JP2021184528A - Image forming apparatus and image forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming method having higher convenience than before by performing appropriate print settings for a spool job in accordance with the intention of a user.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus comprises: an operation unit that receives a command from a user; a user authentication unit that authenticates the user; a communication unit that receives a plurality of types of image data from an external device via a network; a storage unit that has a spool area for temporarily storing the image data before image formation; an image formation unit that forms images based on the image data; a display unit that displays a setting screen related to the image formation; and a control unit. When the image data is stored in the spool area after the user is authenticated by the user authentication unit, the control unit causes the display unit to display a predetermined printing selection screen on which an image data printing command can be designated for each type of the image data, and when the operation unit receives a command for designating the type of the image data based on which printing should be executed, causes the image forming unit to form an image based on the image data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming method.

Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral), the data is stored in a storage area (hereinafter, spool area) such as a memory or a hard disk drive (HDD) in the MFP before printing or scanning. ) Is known to have a function of temporarily storing (hereinafter, spooling).

In an MFP having such a spool function, by spooling the print / FAX data in the spool area without printing, it is possible to prevent the printing paper from being left in the output tray for a long time. Become.

After logging in, the user can print the image data when necessary by executing an instruction to print the image data stored in the spool area.

In addition, in order to save the trouble of instructing whether to print the image data saved in the spool area each time the user logs in, a function to automatically print the image data saved in the spool area after login is provided. MFPs that have are also known.

However, when the function to automatically print the image data in the spool area is enabled after logging in, if a large amount of image data is stored in the spool area, the user can print and copy the print / FAX data immediately after logging in. Etc. cannot be performed, and an extra waiting time is generated.

On the other hand, the invention of an information recording system that displays only the list of accumulated print jobs of the authenticated user on the GUI screen after successful user authentication and allows the user to accurately select the required job is disclosed (the invention of the information recording system is disclosed. For example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-2436999

However, when selecting a required job from the list of print jobs displayed in a list, the user needs to select each print job one by one, so that the desired operation cannot be performed immediately after logging in.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and by setting appropriate spool job print settings according to the user's intention, an image forming apparatus and an image that are more convenient than the conventional ones. It provides a forming method.

(1) The image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes an operation unit that receives a command from a user, a user authentication unit that authenticates the user, and a communication unit that receives a plurality of types of image data from an external device via a network. A storage unit having a spool area for temporarily storing the image data before image formation, an image forming unit for forming an image based on the image data, a display unit for displaying a setting screen related to image formation, and the operation. A unit, a control unit that controls the user authentication unit, the communication unit, the storage unit, the image forming unit, and the display unit are provided, and the control unit is after the user is authenticated by the user authentication unit. When the image data is stored in the spool area, the display unit should display a predetermined print selection screen on which a print command for the image data can be specified for each type of the image data, and printing should be executed. When the operation unit receives a command for designating the type of image data, the image forming unit is made to form an image based on the image data.

Further, the image forming method according to the present invention includes an operation step of receiving a command from a user, a user authentication step of authenticating the user, a communication step of receiving a plurality of types of image data from an external device via a network, and the above-mentioned. A storage step of temporarily storing image data in a predetermined spool area before image formation, an image formation step of forming an image based on the image data, and a display step of displaying a setting screen related to image formation are provided. If the image data is stored in the spool area in the storage step after the user is authenticated in the user authentication step, a print command for the image data is issued for each type of the image data in the display step. When a predetermined print selection screen that can be specified in is displayed and a command for designating the type of the image data to be printed is received in the operation step, an image based on the image data is received in the image formation step. Is characterized by forming.

In the present invention, the "image forming apparatus" is a copier or a multifunction device having a copying (copy function) function such as a printer that uses an electrophotographic method for image formation by toner, or an MFP (Multifunctional Peripheral) including a function other than copying. : Multi-function peripheral device), which is a device that forms and outputs an image.

According to the present invention, an image forming apparatus and an image forming method that are more convenient than the conventional ones can be realized by setting appropriate spool job print settings according to the user's intention.

Further, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described.

(2) After displaying the print selection screen on the display unit, the control unit does not execute printing of the image data stored in the spool area, and issues a command to keep the image data stored in the spool area. When accepted by the unit, the display unit may display a predetermined home screen after user authentication.

By doing so, even if the image data is stored in the spool area, the user can log in by instructing the user to continue to save the image data in the spool area without performing image formation based on the image data. It is possible to realize an image forming apparatus that can perform operations such as copying immediately afterwards.

(3) After displaying the print selection screen on the display unit, the control unit is based on a predetermined setting when a plurality of image data of the specified type are stored in the spool area. When it is determined whether or not the images based on the plurality of image data should be collectively image-formed and it is determined that the images should be collectively formed, the control unit issues an image formation command for the image data to the operation unit. After receiving the image, if it is determined that the images based on the plurality of image data should be collectively formed by the image forming unit, while the image forming unit should not form the images collectively, the control unit may list the plurality of image data. Is displayed on the display unit, and when the operation unit receives a command to form an image based on the image data selected from the list, the image based on the selected image data is displayed on the image forming unit. It may be formed.

By doing so, when a plurality of image data are stored in the spool area at the time of login, it is determined whether or not the images based on the plurality of image data should be formed in a batch, and the images should not be formed in a batch. In this case, it is possible to realize an image forming apparatus that displays a list of image data and forms only an image based on the selected image data.

(4) The control unit determines whether or not the print selection screen should be displayed on the display unit according to a predetermined user's authority after the user is authenticated by the user authentication unit. It may be.

By doing so, whether or not to display the print selection screen of the spool job is determined according to the authority of the logged-in user. It is possible to realize a highly convenient image forming apparatus and image forming method.

It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the structure of the image formation system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the digital multifunction device of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the PC of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of execution processing of the spool job of the digital multifunction device of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of execution processing of the spool job of the digital multifunction device of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the print setting of the spool job of the digital multifunction device of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the confirmation dialog of the spool job (Fax reception) of the digital multifunction device of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the confirmation dialog of the spool job (printer) of the digital multifunction device of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the confirmation dialog of the spool job (printer / fax reception) of the digital multifunction device of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the selection screen of the spool job (Fax reception) of the digital multifunction device of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the selection screen of the spool job (printer) of the digital multifunction device of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the selection screen of the spool job (printer / fax reception) of the digital multifunction device of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of execution processing of the spool job of the digital multifunction device of Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the print setting of the spool job of the digital multifunction device of Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the individual setting of the permission of the spool job of the digital multifunction device of Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the confirmation dialog of the spool job (printer / fax reception) of the digital multifunction device of Embodiment 4 of this invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the following description is exemplary in all respects and should not be construed as limiting the invention.

[Embodiment 1]
A digital multifunction device 1 which is an embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of the image forming system 10 of the present invention. Further, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the digital multifunction device 1 of FIG. Further, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of PC 2 of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming system 10 of the present invention is composed of a digital multifunction device 1 and PC2A, PC2B and PC2C connected through a network 3.
In the following description, PC2A, PC2B and PC2C will be collectively referred to as PC2.

The digital multifunction device 1 is a device such as a multifunction device or an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) that digitally processes image data and has a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function.

The PC 2 transmits image data to the digital multifunction device 1 through the network 3 and causes a job such as printing to be executed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the digital multifunction device 1 includes a control unit 100, an image data acquisition unit 101, an image forming unit 102, a storage unit 103, an image processing unit 104, a communication unit 105, a timer 106, a touch panel 107, and a paper feeding unit. It includes 108 and a user authentication unit 109.

Hereinafter, each component of the digital multifunction device 1 will be described.

The control unit 100 controls the digital multifunction device 1 in an integrated manner, and includes a CPU, RAM, ROM, various interface circuits, and the like.

The control unit 100 monitors and controls all loads such as detection of each sensor, motor, clutch, touch panel 107, etc. in order to control the operation of the entire digital multifunction device 1.

The image data acquisition unit 101 is a unit that detects and reads a document placed on a platen or a document conveyed from a document tray and generates image data.

Further, the image data acquisition unit 101 is a portion that acquires image data generated by an external device such as a PC 2 through a wired or wireless network 3.

The image forming unit 102 is a unit that is acquired by the image data acquisition unit 101 and prints out the image data processed by the image processing unit 104 on the paper, and includes the LSU 1021.

The LSU1021 is a device that forms an electrostatic latent image by irradiating the surface of a photoconductor drum in a charged state with a laser beam corresponding to information of image data composed of a digital signal.

The storage unit 103 is an element or a storage medium for storing information necessary for realizing various functions of the digital multifunction device 1, a control program, and the like. For example, a semiconductor element such as RAM or ROM, a hard disk, a flash storage unit, or a storage medium such as SSD is used.

The storage unit 103 stores information related to a job such as printing and data necessary for executing a job such as image data.
Further, the storage unit 103 has a spool area for temporarily storing print / fax data.
Further, the storage unit 103 stores information such as a user's login name and password stored for user authentication.

The program and the data may be held in different devices, such that the area for holding the data is a hard disk drive and the area for holding the program is a flash storage unit.

The image processing unit 104 converts the image data input from the image data acquisition unit 101 into an appropriate electric signal based on the analysis result of the command of the job such as printing acquired through the communication unit 105, and enlarges / reduces the image data. This is the part that processes to be suitable for output.

The communication unit 105 is a part that communicates with an external PC 2 via the network 3 and acquires job commands such as printing and manuscript image data.

Further, the communication unit 105 is a part that communicates with other image forming devices, portable information terminals, information processing devices, facsimile devices, etc., and transmits / receives various information such as mail / fax to / from these external devices.

The timer 106 is a part that measures and counts the time, and acquires the time through, for example, the built-in clock or the network 3.

The touch panel 107 is composed of a display panel composed of a liquid crystal panel or the like and a touch panel of a capacitance method or the like which is arranged on the display panel and detects a position where a finger is touched, and is composed of a display unit 1071 and an operation unit. It is equipped with 1072.

The display unit 1071 is a unit that displays various types of information.
The display unit 1071 is composed of, for example, a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, an EL display, or the like, and is a display device such as a monitor or a line display for the operating system or application software to display electronic data such as a processing state.

The control unit 100 displays the operation and status of the digital multifunction device 1 through the display unit 1071.

The operation unit 1072 is an interface for operating the digital multifunction device 1 and is a part that receives a command from the user.

The paper feed unit 108 is a unit that conveys the paper stored in the paper feed cassette and the manual feed tray to the image forming unit 102.

The user authentication unit 109 compares the information such as the login name and password input from the operation unit 1072 with the corresponding information recorded in advance in the storage unit 103 to determine whether or not the user is a legitimate user. This is the part that performs authentication.

The user authentication unit 109 may authenticate whether or not the user is a legitimate user based on information such as a user ID read from the user's IC card through a card interface unit (not shown). ..

<Outline configuration of PC2>
Next, a schematic configuration of the PC 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the PC 2 includes a control unit 200, a storage unit 201, an image processing unit 202, a communication unit 203, a display unit 204, and an operation unit 205.

The control unit 200, the storage unit 201, the image processing unit 202, the communication unit 203, the display unit 204, and the operation unit 205 are the control unit 100, the storage unit 103, the image processing unit 104, and the communication unit 105 in FIG. 2, respectively. Since it has the same configuration as the unit 1071 and the operation unit 1072, the description thereof will be omitted.

<Example of Execution Processing of Spool Job of Digital Multifunction Device 1 of Embodiment 1 of the Present Invention>
Next, an example of the execution processing of the spool job of the digital multifunction device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 12.

4 and 5 are flowcharts showing the flow of execution processing of the spool job of the digital multifunction device 1 of FIG. Further, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of print settings for the spool job of the digital multifunction device 1 of FIG. 1. Further, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a confirmation dialog of the spool job (Fax reception) of the digital multifunction device 1 of FIG. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a confirmation dialog of the spool job (printer) of the digital multifunction device 1 of FIG. Further, FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a confirmation dialog of the spool job (printer / fax reception) of the digital multifunction device 1 of FIG. Further, FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a selection screen of a spool job (Fax reception) of the digital multifunction device 1 of FIG. 1. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a spool job (print) selection screen of the digital multifunction device 1 of FIG. 1. FIG. Further, FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a selection screen of the spool job (print / fax reception) of the digital multifunction device 1 of FIG. 1.

In step S1 of FIG. 4, when the operation unit 1072 of the digital multifunction device 1 accepts the login operation of the user (step S1), the control unit 100 determines whether or not the spool confirmation dialog display setting is valid in the subsequent step S2. Determination (step S2).

As a print setting of the spool job, as shown in FIG. 6, the user enables or disables displaying a confirmation dialog on the display unit 1071 when the spool job is saved in the spool area of the storage unit 103. To set.

In the example of FIG. 6, as the "spool job print setting", a check column for setting whether to enable or disable is displayed on the display unit 1071 together with the message "Display a confirmation dialog when there is a spool job." , The check column is set to "Valid".

When the spool confirmation dialog display setting is invalid (when the determination in step S2 is No), the control unit 100 causes the display unit 1071 to display the home screen as usual in step S3 (step S3).

On the other hand, when the spool confirmation dialog display setting is valid (when the determination in step S2 is Yes), the control unit 100 determines in step S4 whether or not the spool printer job of the logged-in user is stored in the spool area. (Step S4).

If the logged-in user's spool printer job is not stored in the spool area (when the determination in step S4 is No), the control unit 100 determines whether or not the spooled fax job is stored in the spool area in step S5. Is determined (step S5).

When the spooled fax job is not stored in the spool area (when the determination in step S5 is No), the control unit 100 causes the display unit 1071 to display the home screen in step S3 (step S3).

On the other hand, when the spooled fax job is stored in the spool area (when the determination in step S5 is Yes), the control unit 100 determines in step S6 whether or not the logged-in user has the printing authority of the fax job. Determination (step S6).

The printing authority of the fax job shall be set in advance for each logged-in user.

When the logged-in user does not have the printing authority for the fax job (when the determination in step S6 is No), the control unit 100 causes the display unit 1071 to display the home screen in step S3 (step S3).

On the other hand, when the logged-in user has the printing authority of the fax job (when the determination in step S6 is Yes), the control unit 100 causes the display unit 1071 to display the fax job confirmation dialog in step S7 (step S7).

As shown in FIG. 7, the message "There is a spool job (Fax reception). Please select a processing method." Is displayed on the display unit 1071.

The user selects one of the three options, "Ignore (jobs can continue to be spooled)", "Delete batch / individual delete", and "Print", and then click "OK". Press the key to confirm.

If "Delete" is selected when there are multiple spool jobs, the spool jobs are deleted all at once. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the "list display" key for individual deletion of spool jobs is displayed. It may be displayed on 1071.

When the user selects the "list display" key, the control unit 100 displays the spool jobs in a list.
The user can also select and delete only the desired spool job from the list of spool jobs.

After that, the control unit 100 makes a determination in step S12 of FIG. 5 (step S12).

On the other hand, in step S4, when the spool printer job of the logged-in user is stored in the spool area (when the determination in step S4 is Yes), the control unit 100 puts the spooled fax job in the spool area in step S8. It is determined whether or not it is stored (step S8).

When the spooled fax job is not stored in the spool area (when the determination in step S8 is No), the control unit 100 causes the display unit 1071 to display the printer job confirmation dialog in step S10 (step S10). ..

As shown in FIG. 8, the message "There is a spool job (printer). Please select a processing method." Is displayed on the display unit 1071.

The user selects one of the three options, "Ignore (jobs can continue to be spooled)", "Delete batch / individual delete", and "Print", and then click "OK". Press the key to confirm.

If "Delete" is selected when there are multiple spool jobs, the spool jobs are deleted all at once. However, as shown in FIG. 8, the "list display" key for individual deletion of spool jobs is displayed. It may be displayed on 1071.

When the user selects the "list display" key, the control unit 100 displays the spool jobs in a list.
The user can also select and delete only the desired spool job from the list of spool jobs.

After that, the control unit 100 makes a determination in step S12 of FIG. 5 (step S12).

On the other hand, in step S8 of FIG. 4, when the spooled fax job is stored in the spool area (when the determination in step S8 is Yes), the control unit 100 prints the fax job to the logged-in user in step S9. It is determined whether or not the user has the authority (step S9).

If the logged-in user does not have the printing authority for the fax job (when the determination in step S9 is No), the control unit 100 displays a printer job confirmation dialog in step S10 (step S10).

After that, the control unit 100 performs the process of step S12 of FIG. 5 (step S12).

On the other hand, when the logged-in user has the printing authority of the fax job (when the determination in step S9 is Yes), the control unit 100 causes the display unit 1071 to display the printer / fax job confirmation dialog in step S11 (step S11). ).

As shown in FIG. 9, the message "There is a spool job (printer / fax reception). Please select a processing method." Is displayed on the display unit 1071.

Users can "ignore (jobs continue to be spooled)", "delete batch delete / individual delete", "print printer job", "print fax receive job" and "printer job / fax receive". Select one of the five options of "Print both jobs", and then press the "OK" key to confirm.

If "Delete" is selected when there are multiple spool jobs, the spool jobs are deleted all at once. However, as shown in FIG. 9, the "list display" key for individual deletion of spool jobs is displayed. It may be displayed on 1071.

When the user selects the "list display" key, the control unit 100 displays the spool jobs in a list.
The user can also select and delete only the desired spool job from the list of spool jobs.

After that, the control unit 100 makes a determination in step S12 of FIG. 5 (step S12).

Next, in step S12 of FIG. 5, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the operation unit 1072 has received the data deletion command by the logged-in user (step S12).

When the operation unit 1072 receives the data deletion command (when the determination in step S12 is Yes), the control unit 100 deletes the spooled data from the spool area of the storage unit 103 in step S13 (step S13). ..

After that, in step S14, the control unit 100 causes the display unit 1071 to display the home screen (step S14).

If there is spool data remaining in the spool area as a result of individually deleting only a part of the spool data among the plurality of spool data, the control unit 100 does not move to the home screen and determines in step S17. It may be made to shift to (step S17).

On the other hand, in step S12, when the operation unit 1072 does not accept the data deletion command by the logged-in user (when the determination in step S12 is No), the control unit 100 determines in step S15 (step S15).

Next, in step S15, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the operation unit 1072 has received a command from the logged-in user not to print the spool job (step S15).

When the operation unit 1072 receives a command from the logged-in user not to print the spool job (when the determination in step S15 is Yes), the control unit 100 causes the display unit 1071 to display the home screen in step S14 (step). S14).

On the other hand, when the operation unit 1072 does not receive the command from the logged-in user not to print the spool job (when the determination in step S15 is No), the control unit 100 determines in step S16 (step S16).

In step S16, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the operation unit 1072 has accepted the selection of the type (printer or fax) of the spool job to be printed (step S16).

When the operation unit 1072 does not accept the selection of the type of spool job to be printed (when the determination in step S16 is No), the control unit 100 returns the process to the determination in step S12 (step S12).

On the other hand, when the operation unit 1072 accepts the selection of the type of spool job to be printed (when the determination in step S16 is Yes), the control unit 100 controls the spool of the type for which the operation unit 1072 accepts the selection in step S17. It is determined whether or not there are a plurality of jobs (step S17).

When there is only one type of spool job for which the operation unit 1072 has accepted the selection (when the determination in step S17 is No), has the control unit 100 received the spool job print command in step S18? It is determined whether or not (step S18).

When the operation unit 1072 receives the print command of the spool job (when the determination in step S18 is Yes), the control unit 100 causes the image forming unit 102 to print the job to be printed in step S19 (step S19). ).

After that, in step S23, the control unit 100 causes the display unit 1071 to display the home screen (step S23).

On the other hand, in step S18, when the operation unit 1072 does not accept the print command of the spool job (when the determination in step S18 is No), the control unit 100 returns the process to the determination in step S12 (step S12).

Next, in step S17, when there are a plurality of spool jobs of the type for which the operation unit 1072 has accepted the selection (when the determination in step S17 is Yes), the control unit 100 displays a list of spool jobs in step S20. It is displayed in 1071 (step S20).

Here, if the type of spool job for which the operation unit 1072 has been selected is a fax job and there are a plurality of such fax jobs, the message "Please select a fax job to print" is displayed as shown in FIG. At the same time, "# (number)", "destination information", "fax number", and "reception date and time" are displayed on the display unit 1071.

The logged-in user checks any check box to select a fax job to be printed, and then presses the "print" key to start printing.
Alternatively, the logged-in user presses the "Select All" key to select all the fax jobs, and then presses the "Print" key to start printing.

Further, the logged-in user may cancel the selection of the spool job (Fax reception) by pressing the "Cancel" key.

On the other hand, if the type of spool job for which the operation unit 1072 has been selected is a printer job and there are a plurality of such printer jobs, as shown in FIG. 11, with the message "Please select a job to print." "# (Number)", "file name", and "reception date and time" are displayed on the display unit 1071.

The logged-in user selects and prints the target print job or cancels the selection of the spool job (printer) by performing the same operation as in FIG.

Further, when the type of spool job for which the operation unit 1072 has received selection is a printer and a fax job, and there are a plurality of such printers and fax jobs, as shown in FIG. 12, a selection screen for both print and fax receive spool jobs. May be displayed on the display unit 1071 in a series.

In this case, if the selection screens for both print and fax reception spool jobs do not fit within the screen of the display unit 1071, the selection screen may be scrolled up and down by operating the scroll bar.

The logged-in user can select and print the target print job (print / fax reception) or select the spool job (print / fax reception) by performing the same operations as in FIGS. 10 and 11. Cancel.

Next, in step S21 of FIG. 5, the control unit 100 determines in step S21 whether or not the operation unit 1072 has accepted the selection of the spool job and the print command (step S21).

When the operation unit 1072 receives the job selection and print command by the login user (when the determination in step S21 is Yes), in step S22, the control unit 100 causes the image forming unit 102 to print the selected spool job. (Step S22).

After that, in step S23, the control unit 100 causes the display unit 1071 to display the home screen (step S23).

On the other hand, when the operation unit 1072 does not accept the job selection and print command by the logged-in user (when the determination in step S21 is No), the control unit 100 returns the process to step S12 (step S12).

In this way, it is possible to set appropriate print settings for the spool job according to the user's intention, so that it is possible to realize the digital multifunction device 1 which is more convenient than the conventional one.

[Embodiment 2]
Next, an example of the execution processing of the spool job of the digital multifunction device 1 of the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of execution processing of a spool job of the digital multifunction device 1 of the second embodiment of the present invention. Further, FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the print setting of the spool job of the digital multifunction device 1 of the second embodiment of the present invention.

Since the processing before step S31 in FIG. 13 is the same as that in FIG. 4 (Embodiment 1), the description thereof will be omitted.
Further, since the processes of steps S31 to S37 and steps S40 to S43 of FIG. 13 correspond to the processes of steps S12 to S18 and steps S20 to S23 of FIG. 5, the description thereof will be omitted.

Here, the processes of steps S38 and S39 of FIG. 13, which are not shown in FIG. 5 (Embodiment 1), will be described.

In step S36 of FIG. 13, when there are a plurality of spool jobs of the type for which the operation unit 1072 has accepted the selection (when the determination in step S36 is Yes), in step S39, the control unit 100 accepts the selection by the operation unit 1072. It is determined whether or not the batch execution setting of the other types of spool jobs is ON (step S39).

Here, as shown in FIG. 14, as the "spool job print setting", the user can set whether "a confirmation dialog is displayed when there is a spool job" is valid or invalid.

The user can select either "When selecting a printer job, print all spool jobs" or "Select individual jobs to be printed before executing the printer job".

Similarly, for fax jobs, the user can either "print all spool jobs when selecting a fax job" or "select individual jobs to be printed before executing a fax job". You can choose either one.

In step S39 of FIG. 13, when the batch execution setting of the type of job for which the operation unit 1072 has accepted the selection is ON (when the determination in step S39 is Yes), the control unit 100 spools in step S37. It is determined whether or not the operation unit 1072 has accepted the job print command (step S37).

On the other hand, when the batch execution setting of the type of job for which the operation unit 1072 has accepted the selection is OFF (when the determination in step S39 is No), the control unit 100 displays the spool job list in step S40. It is displayed in 1071 (step S40).

After that, in step S41, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the operation unit 1072 has accepted the job selection and the print command by the logged-in user (step S41).

Next, in step S37, when the operation unit 1072 receives a job print command by the logged-in user (when the determination in step S37 is Yes), the control unit 100 prints the spool job to be printed in step S38. The image forming unit 102 is made to print (step S38).

Here, if there are a plurality of spool jobs and the batch execution setting for jobs of the type for which the operation unit 1072 has accepted the selection is ON, the control unit 100 collectively prints the jobs to be printed. It is assumed that the image forming unit 102 is printed.

After that, in step S43, the control unit 100 causes the display unit 1071 to display the home screen (step S43).

In this way, by making it possible to freely set ON / OFF of the batch print setting of the spool job for each type of spool job, it is possible to set an appropriate print setting of the spool job according to the user's intention. Therefore, it is possible to realize the digital multifunction device 1 which is more convenient than the conventional one.

[Embodiment 3]
Next, an example of individual setting of permission of the spool job of the digital multifunction device 1 of the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of individual setting of permission of spool job of the digital multifunction device 1 of the third embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 15, when registering a user on the user registration setting screen, in addition to setting the login name and password, "copy", "printer", and "print spooled fax reception data" are performed by the user. Allows you to set whether or not to allow.

When a user who is not permitted to "print spooled fax reception data" logs in to the digital multifunction device 1 in the user registration, the control unit 100 is set to display a confirmation dialog in the print settings of the spool job. Even if this is the case, the display unit 1071 is prevented from displaying the confirmation dialog for the fax reception job.

Therefore, an unauthorized user cannot print highly confidential fax received data.

In this way, by not displaying the confirmation dialog to the unauthorized user set when registering the logged-in user, regardless of the spool job print settings, the appropriate spool job can be printed according to the user's intention. Since the settings can be made, it is possible to realize the digital multifunction device 1 which is more convenient than the conventional one.

[Embodiment 4]
Next, an example of the execution processing of the spool job of the digital multifunction device 1 of the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a confirmation dialog of a spool job (printer / fax reception) of the digital multifunction device 1 of the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 16, the control unit 100 displays the “number of printer jobs” and the “number of fax jobs” in the display unit 1071 together with the options of “printing printer jobs” and “printing fax receiving jobs”, respectively. It may be displayed in.

Further, the control unit 100 may display the "list display" key for individual printing of the spool job on the display unit 1071.
When the user selects the "list display" key, the control unit 100 displays the spool jobs in a list.
The user can also select and print only the desired spool job from the spool jobs displayed in the list.

In this way, by enabling the display of the number of jobs and the list display in the spool job confirmation dialog, it is possible to set appropriate spool job print settings according to the user's intention, which is more convenient than before. A highly functional digital multifunction device 1 can be realized.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention include a combination of any of the plurality of embodiments described above.

In addition to the embodiments described above, there may be various variations of the present invention. These variations should not be construed as not belonging to the scope of the present invention. The invention should include claims and equivalent meaning and all modifications within said scope.

1: Digital compound machine, 2,2A, 2B, 2C: PC, 3: Network, 10: Image forming system, 100, 200: Control unit, 101: Image data acquisition unit, 102: Image forming unit, 103, 201: Storage unit, 104, 202: Image processing unit, 105, 203: Communication unit, 106: Timer, 107: Touch panel, 108: Paper feed unit, 204, 1071: Display unit, 205, 1072: Operation unit, 1021: LSU

Claims (5)

An operation unit that accepts commands from users, and
The user authentication unit that authenticates the user and
A communication unit that receives multiple types of image data from an external device via a network,
A storage unit having a spool area for temporarily storing the image data before image formation, and a storage unit.
An image forming unit that forms an image based on the image data,
A display unit that displays the setting screen related to image formation, and
It includes a control unit that controls the operation unit, the user authentication unit, the communication unit, the storage unit, the image forming unit, and the display unit.
The control unit is predetermined to be able to specify a print command for the image data for each type of the image data when the image data is stored in the spool area after the user is authenticated by the user authentication unit. When the operation unit receives a command to display the print selection screen on the display unit and specify the type of the image data to be printed, the image forming unit may form an image based on the image data. An image forming device as a feature. After displaying the print selection screen on the display unit, the control unit does not execute printing of the image data stored in the spool area, and the operation unit receives a command to keep the image data stored in the spool area. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the home screen after user authentication is displayed on the display unit. After displaying the print selection screen on the display unit, the control unit may display the print selection screen on the display unit, and then, when a plurality of image data of the specified type are stored in the spool area, the control unit may use the predetermined settings. Determine whether or not images based on multiple image data should be formed at once,
When it is determined that the image should be formed collectively, the control unit collectively forms an image based on the plurality of image data in the image forming unit after the operation unit receives the image forming command of the image data. Let me
On the other hand, when it is determined that the images should not be formed all at once, the control unit should display the list of the plurality of image data on the display unit and form an image based on the image data selected from the list. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the operation unit receives a command, the image forming unit forms an image based on the selected image data. The control unit determines whether or not the print selection screen should be displayed on the display unit according to a predetermined user's authority after the user is authenticated by the user authentication unit. The image forming apparatus according to any one of 3. Operation steps that accept commands from users and
The user authentication step that authenticates the user and
A communication step that receives multiple types of image data from an external device via a network,
A storage step of temporarily storing the image data in a predetermined spool area before image formation, and a storage step.
An image forming step of forming an image based on the image data,
It has a display step to display the setting screen related to image formation.
When the image data is saved in the spool area in the save step after the user is authenticated in the user authentication step, the print command of the image data can be specified for each type of the image data in the display step. Display the predetermined print selection screen and display it.
An image forming method comprising forming an image based on the image data in the image forming step when a command for designating the type of the image data to be printed is received in the operation step.

Images