data. Further, the control unit 20 can print the constructed document, for example, by the image forming unit 30.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of overlapping objects in PDF data.

  In a document constructed based on PDF data, two or more objects may overlap each other. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, there may be a case where a character object is arranged on a graphic object. In this case, the control unit 20 determines how to display and print the overlapping portions of a plurality of objects. For example, when a graphic object and a text object overlap as shown in FIG. 5, the graphic object is displayed in a semi-transparent state, or the graphic object is not printed for the overlapped portion. Display.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of PDF data generation conditions.

  In the image forming apparatus 1, when PDF data is generated in a predetermined mode, for example, the following processing is performed on input data transmitted from the image reading unit 40 or the PC 81. That is, the input data area is classified according to the type of data included in the input data. The classified data is separated into layers and converted into objects for conversion to PDF data. In FIG. 6, the layers are indicated by broken lines.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the number of objects included in the PDF data varies depending on what layer size the information arranged in the input data is divided into. Thus, there are a plurality of generation conditions for converting to PDF data depending on conditions such as the layer size. PDF data can be generated under a plurality of generation conditions.

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 20 can generate PDF data based on input data under a plurality of generation conditions. As the PDF data generation conditions, for example, there are a plurality of different types depending on whether the layer size of each object is increased or decreased, that is, whether the number of objects is increased or decreased (whether the number of objects is allowed to increase). Things are set. In the present embodiment, for example, a first generation condition for increasing the layer size, a second generation condition for reducing the layer size below the first generation condition, and a layer size smaller than the second generation condition There is a third generation condition. Hereinafter, the first generation condition, the second generation condition, and the third generation condition may be referred to as condition 1, condition 2, and condition 3.

  For each generation condition, the size of the layer size is determined, for example, by setting a lower limit value. When a plurality of characters and figures are included in the input data, if the layer size does not reach the lower limit when they are handled as individual objects, one character and another character are both 1 Treated as one object. The processing performed with the limitation on the layer size is not limited to this.

  In general, the larger the layer size, the longer the time required for data development during printing, and the longer the printing time. Further, since data expansion is performed for each object, the longer the number of objects, the longer it takes to expand the data.

  6A to 6C show examples of object arrangements when PDF data is created under conditions 1 to 3 for input data in which a plurality of characters are arranged in a plurality of stages.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, when PDF data is generated under condition 1, a large layer including the entire character is configured. That is, when PDF data is generated under condition 1, the number of objects decreases.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, when PDF data is generated under condition 2, for example, characters are grouped in units of lines to form objects, and the layer size is smaller than that in condition 1. That is, when PDF data is generated under condition 2, the number of objects increases as compared to condition 1.

  As shown in FIG. 6C, when the PDF data is generated under the condition 3, the object is divided for each character, and the layer size is minimized. However, the number of objects is greatly increased as compared with Condition 1 and Condition 2.

  In this way, even for the same image data, the layer size and the number of objects in the generated PDF data differ depending on which of a plurality of generation conditions with different layer separation methods is used.

  [Description of PDF data output function with priority on printing time]

  In the present embodiment, when executing the PDF data output function, the control unit 20 reduces the print time of the output PDF data so that the print speed is given priority (hereinafter, the print time is short). PDF data may also be generated). Here, the PDF data having a short printing time means PDF data that is printed quickly with a short printing time from when a printing instruction is given until printing is completed when printing the PDF data. This PDF data output function is executed mainly under the control of the control unit 20.

  Whether or not to output such PDF data with a short printing time is determined based on a user instruction. The operation unit 11 detects that an operation for giving priority to the printing speed is performed on the display panel 13 by the user. This is performed as follows, for example.

  That is, the operation unit 11 has an operation mode selection switch (print speed priority mode selection switch) representing “print speed priority” or the like so that a user who gives an instruction to execute a PDF data output function can operate. It is displayed on a PDF generation screen displayed on the display panel 13. And the operation part 11 detects whether operation was added to the selection switch. The control unit 20 receives an instruction to prioritize the printing speed made by the user via the operation unit 11.

  Based on the received instruction, the control unit 20 switches whether to execute the following PDF data output processing with a short printing time. As a result, PDF data giving priority to the printing speed is output based on the state of the selection switch. Note that the control unit 20 may be configured to switch whether or not to execute at least one of the individual processes of the PDF data output process described below based on the received instruction.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of PDF data output processing in the present embodiment.

  As described above, when an instruction to output PDF data with a short printing time is given, an output process for PDF data with a short printing time is started.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in step S101, the control unit 20 sets a plurality of generation conditions. Then, PDF data is created under each generation condition. Thereby, a plurality of PDF data having different generation conditions are generated.

  In step S102, the control unit 20 performs a printing time calculation process. The printing time calculation process is performed for each of the plurality of PDF data, and the printing time required for printing is calculated for each PDF data. The printing time calculated here is a predicted value. In other words, the control unit 20 predicts the printing time. Details of the printing time calculation process will be described later.

  In step S103, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the calculation of the printing time has been completed for all of the plurality of PDF data. If there is uncalculated PDF data, the calculation for them is completed.

  When the calculation of the printing time is completed for all PDF data in step S103, in step S104, the control unit 20 compares the printing time under each generation condition.

  In step S105, the control unit 20 determines a generation condition that minimizes the printing time. The PDF data with the shortest printing time is specified, and the generation condition applied when generating the PDF data is determined.

  In step S <b> 106, the control unit 20 generates PDF data by applying the generation condition determined that the printing time is the shortest based on the determination result. The control unit 20 outputs the generated PDF data.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the printing time calculation process.

  With reference to FIG. 8, in step S201, the control unit 20 analyzes the structure of the PDF data to be processed.

  In step S202, based on the analysis result of the structure of the PDF data, the control unit 20 prints one object out of one or two or more objects constituting the PDF data (conversion to print data). Time required). A specific example of calculating the printing time will be described later.

  In step S203, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the calculation of the printing time has been completed for all the objects included in the PDF data. Until the calculation is completed for all the objects, the printing time of the objects for which the printing time has not been calculated is calculated.

  If the calculation of the printing time is completed for all objects in step S203, in step S204, the control unit 20 calculates the total of the calculation results as the printing time of the PDF data, and stores it in the storage unit 25, for example.

  When the print time is calculated for the PDF data to be processed, a series of print time calculation processes for the PDF data is completed.

  Here, the calculation of the printing time of the object included in the PDF data is obtained by acquiring information on the type and data size of the object and converting (developing) each object into printing data based on the acquired information. This is performed by predicting (calculating). Specifically, for example, it can be performed as follows.

  The control unit 20 analyzes the object information and predicts the printing time required for printing the object. For example, in the case of a text object, it is predicted that the data size of the print data increases as the character size increases, and it takes time to convert the object into print data. The control unit 20 has a data conversion time calculation table corresponding to the font size, for example, and acquires the data development time per character based on the font size of the object and the table. By multiplying the acquired development time by the number of characters, the time required to develop the object into print data can be virtually predicted.

  Since the printing time is calculated by the above-described method, if the number of characters is large, the development time becomes longer in proportion to the number of characters. For example, when the income time based on the above table is 10 ms (10 milliseconds) for 10 characters, when the number of characters is 10, 100 ms is the data development time. In addition, when 20 characters are used, the data development time is 200 ms. That is, it takes twice as long to develop 20 print characters as compared to 10 characters.

  The expansion time also increases when the font size is changed from 10 points to 12 points, for example. That is, for example, it is assumed that the development time per character of 12 points acquired from the table is 12 ms and the development time per character of 10 points is 10 ms. At this time, even if the data is the same 10 characters, the data expansion time is 100 ms when the character is 10 points, whereas the data expansion time is increased to 120 ms when the character is 12 points.

  In this way, by obtaining the number of characters (data size) from the size information and contents of the characters that make up the object, and predicting the expansion processing time to print data that is performed when printing from the size and the number of characters, The control unit 20 can predict the printing time.

  On the other hand, when the object is a graphic, the larger the image size, the larger the data size and the longer the data development time. For example, assume that there is an image of 2 inches × 2 inches and the data development time per pixel is 0.1 ms. If the resolution of this image is 100 dpi, the image is image data composed of a total of 40000 pixels of 200 × 200 pixels. Therefore, it can be predicted that the data development of this image takes 4000 ms.

  On the other hand, if the image data is 4 inches × 2 inches, the data development time of the image data is 8000 ms. This means that the image size of 4 inches × 2 inches is twice as large as the image of 2 inches × 2 inches, and it takes twice as long to develop the print data.

  Also, the development time varies depending on the resolution of the original image. That is, since the amount of information increases as the resolution increases, the development time increases. For example, even for the same 2 inch × 2 inch data, the data size of the image data is larger at 200 dpi than at 100 dpi. Since the number of pixels constituting the image is increased from 200 × 200 pixels to 400 × 400 pixels, the data size is quadrupled. For this reason, the data development time required for printing is quadrupled.

  As described above, the control unit 20 can predict the printing time by predicting the expansion time for expanding the graphic object into the print data from the size and resolution of the graphic object.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an execution example of the PDF data output function in which printing time is prioritized.

  FIGS. 9A to 9C correspond to FIGS. 3A to 3C, respectively. That is, FIGS. 9A to 9C are PDF data created under the different conditions 1 to 3 for the same input data.

  For three PDF data generated under three different generation conditions, the print time (print predicted time) predicted as described above is, for example, as follows. That is, the printing time of PDF data created under condition 1 (the largest layer size and the smallest number of objects) is 1500 ms (FIG. 9A). Further, the printing time of PDF data created under condition 3 (the smallest layer size and the largest number of objects) is 1200 ms (FIG. 9C). On the other hand, the printing time of PDF data created under condition 2 (layer size is second largest and number of objects is second largest) is 1000 ms (FIG. 9B).

  Comparing the predicted printing times for these three PDF data, it can be seen that the PDF data generated under condition 2 as shown in FIG. 9C is shorter than the other printing data. . Therefore, the control unit 20 adopts condition 2 as a generation condition, and outputs PDF data generated based on the input data. The generation of PDF data may be performed again after specifying the generation conditions to be adopted, but the PDF data already generated under the generation conditions to be adopted may be output as it is.

  [Example of print time calculation processing when objects overlap each other]

  When outputting PDF data giving priority to the printing time, as shown in FIG. 5 described above, objects of PDF data may overlap each other. In this embodiment, in such a case, the printing time under each generation condition is calculated in consideration of the overlap between objects.

  When a plurality of objects overlap, it is necessary to perform mask processing on a portion where image data is not converted or printed. This time affects the printing time. That is, when the PDF data is expanded for printing in the case where the objects overlap each other, the calculation time during the data expansion may increase greatly. This is because, for example, it is necessary to determine which data is to be printed for a portion where the objects overlap with each other.

  More specifically, when a character exists on a graphic and the graphic is a background, printing must be performed so that the character can be seen. For this reason, a mask processing operation corresponding to the shape of the overlapping portion must be performed so that the graphic is visible as the background around the character and the graphic is not visible at the character portion.

  At this time, first, for example, a rectangular area is acquired from the shape data of the graphic object. Thereafter, a rectangular area of the character is acquired from the coordinate information of the character data. Then, the coordinate data of the rectangular area of the graphic and the coordinate data of the rectangular area of the character are compared, and the coordinate data of the area where the graphic and the character overlap is obtained. From the acquired coordinate data, the area of the overlapping region between the objects is calculated. The control unit 20 can calculate the processing time for the overlap region by multiplying the calculated area by a predetermined coefficient assumed for performing the overlap processing calculation.

  For example, in the case where 0.2 ms is required for the calculation process per overlapped part pixel × 1 pixel, if the overlap region calculated from the coordinate data is 200 pixels × 200 pixels, the calculation process for the part is 200 × 200 × 0. .2 = calculated to require an operation time of 8000 ms. Since such processing increases the computation time in proportion to the overlapping area, that is, the area, the computation time increases as the overlapping area increases.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of PDF data having an overlapping area between objects.

  10A and 10B, a rectangular outer frame indicates a sheet. The PDF data 150a in FIG. 10 (a) and the PDF data 150b in FIG. 10 (b) have the same appearance, and both include a character object 151 having a plurality of characters and a graphic object 152 behind the character object 151. Have. The PDF data 150a and the PDF data 150b are different from each other in the size of the layer of the character object 151. That is, the PDF data 150a and the PDF data 150b differ in whether the character object 151 is finely divided. In the PDF data 150a, the character object 151 is a single unit, whereas in the PDF data 150b, the character object 151 is divided into individual characters. The PDF data 150b is divided into a plurality of (for example, three) character objects 151.

  Since the division of the character object 151 is different between the PDF data 150a and the PDF data 150b, the area where the character object 151 and the graphic object 152 overlap is smaller in the PDF data 150b. Accordingly, the PDF data 150b requires less processing time for calculating which data of each of the objects 151 and 152 is printed in the overlapping area. On the other hand, since the number of objects is larger in the PDF data 150b than in the PDF data 150a, the total calculation time is not necessarily reduced. In the present embodiment, the PDF data printing time can be predicted after comprehensively considering them.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a printing time calculation process when considering overlapping of objects.

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 20 performs a process of determining an overlap between objects from the analysis result of the object, and when there is an overlapping area, calculates a calculation processing time from the area of the overlapping area. By adding this calculation result to the calculation time calculated by the configuration of claim 1, the printing time prediction accuracy can be improved.

  Referring to FIG. 11, control unit 20 performs steps S301 to S304 in the same manner as steps S201 to S204 in FIG. 8 described above. That is, the structure of PDF data is analyzed, and the printing time for all objects is calculated. Thereby, the sum of the individual calculation results of all the objects is stored in the storage unit 25 or the like as the first result.

  Next, in step S305, the control unit 20 determines an overlapping area between the objects of the PDF data. This is because, for example, the shape information of each object constituting the PDF data is generated based on the analysis result of the structure of the PDF data, and the region where the objects overlap each other is specified based on the shape of each object. Done.

  In step S <b> 306, the control unit 20 calculates a processing time required for mask processing or the like performed for the overlapping area when PDF data is printed based on the determination result of the overlapping area.

  In step S307, the control unit 20 waits until the processing time is calculated for all overlapping regions.

  When the processing times in all overlapping regions are calculated in step S307, the control unit 20 causes the storage unit 25 to store the total of the calculation results as the second result in step S308.

  In step S309, the control unit 20 adds the first result and the second result, and causes the storage unit 25 to store the result as the PDF data printing time. That is, the control unit 20 calculates the printing time by adding the total time required for the conversion and the total time required for the predetermined mask processing or the like.

  When the print time is calculated for the PDF data to be processed, a series of print time calculation processes for the PDF data is completed.

  [Effects of the embodiment]

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to reliably generate and output PDF data with a short printing time.

  As described above, when PDF data is created inside the image forming apparatus 1, the printing time of the generated PDF data varies depending on the generation conditions inside the image forming apparatus 1. However, conventionally, in the PDF data generation conditions, the layer size is normally set to a predetermined size (for example, a size determined by a size unit in which image transfer is performed internally), and the PDF data printing time is Was not optimized. The time taken to convert PDF data to printing data (for example, real image data such as a bitmap) occupies most of the printing time in the image forming apparatus 1, and if data conversion takes time, printing takes place. The problem was that it took time.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the control unit 20 performs a process for calculating the printing time for each of the plurality of generation conditions, that is, a process for predicting the printing time, compares them, and prints the printing time. The generation condition to be shortened can be specified. Then, PDF data can be generated using the generation conditions. Therefore, it is possible to reliably generate and output PDF data with a short printing time.

  In this embodiment, the PDF data generation process with a short printing time is executed when a user instruction is accepted.

  There are cases where the user does not need to improve the reusability by reducing the printing time of PDF data. For example, the purpose is to convert the document into digitized data, and this is the case when it is not important to print the digitized data again. On the other hand, in the PDF data generation process with the short print time as described above, the time required to generate and output the PDF data becomes longer by the process of calculating the predicted print time.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 performs the above-described processing only when the user desires to improve the reusability of data (shortening the printing time). Accordingly, PDF data can be generated according to the user's intention, and the convenience of the image forming apparatus 1 is further improved.

  When outputting PDF data giving priority to the printing time, if the objects of PDF data overlap each other, the overlap between the objects is considered. That is, in consideration of processing performed on the overlapping area, the printing times of a plurality of PDF data are calculated, and the comparison is performed according to the generation conditions. Therefore, it is possible to reliably determine a generation condition that is predicted to actually reduce the printing time. Thus, even when objects overlap each other, PDF data with a short printing time can be generated and output with certainty.

  [Modification of printing time calculation process]

  In the present embodiment, the print time calculation process is performed by performing a PDF data expansion process (RIP (Raster Image Processing) expansion process) and counting the processing time required for the same, as is performed during printing. You may be made to be.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a printing time calculation process in the image forming apparatus 1 according to a variation of the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 12, when the printing time calculation process starts, in step S401, the control unit 20 analyzes the structure of the PDF data to be processed.

  In step S402, the control unit 20 starts time counting.

  In step S403, the control unit 20 performs RIP expansion on the PDF data.

  In step S404, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the RIP deployment has been completed. Until the RIP deployment is completed, the control unit 20 continues the time count.

  If it is determined in step S404 that the RIP deployment has been completed, in step S405, the control unit 20 stops time counting.

  In step S406, the control unit 20 calculates the printing time of the PDF data based on the count value obtained by time counting.

  When the calculation of the printing time of PDF data is finished, a series of printing time calculation processes for the PDF data is finished.

  As described above, by actually performing the RIP development and measuring the time required for it, it is possible to obtain a printing time closer to the actual time.

  As in the above-described embodiment, when the PDF data print time is predicted based on the type of object or the like, a difference may occur between the predicted time and the actual data development time during printing. This difference is caused by small differences in individual input data such as, for example, the compression ratio in a graphic object, a case where a plurality of objects are overlapped, and a typeface in a character object is bold (BOLD). Sometimes.

  In this modified example, in order to avoid this, RIP development processing performed in the actual printing process is performed on PDF data. That is, RIP expansion is performed on PDF data generated under each generation condition, and the time required for RIP expansion is measured. The measurement result thus obtained is equivalent to the data development time actually taken at the time of printing. Therefore, in this modified example, the prediction accuracy of the printing time can be remarkably improved, and appropriate generation conditions can be reliably selected and applied.

  Here, in this modified example, when performing the printing time calculation process, the RIP expansion process may be performed in a manner slightly different from the expansion process performed during actual printing so that the expansion time is shortened. For example, when the printing time calculation process is performed on the content that is actually developed as color image data (multicolor data) at the time of printing, the RIP development process may be performed as grayscale image data. Further, for example, when performing the printing time calculation process, the RIP development process may be performed at a resolution lower than the resolution at the time of actual printing.

  As in this modification, the method involving the RIP development process for calculating the print time of PDF data can predict a print time with higher accuracy, but the print time calculation process takes a long time, and the PDF data is There is a case where the time from the output instruction to the output of PDF data is considerably longer than usual. Therefore, by performing the development process in a slightly different manner from that performed at the time of actual printing in this way, it is possible to reliably determine a generation condition with a short print time, and to calculate the print time. The time required can be shortened.

  For example, when RIP expansion is performed on color image data, normally, RIP expansion of data composed of three planes of R color, G color, and B color is performed. That is, in this case, the RIP development process is performed three times, once for the R color, once for the G color, and once for the B color. In this case, the data size of the image data is the size for three colors. On the other hand, when color image data is expanded to grayscale image data (single color data), it is only necessary to perform one expansion process of data for one plane, and the data size of the image data after expansion is also the same. For example, it can be reduced to one third.

  Even when RIP development is performed at a lower resolution than usual, the data size of the data to be RIP developed can be reduced, so that the RIP development time can be shortened. Assuming that the normal printing resolution is, for example, 600 dpi, when an image of 1 inch × 1 inch is developed at 600 dpi, RIP development data for 600 × 600 pixels, a total of 360000 pixels, is generated. . On the other hand, when the RIP rasterization processing for performing the printing time calculation processing is performed at a low resolution of, for example, 300 dpi, based on an image of 1 inch × 1 inch, data for 300 × 300 pixels and a total of 90000 pixels are stored. Will be generated. That is, by changing the resolution from, for example, 600 dpi to 300 dpi, the data size of the target for RIP development can be reduced to a quarter, and the time required for RIP development for calculating the predicted print time can be shortened. Is possible.

  In this way, by changing the mode of the RIP development process when the printing time is predicted, the data size on which the RIP development process is performed can be reduced, and the development time can be shortened. As a result, the time required to generate and output PDF data and provide it to the user can be shortened.

  [Others]

  The image forming apparatus may be capable of generating electronic document data having a different electronic document format from the PDF data. Even in this case, when the electronic document data is generated based on the input data, the printing time can be reduced by performing the same processing as in the above-described embodiment or its modified example so that the printing time is shortened. Can enable output of short electronic documents.

  The image forming apparatus may be a monochrome / color copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine (MFP) thereof. It is not limited to the one that forms an image by an electrophotographic method, and may be one that forms an image by a so-called inkjet method, for example.

  The hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus is not limited to the above, and image processing may be performed by various control circuits.

  Further, the image processing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to that used in the image forming apparatus. For example, the present invention can also be applied to image processing apparatuses used in various apparatuses such as an image reading apparatus that reads image data, an imaging apparatus, and an image data transmission / reception apparatus.

  The processing in the above embodiment may be performed by software or by using a hardware circuit.

  A program for executing the processing in the above-described embodiment can be provided, or the program can be recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk, a hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, or a memory card and provided to the user. It may be. The program may be downloaded to the apparatus via a communication line such as the Internet. The processing described in the text in the above flowchart is executed by the CPU according to the program.

  The above embodiment should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

1 Image forming apparatus (an example of an image processing apparatus, an example of an image reading apparatus)
11 Operation Unit 13 Operation Panel 20 Image Data Control Unit (Control Unit)
25 storage unit 25a control program 30 image forming unit 40 image reading unit (an example of reading means)

Claims (12)

An image processing apparatus having a function of outputting electronic document data based on acquired input data,
Generating means for generating a plurality of electronic document data having different generation conditions for the input data;
Analyzing means for analyzing the structure of the electronic document data for each of the plurality of electronic document data generated by the generating means,
Calculation means for calculating a printing time required for printing for each of the plurality of electronic document data based on the analysis result of the analysis means;
Judgment of comparing the print times for each of the plurality of electronic document data calculated by the calculation means and determining a generation condition corresponding to the electronic document data having the shortest print time among the plurality of electronic document data Means,
An image processing apparatus comprising: output means for outputting electronic document data generated by applying the generation condition determined by the determination means.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electronic document data is PDF data in a PDF (Portable Document Format) format. The calculation means for each of the plurality of electronic document data,
Based on the analysis result of the analysis means, obtain information on the type and data size of each object constituting the electronic document data,
Based on the acquired information, calculate the time required to convert each object into print data,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print time is calculated using a total time required for the conversion calculated for each object. The calculation means further includes, for each of the plurality of electronic document data,
Based on the analysis result of the analysis means, to generate shape information of each object constituting the electronic document data,
Based on the generation result of the shape of each object, determine the overlapping area where the objects overlap each other,
Based on the determination result of the overlapping area, a time required for a predetermined process performed on the overlapping area when the electronic document data is printed is calculated,
Calculate the total time required for the predetermined processing calculated for the overlapping area,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the printing time is calculated by adding a total time required for the conversion and a total time required for the predetermined processing. The calculation means for each of the plurality of electronic document data,
Based on the analysis result of the analysis means, the electronic document data is expanded in the same way as when printing,
Count the processing time required for the expansion process,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a printing time of the electronic document data is calculated based on a counting result of the processing time.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the calculation unit performs the expansion processing using grayscale image data as content to be expanded as color image data during printing.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the calculation unit performs the expansion process at a resolution lower than a resolution at the time of printing. Accepting means for accepting an instruction regarding whether to generate electronic document data giving priority to the printing speed from a user;
Switching means for switching whether or not to execute processing performed by at least one of the generation means, the analysis means, the calculation means, the determination means, and the output means based on the instruction received by the reception means The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: Reading means for reading a document as image data;
An image reading apparatus comprising: the image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electronic document data is output using the image data read by the reading unit as the input data. An image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet based on the electronic document data output by the image processing apparatus. A control method of an image processing apparatus having a function of outputting electronic document data based on acquired input data,
For the input data, a generation step for generating a plurality of electronic document data having different generation conditions;
For each of the plurality of electronic document data generated by the generation step, an analysis step for analyzing the structure of the electronic document data;
A calculation step for calculating a printing time required for printing for each of the plurality of electronic document data based on the analysis result of the analysis step;
Judgment for comparing the printing times for each of the plurality of electronic document data calculated by the calculating step and determining a generation condition corresponding to the electronic document data having the shortest printing time among the plurality of electronic document data Steps,
And an output step of outputting electronic document data generated by applying the generation condition determined in the determination step. A control program for an image processing apparatus having a function of outputting electronic document data based on acquired input data,
For the input data, a generation step for generating a plurality of electronic document data having different generation conditions;
For each of the plurality of electronic document data generated by the generation step, an analysis step for analyzing the structure of the electronic document data;
A calculation step for calculating a printing time required for printing for each of the plurality of electronic document data based on the analysis result of the analysis step;
Judgment for comparing the printing times for each of the plurality of electronic document data calculated by the calculating step and determining a generation condition corresponding to the electronic document data having the shortest printing time among the plurality of electronic document data Steps,
A control program for an image processing apparatus that causes a computer to execute an output step of outputting electronic document data generated by applying the generation conditions determined in the determination step.

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