JP5581936B2 - Image forming apparatus and control program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is an image forming apparatus and a control program.

Patent Documents 1 to 3 disclose a technique that makes it possible to specify a position on a sheet from a pattern printed on the sheet.
Here, in Patent Document 2, physical pages and position information are allocated by a position assigner so that each printed physical page can be distinguished, and the relationship is held as data. The data is provided.

Japanese Patent No. 4215516 JP-T-2006-504181 Special table 2008-282411

  An object of the present invention is to be able to synthesize common identifier information with physical page images having a common logical page number and the same number of copies for a plurality of print formats.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided print format acquisition means for acquiring print format information of a print medium on which an image is formed based on the image formation data together with image formation data for forming an image for each logical page. An image forming unit that forms an image on a print medium based on the image forming data and the printing format acquired by the printing format acquiring unit, and a logical page number and a plurality of printing formats acquired by the printing format acquiring unit. Common physical value acquisition means for acquiring a common common numerical value for each physical page with respect to physical pages having the same number of printed copies indicating the number of copies in the number of printed copies, and the number of pages of the logical page of the image forming data And a representative identifier, which is a representative identifier among identifier groups composed of a plurality of numerical values secured based on the number of copies to be printed, and the common numerical value acquiring means An identifier acquisition unit that acquires an identifier that is an addition value with a common numerical value for each physical page in correspondence with each physical page, and a print in which the image forming unit forms information on the identifier calculated by the identifier acquisition unit An image forming apparatus comprising: a combining unit that encodes and combines an image of a corresponding physical page of a medium.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the common numerical value acquisition unit is configured to determine the logical page number based on the logical page number corresponding to the physical page and the number of print copies. The image forming apparatus calculates a common numerical value.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the common numerical value acquisition unit is configured to calculate the logical number based on the number of logical pages, the common numerical value, and the identifier without being based on the number of copies. The image forming apparatus calculates the common numerical value so that the page number can be calculated.

The invention according to claim 4 further comprises acquisition necessity information acquisition means for acquiring necessity information acquisition information for each logical page number according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the combination The means is an image forming apparatus that switches the composition of the identifier information based on the necessity information acquired by the acquisition necessity information acquisition means.
The invention according to claim 5 further comprises acquisition necessity information acquisition means for acquiring information on necessity of acquisition of the identifier for each logical page number according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the identifier In the image forming apparatus, the number of logical pages of the image forming data used for securing a group is corrected based on the necessity information acquired by the acquisition necessity information acquisition unit.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the common numerical value acquisition unit according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising an acquisition necessity information acquisition unit that acquires information on necessity of acquisition of the identifier for each logical page number. Is an image forming apparatus that calculates the common numerical value based on the number of pages of the logical page number that is required to be acquired by the information on the necessity acquired by the acquisition necessity information acquisition unit.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the number of logical pages, the identifier group, and the representative identifier are stored in association with each other, and the information of the identifier is synthesized. An identifier group including the identifier read from the image of the printed physical page printed is specified, and the number of logical pages corresponding to the specified identifier group, the representative identifier, and the identifier Logical page number acquisition means for acquiring a logical page number, the representative identifier and the image forming data are stored in association with each other, and the logical page number acquired by the logical page number acquisition means and used for acquisition thereof. And a data acquisition unit configured to acquire data of the logical page of the image formation data based on the representative identifier.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print format acquisition unit that acquires information on a print format of a print medium on which an image is formed based on the image formation data, together with image formation data for forming an image for each logical page. An image forming unit that forms an image on a print medium based on the image forming data and the printing format acquired by the printing format acquiring unit, and a logical page number and a plurality of printing formats acquired by the printing format acquiring unit. Common physical value acquisition means for acquiring a common common numerical value for each physical page with respect to physical pages having the same number of printed copies indicating the number of copies in the number of printed copies, and the number of pages of the logical page of the image forming data And a representative identifier, which is a representative identifier among identifier groups composed of a plurality of numerical values secured based on the number of copies to be printed, and the common numerical value acquiring means An identifier acquisition unit that acquires an identifier that is an addition value with a common numerical value for each physical page in correspondence with each physical page, and a print in which the image forming unit forms information on the identifier calculated by the identifier acquisition unit A computer-readable control program for causing a computer to execute synthesis means for encoding and synthesizing an image of a corresponding physical page of a medium.

According to the first and eighth aspects of the invention, for a plurality of print formats, information of a common identifier can be combined with an image of a physical page having a common logical page number and the same number of print copies.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 2, a common numerical value is computable by simple calculation.
According to the third aspect of the invention, the logical page number can be calculated without the information on the number of copies to be printed.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, it becomes possible to synthesize identifier information for each logical page number as necessary.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 5, the identifier group as needed can be ensured.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 6, the common numerical value corresponding to the identifier as needed for every logical page number can be calculated by simple calculation.

  According to the invention of claim 7, logical page data corresponding to the identifier read from the physical page image can be acquired.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the image processing system of this embodiment. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an image forming apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the pen with a scanner. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a main routine of processing of the image forming apparatus. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of processing of the image forming apparatus. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a control unit of the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a figure which shows the process until image formation in an image processing system. It is a figure which shows the process in the process server of an image processing system. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the logical page number in a collation output, a physical page number, and an identifier at the time of producing | generating an identifier on the basis of collation output. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the logical page number in a stack output, a physical page number, and an identifier at the time of producing | generating an identifier on the basis of collation output. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the logical page number in a collation output, a physical page number, and an identifier at the time of producing | generating an identifier on the basis of a stack output. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the logical page number in a stack output, a physical page number, and an identifier at the time of producing | generating an identifier on the basis of a stack output. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of processing of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment. It is a figure which shows the table with which the logical page number and the valid logical page number were matched. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a main routine of processing of an image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of processing of an image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment.

An image processing system according to the first embodiment will be described.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image processing system 1 according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the image processing system 1 includes a host computer 10, an image forming apparatus 20, an identifier management server 40, a document server 50, a processing server 60, and a pen 70 with a scanner.

Here, the host computer 10, the image forming apparatus 20, the identifier management server 40, the document server 50, the processing server 60, and the pen with scanner 70 are wired or wireless such as a LAN (Local Area Network), the Internet, and a general public line. The communication means 80 is communicably connected.
The host computer 10 outputs a print request to the image forming apparatus 20 when printing a document. Specifically, it is output by the following processing.

  In the host computer 10, an input unit (keyboard, mouse, touch panel, etc.) 11 allows the user to set each item of the output format at the time of printing. Here, each item of the output format includes the number of prints, the storage unit in which the paper is stored, the discharge format (output format) of the printed paper, single-sided printing or double-sided printing, the discharge destination of the printed paper, the printed paper Examples include a discharge order and a stapling function. For example, the output form of printed paper includes collation output or stack output when outputting a plurality of copies. In addition, as a discharge destination of the printed paper, there are a large-capacity discharge unit and a face-up tray on which the paper is discharged with the print side up.

  When the user sets each item of the output format using the input unit 11 and instructs execution of printing, the host computer 10 performs software processing necessary for printing by a printer driver (not shown). In the software processing, processing is performed so that the image forming apparatus 20 can print based on the image to be printed (application data) and each item of the set output format. That is, in software processing, processing for processing an image into print data (output data) so that the image forming apparatus 20 can process, and processing for replacing each item of the set output format with an output format instruction that can be read by the image forming apparatus 20 Etc. Then, the host computer 10 creates a print file serving as one print request based on the print data and the output format instruction obtained by such processing, and the created print file is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 20 via the communication unit 80. Send to.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of the image forming apparatus 20.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 20 includes an operation unit 21, a document reading unit 22, an image forming unit 23, and a processing unit 30.
The operation unit 21 is an operation panel or the like that integrally includes a display unit (display screen) that displays content to be notified to the user and an input unit that is operated by the user to input instruction content.

The processing unit 30 executes various processes of the image forming apparatus 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the processing unit 30 includes a control unit 31, a memory 32, an HDD 33, an image input unit 34, a document reading I / F unit 35, an image output unit 36, an image forming I / F unit 37, and A communication unit 38 is included.
The control unit 31 performs various controls. For example, the control unit 31 controls the image forming I / F unit 37 by executing a print request, outputs the image image of the image output unit 36 to the image forming unit 23, and uses the image forming unit 23 as a sheet. Image formation. Further, the control unit 31 controls the document reading I / F unit 35 and the image forming I / F unit 37 by executing the duplication request, and the image input unit reads an image image of the document read by the document reading unit 22. 34, the image of the image input unit 34 is output to the image output unit 36, and the image forming unit 23 forms an image on a sheet.

The memory 32 and the HDD 33 store data and information necessary for various processes. For example, the memory 32 stores a program 32 a and data used by the control unit 31.
Here, the program 32a may be stored in the memory 32 from the beginning of shipment of the image forming apparatus 20, but is read from a storage medium such as a CD-ROM by the user's work after shipment. It may be stored in the memory 32.

The communication unit 38 communicates with the host computer 10.
When the image forming apparatus 20 configured as described above receives a print file serving as a print request from the host computer 10 via the communication unit 38, the image forming apparatus 20 notifies the control unit 31 of the file by interrupt processing or the like.

  Upon receiving the notification that the print file has been received from the communication unit 38, the control unit 31 analyzes the contents of the print file after or while storing the print file in the memory 32 or the HDD 33. When the control unit 31 determines that the file is for image formation as a result of the analysis, the control unit 31 generates a print control command that is an internal processing unit, and executes the print control command. That is, the control unit 31 reads the print data from the print file and develops the print data as an image on the memory 32 using an imaging program. Further, the control unit 31 reads out an output format instruction (output format information) from the print file, and determines which paper feed unit is used for the image forming unit 23 according to the content of the read output format instruction, single-sided printing or double-sided printing. Specify the output format, such as whether to print or staple. Thereafter, the control unit 31 sequentially outputs the image images determined in accordance with the processing of the image forming unit 23 (determining which image to use).

Here, the image forming apparatus 20 performs the following output processing when a plurality of copies are designated by the output format instruction.
When the number of pages is larger than a predetermined setting value (for example, memory capacity), the control unit 31 stores, in the memory 32, image images for the number of pages to be printed. Since the image cannot be expanded, the image developed on the memory 32 is temporarily stored in the HDD 33. As a result, the control unit 31 reads the image from the HDD 33 as necessary, develops an image on the memory 32, and transmits the image to the image forming unit 23. In this way, in the case of collation output, the image forming apparatus 20 is in the order of logical pages such as 1, 2, 3, 4,..., 1, 2, 3, 4,. You can print as many copies as you want.

  In addition, when a plurality of copies are printed by stack output, the control unit 31 only needs to sequentially print the same image by the number of copies, so that the developed image image is developed on the memory 32. Are sent to the image forming unit 23 by the number of copies. In this way, if the image forming apparatus 20 prints 3 copies, the first image forming apparatus 20 such as 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3,. You can print as many copies as you want from the page.

As described above, the image forming apparatus 20 can obtain a printed material corresponding to the output format instruction set by the host computer 10.
Below, the part which becomes the characteristic of this embodiment is demonstrated.
First, a conventional apparatus or system will be described.
In recent years, a system has been proposed in which coordinate information is embedded as a position code on the printing surface of a sheet, and the position on the sheet can be specified by reading the position code. For example, the position code embedded in the printing surface is read by a pen with a scanner having a built-in scanner, and information on the handwriting (stroke) written on the paper is sent to a server or the like together with the result.

  With such a system, only the read information (position information and stroke information) is sent to the server etc., and the server etc. that received the information takes the questionnaire form and collects the questionnaire form. It is possible to determine where the mark was placed on the questionnaire without having to do so. Such a system is highly convenient because it can automatically create electronic data from paper.

  Patent Documents 1 to 3 described above disclose techniques for embedding coordinate information (position information) during image formation. These Patent Documents 1 to 3 disclose an embedding method in so-called on-demand printing in which a document in which coordinate information is embedded is output using a printer or the like instead of a printing machine.

  By the way, when constructing such a system, it is necessary to have a mechanism capable of distinguishing printed materials from which information is to be collected. This is because only the coordinate information makes it impossible to determine whether information has been written to a printed material for which information is to be collected or not. Further, if only the coordinate information is used, the page (physical page) read with the pen cannot be processed because the correspondence between which page (logical page) of which document corresponds to which page is not known.

For this reason, in Patent Document 2, physical pages and position data are allocated by the position assigner, the relationship is held as data in the system, and the data is provided as necessary. ing. However, this method also has the following problems.
When printing a large number of copies made up of a large number of logical pages, the correspondence data between the physical page and the original logical page becomes a huge amount. This makes it difficult to manage the corresponding data in the system, and increases the processing time for the corresponding data. Further, in an image forming apparatus that embeds and prints position data, it is necessary to inquire an external server for information required for embedding in each physical page for each physical page. In this case, the image forming apparatus cannot perform printing until there is a reply to the inquiry, so that the printing time becomes long.

In such a printing method, it is important to which page (logical page) of a document a physical page is assigned. For example, the following method can be considered as a method of representing this assignment. This example is a method of creating identification information with a character string.
[Identification ID]-[Document ID]-[Logical page number]-[Number of copies]
In this case, for example,
isdiulagfdi0-asdieigx1-1-2
Thus, identification information can be created. Then, it can be considered that such identification information is coded together with the coordinate information and embedded in the image.

  As a result, the system side that has been read by the pen with the scanner and sent the reading information takes the second field separated by “-” as the document number and the third field as the logical page number. Can do. Furthermore, by assigning an identification ID so that the distinction for each physical page is unique within the system, identification information unique to each physical page can be obtained.

  However, the amount of information required to realize such identification information is enormous. For example, since 1 byte (= 8 bits) is required for one character, this example alone is 26 bytes (= 208 bits). The number of digits required will increase even further when operations using such identification information are started. However, when reading with a scanner attached to the tip of a pen, the reading range is generally limited. Therefore, the amount of information is limited unless the resolution of the printed material is increased. For this reason, it is conceivable to increase the resolution. However, if the resolution is increased, erroneous detection due to dust or the like on the paper surface is caused, and a printer for printing such paper becomes expensive. Therefore, it is practically difficult to increase the resolution. Therefore, it is desirable that the amount of identification information is small.

In contrast to the above technique, in the present embodiment, identification information with a small amount of information can be acquired easily. The configuration, processing, and the like that are features in the present embodiment will be described below.
In the present embodiment, when the user issues a print execution instruction and a coordinate information embedding instruction, the host computer 10 regards this instruction as an instruction to embed the identifier information together with the coordinate information in the printed matter. It has become. In response to this instruction, the host computer 10 executes processing necessary for printing by the printer driver and transmits an identifier securing request (number request, identifier issuance request) to the identifier management server 40 through the communication unit 80. Here, the identifier securing request is a request for obtaining an initial identifier (a first identifier (identifier initial value) described later) from the identifier management server 40. The host computer 10 transmits an identifier securing request including the number of copies set by the user and the number of logical pages of the print data (the number of logical pages) to the identifier management server 40.

  Thereafter, when the host computer 10 receives the initial identifier information from the identifier management server 40 in response to the identifier securing request, the host computer 10 selects one based on the print data and output format instruction, the coordinate information embedding instruction, and the initial identifier information. Create a print file. At this time, the host computer 10 processes the print data, output format instruction, coordinate information embedding instruction, and initial identifier information as necessary, and creates a print file. Then, the host computer 10 transmits the created print file to the image forming apparatus 20 via the communication unit 80.

Further, the host computer 10 transmits print data (for example, all or a part to be printed) to be transmitted to the image forming apparatus 20 to the document server 50 together with initial identifier information.
The identifier management server 40 is a server that manages identifiers uniquely in the entire system. For example, the identifier management server 40 includes a processing unit 41 and a storage unit 42 as illustrated in FIG. The identifier management server 40 holds information on an identifier space (identifier group) composed of a plurality of identifiers (a plurality of numerical values) in the storage unit 42. When the identifier management server 40 receives the above-described identifier securing request from the host computer 10, the processing unit 41 uses the identifier space currently managed in the storage unit 42 from the identifier space that is vacant (identifiers that are not currently used). Search for (space). At this time, the identifier management server 40 vacates the size of the number of print copies included in the identifier reservation request multiplied by the number of logical pages included in the identifier reservation request (number of print copies × number of logical pages). Search the identifier space (contiguous numeric space). For example, when the number of print copies is “3” and the number of logical pages is “5 pages”, 15 (= 3 × 5) identifiers are searched from the identifier space as vacant identifier spaces. In other words, the identifier management server 40 searches for an identifier space corresponding to the number of physical pages to be printed.

Then, when the identifier management server 40 searches and secures such a free identifier space, the identifier space (identifier group) secured, initial identifier information that is the first identifier (the smallest numerical identifier), and Information on the number of logical pages is associated and stored in the storage unit 42. Then, the identifier management server 40 transmits the initial identifier information to the host computer 10.
Further, when the identifier management server 40 receives a later-described identifier acquisition request from the processing server 60, the identifier management server 40 transmits the corresponding logical page number and initial identifier information as a reply. The reply process by the identifier management server 40 will be described in detail later.

  A document server (print data server) 50 holds document data used for printing. For example, the document server 50 includes a processing unit 51 and a storage unit 52 as shown in FIG. When the document server 50 receives from the host computer 10 all the pages of the document used for printing or the data of the printed pages and the initial identifier information, the processing unit 51 causes the document data and the initial identifier information used for the printing to be printed. Are stored in the storage unit 52 in association with each other.

  Here, the user stores in the document server 50 information (region information) such as what information should be written in which region for each logical page. Can do. In this case, when the user inputs the information on the item to be written and the information on the specific coordinate area to be written, the host computer 10 displays the area information including the information together with the print data and the initial identifier information. It is transmitted to the document server 50. When the document server 50 receives such region information, the document server 50 stores the region information in association with the document data used for printing and the initial identifier information.

On the other hand, when the document server 50 receives a document information acquisition request to be described later from the processing server 60, the document server 50 stores the document data (document information, image information, etc.) of the corresponding page, or the area if the area information is held. The information is combined and returned to the processing server 60.
On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus 20 to which the print file is transmitted, when the processing unit 30 receives the print file from the host computer 10 and the coordinate information embedding instruction is embedded in the received print file, The following processing is executed.

The control unit 31 reads the initial identifier information from the print file and stores it in the memory 32. Further, the control unit 31 reads the print data from the print file and stores it in the HDD 33. Then, the control unit 31 develops an image of the print data on the memory 32 as a process for printing.
On the other hand, the control unit 31 creates a coordinate information image for each physical page as follows.

First, the control part 31 acquires identifier offset information by the following formula (1).
Identifier offset information = (output logical page number−1) + (number of output middle copies−1) × (number of logical pages) (1)
Here, the output logical page number is a value indicating the logical page number of the physical page to be output. Further, the number of copies in output is a value indicating which number of print copies (a value indicating the number of copies within the number of print copies) the physical page to be output is. Here, regarding the number of logical pages, the control unit 31 scans the print data file to acquire the number of logical pages of the print data when storing the print data in the HDD 33. Note that the control unit 31 can also directly acquire information on the number of logical pages of print data from the host computer 10. In this case, the subsequent processing is performed using that number.

And the control part 31 acquires an identifier as the sum of the acquired identifier offset information and an initial identifier by following (2) Formula.
Identifier = initial identifier + identifier offset information (2)
Since the identifier offset information acquired as described above is uniquely determined by the output logical page number and the number of output middle copies, the discharge format at the time of printing, single-sided printing or double-sided printing, the discharge destination of the printed paper, or the printed paper Regardless of the output format, such as the output order, the common value is used if the output logical page number and the number of output middle copies are common. Therefore, the identifiers have common values as long as the output logical page number and the number of output middle copies are the same regardless of the output format. In other words, even if the output logical page number is common, the identifier offset information and the identifier have different values when the number of output middle copies is different.

  And the control part 31 produces | generates the coordinate information image comprised by coordinate information according to the paper size of the paper to print. For example, the control unit 31 generates a coordinate information image using a coordinate information image generation program. Then, when generating the coordinate information image, the control unit 31 passes the identifier information previously obtained to such a coordinate information image generation program as a parameter, and generates a coordinate information image including the identifier information. The control unit 31 creates such coordinate information images on the memory 32 for each physical page.

And the control part 31 performs the process which forms the image which combined the image image based on the print data acquired as mentioned above, and a coordinate information image on a paper.
Here, the image output unit 36 has an image composition function, and is capable of performing an or or xor composition on images stored in a plurality of memories and outputting the result to the image forming unit 23. For this reason, the control unit 31 designates an image developed on the memory and a coordinate information image (coordinate information image including identifier information) generated for the physical page forming the image. Then, the image output unit 36 is instructed to output an image composition. The image output unit 36 outputs signals constituting the synthesized image to the image forming unit 23.

When a signal from the image output unit 36 is input, the image forming unit 23 forms an image on a sheet based on the signal. Thus, the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming unit 23 is output as a state in which the code image in which the coordinate information and the identifier information are encoded is combined with the image image.
The pen 70 with a scanner is configured to be able to write on the paper by the function of the pen and to read the description content on the paper by the function of the scanner.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of the pen 70 with a scanner.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the pen with scanner 70 includes a control unit 71, a reading unit 72, a writing pressure sensor 73, a transmission button 74, and a communication unit 75. When the pen 70 with a scanner having such a configuration is controlled by the control unit 71 and the writing pressure sensor 73 detects the writing pressure (for example, detects a writing pressure equal to or higher than a preset value), the reading unit 72 moves on the sheet. Read the description in the reading range. When the transmission button 74 is pressed, the pen with scanner 70 transmits the read information to the processing server 60 through the communication unit 75.

This pen 70 with scanner performs the following process on the paper 100 on which the code image of the coordinate information and the identifier information is printed.
In the pen 70 with a scanner, when the reading unit 72 reads the code image on the printing surface, the control unit 71 (by the recognition function) reads the coordinate information and the identifier information from the code image. In the pen 70 with a scanner, when the transmission button 74 is pressed, the communication unit 75 transmits the information to a specific processing server 60 set in advance. Further, when writing is performed on the sheet by the pen 70 with a scanner, the control unit 71 also collects stroke information of the writing and transmits the stroke information to the processing server 60.

  The processing server 60 performs processing based on the information transmitted from the pen 70 with a scanner. For example, the processing server 60 includes a processing unit 61 and a storage unit 62 as illustrated in FIG. When information is transmitted from the pen 70 with a scanner, the processing server 60 extracts identifier information from the information. Then, the processing server 60 transmits an identifier acquisition request to the identifier management server 40 using the extracted identifier information. Here, the identifier acquisition request is a request for acquiring an initial identifier and a logical page number. When the processing server 60 receives the initial identifier and logical page number from the identifier management server 40 in response to the identifier acquisition request, the processing server 60 uses the received initial identifier and logical page number to A document information acquisition request for acquiring print data (such as document information corresponding to the logical page number) corresponding to the logical page number is transmitted.

When the document server 50 receives a document information acquisition request from the processing server 60, the document server 50 searches for and acquires an initial identifier and print data (document information corresponding to a logical page number, etc.) included in the document information acquisition request. Then, the document server 50 transmits the acquired print data.
When the corresponding print data is transmitted from the document server 50, the processing server 60 is preset based on the print data and the coordinate information and stroke information previously transmitted from the pen 70 with a scanner. Process. For example, if the print data is a questionnaire sheet, a questionnaire totaling process is performed.

Here, the identifier management server 40 performs the following processing in response to the identifier acquisition request from the processing server 60.
As described above, when there is an identifier securing request from the host computer 10, the identifier management server 40 holds an initial identifier and an identifier space starting from the initial identifier in association with each other. For this reason, when receiving the identifier acquisition request from the processing server 60, the identifier management server 40 acquires an initial identifier corresponding to the identifier information included in the received identifier acquisition request. That is, the identifier management server 40 identifies an identifier space that includes the identifier from the identifier information related to the identifier acquisition request, and identifies an initial identifier that is the first identifier in the identified identifier space.

Then, the identifier management server 40 uses the identifier, the initial identifier obtained in this way, and the number of logical pages held in association with the initial identifier, etc., to calculate the logical page number according to the following equation (3). Calculate and get.
Logical page number = mod ((identifier−initial identifier), number of logical pages) +1 (3)
Here, the mod (A, B) function is a function for obtaining a remainder when A is divided by B.

As described above, the identifier has a different value when the number of output middle copies is different even when the logical page number is common. However, with this equation (3), the logical page number can be uniquely extracted from the identifier regardless of the information on the number of output middle copies (without using the information on the number of middle copies).
The identifier management server 40 transmits the initial identifier and logical page number acquired in this way to the processing server 60.

4 and 5 are flowcharts illustrating an example of a processing procedure of the image forming apparatus 20. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the main routine, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the subroutine.
For example, the processing of FIGS. 4 and 5 is performed by the processing unit 30 of the image forming apparatus 20. FIG. 6 shows an example of the configuration of the control unit 31 of the processing unit 30 that executes the processing of FIGS. 4 and 5. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the control unit 31 includes an image formation control unit 91, an identifier calculation unit 92, and an information acquisition unit 93. In the case of such a configuration, the image formation control unit 91 mainly performs the processing of FIGS. 4 and 5, and the identifier calculation unit 92 and the information acquisition unit 93 perform processing as necessary.

  As shown in FIG. 4, first, in step S1, the image forming apparatus 20 determines whether or not there is a coordinate information embedding instruction (a coordinate information embedding instruction is included in the print file). If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that there is a coordinate information embedding instruction, the process proceeds to step S3. If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that there is no coordinate information embedding instruction, the process proceeds to step S2.

In step S2, the image forming apparatus 20 performs output processing by normal image formation.
In step S3, the image forming apparatus 20 acquires various types of information. Specifically, the image forming apparatus 20 displays information necessary for the subsequent processing, that is, the initial identifier information included in the print file and the contents of the output format instruction such as the number of copies, collation or stack. get. For example, the information acquisition unit 93 performs the process of step S3.

In step S4, the image forming apparatus 20 performs a total logical page acquisition process. Specifically, the image forming apparatus 20 sets the value pn to the number of logical pages.
In subsequent step S5, the image forming apparatus 20 sets the value cn to the number of copies to be printed.
In subsequent step S6, the image forming apparatus 20 sets (initializes) each of the value p indicating the logical page number and the value c indicating the number of output copies to 1.

In subsequent step S <b> 7, the image forming apparatus 20 executes an output process (image forming process) in units of physical pages in FIG. 5. The output process in FIG. 5 will be described in detail later.
In subsequent step S8, the image forming apparatus 20 determines whether or not a collation output instruction is given. If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that the collation output instruction is given, the process proceeds to step S9. If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that this is not the case (in the case of a stack output instruction), the process proceeds to step S13.

In step S9, the image forming apparatus 20 adds 1 to the value p (increments the value p).
In subsequent step S10, the image forming apparatus 20 determines whether or not the value p (the logical page of page p) exists. If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that the value p exists, the image forming apparatus 20 starts the process again from step S7. As a result, the next logical page is printed for the number of copies of the value c. If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that the value p does not exist, the process proceeds to step S11.

In step S11, the image forming apparatus 20 adds 1 to the value c (increments the value c). Further, the image forming apparatus 20 sets the value p to 1 (initializes the value p).
In subsequent step S12, the image forming apparatus 20 determines whether or not the value c set in step S11 is larger than the value cn set in step S5. If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that the value c is equal to or greater than the value cn (c ≧ cn), the printing process illustrated in FIG. If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that the value c is less than the value cn (c <cn), the image forming apparatus 20 starts the process again from step S7. In other words, the image forming apparatus 20 starts printing from the first page of the logical page of the next output number.

In step S13, it is determined whether or not the value c is larger than the value cn set in step S5. If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that the value c is greater than the value cn (c> cn), the process proceeds to step S14. If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that the value c is equal to or less than the value cn (c ≦ cn), the process proceeds to step S16.
In step S14, the image forming apparatus 20 adds 1 to the value p (increments the value p). Further, the image forming apparatus 20 sets the value c to 1 (initializes the value c).

In subsequent step S15, the image forming apparatus 20 determines whether or not the value p exists. If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that the value p exists, the image forming apparatus 20 starts the process again from step S7. If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that the value p does not exist, the printing process shown in FIG. 4 ends.
In step S16, the image forming apparatus 20 adds 1 to the value c (increments the value c). Then, the image forming apparatus 20 starts the process again from step S7. As a result, the next number of copies are printed for the logical page with the value p.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 5, first, in step S31, the image forming apparatus 20 determines whether or not the logical page having the value p (page p) has been developed as an image. That is, the image forming apparatus 20 develops an image of the logical page having the value p in the memory 32 and determines whether or not the image has been stored in the HDD 33. If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that the image has been developed, the process proceeds to step S32. If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that the image has not been developed, the process proceeds to step S33.

In step S <b> 32, the image forming apparatus 20 reads the image of the logical page having the value p from the HDD 33 and develops it on the memory 32. Then, the image forming apparatus 20 proceeds to step S35.
In step S <b> 33, the image forming apparatus 20 develops the image of the logical page having the value p on the memory 32.

In subsequent step S <b> 34, the image forming apparatus 20 stores the image of the logical page developed on the memory 32 in step S <b> 33 in the HDD 33. Then, the image forming apparatus 20 proceeds to step S35.
In step S35, the image forming apparatus 20 sets a value i corresponding to the identifier offset information and a value ID corresponding to the identifier, as described below.

i ← (p−1) + (c−1) × pn
ID ← IDini + i
Here, the value IDini is the value of the initial identifier acquired in step S3. For example, the identifier calculation unit 92 performs the process in step S35.
In subsequent step S36, the image forming apparatus 20 generates a code image (an image obtained by encoding the identifier ID and the coordinate information as identifier information) based on the paper size and the value ID acquired in step S35.

In subsequent step S37, the image forming apparatus 20 synthesizes the code image generated in step S36 and the image image developed on the memory 32 in step S32 or step S33, on the sheet based on the synthesized image. Form an image. Thereafter, the image forming apparatus 20 executes the process of step S8 shown in FIG.
The operation, action, etc. of the image processing system 1 described above are as follows (see FIGS. 7 and 8).

As shown in FIG. 7, the host computer 10 transmits an identifier securing request to the identifier management server 40 through the communication unit 80 when an instruction to embed coordinate information is given by the user and an instruction to execute printing is given. To do.
When the identifier management server 40 receives an identifier securing request from the host computer 10, it searches for and secures a free identifier space. Further, the identifier management server 40 holds the secured identifier group, the initial identifier, and the information on the number of logical pages in association with each other and transmits the initial identifier to the host computer 10.

  Upon receiving the initial identifier from the identifier management server 40 in response to the identifier securing request, the host computer 10 creates a print file based on the received initial identifier information, print data, output format instruction, and coordinate information embedding instruction, The created print file is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 20. On the other hand, the host computer 10 transmits print data to be transmitted to the image forming apparatus 20 to the document server 50 together with initial identifier information.

  When the document server 50 receives the print data and the initial identifier information from the host computer 10, the document server 50 holds the print data and the initial identifier information in association with each other. At this time, when the area information is transmitted from the host computer 10, the document server 50 also holds the area information in association with each other.

  The image forming apparatus 20 receives a print file from the host computer 10 and acquires an identifier based on the initial identifier included in the print file when the print file includes a coordinate information embedding instruction. Then, a code image based on the acquired identifier information and coordinate information image is generated. Then, the image forming apparatus 20 generates a combined image by combining the generated code image and the image image based on the print data in units of physical pages, and forms the generated combined image on a sheet.

Here, FIGS. 9 and 10 show identifiers associated with each physical page (values in parentheses indicate identifier values when the initial identifier is “30”, and values outside parentheses are identifier offsets) Information). Here, FIG. 9 shows the case of collation output, and FIG. 10 shows the case of stack output. In this example, the number of logical pages is five, and the number of copies is three.
As shown in FIG. 9, in the case of collation output, each physical page number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,. On the other hand, identifiers are allocated as 30, 31, 32, 33, 34,.

Also, as shown in FIG. 10, in the case of stack output, the physical page numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 that become logical page numbers 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2,. ,... Are assigned as identifiers 30, 31, 35, 36, 40, 41,.
From these FIGS. 9 and 10, it can be seen that the identifier is uniquely determined if the logical page number and the number of copies are common, regardless of the collation and stack output formats. For example, in the collation output and the stack output, the identifier is “37” for the logical page number “3” in the second copy.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 8, when the pen with scanner 70 reads the embedded code image when writing on such a sheet, the coordinate information and the identifier information are read from the code image and read. The coordinate information and the identifier information are transmitted to the processing server 60 together with the stroke information.

  When the processing server 60 receives information from the pen 70 with a scanner, the processing server 60 transmits an identifier acquisition request to the identifier management server 40 using the identifier in the information. When the identifier management server 40 receives an identifier acquisition request from the processing server 60, it returns an initial identifier and a logical page number corresponding to the identifier relating to the received identifier acquisition request to the processing server 60. At this time, the identifier management server 40 uniquely extracts the logical page number from the identifier regardless of the output number information (without using the output number information).

  When the processing server 60 receives the initial identifier and the logical page number from the identifier management server 40, the processing server 60 transmits a document information acquisition request to the document server 50 using the information. When the document server 50 receives the document information acquisition request from the processing server 60, the document server 50 acquires print data (such as document information corresponding to the logical page number) corresponding to the initial identifier and the logical page number related to the document information acquisition request. Then, the document server 50 transmits the acquired print data to the processing server 60. Here, if the document server 50 holds the region information, the document server 50 also transmits the region information to the processing server 60.

When the processing server 60 receives the corresponding print data (document information or the like) from the document server 50, the processing server 60 uses the print data and the stroke information to perform, for example, a questionnaire totaling process.
Here, an example of the questionnaire counting process will be described.
It is assumed that the user inputs area information in the host computer 10 and area information (information such as a specific coordinate area and items to be written) is registered in the document server 50. For example, in the area information of a check box of a small square frame shape, it includes the coordinate area of the check box and the shape information of the value to be written in the check box such as “x” mark or “re” mark. Yes.

  As a result, the processing server 60 can recognize what information is written in the area specified by the coordinate information by receiving the area information together with the print data from the document server 50. For example, based on the coordinate information and stroke information of characters written on an actual questionnaire sheet by the pen 70 with a scanner transmitted from the pen 70 with a scanner, an “X” mark or a “record” written in the check box is displayed. ", Etc. can be recognized.

In addition, if you register other numerical information, Japanese, and kanji as items to be written, the stroke information can be recognized by OCR (Optical Character Reader) and the numerical information, Japanese, and kanji. Can be recognized.
Then, the processing server 60 can tabulate the information recognized as such as electronic data. As a result, it is possible to collect questionnaires without the need for collecting questionnaire forms and manually counting the contents of the collected questionnaire forms, thus increasing the efficiency of questionnaire aggregation. be able to.

As described above, in the image processing system according to the first embodiment, when the image forming apparatus 20 receives a print file from the host computer 10, the image forming apparatus 20 is based on the print data and the output format instruction included in the print file. The image is formed on the paper.
At this time, the image forming apparatus 20 uses the initial identifier, which is included in the print file and acquired by the host computer 10 requesting the identifier management server 40 for securing the identifier, regardless of the output format. Identifier offset information common to physical pages having the same logical page number and the same number of output copies is acquired (that is, for a plurality of output formats). Further, the image forming apparatus 20 acquires an identifier, which is an added value of the acquired identifier offset information and the initial identifier, corresponding to each physical page. The image forming apparatus 20 synthesizes a code image based on the acquired identifier information and coordinate information into an image image.

As described above, in the image processing system 1, after the host computer 10 acquires the initial identifier information from the identifier management server 40, the physical page in the image forming apparatus 20 is accessed without accessing the identifier management server 40 that manages the identifier space. An identifier is acquired for each time to complete the image forming process.
Therefore, in the image processing system 1, there is no processing for requesting an identifier for each physical page from the identifier management server 40, so that the processing speed of image formation can be increased as compared with a system without such a configuration. it can.

  Furthermore, in the image processing system 1, the identifier is a numerical value. That is, in the image processing system 1, the identifier is assigned to a numerical value. Thus, for example, when expressing 1 million pages, 7 characters (= 56 bits) are required for characters, but numerical values can be expressed in 20 bits. Therefore, the image processing system 1 can suppress the amount of information of the identifier.

  Further, in the image processing system 1, the identifier management server 40 can acquire the logical page number corresponding to the identifier without requiring information on the number of copies in the output (formula (3)). As described above, the identifier management server 40 is not configured to manage identifiers corresponding to the number of copies to be printed. Therefore, in the image processing system 1, management of corresponding data is facilitated even when a large number of copies of logical pages are printed.

The image forming apparatus 20 also uses identifier offset information that is common to physical pages having the same logical page number and the same number of output copies, regardless of the output format (that is, for a plurality of output formats) based on the initial identifier. And the identifier is acquired.
As a result, even when there are a plurality of output formats, the identifiers are not set separately for each of the plurality of output formats, so that it is not necessary to manage the output format information in the identifier management server 40 or the like. As a result, the image processing system 1 can arrive at the original document (print data) from the identifier by the same arithmetic processing, regardless of the output format, while simplifying the configuration for managing the identifier.

  For example, in the case of managing identification information by associating a logical page with a physical page, a discharge format (collation output or stack output) at the time of printing, single-sided printing or double-sided printing, a discharge destination of printed paper, Alternatively, when an output format such as the discharge order of printed paper is set, the physical page varies depending on the output format, so the correspondence data between the logical page and the physical page must be managed by the system for each output format. There is. In this case, when the logical page is acquired, the logical page must be acquired from the corresponding data corresponding to the output format. In other words, the original logical page cannot be reached unless calculation processing is performed for each output format.

  On the other hand, in the image processing system 1 of the first embodiment, it is possible to reach the original document from the identifier by the same calculation process regardless of the output format. That is, in the image processing system 1 according to the first embodiment, the identifier is acquired (issued) without restricting the output format such as unifying the output format in the image forming apparatus 20. A logical page can then be reached from that identifier.

Further, since the image processing system 1 secures a free identifier space, it is possible to prevent different logical pages from being assigned to the same identifier.
In the first embodiment, the image forming apparatus 20 calculates the identifier offset information based on the number of logical pages, the output logical page number, and the number of output middle copies (formula (1)).
Thereby, the image forming apparatus 20 can calculate the identifier offset information by a simple calculation.

At this time, the image forming apparatus 20 can calculate the logical page number based on the number of output logical pages, the identifier offset information, and the identifier without being based on the information on the number of copies in the output ((3) The identifier offset information and the identifier are calculated (formula (1), formula (2)).
By doing so, as described above, the identifier management server 40 can calculate the logical page number without the information on the number of output middle copies.

  In the first embodiment, the identifier management server 40 holds the logical page number, the identifier space, and the initial identifier in association with each other, and sets the logical page number based on the identifier transmitted from the processing server 60. The document server 50 stores the initial identifier and the print data in association with each other, and print data (logical page) based on the logical page number acquired by the identifier management server 40 and the initial identifier used for the acquisition. Number text information).

As a result, the processing server 60 can acquire logical page data corresponding to the identifier read from the physical page image.
In the first embodiment, the processing unit 30 (or the image formation control unit 91) is used as the image forming unit and the combining unit. An information acquisition unit 93 is used as a print format acquisition unit. Further, the identifier calculation unit 92 is used as the common numerical value acquisition unit and the identifier acquisition unit. An initial identifier is used as a representative identifier. Further, the identifier management server 40 and the processing server 60 are used as logical page number acquisition means. Further, the document server 50 and the processing server 60 are used as data acquisition means.

In addition, the following is mentioned as a modification of 1st Embodiment.
In the first embodiment, identifiers are generated with respect to successive logical page numbers, and identifiers are generated with reference to so-called collation output. However, the generation of the identifier is not limited to such a mode. For example, it is possible to generate an identifier that is a continuous number for each output middle number, that is, to generate an identifier based on a so-called stack output.

In this case, the control unit 31 acquires identifier offset information by the following equation (4).
Identifier offset information = (output middle number-1) + (output logical page number-1) * (total number of outputs) (4)
11 and 12 show identifier values generated based on this so-called stack output. FIG. 11 shows the case of collation output, and FIG. 12 shows the case of stack output. In this example, the number of logical pages is 5 and the number of output copies is 3 as in FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 11, in the case of collation output, the physical page numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,. On the other hand, identifiers are allocated as 30, 33, 36, 39, 42,.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12, in the case of stack output, the physical page numbers 1, 3, 1, 2, 2,. .. Are assigned as 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35,.

11 and 12, it can be seen that the identifier has a value uniquely determined as long as the logical page number and the number of output middle copies are common regardless of the collation and stack output formats.
Corresponding to the generation of an identifier based on such a so-called stack output, the identifier management server 40 calculates and acquires a logical page number by the following equation (5).

Logical page number = (identifier−initial identifier) / number of output copies + 1 (5)
Here, the logical page number on the left side is a value obtained by rounding down the decimal point of the calculated value on the right side.
In the first embodiment, the host computer 10, the identifier management server 40, the document server 50, and the processing server 60 are independent of each other. On the other hand, as a modification of the first embodiment, one computer or the image forming apparatus 20 has the functions of the host computer 10 or the like, or the image forming apparatus 20 combines the functions of the host computer 10. You can also have it. In such a case, such a single computer or image forming apparatus 20 is used as the logical page number acquisition means and data acquisition means.

In the first embodiment, the document server 50 holds the initial identifier assigned by the identifier management server 40. On the other hand, as a modification of the first embodiment, the document server 50 and the identifier management server 40 can independently acquire and hold an identifier and an initial identifier, respectively.
Next, a second embodiment will be described.

In the second embodiment, coordinate information can be synthesized only on a specific page.
In the second embodiment, the host computer 10 can specify a range of logical pages in which coordinate information is embedded (coordinate information embedded page range) by user input.

  As an example of the specification method of the coordinate information embedded page range, there is a specification method based on a description such as “1, 4-6, 8-”, which is made by the user's input in the host computer 10. Here, “,” indicates a break between page range designations “1”, “4-6”, and “8-”. Further, “-” (hyphen) indicates that the page range is continuously specified. When two numerical values “4” and “6” are connected by “−” like “4-6” in this example, a logical page in a section between “4” and “6”, That is, “4”, “5”, and “6” are designated. In addition, when there is only “-” after one numerical value “8”, such as “8-”, it indicates that all pages after “8” are designated. Further, when only “-” precedes “5”, such as “−5”, it indicates that all logical pages before “5” are designated. For this reason, for example, when the print data is 10 pages in total and “1, 4-6, 8-” is specified as in this example, “1, 4, 5, This indicates that a logical page of “6, 8, 9, 10” is designated.

Then, the host computer 10 includes such information on the coordinate information embedded page range in the print file, and transmits it to the image forming apparatus 20.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of the image forming apparatus 20 according to the second embodiment. The image forming apparatus 20 according to the second embodiment executes the process shown in FIG. 13 as the subroutine of step S7 in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 13, in the second embodiment, the processing of step S <b> 51 and step S <b> 52 is added to the processing procedure of FIG. 5.
In step S51 performed after step S32 or step S34, the image forming process determines whether the logical page having the value p is within the coordinate information embedded page range. The image forming apparatus 20 acquires the coordinate information embedded page range from the print file in step S3. If it is determined that the image forming process is within the coordinate information embedded page range, the process proceeds to step S35. If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that it is not within the coordinate information embedded page range, the process proceeds to step S52.

In step S52, the image forming apparatus 20 outputs the image of the logical page having the value p, that is, the image image developed on the memory 32 in step S32 or step S33. Thereafter, the image forming apparatus 20 executes the process of step S8 shown in FIG.
As described above, particularly in the second embodiment, the image forming apparatus 20 acquires the information on the coordinate information embedded page range from the print file, and based on the acquired information on the coordinate information embedded page range, the value p It is determined whether the logical page is within the coordinate information embedded page range (step S51).

  If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that it is within the coordinate information embedded page range, the code image and the image image are combined to generate a combined image, and the generated combined image is formed on the sheet (the step). S35 to step S37). If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that it is not within the coordinate information embedded page range, the image forming apparatus 20 forms only the image on the paper without combining the code images (step S52).

As described above, in the second embodiment, the coordinate information embedded page range information is acquired, and based on the acquired coordinate information embedded page range information, the coordinate information (including identifier information) is included only in a specific page. Can be embedded.
Thereby, in the image processing system of the second embodiment, identifier information can be embedded as necessary for each logical page number.

Note that, in the second embodiment, the processing unit 30 (processing functions of step S3 and step S51) is used as acquisition necessity information acquisition means.
Next, a third embodiment will be described.
In the third embodiment, coordinate information is synthesized only on a specific page, and whether or not identifier information is assigned can be set.

  In the third embodiment, the host computer 10 designates a logical page range (coordinate information embedded page range) in which coordinate information is embedded by a user's input, and assigns an identifier to a logical page range (identifier allocation page). Range) can be specified.

  As an example of a method for specifying a range of logical pages, there is a specification method using a description such as “1, [2-3], 5-6, 8-”. Here, “,” and “-” (hyphen) have the same meaning as in the second embodiment. In particular, in the third embodiment, the logical page in “[]” (square brackets) is a page on which only identifier assignment is performed (coordinate information is not embedded, but identifier assignment is performed). Indicates. For this reason, for example, when the print data is all 10 pages and the designation “1, [2-3], 5-6, 8-” is made as in this example, the coordinate information is embedded. The page range is “1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10”, and the identifier assignment page range is “1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10”.

  Then, the host computer 10 (printer driver) makes an identifier securing request to the identifier management server 40 based on such information including the page range and the number of copies. At this time, the host computer 10 transmits the determined (complemented) page range to the identifier management server 40 as the page range. That is, in the example of “1, [2-3], 5-6, 8--”, the printer driver side can count the number of logical pages. 3], 5-6, 8-10 ", etc.

  In the third embodiment, when the identifier management server 40 receives the identifier securing request from the host computer 10, the number of print copies included in the identifier securing request includes the page range included in the identifier securing request. An identifier space that is free as much as the number of pages multiplied (number of prints × number of pages in the page range) is searched and secured. For example, if 10 pages of print data are specified in a page range such as “1, [2-3], 5-6, 8-10” and the number of copies to be printed is 3, then from the identifier space, Twenty-four (= 3 copies × 8 pages (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 logical pages)) identifiers are secured. The identifier management server 40 stores the initial identifier of the reserved identifier space, the number of logical pages, the determined page range information, and the reserved number of identifiers, and transmits the initial identifier information to the host computer 10.

In the third embodiment, the identifier management server 40 uses the identifier, the initial identifier, and the determined page range information that is held (specifically, the number of pages in the identifier assigned page range), The effective logical page number is calculated and acquired by the following equation (6).
Effective logical page number = mod ((identifier−initial identifier), number of pages in the identifier assigned page range) +1 (6)
Incidentally, the identifier management server 40 can calculate and acquire the effective logical page number according to the following equation (7) in correspondence with the generation of the identifier based on the so-called stack output.

Valid logical page number = (identifier−initial identifier) / number of copies + 1 (7)
Here, the logical page number on the left side is a value obtained by rounding down the decimal point of the calculated value on the right side. The valid logical page number indicates a logical page number to which an identifier is assigned among the logical pages. Then, the identifier management server 40 acquires a logical page number corresponding to such a valid logical page number.

  FIG. 14 shows an example of a table in which the logical page number held by the identifier management server 40 is associated with the valid logical page number. For example, the identifier management server 40 creates and holds a table based on the coordinate information embedded page range information transmitted from the host computer 10 in response to the identifier securing request. FIG. 14 shows an example of a table created when “1, [2-3], 5-6, 8-10” is transmitted as the coordinate information embedded page range information.

The identifier management server 40 can also calculate a logical page number from the effective logical page number based on the information on the coordinate information embedded page range without holding such a table.
The identifier management server 40 acquires the logical page number corresponding to the valid logical page number by such a table or calculation.

When the host computer 10 receives the initial identifier information from the identifier management server 40 in response to the identifier securing request, the host computer 10 prints based on the output format instruction, the print data, the coordinate information embedding instruction, the determined page range information, and the initial identifier information. A print file is created, and the created print file is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 20.
15 and 16 are flowcharts illustrating an example of processing of the image forming apparatus 20 according to the third embodiment. 15 is an in-routine flowchart corresponding to the image forming process corresponding to FIG. 4, and FIG. 16 is an image forming process corresponding to FIG. 5 or FIG.

As shown in FIG. 15, in the third embodiment, step S61 is provided instead of the process of step S4 of the processing procedure of FIG. As shown in FIG. 16, in the third embodiment, step S53 is provided for the processing procedure of FIG. 13, and step S54 is provided instead of step S35.
As shown in FIG. 15, in step S61 performed following step S3, the image forming apparatus 20 performs an identifier assignment page acquisition process. Specifically, the image forming apparatus 20 acquires the total number of pages in the identifier assigned page range based on the page range information acquired in step S3. That is, the image forming apparatus 20 calculates the number of logical pages to which identifiers are assigned. That is, here, the image forming apparatus 20 corrects the logical page number of the original print data based on the information of the identifier assigned page range. Then, the image forming apparatus 20 sets the acquired total number of pages to the value IDpn. Then, the image forming apparatus 20 performs the processing from step S5 onward as in the first embodiment.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 16, if the image forming apparatus 20 determines in step S51 that a coordinate information embedding instruction has been given, the process proceeds to step S53.
In step S53, the image forming apparatus 20 sets the value pi as shown below.
pi ← p- (the number of pages outside the identifier allocation page range before p)
In the subsequent step S54, the image forming apparatus 20 uses the value IDpn acquired in step S61 and the value pi set in step S53, as shown below, the value i corresponding to the identifier offset information, and the identifier A value ID corresponding to is set.

i ← (pi−1) + (c−1) × IDpn
ID ← IDini + i
Then, the image forming apparatus 20 performs the processing from step S36 onward as in the first embodiment.
As described above, particularly in the third embodiment, the image forming apparatus 20 acquires the page range information from the print file, and acquires the total number of pages in the identifier assigned page range based on the acquired page range information. . Then, the image forming apparatus 20 sets the acquired total number of pages to the value IDpn (Step S61).

For example, if the page range is “1, [2-3], 5-6, 8−”, the total number of pages in the identifier allocation page range is 8, and the value is set as the value IDpn.
On the other hand, the image forming apparatus 20 determines whether or not the logical page having the value p is in the coordinate information embedded page range (step S51). If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that the page is not within the coordinate information embedded page range, the image forming apparatus 20 forms only the image image on the sheet without synthesizing the code image (step S52).

For example, in the case of a page range such as “1, [2-3], 5-6, 8-”, in addition to “4” and “7” logical pages not described at all, “2” and “3” The logical page is a page that is not subject to coordinate information embedding.
If the image forming apparatus 20 determines that the page is in the coordinate information embedded page range, the image forming apparatus 20 subtracts the current output logical page value p from the page number outside the identifier assigned page range before the value p. Set the value to the value pi.

For example, if the page range is “1, [2-3], 5-6, 8-”, the logical pages “4” and “7” are pages that are not subject to identifier assignment. Thus, for example, if the value p of the current output logical page is “5”, the value pi is 4, and if the value p of the current output logical page is “8”, the value pi is 6.
The image forming apparatus 20 sets a value ID based on the value pi set as described above and the value IDpn of the total number of pages acquired previously (step S54). Then, the image forming apparatus 20 generates a composite image by combining the code image with the set value ID and the image image, and forms the generated composite image on a sheet (steps S36 and S37).

  As described above, in the third embodiment, the image forming apparatus 20 acquires the page range information (step S3), and based on the acquired page range information (specifically, information on the coordinate information embedded page range). The identifier information embedding is switched (step S51), and correction is performed to reduce the number of logical pages of the print data based on the acquired page range information (specifically, identifier assigned page range information) ( Step S61). The image forming apparatus 20 calculates an identifier based on the corrected number of logical pages (step S54). At this time, the image forming apparatus 20 determines the value i (identifier) based on the number of pages of the logical page number and the number of copies that are required to be acquired in the acquired page range information (specifically, information on the identifier assigned page range). (Offset information) is calculated (step S54).

Thereby, in 3rd Embodiment, an identifier can be acquired as needed. Therefore, the identifier to be used can be reduced. In addition, identifier resources managed by the identifier management server 40 can be effectively used.
Further, in the third embodiment, a value i (identifier offset information) corresponding to an identifier necessary for each logical page number can be calculated by a simple calculation.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image processing system, 10 Host computer, 20 Image forming apparatus, 30 Processing part, 31 Control part, 40 Identifier management server, 50 Document server, 60 Processing server, 70 Pen with a scanner, 91 Image formation control part, 92 Identifier calculating part , 93 Information acquisition unit

Claims (8)

Print format acquisition means for acquiring, together with image formation data for forming an image for each logical page, information on a print format of a print medium on which an image is formed based on the image formation data;
An image forming unit that forms an image on a print medium based on the image forming data and the printing format acquired by the printing format acquiring unit;
For each physical page, a common common numerical value is acquired for each physical page having a common print page number indicating the logical page number and the number of copies within the number of print copies in a plurality of print format acquired by the print format acquisition means Common numerical value acquisition means to
A representative identifier, which is a representative identifier among identifier groups composed of a plurality of numerical values secured based on the number of logical pages and the number of copies of the image forming data, and the common numerical value acquisition means An identifier acquisition means for acquiring an identifier that is an addition value with a common numerical value for each physical page in correspondence with each physical page;
A combining unit that encodes and combines the information of the identifier calculated by the identifier acquiring unit into an image of a corresponding physical page of a print medium on which the image forming unit forms an image;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the common numerical value acquisition unit calculates the common numerical value based on the number of logical pages, the logical page number corresponding to the physical page, and the number of print copies.   The common numerical value acquisition unit calculates the common numerical value so that the logical page number can be calculated based on the number of pages of the logical page, the common numerical value, and the identifier without being based on the number of copies. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2. An acquisition necessity information acquisition unit for acquiring information on necessity of acquisition of the identifier for each logical page number;
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the synthesizing unit switches composition of the identifier information based on the necessity information acquired by the acquisition necessity information acquiring unit. 5. . An acquisition necessity information acquisition unit for acquiring information on necessity of acquisition of the identifier for each logical page number;
5. The number of logical pages of the image forming data used for securing the identifier group is corrected based on the necessity information acquired by the acquisition necessity information acquisition unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. An acquisition necessity information acquisition unit for acquiring information on necessity of acquisition of the identifier for each logical page number;
The said common numerical value acquisition means calculates the said common numerical value based on the number of pages of the logical page number required to acquire by the information on the necessity acquired by the acquisition necessity information acquisition means. The image forming apparatus described. An identifier that holds the number of logical pages, the identifier group, and the representative identifier in association with each other and includes the identifier read from the image of the print medium of the physical page combined with the identifier information A logical page number acquisition means for specifying a group, acquiring the logical page number based on the number of pages and the representative identifier of the logical page corresponding to the specified identifier group, and the identifier;
The representative identifier and the image forming data are stored in association with each other, and based on the logical page number acquired by the logical page number acquisition unit and the representative identifier used for the acquisition, the image forming data Data acquisition means for acquiring data of the logical page;
An image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. Print format acquisition means for acquiring, together with image formation data for forming an image for each logical page, information on a print format of a print medium on which an image is formed based on the image formation data;
An image forming unit that forms an image on a print medium based on the image forming data and the printing format acquired by the printing format acquiring unit;
For each physical page, a common common numerical value is acquired for each physical page having a common print page number indicating the logical page number and the number of copies within the number of print copies in a plurality of print format acquired by the print format acquisition means. Common numerical value acquisition means to
A representative identifier, which is a representative identifier among identifier groups composed of a plurality of numerical values secured based on the number of logical pages and the number of copies of the image forming data, and the common numerical value acquisition means An identifier acquisition means for acquiring an identifier that is an addition value with a common numerical value for each physical page in correspondence with each physical page;
A combining unit that encodes and combines the information of the identifier calculated by the identifier acquiring unit into an image of a corresponding physical page of a print medium on which the image forming unit forms an image;
A computer-readable control program for causing a computer to execute.

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