JP5174559B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a printing function and a preview function for displaying a finished image of the printed material on a display screen in advance prior to output of the printed material obtained by executing the printing function. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that can maintain the use efficiency of the entire apparatus at a high level by encouraging use of a preview function.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus having a printing function, in order to respond to various needs of users, for example, a multi-function has been developed including a booklet creation function and a stapling function.

  In order to obtain a desired printed matter by such an image forming apparatus, the user selectively sets items related to the function that meets his / her requirements from among various functions related to image forming processing provided in the apparatus. The details of the function items will be set. Depending on the setting operation, it is determined whether or not a printed matter meeting the user's request can be obtained. Therefore, in order to obtain a required printed matter, how to proceed with the setting operation while accurately reflecting the user's request in detail is a very important key. In particular, in recent image forming apparatuses, the setting operation thereof is considerably complicated with the progress of further multifunctionalization. For this reason, even if you intend to make the correct settings yourself, there are many cases in which the settings are actually incorrect and the resulting printed matter will have an unexpected finish.

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

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

However, according to the research of the present inventor, when a user who tries to obtain a desired printed matter using an image forming apparatus is a user who is not familiar with the existence or usage of the preview function, the corner preview function is effectively utilized. Not only was it not possible, but it was found that the efficiency of use of the entire device could be reduced.
JP 2007-111906 A

  The problem to be solved is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of maintaining the utilization efficiency of the entire apparatus at a high level by encouraging the use of the preview function.

The present invention includes a display unit for displaying various types of information for the purpose of providing an image forming apparatus that can maintain the use efficiency of the entire apparatus at a high level by encouraging the use of the preview function. On the other hand, an image forming apparatus having a printing function and a preview function for displaying a finished image of the printed matter on a display screen in the display unit prior to output of the printed matter obtained by executing the printing function, An operation information acquisition unit that acquires operation information related to a function key operated when selecting or setting items related to various functions related to image formation, and activation information related to the validation of the preview function are included in the various functions. Based on the validation information storage unit stored in association with each other, the stored contents of the validation information storage unit, and the operation information acquired by the operation information acquisition unit. Read from came the stored contents, enabling information according to the corresponding function key, when the contents that should encourage the use of the preview function, prompt screen prompting the display of finishing image screen prints according to the function keys And a display control unit that displays the image on the display screen of the display unit.

In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the display control unit relates to the corresponding function key read from the storage content based on the storage content of the validation information storage unit and the operation information acquired by the operation information acquisition unit. When the activation information indicates that the use of the preview function should be promoted, a prompting screen for prompting display of the finished image screen of the printed matter related to the function key is displayed on the display screen in the display unit. As a result of promoting the use of the preview function through the user's use of the function, the use efficiency of the entire apparatus can be maintained at a high level.

The purpose of enabling the utilization efficiency of the entire apparatus to be maintained at a high level is read from the storage content based on the storage content of the validation information storage unit and the operation information acquired by the operation information acquisition unit, When the activation information related to the relevant function key contains information that the use of the preview function should be encouraged, a prompting screen for prompting display of the finished image screen of the printed matter related to the function key is displayed on the display screen in the display unit. This is realized by the display control unit that displays the image.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  By the way, in order to maintain the use efficiency of the entire apparatus at a high level by inviting the use of the preview function, the main control unit 11 determines whether the user is a regular user every time the user accesses. User authentication unit 70 that performs user authentication regarding whether or not, and, as a result of user authentication in user authentication unit 70, when it is determined that the user is a regular user, identification information related to the login user is acquired. A user identification information acquisition unit (hereinafter referred to as a user ID acquisition unit) 71, an operation information acquisition unit 73 that acquires operation information related to a plurality of function keys, and activation information related to validation of the preview function are displayed as various functions. An activation information storage unit 75 and an activation information storage unit, which are stored in association with each other (for example, a page aggregation function, a stapling function, a booklet creation function, etc.) The activation information related to the corresponding function key read from the stored content based on the stored content of 5 and the operation information acquired by the operation information acquisition unit 73 is to urge the use of the preview function. And a display control unit 77 that displays a prompting screen for urging the use of the preview function on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53.

[Operation of Image Forming Apparatus According to Embodiment of Present Invention]
Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the operation of the image forming apparatus, and FIGS. 4A and 4B are explanatory diagrams showing a specific example of the validation information table prepared for each user.

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

  As shown in FIG. 3, first, the IC card communication unit 67 constantly monitors the access of the IC card key 69. At this time, when the user sets the IC card key 69 to an IC card reader / writer (not shown) in the image forming apparatus, the IC card communication unit 67 detects the access of the IC card key 69 (step S11) and the IC card The user identification information stored in the card key 69 is read, and the read user identification information of the IC card key 69 is transferred to the main control unit 11.

  The main control unit 11 (specifically, the user authentication unit 70) collates the user identification information transferred from the IC card communication unit 67 with the user identification information registered in advance in the customization information storage unit 73. Thus, the user authentication relating to whether or not the user who has accessed through the card key authentication is a regular user is performed (step S12). Note that a login management function based on a password may be added for user authentication.

  As a result of the user authentication in step S12, if the access user is approved as an authorized user, the operation information acquisition unit 73 acquires the operation information input by the access user via the operation key unit 55 (step S13). ), And passes the acquired operation information to the display control unit 77.

  In response to this, the display control unit 77 performs the validation information storage based on the user identification information relating to the access user, the stored contents of the validation information storage unit 75, and the operation information acquired by the operation information acquisition unit 73. Among the stored contents of the unit 75, the activation information related to the corresponding function key is read out from the activation information table related to the corresponding access user (see, for example, FIGS. 4 (1) and (2)) (step S14). The preview display control according to the validation information is executed (steps S15 to S18).

  That is, the activation information indicates that the preview function should be used (the preview function is effective and the content of the activation is a reminder, and hereinafter, abbreviated as “valid: reminder”). When the content is set (“valid: prompt” in step S15), the display control unit 77 displays a prompt screen for prompting the use of the preview function on the display screen in the touch panel unit 53 (step S16). In addition, the activation information indicates that the preview function should be performed (in the case where the preview function is effective and the content of the activation is forcibly displayed, hereinafter, abbreviated as “valid: compulsory”). When the content is set (“valid: forced” in step S15), the display control unit 77 forcibly displays the finished image screen of the printed matter related to the corresponding function key on the display screen in the touch panel unit 53 (step S17). When the validation information contains information that the preview function should be invalidated (refers to the case where the preview function is invalid, hereinafter abbreviated as “invalid”) (“invalid” in step S15), display The control unit 77 displays a normal screen according to the image formation status on the display screen of the touch panel unit 53 (step S18).

  Therefore, according to the preview display control based on the validation information according to the embodiment of the present invention, the usage efficiency of the entire apparatus can be maintained at a high level by inviting the use of the preview function.

  By the way, in realizing the preview display control based on the validation information according to the embodiment of the present invention, what data format should be adopted as the storage content of the validation information storage unit 75 becomes a problem.

  A specific example of the validation information table prepared for each of a plurality of users will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 (1) and 4 (2).

  The validation information table shown in FIG. 4A is a specific example when it is assumed that the user A is a user having an average level of knowledge and experience regarding the image forming apparatus. "With regard to the function, considering that there is a high probability that the preview function is unnecessary due to reasons such as past use experience, activation information related to" Valid: Reminder "that displays a preview screen as necessary is displayed. On the other hand, the “booklet creation” function is associated with activation information related to “valid: compulsory” for forcibly displaying the preview screen in view of the high probability of having no past use experience.

  On the other hand, “the validation information table shown in FIG. 4 (2) is a specific example when it is assumed that the user B is a user having a high degree of knowledge and experience regarding the image forming apparatus. The “stapling” function is associated with activation information related to “invalidity” for invalidating the preview function in view of the high probability that the preview function is unnecessary because the past use experience is abundant. The “booklet creation” function is associated with activation information related to “validation: reminder” that displays a preview screen as necessary in view of the high probability that past use experience is not abundant. ing.

  In the validation information tables according to FIGS. 4 (1) and 4 (2) described above, the points to be noted are a preview as necessary according to the degree of skill such as knowledge and experience regarding the image forming apparatus for each of a plurality of users. The level related to enabling the preview function is finely divided into three levels: “Enable: remind” to display the screen, “Enable: force” to forcibly display the preview screen, and “Disable” to disable the preview function. It is a point that can be distributed. As described above, if a configuration in which the level related to the validation of the preview function is finely allocated according to the skill level of the image forming apparatus for each of a plurality of users is employed, the effect of maintaining the utilization efficiency of the entire apparatus at a high level In addition, as a result of the user having the impression that the device is customized for himself / herself, the image forming apparatus capable of realizing affinity, operability, and convenience for the user is provided. Can be obtained.

[Effect of Example]
As described above, according to the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the display control unit 77 includes the user identification information related to the access user, the stored contents of the validation information storage unit 75, and the operation information acquisition unit 73. The activation information related to the corresponding function key is read out from the activation information table related to the corresponding access user out of the stored contents of the activation information storage unit 75 based on the operation information acquired in step S3 and Since the preview display control according to the information is executed, the use of the preview function is promoted through the user's presence of the preview function. As a result, the usage efficiency of the entire apparatus is maintained at a high level. Can do.

  Further, according to the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the level related to the validation of the preview function is finely distributed according to the skill level of the image forming apparatus for each of a plurality of users. In addition to the effect of maintaining a high level of usage efficiency, the user has the impression that the device has been customized for himself / herself, resulting in affinity, operability, and convenience for the user. An image forming apparatus capable of realizing the characteristics can be obtained.

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

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

  Further, in the embodiments of the present invention, the functions of “page aggregation”, “stapling”, and “booklet creation” have been illustrated and described as the functions to be validated information. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. The present invention is not limited to this example, and any function other than the above-described example can be used as the target of the activation information as long as it is a function installed in the image forming apparatus.

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

1 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an external view of an operation panel unit in the image forming apparatus. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the specific example of the validation information table prepared for every some user.

Explanation of symbols

11 Main control unit 53 Touch panel unit (display unit)
70 User Authentication Unit 71 User ID Acquisition Unit 73 Operation Information Acquisition Unit 75 Validation Information Storage Unit 77 Display Control Unit

Claims (4)

While having a display unit for displaying various information,
An image forming apparatus having a printing function and a preview function for displaying a finished image of the printed matter on a display screen in the display unit prior to output of the printed matter obtained by executing the printing function,
An operation information acquisition unit that acquires operation information related to function keys operated when selecting or setting items related to various functions related to image formation;
An activation information storage unit that stores activation information related to the activation of the preview function in association with the various functions;
The activation information related to the corresponding function key read from the storage content based on the storage content of the activation information storage unit and the operation information acquired by the operation information acquisition unit prompts the use of the preview function. A display control unit that displays a reminder screen prompting display of a finished image screen of the printed matter related to the function key on the display screen in the display unit,
An image forming apparatus comprising: The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The display control unit
When the activation information related to the corresponding function key read from the stored content indicates that the preview function should be performed, the finished image screen of the printed material related to the function key is displayed on the display screen in the display unit. To force display
An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The display control unit
When the activation information related to the corresponding function key read from the stored content includes information indicating that the preview function should be invalidated, a screen according to the image formation status is displayed on the display screen in the display unit.
An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The validation information storage unit
Activation information relating to the activation of the preview function for each of a plurality of users is stored in association with the various functions,
The display control unit
When a certain user accesses, the activation information related to the user is read from the stored content, and the screen according to the activation information is displayed on the display unit based on the read activation information related to the user Display on the screen,
An image forming apparatus.