JP2001148774A - Image forming device and image processing unit provided with the image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device and an image processing unit provided with the image forming device that can avoid a defect that grasping the position of a chapter division is difficult in the case that an integrated copy forming a unit page from a plurality of original image data is prepared by double-sided printing and a chapter division image is assigned to the head area of the next page of a transfer sheet to make chapter division to the integrated image. SOLUTION: In a 'double-sided + integration + chapter division' mode, the data of the number of integrated sheets, the number of chapter division images, and the assigned side (front/rear) of the chapter division images designated by a user are acquired, and in the case that a plurality of the original image data indicate copy data, the data are read from a CCD 54, a print request of a PC is read from an I/O port 67 and stored image data are sequentially read from an HD 75 to an image memory 66, and the number of images L is acquired. On the basis of the data above, the assignment processing by which the chapter division is easily recognized, that is, an assignment where an object image for the chapter division is assigned to the head area of the designated side (front/rear) to generate the integrated image data for the unit page is conducted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus having a function of collectively (aggregating) a plurality of image data on a single sheet of transfer paper and forming the image. The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus such as a copier, a printer, a facsimile machine, or an electronic file for performing image editing such as aggregation of a plurality of image data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, high-performance digital copiers, printers and the like have a collective function (so-called N-in-1 function, N: 1) in which a plurality of image data are collectively (aggregated) and formed on a single sheet of transfer paper. Aggregation number). However, when the aggregation function is used, a plurality of image data are collectively printed on one sheet of transfer paper, so that the entire image can be viewed. Therefore, the visibility is excellent. It has been pointed out that there is a problem with the aggregated image after printing, for example, it may not be possible to instantaneously determine whether the image is an image or “in which direction the reading may be performed”. Therefore, the following 1) and 2) have been proposed as proposals for improving the visibility of the aggregated image. 1) When a visible image is output by the aggregation function, a boundary line such as a solid line, a dashed line, or a dash-dot line is combined with each boundary of a plurality of images forming the aggregated image so that the aggregated image can be easily viewed. 2) When executing the N-in-1 function, page order image data for visually recognizing the order (page order) of original image data composed of a plurality of pages to be synthesized on one transfer sheet, By adding the first page image data for visualizing the page to the aggregated image, the user can instantly and easily recognize the first page in a plurality of pages combined on the paper and the arrangement order of each page. I do.

[0003]

However, in the example of the above 2), the location of the first page and the order of each page in one transfer sheet created by using the aggregation mode are described. Although it is possible to recognize whether they are lined up, all page images are treated the same during the aggregation processing except for the first page, and chapter breaks can be recognized even if there is a chapter break between pages in a multi-page document. In this case, it is troublesome to search for chapter breaks when the data is collected on one transfer sheet, leaving a problem in the search. By the way, some conventional copiers and the like perform a chapter break mode in order to recognize a chapter break of a document. In the chapter separation mode, in a copy operation for a document number to be divided into chapters, a transfer sheet to be used at a section with a chapter separation is fed from a designated interleaf paper feed stage and the copy operation is performed. . However, since the relationship between the chapter break mode and the aggregation mode is contradictory in the function realization method, the combination of modes is prohibited. No, the chapter break mode could only be used in the normal print mode for printing one document image on one transfer sheet). As described above, when the aggregate mode is used, the chapter break mode cannot be used, and there is no other method than reading the content of the printed aggregate image as a chapter break. According to this method, as the number of aggregations increases in the aggregation mode, the original image is reduced and printed, and it is increasingly difficult to read the content of the image data to determine whether the chapter is a chapter break. It will be accompanied. Therefore, a method of simulating chapter breaks for the designated image in the aggregation mode is also performed as one countermeasure. This is a method of producing a print output on the document side such that chapter breaks can be recognized, and a method of inserting a plain document so that a designated chapter break image is arranged at a desired position on the aggregated transfer paper. According to this method,
Although the desired output can be obtained, a complicated operation such as removal of the plain document inserted after the job must be performed, which is a very inefficient use method. Regarding the above-mentioned disadvantages occurring in the prior arts 1) and 2), these prior arts do not show any solution.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned situation relating to an aggregated image which forms a page-by-page image by integrating a plurality of original images prepared in order. An image forming apparatus equipped with a function of the apparatus side for allocating a document image for easily recognizing a chapter break with respect to a chaptered document image, and an image processing apparatus having the image forming apparatus It is in. As a solution, a method has been proposed in which a chapter break image is allocated to the top area of the page of the next transfer paper for chapter breaks in the aggregate mode, and both the aggregate printing and the chapter break are achieved. However, according to this method, a large margin area may be generated due to a chapter break, and the number of print transfer sheets is increased. To cope with this, it is conceivable to suppress the increase in the number of transfer sheets by using a double-sided mode instead of the normal single-sided printing mode. Since chapter breaks are mixed on the front and back sides, it is difficult to recognize chapter breaks. The present invention has been made in view of the situation related to such an aggregated image, and a further object thereof is to perform an aggregated copy for creating a unit page from a plurality of original image data by double-sided printing and to be included in the aggregated image. An image forming apparatus and an image forming apparatus which solve the above-described problem that it is difficult to recognize a chapter break when a chapter break image is allocated to a head area of a unit page of a transfer sheet and a chapter break of an aggregated image is performed. An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing device provided with the device.
Further, when implementing the invention of the present application proposed according to the above-described object, there is a possibility that a large number of blank pages may be generated depending on conditions, thereby avoiding wasteful use of resources and easily recognizing chapter breaks. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of executing a still another layout mode which can be performed by a computer, and an image processing apparatus having the image forming apparatus.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of ordered original image data are allocated to image areas forming a predetermined array to generate aggregated image data in page units. An image forming apparatus having an image data generating unit, the image data generating unit includes a chapter separating specifying unit that specifies a specific image in the plurality of original image data as a chapter separating target image; By assigning the specified image data to a specific area of the image area forming the predetermined array, and allocating the original image data in the order included in the chapter unit to the image area in accordance with the predetermined order, by page unit. An image forming apparatus is characterized by generating the aggregated image data.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the image data generating means includes an image number designating means for designating the number of images constituting a consolidated image in page units. The present invention is characterized in that aggregated images are allocated according to the designation of the number-of-images designation means, and aggregated image data for each page is generated.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the specific area to which the image data specified by the chapter break specifying means is allocated is a single area on a page. It is characterized by the following.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, the image data generating means has a function of generating aggregated image data in page units in a two-sided image forming mode, and further includes the chapter. The specific area to which the image data specified by the delimiter specifying means is allocated is a top area on the front surface.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, the image data generating means has a function of generating aggregated image data in page units in a double-sided image forming mode, and further comprises the chapter The specific area to which the image data specified by the delimiter specifying means is allocated is a head area on the back surface.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, the image data generating means has a function of generating aggregated image data in page units in a double-sided image forming mode. When allocating the image data designated by the segment designating means, whether the specific region is a top region on the front surface or a top region on the back surface is determined according to a condition set for each chapter division target image. It is assumed that.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, the image data generating means has a function of generating aggregated image data in page units in a double-sided image forming mode. When the double-page spread image creation mode is set, the specific area is assigned to the image data specified by the chapter break specifying means as the top area on the back side.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the fourth to sixth aspects, the image data generating means is configured to output image data in units of pages including image data designated as chapter breaks. In such a case, normal page-side image data is assigned to both front and back sides to avoid generation of a page of non-image data.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth aspects, the image data generating means includes a page unit including image data designated as a chapter break. In the case where the image data of the last surface is image data of the last surface, the image data of the last surface is normally allocated to both front and back surfaces.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus comprising the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to ninth aspects.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An image forming apparatus and an image processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the following embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 1, the basic functions and operations of the apparatus, such as reading an image and writing an image, will be described in accordance with the apparatus configuration of the apparatus and the flow of a document copying operation. A document bundle is placed on a document table 2 of an automatic document feeder (hereinafter, referred to as "ADF") 1 with the image side of the document facing up, and an operator operates an operation unit (see FIG. 2) 3
When the start key 34 on the top 0 is depressed, the original is fed from the lowermost document to a predetermined position on the contact glass 6 by the feed roller 3 and the feed belt 4. The image data of the document on the contact glass 6 is read by the reading unit 50, and thereafter, the read document is discharged by the feed belt 4 and the discharge roller 5. further,
When the document set detector 7 detects that the next document is present on the document table 2, the document is fed onto the contact glass 6 in the same manner as the previous document. The feed roller 3, the feed belt 4, and the discharge roller 5 are driven by a motor (not shown).

The writing unit 57 controls the light emission of the laser of the writing unit 57 based on the image forming data generated based on the image data read by the reading unit 50, and forms a latent image on the photosensitive member 15 by laser writing. . The photoreceptor 15 carrying the latent image forms a toner image by passing through the developing unit 27. The transfer paper transfers the toner image on the photoconductor 15 while being conveyed by the conveyance belt 16 at the same speed as the rotation of the photoconductor 15. The transfer paper is stacked on the first tray 8, the second tray 9, and the third tray 10, and fed by the first paper feeder 11, the second paper feeder 12, and the third paper feeder 13, respectively. 14
Is transported to a position where it contacts the photoconductor 15. The transfer paper carrying the toner image after the transfer has the image fixed by the fixing unit 17 and is discharged by the paper discharge unit 18 to the finisher 100 which is a post-processing device.

The finisher 100, which is a post-processing apparatus, can guide the transfer paper conveyed by the paper discharge unit 18 of the main body toward the normal discharge roller 102 or the stapling section. Here, by switching the switching plate 101 upward, the sheet is discharged to the normal paper output tray 104 via the transport roller 103, or by switching the switching plate 101 downward, the transport roller 10 is switched.
The sheet is conveyed to the staple table 108 via the staples 5 and 107. The transfer paper loaded on the staple table 108 is discharged every time one sheet is discharged.
In step 09, the paper end faces are aligned, and the sheets are stapled by the stapler 106 upon completion of copying. The transfer paper group bound by the stapler 106 is stored in the stapling completion paper discharge tray 110 by its own weight. On the other hand, a normal paper discharge tray 104 is a paper discharge tray that can move back and forth.
The paper discharge tray unit 104 that can be moved back and forth moves back and forth and sorts the discharged copy paper easily for each document or for each copy unit sorted by the image memory.

When an image is formed on both sides of the transfer paper, the transfer paper fed from one of the paper feed trays 8 to 10 and formed is not guided to the discharge tray 104, but is used for path switching. Is set on the upper side to temporarily stock the double-sided sheet feeding unit 111. Thereafter, the transfer paper stocked in the duplex paper supply unit 111 is again transferred to the photoconductor 1.
In order to transfer the toner image formed on the sheet 5, the sheet is re-fed from the double-sided sheet feeding unit 111, and the transfer sheet after the double-sided transfer is discharged by setting the branching pawl 112 for path switching to the lower side. It is led to the paper tray 104. Like this
When an image is created on both sides of a transfer sheet, a duplex sheet feeding unit 111 is used. Photoconductor 15, transport belt 16, fixing unit 17, paper discharge unit 18, developing unit 27
Are driven by a main motor (not shown), and each of the paper feeders 11 to 13 is transmitted and driven by the drive of the main motor by a paper feed clutch (not shown). The vertical transport unit 14 transmits and drives the drive of the main motor by an intermediate clutch (not shown).

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an operation unit 30 for inputting a command to the apparatus of FIG. 1 by an operator, and FIG. 3 shows an example of a display on a liquid crystal touch panel 31 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the operation unit 30 includes a liquid crystal touch panel 31, a numeric keypad 32, a clear / stop key 33, and a print key 3.
4. There is a mode clear key 35, and the liquid crystal touch panel 3
1 displays a function key 37, a message indicating the number of copies, the status of the copying machine, and the like. In the liquid crystal touch panel 31, when an operator touches a key displayed on the panel, the display of the key indicating the selected function or mode is inverted to black. If the details of the function need to be specified (for example, if the magnification is a variable magnification, etc.), touching a key displays a detailed function setting screen. As described above, since the liquid crystal touch panel uses the dot display, the optimal display at that time can be graphically performed. In the upper left of FIG. 3, a message area for displaying a message such as "Ready to copy" or "Please wait" is displayed. On the right is a copy number display section for displaying the number of sheets set, and an automatic density for automatically adjusting the image density. Key, automatic paper selection key to automatically select transfer paper,
A sort key that specifies the process of arranging copies one by one in the page order, a stack key that specifies a process of sorting copies by page, a staple key that specifies a process of binding the sorted items one by one, and an equal magnification 1x key to set, zoom key to set magnification / reduction magnification,
A double-sided key for setting a double-sided mode, and a print key for setting printing of a stamp, a date, a page, and the like.

Next, the operation of the copying machine of this embodiment until a latent image based on image data read from a document image is formed on a recording surface will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. This operation is mainly performed by the reading unit 50 and the writing unit 57. Reading unit 50
Is composed of a contact glass 6 on which a document is placed and an optical scanning system. The optical scanning system includes an exposure lamp 51, a first mirror 52, a lens 53, and a CCD image sensor 54.
And so on. Exposure lamp 51 and first mirror 5
2 is fixed on a first carriage (not shown), and the second mirror 55 and the third mirror 56 are fixed on a second carriage (not shown). When reading the document image, the first carriage and the second carriage are mechanically scanned at a relative speed of 2: 1 so that the optical path length does not change. This optical scanning system is driven by a scanner drive motor (not shown). The document image is read by the CCD image sensor 54, converted into an electric signal, and processed. Lens 5
By moving the CCD image sensor 3 and the CCD image sensor 54 in the left-right direction in FIG. 1, the image magnification changes. That is, the magnification is set by moving the lens 53 and the CCD image sensor 54 to the left and right to the position corresponding to the designated magnification value.

The writing unit 57 includes a laser output unit 58, an imaging lens 59, and a mirror 60. Inside the laser output unit 58, a rotating polygonal surface that rotates at a high speed at a constant speed by a laser diode as a laser light source and a motor. A mirror (polygon mirror) is equipped. Laser light emitted from a laser diode driven and controlled by the image forming signal is deflected by a polygon mirror that rotates at a constant speed, passes through an imaging lens 59, and is turned back by a mirror 60.
The light is focused and formed on the surface of the photoconductor 15. The deflected laser light is exposed and scanned in a direction (main scanning direction) orthogonal to the direction in which the photoconductor 15 rotates (sub-scanning direction), and the line-by-line image signal output from a selector 64 of an image processing unit described later. Make a record. By repeating main scanning at a predetermined cycle corresponding to the rotation speed and the recording density of the photoconductor 15, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor 15 (an electrostatic latent image is an image formed on the surface of the photoconductor by optical information). Is a potential distribution generated by irradiating the light after the conversion. As described above, the laser beam output from the writing unit 57 irradiates the photoconductor 15 of the image forming system with main scanning, and simultaneously,
A main scanning synchronization signal is generated by irradiating a beam sensor (not shown) provided at a light receiving position near one end of the reference numeral 5. Based on the main scanning synchronization signal, control of image recording start timing in the main scanning direction and generation of a control signal for inputting and outputting an image signal described later are performed.

Next, from the image signal read by the reading unit 50 to the generation of image data to be input to the writing unit 57, the processing of image data centered on the image processing unit (IPU) in this embodiment will be described.
This will be described in detail. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the image processing unit (IPU). It should be noted that the addresses and data in FIG.
Data and addresses connected to the PU 68 are not shown. The reflected light from the document irradiated by the exposure lamp 51 is photoelectrically converted by a CCD image sensor 54, and the obtained image signal is converted into a digital signal by an A / D converter 61 as shown in FIG. . The image signal converted into the digital signal is subjected to MTF correction, γ correction, and the like in the image processing unit 63 after the shading correction 62 is performed. The selector 64 switches the destination of the image signal to one of the scaling unit 71 and the image memory controller 65. The image signal that has passed through the scaling unit 71 is enlarged or reduced according to the scaling factor, and sent to the writing unit 57.

Image memory controller 65 and selector 6
The four sections are configured so that image signals can be bidirectionally input and output. The image memory controller 65 stores the original image in the image memory 66 or the storage device 75, retrieves the stored image, and outputs it to the writing unit 57. Perform the operation of To this end, a CPU 68 for setting operating conditions for the image memory controller 65 and the like and controlling the reading unit 50 and the writing unit 57, and a ROM 69 and a RAM 70 for storing programs and data thereof are provided. In this example, the CPU 68 includes a memory controller 65
, Writing / reading of data in the image memory 66 and writing / reading to / from a mass storage device (a hard disk: HD in this embodiment) 75 are performed.

The image data read from the original image and sent to the image memory controller 65 is sent to the image memory 66 after the image data is compressed by an image compression device in the image memory controller. When storing image data, the image data is transferred and written from the image memory 66 to the HD 75. The reason for performing image compression before writing to the image memory 66 is that the maximum
Although it is possible to directly write data of 56 gradations into the image memory 66, it is necessary to use an excessively large memory capacity to store one document image.
By performing image compression, a limited amount of image memory can be used effectively, and a large amount of original image data can be stored at one time. Data can be output in page order. When outputting the stored document image data, the data in the image memory 66 is output while being sequentially expanded by the expansion device in the memory controller 65. Such a function is generally called “electronic sorting”. Also, the data stored in the HD 75 is output in the same manner after writing the image data in the image memory 66.

Further, utilizing the function of the image memory 66,
It is also possible to read a plurality of document images sequentially by dividing an area for one transfer sheet in the image memory 66. For example, four original images are transferred to the image memory 66 by one transfer paper sheet.
By sequentially writing data in the equally divided areas, it is possible to obtain a copy output in which four originals are combined into one transfer paper image and aggregated. Such a function is generally called “aggregated copy”. A printing unit 74, which is a device for generating print image data, is connected to the CPU bus and generates a character (character) image for date printing and page printing, an arbitrary stamp image, and the like. The image data generated by the printing unit 74 is input to the print synthesizing 1 device 72 and the print synthesizing 2 device 73, and is directly converted into an original image read by the scanner of the reading unit 50 or an image from the image memory 66. It is possible to combine images. Printing composition 1
When the printing image image from the printing unit 74 is synthesized by the device 72, the printing synthesis can be performed on the original (scanner) image read by the reading unit 50, and when the printing image data is synthesized by the printing synthesis device 73. Can be printed and synthesized with the memory images from the image memory 66, the HD 75, and the like. The printing unit 74 not only generates print image data, but also has a print position control function for setting the position of the generated image to be combined with a document image or a memory image.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the timing of a control signal used when combining image signals for one page in the selector 64 will be described. In FIG. 5, / FGATE is a frame gate signal, which indicates an effective period of one page of image data in the sub-scanning direction.
/ LSYNC is a main scanning synchronization signal for each line, and the image signal becomes valid at a predetermined clock after this signal rises. / LGATE is a line gate signal,
This signal indicates that the image signal in the main scanning direction is valid. These signals are represented by a pixel clock (pixel synchronization signal) V
CLK, and data of one pixel is sent for one cycle of VCLK. IPU (image processing unit,
4) separate / FGATE, / LSYNC, / LGATE, VCLK for image input and output, respectively.
, And various image input / output combinations can be realized.

FIG. 6 shows the memory controller 6 in FIG.
5 is a block diagram showing the image memory 66 in more detail. FIG. With reference to FIG. 6, the configurations and operations of the memory controller 65 and the image memory 66 that perform processing to output the captured input image data as various types of page data will be described in detail. The memory controller 65 has blocks of an input data selector 101, an image synthesizing unit 102, a primary compression / decompression unit 103, an output data selector 104, and a secondary compression / decompression unit 105. The setting of control data in each block is performed by the CPU 68 (see FIG. 4). The image memory 66 includes a primary storage device 106 and a secondary storage device 107. The primary storage device 106 can perform high-speed access to, for example, a DRAM or the like so that data can be written to the memory substantially in synchronization with the transfer speed of input image data, or data can be read from the memory at the time of image output at a high speed. Use memory. Also, the primary storage device 10
Reference numeral 6 denotes a configuration in which image data to be processed can be divided into a plurality of areas according to the size of the image data to be processed and input / output of image data can be simultaneously performed. That is, in order to enable image data input and output to be executed in parallel in each divided area, an interface with the memory controller 65 is connected by two sets of address and data lines for reading and writing. Accordingly, an operation of outputting (reading) an image from the area 2 while inputting (writing) the image to the area 1 is enabled. The secondary storage device 107 is a large-capacity memory for storing data for synthesizing and sorting input images. For both the primary and secondary storage devices, if elements that can be accessed at high speed are used, data processing can be performed without distinction between primary and secondary, and control is relatively simple, but here, elements such as DRAM are used. Although the access speed to the secondary storage device 107 is not so high because of its expensiveness, a configuration is adopted in which an inexpensive, large-capacity recording medium is used and input / output data processing is performed via the primary storage device 106. By employing the configuration of the image memory as described above, it is possible to realize a device capable of input / output, storage, processing, and the like of a large amount of image data with an inexpensive and relatively simple configuration.

The outline of the input / output operation of the memory controller 65 will be described. <1> Image Input (Save to Image Memory) At the time of image input, the input data selector 101 selects image data to be written to the image memory 66 (primary storage device 106) from a plurality of input data. Make a selection. The image data selected by the input data selector 101 is supplied to the image synthesizing unit 102, and synthesizes with the data already stored in the image memory there. The image data processed by the image synthesis unit 102 is compressed by the primary compression / decompression unit 103, and the compressed data is written to the primary storage device 106. Primary storage device 1
The data written in 06 is subjected to secondary compression /
After the compression is further performed by the decompression unit 105, the secondary storage device 1
07. <2> Image Output (Read from Image Memory) At the time of image output, image data stored in the primary storage device 106 is read. When the image to be output is stored in the primary storage device 106, the image data in the primary storage device 106 is decompressed by the primary compression / decompression 103, and the decompressed data or the decompressed data The output data selector 104 selects and outputs data after image synthesis of the input data and the input data. Image synthesis unit 1
02 is a combination of the data in the primary storage device 106 and the input data (having a function of adjusting the phase of the image data), and selection of the output destination of the combined data (image output, the primary storage device 10).
6 write-back or simultaneous output to both output destinations). If the image to be output is not stored in the primary storage device 106, the secondary storage device 1
07 is subjected to secondary compression /
After the data is decompressed by the decompression 105 and the decompressed data is written to the primary storage device 106, the above-described image output operation is performed thereafter.

Here, a description will be given of the image data allocating operation at the time of the aggregate copying performed by the above-described copying machine.
When an image scanned and read by the CCD 54 (see FIG. 4) or an image stored in the HD 75 or the like is written in the image memory 66, the writing position is designated by the image memory controller 65 (FIG. 4). (Refer to FIG. 3), the coordinates of the writing start of the designated image are designated (writing start address). Fig. 7 shows four images as one image (transfer paper image)
1 shows an example of the form of the copied images when the images are combined. FIG. 8 shows each image before aggregation. FIG. 9 shows a page image which is written for each image, assigned by specifying a start address, and aggregated. The respective images (Img1 to Img4) are read from the image memory in which the respective images before aggregation shown in FIG. 8 are stored, and the image data to be placed on the transfer paper is written to the write start addresses TA1 to TA4 on the image memory 66. Specify and write each time. That is, the image data of Img1 is written to the write start address TA1, and the image data of Img2 is sequentially written to the address of TA2, and the image data of Img1 is written to the address of TA3.
By writing mg3 and Img4 to the address of TA4, the four image data are consolidated into one page.

Next, the assignment of image data in the "double-sided + combined + chapter-separated" mode of the present invention, in which the combined copy is divided into chapters and the two-sided copy function is used, will be described. For explanation of the allocation of the image data, reference is made to an image example of the original image data shown in FIG. This image example is
Images Img1 to Img8 with a total number of eight images in order
, Image number 2 (Img2) and image number 7
(Img7) indicates a case where a chapter break is designated. One form of the “double-sided + 4 in 1 / aggregation + chapter division” mode is to allocate an image designated as a chapter break to the top of the front side of the front and back sides. When applied to the example of the image in FIG. 15, the images are allocated such that the images Img2 and Img7 come to the head of the front surface as shown in FIG. In another mode of this mode, an image specified as a chapter break is allocated to the front of the front of the front and back surfaces. When applied to the same image example as above, images Img2 and Img7 are allocated so as to be at the top of the back surface as shown in FIG.

FIGS. 10 to 12 show one embodiment of the input screen of the operation panel in the case of instructing "double-sided + aggregation + chapter-separation" copy. When the double-sided / aggregate key is selected on the input screen for selecting various functions shown in FIG.
The selection screen for duplex / aggregation in FIG. 11 opens. Then, after selecting the number of images to be consolidated, the user can select a consolidation mode in which the finish is double-sided printing using the double-sided key on the same screen, and further, by selecting the image number specification key, the document image number specification screen for consolidation shown in FIG. Opens. Here, the page / number of the document image to be divided into chapters at the time of aggregation (if the target image is a series of documents, specify the document by the number of pages; if the target image is an image stored in memory, the stored image (Designated by the group image number) and set with the enter key. The layout of the chapter-separated image on the back side is designated by the back side designation key.

Next, an aggregated image forming operation in the "double-sided + aggregated + chapter-separated" mode according to the present invention specified as described above will be described with reference to the attached flowchart. In this embodiment, a specified image to be divided into chapters is allocated to a head area of a matrix of aggregated images arranged in a unit page image. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an outline of a copy operation from the start of a job to the end of a job for realizing the “double-sided + aggregation + chapter-break” mode. This flow is started by first determining whether or not the print (start) key 34 for instructing the start of printing has been pressed on the operation unit 30 (S1).
0). Next, it is determined whether or not the setting of a document image number (page) to be divided into chapters in the combining mode and the combining mode according to the present invention has been performed (S11, S12). This setting is performed on the input side shown in FIGS. 10 to 12 on the operator side before the print key 34 is pressed, or is instructed by a print request from a PC (personal computer). As a result of the determination in S11, S12, if either is "NO", "RETURN" is performed because it is outside the target range of the process according to this flow.

On the other hand, when the setting of the grouping mode and the specification of the document image page to be divided into chapters in the grouping mode are performed, the number of pages to be grouped per page (hereinafter referred to as “N”) is specified. ) And the original image page (number) data specifying which page (or number) is to be used for chapter separation is acquired (S13). These data depend on the operator's setting input. Next, reading processing of document image data is performed (S14). In the case of copying, this processing corresponds to an operation of loading image data of a document set in the ADF 1 into the image memory 66 (106, 107). The image reading is not limited to this example. When a print request is issued from a PC (personal computer), the I / O of FIG.
When image data is taken into the image memory 66 from the port 67 or when image data stored in the HD 75 in FIG.
May be read to When the reading of the document image data (S14) is completed, the number of the read document images (hereinafter referred to as "L"), that is, the data of the number of images to be actually processed is obtained (S15). As described above, when all the basic data required for executing the “double-sided + aggregation + chapter-separation” mode is obtained, the allocation processing is performed (S1).
6).

FIG. 14 is a detailed flowchart of the allocation process (S16) in the flow of FIG. The variables i and j shown in the flow are defined as follows. i: The number of aggregated images per page. Aggregation number N
In the case of, values of 1 to N are taken. j: Number of assigned original image images. When the number of document images is L, a value of 1 to L is taken. When the pages are allocated over a plurality of pages, the total number is used. The illustrated layout processing flow shows an embodiment (layout in FIG. 16) in which the specified chapter-separated image is allocated to the surface of the transfer paper.
In this flow, first, as the initialization processing, the number j of allocated original images and the number i of aggregated allocated images per page are set to 1 (S20, 21). Thereafter, it is checked whether or not j matches the document image number designated as the chapter-separated image (S22). If it matches, it is checked whether or not i = 1 so that the allocation position is at the top of the page. It is checked whether it is an area (S23). If the layout position is not the top area, the top area of the page is set as the image layout position by performing a page break on the transfer paper (S25). At this time,
i = 1 and the number of page breaks (of transfer paper)
Do one.

After checking i = 1 or changing the page to i = 1, it is checked whether the duplex mode is set (S24). If the mode is the double-sided mode, it is checked whether the image layout side on which a page break is performed is the front side (S2
6) If it is not the front side, a page break of the transfer paper is performed to assign it to the front side, and the number of page breaks is incremented by one (S2).
7). By this processing, the image designated as a delimiter is not allocated to the back side. Here, the same processing procedure is performed as in the case where j is not the document image number designated as the chapter-separated image in step S22, and when the mode is not the duplex mode in step S24. That is, it is checked whether the number of page breaks is 0 (S28).
If the result is 0, the image is allocated to the image allocation position i (S31). On the other hand, if the number of page breaks is one or more in step S28, the image written so far in the image memory is formed (transferred) and output (S29), and the written page is advanced by the number of page breaks (S30). ). Then, image data is allocated to the image allocation position i (head area) (S31). Here, it is checked whether or not j has reached the number L of images targeted for the aggregated image (S32). If it has reached, output processing after final image allocation is performed (S33). If j has not reached the number L of images, 1 is added to j and the process proceeds to the next image writing step (S34).
Here, i = N is checked to determine whether i has reached the aggregation number N (S35). If i has not reached the aggregation number N, i is counted up by one (S38). If i has reached the number of aggregations N, the number of page breaks is incremented by one (S36), and the image pasting position is set to the head area of the page with i = 1 (S37). Thereafter, the operation in the chapter unit is repeated until j = L (S32), and “double-sided + aggregation +
Complete "Chapter break" mode.

In the above embodiment, an example of the invention in which a chapter-break image is allocated to the front surface of the transfer paper has been described. However, the invention in which the chapter-break image is allocated to the back surface of the transfer paper (see FIG. 17).
Can be implemented by employing the same means as in the above embodiment. In order to implement the present invention, S26 and S27 in the flow shown in FIG. 14 can be realized by changing the procedure to shift to the process of S27 when the determination in S26 is on the back side. In addition, the invention that enables selection of front-side layout / back-side layout for each specified page in which an image specified as a chapter-separated image is allocated to the head area can be implemented as follows. When the page (number) of the chapter-separated image is designated on the image designation screen at the time of aggregation in FIG. 12, the designation is performed using the back side designation key for each designated page. For example, when the key is set to OFF, the specified page is assigned to the front side, and when the key is set to ON, the specified page is assigned to the back side. . In this case, in S26 of the flow shown in FIG. 14, it is determined whether the side of the designated page where ON / OFF of the key is to be set and image layout is to be performed is the front side or the back side, thereby reducing the number of page breaks to one. Whether or not to perform the process of counting up (S27) is selected, and the operation according to the designation by the user can be performed.

In the above-mentioned invention, the case where surface layout is specified for a chapter-separated image and at the same time a mode in which double-sided printed copies are spread, such as two-point stapling, is set. In addition, the invention in which the chapter break image is prevented from being assigned to the front surface and is assigned to the back surface in order to facilitate recognition of the chapter break can be implemented as follows. This corresponds to S in the flow shown in FIG.
When the spread mode is set in the determination at step 26, the processing that has been shifted to S27 when the designation is “front side layout” is shifted to S27 when the “back side layout” is selected, and the “front side layout” At the time, the processing can be carried out so as to shift to S31. Although the above processing has been described for the case of performing one copy,
In the case of sorting and outputting a plurality of copies, S2 in FIG.
It is also possible to temporarily store the output data in the HD 75 in the output processing of the current one page of image memory data of No. 9 and to call and print the aggregated image data for the second and subsequent copies.

Next, the above-mentioned "double-sided + aggregate + chapter break"
In order to eliminate the inconvenience that can be caused by the mode allocation processing, that is, the occurrence of a blank page, the normal double-sided layout processing procedure is included, contrary to the chapter separation rule of allocating the chapter separation image to one side. An embodiment of the invention relating to the “double-sided + aggregation + chapter-break” mode will be described. The occurrence of this blank surface is caused by the back surface of the second transfer paper and the back surface of the third transfer paper in the layout example of the finished transfer paper shown in FIG. 19, and the final surface of the layout example of the finished transfer paper shown in FIG. And the back surface of the transfer paper immediately before the final surface. The example of FIG. 19 shows the result of applying the embodiment in which the chapter-separated image is assigned to the surface of the transfer paper to the image sequence of the original image data illustrated in FIG.
Aggregation of 2in1 is performed, and the fourth and sixth images of the original image data are designated as chapter breaks. In addition, the example of FIG.
2 shows the result of applying the embodiment in which the chapter-separated designated image is allocated to the surface of the transfer paper to the image sequence of all seven original image data illustrated in FIG. , The sixth image of the original image data is designated as a chapter break. In the present invention, processing is performed so that the blank surface generated in the example of FIG. 19 is not created on the finished transfer paper, the result of the finish layout shown in FIG. 20 is obtained, and the final surface shown in the example of FIG. 23 is obtained. Processing is performed so as not to create a blank surface related to the image on the finished transfer paper to obtain the finish layout result shown in FIG. 24. The image formation in the "" mode is described below.

Here, an example of an input screen of the operation panel in the case of instructing "duplex + aggregation + chapter break" copy including double-side layout processing will be described. The instruction is performed by operating the input screen of the operation panel in the same manner as in the case of instructing the “double-sided + aggregate + chapter-separated” copy described above. That is, it can be an input screen for selecting various functions shown in FIG. When a double-sided / combined key is selected on this screen, a double-sided / combined selection screen shown in FIG. 11 is opened. Then, after selecting the number of images to be consolidated, the user can select a consolidation mode in which the finish is double-sided printing using the double-sided key on the same screen, and further, by selecting the image number specification key, the document image number specification screen for consolidation shown in FIG. Opens. Here, the page / number of the document image to be divided into chapters at the time of aggregation is input, and the setting is made using the enter key. The layout of the chapter-separated image on the back side is designated by the back side designation key.

FIG. 26 shows a procedure for creating a memory image generated on the image memory in order to form an image in the "double-sided + aggregation + chapter-separation" mode including a one-sided / two-sided layout process for a chapter-segment in this example. It is a flowchart. By performing image formation according to a flow described later using the memory image created by this procedure, the above two types including the both-side layout processing (FIG. 2)
(0, FIG. 24) in the "double-sided + aggregated + chapter-separated" mode to enable a finish without blank pages. A procedure for creating a memory image generated on the image memory according to the present embodiment will be described below. In this procedure, processing of allocating original image data to an image memory, generating a memory image, assigning an assigned image number, and registering the assigned image number in the chapter chapter data is performed. The assigned image formation image number is a number assigned to an image in units of planes held in an image formation memory for writing on a transfer surface at the time of image formation. Therefore, in the case of a consolidated image, for example, in the case of 4in1, the allocated image forming image number is updated every time the allocation of the image to the four regions is completed, and the next memory image is allocated. By this number, an image forming operation from the image on the image forming memory to the transfer surface is finally performed. Further, the image chaptering data is one of the control data used at the time of image formation. When an image specified as a chapter separation is included in the image of each surface held in the image forming memory, the assigned image forming image number is assigned. Is registered as this data.

This procedure relating to the creation of a memory image generated on the image memory will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In this flow, the processing procedure differs depending on whether or not the image is specified as a chapter break. Therefore, the original image data to be processed (Img1, Img2...
) Are read out in order and sent in, it is first checked whether or not the image is an image for which a chapter break is specified (S60). If the image has not been designated as a chapter break in step S60, this image is allocated to the image forming memory (S64). After the assignment, it is checked whether or not the aggregation mode is set (S65). If the aggregation mode is not set, the processing of this image is completed, and the processing proceeds to the next input image. In the case of the aggregation mode in step S65,
It is checked whether or not the allocation of the aggregated image is completed based on the allocated images (S66). As a result, if the processing has not been completed, the processing of this image is completed, and the processing shifts to the processing of the next input image. If the assignment of the aggregated images has been completed in step S66, the assigned image forming image number is incremented by one (S6).
7) After the processing of this image is completed, the process proceeds to the processing of the next input image.

FIGS. 21 and 25 show examples of application of the above flow.
This will be described below. FIG. 21 shows the case where the present flow is applied to the image sequence of the original image data illustrated in FIG. 18, and FIG. 25 shows the case where the present flow is applied to the image sequence of all seven original image data illustrated in FIG. 3 shows a memory image generated in the example shown in FIG. Here, 2in1 is aggregated, and Img4 and Img6 are designated in the example of FIG. 18 and Img6 is designated in the example of FIG. First image Im of a series of original images
g1 is processed according to the flow. First, it is determined whether or not Img1 is an image designated as a chapter break (S60). Since it is not designated, it is assigned as the first image of "memory image 1" in the image memory as shown in FIGS. (S64). Here, since the 2-in-1 aggregation mode is set, the assignment of “memory image 1” is not completed when Img1 is assigned to the head of “memory image 1”. Therefore, the processing of Img1 is completed, and the next Img1 is processed.
The process moves to mg2 (S66). Note that the “memory image 1” is an initially assigned layout image number. Similarly to the flow described above, it is determined whether or not Img2 is an image designated as a chapter break (S60). Since it is not designated, as shown in FIGS. It is assigned to the same image memory surface (S64). Here, since the 2-in-1 aggregation mode is set, it is determined that the allocation of “memory image 1” has been completed in a state where Img2 has been allocated (S66). The memory image 2 is set, and the process for Img2 is completed, and the process proceeds to the next Img3 (S67). For an image without chapter break designation, the processing after Img3 is performed in the same manner as described above. That is, the image shown in FIG.
22, Img7, and the images of FIG. 22 are up to Img5 and Img7, and the results are shown in FIGS.
It is shown in FIG.

With respect to the creation of a memory image for an image designated as a chapter break, the original image data (Img1, Img) sent in step S60 in the flow of FIG.
g2...) are determined to be chapter designation images. If the image is a chapter-separation-designated image, the assigned image number of the memory image to be assigned is incremented by one, and the next number is assigned (S61), and the assigned image-image number is registered as image chapter separation data (S62). It should be noted that the image chapter separation data is one of the control data used at the time of image formation, and indicates that the memory image of the registered number is an image to which a chapter separation designation image is allocated. Next, the chapter-separated designation image is assigned to the memory image surface of the registered image-forming image number, the processing of this image is completed, and the processing proceeds to the next input image.

Similarly to the above, the present flow is applied to the original image data illustrated in FIGS. 18 and 22, and a specific example will be described with reference to FIGS. Img4, Img6, and Img4 of the image sequence of the original image data illustrated in FIG.
Img6 in FIG. 22 is a chapter break designation image, and this flow is applied. In the case of Img4 in FIG. 18, first, in step S60, it is determined whether or not the image has been designated as a chapter break. Here, since it is designated, the assigned image number of the memory image to be assigned is incremented by 1 and the next number is assigned. That is, as shown in FIG. 21, the assigned image number assigned to Img3 is assigned. Is incremented by 1 to “memory image 2” (S61). In this example, after the assignment of Img3, the assignment of the aggregated image is not completed, and in this state, the process proceeds to the next “memory image 3”, so that a part of the image surface of “memory image 2” is assigned. Is not performed and a blank page is obtained. Thereafter, the updated “memory image 3” is registered as image chaptering data (S62). In addition,
In FIG. 21, an assigned image number registered as a chapter-separated assigned image is indicated by an asterisk (*). Then Img
21 is assigned as the first image of “memory image 3” in the image memory as shown in FIG.
Is completed, and the process proceeds to the next Img5. Also, in the case of Img6 in FIG. 18 and the case of Img6 in FIG. 22, the processing as the chapter break designation image is applied as in the case of Img4 described above. As shown in FIGS. 21 and 25, the result is allocated as a leading image of “memory image 4” registered as a chapter-separated allocated image.
At this time, in both cases of FIG. 21 and FIG. 25, “memory image 4” is registered as a chapter-separated layout image (*). In the example of FIG. 22, since Img7 is the final image, FIG. 25 shows a state in which all images have been allocated as memory images.

In the above, the procedure for creating a memory image generated on the image memory has been shown by the processing flow of FIG. The embodiment described below shows a processing procedure for forming a finished image having no blank surface on a transfer sheet based on the memory image created on the image memory by the above procedure. In the present invention, this image forming processing is performed by two different image forming processing procedures. The first image forming process is a process for avoiding the occurrence of a blank page occurring in the example of FIG. 19, and the second image forming process is a process of FIG.
In the processing for avoiding the occurrence of a blank sheet related to the image of the final surface in the example of the above example, the results of the layout allocation shown in FIGS. 20 and 24 are obtained. The first image forming process will be described with reference to a flow chart shown in FIG. 27 showing an embodiment of this processing procedure. The above processing procedure is stored in the image memory (FIG. 26).
(FIG. 21 and FIG. 25, image data created on the memory for each transfer surface and assigned with an assigned image number), and the memory image Is read out in numerical order to start this flow. In this flow, first, it is checked whether or not the double-sided printing mode is set for the read memory image (S40). If the double-sided printing mode is not set, this flow is not applied.

If it is determined in S40 that the double-sided printing mode is set, the assigned image forming image number of the image is registered in the image chapter separation data (FIG. 26, S6).
2) Check whether or not (S41), and if registered,
It is checked whether or not the "chapter image allocation flag" is OFF (S42). The chapter separation image allocation flag is a control signal for controlling an image forming operation so as not to generate a blank surface on the finished transfer surface. If the flag is ON, it indicates that the memory image transferred immediately before is a chapter-separated layout image and has been transferred to one of the front and back predetermined surfaces according to the chapter-break rule. . Therefore, if the memory image after this flag is turned on is also a chapter-separated layout image, that is, if the memory image is a continuous chapter-separated layout image, a normal operation is performed contrary to the chapter break rule. That is, both the front and back surfaces are selected as the transfer surfaces. In a normal operation, when a memory image is a continuous chapter-separated layout image, a blank page that is always generated when the chapter-separation rule is followed is prevented. Therefore, in the present flow, if it is determined in S41 that the image is a chapter-separated layout image, the flag OFF is confirmed in S42, and then the transfer is performed according to the chapter-separation rule. Is turned ON (S43). Then, as a chapter-separated layout image,
Since the chapter break is performed on the front surface in accordance with the rule of the chapter break, that is, the memory image (image forming image data) is transferred and formed on the front surface (S44). Thereafter, the number of the image forming plane to be formed next is incremented by one (S45), the processing of this memory image is completed, and the flow returns to the start state to wait for the next memory image.

If the next transmitted memory image is also a chapter-separated layout image, it is determined that the flag is ON by checking the chapter-separation layout flag in S42. That is, it is recognized that the chapter-separated layout image is continuous. In this case, in the present invention, the image is transferred to the surface following the previous transfer surface (the previous surface was the front surface, this time is the back surface) by a normal operation, contrary to the chapter break rule (S46). At this time, the chapter break allocation flag is turned off, and the fact that the image was not formed by the chapter break allocation is left as data (S47). Note that S46 is an image forming process of a normal image which is not a chapter-separated layout image, and includes a process of sequentially forming image-formed image data on both sides of the transfer surface irrespective of the rule of the chapter-separation. Is also determined to be not a chapter-separated layout image. At this time, the chapter break assignment flag is turned off (S
47).

Here, a specific example will be described with reference to FIG. 20, which shows the result of applying the flow of FIG. 27 to the memory image illustrated in FIG. “Memory image 3” and “Memory image 4” marked with * in the image sequence of the memory image illustrated in FIG. 21 are images registered as chapter-divided layout-formed images. Therefore, “memory image 3” is represented by S in this flow.
A determination at 42 is made. In S42, the chapter-separated image allocation flag is OFF (as shown in FIG. 21, the previous “memory image 2” is not an image registered as a chapter-separated image, but a normal image is formed. ), The chapter-separated image allocation flag is turned ON, that is, OFF → ON (S4).
3). Then, "memory image 3" is used as a chapter-separated layout image according to the chapter-segmenting rule, that is, since the chapter-segmentation is performed on the front surface, the image is transferred and imaged on the surface of the next transfer paper (S44) ). As a result, FIG.
As shown in (2), since the "memory image 2" is the back surface, it is transferred to the next image forming surface (front surface). Thereafter, the number of the third image forming surface on which the “memory image 3” is formed is incremented by one, and the process proceeds to the fourth image forming surface (S45), and the processing of this memory image ends. In the case of the next “memory image 4”, since this image is also an image registered as a chapter-separated layout image,
The determination at S42 is made. Here, since the chapter-separated image allocation flag is set to ON in the previous processing of “memory image 3”, the current image of the chapter-separated allocated image is formed by a normal transfer operation without observing the chapter-separated rules ( S4
6). Therefore, if the chapter separation rule is adhered to, the back surface of the transfer paper on which the previous “Memory Image 3” was formed becomes blank and the “Memory Image 4” is formed on the next transfer paper. Therefore, the “memory image 4” is formed on the back surface of the transfer paper on which the “memory image 3” is formed. FIG. 20 shows the result. As shown in FIG. 20, when the image is a continuous chapter-separated layout image, normal transfer is performed against the chapter-separation rule so that a blank sheet is not generated.

Next, a description will be given of a second image forming process for eliminating a blank sheet surface associated with an image on the final surface, with reference to a flow chart shown in FIG. 28 showing an embodiment of this processing procedure. In the image memory, a memory image created by the above-described processing procedure (FIG. 26) (as shown in FIGS. 21 and 25, image data created on the memory for each transfer surface and assigned an assigned image number) ) Is held, and the memory image is read out therefrom in numerical order to start this flow. In this flow, first, it is checked whether or not the double-sided printing mode is set for the read memory image (S50). If the double-sided printing mode is not set, this flow is not applied.

If it is determined in S50 that the double-sided printing mode is set, the assigned image forming image number of the image is registered in the image chapter separation data (FIG. 26, S6).
2) It is checked whether or not (S51). If the image has been registered, it is checked whether this image is the final image of all the image data (memory image) created in the memory with the assigned image number (S52). In this case, the chapter-separated layout image is formed according to the chapter-segment rule, that is, the chapter-segmentation is performed on the front surface, so that the memory image (image-formed image data) is transferred and formed on the front surface (S53). . Thereafter, the number of the image forming plane to be formed next is incremented by one (S54), the processing of this memory image is completed, and the flow returns to the start state to wait for the next memory image. If the sent memory image is a chapter-separated layout image, whether or not it is the final image is checked in S52. As a result, if the memory image is the final image, the rule of chapter-separation is not adhered to in the present invention. Then, the image is transferred to the surface following the previous transfer surface (if the previous time was the front surface, this time the back surface). That is, an image is formed by a normal transfer operation (S55), and the processing of a series of memory images ends. . S55 is an image forming process of a normal image which is not a chapter-separated image.
Since there is a process of sequentially forming image data on both sides of the image forming image data regardless of the chapter break rule, the process is also performed when it is determined in S51 that the memory image is not a chapter break layout image.

Here, a specific example will be described with reference to FIG. 24 showing the result of applying the flow of FIG. 28 to the memory image illustrated in FIG. “Memory image 4” marked with an asterisk in the image sequence of the memory image illustrated in FIG. 25 is an image registered as a chapter-separated layout image. Therefore, the determination of S52 is made in the present flow for “memory image 4”. Since the “memory image 4” is the final image of all the image data (memory image), the normal transfer process of S55 is performed, that is, the surface following the previous transfer surface (the last Is the front side, this time the back side)
Transfer to Therefore, if the chapter separation rule of forming the chapter-separated layout image on the front surface of the transfer paper is adhered to, the back surface of the transfer paper on which the previous “Memory Image 3” is formed becomes blank, and the next transfer paper is printed with “Memory”. When the “image 4” is formed, the image is formed by normal transfer, and thus the “memory image 4” is formed on the back surface of the transfer paper on which the “memory image 3” is formed.
FIG. 24 shows the result. As shown in FIG. 24, when a chapter-separated layout image is the final image, blank paper is not generated by performing normal transfer contrary to the chapter-separation rule. The above processing has been described for the case where one copy is copied.
S44 and S46 of FIG. 28 or S53 and S of FIG.
It is also possible to temporarily store the output data in the HD 75 in the output processing of the current one page of image memory data of 55, and to call and print the aggregated image data for the second and subsequent copies.

[0052]

(1) Effects corresponding to the first, second, and third aspects of the present invention A specific image in a plurality of original images constituting an aggregated image is designated as a chapter break target image, and the designated image is specified. This is not possible in the related art by allocating to a specific area of a page-based aggregated image composed of image areas having an arrangement of, and arranging an original image included in a chapter unit according to a predetermined order in a page-by-page aggregated image. It is possible to form an image in "aggregate copy + chapter break" mode, and it is possible to obtain an aggregate image that can easily recognize chapter breaks. Therefore, searching for chapter breaks at the time of combining, inserting blank originals performed with dummy, etc. Work is saved, and convenience is improved. Also, by specifying the number of images constituting the aggregated image in page units and forming a chapter-separated aggregated image according to the specification, the field of use of the aggregated image can be expanded. Furthermore, by setting the area where the image specified as the chapter break is allocated to a single area on the page, the discrimination power of the chapter break increases. (2) Effects corresponding to the fourth aspect of the invention In addition to the effects of the above (1), "double-sided + aggregation + chapter break"
When the aggregated image data is generated by the mode, by setting the area where the image specified as the chapter break is allocated as the top area of the front side, the chapter break at the time of double-sided printing comes to the front side,
The user who sees the copy can clearly recognize the chapter break and does not overlook it. (3) Effect corresponding to the fifth aspect of the invention In addition to the effect of the above (1), "double-sided + aggregation + chapter break"
When the aggregated image data is generated by the mode, by setting the area to which the chapter-separated image is allocated as the top area on the back side, the chapter break at the time of double-sided printing comes to the front side,
In the case of a two-sided spread, by allocating image data from the top of the spread, the back surface of both sides is not blank, the waste at the time of finishing the spread is reduced, and more information can be given to the user.

(4) Effects corresponding to the sixth aspect of the invention In addition to the effects of the above (1), "double-sided + aggregate + chapter break"
When generating the aggregated image data by mode, the area to which the image specified as the chapter break is assigned as the top area on the front surface,
By determining whether to be the head area on the back side according to the conditions set for each chapter break target image, the chapters can be classified more finely (for example, the specified chapter break image is a title image, and When laying out, the front side should be used.When clarifying the paragraphs, such as paragraphs, etc., the two sided surfaces should be used to separate the chapters according to the user's purpose. Can be used separately), so that chapters can be more easily understood. (5) Effect corresponding to the seventh aspect of the invention In addition to the effect of the above (1), "double-sided + aggregation + chapter break"
When the two-sided spread image creation mode (for example, double-sided spread mode, two-sided binding staple, etc.) is set at the time of generating the aggregated image data by the mode, the image data specified by the chapter break specifying means is set. The system automatically assigns the data to the first area on the back surface, thereby making it possible to assign the data to an appropriate arrangement, avoid forgetting to set the specified page and troublesome setting, and prevent erroneous copying.

(6) Advantages Corresponding to the Claim 8 In addition to the advantages (2) to (4), when generating aggregated image data in the "double-sided + aggregation + chapter division" mode, If the assignment is made to only one side, if the page-based image data (a memory image created as an image forming the image forming surface in the memory) is continuously specified as a chapter break, it may not be possible to copy both sides. However, a blank page is always inserted, which is a waste of resources.However, when image data for each page is continuously specified as chapter breaks, the chapter break allocation rule is used for continuous chapter break specified images. By performing normal layout on the front and back sides without generating blank pages, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of blank pages, and thus it is possible to suppress waste of resources. (7) Effects corresponding to the invention of claim 9 In addition to the effects of the above (2) to (4) and (6), "double-sided +
When generating the aggregated image data in the “aggregate + chapter break” mode, if the chapter break is performed by allocating to only one surface, the final page unit image data (created as an image forming the image forming surface in the memory) If (memory image) is specified as a chapter break, there may be blank pages despite double-sided copying, which wastes resources, but the final page unit image data is specified as a chapter break. In the case of image data, this chapter break designation image is assigned to both front and back sides without using the chapter break assignment rule, so that blank pages are avoided. Therefore, it is possible to suppress waste of resources. (8) Effects corresponding to the tenth aspect In the image processing apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or an electronic file for editing (aggregating) images of a plurality of image data, the above (1) to (7) ) Can be realized to improve the performance of the device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an example of an operation unit of the copying machine shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 shows an input screen of a liquid crystal touch panel when a copy mode is set in the operation unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of an image processing unit (IPU).

FIG. 5 is a time chart showing the timing of a control signal used when combining image signals for one page in a selector.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a memory controller and an image memory in FIG. 4 in more detail;

FIG. 7 shows an example of an image when four images are combined into one page image (transfer paper image).

FIG. 8 shows an example of an original image data sequence that is ordered before aggregation.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a page image that is pasted by designating a write start address for each image and aggregated.

FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of an initial input screen of the operation panel in the case of instructing the “double-sided + aggregation + chapter break” mode.

FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of an input screen of the operation panel when the number of aggregations is commanded in the “double-sided + aggregation + chapter-separation” mode.

FIG. 12 shows an embodiment of an input screen of the operation panel when a chapter break image is designated in the “double-sided + aggregate + chapter break” mode.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of an operation of executing a “double-sided + aggregation + chapter-separation” mode.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing details of the allocation processing of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 shows an example of an ordered original image data sequence, in which an image designated as a chapter break is indicated by an arrow.

FIG. 16 shows an example of the layout in the “double-sided + 4 in 1 / aggregation + chapter division” mode, in which a chapter division designation image is assigned to the top of the front surface, adapted to the image data sequence of FIG.

FIG. 17 shows an example of the layout in the “double-sided + 4 in 1 / aggregation + chapter division” mode, in which a chapter separation designation image is allocated to the top of the back side, adapted to the image data sequence of FIG.

FIG. 18 shows an example of an ordered original image data sequence, in which an image designated as a chapter break is indicated by an arrow.

FIG. 19 shows an example of layout in the “double-sided + 2 in 1 / aggregation + chapter section” mode, in which a chapter break designation image is allocated to the top of the front side, adapted to the image data sequence of FIG. 18;

20 shows an example of layout in the “double-sided + 2 in 1 / aggregation + chapter section” mode, in which the layout is adapted to the image data sequence of FIG. 18 while avoiding the occurrence of a blank page.

21 shows a memory image generated on an image memory when the flow of FIG. 26 is applied to the original image data sequence of FIG.

FIG. 22 is an example of an original image data sequence composed of all seven images in order, in which an image designated as a chapter break is indicated by an arrow.

FIG. 23 shows an example of the layout in the “double-sided + 2 in 1 / aggregation + chapter division” mode, in which a chapter-separation designation image is allocated to the top of the front surface, adapted to the original image data sequence in FIG. 22.

FIG. 24 shows an example of allocation in the “double-sided + 2 in 1 / aggregation + chapter section” mode, which is applied to the original image data sequence of FIG.

25 shows a memory image generated on an image memory when the flow of FIG. 26 is applied to the original image data sequence of FIG.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for creating a memory image generated for performing image formation in the “double-sided + aggregated + chapter-separated” mode.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing a procedure for forming an image using the memory image created by the flow of FIG. 26;

FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing another procedure for forming an image using the memory image created by the flow of FIG. 26;

[Explanation of symbols]

1. Automatic document feeder (ADF) 2. Document platen
6 contact glass 15 photoreceptor 1
7: fixing unit, 50: reading unit, 51: exposure lamp, 54:
CCD image sensor, 57 writing unit,
58: laser output unit, 27: developing unit, 30: operation unit, 31: liquid crystal touch panel.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus having image data generating means for generating aggregated image data in page units by allocating each of a plurality of ordered original image data to image regions forming a predetermined array. The image data generating means includes chapter break designating means for designating a specific image in the plurality of original image data as a chapter break target image, and the image data designated by the chapter break designating means is arranged in the predetermined array And allocating the image data to a specific area of the image area, and allocating the original image data having the order included in the chapter unit to the image area according to a predetermined order to generate aggregated image data in page units. Image forming apparatus. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image data generating unit includes an image number designating unit that designates the number of images constituting the aggregated image in page units.
An image forming apparatus, wherein an aggregated image is allocated according to designation of the image number designation means, and aggregated image data is generated for each page. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specific area to which the image data specified by the chapter break specifying unit is allocated is a single area on a page. Image forming device. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said image data generating means has a function of generating aggregated image data in page units in a double-sided image forming mode, and is specified by said chapter break specifying means. An image forming apparatus, wherein the specific area to which the assigned image data is assigned is a top area on the front surface. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said image data generating means has a function of generating aggregated image data in page units in a double-sided image forming mode, and is specified by said chapter break specifying means. An image forming apparatus, wherein the specific area to which the assigned image data is assigned is a head area on the back surface. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said image data generating means has a function of generating aggregated image data in page units in a double-sided image forming mode, and is specified by said chapter break specifying means. An image forming apparatus that assigns the specified area as a front area on the front side or a front area on the back side when allocating the selected image data according to a condition set for each chapter-separation target image. . 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image data generating means has a function of generating aggregated image data in page units in a double-sided image forming mode, and has a double-sided spread image forming mode. An image forming apparatus, wherein when set, the specific area is assigned to the image data specified by the chapter break specifying means as a head area on the back side. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image data generating unit is configured to output the image data in units of pages including the image data designated as a chapter break. An image forming apparatus characterized in that ordinary page-side image data is allocated to both front and back sides to avoid generation of a page having no image. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said image data generating means outputs page-based image data including image data designated as chapter breaks. An image forming apparatus characterized in that normal image data is allocated to both front and back sides of the final image data when the image data is the same. 10. An image processing apparatus comprising the image forming apparatus according to claim 1. Description: